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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, June 26, 2001

Wired In
Now it's 'Jack' on the box

By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service

The convergence of technology and entertainment seems hotter than ever.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a popular video game made the leap from the small screen to the silver screen as Paramount released its "Tomb Raider" movie, starring Angelina Jolie.

Now ABC is taking a popular video game and turning it into a television game show.

"You Don't Know Jack," a best-selling trivia game for PCs and game consoles, debuted in prime time last week and will run Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. EST through July 25.

The show stars Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens as Troy Stevens, the video game's irreverent, but funny, host.

For the uninitiated, the original "You Don't Know Jack" game debuted for Windows and Macintosh computers in 1995. It quickly caught on as a risquÚ party game where, according to the CD-ROM game's slogan, "high culture and pop culture collide."

The television version of "You Don't Know Jack" will be similar to the video game, according to Andrew Golder, one of the show's executive producers.

"There are questions that (video-game) players will be familiar with, such as 'Dis and Dat' and 'Jack Attack,' " said Golder, who also wrote and produced the popular "Win Ben Stein's Money" for Comedy Central.

Golder said he hopes the show will be as successful as the video game.

" 'Survivor' (first) appeared in the summer, 'Millionaire' premiered in the summer. It's evident people are still watching TV this time of year and we're optimistic about "Jack" being picked up" says Golder.

The "You Don't Know Jack" game has spawned countless incarnations, such as "You Don't Know Jack: Sports." Jellyvision, the Chicago company that created the games, has sold more than 4 million copies.

The latest versions are "You Don't Know Jack: 5th Dementia" ($19.99 for the PC) and "You Don't Know Jack: Mock 2" ($19.99; for PlayStation). The original game is still available at retail stores, such as Best Buy, for $9.95. For information, go to www.ydkj.com.