michaelm-29

"Games People Play" marked the first time I saw Mr. T (as in Mr. A-Team, Mr. Don't-Do-Drugs, Mr. Stay-in-School, Mr. T). A couple of episodes featured the "World's Toughest Bouncer" competition, in which Mr. T was a contestant. Each competitor would approach a punching bag, give it a good sound swat, say their name, and then proceed to jump over bars and tables in a bar-themed obstacle course. Winning was based on whoever maneuvered the course the quickest. The end of the course was a wood door that they would bust through to ring a bell which stopped their clock. Needless to say, Mr. T smoked the competition. I don't recall if he had a mohawk at that time; I think he wore a bandanna over his head, ala Pirates of the Carribbean. He definitely had the feathered earrings and the attitude.

The only other segments I remember involved a Houdini-type escape artist with a blue-sequined jumpsuit and a receding hairline. In one episode, he shackled himself to a roller-coaster track, only to escape the path of the oncoming cars at the last possible second. Another episode, he locks himself inside a wooden box and must free himself before a stunt car crashes through it.

The only other show in 1980 that held as much tension was "That's Incredible". I was 5-years-old when "Games People Play' aired, but it definitely left an impression.