Chris Chan in the PokéNews
Chris Chan in the PokéNews, one segment of Chris's CWC on TV DVD, was filmed 16 October, 1999 and aired on Richmond's NBC affiliate, WWBT.
The local news media do a fluff piece on the rise of Pokémon fandom, which is popular among small children, suspicious-looking men, and emotionally-stunted manchildren. Chris happens to be among the small children playing the game. The cameraman seems to linger on him for an abnormally long amount of time, perhaps not used to the thing he's seeing.
Chris lists his tenure playing Pokémon cards with children half his age on his resume, and implies that he volunteered at Books-A-Million.
Video
Transcript
Female Newscaster: Well, if you have grade-schoolers in the house, you'll probably be interested in this next report, and if you don't, you can learn about a craze that's been sweeping the nation. NBC 12 reporter Jim Babb marched into the marketing breech today to bring us this story of Pokémon.
[A small boy is trading Pokémon cards with another small boy] Small boy: I'll trade you thi..uh...holograph for a Japanese holograph.
[A woman is shown scanning booster packs of trading cards at a cash register]
[Jim Babb interviews a small boy with a large binder full of Pokemon cards] Babb: You've got hundreds of these cards.
Boy: I got--yeah, some... yeah, and I've got a lot more at home.
Babb: [to small boy in orange athletic jersey] So, tell me, why do you like Pokémon?
Boy: I dunno.
Babb: You're not sure why you like it, but you do, right?
Boy: Yeah.
[A brief clip from the Pokémon animu is shown while Babb narrates. Later, footage of Books-A-Million is shown]
Babb: Like so many other fads, it got started with a kids' TV show. And, now, Pokémon is a marketing phenomenon. Kids and parents line up every Saturday at this Chesterfield County bookstore, and they dig deep.
Babb: [to woman with handful of booster packs] How much did all of this cost?
Woman: $30 with a discount.
Babb: Then the games begin, with byzantine rules.
[A crowd of small children plays the Pokemon trading card game on the shop floor] Babb: [to African-American boy] So how do you explain the game?
Boy: I can't explain; it's too long!
[Suddenly, the camera lingers on a much older boy, who looks 16-18 years old. He is clad in an ill-fitting, blue longsleeve shirt, over a yellow T-shirt, over a blue vest. A red and white baseball cap and a sports bottle rest next to him. He is playing Pokémon cards with small children.] Chris: I'll put out my Dragonair... even though it has sixty damage on it... oh, boy, now I have three energy on it. Slam Attack!
Babb: [to African-American child] So, if you had the time to tell me, I wouldn't understand it?
Boy: No.
40-year-old man with Rapist Glasses and molester mustache: I'm—I'm watching and I still have no clue. [laughs]
Babb: And think about this: this kind of thing is happening in bookstores and toy stores all around the country. If you hadn't known it before, know it now: Pokémon is big.
Randy Cost: The biggest trend in kids' toy history, it's multi-multi-billion dollars.
Woman: It's money. Big time money.
Babb: You wish you invested?
Woman: Yeah, that's true! [laughs]
Boy: [holds up card] Jolteon!
Babb: Jolteon.
Boy: Mmmhm!
Babb: What's special about Jolteon?
Boy: He's holographic!
Babb: In Chesterfield County, I'm Jim Babb, NBC 12.
Female Newscaster: And those little cards aren't cheap; some merchants charge three bucks for a booster pack of— [video ends]
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