Good things come in small packages, as PBS's Powerhouse with its limited run of 16 episodes. The series set out to make education, and especially science, fun. The show focused on a group of ethnically diverse teenagers and preteens who had come together in an afterschool club. The Powerhouse gang used knowledge to defeat neighborhood bullies and make their community a better place to live.

Brenda was the leader of the group, who turned an old gym into a youth center. Jennifer was a nice, friendly girl and the resident mechanic. Kevin was the oldest kid and often served as big brother and protector to the others. Lolo was a young boy, a little nerdy but plenty smart. Pepper was the social butterfly of the group and tended to get into mischief. Tony was a tough, streetwise teenager, a little rough around the edges but with a kind heart.

The show dealt with difficult subjects like alcoholism and peer pressure but presented the lesson of the week in a fun adventure format. Teenagers solving crimes and mysteries is after all one of TV's tried and true precepts. Each episode included 'uncommercials,' short segments that looked like advertising but was really about an educational theme.

Powerhouse whetted the youngsters' appetite for good ol' fashioned crime fighting and exposed its target audience to the wonders of science. Educational groups considered this series an archetype of what 'edutainment' should be.