Cyberchase
Face-Off
Season 8 Episode 2 | 26m 30sVideo has Audio Description
The CyberSquad must analyze a sneaky ad campaign.
To compete for the prestigious Penguia Cup, Fluff wants to wear his dad's lucky hockey skates - but his teammates won't let him! They're all going to wear the cool new Cyberblades they saw advertised on TV. To change their minds, Fluff must analyze a sneaky ad and prove the new skates are not the best choice for the big game.
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Cyberchase
Face-Off
Season 8 Episode 2 | 26m 30sVideo has Audio Description
To compete for the prestigious Penguia Cup, Fluff wants to wear his dad's lucky hockey skates - but his teammates won't let him! They're all going to wear the cool new Cyberblades they saw advertised on TV. To change their minds, Fluff must analyze a sneaky ad and prove the new skates are not the best choice for the big game.
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How to Watch Cyberchase
Cyberchase is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
♪ CYBERCHASE!
♪ WE'RE MOVIN' WE'RE BEATIN' HACKER AT HIS GAME ♪ DON'T TELL ME THAT HE'S TRYING TO HACK THE MOTHERBOARD ♪ WE'LL GET HIM EVERY TIME ♪ COSMIC WORLDS, FREAKY PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN ♪ WE GOT THE POWER OF ONE TWO THREE FOUR!
♪ RUNNIN' IN A CYBERCHASE WE'LL MEET HIM FACE TO FACE ♪ WE'LL STICK TOGETHER, ALL THE TIME!
♪ ADVENTURES IN CYBERSPACE ♪ THE CHASE IS ON!
JUST WAIT AND C-Y-B-E-R- CHASE!
Oooh, what have we here?
!
"The new Power For-Ever Recharger Chair will keep even the crankiest borg charged all day."
"Never go without energy again!"
Buzz!
Delete!
My energy problem is solved!
With unlimited power, those earth brats will never stop me!
What is it, boss?
What'd you read?
The brand "new Power For-Ever" Recharger Chair!
For the low, low price of only five thousand snelfus!
Isn't that...a lotta snelfus?
Yes.
It is a little pricey.
But I want it!
I need it!
Set up a meeting with my financial advisor -Barton J. Moneyborg!
Surveillance devices, ten thousand snelfus... ...excavation equipment, seven hundred snelfus... computer viruses, four thousand snelfus.. implements of destruction-- Ugh!
Face it, Hacker, you've squandered too many snelfus on too many failed schemes.
Listen, Moneyborg, conquering cyberspace isn't cheap!
How much money do I have left?
Taking into account all outstanding expenses, you have exactly... thirty- five snelfus!
Here's my bill!
Thirty-five snelfus?
Good financial advice isn't cheap.
You mean, I'm-- Broke!
Busted!
You're in the poorhouse, Hacker!
I don't care what house I'm in, Moneyborg - I want the Power For-Ever Recharger Chair!
Advise me how to get the money to buy it!
Um...um Ice skates!
Yeah...ice skates!
Ice skates?
Yes, ice skates.
That gives me an idea.
Dateline, Penguia.
The hockey world is riveted with the upcoming game for the prestigious Penguia Cup featuring the plucky Penguin Village Voyagers and the undefeated Tundra Town Titans.
The Voyagers are having a, um, difficult season.
In fact, they're last in the league in wins... And first in defeats.
Ouch!
Twenty years ago, PJ Penguin scored the winning goal in the Cup's most famous match.
Tomorrow... ...his son, Fluff, will lace up the very same skates in his first-ever game against the Titans!
Are they supposed to be this bad?
Uh...no.
But I hear this rivalry is legendary.
That's why Motherboard asked me to write about it for Cybersports Illustrated.
I hope Fluff does okay.
He's so pumped up about playing for his dad's old team!
At least I'll get some good pictures!
Hey, Matty, say CyberSquad.
Team meeting -- locker room - NOW!
If you ask me, it's gonna take more than talk to get this team to play better!
Watch this!
He shoots... he scores!
CYBERBLADES!
The skates of the future for today!
Be cool!
Be the top scorer on your team!
CYBERBLADES!
Guaranteed to make you skate twice as fast - or your money back!
Rule the rink... with CYBERBLADES!
What do you think, guys?
Those skates look pretty cool, huh?
Yeah!
Did you see how fast you can go?
I want a pair!
I bet we could play a lot better if we had those skates.
I say we all buy 'em!
All in favor say 'aye'!
AYE!
Guys!
Wait a second!
Tomorrow is the big game!
Instead of rushing off to buy new skates because they look good in a commercial... shouldn't we be practicing?
Fluff's right.
The big game is tomorrow... and that's why we have to buy those skates...now!
Cyberblades!
Cyberblades!
Maybe Cyberblades would help the Voyagers play better... Just because they look good in the commercial doesn't mean they'll make you a great skater.
The commercial says they will.
Yeah, but that's what it's supposed to do - say things that make you want to buy the product!
Well, part of the commercial has to be true ...doesn't it?
Check it out, Fluff.
"Rule the Rink!"
That's what we wanna do, right?
Rule the rink - beat the Titans!
You really believe all that stuff about Cyberblades, Bernie?
Yeah, I do!
See what the ad says?
You can skate twice as fast - and be really cool, too.
You do wanna beat the Titans, don't you?
Well, yeah... but I think I can do that in my Dad's skates.
After all he wore 'em when he played the Titans - and scored the winning goal.
That was your Dad - not you!
Oh, sorry.
C'mon, Fluff, just do it for the team.
Everyone else is getting them.
Sorry, Bern...
I'm gonna stick with my skates.
Suit yourself, Fluff!
I'm buyin' 'em!
You've sold out?
Already?
That's amazing!
I mean...we'll get you more!
My assembly team is working at full capacity!
More skates!
We're workin' on 'em, boss.
Hold the skate right there, Deedee.
YEOOOOWWWWWWW!
Owwwwwww!
Sorry.
I knew they'd go for it!
These skates are selling like hotcakes.
It's the day of the big game, and the Voyagers are practicing their shots, using the old "angle in equals angle out" rule.
All but one of the team has traded in their old skates for the cool new Cyberblades.
As I watch them practice, they look like a more confident team.
Hey, Captain.
How do you feel about the big game today?
With these new skates - there's no way we can lose!
Like the commercial says, we're gonna "Rule the Rink"!
You shoulda bought the new skates like the rest of us, Fluff.
The whole team's talkin' about you.
They are?
Uh-huh.
They say you're not being a team player.
Do you feel that way, too?
Fluff, I'm your best friend, so I'm gonna give it to ya straight: You need to get the new skates.
C'mon, you'll go twice as fast!
But I don't need new skates to go faster.
I'll show you!
Whoooaaaa!
Ooops.
You do know the game starts in just a few hours, right?
I know, Ice.
I just lost my balance.
If you'd been wearing the new skates, you wouldn't have fallen.
But...
I just tripped!
What if you trip like that in the game?
Fluff, you gotta get the Cyberblades or you're not playing!
But I...I...oh, forget it!
I'm going home.
Ah, poor Fluff.
C'mon, Inez.
I've got an idea to help him.
We got a problem, Ice.
We're short a player without Fluff.
Don't worry, Bern, he'll cool down.
He'll see we're right... and come back wearing the Cyberblades.
Just wait.
With just a few hours till game time, the big question is: Will Fluff be back for the opening face-off...or not?
You should wear the skates you want, Fluff.
And it's all right if they're not my old ones.
But you have to make up your own mind.
OK, dad.
Fluff?
Hey, guys.
The team misses you, Fluff.
They really want you to play.
I really want to play, too.
I just don't know what to do...
I want to wear my dad's skates but I don't want to let my team down -especially Bernie.
He's my best friend!
We got you some Cyberblades, in case you want to give them a try.
Your teammates really think they'll help make them play better.
Maybe they will - but maybe they won't!
Just because my team believes if they wear Cyberblades then they'll play better doesn't mean I have to wear them.
I've got it!
It's all started with that commercial we saw.
But commercials are full of language that tries to persuade you... Yeah!
Maybe if we look at the commercial again, we can figure out what's persuasion and what's fact.
That'll help us figure out if there are good reasons to use Cyberblades.
If there are, you'll try 'em.
And if there aren't, then we tell my team and maybe then they'll let me wear my dad's skates!
It's worth a try!
C'mon...
He shoots he scores!
CYBERBLADES!
The skates of the future for today!
Be cool!
Be the top scorer on your team!
CYBERBLADES!
Guaranteed to make you skate twice as fast - or your money back!
Rule the rink... with CYBERBLADES!
OK, what does the commercial really say?
It says you can rule the rink!
And that you'll become the top scorer on your team if you use them.
And you'll skate twice as fast - or your money back!
Whoa, there are all kinds of claims in that commercial!
We need to get organized - what's fact, what's just persuasion?
Let's write everything down here, then check them one claim at a time...
This recharger chair will supply me with so much energy that I'll be the most powerful cybervillain in the history of Cyberspace!
Ohh...I can't wait till it gets here!
You sure you have enough money to pay for it, boss?
Of course I do!
We're making so much money on these skates, it'll be a drop in the bucket!
What if the Power For-Ever Recharger Chair doesn't work?
Yeah.
What if it's a lemon?
No problem!
Look at the ad!
It says right here: "Money back guarantee!"
And the final claim the commercial makes is that Cyberblades make you skate twice as fast.
Okay.
Now let's separate the true facts from the false arguments the commercial makes just to get us to want to buy the skates.
This isn't gonna be easy.
Let's start with the claim that you'll be the top scorer on your team.
That sounds like a good reason to buy.
Yeah, it does sounds good...but wait!
If everyone on the team has the skates, we can't all be the one and only "top" scorer!
Good reasoning, Fluff.
So that claim can't be true.
If it can't be true - then it's a false argument - and a bad reason to buy.
Next!
"Rule the rink."
How about that one, Fluff?
Would you buy the skates if you could "rule the rink"?
Well, yeah...but what does that really mean?
That you'll be the best?
You'd need lots more than good skates for that.
Right...
Claiming you'll rule the rink doesn't make it true.
That takes us to the money back guarantee.
What's a guarantee?
It's like a promise.
If the skates don't do what the commercial says -you can return them and get your money back.
That sounds like a good thing.
It is.
A true fact and a good reason to buy.
OK, last claim.
Cyberblades make you skate 'twice as fast'.
Would you play better if the Cyberblades make you skate twice as fast as your Dad's skates?
Well, sure!
But how do we know that's true?
Now that's a claim we can test!
It's almost game time, Ice.
Maybe you should let Fluff play wearing his dad's skates.
Sorry, Bernie.
We can't risk it.
But we don't have enough players.
I'm worried, Didge.
It doesn't look like Fluff is coming back.
Matt, we need another player.
I wish I could, Ice... but I'm covering the game for Motherboard.
Digit?
Me?
Go out there?
It's an emergency, Didge.
We need you.
The Titans are coming on the ice!
YOIKES!
Look at those guys!
Don't worry!
We've got Cyberblades!
There's no way we can lose!
Matty?
Whaddaya think?
Digit, the most famous cyboid in cyberspace, is a last minute substitution for the Voyagers.
No he's not!
The question is, can the little bird with the big heart make a difference?
Go get 'em, Didge!
Ok.
The things I do for my friends.
Okay, Fluff, three laps with the Cyberblades - then three with your Dad's skates.
That's a fair test.
It should tell us which skates are the fastest.
Ready?
Ready!
Go!
Ten point four seconds.
Ten point four seconds - got it!
Eight point five seconds for the last run in the old skates.
Got it!
So...which skates are faster?
See for yourself!
All eights compared to tens!
I knew it!
I'm faster with my Dad's skates!
The Cyberblades didn't make you go twice as fast - you actually went slower!
So far there's only one good reason to buy Cyberblades - the guarantee that you can take them back if they don't do what the commercial says.
And they don't!
Right!
The rest of the commercial is filled with false and misleading claims!
C'mon, guys.
I gotta talk to the team!
Near the end of the first period, it's Titans two, Voyagers nothing.
Is the big game a big mismatch?
Oooh, that hurt!
The first period ends with the score: Titans three - Voyagers nothing.
Okay, so they got off to a great start - but we have the Cyberblades.
We should be twice as fast as they are!
We should rule the rink!
Hey, guys!
Fluff, you're back!
Yeah I'm back - and I've got news for you.
Those Cyberblades aren't what that commercial says they are.
They aren't?
Nope.
We wrote down every reason the commercial says to buy the skates.
And we found out they aren't very good reasons at all.
Oh yeah?
What's wrong with 'em?
We'll show you.
The trick is you gotta pay attention to what the commercial really says.
Take reason one: the skates will make you the team's top scorer.
But think about it - that doesn't make any sense.
Right.
Everyone here has the Cyberblades.
But everyone can't be the top scorer on the same team.
It's not possible, so it can't be true.
She's got a point, Ice.
Yeah, I guess.
But how about "rule the rink"?
You gotta admit, that's a good reason to buy.
It does sound good - but you have to get past that and ask, what does it really mean?
If it means to be the best, then it isn't just skates that make that possible, it's skill.
True...
So "rule the rink" isn't a good reason to buy, either.
It's a false claim.
The next reason is the guarantee.
That's the only good reason we found to buy the skates.
If you don't like 'em - you can get your money back.
Wait - what about "twice as fast"?
That's definitely a good reason to buy 'em.
Just one small problem - it's not true!
Cyberblades aren't twice as fast.
That's right.
Fluff tested them against his Dad's skates.
And he skated faster in his Dad's skates than he did in the Cyberblades!
Wow...and I thought the new skates would make us better.
That commercial fooled all of us... except you, Fluff.
Listen, everybody, you can't win a big game just by buying fancy new skates.
You win because you work hard - and play as a team - and never say "I quit".
Ooh, this kid's on a roll!
Remember, it's what's in your heart that counts, not what's on your feet.
Let's go out there and give it our all!
What'dya say?
YEAHHHHHH...
So Ice, you gonna let me play?
Hey, I never really liked these new skates anyway.
Okay, Voyagers - put on our old skates and let's take the game to the Titans!
As the last period gets underway, the Voyagers look like a different team.
Great move, Fluff!
Way to go!
Ice scores the first goal for the Voyagers on a beautiful pass from Fluff ...making the score three to one in favor of the Titans.
The Voyagers are suddenly playing with energy, teamwork and passion!
Go, Voyagers, go!
We're only one goal behind!
The Voyagers tie the score with just ten seconds left in the game!
Can they complete this astonishing comeback?
Another goal for the Voyagers!
What an amazing finish!
The Voyagers come from behind to win the big game!
And Fluff - just like his father did twenty years ago - scores the winning goal!
Way to go, guys!
Beautiful...classic...fan-- What's this?
Made in the Northern Frontier?
Gorgeous...
The Power For-Ever Recharger Chair is all mine!
Now, how does this thing work?
Uh, Boss-- Can't you see I'm busy?
Turn on A, flip switch B... Ahhhhh, the music of cyberworld domination!
But Boss, we-- Not now, you dunce bucket!
I'm about to give myself the energy boost!
I know, but-- SILENCE!
Just let me enjoy my-- Eeeyaah!
W-W-W-W-What's wrong?
We were tryin' to tell you -there's a big warning label here.
Danger!
Do not wear wig gel when using this product.
May permanently damage the energy source."
Why didn't you tell me?
Cyberblades Incorporated.
They didn't?
Okay, okay, you'll get it.
Deedee, send another refund check to Penguia.
Will do, Buzzy.
What?
Who said they could get their money back?
Uh, you did, Boss.
Your commercial said the Cyberblades are guaranteed to go twice as fast or your money back.
And they didn't go twice as fast.
They didn't?
What, that gives me an idea.
Give me that!
This is The Hacker.
I want to return my Power For-Ever Recharger Chair.
Your ad says satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
Fine print?
What fine print?
"May not be returned if removed from its original packaging."
I've been tricked!
That's...not...fairrrrrrr!
AHHHHHHHHH...!!
Stay right where you are, it's Cyberchase For Real!
A new wardrobe will make all your dreams come true.
I want a new wardrobe to make all my dreams come true.
Dress for success... in the board room or ballroom.
I want a makeover.
But I don't have the cash to buy any new clothes.
I need to make some money.
I know!
I'll sell some of my stuff in a yard sale.
This was a gift I thought was too hideous to wear.
No one is gonna want to buy this.
I know!
To convince someone to buy it, I'll create an ad!
This beautiful 20-inch jeweled necklace will make you feel like a princess!
Hurry!
There's just one available, and it's only $50.
What do you think?
I don't know... What?
Did I spell something wrong?
That's not the problem.
Let's analyze what it says.
What are the facts?
Your ad says this is a beautiful necklace.
Is that a fact?
Well, I think it's ugly.
That's why I'm trying to sell it.
But, it's possible that someone else might think it's beautiful.
Okay...so you're saying that to convince someone to buy the necklace.
Well, if a person thinks it's beautiful, then it might make her feel like a princess.
Right... but that's not a fact.
What about "jeweled?"
Well, it does have jewels, they're just the fake kind.
That's misleading.
Don't you think it's wrong to deceive people to make money?
Ads do it all the time!
"A new wardrobe will make all your dreams come true."
That doesn't make it right!
Well, it is 20 inches long.
That's a fact.
Any others?
There's only one available, and it only costs $50.
Those are both facts.
Well, you're suggesting that $50 is a good price for something that you wouldn't wear if someone paid you!
Okay, okay, I get it.
Forget the ad.
Can we just go set up shop?
I need to make some money!
You need to do what stores do when merchandise isn't selling - discount it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Maybe we need to revive the ad to help sell this.
I'd recommend just sticking to the facts.
20 inch necklace with fake jewels.
Hurry!
There's just one available, and it's only $5.
I used to have a necklace just like this with matching earrings.
I would have paid you fifty bucks for it!
♪ ♪ ♪
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