RollerJam
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series featuring roller derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
that aired on The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
(TNN, now Spike) from 1999 to 2001. It was the first attempt to bring roller derby to TV since RollerGames
RollerGames
RollerGames was a U.S. television series that presented a theatrical version of the sport of roller derby for a national audience, and featured a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league , as well as younger participants...
.
RollerJam was derived from the original roller derby, but newer skaters used inline skates
Inline skates
In-line skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates have two, three, four, or five wheels arranged in a single line...
to modernize the sport (several skaters, mostly older ones, used the traditional quad skates
Quad skates
The four-wheeled turning roller skate, or quad skate, with four wheels set in two side-by-side pairs, was first designed in 1863 in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton in an attempt to improve upon previous designs. The skate contained a pivoting action using a rubber cushion, and this allowed...
). The program was taped at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
Stage 21 in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, known as RollerJam Arena and now the Impact Wrestling Zone, for the first and second seasons (1999 and 2000) and the former American Gladiators
American Gladiators
American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
arena in the show's final season. The first few weeks of the show's second season, which ran from August to October 1999, were taped at the MGM Grand Las Vegas
MGM Grand Las Vegas
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
.
Overview
RollerJam featured several teams of skaters competing in the fictional World Skating League (WSL). Roller derby promoter Jerry SeltzerJerry Seltzer
Jerry Seltzer was the second and final owner of the original Roller Derby league. The league and the sport of roller derby were created in 1935 in Chicago by Leo Seltzer, Jerry's father. Jerry assumed ownership of the league in 1959 and ran it until its demise in 1973...
, the son of roller derby creator Leo Seltzer
Leo Seltzer
Leo A. Seltzer is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in 1958....
, served as on-screen WSL commissioner, although he only made a few appearances. The initial teams, each consisting of seven men and seven women, were the New York Enforcers, California Quakes, Florida Sundogs, Nevada Hot Dice, Texas Rustlers, and Illinois Riot (the original names of the latter three teams were the Las Vegas High Rollers, Texas Twisters, and Illinois Inferno; their names were changed prior to the start of the first season). Two notable veterans from Roller Games, "Rockin'" Ray Robles and "Latin Spitfire" Patsy Delgato, were featured in the second season of RollerJam. Despite strong funding and four seasons of broadcasts on TNN, the venture never became a "live" attraction. Fabricated storylines and characters in the mode of professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
were being featured more than actual competitive skating, raising the ire of many skaters and fans of "true" roller derby.
Three of the most notable actors featured in RollerJam were veteran movie actor Tom Nowicki
Tom Nowicki
Tom Nowicki is an American actor who has appeared in several feature films, television series, mini-series and movies of the week. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors' Guild who is best remembered for his lead appearance on RollerJam and also appeared in the...
(who played WSL general manager Kenneth Loge III and Sundogs manager Leonard Loge III), Cindy Maranne (who played Amanda Hertz, the manager of the Nevada Hot Dice), and stage actress and former Mouseketeer
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
Lindsey Alley
Lindsey Alley
Lindsey Erin Alley is an American actress and singer, who for several years lived in New York City and is now residing in Los Angeles....
(who played Lisa Seltzer, the "granddaughter" of Leo Seltzer). Other characters included Julie Amazon (a bodybuilding skater in Season 4), The Prophet (a character in Season 4 only who would interrupt games to make speeches, and later managed the Sundogs), Canine and Disable (minions of The Prophet who skated for the Sundogs, and "captured" Lindsay Francis during the first game of Season 4), and Devo (a convict character who skated for the Hot Dice).
The most points ever scored in one jam was 28 in Period 3 of a game between the New York Enforcers and the Illinois Riot. The Riot came back from a 20+ point deficit to win 46-43 in the highest scoring game in RollerJam history. Roller Derby legend Ann Calvello
Ann Calvello
Ann Theresa Calvello was a U.S. athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby.Ann Calvello graduated from Presentation High School in San Francisco, CA in June 1947....
, best known for her brutal feuds with Joan Weston
Joan Weston
Joan Weston or Joanie Weston , known as the "Blonde Bomber", "Blonde Amazon", "Golden Girl", and "Roller Derby Queen", was a U.S...
, skated a match race with Kenneth Loge III in RollerJams finale. She emerged victorious.
Ron Buffone, a producer for Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
(ECW), called RollerJam "That stupid roller blading show". Buffone believed that TNN treated ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN was a weekly American professional wrestling television program that aired on The Nashville Network from August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000...
, which aired prior to RollerJam on Friday nights, as a lead-in for RollerJam rather than a show in its own right, despite the fact that the ECW broadcast generated the network's highest ratings. Nevertheless, some cross-promotion between the two programs did occur, notably when ECW wrestlers such as Axl Rotten
Axl Rotten
Brian Knighton is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Axl Rotten.-Early years:After watching a professional wrestling match on television, Knighton decided to become a wrestler...
and Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
appeared on RollerJam as "enforcers" for the Florida Sundogs against the New York Enforcers.
Between January 1999 and January 2001, Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
television impresarios Ross K. Bagwell Sr. and Stephen Land, under the name Pageboy Entertainment, collaborated with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
to stage this new televised revival.
Key players
- Sean Atkinson, men's captain of the California Quakes. Atkinson is the first third generation skater in roller derby history. His parents Buddy (Jr.) and Dru Atkinson and his grandparents Buddy (Sr.) and Bobbie Atkinson all skated for Leo Seltzer's original derby. He now manages the Orlando Thunder in the American Roller Skating DerbyAmerican Roller Skating DerbyThe American Roller Skating Derby is a professional roller derby league. As of 2009, the ARSD consists of six teams: the San Francisco Bay Bombers, the San Diego Firebirds, the Chicago Pioneers, the Brooklyn Red Devils, the New York Chiefs and the Orlando Thunder...
(San Francisco Bay Bombers' league). His younger brother, Seth, is also a skater and helps run independent roller derby promotion XSL (Xtreme Skating League), which is a hardcore roller derby promotion equivalent to the old ECW style of wrestling. Coincidentally, Seth is also a trained professional wrestler as well. - Stacey Blitsch, women's captain of the California Quakes and leader of the "Bod Squad" faction. Later skated in the ARDL for the Bay City Bombers. Skated for the American Roller Derby LeagueAmerican Roller Derby LeagueThe American Roller Derby League is a professional roller derby league formed in the late 1990s. Based in Northern California, the ARDL promotes teams whose names include the Bay City Bombers , the Los Angeles Turbos, the New York Demons, the Chicago Pioneers The American Roller Derby League...
's Bay City Bombers, based in San Francisco. - Lindsey Francis, skated for three different teams: Sundogs (twice), Rustlers, Enforcers
- Richard Brown, manager/skater of three teams: Florida Sundogs, Nevada Hot Dice and Illinois Riot. Skated in the Los Angeles T-Birds' league in the 1970's and for the Maniacs on RollerGamesRollerGamesRollerGames was a U.S. television series that presented a theatrical version of the sport of roller derby for a national audience, and featured a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league , as well as younger participants...
in 1989. - Mo Sanders, of the Illinois Riot now owns Heartless Wheels, skates with Puget Sound Outcast Derby, coaches the Rat City RollergirlsRat City RollergirlsThe Rat City Rollergirls are a flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. The league is composed of four member teams for intra-league play, an all-star travel team that competes with other leagues, and another travel team that plays in exhibition games with other leagues...
, and jam-skated in the films Roll BounceRoll BounceRoll Bounce is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written by Norman Vance Jr. and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film stars hip hop artist Bow Wow as the leader of a roller skating crew in 1970s Chicago. The film also stars Nick Cannon, Meagan Good, Brandon T...
and Enchanted. - Mark Weber, who now coaches for the Cincinnati RollergirlsCincinnati RollergirlsThe Cincinnati Rollergirls is a roller derby league based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two teams, and two mixed teams which compete against teams from other leagues....
and Jason McDaniel, who now skates for the team "Your Mom Men's Roller Derby", the "X-Men" of the Hot Dice. - Denise Loden, women's captain of two teams: Sundogs and Riot and leader of the Riot's "Oral Authority" faction
- Shay Brown, women's captain of the Nevada Hot Dice and leader of the "Showgirl Sizzle"
- Laura Weintraub, skated for the Hot Dice's "Showgirls" and the Riot's "Oral Authority". Along with Stacey Blitsch, she now skates for the American Roller Derby LeagueAmerican Roller Derby LeagueThe American Roller Derby League is a professional roller derby league formed in the late 1990s. Based in Northern California, the ARDL promotes teams whose names include the Bay City Bombers , the Los Angeles Turbos, the New York Demons, the Chicago Pioneers The American Roller Derby League...
's San Francisco Bay Bombers based in San Francisco. - Mark D'Amato, men's captain, leader & later "owner" of the New York Enforcers; known as the team's (and league's) main villain or "heelHeel (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
" after the manner of characters or personalities from the world of professional wrestling. Later skated in the ARDL. Known as the Quadfather because he used old-school four wheeled skates, Mark started skating professionally on Roller Games in Los Angeles in the 1970s (which allowed him to be grandfathered under league rules; most players wore in-line skates). He died due to Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in March 2002. In a storyline, he was revealed to be Sean Atkinson's brother. - Karen L. Magnussen, first women's captain of the New York Enforcers; leader of the "Sisters of Suffering" faction. Later skated for the Nevada Hot Dice. Known as the most underrated skater in the league, preferring to stay out of the limelight in favor of focusing on the sport.
- "Big Nasty" Tim Washington, the "enforcer" of the Enforcers and formerly "Titan" of the American GladiatorsAmerican GladiatorsAmerican Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
. Both he and Brian "The Blade" Gamble are now professional wrestlers. - Kenneth Loge III (actor Tom NowickiTom NowickiTom Nowicki is an American actor who has appeared in several feature films, television series, mini-series and movies of the week. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors' Guild who is best remembered for his lead appearance on RollerJam and also appeared in the...
), the "general manager" of the WSL who fought for morality and wanted to rid the sport of sex and violence (met with obvious resistance). It was a character similar to ECWExtreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
's CyrusDon CallisDon Callis is a Canadian former professional wrestler and manager, known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Jackyl, and Extreme Championship Wrestling as color commentator Cyrus.-Early life:...
and The NetworkThe Network (professional wrestling)The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.-ECW incarnation:The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.TNN did not give ECW much money to produce...
. - Amy Craig, played for the California Quakes and later the Illinois Riot as a member of the "Oral Authority". Arguably the fastest skater in Rollerjam. She won the fastest shaker in the Roller Jam Race
- Bill Barker, "Captain America" who was traded to the Florida Sundogs for Richard Brown after playing one game with the Nevada Hot Dice
- Brothers Sam and Micah Martin (Florida and Nevada), speed skating champions who colored their hair to match their team colors
- Eric Slopey of California, who "rode the pony" when out alone on a breakaway. In one game, he jumped from the inside of the track over the rail and landed into the scorers' table, the biggest crash in Rollerjam history
- Ray Robles of the Illinois Riot, a 1970s LA T-Birds veteran who threw pepper into the faces of opposing skaters
- Pasi Schalin of the Sundogs and Quakes, a former professional hockey player and whose wife Suzanne Schalin also skated for both teams
- Janet Abraham of the New York Enforcers, the biggest, toughest female blocker in the league
- Heather "Leather" Gunnin, the New York Enforcers' lead female jammer
- Jamie Conemac (California Quakes), played a ditzy, gossipy regular "dumb blond" character. Known for her "Chatty Chat with Conemac" gossip segment.
- Telisa Miller (New York Enforcers), the "Hellcat" was known as one of the more violent skaters, as she was more than willing to pull hair, scratch, claw, and get into outright fistfights on the banked track. Also skated for the Texas Rustlers and lost a match race to Lindsey Francis to see who would stay on the Rustlers.
Television Announcers
- Ken Resnick (Play-By-Play Commentator, 1999; former commentator with the AWAAmerican Wrestling AssociationThe American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
and WWE) - Rory MarkasRory MarkasRory Markas was an American sportscaster best known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's play-by-play broadcaster for eight seasons, and as the radio voice of the University of Southern California men's basketball team for 11 seasons...
(Play-By-Play Commentator, 2000-2001; sports commentator for USCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
) - Lee "Hawk" RehermanLee RehermanLee Reherman is a former American football player but a current actor and television host.-Personal life:Reherman was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He played football at Cornell University and then played professionally with the Miami Dolphins...
(Color Commentator, 1999-2000; formerly of American GladiatorsAmerican GladiatorsAmerican Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
) - Buddy Atkinson, Jr. (Analyst, 1999; former member of the Philadelphia Warriors and father of Sean Atkinson)
- Marc Loyd (Color Commentator, 2001; later briefly with WWE)
- Danny Wolf (Trackside Reporter, 1999-2001; now main commentator with the San Francisco Bay BombersAmerican Roller Skating DerbyThe American Roller Skating Derby is a professional roller derby league. As of 2009, the ARSD consists of six teams: the San Francisco Bay Bombers, the San Diego Firebirds, the Chicago Pioneers, the Brooklyn Red Devils, the New York Chiefs and the Orlando Thunder...
) and the voice of the Los Angeles Firebirds roller derby team. - Julie Lynch (Halftime Reporter, 2000)
- Jennifer Gregory (Halftime Reporter, 2000)
- Cindy Luce (Backstage Reporter, 2001)