After School Specials 1979-1980

Rating:
Summary: A teenage Rob Lowe's baby troubles, among other things...
Review: The late 70's...a tumultuous period...gas shortages, feathered hair, bell bottom jeans, and the demise of disco (if you lived in the Midwest, you may recall a little event hosted by Chicago DJ Steve Dahl called Disco Demolition, held at Chicago's Comisky Park during the period between a double header...things got a little out of hand, resulting in the White Sox having to forfeit the 2nd game, but that's neither here nor there...). Anyway, what do these things have to do with what I'm reviewing? Not a whole lot, and that's the point...kids during that time period probably could have cared less about any of those things, as they had little to do with what was going on within their own lives, but thankfully there was something directed at them, namely, tele-plays presented under the heading of After School Specials, dramatic programs designed especially to entertain and edjumacate pre-teens about life and issues they could have very well faced, in terms they could understand in an hour-long format (approximately 45 minutes, without the commercials). Each set comes with two DVDs, each containing 2 episodes, or 4 episodes per set. The series (I believe there were something like 26 episodes) created and produced by Martin Tahse, winning him a slew of awards, was really unique in that it was programming for young people that wasn't made to tie into products or sell merchandise, but to speak to them about situations difficult to understand or comprehend, treating its' audience with the respect and intelligence not often seen, not talking down to them but talking to them, and terms they could understand.

A Special Gift (Originally aired 10/24/79), deals with a boy named Peter, played by Stephen Austin, who leads a somewhat double life, one, playing basketball for his school team, and another, following his real passion engaging in the fanciful art of ballet (hence the title `A Special Gift'...I'll tell you what, his `special gift' would have gotten me unlimited swirlies at my school). Peter's reluctant to talk about his passion, especially since he and his family live in a rural farming community, full of closed minded types, but it comes out anyway, and he's viewed by some as being effeminate (a sissy), but others, once past the initial shock begin to come around, even his father, who happens to have a secret of his own.

In The Gold Test aka Heartbreak Winner (Originally aired 2/13/80), features Melissa Sherman as Maggie, one of those annoying, intensely focused athletes who thinks of nothing other than their sport (hers is ice skating), and is determined to get to the Olympics. Only problem is she develops a serious bout of the rheumatoid arthritis, effectively quashing her dreams. While in the hospital, she meets Joey, the world's most optimistic kid (he's also in contention for world's largest afro). Joey's even more messed up that Melissa, his condition requiring many operations on his legs, but his attitude and determination end up providing a source of inspiration for Melissa, so much so she ends up dropping the prat routine seeing there's more to life than the Olympics.

What Are Friends For? (Originally aired 3/19/80) features Melora Hardin as Amy, a girl whose parents were recently divorced, with her and her mother relocating from New York to California. The adjustment is difficult, but Amy meets Michelle (Dana Hill), an outspoken girl with a penchant for lying, whose parents are also divorced. Turns out Michelle's difficulty in coping with her situation manifests itself in some rather criminal (shoplifting) and odd (dabbling in the occult) behavior. This is one of the stranger episodes, especially the scene with Michelle in Kiss makeup. Anyway, Amy learns, through Michelle's incredibly creepy behavior, that parents splitting up can affect more than just the husband and wife, and also just because dad is late with the child support checks, doesn't mean he doesn't love her.

The fourth and final episode in this collection is Schoolboy Father (Originally aired 10/15/80), stars Rob Lowe, Dana Plato, and Nancy McKeon. After Charles (Lowe) has a nekkid time liaison at summer camp with the somewhat sleazy Daisy (Plato), he finds out later he got her pregnant, she's since had the baby, and now wants to give it up for adoption (check out the snit fit his mother has when he finally gets around to telling her). Mr. Idiot decides he wants to keep the baby for himself, thinking it would be neato keen and such (he didn't have a father growing up, so he doesn't want his child to go through the same thing), and actually convinces the hospital social worker to give him a trial period. That's when reality takes a big, steaming dump on his world, as he has to deal with the late night feedings, stinky diapers, loss of a social life, working part time (a bagger at a local grocery store) and going to school. Charles ultimately learns impulsive actions can often lead to serious consequences, and that newborns need to be fed like every four hours...

The quality of the pictures on these DVDs is not the best, but it is as how it was when originally presented, and given these were teleplays made to be presented on television in the 70's, you really can't compare it to today's standards. The packaging is pretty cool, as the DVDs, enclosed in a regular DVD case, come in a box looking much like school lockers, and flip open to reveal informational content and the appearance of the inside of a locker. Printed inside is a brief synopsis and airdate for each episode, photo galleries, and the name of the original author for each story. Also, look for two more sets coming in spring of '05, episode listing below;

Set 5
A Matter of Time
First Step
Tough Girl
The Night Swimmers

Set 6
Two Loves for Jenny
Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea?
Ace Hits the Big Time
Face at the Edge of the World

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