As I was growing up, I was extremely fortunate. I had a pretty good relationship with my parents, and for some reason they trusted me implicitly. I never had a curfew so I could come and go as I pleased. They never questioned what I was doing, and if there ever was a concern, they were free to check out my room whenever necessary. I had no secrets from them, and never found a reason to have any. So what kind of a teenager was I? Well, I went to concerts all the time, stayed out late with my friends and got involved in all sorts of activities at school. I wasn’t into sports (and am still not), so most of my activities were more along the intellectual line. I didn’t do drugs, with the exception of trying pot once. I found it to be a complete waste of time so I never did it again. I didn’t drink alcohol, except the one time I decided to get drunk at home to see what it was like. Never touched it again until I was 26, and even now, I only drink occasionally (but never to get drunk).

So why is it that I had such an unstructured childhood, with little or no rules, yet I didn’t get into trouble or become some kind of criminal? Beats me. I have a lot of friends who were kept under lock and key by their parents, only to have a history of teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, or jail time. Of course, that doesn’t answer my question, as I know people who have grown up under both conditions, and all have had differing results. I really wish I knew the answer, because I have a little girl of my own now, and I want to know what it takes to raise her right. I guess time will tell.

I think the reason I’m telling you this is simply to give you a little bit of my perspective on the recent release of some of the old “ABC After School Specials” on DVD. On the off chance the title is new to you, they were a series of specials that aired, as the title suggests, right after school. It began its run in the early 1970’s, and unbeknownst to me, continued to produce episode into the 1990’s. When I was in school, I used to hurry home whenever I knew there was going to be one on. The idea of the series was to present stories, often taken from popular teen novels of the day, that were meant to help kids and parents learn how to cope with various situations. Over the course of the series, topics such as death, drug abuse, sex, teen pregnancy and even homosexuality were addressed.

Often the episodes were fairly cut and dry, and opted to have a one-sided message. “Drugs are bad”, “Teen sex is bad”, etc... There are those I have heard recently that condemn this kind of one-sided ‘preachy’ message, however I disagree with their assessment. Drugs ARE bad as much as Teen sex is bad. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a prude in any sense of the word, but I was there. I saw friends who got involved with drugs, and had my fair share of teen sex. Was it responsible activity? Not a chance.

The problem with those who believe there is a middle ground on subjects like these are under the impression that teenagers can make responsible decisions. This is ludicrous. Heck, there are a lot of adults who can’t make responsible decisions. Yes, there are some teenagers who can be responsible, but for the most part, many of them, smart as they think they might be, don’t have the life experiences necessary to make informed choices. And I’m not sure there is much we can do to change that. Many of them continue to make bad choices into adulthood. They’re too busy caring about what their peers think. Wait a minute… I think I just realized something. I think I know why I made the choices that I did. It was because I didn’t care what my peers thought. I knew I wanted to make my own choices, not base them on what my friends thought I should decide. Hmmm, I think I better make a note of that to discuss with my daughter, well once she hits the conversational age.

Wow, what a tangent I went on. Getting back to the “ABC After School Specials”, I loved watching them. In a way, I think I might have learned a thing or to from them. The ones I saw were all well-produced, and the stories were never anything less than interesting. There are quite a few that I would love to get the chance to watch again, and thanks to BCI Eclipse, I just might get that chance. BCI is releasing several sets of the series over the next year and a half, and hopefully, if they prove popular enough they will see fit to continue.

The first two sets cover the periods 1974-1976, and 1976 -1977, respectively and I’m currently checking out the second set. (Be on the lookout for a review by Gary Murray of the first set.) I understand that the ones that are going to be released are the ones that were produced by Martin Tahse. I’ll admit that while I watched the show religiously as a kid, I knew little of its production information. Tahse, I’ve learned was one of the most prolific of all the show’s producers having been responsible for a whopping 26 episodes of the series. As for the quality of his work, I’d say that having won 18 Emmy Awards, 3 Blue Ribbons in the American Film Festival, as well as his unprecedented 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place wins in the Chicago Film Festival (those last three in the same year) goes a long way to giving you an idea of what to expect.

Though I’m not reviewing the first set of the series, I do want to mention that it contains one of my favorite episodes, “The Skating Rink.” I don’t know why it appealed to me so much, but the story is just so darn good. It involves a young boy who lives with the memory of seeing his mother drown in a flood. He is very shy and insecure and won’t socialize with anyone for fear that they’ll pick on him. He befriends a man who has decided to build a new ice rink in his town, and offers to help. In return the man gives him free skating lessons. When the rink opens, the boy takes the opportunity to show his friends and family what he has learned and while the result is extremely uplifting, it never becomes campy.

The 1976 -1977 set, includes 4 separate episodes (listed with synopses below), and each and every one of them offers stories that stir the heart, as they teach important life lessons. I was glad to see that it included another favorite of mine, “Beat the Turtle Down.” I remember seeing this one almost thirty years ago, and it is as heartbreaking now as it was then.

Jumping from the quality of the show itself, I feel the need to mention the packaging, which is extremely creative. I read about it a few months back, but it turned out to be even better than I thought. In an effort to recapture the feeling of the 70’s and 80’s, the case is designed to look like the old Trapper Keepers we used in school. If you’re not old enough to remember them, the Trapper Keeper was basically a 3-ring binder with colorful plastic covers. They had a full length fold over flap on the side to close up the notebook in order to keep all your stuff inside. You could keep all you folders inside it, and they usually had a back clip to hold memo pads.

In this case, the Trapper Keeper is made out of a slick heavy stock paper and has a little tab of Velcro to keep it closed. Looking at the top and bottom of the case, you can see a picture of the ends of the inner pockets and folders, and when you open it up you’ll find pictures of sheets of notebook paper with the episode synopses. Once the Trapper Keeper is opened, you can then slide out the snapcase that holds the 2 DVDs. These are the coolest DVD packages I’ve ever seen.

I mentioned the upcoming sets and to my knowledge there will be 4 more. I’m really looking forward to checking these out when they become available, and you can be assured I’ll be back to tell you all about them. I just hope that the DVD series will be popular enough for BCI to release them beyond just the next 4 sets. There are so many outstanding “ABC After School Specials” episodes, and they all deserve to be delivered to a new audience.

Episode Synopses (1976 - 1977 set):

Francesca Baby
Francesca (Carol Jones), and her younger sister Kate (Tara Talboy), live in constant embarrassment of with their alcoholic mother (Melendy Britt). When their mother falls asleep in bed with a lighted cigarette, endangering the lives of the girls, the outcome between Francesca and her mother is both dramatic and revealingly true.

Beat the Turtle Drum
For her Birthday, Joss (Katy Kurtzman) is given a horse for a week. She and her older sister, Kate (Melissa Sue Anderson), go out with the horse and tie it up so they can climb and play in a tree. Kate is devastated when Joss accidentally falls and is killed. Desolate and fearing that she might have been able to save her sister, Kate goes on a search to come to grips with the tragedy.

The Pinballs
Three kids, each with both haunting and often humorous backgrounds, form a friendship while in a foster home. Thomas J. (Sparky Marcus), Harvey (Johnny Doran), and Carlie (Kristy McNichol) help each other realize that their life is ahead of them. They are not pinballs; life’s “tilts” have thrown them here, but their lives can have meaning and direction.

Trouble River
Dewey (Michael LeClair) is left at home with his grandmother (Nora Denny) when his parents take the wagon down river to the stockade so Dewey’s mother can give birth.
Dewey hears rumors of renegades terrorizing the settlers, so he builds a raft to take his grandmother and dog down river to join his parents. After and adventurous run down the river, they eventually reach the fort and Dewey is reunited with his parents and meets his new baby brother.

Extras: Photo Galleries
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: BCI Eclipse
Release Date: 10/12/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give ABC After School Specials an A.