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A few months
ago I wrote a review of the recent releases
on some of the “ABC
After School Specials” on DVD.
At that time I put forth some of my personal
views, just to give you a little bit of
an idea of where I was coming from, both
as a young man growing up, and the adult
I am today. When I was younger, these After
School Specials meant a lot to me because
most of the stories were mirrors of situations
that a lot of my friends were going through.
While most of these specials were often
too short to fully examine the problem at
hand, they at least were able to give viewers
a little bit of insight into them. For me,
I was able to better understand some of
what my friends were going through.
When I saw that these shows were being released,
I was thrilled. I knew they would be a little
bit dated considering the period in which
they were produced, but there was no doubt
in my mind that some of the issues that
were tackled then are just as important
today.
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Watching those first four sets, I found that
they were indeed a bit dated, but the messages
that were presented were still positive ones.
Once I realized that more sets were on the way,
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.
These two new volumes (5 & 6) cover the periods
1981 - 1982 and 1982 - 1986. I’m really
hoping that there are going to be more releases
down the road. Of course, there are many more
episodes of the series than we are currently going
to see on DVD as the series ran for many years.
The episodes that are being released were originally
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.
Watching these two new sets was like a trip down
memory lane for me. They reminded me of friends
that I had in the past, and not just the ones
who I tried to help through particular problems.
They reminded me of what is often looked at as
a simpler time, when in reality no time is ever
that simple, just viewed in a different way. Plus,
now as an adult it was kind of fun to see some
big stars ‘when they were young’.
We get to see Rob Lowe again (he was in an episode
in the last set of releases) in “A Matter
of Time”, which is about a young girl’s
coming to terms with her mother’s cancer.
Most of the stories presented in the “ABC
After School Specials” were taken from novels
that were popular with young people at the time.
What made them so powerful, aside from the fact
that they tackled some truly tough situations,
was that they did not always present an easy answer.
It wasn’t like a TV series, where all the
world’s problems were solved by the closing
act. Here, we often were given some basic viewpoints
to consider with the final choice left up to the
viewer.
I love having these shows available again, and
look forward to sharing them with my kids as they
are growing up, but I do have one little nitpick
and that is to the quality of the transfers. I
know it is an expensive process, but I would have
liked to have seen the shows cleaned up a little
bit. There are a lot of flaws in the image and
audio, not so much as to be wholly distracting,
but enough to be noticeable.
I would like to give a bit of a nod to the guys
who came up with the packaging for the DVDs. The
first two sets were designed to look like Trapper
Keepers (if you don’t know, you’re
too young). The following two sets were designed
to look like High School Lockers. These newest
sets are designed to look like Yearbooks, complete
with hard book-like covers. When you open up the
front cover there are pictures of the actors,
while inside the back cover you find descriptions
of the episodes.
I hope that these DVD sets for the “ABC
After School Specials” sell well enough
to warrant the eventual release of all of the
episodes produced and not just these select few.
Volume 5: 1981 – 1982
“A Matter of Time”
Lisl Gilbert (Karelene Crockett) doesn’t
know where to turn when her mother (Rosemary Forsyth)
is diagnosed with Cancer, and it seems her death
is only a matter of time. Lisl struggles to understand
her mother’s fears and anxiety regarding
her illness, life and her family’s love.
With a father (Wayne Heffley) who cannot articulate
his grief to his family, Lisl finds comfort and
support in an insightful counselor (Kate Zentall)
and comes to know and love her mother more than
ever. In affect, Lisl also manages to discover
herself, as she puts the entire experience in
her diary, practicing for the day when she will
become a famous writer, which she believes will
also be only a matter of time.
“First Step”
Cindy (Amanda Wyss) and her younger brother (Elliot
Jaffe) have been living with the dangers and embarrassment
of their alcoholic mother (Bonnie Bartlett) for
many years. When Cindy wins the lead in the school
play, her mother, who always wanted to be in the
theatre, is so filled with joy, she stops drinking
for four weeks and finds a job. Cindy honestly
believes her mother has made a change for the
better. Then, during the curtain call on opening
night of Cindy’s play, her mother staggers
onto the stage, embarrassing Cindy in front of
the entire school audience. Devastated, Cindy
attends Alateen meetings for teens who are living
with alcoholic parenst. What Cindy learns at the
meetings helps her to understand her mother and
the disease that controls her life.
“Tough Girl”
Renie Lake (Karin Argoud) lives in a city with
her divorced waitress mother (Sally Kemp) and
her mother’s most recent boyfriend. After
Renie and a friend get busted by the cops, an
understanding judge commits her to her father’s
care. So, Renie moves to the suburbs, but cannot
cope with her stepmother, spoiled stepsister,
and her feelings of being unwanted. One night,
Renie decides to run away, but when she finds
a puppy who has been injured, she takes the puppy
in her arms to the first house she sees. There
she finds a college student, Jan (Gregory Koppel),
a hopeful veterinarian who is deaf. Jan and Renie
become fast friends, finding comfort in each other.
When Renie’s punk boyfriend arrives to take
her back to the city, Jan helps her make the right
decision.
“The Night Swimmers”
Shorty (Trey Wilson) hits the country western
charts with his song which memorializes the death
of his wife, “My Honey Went to Heaven in
a DC-3.” He spends so much time on his singing
career that his teenage daughter Retta (Mallie
Jackson), is forced to abandon her own life and
play mother to her two, resentful younger brothers,
Roy Acuff (Jason Hervey) and Johnny Cash (Jason
Lively). The three unsupervised children have
some fun sneaking into a neighbor’s pool
at midnight to have a secret swim, until one night
when the fun abruptly ends. It takes the assistance
of Shorty’s new girlfriend, Brendelle (Betty
Beaird), to open his eyes to his family’s
problems.
Volume 6: 1982 – 1986
“Two Loves for Jenny”
Robert Reed is a High School music teacher and
orchestra conductor who recognizes unusual musical
abilities in a young violinist (Karlene Crockett).
She joins his orchestra, and he encourages her
to study in order to enter a contest where first
prize is a scholarship to a music conservatory.
She hesitates, however, because her boyfriend
(Lance Guest) is also a musician and plans to
enter the same contest in the same category. She
is torn between her love of music and her fear
that the competition will jeopardize the relationship
with her boyfriend. Several surprises are in store
when she realizes the importance of her dreams
and desires.
“Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea?”
Andrea (Michelle Greene) and her boyfriend David
(Moosie Drier) innocently hitch a ride with a
mild gentleman. David gets dropped off first,
leaving Andrea to continue a few more blocks.
Neither David nor Andrea are prepared for the
consequences. Andrea walks into her house a few
hours later, avoids her parents, and shuts herself
in her bedroom; the burden of dealing with the
fact that she was just raped is overwhelming to
her. When they find out, her father (Matt Clark)
and mother (Carrie Snodgrass) won’t talk
about it. David, however, vows to take action
and find the man who did this to Andrea. He returns
day after day to the spot where they were picked
up and at last he sees the car and gets a license
number. At the police station lineup, Andrea,
sick to her stomach with anxiety, is able to recognize
her attacker. Her decision to press charges and
appear in court must then be made. The outcome
is believable and totally truthful.
“Ace Hits the Big Time”
Ace Hobart (Rob Stone) moves with his mother and
sister to New york City, where his sister assures
him he will be ‘creamed’ by the aggressive
gang, the Purple Falcons.
The first day of school, Ace arrives wearing an
eye patch (to cover a sty) and a wild-looking
jacket he got at a garage sale. The Falcons take
one look at this strange guy and think he’s
the toughest thing they’ve ever seen. Figuring
its better to have Ace with them than against
them, they invite him to join the Purple Falcons.
The fun rolls along as Ace discovers the Purple
Falcons are major cream puffs. He falls in love
with the only girl member of the Falcons (Karen
Petrasek), they become involved in a low-budget
Hollywood movie, and Ace rescues his girl when
she is kidnapped by the rival Piranhas, who become
jealous that they are not in the movie.
“Face at the Edge of the World”
Jed (Rob Stone) and Charlie (Malcolm-Jamal Warner)
have been best friends forever. When Jed learns
that Charlie has committed suicide, he is astonished
as well as devastated. Why would Charlie do such
a thing – and without any warning? Then
Jed begins to wonder if there were signs –
did he overlook something that might have saved
his friend’s life? Jed sets out to solve
the mystery of Charlie’s suicide. With the
help of his girlfriend and a Japanese fisherman,
Jed slowly unravels Charlie’s pains and
fears that he never talked about, including a
complex puzzle in his life, his mother.
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: BCI Eclipse
Release Date: 5/24/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: nr
Website
We'll give ABC After School Specials: Volumes
5 & 6 a B.
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