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.

Watching those first two 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.

The two new sets cover the periods 1978 – 1979 and 1979 – 1980. To the best of my knowledge there are still two more sets in the planning stages. 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 alongside the late Dan Plato as a “Schoolboy Father”, while another set offers us Melissa Sue Anderson as a girl living with a foster family who has to decide whether or not to go back to her birth mother.

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). These new sets are designed to look like high school lockers. You can open the front flap to reveal the episodes inside, while opening it from the top allows you to remove the DVD cases.

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.

“ABC After School Specials 1978 - 1979”
Episodes:
“It’s a Mile To Glory” – Early McLaren (Steve Shaw) a young man isolated from his widowed father (James G. Richardson), joins the running team at school and turns out to e a champ as a long distance runner. His father is interested in his son’s accomplishments, but is consumed with trying to keep the farm together. Early forges ahead with his with an all-consuming desire to win, but when he is in an accident, his despair is overwhelming. It isn’t until a knowledgeable but tough therapist (Anne Gee Byrd) enters his life that Early is at least willing to even attempt to get out of his bed. His efforts to regain his skills and run again win the attention of his father and the two finally recognize the best in each other.

“Thank You, Jackie Robinson” – In this Emmy Award winning special, Sammy (Ronnie Scribner) has one love in his life, the Brooklyn Dodgers. The year is 1947 and Jackie Robinson has made baseball history by joining the infamous Dodgers team. When Sammy’s mother hires a new cook, who is also an avid Dodger fan, named Davey (Charles Lampkin), he gives Sammy a chance of a lifetime: to see the Dodgers play at Ebbetts Field. Their relationship grows, and when Davey suffers a heart attack, Sammy wants to give him the ultimate gift, a baseball signed by Jackie Robinson himself.

“Gaucho” – Gaucho (Panchito Gomez) and his family emigrate to New York from Puerto Rico for a better life, but Gaucho has always counted on his older brother, Angel (Richard Beauchamp), to take him and his mother back to their native Puerto Rico – which he thinks is his mother’s desire. When Gaucho’s hopes of returning to Puerto Rico seem out of reach, he takes matters into his own hands by signing up as a runner for a small-time hood in the Spanish Harlem barrio – until there is one too many runs.

“My Other Mother” – Alex (Melissa Sue Anderson) is nearly eighteen and is living with loving foster parents Lila and Tom (Marion Ross and Bruce Kirby), who want to adopt her. Shortly after the papers are filed, Alex receives a phone call from her birth mother (Lee Kessler) – a woman she has not heard form in ten years – who tells alex she wants to take her back to Chicago. Torn between her two mothers, Alex finds help in a tough but understanding judge (Virginia Capers) who encourages her to stand up for herself – to fight for what she wants, even though somebody might get hurt.

“ABC After School Specials 1979 - 1980”
Episodes:
“A Special Gift” – Peter Harris (Stephen Austin) has grown up on a farm and his father (Bill Sorrels) hopes his son will follow in his footsteps, but Peter has his sights on a ballet career – something his parents know about but his father refuses to discuss. When Peter is awarded the lead in “The Nutcracker”, he has to choose between basketball practice and the performance. His father struggles with the situation, but after he sees his son dance for the first time, he recognizes his son’s special gift.

“The Gold Test” – Maggie (Melissa Sherman) is heading for a career in ice skating with a goal of reaching the Olympics. She is completely focused and simply unbeatable, but when she is afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, she feels her life has ended. She meets Joey, a young boy who, despite numerous operations, fearlessly refuses to give up hope that he will someday walk. Joey’s incredible determination brings about a change in Maggie’s attitude – she may not be able to skate again, but perhaps she can help others.

“What Are Friends For?” – After the divorce, Amy Warner (Melora Hardin) and her mother (Susan Adams) move to California. Amy is devastated and finds comfort in a new friendship with Michelle Mudd (Dana Hill), a girl with similar experiences. Amy discovers, however, that Michelle is having even greater difficulty dealing with her own parent’s divorce. Amt begins to understand that divorce affects both the parents and the children and learns to deal with the pain of a family’s breakup.

“Schoolboy Father” – 16 year old Charles Elderberry (Rob Lowe) dallies at a summer camp with sexy Daisy (Dana Plato) and discovers later, to his astonishment, that she has borne his child. Unlike other teenagers who might go into hiding, Charles races to the hospital to see his son and is horrified to learn that Daisy is putting the child up for adoption. Having grown up without a father, he insists on his right to keep the baby, and with the help of a social worker (Beatrice Colen) he is granted a trial adoption, much against his mother’s advice. The outcome of the story is both real and poignant, as Charles reluctantly faces reality.

Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: BCI Eclipse
Release Date: 1/8/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give the ABC After School Specials Sets 3 & 4 an A.