After School Specials: Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate

After School Specials: Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate
ABC
May 19, 1976
Children's
DVD
B

Larry Elikann directed this as well as The Skating Rink, while Bob Rodgers, who adapted the other three AS Specials we've looked at, based this on the Ellen Conford novel, which I have read, including as an adult.  I really think the source material makes a difference, although the fact that this episode is SEVENTIES adds to the entertainment value.  I considered going with a B+, but I feel like the direction could be smoother, and no one is at the level of Susan Lawrence, who plays the sophomore Carrie who's drafted into writing an anonymous advice to the lovelorn column for her high school paper, The Lincoln Log.  (Which is a pun that's both wonderful and terrible.)  Lawrence makes Carrie human, in the senses of both imperfect and believable.

As for that '70sness, it's not just the music and the clothes and the Fonzie poster; it's also the references to Woodward & Bernstein, and the editor Skip's insistence that they don't need a faculty advisor.  Even the way Skip and Carrie's friendship turns to romance at the end is very '70s, although there are hints at the chemistry earlier.  While I've gone with the "children's" label, this is arguably YA, including as it does a reference to drugs.  But what children were allowed to watch in '76 was fluid.

A lot of the cast have other ABC credits, then both past and future.  Barker Craig Hundley was Tommy Johnson on The Brady Bunch (the friend whose cigarettes are found on Greg), while Stephen Liss, who's Marty, was Greg's friend Rusty.  First Student Eric Suter was also a Student on the first episode of Welcome Back, Kotter, while Elyssa Davalos, Linda here, would appear as Horshack's sister Judy.  Charles Bloom, who plays the 2nd Student, would be Daniel Pierson on Mork & Mindy.  Ten-year-old Al Eisenmann, who plays Carrie's little brother Jeff, would be Mikey on Bosom Buddies.  And star Lawrence would pop up on both Kotter and Mork.

After School Specials: The Skating Rink

A triangle?  No, they're just resting from skating.

After School Specials: The Skating Rink
ABC
February 5, 1975
Children's
DVD
D

Bob Rodgers also adapted "The Eighteenth Emergency" and "Summer of the Swans," so I don't know if it's his fault or the original source material, Mildred Lee's novel, that this is so dismal.  I suppose some blame should also go to director Larry Elikann, but the two would team up for my favorite Special, 1976's "Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate."  The writing is poor and inconsistent within itself, taking the most glaring example that sometimes the farmer dad is upset when Tuck comes home late and sometimes there are zero consequences.  The sound and lighting are poor, which is a particular problem during the final ice-skating performance.  None of the characters are particularly likable, and I kept expecting something more considering the weird subtext, like that the coach would turn out to be corrupt in some way, or Tuck would develop a crush on his coach's young wife, Lilly Degley (22-year-old Devon Ericson, who would play Janet's college-age sister three years later on Three's Company).  Oh well, this isn't as painful as the last program I watched.

Cynthia Eilbacher was Caroline on That Girl and is Elva Grimes here.  Patricia Stevens moonlights from M*A*S*H, as Tuck's mother, while Robert Clotworthy plays her son Clete and would later be Private Welch on that show.  Molly Dodd, who had a couple roles on The Brady Bunch, is Mrs. Bayliss here.  Tara Talboy had played Lisa on The Bob Newhart Show and is Tuck's sister Karen here.  Seven-year-old Sparky Marcus plays Tuck in the flashbacks and would later turn up on What's Happening!!

After School Specials: Sara's Summer of the Swans

After School Specials: Sara's Summer of the Swans
ABC
October 2, 1974
Children's
DVD
B-

Bob Rodgers's second adaptation of a Betsy Byars novel is better than The Eighteenth Emergency.  In this case, I have read the book (including in the last few months), and it's a pretty good adaptation, although inevitably some things get left out or simplified.  Admittedly the acting and the writing are a little stiff (what fourteen-year-old uses words like "dwindle"?), but nonetheless there are moments that feel genuine, including what it's like to be an awkward adolescent.  Both Chris Knight and Eve Plumb, as Joe and Gretchen, appear (looking not much different than they had a few months before on The Brady Bunch), although his role is much more significant.  The best performance is by 47-year-old Priscilla Morrill as Aunt Willie.  Among other things, she would be Chrissy's mother on Three's Company.  And 2nd Bully Kevin McCarley was the bully Peaches in The Eighteenth Emergency.

After School Specials: Pssst! Hammerman's After You (AKA The 18th Emergency)

After School Specials: Pssst! Hammerman's After You (AKA The 18th Emergency)
ABC
January 16, 1974
Children's
DVD
C+

Bob Rodgers, who'd written a couple episodes for Gilligan's Island, did the teleplay based on the Betsy Byars book.  In fact, he wrote all four of the episodes on the DVD I own, although they fluctuate a great deal in quality.  It's the only AS Special directed by Jack Regas, who'd go on to The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, among other things.  This episode is slow-moving and low-budget, but it's not without interest, playing sort of like a grittier Brady Bunch episode.  Although I've read my share of Byars (it was kind of unavoidable as a Gen-X female bookworm), I don't remember this book or adaptation, so I don't know how well the humor and other elements translate.  The messages about honor and respect are typical of both her and this series.  This definitely could've been a half hour story rather than an hour (counting commercials), but I can see it entertaining kids older than I was at the time.  It's from the second season of the series and not one that stands out compared to some others.

Lillian Adams, who was Mrs. Daley on Gidget and Mrs. Harris on That Girl, is Mrs. Schwartz here.  Kevin McCarley, who's Peaches, would have a similar role, Second Bully, later that year in Summer of the Swans.  Tito Vandis, who's Mr. Casino, would be Col. Andropolis on M*A*S*H later that year.  Bobby Eilbacher, who presumably plays one of the classmates, would make two appearances on The Bob Newhart Show.  And Willie Aames has a minor role in this.