Square Pegs: Pilot

Square Pegs: Pilot
CBS
September 27, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

I was a freshman.  They were freshmen.  (Or was the term "freshpeople"?)  ABC showed That's Incredible in that slot.  And I was watching some CBS shows, not just M*A*S*H but The Jeffersons and others, so I watched this.  And I haven't seen this series in years (it might've popped up in syndication at some point), but I felt like this pilot was imprinted on my soul, that I knew what some of the lines were coming up.  But, yeah, a B-.

Let's be honest here.  Square Pegs was chockfull of stock characters, even if Johnny Slash as the New Waver was a new stereotype.  But there is something real, especially in Sarah Jessica Parker's earnest performance, that still holds up well.  I'm not crazy about losing the theme song, except ironically during this pilot episode, where the Waitresses play at the school dance and sing, "I'd like if it they liked me, but I don't think they like me...."

I'm not sure what else to say about this pilot.  I don't remember the show well enough to say, "Aha, this will be noncanonical later," or whatever.  I will point out that Johnny is a second- or third-year freshman and he drives the Slashmobile.  And there are two references to drugs, which I think was an issue with CBS about this series overall.  Oh, and I shipped Patty/Johnny and secondarily Lauren/Marshall.

The cast:

• Merritt Butrick as Johnny Slash
• Jon Caliri as Vinnie Pasetta
• John Femia as Marshall Blechtman
• Jami Gertz as Muffy Tepperman
• Basil Hoffman (who was on M*A*S*H twice) as Principal Dingleman 
• Amy Linker as Lauren Hutchinson
• Tracy Nelson as Jennifer DiNuccio
• Sarah Jessica Parker (yes, her) as Patty Greene
• Claudette Wells as LaDonna Fredericks

Carole Androsky was Miss Matusak on Welcome Back, Kotter  and is the Gym Teacher here.  Ben Marley would return once as Patty's crush, senior Larry Simpson.  Gary Towles makes his first of four appearances as an uncredited Student.  Creator Anne Beatts (of Saturday Night Live) wrote this episode, but not most of the others, while Kim Friedman would direct exactly half of the twenty-episode season.