Punky Brewster

"Punky Brewster", while primarily geared to children, was an entertaining staple to the traditional 80's sitcom offerings. Centered around a young orphan and her older foster father, the show featured laughs, tears, lessons in life, and 30 minutes for watchers to kick back their feet.

While Soliel Moon Frye was the ultimate carrier of this show, the supporting cast, in my opinion were underrated....a lot of strong talent and great chemistry evident. The funny jabs between Betty and Henry was a throwback to the "Jefferson's" George and Florence. (Interesting to note, Marla Gibbs and Susie Garrett are sisters). Alan was a funny child actor, playing the roll of the goofy pre-teen boy possibly just beginning to discover girls (ahead of his fellow boy classmates) and playing along with them as friends and trying to entertain them with his humor. Margaux was amusing as well, with her sassy yet funny views on the wealthy lifestyle (Her facial expressions were hilarious, as were some of her over the top party dresses and comments on various situations...her arrival via helicopter to summer camp took the cake). And Cherie...ever the sidekick...charming and reliable. During an episode where she finally came to terms with the death of her parents,her dramatic performance demonstrated how strong a child actress she really was, conveying emotions and playing the part with every everything she had. I am amazed she was not seen in larger rolls after this show.

In general, this was a fun show, and despite being a kids production, it featured some talented players who managed to catch the attention of at least this viewer.

I remember Punky Brewster, this was another gem that came under the helm of former NBC executive Brandon Tarkitkoff. I'm a guy and I used to watch it religiously as a kid during it's first few years on NBC. No I'm not ashamed to admit that I liked this goofy girl targeted show, hey I was just a little kid myself. Punky Brewster first aired in 1984 (that year of the 80's were everything seemed to happen), regularly clocking in on every Sunday night. And not only did I have a crush on both Solei Moon Frye and Cherie Johnson, but I loved their bright primary color schemed clothes and the non-condescending (to children), informative story lines. The series also perfectly captured the mood and feel of the mid 1980's. You can watch these early episodes and tell it was from that 1984 and 1985 time period. When the father Henry tries to get Punky to go to sleep and tells her something along the lines of, "but I let you stay up to watch Silver Spoons AND Knight Rider!", it will bring warm feelings and a smile to the face of everyone who had a childhood in the 80's. Apparently there was a real Punky Brewster, a childhood friend of Brandon Tartikoff's that made a guest appearance in one episode. Punky's dog was even named "Brandon", which was an in-joke that I somehow understood even as a child.

There was some stupidity here and there, such as one episode where Henry asked Punky's friend Allen for advice on performing CPR on a girl in critical condition. Henry's an adult, so why is he consulting a 7 year old boy for life saving medical advice? Even if he didn't know CPR himself, he could get help instead of relying on a small child. I wouldn't think about stuff like this as a kid, but today it seems more absurd. Like cartoons of the era, the series tried to empower children and give them more weight and wisdom then they would usually have in the real world.

But I have to say I did not like the later years of Punky. Once the show left NBC and went into cheapo syndication, it lost a lot of the magic and charm. The series no longer seemed to be about grumpy old Henry (played wonderfully by George 'Police Academy' Gaynes), and both his and Punky's adjustments to a non-traditional family. Instead all became about Punky, Punky, Punky. When it was on NBC, Punky Brewster was a show that could be watched by most people and of both genders. But the late 80's years had Solei Moon Frye inevitably getting older and lose a lot of her cuteness/innocence. The quality of writing seemed to go down when it was off NBC as well. Punky and the other girls turned into mean spirited, gossiping, boy crazy pre-teens. The kid who played Allen (the only recurring male child) had no room in such a show and was subsequently booted. I really liked Allen too, because I remember that kid being my male eyes into world of Punky.

The show degraded into a primarily chick targeted TV show, which resulted in a heavy loss of it's male audience as well as whatever adult audience it had. I guess they couldn't avoid Solei Moon Frye and the other girls getting older, but I wish more of an attempt was made to keep the series a bit more balanced with the Henry storyline. Still, for anyone that spent most or all their childhood years in the 1980's, Punky Brewster is an important part of pop culture lore for us. High school kids in the 80's had "The Breakfast Club" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", but elementary school aged children had Punky Power.

I was just watching vh1's I love the 80s and remembered Punky Brewster. I was hooked on that show and I even had a Punky doll. She had such a unique style and attitude towards life. I don't think there was another character on tv that empowered young girls the way she did. I was just a little kid when the show was on and because I hated my first name I decided that I wanted to be known only as Punky. So to this day, 18 years after the show premiered, I am still known as Punky. Who wouldn't want to embody her image! The best episodes were when Henry got really sick and Punky was taken away by that rich couple. I was soo worried that Punky would never see Henry again, weren't we all?! Oh yea, they need to bring back the reruns!

I really enjoyed the show! I was upset when they canceled the show and didn't give us a warning but that's o.k. I just wish they would show reruns on cable! I mean I wanted to be and dress just like her. Her style, clothes and attitude was great I mean I was young but I knew what was going on. My favorite episode was when her friend was introduced to punky and they became the best of friends I thought that episode was so cool! I wondered where she purchased her purple vest I wanted one so badly but I couldn't get one my moms kept telling no I couldn't get one so I tried to make one out of old clothes and It turned out o.k. but It wasn't better than Punky.I wish that she would make a come back in the future and show some one some of her best television shows.

"Punky Brewster" was a show that first focused on important values for growing up like honor and obedience and being kind and respectful towards yourself and others (even if they are different from you). I remember watching the episode where Brandon was hit by a car because Henry scolded him for eating his stamps and Punky and Henry had to go to the vet. I cried because it was sad. I mean would you want to see YOUR dog hit by a car? OK moving on. There was also an episode where Allen made fun of the school janitor because she would sometimes get caught up working and pretend to be playing the violin with the feather duster. That episode was about how to accept others for who and what they are, even if they are mentally challenged. There were a lot of good episodes in this series, and I am really taken aback that some people think otherwise. I was born in 1982 myself, and grew up watching "Punky Brewster" and learned about morals and values. We had good TV shows back then. True, some TV shows/cartoons nowadays are good and they try to teach kids that it's OK to be different and that it's OK to have friends who ARE different. Also someone commented on the show was somehow fading when Punky became a preteen? Of course the producers and writers are going to focus around Soleil becoming a preteen and teen. Of course, in movies we see now, actors who are 25 portray characters who are 18 and 19, but back in the 80's, TV shows and movies were true to the decade and true to the actors who played them (at least the shows *I* watched). TV shows often have to grow and develop new plots and storylines as the actors get older because who would want to see a pre-teen Punky still pretending to play cops and robbers when she was 6 or 7? Nobody would tune in then. I could comment more about this and other shows and to the people who refuse to open their eyes and narrow minds, but I'd be here all night.