ABC Afterschool Specials

Sometimes a TV show passes into the cultural fabric of the country. The ABC Afterschool Special is one of those shows.

It aired for more than 20 years providing a monthly dose of drama to pre-teens and teens during the school year in the hours after school before dinner. The specials were TV movies that explored the angst and problems that real kids experienced. They were little morality plays that while not being preachy, showed that actions have consequences.

Some of the known young stars of the times appeared including some who are stars now. For many it was one of their first jobs in the industry and for others it was their way of contributing to the community.

Stars included Ben Affleck, Heather Langenkamp, Jane Kaczmarek, Brandon Cruz, Christopher Knight, Melissa Sue Anderson, Kristy McNichol, and Scott Baio, and my favorite Lance Kerwin.

My favorite was Lance Kerwin. He appeared in several of the specials including "Pssst! Hammerman's After You!" and "The Boy Who Drank Too Much" with Scott Baio. Those two shows are my favorite. Baio also was in several specials.

The series came to an end as Oprah Winfrey took over the time slot on many stations in the early 90's. A local station would keep more of the advertising money by airing syndicated programs like Winfrey's talk show, reruns of old TV shows, or the tabloid shows like Judge Judy. Just like the toy companies killed the Saturday morning cartoons, money became more important than the community. Whenever I get overcome with the dreck on between 4 and 6 PM I wax nostalgic for those specials.

The specials also added to our cultural lexicon. Whenever someone is getting overly dramatic or sentimental how often to hear a response like "This isn't an Afterschool Special." Some the specials have been collected on DVD but I would like to see the specials come back. The ABC Afterschool Special holds a special place in my heart along with Schoolhouse Rock and American Bandstand.

It is very surprising that no one has not yet written a comment about this landmark period of the culture of kids who grew up watching these specials every weekday afternoons after school during the 1970's and into the 1990's. It is also surprising that more parents didn't object to the ABC After School Specials,but the After School specials certainly objective to them since the babyboomers who were tuned in to these classic special presentations when they were kids are now getting their kids to watch them,and those who had never seen them before,or if they know anything about them that became the ABC-staple for over 25 years producing 154 episodes. The series,which appeared on weekdays(which came on during Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons)which ran on the ABC-TV network on October 14,1972 to the final run of the series on July 1, 1997,was aimed at latchkey kids who had to fend for themselves after school. Rather than treat the captive demographics to escapist fantasies network executives and the head of children's entertainment over at ABC addressed the kids with some of the parables on social issues,teenage problems,parents getting a divorce,the dangers of drugs and alcohol,first love,and other things that would affect the social and climate areas of children,mostly dealt with kids who were in the middle (junior-high)and the high school level,since the majority of the ABC After School Specials audience were older kids,and kids that were in upper elementary who were tuning into the show. And since they weren't getting enough attention from their parents,which in tuned made them furious about this,since this was a show that gave kids the right to be heard,and in some of the episodes of this series,you'll see why this was grand entertainment from the kids as well as adults.

Let me focus my attention on the early specials that were produced by Martin Tahse from 1974-1977. These episodes were shot on location in a shadowy style,put together by a shuffling soundtrack free sequence,but in all this was the best of the specials that came out of that period. Though these early episodes lack the topical viewpoints that later on defined the series-teenage pregnancy,drunk driving,and the experimentation of drugs and drug substances and others were the hotbed of discussion here,and in some of the episodes brought more anxiety on behalf of the audience. The episodes,which are timeless classics like "The Emergency"(1974),where a young boy is bully in school by his peers and learns to not to fight back,but stands his ground in confronting the situation. The others dealt with absent or complete zombie father figures,along with distracted or compromised mothers,were basically everywhere in the After School Specials. Even the onslaught of stupidical and monstrously neglectful parents were the backbone of some of the specials that dealt with lesson of responsibility and so forth. An example of this is the episode intitled "Francesca,Baby"(1976),and another dealing with children in foster care was the subject of the 1977 episode intitled "The Pinballs" and so much more. After Tahse left the series in 1977,the episodes went deeper into their subject matter as the years and the next decade progressed. Subject ranging from child care,teenage mothers,and teenage crime,not to mention rape were kept a minimum,but were rarely discussed in some of the segments.

The ABC After School Specials brought a lot,and I do mean a lot of great talent to the series especially with some of the actors that were involved who at the time,made their mark on this show..from Jodie Foster to Scott Baio,Kristy McNichol,Carol Jones,Susan Lawrence, Larry B. Scott,Johnny Doran,Todd Bridges,and so forth. Plus,some of the After School Specials were either live-action or animated and were produced by different companies from Hanna-Barbera,DePatie-Freleng,and others. Now,the earlier episodes of this landmark classic ABC After School Specials are now being released on DVD for your entertainment. Great to watch with the kids who had never seen this before.

I love the after school specials, they are classically corny but I used to enjoy them, wish they would release a DVD, play them on T.V. even in the middle of the night. These after school specials are very nostalgic and full of 1970s and 1980s essence. It would also be interesting for them to re invigorate the series. It is very sad that the quality of programming has disappeared. I used to enjoy the old school PSA's that often accompanied these specials. I cant believe how many stars they had on these, and finally the reason i am here DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE CAT THAT WOULD INTRODUCE THESE? PLEASE RESPOND I believe he wore some type of hat and a scarf if I remember correctly.thanks take care. I wish I had the entire 1970s and 1980s television line up recorded for posterity. That may be an idea for a cable network, one that solely focuses on 1970s and 1980s programming of all kinds, or a channel that focuses on a different decade weekly or something. Im sure there is demand for this type of programming.. I hope thats ten lines...peace

All my kids watched these shows. It was about current issues that the kids may be learning about in school, family topics and great history stories. I'm hoping to find the one about how Hitler brainwashed the Germans - the best one I thought.

Yeah, I was a kid from the 80's and early 90's so I've heard about the "After School Specials". Though I was too young to watch them as I was in elementary school at the time, I got out of school later, but that meant that I missed them when they premiered; let alone was probably too busy watching afternoon animated shows like "The Real Ghostbusters" and others. However, I have seen some of the commercials on a few of their films that were upcoming. But also, at the elementary schools I've attended we would have a movie day and sometimes my teachers would show a VHS recording of one of those films.

This anthology program I wouldn't say is on my favorites list, but I do like it, as I kind of have a soft spot for it. But most importantly what I really like and what makes this anthology truly unique is that it's an anthology program for the drama genre which is something I don't see much. This program is more special than ever because unfortunately it's become a lost gem as some but not all the movies never made it to DVD and Blu Ray, let alone VHS at the time. This is a real shame because I know there are plenty of fans of these films just waiting to be seen, hopefully somewhere along the line may 'be "Vinegar Syndrome" or some other company might think of making some Blu-ray box set volumes for these films, since their recently release box sets for made for TV horror films, why not the afterschool specials; a thought to consider anyway.

Now down to business, the after-school specials are an interesting beast indeed, as they were not just educational (in a good way) but entertaining. It can also be seen as a history lesson for kids now to learn a little about what the 70s-90s decades were like when they were their age; but for the adult to reminisce about times long gone.

It's true that not all the films are going to be winners, but that's just how it is with the anthologies their as I said like orchard trees, you going to find plenty of bad apples, peaches, or whatever else is grown but there are also plenty of good ones and they're the ones that count the most. And to me that's part of the joy in anthologies, anyway, finding those stories that truly stick with you.

There are many reasons as to why a lot of us really liked these specials. For one thing all of them the main characters were usually kids and teenagers/young adults. Back then there really weren't that many or any TV programs and even movies where they were, so to be able to see anyone that young and the same age as you were a real treat.

One of the interesting things about the specials is the cast, which some consists of future stars or familiar faces from TV and movies. It's interesting seeing how some of them began, let alone how young they were at the time; and realizing how far they truly came from back then.

Really like that intro which is one of my favorite intros and music of all time in my book. The 70's version is my favorite as we see this strange animated sequence which just consists of this mish mash of a lot of strange and colorful things, all items and things kids would do. But that music is what really did it for me, as it just has this comforting and optimistic feeling to it Like all anthologies this program went in a lot of directions where some were clearly by their nature educational but in a good way. And personally, I honestly don't mind educational programing if it's something that retains my interest and teaches something that's useful because of the issues being real.

Another reason why watching these specials is interesting is that most to all the issues they were tackling are more relevant today as their still happening. It really shows how people of the past back then had to deal with the same things were dealing with now. But also, that being a kid back then wasn't easy just as it's not easy now; so, there was that sense of relatability which made us feel less alone, but also helped in warning us that each of these issues can happen to anyone. That we should always seek out solutions to our and others' problems otherwise nothing will ever get better.

Like any good fable, Afterschool Specials will always have a place in my heart for the kid in me; they're important now as they were then.

Rating: 3 and a half stars.