James at 15

Actual things that go on in a 16 years olds life come to reality.

I was 16 when this show came out. It made me distinctly uncomfortable, and worse as the show went on. I kept thinking, man, what is it with this twerpy kid? I loved how another commenter stated that this was great, like "My So Called Life", another show that depicted teens saying things like no teen on earth says them. If that is the kind of show you like, this show is for you.

The show was boring, strange, and off putting. I remember it was on a night where nothing else was on, and I carried through like four episodes, and that was enough. I remember the novelty of the show changing names when he went another year.

The reason why this show didn't continue is it really stank.

I loved this show and made the mistake of throwing out my VHS episodes. James at 15 was such a well produced, topical, and written show. James at 15 was comparable to "St. Elsewhere" Not good rating but an excellent show. James at 16 was so watered down . whereas James at 15 could be very controversial about real teen issues, James at 16 could have been run on Saturday mornings. When Freaks and Geeks came out critics praised it as the next James at 15. Unfortunately this show didn't last long. I think because this 2000 show was written like shows were written in the 70's. Does any know if at least the James at 15 (before the series with Melissa Gildert) is available? I sure do miss this show. I found a site that will make DVDs of old series (Courtship of Eddie's Father) if enough people vote for it. I'll will try to find this site and vote.

In the last 30 years there have been exactly three halfway realistic TV series about teenagers--"Freaks and Geeks", "My So-Called Life", and this one which is the oldest and by far the most obscure. They were all critically acclaimed, but all three of them put together didn't last even half as long as crap like "Beverly Hills 90210". It's ironic that as obsessed as Hollywood is with teenagers, they rarely show real teenagers, but instead these incredibly good-looking, articulate, acne-free versions usually played by actors in their mid-20's. I remember this show from when I was kid, and then again when it was on some cable network again briefly in the early 90's. It was about three normal middle-class 70's teenagers with normal, middle-class teenage problems. It was a little preachy, but lacked the ridiculous melodrama of "90210" and its ilk. I also vaguely remember this series and the TV movie it was based on being somewhat controversial for their sexual content (tame by today's standards and REALLY tame compared to the things that were actually going in the late 70's). Part of the problem might have been that the sex was portrayed as awkward and fumbling (and the actors were real teenagers) In other words, the teenage sex was too real and not sexy enough--ironic, isn't it? Anyway, I'd really like to see this again someday.

I found this to be a very entertaining program and wished it could have stayed on the air longer. It looked at the world through a teen-ager's eyes and dealt with subjects that many adults did not think dealt with teens,such as, alcoholism, pregnancy, dying, venereal disease. The acting was believable with Lance Kerwin as "James". Susan Myers was also very good in the role of "Marlene", the plain-looking but intelligent friend of "James".