Teen Angel

Just as I thought Friday night TV wouldn't get any better in 1997, I was channel surfing and came across "Teen Angel." I thought to myself, "Oh, this is probably going to be another one of those kiddie-coms with 'dumb' humor in it" (think "Full House" and "Family Matters"). Not so in this case: "Teen Angel" was indeed funny, and (unlike those other two shows) it managed to be without having to beat you over the head to get a laugh. (I was in my late 30's when "Teen Angel" first aired.)

As with a few other IMDbers, my favorite episode had to be the fourth one in which Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa in "The Simpsons") was the science teacher and Tim Curry was the voice of the frog; what was especially funny in this episode was when the frog did his Rex Harrison impression from "My Fair Lady" and when the teacher screamed, "All right! Anybody who doesn't do the dissection gets an F!" to the class. The eighth one, in which Steve tries out for the lead in the school play (with a Kool-aid commercial parody in between the action), is my choice for the runner-up. I have to force myself to save those two episodes for when I have a not-so-hot day so I can laugh my brains out when I watch them again! (The only two episodes I wasn't crazy about, however, was the one where Marty gives Steve a singing voice so he could be the lead singer in the school choir, as well as the one where Steve was forced to take his younger sister Katie on a camping trip.)

Just as I was beginning to enjoy "Teen Angel," in February 1998 ABC unceremoniously yanked the show, with the lame excuse it was "on hiatus." Then three months later, "Teen Angel" reappeared in reruns, so, remembering what somebody once said in a Chicago Tribune TV question-and-answer column:

"If you want to save it for posterity, you'd better videotape (this show) yourself before (it) vanishes forever."

I also figured it'll be a miracle before Disney/ABC either syndicates the reruns (fat chance, since only 16 episodes were produced; in order for any network series to qualify for syndicated reruns, there has to be at least 95 episodes made. Sadly, "Teen Angel" also didn't achieve any kind of cult following like "Bosom Buddies" and the Classic 39 episodes of "The Honeymooners" did, thus precluding any chance of this program joining that exclusive club of one-season wonders in Rerun Heaven as well) or releases them on either VHS or DVD (even fatter chance; VHS tapes were still popular in mid-1998 but were to be eclipsed by DVDs four years later, about the time the current trend to release box sets of TV shows on DVD began).

So, I DID videotape ALL 16 episodes of "Teen Angel" in the summer of 1998 when they were repeated before they "vanished forever." I remember I even made a special trip to visit my family in Davison, Michigan one Friday just so I could videotape one of those episodes; the Detroit ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, blithely denied everybody of said episode that week - airing a boring locally-produced sports special during that time slot - while the Flint ABC affiliate, WJRT-TV, Channel 12, which itself had just been purchased by Disney/ABC, DID show it, so now I have every episode of "Teen Angel." As I said in another posting, thank the Lord for network-owned TV stations, as well as having relatives in the right place at the right time.

So I've had the show "for posterity" on VHS tape for the last 9 1/2 years, and now - to ensure even longer "posterity" - I recently transferred all 16 episodes onto a DVD, so I can enjoy them ad infinitum. As I said before, who knows if and when Disney/ABC will ever put "Teen Angel" on DVD commercially?

And now, 10 years later, what does ABC air in that time slot on Friday nights? ADULT GARBAGE! (I would explicitly name the show currently occupying "Teen Angel's" former slot, but said program has developed a "following" among today's teens - very sad - so, as the saying goes, some things are better left unsaid. Ironically, that show, like "Teen Angel," is also produced by Disney/ABC under their ABC Studios banner.)

Whatever happened to ABC's commitment to good, clean family entertainment on Friday nights?

Ah, TGIF. As a kid, I grew up with that block, as it had some good shows like Family Matters, Dinosaurs, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and this show.

The story of this comedy has a dark scene for a family sitcom airing on a Friday Night block famous for airing shows the entire family will enjoy. Marty, the main character, dies after accepting a dare from his best friend, Steve, and eats a six-month-old burger. However, he meets a floating head, who reveals himself to be Rob, God's cousin, who states his extreme youth is why they're considering his admission to Heaven, however, Marty must prove himself worthy, as Rob has a mission for him, revealing his friend, Steve, is going through the worst time of his life. Other than losing his friend, his family is divorced and going through difficulties. So Marty's mission is to be Steve's guardian angel, which Marty accepts. And thus, the misadventures begin.

So, this series was created alongside You Wish (the show with the genie) in an attempt by ABC to capitalize on the success of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. So it follows almost the same formula, as episodes focus on Marty trying to use something powerful to help Steve in a situation he's facing, only to end up making things worst. One episode involves Marty finding out he can travel through time and uses said power to stop himself from eating the burger, resulting in Steve and his family eating it, while another focuses on Steve's sister taking a feather from Marty's wings, which grants wishes, with Marty having to seek guidance from Rob to set things right.

It was a good show with the same humor that made Sabrina a hit. Sadly, it never got the success the teenage witch enjoyed due to CBS launching the CBS Block Party (a block whose failure would create an audience fracture that, combined with other reasons, would lead to TGIF's demise), as well as Disney management, caused this rare gem of a show to end with one season making up 17 episodes. This is a good series that truly deserved better.

I thought Teen Angel was THE COOLEST show ever!!!! By coolest, i mean that there is no other show which delves into teen issues as accurately as this one. The writers of this show obviously have done their research into what it's like to be a teen angel. i myself feel as though *i* am a teen angel, so i can relate to this show. I especially liked the first episode where Marty dies!! This is only because the special effects just blew me away!...and it was sooooooooooo funny!What classic jokes! Have you ever heard of a concept where an angel has retractable wings?

And Steve is the most well developed character because he helps the show stay grounded. Good work Corbin! I just wish the show went on for much much much MUCH longer!!!!!!!!

teen angel was exactly what it was supposed to be: a fun 30 minutes on Friday nights, on a channel that devoted Friday night's early prime time hours to programming for young watchers. since we had children in that category, we, as parents watched or listened to most episodes. many episodes had laugh out loud moments. our favorite? the science class with the talking frog! that was tremendously clever. the voice used was genius. we had quite a laugh! the science teacher was a hit too. it was fun seeing marcia-marcia-marcia, all grown up since her '70s Friday night "family show" days. of course the star, steve or corbin allred was great casting too! so all in all, we would have happily supported another season of this clever program.

I remember liking this show, and despising "You Wish". I think I was 11 at the time, but I thought it was really funny. At least the main plot was original... I know I used to quote a few lines from it with a friend, but I'm not sure if I'd still think it was funny if I saw it now. We used to watch it at her house on Friday nights along with Boy Meets World, and make sure not to watch anything else on TGIF. This show didn't last too long... maybe it was bad, but the 11 year old me didn't think so.