James at 15

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".

The show had the feel of a clueless guidance counselor incorrectly believing he or she really understood young people. It always had a message, but the delivery seemed wrong. One example was a moment James seemed to be getting close to a girl & his friend gushed, "You have just replaced John Travolta as the hero of my life!" At the time Travolta was popular among girls, but not straight guys. The people doing "James..." seemed to be the only ones who didn't know that. Everyone I spoke to thought the show was silly. TV critics praised the show at the time, as if none of them remembered what it was really like to be young.

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 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.

growing up in the seventies, it was wonderful to have James at fifteen.although our lives did not mirror each others lives, the character of James, beautifully portrayed by (lance Kerwin), was a true comfort. the relationship with his parents, and kid sister was awesome, believable. lance was truly overlooked, his acting was spot on in all of his roles, i think i have seen them all. the show, James at fifteen ended much too soon, was sorry when lance stopped acting but his life now is much more rewarding, and we have his work to revisit and remember fondly. would love to see James at fifteen come out on DVD! or, TV land. James was a first of it's kind and would still stand up to todays boring or violence, sex filled "teen dramas". James at fifteen was the first of it's kind and still the best of it's kind, rock on James, wherever you are!