ABC Afterschool Specials

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

These shows, at least when I watched them as a child, were incredibly realistic, much in the same way the tv movies of the week featuring stars like Linda Blair were - they held nothing back, every situation depicted was really the way it was - nothing was hidden or whitewashed or censored the way those situations would be today - the '70s really did let it all hang out.

I did not, of course, watch this show as I got older and was therefore the age the show was actually tailored to, and had no idea the show went on for decades past my remembrance, but the shows I saw in the '70s were perfection and I would love to see them again.

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.

I hate being Debbie Downer on this program, and while clearly people have good memories of it, I always found these to be an hour long public service announcements. The first year they were actually pretty good. Then started downward slope. First with "It Must Be Love Because I Feel So Dumb" and then "My Mom's Having a Baby" which were eye rollers. What made me stop watching them were the dumb drug themed ones that looked like they were produced in about 3 hours. When the young Helen Hunt went flying out the window because of Angel Dust, I was done. I have never used drugs, and don't condone the use, but these were so intelligence insulting that a large percentage of the target audience actually considered them funny. And they still do. However, I never knew the program lasted until 1997, how it did remains a mystery to me.

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.