FORGOTTEN TV: AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL: THE HAND ME DOWN KID (1983)

THE ABC AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL aired weekday afternoons. It was indeed “special” as it wasn’t a regular series. If you were lucky, you’d turn on the TV and there would be one.

Many of these specials were based on books and got you to read the original source material (A TV show that got you to read?? Outrage!!). In many cases, they would even be tied in to school curriculum (propaganda!!!).

My favorite of these AFTERSCHOOL SPECIALS was “The Hand Me Down Kid”, based on a novel by Francine Pascal (who would later write the SWEET VALLEY HIGH series). It aired October 19, 1983. And, it was even tied in with our reading class.

This episode starred Tracey Gold. Before GROWING PAINS (which debuted the next year), she was then best known as Mariette Hartley’s daughter on the Bill Bixby sitcom GOOD NIGHT BEANTOWN (a show I watched), or the sister of Missy Gold from BENSON.

Ari (Gold) is the younger sister of Liz (Cheryl Arutt). The title comes from the fact that she receives all of her older sisters “hand me downs”. Liz gets a new bike. Ari borrows it, without permission, and it gets stolen. She then has to track it down.

The cast also included Terry O’Quinn (THE STEPFATHER, LOST) as Ari’s dad, Martha Plimpton in a small role as one of the school’s “mean girls”, and Corey Parker.

One interesting thing about it, Tracey’s best friend in it is played by an actress named Elizabeth Ward. Ward was originally cast in Tracey’s part of Carol Seaver on GROWING PAINS. A pilot was shot and then it was recast with Gold.

This aired in the early days of VCRs, back when blank tapes cost $10. I started watching it, and had to leave for a soccer game. So, I had my younger sister tape the second half of it.

That tape, since it was one of the few we had, became one of our most watched tapes. We would watch that second half of “The Hand Me Down Kid” just about every day. It has gotten to the point that I can still recite lines from memory without having seen it in decades.

Since it isn’t on YouTube, how about a reenactment of the finale?

Some spoilers, but it isn’t as if this is going to make it to DVD anytime soon.

Ari and Liz have been arguing. Liz had given Ari her old robe. Ari was able to fix it up to look nice, and Liz now wants it back, since she didn’t think it could be repaired. They go back and forth arguing (“Give me back my robe this instant!” “No!”) Ari won’t give it back to her.

Here is the finale

LIZ: You brat!! You stink!!! (actual lines of dialogue, folks)

Liz goes storming from the room. Ari is with her mom.

ARI: I thought this was all going to be over. I thought we were going to be sisters.

MOM: Give it time, honey. Nothing changes over night.

At this point, this very sad piano music comes on the soundtrack. Music that has haunted me for 25 years. Single piano notes playing this slow little song.

Liz walks into the room. Slowly. With her head down.

LIZ: Ummm, Ari? Do you think I could....borrow...my robe sometime?

ARI: Yeah...sure! You can...borrow...my robe sometime.

Two piano notes

LIZ: Thanks.

Final note.

It then cut to the gumball machine AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL bumper before showing the credits, and the announcer talking about that weeks episode of WEBSTER.

If I said I saw this 100 times, I probably am not exaggerating. Like I said, it was one of the few tapes we had.

In the past few years, a few DVDs have been released of AFTERSCHOOL SPECIALS episodes but this hasn’t been in those sets. It was never released on VHS. I was surprised to discover that a 16mm copy was on Ebay.

Today, afternoon TV is dominated by talk shows, or court shows. There is nothing like them anymore.

FORGOTTEN FILM: RECKLESS (1984)

1984's RECKLESS starred a pre-SPLASH Daryl Hannah as Tracey Prescott, a rich girl who gets mixed up with "bad boy" motorcyle riding Johnny Rourke (Aidan Quinn in his film debut). It was a typical opposite side of the tracks romance, but it was a lot better than you would think. I had dismissed it when it originally came out, only to see it later written up in AMERICAN FILM magazine.

One of the reasons it was better than expected was the fact it was the film debut of director James Foley who would go on to make AT CLOSE RANGE and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. The writer of the film was Chris Columbus before he wrote GREMLINS and GOONIES.

Here is the trailer.



I haven't seen the film since the 1980's but always remembered one scene:



The duo running through the school at night, with one of my favorite songs of the decade, Kim Wilde's "Kids In America" blaring over the PA system.

The film is now available on DVD through the Warner Archive.

Dom DeLuise (1933-2009)

“Dum, dum, daaahhh!! I am...Captain Chaos!”

I realize it isn’t hip to quote CANNONBALL RUN, but sue me. I loved the films as a kid. And, I always loved Dom DeLuise, who passed away yesterday.

People may remember him from his TV work (LOTSA LUCK, THE MUPPET SHOW), or the Mel Brooks films (BLAZING SADDLES, HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1, SPACEBALLS), or even the underrated FATSO, but for me, it will always be the films with Burt Reynolds.

There was THE END, where he appeared as a mental patient. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 2 was the first of the Hal Needham films. But then came 1981’s CANNONBALL RUN. I watched this film a bit too much back in the day.

And let's not forget his Melvin P. Thorpe in THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, the moral crusader who shuts down Dolly Parton’s whorehouse. “Texas, Has A Whorehouse In It (Lord Have Mercy On Our Soul)” was one of the more memorable songs from the film.



He also directed. 1979’s HOT STUFF has been on my short list of titles for a “Forgotten Film” entry. He starred, along with Jerry Reed and Suzanne Pleshette, running a fencing operation in Florida. Based on a story by Donald Westlake, I saw it many times on cable. However, it hasn’t been released on DVD, and I haven’t seen it on TV in years.

I always wanted to see Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise team up again, maybe with Sally Field. Critics may not have loved their films, but audiences did.

Dom DeLuise will be missed.

NOTE: This post contains YouTube clips. Click through to view.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO: CHRISTOPHER COLLET

Christopher Collet’s first few years of acting were some of his biggest.

Yet, just a few years later, his career seemed to slow down.

Born in 1968, Christopher Collet made his film debut in the cult classic from 1983 SLEEPAWAY CAMP. This is a favorite slasher film for many and spawned several sequels.

He would follow this in the next year as the lead in the FIRSTBORN. In this, he played the older son of a divorced mom (Teri Garr). He has to defend the family against her new boyfriend, Peter Weller. A strong film, directed by Michael Apted, Collet was the star, being billed ahead of future stars Corey Haim, Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr.

He also starred in the memorable CBS Schoolbreak Special “Welcome Home, Jellybean” playing the brother to a mentally challenged girl played by the late Dana Hill.

The next year, he starred in another film about teens battling abusive parents, in the TV movie RIGHT TO KILL? This also starred Frederic Forrest, Justine Bateman and Ann Wedgeworth.


THE MANHATTAN PROJECT was next. This was a fairly popular film with John Lithgow. Collet once again played the lead.

At this time in 1986, his career seemed to be going well. But the acting offers seemed to slow down. He still worked, in a lot of TV movies (HERO IN THE FAMILY, PIGEON FEATHERS) and episodic TV (THE HITCHHIKER, THE EQUALIZER, THE COSBY SHOW, L.A. LAW, MACGYVER) but not quite the lead roles in big films.

He did appear in PRAYER OF THE ROLLERBOYS in 1990, but by then Corey Haim got top billing. And the film was bigger on video than in the theatres. He also appeared in the TV films O PIONEERS! and THE LANGOLIERS and episodes of CENTRAL PARK WEST and his final role, a 1998 episode of SILK STALKINGS.


So, What Ever Happened To Him?

I could find out very little about him. Some sites claim he left film acting to do more theatre work. He did appear in a play on Broadway in 1988, but it only played a month.

He was married in 2005 to an actress who appeared in the same episode of SILK STALKINGS as he did.

In 2005 he appeared as Calvin in a short film entitled 15 Below Zero. According to its synopsis, the film is about “Calvin, a frustrated traditional typographer, awakes one day thinking he literally slept through his fifteen minutes of fame. On one of the hottest days of the summer, he comes to terms with his occupation and what it means to be famous.”

Collet was a very good actor. When I thought to look him up for this series, I thought for sure he must still be acting. But, I guess he has moved on.