Oddball Films brings you The Afterschool Extra Special Cut, a very special evening of the most poignant, touching and hilarious clips from more than a dozen different ABC Afterschool Specials, NBC Special Treats and CBS Schoolbreak Specials from the 1970s and early 1980s. These melodramatic programs graced the afternoon airways from the early-70s through the mid-90s and offered preteens and teens a healthy dose of social conditioning while touching on a variety of touching and hard-hitting subjects, from marijuana use to alcoholic parents, disabled siblings, illiteracy, bullying and so much more! They launched dozens of young careers and featured seasoned veterans as concerned teachers and distant parents. For this program, we are going to skip all the filler and cut right to the most special moments and only the most special moments. All films are original 16mm prints and most are not available on DVD. Highlights include a triple dose of Scott Baio in Stoned (1980), Luke Was There (1976) and All the Kids Do It (1984); two Bradys (Eve Plumb and Chris Knight) in one special about disability and acceptance in Sara's Summer of the Swans (1974); Kristy McNichol stars as a desperate daughter of divorce in Pinballs (1977); Kareem Abdul Jabar (with the help of Clarence Williams III) inspires one boy to admit his illiteracy in The Hero Who Couldn't Read (1984); June Lockhart may help people get off drugs, but she can't get her own daughter off the brownies in Dinky Hocker (1972); Scream-Queen Belinda Balasky stars in Runaways (1974); Plus, The Terrible Secret, The Movie Star's Daughter, The Amazing Awareness of Duffy Moon, Pssst! Hammerman's After You, Francesca, Baby and a few other special secrets! You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll be sure to learn a lot of valuable lessons!
Date: Friday, January 4th, 2013 at 8:00PM.
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00, Seating Limited, RSVP to: 415-558-8117 or programming@oddballfilm.com
Highlights include:
The Pinballs (Color, 1977)ABC After School Special starring 70s tomboy icon and Dynamite Magazine cover girl Kristy McNichol in a heartwarming tale of a tough-skinned foster kid who is bounced from home to home. Fresh from her success playing Buddy on the Family TV show, Kristy was just three years away from her peak in the teen sex comedy Little Darlings. Since the early 90s, she is firmly in the “where are they now” category. “Me an’ Harvey and Thomas J., we’re like pinballs. Somebody came along with a dime, put it in, pushed a button and out we came, ready or not. You don’t see pinballs helping each other now do you? Because they can’t, they’re just things.” Scores an 8 out of 10 stars on kristymcnichol.net.
Stoned (Color, 1980)
ABC After School Special (ASS) starring that loveable rascal Scott Baio. Here he is lured into stonersville by a skateboard-riding dope dealer. The munchies and problems at school ensue, climaxing with the near death of his older brother when the stoned Biao clobbers him with a boat paddle.
Lesson learned, nuff said.
Scott Baio makes a return engagement at Oddball after his masterful appearance in Stoned from the Scared Straight program. This time he’s a bit too old to be a teenage boozer who misses the diving competition after he wrecks his bitchin’ vintage ride. Directed by Henry “The Fonz” Winkler, All The Kids Do It is above average for a CBS Schoolbreak Special was and the killer soundtrack features The Plimsoles (Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal) and Peter Gabriel (Shock The Monkey).
Francesca, Baby (Color, 1976)
Like
the quietly devastating The Summer We Moved To Elm Street, this
ABC Afterschool Special couches its message in domestic melodrama. Burdened
with a tippling mother and a traveling father, poor Francesca must take on the
role of materfamilias, and her social life crumbles under the burden of hiding
her problems from schoolmates. Posterity has accorded this episode camp classic
status, but we dare you to remain unaffected by the emotive force of its
mise-en-scene. You'll need a drink after this one.
Dinky Hocker (Color, 1972)
Meet pudgy Dinky Hocker, a bright high schooler with two insatiable hungers: maternal attention and any sugary snack she can get her hands on! Dinky's mom keeps the home cookie jar stocked, but is much too preoccupied with counseling young drug addicts and saving rivers for any other motherly duties. After reinvention via dieting fails and her new beau is banished, Dinky schemes to give mom the shock of her life.
About the Afterschool SpecialThe ABC Afterschool Special graced the television airwaves from 1972 to 1997. NBC decided to get in the game in 1975 with their own offering: The NBC Special Treat, followed by the CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1984. These shows sought to present powerful and persuasive cautionary tales and melodramas for teens and preteens. With subject matter from steroid abuse to anorexia to teenage pregnancy, these shows were often preachy and schmaltzy, but always...always Special!