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Written by PHILLIP LONGMAN
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Monday, 24 May 2004 |
A testament to the strength of Punky Power: While I was reliving my childhood with "Punky Brewster: Season One," my roommate came into the room to laugh at me. He stayed for three episodes. It's not that he didn't think the show was childish. It is. It's children's television. It's just that children's television has rarely been this good.
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“Punky Brewster - Season One”
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 Entertainment
 Art
Season I
4-disc DVD set
(Shout! Factory) |
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For those who grew up in the '80s, Punky Brewster needs no introduction. She's the lovable child with mismatched shoes, abandoned by her mother in downtown Chicago, and rescued by a grumpy old photographer, Henry Warnimont, who becomes her foster father.
The sad back story is part of what made "Punky Brewster" so special. The show was a comedy, but it always had a heart. It had substance, but didn't preach to kids. Instead, it captured the delight and the fear of childhood, and personified them in the spunkiest, cutest little mischief-maker. Kids fell in love with Punky. I know I did. I grew up watching "Punky Brewster" reruns.
Fourteen years later, the appeal hasn't faded. Soleil Moon Frye as Punky is enchanting, and George Gaynes, who plays Henry, is so grouchy he's charming. The writing and acting are a little broad at times, but the show wasn't written for sophisticated adults. It was written for 8-year-olds. Every episode leaves you smiling.
EXTRAS
The four-disc DVD set has a moderate amount of extras. There are interviews with Cherie Johnson and Ami Foster, who play Punky's best friends Cherie and Margeaux, and with executive producer David W. Duclon and writer Barry Vigon. But disappointingly, there's no Frye.
There are also four episodes of the cartoon spin-off, "It's Punky Brewster." I remember these, too, but they haven't aged as gracefully. They don't have the heart of the live action show, and now just seem like worthless Saturday morning brain-rot. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
