Punky Brewster: The Complete First Season Review Score: 6/10 | Date Posted: July 10th 2004 In: DVD Reviews Punky Brewster: The Complete First Season 1984-1985 Review by Vince D’Amato Starring: Soleil Moon Frye, George Gaynes, Cherie Johnson, Ami Foster, Susie Garrett. Directed by: (Various). Released by: Shout! Factory with NBC Home Entertainment. The Feature: : There are four discs in the box set and each disc runs from 153 to 176 minutes a piece. That’s a whole lotta Punky power! This first season of the surprise hit sitcom from the 80’s is indeed watchable due mainly to the fact that Soleil Moon Frye’s presence as Punk Brewster is completely energetic and sincere. That being said, it should also be noted that these episodes are more enjoyable if swallowed in small doses. For the most part, these episodes all have a similarity about them – mainly, the theme. There is an undeniable innocence in these shows that inevitably dates Punky Brewster. Each show delivers some sort of feel-good family matters message. Do the right thing; tell the truth, love conquers all…. But this can also be taken as a breath of fresh air. There is no mean-spiritedness from any of the written characters, and generally the acting is heartfelt and warm. Oddly enough, the highest camp value comes not from the kids themselves, but from the performance of Susie Garrett as the neighbor and grandmother to Punky’s best friend Cherie. Yes, a lot of the jokes are groaners. But a surprising amount (yet still too few) of them are also adult-oriented and even connote sexual barbs. These cheesy jokes are of course part of the charm, and something that will date ANY sitcom from this era – so it’s really nothing to hold against Punky Brewster. However, the most notable dating of the episodic writing is that every episode is one-note and linear. Even the one-hour Christmas special looks obviously padded and drawn out. Since the nineties have flooded us with fast-paced half-hour comedic revolutions in the form of Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, The Simpsons, etc; all trying to one-up each other and thus bringing the viewers multi-leveled stories and increasingly clever and complex comedy twists involving several characters in several situations at once, sitcom writing now has a much higher level of expectation for entertainment. So what’s sacrificed? Simplicity, perhaps. But simplicity is not a selling point for Punky Brewster. Most likely, it will be nostalgia. There are still plenty of Punky fans around. Not to mention the cult value of many of the other starts and guest stars who appeared on the show (and specifically throughout this first season) – many of them I was too young to even know who they were at the time. Imagine my surprise at seeing Robert DoQui (Coffy; RoboCop) as a security guard in an orphanage. Then there’s Andy Gibb, T.K. Carter (The Thing), and a recurring role for popular 80’s comedian Eddie Deezen, who is still pumping out films today, and in the 80’s and 90’s appeared in so many schlock comedies like Teenage Exorcist, Mob Boss, Beverly Hills Vamp and Critters 2. Unfortunately, his reoccurring role as a building superintendent occurs less and less as the episodes go by. And remember George Gaynes as Cmndt. Eric Lassard in the endless Police Academy films? Even Soleil Moon Frye went on to do Pumpkinhead II: Bloodwings. That all being said, there is still another aspect to the series which is original – the handling of a character that was essentially homeless. There’s an odd balance Punky Brewster (the show) tried to achieve in tackling the deadly serious issues of homelessness and abandonment, the governmental social system, halfway houses for kids, and even the family dynamic that can function without the mother/father/two-point-three kids. (At the time, this was considered edgy). To the producers’ credit, they came up with the premise of having the Punky character abandoned by her mother in a shopping mall – but they never tried to sweep these issues under the carpet. On the contrary, they often exploited them and utilized many aspects of runaways and homelessness into their storylines. On the downside, because they were producing a show for a pre-teen audience, and while they never tried to sugar-coat these issues, the scenes nevertheless come off as a little TOO optimistic and naïve. They present the shark, but the teeth are missing. To get back to an original thought, a little too innocent. The season’s highlights include: “Punk in the Record Business” (with Andy Gibb), “Punk Brewster’s Workout” and “Fenster Hall”, another one-hour special with T.K. Carter guest starring. In contrast, particularly grating are the last 3-4 episodes on Disc 1. The DVD supplements: Each of the 4 discs contains episodes from the Punky Brewster cartoon and interviews with the stars, producers and writer. The cartoons are a little odd – they inevitably retain some of the original show’s feel, since a lot of the voice work was done by the stars of the popular sitcom. However, is seems a bit odd (and ultimately forced) that Punky’s new friend should be a magical flying cat-raccoon thing that talks! I suppose this was to placate the Saturday Morning audience between Superfriends and Scooby Doo. Anyway, the interviews are some of the best parts of this box set in my opinion. Disc 1 interviews Cherie Johnson and Ami Foster together (Cherie and Margeaux on the show, respectively) and series co-creator David Duclon in a second interview. Disc 2 features a solo interview with Cherie Johnson, Disc 3 with Ami Foster, and Disc 4 with writer Barry Vigon. Watching these people reminisce and spin anecdotes is really a treat, you’d have to be pretty hard-edged to not feel the kinship these people developed with each other while working on the show. Cherie Johnson’s interviews are particularly emotional and genuine, and the insight into the creation of this hit show is a really nice addition to the DVD set as well as to the shows themselves. Sadly, the lack of Soleil Moon Frye’s involvement in these special features is awkwardly noticeable, and ultimate leaves one with mixed feelings.

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