Search - After School Specials on DVD

I've saved you a seat on the little, yellow bus...

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 07/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After School Specials were dramatic, some times comedic, programs designed especially entertain and teach pre-teens about life and issues they could have very well faced, in terms they could understand in an hour-long format (approximately 45 minutes, without the commercials), often dealing with serious issues like drug and alcohol abuse, teen age pregnancy, and so forth...the series (I believe there were something like 26 episodes) was created and produced by Martin Tahse, which won a slew of awards, was really unique in that it was programming for young people that wasn't created to tie into products or sell merchandise, but to speak to them about situations difficult to understand or comprehend, treating its' audience with the respect and intelligence not often seen, not talking down to them but relating to them on a level they understood and appreciated. Below is an episode listing with alternate titles.



The 18th Emergency (Originally aired 1/16/74) aka `Pssst, Hammerman's After You'



In Summer of the Swans (Originally aired 10/2/74) aka Sara's Summer of the Swans



The Skating Rink (Originally aired 2/5/75)



Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate (Originally aired 5/19/76)



Francesca, Baby (Originally aired 6/10/76)



In Beat the Turtle Drum (Originally aired 4/6/77)



The Pinballs (Originally aired 10/26/77)



Trouble River (Originally aired 11/12/77)



It's A Mile from Here to Glory (Originally aired 5/5/78)



Thank You, Jackie Robinson (Originally aired 10/11/78) aka A Home Run for Love



Gaucho (Originally aired 10/25/78)



My Other Mother (Originally aired 9/26/79) aka Which Mother Is Mine?



A Special Gift (Originally aired 10/24/79)



The Gold Test (Originally aired 2/13/80) aka Heartbreak Winner



What Are Friends For? (Originally aired 3/19/80) aka What Are Best Friends For?



Schoolboy Father (Originally aired 10/15/80)



A Matter of Time (Originally aired 2/11/1981)



First Step (Originally aired 9/23/1981) aka She Drinks a Little



Tough Girl (Originally aired 10/28/1981)



The Night Swimmers (Originally aired 3/3/1982) aka Daddy, I'm Their Mama Now



Two Loves for Jenny (Originally aired 10/27/1982) aka Between Two Loves



Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea? (Originally aired 12/27/1983) aka Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy



Ace Hits the Big Time (Originally aired 10/28/1985)



Face at the Edge of the World (Originally aired 9/17/1986) aka A Desperate Exit



The quality of the video on these DVDs is not the best, but it is as how it was when originally televised, and given these were teleplays made to be presented on television in the 70's, you really can't compare it to today's production standards.



Cookieman108

"

I give this a 4.80 for not being a complete collection

T. Alexander | Pasadena, CA USA | 05/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many of the after school specials were brilliant. They entertained while giving us life lesson with small morality plays. Alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, and teen parenthood were addressed. I enjoyed everyone of them and made a point to learn from the kids plights and mistakes. Unfortunately Amy and the Angel, one of my favorites that dealt with depression and teen suicide is missing from this series so I can't give it a 5th star. That doesn't mean the series isn't good. Just that I found it lacking for not being a complete collection. If you want to go down memory lane. This series is awesome. If your looking for films to watch with your kids and have a discussion about the subject matter afterward then its a 5 star purchase.



"

TAKE A RIDE ON THIS BUS AND GO BACK IN TIME!

! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b | TRI STATE AREA | 05/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's probably remembers these educational after school specials. The films were ground breaking in their day for dealing with many issues such as abuse,teen pregnancy, drug addition or just feeling like an outsider in school.



This set includes 26 highly regarded films from the series, two episodes that are exclusive to this set. The films run around 46 minutes and look fairly clean, but they do look a bit soft and faded. They appear to be uncut and it's nice to see them available on DVD.



I had not seen these shows since their original air dates and most of them hold up, but some seem a little dated with a bit of unintentional humor.



The most interesting thing about most of these shows is the casting of some young stars that had later fame or were stars from some very popular TV series at the same time.



I would have liked to have seen some better treatment to these shows as they look like the transfers are direct from VHS and there are no extras on this set, which is a little disappointing.



If you have children, this is an excellent source to use to open discussion about problems they may be experiencing or help them avoid some of these obstacles in their lives. If you don't have children of they're grown, you just might enjoy a ride on this bus, just for the sake of nostagia."