Sunday, March 10, 2024

What Might've Been: Square Pegs (1982)

 Welcome Back, Kotter had been off the air for three years. The boys from Happy Days had gone on to college and adulthood. Former Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts saw an opportunity to develop a new high school sitcom that, like Kotter before it, was in a contemporary setting.

Square Pegs, Beatts' creation, lasted one season on CBS due to low ratings, and, depending on sources, reports of drug abuse on the set, due to the number of young actors in the cast, some of whom were minors. I can add another factor. It aired Mondays, opposite Little House on The Prairie. Thanks for coming.

It can be said, however, that this was the series that helped build Sarah Jessica Parker into the major star she'd become years later. Amy Linker, Jami Gertz, and Tracy Nelson were among the co-stars. The Waitresses performed the show's theme song, and their two biggest hits, "I Know What Boys Like" & "Christmas Wrapping", were used on the show. Other music was composed or curated by Paul Shaffer (Late Night With David Letterman) and jazz musician Tom Scott.

Edit, 3/26/24: The video has been privatized. In its place is an open-close montage.



Rating: B-.

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