After School Specials

A Vintage Nerd, Vintage Blog, After School Special, Classic TV Shows

Want a flash from your pre-teen past? Do you remember the After School Special? Even if you have never seen them I am sure you may have heard of them. The episodes of teen angst and drama shown well, after school.

They aired between 1972-1997. For those of us that grew up in those times it was must-see television programming. There were few ways that a young person could learn about the reality of what can happen to a young person, especially in the 70s and 80s. Topics that were covered were bullying, jealousy, teen pregnancy, alcoholic parents, death of a sibling, lying, cheating, you name it.

The term "After School Special" was coined in 1972 but the Martin Tahse  who produced specially made 26 mini movie productions that won quite a few awards. When I was a teacher I found them on dvd on sale and I snatched them up hoping I could use them in a lesson but I never got the chance so now I enjoy them on my own and hope to share them with my children one day. These sort of topics never age.

The dvd sets run from 1974-1986. The first two dvd sets pictured below are in the shape of a trapper keeper. Goodness, trapper keepers were the best!

If you are curious about all the episodes you can find them all HERE. You will find loads and loads of well known actors who played roles in the episodes such as Rob Lowe, Chris Knight, June Lockhart, Robert Reed, and Kristy McNichol just to name a few.

A Vintage Nerd, Vintage Blog, After School Special, Classic TV Shows
A Vintage Nerd, Vintage Blog, After School Special, Classic TV Shows

You can find the dvds at Amazon and you won't regret it. The episodes cover topics that are timeless. Of course the clothes are dated but I think that is the fun in watching them, especially the episodes from the 70's and 80's.

Have you ever seen any ABC After School Special episodes? If so, do you remember any episodes specifically?

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3 comments :

  1. What a seriously cool blast from the past!!! I remember these airing on at least one US TV station during the early days of my youth, too. Sure, some of them were a touch campy, but at their heart, they were well-intentioned and despite often being the butt of jokes, I bet they actually helped a lot of youngsters out over the year (I also always sort of think of them as being like the life lessons on Sesame Street but for older kids).

    ♥ Jessica

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    Replies
    1. Oh love Sesame Street too! All those things had good intentions-love it all! Thanks Jessica!! xox

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