Punky Brewster: Season Two [4 Discs]

Punky Brewster: Season 2 (4Pc)

Overview

An abandoned waif and her dog are taken in by a cranky apartment manager who becomes her guardian in this family-friendly sitcom. This was a pet project of sorts for NBC programming head Brandon Tartikoff, who had a crush on a girl named Punky when he was young. (The dog on the show was named Brandon.)

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2005
UPC:	0826663825190
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	NR
Source:	Shout Factory
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	11:30:00
Sales rank:	49,667

Special Features

Interview with George Gaynes ("Henry Warnimont"); Three hours of the popular Saturday morning cartoon It's Punky Brewster, featuring many of the voices from the Punky Brewster series

Editorial Reviews

Blossom had nothing on Punky Brewster when it came to Very Special Episodes. Bullies, peer pressure, drugs, parental abduction, backyard safety, school cheating, and gender stereotyping are just some of the "dilemons" from which nine-year-old Punky (Soleil Moon Frye) learns invaluable life lessons. Get out your handkerchiefs for "Changes," an emotionally wrenching five-parter that sees Punky wrested from her beloved caregiver, Henry (George Gaines), who not only loses his photography studio in a fire but suffers a medical emergency besides, while Punky is placed with a wealthy foster family. In the season finale, the show sensitively deals with the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle, as aspiring astronaut Punky sorts out her feelings in a diary and gets some reassurance from none other than Buzz Aldrin. T. K. Carter plays a pivotal role this season as Punky's fourth-grade teacher, who makes quite an impression both with his Billy Crystal/Bill Cosby/Muhammad Ali imitations and his unconventional teaching techniques. He lends Punky a mentoring, sympathetic ear, as in the episode "Just Say No," when Punky is thrilled to join a group of cool girls until the leader insists she try drugs. The five-parter notwithstanding, all of Punky's problems are neatly solved by each episode's end. Gaines, best known for his roles in the Police Academy series and Tootsie, is a welcome anchor for the acting-impaired young cast. Still Punky Brewster has its heart in the right place, and Punky herself remains, as ever, a pre-teen role model.