Square Pegs - The Complete Series (1982)

about time

MY DAD HADE TAPES OF THIS SHOW AND I'VE WATCHED THEM HUNDREDS OF TIMES. AFTER ALMOST 25 YEARS (I'M 23) IT'S HERE ON DVD. so us fans get what we have been waiting for. and now new fans can come about. June 29, 2008

NOT AS SQUARE TODAY

One of the great things about DVDs has been the release of past television shows that were once favorites or new cult hits. Having the chance to watch Columbo ruminate over the clues that have been present for all to see or watching the stranded cast of LOST was so much easier being able to stop and start without fear of missing a few seconds.

Then again, some of the shows chosen have left a lot to be desired. There have been numerous occasions where childhood memories were crushed as we watched shows that were not near the hilarious fun fests we remembered them as. Such is the case with SQUARE PEGS: THE COMPLETE SERIES.

This series from the eighties followed the misadventures of Patty (a young Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren (Amy Linker), two freshmen at Weemawee High School whose main goal seems to be trying to fit in. Not only do they want to fit in, they want to be part of the IN crowd. But the chances of that were slim to none.

Though it sounds like a nice premise for a series, it fails on so many levels. Which is stunning because I recalled this as one of those shows that was a must see and has developed a cult status since its departure. The biggest problem? It relies far too much on stereotypes. While this may make it easy to keep the characters separate, it also makes for a boring show week to week.

First off is the school stuck up snooty valley girl Jennifer (Tracy Nelson). As portrayed here we here the phrase "like..." so often that you can almost program your watch with how many seconds until it's said again. Her boyfriend is another stereotype held over from both HAPPY DAYS and WELCOME BACK KOTTER. Vinnie Jon Calilri) is the leather jacket wearing Italian stud who spills over with juvenile delinquency.

The two friends the girls do make are also cardboard cutouts. Marshall (John Femia) is a standup wannabe, the nerdiest of nerds to be found. His partner in crime is Johnny Slash (Merritt Butrick), the male counterpart to Jennifer's valley girl who overuses the phrase "totally" to the point of exhaustion.

Lastly in the cast of characters are LaDonna (Claudette Wells), Jennifer's sassy black girlfriend who seems more like a white girl trying to act black than a black actress could do on her own. The writers really messed this character up. Along with her comes Muffy (Jami Gertz pre-LOST BOYS), the preppy cheer happy school supporter.

Toss these characters into the mix and you get very little to laugh at. Plotlines move from the first school dance to video games to school reporters to radical lifestyles. The most interesting parts are not the stories or the acting involved but the look of the show. Based almost completely on the new wave fashions and catch phrases, the show offers a somewhat skewed historical look at the times. VH-1's "I Love The Eighties" does this better though.

Fans of the show will no doubt be pleased to see its release. Parker fans will probably want to see her in pre-SEX IN THE CITY times. But for most of us, this series seems "totally" lame. It might be fun to show the kids if you grew up then. But other than that it offers little.
June 27, 2008

Like totally bringing back memories, totally! : )

Wow, the dvd of this beloved show from my youth has been treated with extreme care,pristine picture and sound, and speaking of sound they captured the sound perfect, where alot of other shows at the time were blaring loud sounds, music riffs, etc etc, this show always had the sound of what school was really like, sometimes loud, but sometimes hollow, like when you are alone on a hall, they captured all that and i think that helped make the show more realistic, it did for me anyways!Packaging is great, as to be expected with Sony, slimline double disc packaging, can't go wrong with that, a huge space saver when you have a ton of dvds!Thank you to the people who put this package together , i just started watching and haven't gotten to the extras yet, and i can't wait! June 26, 2008

Gift for son

I bought this item as a gift for my son. He will definitely love it! June 20, 2008

Bringing Back The Geeky Memories!

I remember loving this show every week when I was like 9 years old! Then it disappeared! Now that I got it on DVD I am loving it all over again! I can't beleive it only lasted one noncomplete season. When I was 9 it felt like an eternity! I wish they had been on for many seasons, becuse it was the coolest show the 80's probably ever gave us! June 16, 2008

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