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Original Air Date: February 3, 1985 Review completed February 5, 2006 "Henry Falls in Love, Part 2" Punky quickly says goodbye to Cherie, planning to go out west. (To buy a ranch, of course.) Henry and Maggie soon discover Punky's disappearance, and all other plans quickly put aside to search for her. As for Punky herself, she comes close to succumbing to the cold before Brandon discovers a junkyard shack. Punky suspects that it's a little too well set up to be abandoned, and she's right, as its occupant soon makes himself known. Zach, a runaway himself, doesn't understand Punky's reasons for running away at all, and after she falls asleep, uses the number on Brandon's dog tag to alert Henry and Maggie. Henry and Maggie come and announce that the marriage won't happen after all, and after a quick talk with Zach, convince him to get to Fenster Hall. Leave it to Punky Brewster to put a humourous twist on running away from home, with a "to be continued..." series of notes. It somehow seems right that Henry is used to something as out-of-the-ordinary as chained leaving-home notes, and it's a sneaky way of making Punky look out-of-the-ordinary as well. Also, nice dialouge back-and-forths between Maggie and Henry in these scenes keep things less than serious. It seems odd to be laughing at the imminent crisis, but whatever works. It also seems odd that it took Henry this long to explain Punky's past to his fiancee. Clunky. This is the only show so far to feature "outdoor" shooting in winter and... well, the effect isn't perfectly realized. The sets look fine, and a decent job is done between the acting and make-up to make poor Punky look frozen through, but that snow falling down on top of a blue screen with the action underneath is a little too obvious, if for no other reason than the fact that none of it touches the buildings or ground (or the fact that, when the camera is doing overhead shots of the shack, the snow seems to be falling at a rather unnatural angle). I know, it's a pretty cheap shot to take, but most of the effects that happen on this show are either disguised fairly well or are almost charming in their low-budget way. This is neither, it just makes you think, "What's wrong with the snow?" The Punky-point-of-view camera makes its return here, though given the circumstances surrounding both instances, I suppose I should call it the "Punky Danger Cam". It makes for an interesting view, though. Speaking of the Danger Cam, is anyone else surprised by how far the episode goes in the danger department; we actually see Punky about to pass out (presumably due to hypothermia) in the middle of a snowstorm! This is the same show that cut a court trial down to a lean 12 minutes and will later boast one of the most ridiculous bully bouts in TV history. And yet, they're willing to show that? By means of counter-argument, though, this is also the same show that cracks off lines like, "She pops your cork," so my surprise is probably overdoing it a bit. Speaking of charming low-budget effects, let's talk about the shack set. I'd be willing to bet that there's a lot of garage clutter and junkyard fodder around this one (combined with some good deals from an auto wrecker's). Really nice, in my opinion; just junky enough to pass for a junkyard, and not bad enough to think of how anyone survives in it. It doesn't look to have an awful lot of places to hide, though, so you really have to wonder where its occupant came out of. Said occupant, of course, is Zach, played by Peluce. I know he was on Voyagers and had a fair measure of fame before Punky, but I wouldn't know myself. I've seen a couple of places comment on how he'd changed between those times, but I have no way of knowing that for myself either; consider yourself knowing as much as I do. At any rate, he's a good match for his role, as he looks and plays just old enough for it. Well, and he acts well with Soleil, but that's a given; how hard is it to play opposite your sister? It's not like you don't know her or anything. I just can't give this my usual rambling paragraph, but I have to note this: Betty's "Tweety-bird look" speech smacks of padding. I know it's problematic giving lines to everyone in an episode, but yeesh. You'll agree with Henry's exclamation. On the other hand, Cherie's build-up to her less-than-helpful answer isn't bad. Double standard? Other less-than-useful point; the on-screen origin of Brandon's name (explained as a mis-rendering of Marlon Brando, "the guy who played Superman's father"). Heh. I wonder if someone was getting grief about the actual origin, which was the name of then-NBC president Brandon Tarkitoff. You'd think there wouldn't be much of a problem this far in, but there you go. Ah, now for something more substantial. Finally, the point of why Punky ran away is brought and poked more full of holes than a lazy man's underwear. It's oddly satisfying to hear the pronouncment of "What are you, nuts!?" when Zach finally gets the full story. The flip side to this, though, is that it could have made Zach's backstory all the more poignant, but the writers keep his past so vague that you don't much get into it. Yeah, there's all sorts of hints of vaguely bad times, and one line about "bad things happening", but it all feels awfully generic. That's the point, yeah, but it lessens the impact in my opinion. This is the one episode where they could have gotten away with a big old message, and it's blown. Feh. I'm not saying we needed graphic detail, but what we got didn't feel like more than just hazy character background. Or at least direct his rage a bit. Enough with the less-than-clever bits; something more clever is the solution to finding Punky's home. Especially nice is how the previous scene ends with Zach petting Brandon around the head with his wrist hitting the collar, something that doesn't look completely accidental to me. Certainly, it's much better than Henry and Maggie randomly finding the place, or waiting a while and having radio bulletins go out. I'll rip on the writers when I don't like their points, but I'll similiarly give them kudos if they write neat touches. Nice touch, guys. All right, I'll also give that even if they screwed up on Zach's past, the short travelouge on the life of a street kid helps. Yes, the points are fairly obvious, but they're well-presented and rather necessary to have known for the conclusion of the episode. It's all about counter-balancing the relatively rosy view presented so far in the episode, and that's what works about it. Heck, if the writers had condensed all the hints about Zach's home life and put them here, it would have worked even better. But let's stick to what we actually have. Also, it's a nice touch (and keeping with the series view of the non-traditional family) to have Henry and Maggie gently part ways at the end. See, happy endings come in all shapes and sizes. (Though, oddly, Maggie doesn't show up again in the series.) And it's a small thing, but I'm grateful that the episode provides a resolution for Zach as well; wouldn't it look odd (there's that word again...) if everyone just sort of left? And the solution to that problem even draws on series history and shows the positive side of Fenster Hall. Neat stuff. As everyone leaves the shack and the credits roll, I have to say that this is a perfectly good episode. I won't make mad raves about it like a "Yes, Punky..." or a "Parent's Night", but it delivers as a pretty good story and it uses just the right twists to distinct itself as a Punky story. Good job indeed... and I won't tell anyone that this is technically a message episode if you don't. - Jimmy Vibes Do the click |