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Original Air Date: October 27, 1985 Review completed October 15, 2005 "Just Say No" One day, after trying to work around outgrown roller skates, Punky and Cherie are approached by a super-cool group of older girls called the Chicklets, who want to make them members so they can use Punky's treehouse for meetings. After the initiation, though, it's quickly obviously that all the Chicklets really do is drugs. The girls refuse the first time, but Punky actually finds herself considering it. She goes to Mike for help, who gets her to stick to her beliefs and gives her confidence to run off the Chicklets. [At the end of the episode, footage of Soleil Moon Frye leading a "Just Say No" march in Atlanta, Georgia is shown.] So, the really big question here is 'why am I doing these out of order'? Well, it's just this one. What all this is about is that I was recently asked to review my least favourite Punky Brewster episode. Yes, you're reading that right, and yes, I just basically blew the point of a review right off the bat. But, of course, half the fun is getting there, so let's break with tradition and do a blow-by-blow to see why I would dump that rather nasty title on this episode. The opening for the episode doesn't help an awful lot. Cherie and Betty walk in and, after a full second's awkward silence, call out a greeting. Henry and Punky, the former of who is standing stock still as if... oh, waiting for a cue... take another second to respond. It's really a very minor point, but it's not a great way for someone sitting down on full-analysis mode to start things. The funny thing, though, is that the episode starts fairly well. After that initial awkwardness, we kick into the opening dialogue, which isn't too bad. The first scene is a big back-and-forth building up to a big, sarcastic "Wonderful!" from Punky and Cherie. I love that kind of comedy, and it works well here. Likewise, the next sequence, with Punky and Cherie attempting three-legged roller-skating, is kind of fun. Another awkward enterance (complete with the factor of "why are they just walking into a relative stranger's backyard?") and we're introduced to the episode's 'villains', the Chicklets. Go ahead, make the gum joke; the episode does three times, to my dismay. Punctuated by a few bursts of 80s slang that sounds just so incredibly forced, the Chicklets want Punky's treehouse, and Punky wants to hang with the cool, older kids. Alright, I'll go with it for now; who hasn't wanted to look cool in the lower grades? Cue next scene. Henry and Betty are having some problems this episode; that "little monster" bit is as forced as it comes. Ah well, relatively minor. Afterwards, Punky and Cherie continue on with the theme of trying to hang with the cool kids, coming out in Chicklet outfits. (Think the dress-up costumes from the first episode with a lot more make-up.) More serious, yeah, and still not that bad. The reaction shots from the parents are priceless, anyway. And next, the Chicklet's initiation theme. Punky and Cherie get to down a nice little cocktail of egg and various condiments, and really, I'm going somewhere with this. See, I've been having a fair amount of fun so far, and up until this point, I'd rank this is a slightly above-average episode. Cool enough. Cue Boss Chicklet pulling out the drugs with the line "...let's REALLY have some fun!" That sound you heard was the previously established story smacking into a brick wall. The blow-by-blow is over. Alright, plenty of arguments can be made here. I've made a pretty big show of establishing that the theme of the episode thus far is Punky (and Cherie, but the story seems to forget about her more than occasionally) trying to fit in with older girls. That's a fine theme for an episode, and it works in and of itself. However, the episode ups the ante by bringing in the drug issue. Okay, that introduces plot holes and oddities ahoy, so let's break this down. First of all, why do people offer drugs to nine-year-olds? Punky and Cherie get two direct offers in this episode, and I have to ask who, outside of a screenwriter, would think that a little kid would actually take up the offer? Wouldn't you be more likely NOT to, since you have the strong possibility of the kid telling someone and getting you busted? The sad thing is, though, is that there's bigger fish to fry here. Second, I think they're trying to imply that the rest of the Chicklets do drugs too. But if they do, then why do they look so uneasy throughout the last half of the episode, and why do they so readily turn on the leader when they get the chance? It looks to me like the only drug-user of the group was the leader, and that's kind of weird considering we get told several times during the episode that the club is all about drugs. I don't get it. Again, though, small potatoes. For a real point, let's tackle the direction that the rest of the episode goes in. From here, it's Punky considering the drugs (!), a talk with Mike that leads to an annoying attempted impression and a free plug for Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign, and Punky's refusal. Most of the humour is dropped from here on in, the parents disappear until the very end, and the episode in general drops any buildup and keeps going as an anti-drug speech. The only theme that survives is fitting in, and only because it serves the purpose of the new plot. Okay, there's a problem in that visibly divides the episode in half, but here comes my REAL problem. And MAN, does this episode shatter that commandment. Punky has done message television before, and I have enjoyed several such episodes, but never has it been done in such an appalingly straight-preached manner. The last seven or so minutes of the episode exist entirely to promote the "Just Say No" campaign, basically becoming a playlet of the type that used to visit public schools back in the day. The characters becoming the exact kind of stereotypes you would encounter in such a production, and the message is loud and clear, "Just Say No". That's a great message, really it is. But this is Punky Brewster. This episode has not been set aside as a production for the campaign, nor has it been indicated by anything in the beginning of the show. It's a regular episode of a comedy show turned into a public service announcement in an intrusive manner. A good counter-argument here could be "So, how would YOU approach an anti-drug episode?" Good point. I agree that some seriousness would be necessary; you couldn't do such an episode as straight comedy. So, really, I guess my point isn't so much anti-anti-drug, it's more anti-"Just Say No". A drug episode may not be the best thing for a comedy series to tackle, but I guess if you are going to do it, you need to be serious. If I may throw in my two cents, though, the "Just Say No" ads suck. Anti-drug is a good message, but why did the advertising for the campaign need to be within the show itself? That smacks of politics, and I hate seeing that in a kid's show. I guess you could tell, though, given how much virtual ink I've just spilled on it. I should probaly mention the acting, because that's part of the episode. Well, aside from the slip-ups I mentioned, the actors do fine. I can't pick out anything note-worthy, but the fact that I can discuss the story on a strictly story level tells me that the actors did their job. I usually analyze the acting a little better, but I really can't be bothered to nitpick away given the chainsawing on the rest of the episode. T.K. Carter's impressions need to go, though. Other than that, it's all good. In closing, politics needs to stay out of the kid's show. Just Say No to the unwelcome addition to this episode. It hurts because there's some pretty good parts in this episode too, but obviously, the campaign was more important. Yeah, well I've got a message for whoever decided that one, but I can't print it here. Final Tally: Below average. - Jimmy Vibes |