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Original Air Date: January 19, 1986 Review completed February 5, 2007 "Cherie Lifesaver" The refrigerator at the Warnimont residence breaks down in a cloud of smoke, forcing Henry to look for another one. Being Henry, he goes to Cheapo Chester's, who fleeces him with a phony "shopper" gunning for the same fridge. Meanwhile, the kids are learning about CPR in school...except Allan, whose wisecracks get him kicked out of class. During a game of hide-and-seek, it starts snowing, breaking up the game. Cherie remains unfound, thought to have gone inside, but she decided to hide in the old refrigerator. It takes some hours for anyone to figure out where she is, and she's unconscious by the time she's found. Punky and Margaux are quickly on the scene and save Cherie's life with their newly-accquired knowledge. A regretful Allan resolves to take the training along with Henry as Cherie revives. So in a way, I have my work cut out for me. Yes, the regular gang of writers probably adjusted a few things here and there, but this is for the most part an episode written by a prepubscent boy. I admit to be somewhat crusty in writing these things, but even I can't hold a kid responsible to the same standard of writing as a professional writer. On the other hand, this is a review, and there must be an opinion. So here's the balance; I'll keep the gripes mostly to the acting and technical sides of things, and sum up my opinions at the end with a "grain of salt" disclaimer. This story is at least moving fast, because that fridge breaks about thirty seconds in, during a breakfast of Sugar Beasties no less. And look at that puff of toxic-looking black smoke that shoots from that thing; is that safe? Someone liked the effect, though, because it's snuck in during the still shots under the end credits. Speaking of toxic, check out Mike's reactions to Allan's wisecracks in the classroom scenes. He's annoying and all, but jeez, by the end he looks like he's going to turn around and impale him with a t-square. Man, someone should check to see if he's capable of murder, 'cause he overreacts like crazy. Then again, maybe he really hates Allan, since Punky makes a smart comment herself during the proceedings and doesn't even get a second glance. Or maybe Mike just likes little girls. And a comment like that after my blurb in "Punky's Treehouse" about Mike's creepiness mostly being over-reading. Oh well, it's my review, I'll make the call. One more little thing about this scene; not only does Margaux appear, but she's in-character and everything! I know; I'm shocked too. She disappears completely for four episodes, and all of a sudden she's here talking about marrying rich doctors and everything. The fridge-shopping scene is another piece of work. The music director clearly got his cues mixed up, as underneath the pan of a discount appliance store is... the creepy string piece from "The Perils of Punky"? Maybe if one of those one-cubic-foot-to-infinity things has a collection of frozen heads, but otherwise it's just a bunch of fridges. I don't think they're evil fridges either. Then again, the "big ol' country boy" that helps in the con job on Henry looks and sounds enough like U.S. President George W. Bush that I laughed long and hard. It's not even necessary to picture it actually being him; just the thought of the President hawking fridges by acting a bumpkin is good enough for me to laugh at. The other technical thing I can think of before moving to chainsawing the story is that Cherie, at the end during the resuscitation attempt, looks to be a dummy. Either that, or Miss Johnson is taking some huge breaths with Punky breathing into her mouth. Actually, if you discount the breath thing, it's hard to tell whether or not they doubled that scene, since the chest-pumping is all done to something off-screen and not at full force. I say mannequin, though. Well, the tech stuff went fast, so how did the story go? Well, speaking for a strict viewpoint, the story is about as smooth as sandpaper. The basic plot is smooth enough (with one notable exception, see below), but the dialogue within the scenes is very workmanlike and goes straight into "instructional manual" during the scenes on first aid. This is the easiest stuff to write off, though, given the age of the writer and that it would be pointless to have a contest like that and then use only the bare bones of the story idea. The biggest thing, and the thing that many people reminiscing about Punky Brewster bring up, is just how dumb it is to have an episode where the main crisis is a child locking themselves in a fridge. I know, kids can do some silly things, but even most kids I know know enough not to get into something without an interior handle. Some attempt is made through the character of Henry to give him the blame (for not taking the door off earlier, you see). Okay, maybe just a casual check inside of the thing before going inside may have done some good, but see above for a reason why most people won't think to check a fridge for a child, working or not. The sad thing is that this apparently isn't the only sitcom from this time period to have an episode about this problem. That does not make me feel good about the intelligence of people. And yet, like a few other episodes, having a group watching the episode helped to point out good points. I ended up with most of the family watching the episode while I was taking notes, and while they were quick to agree with (and even provide one or two of) the points above, the fact is that there was no remarks or really anything but attention being paid when Cherie came out of the fridge. I had the show's usual leanings well in mind during the scene, knowing full well that there was exactly 0% chance that Cherie would end up with anything other than temporary effects. Yet, there I was, suckered in like the rest. Yes, this is a mid-range episode in the grand scheme of all things Punky and Brewster. No, I wouldn't kick "Yes, Punky, There Is A Santa Claus" out of bed for it. But this one gets a pass simply for constructing a very nice crisis-and-payoff story. It's childish in its simplicity, and such a basic part of storytelling that you really miss it when it's weak (or absent). Silly episode about a kid getting stuck in a fridge? Okay, yes it is. But it delivers the basics. What's the harm? Besides of course the pun in the title. Yes, I remembered it before the end of the review...! - Jimmy Vibes |