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Original Air Date: December 2, 1987 Review completed December 3, 2007 "So Long, Studio" Henry is closing up shop for the day when he is approach by Matt Glossy, the owner of the very successful Glossy's photography chain. He is going to be opening a branch in the Midtown Mall, but wants to give Henry a fair chance and buy out his studio rather than running it out of business. Henry takes some time to consider, but it's not much of a choice and Henry is soon managing Glossy's' newest location. However, having virtually never worked for anyone else, he gets to find out the hard way about the restrictions of working in a retail environment, ones that quickly drive him to quit. Noting that he still needs a way to make an income, Punky convinces Henry to open a restaurant using the proceeds of the Warnimont's sale. He takes the idea and opens "Punky's Place". It's no "This Spud's For You", though. Technical note: I'm not quite sure after the theme song, but I think the original stereo mix was used for this episode. Since the whole set was mixed for mono all at once, that makes this particular show sound echo-y and kind of bad. I don't think it's all that noticable for the episode itself, though, because someone borrowed my DVD player and seems to have mucked with my sound settings. So I can't confirm anything right now, but the theme song definitely sounds off. Sound aside, though, at least everyone's having fun at the beginning. Punky and Cherie nearly kill several people with their skateboards, an old customer of Henry's gets to show off her kidney stones with gusto, and Henry gets to call Betty a bank. No, the context really doesn't help there. Matt Glossy... oh, "Matt", "Matte", hahaha. Witty. His suit is pretty funny, though. What I really like is how to-the-point he is, making the point very quickly about why Henry would have to sell and take the job in the first place. Idealism only goes so far, after all, and $100,000 > 0. Time out, though, while I think. I'm not sure about the going rates for small businesses, but doesn't $100,000 seem a bit low even for 1987? I know, it's not like it has to be a large buyout, given the alternative, but it does make Henry's surprised reaction look kind of funny. Of course, I mentioned back during "My Fair Punky" that a few hints were dropped about the studio not doing as well as it could be. The episode never does say either way, so it's just another point of fan debate, I guess. Seeing Henry's first day on the job, on the other hand, was just a series of sympathetic chuckles. I haven't made it too clear in the reviews, but I'm a retail worker myself for a large Canadian chain, and every one of Henry's major pet peeves are so, so familiar. Ugly uniforms? Check. Casual degradation of the direct underlings (and fairly often, the customers)? Check. Really stupid promotions? Check. Ever-changing and often malfunctioning processes? Check. Good God, I'm watching my work. That is not cool! One big departure from reality: I think this is the first time I've ever seen a retail worker with a contract and a 75-year no-compete clause. Seriously, I don't know how many retail zombies even KNOW about no-compete clauses. Also from the same part, there's not a lot of material for Punky in this one, is there? Then again, how many people work retail jobs? It's a really good choice for a Punky Brewster episode, given that a family sitcom is going to be airing for kids and an audience of a lot of low-wage jobs. So, during Henry's dramatic exit (including the classic "portrait over the person's head"), pretty much 100% of the audience is going to get a good vibe. It's either, "Yay, Henry told the bad man off!", or, "Yay, I've always wanted to do that!" Hey, I can picture a manager that's deserved it. And that is why I'm not naming where I work. As I kill time until the big reveal, can I please note that Punky is being a giant ball of ham for this last bit? Please? It hurts. Alright, big reveal time, and now Henry's going into the restaurant business. The new place... oh, that is just UGLY. The forum already got a spoiler on that one, sorry guys, but... yikes. It's like a big distillation of what everyone pictures the 80s to be in one big mass of purple, pink and yellow, with a little bit of light blue to complete the effect. Also toss in some geometric shapes and a fire pole as part of one entrance. (Not as bad as you'd think given that there's plenty of traditional doors and stairways.) And while I hate to nitpick (BWAH-HA-HA-HA! ... Okay, I'm done), where did he get the staff from to actually run the restaurant? In particular, who's doing the cooking? If memory serves, we see one waiter in the next episode and occasionally see Henry doing some of the cooking. Unless the series has seriously understaded Henry's abilities as a short order cook, this is an issue the series will not bring up. Good move, I guess, but it doesn't leave much for those who wonder about these kinds of things. So, mostly me. Really, for our purposes, Punky's Place is just a footnote, something that will come into much more scrutiny in the next review. For now, this is a story of Henry working for The Man, breaking a picture over The Man's head, and flashing him. I can't get enough of phrasing it that way, I am so sorry. But it's actually part of the point, in that the whole story got to me on a basic level, and probably a lot more people than anyone would think. I've heard it way too many times in the past few weeks: The best way to make something seem universal is make it specific as possible. It works. It really does. - Jimmy Vibes |