At number 4 on my count down of the top 10 things I love about Fame is "Emotional Connection":
As a teenager back in the 80s watching "Fame" was the first time I'd ever felt some kind of emotional connection a TV show. Naturally, I'd enjoyed TV programmes before that, but never felt the same kind of connection that I did with "Fame".
I think there was an obvious connection between the cast and this spilled over into their characters and in turn the audience felt that connection too.
These characters felt like friends and so I cared what happened in their lives and the things that affected their dreams of becoming stars.
The energy of the show particularly in the first season had me hooked and left me feeling happy and excited. It was almost like a natural high that the show left us with, which was hard to resist.
The stories themselves had a real emotional impact. I will always remember the look on Doris' face when she hears the tape of the teachers meeting in "To Soar and Never Falter", discussing Kathy's medical condition. There were no words in the scene but the emotion is very clear and we worry about Doris' being upset about her friend.
In "A Special Place" the performance of "Starmaker" is very powerful and it was me seeing Leroy wiping tears away from his eyes that made me feel it was okay to be upset too. If Leroy this tough street wise guy could show emotion then it was okay for me too.
As a teenager back in the 80s watching "Fame" was the first time I'd ever felt some kind of emotional connection a TV show. Naturally, I'd enjoyed TV programmes before that, but never felt the same kind of connection that I did with "Fame".
I think there was an obvious connection between the cast and this spilled over into their characters and in turn the audience felt that connection too.
These characters felt like friends and so I cared what happened in their lives and the things that affected their dreams of becoming stars.
The energy of the show particularly in the first season had me hooked and left me feeling happy and excited. It was almost like a natural high that the show left us with, which was hard to resist.
The stories themselves had a real emotional impact. I will always remember the look on Doris' face when she hears the tape of the teachers meeting in "To Soar and Never Falter", discussing Kathy's medical condition. There were no words in the scene but the emotion is very clear and we worry about Doris' being upset about her friend.
In "A Special Place" the performance of "Starmaker" is very powerful and it was me seeing Leroy wiping tears away from his eyes that made me feel it was okay to be upset too. If Leroy this tough street wise guy could show emotion then it was okay for me too.
The emotional connectionis there through out the 6 seasons, although I always found it difficult to connect to the latter characters that joined in the final year. However seeing the original characters return for the final episode and everyone together singing fame is a very emotional moment.
Today, nearly 30 years later, that emotional connection is still so very strong to the show and all of the cast.
