The Crazies - 35th Anniversary U.K. Broadcast

29th September is the 35th Anniversary of the U.K. Broadcast of "Reunions" .
Here is a witty recap of the episode from TV of Yore Website

Mr. Crandall is making his drama students say "I love you" to him and look like they mean it. Everyone's able to do it in a reasonably convincing manner - except for Doris and Montgomery, who can't get through the exercise without making faces and giggling like six year olds. Crandall explains to the class that if they actually get acting gigs, they're going to be called upon to say/do things they don't believe...and that the childish nitwits who giggled and smirked while trying to say "I love you" need to get a lot better at lying.

After class lets out, Doris points out to Montgomery that they were the only two who "chickened out" during Crandall's exercise and acted like school kids. Montgomery's like, "We are school kids!" (which I found hilarious, since when this episode was filmed, he was 26 and Doris was 24). Doris says they're both cowards who are always trying to be cute or cop out, then suggests that for the rest of the day they will tell the truth...no matter how much they don't want to. Montgomery hems and haws for a few seconds, then agrees to the challenge - which is completely nonsensical, since the point of Mr. Crandall's exercise was to learn how to lie on cue, not tell the truth regardless of how difficult it may be. Dumbfucks.

Ms. Grant is reading something and chuckling, and when Doris asks her what's so funny, she explains that she was just going over the agenda for the faculty show and noticed that Miss Sherwood is slated to perform an African tribal dance. She rolls her eyes derisively and snarkishly says, "Good luck." Heh...meow. Coco strolls over with some girl named Michelle and asks Ms. Grant what she thinks of Michelle's grisly purple leotard. Ms. Grant looks at the fugly bodysuit and carefully says, "It's, uh...different. Very original." Coco then asks Doris what she thinks, so Doris gives Michelle a quick once-over and blurts out, "It's a pukey color and it makes you look incredibly hippy." Michelle's all, "Wha-a?!" and rushes over to the mirror to examine her hips and wails, "I do look hippy!" Ms. Grant glares at Doris and snaps, "You should talk." (Haha...right?!) She then tries to convince Michelle she looks fine, but by now Michelle is too despondent by the sight of her gargantuan hips to listen.

 

 

Mr. Shorofsky is listening to Montgomery, Bruno, and Julie as they perform a Bach piece playing various instruments. He murmurs, "Something is missing" and asks them if they've been rehearsing...and truth-telling Montgomery admits they only rehearsed the piece for fifteen minutes. Bruno shoots him an incredulous stink-eye and is forced to confess that he did, in fact, rope his classmates into spending most of their rehearsal time playing a new song he wrote. Mr. Shorofsky gets annoyed, accuses them of breaking his trust in them, and barks, "Out!" Julie reminds him that they'll need passes for the hall monitor, but he doesn't give a rat's ass 'bout that and orders them out of his classroom. After being ejected from music class, Bruno and Julie stare incredulously at Montgomery and are all, "The fuck?" and Montgomery chooses that moment to fink on Julie for badmouthing Bruno's keyboarding abilities. Hee! To add to the drama, an overzealous hall monitor storms over and demands their permits, and when none of them can produce a hall pass, he threatens to write them all up....but ends up just reporting Bruno after he sasses him. Not that he didn't deserve to be sassed, 'cause maybe he could have been more chill about being a hall monitor.

Doris sees Miss Sherwood rubbing her neck, and when she explains that she pulled a muscle last night, Doris asks her if she did that while rehearsing her African tribal dance routine. Miss Sherwood's all, "Wuh? How did you know 'bout that?" so Doris blabs that Ms. Grant let it slip and then had a good laugh about the thought of her performing an African tribal dance routine...and Miss Sherwood looks suitably miffed.

Mrs. Berg informs Mr. Shorofsky that Bruno got written up by the hall monitor, but that Bruno claims that he was ordered out of his classroom. She asks Mr. Shorofsky whassup with that, so he grumbles that he threw several students out of his class, not just one. He then starts railing about how they didn't rehearse the Bach piece they were supposed to, and that the "struggles of a hall monitor" don't interest him. He growls, "You can stick your summons -" and Mrs. Berg gasps and exclaims, "Don't you dare!" Ms. Grant and Miss Sherwood enter the office just as Mr. Shorofsky snaps, "Stuff it!" and storms out. Meanwhile, Miss Sherwood snarkishly asks Ms. Grant if she's supposed to be a form of comedy relief for the faculty show, then rats out Doris for blabbing about the way she mocked her African tribal dance abilities. Ms. Grant mutters, "I'll kill her" and pretends that her sarcastic good luck comment was a genuine good luck wish - but since Miss Sherwood wasn't born yesterday, she doesn't buy that. Ms. Grant then bitchily says that the only thing she does at the school is teach English...and Miss Sherwood gets offended by that (even though teaching English is pretty much all she does at the school), and the two bicker, blah blah, and decide to switch classes for one period for no conceivable purpose. Mrs. Berg, meanwhile, is in tears over Mr. Shorofsky's "stuff it" remark...and Michelle enters the office and moans about her burgeoning hips.

Over in the cafeteria, a befuddled Danny tells a stone-faced Doris and Montgomery that they usually laugh at his jokes. Doris explains that they only did that so they wouldn't hurt his feelings, and Montgomery outright tells him he needs better material. Doris says that once in awhile he's able to come up with funny jokes, but Danny doesn't find that very comforting and storms off. Doris remarks to Montgomery that this "telling the truth" challenge isn't as hard as she thought it would be - and he just stares at her incredulously and points out that a lot of people are mad at them. Doris, being her delusional self, doesn't see it and tells him that Michelle thanked her for being honest about her leotard and that Miss Sherwood was grateful for her honesty about her sucky African tribal dance abilities. Montgomery gazes across the room and notices a hot blonde in a leotard and starts ogling her, so Doris encourages him to make a move. He goes over to talk to her...but whatever "honest" thing he says results in the blonde punching him in the face. Haha!

Mr. Crandall tells Mr. Shorofsky he wants to perform a jazz number for the faculty show, and Mr. Shorofsky goes off on a weird rant about how people start to turn into "crazies" when the end of the school year approaches - and uses Miss Sherwood's/Ms. Grant's nonsensical class switcheroo as an example of this craziness.

Ms. Grant is in Miss Sherwood's classroom, "teaching English", but somehow the class devolves into the students chanting literature related phrases and they come perilously close to breaking out into dance. Doris points out that they're supposed to be conjugating verbs, and Ms. Grant sarcastically thanks her, then shoots her the stink-eye and snarks, "You've been so helpful this morning to so many people." Um, isn't high school a bit late to be learning how to conjugate verbs in one's native language?

Over in the dance gym, Miss Sherwood is presiding over a performance led by Leroy in his short shorts...and the gyrating goes on for what seems like an extraordinarily loooong time. When it finally comes to a merciful end, Miss Sherwood tells them it was very good, despite the rough edges...and they're all, "Wha-a?!" so she says the number seemed "a little usual". Leroy scrunches his face in confusion and asks her what she means by usual, so she suggests throwing in a few unexpected moves - like some Irish step dancing, for example, and gives them an impromptu demonstration. The students laugh aloud at her clunky moves, then flee the dance gym as soon as the bell rings. Miss Sherwood asks Leroy to stay behind and gives him the backstory about how Ms. Grant thinks she's in over her head with her African tribal dance routine for the faculty show. She asks him if he can teach her how to dance, and he starts laughing...then stops when he realizes she's being serious, and agrees to give her a few tips on how to bust a move.

Doris bellows to Montgomery, "We are victorious!" and a beleaguered looking Montgomery asks her if they're done being brutally honest yet. She says she doesn't want to give it up, and thinks they accomplished a lot today in opening up the lines of communication. The camera quickly pans over to Bruno, who barks at Julie for her earlier criticism of his keyboarding skills, and the two bicker back and forth 'bout that again, blah blah.

Danny asks Mr. Crandall if he'd be willing to write some comedy material for him, but Crandall tells him he doesn't have time. Danny asks him if he can at least use any funny stuff he happens to say during class, and Crandall gives him the OK for that lame request. Danny should maybe consider giving up his comedic dreams if he's too fucking lazy at this stage of his "career" to write his own material.

Doris tells Montgomery she feels good about all the people they helped today...and the camera pans over to Michelle, who's growing increasingly despondent over her monstrous hips as Coco tries to convince her it's all in her head. The camera then pans back to a clueless Doris, who smugly tells Montgomery, "We did good!"

Miss Sherwood and Ms. Grant are bickering about how badly each handled the other's class, blah blah. Leroy enters the office, and Miss Sherwood pretends as though she's meeting with him to give him extra tutoring in English so Ms. Grant won't know she's getting private dancing lessons...and he wisely plays along.

Bruno tells Mr. Shorofsky that he, Julie, and Montgomery will have the Bach number ready to perform by Friday, and Mr. Shorofsky nods and gruffly retorts that he cleared up his hall monitor problem. He explains that he's harder on him than he is on other people, and advises him to be harder on himself.




Leroy's doing his damnedest to teach Miss Sherwood how to dance, but her middle age/white woman brand of rhythm makes it an exercise in futility. He finally throws in the towel with African tribal dancing and suggests changing her music to something jazzier, then shows her some easier, booty jigging dance moves.

Mr. Shorofsky is on his way out when he hears a noise coming from the office. He goes inside to peak around, and - ack! - some random criminal jumps out of the darkness and attacks him from behind! NOOOO!!!!

Bruno, Coco, and Doris are hanging in Bruno's basement. Coco tells Doris that Michelle is really down on herself, which is a problem 'cause she's the lead dancer in her choreography final. Doris whines, "I'm going to have to apologize to half the people in the Western Hemisphere!" Well, d'yuh. She sheepishly explains that by being brutally honest with everyone, she was only trying to make things better. Bruno suddenly starts playing a limp sounding tune on the keyboard, and Doris breaks into song about "making things right" and how she was "only trying to help" and "didn't know the truth would hurt". Bruno really gets into it and looks orgasmic while he plays, dramatically bobbing his head - LOL - and afterwards, he and Coco give Doris a forgiveness hug. A few seconds later, Bruno gets a phone call, urgently says, "I'll be right there!" and dashes upstairs.

Bruno and Ms. Grant rush over to the hospital to visit Mr. Shorofsky, who's been beaten up and is now unconscious. Fortunately, the doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Bruno stares down at him sadly, kisses his cheek, and softly urges him to get better.

Miss Sherwood tells Mr. Crandall that in light of the attack on Mr. Shorofsky, no one gives a rat's ass about the faculty show anymore. Mr. Crandall's like, "Well, duh" but then points out that students are being graded by their performance in the faculty show, so they can't just cancel it. Miss Sherwood mulls that over for a few seconds and agrees to forge ahead with the dumb thing.

Ms. Grant is on the phone with Mr. Shorofsky, informing him that the faculty show has been downgraded to an "exam presentation" so that the students who are performing can still be evaluated. Mr. Shorofsky doesn't like the idea of watering down the event, but she tells him it's already been decided. 




Faculty show! In the opening number, Mr. Crandall cracks jokes while playing a jazz tune on the piano. Danny has a pen and paper, ready to write down anything funny Crandall says, but comes up short. Write your own material, slackass.

Back at the hospital, Mr. Shorofsky puts on his coat and hat and tells the receptionist that the patient in his room just died, and that she should wait fifteen minutes before reacting. She nods at him as though this makes any sense, and he slips out.

Miss Sherwood enters the dance gym wearing a black bodysuit and sheer tights and starts performing a sexy dance number...and by performing, I mean she sashays around the floor and jerks her hips while periodically throwing both arms into the air. LOL. Everyone hoots appreciatively at the odd spectacle, and Leroy really gets into it and yells, "Aw right!" while the rest of the male students stifle their boners and applaud.



Mrs. Berg says she would like to take part in the show by doing a dramatic reading. She tells everyone that when the police showed up after the attack on Mr. Shorofsky, they found a letter he wrote to her. She says she'd like to read it aloud - and it's a lovely note that compliments the job she does, and begs her forgiveness for telling her to "stuff it". By scripted coincidence, Mr. Shorofsky enters the room just as she finishes reading, and everyone rushes over and gently envelopes him in a group hug. He sits next to Mrs. Berg as they all watch the final act of the show..

Ms. Grant takes center stage and performs a Flamenco type dance in a crop top and skirt while singing...and by singing, I mean some really fake looking lip-syncing. After a few minutes, the students join in with coordinated rehearsed dance moves...and Leroy leaps up from his chair and starts gyrating wildly. But at least this time he's wearing pants.

Fame Calendar October 2017

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U.K. Charts 25th September 1982

The Kids From Fame album yet again remains in the number one spot while the original movie soundtrack slips down further to number 39 on the U.K. Album chart for week ending 25th September 1982. On the U.K. singles chart Irene Cara's "Fame" theme song is down to 37 and also going down is "Hi Fidelity" at number 13.

 

Top of the Pops Top 30 Countdown

Come One Come All - 35th Anniversary U.K. Broadcast

22nd September is the 35th Anniversary of the U.K. Broadcast of "Reunions" .
Here is a witty recap of the episode from TV of Yore Website



 Ms. Grant's dance class is limbo-ing, which is...well, whatever. When it's Leroy's turn, he strips off his shirt and lowers the limbo by a lot...which - ack! - was a tad alarming considering he's wearing his usual short shorts, and they're a bit too flared at the hemlines to be limbo-ing in the gyratey way I know he'll be wanting to limbo. Mercifully, the bell rings, and Leroy abruptly dashes out of the dance gym with his balls still safely tucked inside his shorts. Phew. As the students disperse, Miss Sherwood stomps into the dance gym looking annoyed. She tells Ms. Grant that their colleague, Mr. Crandall, had an accident and will be in traction for the next few weeks...and this is very bad news 'cause he was in charge of the Parents' Night show. Egads! Miss Sherwood tells Ms. Grant that they're going to have to take control of the operation - but it won't be easy because Crandall wrote all of his notes in code. And since he's heavily sedated, he's not available to decipher them. Miss Sherwood grimly declares, "We're in deep, deep trouble." Oh lighten up. The school puts on a show every damn week. I highly doubt that anyone of any importance would notice/care if they totally bombed once in awhile.

Papa Martelli enters the school office to ask Mr. Shorofsky for a favor. He says he has to work on Parent's Night and wants permission to attend the dress rehearsal for the show the night before...then overexplains about how there's a big boxing match in the city that will require every cabbie to be on duty. Ms. Shorofsky says he doesn't mind, but informs him that Miss Sherwood is in charge of the event and suggests leaving a note in her mailbox. A middle-age-ish blonde woman we've never seen enters the office and stands at the counter next to Papa Martelli. He glances over at her and asks her if they've met before, and she flashes him a faux modest smile and says he's probably seen her on the big screen. Papa Martelli makes the connection that she's Melinda MacNeil from the movie Good News...and then Julie, who's been lurking in the office for some reason, blurts out, "You're Montgomery's mom!"

Julie returns to English class, where it looks like everyone's in the middle of writing a test. She passes a note to Montgomery informing him that his mom is in the building...and he reads it, makes a yeech face, then resumes writing his test.

Turns out Melinda MacNeil is the celebrity guest Mr. Crandall invited to headline the Parent's Night show. Melinda self-importantly gabbles to Ms. Grant about how she pushed back her current film project so she could fly to New York and see whassup with her son. Ms. Grant warns her that the Parent's Night show may be crappier than usual 'cause a lot of the prep went out the window when Mr. Crandall became unexpectedly incapacitated. She gushes about how she's always admired her on the big screen, then asks her if she'd be willing to step in as director for the Parent's Night show. Melinda lights up and says she'd be delighted to help, and the two agree to get together at lunch time and discuss it further.




Doris tracks down Montgomery and tells him his famous mom is in the building, but Montgomery just shrugs disinterestedly and glumly says, "I'll run into her when I run into her." Doris says she's most likely in the cafeteria right now, then gets all pushy about wanting to meet her - but Montgomery tells her to lay off 'cause she doesn't know the full history of his dysfunctional relationship with the phony narcissist. Doris whines that she never has an opportunity to get close to celebrities, then accuses him of derailing her chance to hobnob with a bonafide movie star. When she shrilly orders him to introduce her to his mom, he tells her to go pee up a rope and storms upstairs.

Melinda gets in the food line with Miss Sherwood and Ms. Grant...and when she sees Montgomery amble into the crowded cafeteria, she yells out his name and waves at him 'cause that's not totally mortifying for a guy who's already pushing the boundaries of dorkitude. As Montgomery widens his eyes with horror, she sashays over to where he's standing, and the two have a stilted, awkward conversation. She tells him she's going to be in New York for awhile, then proudly informs him that she's just been appointed acting director for the Parent's Night show. He asks her whassup with her film project, and she breezily replies, "This is more important" and asks him what role he's going to have in the show. He tells her he signed up to be a stage hand, and she purses her lips and makes a disappointed hmm face.

In the office, Miss Sherwood asks Mr. Shorofsky if he knows who's directing Parent's Night, and he's like, "I dunno" then catches sight of Melinda sitting across the room. He exclaims, "Hey - I know her!" and tells Miss Sherwood and Ms. Grant that they're old pals who used to perform together at a hotel bar in Ohio: he played piano while she sang. He dreamily stares into space as he reminisces about all the amazing nights he spent in her room...but then doesn't elaborate further, so naturally Miss Sherwood and Ms. Grant make the leap that the two were lovers and are all, "Wha-a?!"

In the cafeteria, Melinda goes over to the table where the gang is sitting and says she's heard so much about each of them from Montgomery. She asks which of them is Mr. Johnson, so Bruno pulls her leg and says he is, and deadpans, "Dancing is my life." She says she can tell that by his taut dancer's body, which prompts everyone to chuckle. She then asks which of them is Bruno, and Danny says he is, so she asks him if he's managed to overcome his sexual confusion. Everyone at the table bursts out laughing at being the butt of her joke, and Bruno nods at Montgomery and gushingly says, "She's good!" but Montgomery winces miserably and rushes off to the library.

Doris follows Montgomery and asks him why he's so bummed out about his mom being around. He wearily explains that he's seen her bullshit act endless times and already knows how badly the Parent's Night show is going to end up. Doris scrunches her face in confusion and goes, "Wasn't she just being nice to us?" so Montgomery explains that his mother only ever pretends to be to nice to people, regardless of whether they're agents, lawyers, or boyfriends. He has no doubt that her stint as the Parent's Night show director is going to end up with her being center stage, while everyone else watches from the wings. He bitterly adds, "I hate being in the wings."




Over in the dance gym, Ms. Grant and Melinda are holding auditions for the Parent's Night show. Leroy is suggestively gyrating with a group of backup dancers while wearing one of his see-through knit shirts...and the performance seems to go on for an unnecessarily looooong time. When they finally wrap it up, Ms. Grant applauds and gushes, "That was terrific!!" but Melinda doesn't look quite as impressed and icily says, "It was really nice." Leroy glares at her and goes, "Wha-a?! Niiiice?" then natters about how his gyrating was much too spectacular to simply be referred to as nice. Ms. Grant looks perplexed and asks Melinda if she doesn't think Leroy's dancing is good enough to be in the show, and Melinda says he's very good at "that kind of dance" then asks how versatile he is (probably not very), and Ms. Grant assures her that he can handle anything they throw at him. Melinda puts a pin in that for now and declares that she wants the show to have a '20s motif...and when Ms. Grant scrunches her face in confusion, Melinda explains that it's imperative the show have a theme. Ms. Grant says that demonstrating to the parents what their kids have been up to at this school for the last few months is the theme, but Melinda argues that that's not actually a theme. She insists that they need a concept to work off of, so Ms. Grant suggests that they try to do both, then compromises and says that perhaps they could do a '20s style jazz number. She starts dancing to demonstrate what she means by '20s style jazz...and then Melinda starts tapping her feet and jigging around the dance gym, and soon the two are brainstorming ideas for the show while trying to outdo each other's dance moves. After the bizarre performance/whatever that was, Melinda concedes that a jazz number might work for the show, then throws Ms. Grant a bone and says, "I'll think about it, dear." Ms. Grant raises her brows in surprise/annoyance/dismay and mutters, "You do that."



Ms. Grant storms into the office and glares in Miss Sherwood's direction, and Miss Sherwood shoots her a knowing return glare and starts bitching about having to take charge of the Parent's Night wardrobe. Ms. Grant bitches about how difficult and demanding Melinda is proving to be, and Miss Sherwood is like, "Right?" and says that the diva gave her a list of agents and producers she wants to invite to the show. She remarks that it looks as though their celebrity guest is using Parent's Night as her own personal audition, which I think is a pretty sad statement about the woman's career.​Doris and Danny are performing a comedy bit that was written in the '20s, and Doris stops halfway through and complains about how terrible and unfunny it is - and the gang agrees. Doris is bitching about the awful writing when Melinda and Montgomery suddenly appear in the doorway...and Melinda chides her for not giving the material a fair chance. She steps in for Doris and performs it with Danny to demonstrate how funny it's supposed to be...but, nope, the jokes sink just as badly when she does it. Melinda asks Julie or Coco if they'd like to try the bit, but they're like, "Hell no" and beat a hasty retreat. As Bruno also tries to make a break for it, Melinda stops him to complain that the musical composition, Carved Smiles, which he put on the show's agenda, doesn't sound very '20s. He says it's not, but he likes playing it and the dancers enjoy performing to it. Melinda insists that the music has to fit into her '20s theme, so Bruno cheekily retorts, "They'll wear striped blazers and straw hats" but Melinda does not look amused and tells him to drop the sarcasm and orders him to select something else. Bruno gets visibly irked and goes, "Or what?" and she stares at him with her cold, dead eyes and replies, "Consider yourself out of the show." During the awkward pause, Montgomery shuts his eyes and cringes with embarrassment. Bruno explains that his father is coming to the show specifically to see him perform, and Melinda bitchily retorts, "Your father is coming to the show. Whether or not he sees you perform remains to be seen." Bruno storms out, and Montgomery tries to explain to his diva mother that she's going about this all wrong, and that her stupid '20s theme is getting in the way of the planning of the show. She haughtily retorts, "Says the stage hand to the director" and he shoots back, "Says the son to his mother."Mr. Shorofsky runs into Melinda in the office and says good morning...and when it's clear she doesn't remember him, he reminds her that they used to perform together at a hotel in Toledo. She must suddenly remember that, 'cause she instantly lights up and exclaims, "Benjamin!" and gushes about how much he taught her. Miss Sherwood, who's openly eavesdropping, stares wide-eyed as Melinda reminisces about all the special nights they spent together, then says she definitely wants to do it again. Mr. Shorofsky says he'd love to do it, and suggests meeting up at lunch time in the teachers' lounge so they can do it...and Miss Sherwood looks shocked and aghast that Mr. Shorofsky's would plan a naked rendezvous with Montgomery's mom in the teachers' lounge. ​ Montgomery's in one of the music rooms, dejectedly strumming an electric guitar when Doris bursts in and says she has a problem. She explains that she's bowing out of the act with Danny and needs to find a replacement...and asks him if he knows anyone who'd be interested. Montgomery says he doesn't, but offers to do a performance in place of hers/Danny's unfunny bit.

Melinda's sitting in the dance gym, watching a group of dancers jig to a theme approved '20s song and nodding approvingly. Ms. Grant peers into the room through the door window and scrunches her face with dismay.

Miss Sherwood tells Ms. Grant that Melinda wants Leroy to slick his hair back like they used to in the '20s, and an exasperated Ms. Grant shakes her head and is all, "Something must be done about the woman!" (LOL) and announces that she's off to the teachers' lounge to give her the what for. Miss Sherwood suddenly remembers that Mr. Shorofsky and Melinda were planning to bump uglies in the teachers' lounge during lunch, so she races after Ms. Grant to stop her from barging in on the sexing - but she's too late. Ms. Grant storms into the teacher's lounge...and a few seconds later, she walks out, ashen faced. She murmurs to Miss Sherwood, "She and Mr. Shorofsky are going at it" and when she opens the door for Miss Sherwood to get a peak, we see that the two are engrossed in a game of chess. Womp womp!

That evening, Ms. Grant finds Doris in the dressing room and asks her if she knows where Melinda is, so Doris tells her she's in the star's dressing room. Ms. Grant says, "We don't have a star dressing room" so Doris explains that Melinda has re-purposed the teachers' lounge as her personal pre-show preparation space.  Ms. Grant heads over to the the "star dressing room" and finds Melinda sitting in front of a mirror, primping for the dress rehearsal. She snidely asks, "Have we forgotten who we're putting on this show for?" and Melinda shoots her the stink-eye and says no she hasn't forgotten that it's for the parents of the students. She tells Ms. Grant that eventually the Fame kids will need to learn how to dance to anything a choreographer wants, and Ms. Grant assures her they will learn that; however, this show is designed to show their parents what they've learned so far. And, unfortunately, musical numbers from the '20s are not what they do best - it's what she does best. Melinda snidely retorts that she agreed to help out with this amateur production as a favor to the faculty, and Ms. Grant retorts, "Is that why you invited so many agents?" and then calls her on her bullcack about having a film project in the works that had to be pushed back so she could direct the Parent's Night show. Melinda turns away, looking sheepish and embarrassed. Haha - busted!



Dress rehearsal! The first number is narrated by Danny and performed by Montgomery. He's dressed as a mime, miming that he's planting a seed, watching it grow into a flower, which then turns into an eagle that no longer needed his nurturing and care. But the mime is all good with it 'cause he's content with the miracle he raised. Subtle, Montgomery. As the audience applauds, Montgomery looks sadly over at an empty chair in the front row, so I guess we can assume that his mom pulled a no show.

Mongtomery ambles into the hall and finds his mom on a pay phone, booking a flight to L.A. When he asks her whassup, she brusquely says she needs his help finding a cab so she can get to the airport, fly home, and be on her movie set first thing in the morning. He says he thought he was more important than her movie, so she dismissively says, "You're not even in the show, so it doesn't really matter" [except that he is in the show now, doing his mime routine]. She confesses that she has to leave for L.A. tonight because the producers won't wait for her another day to start filming...and that all she could get was a supporting role as "the mother" - not the lead role she was expecting. She tells him that watching his schoolmates perform all week has made her realize that she's no spring chicken anymore, and that she will have to accept whatever roles producers are willing to give her. Well, d'yuh. She contritely says she realizes she's not much of a mother, and Montgomery says he's not much of a son...and the two bond in their familial ineptitude and hug. When she pulls away, she goes, "Now...about that cab" - LOL - but Montgomery has to beg off 'cause he's in the show's finale. She assures him she'll somehow find her own cab, tells him to break a leg, then sadly leaves the School of the Arts.




















Leroy and the rest of the dancers rehearse a '20s inspired jazz number while dressed in awful orange pants, yellow shirts with purple suspenders - yikes, Miss Sherwood really screwed the pooch on these costumes - and the performance goes on for a loooong time before the credits finally roll.

Fame Fundraising Party in New York City 20th October 2017

Dirk Luis Meyer is holding a Fame fundraising party in New York City on the 20th October 2017 to help raise funds for the Ger Onlus Children's Charity.

This is the Charity that the Fame cast is supporting with the #Fame35 Anniversary Concert at TEATRO NUOVO di Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy on 2nd December 2017.

For details on the event please contact Dirk at dmeyer.nycity@yahoo.com To help support the event online and make a donation to help raise the $2000 target please go to https://www.gofundme.com/streetchildrenincolombia Everyone who donates qualifies automatically for the opportunity to win one of the amazing 10 Fame gift bags.

Debbie Allen Interview 2017 Television Academy's Choreographers Peer Group Party

 

Debbie Allen Interview 2017  Television Academy's Choreographers Peer Group Party

 

Holiday Time

It's Holiday time Again.  However we will continue to share the anniversaries of the U.K. broadcasts of the final season 1 episodes.

All new regular posts continue on October 1st.

U.K. Charts 18th September 1982

The Kids From Fame album remains in the number one spot once again on the U.K. album charts for week ending 18th September while the original movie soundtrack is down further to number 25. On the U.K. singles chart Irene Cara's "Fame" theme song is down to 29 and also slipping 1 place again is "Hi Fidelity" which is down to 7. Down to number 65 is Irene Cara's "Out Here On My Own". This is it's last week on the chart.

Top of the Pops Top 30 Countdown

Reunions - 35th Anniversary U.K. Broadcast

15th September is the 35th Anniversary of the U.K. Broadcast of "Reunions" .
Here is a witty recap of the episode from TV of Yore Website




During dance class, Doris and Danny have problems with their footwork and trip over their own feet, causing everyone else to trip and land in a heap around them. Ms. Grant snarks at them for their horrific dancing abilities - though it's really just a half-hearted snark, since the two aren't dance majors and little is expected of their leaps and twirls. After class, Ms. Grant asks Danny and Leroy to hang back, then tells them she has "a little job" for them to do. They ask her if it's a paying job, and she nods and cleverly replies, "A couple of hundred dollars will definitely be exchanging hands."

Danny and Leroy look dismayed when they learn that their "little job" is buying props for the upcoming show. Leroy grumbles, "I dunno nuthin' about gettin' props" and Ms. Grant assures him he's perfectly capable of learning this new skill. She cuts them a check for $200 and makes them sign a receipt, guaranteeing that the money will be spent only on approved items. She then tells them to go out and just find the cheapest crap available.

Mrs. Berg informs Mr. Shorofsky that he received a phone message from a woman named Frieda Grauer, and he suddenly gets a faraway look in his eyes. Miss Sherwood enters the office at that moment and asks him whassup, then says he looks like he just heard from a bill collector. He spacily replies, "I have, in a way."

During music class, Mr. Shorofsky throws away the message from Frieda, then gets all bitchy with his class and starts railing incoherently at Bruno. When he finally notices that everyone is staring at him, wide-eyed and aghast, he stops railing, apologizes for his outburst, and urges them to continue playing.




Miss Sherwood tells her class that their next assignment will be to keep a diary. Leroy blurts out, "No way!" and Doris jokes, "If I wrote down my dreams, I'd get arrested!" Ugh, Doris. Even that is too much information. Danny says it's generally a bad idea to write stuff down that could be held against you, so Miss Sherwood explains that a diary is private, and that writing down your thoughts and dreams is a good way to communicate with yourself. She reads them a passage from a diary kept by a young girl named Anne Frank, then tells them that their assignment is to read The Diary of Anne Frank and also keep their own diary for a month. She says she hopes they'll learn something about themselves.

Mr. Shorofsky is in his apartment, looking at old black and white photos of who I'll assume is Frieda. The phone rings, and a really old looking answering machine picks up the call. (I didn't think anyone had an answering machine in the early '80s.) It's Frieda, calling to tell him she's in New York to attend a banquet/dinner thing. She tells him where she's staying, says they need to talk, and asks him to please give her a call. Mr. Shorofsky continues to stare at her black and white photos, then starts crooning to them in German.



Leroy and Danny are shopping for props at a second hand store, which came highly recommended by Leroy's shady pool hall friend, Stroke. Hmm...what could possibly go wrong with that? They gather up all the furniture and accessories on Ms. Grant's list, and are dismayed when the bill comes to just over $200. Danny decides to put back a chest of drawers, and Leroy snarks at him that they'll be short one item, but Danny points out that this way they'll have an $20 extra "to work with".

Mrs. Berg tells Mr. Shorofsky that he got another phone message from Frieda. She remarks that Frieda seemed really disappointed that he didn't return her call...and got the feeling she was an old flame. When Mr. Shorofsky doesn't confirm or deny, she fishes further by saying, "I couldn't help wondering...I'm just human" and Mr. Shorofsky snaps, "Be better than human! Be qviet!" Hee! He's so damned adorable, even when he's being a total curmudgeon.

Leroy's in a phone booth, talking to his mother in Detroit. He tells her he really really wants her to come to his upcoming show, but she tells him she can't get time off work or afford the plane ticket. After the call, Leroy despondently tells Danny that his mom won't be able to make it. Danny asks him why she lives in Detroit, so Leroy explains that the family she worked for in New York moved to Detroit, so she moved along with them...and Leroy opted to stay behind 'cause there's no Detroit equivalent to the School of the Arts where he can get course credits for gyrating.

Doris loudly interrupts Mr. Shorofsky's music class to inform him that he has a visitor named Frieda Grauer who wants to speak with him. Mr. Shorofsky rushes out of his classroom and slowly walks toward his old friend with his arms outstretched. He calls out, "Frieda!" and she turns around and smiles at him and says, "Well...you recognized me." The two stare at each other for a few seconds, and she remarks on how different he looks with his white hair and fuzzy beard...but that she would have recognized him by his eyes. She says, "Those are the eyes of the Benjamin I remember" and the two hug.



Danny and Leroy interrupt Ms. Grant's dance class to announce, "The prop masters have arrived!" and begin to unload some of the stuff they purchased. Danny says the larger items are in the lobby, and Ms. Grant urges the class to go downstairs and help carry them up to the dance gym. Mrs. Berg suddenly appears and informs Ms. Grant that a police detective is downstairs, then relays what he just said to her: "All your props are hot." Ms. Grant takes a few seconds to decipher what that means, then shrieks, "Danny! Leroy!" and races down to the lobby.

The Fame kids are hanging out on the street together, commiserating about how lame their upcoming show is going to be. I'm sure the New York arts community will survive the disappointment. Doris glumly says they have incomplete music (I'm guessing 'cause Mr. Shorofsky is too distracted with Frieda), incomplete choreography (dunno what Ms. Grant's excuse is for that), and no props (apparently, the cops hauled all the "hot" stuff away). Danny says it's not completely hopeless 'cause they still have $20 left over from prop shopping - plus they have him. The Fame kids laugh (I laughed too) and make jokes like, "That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee." Danny gets insulted and starts to stomp off, but the others stop him and urge him to explain what he means. He tells them that for the past three years in the Bronx, he's hustled at pool and won big...and since he's a super amazing pool player, he's confident that he can do the same in the pool hall where Leroy works. His plan is to win back all the prop money they squandered and also buy a plane ticket for Leroy's mother. Considering this is Danny, that seems like an overly ambitious plan.

Frieda tells Mr. Shorofsky she'd like to cook dinner for him in his apartment, and starts making up a shopping list. Just as the two are about to head off to the grocery store, Miss Sherwood bursts into the teacher's lounge and asks Mr. Shorofsky, "How do you make things real for your class?" He's like, "Wuh?" so she explains that she just assigned The Diary of Anne Frank to her class, and is dismayed that most of them have no interest in reading it...while others told her they saw the movie and thought it was slow. She laments that "the reality" doesn't exist for them, and that all they're thinking about is how they'd play Anne Frank if they were cast in the role. Mr. Shorofsky points out that is a performing arts school, but Miss Sherwood insists she wants to train the person inside the performer. Frieda suddenly looks troubled and tells Mr. Shorofsky they should probably get going 'cause of all the shopping and cooking she has to do. He cuts his conversation with Miss Sherwood short and says they can talk more about this tomorrow.




Over in the pool hall, Danny introduces himself to his pool opponent, a dork named Wally Zawicky who has a white person's 'fro and talks with a thick New Yawk accent. Wally lays out the rules and stakes in a very no-nonsense fashion, and Danny and Leroy exchange knowing grins. Danny begins the game by breaking - and I'm no pool expert, but it looked like a really inept break. Wally, meanwhile, manages to make several challenging shots in a row while Danny is slumped in a nearby chair, looking bummed and sheepish. 

In Mr. Shorofsky's apartment, Frieda is cooking up a storm, and she gives Mr. Shorofsky a spoonful of stew to taste. He gushes, "I love it!" and says it reminds him of home...even though that home no longer exists. She tells him how much she loves the youthful black and white photos he has of her and jokes that she wants to steal them. He pours them two glasses of red wine and toasts, "To reunions."

Back at the pool hall, Wally easily kicks Danny's ass and demands his winnings: $50. Well that was utterly pointless. I wonder who Danny was "winning big" against in the Bronx for three years?

Frieda tells Mr. Shorofsky they should have had this reunion years ago. He says he tried to find her after the war, but then gave up and assumed she was dead...until he was in Rome and happened to see her name on a concert flyer. She exclaims, "That was twenty-two years ago!" and he tells her he was ashamed and afraid that she blamed him for not being in Germany during the war, suffering alongside her. She insists that she thanked God he wasn't there to share the hell she was enduring...then brings up the conversation he had with Miss Sherwood earlier. She accuses him of being flippant about the whole Anne Frank diary thing to avoid dredging up any memories of the Holocaust for her. She sternly says, "There can be no joking about anything that happened in the camps." OK...but I didn't get the sense he was, in any way, joking about that. Frieda tears up and says, "We're a million miles away" and acknowledges that he was safe during the war when so many others weren't - but that that's not either of their faults. She then says she should go, and that she'll just take one of her students to the banquet/dinner thing tomorrow night (instead of him). Mr. Shorofsky, who doesn't seem to give much of a rat's ass about being snubbed by her, just kind of shrugs and goes, "OK, whatever" and sees her to the door. After she leaves, he blows out the candles.




Mrs. Berg tells Ms. Grant they should cancel the upcoming show, but Ms. Grant refuses. Mrs. Berg argues that the audience won't understand the show if there are no props, but Ms. Grant insists that the absence of props will challenge the audience to use the full extent of their imagination. You keep believing that, Ms. Grant.

Mr. Shorofsky is sitting in the theater, eating his lunch and reading, when Leroy enters the room. He tells Mr. Shorofsky he's working on his diary assignment for Miss Sherwood...then starts bellyaching about how his mom, who lives in Detroit, can't afford to fly in for the show. Mr. Shorofsky starts babbling about people leading their own lives and destinies, blah blah...and  I forget what else they talked about 'cause I kind of checked out during this scene.

Frieda drops by the school to say goodbye, which is a relief 'cause she seems like kind of a wet blanket. She asks Mr. Shorofsky why he didn't call her in Rome all those years ago, and he admits he was afraid of being rejected again. She looks at him in surprise and asks, "When did I ever reject you?" so he explains that many years ago he wrote to her and asked her to join him in America. She's all, "Wha-a?" and says she wasn't able to secure a visa, and explained all that to him in her subsequent letter. He says he never got that letter, and then...blah blah...they both decide that their time for second chances is gone. I'm pretty sure I caught a fleeting look of relief on Mr. Shorofsky's face.

Frieda is standing in front of Miss Sherwood's class, lecturing to the Fame kids about her experience during WWII. She tells them that even though the Holocaust is over, there are all sorts of injustices happening in the world right now, and that they're not limited to any one race, creed, or color. She says that, as young performing arts students, they especially need to be aware of it. She touches Doris' hand and says they have a gift to show others how glorious humans can be, and that they're the bearers of the gift of joy. Mmm...I'm not sure I'd classify Leroy's pelvic gyrations or the casts' terrible singing voices as "the gift of joy". Montgomery suddenly expresses an urge to re-do the diary assignment, and everyone else nods and looks totally transfixed by Frieda's lecture. Miss Sherwood shoots her a grateful smile and mouths thank you.




The Fame kids are in the dressing room, primping for the dress rehearsal. Julie bursts into the dressing room to tell Leroy that his mom is here! Wuh? How'd that happen? A few seconds later, Mama Johnson enters the room and explains that she got a money order from Mr. Shorofsky to pay for her plane ticket. Apparently, he was feeling generous after his/Leroy's incoherent chat in the theater. Leroy ushers his mom over to the dance gym, where he introduces her to Mr. Shorofsky. He chuckles and tells Mama Johnson that Leroy is one of his teachers, and she chuckles in return.

Show time! Leroy is, once again, the show's lead...and, for some reason, the entire cast is wearing red choir robes. Mama Johnson looks mesmerized by her son's awful singing voice and vulgar pelvic gyrations...and Frieda is also there, actually looking as though she's enjoying the spectacle. The groups dances for what seems like a really loooong time, and when they finish, everyone who's watching applauds. Leroy proudly leads his mom to stand beside him in front of the group of the dancers, then gives her a happy hug.

Mr. Shorofsky walks Frieda down the hall toward the main doors. She tells him she's leaving New York tomorrow, and is pleased they were finally able to resolve things. She says she's richer for having known him...and he quietly takes her in his arms, and the two start dancing to the German song he was crooning at her photos earlier.

Hope - Sheet Music

Hope - Sheet Music

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Picture of the Week

Eric Pierpoint

U.K. Charts 11th September 1982

The Kids From Fame album remains in the number one spot while the original movie soundtrack slips down further to number 17. On the U.K. singles chart Irene Cara's "Fame" theme song is down to 20 and also slipping 1 place is "Hi Fidelity" which is down to 6. Up to number 58 in it's 2nd week is Irene Cara's "Out Here On My Own". This is it's highest position. 

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A Big Finish - 35th Anniversary U.K. Broadcast.

8th September is the 35th Anniversary of the U.K. Broadcast of "A Musical Bridge" .
Here is a witty recap of the episode from TV of Yore Website

Miss Sherwood arrives at the School of the Arts after her usual early morning jog and encounters a dog in the hallway. She says good morning to him, then explains that since the school doesn't allow dogs, he's going to have to get the hell out, like pronto. The dog quickly trots away from her, and she's like, "Hey! Get back here!" and chases him down the hall and ends up slipping and falling on the wet floor that's in the process of being mopped. A few seconds later, the janitor - an old guy named Tim - appears from out of nowhere and asks her whassup, so she tells him she fell while chasing "that idiot dog". Tim stares at her blankly and goes, "What dog?" and Miss Sherwood says there's no possible way he could have missed seeing him. Tim gets all prickly and insists that he has no idea what she's talking about, so Miss Sherwood gives him the benefit of the doubt and limps off down the hall. Tim stares down at the soapy floor and notices several paw prints, and quickly mops over them. A few seconds later, the dog reappears and sheepishly trots over to Tim. He grumbles, "What are you doing? I'm in enough trouble" and orders the pooch to go find Birdie...and he obediently trots down the stairs.

Ms. Grant is leading her dance class in a series of ballet moves - and as usual, Leroy is stubbornly attired in a pair of alarmingly short shorts. Mr. Shorofsky quietly sneaks into the room, gives Ms. Grant a hey nod, and heads over to the ballet barre. When he pulls out a tape measure and starts measuring the width of the wall, Ms. Grant gets curious, then walks over and asks him whassup. He tells her his doctor ordered him to get more exercise, and the dance gym is the only room in the school that's big enough to house his equipment: a table tennis table. Mrs. Grant derisively goes, "A ping pong table?" and he insists it's not ping pong, it's table tennis, and says that the table folds up and can be propped up against the wall when it's not in use. She gently asks him if playing table tennis is really the best source of exercise and suggests he try playing real tennis, and he argues, "Table tennis is real tennis." Ms. Grant reluctantly grants her permission, 'cause can anyone really say no to an affable, cuddly bear like Mr. Shorofsky? Meanwhile, the dance class students have all exited the room and, for some reason, are clumped together in the doorway, laughing uncontrollably at Ms. Grant's/Mr. Shorofsky's conversation. Ms. Grant barks at them to get back inside and resume their plying.



During English class, Montgomery tip-toes over to Miss Sherwood and tells her that something is seriously wrong with Doris (like, more than the usual), and when Miss Sherwood glances over at her, she notices that Doris is sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing. Miss Sherwood tells Montgomery she'll handle it, then goes over to Doris and asks her if she's OK. Doris tells her it's that time of year for her allergies, and adds that she gets stuffed up like this whenever she's near anyone who's had recent contact with a dog. Miss Sherwood smugly blurts out, "It was real!" and asks Doris for her help in proving that there's a dog in the building, 'cause she'd really like to rub it in Tim's face.

Mr. Shorofsky's table tennis table has arrived at the school, and he orders the two delivery guys to wheel it over to the dance gym. Julie asks him why they're getting a ping pong table, and he corrects her by saying, "Table tennis table" and asks her if she's free during sixth period. She tells him she has a music rehearsal, but he dismissively waves a hand in the air and says, "You don't need to rehearse. You have it down pat." He then asks her if she's ever played table tennis, and she raises her eyebrows and looks intrigued.

Miss Sherwood has asked Tim to come up to her classroom and inspect the vents...and a few minutes later, he declares them fully operational. Doris, who's sitting at her desk to determine if she can detect any dog scents on Tim, abruptly gets up and sneaks out of the room. Miss Sherwood insists to Tim that she saw a dog inside the school, and he gets impatient and asks, "Is it really that big of a deal?" She says it isn't, but that she doesn't appreciate him lying to her face. He gets annoyed at the accusation, insists he's never owned a dog, and says he doesn't like being called a liar. After a few more minutes of bickering, he barks, "We're done!" and storms out. In the hall, Doris hides by the water fountain and covertly witnesses Tim anxiously rubbing his face and looking dangerously close to bursting into tears. 




Doris finds Bruno by his locker and asks him if he's busy, and he tells her he's about to head home. She asks him if he can stick around for another hour, and explains that she needs help sneaking down to the janitor's office. Danny saunters over toward his locker just as Doris tells Bruno that she suddenly realized Tim the Janitor is a flesh and blood person...and that she's pretty sure he lied to Miss Sherwood about a dog being in the building. Danny asks them what the hell they're talking about, so Bruno tells him that Doris needs lessons on how to sneak around in a dark basement. Danny makes a face and says, "I'll pass"...and as he saunters off, Doris bellows, "What are friends for, anyway? Friends are for turning you down!" As she storms off in the opposite direction, Danny and Bruno guiltily stare at each other, then rush after her.

The three sneak downstairs and into a winding hallway that leads toward the janitor's basement office. Doris says she's expecting to find an abused dog who's seeking refuge at the school...and Danny, who doesn't give a rat's ass about an abused dog, says he's wary of going any further 'cause he doesn't want to get into trouble. Doris bitchily snarks, "I'll break and enter, while you cut and run" so Danny continues to reluctantly forge ahead. Doris suddenly starts to wheeze and sniff and declares, "We're deep in dog territory" and the three stealthily enter Tim's office and find the dog sitting across the room, looking healthy and content. They check out the photos that Tim has hung up on the wall, which are of him and other Broadway dancers. Doris notices a photo of Birdie Whelan, and remarks that her grandmother was a huge fan of his and always carried on about how he was the best. She sadly says, "He's probably gone by now" and suddenly an old man - hey, it's Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High! - appears from the shadows. He retorts, "Nope. I'm still alive" and casually offers to make them some tea. Doris, Bruno, and Danny are shocked at the sight of a strange man squatting in their school's basement and are all, "Wha-a?!"

Birdie tells the Fame kids he's been secretly living in Tim's basement office for the last three months. He got evicted from his room after he was unable to afford the rent - a situation that came about 'cause he broke his hip and had to spend all of his money on medicine. Tim offered to let him move into his place, but his landlord doesn't allow pets...and Birdie refused to part with his dog Clumpy, 'cause they've been together ever since he retired from dancing. He says he won't throw away a close friendship for the sake of a lease - and to that I say BRAVO, Birdie...and FUCK YOU to the landlord who doesn't allow pets in his building. Bruno says his friendship with Tim sounds terrific, and Birdie says that he and Tim became besties after he broke his hip. Tim suddenly enters his office and tells the kids that he and Birdie are, indeed, very special friends. ['Nuff said, Tim. We can all read between the lines here.] Tim warns the kids that if the teachers find out about Birdie, he'll be kicked out of the basement, and then he'll be out of a job. Birdie tells the kids that they just need to raise another $3,000 so that he and Tim can make a down payment on a trailer home in Florida. The kids promise not to breathe a word to anyone about this (as if) and Doris stares concernedly at Birdie and asks him if there's anything she can do for him. He asks her to tell Leroy not to argue with Ms. Grant so much...and when she's all, "Wuh?", he explains that he can hear everything going on in the dance gym through the vents. He thinks that Ms. Grant is a good teacher and that Leroy needs to listen to her "a bit harder". Doris looks amused and says she'll pass along that advice. After the kids leave, Birdie tells Tim, "It sure felt good talking to someone besides you."



Julie and Mr. Shorofsky are playing table tennis...and when she gives him an easyball serve, he calls it "a floating insult" and demand that she not condescend to him. Julie agrees to give him more of a challenging serve, then warns him that she's pretty good at this game...and he smirks and says, "Humor me." Julie re-serves, and a few seconds later, he's able to gain two points on her...and she's all, "Wha-a?" and surprisingly impressed at his table tennis skills.

Just outside the dance gym, Doris tells Miss Sherwood that she just remembered she's allergic to cats, not dogs - but Miss Sherwood looks skeptical. Doris reminds her that when she and Tim were talking in her classroom the other day, he seemed very sincere about not knowing anything about a dog being on the premises. Miss Sherwood points out that Tim merely claimed he didn't own a dog...and that he deliberately chose his words very carefully. Julie suddenly bursts out of the dance gym and incredulously exclaims, "I just got creamed!" and Mr. Shorofsky stands in the doorway, smugly smiling at Doris and Miss Sherwood.

After promising not to tell anyone about Birdie squatting in the basement of the School of the Arts..

• Danny blabs to Leroy about the Birdie/Tim situation, and passes along Birdie's advice to listen to Ms. Grant more. Leroy makes a sad face and says it's too bad the guy is homeless and has nowhere better to live. 
• Bruno blabs to Julie the sad story of how Birdie came to live in Tim's office, and Julie suggests doing some fundraising by hosting a benefit. Bruno nixes that idea and tells her she's not allowed to tell anyone about Birdie's illegal squatting.
• Doris blabs about Birdie to Montgomery and also tells him that Tim used to be a dancer on Broadway. She warns him not to say anything to Miss Sherwood 'cause she doesn't want the whole school to realize what's going on in the basement. 

Michelle approaches Doris in the hall and says she'd love to help out with the benefit for Tim and Birdie. Doris asks her how she found out about it, so she says she heard all about it from Montgomery, Julie, and Danny. Michelle says, "Everybody knows about it!" and Ms. Grant happens to walk by at that moment and asks, "Knows about what?" Doris quickly says, "Nothing. That's why we're in school...learning" and Ms. Grant's like, "Whatever" and heads over to the dance gym. Doris looks contemplative for several seconds as she mulls over the idea of hosting a benefit for Birdie.

The Fame kids (sans Coco - who, for some reason, isn't in this episode) have gathered in an empty classroom to discuss how feasible it would be to host a benefit. Danny suggests holding it at the Knights of St. Anthony Lodge 'cause they wouldn't charge anything, and it's a venue that can accommodate five hundred people. Leroy bitchily asks when they're supposed to rehearse for this show, and Julie looks alarmed and says, "Surely the school wouldn't refuse to let us help these two guys!" Doris says she sees Leroy's point, but then says they shouldn't think about this so logically and somehow make the benefit happen, and wise old sage Bruno says they can either build a bridge or a wall. He personally chooses bridge, 'cause he'd really like to help out the nice gay couple.

Ms. Grant enters the dance gym and is annoyed when she finds the table tennis table set up in the middle of the room. She asks two of her students to fold it up and put it against the wall, then heads out to the hall to admonish Mr. Shorofsky. She snappishly reminds him that he failed to put his table tennis table away, and he calmly tells her it's not his fault, 'cause the person he was playing last night got so badly creamed that he angrily stormed out...and he can't fold up the table by himself. He then studies Ms. Grant for a few seconds and asks her if she happens to play, but she says no. He murmurs, "Pity.." and ambles away.

Down in the basement, Tim is cooking a pot of pasta on a hot plate while Birdie sits at his desk with Clumpy at his feet. The two men discuss an old soap opera they used to watch, then start bickering like an old married couple. They hear a knock on the door - and it's Doris, who enters the room, along with Julie and Leroy. Tim tells Leroy he's a really good dancer, and Leroy thanks him for the compliment and asks him and Birdie if they've ever regretted becoming dancers. The two men emphatically reply, "Never!" and gabble about how awesome and magical dancing is. Leroy looks newly inspired and says he's going to gyrate his butt off at their upcoming benefit. Oh joy.

Leroy enters the dance gym and loudly informs Ms. Grant that he came in early to rehearse. She asks him why he's talking so loud, so he yells, "I'm full of energy!" and starts jumping around and making a lot of noise. Clumpy's barking can be heard through the vent, so Leroy coughs to mask the sound. Ms. Grant cluelessly tells him he should do something about that cough, and Leroy agrees and leaves. When Clumpy barks again, Ms. Grant cocks her head and looks momentarily puzzled, then shakes her head and gets back to her paperwork. I have absolutely no idea what the purpose of that scene was.

A mischievous looking Ms. Grant finds Mr. Shorofsky in the teacher's lounge and tells him she'd like to set up a table tennis match between him and a friend of hers, Mrs. Peyton-Smythe. Mr. Shorofsky eagerly accepts the challenge and cockily says he'll most likely beat her, the way he's been beating everyone else. Miss Sherwood enters the lounge looking troubled, and tells her colleagues that she found a flyer at her dry cleaners about a benefit that's being performed by students of the School of the Arts. Ms. Grant says it's no problem if it's for some kind of charity, but Miss Sherwood tells her she did some calling around to investigate the beneficiaries of the event and ominously says, "If any of the students step onto that stage Saturday night, they're outta this school like a shot." Egads!

After the bell rings, Miss Sherwood holds back the Fame kids who are involved with the upcoming benefit. She hands them all tardy slips and explains that they're going to be late for their next class. She tells them they need to cancel the event, and Leroy immediately gets all prickly and refuses to discuss it. She sternly warns him that if he has anything to do with the benefit, he's out of the school. Doris barks, "Why? For trying to help somebody?" and Miss Sherwood retorts, "No, for breaking a school rule." She explains that students aren't allowed to raise money for school employees, 'cause it might look like a bribe or "courting favor", so Doris asks, "Isn't it a little difficult to court favor for a janitor?" Miss Sherwood shrugs helplessly and says, "The rule is the rule." [It's a pretty nonsensical rule, even in a non-janitor context.] Leroy asks her if they'd really be expelled, and she confirms that there's a good chance of that. Leroy mulls that over for a few seconds, then declares that he's still doing the benefit - the rules be damned. Miss Sherwood says she can't know anything about the planning of the benefit, otherwise she'll be obligated to report it. That said, she doesn't see any way for them to host the benefit and stay in school. She then abruptly gets up and says, "Officially we're not having this conversation" and dashes out of the room, leaving the Fame kids staring contemplatively into space.



Tim shows Danny and Doris a photo of a trailer home that he and Birdie just put a down payment on. Danny's about to tell him that they're going to have to cancel the benefit - but Doris stops him, points at the photo, and blurts out, "It's gorgeous!" As she steers Danny down the hall, he tells her she's crazy, but she insists, "There's always a way. We just have to find it."

Mr. Shorofsky is in the dance gym, practicing his table tennis skills, when Ms. Grant escorts an Asian woman into the dance gym. She introduces her to Mr. Shorofsky as Mrs. Peyton-Smythe, and tells him she's ready for their table tennis match. Mr. Shorofsky suddenly looks nervous and quietly remarks to Ms. Grant that Chinese people are known for their prowess at table tennis, and Ms. Grant's like, "Good luck with that" and heads out. She pauses outside the doorway and listens as the game gets underway...and Mr. Shorofsky groans in frustration and barks, "Gott in Himmel!" every time he loses a point. Hee!

Ms. Grant and Miss Sherwood arrive at the benefit together, and it looks like there's a pretty good turnout. Montgomery, who's acting as MC, explains to the audience the purpose of the evening: the love between two kindred spirits. To everyone's surprise, he announces that they're all here to honor...wait for it...Clumpy! Er, OK..? Doris brings him onto the stage - which is weird 'cause wasn't she allergic to dogs at the beginning of the episode? She tells the audience that the poor pooch suffers from an arthritic hip, and that the proceeds of tonight's benefit will go towards transporting Clumpy to a warmer climate "where he can run in the fields and rest his hip". LOL. As coincidence would have it, Birdie and Tim have agreed to be his traveling companions. Everyone loudly applauds, and Miss Sherwood chuckles at the tenacious resourcefulness of the Fame kids, grins over at Ms. Grant, and starts clapping.



Show time! The students emerge in glittery yellow costumes, and - no surprise - Leroy is the lead dancer. He breaks out in song, which is very painful to listen to, and does his usual gyrating while periodically thrusting his pelvis. It's hard to imagine that anyone was actually willing to shell out money to sit through this spectacle. Halfway through the performance, Leroy pulls Ms. Grant onto the stage, and she somehow knows all the dance moves and just happened to have worn an outfit that is appropriate for some impromptu dancing.

When the singing and dancing comes to a merciful end, Leroy and Ms. Grant urge Birdie and Tim to take the stage. Birdie tells the audience that Leroy recently asked them how they feel about becoming dancers...and it dawned on him that he forgot to tell him the most important aspect of a dancer's life: dancing makes them feel young. Tim chimes in and says, "The problem with dancing is that there's never an ending to the act." Ms. Grant places top hats atop their heads as Bruno starts playing the piano. Tim and Birdie begin performing...and by performing, I mean they start snapping their fingers, then sing gibberish and do some light dance steps in perfect unison. Everyone is charmed by the obvious love between these very special friends...and on the other side of the room, Doris starts sneezing and wheezing. I guess her dog allergy suddenly decided to kick in again.

Michael Thoma NY Times Obituary 1982

35 years ago today Michael Thoma who played Greg Crandall died.

Michael Thoma NY Times Obituary  September 1982

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Sing For You Album Review by Brian Mattocks - KFFM