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ABC Afterschool Specials Season 7 Episodes
Season 7 Episode Guide
7 Episodes 1978 - 1979
Episode 1
One of a Kind
Wed, Sep 27, 197860 mins
A free-spirited mother realizes her daughter is no longer a little girl and tries to give her more independence; meanwhile, the daughter is puzzled by her mother's lack of attention.
Episode 2
A Home Run for Love
Wed, Oct 11, 197845 mins
In 1947, a young white boy and an elderly black man enjoy a warm and wonderful friendship based on their mutual love of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson.
Episode 3
Gaucho
Wed, Oct 25, 197846 mins
A young Puerto Rican New York boy thinks his mother wants to move back to her homeland, so he takes a job as an errand boy for a small-time hood to pay for the move back to her Caribbean homeland.
Episode 4
Dinky Hocker
Wed, Dec 12, 197960 mins
"DINKY HOCKER SHOOTS SMACK!" She is an addict, but she has never touched or used a drug in her life. Why those words are scribbled on sidewalks and scrawled on walls becomes the focus of this story. The film portrays the plight of a girl who is "hooked" on food. Dinky's mother is too involved in charity work at a drug rehabilitation center to notice her daughter's problems. Mrs. Hocker, all too sensitive to the difficulties of others, fails to see that her daughter is more than a victim of "baby fat." With the help of P. John, an overweight friend, Dinky makes strides, but her progress goes unnoticed. In all-out desperation to get her mother's attention, the young girl forces her family and the viewer to understand that you don't have to be a public misfit to be in personal, private turmoil.
Episode 5
Make-Believe Marriage
Wed, Feb 14, 1979
High school students take part in a marriage course where they are coupled up and must complete everyday married life tasks.
Episode 6
The Terrible Secret
Mon, Mar 5, 1979
One of the very best of the "Afterschool Special" series, effectively making the point that running away from responsibility is a risky business: it tends to jump up and bite you at the most inconvenient times. It all begins one stormy night: Bobbie, driving a florist's delivery van, is trying to read street signs in the downpour when she accidentally knocks down a young boy on a bike. She picks the injured boy up and takes him to the nearest hospital, then panic overcomes her and she flees. She tells no one about the accident (although family and friends sense that something's wrong), and after days of letting the 'terrible secret' eat at her she's on the verge of a breakdown. She finally confides in her boyfriend Seth, who turns out to be carrying a guilty secret of his own; with his support she confesses all to her family and the authorities, and goes to visit the young accident victim in the hospital.
Episode 7
The Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid
Wed, May 9, 1979
Butterfly McQueen as "Aunt Thelma" a fairy-godmother with the "Seven Wishes Sweepstakes". Robbie Rist (Brady Bunch's "Oliver") co-stars as Calvin, a spoiled rich kid whose television tunes in Aunt Thelma. He's got 7 wishes and some lessons to learn.