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16 Episodes 1982 - 1982
Episode 1
Thu, Jan 7, 198246 mins
Julie tries her best to fit in at the New York School for the Performing Arts, with a little bit of help from Doris and Montgomery.
Episode 2
Thu, Jan 14, 198247 mins
Coco and Lydia vie for a part in a show. Danny wants to meet Johnny Carson and becomes a waiter.
Episode 3
Thu, Jan 21, 198246 mins
Three members of the Board of Education have scheduled an "inspection" of the school, to evaluate its programs and its needs. Despite not wanting their visit to disrupt the school in any way including how they teach and how the students react, the teachers are suspicious of the visit, and find it difficult in certain circumstances not to let the constant note-taking the inspectors do influence how they act or react. Part of the inspection includes speaking to the students directly one-on-one. The teachers are concerned that what recommendations the inspectors put forth will try to place them into the mold of every other "regular" school. Lydia in particular tries to fight that view when she hears the final recommendation. Meanwhile, Leroy has an unexpected visitor: his ten year older brother Willard, who he has not seen since he was a child since Willard has been in prison since then. As Willard is the only family he has, Leroy tries to forge a meaningful relationship with him, which may or may not be the best idea depending on Willard's motives.
Episode 4
Thu, Jan 28, 198248 mins
Bruno is afraid of performing in public and must learn to overcome his fears.
Episode 5
Thu, Feb 4, 198248 mins
Bruno is in love with a dance major named Kathy Murphy. When he is to write a piece of music for her, she performs for him and gets injured. It turns out that she has Multiple Sclerosis.
Episode 6
Thu, Feb 11, 198248 mins
When Bruno's dad buys him a new synthesizer, Bruno feels the need to get a job to help pay for it. Meanwhile, Julie wonders why Coco is suddenly so rude to her while they are doing a very important number together.
Episode 7
Thu, Feb 18, 198248 mins
The School Of The Arts is plagued by a teachers' strike just as the kids are set to work on a musical production of Othello. Meanwhile Leroy is cast for the part of Othello, but feels he just can't speak the way the script was written.
Episode 8
Thu, Feb 25, 198248 mins
In Mr. Crandall's acting class, he asks his students to prepare an individual scene in a character most remote from what they see themselves. Doris, the good girl, decides to prepare a characterization of a prostitute and does some first hand research. In acting and speaking with hookers, she meets up with Tracy, a runaway streetwalker her own age. Tracy has a tough exterior, but deep down is wanting a life better than what her current lot has provided. Doris decides to take Tracy under her wing, takes her into her home, and introduces her to life at the School For the Performing Arts. Tracy is mesmerized by the school and thinks she's found what she wants in life. However there are strict regulations for admission, regulations that Lydia in particular wants to bend to at least allow Tracy to audition early seeing as to her personal situation. The teachers do allow her to audition, but they admit that Tracy has to be better than the best to prove that allowing this bend in the rules was justified. Tracy is not - in fact she's a mediocre performer in every sense, which Doris could not see through her rose colored glasses of what she wanted for Tracy. Finally Doris faces reality and says to Tracy that much of what she achieves in her life is of her own doing and decisions, one of the options that Tracy has is to go home to her family back in Cleveland. Tracy herself finally realizes that although she's scared of what her parents will say if/when she calls them, she would much rather go home than to go back onto the street. Meanwhile, non-driver Mr. Shorofsky wants to learn how to drive because he has the opportunity to purchase his friend's classic car. He talks Elizabeth into teaching him how to drive. Mr. Shorofsky knows nothing about cars or driving, which is not made any easier by Elizabeth's tough teaching methods. When she sees the car, she knows that Mr. Shorofsky will never drive be able to drive the car. It is a right side drive four speed, the skill set with which she was providing him not easily transferable to driving such a car.
Episode 9
Thu, Mar 4, 198248 mins
Danny starts taking caffeine pills to juggle school and his new midnight gig at a comedy club. Meanwhile Doris has her first screen-test for a hamburger commercial.
Episode 10
Thu, Mar 11, 198248 mins
Montgomery's mother, a famous movie star, has agreed to direct the school variety show. The only problem is she wants to use it to showcase herself.
Episode 11
Thu, Mar 18, 198249 mins
Doris learns that sometimes honesty is not always the best policy. When Shorofsky is hospitalized, Bruno realizes that he is important to his life.
Episode 12
Thu, Mar 25, 198247 mins
When Julie gets replaced by a mannequin in a production number, she feels unimportant until a reporter threatens to do an expose on her.
Episode 13
Thu, Apr 1, 198247 mins
Montgomery tries to get Bruno to cash in on his songwriting abilities.
Episode 14
Thu, Apr 15, 198246 mins
Tim O'Banyan is the school's janitor. Thinking that Tim is hiding a dog in the janitor's room in the basement of the school, Doris, Bruno and Danny investigate. What they find is that Tim is harboring more than Clumpy the dog, but Clumpy's owner, Birdie Whelan. Tim and Birdie were professional rivals during their younger years, more precisely dance rivals, but are now best friends. Burdened with medical expenses stemming from a broken hip, Birdie was kicked out of his apartment for failing to pay rent, and since Tim's apartment didn't allow pets, Birdie moved into the school's basement. Tim and Birdie's long term plan is to raise another $3,000 to buy a trailer in which to live. Word of Tim and Birdie's situation quickly spreads amongst the student body, with Julie coming up with an idea of holding a benefit. They have to keep the fact of the benefit quiet from the teachers. Elizabeth does find out about it, and is afraid that the students who participate will be expelled since it is against school guidelines. Raising money for a school board employee, even a janitor, could be seen as a bribe. But Elizabeth and Lydia try and turn a blind eye to the benefit, while expressing their concerns to the students. Looking for a creative way around the rule, the students come up with the idea of holding the benefit not for Tim, and even not for Birdie, but for Clumpy. Meanwhile, ping-pong shark Mr. Shorofsky is taking on all comers with glee in crushing his opponents. Lydia thinks she has a match for Mr. Shorofsky in the form of Mrs. Peyton-Smythe. Mr. Shorofsky thinks she'll be just another walk in the park, until he meets her: she is a Chinese national, the Chinese renowned for their ping-pong prowess. She crushes him.
Episode 15
Thu, Apr 29, 198247 mins
The school's going to have a show so Miss Grant entrusts Leroy and Danny to get the props. And Leroy also wants his mother who's in Detroit to come but she can't afford it. They inadvertently buy items that are hot so they are confiscated. So Danny decides to use his pool skills to come up with the money for the props and Leroy's mom's fare. A woman whom Shorovsky knows comes from Germany for a visit. And Sherwood tries to get the students to read The Diary of Anne Frank but they don't seem interested. So Shorovsky's friend, who lived in that time, offers to talk to the students.
Episode 16
Thu, May 6, 198248 mins
Budget cutbacks prompts the School Board to fire one of the school's teachers.