Can we please talk about the Punky Brewster revival....
Mar 8, 2021 11:20:48 GMT -5
grungesmurf and Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃 like this
Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 11:20:48 GMT -5
...and how it might be the best of any of these 80s/90s revival shows?
I finally logged onto Peacock and decided to give it a watch yesterday. "I'll watch the pilot, then a couple more here & there." Was planning on just a taste, to satiate that nostalgia urge.
By the end of episode 1, I just sat there and let it auto-start 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and right thru to the end. I was IN.
The word to absolutely describe this show is genuine. How remarkably genuine this show is.
I didn't think it would be anything but, however it really does a number on all those other revivals which look phony and empty in comparison (and those didn't look that shiny great to start off with either). I expected that melodramatic b.s. and schlock that things like Fuller House gave us, and there is a bit here & there sure, but it's so overwhelmed by everything else the show has going for it that you don't even care.
As I watched this show I became convinced that Soleil Moon Frye has had this idea in her head for 30+ years and it brewed to perfection. Her performance is enjoyable & happy, of course, but when she nails the emotional moment she DELIVERS. She tears up a few times and you don't ever not believe it for a second. Even though it's all probably the product of a team of writers, she is involved in creative and virtually everything that came out in this 10-episode run does so in the purest & most authentic of manners. It just feels right.
More importantly, the show has a message. A overall plot to it that is handled remarkably well - yet subtle; every episode doesn't revolve around it, but rather (when mentioned, and never to the kids which was impressive) it serves as a way to highlight how her life has been & has gone and is going and, while it's an fundamental moment in her life, it doesn't really change anything she's got going with her family. That particular thing all those years ago serves as the foundation of how she built her own family as a result.
Henry Warnimont is of course gone - he left her the apartment, which got a real nice revamp (and yes the treehouse is still out there too) - but he's mentioned a few times, prominently seen in a portrait in every episode, and evoked very strongly when it's called for. Just the touch with what Punky's career is now would've been an excellent tribute on its own, but they handle him well. Punky's comment about him in the last episode is, quite frankly, the most f***ing impactful thing said in the entire revival, and feels like the resolution to the whole overall plot.
Cherie is still around, now running Fenster Hall where Punky had been, and shows up regularly. Knowing they've been actual friends since age 7 reinforces all the authenticity. And Freddie Prinze Jr. is the ex, who didn't have time for the family but now realizes he should. It's a broken family unit at play here, but he's around so much that when it comes time to tease a reunion.....even that doesn't get the resolution you expect, but you realize just what we get mends things tremendously.
Good grief, even the kids in this are brutally well cast. The annoying Disney Channel stereotype of kids you may expect (trying to overact, hit that mark all the time no matter what even if maybe you shouldn't) is pretty absent here. The older sister seems like a pro who gets it, the boys....tend to reach toward those levels a few times but they handle themselves well overall. And the youngest, the Punky archetype, is perfect. That kid delivers almost every moment she's on screen. And yes, she dresses up as '80s Punky at one point and it's friggin' adorable.
Is there a weak spot? Oh absolutely, and for FAN it's very spot on: the wrestling segment. The "mention WWE ad nauseum until your ears bleed" episode -- which is only half the episode, turns out; they spin that Peacock mandate right out of the forced wrestler appearances into something that benefits the story & characters nicely; it's the episode where they give the brothers their best moment too, no less. It's also where they toss in the sole old show cameo.
This show is so good that I really hope it doesn't come back for a second season. Everything done here is most welcome. It had a point. It aimed and fired that point and hit the center of the bulls eye. It gets what it needed to be and gives it to you in 10 episodes. Anything beyond this will be enjoyable, but a little emptier because it seems like the message is delivered with preciseness. But if Soleil Moon Frye and Co. have an idea and run with it, I honestly can't say I'd be opposed - this show is high quality.
I finally logged onto Peacock and decided to give it a watch yesterday. "I'll watch the pilot, then a couple more here & there." Was planning on just a taste, to satiate that nostalgia urge.
By the end of episode 1, I just sat there and let it auto-start 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and right thru to the end. I was IN.
The word to absolutely describe this show is genuine. How remarkably genuine this show is.
I didn't think it would be anything but, however it really does a number on all those other revivals which look phony and empty in comparison (and those didn't look that shiny great to start off with either). I expected that melodramatic b.s. and schlock that things like Fuller House gave us, and there is a bit here & there sure, but it's so overwhelmed by everything else the show has going for it that you don't even care.
As I watched this show I became convinced that Soleil Moon Frye has had this idea in her head for 30+ years and it brewed to perfection. Her performance is enjoyable & happy, of course, but when she nails the emotional moment she DELIVERS. She tears up a few times and you don't ever not believe it for a second. Even though it's all probably the product of a team of writers, she is involved in creative and virtually everything that came out in this 10-episode run does so in the purest & most authentic of manners. It just feels right.
More importantly, the show has a message. A overall plot to it that is handled remarkably well - yet subtle; every episode doesn't revolve around it, but rather (when mentioned, and never to the kids which was impressive) it serves as a way to highlight how her life has been & has gone and is going and, while it's an fundamental moment in her life, it doesn't really change anything she's got going with her family. That particular thing all those years ago serves as the foundation of how she built her own family as a result.
{Spoiler}Her mom who abandoned her 35 years ago tracks her down. If you're not invested in this show at least at the moment Punky repeats her own full name and then realize who she's talking to, move onto some other rerun - this ain't for you.
Henry Warnimont is of course gone - he left her the apartment, which got a real nice revamp (and yes the treehouse is still out there too) - but he's mentioned a few times, prominently seen in a portrait in every episode, and evoked very strongly when it's called for. Just the touch with what Punky's career is now would've been an excellent tribute on its own, but they handle him well. Punky's comment about him in the last episode is, quite frankly, the most f***ing impactful thing said in the entire revival, and feels like the resolution to the whole overall plot.
Cherie is still around, now running Fenster Hall where Punky had been, and shows up regularly. Knowing they've been actual friends since age 7 reinforces all the authenticity. And Freddie Prinze Jr. is the ex, who didn't have time for the family but now realizes he should. It's a broken family unit at play here, but he's around so much that when it comes time to tease a reunion.....even that doesn't get the resolution you expect, but you realize just what we get mends things tremendously.
Good grief, even the kids in this are brutally well cast. The annoying Disney Channel stereotype of kids you may expect (trying to overact, hit that mark all the time no matter what even if maybe you shouldn't) is pretty absent here. The older sister seems like a pro who gets it, the boys....tend to reach toward those levels a few times but they handle themselves well overall. And the youngest, the Punky archetype, is perfect. That kid delivers almost every moment she's on screen. And yes, she dresses up as '80s Punky at one point and it's friggin' adorable.
Is there a weak spot? Oh absolutely, and for FAN it's very spot on: the wrestling segment. The "mention WWE ad nauseum until your ears bleed" episode -- which is only half the episode, turns out; they spin that Peacock mandate right out of the forced wrestler appearances into something that benefits the story & characters nicely; it's the episode where they give the brothers their best moment too, no less. It's also where they toss in the sole old show cameo.
{Spoiler}Did you ever wonder if Margeaux went to work for the WWE PR department? SHE DOES. WONDER NO MORE KIDS. 
This show is so good that I really hope it doesn't come back for a second season. Everything done here is most welcome. It had a point. It aimed and fired that point and hit the center of the bulls eye. It gets what it needed to be and gives it to you in 10 episodes. Anything beyond this will be enjoyable, but a little emptier because it seems like the message is delivered with preciseness. But if Soleil Moon Frye and Co. have an idea and run with it, I honestly can't say I'd be opposed - this show is high quality.
{Spoiler}"I forgave you a long time ago. But I don't need a mom anymore. I had one. His name was Henry."
Jesus Christ, people, watch this show.
Jesus Christ, people, watch this show.
....but they sidestepped It's Punky Brewster entirely.
