Fame Season 1 - The Memorable TV DVD Review

This archetypal teen drama, based on the movie by Alan Parker, was huge when I was growing up in the UK. Known over there as The Kids From Fame and beginning in 1982 it follows the premise of the movie - life for a bunch of kids attending the New York High

School of Performing Arts, the first episode is pretty much a retread of the movie, introducing the school, the kids and teachers, on the student side there is composer Bruno, streetwise dancer Leroy, feisty singer Coco, comedian Danny, drama student Doris and new in town cellist Julie; Staff wise there is crochety old music teacher Mr Shorofsky, dance teacher Ms Grant, Mr Sherwood the English teacher and drama teacher Mr Crandall.

The show touches on plenty of 'coming of age' issues, from struggling to fit in, relationship problems, drugs and the importance of friendships - a bit like a serious Welcome Home Kotter but the best bits are the two or three song and dance

numbers that appear in each episode. It was fantastic at the time to see the kids dancing on the tables or walking into a music shop and putting a song together as they test out the instruments (episode 6 The Sell Out when Bruno's synthesiser breaks and he struggles to pay for a new one); Other stand outs have to include the episode The Strike with Gene Anthony Ray's Desdemona as well as the whole cast's Starmaker.

Every teenager should be made to watch series like Fame with its hopes and dreams and positive aspirations, instead they'll probably be watching Home and Away and Neighbours with their teenage pregnancies and life threatening illnesses and growing up before you need to.

This first season, despite being the best of the lot, didn't do that well in the states and NBC decided to cancel the show however because it had gone down a storm in the UK and Europe the producers decided to go into first run syndication - a very wise move as the show then took off in the states too. Lee Curreri and Gene Anthony Ray also appeared in the movie version as did Debbie Allen although she was a student rather than a teacher.

ANY SPECIAL FEATURES?

No extras.