After school special

The American Broadcasting Company coined the term After School Special with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the early afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly teenagers. CBS distributed its own productions as the "CBS Afternoon Playhouse" (later known as "CBS Schoolbreak Special"). CBS had a program called "Famous Classic Tales", which aired Australian cartoons that were adapted from literature books (similar to "Family Classic Tales"). NBC also had afterschool programs under the umbrella title "Special Treat". Other similar programs included the "ABC Weekend Special".

List of specials

*"My Dad Lives in a Downtown Hotel" (1973)
*"My Mom's Having a Baby" (1977)
*"The Boy Who Drank Too Much" (1980)
*"Stoned" (1981)
*"Please Don't Hit Me, Mom" (1981)
*"I Think I'm Having a Baby" (1981)
*"Amy and the Angel" (1983)
*" (1984)
*"The Day My Kid Went Punk" (1987)
*"What If I'm Gay?" (1987)
*"" (1989)
*"My Dad Can't Be Crazy (Can He?)" (1989)
*"The Girl with the Crazy Brother" (1990)
*"Two Teens And A Baby" (1991)
*"I Hate the Way I Look" (1994)

ee also

*"Famous classic tales"
*"Last of the Curlews" - The very first ABC After School Special (1972), and one of very few animated ones.
*"Degrassi"
*"Schoolhouse Rock"
*Very special episode
*"Strangers with Candy"
*Public information film - In the UK, extended versions of these were shown in schools. These were often about safety.
*Wonderworks - Produced several Afterschool-type specials for PBS

References

* [http://www.tvdvdreviews.com/after74.html Reviews of a DVD collection of ABC After School Specials]
* [http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2006/01/01/the_strange_afterlife_of_the_after_school_special/ "The strange afterlife of the After School Special"] - by Joanna Weiss, "Boston Globe" January 1, 2006
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2146154 "My Dad Lives In A Downtown Hotel: The Subtle Brilliance of the After School Special] " by Marisa Meltzer - "Slate.com" - July 20, 2006

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/episodes Complete list of "ABC After School Specials"] at IMDB.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985040/episodes Complete list of "CBS Schoolbreak Specials"] at IMDB.com
* [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1043199/episodes Partial list of "NBC Special Treat" episodes] at IMDB.com