Dan Schneider Movies

The star of this half-hour Nickelodeon sitcom was Jamie Lynn Spears, sister of Britney Spears. "Celebrity sibling" Jamie Lynn was cast as Zoey Brooks, the first female student at Pacific Coast Academy, formerly an all-boys' prep school. The stories concerned Zoey's interaction with her male classmates (whose attitudes ranged from hostile to adoring) and the other girls who'd been brought into the academy in our heroine's wake. In time-honored "teencom" tradition, the series bore only a passing resemblance to reality: for example, Pacific Coast Academy boasted not only a fully equipped movie theater, but also a sushi bar. Nevertheless, each episode ended with Zoey and her friends learning an important life lesson with which the home audience could easily relate. The supporting cast included Paul Butcher (son of the same-named NFL star) as Zoey's brother Dustin, likewise a student at the academy; Sean Flynn (grandson of Errol Flynn) as shy Chase Mathews; Alexa Nikolas as ebullient Nicole Bristow; Christopher Massey as Chase's pal Michael Barret, Matthew Underwood as handsome Logan Reese, and, during the first season, Kristin Herrera as the resident "girl with attitude," Dana Cruz; she was replaced in season two by the similarly acerbic-but-lovable Lola, played by Victoria Justice. In addition to the regular cast, the series boasted guest appearances by several of the youthful actors who appeared in other Nickelodeon programs. Zoey 101 debuted on January 9, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This TV family sitcom, described as "a buddy show with a kid," pivots around the cute antics of Maestro Harris (six-year-old Maestro Harrell), the younger brother of Jared (Bumper Robinson). When their father leaves for a 14-month Venezuelan engineering gig, Maestro has to move in with Jared and his roommate, easy-going musician Sean Barker (Chris Hardwick, the ex-host of MTV's Singled Out), who isn't thrilled by the arrangement. As might be expected, the Maestro conducts himself in a manner intrusive to the free-form lifestyle the two guys had going in their Cleveland bachelor pad. Filmed in L.A., the series premiered October 5, 1998 on United Paramount Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

By rights, Head of the Class should have ended its run at the end of its fourth season, with the departure of series star Howard Hesseman. However, ABC decided to film a fifth and final season as a back-up, in case any of their new programs of the 1990-1991 season should be prematurely canceled. As it turned out, the network's new sitcom Baby Talk was not quite ready for prime time in September, thus Head of the Class was hastily inserted into the schedule until the production problems on the other series could be ironed out. In the season opener, it was explained that Hesseman's character, Fillmore High School substitute teacher Charlie Moore, had quit his job to pursue a full-time acting career. Thus, the genius-level students in Moore's Individual Honors Program now had a new teacher, a flamboyant Scotsman named Billy McGregor (played by Hibernian comedian Billy Connolly). Like Moore, Mr. McGregor was dedicated to instilling in his brilliant charges the emotional maturity and social skills that they would need when finally released into the real world. Unlike Moore, McGregor conducted his classes as though he were performing a monologue at the local comedy club. He also tended to become more involved than your average teacher in the students' off-campus lives, notably in the episode "Viki's Torn Genes," in which he helps student Viki Amory (Lara Piper) locate her birth mother -- with surprising results. Occasionally, his unorthodox methods backfired disastrously, notably in the two-part episode in which, after McGregor lectures the kids on the proper way to protect themselves from being mugged, nerdish Arvid (Dan Frischman) is inspired to purchase a gun! Head of the Class was canceled mid-season on January 15, 1991, only to return on May 28 with five new episodes, all of them leading up to the series finale when the IHP class finally graduates -- not so much because it is high time that they did so (which of course it is), but because Fillmore High is about to be demolished. In the last episode, the two-part "It Couldn't Last Forever," the IHP kids try to figure out who among a classroom full of geniuses will be chosen to deliver the valedictory speech. This terminal episode marks the brief return of former regular Tannins Valelly in the role of child prodigy Janice Lazarotto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Permanent substitute" teacher Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman) continues to instill the genius-level students of Fillmore High's Individual Honors Program (IHP) with the sort of things one can't find in a book -- such as emotional maturity, personal responsibility and a genuine sense of self-worth -- in season three of Head of the Class. New to the series this year is Rain Pryor, daughter of Richard Pryor, as the street-smart T.J. Jones, a remedial student who is "slow" mainly because of a bad and overly defensive attitude, but who is determined to earn the right to join the IHP kids. This is the season that Head of the Class carved its niche in the annals of television history. The hour-long episode "Mission to Moscow," originally telecast November 2, 1998, was the first American prime time comedy series episode ever to be filmed in the Soviet Union. Other season highlights include "Let's Rap," featuring future King of Queens regular Leah Remini in a one-line bit part; "First Date," wherein tough-guy Eric (Brian Robbins) and budding poetess Simone (Khrystyne Haje) go out together for the first time; "I Am the King," which sets up Charlie Moore's eventual exit from the series when he is hired as a commercial spokesman for an appliance store; and "King of Remedial," in which fat, wisecracking science geek Dennis (Dan Schneider) surprises himself by becoming the role model for a group of special-education students. Finally, season four offers the second of the series' musical episodes with the two-part "Shop Til You Drop," wherein the IHP class stages a production of "Little Shop of Horrors." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season one of Head of the Class begins as substitute teacher Charles Moore (Howard Hesseman) takes over the high-achieving Individual Honors Program (IHP) at New York's Monroe High School (soon to be re-christened Millard Fillmore High). Though principal Dr. Samuels (William G. Schilling) expects Charlie merely to keep quiet and allow the students to study on their own so that the school can continue winning the annual Academic Olympics Contest, our hero prefers to take a less passive approach to his work. He realizes that although his students all possess genius-level intellects, they are woefully lacking in personal maturity and basic social skills. Thus, Charlie sets the class on its ear by adopting a "hands-on" approach, flamboyantly instructing his charges in "The Book of Life." Though Samuels is terrified that the kids' grades will suffer, in fact they begin to excel beyond all expectation -- just as Charlie and assistant principal Bernadette Mehra (Jeanetta Arnette) figured they would. Mr. Moore's first crop of students include Maria (Leslie Bega), Darlene (Robin Givens), Allan (Tony O'Dell), Arvid (Dan Frischman), Simone (Khrystyne Haje), Dennis (Dan Schneider), Eric (Brian Robbins), Sarah (Kimberly Russell), Jawarhalal (Jory Husain), and preteen prodigy Janice (Tannis Vallely). Occasionally commiserating with the IHP-ers during this and the next season is "normal" student Lori Applebaum (Marcia Christie). Charlie's new job is jeopardized early in the season when the IHP's regular teacher Vernon Thomas (Roscoe Lee Browne) returns from sick leave; fortunately, Thomas is wiling to defer to Charlie's unorthodox techniques. Later in the season, the academic tables are turned when the students help Charlie re-qualify for his teaching license. And in one far-sighted episode, the kids compete in an academic tournament against a group of brainy Russian students; two years later, Head of the Class would be the first American sitcom to film an episode in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this teen comedy, the employees at a posh hotel go to war with the resort's snooty guests. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A college student clashes with his co-ed roommate, then falls for her in this romantic comedy. Sheltered freshman Chris Wooden (Patrick Dempsey) arrives at his university ready to hone his writing skills. His hard-partying roommate, however, proves to be a distraction. Alex Page (Helen Slater) -- short for Alexandra -- has been placed on a guys' floor by mistake, and the aspiring actress/good-time girl drives Chris crazy. Eventually, as both students hone their respective crafts and spend more time together, they become friends and finally lovers. But Alex's freewheeling ways put a kink in things; Chris is an old-fashioned guy, and he wants a plain-vanilla girlfriend. Things come to a head when a random biker Alex promised to marry shows up looking to rearrange Chris' face. Happy Together is one of the few feature credits of Mel Damski, who has directed countless TV movies since the late '70s. Astute viewers will notice a pre-Thelma and Louise Brad Pitt in a small role. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Former co-stars of the TV sitcom Head of the Class teamed up to write the story and script for this teen comedy. When junior high-school student Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) realizes that his class paper has been ripped off and turned into a hit motion picture called "Big Fat Liar," he takes matters into his own hands. Along with his best friend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), Jason travels to Los Angeles, where he intends to confront Hollywood big shot Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), the sleazy producer responsible for ripping him off. When he's unable to get Wolf to do the right thing, Jason subjects the showbiz power broker to a series of humiliating pranks and stunts designed to make an honest man out of him. Big Fat Liar co-stars Lee Majors and Amanda Detmer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The time-worn clash between the rich and poor, brought out by switched identities, is the ploy used here to put a streetwise kid into an upper-crust prep school. Palmer (Dana Olsen) does not want to stay at school for his final year, but he needs to graduate in order to receive his mega-buck trust fund. Eddie (Judd Nelson) is a New Jersey native, used to the streets and handling trouble when it comes -- except Eddie's bookie is after him for a bad debt, and when Eddie jumps the prep school's fence to escape his creditor, he almost knocks down Palmer. From that serendipitous meeting, the two decide to swap identities -- or partly so. Eddie will become Palmer and get good grades in the last year of school, for the sum of $10,000 at graduation. And Palmer will go off on his own planned vacation. Eddie soon learns the ways of the rich and famous, but he is quickly back to crap games and porno movies, this time initiating his new schoolmates into that lifestyle and gaining popularity along the way. What follows is a series of misadventures as the bookie shows up at the school to demand his due from Eddie, Eddie falls in love with the daughter of the school's patron, and Palmer comes back. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide