Television

Spunky nine-year-old Penelope "Punky" Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) and her foster father, middle-aged bachelor photographer Henry Warnimont (George Gaynes), continue to adjust themselves to one another's presence (sometimes successfully) as the heartwarming sitcom Punky Brewster begins its second season on NBC. Likewise coming back for more is Susie Garrett as nurse Betty Johnson, Henry's upstairs neighbor. New to the series this year is T.K. Carter as schoolteacher Mike Fulton, who is extremely simpatico with Punky and her classmates Cherie (Cherie Johnson), Margaux (Ami Foster), and Allen (Casey Ellison). The season opens with an episode featuring a guest-star turn by boxer Marvelous Marvin Hagler. In subsequent stories, former Happy Days regular Cathy Silvers appears as a confused "client" when Punky and Cherie establish their own baby-sitting service; teacher Mike Fulton helps Punky through a difficult emotional crisis by revealing that he, like she, was adopted; Allen learns a vital lesson when he foolishly pokes fun at a mentally challenged classmate; and Peter Billingsley, star of the classic theatrical feature A Christmas Story, is seen, appropriately enough, in the series' Yuletide episode (but he doesn't shoot his eye out!). Perhaps the most memorable of the second-season Punky Brewsters is the two-part "The Perils of Punky," in which Soleil Moon Frye plays a dual role. With the season's final episode, "Accidents Happen," featuring Buzz Aldrin in a cameo role, Punky Brewster's NBC run came to an end. However, the series proved so successful in rerun syndication that it was revived as a syndicated series in 1987 -- nearly two years after its initial cancellation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Canceled by NBC at the end of its second season in 1986, the family sitcom Punky Brewster was revived in off-network syndication one year later -- partly due to public demand, and partly to add more episodes to the series' surprisingly successful network-rerun package. Back on duty are Soleil Moon Frye as feisty 11-year-old Penelope "Punky" Brewster and George Gaynes as her irascible-but-lovable foster father, Henry Warnimont. Also on hand are Punky's loyal school chums Cheri (Cherie Johnson), Margaux (Ami Foster), and Allen (Casey Ellison), as well as Cherie's legal guardian, registered nurse Mrs. Betty Johnson (Susie Garrett). The first of the syndicated episodes is "Reading, Writing, and Rock & Roll," featuring the then-hot singing group DeBarge. In a later two-part installment, Punky's beloved dog, Brandon, runs away from home, only to end up being "adopted" by a boy who is exactly Punky's age -- and who is about to leave for California. Also worth noting is "It's a Dog Life," in which series regular George Gaynes plays the dual role of Henry Warnimont and his man-about-town brother Lars. And of course, season three has its share of "very special episodes," notably "The Anniversary," in which Punky's friend Cherie is overcome with grief on the anniversary of her parents' deaths. In the season finale, Henry abandons his career as a photographer to open up his own restaurant -- and since it was Punky's idea to make this career move, the new establishment is christened "Punky's Place." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide