Square Pegs: The Like, Totally Complete
Series…Totally (Sony DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C+
Debuting
in September of 1982, Square Pegs
totally only lasted one season, but a lot of people totally have fond memories
of the cliquey, yet comically realistic teen series. The series stars Patty (Sarah Jessica Parker)
and Lauren (Amy Linker) as two best friends who are trying to make a name for
them selves in high school, even if it kills them. The girls early on set out on a mission to
become popular, by working with the knowledge that everything is based on
cliques. At Weemawee High School Lauren
and Patty befriend the resident oddballs Marshall and Jonny Slash. Don’t these
girls know anything, you can’t befriend the weird ones…you wait til they make
money and marry them later, like total duh.
The popular valley girl Jennifer (Tracy Nelson) and her greaser
boyfriend Vinnie (Jon Caliri) are the people Lauren and Patty wish to impress
most, but it seems the girls ‘normalcy’ always gets in the way of them getting
to the supreme popular level they desire.
The
series is fun and does hit the nail on the head with some of the teen drama
that the series focuses on. The show is
never fully serious, which is good because it manages to give off a sense of
realism without forgetting the target teen audience with its 80’s brand of
adolescent comedy. Many people are
wondering if the music is intact on this set after so many other DVD releases
have managed to ruin the original experience due to the cost of music
rights. As far as this reviewer can
tell, most if not all of the music of Square
Pegs is intact. The beginning
sequence still uses the Waitresses theme song and Devo even makes a radical
appearance on the series. So let’s say
thanks to Sony for not ruining the memories!
The best
part of Square Pegs could very well
be the theme song, written and performed by the Waitresses. The Waitresses are probably best known for
their big hits ‘I Know What Boys Like’
and ‘Christmas Wrapping,’ which due
to its very Blondie-like sound is often mistaken as Debbie Harry. This reviewer does not exactly love Square
Pegs, but he does not hate it either.
The series did not age well, but either did Sarah Jessica Parker. Joking aside the series if nothing else has
great nostalgia factor and for children of the 1980’s this DVD release will
bring back some fond memories. Will the
children of the Generation X crowd love the series? Probably not, but they totally wouldn’t get
it anyway…like total duh!
The
technical features on the 3-disc set are by no means fantastic and are
essential are as basic as you can get.
The picture is presented in an unrestored 1.33 X 1 full screen that
often times feels like an analog VHS with its soft image, lackluster colors,
and washed appearance. The sound is also
totally forgettable in its Dolby Digital Mono track that is soft and at times
even distant sounding. The extras
forgettable offering a brief interview session with cast and crew (including
Sarah Jessica Parker) in the featurette Weemawee Yearbook Memories. Also oddly offered as an extra are two
‘minisodes’ from the Facts of Life
and Silver Spoons, that this
reviewer just did not see the point in including.
The
eighties may be dead, but some find the decade still totally awesome and
sometimes a nostalgia trip isn’t so bad.
So join Sarah Jessica Parker way back when sex and the city were still
two things she had never been to yet.
- Michael P Dougherty II
