Barley Getting By...

[factsoflife]

In this new comedy series from the producers of "Apartment 57", "Starting From Scratch", "Our World: Power and Privelage", "Another Day", and "The Two Of Us" comes a brand new comedy thats a little bit of "Will and Grace" and a little bit of "Popular"... starring a hip cast of hollywood youngsters.

"Barely getting by"

CAST:

REGULARS:
Topher Grace (That 70's Show) as Dale Roberts
Amy Davidson (8 Simple Rules) as Sherry Feldstien
Joanne Garcia (Reba) as Stacie Shepherd
Shaun Benson (General Hospital) as Ron Bates
Martin Spanjers (8 Simple Rules) as Evan Carras

RECURRING CAST:
Jeremy Piven (Entorauge, Cupid, Ellen) as Mr. Kyle Meyers (Teacher)
Kim Fields (Living Single, The Facts Of Life) as Ms. Carter
Jason Bateman (Arressted Development, The Hogan Family) as Jordan Brewster, Principal


In this heart-warming new sitcom we take a peek at the lives of five best friends as they try to naviagate their way through the harsh waters of high school. Dale is a generous, funny and senseitive 16 year-old who lives life bound to a wheelchair and tries never to get down. Sherry Feldstien is his life-long best friend and second cousin who happens to be a 16-year old lesbian. 15 year-old Stacie Shepherd is another close friend of theirs who dreams of being a beauty queen or actress when she grows up and wants to get out of the small town they live in. Ron Bates is slightly older than his firends and is 17 and has been held back in school twice now, most people think he is dumb, but they don't know that he really has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. Life is hard for him, but with the support of his friends he gets through each day, sometimes thinking that he is "barely getting by". Evan Caras is the newest member of the group, having just moved to town from big-city Chicago and he is going through a bit of a culture clash. he has developed a small crush on Sherry and can't understand that she's a lesbian and thinks its just a phase. He is upset that he can't play on the school Soccer team, because he is only an 8th grader, even though in his last school he was the star of the team.

Created, Written and Directed by: Ryan Murphy (Popular, Nip/Tuck)
Produced By: Lynn Marie Latham (Wild Card, Dawson's Creek, Knot's Landing)


Episodes:

Episode One: "First Day"

On the first day of eight grade, best friends and cousins, Dale Roberts and Sherry Feldstein each face seperate types of discrimination. Dale, who is bound to a wheel-chair is put into a special education class, even though he is actually a very capable person. He must fight with a school guidance consuler to get him put in the regular class. Meanwhile, Cousin Sherry faces a different kind of discrimination when her best female friend since third grade, Margo (Guest star Mia Kunis, That 70's Show) decides they can't be friends anymore because Sherry is a lesbian and as Margo puts it "being friends with a lezbo is okay in 7th grade, but in 8th grade it is social suicide".

Sherry also is distraught when some snobby girls at school, led by Margo decide to start a petition to get Sherry banned from changing for gym in the same locker-room as them, because they are afraid that she as a lesbian will try to hit on them. Just when she can't take it anymore, she meets a striking new girl who becomes her best friend, Stacie Shepherd who she knew only casually during seventh grade. Stacie stands up for Sherry with the other girls and then invites Sherry to sit with her at lunch. Stacie is obssessed with becoming a beauty queen and studies the images she sees in "Elle and vouge" magazines.

Episode Two: "Second Day"

Stacie's mother (Guest star Kim Catrall) enters her into the Miss Illinos Pagent and it quickly becomes apparent that she, not Stacie is the one that wants to be in this contest.

After finanly being allowed to go into the regular education classroom Dale befriends transfer student Evan Caras and they have a fun time scaring their jittery teacher Ms. Carter who has never met a disabled person before so they pretend that Dale has fallen out of the wheelchair and that his wheels get stuck in some glue and he can't move...

Episode Three: "Whats an apperance"

Dale is asked to tutor Ron Bates, the oldest kid in class whose reputation is less than friendly. At first they struggle as Ron puts off the study sessions; but when Dale discovers that Ron can't read well he helps Ron out by getting him to the school pshycologist who discovers that Ron has dyslexia and simply needs a little help with reading. Ron is embarressed and asks Dale not to tell anyone else. They become best friends.

Sherry starts a school-wide debate when she finds out that girls are not allowed to take shop class and instead must take home economics. Meanwhile Stacie has trouble fitting in during home economics as she simply doesn't care about that stuff and says "thats why we have maids".

Episode Four: "Lifes a ball"

Evan tries out for the school socceer team and is crushed when he is told that 8th graders are not allowed to play on the team. Sherry faces a delima when it comes time for the first dance of the year and she has no one to go with, as shes the only lesbian in school and none of the boys will go with her as they want to "score".

Dale also has a hard time as no one will ask him because he is in a wheelchair..

Stacie and Ron decide to go together and sparks fly.

MORE TO COME LATER...

[Vincent Paterno]

Far be it from me to knock down anyone's idea, but unless this was a reference to one of the characters' dyslexia, I assume you mean "barely getting by."

"Barley Getting By"...well, we haven't a really good sitcom about farmers in some time, have we?

[factsoflife]

Originally Posted by Vincent Paterno

Far be it from me to knock down anyone's idea, but unless this was a reference to one of the characters' dyslexia, I assume you mean "barely getting by."

"Barley Getting By"...well, we haven't a really good sitcom about farmers in some time, have we?

LOL thanks for pointing that out.