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Join Date: Jan 09, 2001
Posts: 124,647
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https://web.archive.org/web/20070225...ptheshark.com/
- Other Thoughts:
Why did they remove this like, totally awesome show after just a few episodes. I like...cried.
Sarah Jessica Parker as a Nerdy, angst-ridden teenager? Like..gag me with a spoon!
Remember the episode where DEVO appeared? In the days before the mass proliferation of music videos, this rare TV appearance by one of the most ingenious bands of all time was an EVENT!
Outstanding show! Never Jumped, Just was canceled.
when john densmore of the doors played in johnny's band...
Great show! How could you say a show jumped when it had the new-wave band "The Waitresses" write and perform the theme song? I LOVE THE WAITRESSES! WAITRESSES RULE!
As for other guest stars (none of which precipitated) a shark jump, do not forget Bill Murray. He performed as a wacky substitute teacher which merited a crush by Patty a.k.a String Bean.
Never jumped. I had a massive crush on Sarah Jessica Parker when she was on this show. And you've gotta love Johnny Slash's tagline: "Totally different head. Totally."
This show was perfect and never jumped the shark. It wasn't on long enough to die that painful death that all shows go through.
This show was the perfect sign of the times. I was just starting jr. high when it began & I remember wanting to be just like Jennifer when I got to high school. I loved the one where the girls all for some reason had a sleepover at their teachers house & the 2 nerds wore the really fancy nighties like the teacher & Jen said "Like, who invited the Mandrell sisters?" Now that was TV at it's finest.
Square Pegs is one of the great underrated shows of the 1980s. I've missed it ever since it went off the air, and was deeply gratified when some cable channel (can't remember which) aired about 4 episodes a couple of years ago...haven't seen it since, but I'm just waiting.
Never did. "Square Pegs" was the "Freaks and Geeks" of it's era. A tremendous show that was canceled by some stuffed shirt who did too much cocaine in the board room. A travesty. I wonder where the old tapes of this show are now, I'd love to see them again.
Square Pegs lasted one year,and it maintained quality throughout.It just didn't last long enough to pick up a large enough audience. Face facts,the promos the show got even before it aired caused many people to think of it as a trend-show,i.e. featuring a Valley Girl. Tracy Nelson was interviewed more than once and said that she took great pains to make her character lifelike-while refusing to utter obvious cliches. Like,she would never say barf-out,grody or bitchin'-'cause,fer sure,she wasn't,like,a real val,y'know! Many viewers just couldn't get the show's idea-and many didn't see the show enough times to understand. Many of the cast,especialy Sarah,have gone on to other things and are probably better known for them-but I will always remember Square Pegs as the show that could've been the 80s-teem show,but,as Don Adams might say,"missed it by that much!"
They really got caught up in De-evolution. DEVO should have appeared in every episode.
A truly outstanding show that had everything going for it and jumped the shark because of what happen behind the camera. Drugs and young twentysomething producers, writers, etc. were left unsupervised on the set at a closed high school. The final two episodes don't even seem to belong to the same series. I remember reading a few years ago about why the show was yanked and still can't believe people threw that show away. I'm glad the young cast (for the most part) came away without being pulled under. The episode with Bill Murray and the game show one with Martin Mull are both classics. Love the theme song!
Absolutely never jumped. Jamie Gertz and Traci Nelson were just, like, so cute, ya' know?
Never jumped. I saw 8 episodes on Nick at Nite and they were all good. But regarding the Steve Sax episode, why would the Dodgers be interested in Johnny Slash if he only played DH for Weemawee, and the Dodgers are in the National League, which uses no DH? Just an observation. Also interesting to see that Sax was the Derek Jeter of the early '80s as far as being a baseball teen idol. Anyway, I would've made Slash a catcher, since that's where all the oddballs play (i.e. Yogi Berra).
Jamie Gertz gave the girls a library book for Christmas and then made them return it. That's exactly what I'd expect a snob to do.
Never jumped...a show about fifteen year old girls that could hold the interest of people other than 10 to 13 year old girls...not a small accomplishment. Many posts refer to the theme song...without a doubt a great song and a great introduction, however I thought it was by Romeo Void of "I Might Like You Better if We Slept Together" fame, and not the Waitresses renowned for eternity for "I Know What Boys Like" and "Christmas Rapping". Please correct me if I'm wrong.
SQUARE PEGS was not on the air long enough to jump, IMHO. I liked this show because the characters had more than one dimension and were people whom I imagine EVERYONE knew in high school. For instance, about the "popular" characters: Jennifer ("Like, hi!"), La Donna("I HATE that!") and Muffy ("Hi, Fang, String Bean!") are cruel to Lauren and Patty both when they're clumped together as a group and alone. But if you look closely, you might notice that Vinnie ("Yo!") is actually fairly nice to L & P...when he's BY HIMSELF. When he's with the group, of course, he goes along with the popular gals' teases of L & P, but alone...well, you kind of get the impression that the REAL Vinnie is closer to his "by himself" behavior, where he doesn't have to give into the peer pressure that exists when he's with Jen, LaDonna, etc. When I was in high school, I saw this a lot--certain members of the "in" crowd weren't so bad when you caught them alone. It was only when they were with their other popular friends that Mr. or Miss Hyde came out. Not too many other teen-related shows develop their characters with this kind of dimension--it's too bad SQUARE PEGS didn't last longer to develop the characters even more. And hey: Devo, The Waitresses, Bill Murray, Father Guido Sarducci--what more could you ask for? PEACE!
Absolutely Never Jumped. If this show were introduced today it would claim number 1 in 18-49 in a heartbeat. It had fantastic actors, funny storylines, and too short a life! I still have it programmed in my Tivo to catch anytime someone runs a "marathon" of the all too few episodes.
This show never jumped and was one of the funniest, original and brilliant satire of stupid school TV shows in general (Fame and Welcome Back Kotter specifically come to mind). This show was cancelled way too soon and would have been a huge success had it not been for their network's lack of appreciation of it.
This show rocked! Always funny, perfectly written and the only show I knew of that took potshots at royalty, government and geeks all in the same show. It never jumped. I've read everyone's posts, and I'm really surprised that no one has yet mentioned John Femia, the kid who played the class clown Marshall. His impressions were brilliant (even the bad ones) and was probably the squarest peg of them all. What's ironic is Marshall was an aspiring standup comic, and a few weeks ago I was at Stand Up N.Y. and lo and behold, he was one of the comics performing that night, so he really IS a standup comic. And he's AWESOME! He looks great, too. Hasn't aged a bit. For years I thought he either died or left show biz altogether. I ran out to the bar to meet him, and he was really friendly and level-headed, which was a relief for me. We talked for about 15 minutes. His act is pretty nasty, but funny as hell, and he does impersonations just like his character did. I can't believe no one's mentioned him yet on any of these posts, because he is my all-time favorite character on the show. I'll never forget the episode where Marshall was possessed by a video game and the girls wound up calling Father Guido Sarducci to come and exorcise him (lol!). BRILLIANT! Also, there was the one where Marshall manages Johnny Slash's rock band and for a gig, they wind up playing a jingle in some supermarket. That's the one with John Densmore from the Doors on drums. Great casting! (lol!) The Devo episode was cool also. The show was extremely underrated. I asked John at Stand Up N.Y. why the network cancelled it. I'll never forget his answer: "Because it was funny".
Never did jump. The Blechtman LX700 Love Analyzer, Principal Dingleman, the little Guatemalan girl who has taken Weemawee as her confirmation name, pre-nose job Tracy Nelson, . . . The list goes on and on.
This was the second best sit-com that was ever on TV. It didn't have enough time to jump.
Never jumped!!! It's been so long since I've seen it. Would pay good money to get the ep's on video/dvd. Is it even playing on cable anymore? I was a sophomore in high school when it aired and everyone in my school loved this show. The memories have faded but I know it never jumped!
"Special Guest Star" Bill Murray. "Special Guest Stars" The Waitresses. "Special Guest Star" Father Guido Sarducci. "Special Guest Stars" Devo. The network brass obviously didn't think this show could carry itself (and they may have been right), so they just kept piling on the "Special Guest Star"s. Like, EVERY FRIGGIN' WEEK! Can you say "lame?
this show captured teens and all of the fashion and talk of the time. Check out the posters on the wall at the radio station-these kids were hip in that krock cali kinda way. I don't care if Vinnie looks like he should have graduated in 1977. Jennifer Dinuccio was the hottest babe on tv at the time (after the luscious Heather Thomas and Felice-Zapped/FactsofLife-Shaefer of somethin') and she wore turquoise miniskirts. Hurrah and Hooray! Did I mention how great that they had a child in Guatemala that they supported and paid for her to have the joy of cable television. I mean that alone should put this show in the number one slot of all time.
If you had asked me back in 1982, I would have said that "Square Pegs" jumped from day one. Now, with hindsight being truly 20-20, I feel it never jumped. Seeing that the show coincided with my senior year of high school, it hit home, and not always in a positive way. Back then, I was offended by token new-waver Johnny Slash's slightly cretinous and slightly gay persona (I especially hated his green ponytail), but the reality of the matter is that I WAS the Johnny Slash of my high school. I was the "freak" in the sharkskin jacket and Elvis pompadour who yammered incessantly about bands that no one had (yet) heard of. I was the geek who hated being a geek, but would rather be a freak than a jock. I took these things way too seriously back then, and could not yet laugh at a send-up of someone similar to myself. Now, as memory serves, "Square Pegs" was one of the few accurate depictions of life in an American suburban high school in the early 'eighties. I too would like to see reruns. Too bad shows that last only one year do not qualify for syndication.
This show could NOT have been more timely, for me at least. I was going through the same thing as the girls' geeky friends, except for me it was a small school in a small farming town. And I only had one friend. Sob! Really, it showed me I wasn't the only outcast in the world, and helped me endure the weekly ass-kickings I brought on by wearing straight-legged pants.
This was a good show about misfits in the early 80's. Big stars came from it. It was an ok teenager trying to fit in show. Didn't last long enough to jump.
never jumped. as to why it was canceled. wkrp and lou grant was canceled in 1982 these were the reagan years, very conservative, i heard back then the networks were nervous about any liberal shows and did not really want them on the air.
This show originally aired on CBS in 1982, it gave us both Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Gertz on the same show! The early '80's "geeks are cool" movement was in full force here.
This show was the epitome of kids and teens of the early 80's. This show was absolutely brilliant! I just can't get over the fact Sarah Jessica Parker was actually that ugly at one time. It boggles the mind... And thank you, Nick at Nite for now showing the re-runs (what little there are).
Have we forgotten a very special guest? Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver) appeared as Sarah Jessica Parker's character's father in a few episodes.
This one wasn't on long enough to jump, and it's a cryin' shame! It was created by a first-gen Saturday Night Live writer, Anne Beatts, and it was hip, funny, and captured teenage alienation far better than more lauded series such as My So-Called Life. And who would have guessed that wallflower Sarah Jessica Parker would grow up into a Sex and the City girl?
To the poster who thought Romeo Void did the theme: no, you're wrong, and everyone else is right. It is, in fact, the Waitresses who do the theme...just look at the credits! And, Mr. Wrong-Poster, furthermore, Romeo Void's hit wasn't called, "I Might Like You Better If We Slept Together", that's just how the chorus went; the actual song title is "Never Say Never". Ge-EZ!  I didn't really get "Square Pegs" until I saw Johnny Slash's band Open 24 Hours (featuring the guy from the Doors, who said absolutely nothing!) perform "I'm Tired" in that supermarket! That was a revelation. I swear, that's one of my all-time favorite '80s songs. By the way, when WILL "Square Pegs" be posted on the "never jumped" page? The time is now!
This show could have been a classic but it partially JTS from day one for 2 reasons. 1) It had characters make lots of fairly subtle references to sex such as the Big O and generally do things that were separate from the plot in a way that was kinda funny but didn't advance the storyline. If you are going to do that then it should be like Cheeseburger Royal in Pulp- very cool, funny and reflective of the characters. 2) More importantly there is no set-up with other types characters on SPs. It is all isolated kids without the click on the other side to provide drama. Also I understand that the black chick is the kind who hangs out with the white kids but where are some cool brothers other than those cool ones in the background of the scene of the cafeteria. You know some blacks to comment on the drama at hand and high five. If SPs was the real high school experience then the kids would all get together and form one big happy lovefest. There would be a lot more dancing with Morris and Johnny and hanging out at the record store. Where is the examination of the different cultures and the rivalries that form in school? They have to get this a version of this out of manufacturing a crush on the janitor. Or if they don't want to make it the rivalries then have it stuff like they have a date with Morris and Johnny- that is not a real date but the guys think it is and make a big deal out of preparing for it. Then the date is a series of 80s stuff in cool historical environments of the era with a series of mishaps such as the car going wrong in some pretty extreme way. At least they could have manufactured a simple concept like that. SPs is the underdogs without the over privileged or whatever else advantaged kids as the opposition. It is amiable and I want to like it especially because you can tell they have tried to be good. But for me SPs is too much of a low key and going nowhere warmhearted look at how the grass is not always greener on the other side. That maybe you're better off singing the lead in the school play. The creators of SPs started the basics of this conflict with the like chick but that's one character who doesn't go nowhere and is a second banana- albeit very good in that capacity. At a bare minimum SPs should at least have some of the conflict like in say the film version of Breaking Away. The creators could have at least done that much. But then that's probably why the show tanked.
SPs should be a classic. The show is amiable as a low key comment on sticking to your talents and interests but it never shows consequences of trying to make it with certain clicks or conflicts with different groups of students. It's like everyone is the moderate take it as it comes underdog The pulse is so low on SPs that the creators have to resort to outside characters such as the janitor to manufacture the resemblance of a plot. I'm guessing this l is a major reason as to why SPs was cancelled. This should stand as a lesson for future shows. I would also like SPs to utilize more early 80s environments- just for starters maybe the record shop they keep raving about on certain episodes. Too bad SPs deserved better.
I remember the hoopla and publicity the final episode of M*A*S*H had gotten. The 2-and-one-half hour finale would air Monday night February 28, 1983 at 8:30. I thought "Great! With "Square Pegs" as the lead-in, more people will know about it, then watch it, and the show will get higher ratings and the respect it deserves." Well, Monday night came, and instead of a new episode of "Square Pegs" to lead into M*A*S*H, CBS showed a re-run of "Alice" instead. The next week, "Square Pegs" was back at its usual time. That's when I knew that CBS had no idea of what a jewel they had in "Square Pegs". I am so happy that Sarah Jessica Parker has since gotten the recognition she deserves, while Merrick Butrick, R.I.P.
To be honest, I've only seen one rerun of this show recently since it originally aired, and seeing it now, it seemed to be an awful, cynical attempt to cash in on the then trendy "new wave" culture. The characters were one dimensional, the jokes not funny, and the story was ridiculous -- a guy gets obsessed with Pac-Man, and he receives counseling. From Father Guido Sarducci! Besides basing the "story" on trendy pop culture references, hadn't there already been an episode of the far superior "Taxi" where Latka gets hooked on video games? It wasn't the "Freaks and Geeks" of its day, because F & G had fully realized characters instead of stereotypes, and ironically presented a much more realistic picture of what the 80's were actually like. Square Pegs is more like the "That 80's Show" of its day, where everything is a self-conscious 80's reference.
Never jumped! The blinking CBS eyeball never gave it a chance, in any way. There were only 20 episodes, not even a full season. And now, twenty years later people are still talking about, and writing about this classic show of the eighties. No other TV show or movie captured that moment in time better than Square Pegs. No prime time show had ever broken ground with a hip rock soundtrack b4 SP. This was pre Miami Vice! DEVO, WAITRESSES, BILLY IDOL, BERLIN, JOSIE COTTON, JOHN DENSMORE OF THE DOORS (in primetime!). I guess it was ahead of it's time. If it could have held on a few minutes more, maybe the network would have realized the cultural revolution that was about to happen. Like, MTV! Square Pegs set the scene. It will always be cherished by those who lived it.
I had really been psyched to catch this again on TV Land but was supremely disappointed once I watched it last weekend and then gave it another shot this weekend. Maybe I caught two turkey episodes but this show wasn't funny in the least. Completely stereotyped characters and rather amateurish writing. It was a kick to see and hear early 80's references but that was about it. This was not the great show everyone "remembers."
Never Jumped! I always thought this show failed because the demographic they attracted, my little GenX generation (squished between the Baby Boomer's and their boomerang offspring), wasn't big enough to rake in the ratings  --This show has always been and always will be a beloved one for those of us who were teenager's in the 80s-- It was just fun, poignant, hip, and like, fashionably trendy, y'know. *Square Pegs Rule!* Totally
I never saw this show when it was on in the early 80's, but I enjoy watching it now on TV Land reruns; however, I blame the writers of this show for making it jump the shark. Weak character development, poor storylines, lame laugh track, all played a part in the demise of this potentially terrific show, which barely lasted 7 months. On a side note, the actor who portrayed Johnny Slash(Merritt Butrick)died of AIDS in 1989. RIP Slash.
Square Pegs was bright, well written and well acted. It was probably too smart for TV but it NEVER Jumped.
Square Pegs is a really funny show to watch in reruns, I don't think any other show has aged so poorly (possibly Murphy Brown). The acting was really good for a bunch of kids, and it definitely was a realistic portrayal of high school (except I'm too young to remember that pop culture, I laugh every time i see their Arcadia and Siouxie and the Banshees posters). It definitely should've lasted longer than a year, there were no sharks on the horizon. Freaks and Geeks was kind of a prequel since it was chronologically before Pegs but made after.
Never jumped!! I know it was early 80's but even after seeing a rerun on cable I knew it stood the test of time. It is not too dated. It also was the springboard for Sarah Jessica Parker and Jami Gertz. By the way, did you know the guy that played Johhny Slash also player Ctn. Kirk's son in the Star Trek movies? He would have been big too if he hadn't died so young. Merrit Butrick taken from us too soon. He was the best actor on the series. He would have been big if he hadn't died.
The show cleared the ramp and started its flight above the infested waters with the episode in which the Sarah Jessica Parker character refuses to wear her glasses and falls on the Amy Linker character, breaking her leg. It's an old plot device writers use when they can't think of an original story idea. "The Mothers-in-Law"(Eve AND Kaye), "The Wonder Years" (Danica MacKellar),"Coach"(Shelly Fabres),"Laverne and Shirley"(Penny Marshall),"The Odd Couple"(Penny Marshall), "The Jeffersons"(Isabel Sanford),"Maude" (Rue McClanahan), all wiggled their toes and had their casts signed on camera in the name of writers block. I must confess that I had a crush on Amy Linker when I was a teen, and I would have signed her cast any day.
NEVER jumped! I remember watching "Square Pegs" back in 1982/83: 8th grade for me. As a 13 year old, it hit a home run. I had not seen the show until just this past year when I caught an episode on TV Land very late at night. Just as funny now as then, plus those of us who were teens way back when can identify. This was solid TV comedy. Unlike the sitcom junk placed on the tube today (Friends, Will and Grace), there's no attempt at "dramedy" or A Very Special.... It's all quirky hilarity. I definitely have to side with an earlier poster: Amy Linker was hot! Definitely had a crush on her. Heard she's out of acting and is a second grade teacher. Now if she could be my kids' teacher, THAT would be a great twist!
Most of the people that like this show seem to like it for nostalgic reasons... most of them were IN High School when the show premiered. For the rest of us, Square Pegs is all setup, no punch line. They combined every 80's cliche under one roof and then went NOWHERE with it. You know you're in trouble if you're running out of stories by the middle of the first season. John Hughes would later take a similar premise and create a hugely successful string of 80's teen movies. There was nothing inherently funny about the premise of the show. It's cute, it's colorful, it is so very 1982. But if it weren't for the presence of Sarah Jessica Parker it would never even be rerun.
SQUARE PEGS was a smart, sophisticated, family sitcom that was just way too smart and sophisticated for the audience it was targeting. This show never jumped the shark because it was never given the opportunity. Every episode was a classic and long before we ever heard of Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker proved she was an actress to be reckoned with in this way-before-its-time sitcom that might have fared better today than when it was on. Another excellent show that nobody watched.
My friends and I spent the entire 4th grade saying: "Like, gross me out the door." Thank you Tracey Nelson.
These kids, who had no adult mentor actors on the show, had a big burden before them, and they carried it out eloquently. Kudos to Lauren, Patty, Slash, Vinny, Marshall and even the lame Tracy Nelson.
It never jumped. It was cancelled in the first year. As Marshall said unto Johnny: "Telethon's are for has-beens. You haven't even BEEN yet!" A classic. I'd pay to see it again.
This show never "jumped the shark". It drowned in its mediocrity ...long before it could even reach the shark-infested waters. It was intriguing at best, back in the 80's...but watch the reruns now. Has there ever been a series with *worse* acting? One poster here remarked that Ms. Nelson tried her hardest to make her character likeable. Huh? Then she must have put more effort into chewing her gum...as there was *nothing* likeable about her character. Her character illustrated what was so offensive and insulting about pop culture in the 1980's (actually...Mr. Butrick's character was just as symbolic of the lame '80's). Come on...the semi-rich, materialistic "valley girl" being best friends with the jive-talking, ghetto-trash-aspiring Black girl?! In no era of humanity has that ever happened...lol. I will admit, that Ms. Parker was definitely sexy-nerdy-hot. But the show was *not*. It's a good thing we had Ronald Reagan and the conservative movement....otherwise, *nothing* from the 1980's would be memorable, and worth preserving.
Square Pegs was really a good show that gets overlooked alot,because it only lasted one season. I felt it was truely more in the spirit of the 80's then most other shows on tv at the times. That's not really a good or a bad thing, but it definetly did represent a short time period that was not being represented at the time. The outsiders trying to fit in has been used before and since ,so while that in itself is not groundbreaking it does connect with most people. The school actaully looked like a real school(unlike most tv shows based around school). Also SP had a truely great cast of unique characters. I wish they would release this on dvd.
Square Pegs had all the makings of a classic High School sitcom,but came short because of the weak plotlines and the less-than-classic writers.(If only Anne Beats had written more scripts.)On the other hand,all the actors did a fine job and tried to give dimension to their characterizations.Sarah Jessica Parker,Tracy Nelson,the late Merrit Buttrick-and it behooves me to add,Jamie Gertz-all deserved their later careers.And to an above poster,I said earlier that Tracy Nelson did her best to make her character LIFELIKE,not likable.Jennifer DiNuccio wasn't supposed to be likable,unless you were a real superficial snob and could,y'know,relate or removed from High School long enough to laugh at that kind of character...like I was.Square Pegs had many guest stars like Don Novello,Bill Murray,Martin Mull-and even rock group Devo.This tried to capture the 80s High School setting-but didn't gain a strong enough following to go beyond one season.Hey,these days it's an accomplishment that any show lasts at least one season.
Sarah Jessica Parker was the dog in the show. I think she gottem back.
I kept waiting for Lauren and Patty to wake up and see that the "cool" kids they were soooooooooooo desperate to be "in" with were the most mean-spirited, shallow,bitchy,worthless people on earth.I'm amazed that the so-called popular kids even tolerated eachother! Especially Jami Gertz's character,whose idea of philanthropy is to send Bermuda shorts to a starving third-world orphan.
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09-29-2013, 05:15 AM
Square Pegs Boned the Fish When...
