Product Details

• Actors: Rossie Harris
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 13
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Bci / Eclipse
• DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005
• Run Time: 1170 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009WPLSK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,300 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Martin Tahse is the most prolific and successful producer of After School Specials. His 26 productions have won numerous awards and prizes including 18 Emmys three Blue Ribbons in the American Film Festival the Peabody Award and the First Second and hird Prize in the Chicago Film Festival in the same year - an honor which has never since been matched. His original contributions remain important to today's young and adult audiences.Includes The 18th Emergency - 1974 Summer Of The Swans - 1974 The Skating Rink - 1975 Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate - 1976 Francesca Baby - 1976 Beat the Turtle Drum - 1977 The Pinballs - 1977 Trouble River - 1977 It's A Mile From Here To Glory - 1978 Thank You Jackie Robinson - 1978 Gaucho - 1978 My Other Mother - 1979 A Special Gift - 1979 The Gold Test - 1980 What Are Friends For? - 1980 Schoolboy Father - 1980 A Matter Of Time - 1981 First Step - 1981 Tough Girl - 1981 The Night Swimmers - 1982 Two Loves For Jenny - 1982 Did You Hear What Happened To Andrea? - 1983 The Dog Days Of Arthur Cane - 1984 Ace Hits The Big Time - 1985 Face At The Edge Of the World - 1986 Picking Up The Pieces - 1989Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 787364630691

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've saved you a seat on the little, yellow bus..., July 14, 2005

By 

cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After School Specials (DVD)

After School Specials were dramatic, some times comedic, programs designed especially entertain and teach pre-teens about life and issues they could have very well faced, in terms they could understand in an hour-long format (approximately 45 minutes, without the commercials), often dealing with serious issues like drug and alcohol abuse, teen age pregnancy, and so forth...the series (I believe there were something like 26 episodes) was created and produced by Martin Tahse, which won a slew of awards, was really unique in that it was programming for young people that wasn't created to tie into products or sell merchandise, but to speak to them about situations difficult to understand or comprehend, treating its' audience with the respect and intelligence not often seen, not talking down to them but relating to them on a level they understood and appreciated. Below is an episode listing with alternate titles.

The 18th Emergency (Originally aired 1/16/74) aka `Pssst, Hammerman's After You'

In Summer of the Swans (Originally aired 10/2/74) aka Sara's Summer of the Swans

The Skating Rink (Originally aired 2/5/75)

Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate (Originally aired 5/19/76)

Francesca, Baby (Originally aired 6/10/76)

In Beat the Turtle Drum (Originally aired 4/6/77)

The Pinballs (Originally aired 10/26/77)

Trouble River (Originally aired 11/12/77)

It's A Mile from Here to Glory (Originally aired 5/5/78)

Thank You, Jackie Robinson (Originally aired 10/11/78) aka A Home Run for Love

Gaucho (Originally aired 10/25/78)

My Other Mother (Originally aired 9/26/79) aka Which Mother Is Mine?

A Special Gift (Originally aired 10/24/79)

The Gold Test (Originally aired 2/13/80) aka Heartbreak Winner

What Are Friends For? (Originally aired 3/19/80) aka What Are Best Friends For?

Schoolboy Father (Originally aired 10/15/80)

A Matter of Time (Originally aired 2/11/1981)

First Step (Originally aired 9/23/1981) aka She Drinks a Little

Tough Girl (Originally aired 10/28/1981)

The Night Swimmers (Originally aired 3/3/1982) aka Daddy, I'm Their Mama Now

Two Loves for Jenny (Originally aired 10/27/1982) aka Between Two Loves

Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea? (Originally aired 12/27/1983) aka Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy

Ace Hits the Big Time (Originally aired 10/28/1985)

Face at the Edge of the World (Originally aired 9/17/1986) aka A Desperate Exit

The quality of the video on these DVDs is not the best, but it is as how it was when originally televised, and given these were teleplays made to be presented on television in the 70's, you really can't compare it to today's production standards.

Cookieman108

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beware! Glaring omissions, May 24, 2010

By 

David M. Rossi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After School Specials (DVD)

If it's your aim to get a complete collection of all the Afterschool Specials, this isn't it. In fact, even the other 4 or 5 sets with a couple years worth of episodes grouped together are suffering from the same omissions. Some missing episodes include:

The Amazing Cosmic Awareness Of Duffy Moon

P.J. and the President's Son

Me and My Dad's New Wife

The Boy Who Drank Too Much

The Wave

My Mother and the Monster

Bridge Of Adam Rush

Summer Switch

These sets are very misleading, allowing the buyer to believe they are getting all of the episodes. In my eyes, just the fact that The Boy Who Drank Too Much isn't included is enough to nix the idea of buying the set (Scott Baio and Lance Kerwin are stellar, believable teens in this excellently written and acted drama) The price they are asking for this set and the other split sets is ridiculous, and for that much money certainly it should be complete and then some.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I give this a 4.80 for not being a complete collection, May 11, 2009

By 

T. Alexander (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After School Specials (DVD)

Many of the after school specials were brilliant. They entertained while giving us life lesson with small morality plays. Alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, and teen parenthood were addressed. I enjoyed everyone of them and made a point to learn from the kids plights and mistakes. Unfortunately Amy and the Angel, one of my favorites that dealt with depression and teen suicide is missing from this series so I can't give it a 5th star. That doesn't mean the series isn't good. Just that I found it lacking for not being a complete collection. If you want to go down memory lane. This series is awesome. If your looking for films to watch with your kids and have a discussion about the subject matter afterward then its a 5 star purchase.