Fame: The Complete First Season

It's kinda like the TV version of those cheerfully cornball old-fashioned movies in which someone chirps, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!" Here the kids are students at New York's High School for the Performing Arts, who are constantly organizing themselves to save a beloved teacher from getting laid off during budget cuts, or rescue two retired Broadway stars living in squalor and obscurity, or help one another overcome insecurity and stage fright, all the while fighting an ongoing battle for legitimacy with their school board. This is the first year of the 1982-87 ensemble TV drama based on Alan Parker's beloved 1980 movie, and it's positively charming, featuring earnestly enthusiastic kids yearning to discover themselves and hone their talents, who share a propensity for bursting into song at the slightest provocation. This may have been the last hurrah of the musical TV drama, but with star and choreographer Debbie Allen—who plays the school's dance teacher—as creative driving force, no one could have guessed that this was the beginning of the end. Although presented in an extra-less boxed set, the 20-plus-year-old image and sound have both been nicely remastered. Recommended. (M. Johanson)