After school special

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DVD release for Martin Tahse's After School Specials from 1979-1980

The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972^[1] with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly teenagers. CBS distributed its own productions as the CBS Afternoon Playhouse (later known as CBS Schoolbreak Special). CBS had a program called Famous Classic Tales, which aired Australian cartoons that were adapted from literature books (similar to Family Classic Tales). NBC also had afterschool programs under the umbrella title Special Treat. Other similar programs included the ABC Weekend Special.

[edit] List of specials

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Last of the Curlews (1972)
• My Dad Lives in a Downtown Hotel (1973)
• My Mom's Having a Baby (1977)
• The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980)
• Stoned (1981)
• The Color of Friendship (1981)
• Please Don't Hit Me, Mom (1981)
• I Think I'm Having a Baby (1981)
• Amy and the Angel (1983)
• Backwards: The Riddle Of Dyslexia (1984)
• The Day My Kid Went Punk (1987)
• What If I'm Gay? (1987)
• Frog Girl: The Jennifer Graham Story (1989)
• My Dad Can't Be Crazy (Can He?) (1989)
• The Girl with the Crazy Brother (1990)
• The Perfect Date (1990)^[2]
• Two Teens And A Baby (1991)
• I Hate the Way I Look (1994)
• Boys Will Be Boys (1994)

[edit] See also

• Famous classic tales
• Last of the Curlews - The very first ABC Afterschool Special (1972), and one of very few animated ones.
• Degrassi
• Schoolhouse Rock
• Very special episode
• Public information film - In the UK, extended versions of these were shown in schools. These were often about safety.
• Wonderworks - Produced several Afterschool-type specials for PBS

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Complete list of ABC After School Specials at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete list of CBS Schoolbreak Specials at the Internet Movie Database
• Partial list of NBC Special Treat episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• Reviews of a DVD collection of ABC After School Specials
• The strange afterlife of the After School Special - by Joanna Weiss, Boston Globe January 1, 2006
• My Dad Lives In A Downtown Hotel: The Subtle Brilliance of the After School Special by Marisa Meltzer - Slate.com - July 20, 2006