cameron42 Square Pegs was one of my favorite TV shows, mostly because it was so off-beat. There were frequent references to the new style of music that was just about to break through to mainstream media at the time the show began. i.e. a bulletin board in one classroom had notices for the "Tom Tom Club" (a real band formed by two members of the Talking Heads) as if it was some organization for building school spirit. And the theme song was written specifically for the show by another unique and fantastic early 80s band, the Waitresses.Quirky in delivery but right on in concept, the show was far and away ahead of its time. Perhaps the only recent program on TV it can be compared with would be "Malcolm in the Middle". Although not as sophisticated as MITM, and with many silly, sophomoric jokes, those of us who were aware of the changes bubbling below the crusty American cultural landscape of the time sensed that this was the first breaker of the "New Wave".The characters on the show were about as broad-stroked as they could be, yet the characterizations were unlike anything I'd seen before. Patty and Lauren were two high school freshman desperate to be admitted to the "in" crowd, but were often spared of making fools of themselves like the kids who considered themselves too good for our heroines. It didn't hurt that "the skinny one" was played by a young actress that would go on to fame and fortune in one of the most popular TV series of the upcoming century. And to marry Matthew Broderick! SJP did bring much heart and honesty to this very small role, as did her co-star Amy Linker, and that was part of what endeared the Square Pegs to us.The only friend the two could count on in the show was played with goofy panache by Merritt Butrick. The actor managed to stretch his career out through the end of the decade (and possibly longer; the last I remember seeing him was on Hollywood Squares, probably in the 90s), but his portrayal of the eccentric yet somehow cool Johnny Slash landed him the short-lived program's one catch phrase, "Totally." More success would come to the actresses who played "the pretty one" (Tracy Nelson, who went on to star in "Father Dowling Mysteries", and is still acting today); and the incredibly uptight and driven one with the unforgettable name of Muffy Tepperman (Jami Gurtz, the lead actress in a number of movies over the ensuing years and star of the recent hit TV show "Still Standing".) Rounding out the cast was the working class Italian hunk (Jon Caliri in an updated version of John Travolta's "Welcome Back, Kotter" character of the same name), the always angry black girl (Claudette Wells) and the nerdy schemer with another classic name, Marshall Blechtman (John Femia), who I swear I went to high school with.In the end the show didn't catch on, but it will always remain a bellwether to the energetic shift in music, fashion and attitude that was the 1980s.

SteveW67 With so many old TV shows putting out full-season or complete series DVD sets, I would go out of my way for Square Pegs: The Complete Series if they ever produced it! All 20 episodes in one collection, and for extras they can do recent interviews with the cast and crew as well as a tribute to Merritt Butrick (Johnny Slash), who died of AIDS in 1989. Hey, if MY BIG FAT Greek LIFE can do a "complete series" DVD, why not SQUARE PEGS? The original distributor of the show was Embassy Television (who also distributed THE FACTS OF LIFE and WHO'S THE BOSS?), but they went out of business, so I don't know who to Email about getting a SQUARE PEGS collection together.Steve

Pepper Anne I got interested in this show when I happened to catch the TV Land marathon one weekend night, and I've been a fan ever since.Square Pegs is about two friends, Lauren (Amy Linker) and Patty (Sarah Jessica Parker) who are high school freshman with the ambition of popularity. Except, things never seem to go as planned. Square Pegs was great because it never got caught up in the oversexed life of horny teenagers (though there are some subtle remarks), so it wasn't soap opera-esque. That's quite a refreshing break from the incessant self-indulgent dramas and sitcoms targeted for today's teenager. But, nor was it commentary on the critical issues facing american teens at the time. It was just a simple, light-hearted show about a bunch of goofy high school kids. And, tough the situations were sometimes dull (such as the episode where Lauren falls in love with the school handyman), Square Pegs was a pretty funny show about an odd assortment of characters. Plus, how can you go wrong with a show in which both The Waitresses (who performed the theme song) play the Freshman Dance and Devo appear at super-peppy Muffy Tepperman's Barmitzvah?Given some of the old short-lived crappy television shows that have made it to DVD, I am wondering when the show's makers are going to get smart and put the entire Square Pegs season (it was only on for one season) on DVD and/or VHS?

Totallyrad80 I remember being in 7th grade when this show came out and I felt like I've got a glimpse of high school for me with these characters. I loved it and I was so mad when CBS cancelled it after 1 season. I felt like I could relate to these characters and said that I will probably run into these kind of students when I would get into high school. But this show did it for me with the scripts they had and I did pick out my favorite episode was when Muffy (Jami Gertz, who was amazingly beautiful and one of the funniest) had a party and did not want to invite Patty and her gang and the plot in the script worked out very well. I also like the one when Marshall bought a love detector and try to enter it in the science fair and try to prove to Lauren that she was in love with him and it turned out to cause a chaos in school. It was a wonderful show for me to watch and my favorite was Vinnie Pasetta (Jon Caliri) who was the Italian stallion going out with the empty head stuck up popular Valley Girl, Jennifer, which I was hoping he dumped her for Patty when they were casted in the high school play, which I thought that would of been the kiss of death for the character, Jennifer and the show itself. But this is one show I really enjoyed as a teenager and as of this day I was so sorry it lasted for only one season. I have the episode on video for the last 12 years when USA network showed them so that is a collectors item for me.