Square Pegs - The Complete Series

After she starred on Broadway as "Annie" and long before she became Carrie Bradshaw from "Sex and The City," Sarah Jessica Parker portrayed Weemawee High School outcast Patty Greene in the short-lived but fondly remembered 1982-1983 CBS sitcom "Square Pegs." The series struck a major emotional chord with me at the time; for I was also a major "square peg" in high school. Looking at it now after 25 years, I appreciate the show's satirical spin on high school horrors more than ever but, also, I still feel the pain. This proves how very much on the mark "Square Pegs" was and still is. The series revolved around Patty and Lauren's (Amy Linker) relentless pursuit of "Popularity." The two misfit girls actually DID FIT IN quite well with class comedian Marshall Blechtman (John Femia) and his constantly "zoned out" sidekick Johnny Slash (The late Merrick Butrick, whom the cast recalls fondly on a sweet remembrance in the DVD'S "Weemawee Yearbook Memories" Segments). Some of "Square Pegs" is dated; particularly the "Pac-Man Fever" episode, in which Father Guido Sarduchi from "Saturday Night Live" cures Marshall of his video game addiction. And snotty Jennifer's (Tracy Nelson) vapid "Valley Girl act"-- "like, gross me out the door!"-- grows old very quickly. But several other episodes, including "Halloween XII," "A Simple Attachment," and "Weemaweegate" skillfully mix humor and genuine charm. Sarah Jessica Parker, wearing glasses that her character Patty despises, is as luminous, lovely, and talented as ever. I'd take Patty Greene ANY DAY over Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and The City!" But it's Merrick Butrick and Jami Gertz who really go to the head of the class and steal the show with their inspired comic portrayals of Johnny Slash and Muffy Tepperman, respectively. Johnny and Muffy are even briefly "married" for a school assignment in the episode "No Substitutions" featuring guest star Bill Murray. Other "Square Pegs" guest stars included New Wave music acts Devo ("Muffy's Bat Mitzvah"), The Waitresses (who sing the "Square Pegs" Theme Song and "I Know What Boys Like" in the Pilot Episode), John Densmore (drummer for "The Doors"), Martin Mull (Roseanne"), and Tony Dow (Wally in "Leave It To Beaver"), who appears as Patty's estranged father in the episodes "A Child's Christmas In Weemawee: Parts 1 And 2." Butrick is obviously much too old to play a high school student-- and too talented not to play one. The series cleverly dealt with his age by saying that Johnny Slash was "held back three times"; thus making him "Weemawee's oldest freshman." Butrick shines in the episodes "Open 24 Hours," "Muffy's Bat Mitzvah" and "No Joy In Weemawee." As Muffy, the ever peppy preppie who is "drunk with pep", Jami Gertz often looks like she is sucking on a lemon, especially when she sees anything that displeases her. When Marshall's "love detector" throws the school's social order into disorder (in the episode "A Simple Attachment") Muffy exclaims, "I could just barf!" It's a testament to Gertz's talents (she went on to appear in the films "The Lost Boys," "Less Than Zero," "Twister" and the CBS Sitcom "Still Standing") that we laugh at Muffy but we never hate her--even when her actions and behaviors (especially in the episode "To Serve Weemawee All My Days") are horrible!!!! Clearly, this show was way too hip and way too ahead of its time. Consequently, the school bell rang much too soon for "Square Pegs." The series was shot in California in an abandoned high school, some 40 miles AWAY from CBS. The network probably felt it didn't have enough "control" over the show's content, so it was cancelled. The cast laments in DVD interviews that the party ended much too soon, after only 19 episodes. Well, 20 episodes if you count " A Child's Christmas In Weemawee: Parts 1 and 2" as two episodes-- but on the DVD, they are edited together as one episode. The main cast members, except for the late Butrick and Jon Caliri, who portrayed Jennifer's "walking gland" boyfriend Vinnie Pasetta, are all present, and seen in the present, in the DVD Extras segments titled "Weemawee Yearbook Memories." The series, like Patty and Lauren, never did achieve "mainstream popularity." And that fact, my dear misfits, makes "Square Pegs" so much more special and endearing.

I never missed an episode! My best friend at the time and I would call each other...on a house phone with a really long cord from the kitchen to the den. Thank you for the memories!

I bought this for nostalgia. I watched the first two episodes of it with my 14 year old and thought that it was going to be deemed as lame or boring. On the contrary; I kept hearing how interesting and realistic it was as far as the way they portrayed awkwardness between young people, especially when they are crushing on each other. My teen found it super relatable and heartwarming. It’s nice to have something to share with my kids that we both can enjoy fully.One of the discs did come loose due to somehow disintegrated disc holder plastic pieces. When I tried to pop the other disc out in that same case, the pieces just crumbled out. The second case so far is fine. I chalk it up to a manufacturing issue and not reflective on the seller. The discs are fine and play well. The picture is excellent and clearer than I’d expected. My teen is hard of hearing and there didn’t seem to be more than French subtitles, so that’s disappointing. However, the audio and clear diction from the actors made it easy to understand the dialogue! Another win.Overall, if you have nostalgic feelings about this show, I say go for it and order this. Just be careful about opening the cases and know that there isn’t an English CC option in the menu, if that’s a concern.

The theme song says always never quite right, but this show was opposite. Square pegs is a show following two girls, plump Lauren and brainy Patty (played by sex and the city's sarah Jessica parker) who are freshmen in high school. Lauren is obsessed with getting into a popular clique so the girls can be popular and have a social life they deserve (no way! not even with cleavage!). Instead, they meet two boys, Marshall, an aspiring comedian and class clown, and Johnny Flash, who is as far out there as a person can get. He's often very ditzy but usually very, very funny (totally, totally different head) and he really loves his friends. Rounding out the cast is Muffy Tepperman (played by Jami gertz, facts of life's boots st Clair), an overly peppy girl who is always annoying everyone (one of the main jokes in the show is about the Guatemalan child she is always collecting money for) and the two popular girls Lauren wants to impress so badly. One is Jennifer, a well developed girl with a valley girl attitude and an idiot boyfriend and what can only be referred to as a stereotypical African American girl, Ladonna. Both girls are far from nice and one has to wonder why Lauren would want to impress them, but who didn't want to impress a mean, popular girl in high school? The show is very, very funny, with great one-liners and very 80s themes plots, like pac-man addiction. It's a shame this show only lasted one season. I thought that a lot when I watched the dvds because I think this could have been the little show that could.

How come no reviews from the U.S. yet?An early eighties gem. Definately one I've purchased for nostalgic reasons.I saw most of the episodes for this on S4C in the U.K. It was on at irregularly paced slots around 1982 - 1983 and i don't remember it being repeated. Episodes were shown out of sequence, but I did get to see the Xmas 2-parter at Xmas, which was good.Somehow its stuck quite clearly in my memory as something i liked. Easiest and simplest way to describe the show is as almost a series of bite sized prequels to some of the later John hughes films set around High school, with the stand offs between the cools/jocks and the geeks/nerds. Y'know, Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuler, Wierd Science, that kind of thing. Do you like those and STILL watch them from time to time?You'll like this I reckon. The humour is more subtle than laugh out loud and a sometimes a little dated, but none the worse for it.Overall, episodes stand up on their own merit due to the great casting; Slash and his phrasing still raise a smile- totally! Jennifers Valley-girl speak predicted the way a lot of females in the media would speak now too! The show was also features The Waitresses, Devo and Bill Murray to name a few.Its a shame it never fully took off in the U.S. ( it only lasted a season) as it may have taken off over here in the U.K. and I could have had it on region 2..!Anyhow, the packaging is fine, you get all the episodes plus modern day interviews with most of the cast apart from one who has passed away (Slash)and one who no-one mentions ( Vinnie). Good to see Sarah jessica Parker giving an in depth interview regarding the show too. The cast regard the show with what seems a fondness and a right of passage for a few of them into films and bigger T.V. work. A nice extra and worth a viewing alone.For the price its a bit of a bargain, even if you watch it once through!Get it and enjoy - totally!

I love this show...It's cute, entertaining and full of innocence.