Fast Times is an American sitcom based on the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High that was produced by Amy Heckerling, who directed the original movie. The series ran for 7 episodes on CBS from March 5 until April 23, 1986. Cameron Crowe, who wrote the original Fast Times novel and film screenplay, served as creative consultant. Moon Zappa was hired to research slang terms and mannerisms of teenagers, as she had recently graduated from high school and had a much better grasp of then-current high school behavior than the series writers. Oingo Boingo provided the theme song. Ray Walston as Mr. Hand and Vincent Schiavelli as Mr. Vargas, were the only actors from the film to reprise their roles for the TV series.
Mark and Mike devise a plan to get Stacey to date Mark. Brad is having problems staying awake at work. Some of the guys challenge Spicoli to see if Mr. Hand can actually laugh.
Linda, who as a rule doesn't date high-school boys, agrees to go out with Brad, but only if no one finds out. Meanwhile, Mr. Hand is betting Spicoli will screw up his class presentation.
Linda promises that everyone will get to meet her mysterious fiance from Chicago at her birthday party. Meanwhile, Spicoli starts a rumor that Mr. Hand lost an eye fighting in World War II.
4
"What Is Life?"
Amy Heckerling
Amy Heckerling, Dennis Rinsler, Marc Warren
March 26, 1986 (1986-03-26)
A fast-food entrepreneur dies unexpectedly, leaving one of his employees — Brad — too preoccupied with matters of life and death to perform a lip-sync number in the school talent show.
Brad thinks life has dealt him a cruel blow when Linda asks him out and he has no wheels because his driver's license has been suspended. Meanwhile, Ms. Melon wants to analyze one of Stacy's minor personal problems in class.
Stacy feels left out when Linda starts spending more time with a new friend. Mr. Hand gets promoted to vice headmaster, which he accepts with a mixture of concern and humor.
Stacy disappears on a date with "the perfect guy," someone she just met, and doesn't tell anybody where she's going. Meanwhile, Mr. Vargas loses his zest for teaching and resigns.
Responseedit
Jeff Borden of The Charlotte Observer observed the series' biggest downfall: "The challenge 'Fast Times' faces is emphasizing the comedic elements from the R-rated film while soft-pedaling the teen lust aspects that were a major part of the movie. Comic characters like spaced-out surfer Jeff Spicoli fare well, while subtle characters like fast-food king and would-be ladies man Brad Hamilton are sanitized into blandness."[1]
Christopher Cornell, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, echoed the sentiment: "People who liked the movie (read: teenagers) will tune in expecting something like what they saw in the theater. But the network is going to have to completely eliminate the movie's cheerfully rampant drug use and tone down the lusty sexual content, so that parents won't be uncomfortable."
However, Borden calls Fast Times "the hippest look at high school life since the late, lamented Square Pegs few seasons back, yet it treats the teachers with compassion and respect. An 'us vs. them' mentality is avoided." Mike Duffy of the Detroit Press disagreed entirely, saying "With 'Fast Times,' we have 'Dull Pegs'."
Mark Dawidziak of the Akron Beacon Journal was far less than kind to the sitcom: "Just when you thought the CBS Wednesday schedule couldn't get any worse, along comes these two lethal stinkers (Fast Times and another series that preceded it, Tough Cookies). It would be better if the network programmers turned the hour over to repeated tests by the Emergency Broadcast System. It would be better, and considerably more entertaining, if they devoted the hour to a reading of the Newark Yellow Pages. It would be better, and far more merciful, if they just went dark. Just about anything would be kinder than subjecting even a few stray viewers to this video swill. Indeed, Tough Cookies and Fast Times make Stir Crazy look like television's answer to Ulysses."
Referencesedit
^Fast Times at Ridgement High, The Info Archive 2006-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
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This article is about the 1986 television series For the 1982 film it is based on see Fast Times at Ridgemont High For other uses see Fast Times disambiguation Fast Times is an American sitcom based on the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High that was produced by Amy Heckerling who directed the original movie The series ran for 7 episodes on CBS from March 5 until April 23 1986 Cameron Crowe who wrote the original Fast Times novel and film screenplay served as creative consultant Moon Zappa was hired to research slang terms and mannerisms of teenagers as she had recently graduated from high school and had a much better grasp of then current high school behavior than the series writers Oingo Boingo provided the theme song Ray Walston as Mr Hand and Vincent Schiavelli as Mr Vargas were the only actors from the film to reprise their roles for the TV series Fast TimesAlso known asFast Times at Ridgemont HighGenreComedyBased onFast Times at Ridgemont HighDeveloped byAllen RuckerDirected byAmy HeckerlingCreative directorCameron CroweStarringClaudia Wells Courtney Thorne Smith James Nardini Dean Cameron Patrick Dempsey Kit McDonough Vincent Schiavelli Ray Walston Twink Caplan Wallace LanghamOpening theme Fast Times performed by Oingo BoingoComposersDanny Elfman Barry Goldberg Arthur Barrow Steve SchiffCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons1No of episodes7ProductionProducersAmy HeckerlingJonathan RobertsProduction locationGlendale CaliforniaEditorDebra ChiateCamera setupSingle cameraRunning time30 minutesProduction companyUniversal TelevisionOriginal releaseNetworkCBSReleaseMarch 5 1986 03 05 April 23 1986 1986 04 23 RelatedFast Times at Ridgemont High Contents 1 Cast 2 Episodes 3 Response 4 References 5 External linksCast editClaudia Wells as Linda Barrett Courtney Thorne Smith as Stacy Hamilton James Nardini as Brad Hamilton Wally Ward as Mark Ratner Patrick Dempsey as Mike Damone Kit McDonough as Leslie Melon Dean Cameron as Jeff Spicoli Ray Walston as Mr Hand Vincent Schiavelli as Mr VargasEpisodes editNº Title Directed by Written by Air date1 The Last Laugh Amy HeckerlingAmy Heckerling Dennis Rinsler Marc WarrenMarch 5 1986 1986 03 05 Mark and Mike devise a plan to get Stacey to date Mark Brad is having problems staying awake at work Some of the guys challenge Spicoli to see if Mr Hand can actually laugh 2 Pilot Amy HeckerlingAmy Heckerling Dennis Rinsler Jonathan Roberts Marc WarrenMarch 12 1986 1986 03 12 Linda who as a rule doesn t date high school boys agrees to go out with Brad but only if no one finds out Meanwhile Mr Hand is betting Spicoli will screw up his class presentation 3 The Engagement Daniel AttiasDavid Steven Cohen amp Roger S H SchulmanMarch 19 1986 1986 03 19 Linda promises that everyone will get to meet her mysterious fiance from Chicago at her birthday party Meanwhile Spicoli starts a rumor that Mr Hand lost an eye fighting in World War II 4 What Is Life Amy HeckerlingAmy Heckerling Dennis Rinsler Marc WarrenMarch 26 1986 1986 03 26 A fast food entrepreneur dies unexpectedly leaving one of his employees Brad too preoccupied with matters of life and death to perform a lip sync number in the school talent show 5 My Brother the Car Neal IsraelDennis Rinsler amp Marc WarrenApril 2 1986 1986 04 02 Brad thinks life has dealt him a cruel blow when Linda asks him out and he has no wheels because his driver s license has been suspended Meanwhile Ms Melon wants to analyze one of Stacy s minor personal problems in class 6 My New Best Friend Neal IsraelJonathan Roberts amp Allen RuckerApril 9 1986 1986 04 09 Stacy feels left out when Linda starts spending more time with a new friend Mr Hand gets promoted to vice headmaster which he accepts with a mixture of concern and humor 7 Secret Romance Claudia WeillMyles Berkowitz amp Kevin ParentApril 23 1986 1986 04 23 Stacy disappears on a date with the perfect guy someone she just met and doesn t tell anybody where she s going Meanwhile Mr Vargas loses his zest for teaching and resigns Response editJeff Borden of The Charlotte Observer observed the series biggest downfall The challenge Fast Times faces is emphasizing the comedic elements from the R rated film while soft pedaling the teen lust aspects that were a major part of the movie Comic characters like spaced out surfer Jeff Spicoli fare well while subtle characters like fast food king and would be ladies man Brad Hamilton are sanitized into blandness 1 Christopher Cornell writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer echoed the sentiment People who liked the movie read teenagers will tune in expecting something like what they saw in the theater But the network is going to have to completely eliminate the movie s cheerfully rampant drug use and tone down the lusty sexual content so that parents won t be uncomfortable However Borden calls Fast Times the hippest look at high school life since the late lamented Square Pegs few seasons back yet it treats the teachers with compassion and respect An us vs them mentality is avoided Mike Duffy of the Detroit Press disagreed entirely saying With Fast Times we have Dull Pegs Mark Dawidziak of the Akron Beacon Journal was far less than kind to the sitcom Just when you thought the CBS Wednesday schedule couldn t get any worse along comes these two lethal stinkers Fast Times and another series that preceded it Tough Cookies It would be better if the network programmers turned the hour over to repeated tests by the Emergency Broadcast System It would be better and considerably more entertaining if they devoted the hour to a reading of the Newark Yellow Pages It would be better and far more merciful if they just went dark Just about anything would be kinder than subjecting even a few stray viewers to this video swill Indeed Tough Cookies and Fast Times make Stir Crazy look like television s answer to Ulysses References edit Fast Times at Ridgement High The Info Archive Archived 2006 02 20 at the Wayback MachineExternal links editFast Times at IMDb nbsp Fast Times at JumpTheShark com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fast Times amp oldid 1203269591, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
