Young Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.Young Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.Young Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.
- Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
- 2 wins & 16 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFred Gwynne was originally cast to play Henry but backed out when, in an audition for the role of Henry P. Warnimont, he was identified as Herman Munster, which was his role on The Munsters (1964).
- GoofsDuring the opening credits you will occasionally see palm tree reflections in the windows. The series is set in Chicago, so that would be highly unlikely.
- Quotes
Theme Song: Maybe the world is blind / Or just a little unkind. Don't know / Seems you can't be sure, of anything any more / Although, you may be lonely and then / One day you're smiling again / Every time I turn around, I see the girl that turns my world around / Standing there / Every time I turn around / Her spirit's lifting me right off the ground / What's gonna be? / Guess we'll just wait and see.
- Alternate versionsIn the first season, there was one opening credit sequence made up entirely of location footage shot on tape in Chicago and a slightly different recording of the theme song. This was used for three weeks, then replaced with another opening sequence mixing live-action footage and an animated sequence. This lasted a few weeks and was replaced by yet another sequence mixing the location footage shot in Chicago and clips from episodes, ending with the tail end of the animated sequence being watched by the lead characters on TV. This third opening sequence is on all first season episodes in syndication in the United States, but the DVD versions have the appropriate sequences reinstated depending on the episode.
- ConnectionsEdited into Vitamine (1983)
There was some stupidity here and there, such as one episode where Henry asked Punky's friend Allen for advice on performing CPR on a girl in critical condition. Henry's an adult, so why is he consulting a 7 year old boy for life saving medical advice? Even if he didn't know CPR himself, he could get help instead of relying on a small child. I wouldn't think about stuff like this as a kid, but today it seems more absurd. Like cartoons of the era, the series tried to empower children and give them more weight and wisdom then they would usually have in the real world.
But I have to say I did not like the later years of Punky. Once the show left NBC and went into cheapo syndication, it lost a lot of the magic and charm. The series no longer seemed to be about grumpy old Henry (played wonderfully by George 'Police Academy' Gaynes), and both his and Punky's adjustments to a non-traditional family. Instead all became about Punky, Punky, Punky. When it was on NBC, Punky Brewster was a show that could be watched by most people and of both genders. But the late 80's years had Solei Moon Frye inevitably getting older and lose a lot of her cuteness/innocence. The quality of writing seemed to go down when it was off NBC as well. Punky and the other girls turned into mean spirited, gossiping, boy crazy pre-teens. The kid who played Allen (the only recurring male child) had no room in such a show and was subsequently booted. I really liked Allen too, because I remember that kid being my male eyes into world of Punky.
The show degraded into a primarily chick targeted TV show, which resulted in a heavy loss of it's male audience as well as whatever adult audience it had. I guess they couldn't avoid Solei Moon Frye and the other girls getting older, but I wish more of an attempt was made to keep the series a bit more balanced with the Henry storyline. Still, for anyone that spent most or all their childhood years in the 1980's, Punky Brewster is an important part of pop culture lore for us. High school kids in the 80's had "The Breakfast Club" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", but elementary school aged children had Punky Power.
- gah015
- Jul 29, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Панки Брюстер
- Filming locations
- Chicago, Illinois, USA(outdoor scenes, opening credits)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
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![Soleil Moon Frye, Susie Garrett, George Gaynes, and Cherie Johnson in Punky Brewster (1984)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTU2YTE4OTItYjU5OS00NDNkLTk5NWYtY2ZkYjc3ZjgxZjRmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTE1NjY5Mg@@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)