Head of the Class The Complete First Season

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray/DVD that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.

“Laid-back substitute teacher Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman, WKRP in Cincinnati) is expected to do little more than read magazines when he’s assigned to a New York City high school’s Individualized Honors Program. The high IQs of the gifted IHP students are only matches by the high pressures the school’s principal, Dr. Samuels (William G. Schilling), places upon the self-proclaimed geeks. The unconventional Charlie decides to defy expectations and try teaching the kids of the IHP, even though they all seemingly know more than he does. There’s one advantage Charlie has over his charges, however: the courage to take risks and grow. Soon enough, his 10 charges – Arvid (Dan Frischman), Darlene (Robin Givens), Simone (Khrystyne Haje), Alan (Tony O’Dell), Dennis (Dan Schneider), Sarah (Kimberly Russell), Janice (Tannis Vallely), Jawaharlal (Jory Husain), Eric (Brian Robbins) and Maria (Leslie Bega) – begin to exceed expectations on their own.”

If the 80s were good for one thing, it was for some great television. Decades before a series would live or die by the first few episodes, shows during this time were given the chance to develop, often times vastly exceeding the pilot, sometimes entire few seasons, to go on to be something really special. Among the picks of often remembered television shows from the 80s, people often overlook Head of the Class, a show that went on five seasons, back when they were also slated for over twenty episodes a season.

The premise is simple, the stories funny and often very moving. This show is able to explore some really tough issues among teens and adults alike, and manage to entertain and keep you laughing from start to finish. Though some might think the class isn’t diverse enough these days, it still is able to portray kids from all different walks of life in this gifted class. That’s what keeps the story so engaging most of the time, how each one of the students reacts differently to a certain situation or topic of discussion from Charlie Moore, who really is a wonderful example of a teacher who treats his students like family, doing everything he can to ensure each one gets the attention they need, whether it is in or outside of school.

While the tough subjects come up that are great teaching tools for kids watching the show, my one complaint is that they often try to mask them in humor. A serious moment is often given a joke, or laughed at by the audience, lessening the impact of something that might be really important for a young viewer to latch on to. While television at this point wasn’t as dramatic or able to tackle some difficult subjects that some do today, there are still some important messages to get across and the show does its best to do just that.

For fans of the show, Warner Bros. has released the first season on DVD. This doesn’t look the greatest, in fact, it looks pretty bad. With heavy grain, lack of detail, what you might expect a lesser-known television show from the 80s to look like. That being said, seeing the first season of MacGyver in Blu-Ray proves what a little work and determination by the studio could bring. However, I’m sure there is zero justification for it, unfortunately.

Here’s an episode list breakdown:

Disc One

1. Head of the Class (Pilot)
2. Back to the Future
3. Charliegate
4. Love at First Byte
5. The Outsider
6. The Teacher’s Teacher
7. Volleyball, Anyone?

Disc 2

8. Critical Choices
9. Cold Turkey
10. You’ve Got a Friend
11. As Time Goes By
12. The Way We Weren’t
13. Rebel Without a Class
14. Ode to Simone

Disc 3

15. Past Imperfect
16. A Problem Like Maria
17. The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
18. Valentine’s Day
19. Video Activity
20. Privilege
21. Crimes of the Heart
22. The Secret Life of Arvid Engen

Studios are in the habit of releasing one season of a show, and depending on the reception, never releasing the rest. For fans of Head of the Class, despite the DVD format, owning the entire series may depend on the success of this release. So, if you’re one of those out there, pick this up and help get more seasons out there to own!