Baby Remember My Name

It's Alumni week and past students return to the school for a reunion. Dryenforth suggest that they year book be done in video form and that the return students be interviewed as part of that.

Chris is asked to talk to the drama class about his experiences since he left school. However he pretends that everything has been easy for him and it's not been difficult for him finding work. He soon realizes that it was wrong to lie and goes back to give a second talk to tell the kids the truth.

Leroy's teaching assistant  position is under review and he has to fight for the job to continue in the following year. He is also cast in a show which is being directed by Michael Taftner who was also a student at the school who is struggling dealing with his situation & is no longer getting the kind of work he used to. He and Leroy class over the roll which forces Leroy to question himself and he decides it time to finally leave the school and dedicate himself to his career.

 I love that the episode title is taken from the lyrics of the "Fame" theme song as it seems so fitting for this the very last episode. 

I personally had to wait years to finally see this episode and although I knew Valerie and Carol returned as I'd seen a picture of them with Debbie,  I wasn't aware of the other characters returning too, so that wasa lovely surprise. 

For me this episode is really one of 2 parts and the first part I really love, whilst the other part I'm not keen on. It seems really strange to me that with so many cast members, both current and returning, that a guest star is brought in to become the main focus of what feels like most of he episode. So, for me the part I don't like is the age old problem of guest star syndrome.

I'm sure most fans, like me, are less interested in the Michael Taftner's story and more interested in our beloeved returning cast members. When he's on screen  I just find myself waiting to see the cast. Sadly, their scenes feel all too brief. Having seen the script most of them have some of their speeches edited a little. Surely the writers and producers realized that fans would want to see more of the older cast members. Personally I would have adapted Michael Taftner's part for one of the returning characters and make the conflict between Leroy and his friends. What if Coco was the director of the show and the drama was between he and Leroy.  I think that would have been so much more interesting. 

Leroy and Chris' stories, being on a journey are great but I would have liked Danny to have more of a story here. As the only original kid still in school it would have been nice for him to have some resolution too.  Maybe it could have been his last term  and admits to being  scared of leaving but talking to his old friends makes him realize it won't be as bad as he's imagining. 

It's great to see Doris, Bruno, Coco, Holly, Sherwood and Montgomery back. I love the reunion and all the little pieces to camera and we get a little insight into the lives of our favourite characters. It's a great idea for them to do a video year book.

It would have been nice to see some the teachers, Lydia, Sherwood and Shorofsky do a little piece to camera to. Maybe Shjorofsky is thinking it is definitely time to retire too. I also think it would have been nice if the current cast had a little piece to camera too because they are pretty ignored in this episode apart from standing behind the camera whilst interviewing the older characters. Also, I personally can't help wonder where the missing characters are like Reardon, Morloch and Julie. I wonder if  any of them  were actually asked to come back and they declined.

For the most part I'm not keen on the music in this episode as I wanted proper songs rather than instrumental music. The final dance I actually think is pretty boring and seems to go on forever taking away air time from the things I do want to see.

Instead I think I would have used brief flashbacks to other episodes and showed some of the best loved songs which would have been a way to show the characters that haven't come back particularly Nicole. I believe Nia was on set during the filming as she was dating Carlo at the time so they could have always filmed a new scene with her to show as flashback for Nicole or at least someone like Holly mention her.

So after the reunion scenes and the returning characters interviews to camera the best parts come at the end when Leroy decides he doesn't want to continue as a teaching assistant and is leaving. The scene is so beautifully played by Gene and Debbie and always makes me cry. Debbie has said that for her they were real tears and I'm sure the same was true of Gene too as it sums up the audiences feelings of saying goodbye to the show.

The finale with all the cast singing Fame is also wonderful and it's great to hear the returning cast sing a few lines. Erica opening the song always gives me chills as it's such a reminder of the show at it's best. The key of the song doesn't seem to fit some of the cast though and their vocals aren't up to the usual standard. It is a totally fitting way to end the show and for once the season 6 writers were right on the money with the writing.

Debbie was pregnant with her second child by the filming of this episode and I've heard her say that she was just about showing, although personally I never noticed this.

It was sad to see the show finally end but by the last season there was definitely a clear difference between the quality of the show in the early years and the quality at the end. The new characters never quite matched the original characters for me and personally I don't think the 6th season was that great. Maybe the show should have  ended at the end of season 5? 

Overall it is a good send off. So many shows never get a proper ending and here there is definitely some closure. Looking at the script there is a deleted subplot where bruno and Ian are competing agaionst each other. Apparently it was all filmed and Debbie Allen as director had a tape of the full uncut versions. I wonder if it still exists? It would be wonderful to see.  

Original  air date in U.S.A. 18th  May 1987

Original air date  in the U.K.  The Children's Channel  Broadcast April 1993  

Original air date  in France 01st April1996