History Series / PunkyBrewster

Well-loved KidCom of TheEighties (by kids, anyway--critics hated it), especially when it re-ran in syndication. Did a VerySpecialEpisode after the Challenger space shuttle explosion. Its AnimatedAdaptation (featuring a magical furry creature named Glomer who was left in the real world after wandering out of his village located within a rainbow) also was shown on NBC.

The prime time show's rights were owned by NBC; they sold the rights to Coca-Cola Telecommunications (Columbia/Tri-Star Television) when it went into syndication.

*** Our NBC (WXIA, Atlanta GA) ran it regularly, but no station in our area ran the syndicated show. In late 1986 when NBC moved the show to 11:30 AM, WXIA bumped it on the last Saturday of each month for a local kids' informational program.

*** Our NBC (WXIA, Atlanta GA) ran it regularly, but no station in our area ran the syndicated show.

* TheDanza: Cherie Johnson as...Cherie Johnson. This came about as Cherie's uncle, who created the characters, was going to name a character on the show after his niece, while the real Cherie thought she was actually going to be on the show. After she understood what happened, she tried out for the role anyway...and won it.

* TheDanza: Cherie Johnson as...Cherie Johnson. This came about as Cherie's uncle, who created the characters, was going to name a character on the show after his niece, the real Cherie thought she was actually going to be on the show. After she understood what happened, she tried out for the role anyway...and won it.

* TheDanza: Cherie Johnson.

* GirlishPigtails

* UnwillingSuspension: Punky gets hung upside down twice in the cartoon, in "Growing Pain" (her foot gets caught in a weight machine handle) and "The Bermuda Tangle" (her attempt to make a sail for her raft goes wrong).

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Though platonic.

''Punky Brewster'' was a 1984-88 DomCom on Creator/{{NBC}} about abandoned child Penelope "Punky" Brewster (her father walked out on her and her mom left Punky and her pet dog, Brandon, at a grocery store), played by Soleil Moon Frye, and her adoptive father, Henry, played by George Gaynes (best known for his role as Cmdt. Lassard in the PoliceAcademy movies). Also revolves around Punky's interactions with her best friend, Cherie Johnson, played by [[TheDanza Cherie Johnson]] (who later went on to play Laura Winslow's friend on ''FamilyMatters''), who lives with her grandmother, Betty, played by Susie Garrett. Punky's other friends include geeky Allan Anderson (Casey Ellison) and stuck-up rich girl Margaux Kramer (Ami Foster).

*** Our NBC ran it regularly, but no station in our area ran the syndicated show.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: In the animated episode "Little Orphan Punky," the climactic scene takes at a television station, channel 6. There is no channel 6 in Chicago, but this is most likely a conceit used on TV, a TV channel not normally designated in a given city (e.g.: MarriedWithChildren had a channel 83, a frequency that was discontinued over four decades ago.)
** Possibly, the channel 6 is a stand-in for real-life Windy City NBC station WMAQ; which airs on channel 5.

''Punky Brewster'' was a 1984-88 DomCom on {{NBC}} about abandoned child Penelope "Punky" Brewster (her father walked out on her and her mom left Punky and her pet dog, Brandon, at a grocery store), played by Soleil Moon Frye, and her adoptive father, Henry, played by George Gaynes (best known for his role as Cmdt. Lassard in the PoliceAcademy movies). Also revolves around Punky's interactions with her best friend, Cherie Johnson, played by [[TheDanza Cherie Johnson]] (who later went on to play Laura Winslow's friend on ''FamilyMatters''), who lives with her grandmother, Betty, played by Susie Garrett. Punky's other friends include geeky Allan Anderson (Casey Ellison) and stuck-up rich girl Margaux Kramer (Ami Foster).

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Spud in season 3. An entire episode focuses on this.
* AnAesop: Usually once per episode.

* AnimatedAdaptation: ''It's Punky Brewster''

* {{Artistic License Animal Care}}: Punky feeds her dog Brandon Oreos, ding-dongs, and all manner of other food that would wreak absolute havoc on a real dog's digestive system. Oreos and ding-dongs contain chocolate, which would kill a real live dog.

* TheCameo: Bee Gees sibling Andy Gibb, boxer Marvin Hagler, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, singer Marilyn [=McCoo=] and pop group [=DeBarge=] all appeared on the show.

* CheerfulChild: Punky and Cherie in the first two seasons. It wears off as the girls grow up and start facing more mature issues.
* ChristmasSpecial: Three, the most iconic being the "Yes Punky" two-parter from Season One.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Allen.

* CuteBruiser: Punky. As quoted by Allen, "She can knock your block off!"

* FanNickname: Soleil Moon Frye's high school years were painful for her because of the one given to her by jealous classmates: Chunky Boobster.
* GenkiGirl: Punky.

* HappilyAdopted: Punky.

* ItsAWonderfulLife: Pastiched in the animated episode "Allen Who?"

* LittleMissSnarker: Cherie in seasons 3 and 4.
* LovableAlphaBitch : Margaux (Who else?)

** Of the regular kids, this would be Allen in the first two seasons and the cartoon.

* ParentalAbandonment: How it all started. When Henry first discovers Punky in an empty apartment, she tells him she was abandoned. Three episodes later in "Lost And Found," Punky thinks she's been abandoned again after she and Henry get separated at a grocery store.
* PluckyGirl: Punky.

* PromotionToParent: When Henry officially adopts Punky.

* RichBitch: Margaux, especially in the later two seasons.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Worked around after a while. Much like what would later plague FOX shows ''KingOfTheHill'' and ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'', the timeslot for the show was impacted by overruns of NFL coverage. After a while, NBC eventually commissioned a handful of 15-minute episodes as insurance.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy Punky and Girly Girl Margaux, with Cherie in-between.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, T.K. Carter was supposed to star in a spinoff show, ''Fenster Hall'', named after the orphanage Punky was trying to avoid before meeting Henry. The premise would have been that Mike was working for Fenster as the chief boys' counselor after staying there at age seven due to being orphaned since birth and being shuffled around various foster homes. The other regulars would have been Mike's charges: tough street kid T.C. Finestra (Billy Lombardo), aspiring heavyweight boxer Lester "Sugar" Thompson (Martin Davis), huge, hulking Conan (B.J. Barie), sweet little Dash ([[{{Series/ALF}} Benji Gregory]]), and nerdy intellectual Lyle ([[{{Anime/LittleNemoAdventuresInSlumberland}} Gabriel Damon]]); as well as Mike's boss, orphanage administrator Rita J. Sanchez (Rosana [=DeSoto=]). Unfortunately, NBC passed on the spinoff and Carter was instead made a regular.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: ''Margaux.'' Despite being in their "best friend" group, she shows no aversion at all to belitting Punky and Cherie, from calling them "peasants" in the first two seasons to finding every way possible to slip in a mocking remark about their financial status and social class by seasons 3 and 4. And yet she's ''still'' their best friend!

* ZanyScheme: In the later two seasons, most episodes revolved around these. Though they are usually dreamed up by Punky, in season 3 Margaux comes up with a few as well.

* TheNamesTheSame: "The Perils of Punky" was the title of both an episode of the live action series and the cartoon.

* IdenticalStranger: The animated episode "Double Your Punky" had Glomer creating a clone of Punky from a photograph to keep him company at home while the real Punky was at a school picnic. The clone, however, was obnoxious, and in his confusion, Glomer zaps the sweet Punky back into the photograph and throws it away. Having retrieved it and getting her back, Glomer is unable to tell who the real Punky is. It's up to Brandon, who recognizes her scent.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, T.K. Carter was supposed to star in a spinoff show, ''Fenster Hall'', named after the orphanage Punky was trying to avoid before meeting Henry. The premise would have been that Mike was working for Fenster as the chief boys' counselor after staying there at age seven due to being orphaned since birth and being shuffled around various foster homes. The other regulars would have been Mike's charges: tough street kid T.C. Finestra (Billy Lombardo), aspiring heavyweight boxer Lester "Sugar" Thompson (Martin Davis), huge, hulking Conan (B.J. Barie), sweet little Dash (Benji Gregory), and nerdy intellectual Lyle (Gabriel Damon); as well as Mike's boss, orphanage administrator Rita J. Sanchez (Rosana [=DeSoto=]). Unfortunately, NBC passed on the spinoff and Carter was instead made a regular.

The live action series was made by Lightkeeper Productions, the animated series by Ruby-Spears. The prime time show's rights were owned by NBC; they sold the rights to Coca-Cola Telecommunications (Columbia/Tri-Star Television) when it went into syndication.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, T.K. Carter was supposed to star in a spinoff show, ''Fenster Hall'', named after the orphanage Punky was trying to avoid before meeting Henry. The premise would have been that Mike was working for Fenster as the chief boys' counselor after staying there at age seven due to being orphaned since birth and being shuffled around various foster homes. The other regulars would have been Mike's charges: tough street kid T.C. Finestra (Billy Lombardo), aspiring heavyweight boxer Lester "Sugar" Thompson (Martin Davis), huge, hulking Conan (B.J. Barie), sweet little Dash (Benji Gregory), and nerdy intellectual Lyle (Gabriel Damon), who supposedly did Mike's tax forms for him; as well as Mike's boss, orphanage administrator Rita J. Sanchez (Rosana [=DeSoto=]). Unfortunately, NBC passed on the spinoff and Carter was instead made a regular.

* PrecociousCrush: Punky had been a tomboy, up until the syndicated episode "Crushed," where she falls for a boy named Kevin. The problem is Kevin is six years older than Punky, and to her devastation, already has a girlfriend.

* FanNickname: Soleil Moonfrye's high school years were painful because of the one given to her by jealous classmates: Chunky Boobster.

* FanNickname: Soleil Moonfrye's high school years were painful for her because she had to hear the one given to her by jealous classmates on an almost daily basis: Chunky Boobster.

* TheNamesTheSame: "The Perils Of Punky" was the title of both an episode of the live action series and the cartoon.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Punky's real name is Penelope, but nobody can call her that because she hates it.
* PantyShot: [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Margaux_7552.jpg Margaux]] in the cartoon episode "Any Wish Way You Can." The little wench.

* RealLifeRelative: Both Soleil Moon Frye's real life brother, Meeno Peluce, and George Gaynes' real life wife, Allyn Ann McLerie, made guest appearances. In addition, Cherie Johnson's uncle, David W. Duclon, was the program's creator and executive producer.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The episode concerning the Challenger explosion.
** And when she had to buy a bra. DDDs tend to be a little noticeable on a tiny girl like her.

* RummageSaleReject: Punky's wardrobe. Then again, it's what makes her [[CrazyAwesome so cool]].
** Even in the eighties, her clothes would have probably been subject to ridicule in a real life elementary school.
** In syndication, Punky's clothing style, while still unorthodox, was not as colorful and patchwork as it was on NBC.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, T.K. Carter was supposed to star in a spinoff show, ''Fenster Hall'', named after the orphanage Punky was trying to avoid before meeting Henry. The premise would have been that Mike was working for Fenster as the chief boys' counselor after staying there at age seven due to being orphaned since birth and being shuffled around various foster homes. The other regulars would have been Mike's charges: tough street kid T.C. Finestra (Billy Lombardo), aspiring heavyweight boxer Lester "Sugar" Thompson (Martin Davis), huge, hulking Conan (B.J. Barie), sweet little Dash (Benji Gregory), and nerdy intellectual Lyle (Gabriel Damon), who supposedly did Mike's tax forms for him; as well as Mike's boss, orphanage administrator Rita J. Sanchez (Rosana DeSoto). Unfortunately, NBC passed on the spinoff and Carter was instead made a regular.

* NightmareFuel: There was one real horror story told in the series that certainly scared more than this troper. Punky lost all of her friends while exploring a cave, only to find them hideously mutated, and sealed partially into a wall.