And we now come to the close of the first third of Kids Incorporated’s run; with a special episode involving the kids reminiscing over their New Year’s resolutions while trying to improvise on what to do with their New Year’s Eve concert after the P*lace gets covered in ice cream.
We start things off with the kids rehearsing “Wild Wild Life” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”; excited about that day’s upcoming New Year’s Eve concert at the P*lace when they meet Riley after rehearsal ends. Unfortunately, Riley has bad news, as his latest invention - the world’s largest ice cream maker - blew up, then the ice cream melted and ruined everything from the electricity and wax floors to the stage and instruments (with a ice cream covered tambourine as evidence), with Riley being quick to apologize to five very enraged kids…all the more so considering that the cleanup would take a couple of days, thus canceling the concert.
In the midst of the collective pity party over their New Year’s Eve being ruined, Stacy finds the group’s New Year’s resolutions, allowing them to review how they did. Ryan starts off by reviewing his resolution to make new friends and join Kids Incorporated, goals which - due to Ryan coming off pretty strong - didn’t get off to a good start, as the flashback to “New Kid in Town” revealed (“Show Some Respect”), though he eventually managed to succeed in both parts of the resolution (“Tough All Over”). Kid, not surprisingly, wanted to be a superstar, to the degree of crashing Gloria’s interview (from “Material Girl”) she was to give for winning a raffle (“I’m Coming Out”).
Renee is next, and her resolution was to be a better sister to Stacy, not that Stacy made it easy with her (usually joined by Kid) teasing, such as during Renee’s entry into a poetry contest (“No Rhyme or Reason”) only for Renee to win a gourmet lunch, fully intending to leave the two out because of said teasing (“It’s My Party”) before eventually deciding to forgive and invite them. Next is Gloria, whose resolution involved learning how to handle problems and face her fears, such as when she had to have her tonsils removed (“A Pain in the Neck”), with her fearing losing her voice and having to quit the band (“Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid”); though the others were able to help her get through it (“That’s What Friends Are For ’85”)note
Finally, after continued frustration over the scrapped party was expressed, Stacy reads her resolution: helping others whenever possible - as exhibited in “The Great Comeback”; where she remembers how she and the others helped Blanche Taylor, a once-famous trombone player who was now homeless, reunite with her long-lost daughter (“Miracles”; “You Can’t Get What You Want (’Til You Know What You Want)”). It’s then that Ryan notes how they’ve always been there for their friends…including Riley (“Riley Gets Stung”) that the kids realize how poorly they’ve been treating him (“That’s What Friends Are For ’86”)note . The kids then resolve to be better friends than ever, soon racing out to meet Riley (momentarily scaring him) before apologizing for their treatment of him. Riley then explains that Kid’s uncle is letting them have the New Year’s party at the garage, leading to “Step by Step” as the group sets up. The last-minute preparation works; featuring the band making a grand entrance into the garage before leading things off with “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”; followed by “Dancing on the Ceiling” before Riley joins the kids as they count down to the new year, after which the episode closes with a medley of “Auld Lang Syne/Tomorrow Morning (A Brand New World)”.
In addition to a New Year’s episode; the episode also serves as a sendoff for the now-aged out Martika. Additionally, of the group’s dancers, Gina Marie Vinaccia would be the only one to return for Season 4; as Wendy Brainard, Darren Lee, Mario Lopez and Andrea Paige Wilson would all leave the series after this episode. Behind the scenes, this marked the final episode for Earl A. Glick as the series' executive producer.
Songs performed in this episodenote :
- “Wild Wild Life” (Talking Heads cover; lead vocals by Ryan, Stacy, Renee and Gloria)
- “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” (Michael Jackson cover; lead vocals by Kid)note
- “Show Some Respect” (Tina Turner cover; lead vocals by Kid)note
- Tough All Over (John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band; lead vocals by Ryan)note
- “I’m Coming Out” (Diana Ross cover; lead vocals by Gloria and Kid)note
- “It’s My Party” (Helen Shapiro cover {
also recorded by Lesley Gore}; lead vocals by Renee)note - “Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid” (Daryl Hall & John Oates cover; lead vocals by Gloria)note
- “That’s What Friends Are For ’85” (Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Renee and Stacy)note
- “Miracles” (Stacy Lattisaw cover; lead vocals by Stacy)note
- “You Can’t Get What You Want (’Til You Know What You Want)” (Joe Jackson cover; lead vocals by Ryan)note
- “That’s What Friends Are For ’86” (Rod Stewart cover {also recorded by the Dionne and Friends Supergroupnote ; lead vocals by Gloria, Kid, Renee, Ryan and Stacy)note
- “Step By Step”note (Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Gloria and Ryan)note
- “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (Wang Chung cover; lead vocals by Renee, Stacy, Gloria, Kid and Ryan)note
- Dancing on the Ceiling” (Lionel Richie cover; lead vocals by Kid, Gloria, Stacy and Renee)
- Auld Lang Syne/Tomorrow Morning (A Brand New World)” (Robert Burns poem medley with Kids Incorporated original; lead vocals by Gloria, Kid, Ryan, Stacy and Renee)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Clip Show: The kids spend most of the episode reminiscing on how they did on keeping their New Year’s resolutions, with accompanying clips from a series of Season 2 episodes.
- Face Your Fears: A common theme in episodes featuring Gloria, this is discussed in relation to her resolution.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: One of the garage signs contains a very obscure reference in a sign for Veedol motor oil; which was owned by the old Tidewater Petroleum company (later absorbed by British Petroleum, or BP)
- New Year Has Come: This is a special New Year’s Eve themed episode, and notably the only episode directly related to a specific holiday.
