Welcome Freshmen is an American comedy series that aired on Nickelodeon from February 16, 1991, to February 19, 1994, with repeats until October 27, 1996. The show took place at Hawthorne High School with a group of high school students and a bumbling vice principal.
Seasons 1 and 2
The earlier episodes of the series consisted of comedy sketches that loosely followed a theme, each episode had two or three short skits about the gang's misadventures in high school. Some of the comedy routines involved a tortoise named Mortise teaching children about safety, a historian named Mr. History who talks about past generations of freshmen, the bumbling, freshman-hating, vice-principal Mr. Lippman imagining himself as a stand-up comedian telling really bad old jokes that insult freshmen, and a student named Billy Cushman who, though his appearance was occasional, provided not only a good example of how not to behave but also a good example of flatulence.
Recurring skits
- Home-Room Announcements â Mr. Lippman, the vice-principal, doing the morning announcements (at the same time, imagining how he'd really like to say them as a stand-up format).
- The Merv-U-Mentary â Merv's amateurish attempt at uncovering news and scandals at the high school.
- Mr. History â featuring the gang as high school students of a past time period.
- Mike Who â featuring close-ups of a sidelined high school basketball player driving the crowd wild with a single wave. Eventually cut after vice Principal Lippman said it was too distracting, resulting in a tense showdown between Lippman and Who.
- Mortise the Safety Tortoise â a tortoise who teaches children about safety.
Seasons 3 and 4
In the later episodes, the sketch comedy format was abandoned, and the show became a standard sitcom.
In the third season, Kevin and Alex become sophomores, and Walter is held behind due to missing summer school. Merv and Tara leave Hawthorne, with Merv skipping the rest of high school and going straight to college, and Tara moving to a biosphere with her family. New characters came in: Grant, Erin and Manny, by the end of the third season, Manny left. In the series finale, Walter becomes a sophomore after all the teachers threatened to quit if they had him for another year.
Production
The show's first television pilot was filmed in May 1990, featuring a group of local actors in the main roles, among them was future Backstreet Boys member Howie Dorough. After the success of the pilot, the show was picked up, but the roles were recast, according to series creator Bob Mittenthal "Those kids did a good job, the proof is that the show was picked up as a series , but research told Nickelodeon it needed better-defined characters".
According to Jocelyn Steiner, several actresses had auditioned for the role of Alex before she got cast, including Brittany Daniel who was a final contender for the role.
Cast
- Rick Galloway as Walter Patterson
- Chris Lobban as Kevin St. James
- David Rhoden as Merv (1991âÂÂ1992)
- Jill Setter as Tara (1991âÂÂ1992)
- Jocelyn Steiner as Alex Moore
- Brock Bradley as Grant Kelly (1993âÂÂ1994)
- Arian Waring Ash as Erin Kelly (1993âÂÂ1994)
- Nicholas Caruso as Manny Barrington (1993âÂÂ1994)
- Mike Speller as Mr. Elliott Lippman
- Veronica Alicino as Miss Topaz
- Janis Benson as Miss Petruka
- Nick Barnes as Billy Cushman
- Phil Card as Mr. History
- Tracy Frenkel as Coach Roach and Coach Rochelle
- Jay Martel as Mr. Royd
- Al Arasim as Al Patterson
- John Parker Searles as Mr. Macbroom
- Mark Sarto as Mortise, the Safety Tortoise
Characters
Main
- Walter Patterson (Rick Galloway) is the dimwitted, good-natured, optimistic, lazy laid-back, and geeky slacker of the group who loves eating. His stupidity and clumsiness are often the butt of jokes. In the series finale, he is able to graduate from high school as his teachers told Mr. Lippman they would quit if he was held back another year.
- Kevin St. James (Chris Lobban) is the cynical, selfish, and egotistical one of the group. He is a smooth talker, a terrible ladies' man, and often makes fun of his friends. Mostly, he is troublemaker of the group.
- Merv (David Rhoden) is the confident, outgoing nerd of the group. He was written out of the show after season two, where it was explained that he graduated early and enrolled in college.
- Tara (Jill Setter) is the eco-conscious feminist activist of the group. Besides Walter, she is among the nicest of the group though she joins in making fun of others at times. She was written out of the show after season two, where it was explained that she and her parents moved into a biosphere community.
- Alex Moore (Jocelyn Steiner) is a beautiful, popular and fashion-obsessed girly girl. Often vain, snobby, rude, and materialistic, she is obsessed with her status and has no issues manipulating others for personal gain.
- Mr. Elliott Lippman (Mike Speller) is the tyrannical and incompetent principal of Hawthorne High. He often serves as an antagonist to the main characters' schemes though they do not take him seriously. In spite of his personality, he is known to have a soft spot and willing to help his students out if they are in trouble.
Additional
- Miss Petruka (Janis Benson) - Mr. Lippman's secretary who always sticks up for him, but she is known to call him out on a few things.
- Billy Cushman (Nick Barnes) - A troublemaking student who also has a bad case of flatulence. Only appeared in seasons one and two.
- Mr. History (Phil Card) - An old-school narrator who shows viewers what freshmen looked like in various time periods. Only appeared in seasons one and two.
- Coach Roach and Coach Rochelle (Tracy Frenkel) - Stereotypical coaches who are constantly hard on their students. In a season two episode, he puts a stop to an altercation between Walter and Tara's dads by making them settle their differences in a sack race. Only appeared in seasons one and two.
- Mr. Royd' (Jay Martel) - A volatile guidance counselor who tries to be supportive to students, but often lashes out in tangents about his failures in life. Only appeared in seasons one and two.
- Al Patterson (Al Arasim) - Walter's widowed father who is portrayed as a dumb, slobbish person, but generally has a good heart and a close relationship with his son.
- Mr. MacBroom (John Parker Searles) - The slow-witted school janitor who speaks with a heavy Scottish accent.
- Grant Kelly (Brock Bradley) is introduced in the third season as a new student and as potential love interest to Alex.
- Erin Kelly (Arian Waring Ash) is Grant's younger sister who often dresses in grunge fashion, but she is known to be an excellent student and helpful to others around her.
- Manny Barrington - A naive and short-statured nerdy freshman introduced in the third season. He befriends the main group who are a grade above him despite them treating him poorly and laughing at his expense. He only appeared in half of the season, despite being credited in all episodes.
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (1991)
Season 2 (1992)
Season 3 (1993)
Season 4 (1993)
References
External links