eschiffer

Came here on news of Kevin Dobson's death to see how this (TV) movie--one of his few leading bad guy roles--had fared over the years. As some here have noted, this movie is noteworthy for the number of up-and-coming stars (e.g. Alec Baldwin, Helen Hunt) in it. But those who claim it's typical "TV movie" fare that is "predictable" are so off the mark. The time frame of the movie is extremely unusual--to have in effect a prequel whose events echo in the main film is not what television typically does, and certainly not in 1984. And the movie is psychologically interesting in setting up the heroine's complicated (and not entirely admirable) motives for her "revenge." And then, her revenge backfires, but her ultimate goal is nonetheless achieved through a mechanism straight out of classical drama.

In addition to being a smart sequel that explored questions that went begging in its source material, this was a smart show that anticipated the "dramedy" shows of the mid-80's, as well as shows like "My So-Called Life." The original movie left viewers hoping against hope that our hero would leave the world of the "cutters" for college, yet retain the delightfully delineated friendships with the other boys. Here we got to see that really could happen, and what's more, television explored issues of class in a way that is seldom seen on the small screen. The parents were a hoot, too. Although the IMDb credit list doesn't show it, the show also featured Dominique Dunne in a recurring role as the gal pal Shaun Cassidy met at college and provided further evidence that she would have become a great actress if she hadn't been murdered.