Teen Presidents
From Wall Of Losers
Teen Presidents was an American teen sitcom which originally aired between 1987 and 1989. The series was a retooled version of the 1985 made-for-tv movie Retroschool. The series followed the exploits of several students, who were actually former presidents lost in time, various friends, loves and administrators.
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[edit] Production
Teen Presidents ran for two seasons with two two-hour holiday “specials” totaling 36 episodes. By the series finale it was airing weekly on over fifteen local channels up and down the east coast. It ran in syndication in its original time-slot until the summer of 1992 when it was replaced with the widely popular Spanish language soap, “¿Por Qué Somos, Mi Amor?” which held that spot for over six years.
Kids!Wowie Entertainment currently holds the rights to all but one of the episodes. They have announced their plans to release the two available seasons on DVD and also to make the “Teen Presidents: Hoppin’ Holiday Special” available in time for the Christmas season of next year.
See also DVD Releases
[edit] Plot
A rip in tubular time-space causes some of history’s greatest leaders to be thrown forward in time to the year 1987. Apart from the culture shock, these wayward time-travelers must also deal with the fact that they have physically reverted back to teenagers! Sure, they can all lead a country but now they’ll have to step up and rule over a whole new territory… High school! (Taken from the sleeve of the Season One boxset)
[edit] Characters
- Abraham "Abe" Lincoln
- Played by Christoph Aristotle.
- Alessandra
- Played by Mallory Stewart.
- Andrew Jackson
- Played by Paul McConnery.
- Dingo the Wonder Poodle
- Played by himself.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Played by Joseph Regalia.
- George Washington
- Played by Brad Tortmonger.
- Herbert “Herbie” Hoover
- Played by Shawn Amberbacher-Smith.
- James K. Polk
- Played by Handel Mason.
- Monsieur Monocle
- Played by Kel Carper.
- Principal Harriman
- Played by Patricia McMac.
- Wally
- Played by Rod Buffman.
- William “Free Willy” Howard Taft
- Played by Louie L'Oui. Taft's nickname later was given to the titular character in 1993's "Free Willy", something that writer Keith A. Walker admits was a sign of affection.
[edit] Guest Stars
Barry Donahue appeared in episode 15 where he played the character Van Buren.
[edit] Music
- Theme Song
- The theme song was written by producer Al "Boner" Brenson and performed by 80's progressive pop band, The Cottonmouths of whom Brad Tortmonger was a member.
- Teen presidents!
- Teen presidents!
- They're teens and they used to be presidents!
- Non-Denominational Holiday Christmas Carol
- A song written by Top 40 singer Cyndi Lauper specifically for the Teen Presidents: Hoppin’ Holiday Special. She is listed as "Cynthia Ann" in the credits.
[edit] DVD Releases
| DVD Name | Release Date | # Ep | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teen Presidents: The Complete First Season | December 12, 2006 | 16 | Before the official release of the first season boxset, internet bootleggers have made the entire series available online for download. |
| Teen Presidents: The Complete Second Season | March 25, 2007 | 18 | |
| Teen Presidents: Hoppin’ Holiday Special | Winter 2007 | 1 | |
| Teen Presidents: Summer Spooktacular | Release date not available | 1 | There has currently been no news on whether the "Teen Presidents: Summer Spooktacular" will ever be available on DVD. Speculation is that it will be announced after the release of the holiday special in 2007. |
[edit] Trivia
- At the end of the opening credits Andrew Jackson completely misses the group high five.
- Ralph Macchio was the original pick for the character of Abe Lincoln, the entire pilot episode was shot using him. At the last minute, Christoph Aristotle replaced him. The official statement was that the director wanted a cast of fresh faces, but rumor has it that Macchio didn't get along with the director's son.
- In the end credits of the pilot episode only, Shawn Ambermacher-Smith's name is misspelled to read Sean.
