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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.
| Welcome Freshmen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | School Students |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Robert Mittenthal |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Peter Lauer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Production locations | Nickelodeon Studios, Universal Studios Orlando, Florida |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | February 16, 1991 – February 19, 1994 |
Seasons 1 and 2 edit
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 edit
- Home-Room Announcements-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-Merv's amateurish attempt at uncovering news and scandals at the high school.
- Mr. History-featuring the gang as high school students of a past time period.
- Mike Who-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-a tortoise who teaches children about safety.
Seasons 3 and 4 edit
In the later episodes, the sketch comedy format was abandoned, and Welcome Freshmen became a standard sitcom.
In the third season, Kevin and Alex become sophomores, Walter is held behind due to him missing summer school. Merv and Tara left 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: Manny, Erin and Grant, by the end of the third season, Manny left. In the series finale, Walter becomes a sophomore, as the teachers all threatened to quit if they had him another year.
Production edit
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.[1] 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".[2]
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.[3]
Cast edit
- Rick Galloway as Walter Patterson
- Chris Lobban as Kevin St. James
- David Rhoden as Merv (1991–1992)
- Jill Setter as Tara (1991–1992)
- Jocelyn Steiner as Alex Moore
- Brock Bradley as Grant Kelly (1993–1994)
- Arian Waring Ash as Erin Kelly (1993–1994)
- Nicholas Caruso as Manny Barrington (1993–1994)
- 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 edit
Main edit
- Walter Patterson 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.
- Kevin St. James 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, especially Merv, Manny, and Walter. Mostly, he is troublemaker of the group.
- Merv is the confident, outgoing nerd of the group. Merv is a nerdy guy.
- Tara 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.
- Alex Moore 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 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.
Additional edit
- Grant Kelly is with Erin's older brother and who becomes Alex's boyfriend. Introduced in the third season.
- Erin Kelly is a musically talented freshman who often dresses in a grunge fashion. Introduced in the third season.
- Manny Barrington is introduced in the third season, a naive and short-statured nerdy freshman. He befriends the main group who are a grade above him despite them treating him poorly and laughing at his expense.
Series overview edit
Episodes edit
Season 1 (1991) edit
This section needs a plot summary. (February 2021) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Express Yourself" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | February 16, 1991 |
| 2 | 2 | "Extra-Curricular Activities" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | February 23, 1991 |
| 3 | 3 | "Mind Games" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | March 2, 1991 |
| 4 | 4 | "Knowledge is Power" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | March 9, 1991 |
| 5 | 5 | "Growing Up" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | March 16, 1991 |
| 6 | 6 | "Technology" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | March 23, 1991 |
| 7 | 7 | "Money" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | March 30, 1991 |
| 8 | 8 | "Authority" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | April 6, 1991 |
| 9 | 9 | "How We Look" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | April 13, 1991 |
| 10 | 10 | "Careers in the Making" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | April 20, 1991 |
| 11 | 11 | "Language" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | April 27, 1991 |
| 12 | 12 | "What We Eat" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 4, 1991 |
| 13 | 13 | "Getting Even" | Scott Fishman | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 11, 1991 |
Season 2 (1992) edit
This section needs a plot summary. (February 2021) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Friends" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 9, 1992 |
| 15 | 2 | "Conformity" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 16, 1992 |
| 16 | 3 | "Choices" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 23, 1992 |
| 17 | 4 | "Bullies" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | May 30, 1992 |
| 18 | 5 | "The Grass is Always Greener" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | June 6, 1992 |
| 19 | 6 | "Holidays" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | June 13, 1992 |
| 20 | 7 | "Dating" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | June 20, 1992 |
| 21 | 8 | "Health" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | June 27, 1992 |
| 22 | 9 | "Ecology" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | July 4, 1992 |
| 23 | 10 | "Communication" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | July 11, 1992 |
| 24 | 11 | "Success" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | July 18, 1992 |
| 25 | 12 | "Competition" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | July 25, 1992 |
| 26 | 13 | "Secrets" | Tim Hill | Robert Mittenthal & Tim Hill | August 1, 1992 |
Season 3 (1992–93) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Things Change" | Michael Berry | Tim Hill | January 2, 1993 | |
| 28 | 2 | "The Harvest Ball" | Michael Berry | Gena Van Winkle | January 9, 1993 | |
| All look forward to the Harvest Ball. | ||||||
| 29 | 3 | "To Walter's Dad with Love" | Michael Berry | Michael Rubiner | January 16, 1993 | |
| Lippman hires Walter's dad as a history teacher, Erin deals with other students calling her names. | ||||||
| 30 | 4 | "The People vs. Walter" | Ron Smith | Rob Dinsmoor | January 23, 1993 | |
| Lippman's portrait is vandalized, and Walter is blamed. | ||||||
| 31 | 5 | "Othello the (Sopho)moor" | Ron Smith | Anne Bernstein | January 30, 1993 | |
| Lippman is Iago in the school's "Othello". | ||||||
| 32 | 6 | "Shiny Top" | Bob Lampel | David Potorti | February 6, 1993 | |
| Lippmann is taken for archcriminal Shiny Top. | ||||||
| 33 | 7 | "I'm Dead" | Ron Smith | Clifford Fagin | February 13, 1993 | |
| A senior wants to beat up Walter. | ||||||
| 34 | 8 | "Manny in Love" | Bob Lampel | Veronica Alicino | February 20, 1993 | |
| Manny has a crush on his baby sitter. | ||||||
| 35 | 9 | "Requiem for a Lightweight" | Bob Lampel | Alan Levy | February 27, 1993 | |
| Erin wants to wrestle; Lippman breaks a chain letter. | ||||||
| 36 | 10 | "The Lippdromeda Strain" | Adam Weissman | Howard Nemetz, Simon Rakoff, Tim Hill & Michael Rubiner | July 3, 1993 | |
| The kids are quarantined at school. | ||||||
| 37 | 11 | "Hawthorne Confidential" | Adam Weissman | Rob Dinsmoor | July 10, 1993 | |
| Alex uses gossip in a journalism class documentary. | ||||||
| 38 | 12 | "Erin for Office" | Adam Weissman | Gena Van Winkle | July 17, 1993 | |
| Erin runs for student-body president. | ||||||
| 39 | 13 | "Looking for Mr.Goodwrench" | TBD | TBD | 1993 | |
| Walter crashes into Mr.Lippman's car. | ||||||
| 40 | 14 | "What Rhymes with Liar" | Helen Smith | Robert Leighton | July 31, 1993 | |
| Kevin says he knows a star (Shanice Wilson). | ||||||
Season 4 (1993) edit
This section needs a plot summary. (February 2021) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Math, Lies & Videotape" | Tim Hill | Michael Rubiner | 1993 | |
| Erin helps Walter study; Kevin tries to cheat. | ||||||
| 42 | 2 | "Drawn and Quoted" | Tim Hill | Story by : Robert Leighton Teleplay by : Rob Dinsmoor | 1993 | |
| Walter is a cartoonist for the school paper. | ||||||
| 43 | 3 | "The Genius" | Tim Hill | Story by : Robert Leighton Teleplay by : Anne Bernstein | 1993 | |
| A child prodigy may attend Hawthorne. | ||||||
| 44 | 4 | "The Stuff" | Adam Weissman | Robert Leighton | 1993 | |
| A science-class mishap results in a revolutionary glue. | ||||||
| 45 | 5 | "Marathon Woman" | Adam Weissman | Story by : Michael Rubiner & Jed Spingarn Teleplay by : Jed Spingarn | 1993 | |
| Kevin coaxes Samantha to be his dance-marathon partner. | ||||||
| 46 | 6 | "Reachin' for the Stars" | Adam Weissman | Story by : Veronica Alicino & Michael Rubiner Teleplay by : Veronica Alicino | 1993 | |
| Talent scouts come to Hawthorne High. | ||||||
| 47 | 7 | "The Courtship of Walter's Father" | Adam Weissman | Jay Martel | 1993 | |
| His father falls for Walter's least-favorite teacher. | ||||||
| 48 | 8 | "Safety Last" | Adam Weissman | Tom Wargo | 1993 | |
| Hawthorne must pass a safety inspection or close. | ||||||
| 49 | 9 | "Seeds of Destruction" | TBD | TBD | 1993 | |
| Erin insults Mr. Lippman. | ||||||
| 50 | 10 | "Rainy Day Women" | TBD | TBD | 1993 | |
| Walter and Kevin vie for a girl's attention. | ||||||
| 51 | 11 | "Getting What You Want" | Adam Weissman | Tim Hill | 1993 | |
| Mr. Lippman's philosophy: karma by points. | ||||||
| 52 | 12 | "Year's End" | Adam Weissman | Tim Hill | 1993 | |
| The gang make their plans for summer as the academic year draws to a close. | ||||||
References edit
- ^ "Nick Is Testing Waters Of The Local Talent Pool". www.orlandosentinel.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "NEXT ON NICKELODEON: 'WELCOME FRESHMAN' NEW SHOW'S CAST IS ALL HOME-GROWN". www.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "Interview with Jocelyn Steiner". www.youtube.com. September 16, 2013. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
