James At 15 (Black TV-related - attn. Batmon)

pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
edited December 2014 in Strut Central
[em]James At 15 [/em](later changed to [em]James At 16[/em]) was a TV series that aired on NBC during the 1977-78 season. It was about a teenager who uproots with his family from some town in Oregon to Boston, MA. Somebody dumped all the episodes on Youtube, and I'm not ashamed to say that I like it as much now as when I was a kid. Campy as it is. James' two best friends were a preachy feminist named Marlene and a jivey black dude named Sly who sells fake joints laced with oregano. He's featured just enough that this show would qualify for the "Black TV" thread...except that that thread is now a thousand pages long and I didn't want it to get lost. Batmon, I don't know if you remember this series, but I think you'd like it. Check it on Youtube. Especially the "Listless Fever" ep, where James thinks he has VD.

And although we do get to see Sly's home, I haven't seen an ep with his bedroom yet. So I have no idea if he has the ubiquitous Hendrix poster on his wall.

  Comments


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I remember the show. Watched bits and pieces.
    I wasnt old enough to wanna watch it weekly. The tone seemed kinda serious.

    The main dude was teen actor that bounced around other shows then. Kristy McNichol steez.

    The brother looks like he's been in somethin'.

  • batmon said:
    I remember the show. Watched bits and pieces.
    I wasnt old enough to wanna watch it weekly. The tone seemed kinda serious.

    I was ten when it aired. I saw the promos, thought it was too serious for me at the time, but I finally saw one front-to-back ep in midseason and was hooked from then on.

    The brother looks like he's been in somethin'.

    David Hubbard. He kept on getting "black teen" roles long after James At 16 was cancelled. You might remember his one-episode turn on The White Shadow as a reporter from the school newspaper.

    The lady on the left, Susan Myers, just disappeared. Didn't leave much of a paper trail after '81 or so.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    batmon said:
    I remember the show. Watched bits and pieces.
    I wasnt old enough to wanna watch it weekly. The tone seemed kinda serious.

    I was ten when it aired. I saw the promos, thought it was too serious for me at the time, but I finally saw one front-to-back ep in midseason and was hooked from then on.

    The brother looks like he's been in somethin'.

    David Hubbard. He kept on getting "black teen" roles long after James At 16 was cancelled. You might remember his one-episode turn on The White Shadow as a reporter from the school newspaper..

    Yes...the reporter!! Yeah.

    And then in the opening credits I saw the ubiquitous Kim Richards who was in damn near everything back then.

    What time did this show air cause I recall it coming on after the 7pm the primetime pocket.
    Along with that 77-78 era being filled w/ many hit shows. Black and Whitey both.

    Boston circa '77 is an interesting backdrop though. Im gonna check.

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    batmon said:
    Boston circa '77 is an interesting backdrop though. Im gonna check.

    Yup. Schitt was really real around busing to desegregate the schools. There are still bars in Southie that proudly hang anti-busing banners behind the bar.

  • And then in the opening credits I saw the ubiquitous Kim Richards who was in damn near everything back then.

    She turned up on Hello, Larry maybe a year later.

    What time did this show air cause I recall it coming on after the 7pm the primetime pocket.

    Don't remember the exact time. I'm thinking it would have been a midweek thing - Wednesday or Thursday.

    Boston circa '77 is an interesting backdrop though. Im gonna check.

    From what I understand, the producer was tired of all the sitcoms being based in New York or California and wanted to get away from that. Boston was known for racial intolerance, so having the white main character's best friend be a black pseudo-dope peddler was an interesting move. If the show had lasted another couple of years, the racial dynamic would have been addressed more.

    Matter of fact, to have three best friends from different backgrounds is almost ahead of its' time. Sounds more like something Fox TV would have done in the P.C. nineties.


  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Welcome back Kotter was an earlier show with kids from all different (racial) backgrounds.

    I remember liking a school drama called Room 222.
    I can't remember a thing about it, no idea what the make up of the cast was.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Welcome back Kotter was an earlier show with kids from all different (racial) backgrounds.

    To be fair The Sweathogs despite being other flavors were all typical new york kids, who did the same shit growing up. Even The White Shadow kids still were pretty much from the same larger hood.

    James, from what i read comes from the west coast (Oregon) and then befriends his "multi-culti" group.
    Thats a bigger jump. Im curious if its exploited in the storylines or is it just friends w/out the "hey we got a Black dude" steez.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Right. I understood the distinction when I was typing.

    I don't remember James At 16 at all.
    I did not own a tv those years.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    watchin the pilot now....

    cool to see dude who become the hero in the Terminator and in Aliens
    - he also played opposite Kathy Lee Thats Incredible as hs student bangin the teacher.
    vince van patten from the Bionic boy six million dollar man series
    and ive never seen dude who played Jimmy Olson in the Reeves Superman before
    had a little crush on bright eyed blondie from Little House on the Prarie


  • Im curious if its exploited in the storylines or is it just friends w/out the "hey we got a Black dude" steez.

    The racial dynamic is mentioned from time to time, but it's never a punchline. At no time do they make Sly another "J.J." (from Good Times). Or even worse, a generic black sidekick with no kind of depth.

    Just like Tim Reid's "Venus Flytrap" character on WKRP, David Hubbard played Sly with a degree of class.

    had a little crush on bright eyed blondie from Little House on the Prarie

    Yep.

    IIRC, an extremely sexy Kate Jackson (from Charlie's Angels) was on that same episode.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    IIRC, an extremely sexy Kate Jackson (from Charlie's Angels) was on that same episode.

    I was all about Jaclyn Smith as a kid, but as I age, Jackson has become the Here My Dear of Charlie's Angels.
    That raspy voice w/ a slight twang is the shit.
    CA was made for her to be the smart lead female star. Fawcett & Smith knocked her out the box.

  • I was all about Jaclyn Smith as a kid, but as I age, (Kate) Jackson has become the Here My Dear of Charlie's Angels.
    That raspy voice w/ a slight twang is the shit.

    And she was just as hot earlier in the decade on The Rookies, with that "brunette Peggy Lipton" hairdo:



    The other Angels weren't bad, but Kate Jackson looked the most approachable. Farrah & them look like they cost too much to even say hello to.

    As for James At 15/16, I've been going through at least an episode a night. Not really going in order. Since I actually watched it as a kid, I've started off with fave episodes I remember and then working my way through it.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Im not a fan of jumping around w/ episodes w/ tv shows.

    Im gonna check the series sequence and try to watch this shit accordingly.

    I wanna see the natural progression, and see the "blood's" development.
    And I wanna see where shit went wrong.

    The Rookies is a show I would like to check in its entirety. Its right before SWAT.
    I watched it here & there, but didnt have TV control at that age. Syndication steez.
    But me & my boy would play/act the Rookies when we were kids.

  • batmon said:
    Im not a fan of jumping around w/ episodes w/ tv shows.

    Im gonna check the series sequence and try to watch this shit accordingly.

    I totally understand. I would have done the same thing, except nostalgia got in the way.

    I wanna see the natural progression, and see the "blood's" development.
    And I wanna see where shit went wrong.

    In a weird way, the "natural progression" is even more evident when I jump around. I start noticing that the characters aren't relating to each other the same way early on, and their quirks are either magnified or reduced (among other things). Just like with any show - still working out the kinks. Have you seen any other eps beyond the pilot (which I saw back in the 70s)?

    The Rookies is a show I would like to check in its entirety. Its right before SWAT.
    I watched it here & there, but didnt have TV control at that age. Syndication steez.
    But me & my boy would play/act the Rookies when we were kids.

    I remember The Rookies being on in the house, but I was too young to have the attention span for it. Saw a few sporadic reruns later, and that's when I had my big revelation - "oh, so THAT'S what Kate Jackson did before Charlie's Angels." But I never became hooked on it. Guess I was never a huge cop-show watcher. Even The Mod Squad was a bit on the dull side for me.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I found the episode guide so ill check the series out.
    Apparently Sly is featured in the "first" episode.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    You gotta check the Friends episode.....

    They show Slys apt. His pops is a Top40 FM DJ. 70s Buppies.
    Playin chess to Classical music. The mom is classic actress who played on Whats Happening as the lady who married Rogers father.

    I wanna know what mixed Boston high school would they be in during the busing crisis.

  • batmon said:
    You gotta check the Friends episode.....

    They show Slys apt. His pops is a Top40 FM DJ. 70s Buppies.
    Playin chess to Classical music.

    I just saw that one maybe a week ago. I believe his dad was a classical DJ as well. There's a hilarious dream sequence where James imagines life at Sly Hazeltine's house as one big P-Funk concert...

    The mom is classic actress who played on Whats Happening as the lady who married Rogers father.

    Right. Lee Chamberlain, who was also a regular on early seasons of The Electric Company.

    I wanna know what mixed Boston high school would they be in during the busing crisis.

    I get the drift that this would have been explored more in-depth, if the show had made it beyond one season.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    batmon said:
    There's a hilarious dream sequence where James imagines life at Sly Hazeltine's house as one big P-Funk concert....

    Now that was funny!

  • There's a hilarious dream sequence where James imagines life at Sly Hazeltine's house as one big P-Funk concert....

    Now that was funny!

    Even funnier - the screen didn't get hazy or anything to indicate a dream sequence...it went straight from one scene to another. For a minute there, I thought that scene was really supposed to be Sly's home life!!!

    I don't know what episode you're on now, but you'll find out that James did a lot of exaggerated daydreaming...even as a kid those segments cracked me up...

  • Lance Kerwin at 15 looked like he was going on 40.

    Around the same time he made a horrible TV movie (directed by Michael Landon) about a kid who became a great distance runner because he raced home from school every day to take his sheets off the clothesline. His scumbag dad was hanging them out to shame the kid for wetting the bed.

    Track team guys appreciated being asked if that was a true story.

    Lance also made a movie called "The Boy Who Drank Too Much" about a boy who drank too much. Looking at his picture makes me think it was a true story.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    There's a hilarious dream sequence where James imagines life at Sly Hazeltine's house as one big P-Funk concert....

    Now that was funny!

    Even funnier - the screen didn't get hazy or anything to indicate a dream sequence...it went straight from one scene to another. For a minute there, I thought that scene was really supposed to be Sly's home life!!!

    I don't know what episode you're on now, but you'll find out that James did a lot of exaggerated daydreaming...even as a kid those segments cracked me up...

    I think theres dream sequence in every ep ive seen.

    Just finished the Cult episode that reminded me of Rerun([em]What's Happening[/em]) joining his local cult.
    Its the same era.

    The show reminds me of [em]The White Shadow[/em].

  • Just finished the Cult episode that reminded me of Rerun([em]What's Happening[/em]) joining his local cult.
    Its the same era.

    Just saw that one, too. What got me is that they don't attempt to hide the fact that Sly was a nickel-and-dime dope pusher. It's a running joke that wouldn't fly today. I'm shocked they could get away with it back then. Currently watching the next ep, where one of James' best friends from back home comes down with cancer.

    The show reminds me of [em]The White Shadow[/em].

    It's got that White Shadow aura, in terms of pacing and general attitude.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Got that Massachusetts Purple!

    I guess it give Sly that extra street cred instead of being a Carlton, and its not really drugs, but Eggplant and Oregano.
    Im a little skeptical that dude didnt grow up to be a Carlton with two Bourgie parents.
    Talmbout Black Folks both into Classical and the kid is street? They moved from the hood so i can see it, but two nerds should have more of a Carlton kid.

  • batmon said:

    Im a little skeptical that dude didnt grow up to be a Carlton with two Bourgie parents.
    Talmbout Black Folks both into Classical and the kid is street? They moved from the hood so i can see it, but two nerds should have more of a Carlton kid.

    I think Sly was fully conscious of his situation, and was doing what he could to hold on to his roots. Notice that he really emphasizes his ghetto side when dealing with Caucasians who are either "proper" or stone hicks.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    After WKRP in Cinncinatti, I cant think of a mid to late 70s show that had real music vs some madeup stuff or covers.
    This had to have a decent budget with real music and on location shooting.

  • batmon said:
    After WKRP in Cinncinatti, I cant think of a mid to late 70s show that had real music vs some madeup stuff or covers.

    And it seemed like England Dan & John Ford Coley got more play than anybody.
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