FAST TIMES
With Claudia Wells, Courtney Thorne-Smith, James Nardini, Dean Cameron, Patrick Dempsey,
Kit McDonnough, Vincent Shiavelli, Ray Walston, Wally Ward, Lee Ving, Bill Calvert,
Jason Hervey, Moon Zappa, Twink Caplan
Supplier: Universal TV
Exec Producer: Allen Rucker
Supervising Producer-Director: Amy Heckerling
Producers: Jonathan Roberts, John Whitman
Writers: Marc Warren, Dennis Rinsler
Music: Barry Goldberg, Danny Elfman
Photography: Steve Yaconelli
30 Mins., Wed., 8 p.m.
CBS-TV
"Fast Times," derived from the theatrical "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" film, got off to a slow but not necessarily bad start.
Initial episode (which did not look like the pilot) introduced viewers to the students and teachers who make up the regular cast of the sitcom, putting most of its accent on a Cyrano-type plot wherein fast-talking Patrick Dempsey volunteered to sound out Courtney Thorne-Smith's likes and dislikes for bashful Wally Ward - then fell for her himself. That one worked out okay, but with overtones of bubblegum that did not, of itself, promise much for the future.
On the other hand, Dean Cameron (as the surfer - the part that made Sean Penn a star in the movie) moved amusingly through his sly battle of wits with teacher Ray Walston in an encounter which Walston won - this time. Cameron is clearly the person who will first catch on, if indeed "Fast Times" does ignite, giving a surefooted interpretation of a beach bum who doesn't mean to offend. Walston, however, carried this stanza.
The opener was woefully short of laughts but there was a bemused quality about it that suggested it would be wrong to write it off before a few more episodes have aired. The students and the teachers are not caricatures (not even Cameron) and something watchable could be developed on the skein. Other regulars Claudia Wells, James Nardini, and Kit McDonnough had little to do in the opener.
Back to Main Fast Times Page
Last updated: 28 November 1996