Joher Speaks! is updated.

Also, I was very surprised to find an e-mail from Tannis Vallely (Janice) in my mailbox, since she was the last person he kept in touch with, and that was 10 years ago. I'm glad that my sites are bringing people together.

I recently saw an episode on rerun of Law & Order, and Simone (Kristen Hadjee) was on it as a VERY icy wife of a man accused of murder. She really has had alot of work since Head of the Class. She's been in a few Disney movies, Made for TV movies on Lifetime, I've seen her in a few commercials as well. And that's just what I've seen. She seems to have worked fairly consistently.

And Dennis & Eric have Keenan & Kel and everything else. It's nice to see current success stories.

Though I loved the earlier Mr. Moore eppies, the addition of Alex & Vickie was great. Especially the note passing episode, where Vickie & Eric are flirting and Alex & Simone are flirting and they all end up running into each other at a museum. Dennis & Arvid are debating chicken vs. egg.

Mr. Moore sees everyone passing notes and reads them all out loud. Vickie to Eric. Eric to Vickie, Simone to Alex, Simone to Eric, Alex to Vickie.. etc.. and then the last two pieces of paper read: Chicken.... and Egg...

Just cracked me up.

Which was everyone's favorite musical episode? Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, or Hair? I liked LSOH. Dennis as "Audrey II" yelling "FEED ME!!!"? Classic.

I can't decide. Grease is probably my least favorite because they didn't have alot of singing-dancing (plus, the movie's so good, I can't get into the HoTC kids doing it). I loved Little Shop because of the "Sha doo... Audrey II...." sung by the doo-wop girls. I also love that musical, and thought Maria did great with "Somewhere that's Green."

However! Hair had such a good psychodelic vibe.. and when they danced to "Aquarius" and then ended with their fingers in the peace signs.. the middle schooler I was got chills. Not to mention the entire bit with Claude going to VietNam.. and they sang "Let the Sun Shine." So many good things. Plus Simone was in that one! She sang "Black Boys/White Boys" with Vickie, Darlene, Sarah, TJ and some other girl.

The musical episodes rocked. The best part of the Grease eppie was the hilarious bit with The Shepard Bride with Alan & that HUGE Blonde chick. Hee hee.

It's Khrystyne Haje (I know, that's a "finger twister" on the typewriter). I saw the "Law and Order" episode also, and she did a damn good job. She did look older, though. She was also in a Tylenol cold medicine commercial. Leslie Bega also has a pretty steady acting career, a new movie she's in called "Dating Games People Play" is supposed to be coming out. Robin Givens also has a decent career...she reappeared on "One on One" last week, and I heard at sitcomsonline.com that she's going to be in a play in Milwaukee.

As for joher365.com, there will be no more "Joher Speaks" or anything like that (at least not on my part) since I resigned from that and no longer speak to Joher. However, I still have a decent communication with Tannis Vallely.



I have that one on tape, and I don't remember that scene. But speaking of tapes, if anyone is interested in purchasing 3 HOTC tapes I made from when it aired on Nick at Nite, let me know. Also, I am interested in getting the ones from Season 1 I missed on NaN, and the ones from Seasons 3 (like the "Little Shop" ones) and 4 that never aired on NaN. E-mail me.

Lastly, I still think it sucks a lot that NaN took HOTC off the air. I hope that it gets picked up somewhere...and also, e-mail netaudr@abc.com and tell them that you want a reunion!!

I always had an insane fascination with Leslie Bega. Ever since I saw her on an episode of Highway to Heaven when I was like, 8. I loved seeing her on The Sopranos a season or two ago, too.

She was on that too?! Man, Leslie's been everywhere!

Here's a link to a transcript of a chat she had on the Sopranos site:

Leslie Bega

For some weird reason, I had to highlight it as if it were a spoiler. It showed up normally before.

Hey all. Bumping this up because we need all the support we can get for this:

Petition to get HOTC on DVD/VHS

I haven't seen HOTC for ages, but I remember liking it (even if I had a little trouble keeping some of the characters' names straight). My all time favorite episode is the one where Eric just up and goes to Paris without telling anyone. Actually, I liked this idea so much that I actually *did* it in 1991... bought a plane ticket and "ran away" to Paris without a word to anybody, because I thought it sounded like such a cool thing to do. (I did, however, have enough money to get home again!)

Is this show currently being aired on any network?

No, silentbob, and that's what sucks. We are trying to get it on VHS/DVD, and I am currently working on a proposal to send to ABC (the original network of the show) and VH1 (for the pop culture perspective) to do a reunion.

This show gets no fair treatment at all. I did catch Leslie Bega on an ep of CSI that aired Friday night (she only appeared in one scene and had one line, though!) and Kimberly Russell in "Prison of Secrets," some Lifetime flick that aired yesterday. She played a prison inmate that was trying to help Stephanie Zimbalist's character expose the sexual assaults that were happening to the female inmates. I couldn't say anything about her acting, though, since I was running in and out of the house the whole time the movie aired, and only caught her in scenes where she had no lines. But I can say that she looked like what Sarah would look like if her life went into a downward spiral if she didn't get in the IHP.

Khrystyne Haje also appeared in a sci-fli flick Saturday called "Morella," but I couldn't catch that.

(I got bored one day and just Zap'd 2 It to find listings of the HOTC cast in other shows, showing how much HOTC withdrawal I have.)

Khrystyne Haje is on Law & Order all the time. Once she was actually a suspect, some completely repressed matriarch. Once she was making out in an elevator half-naked. Guess which of her appearances I like better?

She's on some commercial too, I forget which.

Wasn't she on some constantly running teeth commercial at one point?

She was currently in a Tylenol cold medicine commercial.

ETA: Also, back in the early 90's, around the time HOTC was coming to an end, Khrystyne was one of "People's Most Beautiful" and had her own Pantene commercials (kinda like Kelly Ripa and Patricia Heaton have now, except Khrys's were more glam and started with "Khrystyne Haje knows the meaning of good hair" or something like that). Though her career (along with Ms. Givens and Leslie) is decent (and I know about her Silicon Valley investment), it's weird how she used to be the "It" Girl of her time with her own commercials, and now she's a background character and a nameless face in commercials.

Another bump up, because I found this on Ebay:
"Little Shop Til You Drop" Script

I am definitely watching that script...and if I have enough money at the last minute, I'll bid on it. (I'm so broke!)

Also, I put my HOTC tapes on Ebay:
The tapes

Requoting this:



No wonder I didn't remember seeing that in the "Grease" ep, YourDensity...that scene was from the "Little Shop" ep. I just got the script for the latter, which I purchased on Ebay, yesterday, and it's all in there.

After seeing that script, I am dying to get my hands on that episode!

ETA: I just looked up the actress that played that "huge" blonde chick, and that was the girl that played Rhonda on "Saved by the Bell"! Remember that big tomboyish chick with parents in prison, who had the hugest crush on Zack? ("He has one cute behind!" she said, when he was running from her.)

ETA: Joher has a new hairstyle that looks ri.dic.u.lous.
The first picture in this link

Bumping this up for...

More Robin Givens Drama.

On Celebrity Justice Saturday night, they were talking about how Robin has another problem...

CJ mentioned the movies she was in (and showed a clip from Boomerang), mentioned how HOTC made her a "household name" (they showed the clip of her from the pilot telling Arvid how Lori and Barry broke up and...), and mentioned the show Sparks (a sitcom about a black legal firm) that she was on from '96-'98. The show also mentioned how she was most infamous for her relationship with Mike Tyson.

The issue is that she owes the talent agency she was a client of during her time on Sparks over $60,000, and was supposed to pay that back in installments of $2500 monthly. But since she never paid it, she now owes the agency over $100,000.

They also showed scenes of her during her court case for her hit and almost run. She looked very tired, and had her hair in these cutesy pigtails (I don't know why she'd wear pigtails in court, but whatever).

Does it ever end with her? It's sad.

Bumping this up:

Leslie Bega (Maria) now has an official website:

http://www.lesliebega.us/

(Some of the pictures on the main page are artfully nude...so take caution if you are at work or the library.)

Also, Tannis Vallely (Janice) has a personal photo page:

http://www.pbase.com/groovytv

There is a picture of her and her husband on it.

I'm glad they covered HotC on the third edition of "I Love the 80's" on VH1. I share commentator Joel Stein's adoration of Simone. Khrystyne Haje looked like something out of a Botticelli painting! Dan Frishcman (Arvid) looks pretty good now but he's still a nerd! I think he's right when he that Arvid actually got more dates on that show over the years than anybody else!

Favorite episode is when the class went to Moscow. That was awesome.

The show definitely jumped the shark when Billy Connolly became the teacher. No offense to the dude, but Dan Schneider(Dennis) was right when he said in a TV Guide article at the time that the class had now become Connolly's audience for his comedy routines when he came in through the door.

Word! I adored Simone - she and Alan were my favorite characters - and thought Khrystyne Haje was truly lovely, though more pre-Raphaelite than Botticelli.

Oh, man-- since I'm SUCH a massive space nut,I loved the one where they went to Houston and met Buzz Aldrin, who, since he also appeared on "Punky Brewster," is apparently the go-to astronaut for Very Special Episodes.

Simone, IMO, realistically looked and carried herself like someone I'd see in an ecclectic honors class. (For instance, to me Arvid was such a stereotype.) She was pretty, but didn't realize it, bookish, and romantic in a literary sense. Too bad there aren't many high school girls like that nowadays. I'd rather see "Annie Hall" style than girls having their butts and guts hanging out. Ick.

Anybody know when/if this is out on DVD? I could've sworn I saw it somewhere, but in all my internet searches couldn't find proof.

[Anybody know when/if this is out on DVD?]

Not yet! The best website to check on any TV Show's move to DVD is the following: TVShowsOnDVD.com

Also at that site, you can vote for that and any other shows you want to see on DVD.

I haven't seen an episode of HOTC probably since they first aired, and then I was about 13 and didn't know what the hell was going on anyway. Anyway, recently someone jogged my memory about the "Hair" HOTC ep, but we couldn't remember one thing that happened, like who was playing which "Hair" charactre, if there was controversy over the nude scene, etc. Would someone be kind enough to give the shortest and fastest recap in history of this episode if you recall anything? I'd be eternally grateful.

The main controversy I remember is that one of the teachers or parents (I am sorry it has been so long) didn't want the production of Hair to happen. She was upset at the topic of dodging the Vietnam draft-apparently her son back in the 60's had asked her if he should dodge Vietnam or go and she told him to go. He had died in the war.

Help me out if I am wrong or if there is more to the story. I was probably about 12 when I last saw it!!

I remember that Vietnam/Hair episode. IIRC, one of the other teachers kept giving the students a ton of extra homework which cut into their Hair rehearsal. She started giving them more and more and it became obvious she was getting out of control. Finally, Mr. Moore confronts the teacher and asks her what her deal is and why she seems to be deliberately keeping the students away from Hair. Her reasoning was what mnmya said above. Oh, and I seem to remember the woman's name being something like "Beth Western" and Mr. Moore promising not to make any motel jokes at her expense.

I remember the teacher as being played by Elaine Stritch, but IMDb's guest cast listings for HotC are incomplete. I don't remember the character's name, but could it have been Weston? If the actress wasn't Stritch, it was someone roughly of her age and type of voice. I seriously doubt it was Bea Arthur.

And I always thought Khrystyne Haje would have become a star. It doesn't seem to have worked out that way.

Just caught her on a repeat of L& O: SVU. She is still stunning. Seems a little thinner than she did back in the day.

I lurved Brian Robbins. I recall (as a 12-year-old) wanting to run my fingers through the back of his curly mullet.

That was the name of the psychologist on "Psyched Out at Fillmore High," a season 2 episode (the one where the class freaked out about taking a personality test).

I thought Brian Robbins was a young Ray Davies (Kinks). He could've been a relative, with the same eyes and broad mouthed grin.

I remember watching one episode (during the series' original run) where Mr. Moore's favorite teacher was showing the early signs of Alzheimer's Disease. I was watching it with my family, first time episode was ever aired, and when Mr. Moore was supposed to recite "Invictus" (when the elderly teacher was confused), I was able to recite the dialog along with Mr. Moore. My family looked at me like I was psychic, but it was just that the episode was almost a word-for-word replay of an episode of Room 222, where Mrs. Brown was losing her memory, and Mr. Kaufman was the one who was supposed to recite "Invictus."

Was this a case of the same writers being used for both shows, and recycling their old scripts?

He was definitely a hottie. I can't believe I thought a guy with a mullet was hot!! Isn't he a pretty big producer now?

I thought the guy who played Alex (who was new to the class in 1989) was hot too.

HOTC episodes online.

So the show may not be on DVD yet...but it's a start.

Bumping this up because of its mention in the "Perfect Strangers" thread.

No word of this show coming on DVD (that sucks), but the only update I have is that Robin Givens is writing a memoir. I read about it in Essence Magazine. I forgot the title...I've gotta look it up.

I thought she married some prince from a small country and was royalty now?

I used to watch the show, but in retropsect, what doesn't make any sense if they are all "geniuses", why did it take them so long to graduate high school? I know they eventually got a new group in there, or some new people, but they took awhile doing it.

Because they didn't realize how popular the show would be (starting it at senior year instead of at an earlier point in high school) so they tried to stretch out that senior year. Hence why Tannis Vallely was one of the cast who was let go (they can't keep a girl going through puberty looking 10 forever).

Yeah, thats the same excuse they used on 90210. They were Juniors, then sophomores, the juniors, then two senior years....something like that. You'd think they would think ahead with characters in high school.

It also didn't help that most of the actors were/looked too old to play high school students. Tony O'Dell may have been pretty decent looking, but in the show's last season his true age at the time (30, I believe) started to show. The two Dans never looked young enough to play high school kids. The only ones who still looked young (to me) were Khrystyne Haje, Leslie Bega and Jory Husain---probably because they were still teenagers when the show started. Heck---Khrystyne went to her senior prom during the first season (with Tony O'Dell as her date!).

Perfect Strangers/Head of the Class rap. Why don't networks do stuff like this anymore? I miss cheesy 80s nostalgia.

Thansk for that, RealChic1999! I remember when the stars of the networks actually took a bigger part in the commericals and not just for their own shows! And don't get me started on TGIF on ABC because I always made sure I was home for the shows on that. Somehow it made Sat mornings that much sweeter.

Here's a question I've had for years - why did they decide to get rid of Maria? Personally, I hated the cast turnover. Janice, I can kind of understand, as explained by a previous poster - time was supposed to stand still but she was obviously going through puberty. Jawaharlal didn't have much to do at all, which of course wasn't his fault, the writers really screwed him over. But I thought Maria was just as prominent (if not more) than the characters of Sarah and Darlene (for example, she played major roles in the musicals). It doesn't bother me any more, but I've always been curious. Has anyone heard anything on this?

I honestly have no idea. I heard that those two were sacrificed to bring in the "cool" characters and change the dynamic. In all honesty, I thought Leslie Bega was much more prettier than Lara Piper and Maria was more interesting than Viki. I think there were interviews where Leslie said it made her depressed, but when she started getting more roles years later she was glad people remembered her.

I actually used to communicate with Jory Husain (now going by Joher Coleman) because I used to make a fan site for him. He claims he was let go for the reasons you said...but I've actually heard around that he was difficult to work with and had a slight ego. He's a nice guy, just thinks he's bigger than what he is actingwise.

But honestly, who really knows.

On a more positive note, here's Leslie on a raw foods show she hosts.

Bump-up:

I went to In2TV.com to see if there were more HOTC episodes on their site, and there are absolutely no episodes listed for viewing anymore. WHAT?! Can't this show get a break anywhere?

I sent a message to ION TV asking them to add HOTC to their line-up. I hope others do so as well and we can finally enjoy this show on TV.

ETA: Whoo, they're back on In2TV. I was worried for a second. Still nothing new in their line-up, and I still am going to push for it to be on ION.

Bump-up:

Khrystyne Haje in this New Kids on the Block special. She appears at about 1:45. It's funny how NKOTB used to be "in."

Anyone else wonder when we're getting this on DVD? I wish they'd at least show it on TVLand.

It's still not on DVD and I can't find it airing anywhere.

Dan Schneider(Dennis) is now a TV producer and created a whole bunch of comedy shows on Nickelodeon like the popular iCarly. I'll always respect him for speaking out about the whole Billy Connelly thing. I remember at the time in TV Guide he was saying somethng like "I know he's big in Europe but the show now is him coming in and doing a monologue while the rest of us just sit there."

So true.

Completely agreed. At least we saw Mr. Moore teach. All Billy ever seemed to do was go on tangents.

I found a few old tapes of syndicated reruns in my closet. I should check how they look.

I just saw HAIR last week (spectacular show, FYI), and felt that I had to post here, because I remember the musical episode where the students were performing in it.The boys idiotically giggling about the nude scene, the bitchy teacher who tried to undermine it, then turned out to have lost a son in Vietnam.

I used to love this show, but mainly the Mr. Moore years. Didn't care as much for the replacement. Simone was always my favorite character. I was pretty young when it went off the air, but I remember being disappointed that for the finale they kept advertising a returning guest. It was Janice, where my brother and I had been convinced it would be Mr. Moore.