Articles
Parker Lewis Can't Lose: The Complete First Season - DVDTalk
June 17 2009
The moment I heard the first notes of the sunny theme music on the pilot episode, I was transplanted back to my youth, an age of garish, yet undeniably comfortable clothes, inexplicably bland music and an upstart young TV network willing to take some chances. After all, Parker Lewis Can't Lose is as representative of the early '90s as any show on TV at the time, when the country was seemingly stuck in high school, defined largely by youth culture. Looking back in time via my TV screen, it's fascinating to see a world none too long ago, yet another world away.
For anyone who's a fan of the John Hughes classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the concept of Parker Lewis Can't Lose will feel very familiar: Parker (Corin Nemec, The Stand) is a smooth operator who finds himself in the middle of trouble again and again, but he's able to walk through the flames and come out unscathed. Unlike his cinematic compatriot though, Parker was actually successful on TV (thanks in large part to being a big fish in the small pond of FOX' early days.) With the help of his "buds," rock n' roll rebel Mikey and geeky freshman Jerry, Parker navigates the social maze that is high school with style and sophistication well beyond his time, on a show that frequently feels like a live-action cartoon.
Though very similar in idea with Ferris Bueller, Parker Lewis had an important distinction. While Ferris was a legend in school, Parker was definitely not top dog at Santo Domingo High. He was certainly admired and popular with the girls, but he had to cope with the same issues as his classmates, and existed in a strata that was a step below the coolest kids, befitting his status as a high school junior. There is also an altruistic air about Parker that makes him more likable, as he's just as likely to pull off a stunt to help others as he is to assist his buds, even if, in the end, he's the one benefiting from his own good deeds (often when helping the Kube (Abraham Benrubi), an ever-hungry walking force of nature.)
Read the rest of this article...
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Subscribe to this comment's feed
LOVE YOU CORIN
Star-ving
