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The Breakfast Club Show.

The main marketing poster used for the show

The Breakfast Club Show is a 1985-1989 TV sitcom created by Chris Columbus and John Hughes. The series serves as a sequel to Hughes' 1984 film The Breakfast Club, and follows the continued adventures of the titular characters as they engage in hijinks primarily set into motion by some prank they pull on the school staff. The series aired on NBC for 9 seasons from 1985 to 1989, and starred an ensemble cast including Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, John Kapelos, Tim Gamble, and Paul Gleason reprising their roles from the original film, along with Jim Brown, Betty White, Sandy Duncan, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Capucine, Leslie Uggams, Juliet Prowse, Soleil Moon Frye, Alice Cooper, Delia Boccardo, Christopher Reeve, Connie Stevens, Talia Shire, Cesar Romero, Peter Ustinov, Claudia Cardinale, and Robert Loggia playing some new characters, along with Sylvester Stallone, David Niven, John Belushi, Christopher Plummer, Florence Henderson, and Corey Feldman in a series of guest roles.

Talks for the series began shortly after the success of the film. To make the series, John Hughes partnered with Chris Columbus to write a pitch bible for the series. After reading it, NBCUniversal Television would pick up the series almost instantly. Christophe Beck would compose the score for the series, while indie pop group Mondays would write the theme song, entitled 'Do It Again'. It premiered on NBC in March of 1984, and concluded in May of 1989. The series received critical acclaim, with many reviewers citing its humor, the banter between the leads (particularly Nelson and Ringwald's), and commentary on the irregularities in the United States Education System. It has been seen as a considerable influence on other teen sitcoms.

Synopsis[]

The series primarily focuses on The Breakfast Club, a group of five students at Shermer High School in Chicago, Illinois. The Club, consisting of rebel John Bender, popular diva Claire Standish, nerd Brian Johnson, headcase Allison Reynolds, and athlete Andrew Clark, routinely pull pranks on the school staff to liven things up around the school. However, these pranks often land them in 'big, BIG trouble', leading to further shenanigans, which often grow progressively zanier as the episode goes on. However, the Breakfast Club always seems to have a way of coming out on top.

Formula[]

Most episodes of the series tend to follow a specific formula, since called 'The Bender Story Circle' by fans:

  1. The Breakfast Club pulls some sort of prank that gets them in trouble with Mr. Vernon.
  2. They are also given a task that is seemingly impossible for them to juggle with their other problem.
  3. Through some form of trickery, the Club is able to complete the task and bail themselves out of trouble.
  4. They soon come up with an idea for another prank.
  5. The episode finishes with this other prank, effectively putting the Club in the same position as when they started.

However, as the series goes on, it tends to keep finding ways to subvert and play with this formula.

Cast[]

Returning from the film[]

  • Judd Nelson as John Bender, the leader of the Breakfast Club, Claire's boyfriend, and a 'rebel', who frequently comes up with the structure of their schemes. Of the series, Nelson said, "When I first went in to do it, I knew I was doing something a bit different than we did with the film. TV gave us a bit more room to breathe, so I decided to use it to iron out the wrinkles many critics found in Bender's character before." Throughout the series, it is heavily implied that Bender now knows he's a fictional character, leading to him frequently breaking the fourth wall. At one point, Bender was supposed to have a larger role in the episode '22 Short Films About Chicago'. However, scheduling conflicts with Nelson brought on by his voice acting role as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie led to this role being reduced.
  • Emilio Estevez as Andrew Clark, the 'Muscle' of the Club and a Freestyle Wrestler at the school. Of the series, Estevez said, "When I got the call, I was the most eager out of the five of us to come back and do more, and when Chris and John gave me the scripts for the first couple episodes, I was even more excited, since I now got to play Andrew as a 'High School-age Rambo', as they described it."
  • Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Johnson, Allison's boyfriend, a nerd, and the 'brains' of the operation who often refines Bender's schemes. Of the series, Hall said, "I was actually surprised we were doing it. When I got the call, my initial response was to jokingly say, 'Well, Cheers is on the air, why do they have to see anything else?' However, when Chris jokingly threatened to replace me with Eric Stoltz, I accepted." Ironically, Cheers soon proved to be The Breakfast Club Show's biggest competitor.
  • Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish, Bender's girlfriend and a popular Diva in the group. Of the series, Ringwald said, "When I got the call, I was the most unsure of this. We caught lightning in a bottle the first time around, and I was afraid a sequel sitcom would dilute that. When I saw that John was coming back as the showrunner however, I was sold. And it was cranked up even more when I got the scripts for the first couple of episodes. When doing this, I decided to show how much Claire's has grown since the film by playing her with slightly more of an air of lustiness, especially around Bender. But she's still mostly the same old Claire we know and love and/or hate depending on who you ask."
  • Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds, Brian's girlfriend and the 'headcase' of the group, and a music enthusiast. Of the series, Sheedy said, "Like Allison in the movie, I mainly signed on because I didn't have anything better to do with my career at the time. That, and I enjoyed playing Allison before and wanted to do it again. So I did it, and the rest is TV history." Allison becomes the source of a running gag throughout the series wherein, when the Club wishes the perform a prank subtly, Allison will play The Pink Panther Theme on a boombox to use as 'heist music'.
  • John Kapelos as Carl, the school janitor and an acquaintance of Bender's, who frequently supplies the Breakfast Club with insider knowledge of the school and tries to get them out of trouble. In the episode 'The Secret Origin of Carl the Janitor', it is revealed that Carl used to be a secret agent during the Soviet-Afghan War, and after a botched recovery mission, went into hiding and became a janitor at Shermer High School (although it is implied he only took this specific job because he gets to keep anything that's been left in the lost and found for more than a month). It is also implied that he once worked as a mascot performer at Chuck E. Cheese's, and met Bender while doing this.
  • Paul Gleason as Richard Vernon, the high school's authoritarian former Vice Principal, who was since promoted to Principal after the film, and frequently tangles with the Breakfast Club as a result. Of the series, Gleason said, "When my kids first saw the movie with me, they found me quite funny there, and they were on the ceiling when John called and I said I would be coming back to do the show. Once I got to the shooting location, John and I soon discovered that we shared a love for the great physical comedians, such as Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, both of whom's stunts influenced a lot of the show's physical comedy." Throughout the series, there is a running gag where a character will burst into Mr. Vernon's office spontaneously to discuss something, only for him to say, "Protocol (insert character name here), Protocol." Subsequently, the character will back out of the office, only for Miss Taken to inform Mr. Vernon that the character is there to see him, and Mr. Vernon to send them in.
  • Tim Gamble as Mr. Standish, Claire’s father, who dislikes Bender due to his rebelliousness and lower social status. This becomes the source of a running gag in which Mr. Standish’s sanity gradually deteriorates because of Bender, which usually ends with him being committed to the Cook County Home for the Sanity Impaired.

New Cast[]

  • Leslie Uggams as Miss Taken, the absentminded school secretary. Throughout the series, there is a running gag where Miss Taken will randomly enter Mr. Vernon's office at an inopportune time and ask him "Did you call me?" followed by Mr. Vernon usually saying "NO!" followed by something else she says.
  • Jim Brown as Mr. Roids, the gym teacher of Shermer High School, and a former army drill sergeant, who also coaches all the school's sports. Initially, the role had been offered to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he declined the offer, opting to make the film Commando instead. Jim Brown would subsequently be brought on due to his involvement in The Dirty Dozen. Schwarzenegger however, would get a recurring cameo role in an in-universe movie called ‘Force of Nature’, clips from which would be used as a form of intermission for several episodes.
  • Betty White as Miss DePoint, the Breakfast Club's English teacher, who frequently finds herself the victim of their pranks. In the episode 'Wedding Woes', she announces her intent to retire at the end of the school year, and due to a prank from the Breakfast Club, nearly marries Mr. Vernon in the same episode, yet refuses to do so on account of him supposedly having a goofy-looking nose. Given that she seems to have changed her ways and become a better person by the end of the episode, it is unknown if she ever retired.
  • Sandy Duncan as Miss IngLink, the Breakfast Club's science teacher who frequently conducts experiments to demonstrate the principals of science to her students. However, in the episode 'The Scientific Method', due to the Breakfast Club pulling a series of pranks on her throughout the first three episodes as well as this one, Miss IngLink believes she is going insane, and spends 2 months in the St. Judas' Home for the Sanity Impaired, being temporarily replaced by Dr. Mentor, until she comes back later on.
  • Peter Sellers as Mr. Reese, the school's mellow guidance counselor, who claims that the cause for the Breakfast Club's behavior is ADD. According to the series' bible, Mr. Reese is never seen without his bowtie, and usually tries to avoid confrontations at all costs.
  • Capucine as Miss Creant, the school's head lunch lady.
  • Herbert Lom as Dr. Mentor, a scientist from the fictional Soviet Member State of Algenzania who is hired to temporarily replace Miss IngLink after she quits. His debut episode reveals that he is a Soviet Expatriate and intends to use his inventions as a way to solve all the world's problems. After Miss IngLink returns, Dr. Mentor is allowed to remain as an Assistant science teacher. Lom would also get a cameo role as the villain in Force of Nature.
  • Robert Loggia as Dr. Phil Endenemies, the school superintendent, who turns out to be the overarching villain of the series.
  • Claudia Cardinale and Beatrice, Dr. Endenemies’ femme fatale assistant.
  • Soleil Moon Frye as Jessica Johnson, Brian’s little sister who has a crush on Bender and thinks Claire is awesome.
  • Juliet Prowse as Mrs. Standish, Claire’s mother. Contrary to her husband, Mrs. Standish is quite fond of Bender and fully supports his relationship with Claire. Although, it is later revealed that she’s a cougar.
  • Alice Cooper as Jacob Bender, John’s father, who works at a brewery and routinely abuses him. Initially, this is implied to be the reason Mrs. Standish is fond of Bender.
  • Delia Boccardo as Susan Bender, John’s mother, who is afraid of his father, and is supportive of John’s relationship with Claire, believing it to be their family’s ticket out of poverty.
  • Christopher Reeve as John Johnson, Brian’s father, who works as a risk analyst in town, and is believed to be the source of Brian’s intellect.
  • Connie Stevens as Rhonda Johnson, Brian’s mother, who also works as Jessica’s kindergarten teacher.
  • Talia Shire as Angela Reynolds, Allison’s eccentric mother and an amateur sculptor.
  • Cesar Romero as Jeff Reynolds, Allison’s father.
  • Peter Ustinov as Archie Clark, Andrew’s father, a former wrestler who wishes for his son to take up the torch from him.
  • Cloris Leachman as Bethany Clark, Andrew’s mother.

Cameos[]

In addition, actor David Niven would get a guest starring role in The Secret Origin of Carl the Janitor, as a Russian man Carl used to know. Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone would appear in the series as Bender’s imagined future self, who is now a loose cannon cop who fights supervillains in Chicago. Florence Henderson would also appear as Claire’s imagination of her future self. Corey Feldman would also appear as Future Claire and Bender’s son Jacob. Meanwhile, actor Christopher Plummer would appear in flash-forward sequences as Future Bender’s arch-nemesis, an evil Neo-Nazi scientist named Dietrich. Meanwhile, actor Chuck Norris would cameo as a character in the Force of Nature clips, as would actors Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Alec Baldwin.

Production[]

Conception[]

Following the success of the film, NBCUniversal television senior vice president Johnny Gerken would approach John Hughes about adapting The Breakfast Club for Television. Of the exchange, Hughes reflected, "It was just the strangest thing. I was walking out of a Pasadena Coffee Shop when Johnny approached me for the show out of nowhere." This proved to be a challenge, as Hughes was still new to doing TV at the time. So, he improvised his way through writing the series bible the night before he was to come to the studio to pitch the series. Of this experience, Hughes said, “To try and seek inspiration, I went back to that very coffee shop, and tried to think of ideas for a Breakfast Club TV Show. and, like a bolt from the blue, my mind was flooded with the ideas for the first seven episodes, almost as if Bender himself had walked up to me and told me the whole thing.” Following this, he would partner with Chris Columbus to make the series. After this, Hughes would phone in to the original cast to get them back, which would go smoother than expected. In terms of additional actors, Hughes and Columbus admitted, "When we were casting those characters, we just perused the back catalog of actors who had, at some point, guest starred on The Muppet Show." Coincidentally, actor Judd Nelson would guest star on an episode of The New Muppet Show to promote the series' launch. Said episode also made a cameo in 'A Life in a Day', where we see Brian watching it on TV.

Stylistic Influences[]

Of the series' stylistic influences, John Hughes chiefly cited Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, stating, "In adapting my work for the small screen, I mainly looked to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Books which, for classics of American Literature, have all the hallmarks of something I'd probably have made." Additionally, actor Judd Nelson would cite two works by William Shakespeare as inspiration as well, stating that, "Bender and Claire's love story is basically what it would look like if Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending. With a sprinkle of Twelfth Night's humor thrown on for good measure."

Filming[]

Filming took place using largely the same school set as was used for the film. However, a new basement had to be added for use in 'The Secret Origin of Carl the Janitor', to be used as the school's lost and found/Carl's hideout. Meanwhile, a for-rent trophy mansion would be used by the film crew as the Standish home. Meanwhile, assorted other rental homes would be used to fill that function for the other main characters. Of the filming of the series, Molly Ringwald would say, in an interview with Life that, "It was a cerebral experience, really. We shot on location in a real Chicago suburb, like before, but now we had free reign of the whole thing, so I felt like I'd, in essence, stopped being me and let Claire take over. And I think that enhanced my performance." Meanwhile, actor Judd Nelson would state that, "It was impressive how much we were able to do without anyone noticing. And I think the most impressive of all was how we were able to get a film crew into a movie theater for the opening of 'Parents, What are they Good For?', when Molly and I watched Godzilla vs. Hedorah for our in-show movie date."

Relationship to Toho[]

After actor Judd Nelson came up with the idea for Bender to be a fan of Kaiju films, Chris Columbus and John Hughes went to Toho Studios to request that their films be featured in the show. In order to sell Toho on the idea, Hughes showed Tomoyuki Tanaka, Jun Fukuda, and Ishiro Honda the original film as a proof of concept. Following this, Tanaka gave NBC the go-ahead, as well as giving Nelson a collection of free Godzilla novelty merchandise. Following this, original Godzilla suitmation actor Haruo Nakajima would make a cameo appearance in the episode Behind the Masked Ball, attending Claire’s parents’ masquerade ball, dressed as one of the aliens from Invasion of Astro-Monster. Following John Hughes’ passing, an episode of Get Going! Godzilland would feature actor Judd Nelson appearing in a talk show-style segment where he would interview Godzilla and Mothra, as a tribute to Hughes.

Home Media Releases[]

Several episodes of the series were released periodically on VHS throughout its run. Later, each of the seasons would receive annual DVD and Blu-Ray releases in the 2000s. When the original film was released by The Criterion Collection on 4K UHD, three episodes of the series, namely The Invention Convention Intervention, Parents, What Are They Good For? and Wedding Woes. Meanwhile, all 9 seasons’ DVDs would come in a Box set with the film. Both the film and series have also enjoyed similar success streaming on Peacock.

Soundtrack[]

Schools Were Made to be Broken

The cover for the album

The series’ music was primarily composed by Christophe Beck. However, NBC would contact Henry Mancini to license both The Pink Panther Theme, A Shot in the Dark, and Baby Elephant Walk for use in the series, with Mancini being given a ‘Music Coordinating Co-Asssistant’ credit for this. Ironically, Christophe Beck would go on to compose the score for the 2006 Pink Panther film and its 2009 sequel. Meanwhile, NBC would also contact Boots Randolph to license Yakety Sax for use in several episodes. Following on from the film, Simple Minds would also write multiple songs for the series, including ‘Boys Get Around’, which would famously be covered by the indie pop band Arrogant Criminals and subsequently used as the theme for Xilam Studio’s 2010 animated series The Daltons. Meanwhile, Simple Minds’ ‘The Inventing Song’ from the second episode of Season 1 would famously be covered by British Anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba in 1997, under the title ‘Tubthumping’. This soundtrack would also prove to be the big break for Indie rock band Oingo Boingo, who provided ‘Wedding Song’ for the episode ‘Wedding Woes’, and years later, frontman Danny Elfman would, in 2005, provide an altered version for Tim Burton’s 2005 film Corpse Bride. In 2004, a full soundtrack album was released by NBC’s Big Shot Records label to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, entitled 'Schools Were Made to Be Broken: Rock Reflections of The Breakfast Club.'

Tracks[]

  1. Do It Again.
  2. Song of the Suburbs.
  3. Monotony.
  4. Yakety Sax.
  5. The Pink Panther Theme (Original).
  6. Funkytown.
  7. The Inventing Song.
  8. The Pink Panther Theme (Return Version).
  9. The Invention Convention.
  10. Cum On Feel the Noize.
  11. Mayhem.
  12. Fun With Science.
  13. The Pink Panther Theme (Strikes Again Version).
  14. Surfin’ USA.
  15. The 1 Percent.
  16. A Little Talk.
  17. The Pink Panther Theme (Revenge Version).
  18. Pizza Castle.
  19. William Tell Overture.
  20. New Hire.
  21. The Big News.
  22. Freaky Weeky.
  23. Wedding Song.
  24. Godzilla March
  25. A Shot in the Dark.
  26. Great Debates.
  27. Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.
  28. He Wants Me To Forget.
  29. Boys Get Around.
  30. Bender Raids Again.
  31. Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You.
  32. The Future.
  33. Baby Elephant Walk.
  34. Action Music.
  35. Secret Service.
  36. Black or White.
  37. Chicago Driving Test Waltz.
  38. Bender in Disguise.
  39. That’s Just Life (End Title).

Themes[]

Whilst seen as a sitcom by most, series creator John Hughes saw the Breakfast Club Show as a satire first and foremost. In an interview with Johnny Carson, he stated, "That show's main objective, for my mind, is to satirize the fallacies of the American education system, and how little value society tends to put in teenagers." Later, Molly Ringwald would state, "If this show DOES have a moral, I think it'd probably be 'Don't take everything at face value'. And it uses absurdity to get this point across." Similarly, actor Paul Gleason would say, "Mr. Vernon runs this school operating on what John and I like to call Orwell's Three Tenets of Dictatorship, as outlined in 1984: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. And with particular emphasis on the latter two."

The Hughniverse[]

Throughout the series’ run, multiple easter eggs would be planted referencing other films by John Hughes. As a result, fans would slowly but surely connect the dots, leading to the conception of the ‘Hughniverse’ theory, that being the theory that all of John Hughes’ films share a universe. These clues, however subtle, would eventually be confirmed by Hughes and series Co-Producer Chris Kenny as legitimate proof of this shared universe, in an interview with Time Magazine midway through production of Season 8.

Most Noteworthy Clues[]

Several of the most prominent Hughniverse clues cited by fans have included the following.

  1. In multiple episodes, Claire makes offhanded references to her cousin Samantha, who she frequently says looks just like her, with these references often being made to lighten the mood of a given situation. This is clearly a reference to Ringwald and Hughes’ first film together, Sixteen Candles, which starred Ringwald as a character named Samantha Baker. It is also shown that Samantha is an actress who stars in an in-universe TV show called The Roundtable Gang, which reimagines the Arthurian Legend in a high school setting.
  2. In the episode The Play’s the Thing, Allison makes a reference to a run-in she’d had earlier in the day with a fellow student who’s name she has trouble remembering, but thinks was “Bullman or something.” This is a subtle reference to the titular protagonist of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
  3. Brian’s sister Jessica frequently mentions Kevin McCallister as someone who also attends her elementary school.
  4. In the episode When I Was…, Bender mentions his mother recently buying an ugly-looking lamp from a place called ‘Del’s Discount Furniture’, a reference to Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
  5. In the episode ‘The French Bread Connection’, Claire goes to a Japanese restaurant with Bender, where they watch a Kabuki performance. Seeing this leads her to proclaim; “I guess Samantha was right about Asians. They really know how to party!” This remark is another Sixteen Candles reference, this time being a reference to the character of Long Duk Dong.

While additional clues do exist, those are still seen by most fans as the ‘Big 5’ in terms of these easter eggs.

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