On September 2 1990, just in time for the beginning of my junior year of high school, Fox debuted a new show called Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. With cautious optimism I, along with millions of other American teenage girls, watched and calculated whether or not we’d have to make room on our walls next to Corey Haim and Jason Bateman for a Corin Nemic “Tiger Beat” poster. The next day, pushpins in hand, I started making new holes in that wall.
With Ferris Buehler still fresh in our minds, and starving for some teen comedy after years of The Golden Girls, Roseanne and Cheers, Parker Lewis showed up just in time to offer some blatant silliness with memorable characters, timely jokes and creative effects. Taking place at Santo Domingo High School, Parker (Corin Nemec) who narrates the show, and his two partners in crime, Mikey (Billy Jayne, better known as Billy Jacoby) and freshman Jerry (Troy W. Slaten) use their individual talents for troublemaking in their quest for coolness, while dodging the ever watchful school principal, Grace Musso (Melanie Chartoff) and her figurative lap dog, Frank. Yes, that’s right, Musso and Frank.
Also trying to thwart Parker and company is little sister Shelly Lewis (Maia Brewton) and her eyebrows, which did not receive separate credit. Perhaps one of the best loved characters from the series is Larry Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi) as the gentle giant who may have spent a little longer in high school than the rest of them. With great catchphrases like “not a problem,” “synchronize swatches,” and “coolness,” Parker Lewis and his hideous rayon printed dress shirts became a television staple for the younger demographic in the early 90’s.
Continue Reading →
