Head of the Class
Pilot
TV Flash files “Pilot” as a desk essential hour — Head of the Class (1986–1991) on ABC, season 1, episode 1, aired 1986-09-17, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 114 in the Head of the Class guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1986-09-17 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Back to the Future” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Pilot”. The Pilot walks a substitute into Individualized Honors: Givens, Robbins, overachievers who talk like honors students, nerd not yet a brand.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pilot sit in the Head of the Class guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 114 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Head of the Class S01E01 air?
Pilot aired 1986-09-17 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do the later recast years count?
They wobble. Hesseman's substitute treating gifted kids like people is the series people mean. Academic multi-cam before nerd was a brand — sample the original classroom.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Howard Hesseman's substitute walks into an Individualized Honors classroom and treats gifted kids like people instead of trophies. Smart-kid sitcom with Robin Givens, Brian Robbins, and a bench of overachievers who actually talk like honors students. Academic multi-cam before nerd was a brand — then the later recast years wobble.
The classroom is the silhouette. ABC, 1986–1991: a laid-back substitute walks into an Individualized Honors classroom and treats gifted kids like people instead of trophies. Head of the Class is Rich Eustis and Michael Elias putting academic overachievers in the multi-cam spotlight — Howard Hesseman's post-WKRP Charlie Moore, Dan Frischman's Arvid, Robin Givens's Darlene, Khrystyne Haje's Simone, a bench of overachievers who actually talk like honors students. *Smart-kid as a look before nerd was a brand, a…
Filed against
- Howard Hesseman as Charlie Moore
Howard Hesseman’s Dr. Johnny Fever made WKRP in Cincinnati a DJ zoo with a hangover — 1970s catalog rock-format workplace, turkeys away, then Head of the Class stretching the cool into an honors-room substitute. TV Flash files him as the…
- Dan Frischman as Arvid Engen
Dan Frischman’s Arvid Engen was Head of the Class’s honors nerd in glasses — Howard Hesseman’s substitute treating gifted kids like people, a bench of overachievers who actually talked like honors students. Smart-kid sitcom before nerd…
- Robin Givens as Darlene Merriman
Robin Givens's Darlene Merriman gave Head of the Class its glossy honors-student steel — Howard Hesseman's substitute treating gifted kids like people instead of trophies, Brian Robbins on the bench, overachievers who actually talk like…
- Khrystyne Haje as Simone Foster
Khrystyne Haje's Simone Foster kept Head of the Class looking like honors kids instead of trophies — Howard Hesseman's substitute, a gifted classroom that talked like students, academic multi-cam before nerd became a brand. TV Flash files…