Head of the Class
Back to School
TV Flash files “Back to School” as a desk essential hour — Head of the Class (1986–1991) on ABC, season 4, episode 1, aired 1989-09-27, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E01: listed hour 67 of 114 in the Head of the Class guide, first listed hour of season 4. It aired 1989-09-27 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Exactly Twelve O'Clock” (S03E22). Next is “Viki & Eric & Simone & Alex” (S04E02).
Essential hour: “Back to School”. Back to School is a late-run reset title: the recast years warming up, the honors room still the point if you start early.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Back to School sit in the Head of the Class guide?
S04E01 is listed hour 67 of 114 — first listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 1.
When did Head of the Class S04E01 air?
Back to School aired 1989-09-27 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…