Welcome Freshmen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Welcome Freshmen |
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Robert Mittenthal |
| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Peter Lauer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 49 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | February 16, 1991 – 1994 |
Welcome Freshmen was a funny TV show from America. It was a comedy series that first aired on Nickelodeon. The show ran from 1991 to 1994.
The story took place at Hawthorne High School. It followed a group of high school students. There was also a clumsy vice principal. Some of the actors from Welcome Freshmen even appeared on other Nickelodeon game shows. These included Get the Picture and Nick Arcade. The show was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Contents
What the Show Was About
The first two seasons of Welcome Freshmen were made up of short, funny skits. These skits usually followed a certain theme. Imagine a tortoise named Mortise teaching about safety! Or a character called Mr. History talking about students from the past.
The vice principal, Mr. Lippman, was a bit silly. He didn't really like freshmen. He would often imagine himself as a stand-up comedian. His jokes were usually bad and made fun of the freshmen. There was also a student named Billy Cushman. He didn't appear often, but he showed how not to behave. Each episode had two or three short skits. They showed the friends' funny adventures in high school.
Fun Skits You Might See
- Home-Room Announcements: Mr. Lippman would do the morning announcements. But in his head, he was telling jokes like a comedian.
- The Merv-U-Mentary: This was Merv's funny attempt to find news and secrets at school.
- Mr. History: This skit showed the students as high schoolers from a long time ago.
- Mike Who: This skit focused on a basketball player. He would get the crowd excited with just a wave. It was stopped because Mr. Lippman thought it was too distracting.
- Mortise the Safety Tortoise: A tortoise who taught kids about being safe.
Changes in Season 3
In the third season, the show changed. It stopped being a series of short skits. Instead, Welcome Freshmen became a regular TV show with one story per episode.
In this season, the main group of friends became sophomores. Everyone moved up a grade except Walter. He had to repeat the freshman year. Merv and Tara left the show. Merv went straight to college, skipping the rest of high school. Tara and her family moved away. New characters joined the show: Manny and Erin, who were new freshmen. Grant, a junior, was Erin's brother. He soon started dating Alex. Eventually, Walter also became a sophomore. The teachers said they would quit if they had to teach him for another year!
Meet the Cast
Here are some of the actors who brought the characters to life:
- Jocelyn Steiner played Alex Moore
- Rick Galloway played Walter Patterson
- Chris Lobban played Kevin St. James
- Veronica Alicino played Miss Topaz
- Arian Waring Ash played Erin Kelly (1993–1994)
- Janis Benson played Miss Petruka
- Brock Bradley played Grant Kelly (1993–1994)
- Nicholas Caruso played Manny Barrington (1993–1994)
- David Rhoden played Merv (1991–1992)
- Jill Setter-Rusk played Tara (1991–1992)
- Mike Speller played Mr. Elliott Lippman
- Nick Barnes played Billy Cushman
- Phil Card played Mr. History
- Tracy Frenkel played Coach Roach and Coach Rochelle
- Jay Martel played Mr. Royd
- Al Arasim played Al Patterson
- John Parker Searles played Mr. Macbroom
- Mark Sarto played Mortise, the Safety Tortoise
Main Characters
- Walter Patterson: He was a bit slow, but very kind and always positive. He was a laid-back surfer type. His silly mistakes often made people laugh.
- Kevin St. James: He was often selfish and thought highly of himself. He was good at talking and popular with girls. He loved to tease his friends, especially Merv, Manny, and Walter.
- Alex Moore: She was popular and loved fashion. She cared a lot about how she looked and what she owned. She sometimes tried to get her way by tricking others.
- Tara: She cared a lot about the environment and women's rights. She was one of the nicest in the group, but sometimes she would join in teasing others.
- Merv: He was a confident and outgoing smart kid. Merv was clever and sometimes used his smarts to trick people. His friends often found him annoying because he acted like he knew everything.
- Mr. Elliot Lippman: He was the strict and not-so-good principal of Hawthorne High. He often tried to stop the students' plans, but they didn't take him seriously.
Other Characters
- Manny Barrington: He joined in the last season. Manny was a new freshman, a bit naive and short. He became friends with the main group, even though they were a grade above him and sometimes made fun of him.
- Grant Kelly: He was Erin's brother and a junior. He became Alex's boyfriend. He also joined in the final season.
- Erin Kelly: A new freshman who loved music. She often dressed in a grunge style. She was introduced in the final season.
Episodes
Welcome Freshmen had 3 seasons and a total of 49 episodes.
Season 1 (1991)
This season had 13 episodes. Some episode titles included "How We Look," "Extra-Curricular Activities," and "Mind Games."
Season 2 (1992)
This season also had 13 episodes. Some episode titles included "Friends," "Conformity," and "Choices."
Season 3 (1993–94)
This final season had 23 episodes. This is when the show changed to a regular sitcom format. The first episode of this season was "Things Change," where Kevin and Alex became sophomores, and new freshmen Manny and Erin joined the show. Walter was held back a grade. Other episodes included "The Harvest Ball," "Manny in Love," and "Erin for Office."
