Punky Brewster (1984) s02e08 Episode Script

Just Say No

Maybe the world is blind.
Or just a little unkind.
Don't know.
Seems you can't be sure of anything anymore.
Although you may be lonely and then one day you're smiling again.
Every time I turn around, I see the girl who turns my world around standing there.
Every time I turn around, her spirit's lifting me right off the ground.
What's gonna be? Guess we'll just wait and see.
-Morning, everybody.
-Morning, Betty.
-Hi, Mrs.
Johnson.
Hi, Cherie.
Punky, if your face gets any longer, you'll be scraping your chin on the sidewalk.
-Mrs.
Johnson? Do you ever get that feeling that you're getting bigger and bigger and couldn't do anything to stop it? -Honey, I've felt that way ever since they invented the bikini.
-Punky is a little upset because she's outgrown her skates.
-That's no sweat.
We'll just go to Skate-a-rama.
You can rent skates there.
-Great idea, Cherie.
Now all we need is some wonderful adult to drive us there.
-Sorry, girls.
This wonderful adult has a wonderful split shift to work today.
-And this wonderful adult has a client coming by to look at some wonderful proof sheets.
-Well, what if we took the wonderful bus? -No way.
Now you girls are too young to ride clear across town on a bus all by your wonderful selves.
-Now why don't you two run outside and enjoy our wonderful backyard.
- Wonderful.
-Too old to fit in my skates.
Too young to ride the bus.
I must be having my mid-life crisis! OK, Punky.
OK.
Now left.
-Cherie, this looks really dumb.
-Right.
Whoa! -Cherie, let's go up in the tree house.
The further we get from the ground, the better my bottom will feel.
-Good idea.
Hi there, short stuff.
-Hi, Emily.
You know who I am? -Sure.
Everybody in school knows you.
- S'pose so.
You're Punky, right? Is that a great name, or what? -Like, great name! -Great! -This is my best friend, Cherie.
-Hi Cherie.
Meet Shawna, Tracey, Kate.
We're the Chicklets.
-You all chew the same kind of gum? -Is she super cute, or what? -Like, super cute! -Super! -The Chicklets is the name of our very cool and exclusive club.
-What do the Chicklets do? -Like, we hang out at the mall after school.
And mostly just stick together and do stuff.
You know.
-Yeah! Cherie and I do that all the time.
-Yes, but we're a club.
-What's the difference? --How can a chick with such great fashion sense be so totally out of it? Being in the right club is like, everything, you know? I mean, if you don't have a club to belong to, a place to fit in, especially when you get to the sixth grade, you're like a nothing.
-Like, nowhere.
-Zero.
-Zip! -Sure.
I knew that.
-Me too.
-Hey! Heads up! Take it in! Is that tree house unbelievable or what? -Like, unbelievable! -Outrageous! -Rad! -You like our tree house? -The whole school is talking about your tree house.
We just had to come and see it with our own eyes or something.
-Well, follow me.
Or something.
-Yeah! -I can't believe this! I mean, like I'm seeing it.
But I can't believe it! I really can't believe it! -She can't believe it.
-Guys, this gives me an unbelievable idea, you know? I mean, how would you two like, be interested in becoming Chicklets? -Us? -You mean it? -Absolutely.
Right, guys? Absolutely.
-What do you say? -I can't believe it.
Like, I'm hearing it, but I can't believe it.
I really can't believe it.
-She can't believe it.
So it's OK, OK? -OK.
-OK.
-We'll have your initiation at tomorrow's meeting.
-Great! Where's the meeting gonna be? -Where else? Right here.
In our new clubhouse.
-Hi, Henry.
-Hi, Betty.
-Is my little monster still playing with your little monster? -Now Betty, my child is not a monster.
And for that matter, neither is yours.
-Don't get your trousers twisted.
I was only joking.
Nobody loves the child more than I do.
Cherie! Get your butt out here before I blister it! -Catch you later, Cher.
-For sure, Punk.
-Cherie, what is going on? - Like what do you mean, Grandma? You know? -She means why are you two dressed like the cat women from Mars? -Maintain, Henry.
This is our new look, OK? -It's nowhere near OK.
-But we're Chicklets now! -You're gum? -Chicklets is the name of our cool and exclusive club.
-Yeah.
Mostly sixth graders.
-Well, why would sixth graders want to hang around with you two? -Why not? We're cool.
-Totally.
We're so cool, they're letting us use our tree house for the meetings.
- How generous of them.
Punky, why didn't they ask you to join their club before you built the tree house? -Simple.
We were just babies then.
We're a month older now.
-Well, I don't like this.
You ought to be playing with girls your own age.
-Get real, Grandma! Is she living in the dark ages or what? -For sure.
-Well, I'll tell you what's for sure.
It's like, you won't be living at all if you don't get that crud off your face.
You know what I mean? -But-- -And you can forget about being a Double Mint! -Chicklet.
-And that goes for you too, young lady.
-Please, Grandma? We'll just be playing in the backyard like we always do.
-Please, Henry? You said yourself growing up means new experiences.
-What do you think, Betty? -Well, it may be just a phase.
But I want you girls dressing like Punky and Cherie.
We'll-- -Not pint-sized Pointer Sisters.
-We'll go back to being ourselves.
For sure.
We have to drink that? -You want to be Chicklets, don't you? Ketchup.
Ketchup.
Mustard.
Mustard.
-Could you hold the mayo? -Sure.
Horseradish.
OK, girls.
Drink up.
-Has anybody ever died from this? -Let's just say it was never proven in court.
Drink.
Drink.
- That wasn't so bad, was it? - Yuck! -Now all that's left is for you to take the pledge.
-I'll take anything as long as I don't have to swallow it.
-Repeat after me.
I, state your name.
- I, state your name.
-Promise my most precious promise.
- Promise my most precious promise.
-To maintain my cool at all times.
To maintain my cool at all times.
-To pray every night that Michael J.
fox doesn't get taller.
To pray every night that Michael J.
Fox doesn't get taller.
-And to hang with the Chicklets through good times and bad.
And to hang with the Chicklets through good times and bad.
-Congratulations, girls.
You're one of us.
-Welcome to the club.
-Cherie, we did it! -Now let's really have some fun! I think we ought to let the newest Chicklets get first choice.
Go ahead, girls.
Take your pick.
-Are these drugs? -Just some grass, a few uppers, and a little nose candy.
-Nose candy? -Cocaine.
My big brother gets us all kinds of stuff.
We do them all the time.
It's no big deal.
-It seems like a big deal to me.
Why do you do it? -'Cause everybody does.
Besides, it makes you feel happy and relaxed.
-But I'm already happy and relaxed.
Aren't you, Cherie? -Real happy.
Real relaxed.
-Don't be so uptight, OK? Come on, it really helps you tune out.
-I don't feel good about this.
-Stop acting like babies and start acting like Chicklets! -How about if we have some more of that great egg punch? -Can you believe these two? I can't believe them! -Me either! -Like, unbelievable.
-Hey, they're just kids.
They don't have to do if they don't want to.
-Yes they do! We went out of our way to make them members of our club and then all they want to do is spoil our fun? -We don't want to spoil your fun.
-Look, you made a precious promise to hang with the Chicklets through good times and bad.
Now if you don't want to have good times with us, then maybe you shouldn't be Chicklets.
-Sure we should.
-Good.
Then you party with us? -Not right now.
Maybe next time, OK? - Come on, you guys.
My folks aren't home.
Let's go party at my place and leave these little girls alone.
I told everybody you were cool.
I put my rep on the line for you two.
Don't make a liar out of me, OK? -Cherie, it's not right to take drugs.
-I know.
-If we don't, we're out of the club.
-I know.
-It's a really neat club.
-I know.
- Cherie, what are we gonna do? -I don't know.
-Hey man, that's not right.
Arithmetic.
Sounds right.
-It's eat turnips, not ate turnips.
- How you doing, Punky? I didn't see you.
What's all this about turnips? -That's the way I spell hard words.
I make up silly sentences.
A red insect thought he might eat turnips in church.
Arithmetic.
-Well Punky, you found out my secret.
-What secret? -I'm a terrible speller.
Who ever heard of a teacher who can't spell? -Who ever heard of insects eating turnips in church? Mike, you're the best teacher in the whole school.
-Aw, thanks Punky.
-I just wish you weren't mine.
-Come again? -See, I've got this problem that I need to talk over with someone older and wiser.
And all the old wise people I know'd get mad at me for getting myself into this mess.
-Sounds like some problem.
-Yeah, it's a real dilemon.
-That's "dilemma.
" Punky, why don't you forget that I'm your teacher and just think of me as Mike Fulton, your friend? -Promise you won't get mad? -I won't get mad.
And anything that you tell me will remain our secret.
What's this all about? -Drugs.
-Are those mad wrinkles on your forehead? -No.
I'm just aging fast, that's all.
-See, I joined this really cool club with a friend of mine who has to remain nameless.
-OK.
-Anyway, the girls in the club wanted us to take drugs.
And if we don't, they'll kick me and Cherie out.
-I hope you and your anonymous friend refused.
-Not exactly.
We sorta said maybe next time.
Punky, there's a name for your problem.
-There is? -Yes.
Peer pressure.
-What's that? -Peer pressure is a feeling of wanting to fit in, to be like your friends.
And sometimes that feeling can be so strong that it makes it hard for us to resist doing something we know isn't right.
-Yeah.
That's me.
I've got peer pressure up to my eyeballs.
-It's not only you, Punky.
It's happened to all of us.
I can remember when I was a kid, I started hanging out with a group of guys that I thought were real cool.
Until I found out that their idea of cool was riding around in fast cars.
-That doesn't sound so bad.
-It is when the car belongs to someone else.
What did you do? -I found myself a new group of friends to hang out with.
Guys who really knew what was cool.
Staying in school, playing a little basketball, listening to James Brown.
Ha! I feel good! I knew that I would now.
I feel nice! Like sugar and spice.
Ha! So good, so good! Heh, I got you! Hey! -That's great, Mike.
But who's James Brown? -Guess I'm aging faster than I thought.
The point is, people want to fit in.
The trick is finding people who you fit with.
-Yeah, that's the tricky part.
-Come here.
Let me show you something.
I know it's in here.
Where is that pad? Here it is.
Right under my glow in the dark yo-yo.
Punky, I have a hunch that you want to do just like I did.
You want to find a new group of friends to hang with.
Now here's some information about another club for children all across the country.
I'm pretty sure you'll be a lot more comfortable with this group.
Now I want you to take this home, check it out.
Then you come back tomorrow and you tell me what you think, OK? -OK.
-All right.
-Mike? -Turnips help all neat kids sing.
-Turnips help all neat kids? Turnips help all neat kids sing.
Hey! Man.
-No.
-Cherie? -No.
- Boy, what wimps! -We're not wimps.
Wimps do anything anybody tells them to do.
-She's got a point.
-Yeah.
On top of her head! -Drugs are bad for you.
- Grow up! -I don't have to grow up.
I like being nine years old.
-Well, fine.
If that's the way you feel, then we're kicking you out of the Chicklets.
For good.
-Well, fine.
If that's the way you feel, we're kicking you out of our tree house.
-For good.
-We're gonna start a club that makes us feel good about ourselves.
- Go ahead.
Who'd want to join your dumb club? -A lot of kids.
-And we're gonna have a fun time without drugs.
-What's the club called? -Who cares? -Me, OK? -It's called the Just Say No Club.
And Mike Fulton said he'll be our sponsor.
- Wow! He's so cool! -Kate, maintain.
- Shut up, Emily.
-Let's go, Chicklets.
-Hey, your club sounds fun.
How do I join? -It's easy, Kate.
All you have to do is just say no.
You don't have to be part of the crowd.
Just be who you are and stand up proud.
Just say no.
No, just say no.
Just say no.
No, just say no.
Don't have to act like a star.
You can be a hero.
Just be who you are.
Just say no.
No, just say no.
Just say no.
No, just say no.
On April 26, 1985, simultaneous marches were held in cities all across the country where thousands of children took the opportunity to just say no to drugs.
Cherie Johnson led a rally in Oakland, California.
And Soleil Moon Frye led this march in Atlanta, Georgia.
Won't you join us, and just say no? All you gotta do is be yourself.
You got everything inside of you.
Have faith in yourself.
Your dream will come true.
Just say no.
No, just say no.
Just say no.
-Hello.
How are ya? Come on, everybody.
Just say no! Just say no! Just say no! Just say no! Just say no! Just say no! Punky power! Just say no! Punky power! Just say no! Punky power! Just say no!
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