Go to the head of the class

As I try to catch up with technology (and epically failing of course), I’m amazed at being able to watch television shows from days gone by on my computer. And one of these shows hasn’t even hit DVD yet.

Back in 1986, a show that took Dr. Johnny Fever, better known as actor Howard Hessman and made him a substitute teacher of an individualized honors program at a school in NYC, hit ABC. “Head of the Class” premiered just as I was starting high school, so I could relate, barely. I was a somewhat intelligent student, took a couple of classes that were considered “honors” in a way, but I was no match for the characters on this show. I didn’t do well in algebra and never took calculus, trigonometry or physics.

Last week, I found that the WB Web site has several shows online, such as “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” “Falcon Crest” and “The Smurfs.” And there are 20 episodes of “Head of the Class” on the site. My brother and I watched that show religiously. And when I watched the first episode again last week, I could recite some of the lines right along with the characters. Yep, just like “Star Wars,” “The Princess Bride” or “Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail.”