• Like "Tales from the Crypt" and "Jumanji," "It's Punky Brewster" was a case of an animated spinoff being preferable to the original live-action source. This version had a different theme song and a new character (a little creature called Glomer) added to the mix - imagine a cartoon version of "The Parkers" trying that - who took Punky, Allen, Cherie and the rest to all manner of adventures, with a result that was less icky than the liveaction show. Plus it gave George Gaynes more dignity than the "Police Academy" movies, I bet.

    But one question - why wasn't Cherie's mother in this?