''Fast Times'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

based on the 1982 film ''

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Stor ...

'' that was produced by

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American writer, producer, and director. Heckerling started out her career after graduating from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and entering the American Film Institute, ...

, who directed the original movie. The series ran for 7 episodes on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from March 5 until April 23, 1986.

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

, who wrote the original ''Fast Times'' novel and film screenplay, served as creative consultant.

Moon Zappa Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is the daughter of musician Frank Zappa. Early life Moon Zappa was born in New York City, the eldest child of Gail (née Sloatman) and musician Frank Zappa ...

was hired to research slang terms and mannerisms of teenagers, as she had recently graduated from high school and had a much better grasp of then-current high school behavior than the series writers.

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

provided the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

Ray Walston Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in ''Damn Yankees'' (1956 ...

as Mr. Hand and

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan sy ...

as Mr. Vargas, were the only actors from the film to reprise their roles for the TV series.

Cast

Claudia Wells Claudia Wells is an American actress and businesswoman, best known for her role as Jennifer Parker in the 1985 film ''Back to the Future''. Early life Wells was born on July 5, 1966 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her family moved to the San Franci ...

as Linda Barrett *

Courtney Thorne-Smith Courtney Thorne-Smith (born 1966 or 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on '' Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', and Cheryl Mabel on '' According to Jim'', as well as her recurrin ...

as Stacy Hamilton *James Nardini as Brad Hamilton * Wally Ward as Mark Ratner *

Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...

as Mike Damone *Kit McDonough as Leslie Melon * Dean Cameron as Jeff Spicoli *

as Mr. Hand *

as Mr. Vargas

Episodes

Response

Jeff Borden of ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' observed the series' biggest downfall: "The challenge 'Fast Times' faces is emphasizing the comedic elements from the R-rated film while soft-pedaling the teen lust aspects that were a major part of the movie. Comic characters like spaced-out surfer Jeff Spicoli fare well, while subtle characters like fast-food king and would-be ladies man Brad Hamilton are sanitized into blandness."Fast Times at Ridgement High
The Info Archive Christopher Cornell, writing in ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', echoed the sentiment: "People who liked the movie (read: teenagers) will tune in expecting something like what they saw in the theater. But the network is going to have to completely eliminate the movie's cheerfully rampant drug use and tone down the lusty sexual content, so that parents won't be uncomfortable." However, Borden calls ''Fast Times'' "the hippest look at high school life since the late, lamented ''

Square Pegs ''Square Pegs'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1982–83 season. The series follows Patty Greene ( Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson ( Amy Linker), two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High S ...

'' few seasons back, yet it treats the teachers with compassion and respect. An 'us vs. them' mentality is avoided." Mike Duffy of the ''Detroit Press'' disagreed entirely, saying "With 'Fast Times,' we have 'Dull Pegs'." Mark Dawidziak of the ''

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

'' was far less than kind to the sitcom: "Just when you thought the CBS Wednesday schedule couldn't get any worse, along comes these two lethal stinkers (''Fast Times'' and another series that preceded it, '' Tough Cookies''). It would be better if the network programmers turned the hour over to repeated tests by the

Emergency Broadcast System The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), sometimes called the Emergency Action Notification System (EANS), was an Emergency population warning, emergency warning system used in the United States. It was the most commonly used, along with the Local ...

. It would be better, and considerably more entertaining, if they devoted the hour to a reading of the Newark

Yellow Pages The yellow pages are Telephone directory, telephone directories of business, businesses, organized by category rather than alphabetically by business name, in which advertising is sold. The directories were originally printed on yellow paper, ...

. It would be better, and far more merciful, if they just went dark. Just about anything would be kinder than subjecting even a few stray viewers to this video swill. Indeed, ''Tough Cookies'' and ''Fast Times'' make '' Stir Crazy'' look like television's answer to Ulysses."

Ratings

Source: A.C. Nielsen Company via

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0090429, Fast Times
''Fast Times''
at JumpTheShark.com 1986 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings 1980s American high school television series 1980s American teen sitcoms CBS sitcoms American English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films American television series about teenagers Television series by Universal Television Television shows scored by Danny Elfman Television shows set in Los Angeles