From The TV IV

For the animated series that ran concurrently with the same name see It's Punky Brewster.

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Punky Brewster is a sitcom that aired on NBC.

Punky was a cute little eight-year-old girl who is found living alone in an empty Chicago apartment with her dog, a Golden Retriever named Brandon (named for NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff). She is discovered by photographer Henry Warnimont, a grumpy fogey, who proceeds to take Punky to Fenster Home orphanage until she charms her way into Henry's heart. Punky's mother apparently took her to the store with her and abandoned her, and the subject of Punky wanting to see her mother again had cropped up from time to time. Mainly, the series has Punky dealing with children's issues with a light touch, using "Punky Power" to overcome obstacles.

Punky is essentially a tomboy with a bizarre clothing style, whose friends include Allen Anderson, her best friend Cherie Johnson, and rich and snobby Margaux Kramer. Stories through the run involved an episode where Cherie is trapped in a refrigerator while playing hide-and-seek and is discovered unconscious. Punky uses the CPR she learned at school to save Cherie's life. Another dealt with the space shuttle Challenger disaster, which devastated Punky as she had a yearn to be an astronaut when she grew up.

The show was never a ratings hit in prime time, but it did have a legion of children fans who kept it on NBC for two seasons, and it garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Children's Series. In 1985, it spawned a Saturday morning cartoon version which was titled on-screen as Punky Brewster but has been billed elsewhere as It's Punky Brewster.

It ran two more seasons in syndication with new episodes. In the second episode of season 3, Casey Ellison left the show when his character, Allen, was faced with moving away with his mother when his parents got divorced.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Seasons 3 In-Depth 4 DVD Releases 5 External Sites

[edit] Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Billed Cast
Soleil Moon Frye	Penelope "Punky" Brewster	1	2	3	4
George Gaynes	Henry P. Warnimont	1	2	3	4
Supporting/Recurring Cast
Susie Garrett	Mrs. Betty Johnson	1	2	3	4
Cherie Johnson	Cherie Johnson	1	2	3	4
Ami Foster	Margaux Kramer	1	2	3	4
Casey Ellison	Allen Anderson	1	2
Eddie Deezen	Eddie Malvin	1
Lolyita Chapel	Mrs. Kramer	1
Dody Goodman	Mrs. Morton	1
T.K. Carter	Mike Fulton		2

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
NBC
Season One	September 16, 1984	March 31, 1985	22
Season Two	September 15, 1985	March 9, 1986	22
Season Three	October 30, 1987	December 7, 1987	22
Season Four	April 27, 1988	May 27, 1988	22

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Season Sets
Season One	June 1, 2004	4	purchase
Season Two	February 8, 2005	4	purchase
Season Three	July 25, 2006	4	purchase
Season Four	February 26, 2008	4

[edit] External Sites