Head of the Class was an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. It followed a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) at the fictional Monroe High School (later Millard Fillmore High School) in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman). Hesseman left the series in 1990 and was replaced by Billy Connolly (in his first major American production) as teacher Billy MacGregor for the 1990-1991 season.
The original ten students in the IHP were Maria, Arvid, Darlene, Simone, Jawaharlal, Alan, Eric, Sarah, Dennis, and Janice. There was some turnover in the cast in the later years of the series.
After the series ended, Connolly appeared in a spinoff entitled Billy.
Characters
Season Synopses
Season One (1986-1987)
Mr. Moore begins the first season as a substitute teacher, but warms to the IHP class immediately, making it his mission to get them to think rather than just know. By Episode Six, the class's original teacher decides to quit, making Mr. Moore their full-time teacher. Throughout the first season, Mr. Moore attempts to get the class involved in more than just their studies, encouraging them to play volleyball and make a music video for the school's time capsule. (This marks the first foray into Head of the Class's fondness for musical production numbers.) At the same time, the class brings Mr. Moore into the present, acclimating him to the importance of personal computers. Near the end of the season, the IHP faces their Russian counterparts in an academic tournament, foreshadowing their famous trip to Moscow in Season 2.
Season Two (1987-1988)
Season Two began involving the IHP in the school as a whole, with Mr. Moore involving the class in the school literary journal and encouraging a lampoon of the school newspaper.
Mission to Moscow
In 1988, Head of the Class broke new ground as it became the first American sitcom to be filmed in the former Soviet Union. The episode was entirely filmed in Moscow, and without a laugh track (one was added in when the episode hit syndication).
The IHP is invited to come to the country for a rematch of the academic meet that happened in the first season (which ended in a tie). The class has a lot of experiences while in Moscow: Dennis and Arvid take interest in two beautiful women, until they realize they might be KGB spies; Eric meets up with his relatives in what is a very positive experience for him; Capitalist Alan has an argument with a die hard socialist in a store (who is also on the opposing Russian academic team); Sarah and Darlene decide to record the sights and sounds of Moscow; Simone goes to put flowers on a poet’s grave and meets up with a charming Russian musician; Dr. Samuels believed the Russians bugged his room, but just ends up making a fool of himself; and Charlie has a brief romance with a school teacher.
The IHP eventually wins the meet and the respect of the Russian team. The episode concludes with both teams attending a concert in Gorky Park swaying to the song “Faraway Lands” (written and performed by American David Pomeranz and Russian rock star Alexander Manilin).
In2TV
In March 2006, AOL Television began releasing free streaming video content of old television shows via its new site In2TV, including Head of the Class. At launch time, only ten episodes from season one were available: 1. The Pilot, 2. Back to the Future, 3. Love at First Byte, 4. Teacher's Teacher, 5. Volleyball, Anyone?, 6. Critical Choices, 7. Cold Turkey, 8. You've Got a Friend, 9. The Way We Weren't, 10. Arvid's Sure Thing
External links
