"ABC Afterschool Specials" Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy (1983)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers:

Paul W. Cooper (writer)
Gloria D. Miklowitz (novel)

TV Series:

"ABC Afterschool Specials" (1972)

Original Air Date:

7 December 1983 (Season 12, Episode 4)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

Plot:

Teenage girl is traumatized after being assaulted by a stranger whom she hitched a ride from. |

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | Rape | Drama Episode | Hitchhiking | Hitchhiker

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Michele Greene	...	Andrea Cranston
Moosie Drier	...	David
Robert DoQui	...	Sgt. Corbett
Carrie Snodgress	...	Mrs. Cranston
Matt Clark	...	Mr. Cranston
Kirk Cameron	...	Jeff
Kristina Sorenson
Oliver Fuselier
Jeannie Linero
Dennis Tracy	...	Cop in line-up (as Dennis A. Tracy)
Terry Wills	...	The Man

Also Known As:

"ABC Afterschool Specials": Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea? (#12.4) (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Martin Tahse Productions

Quotes:

Mrs. Cranston: I don't think it's good for a girl to be dating just one boy.

Decent After School Special

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is an After School Special that kills two birds with one stone. It teaches us about the evils of hitchhiking as well as the evils of rape.

A girl, Andrea, and her boyfriend miss a bus and decide to hitchhike. They end up getting in a car with a "nice, married man" who tells them to have their fun while their young. Hahaha. He lets the boy off first and when the girl goes to get out of the car he insists on driving her right to her door regardless of the fact she only lives a few blocks away.

As the driver passes the street Andrea lives on his demeanor changes form nice guy to stern , scary, icy cold as he says something along the lines of "Just stay put. We're going for a little ride" (I wonder why, in these movies, the girl doesn't throw open the passenger door and duck and tumble out on to the road. Thats what I would do. But I guess they're too shocked or scared at the moment.)

Andrea comes home, races upstairs past her family acting like everything is fine and she takes a shower and then sits by herself miserable not knowing what to do.

When a friend comes to visit Andrea tells her what happened and from there Andrea tells her family and the cops.

Two characters in this movie deserve special mention. The Younger Brother: Because he's played by a very young and cute Kirk Cameron of GROWING PAINS fame and The Mother: because you will just wanna beat this woman down. She doesn't believe Andrea should go to the cops, get free counseling, ever speak of the rape again or wear that hot looking Danskin top on the bus. She isn't the sort to let you work through your problems...lets just sweep them under a rug. (Somewhere in that house is a hidden bottle of booze with Mom's name on it, I'm sure).

In the end the man is identified by Andrea in a police line-up and it ends up he has done this to someone else who has enough evidence to get his sorry butt thrown in jail. At this point Andrea realizes she must do her part to make sure this guy can never do this to another girl again.(Or at least stop him from doing it for the next 10-20 years).

Not bad...but not a whole lot of fun. How could it be with the subject matter of rape? Like all good After School specials and Made For TV movies we're are treated to the inevitable closing shot of an unknown girl standing on the edge of a road with her thumb held out looking to hitch a ride not knowing what terrible things can happen.

Just take the friggin bus!