![]() ![]() See? Melodrama, milked for all it’s worth. But what kind of love can they have when he’s trapped inside a plastic bubble? As Tod decides that he’s tired of living his life inside of a plastic prison, he begins to form connections with the outside world, emboldened by his feelings for Gina, who is starting to see him as someone special, too. Glynnis O’Connor ( Ode to Billy Joe, Johnny Dangerously) is Gina, the cute girl next door who has only seen Tod at his annual birthday party. His parents are played Robert Reed, who was one of the most trusted dads ever as Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch, and Diana Hyland, a regular on TV’s Peyton Place. The doctors tell his parents that he could (and probably will) drop dead if he’s exposed to germs of any kind, so he spends his entire life inside an elaborate plastic habitat that keeps him safe, but also keeps the real world far away. John Travolta stars as Tod, a sixteen year-old kid who was born without an immune system. So was Summer of Fear, which starred Linda Blair and was directed by Wes Craven.Īnd then we have The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Steven Spielberg’s debut, Duel, was a movie of the week. Many of the syrupy entries in the format are best forgotten, but occasionally featured talent-both in front of and behind the camera-that would one day go on to do great things. The broadcast network NBC invented the movie of the week, but ABC turned it into an art form. If it airs in the afternoon and features young people, it’s an after school special. Voila! If your movie airs in the evening during prime time, it’s the movie of the week. Finally, shoot the movie with soft filters and drench the soundtrack in weepy strings that sound like they belong in a soap opera. Now hire some TV actors who are either fading stars or ascending talents, but aren’t quite A-list celebrities. First, imagine the most melodramatic and over-wrought premise you can think of: maybe it’s about a love affair gone wrong, or the seductive danger of drugs. ![]() ![]() Just as the seventies were the heyday of flawed heroes and films that tackle complicated subjects without any clear answers, it was also the era of the made-for-TV movie. Though it’s more often mocked than admired, this made-for-TV movie was a stepping stone in the careers of quite a few people, especially John Travolta. ![]()
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