A Brief History of Square Pegs-the Series

Square Pegs was a situation comedy about the "freshman class struggle" at fictional Weemawee High School. It focused on two freshmen, Lauren Hutchinson and Patty Greene, best friends who wanted nothing more than to fit in with the popular kids in school. However, since they weren't rich or good-looking, didn't wear the latest fashions, and had braces and/or glasses, it was a hopeless task.

The series was created and produced by Anne Beatts, one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live. She based it on her own experiences at Somers (NY) Central High School (the character of Patty is her alter ego.) It debuted on CBS on September 27, 1982, a Monday night, in the 8 PM (Eastern) time slot, which was formerly held down by M*A*S*H (which moved to 9 PM.) Other new series premiering that year included Cheers, Family Ties, Remington Steele, St. Elsewhere, and Newhart (probably the best year ever for new series, IMHO.) Despite that sterling competition, it immediately became my favorite show. It was aimed at a young, hip audience, featuring the latest music on the soundtrack as well as appearances by bands such as the Waitresses and Devo. Jokes concerned the availability of cable TV in Guatemala and Reagonomics as well as the latest movies. The characters all seemed like people I knew. Unfortunately, the series did not perform as well as hoped, and was canceled after one season. A TV Guide article dated June 9, 1984 attributed the failure of the show, at least partly, to drug use on the set, as well as a lack of experience by the production staff. The series was rerun several years ago on the USA Network cable station. Some local broadcast stations showed the two part Christmas episode in 1999, and Nickelodeon showed eight episodes in March 2001. It is currently being shown on TVLand.

Show Opening-

Lauren- "I've got this whole high school thing psyched out. It all breaks down into cliques. Patty-"Cliques?" Lauren-"Yeah, you know. Cliques. Little in-groups of different kids. All we have to do is click with the right clique, and we can finally have a social life that's worthy of us." Patty-"No way! Not even with cleavage." Lauren-"I tell you, this year we're going to be popular." Patty-"...yeah?" Lauren-"Yeah. Even if it kills us."

Download a sample of the opening theme song. (341 KB) The full song is available on the album, The Best Of The Waitresses.

Weemawee School Song- (489 KB)
Weemawee thy sons and daughters hail thee as our mother dear
As in pride above the waters of thy lake so blue and clear
We uphold thy noble colors of orange and purple without peer
Praise to thee oh Weemawee, virgin spring of our careers.

For more information, see the characters and cast page and the episode guide.
Back to table of contents

Information Wanted

If you know any of the following, please e-mail me at cliffordblau@geocities.com

Nielsen ratings for Square Pegs
Address of Rosarita Gerraro, the little Guatemalan child (seen on a package in the Graffiti episode

I have had a few requests from readers for any post-Pegs information on the cast members, particularly John Femia.

These pages were created July 28, 1996. All material on them (except the binaries) is copyright 1996-2003 Clifford Blau, and may be used in whole or in part for any noncommercial purpose with proper attribution.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page