Episode
Punky Brewster: Accidents Happen
Overview
Mike tries to help his class understand the Challenger space shuttle tragedy -- especially Punky, whose dream is to become an astronaut, and her classmates think she's crazy, then Mike introduces Punky to famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Henry is embarrassed when Buzz sees Henry wearing a dress. Henry is wearing the dress because Betty needed a dummy to put the dress on, so she could work on the dress.
Details
- Series
- Punky Brewster
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 22
- Air date
- 1986-03-09
- Runtime
- 23 min
Episode context
Accidents Happen is Episode 22 in Season 2 of Punky Brewster. It aired on 1986-03-09. The runtime is 23 min.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 20: Changes (4)
Henry spends much of the day trying to call Chillings. When Henry finally does get Chillings on the phone, Chillings tells Henry that Punky has been placed with new foster parents -- Tiffany Buckworth and her husband Jules Buckworth , who live in a mansion with a butler named Cuthbert, and Punky doesn't like this at all, because she wants to be with Henry, and while Jules is a kindly man who is always nice to Punky, Tiffany is snobby and mean. Two weeks later, after Henry is released from the hospital, Punky goes to the apartment building to visit Henry. When Punky tells Henry that she wants to return to Henry, Henry vows to regain custody of her.
Episode 19: Changes (3)
Henry is rushed into emergency surgery after his collapse. At Fenster Hall, Mike brings Cherie, Margaux, and Allen to visit Punky, and they have a plan to help Punky sneak out so she can visit Henry at the hospital, and they get help from Punky's roommates Anna, Liz, Millie, and Weezie. They disguise Punky as Margaux and disguise Margaux as Punky. To make the plan work, they make sure Chillings can't wear his glasses. Mike goes along with the plan and takes Punky to visit Henry, who is unconscious. While Punky is in Henry's room, Punky overhears Mike telling Betty that Punky may not be coming back home to Henry because Chillings wants to put her with new foster parents. Sometime after Punky's visit, when Henry wakes up, there is a note from Punky, and the note tells Henry what Punky overheard Mike say to Betty, and Punky thinks it's her fault that Henry collapsed, because Henry was worried about how to regain custody of Punky. After reading Punky's note, Henry looks like he's about to
Episode 18: Changes (2)
Punky is devastated when Henry tells her that she'll be going to Fenster Hall because Chillings removed her from Henry's custody. Chillings takes Punky to Fenster Hall, where Punky traps Chillings in a closet and escapes. Punky goes to the school to tell Mike what's going on. Mike agrees to help Punky, but he needs to know which DCFS case worker has been handling Punky's case. Punky tells Mike that it's Chillings, who took over Fenster Hall after Mike left Fenster Hall to become a teacher. Mike has a talk with Chillings, and doesn't make any progress with Chillings, who cruelly won't let Punky temporarily stay with Cherie and Betty while Henry is in the hospital, just because Punky wouldn't have her own bedroom in Betty's apartment. Betty rightfully doesn't understand this rule, which means that Punky is not allowed to temporarily share a room with her best friend Cherie at Betty's apartment, but Punky has to share a room at Fenster Hall with four girls that she doesn't even know. Mike
Episode 17: Changes (1)
In the beginning of a special 5 part: Henry shrugs it off when Punky sees fire trucks driving down the street outside the apartment building, then Henry gets a call that tells him why the fire trucks have been sent out -- his photography studio, his only source of money, is on fire. Henry and Punky rush to the studio, and they are told that the fire department thinks the fire was started by a short circuit in the studio's aging wiring. This is heartbreaking for Henry, who has been a photographer for more than 40 years and has owned the studio for 34 years. When Henry first opened the studio in 1952, he took out a fire insurance policy on it, but he never increased the coverage, even though he meant to increase the coverage in the early 1970s, but he thought it seemed too expensive to do it at the time. Henry worries that without a source of money, he won't be able to pay his bills. Henry worries so much that he collapses from the pain of a bleeding ulcer and is taken to Cook County Hos
Episode 16: Cherie Lifesaver
Henry's old refrigerator breaks down and can't be used anymore. Later, Mike teaches CPR to his class after sending Allen to the principal's office for repeatedly misbehaving and interrupting the lesson, as Henry is putting the refrigerator outside for the Salvation Army to pick up. Later, at home, Punky and her friends play a game of hide-and-seek. When it starts snowing as Henry is preparing to remove the door from the old refrigerator after buying a new one, Henry tells Punky, Allen, and Margaux to help him and Betty look for Cherie, who still hasn't been found in the game. Henry and Allen are shocked to find Cherie trapped inside of the old refrigerator, and this makes Punky and Margaux thankful that they learned CPR, and makes Allen feel bad that he was sent to the principal's office during the lesson. Henry and Allen decide to learn CPR together after watching Punky and Margeaux save Cherie's life with it.
Episode 15: Girls Will Be Boys
Punky wants Henry to stand up for her rights when Richmond Matzie and his father and the boys won't let Punky race the new remote control car that she won, just because she's a girl. It turns out that Henry feels the same way the boys do, until Mike has an eye opening talk with Henry, convincing Henry to stand up for Punky against Mr. Matzie and Richmond, who reluctantly allow Punky to enter her car in a championship race that she wins.
Episode 14: Urban Fear
Punky is absolutely terrified that Henry is going to become the next victim of the "Northside Stalker" -- a killer who has been terrorizing the city. Henry assures Punky that it's okay to be afraid, but it's not healthy to let her fear completely take over everything she ever does.
Episode 13: Christmas Shoplifting
Misled by schoolmate Richmond Matzie, Punky shoplifts a winter scarf for Henry as a Christmas present, and unknowingly switches bags with Mike -- and an innocent Mike is put in jail, but Punky and Henry get Mike out when Punky explains everything.
Episode 12: Milk Does a Body Good
Henry invites Richard Whitney and his daughter Julie, the new neighbours, over for dinner. Punky, Cherie and Julie are making a cake for dinner when they see Julie's picture on the back of a milk carton, and it says her real name is Jennifer Bates. Jennifer storms to her apartment and shows Richard the milk carton. The next thing Richard knows, Jennifer runs away. Richard refuses to let anyone call the cops. Punky finds Jennifer in the treehouse. Jennifer's mad at Richard, but Punky tells Jennifer how lucky she is to have Richard. Jennifer comes back in with Punky and asks Richard why her picture was on the milk carton. Mr. Whitney tells everyone that after he divorced Jennifer's mother Roberta, Roberta got custody of Jennifer, and Roberta has cruelly been trying to lessen Mr. Whitney's visitation rights as much as possible in an effort to keep Richard out of Jennifer's life, and Richard loves Jennifer too much to be kept out of her life. Richard knew Roberta and her new husband were p
Episode 11: The Gift
Punky befriends Linda, the school's mentally handicapped janitor, and she consoles Linda when Allen makes fun of Linda. Mike later brings Linda into the classroom to play a violin, and Mike teaches Allen and the other kids that people who are mentally handicapped can still be talented people, and Mike also teaches them that mentally handicapped people have feelings like other people do.