Family (TV Series) The Athlete (1979) User Reviews

The Athlete

[brooke-22045 · 10/10 · 29 June 2023]

Buddy is volunteering at a hospital and runs into the star basketball player of her school. He's there for a broken leg, but Buddy overhears the doctor saying there may be cancer as well.

Annie wants to beat rival Emmy Sheldon in the school election. She uses an offbeat tactic to try to win votes, but it doesn't go quite as planned.

This episode is exceptional as the athlete storyline was done so well, thanks mostly to guest star Michael Biehn. It's also great that one plot line is dramatic and downbeat and the other plot line is more lighthearted. It also doesn't hurt to have a monkey dressed in shorts playing an instrument.

The Athlete

[BenTramerLives78 · 10/10 · 29 June 2023]

Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, Tombstone) appears in this episode as Jake, a high school basketball star who is in the same hospital where Buddy is volunteering. Buddy and Jake quickly become close but Jake gets terrible news. Buddy wants to help Jake, but he wants to be left alone.

Meanwhile, Annie wants to become class president, so naturally she gets a monkey to play a toy piano. Doug thinks it is a great idea, but Kate is not so sure.

This is a great episode with some terrific acting from Biehn. I also enjoyed the ridiculous election storyline, even if the monkey bit felt a little like a "jump the shark" moment.