This fun and footloose series begins when Julie tries her best to fit in at the New York School for the Performing Arts, with a little bit of help from Doris and Montgomery.
Coco and Lydia vie for a part in a show. Danny wants to meet Johnny Carson and becomes a waiter.
The School Board orders the School of the Arts to have a Gym because of the mandatory P.E. class that students have to take. It takes a dance off between Lydia's class and a bunch of football players for the school board to see her point. Meanwhile, Leroy tries to save his brother Willard from a life of crime.
The School of the Arts 7th annual benefit has Montgomery running the auditions and show, Coco trying to get performance shy Bruno to perform at the event, and Leroy's academic grades eliminating his performing. Meanwhile, a brown-out gives elevator trapped Danny and Doris a deeper understanding of each other.
Bruno is in love with a dance major named Kathleen Murphy. When he is to write a piece of music for her, she performs for him and gets injured. It turns out that she has Multiple Sclerosis, and Miss Grant employs Leroy to help out Bruno. Unknowingly, the gang is helping Kathy to keep her audition.
Coco torments Julie after Shorofsky chooses her to play in the ensemble for Coco's project;, and blames her actions on astrology; Bruno secretly gets a part-time job to help his dad pay for a new, expensive synthesizer.
Montgomery is stage manager for the school production of "Othello," but a pending union strike makes faculty involvement questionable; Coco, believing she's the better actress, is upset when Julie gets the part of Desdemona; Shorofsky supervises the music, but he and Bruno disagree on the direction of the score; Leroy gets private tutoring from Miss Sherwood.
When Mr. Crandall's assignment requires an improv scene portraying a character far removed from themselves, Doris pretends to be a teenage prostitute to "research" her role, and encounters a real 16-year-old prostitute, whom she tries to help; Shorofsky asks Miss Sherwood to teach him to drive.
Danny pops pills for energy when he begins working nights as a comic; Doris wins the part in a commercial for Hank Burgers, but detests both the director and the burgers.
Everyone is thrilled when Melinda MacNeil, Montgomery's movie star mother, arrives at the School of the Arts to guest direct the school's variety show... except Montgomery; Miss Grant discovers that Melinda has ulterior motives.
Montgomery and Doris vow to speak the truth for a day, which doesn't go over well; Miss Grant and Sherwood switch classes for a day; Shorofsky is hospitalized after being attacked by an intruder at the school.
Julie is romanced by a student-teacher; Lydia helps Julie's mother look for a job.
Bruno starts working for a small record company after Montgomery ropes him into cashing in on his songwriting abilities; Leroy is evasive when Sherwood demands to see his parents.
Miss Sherwood and the gang find two talented bums living in the basement.
Shorofsky is hesitant about a reunion with a friend from World War II; Leroy's reunion with his mother depends on Danny's pool-playing skills.
Budget cutbacks call for the termination of one of the school's teachers: either Sherwood or Crandall; Bruno's song is stolen by a successful composer.
Tempers flare when Bruno's script is chosen for the school production, and he casts himself as the lead.
A new singer proves to be exceptional in more than one way; and Danny's love life is being kept alive by Doris's careful scripting.
Leroy's unexplained tardiness could cost him the lead in the school production; and Julie hopes a visit from her father will mean a reconciliation for her parents.
Lydia falls for a Broadway star who can't separate his private life from his stage life; Shorofsky teaches Bruno how to conduct.
Bruno's father pressures him to audition for Juilliard, but Shorofsky tells Bruno he's not ready; Lydia moonlights as an exercise instructor, but her boss, Richard Simmons, thinks she has an attitude problem.
A ballet teacher is suspected of racism; Bruno is jealous of a young musical prodigy.
A blind substitute teacher inspires the students but alienates the faculty with his overbearing attitude.
Coco gets a shot at a movie role; Doris takes her diet a step too far.
Sherwood finds the student of her dreams, only to find that the girl's stepfather is censoring her textbooks; Coco is pressured to have sex with her new boyfriend, who is preparing to join the Navy.
The recent death of her grandmother causes Coco to reevaluate her ambition to become a star; Julie's cello is stolen.
Doris tries to get her father and draft-dodging brother to reconcile their differences; Lydia tries to sneak ballet moves into a jazz dance number when she discovers her old ballet teacher is coming to watch the performance.
Danny has a hard time dealing with the sudden death of his favorite teacher; Reardon's father asks for a reunion after a six-year estrangement.
The love bug bites as Sherwood registers with a video-dating service; Bruno falls for an older woman; and a singing cowboy lassos Doris's heart.
An actor asks the school for help with a charity show---and takes over Reardon's class; a young boy, who's a master of tap, wants to learn Leroy's style of dancing.
Shorofsky and Bruno both promise a show's dress rehearsal to different people; Doris is worried that her grandmother may move into her parents' home.
A "special" student falls for Julie; Reardon finds a revealing picture of himself in a national scandal sheet.
Bruno happily accepts a challenge from Miss Sherwood to create art using only the school's new computer, until he learns that the computer was brought in to replace Mrs. Berg; Reardon prepares for an off-off-Broadway play.
Doris alienates her friends when she becomes obsessive over the planning of Friendship Day; Reardon isn't speaking to Sherwood after her review of his poetry; and Leroy is annoyed when Danny wants him to be his "John Alden" in his courtship of Michelle.
Doris is knocked unconscious, setting the stage for a fantasy episode in which regulars take dual roles as characters in an updated version of "The Wizard of Oz."
This "episode" was comprised of excerpts from the Kids from Fame live concert in the United Kingdom. It is not available on the Season 2 DVDs.
A production shot live at Royal Albert Hall in London England. This version was not aired on TV, but was released on laserdisk and VHS. It is not available on DVD.
The school is vandalized and a suicide note---bearing no name---is found among the debris.
Miss Grant tells Danny and Leroy that they can't appear in the Alumni Day program unless they do a favor---coach a children's basketball team---for an alumnus.
The school honors U.N. Week by playing host to a neighborhood school; Miss Grant's aid to Reardon is misinterpreted by both the faculty and the students.
Changes abound with the start of the new school year: Bruno, with no means of funding his schooling after his father dies, is forced to drop out; Coco, Danny and Doris find out that even though her mother still lives in New York City, Julie is married and now living in Texas; new students Christopher Donlan, a dance major, and Holly Laird, a drama major, find difficulty in being accepted, most notably by their more seasoned competition, Leroy and Doris, and new vice-principal, Quentin Morloch, intends on ruling with an iron fist.
Mr. Shorofsky finds Bruno a job as a waiter at "Caruso's," a coffee house where he is free to play his music. After settling their feud with a fist fight, Leroy works with Christopher to improve Chris' dancing skills after Miss Grant decides to downgrade him to a different class.
When Morloch and the rest of the school find out the President plans to attend the school's fundraiser performance, certain elements of the show are reevaluated, including a monologue by Danny, while Leroy refuses to perform, and Miss Sherwood is considered a security risk by the Secret Service.
This episode features the cast of "Fame," billed as "The Kids from Fame," along with the season three regular dancers in a special concert performance taped while on tour in Tel Aviv, Israel. The concert features performances by the cast, of songs from the television series. The concert took place in an indoor stadium in Tel Aviv before a live capacity audience. Along with the concert, the cast from "Fame" are shown visiting historical landmarks within the city during the 35th birthday celebration of the nation.
When Christopher is challenged to a boxing match by Keach Howard, the last man he defeated, and refuses to fight, Keach beats up Dwight in an effort to make Donlan change his mind. Meanwhile, Leroy becomes a mentor to Billy Hall, a fellow dancer in Miss Grant's class in whom Leroy sees a lot of himself.
Love is in the air as Bruno unwittingly falls for Lisa Connors, a student-teacher for Mr. Shorofsky, and Morloch expresses a romantic interest in Miss Sherwood.
When Mr. Morloch announces that all students participating in any school production must have a minimum C average, Miss Sherwood, despite Morloch's objections, assigns Leroy and Danny the responsibility of teacher, leaving Danny forced to make a tough decision when he suspects a friend has cheated.
Danny enlists Christopher and Michael to coach rival gangs in a "break dance" competition. Meanwhile, Doris has trouble ridding herself of "Snake," a gang member who has a crush on her, and Coco, inspired by Bruno's life out of school, contemplates leaving the School of the Arts to pursue her career.
When Dwight shows up to school with severe bruises on his body, Danny appoints himself as Dwight's bodyguard when he, along with the rest of the school, believe Dwight is a victim of bullying. Meanwhile, Miss Grant is not pleased when rumored drug trafficking brings an undercover cop to the School of the Arts, posing as a dance student.
Holly falls for Billy Christiansen, a new piano player who plays at "Caruso's." Upon getting ready to ask him out, she learns that he is a physically handicapped, wheelchair bound, paraplegic. Mr. Morloch tries to get Miss Grant to give his friend and former baseball star, "Lefty" Rogers, in pursuit of a career in recording jingles for television commercials, singing and dancing lessons.
This special features the cast of "Fame," billed as "The Kids from Fame," along with the season three regular dancers in their first concert in the U.S. which takes a look back at popular music in the year 1983. The concert took place on December 27, 1983 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium before a live capacity audience. Among other musical performances, this particular episode featured a medley of songs from motion pictures and a special tribute to Michael Jackson.
While working on a scene together, Holly and Christopher are prompted by their friends to try going out with each other. Danny falls for Marya, a student hoping to be admitted into the School of the Arts.
When Doris' ex-boyfriend, Sandy Gordon, who was expelled for his drinking problem, is allowed readmission into the School of the Arts, she's overjoyed until she learns that he was hiding his continuing battle with alcoholism from her.
When Doris tries to get her classmates to do a production of the reputedly haunted play, "The Gypsy Queen," she and Miss Grant are convinced that they have seen a ghost. While trying to obtain a better understanding of the occult, they discover that Mrs. Berg is a "spirit medium."
When Morloch learns about Leroy's previous track success, he tries to persuade him to go for a college track scholarship, much to Lydia's dismay. Meanwhile, while doing character research for a role as an elderly woman in her acting class, Doris finds an older man falling for her.
When Holly's mother moves in with her, she finds that her mom is getting in the way of things. Meanwhile, when Danny tries to hypnotize Leroy and Christopher, Mr. Morloch is inadvertently put under a post-hypnotic spell, leading Miss Sherwood to have some fun with it.
When the kids discover that Danny has leukemia, Doris makes her biggest effort to convince him to listen to his doctor and fight the disease. Meanwhile, Lydia decides to show the kids how to make a non-dancer look good in a dance number.
A former night club performer, and close friend to Leroy's uncle, Eddie Macon, is discovered by Miss Sherwood hiding out in a closet in her classroom. Now homeless and alcohol dependent, Leroy and Mr. Reardon attempt to help him while casting him in a school production. Meanwhile, Holly helps Doris with make-up in an attempt to impress a boy she's interested in.
Blind substitute teacher Jim Hamilton returns to the School of the Arts and expresses a romantic interest in Lydia.
Caruso's landlord threatens to turn the coffee house into a parking lot unless Bruno gets his young opera singer friend accepted into the School of the Arts. Meanwhile, Mr Shorofsky has a secret meeting with Mrs Berg.
A substitute teacher filling in for Miss Sherwood tries to keep her past as a singer a secret, but Dwight remembers her from his childhood and is determined to find out why she stopped singing, enlisting Mr. Shorofsky's help when he learns the truth.
While showing off for a girl in class, Christopher back flips and hits his head, resulting in a loss of his hearing, and a forced transfer to a school for deaf students. Meanwhile, Miss Grant and Mr. Shorofsky try mixing singers and dancers in the same production.
Mr. Shorofsky is disappointed with Doris rejecting her heritage when she turns down the opportunity to perform at a Holocaust Survivors benefit. Meanwhile, Lydia is hired to teach dance to a basketball team.
With his father unemployed, Christopher is forced to take on the role of a parent to his young siblings, which ends up effecting his performance in school. Meanwhile, when the students fall behind in their efforts in class, Mr. Morloch holds a class on a Saturday.
Doris and Danny console each other over sour flings; Love holds surprise for both Sherwood and Leroy; Holly sets her sights on an older man.
Christopher falls hard for a visiting Czech student; Leroy tries to avoid a new admirer; Doris runs for student-body president.
Staff and students fight back after Sherwood is accidentally injured by kids dancing in the hallway, and the board of education responds by issuing a directive placing a ban on all singing and dancing in non-designated areas.
Leroy's long-lost father shows up at the School of the Arts, and receives a chilly reception from his son. Meanwhile, Danny deals with father issues of his own as he tries to convince his father that his aspirations to become a comedian aren’t futile.
A blizzard traps the staff and students in the school, provoking various problems, including a broken furnace and a prowler.
An opening-night hex threatens Cassidy's directorial debut when Morloch inadvertently breaks a show-business dictum.
Trevor Kane, a School of the Arts Alumnus and acting has-been, returns to the school to make an appearance in a play that Doris is directing in the hopes of revitalizing his career.
A TV news feature on the school brings Nicole to the attention of a prisoner, and her to his talent as a songwriter.
Christopher writes a less-than-rave review of Cleo's debut as a lead dancer; Nicole and Jesse look for romance in the personal ads.
Lydia has a dancing showdown with Holly's mother, who thinks Lydia and Holly lack the drive to succeed in show business.
After it comes to light that Jesse is an illegal alien, the staff and students at the School of the Arts band together and fight to keep him from being deported.
Sherwood fights student apathy when Morloch institutes an ROTC program at the school and cancels a show to benefit the nuclear-freeze movement.
Drama teacher Trevor Kane discovers his ex-wife is the object of Chris' affections; Holly and Nicole try to help Cleo catch Leroy's attention.
Parents' Week causes problems for Nicole, who has a difficult time dealing with the pressure her parents are putting on her; Meanwhile, Danny's parents decide to get divorced.
Danny falls for Nicole while trying to smooth things between her and Jesse; Morloch gets a second chance with his college sweetheart.
Chris gets a break while performing with Danny then deserts his partner and finds competition from Leroy; Nicole and Holly room together.
A famous, retired director directs Coco in her first performance since returning to the School of the Arts to get a diploma.
Sherwood temporarily becomes vice-principal while Morloch attends a conference; Doris has a dream date; and Leroy, three months behind on his rent, shoots for $10,000 on a game show.
After being mugged, Doris puts on a brave front around her family or friends, but secretly struggles with nightmares and flashbacks; Dwight tries to control his emotions for Holly.
Holly's despair over her parents' marriage causes her to become anorexic; Doris decides on a Hawaiian theme for the school's Prom.
Nicole's biological mother returns and tries to involve herself in her daughter's life; voiceless Morloch enlists Chris' aid to make a speech.
Danny faces the problem of organizing his fellow students into a winning team after accepting a softball challenge issued by an old rival.
As Summer vacation approaches, Jesse, Cleo and Nicole reminisce after Cleo reveals that she will not be returning to the School of the Arts in the fall.
Leroy becomes a member of the school faculty; Chris and Danny have to play women in their class; Nicole and Holly fight for a lead role, and new student, Dusty, a minister's daughter, finds herself feeling out of place.
The solution to Leroy's financing problem comes in the form of another big problem: his preteen niece. Meanwhile, Danny meets another Danny Amatullo.
After meeting his favorite western hero, Bronco Bob, and his sidekick, Prince the Miracle Horse, Danny involves the School of the Arts in a fund-raising production to help Bronco save Prince from the clutches of his acting rival, who, just to spite Bronco, plans to buy, shoot and stuff the horse.
Jesse struggles with "selling out" after winning a prestigious song-writing contest. Meanwhile, Shorofsky also struggles with "selling out" when he auditions a former football jock and mediocre violin enthusiast, whose father, dependent on his son getting in, is willing to make a generous donation that could reform many budget-related deficiencies at the school.
Christopher falls for a beautiful, talented new dancer with a secret; Danny feels uneasy when his recently separated mother starts dating Lou Mackie.
Jesse is forced into joining a neighborhood gang, leading Nicole to have visions that Jesse is in danger. Meanwhile, Shorofsky befriends a young gang member who expresses an interest in the trumpet.
Graduate Christopher finds the real world less than impressed with his arrival; Shorofsky suffers from job burnout; Reggie dabbles in performance art; and a new music student Ian Ware claims friendships with the likes of Prince, Mark Knopfler and Mick Jagger.
Nicole's discontent with her and Jesse's relationship affects her rehearsals for a performance at the wedding of Christopher's cousin; Danny gets the once-over thrice when he dates an Irish cop's daughter who has a marine and a cop for brothers.
A cab-driving actor reluctantly joins the faculty, while an 11-year-old pianist joins the student body, and both have difficulties adjusting to their new surroundings.
A new dance student accuses Leroy of discrimination after he awards a lead role to a black dancer; Shorofsky learns a surprising fact about guitarist Ian; and Leroy introduces Dusty to the Apollo Theatre.
The School of the Arts works to put together a 30's-style play for a prestigious competition, but funding issues and lead, Nicole, coming down with laryngitis may just cost them the win... and the $20,000 prize that comes with it.
Baby-sitting his nephew cramps Christopher's style; dissension threatens to end the girls' new band; Dyrenforth learns the value of Mrs. Berg.
The plight of the homeless unites two disparate spirits: Dusty's minister father, who disapproves of the school, and Reggie, who finds disapproval from the school for her latest experiments in performance art.
Danny slips into the second-banana position on a comedy show; Dusty misinterprets flattering comments from Jesse.
Shorofsky is a victim of mistaken identity when he's forced to spend Christmas in the same hospital as a prominent producer; Leroy burns the candle at both ends trying to please his niece Tina.
A one-time singing idol offers Nicole a chance to sing backup on her comeback record, but fate might change everything in just a second; Danny and Jesse play matchmaker for Dyrenforth.
Danny struggles with guilt and Jesse with revenge when the School of the Arts loses one of their own in a drunken-driving accident.
A film crew's arrival has special effects on Jillian, assigned as the director's assistant; Dyrenforth, who receives a bit part; and the teenage leading lady, Maxie Sharp.
Jesse's role as a swashbuckling hero is being played for real in the hallways by an unlikely masked crusader fighting a substitute principal's "code of conduct."
Lydia connects with a high-school sweetheart who's done quite well since their last meeting; a rift widens between Ian and his father.
Christopher fails to heed Lou's warning that the contract offered by his brother comes with strings attached. Meanwhile, Mr. Seeger tries to establish harmony on the school newspaper.
Reggie, Danny and Jesse learn about wishes coming true after Shorofsky receives a violin with a magical legend.
Christopher, Leroy, Jillian and Miltie create frustration for Jesse who, with a key borrowed from Shorofsky, lets them all into the school on a Saturday to complete a weekend project.
Ian is torn when his old band comes to town; Lou runs for the presidency of a bowling-operators' association.
Danny reacts with confusion when his longtime pal confides he's gay; Leroy and Lydia compete for the chance to choreograph a commercial.
Jillian's computer error puts Christopher's life in danger when he comes into possession of a cassette labeled "top secret" by a conglomerate involved in national security. Meanwhile, Reggie, Ian and Dusty compete in a video contest.
When a cafeteria worker, who always had dreams of being a singer, is laid off, Reggie persuades her to get her high-school diploma... at the School of the Arts.
Clips from past shows illustrate the choices for the school's contribution to a time capsule; schemer Miltie may face expulsion if he fails to come up with an original song for Shorofsky.
The kids hustle up a pocketful of miracles for Mrs. Berg, who has misrepresented her position to an old friend who's on his way to visit; Reggie helps a student with an aversion to frog dissection.
In the series finale, Alumni Week brings back some familiar faces, including Miss Sherwood, Bruno, Coco, Doris, Holly, and Montgomery, who are interviewed for the School of the Arts first video yearbook. Meanwhile, Leroy questions his ability and his desire to make it on his own after Miss Grant suggests he leave the school to pursue his dancing; and Chris lies about his success in the real world when he is asked to be a guest speaker for Mr. Seeger's class.
Fame is a 1980 American musical film conceived and produced by David De Silva and directed by Alan Parker. Its screenplay is by Christopher Gore, its choreography by Louis Falco and musical score by Michael Gore. The film follows a group of students through their studies at the New York High School of Performing Arts (which later merged with the High School of Music & Art to become the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts). The film is split into sections corresponding to auditions, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. The film ranked number 42 on Entertainment Weekly's 2006 list of the "50 Best High School Movies". The film has spawned a television series and spin-off, a stage musical, a reality competition series, and a 2009 film remake.
Justin Lee Collins attempts to track down the cast of Fame, both the film and the TV series.
