ABC After School Specials Child Stars

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ABC Afterschool Specials didn't put out any new episodes after the mid-90s, but their legacy lives on. Informing the comical awfulness of Very Special Episodes and television gems like 7th Heaven's take on the demon marijuana, they made serious, important issues wonderfully goofy. Pot can lead to tragic rowboat accidents. Harder stuff can lead to attempts to fly (possible), which will then lead to "tough love" speeches over your broken body (unlikely). Yet, these lengthy PSAs were anything but career killers. Teenage Michelle Pfeiffer and Helen Hunt star as troubled youth. A tiny Ben Affleck and Sean Astin make appearances, too. The youth of today may have reruns of Glee and Degrassi to help them navigate adolescence, but their parents had a shirtless Rob Lowe dealing with childcare.

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