Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.

This Week: CBS Schoolbreak Special: Ace Hits the Big Time

Tread Perilously‘s month of AfterSchool Specials takes a detour into a CBS Schoolbreak Special with Ace Hits the Big Time.

When Horace Hobart moves from an unnamed New Jersey city to Manhattan, he is offered two choices: join the Purple Falcons or get “chewed up” by a rival gang called the Piranhas. Instead, he creates a third option by reinventing himself as “Ace” on his first day at school. Soon, the Falcons see him as the protection they need from the Piranhas. But all of that takes a back seat when “Ace” gets the Falcons parts in a movie. Or, is all of this in Horace’s head?

Erik and Justin get lost as the episode feels more like the afterschool special format’s death spiral than a genuine hour of television. Justin tries to find the moral. Erik gets obsessed with the plot’s “violence gang” understanding of inner-city crime and tries to determine if the Falcons were invited to Cyrus’s meeting. The name “Horace Hobart” inspires a lot of riffing. The actor who plays him, Rob Stone, does not. The pair remember Sunny Delight and explain New York’s “brown bag” rule. They also try to determine if Horace had a gang affiliation back in Jersey. Also: Gene Simmons appears to promote a new KISS product.

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