The first of two half-hour television programs adapting Robert Newton Peck's popular 'Soup' books, based loosely on his childhood in Depression-era rural Vermont. SOUP AND ME and its sequel, SOUP FOR PRESIDENT, were shown in the 1970's (and rerun for years afterward) on the Saturday morning children's program THE ABC WEEKEND SPECIAL. Though the WEEKEND SPECIAL series tends to be remembered as dreary and vapid, the kind of thing parents and teachers preferred kids watch, the SOUP adaptions are fondly remembered by many Gen-Xers, probably for the same reason the books were so successful: They were genuinely funny, a rarity in 70's children's television.
SOUP AND ME combines two chapters from the book of the same name and updates the kids to more or less present day, presumably for budget reasons. Soup (Christian Berrigan), a young boy who's just clever enough to get himself into all sorts of trouble, and Rob (Shane Sinutko), his more sensible but easily beguiled friend, go skinny-dipping during an unseasonably hot Autumn day and their clothes are stolen by bully Janice Ryker. Forced for modesty's sake to swipe dresses to wear from a church charity bazaar ("Aren't there any poor MEN in the world?" Soup exclaims in frustration when they can't find any other clothes), they set out in their 'costumes' to the school Halloween party, 'borrowing' a huge pumpkin from irascible farmer Mister Sutter's garden to enter in a contest. Naturally, things go wrong from there.
SOUP FOR PRESIDENT is, in my opinion, even funnier. Soup is running for class president and Rob is his campaign manager. Unfortunately, Norma Jean Bissel, a pretty girl Rob has a mad crush on, is running against him and Rob finds himself torn between friendship and puppy love. Worse, Janice Ryker is Norma Jean's campaign manager, and she plays dirty.
Both shows are rarely screened nowadays, but the books can often be found in the children's section of public libraries.
SOUP AND ME combines two chapters from the book of the same name and updates the kids to more or less present day, presumably for budget reasons. Soup (Christian Berrigan), a young boy who's just clever enough to get himself into all sorts of trouble, and Rob (Shane Sinutko), his more sensible but easily beguiled friend, go skinny-dipping during an unseasonably hot Autumn day and their clothes are stolen by bully Janice Ryker. Forced for modesty's sake to swipe dresses to wear from a church charity bazaar ("Aren't there any poor MEN in the world?" Soup exclaims in frustration when they can't find any other clothes), they set out in their 'costumes' to the school Halloween party, 'borrowing' a huge pumpkin from irascible farmer Mister Sutter's garden to enter in a contest. Naturally, things go wrong from there.
SOUP FOR PRESIDENT is, in my opinion, even funnier. Soup is running for class president and Rob is his campaign manager. Unfortunately, Norma Jean Bissel, a pretty girl Rob has a mad crush on, is running against him and Rob finds himself torn between friendship and puppy love. Worse, Janice Ryker is Norma Jean's campaign manager, and she plays dirty.
Both shows are rarely screened nowadays, but the books can often be found in the children's section of public libraries.
