![\"Square](\"https:\/\/ultrasparky.org\/blog\/img\/pegsstairs.jpg\")
![\"Cast](\"https:\/\/ultrasparky.org\/blog\/img\/pegsdevo.jpg\")
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One of the more profound touchstones<\/strong> of my pop-cultural development was Square Pegs<\/a>,<\/i> a short-lived sit-com from 1982 that starred, among others, the people that would be better known as Captain Kirk\u2019s bastard son<\/a> (so pretty, so tragic) and Carrie Bradshaw<\/a> (so tiny, so odd-looking).<\/p>\n The show was my first exposure to a number of things that inspired my devotion for years to come, particularly Devo<\/a> and The Waitresses<\/a>. Certain phrases from the show still pepper my conversation to this day. Not bad for a show that was only on for half a season twenty-five years ago. What amazes me is that I\u2019ve retained all this stuff about the show, but I couldn’t have actually watched more than an episode or two. But I listened to them all.<\/p>\n In 1982, my family didn’t actually own a TV. The last one had finally broken down altogether, and it was a while before my parents felt the need (or had the wherewithal, perhaps, or some combination of the two) to get another. My sister Ellen, however, had a portable TV\/radio that could tune into the audio signal of broadcast TV stations. It was kind of a pain, but better than nothing. (And I\u2019m sure she appreciated being able to keep up with General Hospital<\/i> as much as I appreciated keeping up with Square Pegs<\/i>.) Honestly, I can\u2019t even remember what clever bit of marketing inspired me to listen in to a show I couldn\u2019t actually see, but I was hooked pretty instantly.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been odd having such vivid memories of sounds and dialogue without accompanying footage. I know I saw a couple of episodes \u2014 probably when spending the night at my friend Eddie\u2019s house \u2014 but for the most part my visual memories of the show are more delicate than the rest. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, though, that\u2019s starting to change. Last night I stumbled across the episode I most wished I had seen when it was first on: the one where Devo (Johnny Slash’s 9th favorite band) played at Muffy Tepperman’s New Wave bat mitvah. Bliss!<\/p>\n