Punky Brewster: Season One proves the old, family-friendly sitcom is as captivating for kids today as it was in 1984. Somewhere in the tradition of Silas Marner and Chaplin's The Kid, Punky Brewster breathes new life in the story of an isolated bachelor who takes in a lost and forgotten child. Thanks to the inspired casting of Helsinki-born, journeyman actor George Gaynes (The Crucible) as misanthropic photographer-turned-foster dad Henry Warnimont, the tradition stays strong in Punky Brewster even as the series paints the world in primary colors for a young audience.

Gaynes's autumnal Henry is the gruff-but-lovable loner who discovers 8-year-old, abandoned Punky (Soleil Moon Frye) squatting with her golden lab puppy, Brandon, in an empty apartment across from his own. With great reluctance, Henry allows the loquacious, spunky Punky to stay with him until she's situated with Chicago's youth services, then misses her the moment she's gone. After a cute showdown with officials in court (Punky cracks wise atop the judge's desk), Henry and his moppet become a family, and the series explores the many ways in which the duo (well, Henry, actually) learns to accommodate a shared life. In "Punky Gets Her Own Room," the impetuous heroine turns Henry's dusty study into a brightly painted bedroom, much to her new dad's shock. "Parents Night" finds Henry annoyed that he's supposed to show up at his charge's school when he'd rather be working. Punky Brewster's initial 22 episodes wisely allowed the core relationship between man and girl to settle before introducing other significant characters and story threads. By the season's middle, however, other relationships and conflicts develop, including a romance for Henry and trouble with bullies at school. It's all good, family entertainment that doesn't condescend. Special features include three segments from the subsequent, animated It's Punky Brewster series. --Tom Keogh