ABC AFTERSCHOOL SPECIALS: A DESPERATE EXIT {SEASON FIFTEEN PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas intended for young audiences.
A teenager named Jed learns that his best friend, Charlie Curtis, has committed suicide. He is grieved and mystified by the event; neither he nor his girlfriend Annie can think of an explanation for the suicide, as Charlie didn’t indicate any suicidal feelings to either of them. Jed recalls speaking to Charlie after he had been fighting with his girlfriend Dominique; he notes that Charlie had a tendency to write stories about his problems rather than talk about them. He recalls Charlie giving him a kite he made as a gift without explaining why; this turns out to be the last time he sees Charlie alive. On his way to school, Jed has a cryptic conversation with one of his classmates, who implies that he and Charlie may have witnessed something disturbing together. During school, Jed’s teacher Mr. Brown holds a discussion amongst his class about their feelings surrounding Charlie’s suicide as they try to console one another. Jed is unwilling to discuss his own personal feelings about Charlie. After school, Jed runs across Mrs. de la Rosa, whose daughter Iris has apparently gone missing.
Later, Jed and Annie spend time on the beach together, still grieving over the loss of Charlie. Jed remembers Charlie announcing that he would kill himself if he didn’t receive a scholarship to the University of California at Santa Barbara, but Charlie claims that he was joking. He hoped to get in to that school so that he could remain with Jed in college. They visit Dominique, who didn’t come to school that day. They ask her if Charlie gave any indication of suicidal tendencies, but she claims not to know anything about it. They realize that none of them had seen Charlie very often in the months before he committed suicide. Dominique reveals that she and Charlie broke up some time ago; Charlie did not reveal this and Dominique feels guilty for his death. She indicates that he was suffering from some sort of depression which she could not help him with, leading to their breakup. Jed becomes angry and walks out, leaving Annie to console Dominique.
Jed inquires about the student who spoke to him the previous day, but can find no trace of him. Later he visits Charlie’s parents, and they reveal that the approval for Charlie’s scholarship arrived in the mail that morning. They are equally at a loss to explain Charlie’s suicide. Charlie’s mother presents Jed with a note Charlie left for him, although it explains little, only saying that Charlie left something for Jed. Jed recognizes that the note is incomplete, and Charlie’s mother says that Charlie wanted Jed to have his motor scooter. Jed searches the scooter, but discovers nothing of note. Jed serves as a pallbearer at Charlie’s funeral. As the funeral lets out, Mrs. de la Rosa arrives and tells Jed and Annie that Charlie came to visit her just after Iris went missing, telling her that he was “sorry” about Iris, although this only further puzzles Jed. Later Jed comes home and finds Dominique in his apartment attempting to take Charlie’s kite. He asks her about Charlie’s association with Iris, but she claims Charlie wasn’t acquainted with her. He believes she is lying and offers to show her Charlie’s note to him if she tells him the truth. She claims she is not lying, although Jed doesn’t trust her.
An assembly is held at the school to further discuss the ramifications of Charlie’s suicide and how to recognize suicidal thoughts in other students and give them help. During the assembly Dominique bursts into tears and runs out. Later that day, Jed asks his neighbor about Charlie’s visits, and he recounts that the last time he saw him was on the morning of his death, when he dropped off something in an envelope for Jed. He claims the envelope is somewhere in his house now, and Jed finds it among a stack of newspapers. Inside is a manuscript typed by Charlie, where he describes his relationship with Dominique, whose father is a wealthy publisher who would disapprove of him, thus necessitating that they meet in secret.
Charlie records in the manuscript that during one of his meetings with Dominique on the beach, Iris de la Rosa stumbles across them, and he chases her before she collapses. Charlie wants to run to get help for her, but Dominique recognizes that she is on some sort of drug. She recommends that she leave and allow Iris to recover on her own, but Charlie plans to drop her off and get help for Iris, even though this would mean exposing their relationship. He reluctantly leaves Iris behind, but once he is home gets on his motor scooter to go back and help Iris. He finds her dead on the beach when he returns, and he feels responsible for her death for not saving her when he had the opportunity, leading to his suicide. Jed finishes reading the manuscript and is initially angry that Charlie would not confide this information with him, and that he seemingly squandered his life when there could have been alternatives. He finds another note from Charlie asking him to “do the right thing,” and apologizes for the suicide. Jed calls the police and reports the location of Iris’s body to them. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 17, 1986 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:44:33
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:12722
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Teenagers; Suicide
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1972-1997
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Martin Tahse … Producer, Director
- Richard David … Associate Producer
- Linda Elstad … Writer
- Eve Bunting … Based on the book "Face at the Edge of the World" by
- Misha Segal … Music by
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner … Cast, Charlie Curtis
- Rob Stone … Cast, Jed
- Nadia DeLeye … Cast, Dominique
- Allison Balson … Cast, Annie
- Sharon Barr … Cast, Mrs. de la Rosa
- David Spielberg … Cast, Mr. Brown
- Alma Beltran … Cast, Jed's Neighbor
- John Cameron Mitchell … Cast, Friend at Bus Stop
- Penelope Sudrow … Cast, Iris de la Rosa
- Brandon Douglas … Cast
- Christian Hoff … Cast
- Raymond Ma … Cast
- Herb Mitchell … Cast
- Jon Pennell … Cast
- Leslie Rivers … Cast
- Jeff Robie … Cast
- Saachiko … Cast
- Jacqueline Tahse … Cast
- Kate Zentall … Cast