Lifestories: Families in Crisis
{{Short description|American after school special TV series (1992–96)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox television
| genre = After school special
| starring =
| endtheme =
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 2
| num_episodes = 15
| executive_producer = Eve Silverman,
Francine Lefrak
| producer =
| editor =
| cinematography =
| camera =
| runtime = 30 minutes
| network = HBO
| first_aired = {{start date|1992|08|01}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1996|02|08}}
}}
Lifestories: Families in Crisis is an American after school special drama television series that premiered on HBO on August 1, 1992.
The show
Lifestories: Families in Crisis deals with major issues involving individuals, mostly teenagers and young adults. The stories usually ended with the real person on which the story is based providing helpful information for others in a similar situation. Issues include a child molesting priest (played by Craig Wasson) terrorizing families, a college student with bulimia (played by Calista Flockhart) trying to deal with her problems, a football player addicted to steroids (played by Ben Affleck), substance abuse by a teenager, homosexuality and bi-sexuality involving teenagers, a teenage girl (Dina Spybey, in a Daytime Emmy Award-winning performance{{cite news |title=Lucci Loses Emmy for 14th Time : Television: She's beat out of best actress honors by 'Another World's' Linda Dano. CBS' 'Young and Restless' wins the best drama series award. |date=1993-05-28 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-28-ca-40748-story.html |access-date=2023-01-25 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222135814/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-28-ca-40748-story.html |archive-date=2021-02-22}} as Becky Bell) who has an illegal abortion and dies, a young man (played by Sam Rockwell) who is ultimately convicted of vehicular homicide after crashing into a young woman's (played by Jorja Fox) car while drunk, a boy (Adam LaVorgna as Joey DiPaolo) who contracts HIV and has to live with the disease, homelessness in Philadelphia and the major impact it has on a teenager (Ward Saxton as Trevor Ferrell) and the depression and suicide of one popular athletic teenager and its lasting effect on his best friend.
Episodes
{{Episode table |background=#812f09 |overall= |title= |director= |aux2= |aux2T=Issue |aux3= |aux3T=Cast |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| Title = The Secret Life of Mary Margaret: Portrait of a Bulimic
| DirectedBy = Allen Coulter
| Aux2 = Eating Disorders
| Aux3 = Calista Flockhart, Christine Jones, John Cunningham, Judy Kuhn, Tovah Feldshuh, Amy Hargreaves
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1992|8|1}}
| ShortSummary = A popular teen struggles with bulimia.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story
| DirectedBy = Risa Bramon Garcia
| Aux2 = Suicide
| Aux3 = Wil Wheaton, Curnal Achilles Aulisio, Sarah Trigger, Audra Lindley
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1992|8|8}}
| ShortSummary = A teenager reminisces about a friend who committed suicide.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Abortion, Parental Consent Laws
| Aux3 = Dina Spybey, Debra Monk, Craig Wasson
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1992|8|15}}
| ShortSummary = A pregnant teen obtains an illegal abortion to circumvent Indiana's Parental Consent Law.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Gunplay: The Last Day in the Life of Brian Darling
| DirectedBy = Daniel Taplitz
| Aux2 = Gun safety; Gun control
| Aux3 = Benari Poulten, Chris McKenna, Darren Higgins, Adam LeFevre
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1992|9|19}}
| ShortSummary = A 10-year-old boy is accidentally killed when he and a friend play with a gun.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Blood Brothers: The Joey DiPaolo Story
| DirectedBy = Dean Pitchford
| Aux2 = AIDS
| Aux3 = Adam LaVorgna, Amy Aquino, Lawrence Taylor
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1992|9|26}}{{cite web|last1=Fergus|first1=George|title=Lifestories: Families in Crisis a Titles & Air Dates Guide by George Fergus|url=http://www.epguides.com/LifestoriesFamiliesinCrisis/|website=epguides.com|access-date=16 January 2016}}
| ShortSummary = A 13-year-old boy's HIV status is revealed to the public.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = No Visible Bruises: The Katie Koestner Story
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Date rape
| Aux3 = Ali Thomas, Christopher C. Fuller, Suzanne Bertish, Julie Bowen, Lisa Nicole Carson
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1993|1|12}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25106960/|title=Students Question Date-Rape Program|last=Smith|first=Matt|date=13 January 1993|work=Daily Press|access-date=2018-11-04|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}} and {{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25107044/|title=Program|date=13 January 1993|work=Daily Press|access-date=2018-11-04|page=B2|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}
| ShortSummary = A young woman (Katie Koestner) is the victim of date rape.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Drunk driving
| Aux3 = Sam Rockwell, Jane Adams, Jorja Fox
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1993|3|15}}
| ShortSummary = A teen kills an 18-year-old girl while driving drunk. As part of his punishment, her parents request that he send them a one dollar check every week for the next eighteen years.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = More Than Friends: The Coming Out of Heidi Leiter
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Coming out, Sexual orientation
| Aux3 = Sabrina Lloyd, Claire Danes, Angela Baker
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|1|24}}
| ShortSummary = A teenage lesbian couple want to attend prom, but must deal with their community's reactions.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = A Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story
| DirectedBy = David Burton Morris
| Aux2 = Steroid abuse
| Aux3 = Ben Affleck, Kamala Lopez, Ernie Hudson, Bryan Genesse, Michael Cudlitz
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|3|23}}
| ShortSummary = A teen football player turns to steroids to improve performance, and then must deal with the consequences.{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Tony|title=Review: 'Lifestories — Families in Crisis a Body to Die for: The Aaron Henry Story'|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/lifestories-families-in-crisis-a-body-to-die-for-the-aaron-henry-story-1200436818/|website=variety.com|date=6 April 1994 |publisher=Variety|access-date=17 January 2016}}
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = Brotherly Love: The Trevor Ferrell Story
| DirectedBy = Gordon Edelstein
| Aux2 = Homelessness
| Aux3 = Ward Saxton, Lázaro Pérez, Brenda Pressley
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|3|31}}
| ShortSummary = An 11-year-old boy becomes an activist for the homeless in his community.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| Title = A Child Betrayed: The Calvin Mire Story
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Child molestation, Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
| Aux3 = Blake Bashoff, Craig Wasson, Brian Reiser
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|4|11}}
| ShortSummary = An altarboy is molested by a priest.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| Title = Confronting Brandon: The Intervention of an Addict
| DirectedBy = Iris Dugow
| Aux2 = Substance abuse
| Aux3 = Andrew Kavovit, Lisa Zane, Trevor Lissauer, Bodhi Elfman
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|5|20}}
| ShortSummary = A group of teens stage an intervention for a friend who is abusing alcohol and drugs.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| Title = POWER: The Eddie Matos Story
| DirectedBy = Jesús Salvador Treviño
| Aux2 = Gang violence
| Aux3 = Alexis Cruz, Nestor Serrano, Socorro Santiago, Isaiah Washington, N'Bushe Wright
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1994|7|12}}
| ShortSummary = A teen drops out of school, joins a gang, and begins dealing drugs. Eventually, a gunshot wound confines him to a wheelchair.
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 14
| DirectedBy =
| Aux2 = Safe sex, Sex education,
| Aux3 = Kim Frey
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1995|1|1}}
| ShortSummary = Kim Frey narrates her own story, detailing how a brief romantic relationship in college resulted in a diagnosis of HIV.{{cite web|title=TV Guide|url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/lifestories-families-in-crisis/episodes/194554/|website=tvguide.com|access-date=17 January 2016}}
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 15
| Title = Someone Had to Be Benny
| DirectedBy = Juan José Campanella
| Aux2 = Refusal of medical assistance
| Aux3 = Michael Shulman, Donna Murphy, Suzanne Cryer
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|2|8}}
| ShortSummary = A terminally ill teenage boy sues for the right to stop his medical treatment.{{cite web|title=SOMEONE HAD TO BE BENNY(1996)|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/476937/someone-had-to-be-benny|website=Turner Classic Movies|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=17 January 2016}}
| LineColor = 812f09
}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0139780}}
{{Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Children's Special}}
{{HBONetwork Shows}}
Category:1992 American television series debuts
Category:1996 American television series endings
Category:1990s American teen drama television series
Category:American English-language television shows