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ABC AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL: CINDY ELLER: A MODERN FAIRY TALE (TV)

Summary

One in this series of dramas intended for young audiences.

This story presents a modern update to the fairy tale “Cinderella.” New York City high school student Cynthia “Cindy” Eller deals with constant scorn from her snobby stepsisters Laura and Liza, who ridicule her introverted behavior and her style of dress. They take steps to avoid her whenever they can. While out on her own feeding pigeons she runs across an old homeless lady who strikes up a conversation with her. The woman somehow knows that Cindy is originally from Maine; Cindy elaborates that after her mother died she moved to New York to live with her father and stepmother. The woman gives Cindy a scarf and demands that she put it on, and Cindy sheepishly complies. She introduces herself as “Mrs. Dermody” and tells Cindy she can contact her whenever she wants, but abruptly leaves before she explains how to do this. Cindy excitedly returns home, where her stepmother Janet yells at her after Cindy’s cat tears up a series of work-related documents. It is implied that Liza and Laura let the cat out in order to get Cindy in trouble, but she does not specifically place blame on them. Cindy claims that her stepmother never wanted her to live there and runs up into her room. Janet feels bad about snapping in front of Cindy the way she did and wants to make it up to her somehow.

The next morning Janet walks Cindy to school and offers to take her on a shopping trip to make amends for their argument, but Cindy takes this as an insult; her mother made her clothes and she feels that Janet is trying to get rid of them. While sitting in the park drawing horses, Cindy runs into Mrs. Dermody again. They have another chat, and Mrs. Dermody gives her a hodgepodge metal helmet that she claims can protect against “asteroid showers.” They spy a handsome young man ride by on a horse, and Mrs. Dermody subtly engineers a meeting between the two of them. The young man seems to fancy Cindy and compliments her artistic talents when he sees one of her drawings. However, their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Liza and Laura, and the young man rides off. They inform Cindy that he is Gregory Prince III, heir to the major industrial company which their father works for. Laura and Liza are vying for Gregory’s affections and view Cindy’s presence as an unwelcome intrusion. Cindy decides to hang out with Mrs. Dermody some more, and Laura and Liza inform their mother of Cindy’s apparently odd behavior. Janet asks her about Mrs. Dermody, but Cindy tells her nothing. Gregory’s mother invites the girls over for a party for the children of their employees, and Liza and Laura are ecstatic about the prospect of attending. Cindy is invited as well, although she is unsure if she wants to go. Janet again brings up the prospect of getting her something to wear and Cindy reacts strongly, running up to her room again.

Cindy privately muses about her home back in Maine and talks about it wistfully to her cat. Janet comes up to try to give her dinner; she says she used a recipe devised by her mother in an attempt to curry her favor. However, Cindy is unresponsive towards her in spite of her efforts. The next day Cindy finds Mrs. Dermody again and tells her about her problems; Mrs. Dermody intuits that she is “lovesick” for Gregory. However, Cindy does not believe that Gregory would be interested in her; she feels as though she doesn’t fit in to her new life and doesn’t know what to do with herself. Mrs. Dermody advises her to attend the party, and suddenly goes into a frenzy insisting that she needs a “party dress” for the occasion. On the way Mrs. Dermody somehow causes a handbag to appear out of thin air and gives it to Cindy. They arrive at a secondhand shop run by Mrs. Dermody’s acquaintance, a woman called “Sweet Susie,” who insists that she already sold the dress Mrs. Dermody is looking for. However, Mrs. Dermody causes it to appear on a clothing rack and picks it out, and presents it to Cindy along with a pair of heels apparently made from glass.

Liza and Laura prepare for the party and are furious at the notion that they must go with Cindy; they intend to tell her that they wish to go with their friend Stephanie instead. Janet tells them that she has arranged for a cab to pick them up at midnight despite Liza and Laura’s objections. Cindy comes down in her new dress and Janet is quite impressed by it. Cindy steps outside and finds that it is raining, but that Mrs. Dermody has arranged for her to be picked up in a fancy horse-drawn carriage. She arrives at the party only for Liza and Laura to ridicule her for her dress. Gregory notices Cindy there and asks her to dance, clearly taken with her. She accepts, and they share a slow-dance together. At the end of the dance Gregory is torn away from her by a throng of his friends, and Laura spills a drink on Cindy’s dress, causing her to run out of the party in tears. She retreats into the bathroom to try to clean up the stain, but it cannot be removed and she cries herself to sleep. She awakens exactly at midnight and rushes out, trying to hide herself from Gregory. He finds her and says he has been searching for her all night, but she insists that she must leave. She rushes out without saying anything further and departs; one of her shoes flies off during her flight and Gregory finds it. Cindy comes home extremely upset and Janet scolds Liza and Laura for being insensitive towards her, calling them “terrible snobs” and grounding them for the remainder of the weekend.

Janet tries to talk to Cindy about what happened but Cindy yells at her to leave her alone. She insists that she has Cindy’s best interests at heart and that she does not share her daughters’ cruelty. She notes that she is not the “evil stepmother” that Cindy has made her out to be; although she feels she can never replace her mother she wants to love her and look out for her as best as she can. Cindy also admits that she let her fears about what Janet would be like dictate her behavior towards her. They come to something of an understanding, and Janet leaves Cindy alone to rest. The next day Cindy has lunch with Mrs. Dermody and says that the party went terribly for her, but admits that she now has a clearer understanding of what her stepmother is like, and believes she can learn to get along with her after all. Gregory finds the two of them, possibly summoned in some way by Mrs. Dermody, and he returns her missing shoe. He offers to give her a ride on his horse and she is quite excited at the prospect. He also reveals that he is quite attracted to her and her eccentricities, calling her “strange and terrific.” Mrs. Dermody takes her leave, and Cindy thanks her for everything she’s done. Mrs. Dermody uses her breath to subject Liza and Laura to a terrible windstorm before vanishing into thin air. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: September 13, 1985 4:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:44:46
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:12729
  • GENRE: Drama
  • SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1972-1997
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Joseph Feury … Executive Producer, Producer
  • Milton Justice … Producer
  • Lee Grant … Director
  • Jeffrey Kindley … Writer
  • Charles Perrault … Based on the story "Cinderella" by
  • Joe Beck … Composer, Conductor
  • Kyra Sedgwick … Cast, Cindy Eller
  • Kelly Wolf … Cast, Liza Eller
  • Jennifer Grey … Cast, Laura Eller
  • Grant Show … Cast, Gregory Prince III
  • Melanie Mayron … Cast, Mrs. Eller
  • Sylvia Miles … Cast, Sweet Susie
  • Stephen Keep … Cast, Mr. Eller
  • Pearl Bailey … Cast, Mrs. Dermody