Tread Perilously returns to ABC AfterSchool Specials with What Are Friends For?
After Amy moves across the country to Santa Monica, CA following her mother's divorce, she meets Michelle Mudd -- a neighbor girl whose mother is also a divorcee. None of the other girls in the building like Michelle Mudd very much, but Amy is strangely drawn to her. Michelle Mudd likes to lie, steal, and dabble in the dark forces of the hoary underworld. But will Amy catch on that their friendship may just be another Michelle Mudd's playthings? And will she learn what friends are for?
Sarah Madden returns after a long absence to chat with Justin and Erik about the special. Erik confirms director Stephen Gyllenhaal is exactly who you think he is. Justin tries to determine if the book the special is based on was published in the late 1960s or 70s. Sarah determines the answer to the special's key question. Michelle Mudd's father is re-imagined as a used car salesman while her mother "owns a boutique." The presence of Melora Hardin is surprising even as she acquits herself well. The Santa Monica setting throws Geography Corner for a loop and Sizzler becomes a recurring topic of conversation. Also: Sarah gets confused by the Paul's King of Big Screen sponsorship.