Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again

Last updated
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Archietoriverdale.jpg
Genre Comedy
Based on
Archie Andrews
by
Written by Evan Katz
Directed by Dick Lowry
Starring Christopher Rich
Lauren Holly
Karen Kopins
Sam Whipple
Gary Kroeger
Theme music composer Mark Snow
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerGraham Cottle
CinematographyFrank Byers
EditorsByron "Buzz" Brandt
Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
Running time100 minutes
Production companies Riverdale Productions and Kent/QMA
Patchett Kaufman Entertainment
DIC Enterprises
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMay 6, 1990 (1990-05-06)
Related

Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again is a 1990 American live-action made-for-television comedy film based on comic book characters published by Archie Comics. It was produced by DIC Entertainment and premiered on NBC Sunday Night at the Movies on May 6, 1990. It was shown in Britain as Weekend Reunion.

Contents

Plot

Archie Andrews, fifteen years after graduating from Riverdale High, has become a successful lawyer and is preparing to marry his fiancée, Pam, and move to "the big city". Before doing that, however, he returns home to Riverdale for his high school reunion and in an attempt to save his friend Pop Tate's diner.

Archie and company are all now in their early thirties, with the trials and tribulations one might expect to have happened to such as a group over the years:

When Archie sees Betty and Veronica for the first time in fifteen years, all his old feelings for them come flooding back, threatening his engagement—and it doesn't help that the girls renew their pursuit of Archie, heedless of the fact that he has a fiancée. Meanwhile, Archie also tries to keep Reggie, helped along by an uncharacteristically menacing Mr. Lodge, from evicting Pop Tate from his soda shop, under the pretext of expanding his gym. Hiram Lodge doesn't want Archie near Veronica and still thinks they are wrong for each other. Archie ultimately saves the Chock'lit Shoppe, though he loses Pam to Robert, who Betty dumps after growing sick of his bullying, and decides to stay in Riverdale. Archie and Pam break up and decide to stay in Riverdale where he belongs. Veronica, Betty, and Jughead decide to move back to Riverdale as well. Reggie sees the error of his ways and reconciles with his friends as they take a group photo along with Jordan by Pops.

Cast

Almost all of the characters in the movie are regular or recurring characters in the originating comics:

ActorRole
Christopher Rich Archie Andrews
Lauren Holly Betty Cooper
Karen Kopins Veronica Lodge
Sam Whipple Forsythe "Jughead" Jones
Gary Kroeger Reggie Mantle
Jeff Hochendoner Moose Mason
Debi Derryberry Midge Mason
Mike Nussbaum Pop Tate
Fran Ryan Miss Grundy
David Doyle Mr. Weatherbee
J. D. Hall Coach Clayton
Cindy Ambuehl Ethel Muggs (Big Ethel)
James Noble Hiram Lodge

Additional characters were mostly created for the movie to indicate the passage of time, such as the regulars' children or new romantic partners:

ActorRole
Billy Corben Jordan "Jughead Junior" Jones
Aeryk EganMax Mason
Matt McCoy Robert Miller
Christina HaagPam
Christian Hoff Pop's Worker 1
Robert MunicChip

Reception

The NBC movie, broadcast during the May sweeps period, was seen as a pilot for a possible series. [1] It received mixed reviews, [2] though was well received by some critics, who especially praised the casting and performances from the actors. [1] [2]

Comic book version

Archie Comics published a one-shot comic book adaptation of the TV movie which coincided with its premiere. Stan Goldberg and Mike Esposito drew the sections of the book featuring the characters in flashback as teens, while Gene Colan drew the characters as adults, in a realistic style and more "serious" look akin to Rex Morgan, M.D., and John Byrne drew the cover. The comic also shows a flashback to the incident where Archie and Betty were alone in a motel room together (from Betty and Me #40, February 1972). Back Issue! described the one-shot as "an offbeat, impressive package". [1]

Home media

The film was released on VHS in 1997 from New Horizons Home Video, with the movie re-titled as Archie: Return to Riverdale. In Australia, it was released on VHS as Archie's Weekend Reunion.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Lodge</span> Archie Comics character

Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Cooper</span> Archie Comics character

Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater, and first appeared in Pep Comics #22, on the first page of the first Archie story, serving as a love interest to Archie Andrews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Mantle</span> Fictional character

Reginald "Reggie" Mantle is a fictional teenager in stories published by Archie Comics; he is introduced by writer-artist Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Jackpot Comics #5. He also appears in CW's Riverdale. He is the frenemy of Archie Andrews, as well as the bassist of The Archies. The live-action version of Reggie is portrayed by Ross Butler and Charles Melton in Riverdale and Vedang Raina in The Archies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archie Andrews</span> Comic book character

Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom, is the main character in the Archie Comics franchise, including the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, Archie's Weird Mysteries, and Riverdale. With the creation of Archie Andrews, publisher John Goldwater hoped to appeal to fans of the Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney. Archie Andrews is the rhythm guitarist and one of the three singers of the fictional band The Archies. He is portrayed by KJ Apa on Riverdale and Agastya Nanda in The Archies. For his physical appearance, he has red hair, freckles on his cheeks, and light-colored skin. In Archie's Weird Mysteries, he appears to be of Scottish-American descent, as shown in the episode "The Day the Earth Moved", when his father wanted to keep with their family tradition and wear a kilt while ringing the bell of Riverdale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jughead Jones</span> Archie Comics character

Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Archie Comics who first appeared in the first Archie story, from Pep Comics #22. He is the drummer of the Archies and is a son of Forsythe Pendleton Jones II; in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he is identified as John Jugworth Jones III. He has a white sheepdog named Hot Dog and a younger sister, Forsythia "Jellybean" Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Muggs</span> Archie Comics character

Ethel Muggs is a fictional character frequently featured in Archie Comics. She is a student of Riverdale High School, sometimes known to her schoolmates by the nickname Big Ethel, though this nickname has largely fallen out of use since the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midge Klump</span> Fictional character

Midge Klump is a fictional character appearing in Archie Comics. She frequently appears as the girlfriend of Moose Mason and the unrequited crush of Reggie Mantle. The live-action version of Midge was portrayed by Emilija Baranac in the television take on Archie Comics produced by The CW, Riverdale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Showdown</span>

"Love Showdown" is a four-part comic book story arc, first published in 1994, featuring the characters from Archie Comics. Publicized as a possible resolution to the decades-long love triangle between Archie Andrews and his longtime sweethearts Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, Love Showdown received more publicity than any other event in Archie Comics history. The story, written by Bill Golliher and Dan Parent, was originally published in Archie #429, Betty #19, Betty and Veronica #82, and Veronica #39.

<i>Archies Weird Mysteries</i> Television series

Archie's Weird Mysteries is an animated television series based on the characters by Archie Comics. The series premise revolves around a Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of Riverdale a "magnet" for B movie-style monsters. All the main characters solve strange mysteries in a format similar to both Scooby-Doo and The X-Files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad Boy Trouble</span> 2007 American comic book story

"Bad Boy Trouble" is an American comic book story by writer Melanie J. Morgan and artists Steven Butler and Al Milgrom that was originally serialized in Betty & Veronica Double Digest #151–154. The story features Betty and Veronica, and is notable because of its length and because it was the first of an occasional series of Archie Comics stories drawn in a more realistic style. Also unusual for Archie Comics, the story was collected into a trade paperback edition within a month after the original serialization was completed. The story is based on the Riverdale High novel Bad News Boyfriend.

<i>Life with Archie</i> Comic book series published from 1958 to 1991

Life with Archie is a comic book published by Archie comics from 1958 to 1991. It featured Archie Andrews in adventure stories that were more dramatic than the standard Archie tales. In 2010, it was revived as a magazine-sized comic devoted to stories that grew out of Archie Marries Veronica/Archie Marries Betty. Archie's character was killed in the second to last issue, Life with Archie #36.

The following is a list of reference to Archie Comics in popular culture.

The following is a list of members of the families of Archie's Gang appearing in Archie Comics. Primarily featured are the parents of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones.

<i>Afterlife with Archie</i> Comic book published by Archie Comics

Afterlife with Archie is a comic book published by Archie Comics beginning in 2013, depicting a zombie apocalypse that begins in the town of Riverdale in an alternative reality. It is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art by Francesco Francavilla, and is inspired by a zombie-themed variant cover which Francavilla did for an issue of Life with Archie.

New Riverdale is the title used to refer to the relaunch of the core Archie Comics titles that began in July 2015.

<i>Jughead: The Hunger</i>

Jughead: The Hunger is an ongoing comic book series published by Archie Horror and Archie's Madhouse, imprints of Archie Comics, beginning in 2017. The story, which takes place outside of the main Archie Comics continuity, focuses on Jughead Jones and his family's dark legacy to explain the sinister origin of his hunger. The one-shot "pilot" was created by writer Frank Tieri and artist Michael Walsh.

<i>Blossoms 666</i> 5-issue comic book miniseries

Blossoms 666 is a 5-issue comic book miniseries published by Archie Horror, an imprint of Archie Comics, in 2019. The story, which takes place in an alternate reality from the main Archie Comics continuity, focuses on siblings Cheryl and Jason Blossom as they compete for the title of Anti-christ. The series was created by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Laura Braga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town</span> 17th episode of the 4th season of Riverdale

"Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American television series Riverdale and the seventy-fourth episode of the series overall. The episode was written by Tessa Leigh Williams, directed by Antonio Negret and choreographed by Heather Laura Gray. It centered around the stage musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch by Stephen Trask.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Thompson, Steven (September 2016). "Archie's Antagonist, Reggie Mantle". Back Issue! (#91). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 63–67.
  2. 1 2 Yuppie Archie falls apart like a soggy comic book, Michael Hill, Toronto Star, May 4, 1990