The Boy Who Drank Too Much is a 1980 American television film based on a novel by Shep Greene. The film was initially distributed by CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, starring Scott Baio

Scott Baio

Scott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....

 as a high school hockey player struggling with alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

. While its approach is that of a typical after school special

After school special

The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...

, it was in fact a prime time

Prime time

Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...

 movie, broadcast at 9:00 pm in the Eastern time zone

Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

. It was, arguably, a 20th century morality play

Morality play

The morality play is a genre of Medieval and early Tudor theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known as "interludes", a broader term given to dramas with or without a moral theme. Morality plays are a type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of...

, in that it dealt with a serious issue, that might confront youth, in a prescriptive manner.

Plot

Baio stars as Buff Saunders, a teen hockey player well-liked and respected among his coaches and teammates. He battles to hide the truth from his elders and peers—that, like his father, he is an alcoholic. He struggles to remain clean and sober in order not to lose his position on the team and the respect of his friends.

Cast

• Scott Baio.....Buff Saunders
• Lance Kerwin.....Billy Carpenter
• Ed Lauter.....Gus Carpenter
• Mariclare Costello.....Louis Carpenter
• Stephen Davies
  Stephen Davies (actor)
  Stephen Davies is a film and television actor. Stephen grew up in the working class neighborhood of Berkley, Michigan, in a small bungalow house. His family then moved to a more affluent area, on Adams Road in Troy, MI. He started his acting career at Berkley High School, in Berkley, Michigan,...
  
  .....Alan
• Toni Kalem
  Toni Kalem
  Toni Kalem is an American actress, screenwriter and director. Kalem is best known for her portrayal of Angie Bonpensiero on the HBO series, The Sopranos....
  
  .....Tina
• Katherine Pass.....Donna Watson
• Dan Shor
  Dan Shor
  Daniel Shor is an American veteran actor, director, writer and teacher with a career spanning over 30 years.- Early life :Shor was born and raised in New York City. Attended McBurney school from 6th thru 8th grade...
  
  .....Art 'Artie' Collins
• Michele Tobin.....Julie
• Don Murray
  Don Murray (actor)
  Donald Patrick "Don" Murray is an American actor.-Early life and career:Murray was born in Hollywood, California on July 31, 1929, the only child of Dennis Aloisius, a Broadway dance director and stage manager and Ethel Murray, a former Ziegfeld performer...
  
  .....Ken Saunders

Production

The film first aired on February 6, 1980, and was filmed in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

.