From the 2011 Shout Factory DVD box set - special features disc Interviews with (in order of appearance): Patricia Albrecht Christy Marx Samantha Newark Roger Slifer Michael Sheehan Joe Bacal
(long post alert, but I have to do it this way) To let you all know where in the world I am, I'm from Canada's Maritime Provinces by birth, but live in the province of Ontario now. Back in the fall of 2023, I made a confession to myself that I was a fan of this show. Ever since, I've been a member of some Facebook groups that talk about what Jem has been over the years. As such, I took to eBay, and acquired both the 11-disc and 8-disc versions of The Complete Series, and have them both on a media shelf in my room. And while all of that is true, in another confession I have to make, I have to say that, while I am a fan of Jem.... ....I, sadly, can't watch any of the show's episodes. The biggest reason I can't watch them is because of the show's primary heel antagonist character of Pizzazz. When I stopped to do my own personal review about my own knowledge of the show, I came to a big realization...I could not stand how massive of, frankly, a complete bitch that she was. When I watched the show with the sound on back when it was on Canada's YTV back in 1991, I changed the channel every time she talked about anything. Even then, at age 9, I didn't want to hear her make any vocal sound. And so, for the 33 years since 1991, I've purposely avoided even the smallest incidental chance that I would hear that voice. I've wanted nothing to do with it, because if I even heard her speak the word 'and', I would snap like a twig. The only way I could see myself watching the show again is if someone sent me a customized version of it with the following changes: -A] both show intros would need to be removed -B] the background music would have to go -C] any scenes that were exclusively for the target audience back from 1985-1988 would have to go -D] the show's romantic sub-plots and character interactions toward that kind of world would have to be chopped -E] any lines that may have been reflective of IRL hostility to the viewers would have to go -F] all music videos from all bands/solo performers would need to be edited out in entirety -G] the closing credits would have to use the instrumental version, and not the vocal version -H] and perhaps the biggest one, any and all footage, whether silent, speaking, or singing, of Pizzazz would have to be strictly edited out. That's how angry I still am at the character. I guess a reason why I feel like I do about this is that, in July 1988, I was the victim of sexual misconduct at the hands of 2 female assailants, and probably as such, I see my abusers in the Pizzazz character. It's to the point where, if I had an OC in the show, he would never say anything positive to her, whether she was in the room or not. The snark level would be permanent, and he would actively, but covertly, look to end her entertainment career, and get her blackballed from living or being in the U.S. and Canada. I just figured you all would want to know this. 😐