Penny's father walked out on her and her mother when she was a child. Since then, high school senior Penny has had trouble with intimacy. As she pulls away from her boyfriend Brad, Penny's mother Frances is starting a relationship with Hank, a firefighter, that Penny seems determined to sabotage. (1993)

Frustrated by the unruliness and lack of learning in Robert Simmonds history class, a talented student, Tom Conner, blows up at the teacher, blasting him for letting the students get out of control. He soon realises that Simmonds is more than just a dinosaur, and that he could really offer the class an education. (1993)

Paul is sixteen and small for his age, prompting the other kids in his classes to make fun of him. After he is turned down for a party invite by Linda, a girl he really likes, he starts going to a local gym, where bodybuilder Dennis starts teaching him how to build muscle. He is tempted to take the 'supplements' that keep Dennis in shape, but after talking to his coach, realises that it won't mean as much if he doesn't get there honestly. (1993)

Alex Blake has been troubled lately. His mother has recently left his abusive father, taking his sister Michelle with her. And his girlfriend, Lisa Van Horne, is looking forward to heading off to college, without him. When Alex's anger starts to scare Lisa, Sheri tries to encourage her friend to break things off with him. (1991)

Allison is in grade eleven, and thrilled that she has gotten a date with Sam, a graduating student who is popular and extremely well-liked. But after a misunderstanding at a party, Allison is questioning her own actions, and Sam receives some hard lessons from his older brother Jack. (1991)

Greg Peterson isn't exactly a model student. Though he spends his off-school hours coaching elementary school kids, he barely makes it onto Coach Kolaski's short list for a summer job as a basketball camp counsellor. (1991)

Tom Conner is an over-achiever, a straight-A student and basketball star who bears the additional burden of raising his younger brother Teddy while his single-parent mother Sandra works long hours as a freelance reporter and drinks excessively. (1991)

Laura and Carol have been best friends since childhood, but Carol is beginning to gravitate towards a different tribe, one geared more towards booze, drugs and parties than allegiance to longtime pals. (1991)

Michael is a native teenager who has had a hard time dealing with things since his mother died and his father turned to alcohol, leaving Michael and his sister in the care of their grandmother (Cookum). Now he wants a part of their lives, but Michael is too angry to listen, and despite Charlene's pleas, is headed down his own road to alcohol abuse. (1991)

Carol is looking for an escape from the stifling constraints of home and school and finds escape hanging out on the streets with her friend Sonia and a pair of homeless dropouts.