Mrs. Munger's Class
Mrs. Munger's Class is two seasons of brief, 90-second skits on Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC that featured the talking heads of a middle school yearbook page. The kids in the photos would often exchange silly dialogue and insults, while Mrs. Munger would tell them to "Simmer down! Simmer! Simmer!" The camera would focus on whoever was speaking on one part of the yearbook page and quickly pan to follow the dialogue. Students would move between the pictures to interact with one another. The show was in black and white, but color was used on occasion (on field trips or to show cosmetics). Pilot A 22-minute pilot was created but was unaired due to the uses of the word "damn" and a sub-plot about an R-rated movie. It also features Brad, a character used later for the series Centerville, from the same creative team as Mrs. Munger's Class. Controversy Although the school portraits used in the show were manipulated, collaged, and otherwise altered, the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit felt that there was still too much resemblance. As such, the plaintiffs claimed the photographs were used for entertainment without personality rights clearance. Mrs. Munger turned out to be Mrs. Kathleen Foresman, who had taught at Woodbridge Middle School in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Woodbridge, Virginia, in 1975 when her picture and those of her 6th grade students were taken for a page in a yearbook. She, and four of her former students, filed suit against Disney on December 23, 1998. Edward Jackson, a computer engineer in San Diego, had learned that his likeness was being used after his 10-year-old niece brought the similarity to his attention. Jackson, a black kid, was outraged not only at the use of his photo, but at the "Buckwheat"-like speech pattern of the character. The lawsuit was settled for undisclosed damages. After the lawsuit, Maloney created the short-lived skit series Centerville, which used the same premise of talking student photos. However, unlike its predecessor, the characters in Centerville were not confined to a yearbook page and appear in different settings. Adult characters Mrs. Munger (voiced by Peter Hastings): The teacher. She regularly urges the class to "simmer" when things get out of hand. When things get too much out of hand, she yells out, “HEY!” Although often expressing frustration toward the class, she generally manages to take things in stride. Usually, each episode would end with her saying, "Good gravy!" or “Oh for the love of (insert object)!” Susan Weiner: The field hockey coach. Appears as a substitute teacher in "Substitute Teacher" and attempts to teach fire safety in "Fire Drill". Fern Berkowitz: A woman who teaches creative movement to the students in the episode "Creative Movement". Mrs. Munger and Fern were roommates at Chunkin College. Mrs. Yamaguchi: An Asian-American teacher from the next room, whom Rock mischievously telecommunicates with the class in the episode "Class Computer". Sven: A somewhat effeminate man with a European accent. He gives Mrs. Munger a makeover