What was this show about pink eye from my childhood?
June 23, 2014 3:45 AM Subscribe
Sometime between 1980 and 1987 (or so), I saw a show that convinced me that pink eye was fatal. What was this show?
I was very young, between 5 and 10 or 11. It might have been an after school special, or it might have been a segment on a show on PBS. For some reason, I keep thinking it had something to do with 3-2-1 Contact, a show I loved at about this time.
All I can remember about the show is that there was someone working at a restaurant who had pink eye, and then they weren't there. I imagine that they just didn't come in, rather than that they actually died, and that this was a message about contagion. It's possible that the episode or show wasn't even about pink eye, and that this was incidental to the rest of the story. It left me with a huge fear of pink eye that lasted well into my twenties, when I realized that it wasn't actually fatal.
Anyway, can anybody else remember anything like this? I know it's a long shot.
I was very young, between 5 and 10 or 11. It might have been an after school special, or it might have been a segment on a show on PBS. For some reason, I keep thinking it had something to do with 3-2-1 Contact, a show I loved at about this time.
All I can remember about the show is that there was someone working at a restaurant who had pink eye, and then they weren't there. I imagine that they just didn't come in, rather than that they actually died, and that this was a message about contagion. It's possible that the episode or show wasn't even about pink eye, and that this was incidental to the rest of the story. It left me with a huge fear of pink eye that lasted well into my twenties, when I realized that it wasn't actually fatal.
Anyway, can anybody else remember anything like this? I know it's a long shot.
Best answer: I found another mention, which says that one of the Bloodhound Gang fell ill after eating a bit of a sandwich prepared by the cafeteria worker, and that her cat ate most of the sandwich, and died? If that's true it's no wonder you were traumatized.
posted by the webmistress at 6:01 AM on June 23, 2014
posted by the webmistress at 6:01 AM on June 23, 2014
I remember this movie too. It gave me nightmares. I seem to recall it was an adaptation of a Stephen King story.
posted by dfriedman at 6:11 AM on June 23, 2014
posted by dfriedman at 6:11 AM on June 23, 2014
Response by poster: Oh my god, webmistress, that has to be it, and I think you're right about the cat being what traumatized me. Thank you!
posted by hought20 at 7:41 AM on June 23, 2014
posted by hought20 at 7:41 AM on June 23, 2014
Best answer: This was an episode of Powerhouse (not 3-2-1 Contact, although in my neck of the woods it aired in the same timeslot) called "You Make Me Sick."
You can read about it in this activity kit for the show (PDF), episode 105.
posted by themanwho at 10:46 AM on June 23, 2014
You can read about it in this activity kit for the show (PDF), episode 105.
posted by themanwho at 10:46 AM on June 23, 2014
The shows are on YouTube if you'd like to be traumatized all over again.
Powerhouse - You Make Me Sick, Act 1
Powerhouse - You Make Me Sick, Act 2
posted by themanwho at 12:38 PM on June 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Powerhouse - You Make Me Sick, Act 1
Powerhouse - You Make Me Sick, Act 2
posted by themanwho at 12:38 PM on June 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Okay, wait, it also could be that Powerhouse episode, which I am watching right now. It's very familiar. And ALSO has a dead cat!
Also, this is super creepy, with creepy horror movie music, and in this the virus is "deadly," according to the description.
I just don't know. They don't call it pink eye in the Powerhouse thing (which I seriously just turned off because the music was so creepy), so I almost wonder if I saw both and mixed them up in my head.
posted by hought20 at 7:11 PM on June 23, 2014
Also, this is super creepy, with creepy horror movie music, and in this the virus is "deadly," according to the description.
I just don't know. They don't call it pink eye in the Powerhouse thing (which I seriously just turned off because the music was so creepy), so I almost wonder if I saw both and mixed them up in my head.
posted by hought20 at 7:11 PM on June 23, 2014
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posted by the webmistress at 5:49 AM on June 23, 2014 [2 favorites]