Ready or Not (TV series)

Ready or Not
Title card
Created by	Alyse Rosenberg
Starring	Laura Bertram Lani Billard Gail Kerbel John Lefebvre Diana Reis Gerry Mendicino Joseph Griffin Fab Filippo Jason Deline
Composer(s)	Asher Ettinger Tony Kosinec
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	65
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Brunton Barbara Bowlby Alyse Rosenberg
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Insight Production Company Ltd.
Release
Original network	Global Television Network Showtime The Disney Channel
Original release	1993 – 1997

Ready or Not is a Canadian teen drama television series that aired on the Showtime Movie Channel (April 1993^[1] – 1997) and later on The Disney Channel (April 4, 1996^[2] – 2000) and Global Television Network for five seasons and 65 episodes between 1993 and 1997 in both Canada and the United States.

Synopsis

The program follows two teenage girls in the suburbs of Toronto, Amanda Zimm (Laura Bertram) and Elizabeth "Busy" Ramone (Lani Billard), throughout life's struggles as well as showcasing the different households they grew up in. Amanda was an only child raised by liberal former hippie parents including a Mother that was into New Age philosophy and often tried to incorporate it into her parenting while Busy was from a more conservative and traditional Italian Canadian Catholic household with three older brothers. The show began as a short film and was titled Thirty-Two Double A. Eventually the producers saw that the show had the potential to be popular and turned it into a series. Throughout the show's 5-year run, the girls matured from the sixth grade to the ninth grade. The show ends when one of the main characters (Amanda Zimm) has to move to the British Columbia Coast. Her best friend on the show, Busy Ramone, stays behind.

Cast

Principal cast

• Laura Bertram as Amanda Zimm
• Lani Billard as Elizabeth "Busy" Maria Teresa Carlita Ramone
• Gail Kerbel as Phyllis Zimm
• John Lefebvre as Leonard Zimm
• Diana Reis as Lucy Ramone
• Gerry Mendicino as Sam Ramone
• Joseph Griffin as Manny Ramone
• Fab Filippo as Dominick "Dom" Ramone
• Noah Plener as Frankie Ramone

Recurring characters

• Amy Smith as Chrissy Frazer
• Jesse Nilsson as Justin
• Omari Moore as Troy Edwards
• Keram Malicki-Sanchez as The Lizard, The Liz
• Keith White as Petrocelli
• Amos Crawley as Bernie Sagittarius "Sag" Chearney
• Jason Deline as Ernie Lipnit
• Tamara Podemski as Carla
• Benjamin Plener as Michael "Monkey Ears"
• Kari Matchett as Sheila
• Karl Pruner as Stephen Bennett
• Daniel Enright as Milan
• Ross Hull as Danny Masters

Episodes

Season 1

• 101 - "Thirty-Two Double A" – After some attention from an older boy Amanda thinks she is ready for a bra, even though her breasts haven't developed. Once she gets to school however, she realizes maybe she's not.
• 102 - "Smoke Screen" - Busy's brother Frankie starts hanging with a tough new crowd and smoking. After Busy tries to stop him, she decides to act like him in order to hang out with him again.
• 103 - "Model Perfect" - After joining the swim team, Amanda is wishing her body looked more like Chrissy’s. At home her parents try to lose weight for an upcoming high school reunion giving Amanda the idea to diet.
• 104 - "Busy's Curse" - Busy starts her period. She doesn’t see becoming a woman as her mom and Amanda do and worries she won't be the same person she was before.
• 105 - "The Big Gulp" - Amanda and Busy crash Chrissy's girls-only slumber party, followed by Justin and his friends who drink too much and humiliate one of Justin's shy friends into playing a kissing game.
• 106 - "Members Only" - Chrissy's rich friends exclude her from a party at their country club. Wanting to show she can afford things they have, she lures Amanda into shoplifting a sweater with the promise of being shown how to be cool.
• 107 - "The Worst Thing That Happened and The Best Thing That Didn't" - After Busy's pregnant mom loses the baby, Busy blames herself and her family for not helping their mom around the house. Amanda asks her crush, Justin, to attend a party with her; but with the upcoming funeral she can't decide which to attend.
• 108 - "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" - Busy develops a crush on her karate instructor, only to see him kiss another man. Busy wonders if that makes her gay and if being gay is wrong.
• 109 - "Double Talk" - On an overnight band trip, Amanda walks in on Chrissy and Justin in a closet. When the two do not return until morning, rumors spread. While Justin is praised, everyone calls Chrissy a slut.
• 110 - "Black or White or Maybe Grey" - Troy gets a job working for Busy's dad. However, after money goes missing, Busy's father fires Troy and shows his racist side.
• 111 - "Origins of Man" - Amanda is paired up with Michael to do a report of the origins of man but their religious upbringings conflict with evolution. Michael develops a crush on Amanda and learns about how boys reach puberty.
• 112 - "Wild Life" - A garage band catches the eye of both Amanda and Busy. Busy is asked to play drums but Amanda’s role as band manager is nothing but humiliating.
• 113 - "Tricky Kisses" - Busy's mother decides to move out to re-think her life. Amanda throws a party with the hopes of having her first kiss.

Season 2

• 201 - "Beyond the Birds and the Bees" - While babysitting, the girls find a "guide to sex" book. In a panic, Amanda takes the book home and then to school. Michael then steals the book, photocopies it, then sells to students.
• 202 - "First Date" - Busy gets asked on a date by Troy. After taking advice from everyone, she decides to get dressed up and look more feminine.
• 203 - "Family Therapy" - Busy's mom agrees to return home only if the family attends therapy together. Busy decides to take on the role as housewife in order to keep her mom from leaving again.
• 204 - "Poor Little Rich Girl" - When Amanda's father loses his job she decides to earn the money for new clothes herself by getting a job or winning a $1000 dance-a-thon contest.
• 205 - "A Little White Lie" - After winning tickets to a concert, Busy lies to Amanda in order to take Troy. Amanda, still wanting to go to the concert, asks her mom to pull a few strings to get some tickets.
• 206 - "White Girls Can't Jump" - Busy tries out for the senior basketball team. While in an argument with the black captain, she repeats comments her father made and is labeled a racist.
• 207 - "Break Up" - Amanda's father moves out. Unable to cope with the issues at home, Amanda decides to live in the mall.
• 208 - "Amanda's Romance" - Amanda and her mother move into a new apartment, where she meets Danny. Unfortunately Danny's constant jokes and teasing goes too far.
• 209 - "Dear Troy" - Troy gives Busy a special ring. Busy is unsure about whether she is ready to be that close and avoids Troy.
• 210 - "The New Deal" - Amanda's mom starts dating and it appears like she’s dating a different guy every night. After her mom poses nude in an art class, Amanda has had enough.
• 211 - "Monkey See, Monkey Do" - Busy is asked by Peter, an aspiring rock star, to play the drum on his demo tape. However, while practicing at his house, Busy sees where Peter gets his abusive temper.
• 212 - "Flunky" - When Chrissy is moved to the 7th grade English class, Amanda is asked to tutor her. In an attempt to brush off the teacher's pet persona, Amanda tries to be more cool.
• 213 - "Am I Perverted or What?" - When Amanda and Busy listen to a sex talk radio station, they believe that Busy's brother Dom is one of the callers and is having sex. Amanda thinks her curiosity of intimacy means she's a sex-crazed pervert.

Season 3

• 301 - "My Buddy Buddy" - Amanda and Busy go to summer camp only to find they were placed in different cabins. Amanda tries to fit in with her cabin by teasing a younger girl, Jessica.
• 302 - "The Last Hurrah" - While trying to steal the boys' flag, things take a turn for the worse. That same night, Amanda starts her period.
• 303 - "Tongue Tied" - After overhearing and misinterpreting the French-speaking boys staying at Amanda’s; Busy thinks her bust is too small and tries on different bras in the hopes one will make her more appealing.
• 304 - "Under One Roof" - Busy's band starts to influence her; she refuses to eat meat and pierces her nose creating a rift between her and her father. When the band finally lands a gig, it’s the same day as her family reunion.
• 305 - "Crossing the Line" - Busy and Amanda go to a sports park with Frankie. A guy Busy likes assaults her when they are alone. Amanda and Frankie kiss.
• 306 - "Three's a Crowd" - Busy begins to notice Amanda and Frankie's relationship and does not like it. Frankie gets teased for dating a younger girl.
• 307 - "Crater Face" - When Danny returns from New York with terrible acne, Amanda worries what everyone will think of her.
• 308 - "Thin Ice" - A casting director picks Busy for an audition over Amanda for a commercial starring Kurt Browning.
• 309 - "Swear to God" - After being embarrassed for not knowing her religion (due in large part to being raised in a rather agnostic household), Amanda studies Judaism but is unsure if she can handle the abuse the other Jewish kids go through.
• 310 - "Just Friends" - Busy's friend takes more interest in Amanda than her, so Busy attempts to change this.
• 311 - "Sweet Thirteen" – Amanda is disappointed when she finds she hadn’t done the things she hoped she would have done by the time she turned 13. In an attempt to cross some things off her list, she invites some older kids over who promise to show her a good time.
• 312 - "Sister, Sister" - Amanda's mother's boyfriend, Mel, invites Amanda and her mom over for the weekend to meet his daughter, but Amanda becomes jealous when her mom gives Mel's daughter special treatment. When someone mistakes the two as mother and daughter Amanda reaches her breaking point.
• 313 - "Nothing in Common" - When Busy’s Uncle comes to visit, Amanda sees it as an opportunity to get her writings read by a real author, but when Busy loses Amanda's box of writings the two argue, deciding they have nothing in common, and stop being friends.

Season 4

• 401 - "First Day of Junior High"- New to junior high, Busy is worried about being beat-up by the same family that attacked her brothers. Amanda hopes to become one of the popular girls.
• 402 - "The Grass is Greener"- After complaining about how the other has it made, Busy and Amanda switch lives for the weekend.
• 403 - "Where Do I Belong?"- Busy's band decides to replace her with another drummer who's much better than she is.
• 404 - "Glamour Girl" - Amanda gets the chance to be a model, but it's not all what she expected and when she overhears the director say she would need a nose job Amanda debates whether or not she really wants to be a model.
• 405 - "I Do, I Don't" - When Busy's brother gets married and moves into the family's house, she doesn't know how she feels about all the changes.
• 406 - "The Girlfriend" - When Sag's old girlfriend moves back, Busy realizes she may have feelings for him. Amanda wants to try bungee jumping.
• 407 - "Prince Charming" - Amanda develops a crush on her art teacher when she gets sick of living with her mother.
• 408 - "Family Album" - Amanda finds a photo of her father with another woman with whom she thinks he was cheating on her mother.
• 409 - "First Serious Party" - When Amanda's mom goes out of town, she hosts a party with non-alcoholic beer.
• 410 - "Heroes" - A boy in a wheelchair joins the school, making Busy uncomfortable when he is around.
• 411 - "Warts and All" - When a group of girls invite Amanda out but not Busy, she decides to even the playing field by telling them about Amanda's wart.
• 412 - "Girls Night In" - Busy invites Amanda over to watch a racy softcore French film on video when everyone is out of the house. Unfortunately, her brother's interfering wife decides to come home early.
• 413 - "What's Yours is Mine" - Amanda wants to attend an exclusive arts camp but with the deadline approaching she decides to use someone else's work as her own.

Season 5

• 501 - "Coming Home" - Busy runs into Dom in town, who has not been home from college in weeks. She suspects something is wrong.
• 502 - "Your Fifteen Minutes are Up" - Busy rescues a girl who fell in the river, and everyone wants to hear their story. However, Busy becomes overwhelmed with the sudden attention.
• 503 - "Cross My Heart" - Amanda is entrusted to babysit Steven's daughter when she would rather go to her acting group.
• 504 - "Your Own Money" - Busy decides to get a real job so she can afford Steven's old keyboard. When her father finds out about it, he starts charging her rent and utilities.
• 505 - "Let Me Make My Own Mistakes" - Amanda's grades start dropping and it seems her involvement in the after-school arts program is the reason.
• 506 - "When a Kiss is Just a Kiss" - Busy has a crush on two guys at the same time, and what she thinks is an innocent kiss was viewed by one of the guys.
• 507 - "Get a Life" - The girls are not aware they have the option to attend an arts high school. Amanda looks promising but Busy might have trouble getting in.
• 508 - "Saint Carla" - A classmate dies in a car accident. Busy does not understand why she is not as upset as everyone else. Amanda is asked to take over Carla's lead role in the school play.
• 509 - "Graduation" - The girls graduate from the 9th grade. Amanda debates inviting her father, and Busy finds out the truth about her own father's high school education.
• 510 - "Second Generation" - While working the family hot dog stand, Busy meets the competition: the son of her father's rival.
• 511 - "All or Nothing" - Amanda joins an animal rights group, but without the support of Milan, she thinks she may need to end the relationship.
• 512 - "Great is... Great" - Amanda's mother finally marries Steven, making Amanda think of her own wedding and her feelings for Milan.
• 513 - "Hello, Goodbye" - Amanda has to move to the west coast, leaving Busy behind. An accident at a party held in an old building may change those plans forever. The episode also features a flashback revealing the girls' first meeting.

International broadcasts

• In Mexico, the show was dubbed into Spanish as "Tiempos inolvidables" and aired on Televisa from 1996 to 2001.
• In Czech Republic, the show was dubbed into Czech as "Připraveny nebo ne" and aired about late 90's.
• In Australia, the show aired on ABC TV and was shown every Friday at 5:30pm. It debuted in 1994 and was repeated again from 1996 to 1998. It was also shown on weekday mornings at 11:30am during the school holidays between 1997 and 1998.

References

1. Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1993
2. The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 3 (typo in magazine: should be "no. 2"), April/May 1996: pp. 5, 28, 39.

External links

• Ready or Not at TV.com
• Ready or Not at the Internet Movie Database