Son Of A Critch

As the students at St. Bridget's prepare for the end of the school year, Sister Rose reminds them that everything they've known is about to change.

When Mark volunteers as a ticket taker at the local theater, he's delighted to find that he gets to see all the shows for free! His favorite act is Ted Turpin, and when he works up the nerve to ask Ted how to get started as a comedian, he offers Mark a slot in his open mic show.

It's Mark's fourteenth birthday, and he's greeted by a monster pimple that makes him so self-conscious that he covers with a homemade pasty concoction - and from there his day only gets worse. He gets "flakied" on the bus, the birthday bumps at school, and later, his mother discovers him "reading the articles" in a dirty magazine.

It's a big day for business in Newfoundland when the premiere announces a government investment in the Sea Plus juice factory, making juice fresh right in St. John's.

Christmas time falls over St. John's and the festive spirit is all around. At St. Bridget's bazaar, Pop wins a turkey that's named after Mike Sr as part of a VOCM promotion, but in an effort to impress his BIS buddies, Pop insists he'll take the live bird and prepare it himself at home. Later, while Pop discovers he doesn't have the heart to snuff out Turkey-Mike, Mark discovers that the gaming system he's been pining after for months is hidden in the house. Mark takes every opportunity to sneak his gift out of its hiding spot and play late into the night while nobody's the wiser. Finally, Mike Jr brings his new girlfriend along to Christmas Eve Mass and introduces her to the family, but Mary and Mike Sr are shocked when they find there's more to her than they expected!

When Mark gets the chance to compete in a theater festival, the chance to make a big impression on powerful onlookers goes to his head.

On a school trip to the community pool, Mark has a near-drowning experience when he falls into the deep end. While he's at the bottom of the pool, Mark sees a bright light and is overwhelmed by a warm calm feeling -- just as Fox jumps and pulls him out of his reverie and back to safety.

It's Valentine's Day and as Mark sweetly prepares a special card for Fox, he gets a call from Cara asking him to be her Valentine. Shocked, Mark accepts, not knowing what else to do.

Mark and his friends are excited that they're finally old enough to go out for Bonfire Night, an annual St. John's tradition where people have small bonfires all over the city for reasons they can't really recall.

When Mark's friends start hanging out at the new arcade and tell him that he's too old for comic books, Mark takes it to heart. He drags his collection to the reseller and accepts a terrible offer that's way below their value, but Mark is determined to let childish things go.

Panic breaks out when the Critch house's plumbing gets backed up one morning. It turns out their septic tank is full, and there's only one thing to do

When the St. Bridget's quiz team gets to compete on the televised trivia show "Reach for The Top", Mark and his friends are sure they're going to bring home the win, but when Mark sees his crush Cara on the opposing team, he loses all his game.

Mark is excited to embark on a new school year, and since he's now a ninth-grader he thinks he'll be at the top of the food chain! However, when Mark discovers that he needs glasses he's convinced that he'll be right back at the bottom again.