Dance!

Sam Green loved watching television growing up, especially the music and dancing on TV variety shows. He longed for that freedom of movement, but knew he’d never have it because of the crippling disease that defined his life. His love of television leads Sam to a job at WTBD-TV where he becomes a producer-director. It’s a position that finally gives him some control over a part of his life and a thirst for a TV network job that he strives for. The station hires former NBC executive Dan Case as head of local programming and Donna Bolton, WTBD-TV’s news department manager, is passed over for the job she thought would be hers. Dan’s first objective in his new job is asking the staff for show ideas and he immediately accepts Sam’s pitch for a disco dance show called “DANCE!”. Things take a turn in Sam’s personal life when he meets charismatic new hire, Ben Sanders, and feels an immediate attraction. Sam enlists his help with “DANCE!” and after a lucky break booking a guest star with a hit record, and deciding Ben should be the host, Sam shoots the first show. It’s a big success and Sam sees himself inching closer to the TV network job that he’s sure is in his future. After the show’s a solid hit, the TV station’s corporate owners decide to air “DANCE!” at their stations across the country giving Sam a taste of national recognition. Sam and Ben are inseparable and move in together to test their mutual attraction. Sam explores his feelings for Ben while navigating relationships with two women, Claire Bennett, a camera operator at the TV station and Billie Carson, a model he met at a commercial shoot there. When both women confront Sam at work and embarrass him during a taping of “DANCE!”, he’s despondent and goes to Ben for comfort. Sam has sex with Ben that night and realizes that he’s finally found where he’s supposed to be. Problems at work mount as Donna Bolton’s anger at not getting the station programming job, propels her to target the demise of Dan Case and his signature “DANCE!” show project. She works behind the scenes to document the parties at the station after the show tapings and eventually Dan is fired over a sexual fling with one of the dancers. Donna is transferred from news to programming and becomes Sam and Ben’s boss in charge of “DANCE!”. She takes the station to an all-news format, and “DANCE!” is canceled. As a parting joke not meant for air, Sam writes a skit in the last show making fun of Donna. When she checks the tape before airing, she’s furious when she sees the skit and tells Sam to remove that show and replace it with a rerun. That night, Donna gets a call at home because the joke skit was actually airing and she immediately suspends and demotes Sam. He’s okay with it because he realizes, that with Ben’s love, he doesn’t need a job to validate himself anymore. When Ben realizes Sam would destroy his career plans to be with him, he makes up a phony job offer and leaves the TV station and their relationship, telling Sam that he's not good enough for him. Six months later, Sam is living happily with his new partner, Paul. After sending out job resumes and “DANCE!” tapes, his old boss Dan Case, now in charge of daytime programming at ABC, calls and asks Sam to come out to Hollywood and direct “American Bandstand”. When Sam and Paul are packing to leave for California, Sam gets a call from Ben’s sister informing him that Ben had died. Sam meets her at Ben’s house to get “DANCE!” tapes Ben had left behind. Sam sees tapes labeled with Ben’s sexual conquests from the show and finds a secret compartment in the box of tapes marked “Do Not Erase”. He puts it in the VCR and sees raw footage of himself dancing with Ben from their “DANCE!” show trip to the Limelight Disco in Atlanta. It’s the first time he had ever danced. Sam begins to cry and acknowledges that Ben had changed his life forever and had been good enough for him. He leaves with the tape and gets in the car with Paul to go home and finish packing. Sam asks him to put the top down and take the long way home. Paul asks him him if there’s anything else and Sam plays an 8-track tape for the ride. It’s the music from Ben’s tape of them dancing. The car leaves Ben’s house with a trail of dust down the dirt driveway with Hollywood and Sam’s network TV job just ahead.