July 26, 2006

When TV networks were king, and viewers suffered


Hey, Philip Michael Thomas, what's on NBC, Friday night?
On Knight Rider, a situation in which any one of us could easily find ourselves, at any moment:

"Michael and Bonnie are trapped in a woman's prison with only one way out..."
I hate when that happens! I think Michael got the better end of the deal, though:
Herr David Hasselhoff--what a career he's had! Who would've thought back then he'd still be around? He was one of the best things about Click (other than Kate Beckinsale), and I say it's officially time we all give him a break.

"Then the Misfits of Science must team up with a super secret agent or die spying." Ooh, that's just bad.
Misfits of Science was really an awful show, significant only because it was Courtney Cox's first big gig after appearing in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video, and it starred Dean Martin's son, Dean-Paul Martin.
Based on the quality of the clip NBC used for this promo, apparently a mitochondria also made occasional appearances:
This episode really was its best work. I couldn't find an IMDb entry for it, but I did manage to track down this picture:

Dean-Paul had a short life, but what a life! In addition to being the son of Dean Martin, and growing up around guys like Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., he was a member of the 1960s pop/rock band Dino, Desi & Billy and made an attempt at an acting career (appearing in films such as 1979's Players, in addition to crap like Misfits of Science). He was married to Olivia Hussey, who portrayed Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo: O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!

He was also married to Dorothy Hamill. It was good to be Dean Martin's son!

But perhaps the most amazing thing about Dean-Paul's life (and a reflection either of incredible bravery, nepotism, stupidity, ego, or guts) was he became a pilot with the US National Guard in his mid-thirties. Tragically, he died at 36 after crashing into this mountain:
Mount San Gorgonio, California

Coincidently, Frank Sinatra's mother, Dolly, died in a plane crash on the very same mountain, in 1977, ten years earlier. I no lie.

What's on next, Philip Michael Thomas??

Oh, look(!), it's your show:
"Crockett gets a chance to bust G. Gordon Liddy."

Only in the 1980s could someone like G. Gordon Liddy have a career as a TV villain.
Don Johnson's gut also made an appearance in that episode:
Thank you, Philip Michael Thomas!

See for yourself:

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