I watch a fair amount of older TV shows on DVD, partly because I tend to review them for EW, and partly because I love being surprised by guest stars or recognizable names in the credits. Currently, I’m watching Cybill: The Collector’s Edition Volume I (in stores Sept. 16), and while I somehow managed to forget that Peter Krause (pictured, left) had a recurring role as Kevin, the stiff husband of Cybill Shepherd’s Sheridan’s older daughter, Rachel (Dedee Pfeifer), I was smart enough to spot the names Alan Ball (pictured, inset, supervising producer/co-executive producer) and Michael Patrick King (co-executive producer) in the credits of a few of the set’s 13 episodes. Alan Ball, you’ll recall, went on to create HBO’s Six Feet Under, which starred Krause. Michael Patrick King became an executive producer on that little HBO show called Sex and the City.
What are the best finds you’ve made watching older TV shows — either on DVD or TV? I still smile everytime I see the name Tom Whedon (Joss’ dad) on a Golden Girls episode.
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I suppose this is one of those questions where people can really end up dating themselves…
I was a loyal fan of DALLAS for years and there was an elderly gentleman (can’t think of his name right now) who played the Ewing attorney. Anyway, years later when I discovered (and really got into) THE HONEYMOONERS, I realized that same actor was a regular on that show, playing different characters on different episodes.
By the way, it’s a good bet that nearly every old school actor and actress who ever became famous very likely appeared on THE TWILIGHT ZONE at least once.
Spotted Adam Sandler on a very old episode of ‘The Cosby Show’ the other day as one of Theo’s friends
Clooney on the facts of life was a trip, but also was seeing Robin Williams and Sandra Bernhart as actors on the Richard Pryor show.
Several years ago, I was watching a rerun of Fresh Prince and spotted one of my very favorite actors, Hank Azaria, as a cop. Didn’t speak, just stood there. I think it was one of his first acting jobs.
Also, I was watching a rerun of The Critic the other night and caught Judd Apatow’s name in the credits (some kind of consultant or supervising producer). Love it!
Ted Knight as a silent policeman at the end of PSYCHO (1960) is one of my favorites.
I love how almost all of the cast of Spin City showed up on Scrubs at one point or another.
I recently discovered that Chuck Lorre (creator of Two and a Half Men Dharma and Greg), Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy and Angel), and Amy Sherman-Palladino (creator of Gilmore Girls) each wrote mulitple episodes of Roseanne. Any question why Roseanne was such a good series?
I’ve got two — Ben Stiller playing Fast Eddie in an episode of Miami Vice. Caught his name in the credits and actually had to TIVO the episode to see him. And just yesterday watching a rerun of the original 90210 saw Lucy Liu in her first credit as a waitress at the Peach Pit. I love watching old movies and TV shows and recognizing people!
Brad Pitt was in an episode of Growing Pains. And not to sound like a complete GP Geek, I believe Matthew Perry was Tracy Gold’s boyfriend in a few episodes who was in a drunk driving accident and died.
Phillip Seymour Hoffmann as a street punk on Law and Order, he was one of those people Briscoe and Logan interviewed on their way to find the suspect. And he was great in it.
I was rewatching an episode of Freaks and Geeks recently and was surprised to see a young Shia LaBeuf playing a very small freshman mascot.
The other biggie for me is seeing Don Cheadle as a hotel manager in an ill-fated Golden Girls spin-off.
I mean, when I think Bea Arthur and Betty White, I automatically think of Don Cheadle.
I saw a very young Matthew Fox on an old episode of Wings. He plays the HS pitcher about to break Joe’s record. Helen was a ground breaking cougar in the show!
I saw an episode of Growing Pains where Leonardo DiCaprio was hitting on Hillary Swank. Weirdness.
There was a show on recently (TV Guide Channel or E! maybe) about the cast of Gray’s Anatomy Before They Were Stars. Apparently, Dr. Bailey was also on an ep of The Cosby Show (not sure which ep). Addison had a great role as a male-to-female transsexual on an ep of CSI. Izzy used to be on Roswell, along with Delkofrom CSI Miami. Miami Vice had lots of great cameos, including many musicians and a young Kramer http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/miamiviceseason2.php Matthew Perry (who had to decide between a career as an actor or a tennis player) was on an early ep of B.H. 90210 as a tennis player. Also, it seems every actor has been on ER at one time or another.
I’ve met Shelley Berman a couple of times because of my work. Everybody always raves about how they love him on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” When I see him I say, “People, people, people.” He loves that I know him from his Twilight Zone episode.
Djimon Hounsou played a bouncer in the pilot episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
Speaking of Matthew Perry guest star moments, is “Just the Ten of Us” ever coming to the DVDs?
Evangeline Lilly was on a really early episode of “Smallville.”
Zac Efron as young Simon on Firefly. My little sister spotted it of course. I was quite shocked to see that she was right.
I’m currently re-watching My So-Called Life on DVD and was thrilled to spot some very familiar names in the production credits:
Alan Poul – Six Feet Under producer
Jason Katims – Friday Night Lights executive producer
Mark Piznarski – Veronica Mars/Gossip Girl/FNL director
Scott Winant – Cupid/Californication exec producer
Edward Zwick – Blood Diamond/Last Samurai director
With such a pedigree, its no wonder MSCL has remained such a legendary show more than a decade later. Even The Onion AV Club has recently reviewed each episode of the series.
http://www.avclub.com/content/tvclub/show/My%2BSo-Called%2BLife
MSCL is as potent now as it was when I was 14.
Not long ago, I picked up “The Flash” (the TV series based on the comic book) on DVD. I remembered Mark Hamill’s guest-spots, but I’d completely forgotten that Richard Belser had a recurring role as a tabloid-style TV reporter. And not only that, but it had “before-they-were-stars” roles from such actors as Jonathan Brandis, Brian Cranston, Jeri Ryan, Gloria Reuben, and Angela Bassett.