The news broke today that the cast of Lost -- only separated now for, what, five months? -- will reunite at Spike TV's Scream awards show on Oct 19. Remember when TV Land reunited Bosom Buddies? Now that's a reunion. So instead of reconvening a cast we've barely had time to miss, why not use this occasion to honor a show that deserves a long overdue glad hand? Here are four more interesting and, unfortunately, long forgotten television casts that should take the stage that evening instead of Lost.
It's unbelievable that Manimal has yet to be optioned into a Hollywood script. The opening narration says it best:
"Dr Jonathan Chase: wealthy, young, handsome. A man with the brightest of futures. A man with the darkest of pasts. From Africa's deepest recesses, to the rarefied peaks of Tibet, heir to his father's legacy and the world's darkest mysteries. Jonathan Chase, master of the secrets that divide man from animal, animal from man. Manimal!"
OK, that doesn't say much of anything. Basically, Jonathan Chase was a shapeshifter who fought crime. Hey, shapeshifters are popular these days! Just ask Sam Merlotte. Premiering in 1983, Manimal was 27 years before its time. The Manimal was played by an actor named Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale -- I'd pay money just to see a man with this name stand on stage. Series principals MacCorkindale, Melody Anderson and Michael D. Roberts are all still around (and presumed available).
When I was a highly impressionable youth, I loved Max Headroom's Coca-Cola commercials -- so much so that I begged my parents to let me watch his 1987 ABC show of the same name. The story of a future society run by television networks was lost on my brain at the time, which was more suited for watching Kidd Video cartoons (admittedly: it probably still is). Yes, this was some serious stuff and, funny enough, some of the predictions made in the show about the future of television and advertising did come to fruition. Considering that Max Headroom, the character, is considered a relic of the 1980s, it's not too surprising the social significance of this show has been lost.
Part Lost, part Raiders of the Lost Ark; Stephen Collins starred as pilot Jake Cutter in what was one of the first larger-budgeted adventure shows on television and the first show that ever made me shed a tear after it was canceled (then again, I was a little kid, I cried a lot back then -- I once cried during an episode of That's Incredible!). Roddy McDowall -- who seemed to be in every type of show like this -- is no longer with us. And, sadly, neither is Jeff MacKay -- a man with the greatest resume of all time, including, Battlestar Galactica, Airwolf, Magnum P.I. and The Greatest American Hero. But Collins and Caitlin O'Heaney are ready for their very belated reunion.
The original V miniseries (and the follow up, V: The Final Battle) was a true milestone for television. Everyone watched V_when it aired -- the original miniseries earned a 25.4 rating, over 40 million viewers. To compare, _Lost's first season averaged 15.7 million viewers. The main problem with the latest incarnation of V, though good, it doesn't have a character anywhere nears as cool as Mike Donovan. I mean, Marc Singer was the Beastmaster for crying out loud. Get him, Faye Grant and Michael Ironside up on stage for their long overdue bow.