For the first time since he arrived on American TV back in 1983, Alan Thicke is getting an awful lot of good reviews.
And he's getting them for poking fun at himself.The character Thicke is playing on the new NBC hit sitcom "Hope & Gloria" bears a distinct resemblance to the man himself.
You may remember that Thicke arrived in the United States from his native Canada in 1983 to host "Thicke of the Night," a syndicated late-night talk show. The hype played him up as a hip, young alternative to Johnny Carson - and a potential successor to the throne of the former late-night king whose reign lasted 30 years.
Of course, it didn't quite work out that way. Not only did critics hate the show - and Thicke - but so did the audiences. "Thicke of the Night" bombed badly and lasted only a few months.
Surprisingly, Thicke made a comeback shortly thereafter, starring in the long-running hit sitcom "Growing Pains" beginning in 1985. But critical success eluded him - the show was generally looked down on by most critics as lightweight fluff (although your local television editor liked the show - at least in its early years). And Thicke himself didn't impress most with his acting abilities.
But his notices have been highly favorable for his supporting role on "Hope & Gloria" - even from critics who still remember him as a talk-show failure.
Thicke plays talk-show host Dennis Dupree, who has headlined his own local show in Pittsburgh for years. (Hope - played by Cynthia Stevenson - is his producer, and Gloria - played by Jessica Lundy - is his occasional hair-dresser.)
Dennis is a pompous, self-important, self-possessed buffoon. A oaf who, thankfully, seems to have a good heart underneath all that television makeup.
The sort of fellow who plans an on-camera collagen treatment to get rid the wrinkles around his eyes so he doesn't have to pay for it himself - only to back out at the last minute when he suddenly realizes the treatment involves needles.
The sort of fellow who takes a
lawyer along on his date with Gloria to prevent being the subject of a lawsuit at a later date.
Thicke plays it to the hilt but manages to keep Dennis under control. He doesn't go over the top, but he comes very close to it.
It's Thicke's best television work, and he deserves the accolades he's getting.
And in tonight's episode of "Hope & Gloria" (7:30 p.m., Ch. 2), Thicke does double duty. He's playing not only Dennis Dupree but Alan Thicke.
It seems that the new vice president of programming, oddly named Gwillem Blatt (Taylor Negron) insists that Hope arrange a "Growing Pains" reunion for "The Dennis Dupree Show." But, to her surprise, Dennis is dead-set against it.
Dennis blames Alan for ruining his shot at the big-time - and most everything else that's gone wrong with his life.
It seems that Dennis was about to take his show national back in 1983 when this Canadian guy who had the same face came along and stole his thunder. And then Thicke's failure as a national talk-show host cost Dennis any chance he had at success outside of Pittsburgh.
In addition to double duty by Thicke, the episode includes appearances by three of his former "Growing Pains" co-stars - Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron and Jeremy Miller.
The really good news is that "Hope & Gloria" has quickly grown into a big hit, and there's no doubt that it will return to the NBC schedule in the fall.
OWNER ROULETTE: KUTV-Ch. 2, purchased by NBC last year, is in the process of being sold to a joint venture of CBS and Westinghouse.
(That excludes the 12 percent of Ch. 2 still owned by the George Hatch family.)
Recently, reports have surfaced that CBS and Westinghouse may merge, with Westinghouse acquiring control of the network from CBS chief Larry Tisch. That would put a single entity in control of KUTV.
But wait - it's also possible that the merger may involve the participation of former Fox TV and QVC boss Barry Diller. Or it might involve MCA, which was recently purchased by The Seagram Co.
(Imagine that possibility - a Utah television station owned by one of the world's largest distilleries.)
Once the sale of KUTV is completed - and it's still awaiting FCC approval - there's little chance the station will be sold again. But who exactly is going to own the companies that own KUTV remains in doubt.
NEWSCASTING CHANGES: KSTU-Ch. 13 is probably planning another newscast. KUTV-Ch. 2 is definitely planning to chop one of its newscast in half.
And KSL-Ch. 5 is thinking of adding another newscast, too.
The long-rumored addition of a midday newscast on Ch. 13 is fairly definite. But, like its evening news hour, this one won't be competing head-to-head with the other local stations. Ch. 13's program would air from 11:30 a.m.-noon.
Meanwhile, Ch. 2 will be cutting its noon newscast in half. When the station becomes a CBS/Group W-owned enterprise, it will have to carry all of CBS's daytime programming - including the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." So after the switch - tentatively set of midnight, July 1, Ch. 2's noon news will be cut to 30 minutes and will be followed by "B&B" at 12:30 p.m.
And over at Ch. 5, they're mulling over the possibilities of adding a half-hour newcast at 5 p.m. - putting them in direct competition with Ch. 2's 5 p.m. newscast. There's been no final decision on that yet, however.