Be My Guest, Christian Slater Nov 13, 20081:14 PST

I love special guest appearance. There’s something… special about it… suddenly, this celebrity superstar that I usually see on the big screen doing big screen action, is now in my living room, on my favorite show, and brightening my daily or weekly routine. For me, there was always a clear distinction between film and TV so whenever this crossover happens I get keyed up. When Brad Pitt did Friends, I was thrilled. I was equally excited to see Sean Penn, Elvis Costello and Harry Dean Stanton in a support group with Charlie Sheen in Two and Half Men. So, yes, you get the point, that’s my brush with stardom, or at least as close as it gets.

That’s not the only sad point… these special guest appearances sometimes mark a special moment for the TV show itself, where it loses its charm, or more commonly loses its ratings. Add to that the celebrity’s motives, whether it’s money, a friendly gesture, or just the wind of unemployment wheezing through. As was the case with LiLo who appeared in “Ugly Betty” just after crashing her car while DUI, and “Georgia Rule”; frankly, I can’t tell which was a bigger mess. But whatever the reason for the guest appearance, as long as it results in Madonna feeling up Megan Mullally, I don’t really care.

You can only imagine my excitement when ABC and NBC announced “Life on Mars” 9 and “My Own Worst Enemy”. I mean Christian “True Romance” Slater and Harvey “The Wolf” Keitel week after week on TV! It is true that Christian Slater has been schmoozing TV for quite a while with various special guest appearances, but actually having him every week… I should have known better… It took the special out of special guest appearance and all I was left with was just a mediocre TV role in a quite annoying TV series. I must be honest and admit that I didn’t survive the pilot, but I think that if Christian Slater would appear in every 5 episodes it would have given the series a chance.

It is a slightly different case with “Life on Mars”; perhaps because Harvey Keitel is a higher caliber actor. The show itself is not that good; it’s even kinda boring and repetitive. However, Keitel as a cop in the 70s brings back some good ol’ memories from “Mean Streets”. Also, the fact that he’s not the main character still manages to keep his appearances distinctive. And hey, I keep watching it in hope that De Niro will show up. I betcha Joe Pesci will.