In Which I Steal from TWOP...

...inspiration, that is. I liked Television Without Pity's “1980s Stars Who Are In Need of a Comeback” so much that I thought I'd come up with a few of my own. They did such a good job postulating where my favorite stars of yesterday could fit into my favorite shows of today, that I hope I can do that model justice:

1) Robert Guillaume in Eureka:
When there's a scientific snafu that even Henry can't help Jack fix, Henry turns to a former teacher for help, played by
Benson's Guillaume, a man who exudes respect and charisma. But what happens when the aging scientist turns out to be behind the very chain of events they're trying to stop? It's not good for Jack...

2) Jm J Bullock in Better Off Ted:
Things get a little Too Close for Comfort when Bullock shows up as an effeminate executive who develops an interest in Jonathan Slavin's scientist character, and is just as surprised as most viewers whenever he mentions having a wife. Misunderstandings like that are what good bad sitcoms are made of!

3) Dave Coulier in How I Met Your Mother:
Dave's former Full House cast mate Bob Saget already has a gig on the show voicing the adult future Ted Mosby, so he has a contact to put in a good word and get him a guest spot. We've seen Marshall sparring with his brothers in flashbacks; I figure Coulier bears enough of a superficial resemblance to Jason Segel to play one of the siblings who comes to New York for a visit. Just leave the Bullwinkle impression home, dude...

4) Richard Moll in Fringe:
The sci-fi drama has already introduced a bald Observer or two, of this world, but perhaps not. Night Court ended with Moll's Bull Shannon beaming away with some aliens, so it would be pretty cool if he returned as the leader of another group of hairless not-quite-humans....

5) Joyce Dewitt in 30 Rock:
I'm thinking the Three's Company staple could play herself, approaching Jack Donaghy with an idea to relaunch her career: a reality show in which she lives with a girl and a guy who pretends to be gay so the landlord doesn't object to him living with two girls. That episode would write itself, right into The Regal Beagle.

6) Haywood Nelson in The Office
Hey, HEY, Hey! If they bring in the former What's Happening!! star as Darryl's nephew, have him pursue Kelly despite his uncle's smooth words of warning, he could be the next big thing. I'm talking Cousin Mose big....

7) Lorenzo Lamas in 24:
Jack Bauer will face his toughest day yet when the former Falcon Crest and Renegade star shows up to bust his old friend Tony Almeida out of jail and seek revenge. No es bueno para Jack...

8) Rhea Perlman in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia:
This one is such a no-brainer, I'd be surprised if it didn't happen. How great would it be to see the former sarcastic Cheers barmaid show up on the show her real-life husband Danny Devito has been on for the past few seasons, perhaps as an older, sarcastic barmaid and possible love interest for Frank? Maybe Charlie gets jealous and the two compete for her affections in some twisted love triangle only the writers of that show could imagine...

9) Sally Struthers in Smallville:
I can't believe this show has lasted to a 9th season, or that the bulk of last season was actually really good. Still, they can only milk the early years of the Superman mythos for so long. On the show, Clark's well into his 20s by now; in real life, Welling's in his 30s. As they continue to bring in more characters from Superman comics and cartoons this season, such as The Wonder Twins and Metallo, it would be fun to see Struthers show up from Apokalips as the nefarious Granny Goodness!

10) Tony Danza in Dollhouse:
The Dollhouse possesses the technology to wipe the minds of its operatives, or “Actives”, and program them with any combination of memories, skills and personality traits needed for any given assignment. Their newest Active presents a true challenge however, when they discover that no matter what persona they imprint on him, he'll still only answer to the name “Tony”....

This was fun. There were a lot of actors I thought of that didn't make this list, so we might not have seen the last of this particular exercise...