When Guest Stars Surprise and Delight

by Karen A. Romanko

Guest stars have been around since the early days of scripted television series. Often we appreciate their stellar performances, but sometimes we are delighted simply because we are not expecting them where they are. Below are some noteworthy guest star sightings, as reported in my social media posts:

Clockwise from top left: William Shatner with Peter Falk, George Cole with Dennis Waterman, Sue Ann Langdon with Dick Van Dyke, Jodie Foster with David Janssen, Mark Hamill with Bill Bixby, Tony Shalhoub with Edward Woodward (also Phyllis Newman and Patricia Clarkson), and Roy Rogers with Lynda Carter.

November 11: Young Jodie Foster with David Janssen in Smile Jenny, You’re Dead, the second pilot for Harry O. The show had a series of identity problems over its two-year run, but David Janssen was always riveting as the world-weary detective.

November 12: George Cole made a guest appearance on New Tricks in the 2007 episode “Powerhouse,” reuniting with Dennis Waterman. The two had starred together years earlier in one of television‘s most original series, Minder. Two great, enduring talents.

November 22: Sometimes the ugly face of crime even enters the domestic sitcom scene, although here it’s not so ugly, as adorable Sue Ann Langdon portrays the alleged perp, while Dick Van Dyke is the flustered jury foreman. Watched this hilarious classic today, “One Angry Man,” on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

November 28: Lynda Carter with guest star Roy Rogers on Wonder Woman. I love weird TV juxtapositions.

December 1: I find I need to take Columbo in small doses, because the formulaic aspects tend to wear a bit thin on me, especially the repetition of things like, “...Just one more thing…“ I practically cheered last night while watching “Butterfly in Shades of Gray” (1994) on DVD, when William Shatner, in the character of Fielding Chase, said, “With you, Lieutenant, there’s always just one more thing. Do you have a problem with short-term memory?“ It’s nice when a show can poke fun at itself.

December 2: I watched an intense, but outstanding episode of The Equalizer last night, “Breakpoint” (1986) on DVD. I was surprised to see Tony Shalhoub, whom many people will know as OCD detective Adrian Monk. I always love catching favorite actors in their earlier guest starring roles.

December 29: I always enjoy the surprise when a well-known actor pops up as a guest star on TV, especially in an early role. Last night I was watching The Magician (on DVD), when Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame suddenly appeared. The episode, “Lightning on a Dry Day“ (1973), started out well, but the “small town has a secret“ trope didn’t pay off in the way I had hoped.

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Last, but not least, please check out my books about women and television from McFarland Publishers, available in trade paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon:

Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters and Women of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television
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