TCA Update - Doing Time With James B. Sikking

For reasons that were not entirely clear Sikking was one of a handful of stars attending an evening event for the new Hulu-esqe website Fancast.

Sikking is best known as nutty Lt. Howard Hunter on "Hill Street Blues" and Doogie's dad on "Doogie Howser, M.D." "Star Trek" fans also recall him as Capt. Styles in "The Search For Spock." He's currently at work on an independent feature called "American Primitive" but I couldn't keep myself from approaching Sikking and ignoring all of the above to tell him that my favorite TV movie of all time is "Doing Time on Maple Drive". When I told him this, he kissed me. Twice. (On the forehead).

He was, apparently, pleased to hear praise for the 1992 film - in which he plays a stern ex-military man dealing with the drama of his three children respectively getting an abortion, coming out of the closet, and drinking themselves into oblivion - that he thought was one of his best as well. (If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's got a great cast- Bibi Besch, Lori Loughlin, Jim Carrey, heartbreaking in a dramatic role-and a perfect mix of campy TV movie message melodrama and actual good acting.) Fun fact: The film's writer James Duff went on to create "The Closer."