Season 2 episode 2: On July 20, 1998, Gary Coleman assaulted a fan while shopping for a bulletproof vest for his job as a mall security guard. Was that the saddest day of the saddest post-script in TV history? Moreover, was this the day that Generation X’s childhood officially died? Stick with us on this “very special episode” of Recent Memories as we try to find an ounce of humor in all of this.
From 1978 to 1985, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Dana Plato and Conrad Baine were part of TVs most loving and lovable family on “Diff’rent Strokes.” They made us laugh every week and, occasionally in their “very special episodes,” they made us think. But then, when the show ended, things got gruesome. There’s bankruptcy, failed video game arcades, crack and soft-core porn. And, somehow, those are not the darkest hours.
Join Matty Wishnow, Kevin Blake and their panelists, Christian Anthony, expert in the jump punch, and Judd Wishnow, expert in the fear of kidnapping, as they search for humanity in this Greek tragedy. The journey inevitably leads us to July 20, 1998 and the fracas that broke out between Coleman and his autograph seeker, wherein we ask:
Join us as we persevere through the darkness to find just a glimpse of sunlight.
Special thanks to Quincy, Gabe, Matt & the entire Blue Duck team for editing and sound design.
