LITTLE ROCK — Huh? For this they bared it all for Playboy? You’d expect at least a Lifetime movie for going buck naked.
Instead, we’ll have to settle for watching former teen superstar singing sensations Debbie Gibson and Tiffany (Tiffany Renee Darwish) in Syfy’s Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. The movie airs at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Both ladies where huge in the 1980s. Mega huge! Think Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber rolled into one. The girls packed malls, set fashion trends and were on every magazine cover around.
Then, poof, their 15 minutes were over as America’s fickle teens moved on to the next idol du jour.
Both girls remained in the business and tried to revive their sagging careers by appearing in Playboy. Gibson took it all off in the April 2002 issue; Tiffany stripped down in March 2005.
The Playboy resuscitation route has been a favored venue for trying to rejuvenate a career almost since its inception. Those who have posed include everyone from our own former Miss Arkansas/America Elizabeth Ward Gracen to actress Farrah Fawcett (at age 50).
Playboy pictorials seldom bring more than a momentary buzz.
So, here we are today. Gibson is 40 and Tiffany is 39 and they’ve finally decided to combine their special talents for our thrill-packed amusement.
I found the Syfy news release amusing enough. Here it is:
“In what promises to be the television movie event of 2011, 1980s singing sensations Debbie Gibson and Tiffany get down and dirty in their long-awaited pop princess smackdown when
they co-star in this ripped-from-the-headlines movie.”
A Syfy publicist who is probably a really nice person wrote that breathless endorsement. I would be stunned if this turns out to be the year’s “television movie event.” However, you might want to record it for posterity just in case.
Seriously, we love the Syfy Saturday movies not because they’re timeless cinema. We have to suffer through enough of that from Masterpiece and other sources.
We love the movies because they are so cheesy. The acting is over-the-top, tongues seem firmly planted in cheeks and the special effect monsters border on ridiculous.
From what headline, exactly, is Mega Python vs. Gatoroid supposed to be ripped? In real life, invasive Burmese pythons are threatening Florida’s indigenous alligator population. That’s enough for a rip-snorting sci-fi movie for me.
In the film, “Gibson portrays a fanatical animal [welfare] advocate who spends her evenings ‘liberating’ illegally imported exotic snakes from pet stores and setting them free in the Everglades, where the pythons grow and thrive.”
So far so good.
And Tiffany “plays an over-zealous park ranger worried about the growing ecological damage.”
In order to save her beloved alligators, Tiffany juices them up with steroids so they grow to enormous size. That sets off a war between the species and Tiffany is put on a collision course with Gibson.
Fans might recall Tiffany’s turn in Syfy’s Mega Piranha and Gibson’s memorable performance in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. Don’t remember those? That’s OK. Gibson told The Associated Press that she jumped at the chance to work with her former teen rival. “I thought, ‘This is such a ridiculous way to join forces,’” Gibson said. “We’re rivals who have to work together to save the world. Why not?”
The movie has led to other joint appearances, including their first concert duet recently in New York.
Series returning. Speaking of Syfy, the network has approved a fourth season of Sanctuary. Production on the 13 episodes begins this spring with a fall premiere scheduled.
Beebe TV. Gov. Mike Beebe will discuss state issues and answer viewer questions when the next episode of Arkansans Ask airs on AETN at 7 p.m. today. Steve Barnes is the host.
Idol numbers. For the several of you who asked, the opening ratings for American Idol were down 13 percent. Nielsen says 26.2 million people saw the twohour season premiere Jan. 19, down 12 percent from the 29.9 million viewers last season.
However, 26 million is still huge and we’ll see how things shake out over time.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend, Pages 34 on 01/27/2011