That and in one episode he’s seen writing his blog while the “Doogie Howser” theme is playing in the background. Of course, instead of sappy motivational messages, the Barney epiphany of the day was that he is AWESOME.
Weren’t they actually playing their St. Elsewhere characters?
In the original* Planet of the Apes*, Charlton Heston realizes he’s in Earth’s future and the apes are in control. He pounds the ground in anguish and screams “Damn you all to Hell!”
In the remake starring Marky Mark, Heston plays the dying ape leader. He calls his son to his deathbed, gives him a gun, and mutters in regard to the humans, “Damn them all to hell!”
John Lithgow was on this week’s 30 Rock playing himself, and made a reference to The World According to Garp. (Although everyone else in the episode was fixated on his role in Harry and the Hendersons.) There was a bit at the end where he was wandering around complaining that the building was a maze and he’d never get out, but I have no idea what that was in reference to.
The obscure TV series Once a Hero was going to show an episode about an actor who played a superhero on TV and was frustrated that he was so identified with the role that he could do nothing else. Adam West was going to play the part.
In 1991, CBS ran a special called “The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary.” It was presented as an episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” in which the cast members (Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, Marcia Wallace, Bill Daily, and Peter Bonerz) play their original characters and discuss Bob’s dream of being an innkeeper named Dick living in Vermont. Howard (Daily) recounts that he had a similar dream. “I dreamed I was an astronaut in Florida for five years.” Daily had previously played Major Roger Healey in “I Dream of Jeannie.”
The show ended with everyone leaving the office for lunch. Everybody except Bob enters the first elevator. Instead of squeezing himself in, Bob says, “You go on ahead. I’ll take the other elevator and meet you in the lobby.” The doors to the second elevator open. There are three elevator repairmen inside. There are ceiling panels missing and wires hanging down. The repairmen have their backs turned to the camera. They turn and it is revealed the three repairmen are William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss, and John Voldstad from the series “Newhart.” Sanderson speaks.
“Hi, I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.”
Bob runs out of the elevator and down the stairs, screaming “EMILYYYYYY!” all the way.
This goes beyond nodding, but on “Batman: The Animated Series,” West contributed the voice of Simon Trent, a washed-up actor who had become pigeonholed after playing a costumed crimefighter that had inspired Bruce Wayne.
There was a throwaway bit in The Marine where Robert Patick’s gang of jewel thieves is being chased by the relentless John Cena. “This guy’s like the Terminator!” says one of the thieves. Patrick gives him a dubious glance but says nothing.
Robert DiNiro lampoons his own “you talkin to me?” speech in the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie.
In an episode of Futurama, Leela meets a one-eyed man who claims they are the last survivors of their race of cyclopes. I think his name was Althazar, but he tells her she can “call him Al.” At one point Leela is shown with a '60s hairdo and clothes, calling “Al…”
Leela is, of course, voiced by Katey Sagal, who played Peg Bundy.
After Stargate: SG1 became a haven for former Farscape actors, there’s a one-off joke when Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black) meets Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchel (Ben Browder). IIRC, her first words to him are a dismissive “I don’t know you” before turning to the next person in the room.
Also on SG1, from the episode “The Other Side”, they visit a world called Euronda, where their leader is played by Rene Auberjonois, known for playing the shapeshifter Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The catch, of course, is that:
In this case, Rene Auberjonois plays a white supremacist leader.
Did they have to help Euronda? Help, help Euronda?
In one episode of Smallville, One of Johnathan Kent’s (John Schnieder) old buddies ( Tom Wopat) shows up and they go joy riding in a '69 Dodge Charger. Of course they get into the car through the windows.
This is not quite the same thing, as it’s a nod to the same character played by a different actor. In Stargate SG-1, Jack O’Neill mentions being confused with another Air Force officer named Jack O’Neil, with one L and who doesn’t have a sense of humor. This refers to Kurt Russell’s more serious and L-deficient portrayal in the original movie.
Another from St. Elsewhere: Byron Stewart plays an orderly named Warren Coolidge, which is not just the same name, but actually the same character he played on The White Shadow. During a guest appearance by Timothy Van Patten, who was not playing his White Shadow character, Coolidge mistakes him for his old teammate “Salami”.
On Monk, Sharona sees Tim Daly (playing himself) on their flight and tells Adrian that Daly was on the TV show Wings. Adrian asks if the show was any good and Sharona replies, “Well he (Daly) was.”
Kim Fields, of Tootie fame, starred on Living Single as Regine. There was one episode where Kal’s girlfriend mentioned she had once attended a small private school called Eastland. Regine chirps “Never heard of it!” as she walks out of the room.
Another episode, Regine’s mother, played by Kim Field’s real mother Chip Fields, gives her the cold shoulder. Khadijah’s exclaims, “Wow. She’s meaner than Penny’s mother on Good Times!” Chip Fields had played that character way back when. And if you watch enough Good Times, you’ll see an episode where a very young Kim appears as Penny’s playmate.
Yet another SG-1 reference: Dan Castellana played a part where he was receiving memories from Colonel O’Neill. At some point, they meet up. The audience is brought into their discussion mid-stream, just in time to hear O’Neill replie: I totally get the comparison of Mr. Burns to the Goa-uld.
Wikipedia also cites another episode (in an alternative timeline) where O’Neill has a boat named “Homer”.
In the animated movie, Over the Hedge, there is a possum who finds himself in the position to “play dead” several times. He considers this to be high art, and his death scenes are long, passionate feasts of overacting in a melodramatic style.
The possum is voiced by William Shatner.
Whose character on Boston Legal, I’m told, has a cellphone that plays a familiar chirping sound when he flips it open.
On one of the later incarnations of her shows, Lucille Ball walked by an old man, played by William Frawley. The two looked at each other wordlessly, then Lucy walked off, shaking her head.
This is going waaaaaaaaaaaay back: On That Girl, Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie is getting a sip from a drinking fountain. When she is done, she bumps into a preist played by Danny Thomas. They exchange: “Sorry, Father.” “That’s alright, my child.”
Was I the only one who was really annoyed when, after years of waiting, Darren McGavin finally did a guest shot on X-Files, and then did NOT make any reference to Kolchak? Yeah, I know, different networks, and copyright issues, but it was still annoying.