11:22 p.m. - Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2003
Barry Van Dyke was created in a lab from a clone of Tom Netherton.
Another correction before today's entry. Chris corrected me: Tom Netherton. NNN. Netherton. Not Heatherton. Sorry for not knowing my Lawrence Welk better. And Chris's sister had a crush on this Netherton fellow. He looked like the prototype for Barry Van Dyke. A test. A first run before they finally settled on what would eventually be the Barry Van Dyke we know and tolerate on 'Diagnosis Murder.'
Alright. Today's entry.
Hey, I bet there's a Barry Van Dyke fan page out there somewhere. I wonder if there's a Tom Netherton fan page? Would one have a link to the other? I'll have to check into that when I'm done here.
Whooah. Didn't wait. Tried typing in 'barryvandyke.com' and found his site. Let's have a look around here...
I'm the 21569th visitor.
Wow. Someone has dug up his every television appearance and then taken still pictures of their television screen and posted said pictures on the site. That is love. Horrible, horrible love.
I'm also realizing that much of this man's career has been built on making new, crappy versions of old shows.
Galactica 1980. "Remember Battlestar Galactica? Let's have them find earth, ditch Starbuck, and give the kids superpowers! Where's Barry Van Dyke?"
Mission: Impossible. "Remeber Mission: Impossible? Well now it's 1988. Let's do it again, only this time let's not make it cool. Where's Barry Van Dyke?"
Airwolf II. "Remember Airwolf? Let's ditch Ernest Borgnine and Jan Michael Vincent, and change it so now the brother they were looking for in the first series is now looking for HIM! Where's Barry Van Dyke?"
What a guy.
If scientists hadn't created Tom Netherton in a lab, and hadn't made a clone of him and replaced his singing gene with an acting gene, we may never have gotten Barry Van Dyke. He's a great fellow, and a real how-do-you-do gentleman.
Here's to you, Barry. You're a testament to science gone awry, but we're glad you're here.
