Watch This
Gym Teacher: The Movie (Sept. 12, 8 p.m.)
Meloni plays a disgraced Olympic gymnast-turned-obsessive phys-ed
instructor who tries to win Gym Teacher of the Year by transforming a
nerd into a jock. ''It's a mélange of humor — broad, physical, and more
subtle stuff. It has Amy Sedaris and [director] Paul Dinello from
Strangers With Candy, and that kind of absurdist, edgy comedy shoehorned
into a kids' comedy is like the best of the Warner Bros. cartoons: It
works on two levels — adults and kids can enjoy it. Also, I wear shorts a
lot. Truly, the only reason why I took the project is because in almost
every scene, my character is in shorts. That's worth the price of
admission right there.''
Sorry About That
1st & Ten (HBO, 1984-91)
From 1989 to 1990, Meloni played ex-con QB Vito Del Greco (a.k.a. Johnny
Gunn) on this racy football comedy. ''This was a T&A show dressed up in
bad comedy and occasionally they'd try to wedge in some drama, which
really didn't fly. Look, O.J. Simpson was the general manager of the
football team: What more can I say? It was my first job. I was trying to
'figure out my character' and I put way too much hot sauce on this
week-old, cold pupu platter. When you're a starving, marginally employed
actor, any job is a great job, and I felt I could make it better,
and...that's just not the case.''
