Optimus Prime delivers Letterman's top 10 list

A little love for the '80s cartoon fans out there: Optimus Prime on Letterman.

'T.J. Hooker' remake coming to the big screen

Latest sad news: '80s television cop show template T.J. Hooker is now officially set for a big-screen Hollywood remake. To answer the very first question you're thinking: No, we don't yet know if William Shatner, Adrian Zmed or Heather Locklear will star or even make appearances in it.

No casting decisions have been made, says Variety.com, but series creator Rick Husky will be one of the movie's producers. Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King, The Mask) is the first choice for director.

According to Variety, the movie will focus on the relationship between Hooker and his father. No, that doesn't sound boring at all!

Here's another mixed omen: Co-producing with Husky are David Foster and Ryan Heppe, who are also handling the remake of Short Circuit. (Because WALL-E wasn't enough of a ripoff? Or maybe they're just big Steve Guttenberg fans. Who isn't?)

BY THE WAY ... If you are a Shatner fan and love Sci-Fi flicks, you need to see the 1998 movie Free Enterprise, in which Shatner plays himself. No, it's not an '80s film, but I think you'll love it anyway. Plus, it gives me a chance to salvage a top 5 list out of this blog item.

TOP 5 SHATNER LINES FROM FREE ENTERPRISE:

5. "My boy, that was a TV show. I used a stunt double. I always use a stunt double. Except in love scenes. I insist on doing those myself."

4. "You know. I have an idea for a movie. It's a musical based on Julius Caesar. I'd play all the parts. Except for Calpurnia. I was thinking Sharon Stone for that."

3. "Logic is the other guy's schtick."

2. "Guys, you gotta mix a little reality in with your imagination to achieve happiness in your life. And you've gotta overcome your programming - which in your case is a 30-year-old television show."

1. "I'm one of the top 10 imaginary friends kids have. Just behind John Travolta, Reggie Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett-Majors."

Autobots! Transform into DVDs and roll out!

Here's a radical idea: Instead of plunking down that debit card for two tickets to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen this week, use that valuable moola and pick up the newly released 25th anniversary edition of "The Transformers: The Complete First Season" instead.

Oh, I'm sure your kids won't mind. (Just remember to hide all sharp objects and matches before going to bed tonight.)

The 3-disc collection has 16 episodes from the original 1984 season, each with remastered audio. Also included are some cool special features that follow the origin of the Transformers series and some retro toy commercials. (Because your kids don't think you're a dork enough already until you wax poetically about your beloved Merlin toy.)

By the way, if you're feeling really nostalgic for your beloved autobots, wait until latter this summer. That's when the 16-disc Transformers: 25th Anniversary 'Matrix of Leadership' Edition Collector's Set is due out.

It's in the hole! Bill Murray marathon for Father's Day on AMC

Cancel the barbecue. Return the gifts. Save the greeting card for next year. Cable's AMC channel is giving us all the perfect Father's Day gift: A Bill Murray movie marathon. Let the unnecessarily excessive quoting begin! (Freeze gopher!)

From 8 a.m. Sunday through the wee hours of Monday morning, we'll be treated to Stripes, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II and Caddyshack. (Probably a good idea to leave 1984's The Razor's Edge off the list. Too depressing for us males. Though if you think about it, Murray's on the lam at the end of Caddyshack too.)

Stop overthinking the plot lines and just enjoy. Here's a quickie schedule:

STRIPES:
Sun., Jun. 21 @ 8AM | 7C

GHOSTBUSTERS:
Sun., Jun 21 @ 10:30AM | 9:30C
Sun., Jun 21 @ 8PM | 7C

GHOSTBUSTERS II:
Sun., Jun 21 @ 1PM | 12C
Sun., Jun 21 @ 10:30PM | 9:30C

CADDYSHACK:
Sun., Jun. 21 @ 10:30PM | 9:30C
Mon., Jun. 22 @ 1AM | 12C

Bret Michaels shows boo-boo and sense of humor, but his publicist is still sore

Bret Michaels is thankful for "a thick skull" in the aftermath of his injuries at Sunday's Tony Awards show in New York. The Poison frontman has released a statement on his website sharing his recollection of the night.

"My nose, mouth and the back of my head felt numb. I vaguely remember asking Big John, 'Do I have any teeth left in my mouth?' I knew I could move my arms and legs and that was an instant relief."

The singer was flattened by a backdrop on the televised show after performing with the cast of of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. Watch the video again.

Michaels reportedly suffered a fractured nose and was forced to cancel a show this week in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

His official website has released photos of his injuries along with a pretty direct statement from his representative taking aim at Tony organizers:

"With all due respect to everyone working the Tony awards somewhere down the line there was a lack of communication and the prop should have been immediately halted until Michaels was clear. ... I find it surprising that a Tony spokesperson would brush off this incident with a comment stating 'Mr. Michaels missed his mark' with no mention of concern for his condition. I feel had this incident happened to Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton or Elton John the Tonys would have at least issued a letter of concern."

The statement goes on and on. You can read here online. And while it never mentions "lawsuit," don'tt be surprised if this thing ends up with money changing hands and signatures being notarized.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Michaels himself posted a statement on his website that takes some -- but not all -- of the bitterness out of the situation:

"Over the last few days a lot of speculation as to what happened and who is to blame have surfaced. I need to make clear at no point since the incident occurred do I feel like the accident was malicious in any way and I feel this will all work itself out. However I must state I found it a little strange that the only statement released by the Tony organization was that I missed my mark and that I was completely fine."

He signs off with, "I thank the Good Lord I have a thick skull and I have a feeling this may have been my first and final curtain call at the Tonys. -- Broadway Bret Michaels"

Is it just me or does this seem like too much explanation for what happened? We haven't heard the last of it, I'm sure.

'A-Team' remake recruiting Liam Neeson, but who should take Mr. T's role?

In their never-ending quest to erase all fond memories of '80s television, Hollywood's remake of The A-Team is proceeding full speed ahead. The latest rumors, according to Variety: Liam Neeson will take George Peppard's role as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith and Bradley Cooper will tackle the role of Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck (played by Dirk Benedict).

Variety reports that the producers and writers of the remake will keep the series' plot intact -- a group of war veterans become evil-fighting mercenaries after being falsely convicted of crimes -- but will lighten the tone of the TV show and pursue a campier angle a la Ocean's Eleven.

Given Neeson's bent toward serious drama (and his recent personal tragedy), it's hard to imagine him starring in a rompy remake. But he has tackled softer roles before in Love Actually and High Spirits.

NPR, meanwhile, is offering up its five picks to play the role of B.A. ... yeah, the Mr. T role that remains uncast. Here's an abbreviated look at NPR's suggestions along with their arguments.

1. MICKEY ROURKE: "Vaguely nutsy, he's aggressively unique, and he certainly has the requisite experience with bombs."

2. JUSTIN LONG: "Okay. If we know that you can't emulate Mr. T, then perhaps the solution is to go as far from Mr. T as possible."

3. THE ROCK: "Massive, action-oriented, and a guy who shares Mr. T's wrestling background, The Rock also has a catchphrase that rivals the pitying of the proverbial fool for both stupidity and usefulness."

4. DJIMON HOUNSOU: "Appeared as a bouncer in the very first episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, giving him the requisite bad-television experience."

5. MR. T: "Surely, some combination of CGI, a giant paycheck, and some sort of buttressing apparatus can bring him back into B.A.'s shoes more than 20 years after he left."

Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris meets Jimmy Fallon

Former Saved by the Bell star Mark-Paul Gosselaar had the audience in tears last night when he showed up on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon dressed in character as teen idol Zack Morris -- retro blond haircut, stone-washed jeans and all. 

(Saved by the Bell might be a '90s guilty pleasure, but never forget that our buddies from Bayside High officially got started in 1989.)

I don't know if Jimmy Fallon's show is gonna survive or not, but watching the entire cast freeze perfectly every time Zack called time-out is reason enough to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Gosselaar even played the song Friends Forever with Fallon's house band and confirmed that a Saved by the Bell reunion project is working toward reality.

Every award show has its thorn: Poison's Bret Michaels fractures nose at Tonys

Poison's Bret Michaels was smacked in the head, flipped and knocked down after performing Sunday night at the Tony Awards in New York.

Michaels' publicist said the singer fractured his nose and had to get three stitches in his lip. He was getting a CAT scan today as a precaution, as he's had a past neck injury, reports the Associated Press.

Michaels and his bandmates performed with the cast of Tony-nominated Rock of Ages (which sadly didn't win), and as he was leaving the stage, a descending piece of the set hit him in the head hard enough to land Michaels face first on the stage floor.

According to the AP, Michaels simply "missed his mark" as the number ended and the scenery for the next segment descended.

Click here to watch the video. Classic. Here's a close-up video.

Wondering why Poison would play the Tony Awards? Rock of Ages was up for some big awards, including best actor and best musical (though they lost both to Billy Elliot). Plus, don't forget that Poison, Def Leppard and Cheap Trick are one of the big '80s tours of the summer. They play Tampa's Ford Amphitheatre on Aug. 14.

'Glee' eyes more '80s covers: Billy Joel and Queen in the works

Fox's upcoming show Glee already turned Journey's Don't Stop Believin' into a No. 1 seller on iTunes ... and producers aren't ready to stop there.

The show won't really begin until the fall TV season kicks off, but after the buzz generated by Glee's pilot in May, rumor has it that two more songs will be released during the summer to keep people talking.

Glee co-star Chris Colfer told E Online! that Salt-N-Pepa's Push It is on the list of songs for the coming season (as well as Defying Gravity from the Broadway show Wicked).

But even better: There's video footage on the Web now of the Glee cast performing Queen's Somebody To Love. Click here to watch it. Fox has requested that similar videos be taken off YouTube, so hurry before this one disappears too.

Okay, so technically it's from 1976, but '80s fans are feeling the love. (As will Queen's remaining members when this new version hits iTunes.)

Also, Entertainment Weekly says that Billy Joel has called the show's creators and offered up any of his songs for the show. "We're thinking of doing an episode of all Billy Joel," co-creator Ryan Murphy told the magazine.

The Greatest American Hero talks Star Wars, 'House' and magic jammies

Few things about the '80s are as burned into our brains as curly mop-topped William Katt in his red "magic jammies" on Greatest American Hero.

For three glorious seasons, Katt, Robert Culp and Connie Selleca were the toast of prime-time TV -- at least for young teens like me -- spinning weekly tales of crime-fighting and evil-thwarting on the ABC series. Fueled in no small part by one of the ultimate TV theme songs of all time -- Joey Scarbury's Believe It Or Not (music by the legendary Mike Post) -- Greatest American Hero is one of those shows that never seems to fade away.

With the TV series now headed for a big-screen Hollywood remake and a new version of Greatest American Hero headed for comic book treatment (read more here), Katt took time out this week to talk to Sean Daly and I for this week's Stuck in the '80s podcast. We talked about his Star Wars audition, his role in the '80s cult classic House and so much more. Here were some other highlights from our chat:

ON THE THREE-PART COMIC BOOK HE'S PRODUCING: "We answered a few questions that over the years fans have always talked about. One is whatever happened to the lost instruction book that Ralph loses in the desert right away, and who finds that book, and what other powers the suit is capable of orchestrating."

ON WHO SHOULD PLAY 'RALPH HINKLEY' IN THE MOVIE: "Years ago, they talked about Owen Wilson for the role and I think he would have been great. He's a little long in the tooth to do it right now. One of my favorite young actors, if he hadn't already done a great big action/adventure film, would have been Shia LaBeouf. I think the kid is just brilliant."

ON CO-STAR ROBERT CULP: "Originally, Bob Culp and I felt the same about each other. I know he felt I was a pain in the ass, and I felt the same. But two weeks or so into it, I knocked on his trailer door and we metaphorically duked it out and worked it out and we became honestly very good friends after that. And I can say we're even better friends now, 30 years later."

Click here to hear the full episode. Or click here to get all our shows for free via iTunes.