Main cast: Alan Thicke (Mickey Black), Frank Pellegrino (Bowie), Krista Bridges (Penny), Raoul Trujillo (James), and Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker)
Director: Jorge Montesi

Cocksure movie director Mickey Black thinks he is one tough guy that owns the world, but you know how it is. His bravado is going to be sorely tested when he hooks up with Penny, who also happens to be the object of the local crime boss James’s affection.

Now faced against actual men with guns and mean attitude, is Mickey going to prove to everyone that Tough Guys Don’t Whine?

Actually, he does. Not to spoil anything too much here, that fellow is as amoral and cold as the worst SOB in town, and he’s actually more than a match for James.

Mickey is a fun character to follow mostly because of the late Alan Thicke. He’s putting on a show of what happens if the father in Growing Pains is actually evil and fun. Mr Thicke plays his role with a charismatic suave vibe that makes that character so deliciously wicked to follow and savor.

This is definitely an episode in final season The Hitchhiker, though, because there is plenty of opportunity for nudity, that the first few seasons of this show would never hesitate to capitalize on. Here, though, nothing is shown aside from Mr Thicke’s chest. Not that it matters, because this episode is all about poor James constantly underestimating Mickey and getting humiliated because of this.

The resolution of the episode is pretty dumb and won’t hold up under scrutiny, but then again, that’s par for the course for this show. I’m just glad that this episode is a huge upgrade over whatever the crap the previous episode was, and it’s also pretty entertaining to boot.

For this show, especially when compared to the majority of the episodes in the last season, this episode is pure gold.