Fat Actress

No one is crueler to Kirstie Alley than Kirstie Alley herself during the first season of her largely improvised "reality" series Fat Actress. The opening episode finds Kirstie bemoaning the fact that her career has hit rock bottom, principally because she has put on a great deal of weight. Even worse, Kirstie's condition has made her the object of ridicule in every cheap supermarket tabloid from New York to L.A. A discussion with John Travolta, who has himself had poundage problems over the years, convinces Kirstie that, fairly or not, male stars are judged by their talent and female stars are judged by the width of their hips and hindquarters. Throughout the season, Kirstie endeavors to put herself back on top, beginning by brokering a development deal with Jeff Zucker for a TV series -- providing she go on a diet. In subsequent storylines, a rumor develops that Kirstie's weight gain is the result of a pregnancy caused by Kid Rock; an effort by Kirstie to link up with singer Gwen Stefani gets her thrown in jail; and Christopher McDonald plays Kirstie's crackhead brother, who comes up with a highly suspect diet plan (this same episode features Connie Stevens -- yes, that Connie Stevens! -- as Kirstie's mom).