Over the Top

Not to be confused with the Sylvester Stallone film of the same name.

Over the Top was a very short-lived 1997 Sitcom starring Tim Curry (who was also one of the producers of the show), Steve Carell and Annie Potts.

The show focused on Simon Ferguson (played by Curry) a former actor and star of a daytime soap opera who was recently fired from his job (Due to him showing up at work drunk once too often and forgetting his lines). He ends up at a hotel in Boston where he is reunited with his ex-wife Hadley Martin (played by Potts). He then ends up employed at the hotel while mooching off of Martin's kindness and dealing with not only a good-hearted yet annoying child named Daniel Martin (Hadley's son), but also a very obsessed fan, Yorgo (played by Steve Carell), who happens to be the hotel's chef, and Hadley's rebellious teen daughter, Gwen.

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This show provides examples of:

• Bratty Half-Pint: Averted with Daniel. Though he's an annoyance to Simon, Daniel is generally a good kid.
• Casting Gag: One episode featured Simon dressing up in drag.
• Deadpan Snarker: Simon (when he's not being a Large Ham), though, what else would we expect from Tim Curry?
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Simon's character in Days To Remember is killed in a plane crash after Simon is fired from his acting job on the show.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Hey, it's Dr. Frank N Furter, Janine Melnitz and the Mayor of Whoville.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Simon. He does have Jerkass tendencies, and he tends to think of himself more than others. But, he generally means well and does show concern for others from time to time.
• Jerkass: Simon, when he's being egotistical and selfish...which is 90% of the time.
• Large Ham: Simon is a parody of this.
• Playing Against Type: Apart from Simon's Jerkass qualities, this is one of the few roles Tim Curry plays that isn't a villain.