Get a Life: The Prettiest Week of My Life (1990)

In "The Prettiest Week of My Life," one of the more memorable episodes of Get a Life, Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) pursues his unlikely dream of becoming a male model. "I won the genetic lottery," he tells his skeptical parents before running off to enroll in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. The school's proprietor, Ted Bains (Brian Doyle-Murray, who would go on to play Chris' landlord Gus in season two), snows Chris by asking him if he has "cheekbone implants." After making sure Chris has no affiliation with 60 Minutes, Bains tells him, "If the check clears, you're aces with me." Arriving for his first class, Chris gets into a tiff with Sapphire (Tuc Watkins), another modeling student, who cattily mistakes Chris for a member of the custodial staff. Intimidated by Sapphire's stage name, Chris renames himself "Sparkles." Bains puts the students through their paces (to the strains of "Pretty Woman"), and then they graduate. Chris then goes home and waits for the job offers to come in. His father (Bob Elliott), still dubious about this career choice, is won over when Bains finally calls with a modeling job for Chris. "Go get 'em, Speckles," he exhorts. Unbeknownst to Chris, he's going to be the doughy "before" picture in the ad for a muscle drink. In a powerful scene echoing Irene Cara's harrowing audition scene in Fame, Chris is reduced to tears when he's asked to pose topless. Disenchanted with the whole sordid business, Chris decides he'll go out with a bang, taking one last shot at every male model's dream -- a department store runway show. This episode inspired eccentric hip-hop genius Prince Paul and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura to form the comedic rap duo Handsome Boy Modeling School, who released So...How's Your Girl? in 1999. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi