In the episode “Face Your Fears” of CBS’ Angel From Hell, main character Allison (Maggie Lawson) comes face to face with a pantless Joey McIntyre from the popular 1990’s boy band New Kids on the Block.
It all starts when Amy (Jane Lynch), the guardian angel with a mouth from hell, convinces Allison to face her fears. Allison decides to she wants to make amends with her best friend, Kelly, by asking a favor of her brother the realtor who sold a house to Joey McIntyre. The two gal pals had crushes on McIntyre back in the day so she calls in a chit and asks him to arrange a meeting.
Thinking that Allison is asking him to visit a sick child, as celebrities often do, Allison has to admit to McIntyre that the fan is a 32-year-old grown woman. He only agrees after finding out that Allison is a dermatologist and can remove a tattoo. That’s when he begins to undress himself…
Joey: No worries. Brad told me you cashed in your chit. I give everybody one. I'm just glad you're not one of the crazies.
Allison: (Laughs) Yeah, right? No, I was a... I was a casual New Kids fan, not one of the crazy ones, you know, Joey Mcintyre.
Joey: Can you... Not use my full name?
Allison: Oh, you got it, Joey. (Mouths)
Joey: Uh, okay, so tell me about this girl, Kelly. How old is she, what disease does she have?
Allison: She's 32, and she tested positive for being super mad at me, and the doctors prescribed a round of j-mac z-pak.
Security: Candy corn. Candy corn. We have a candy corn situation
in the conference room. I repeat: Candy corn.
Allison: No, no, no, no, no. I am not candy corn. I am not. I am a perfectly balanced dermatologist who just needs help winning back a friend.
Joey: Are you really a dermatologist?
Allison: Yes. My father and I have a very successful practice.
Joey: Do you do tattoo removals?
Allison: Of course.
Security: Circus peanuts. I repeat: Circus peanuts. Stand down.
Joey: I too have a mistake that needs fixing. I need the room. ♪♪ ♪♪ It was the summer of 1990. A magical time. You remember.
Allison: I do.
Joey: I was on lunch boxes, T-shirts, bed sheets, trading cards, even had my own Saturday morning cartoon. It was hilarious. The only place my face wasn't appearing was on my body. Until this.
Allison: Yeah. Oh, my God, it's happening. Just be cool. Let it play out.
Joey: I haven't done anything about it because I didn't want word to get out. You help me get rid of him, I'll do the appearance.
Allison: Done.
Allison removes that unfortunate tattoo and McIntyre goes on to appear in front of Kelly where she is having an art show of her work.
Meanwhile, the new relationship between Amy and Allison continues to develop. Just as in the premiere episode, the vulgar dialogue from Amy is played as comedy but continues to just sound like it is thrown in there for shock value. For example, as Allison is asking Amy about guardian angels, Amy explains to Allison that guardian angels are “like herpes… Everyone has a version of it that they don't know about. And no matter how hard they try, they can't get rid of us.” – Hilarious? Um, no.
It’s a shame that a television show that could be entertaining with a good message – there are angels among us – has to be neglected in favor of crude, in-your-face exploitation instead.
