How the Mighty Have Fallen

A character catches up with their former mentor or idol and discovers they're a lot less impressive than they used to be. Often they've fallen on hard times and are unemployed or working some menial job.

Frasier

Appearances

• The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 1, episode 30, "The Return of Happy Spangler" (1962). Rob discovers that Happy Spangler, a radio writer who gave him his first break, is now working in a tie store. Rob feels badly for him and decides to give him a job on the Alan Brady Show, but it turns out he's not as good as he used to be.
• The Bob Newhart Show: Season 4, episode 8, "What's It All About, Albert?" (1975). Bob feels that his patients aren't making any progress, so he visits his old college professor and mentor Dr. Albert for advice, but Dr. Albert is no longer the wise, intellectual psychology expert Bob remembers. He now grades his students' papers with W for "wonderful," encourages them to do whatever they feel like doing, tells Bob that psychology is all "a crock," and claims the only thing worthwhile in life is golf.
• The Bob Newhart Show: Season 6, episode 8, "You're Fired, Mr. Chips" (1977). After Bob's old college professor and mentor is forced into retirement, Bob hires him as his assistant, but he quickly discovers that the professor is better suited for the classroom than the couch.
• Cheers: Season 3, episode 13, "Whodunit?" (1985). Frasier is disappointed that his mentor, Dr. Bennett Ludlow, doesn't seem to want to spend time with him, and he's appalled when he learns it's because Dr. Ludlow has been dating Carla.
• Night Court: Season 3, episode 18, "Could This Be Magic?" (1986). Harry's hero from childhood, "The Fabulous Falcone," appears in court after ripping off some tourists with a three card monty game. Harry offers to help him get back on top, but Falcone robs his apartment.
• Cheers: Season 8, episode 13, "Sammy and the Professor" (1990). Rebecca's favorite college professor comes to visit, and Sam wants to consult her for advice on how he can buy back Cheers, but they end up sleeping together, making Rebecca lose respect for her former mentor.
• Wings: Season 6, episode 8, "Miss Jenkins" (1994). Helen loses respect for the gang's old English teacher when she spends the night with Brian.
• Wings: Season 6, episode 16, "Remembrance of Flings Past: Part 1" (1995). Lowell meets up with his old shop teacher and mentor, Mr. Conley, who turns out to be insane, and everyone knew it but Lowell.
• Spin City: Season 3, episode 18, "Back to the Future IV - Judgment Day" (1999). Mike's old mentor, Owen Kingston, comes to City Hall to work on a project for the mayor, but Owen isn't the man Mike remembers. He's become very religious, and he tells Mike that he's "the messiah."
• Frasier: Season 8, episode 12, "The Show Must Go Off" (2001). While shopping for comic books for Frederick at a sci-fi convention, Frasier runs into a Shakespearian actor he and Niles idolized as children, and they decide to put on a show for him to get back into the theater, but when they see him act again, they realize he's a hack, and they scramble to find a way to stop the show.
• Frasier: Season 8, episode 20, "The Wizard and Roz" (2001). Frasier's college mentor, Dr. Tewksbury, meets Roz in the coffee shop, and they end up sleeping together. When Frasier shows up at Roz's apartment, he finds Dr. Tewksbury wearing Roz's skimpy pink silk robe, and the image is so shocking that he can no longer take Dr. Tewksbury seriously.