By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
The 90s were an interesting decade for Sylvester Stallone. Between Rocky V and Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot, Stallone made a brief appearance as himself in HBO’s groundbreaking comedy series, Dream On. For years, the series was kept off streaming due to a web of licensing issues, but now it’s available on The Roku Channel. Stallone is part of the double-sized Season 2 premiere, “The Second Greatest Story Ever Told,” and well, it’s a little strange seeing a star as big as he is pop up in a sitcom cameo.
Sylvester Stallone Plays Sylvester Stallone
Dream On fell through the cracks. The 1990 comedy series ran for six seasons on HBO, notable for being one of the network’s first original comedies, and also its copious use of swearing and nudity. It was also created by Marta Kaufmann and David Crane, the creators of Friends. That could help explain why HBO decided to roll out the red carpet for the star-studded Season 2 premiere episode.
Sylvester Stallone appears briefly on a talk show discussing how he’s part of a movie about the life of Dr. Richard Stone, the most interesting man in the world. Dr. Stone is the new husband of Judith (Wendie Malick), the ex-wife of Dream On’s hero, Martin Tupper (Brian Benben), and also the fifth Beatle, astronaut, brain surgeon, best-selling author, and consultant to the Pope. Stallone isn’t playing Richard in the film: he’s playing Martin.
Dream On Redefined Sitcoms For The 90s
If the plot of the two-part episode sounds familiar, it’s not because Dream On relishes every single Hollywood trope, but because you saw How I Met Your Mother. “The Wedding Bride” also has a movie being made about the main character’s ex, in this case, Ted’s failed wedding to Stella, which makes him look like a complete idiot. In that show, Ted’s played by Chris Kattan, so at least Martin can take some solace in that he’s played by Stallone.
“The Second Greatest Story Ever Told” got a lot of mileage out of bringing Martin and his ex Judith to a working movie shoot, complete with even more celebrity cameos of the early 90s, most notably Robin Leech, the host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. There’s a running joke about the director, Sir Roland, hating every single person on the set, including the gaffer. It’s a great episode, but it also maintains the standard Dream On formula that you’ll either love or hate.
Dream On’s opening credits explain that Martin was raised in front of the television, which means as an adult, he’s constantly going back to old black and white movie and television footage to process his emotions. The constant use of old clips is what kept the series off streaming for as long as it was, and in the span of a single conversation, there could be half a dozen quick cutaways. It’s Family Guy humor.
After waiting for decades, Dream On is available to stream on The Roku Channel. Uncut, uncensored, and with a random, awkward Sylvester Stallone cameo included.
