Before They Were Stars (3-for-1 Special): Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette and Thora Birch in “Parenthood: The TV Series”

During the fall of 1990, the airwaves were just with flooded with failed short-lived TV series which were based on movies, including Working Girl, Uncle Buck, Baby Talk and Ferris Bueller. The only film-to-TV adaptation from that fall which actually got good reviews was Parenthood, a spinoff of the hit Ron Howard/Steve Martin film, but poor ratings lead to its cancellation after only 12 episodes. However, the show was an absolute “Before They Were Stars” bonanza as its cast included 16-year old Leonardo DiCaprio, 19-year old David Arquette and 8-year old Thora Birch (simply billed in the opening credits as “Thora”)! Oh, and the reason I’ve chosen to post a clip from this particular episode? It was written and co-produced by none other than today’s birthday boy, Joss Whedon! This may have been the first time an acclaimed series involving Joss Whedon got cancelled very quickly, but it wouldn’t be the last…