THE BACHELOR'S BABY
Starring: Scott Bakula, Chelsea Field, Dan Lauria
Original Airdate: 1996
Type: Drama
Here we go again! Another TV movie about a misfit parent trying to raise a baby. But at least this time around, said parent isn't some annoying "oh my god I won't be able to live at the mall anymore!" teenager. Instead, it's Scott Bakula. Yeah, I can handle that. Yes, indeed.
The Bachelor's Baby is about a man named Jake Henry. He's got a good job, a nice house, and is fond of the ladies. One evening, one of Jake's ex-girlfriends, Jamie, shows up on his porch with a baby in tow and announces the kid, Zach, is Jake's. She tells him she just needs a place to stay for the night, and nothing more. But during a visit to the pediatrician's the next day, the doctor suspects Jamie may have some "issues" that render her incapable of taking care of the baby. The next thing she knows, Zach is being taken by child services.
Compelled by forces unfamiliar and strange, Jake decides to petition to get temporary custody of Zach. But Jake's lifestyle is hardly suitable for parenthood. He's willing to do whatever it takes, though. He babyproofs the house by tying cupboard doors shut with rope and taping socks to the corners of the coffee table. Despite the misgivings of a social worker, Jake is given temporary custody of Zach.
And so it begins -- instant-fatherhood. Jake is up half the night, caring for a crying baby. His work suffers, and eventually he is fired. Nothing is the same anymore... but for him, it's all worth it, because he loves Zach.
Enter... THE VILLAIN. Jamie's overprotective older brother used to have partial custody of Zach, and he wants to ruin Jake's life so he can play daddy to Zach once more. When Jake makes a video of Zach's first steps -- which happen to occur just after Zach gets out of the bathtub one evening -- Evil Older Brother cries "child porn!" and the next thing everyone knows, Zach is being taken away from Jake. Then there's this whole big hearing thing, everyone testifies, and Zach's future is decided.
In the end, it all comes down to how Jamie feels about Jake, and what she decides to tell the judge. In the best interest of her son, she does the right thing. What IS the right thing, you ask? Well, come on, to whom would YOU give custody of a cute little baby -- evil, sinister guy... or Scott Bakula? Duh, no-brainer right there. Sam Beckett totally wins.
And I have to say this is the cutest TV-movie baby ever. Go on, I dare you to show me a cuter one. Not possible, is it? That's what I thought.
The Bachelor's Baby is available on VHS under the title Here Comes the Son.
6/11/2006
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