"Terrible thing drink does to a man." --Father Alvito to "Anjin-San (John Blackthorne)," from the book "Shogun" by James Clavell.

I was going to write this thread yesterday, but I had other obligations. So, I'm pulling "double-thread duty" this morning.

Mel Gibson is, without a doubt, one of the Icons of Action Movies. From "Mad Max," to his breakthrough hit "The Road Warrior," to the seminal classic "Braveheart," to the series "Lethal Weapon"...if it contained swordfights, gunfire, or lots of villans taking up new careers as corpses? Mel and his Icon Studios were there.

However, with this man, I must ponder something here: Is Mad Max the movie character melding with Mel Gibson, the man?

It is no secret that Mel Gibson loves his booze. That, and acting the part of a "manly man's man." However, one must consider the fact of what happened when he was taken into custody from Driving Under the Influence of booze...and utter stupidity.

How else can you explain his rants about Jews; calling a female CHP officer "Sugar T@@@s"--and not learning one whit from this experience?

But wait...it gets better.

Mad Mel then divorces his wife and takes up with a Russian woman whom he calls "my Baby Momma"--getting her pregnant as he does. She ends up having Mel's daughter.

Then all hell breaks loose...worthy of The Thunderdome at full output!

Allegedly, Mad Mel gets wasted and punches his ladyfriend in the mush, knocking out two teeth. The LA County Sheriff's Department is called out to investigate the incident--and recordings of very heated phone conversations end up on an Internet gossip site (www.radar.com).

Now Mad Mel's lawyers want to have the former girlfriend prosecuted for "leaking the tapes" to radar.com. However Mad Mel's professional-and-personal lives are going Apocalypto.

First, the Willam Morris Agency drops him as a client. Then, his friends are not forming a "protective circle" around him. There is specualtion that the recordings may have sealed Mad Mel's professional fate...and if his career does eat hot death and go down in flames, it would not surprise me one whit!

However, his professional downfall will be nothing compared to the personal Ninth Ring Of Hell that he's about to enter. Getting wasted is bad enough. Getting wasted knowing you do-and-say some crazy, nasty things is worse. Punching the mother of your newborn child in the mouth while on a drunk--bad is as bad does!

But having the public find out just how despicable you really are via recorded phone conversations? That somehow got onto the Internet and the public airwaves?

You, your reputation, and your career are TORCHED TOAST!

The only way out of this for "Mad Mel" is to stop acting like his "Road Warrior" personna; kick the booze; and take his judicial medicine in regards to the spousal/companion abuse charge.

In other words, no more "Mad Mel," and bring back the real Mel Gibson--the actor AND the man.

Otherwise, it's all over. What Women Want? Certainly not him! Braveheart? More like Yellowlush The Woman Abuser! Riggs from "Lethal Weapon"? He would have eaten that "special" 9mm round by now.

It's sad to see an Icon fall. It's even worse to see that the fall was self-inflicted, Humpty-Dumpty style. I'm hoping that with this, he has truly reached rock bottom ...and sees that it's going to be a long way back to the surface.

And, Mad Mel--you brought this all upon yourself, 'cos no one but you is to blame.

Just another price Fame exacts!

--LPR