2008 Comeback Stories: Lola, Roxanne, Lola ... and Billie Jean?

This post is part of our series on people, places and things that have found new life in 2008.

When I found out last year that The Police was regrouping for a reunion tour, I immediately called my rock concert buddy to make plans to see the show. "I feel like I'm 17 again, " I told her, giddy at the thought of seeing the three hot guys (I'm talking both physically and talent-wise here) I'd dug in my adolescence take the stage at the same venue where I'd seen them almost 25 years ago.

While the concert was solid and enjoyable, the band didn't move me the way it did in my youth. The tour was successful enough that The Police are coming around again this year -- this time with fellow '80s icon Elvis Costello -- but I'm not compelled to see the show again. That's the problem with reunion shows: The reality rarely measures up to the rosy glow of memory.

Take , for example, the Jackson 5: Jermaine Jackson announced plans for a reunion tour late last year, saying brother Michael was on board. No tour dates have been announced yet, and it seems likely that the self-proclaimed King of Pop is holding things up. After all, he's been pretty busy with the release of the 25th anniversary edition of the Thriller album.

Should Michael be on board? His talent is arguably still intact, but let's face it: He's not exactly the handsome young front man he once was. And even if you look charitably on his recent legal troubles, he's still one weird dude --something that wasn't apparent in the Jackson 5's heyday. Given all that, and the fact that they're all 35 years older, the brothers would be hard-pressed to recapture the innocence that helped make their music so endearing and enduring.