Television probably has become the most evocative,
THE CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK
The intro for this past week's 'Monday Night Football' featured Nicollette Sheridan seducing Philadelphia Eagles star Terrell Owens in the Philly locker room while Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo watched on TV.
('Monday Night Football' & 'Desperate Housewives' & 'The Larry Sanders Show')
[See the blog entry 'Crossover Of The Week' from Friday]
THE GREAT LINK
At the taping of the 2004 Vibe Awards, violence broke out and a man was stabbed. But when the tape aired, all mention of the incident had been expunged. So did it actually happen as far as the TV Universe is concerned?
[See a previous blog essay - "Bad Vibe".]
BLIPVERTS
The plight of the multi-fingered mutant in today's society
('Dell Computers')
ZONK
There was more than one TV station in TV Land with the call letters of WWEN.
('Crossing Jordan' & 'Good Morning, Miami' & 'Scorch' & 'Days Of Our Lives')
[See the blog entry - "Where WWEN?"]
SPLAININS
Dr. House liked to watch 'General Hospital'
('House')
Splainin: The 'General Hospital' watched by Dr. House may not be the same soap opera watched by the audience viewing at home. In fact, the footage didn't have the feel of the ABC show at all; which is not surprising since it's doubtful ABC would have given the rights to FOX to show clips from their show.
Frank Barone told his wife Marie that he needed a "Cone of Silence" surrounding him to restore his mental balance.
('Everybody Loves Raymond')
Splainin: It's not the first time the malfunctioning CONTROL contraption has been mentioned in a TV show other than 'Get Smart'. Johnny Smith mentioned it in an episode of 'The Dead Zone'.
Most likely there was a general sell-off of Cold War technology and declassification of top secret spyware after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Once the copyright opened up for the Cone of Silence, TV equivalents to the Sharper Image stores probably sold them as novelty items of intimacy....
"Sawyer" called Jack "Dr. Quinn" as an insult.
('Lost')
'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman', is part of the history of Toobworld, and as history, she may have come to the notice of "Sawyer". (His name is in italics, because we don't know his true name now.)
Either in his schooling back in Tennessee or in his readings or travels at some point in his life, "Sawyer" must have learned about Michaela Quinn, the woman who braved the frontier and advanced the cause of women in Colorado Springs back in the 1870s.
And he must have figured Jack knew of her as well, so that the gender of the doctor would be obvious as an insult.
THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES
Ed McMahon
('Las Vegas')
Rip Taylor
('Will & Grace')
Randy Travis
('Extreme Makeover: Home Edition')
Smith
('Chevy Trailblazer' ad)
BY ANY OTHER NAME
In 1955, secret agent Barney Collier ('Mission: Impossible') met comedy writer Rob Petrie ('The Dick Van Dyke Show').
[See the blog essay "The Game Of The Name".]
FAMILY TIES
Joseph (Giuseppe?) Barone
Frank (Franco?) Barone
Robert____Raymond
('Everybody Loves Raymond')
LA TRIVIATA
There was a poster for the Thea Foundation hanging in the offices at Arcadia High School.
The mission statement for the Thea Foundation reads as follows:
"It is the mission of the THEA Foundation to create and operate a non-profit organization that promotes healthy, constructive action and communication within families through educationally oriented experiences and programs IN THE MOST THERAPUTICALLY EFFECTIVE AND COST EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE MANNER POSSIBLE, and to be good stewards of all donations received."
It was founded in honor of Thea Leopoulos, a promising North Little Rock High School art student who was killed by a drunk driver in May 2001.
For more information, visit this site:
http://www.theafoundation.org/default.asp
('Joan Of Arcadia')
There's a new breakfast cereal for the kiddies - "Rainbow Rings".
('Electric Swiffer' ad)
Here's a new movie to add to Fox Mulder's personal collection - "Thrill Bill".
('Medical Investigations' & 'The X-Files')
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The new FOX medical series, 'House', and 'Bless This House' - a sitcom which starred Andrew "Dice" Clay - both take place in Trenton, NJ.
Something to keep in mind, dear Mr. Producer, for an episode during February or May Sweeps......
~~~~~~~~~
Several state parks line the Connecticut River in Toobworld: Holyoak, Connecticut River Valley, and Mt. Grace.
('Crossing Jordan')
REALI-TV
With forty-five seconds left to play in the Pistons-Pacers game at The Palace at Auburn Hills this past Friday night, Rod Artest hard-fouled Ben Wallace - even though his team was way ahead and there was no way for the Pistons to catch up. Wallace shoved Artest in the throat, and then all hell broke loose.
A fan tossed a cup of beer or soda at Artest as he was lying down on the scorers' table like the prima donna that he is, and then the Pacers' Chief Punk charged up in the stands to start beating on some guy who may or may not have been the guilty party. (He looked like Jared of the Subway ads to me.)
Other players charged into the stands to begin fighting fans, fans trespassed onto the court and got sucker-punched, and the players were bombarded with debris as they fled the court under guard.
As basketball, it was ugly, disgusting, and just plain wrong. All of the players involved deserved the punishments they received, but especially that Meat-head Artest.
But as Television, it was GrrrrrrRRRRREEEEEAATTTT!
Artest wanted time off from basketball so he could promote his new rap album, and now he gets his wish. And by this time next year, perhaps he'll be up for a Vibe Award.
He certainly has the temperament to fit in with THAT crowd!
ALT-TV
CNN's Bill Hemmer has a new anchor position in 'The West Wing' dimension.
[See the blog entry 'It's Hemmer Time!']
OBITUARIES
DEVAN MAGUIRE
Devan Maguire was a pathologist working for the Medical Examiner's office in Boston. While on a flight back from Washington, DC, Devan helped restrain a fugitive on board. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to prevent the fumes which overwhelmed the passengers and crew. Because of her location on board when the plane crashed, there were no remains recovered, save for her cell phone.
('Crossing Jordan')
JUDITH MONTGOMERY
Judith Montgomery was a troubled teen with addiction and dependency problems. She was only just getting her life straightened out in Arcadia, New Jersey when she was stabbed to death by a drug dealer. She didn't realize it at the time, but God was right there with her all the time and never abandoned her at the end.....
('Joan Of Arcadia')
HISTORY, CHANNELLED
Salvatore Barone was so tough (How tough was he?), he was so tough that he made Benito Mussolini wet his pants.
('Everybody Loves Raymond')
UNSTUCK IN PRIME TIME
Since 1997, Sayid had been searching for his lost childhood friend, Noor Abet Jazim
Here are the main events from 1997 in the Iraqi timeline:
June 21 1997
UN demands Iraq allow inspection teams access to disputed sites.
October 23 1997
The UN disarmament commission concludes that Iraq has continued to conceal information on biological and chemical weapons and missiles.
October 29 1997
Iraq demands that Americans on UN inspection team leave. They go temporarily, but return on November 20.
November 13 1997
Iraq expel expelsAmerican members of the UN inspection team.
Perhaps it was at this time that Nadia was able to escape the country, hidden among the American contingent.
('Lost')
CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME
The characters of Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo are 2/3rds of the way toward entry into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame this week with their appearances in that Monday Night Football intro film. Getting that last qualification may be tough as there is nothing else on the ABC sked that would make a good fit for a true crossover.
But who knows? I have to admit, I never would have thought of the Monday night game as being a choice for a crossover.....
('Desperate Housewives' & 'Monday Night Football')
And Nicollette Sheridan is now 2/3rds of the way towards induction as well because of that steamy intro.
('Monday Night Football' & 'The Larry Sanders Show')
In case anyone was interested in who the other 'Trek' inductees have been up to this point, here's the rundown of the year so far:
January - Captain James T. Kirk
February - Lt. Uhura
March - Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
April - Commander Montgomery Scott
May - Yeoman Janice Rand
June - Zephraim Cochrane
Birthday Honors - The Cast Of The Original 'Star Trek':
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichole, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney
July - Ensign Pavel Chekov
August - Helmsman Hikaru Sulu
September - Gene Roddenberry
October - The Tribbles
November - Ambassador Sarek
Well, that's it for another week. Please stay tuned!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
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