CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK!

TV crossovers are only part of the whole concept for Toobworld. We also find splainins for discrepancies like the classic "Two Darrins" and for things that can't be found in the Real World, like talking horses.

But when it comes to the crossovers, the basic building block for the TV Universe, we don't just include the official crossovers - where's the sport in that? We also include the theoretical links. As far as we're concerned, all of the TV shows are connected already; we just haven't made the actual connections yet.

It's somewhat like Intelligent Design, only not completely thought out and sometimes with sloppy results.

On second thought, based on how things are turning out in the Real World, it's exactly like Intelligent Design.

And in those theoretical links are those forged by the League of Themselves, those people who appear as themselves in fictional settings. Other crossoverologists may not acknowledge the League of Themselves, but I can't see why not. They're just as fictional as Andy Sipowicz and Spongebob Squarepants.

And it's the League of Themselves that provides our Crossover Of The Week.

Near the end of last season, Jake hired Neil Sedaka to serenade a girl with whom he was smitten. Only it turned out that it was Jon Secada she really liked; Secada, not Sedaka.

Even Neil Sedaka himself thought there was something off about the idea. Oh well, at least Mr. Sedaka could take solace in the decades-long "friendship" he had with Arthur of Queens. The regular missives from his pen pal kept Neil Sedaka feeling young.

('Jake In Progress', 'The King of Queens'

Neil Sedaka was also fictionalized further by an actor playing his younger self in a 2003 episode of 'American Dreams', in which Sedaka was performing on 'American Bandstand'.

(Whether he really did or not, I'm not sure.)

Nevertheless, his appearances as himself on 'The King of Queens' and 'Jake In Progress' put him two-thirds of the way towards induction into the League of Themselves chapter of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Who knows? Maybe these appearances are the first steps toward giving Neil Sedaka the type of "street cred" cache that Tony Bennett got after appearing on MTV.

Or maybe not.

'THE KING OF QUEENS' & 'JAKE IN PROGRESS'

This week's Crossover of the Week!

And if the idea of the League of Themselves troubles ya..... I'm afraid it's probably going to be responsible for next week's crossover as well!

My bat - er, bad......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby