ASKIN: ABOUT BURKHALTER'S FATE

"In portraying Burkhalter, I try always to depict the sort of irritability of a man who realizes he has just swallowed a rotten olive."
- Leon Askin in 1966

Since 'Hogan's Heroes' was set in the Past - more than sixty years ago - there was no way that the character of General Albert Burkhalter could have outlived his portrayer, actor Leon Askin. Askin passed away yesterday in Vienna at the age of 97; had the General still been alive, he would have been at least 158 years old!

Aside from longevity limitations, I think it's unlikely General Burkhalter lived long past the war's end, and it's more than probable that he died before the Nazis surrendered. I think his superiors would have had him executed for failures in connection with Stalag 13.

Just the other day I caught the last half hour of "The Great Escape". (TCM has been saluting the essence of Steve McQueen's cool all week.) And it's strongly suggested that the camp commandant who was in charge at the time of the breakout was being escorted out of camp to face summary execution.

Even though Colonel Wilhelm Klink was in charge of Stalag 13, Burkhalter had ultimate authority. He might have had better luck had he carried out this constant threat to ship Klink off to the Russian front, but since he was responsible for not seeing that directive carried out, then the General had to be held accountable.

Because as the war neared its end, Colonel Hogan and his men would have needed to escalate their activities against the Nazis. And if that meant they would all have to escape, draining the camp of all of its "human resources", then the prisoner of war camp once renowned for never having a single escape would have been rendered a ghost town.

(Musical cue: "It's Draining Men! Olly-Achtung!")

For their own safety, the prisoners would have had to escape before the camp fell into the hands of the Allies. Because once the Nazis began their own version of a bug-out, they would have discovered the listening devices and transmitters, - not to mention the tunnels! - and vengeful retribution would have been swift.

It's Toobworld's theory that Colonel Klink would have escaped execution by "volunteering" to be a guinea pig in a Nazi cryogenic experiment conducted by Professor Amadeus. The plan was to keep Hitler alive in suspended animation until the time was right to bring him forth once more to rule the world (as seen in "The Deadly Game Affair" on 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.').

But Professor Amadeus first had to be certain that the process worked so he needed to try it out first on someone who was approximately Hitler's age and of similar health. Klink would have qualified for the "honor"; Burkhalter would not. And so Albert Burkhalter would have ended up before a firing squad.
Immortality in Toobworld is usually everlasting fame, not everlasting life. The TV Universe is nothing more than a collection of video memories.

We know that Klink survived the experiment. Professor Amadeus would have had to test the resuscitation process on his frozen corpse first before risking the procedure on Hitler. And that's why we saw Klink, looking no older than he did over twenty years before, hanging out of a window to converse with 'Batman' and Robin as they climbed the side of a Gotham City building.

(More than likely he lived out his years in anonymity in New York City where he hoped to become one of the eight million stories never told. Perhaps he changed his name and passed the bar so that he could practice Law in the city, because there was a defense lawyer on 'Law & Order' who bore a striking resemblance to Klink. He looked just as the former Nazi officer might have looked had he continued aging naturally from 1967 onwards.

That lawyer's name? William Unger. William... Wilhelm...? As for the last name, for all I know he noticed it on a sign advertising a photographer whose specialty was portraits.)

It's interesting to note that Leon Askin lived to be 97, nearly as old as actor Eddie Albert, who passed away last week at the age of 99. This is because both their respective shows, 'Hogan's Heroes' and 'Green Acres' are connected, my TV Universe enthusiast Hugh Davis has pointed out to me:

"As I wrote about when documenting how Gorshin's Riddler could have footprints anywhere, I mentioned a 'Batman' connection to 'Hogan's Heroes', as Col. Klink appeared on that show.

In a flashback episode of 'Green Acres' Oliver is told during WWII that he should look for Col. Hogan if he is taken captive.

These shows are all part of an intricate network."

Indeed they are, and long after they are off the air such shows can resonate throughout others.

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."

BCnU,
Tele-Toby

"Hey, Lou! He stole your poem!"
Ted Baxter
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'

LEON ASKIN: A SHORT NOTE IN PASSING....

This news came out from the AP only just about an hour ago....

Leon Askin, the actor who played Gen. Albert Burkhalter in the 1960s television comedy "Hogan's Heroes," has died, Austrian officials said Friday.

The actor was 97. Neither city officials nor the Vienna hospital where he died disclosed the cause or date of his death.

Askin was best known for his role as the Nazi general who constantly threatened to send the prisoner of war camp's inept commander, Col. Wilhelm Klink, to the Russian front because of his stupidity.

I'm sorry to admit that for me, Mr. Askin fell into that category of actor whom I thought had already passed away. I've never been too good at keeping track of the actors, but ask me to extrapolate what miay have happened to their characters, hoo boy!

I'm on my way to work now, but I will think more 'pon this and will hopefully come up with something appropriate to mark his passing from this world and his immortality in Toobworld.

BCnU...
Tele-Toby

SOME OF THE NEWS I SEE FIT TO PRINT

Here are a few news stories which I felt had resonance for Toobworld and the concept of a TV Universe........

Detective Mike Logan won't be working solo on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' next season.

NBC announced May 24 that Annabella Sciorra will join the cast as Logan's ('L&O' 'alumni Chris Noth) partner, Detective Carolyn Barek, in 2005-06. Noth and Sciorra will appear in 11 episodes of the series, while the show's original stars, Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, will star in the other 11.

Co-stars Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance will continue their roles in all 22 episodes.

According to 'Criminal Intent' executive producer Rene Balcer, Sciorra's character is a "brilliant criminal profiler" who has worked for the FBI as well as the NYPD and joins Logan on the Major Case Squad.
~~~~~~~
NBC is remaking "The Poseidon Adventure", the 1972 flipped-ship classic that launched a boatload of big-name disaster movies .

NBC is saying this “edge-of-your-seat” remake will bring the story “into the 21st century.” Which means instead of being sunk by a big wave, the new Poseidon is done in by terrorists.

Why start a new Adventure? NBC Universal's Jeff Gaspin says he has wanted to do this for years. “These popcorn-type movies have always done well on television. … This one, after it was made 30 years ago, nothing has been made like it since.”

(Which shows he has llittle memory retention. 'Goliath Awaits' aired back in the mid-80s, and that had possibilities for an off-beat type of 'Lost' series.)

The cast for the film includes Steve Guttenberg, Rutger Hauer, Peter Weller, Alexa Hamilton, Bryan Brown, C. Thomas Howell, Adam Baldwin and Sylvia Syms.
~~~~~~
Simon Cole and Rachel Dioso of UC Irvine's criminology department argue that there isn't enough hard evidence linking jury acquittals to crime shows. "To argue that 'C.S.I.' and similar shows are actually raising the number of acquittals is a staggering claim," they write, "and the remarkable thing is that, speaking forensically, there is not a shred of evidence to back it up. There is a robust field of research on jury decision-making but no study finding any CSI effect.' There is only anecdotal evidence."
~~~~~
In a new Heineken spot, we see a crew of underground super-mutants as they consider their newest member, an average dude named Darren. At first, they can't figure out why he deserves to join them -- until he turns his shoe into a bottle of Heineken.
~~~~~
The Independent Film Channel has greenlit a trio of skeins -- an animated show from Bob Balaban, a Christopher Guest-style look at an indie film studio and a revived "Greg the Bunny" -- for this year's lineup.

Projects -- all of which feature some sendup of IFC as a network -- will debut back-to-back in a one-hour block at 10 p.m. during IFC's "Film Fanatic Fridays" beginning Aug. 19.

'The Festival' is a six-part, half-hour parody told from the perspective of fictional documentarian Cookie, recruited by IFC to shoot a film about Rufus, director of "The Unreasonable Truth of Butterflies." Philms Pictures produces with Phil Price directing and Brandi-Ann Milbradt producing.

'Hopeless Pictures', from writer-director-producer Balaban, is a cartoon about the head of a dysfunctional indie film studio, voiced by Michael McKean.

'Greg the Bunny' takes off from the cancellation of Greg and Warren the Ape's Fox sitcom. To pay the bills, the pair has been reduced to making film parodies for IFC. Cabler has ordered a dozen five- to 12-minute episodes.
~~~~
'Dixon of Dock Green' is to make a comeback - but this time as a series on Radio 4. The show will star 'Lawless' actor David Calder as George Dixon and the next 'Doctor Who' David Tennant as Andy Crawford. A series of six programmes will be broadcast in June and will be based on the original TV scripts.

The BBC One series, starring Jack Warner, ran from 1955 to 1976 and was one of the most popular shows of its day, watched by over 14 million people. Set in the East End of London, 'Dixon of Dock Green' focused on the everyday routine tasks of local police, troubled mainly by low-level crime.

(A story like that, and a look through the list of TV series that were once radio series as well, makes me wonder if there's someone out there who treats those thrilling days of yesteryear as one interconnected universe of radio shows........)
~~~~~~
Sir Paul McCartney's wife Heather is to make a cameo appearance in 'Days Of Our Lives' promoting her anti-landmine charity. The campaigner, who married the former Beatle in 2002, will play herself in one episode, counselling a wounded soldier who has lost a limb. She lost a leg when she was hit by a police motorcycle in 1993 and is patron of the Adopt-A-Minefield charity. The episode has already been filmed and will be screened at the end of June.
~~~~~
Steven Colbert, correspondent for 'The Daily Show' will be helming a Comedy Central show of his very own, dubbed 'The Colbert Report'. Expected to debut this fall, Colbert's show will reportedly target news shows headlined by a single personality, such as Bill O'Reilly's 'The O'Reilly Factor' or Chris Matthew's 'Hardball'.

"I don't know why someone hasn't copied The Daily Show," Colbert told the New York Times in an interview. "I, personally, was eager to rip us off." While 'The Daily Show' typically focuses on lampooning the days' top news stories as delivered by suits such as Brian Williams and Peter Jennings, Colbert will take on the kind of talking head commentary offered up by the "stars" of the 24-hour new networks.

"In the way 'The Daily Show' is kind of a goof on the structure of news, this is more of a goof on the cult of personality-type shows," Jon Stewart told the Times.
~~~~~
Gumby turns 50 this year, and Rhino Home Video is celebrating with the release of three DVD packages. The Very Best New Adventures of Gumby, Volumes 1 and 2 ($10) is scheduled to hit stores June 28. Each contains a dozen Gumby cartoons that appeared on television in the late 1980s and early 1990s but have never before been available on DVD.

Each volume is authorized by Gumby creator Art Clokey and includes the original cartoons, music, sound effects and voices. Then, onSept. 30, Rhino will issue a 50th anniversary boxed set ($40) with four DVDs of cartoons going all the way back to the 1950s, along with such extras as a documentary on Clokey and a historical retrospective.

The Gumby DVD releases are part of a 50th-birthday celebration that will see branded merchandise such as T-shirts, shoes and plush toys appear in stores, along with the popular bendable “action figures.” Six hundred Petco stores will sell chew toys for dogs. The Museum of the Moving Image in New York City will install an 1,800-square-foot Gumby exhibit, and stadium sporting events around the country will host Gumby and Pokey nights. [Thomas K. Arnold]
~~~~~~~~~~
OP-ED TIME:
For the most part, when viewers rip into the loss of a favorite character, they are doing so for selfish reasons. It would have been better for them if that particular character stayed on their show. But they don't seem to consider the benefits not only to the show from the exit's dramatic punch, but what it will mean for the actor who played the role.

I think the loss of Boone in the first season of 'Lost' was the best thing that could have happened for Ian Somerhalder. He just has to properly capitalize on it and not waste his potential.

The same could be said for Sasha Alexander who left the season finale of 'NCIS' in a shocking death scene. And at least there are some out there who can appreciate what this might mean for her as an actress....

Sasha, we loved ya, but if you wanted to go, what a send off! Akin to McLean Stevenson's departure from MASH. No one has ever forgotten the feeling of shock and mourning for a great character.

Good Luck Sasha......Posted at 12:59 PM ET on May 25, 2005 by M C Concepcion

Of course the invocation of McLean Stevenson does put a crimp in my assertion that it could lead to bigger and better things.

"Being the first to die, I'll probably soar to cult status in years to come." - Denise Crosby, 1988. She was talking about the impending doom of Tasha Yar on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'.

On second thought, forget I said anything......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

DAY OF SWINE AND PROSE

"In some other world, maybe people will be in cages,
And animals will be throwing us peanuts."
Wilbur Post
'Mr. Ed'

The list of 2005 inductees into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame was set well in advance; in fact, I'm prepared with at least three more years of nominees... just in case someone needs to pick up the mantle and shoulder on. (And next year we revamp slightly to induct somebody new every week!)

So it was not only sad but ironic to note that Eddie Albert passed away last week, just before one of his 'Green Acres' co-stars would be the June inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

As much as he is deserving of the honor, Oliver Wendell Douglass will easily gain entry into the Hall when his time has come because he officially met the requirements. But one of his co-stars, however, needed to be herded along from the sty to the Hall before somebody made a dime bank outta him.
I'm referring of course to Arnold Ziffel.

Arnold Ziffel was the son of Fred and Doris Ziffel. Not their natural-born son, of course; he was a pig. So he's adopted.

(It could be that Sam Drucker, the first ever inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, may have been responsible for the deaths of Arnold's birth parents. At the very least, he was an accessory after the fact. Sam sold pig's knuckles in his general store at 89 cents a jar, which worked out to be about 12 cents a knuckle.

Arnold Ziffel was smart. According to TV Acres:

"Arnold could play the piano, drink lime soda from a straw, deliver letters from the mail box, turn the channels on the television (he loved to watch THE CBS EVENING NEWS with Walter Cronkite), predict weather with his curly tail, and play cricket with his own miniature cricket bat. "

He was such a smart pig that it's a porcine puzzle as to why he was still in school. Arnold was not only smarter than the other kids in school, he was smarter than many of those in that farming community of Hooterville. He ended up being drafted into the military and he went out to Hollywood to work in the movies. (I think what he really wanted to do was direct.)

Arnold even figured out a way to drink in bars without fear of being carded, decades before Toonces the Cat gave pub-crawling a try.

Young Master Ziffel proved to be so popular that he even showed up on Joey Bishop's late-night talk show. Technically, since Arnold was playing a tele-version of himself on his own show, it could be argued that this appearance was the third requirement for entry, fulfilled. But I wouldn't push that.

(It might be fun, however, to take that clip from Joey Bishop's talk show and rejigger it through editing. Excise any mention of 'Green Acres' as a show and of his co-stars as actors, and splice in an establishing shot from Joey's old sitcom so that we would be watching him host as Joey Barnes, not as Joey Bishop. The real trick would be to broadcast it to make it legit, but hey! That's why there's public access!)

In 1990 we were reunited with Arnold and most of the other "Poople of Heeterville" in the TV movie 'Return To Green Acres'. And this marks the second fulfillment for entry into the Hall of Fame.

Now, some might think I would choose the episode of 'The Jackie Thomas Show' in which Jackie tried to enlist the help of Eddie Albert in getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Arnold Ziffel. But that's actually a "Zonk!" which violates the integrity of the TV Universe. It belongs lumped in with Arnold's appearance on 'The Joey Bishop Show' and on 'What's My Line?', as well as appearances on the annual telecasts of the Patsy Awards. (In fact, all of those appearances would add up to a qualifying sub-set to keep the nit-pickers of pork as happy as a pig in shit. But where's the sport in that?)

One of the main reasons for the existence of the Inner Toob is to splain away the discrepancies of the TV Universe. This is something I've been interested in since Darrin Stephens changed from looking like Dick York one week to looking like Dick Sargent the next. Such a mission would include why - and how! - a pig could be as intelligent as Arnold Ziffel clearly was.

'Hercules: The Legendary Journey'
"Porkules"
80. Discord shot Hercules with Artemis' bow, turning him into a pig. Then she sent the hunter Colchis after Hercules, but the pig jumped from Iolaus' arms and ran off. After a butcher caught him and threw him into a meat wagon, Hercules was befriended by a female pig, Katherine. Autolycus and Iolaus rescued the two pigs from a slaughterhouse, where Hercules communicated with his friends through Fleevio the parrot.

Retreating to Alcmene's home, they eventually got the drop on Discord. Iolaus shot the mischievous goddess with Artemis' bow, turning her into a chicken, and Hercules returned to normal.

"One Fowl Day"
81. The pig Katherine, who had fallen in love with Hercules, told him of her deisre to become human. Hearing this, Aphrodite turned Katherine into a woman in her own image. The human Katherine happily stripped off all her clothes to roll in the mud.

Meanwhile, Ares punished Autolycus and Iolaus for turning Discord into a chicken. Mistaken for the Big-footed Two-headed Forest People of legend, the pair was on display at a circus when Hercules rescued them. In the end, Aphrodite turned katherine back into a pig, and the animal was happy to rejoin her family.

We don't end up seeing every moment of Life in the TV Universe. Some of it ends up taking place during the commercial breaks. (Classic example: Chekov's introduction to Khan on 'Star Trek'.) And that's what happened with the relationship between "Porkules" and Katherine. Whether it happened during episode 80, "Porkules" while they were both piglets, or in 81, "One Fowl Day" when they both assumed human form, it's probable that Hercules got Katherine pregnant.

Come on! Of COURSE they had sex! Hercules - even in the guise of a pig! - was a demi-god, the son of Zeus.

"Like father, like son.... Think about it, won't you?"
[anti-smoking PSA]

And it's standard practice in mythology that all unions between gods and mortals will bear issue. And it's not likely he wrapped his pigskin in lambskin first. No, his piggly-wiggly was probably riding bareback.

So the children of Hercules and Katherine would be part god, part human, and part porker. Those in piglet form would have the intelligence of all sentient beings, while those that were more humanoid in appearance would still bear porcine characteristics like the snout, the ears, and the curly tail.

And there would have been humanoid babies in that litter, but they would have been looked upon as monsters by society at large and by the gods who would have been offended y such issue. Most of these babies would have been tossed into Tartarus to be raised as demons, so it's possible that a fellow like the demon Clem (who wasn't such a bad sort as seen on 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer) would in fact be descended from Hercules. And a piggy.

Some of these humanoid hogs would eventually have made it back to Earth where they would continue to interbreed with humans. Some of their descendants would many generations later be found in Royston Valley and in Mellonville, Ohio. ('The League Of Gentlemen' and 'SCTV', respectively)

But for the purposes of this essay, we are more concerned with the descendants of those children who had the outward appearance of pigs. Even as they diluted the family line down through the thousands of generations, yet their intelligence quotient would have remained high.

And some of them might have continued to evolve to become more erect in stature as their ancient brethren had been. When the Slitheen launch their plot to destory Earth in March of 2006, I don't think they had to do much fiddling with the brain and skeleton of that unfortunate Ungulate which crashed a spaceship into Big Ben. ('Doctor Who')

Not that the Time Lord known as the Doctor would have known this, but I think that pig was kin to Arnold Ziffel.

Someone in Arnold's family tree admired the Ziffel heir so much that they named their child after him. Kipper the Dog has a friend, Pig the pig. And Pig's little cousin, Arnold the Pig, always comes along on their adventures even though he's too little to speak yet.

I wonder if Arnold Ziffel served as his namesake's hogfather?

And because such a theory would help to broaden the TV Universe and splain the reasoning behind this character, that is why Toobworld Central is so high on the hog about inducting Arnold Ziffel into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame for June of 2005.........

Okey dokey, Porky, er Pokey?

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

TVXOHOF - THE PREAMBLE RAMBLE

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the TV Crossover Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor those TV characters (as well as locations and objects) which unify the TV Universe. This includes real-life people who have fictionalized tele-versions of themselves, as well as the Creators who make the crossovers possible.

The original requirements have become easier to achieve in recent years (appearances in three different TV shows, TV movies, cartoons or commercials). But that's mostly due to the fact that those who make the TV shows nowadays grew up watching TV and love the self-referential nature of the medium. But it has reached the point where some might argue that just about anybody can get into the Hall of Fame.

And this year, that's just about true....

In 2005, I reach the half century mark; in just a few days, in fact. Like fellow bloggers Brent McKee and Tony Figueroa, I am a child of Television. And every year on my birthday, I celebrate in my blog (or the old Tubeworld Dynamic website before this) by announcing a Birthday Honors List; inducting someone special into the ranks of the Hall of Fame who might have just missed the requirements but who is nonetheless deserving of recognition for their contributions to the TV Universe.

My mantra for the choices made on my birthday is: "What I say, goes."

The first such honoree was Suzy MacNamara, Ann Sothern's character in 'Private Secretary'. She was honored because she was involved in the first TV crossover, on the premiere episode of 'The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'.

This year, as I turn fifty, I'm applying that dictum of "What I Say, Goes" every month. Since we've reached the half-way mark for 2005, let's run down those who have been inducted so far this year:

JANUARY - Lt. Columbo
FEBRUARY - Barney Collier aka Mr. Peters
MARCH - John Drake/Number "6"
APRIL - Ted Baxter
MAY - Detective Kay "Katy" Howard

I've been running the TV Crossover Hall of Fame since 1999, and one day I will devote the time necessary to create a permanent home for it on the web.

If you're interested in seeing the full list (There are over 100 members so far!), then drop me a note at:

Tubeworld@aol.com

Coming up next - the honoree for June. But come back again in a few days as I make a very controversial choice (although I hope not) for my actual b'day on the Sixth.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

Maybe I'll reprint this at the beginning of every month for the rest of the year; save myself typing up a virtual rerun each time!

NOTES FROM THE DABBLEVERSE*

I want to share with you some thoughts on the 'Enterprise' finale from my cousin Paul, who came into the 'Star Trek' corner of the TV Universe via this show. I was curious as to whether the use of Riker and Troi in the finale, indeed, the references to lore and data (t'hee!) from earlier series throughout the final season limited his enjoyment and understanding of what transpired during the episodes.

I'm hoping that one day he'll immerse himself fully into the realm of the Great Bird of the Galaxy......

Well, I set up my VCR to record the second installment of “In a Mirror, Darkly,” the episode that hopefully explained how the ship got into and out of the mirror universe, and I went away for the weekend. I returned to find that my sister had “jammed the signal” of the timer record function, so I never got to meet the original crew of Enterprise (having never seen a single episode of the original series). I trust, however, that they wrote the episode to appeal to both the old timers and the youngin’s, like me, with a very limited knowledge of the original plotlines.
I have, on the other hand, seen quite a few episodes of TNG, so the final episode made almost total sense to me (my only problem was in trying to remember if Number One actually had the conflict of interest in the Federation’s use of cloaking technology – I seem to recall Enterprise implementing it at one point to escape some enemy that pursued them into an asteroid field or some such.). I was more than a little disappointed that they didn’t tie up the temporal cold war plotline that they began at the beginning of the series and even introduced newer, more cunning villains for at the start of this season, but I think they did the best they could with the limited time they were left with.
Jumping ten years into the future (the simulation program depicted a history ten years from the Terra Prime episode, that is) did two things, at least, for me: 1. It assured me that the crew of the original enterprise had enough balls to run a longer voyage than the present day American attention span would allow, and 2. It allowed me to accept that, perhaps, within that ten years the cold war and most other loose plotlines were resolved. After all, I do think it was more important to realize this series for what it was, a prequel to the original and more successful TNG.
Though I do think that Enterprise was the best of the Star Treks (at least the best of the ones I’ve seen, with TNG coming in a very close second) and it came first chronologically, it was absolutely necessary for it to pay homage to the “original” versions and remind the viewers that it is, in fact, part of that universe they love.

Thanks, Paul!

*Dabbleverse - Go ahead. Google it. Learn more.

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK

AMBER ALERT!

It's been pointed out to me that I didn't choose the Crossover of the Week for last week as I usually do on Sunday or Monday. It's true - well, actually I have one; it's just that the death of Eddie Albert and the semblance of a Life over the holiday weekend pushed it out of the cramped quarters of my mind.

I've decided to go the Reality Show route this week, much as I loathe the genre. But how could I resist when it came to "Romber", the team of Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich? Eventually they'll best Trista and Ryan for being the first reality couple inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame because they got in their three required appearances together first. (Trista has three, but Ryan only 'The Bachelorette' and their televised wedding.)

Rob and Amber were on separate series of 'Survivor' before coming together (hey! hey! Don't go there!) on the 'All-Star' edition. And then they turned the 'Amazing Race' on its head - to the point where it was being debated during the course of the show as to whether they were ruining the concept or invigorating the program.

And finally, this past week, the couple extended their combined fifteen minutes of fame by exchanging their vows before those assembled and those viewing at home on a special 'Rob And Amber Get Married'.

Like I said, I hate the reality show genre. (Although I will admit that I did love the first season of 'Survivor'.) But I will give "Romber" their props for keeping themselves in the public eye without provoking too much contempt towards them.

(Hey, I can't say the same for that 'Chaotic' couple - ugh. Words can cause trouble and I don't want my thoughts about them to come back to haunt me, so I won't say anymore about them upon advice from legal counsel. But given enough time, I hope to be able to print my derisive laughter towards them.)

So let us raise our goblets of brefnish to Rob and Amber. As they say in the native country of Latka and Simka Gravas, Necrement has brought you two together in nik nik, and we here at Toobworld Central just want to add... "Bushkalay!"

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

Ah, to hell with it. The guy in "Chaotic" is a yaktabe and his more-famous wife is a kakbolt!

CHEKOV'S TREK-OFF

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?id=31110

Chekov - er, check out the story from the above link. It raises an interesting "philosophical" question for Toobworld - what exactly makes up the TV Universe?

The basic tenet has always been - if it's been broadcast, then it's part of Toobworld. It's been pretty easy so far to exclude ancillary projects from other universes based on Man's creative energies. But it's especially hard - and sometimes even tempting - when it came to 'Star Trek'.

As much as I would love to include some of the massive amounts of paperback tie-ins (chief among them, "Ishmael" by Barbara Hambly), I knew too much of it would end up causing too many contradictions to what was already established as seen on TV.

The movies are a simpler matter - they've been absorbed into the TV Universe because so many of their plot points have been utilized in the various TV series (and vice versa). The Khitomer peace conference, the Borg Queen, the holographic medical program, Zephraim Cochrane's original appearance, and the legacy of Captain Jonathan Archer.

And now we have a possible contender coming from the Internet.

Every few months, another article surfaces about how the Internet is the future of Television. This project of Walter Koenig's and D.C. Fontana's may prove to be the cutting edge for future endeavors. And since it has the blessing of Paramount, I guess we'd have to consider it as part of the Canon when it finally "airs".

It now has me thinking of the ramifications, of possible future projects. Not just for 'Star Trek', but for other shows as well. Think of all the shows that were cancelled before they could resolve lingering mysteries, or which just didn't have a conclusion satisfying to the core fans.

I'm thinking of shows like 'Nowhere Man', which is a good example. If they could get the blessing of the original production company or whoever hold the rights to the program, wouldn't it be cool to get Bruce Greenwood back for a small iMovie to splain away the "Hidden Agenda" behind the erasure of his identity?

(I might have used 'The X-Files' as an example - most fans agree that the conclusion was far from satisfactory. But that project will more than likely spawn another theatrical release, so the possibility is more than just "wishcraft" on my part.)

The old rules could be tossed aside for such projects. Who needs a full two hour reunion special bloated with commercials? Even a simple ten minute program could do the job.

So I'm willing to expand my views to accommodate the expansion of the TV Universe. When the Chekov project finally debuts on the Internet, I'm going to accept it as part of the TV Universe. Love it or hate it, I'll give it the same accordance granted to the 'Star Trek' movies.

And it's gotta be better than the fifth movie, right?

By the Prophets of Bajor, I hope so!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

DEEPLY FELT

Is it just me or did the revelation of W. Mark Felt as Deep Throat feel like a letdown? After waiting over thirty years to find out the identity of the source that helped bring down the Nixon administration, to see this doddering old man waving feebly from his doorway was a big disappointment.

Where was the tease of a lead-in? "Now that Deep Throat had decided to step forward, who could it be? TUNE IN TOMORROW!"

There should have been a mighty pronouncement that ended with gasps of shock and portentous musical punctuation of DUNH-DUNH-DUNH!

Where was the oomph? Where was the huzzah? Where was the big "Ta-DA!"?

You would have had that if Martha Mitchell had been unmasked as Deep Throat. Or her husband John. But Mark Felt? Even in his prime he doesn't look like he had the dramatic punch for the role; he doesn't seem worthy to carry Hal Holbrook's trenchcoat.

Maybe I've been spoiled by the political intrigues as well as the great casting to be found in shows like 'The West Wing', '24', 'Alias', and 'The X-Files'. And that's just Tooborld! Think of all those suspenseful movies full of governmental cloak-and-dagger.

But as the Number Two man in the FBI at that time, Felt's name was on everybody's list of suspects, and Haldemann even discusses the possibility on the Tapes; he actually states right out that he knows Felt is the guy.

(Wherever he ended up for his Big Hiatus, I wonder if HR is crowing ot his fellow souls that he was right.)

So does this mean that Hollywood will come calling now for a chance to tell the Mark Felt story? And who would play the man? Obviously they can't ruin the story with stupid casting for a younger demographic, say by hiring Keanu Reeves to play Felt. And that might also mean this is a made-for-TV movie - just fine by me!

A preliminary off-the-top-of-my-head type of suggestion would John O'Hurley, the guy who played Mr. Pederman on 'Seinfeld'. That's just based on the superficial look of both men.

Here's another tangent more in keeping with Toobworld - did Watergate happen in the dimension of 'The West Wing'? How far back in their presidential timeline do you have to go before they are re-aligned with that of the main TV Land?

Counting backwards, here are the Presidents of 'The West Wing':

Josiah Bartlet (interregnum: Glenallen Walken)

Owen Lassiter

D. Wire Newman

By my reasoning, that puts the fictional timeline back to about the Carter years. So it could be that Nixon's administration is common to both worlds.

But maybe Watergate never happened in the 'West Wing' universe. Or - if it turned out that this was the "evil mirror universe", - maybe the conspirators of "CREEP" never got caught. And with that kind of seismic change to History, a new dimension was born and W. Mark Felt remained a small footnote to the chapter on the Nixon Years.

However, if it did happen, how would they reconcile the fact that we know now about it during the Bush administration? Do the staffers in Bartlet's administration continue pondering whom it might be, or did the revelation take place in an earlier presidency?

Ah well. late night ramblings. But at least I'm at work so I'm getting paid for them! Woo-hoo!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

A MAN MADE FOR THESE PRIME TIMES

This has been an incredibly sad two weeks for Classic Television.....

Frank Gorshin (The Riddler)
Howard Morris (Ernest T. Bass)
Henry Corden (Fred Flintstone)
Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger)
and on the distaff side,
Elisabeth Fraser (Sgt. Joan Hogan of 'Bilko')

And now we've lost Eddie Albert, most famous in Toobworld for playing Oliver Wendell Douglas on 'Green Acres'.

There's a morbid sense of timing to his passing - not only was it on the eve of the premiere of the remake of 'The Longest Yard' in which he played sadistic Warden Hazen, but also a few days before the announcement of the June inductee into the Crossover Hall of Fame, who happens to be one of his co-stars in 'Green Acres'.....

Two other roles for which he was known in TV Land are Frank McBride, the former bunco cop turned private eye in 'Switch', and Larry Tucker in a little known sitcom from the fifties entitled 'Leave It To Larry'. (I think it's primarily known nowadays as perhaps being the inspiration for the title for a more famous sitcom, 'Leave It To Beaver'.)

I found this information in the IMDb.com, written by "frankfob@netscape.net":

"Eddie Albert's television career is the earliest of any other performer. It began years before electronic television was introduced to the public.

In June of 1936 Eddie appeared in RCA/NBC's first private live performance for their radio licensees in New York City. This was [a] very early experimental all-electronic television system. His co-star was Grace Brandt.

Due to the primitive nature of these early cameras it was necessary for him to apply heavy make-up and endure tremendous heat from studio lighting. The basic makeup was green toned with purple lipstick for optimal image transmission by RCA's iconoscope pick up cameras.

Since television was experimental, Eddie applied his own make-up and even wrote the script for this performance."

"Eddie Albert had an easy-going, friendly, guy-next-door appeal, and it translated perfectly to television," said Ron Simon, curator of television at the Museum of Radio and Television in New York. "His personality was exactly the sort of laid-back charm that is necessary to succeed in television for a long time."

Indeed, Albert not only starred in his own TV series in three different decades -- the '50s, '60s and '70s -- he hosted two variety shows and a game show in the early '50s and frequently showed up through the years as a guest star in comedy and drama series, as well as variety shows.

"His versatility and likability," Simon said, "were his major emblems on television."

Albert, who had made his television debut in 1948, appeared in numerous live dramatic showcases throughout the 1950s such as 'Playhouse 90,"Studio One' and 'General Electric Theater'.

In 1952, he starred in a short-lived family situation comedy for CBS-TV, 'Leave It to Larry'.

He later hosted a live musical variety series, 'Nothing But the Best', hosted and sang, and danced and acted in another live NBC variety series, 'Saturday Night Revue', and hosted a CBS game show, 'On Your Account'.

According to Dennis McLellan (who wrote the obituary for the Los Angeles Times), Eddie Albert was particularly memorable when he turned his good-guy screen image on its head.

"There's no actor working today who can be as truly malignant as Eddie Albert," director Robert Aldrich told TV Guide in 1975. "He plays heavies exactly the way they are in real life. Slick and sophisticated."

He was referring to "The Longest Yard," starring Burt Reynolds, in which Mr. Albert played the sadistic prison warden. But in Toobworld, my thoughts go right away to his portrayal of General Martin Hollister in the 'Columbo' episode "Dead Weight". His murderer was one of the more hardened and ruthless killers faced by the Lieutenant, and one of the few who never fell for Columbo's charm.

Of course, he is best remembered for 'Green Acres', which aired on CBS from 1965 to 1971 and continues to have an afterlife on cable TV. In it, Albert played Oliver Wendell Douglas, the successful New York lawyer who satisfies his longing to get closer to nature by giving up his law practice and buying -- sight-unseen -- a rundown 160-acre farm near the fictional town of Hooterville. (Eva Gabor co-starred as his malaprop-dropping socialite wife, Lisa.)

A spin-off of 'Petticoat Junction', 'Green Acres' featured a zany cast of hayseed characters, including Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram), the con man who sold the tumbledown farm to the big-city couple.

Albert previously had turned down series offers, including 'My Three Sons' and 'Mister Ed', unwilling to forgo his movie career for a medium he felt was "geared to mediocrity."

But then his agent told him the concept of the proposed CBS comedy series: a city slicker comes to the country to escape the aggravations of city living.

"I said, 'Swell; that's me. Everyone gets tired of the rat race. Everyone would like to chuck it all and grow some carrots. It's basic. Sign me,' " Albert told TV Guide. "I knew it would be successful. Had to be. It's about the atavistic urge, and people have been getting a charge out of that ever since Aristophanes wrote about the plebs and the city folk."

But Mr. Albert had a presence in Toobworld as himself besides those of his various characters. Back in the early 1970s, he and Rock Hudson were being stalked by a crazy woman who bore something of a resemblance to Lucille Carter. So Mr. Albert took precautions to protect himself and wouldn't you know it? - 'Here's Lucy' coming along to pester him into appearing in a charity show.

Near the end of the 20th Century, Mr. Albert Zonked himself by meeting with the star of 'The Jackie Thomas Show' for an ill-conceived tribute to 'Green Acres' (including an appearance with the original Arnold Ziffel, who allegedly was now a ginormous porker nearly as tall as Albert himself!) It was Jackie Thomas' plan to get a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame for Arnold Ziffel, but Eddie Albert thought he was nuts and wouldn't help out.

Back in 1963, Mr. Albert's real life and reel life converged on a show called "Hollywood Without Makeup" in which home movies of the stars were broadcast by Ken Murray. In one episode, archival footage of Eddie Albert with Dr. Albert Schweitzer was shown.

And it is his real life that would make for a great film treatment. When asked by Kira Albin in the late 1980s about which acting accomplishment he was most proud of, he rolled the word "proud" around in his mouth like a foreign object and mumbled it several times before answering.

"I don't think I'm proud of anything in acting. I was not really as good as I should have been. And singing" -Albert laughed - "I always thought I was a singer, but I really am not."

He decided his time in action during World War II would be his proudest undertaking.

In the years before America entered the war, Albert was in Mexico with the Escalante Brothers' Circus, playing the clown and doing a high wire act. (Rumor has it that he had been caught in an affair with the wife of the studio boss who punished Albert by keeping him under contract but not giving him any work in the movies.)

While there in Mexico, he photographed German U-boat activity as an "amateur spy" for Army intelligence. Once enlisted, he served as a lieutenant and was part of the first wave of Marines at Tarawa, witnessing unspeakable atrocities and saving some of the other Marines who were pinned down by a triple cross-fire.

In the late 1960s, Albert's attention turned to ecology. He did extensive reading on the subject as well as talking to experts in the field.

In 1969, he accompanied a molecular biologist from the University of California, Berkeley, to Anacapa Island off the California coast to observe the nesting of pelicans. What they found were thousands of collapsed pelican eggs.

"The run-off of DDT had been consumed by the fish, the fish had been eaten by the pelicans, whose metabolism had in turn been disturbed so that the lady pelican could no longer manufacture a sturdy shell," Albert told TV Guide in 1970. After learning more about the effects of the pesticide, he said, "I stopped being a conservationist.... I became terrified. The more I studied, the more terrified I got."

Sharing his ecological concerns on the 'Tonight' and 'Today' shows, he became, in the words of a TV Guide reporter, "a kind of ecological Paul Revere." The TV appearances led to speaking engagement requests from high schools, universities, and industrial and religious groups.

I remember when he did a TV commercial for some brand of laundry detergent, only to find out that it ultimately was harmful to the environment. Immediately he severed his connection to the product and turned against it.

I also remember reading somewhere that he invented a bomb-sight as well as the infamous "Dippy Bird" - that annoying Junior Scientist "toy" which demonstrated thermo-dynamics. Several of his obituaries did mention that he was an inventor, but any information I found on the Dippy Bird listed someone else as the patent holder.

At any rate, for all of his work in the Real World and in Toobworld, Eddie Albert will be missed.

"What's the most important thing in the world? It's love, and I look at that as an energy, not a sentiment. It's an energy that holds the whole universe together. And if we understand that and mention it once in a while to the plants, then everything will be fine."
- Eddie Albert

BCnU.....

ORWELLIAN ACRES

In a way, Television is like the English language. It can take in outside influences and make them its own. Many adaptations of other sources of Man's creative energies become part of Toobworld.

Novels? 'Frankenstein', 'Earthsea'....

Movies? 'Highlander', 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'

Theatre? 'You Can't Take It With You', 'The Odd Couple'

Comic Books? 'Batman', 'Superman', 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch'

Comic Strips? 'Blondie', 'Peanuts'

Radio has plenty of adaptations that moved over to the new medium, including 'Duffy's Tavern', 'Ethel And Albert', and 'Rin Tin Tin'.

And even songs were represented with the series of movies based on 'The Gambler'.

Then there are the combos of several categories - 'M*A*S*H', 'The Dead Zone', and 'The Addams Family'.

George Orwell's "1984", a prophetic warning about a dystopian future, falls into that last category - movie, a song, and a TV production with Eddie Albert as Winston Smith. It was presented as an episode of 'Studio One' in September 1953, and the New Yorker cited Mr. Albert for "the depth of his performance".

The themes and message of Mr. Orwell's novel transcend the time in which it was set. The date has come and gone, but now "1984" symbolizes the soul-deadening totalitarian bureacracy more than it stands for the actual period in which it was supposed to take place.

(Terry Gilliam got around the "sell-by date" by naming his movie "Brazil", although he claims never to have known about "1984" before dreaming up his own treatment.)

But with that 1953 TV production starring Eddie Albert, it could be left in 1984... but not in the main TV Universe.
And I don't think there's a better dimension to stick this classic than the evil mirror universe made famous by various 'Star Trek' series.

The beat-down of the human spirit, the oppression of Society as accomplished in "1984" would ultimately serve the purposes of the Powers in Charge and lead to the foundation of the Empire.

I'm going to look for this production at the MT&R, to see mostly the design for the "futuristic look" of their '1984' in 1953. I'd like to see if it might be possible to link it to that famous blipvert for MacIntosh Apple computers. (But I have a feeling the clothing and set design won't be too "out there". It will probably be not that much different from the look of the Fifties. After all, one message in "1984" was that it would be here sooner that the readers of that time expected... especially if they didn't take action to prevent its outcome.)

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"It is some men's fate to face great darkness.
We each choose how to react.
If the choice is fear, we become vulnerable to Fear."
Major Garland Briggs
'Twin Peaks'

TIP O' THE HAT SQUAD: EDDIE ALBERT

The following is a list for most of the credits attributed to Eddie Albert in Toobworld.

"General Hospital" (1963) TV Series .... Jack Boland #1 (1993)
The Girl from Mars (1991) (TV) .... Charles
Return to Green Acres (1990) (TV) .... Oliver Wendell Douglas
"War and Remembrance" (1988) (mini) TV Series .... Breckinridge Long
Mercy or Murder? (1987) (TV) .... Joe Varon
Dress Gray (1986) (TV) .... Judge Hand
In Like Flynn (1985) (TV) .... Bill White
Burning Rage (1984) (TV) .... Will Larson
The Demon Murder Case (1983) (TV) .... Father Dietrich
Rooster (1982) (TV) .... Rev. Harlan Barnum
Beyond Witch Mountain (1982) (TV) .... Jason O'Day
(which brought his character from the movie "Escape to Witch Mountain" (1975) into the TV Universe)
"Falcon Crest" (1981) TV Series .... Carlton Travis
Goliath Awaits (1981) (TV) .... Admiral Wiley Sloan
Peter and Paul (1981) (TV) .... Festus
The Oklahoma City Dolls (1981) (TV) .... Coach Homer Sixx
"Beulah Land" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Felix Kendrick
Trouble in High Timber Country (1980) (TV) .... Carroll Yeager
"The Word" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Ogden Towery
Crash (1978) (TV) .... Capt. Dunn
Evening in Byzantium (1978) (TV) .... Brian Murphy
"Switch" (1975) TV Series .... Frank MacBride
Promise Him Anything (1975) (TV) .... Pop
Switch (1975) (TV) .... Frank McBride
"Benjamin Franklin" (1974) (mini) TV Series .... Benjamin Franklin
The Borrowers (1973) (TV) .... Pod Clock
Fireball Forward (1972) (TV) .... Col. Douglas Graham
The Lorax (1972) (TV) (voice) .... Narrator
See the Man Run (1971) (TV) .... Dr. Thomas Spencer
Columbo: Dead Weight (1971) (TV) .... Maj. Gen. Martin Hollister
Mouse On the Mayflower (1968) (TV) (voice) .... Capt. Standish
"Petticoat Junction" (1963) TV Series .... Oliver Wendell Douglas (1965-1968)
The Nutcracker (1965) (TV) .... Host/narrator
"Green Acres" (1965) TV Series .... Oliver Wendell Douglas
The Spiral Staircase (1961) (TV)
Our Mr. Sun (1956) (TV) .... The Fiction Writer
The Chocolate Soldier (1955) (TV) .... Bumerli
A Connecticut Yankee (1955) (TV) .... Hank Martin
"The Saturday Night Revue" (1953) TV Series .... Host (1954)
"Nothing But the Best" (1953) TV Series .... Host (1953)
"On Your Account" (1953) TV Series .... Occasional Host (1953-56)
"Leave It to Larry" (1952) TV Series .... Larry Tucker The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Frank Sinatra: The Very Good Years (1998) (TV) .... Himself/Interviewee
Intimate Portrait: Eva Gabor (1998) (TV) .... Himself
Sinatra In Hollywood: The E! True Hollywood Story (1998) (TV) .... HIimself
Victory in the Pacific (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Juke Box Saturday Night (1983) (TV) .... Himself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1982) (TV) .... Himself
The 30th Annual Tony Awards (1976) (TV) .... Himself - Co-host
The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973) (TV) .... Himself - Co-Presenter: Best Sound
"Hippodrome Show" (1966) TV Series .... As host (show 10)
The Secret to the Sixties (1965) .... Himself
The 34th Annual Academy Awards (1962) (TV) .... Himself - Co-Presenter: Costume Design Awards
The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959) (TV) .... Himself - Co-Presenter: Art Direction-Set Decoration Awards
Operation Teahouse (1956) (uncredited) .... Himself
"The Eddie Albert Show" (1953) TV Series .... Himself/Host
Screen Snapshots Series 23, No. 1: Hollywood in Uniform (1943) .... Himself
Notable TV Guest Appearances
"Spider-Man" playing "Vulture/Adrian Toomes" (voice) in episodes:
"Partners In Danger Chapter 5: Partners" (episode # 4.5) 3 May 1997
"Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 4: The Six Fight Again" (episode # 5.5) 10 October 1997
"Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 3: Secrets of the Six" (episode # 5.4) 3 October 1997
"Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 2: Unclaimed Legacy" (episode # 5.3) 26 September 1997
"Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 1" (episode # 5.2) 19 September 1997
"Neogenic Nightmare Chapter 13: Shriek of the Vulture" (episode # 2.13) 17 September 1996
"Neogenic Nightmare Chapter 14: The Final Nightmare" (episode # 2.14) 24 February 1996
"Time Trax" playing "Noah" in episode: "Treasure of the Ages" (episode # 1.9) 29 March 1993
"Extreme Ghostbusters" (voice) in episode: "The Jersey Devil" (episode # 1.15) 19 September 1997
"The Jackie Thomas Show" playing "Himself" in episode: "One Flu over the Cuckoo's Nest" (episode # 1.16) 16 March 1993
"The Golden Palace" playing "Bill Douglas" in episode: "Say Goodbye, Rose" (episode # 1.17) 12 February 1993
"The Ray Bradbury Theater" playing "Jonathan Hughes" in episode: "Touch of Petulance" (episode # 4.6) 12 October 1990
"thirtysomething" playing "Charlie Weston" in episode: "Elliot's Dad" (episode # 2.10) 28 February 1989
"The Twilight Zone" playing "Roger Simpson Leads" in episode: "Dream Me a Life" (episode # 3.5) 22 October 1988
"Murder, She Wrote" playing "Jackson Lane" in episode: "The Body Politic" (episode # 4.22) 8 May 1988
"Highway to Heaven" playing "Senator Corky McCorkindale" in episode: "Jonathan Smith Goes to Washington" (episode # 3.11) 3 December 1986
"Hotel" playing "MacDonald 'Mack' Erickson" in episode: "Pathways" (episode # 3.4) 16 October 1985
"The Love Boat" in episode: "Captain and the Kid, The/The Dean and the Flunkee/Poor Rich Man/Isaac Aegean Affair: Part 2" (episode # 6.19) 5 February 1983
"The Love Boat" in episode: "Captain and the Kid, The/The Dean and the Flunkee/Poor Rich Man/Isaac Aegean Affair: Part 1" (episode # 6.18) 5 February 1983
"Simon & Simon" playing "Judge Elliott Morris Taylor" in episode: "Pirate's Key: Part 2" (episode # 2.14) 20 January 1983
"Simon & Simon" playing "Judge Elliott Morris Taylor" in episode: "Pirate's Key: Part 1" (episode # 2.13) 20 January 1983
"The Fall Guy" playing "John Cramer" in episode: "The Fall Guy: Part 1" (episode # 1.1) 4 November 1981
"Kung Fu" playing "Dr. George Baxter" in episode: "Blood of the Dragon: Part 2" (episode # 3.2) 14 September 1974
"Kung Fu" playing "Dr. George Baxter" in episode: "Blood of the Dragon: Part 1" (episode # 3.1) 14 September 1974
"Here's Lucy" playing "Himself" in episode: "Lucy Gives Eddie Albert the Old Song and Dance" (episode # 6.6) 15 October 1973
"McCloud" playing "Roy Erickson" in episode: "The Park Avenue Rustlers" (episode # 3.3) 24 December 1972
"This Is Your Life" playing "Himself" in episode: "Harold Krents" 22 October 1972
"The Dean Martin Show" playing "Himself" 4 November 1971
"The Dick Cavett Show" playing "Himself" 25 November 1970
"The Beverly Hillbillies" playing "Oliver Wendell Douglas" in episode: "The Thanksgiving Story" (episode # 7.10) 27 November 1968
"The Carol Burnett Show" playing "Himself" (episode # 2.6) 4 November 1968
"The Dean Martin Show" playing "Himself" 18 January 1968
"The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" playing "Himself" 31 December 1967
"The Carol Burnett Show" playing "Himself" (episode # 1.3) 25 September 1967
"The Dean Martin Show" playing "Himself" 24 November 1966
"Password" playing "Panelist" in episode: "Bea Benaderet vs. Eddie Albert" 13 September 1966
"What's My Line?" playing "Mystery Guest" 20 February 1966
"The Dean Martin Show" playing "Himself" 17 February 1966
"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." playing "Brother Love" in episode: "The Love Affair" (episode # 1.26) 29 March 1965
"Burke's Law" playing "Arthur J. Poindexter" in episode: "Who Killed Rosie Sunset?" (episode # 2.19) 27 January 1965
"The Rogues" playing "Gregg Roberts" in episode: "The Golden Ocean" (episode # 1.19) 24 January 1965
"Kraft Suspense Theatre" playing "Dr. Bert Andrews" in episode: "The Gun" (episode # 2.10) 24 December 1964
"Rawhide" playing "Taylor Dickson" in episode: "The Photographer" (episode # 7.11) 11 December 1964
"The Reporter" playing "Paul Pollard" in episode: "A Time to Be Silent" (episode # 1.10) 4 December 1964
"The Outer Limits" playing "Andy Thorne" in episode: "Cry of Silence" (episode # 2.6) 24 October 1964
"Mr. Novak" playing "Charlie O'Rourke" in episode: "Visions of Sugar Plums" (episode # 2.3) 6 October 1964
"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" playing "Dr. Fred Wilson" in episode: "Eleven Days to Zero" (episode # 1.1) 14 September 1964
"The Lieutenant" playing "R. Cameron O'Rourke" in episode: "O'Rourke" (episode # 1.15) 4 January 1964
"Dr. Kildare" in episode: "A Vote of Confidence" (episode # 3.14) 26 December 1963
"Combat!" playing "Phil" in episode: "Doughboy" (episode # 2.7) 29 October 1963
"The Greatest Show on Earth" playing "Frank Land" in episode: "The Loser" (episode # 1.6) 22 October 1963
"The Eleventh Hour" playing "Ken Downer" in episode: "I Feel Like a Rutabaga" (episode # 1.28) 24 April 1963
"Sam Benedict" playing "Lewis Wiley" in episode: "Accomplice" (episode # 1.25) 9 March 1963
"The Wide Country" playing "Duke Donovan" in episode: "The Judas Goat" (episode # 1.21) 21 February 1963
"The DuPont Show of the Week" playing "Frank Foster" in episode: "Windfall" (episode # 2.10) 13 January 1963
"Naked City" playing "Earl Johannis" in episode: "Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out with Bow and Arrow" (episode # 4.17) 9 January 1963
"Wagon Train" playing "Kurt Davos" in episode: "The Kurt Davos Story" (episode # 6.11) 28 November 1962
"The Virginian" playing "Cal Kroeger" in episode: "Impasse" (episode # 1.8) 14 November 1962
"The United States Steel Hour" in episode: "A Break in the Weather" (episode # 10.5) 31 October 1962
"Alcoa Premiere" playing "Mark Evans" in episode: "The Time of the Tonsils" (episode # 1.32) 25 June 1962
"Ben Casey" playing "Gene Billstrom" in episode: "An Uncommonly Innocent Killing" (episode # 1.30) 7 May 1962
"Tales of Wells Fargo" playing "Bonzo Croydon" in episode: "A Fistful of Pride" (episode # 6.8) 18 November 1961
"Frontier Circus" playing "Dr. Jordan" in episode: "The Hunter and the Hunted" (episode # 1.5) 2 November 1961
"The United States Steel Hour" in episode: "Famous" (episode # 8.20) 31 May 1961
"General Electric Theater" playing "Louie Schmidt" in episode: "Louie and the Horseless Buggy" (episode # 9.27) 30 April 1961
"Startime" playing "Host" in episode: "Well, What About You?" (episode # 1.28) 19 April 1960
"Sunday Showcase" in episode: "Hollywood Sings" (episode # 1.29) 3 April 1960
"Playhouse 90" playing "Oliver Erwenter" in episode: "The Silver Whistle" (episode # 4.7) 24 December 1959
"Riverboat" playing "Dan Simpson" in episode: "The Unwilling" (episode # 1.5) 11 October 1959
"Laramie" in episode: "Glory Road" (episode # 1.2) 22 September 1959
"Frontier Justice" playing "Sam Barlow" in episode: "Fugitive" (episode # 2.7) 17 August 1959
"The United States Steel Hour" playing "Sam Stover" in episode: "Apple of His Eye" (episode # 6.21) 1 July 1959
"The David Niven Show" playing "Adam Winter" in episode: "The Promise" (episode # 1.4) 5 May 1959
"Playhouse 90" playing "Leroy Dawson" in episode: "The Ding-A-Ling Girl" (episode # 3.21) 26 February 1959
"Letter to Loretta" playing "Max Asher" in episode: "The Last Witness" (episode # 6.9) 30 November 1958
"Zane Grey Theater" playing "Jess Matson" in episode: "The Vaunted" (episode # 3.8) 27 November 1958
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Last Edition" (episode # 8.5) 21 November 1958
"Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" playing "Joe Minelli" in episode: "The Night the Phone Rang" (episode # 1.7) 17 November 1958
"Goodyear Theatre" playing "Calvin Lazarus" in episode: "Lazarus Walks Again" (episode # 2.2) 27 October 1958
"This Is Your Life" playing "Himself" in episode: "Eddie Albert" 15 October 1958
"Frontier Justice" playing "Bide Turley" in episode: "Stage to Tuscon" (episode # 1.3) 28 July 1958
"The Patrice Munsel Show" playing "Himself" 17 January 1958
"Studio 57" playing "Jim Hammond" in episode: "An End to Fear" (episode # 4.11) 9 January 1958
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Pattern for Death" (episode # 7.16) 27 December 1957
"Zane Grey Theater" playing "Jed Wiley" in episode: "A Gun for My Bride" (episode # 2.12) 27 December 1957
"Climax!" playing "David Adams" in episode: "Murder Has a Deadline" (episode # 4.8) 28 November 1957
"Wagon Train" playing "John Darro" in episode: "The John Darro Story" (episode # 1.8) 6 November 1957
"Zane Grey Theater" playing "Sam Barlow" in episode: "A Fugitive" (episode # 1.25) 22 March 1957
"Climax!" playing "Barney Kanda" in episode: "Let It Be Me" (episode # 3.21) 21 March 1957
"Zane Grey Theater" playing "Bide Turley" in episode: "Stage to Tucson" (episode # 1.7) 16 November 1956
"Climax!" playing "Gabe Douglas" in episode: "Burst of Violence" (episode # 2.46) 13 September 1956
"The Alcoa Hour" playing "Ralph Grimes" in episode: "No License to Kill (II)" (episode # 2.25) 1 September 1956
"The Philco Television Playhouse" in episode: "Rise Up and Walk" (episode # 8.9) 1 January 1956
"Robert Montgomery Presents" in episode: "The World to Nothing" (episode # 7.9) 7 November 1955
"The Name's the Same" playing "Himself - Contestant" 22 August 1955
"Toast of the Town" playing "Himself" (episode # 8.50) 21 August 1955
"Front Row Center" playing "Dr. Davidson" in episode: "Johnny Belinda" (episode # 1.5) 29 June 1955
"TV Reader's Digest" playing "Joey White" in episode: "Human Nature Through a Rear View Mirror" (episode # 1.21) 6 June 1955
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Too Many Nelsons" (episode # 4.36) 13 May 1955
"General Electric Theater" playing "Paul Mattson" in episode: "Into the Night" (episode # 3.30) 8 May 1955
"General Electric Theater" playing "Narrator" in episode: "I'm a Fool" (episode # 3.8) 14 November 1954
"Your Show of Shows" 8 May 1954
"Toast of the Town" playing "Himself" (episode # 7.31) 18 April 1954
"Letter to Loretta" playing "Tiger Tipton" in episode: "The Count of Ten" (episode # 1.25) 14 March 1954
"Medallion Theatre" in episode: "Homestead" (episode # 2.25) 27 February 1954
"Letter to Loretta" playing "Lionel Kent" in episode: "Act of Faith" (episode # 1.22) 14 February 1954
"Your Show of Shows" 13 February 1954
"Goodyear Television Playhouse" playing "Narrator" in episode: "Wings Over Barriers" (episode # 3.6) 20 December 1953
"The United States Steel Hour" in episode: "Tin Wedding" (episode # 1.3) 24 November 1953
"The Motorola Television Hour" in episode: "Outlaw's Reckoning" (episode # 1.1) 3 November 1953
"Your Show of Shows" 17 October 1953
"The Philco Television Playhouse" in episode: "The Bachelor Party" (episode # 6.2) 11 October 1953
"The Philip Morris Playhouse" in episode: "Journey to Nowhere" (episode # 1.1) 1 October 1953
"Studio One" playing "Winston Smith" in episode: "1984" (episode # 6.1) 21 September 1953
"The Revlon Mirror Theater" in episode: "The Little Wife" (episode # 1.1) 23 June 1953
"Danger" in episode: "Subpoena" (episode # 3.32) 26 May 1953
"Suspense" in episode: "Mutiny Below" (episode # 5.16) 3 February 1953
"Studio One" in episode: "The Trial of John Peter Zenger" (episode # 5.16) 12 January 1953
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Enchanted Evening" (episode # 2.5) 31 October 1952
"Somerset Maugham TV Theatre" in episode: "Smith Serves" (episode # 3.7) 10 December 1951
"Lights Out" in episode: "Friday the Nineteenth" (episode # 4.13) 19 November 1951
"What's My Line?" 29 July 1951
"Toast of the Town" playing "Himself" (episode # 2.48) 7 August 1949
"Suspense" in episode: "Revenge" (episode # 1.1) 1 March 1949
"The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" in episode: "Who's Your Judge?" (episode # 1.14) 27 December 1948
"The Ford Theatre Hour" in episode: "Joy to the World" (episode # 1.1) 21 November 1948

[The above list is from the IMDb.com.]

Looking over this list, I see there is plenty to work with for several essays celebrating the contributions of Mr. Albert to our vision of the TV Universe.

Give me time, folks. I'd like to do right by his memory because I've always admired him for his work and passions outside of show business.

In the meantime, for a very nice tribute and obituary for Eddie Albert, please visit a Blogger comrade in TV Land at:

I Am A Child Of Television
http://childoftv.blogspot.com/