TV CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME

Had I been home on Sunday, I might have posted this for New Year's Eve - the complete list of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

The idea officially began in 1999 when I was reading a page from a Nick at Nite calendar of TV trivia. They were trumpeting Sam Drucker of 'Green Acres'/'Petticoat Junction' as the Crossover King for the total number of episodes (and one TV movie) in which he appeared.

Since then, the new Crossover King is Detective John Munch, of course.

But I had written enough essays in the old "Tubeworld Dynamic" about various TV characters befitting certain times of year; characters who also would be considered for membership in the Hall of Fame. So I've established those characters as the "proto-hall".

There have been a few themes over the years - salutes to 'Star Trek' and 'Law & Order', and "What I Say, Goes" for my 50th birthday. But for the most part, it's been a catch-all grab-bag of choices each month. In a way, it's a lot like TV itself, when you're flipping around the dial with the remote.

So anyway, now that a new year has begun, allow me to run down the list of members in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame:

PROTO-HALL (pre 1999)
January - George Burns
February - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
March - Julius Caeser
April - the Titanic
May - Superman
June - Kermit The Frog
July - James West & Artemus Gordon
August - The Lone Ranger & Tonto
September - Brandon Tartikoff
October - Frankenstein's Monsters
November - George Washington
December - Bob Hope

1999
January - Sam Drucker
February - Abraham Lincoln (official portrayer - Ford Rainey)
March - Frasier Crane
April - John Munch
May - Q
Summer - Brady Hawkes
September - Greta Rae Cummings
October - Dr. Bombay
November - Jack Benny
December - Santa Claus (official portrayer - Charles Durning)

2000
January - Lucy Ricardo
February - Lucille Carmichael
March - Lucille Carter
April - Lucille Ball
May - Pebbles Flintstone
June - Joyce Brothers
B'Day Honors - Mary Richards
July - Calamity Jane
August - Mary Ann Summers
September - Lovey Howell
October - Captain Kangaroo
November - Murphy Brown
December - Dick Clark

2001
January - Bob Hartley
February - Sammy Davis, Jr.
March - Archie Bunker
April - Gilligan
May - Jessica Fletcher
June - Rowlf
B'Day Honors - Ernie Kovacs, Susie McNamara
July - Miguelito Loveless
August - Bart Maverick
September - Norman Lear
October - HG Wells, Exigius 12 1/2, Orson Welles, Leonardo DaVinci
November - Rudy Giuliani, Walter Cronkite, the Twin Towers
December - Walt Disney
Christmas Wish-List (Multiverse Honors) - Bilbo Baggins

2002
January - Felix Unger & Oscar Madison
Multiverse Honors - Cecily & Gwendolyn Pigeon
February - George & Louise Jefferson
March - Jim McKay & Bob Costas, Gloria Stivic & Joey Stivic
April - Maxwell Smart & 99
May - Dale Evans & Roy Rogers
June - Shari Lewis & Lambchop
B'Day Honors - C-3PO & R2-D2, Ralph Kramden & Ed Norton
July - Bat Masterson & Wyatt Earp
August - Lucas McCain & Mark McCain, Andy Taylor & Opie Taylor
September - William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
October - Jed Clampett & Daisy Moses
November - John F. & Jacqueline Kennedy
December - God & Jesus Christ
Christmas Wish-List - Blackadder & Baldrick

2003
January - Lassie
February - Martin Luther King, Jr.
March - Mark Sloan
April - Luther Van Dam
May - Milton Berle
June - Howdy Doody
B'Day Honors - Publications: NY Ledger, L.A. Tribune, L.A. Sun, Playpen Magazine & National Inquisitor
Summer - Cheyenne Bodie
September - Tom Fontana, St. Eligius Hospital
October - Lee Harvey Oswald
November - John F. Kennedy Jr.
December - Ebenezer Scrooge

2004
January - James T. Kirk
February - Uhura
March - Leonard McCoy
April - Montgomery Scott
May - Janice Rand
June - Zephraim Cochrane
B'Day Honors - The actors of Star Trek (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichol, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei)
July - Hikaru Sulu
August - Pavel Chekhov
September - Gene Roddenberry
October - Tribbles
November - Sarek
December - Spock

2005
January - Columbo
February - Barney Collier/Mr. Peters
March - John Drake/Number 6
April - Ted Baxter
May - Kay Howard
June - Arnold Ziffel
B'Day Honors - Toby O'Brien
July - Paladin/Hec Ramsey
August - Samantha Crawford
September - UBS Network
October - Sweet the Demon
November - Adam West
December - The Penguin

2006
January - Lennie Brisco
February - Anita Van Buren
March - Donald Cragen
April - Mike Logan
May - Jamie Ross
June - Elizabeth Olivet
B'day Honors - Faith Yokas
July - Rey Curtis
August - Ed Green
September - Dick Wolf
October - Emil Szoda
November - Arthur Branch
December - Jack McCoy

With this year, I'm hoping to solidify the categories for each month. Here's what I had in mind:

January - Classic TV
February - "Black History"
March - The League of Themselves
April - "April Fools"
May - "Queen of the May"
June - Puppets, Animals, Oddities
B'day Honors - "What I Say, Goes"
July - Western
August - Detective
September - Creators
October - "Monsters"
November - Politicians & Newsmakers
December - "Tis The Season"

Some of those categories can't last forever. For instance, once I run out of possibilities for holiday themes, I may dedicate that month to multiverse characters. Perhaps a month for sitcoms or drama.

Tomorrow I'll post the first inductee for 2007....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby