A TUTONE TOON LINK

Found this pozz'bility through a story on AOL.....

Stewie Griffin once tried to call his mother, but realized he had dialed 867-5309 and shouted "Damn you, Tommy TuTone!"

'Family Guy' takes place in Quahog, Rhode Island, but if Stewie dialed a different area code, he would have reached the Springfield church where Reverend Lovejoy preaches. The phone number was advertised on the bulletin board outside the church.

That phone number should sound familiar - it was made famous by Tommy TuTone with the 1982 hit single about a girl named Jenny. It was her phone number, written on the wall.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

RICHARD ALPERT OF "LOST": 3 QUESTIONS

Based on how Richard Alpert looks in 'Lost', then and "now" (2004), can we assume the original Others have become immortal by living on the island?

And considering the fact that Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard, has been cast in the new CBS drama 'Cane' for next season, is it possible that Richard is one of the characters who won't survive the season finale of 'Lost'?

Do you think it possible Richard could get his head cut off and then whoever does so then absorbs his immortality?

There can be only one......

BCnU!
Toby OB
The Highland Avenuer

FOX-Y UPFRONTS

This is the week of "Upfronts", one of the Holy Weeks of O'Bligation in Televisiology, when each day a network steps up to the plate to announce its plans for the coming season - which shows stay, which are goners, and which pilots got picked up to be offered in sacrifice to the Powers That Be (Nielsen families).

Here's the proposed fall schedule for the final network weighing in for the Upfronts, FOX:

Mondays
8 pm Prison Break
9 pm K-Ville

Tuesdays
8 pm New Amsterdam
9 pm House

Wednesdays
8 pm Back to You
8:30 pm 'Til Death
9 pm Bones

Thursdays
8 pm Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
9 pm Kitchen Nightmares

Fridays
8 pm The Search for the Next Great American Band
9 pm Nashville

Saturdays
8 pm Cops
8:30 pm Cops
9 pm America's Most Wanted

Sundays
7 pm Football post-game
8 pm The Simpsons
8:30 pm King of the Hill
9 pm Family Guy
9:30 pm American Dad

FOX is the network that first recognized the strength in dividing up their full season into the fall and spring halves. Powerhouse shows like '24' and 'American Idol' don't start up until after the holidays and run uninterrupted into the May Sweeps. And considering that the fall has the baseball playoffs eating a big chunk of prime-time, that's a smart move.

Here's what's remaining on the sked come fall:

'Til Death, House, Bones, The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill, American Dad, America's Most Wanted, Cops, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, American Idol, 24, Prison Break

But being shown the door are the following shows:

The Winner, Standoff, Drive, The War at Home, The O.C., Justice, Happy Hour, The Rich List, Vanished, The Wedding Bells, The Loop

Of those, I enjoyed 'Standoff' the few times I watched; definitely liked 'Justice' (especially Victor Garber's character), but really loved 'The Loop'. Oh well, there's still a summer season to go for the show and there'll always be the DVDs.

Here are the new shows FOX will be presenting, some this fall, others in the spring:

K-Ville, New Amsterdam, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Back to You, Return of Jezebel James, Rules for Starting Over, Kitchen Nightmares, Canterbury's Law, Nashville

'K-Ville': Cops working in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Tele-historically, this show will have 'Bourbon Street Beat' as part of its lineage.

'New Amsterdam': About a homicide cop who is secretly hundreds of years old because of a spell cast back in the 1640s. In much the same way as the original proposal of 'Jericho' grabbed me, this is the one new proposed series that most excites me. I just hope the detective's ennui with immortal life doesn't drag the tone down for the show.

'The Sarah Connor Chronicles': Lena Headey takes over the Linda Hamilton role of 'Sarah Connor' from the "Terminator" movies as she tries to prevent the Terminator robots from killing her son. I'm thinking it takes place soon after the second movie.

'Back to You': A sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard. Grammer and Heaton are reunited as anchors on a Buffalo, NY news desk. I wonder if their personal political leanings will influence the tone of the show, especially since it's on FOX. But wouldn't it be great if they could get an appearance by Dabney Coleman as 'Buffalo Bill'?

'Return of Jezebel James': Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose team up as sisters in this new series by the creator of 'Gilmore Girls', so expect a lot of fast talking. Basic plotline to get them started: one sister asks the other to give birth to her child. Sorry, I can't figure out exactly how that should be phrased.....

'Rules for Starting Over': The announcement of this series probably was a good sign that we wouldn't be seeing Karen on 'The Office' next season, since Rashida Jones will be starring in this Farrelly Brothers comedy. However, now I'm hearing that she'll be able to juggle both for a little while anyway, especially since 'Rules For Starting Over' (too long a title, guys!) won't be arriving on the air until the spring.

'Canterbury's Law': Stars Julianna Margulies as an aggressive defense attorney who "is willing to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused." Denis Leary is one of the executive producers, so maybe it'll have the grittier flavor of 'Rescue Me' or maybe it'll be more along the lines of 'The Job' when it comes to the humor found in the situations.

As for Round Two for the FOX schedule, here's the proposed line-up:

Mondays
8 pm K-Ville (January)/Prison Break(spring)
9 pm 24

Tuesdays
8 pm American Idol
9 pm House

Wednesdays (January)
8 pm Back to You
8:30 pm 'Til Death
9 pm American Idol

Wednesdays (Spring)
8 pm Back to You
8:30 pm The Return of Jezebel James
9 pm American Idol results show
9:30 pm 'Til Death

Thursdays
8 pm Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?
9 pm Canterbury's Law

Fridays (Spring)
8 pm Bones
9 pm New Amsterdam

Saturdays
8 pm Cops
8:30 pm Cops
9 pm America's Most Wanted

Sundays (Spring)
7 pm King of the Hill
7:30 pm American Dad
8 pm The Simpsons
8:30 pm Family Guy
9 pm The Sarah Connor Chronicles

BCnU!
Toby OB

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

Sometimes we have to make allowances for the differences between Toobworld and the real world. For instance, the presidential election years in 'The West Wing' are different from those which we have mandated by the Constitution. (At least I think they're set in stone by the Constitution.... What do I know? I was born here.)

Over in Alan Sepinwall's blog, "What's Alan Watching?" (link to the left), Alyssa noticed a difference from a recent episode of 'Entourage:

"I really enjoyed this episode. The only thing that bothered me is that the boys were at the Del Mar Racetrack on Yom Kippur, which is impossible. The races are over for the year around Labor Day...Yom Kippur is late Sept/early October. I know that's quite a nitpick, but it did distract me for a while."

I didn't know that fact, but it wouldn't have bothered me. Ya gotta go with the flow.

My bestest of friends, Ivy, let me know what peeved her in the sneak preview of 'Traveler':

"I was paying more attention to the fact that in fake NY in 2007 it is possible to bring GIANT BACKPACKS into a museum, apparently without having to pass through any kind of security device at all.

I particularly disliked the fake names -- like the hotel they were staying in was clearly intended to be the Waldorf but it was called Wood-something Court, and even the art museum name was fake. I'm surprised they used the real name for the Queensboro Bridge.

The other thing was that, after a major explosion such as occurred and with the city shutting down subway service out of the city, NO ONE would be allowed to walk across the Queensboro Bridge. What the hell would be the point of shutting down the subways if the suspects could just walk across a freakin' bridge??

And as I found out on 9/11, nobody could walk across a bridge. I tried."

The hotel was Worcester Court, but it was obvious from the background locations that it was really the Waldorf. I used to work there (for SAVAK, the Shah's secret police - no, really!) so I know it well. However, being the Zen Televisiologist that I am, I just let it slide. After all, TV-NYC is full of fictional companies and institutions - the Nutt House Hotel, Sunshine Taxi Company, Central Perk, McLaren's Bar, Buchanan High School......

The stuff about the backpacks and crossing the bridge however, well, Ivy's right about that. That's just a breakdown in believability.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE UPFRONTS: THE CW'S SOPHOMORE YEAR

This is the week of "Upfronts", one of the Holy Weeks of O'Bligation in Televisiology, when each day a network steps up to the plate to announce its plans for the coming season - which shows stay, which are goners, and which pilots got picked up to be offered in sacrifice to the Powers That Be (Nielsen families).

For its sophomore year of existence, The CW's biggest news story about the 2007 fall season was about what was missing: 'Veronica Mars'. It looks like the show is basically toe-tagged, but the rumor is that the CW will wait until the middle of June to make it official. However, all of the writers have started taking new jobs, as have most of the the cast members. (Not that it would have made much of a difference - the rumor also stated that 'Veronica Mars' would have shifted its focus to several years into the future, when she would have become an FBI agent.)

First off, let's see wassup for the returning shows on the CW:

Everybody Hates Chris; America's Next Top Model; The Game; Girlfriends; Smallville; Supernatural; One Tree Hill (mid-season); Pussycat Dolls: The Search for the Next Doll; WWE SmackDown!

Yawn.

I enjoy 'Smallville', but as my focus in on the main Toobworld, I really can't be investing my time in some alternate universe Superman/Clark Kent. The "real" one lived on Earth Prime-Time back in the 1950s and died in the early 1960s.

'Supernatural' is located in the main Toobworld and is an edgy spookfest, combining the best of 'The X-Files', 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker', and 'Route 66'. But I only watch that one when I know in advance that the episode will be integral to some aspect of my televisiology research - like Norse gods or famous serial killers, etc.

I'm glad 'Everybody Hates Chris' gets a third season, but I just don't get the opportunity to watch it. I'm hanging out with the 'HIMYM' crowd over on CBS. But at least Chris Rock will start appearing on the show now - he'll be the guidance counselor at young Chris' school.

'GirlFriends' and 'The Game' have made a few links, if not actual crossovers, with other shows or bits of TV trivia so that I can push them off my radar. As for 'One Tree Hill'.... I don't care if it has a crossover with both 'Lost' and 'Heroes' and 'Doctor Who' all in the same very special episode, I ain't watching!

Well, okay, maybe for that one example.....

These are the shows saying "Ciao" at the CW:

All of Us; Gilmore Girls; Reba; Runaway; Seventh Heaven; Veronica Mars

No big surprises here, even counting 'Veronica'. 'Runaway' was run off the road ages ago; 'Seventh Heaven' knew the end was coming and planned for it - hell, they had a year's saving grace. 'Gilmore Girls' may have been on the bubble right up until the end, but at least their last episode had the feel of a finale. And I don't think the CW ever really wanted to carry 'Reba' over from the old WB anyway.

So here are the new kids on the sked:

Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants; Hidden Palms (Premieres on May 30th); Aliens in America; Gossip Girl; Reaper; Life is Wild; Online Nation (formerly Viewsers); CW Now; Farmer Takes a Wife

Not much for us in regards to televisiology. Most of those are reality shows and so we discount and discard them. Good thing too - I'm getting a carpal flare-up!

'Aliens In America' is a comedy about an unpopular 16 year old kid in Wisconsin whose social status becomes even more ostracized when a 16 year old Pakistani Muslim moves in as an exchange student.

It sounds promising; should be a good companion piece with 'Chris'. No chance for a crossover of course - over twenty years separate the two shows on the Toobworld timeline. But maybe they could go with a League of Themselves connection when a special speaker comes to their school to hit the audience over the head with a message of tolerance.

'Reaper' - Looks like the Devil has himself a new bounty hunter to replace Ezekiel Stone from 'Brimstone'. Just from that alone, I'm thinking I could fudge a connection between the two shows and an IDD compadre of mine, Listener Mara, once gave me the goods on how to connect 'Brimstone' to 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'. So it's all good in the realm of the bad.

'Gossip Girl': Television sucks another outside source into its great maw with this adaptation of some book series. An anonymous blogger (with the voice of Kristen Bell - didn't take her long to land a new gig post-'Veronica Mars') relates the stories of the rich upper-class kids who attend the best of the best in private schools here in Manhattan.

I don't know why this is always so, but people like to watch that kind of character. 'Dallas', 'The Young & The Restless'.... Not that it's a guaranteed lock, but it probably will grab the teen girl demographic at least.

Had this been on ABC, it might have been nice for some of these kids to go on a school field trip to Mode on 'Ugly Betty'. Hopefully one of those private schools will have a name which we've heard before in some other show.....

'Life is Wild' for a NYC veterinarian who moves his second wife and 'Brady Bunch' blend of kids to a South African game reserve run by his father-in-law.

Bet he can't get far enough away from their past lives - as in ex-spouses.

My wish-craft? Somehow I can link this to 'Daktari'!

So here's the sked for the CW's fall primetime:

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM "Everybody Hates Chris"
8:30-9:00 PM "Aliens in America" (New Series)
9:00-9:30 PM "Girlfriends"
9:30-10:00 PM "The Game"

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM "Beauty and the Geek"
9:00-10:00 PM "Reaper" (New Series)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM "America's Next Top Model"
9:00-10:00 PM "Gossip Girl" (New Series)

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM "Smallville"
9:00-10:00 PM "Supernatural"

FRIDAY
8:00-10:00 PM "Friday Night Smackdown!"

SATURDAY
::crickets chirp:

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM "Online Nation" (New Series)
7:30-8:00 PM "CW Now" (New Series)
8:00-9:00 PM "Life is Wild" (New Series)
9:00-10:00 PM "America's Next Top Model" (Encore)

BCnU!
The Toby OB

"B&B"-"Y&R" XO

In less than two weeks, Ridge Forrester will be arrested for the murder of Shane McGrath on 'The Bold & The Beautiful'. This sets up another crossover between 'B&B' and its CBS sister soap, 'The Young & The Restless' when Christine Williams arrives in Los Angeles to be his defense lawyer, starting June 12th.

Looking at the IMDb.com credits for Lauralle Bell, who plays Christine, I noticed she also played a Christine on 'Pacific Blue' back in 1999. However, the only plot description for that particular episode, "Trust", said that a friend of Cory's is murdered upon her return to Santa Monica. So I'm not sure if that was Ms. Bell's role or not.

If so, then maybe she was a clone. If her character survived, then perhaps she was appearing as the Christine of 'Y&R' and this episode took place while she was passing the bar to practice law in California. (She's supposed to be a lawyer only in Wisconsin.....)

Did anybody ever see this episode? There had to be an audience for this show - it ran for a couple of years, after all.

If so, let me know whether or not her character was murdered - or even if she was the murderer!

BCnU!
Toby OB

EYE ON: THE CBS UPFRONTS

This is the week of "Upfronts", one of the Holy Weeks of O'Bligation in Televisiology, when each day a network steps up to the plate to announce its plans for the coming season - which shows stay, which are goners, and which pilots got picked up to be offered in sacrifice to the Powers That Be (Nielsen families).

CBS is in the spotlight next. So let's cast an eye on the Eye Network's proposals for next year:

First, let's see what's coming back:

The Amazing Race, Cold Case, 60 Minutes, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Unit, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Survivor, CSI, Shark, Without A Trace, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, 48 Hours Mystery.

It looks to be the heftiest chunk of returnees among the networks, a sure sign of success.

Someday the big shocker will be that '60 Minutes' has been cancelled. But I don't see that happening for a very long time. The show that seemed to be in most danger of the Big Hiatus, and which is very dear to Yours Truly, was 'How I Met Your Mother'. Luckily, it's coming back and hopefully this time it will finally find the large audience it deserves.
Otherwise, CBS' stock in trade - the procedural - still commands a major chunk of the returning series.

However, CBS does recognize that there can be too much of a good thing, so they've decided to try something completely different with their new shows:

Viva Laughlin, Swingtown, Moonlight, Cane, Big Bang Theory, Power of 10, Kid Nation

'Kid Nation' is a reality show and 'Power of 10' is a game show, so they're outside the realm of interest for this televisiologist. But the others may prove tempting for some crossover wish-craft:

'Swingtown' is set in the free-sex early 70s. There will be some protests against the subject matter it presents, but those groups can't deny the conduct portrayed happened back then. What will be more nightmarish for me as a viewer is to see some of my wardrobe come back into view....

'Viva Laughlin' - This is based on the BBC show 'Blackpool' (which we got to see as 'Viva Blackpool' and it's about the Holden family as they run a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. It looks like it's from the same world you'd find several of the Dennis Potter mini-series, where dialogue is replaced by musical numbers. Or it could just be that Crossover Hall of Famer Sweet the Demon is back in town.

'Moonlight' was formerly entitled 'Twilight'. Not sure why that was changed. It could have evoked memories of 'The Twilight Zone', but maybe the CBS suits didn't want people thinking of 'The Boys Of Twilight' (which I happened to like, but then again I am a younger Wilford Brimley type.) However, 'Moonlight' could summon up ABC's old hit 'Moonlighting'.

Can't get much more different in type of show though. Sure, 'Moonlight' is also about a private eye, but this one is a vampire! What a shame it is that Darrin McGavin has passed away - the true Carl Kolchak teamed up with a vampire P.I. would have made a great Sweeps tale.

Otherwise, I don't think NBC would be very happy to see Sci-Fi's 'The Dresden Files' do a crossover with this show.

'Cane' is the Cuban-American 'Dallas'. The story intertwines two rival families in the sugar and rum industries and will star Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo, Rita Moreno, and Nestor Carbonell.

Carbonell's involvement seems almost to be a spoiler for what may come for Richard Alpert in 'Lost', but then again, it was over two years before we even met him. And look how long we go between appearances by Rose and Bernard among the Lostaways.

'Big Bang Theory' - A major plus for this series is that it was created by Chuck Lorre, who has a nearly perfect track record when it comes to sitcoms. This may not hold up that tradition, though - it's about two theoretical physicist geeks with a sexy neighbor.

But if they can throw in a fantastically funny housekeeper like Berthe on Lorre's 'Two And A Half Men', the show could have a shot.

I'm sure Chuck Lorre has already considered using a crossover with his other big show to help promote this series.

To make room for these shows, other series had to be shoved out the door. And so we're going to lose:

King of Queens, Jericho, The Class, Close To Home

'King of Queens' was already planned to make its exit and just had its big finale earlier this week. 'Close To Home' made a valiant effort to stay alive with their season ender last Friday - killing off one of the regulars, shifting the tone to be grittier - but it was for naught. And 'The Class' seemed resigned to the fact that it wasn't coming back for a sophomore year; its last episode could have served as a wrap-up and at the same time offered some options for new storylines.

But 'Jericho' could have gone in either direction; as they say in the business, it was on the bubble. So now we'll never know the truth behind the various explosions, nor the fates of all the other residents of Jericho, Kansas, - unless CBS okays a TV movie resolution and how often does that happen?

You know what would be nice? If someday a character in some other show, set in the main Toobworld, either drives through their version of Jericho, Kansas, or points it out on a map, or just mentions that they grew up back there. It'd be a nice tip of the hat to this show which did a pretty good job in creating its own little world.

Here is the fall lineup for CBS. All days and times subject to change, of course.

Monday:
8pm: How I Met Your Mother
8:30: Big Bang Theory
9pm: Two And A Half Men
9:30: Rules Of Engagement
10pm: CSI: Miami

Tuesday:
8pm: NCIS
9pm: The Unit
10pm: Cane

Wednesday:
8pm: Kid Nation
9pm: Criminal Minds
10pm: CSI: NY

Thursday:
8pm: Survivor
9pm: CSI
10pm: Without A Trace

Friday:
8pm: Ghost Whisperer
9pm: Moonlight
10pm: Numb3rs

Saturday:
8pm: Repeats
9pm: Repeats
10pm: Repeats

Sunday:
7pm: 60 Minutes
8pm: Viva Laughlin
9pm: Cold Case
10pm: Shark

Set for mid season: Swingtown, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Amazing Race

BCnU!
Toby OB

THE UPFRONTS: ABC

This is the week of "Upfronts", one of the Holy Weeks of O'Bligation in Televisiology, when each day a network steps up to the plate to announce its plans for the coming season - which shows stay, which are goners, and which pilots got picked up to be offered in sacrifice to the Powers That Be (Nielsen families).

ABC was next up in the batter's box to make their pitch - wait a minute, that's a totally screwed up metaphor. Anyway, here's a breakdown of how things will shape up for the 2007-08 season in Alphabet City:

Returning: Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men In Trees, Brothers & Sisters, Wife Swap, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Lost, Supernanny, America's Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 20/20, Primetime (specials and special series)

Out: The Nine, Six Degrees, The Great American Dream Vote, Show Me The Money, Day Break, In Case of Emergency, The Knights of Prosperity, What About Brian, George Lopez, According to Jim (finally!)

New: Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Sam I Am, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give

Moving: Men In Trees moves from Thursdays at 10 to Fridays at 8. Notes from the Underbelly and October Road (along with Cashmere Mafia) will premiere when Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor end their seasons. Lost will begin airing in February and show no repeats, in a Wednesday time slot that's still to be determined.

Surprises for the Toobster? Probably only that 'Notes From The Underbelly' survived and that 'George Lopez' didn't. (Of course, 'Underbelly' won't be back until after the second half of the season kicks off.)

I only saw a few eps of the Lopez show, and didn't find it unfunny, just not appointment viewing for a comedy jolt. And I think Lopez' complaints about the cancellation not serving a segment of the audience were spot on.

I liked 'Notes From The Underbelly' every time I saw it; I just couldn't make it a definite date. (I especially like Cooper; it's a neo-traditional role, but the actress makes it work so well.)

Along with the returning 'October Road' and the new 'Cashmere Mafia' (ugh - I hate that title!), 'Underbelly' won't be showing up on the air until later in the fall season - once 'The Bachelor' and 'Dancing With The Stars' wrap up their runs.

Here's the new ABC lineup for the fall, with the caveat that they may switch things around by crunch time:

MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars"
9:30 p.m. "Sam I Am" (new comedy series)
10:00 p.m. "The Bachelor"

TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Cavemen" (new comedy series)
8:30 p.m. "Carpoolers" (new comedy series)
9:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show"
10:00 p.m. "Boston Legal"

WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Pushing Daisies" (new drama series)
9:00 p.m. "Private Practice" (new drama series)
10:00 p.m. "Dirty Sexy Money" (new drama series)

THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Ugly Betty"
9:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy"
10:00 p.m. "Big Shots" (new drama series)

FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. "MEN IN TREES"
9:00 p.m. "Women's Murder Club" (new drama series)
10:00 p.m. "20/20"

SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Saturday Night College Football"

SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. "America's Funniest Home Videos"
8:00 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
9:00 p.m. "Desperate Housewives"
10:00 p.m. "Brothers & Sisters"

It's weird to look at that schedule and not see 'Lost' on there. Knowing that it will come back in the spring for an uninterrupted 16 week run is a fantastic game plan, but it just brings home the idea that we'll have to go over half a year before we can pick up the story again. For me, this is a lay-off that's worse than the ones that happened between seasons of 'The Sopranos'

Okay, so now a look at some of those new shows (at least the ones that catch my Toobworldian eye):

Big Shots - A story about four CEOs, friends who are at the top of the world.... But it's their women who really control them. (At least I think they do - I could be misreading the one-line sum-up.)

I suppose it's generic enough to eventually find something to make Toobworld connections - I'd even guess that it's not out of the realm of possibility that there might be an appearance during Sweeps by lawyers from Crane, Poole, & Schmidt! But I think that for the most part this is a show I'll track via online plot summaries after the fact.

Still, you can't beat the combo of Dylan McDermott, Michael Vartan, Joshua Malina, and Christopher Titus as these four guys!

'Cashmere Mafia' - The flip side of 'Big Shots' in that it's about four female friends who help each other out in their climbs up the corporate ladder.

And as was the case with 'Big Shots', it might lend itself to crossover possibilities with established shows like 'Boston Legal', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Brothers & Sisters', and even 'Men In Trees' (depending on who gets to do the road trip).

Who knows? Maybe even 'Ugly Betty' could help out in their empowerment quest!

This is the second show that sounds like it's trying to fill in the void after 'Sex And The City' departed. ('The Lipstick Jungle' is the other.) Again, I hate that title.

'Dirty Sexy Money' - After the death of his father, a young lawyer who still has his ideals (Good luck on keeping those!) takes over for him in dealing with an old-money family, and becomes susceptible to the allure that brings.

Donald Sutherland is listed as one of the stars (along with Peter Krause and William Baldwin), but I've read he's playing Krause's father. So I guess he's "starring" in this like Tom Skerritt "starred" in 'Brothers & Sisters'.

I could see a 'Brothers & Sisters' crossover in this, but again, perhaps one with 'Boston Legal' might be more likely.

'Eli Stone' - This one won't be coming out until mid-season. Whenever I read something like that, then I begin to wonder which show the network expects to fail in order to provide the slot. But nowadays, that could also mean a limited-term reality show ending its run....

Eli is a lawyer with an inoperable brain tumor which gives him something of a messianic quality. He has to deal with visions (a la 'Raines'?) and finds that they have an impact on his life.

Seems perfect for a 'Boston Legal' crossover!

'Private Practice' - Yeah, this is the spin-off from 'Grey's Anatomy'. I don't watch that one, so I see no reason to watch this either. It's already made the Toobworld link via it being a spin-off, and 'Grey's Anatomy' got a shout-out link thanks to one of the last episodes of 'The O.C.'. So my interest has already been trumped by a "been there, done that" attitude.

'Pushing Daisies' - There's this guy, see, and he can bring things back to life just by touching them. Doesn't even need the Resurrection Glove from 'Torchwood'. With Bryan Fuller behind this, it's tempting to dream of this character as being part of the new generation of 'Heroes'. Too bad they're on rival networks.

Still, who knows? Maybe Mr. Linderman is the biological daddy for this guy.

The only two things that will kill this show for me - I'm already committed to 'Bones' in that hour (until 'Lost' comes back, which might snare this same slot should 'Pushing Daisies' fail), and the fact that Kristen Chenowith is one of the stars. Her speaking voice is fingernails on a chalkboard time for me......

'Women's Murder Club' - The head of ABC described this show at the Upfronts as the "most traditional procedural this year, with an ABC tone." It's about four women - a detective, a DA, a medical examiner, and a reporter - who work together to solve crimes.
It's just begging for a 'Desperate Housewives' crossover!

'Carpoolers' - ABC's "The IT Crowd': a comedy about a group of people brought together by something in common (in this case, they share rides to work) and then the stories can branch out from there. Some might interconnect, maybe not, but I'm guessing by the end of the episode it all comes back to the ride home for the four major players. Assuming the cars hold four people....

It's 'Seinfeld' on wheels, I think. But I'll root for it since Bruce McCulloch is behind it.

'Cavemen' - Here's the one that got the most advance buzz and not much of it good. That much attention I think dooms it to failure already. Just some kind of innate curse on the process.

But it will generate a few posts for this blog, with its link to the original Geico ads and ruminations on past shows like 'It's About Time'. So that's always good - for me. Can't say what the experience will be for those viewing at home!

'Miss/Guided' - Judy Greer is one of those names I see all the time in episode summaries and I never can picture her. She'll be playing a guidance counselor at the high school she attended and realizes that you never leave your own experiences behind.

Sounds like "Welcome Back, Miss Kotter" for the 21st Century.

You know who I'd like to see show up in this? Karen Valentine as Alice Johnson, her character from 'Room 222'!

'Sam I Am' - Christina Applegate plays a woman who wakes up from a coma and finds out that she was not a nice person in her life pre-coma. She then takes the steps necessary to avoid that happening again.

This was the fear that Michael Alden had in 'Coronet Blue'. He was an amnesiac who thought that maybe he wasn't such a good guy in his former life.

As this is a sitcom, there's not much opportunity for crossing it over to some other ABC show this season. 'Carpoolers', maybe, but I can't see it linking up with 'Cavemen'. But perhaps they could do a sitcom/dramady crossover with 'Ugly Betty'?

ABCnU!
Toby OB

'LOST' - "GREATEST HITS"

I wrote a few thoughts about "Greatest Hits", the penultimate episode for this season of 'Lost', in the comments section at TVSquad.com. Being the lazy-ass that I am, I figured I might as well share them here at "Inner Toob" as well:

60. Jordan came up with the same idea I had - that the two women in the Looking Glass hatch could be original Dharma staffers rather than Others. (Besides, I get the feeling that Richard's original group of Others were all men, descended from Black Rock survivors - if not the Black Rockers themselves. Any women now on the island were shipped in by Ben.)

So another addition to that corner of the mythology that deals with Wonderland: the Looking Glass hatch with its white rabbit DHARMA symbol. We've had the "White Rabbit" episode, #8 who was used to con Sawyer with that exploding pacemaker story, the pet Ben used to test the fence, and Alex gutting a rabbit for Karl.

I'd even throw in the little tea party on the beach between Kate (as Alice) and Ben (definitely the Mad Hatter).

I had been telling friends that all this talk about Charlie's death was going to be like that Lewis Black routine about "Iraq... Iraq... Iraq... IRAN!", where we're expecting one thing but get another. I thought we'd all be conditioned to expect Charlie to die but instead it would be somebody else like Jack.

So I tip my hat to Lindelof and Cuse for this twist of events. I can see them writing Charlie out for most of next season by leaving him there in his little Sealab harem.... poor Charlie, such a fate! LOL

Maybe that's what Desmond really saw: Charlie experiencing the classic "little death", know what I mean? nudge nudge wink wink!

Posted at 2:20PM on May 17th 2007 by Tele-Toby

"HOLBY BLUE" BLUES

The BBC premiered 'Holby Blue' last week, a spin-off from a spin-off ('Holby City' from 'Casualty') to less-than-stellar reviews. But a character from the 'Casualty' mothership to make it official: Charlie Fairhead, as played by Derek Thompson, appeared in just a cameo bit.

TV Today, part of The Stage online, said of his appearance that "The poor fella looks a tad mystified, as if he’s wandered into the wrong show.I know just how he feels."

Still it's nice to see the Sign of the Crossover hard at work over in the UK.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

ALL APOLOGIES

Sorry I've dropped the ball when it comes to reporting on the Upfronts, but that's what happens when Life intrudes on my So-Called Life.

Thursday I'll play catch-up, but it's not like anybody would be turning to Inner Toob for the specific news on this Holy Week of O'Bligation, anyway.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

THE FRIENDLY ANGEL

It's not for us in the Real World to know the destiny of the soul of Reverend Jerry Falwell, who passed away yesterday. As such, his fate depends on the personal viewpoints about him and about the afterlife (if any); and then whether or not he ended up in Heaven, Hell, reincarnated, or lost in the void of nothingness.

Toobworld is not under any such compunction. As Falwell had a fictional televersion, TV writers - especially for the sketch comedy shows like 'SNL' and 'MadTV' - are free to imagine his eternal fate. Perhaps he might face a reincarnated existence as a dog, as is often the case for humans in Toobworld.

I doubt he regenerated as if he was a Gallifreyan Time Lord!

As for me, I think the spirit of Jerry Falwell will become imprisoned in a cave on the planet Triacus, as seen forty years ago on 'Star Trek'.

(Click here to see the pictorial splainin for my theory.)

As to why he murdered those colonists on Triacus, he probably saw them as being similar to those pagan liberal gay feminists who brought about 9/11.

Hey - his spirit will have had a long time to fester in that cave by that point. It's no wonder he didn't look like his corporeal being when he first appeared to those children.

That's just a theory of course. It'll never grow legs outside of this blog.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

FALWELL FELLED

I had this idea for an editorial cartoon regarding today's news about the death of Reverend Jerry Falwell.

Falwell is at the Pearly Gates, standing before St. Peter who says:

"No, you can't go back in three days. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Okay, so I wasn't a fan.

But I did want to acknowledge his Toobworld credentials, aside from his body of work in Reali-TV with appearances on talk shows and in documentaries, but especially with the '700 Club' which still holds sway over the ABC Family network.

Rev. Falwell also appeared as himself in two politically-laced TV series, one a drama and the other a sitcom:

"First Monday" .... Himself (1 episode, 2002)
- Age of Consent (2002) TV Episode (as Rev. Jerry Falwell) .... Himself

"LateLine" .... Himself (1 episode, 1998)
- Lawyer, Lawyer (1998) TV Episode .... Himself

[Information courtesy of the IMDb.com]

BCnU.....
Toby OB

MR. LINDERMAN, YOUR NUMBER'S UP

One of the infamous sequence of numbers from 'Lost' (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) appeared in this week's penultimate episode of 'Heroes'.

Mr. Linderman told Nikki/Jessica and DL that their son Micah was being held on the 42nd floor.

The number '23' showed up in an earlier episode when Mohinder was in Bozeman, Montana. That was the number of his motel room.

There has been talk of some kind of connection between 'Lost' and 'Heroes', but it was definitely confirmed when Jessica used Gannon Car Rental to get her to L.A. for a contracted hit on one of Mr. Linderman's foes.

But there was also a suggested one when Nathan talked about what would happen if the "heroes" went public with their secret - that they would be whisked away to some island in the middle of the ocean where experiments would be conducted on them in underground laboratories.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

NUMBER 1800: THE NBC UPFRONTS

This is the week of "Upfronts", one of the Holy Weeks of O'Bligation in Televisiology, when each day a network steps up to the plate to announce its plans for the coming season - which shows stay, which are goners, and which pilots got picked up to be offered in sacrifice to the Powers That Be (Nielsen families).

NBC was up first on Monday, and they released the following lineup for the fall TV season:

Monday:
8pm: Deal or No Deal
9pm: Heroes
10pm: Journeyman

Tuesday:
8pm: The Biggest Loser
9pm: Chuck
10: Law & Order: SVU

Wednesday:
8pm: Deal or No Deal
9pm: The Bionic Woman
10pm: Life

Thursday:
8pm: My Name Is Earl
8:30: 30 Rock
9pm: The Office
9:30: Scrubs
10pm: ER

Friday:
8pm: 1 vs. 100/Singing Bee
9pm: Las Vegas
10pm: Friday Night Lights

Saturday:
8pm: Dateline
9pm: Repeats of dramas like Law & Order, etc.

Sunday:
7pm: Football Night In America/Dateline
8pm: Sunday Night Football/Law & Order

Sunday (after football ends):
7pm: Dateline
8pm: Law and Order
9pm: Medium
10pm: Lipstick Jungle

Here are the shows that will be returning to serve the Peacock Throne:

Friday Night Lights, Law & Order, Law & Order: CI, Law & Order: SVU, Deal or No Deal, 30 Rock, The Office, Heroes, Scrubs, ER, The Biggest Loser, Las Vegas, My Name Is Earl, 1 vs. 100, Dateline, Football Night In America, Medium, and Saturday Night Live.

I suppose the two real surprises are 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Law & Order: CI', but both of them do come with conditions. 'FNL' will be shown in the telephant's graveyard - Friday nights. And 'L&O: CI' will be shown first on USA Network and then repeated on the mothership network.

To me it looks like the timeslot of 10 pm on Fridays would be good for 'Friday Night Lights'. First off, it reinforces the thought of Friday nights in the viewers' thick skulls, so it will be easier to find on the schedule. (NBC was bouncing it around a bit this past season.) And secondly, it's not likely to have much competition in that time period, one upside to the fact that a lot of the audience are out and about on a Friday night.

But what do I know? I'm the guy who proposed moving 'Lost' to 10 pm so that it wouldn't matter if they lost the audience afterwards to online speculation. And look how well THAT turned out!

The plan for 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' doesn't make much sense to me. I would have thought it would work better to premiere on NBC and then go to USA Network. Perhaps this is a way for the network to gradually shift it over to the satellite network permanently.

The Thursday night comedy lineup will go through a change, but not in content. 'The Office' will move to 9 pm to take up that legendary anchor position now that 'Scrubs' is beginning to look tired, and the medicomedy will shift back to 9:30. That means '30 Rock', one of my three favorite new shows this year, will take up residence in the 8:30 slot.

Now, in the past that timeslot has been considered cursed; that no show could carry the weight of its lead-in and then deliver the audience intact to the biggie at 9 pm. I believe '30 Rock' will be able to do that this year, however!

Here's the list of TV shows that have been cut loose by the network:

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Crossing Jordan, The Black Donnellys, Kidnapped, Andy Barker, P.I., Identity, Raines, 20 Good Years, Grease: You're The One That I Want, The Real Wedding Crashers, Thank God You're Here.

No real surprises there at all, except maybe 'Crossing Jordan'. Most of them were already gone; the "Grease" reality show (which I will have a tenuous connection to once it opens) was always meant to be a one-time thang; and 'Thank God You're Here' served its purpose as a stop-gap, cost-cutting measure, something like the finger in the dike to prevent a few more viewers from leaking away.

Cancelling 'Studio 60' only confirmed the inevitable, and I hope Sorkin & Co. don't try to spin it so that they're not the ones to blame. Their execution of the storylines drove away the viewers after such a phenomenal pilot and they were never able to find the right balance to bring them back.

I just wish 'Raines' could have found a home at USA Network alongside 'Psych' and 'Monk'.....

In other news for NBC, 'Law & Order' will move to Sundays at 8pm (in 2008), after football season is over.

Here's a look at the new shows on the sked:

'Heroes: Origins' will be six special episodes of the series, which will air during the show's hiatus.

'The Bionic Woman' is an updating of the classic ABC show from the 70s. It stars British actress Michelle Ryan.

'Chuck' is about a computer geek who becomes a spy (somehow). It's produced by Josh Schwartz, who did The O.C., and director McG.

'Journeyman' sounds a lot like a 21st century version of Quantum Leap. It stars Kevin McKidd from 'Rome' and is produced by some of the people behind 'The West Wing'. (For me, it sounds like the description of a proposed series that would have starred Eddie Albert back in the fifties. His time-travelling journalist would have been an American 'Doctor Who' type.)

'The IT Crowd' is a new comedy that focuses on the lives of tech people. TVSquad thought it sounded like a nerdier 'Office', but to me it sounds like 'Dweebs' with a fresh coat of paint.

'Life' is a drama about a detective who spends years in jail for a crime he didn't commit and is given a second chance. It stars Damian Lewis from 'Band of Brothers'.

'Lipstick Jungle' is from Candace Bushnell, who did 'Sex and the City', and sounds similar. It stars Brooke Shields and Kim Raver, from 'The Nine'.

'The Singing Bee' is another damn singing competition. (Probably trying to capitalize on what little interest there is in spelling bees mixed with 'American Idol'.)

'World Moves' is a hip-hop competition, and is produced by 'American Idol's Randy Jackson.

'Lipshitz Saves The World' is a comedy starring Leslie Nielsen about a nerdy teen who is chosen to protect the world from danger.

[My thanks to TVSquad.com for the descriptions of these new shows.]

NBCnU!
Toby OB

BTW, this marks my 1,800th post here at "Inner Toob"!

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

Got another drop-off from Amazon.com:

"Dinosaurs" (the complete 3rd & 4th seasons)

Thought this went missing. The online tracking said it was delivered, but I didn't get the usual notice that the super had accepted it. Luckily I figured where the signals were crossed.

I'm the Toby. Gotta love me!

CHRISTOPHUH

He had it coming.

They all do.

Perhaps over in the Tooniverse, he's still alive; still out there planting trees in Quahog with Stewie Griffin.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF LARRY DAVID

Larry David recently filmed a cameo for 'Hannah Montana' on the Disney Channel. In it, he arrives at a restaurant with his two daughters, but without a reservation. And even though he made a fortune from being the co-creator of 'Seinfeld' as well as the star of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', Larry can't get anywhere with the maitre d'.

However, when Hannah Montana saunters into the restaurant under similar circumstances, she's seated right away.

As I said, Larry David's not alone in the scene - his two daughters by Laurie David are with him. Daughter Cazzie razzes him by saying, "Face it, Dad, she's bigger than you! Bet Uncle Jerry could get us in!"

O'Bviously that's a reference to Jerry Seinfeld.

Larry David made an appearance as himself in an episode of 'Entourage' and that worked as a League of Themselves link to 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. But this is a glaring Zonk, since the Toobworld version of Larry David doesn't have any children.

It was bad enough in the past when his wife Laurie would make appearances on TV in connection to her work crusading for the environment. I once covered that up with a bit of song-and-dance that she must be some kind of stalker nut in the TV Universe, since Larry David is married to Cheryl as seen on the show.

Trying to splain away two daughters? I'm afraid that there's only one way around this, and it would give a better splainin for Laurie David:

In the TV Universe, Laurie David is his ex-wife. He left her and their two daughters and married Cheryl David. We never see any of them in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' nor hear mention of them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. (It's all in the same league as the classic example of Chekov meeting Khan on 'Star Trek'.)

So the appearance on 'Hannah Montana' was one of those times when he had custody of the kids for the weekend and took them out to dinner. And it could be that we never see or hear about them on 'CYE' because they just don't get along with Cheryl......

Just sayin', is all. Wouldn't be the first time we've seen that happen in a second marriage.

What makes this splainin work is the character of Larry David himself. Let's face it, he's not the easiest guy in the world to be with......

BCnU!
Toby OB

MARK OF ANGER

For what it's worth, I'm using "Inner Toob" today as an open forum so that my friend Mark can air his grievance against the National Geographic Channel:

My name is Mark Thompson, and I felt compelled to write after watching last night's episode 'Violent Earth'. This show must be edited or withdrawn completely - your lack of an update for hurricane Katrina makes light of a national tragedy and shows contempt for the dead. How an organization such as yours could let that show go on without redaction is truly baffling! As the announcers says that the worst hurricane was 'Ivan' and that New Orleans has been spared again and again.

What's next? An engineering program marvelling at the World Trade Center and how the twin towers rise tall and proud? Come on, NGC! This one wasn't even in the ballpark. I never write a letter like this (and I feel actually odd saying this) but shame on you!

Mark Thompson
New York, NY

I didn't see the program, so I can't say if it was presented with historical context or not - as would be the case if somebody re-broadcast Jackie Kennedy's tour of the White House or the "NBC White Paper" on the Berlin Wall. But this does sound like it was a case of tossing something on the air without checking to see if it needed updating.

Mark says it was on at 3 am last night, so they probably figured "why bother?"

It's not like a lot of people watch them during normal viewing time.....

BCnU!
Toby OB