Tuesday, October 28, 2008

T.H.E. CATALDO

In the series premiere of the American version of 'Life On Mars', NYC Detective Sam Tyler is standing outside the Cataldo Apartments, across the street and next to his parked car. Suddenly he's struck by another vehicle; when he comes to, there's a sign across the street announcing that the Cataldo Apartments will be built upon that same site. Somehow he's been transported back in Time 35 years ago to 1973.

'Life On Mars' is produced by the same team that brought 'October Road' to ABC for two seasons. For fans of that show, the name "Cataldo" will be very familiar, as it's the last name for the series antagonist, Ray "Big Cat" Cataldo.

'October Road' took place in the town of Knights Ridge, Massachusetts, where Ray Cataldo was known as "The Concrete King". His construction company built office parks, condos, and even juice bars throughout town. Because of his age, there's no way he's the Cataldo for whom the apartments were named in 1973.

However, he could be related to that same Cataldo. Even though he lives up in Massachusetts, it's always pozz'ble (as Mushrat would say in those 'Deputy Dawg' cartoons) that Ray Cataldo's grandfather or some other older relative was in the construction business down in Manhattan nearly forty years ago. And if he was anything like that gasbag Trump, he's probably slapped his name up on all sorts of construction projects all over the area.

Whatever Sam Tyler's condition in this version of 'Life On Mars', the Cataldo apartments actually exist in Toobworld; they were there before he was struck down. So this could be a theoretical link between that series and 'October Road'.

As to how both versions of 'Life On Mars' (US & the original one from the UK) could co-exist in the main Toobworld.....? Well, I have that idea figured out; it's just a matter of writing it up. But don't worry, I'll get around to it.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

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