TODAY'S TWD: ON MIDNIGHT, AT THE OASIS

Each week in the classic 'Star Trek', the starship Enterprise would seek out new worlds to explore. But what happened between those episodes; how many new worlds and new civilizations did they discover?

And more importantly, once they had boldly gone where no one lese had gone before, what happened to all those uninhabited planets, Class M and otherwise, after they left?

The next wave of human development would occur, just as it had in earlier eras on Earth - settlers and others would follow, looking to stake a claim.

Some would be mined, like that planetoid in the episode "Devil In The Dark". Others would be exploited for other natural resources.

And some would be transformed into getaway resorts!

In the 'Doctor Who' episode "Midnight", the Doctor and Donna traveled to the planet Midnight (ironically named because it is always bathed in extreme deadly sunlight. Even though exposure to the surface could kill you, still somebody saw fit to build a resort there. (Probably for the tourist attraction of the sapphire waterfalls.....)
[They don't want you to know this, but there are people who come to New York and go to the Marriott Marquis just to ride the bubble elevators to the roof and then jump down into the elevator wells. I bet the same thing will happen at the Leisure Palace on Midnight - people go to the resort, pamper themselves (like Donna does in this episode), and then go outside into the extonic atmosphere unprotected in order to kill themselves.]

Molto bene!

Because the Leisure Palace appears to have been built and then lowered onto the planet's surface in the first rush after discovery, I'm thinking the lack of proper investigation into the planet's properties (which would have discovered the alien presence) means that this episode occurred early in Man's piglrimage to the final frontier. And this resort would fit perfectly with the main reason Mankind pushed outwards to the stars -
The chance to "dance" with aliens. Nudge nudge wink wink!

So I'm thinking that on the Toobworld timeline, "Midnight" should be placed somewhere between 'Star Trek' and its sequel eighty some-odd years down the road, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. And it was at a time when 21st Century fashions were back in vogue, judging by how everyone was dressed among the passengers. (Behind the scenes, it was a good way to keep down the budget on such a "bottle show".)
BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: CENTAURS PRIME-TIME

I went to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" today. Back in the late 1980s, there was a Television production combining two of the "Narnia" books by CS Lewis: "Prince Caspian And The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader".

In the world of Narnia, centaurs exist but supposedly not in the "real world". That may be so in the universe of literature and in the movie universe, but not so in Toobworld.

There were centaurs throughout the run of 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'; I think perhaps in 'Xena: Warrior Princess' as well. But those shows, for the most part, took place back in the shadowy Time of Legend, and one might think that in the modern age, centaurs would surely be extinct.

However, as we now see in an Old Spice bllipvert, centaurs not only still exist, but they live openly in modern society. And apparently they're breeding with humans!

I wonder if this centaur's wife/girlfriend happens to be named Catherine....?

BCnU!
Toby OB

PS
At least this particular centaur is also a serlinguist, speaking directly to the inhabitants of the real world......

TODAY'S TWD: SCRIBE DIATRIBE

On the morning before the season finale of 'Doctor Who' aired, producer/writer Russell T. Davies appeared on a morning talk show in the UK to promote what would be his swan song with the series.

He was asked by one of the hosts if he would be making an appearance in the program and RTD laughed off the suggestion; adding that he hates writers who appear in the TV shows they write.

So here is a partial list of writers that Russell T. Davies hates:

Douglas Adams
- 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'

(Thanks, Sean!)

Neil Simon
- 'The Odd Couple'
(Toobnote: Actually, Simon wrote the original play. But he got to meet his creations in the TV adaptation.)

David E. Kelley
- 'Snoops'

Steve Franks
- 'Psych'

Tim Minear
- 'Wonderfalls'

Aaron Sorkin
- 'The West Wing'
- 'SportsNight'

J. Michael Straczynski

- 'Babylon 5'

Joss Whedon
- 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'
- 'Angel'
- 'Firefly'
And although he didn't write it:
- 'Veronica Mars'

And if what RTD claimed is true, here is the writer whom he probably hates the most:

Stephen King
- 'Kingdom Hospital'
- 'Rose Red'
- 'Storm Of The Century'
- 'The Shining'
- 'The Langoliers'
- 'The Stand'
- 'Golden Years'

BCnU!
Toby OB

ADDENDUM:
Here's another writer (and producer/director) who's appeared in shows he was producing and/or writing:

Ken Levine

- 'Frasier'

- 'The Marshall Chronicles'

But also in:

- 'The Simpsons'

- 'Brooklyn Bridge'

And thanks to my buddy Michael (Sean's brother), I'm wondering now if RTD hates writers who host presentations of their work, like Rod Serling or Ray Bradbury......?

THE END

TODAY'S TWD: BLONDES HAVE MORE SPLAININS

When it comes to the portrayal of historical figures in Toobworld, certain allowances seem to be necessary due to the appearance of the actor playing the role.

Guess what, folks? Here's yet ANOTHER post about Agatha Christie as she appeared in the 'Doctor Who' episode "The Unicorn And The Wasp"!

Mrs. Christie was played by Fenella Woolgar, who has blonde hair. But in all the pictures I've seen of Agatha Christie from that time period (1926), she seems to have darker hair.

I have a splainin for this.

Even after eighty years, people are still divided as to what really happened when she disappeared for nearly two weeks, only to be found at the Harrogate Hydro Spa. Some believe she went into a fugue state and suffered from amnesia after discovering that her husband had been carrying on an affair with another woman. Others claim that she deliberately staged her disappearance in order to get her husband suspected of foul play.

With Toobworld, we can now claim that both theories are true.

When Agatha Christie arrived at the Eddison estate that afternoon, she was prepared to stage her disappearance. (In real life, the events happened in December; "The Unicorn And The Wasp" appears to take place in summer.) And to further make her disappearance possible, she changed her appearance by dying her hair blonde with the intention of staging her plan after leaving that weekend.
But after her encounter with the Vespiform, Mrs. Christie suffered a bout of amnesia due to the abrupt termination of their mental link via the Firestone. When the Doctor and his Companion Donna Noble left her at the Harrogate Hotel, she really didn't know what had happened over the previous 24 hours.
And that's why the TV Agatha Christie had blonde hair....

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: SHEARD FILE

While doing research on the many actors who played Hitler on TV, it came to my attention that the late Michael Sheard played the dictator the most often on Television. Perhaps best known for playing Admiral Ozzel in the "Star Wars" film, Sheard is also known to genre fans for his role in the 'Doctor Who' serial "The Pyramids of Mars".As Adolph Hitler, Michael Sheard appeared in:

. . . "Tomorrow People, The" (1973)
{Hitler's Last Secret: Part 1 (#6.3)}
{Hitler's Last Secret: Part 2 (#6.4)}

. . . Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, The (1985) (TV)

. . . Hitler of the Andes (2003) (TV)

. . . Rogue Male (1976) (TV)

He even played the role in the movie universe:

. . . Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Hitler will be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame not only as a tele-historical figure, but also as the traditional monster inductee in October of 2009.Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Toobworld Central Tribunal Committee (of which I am the only member), Michael Sheard has been appointed to be the official portrayal of Hitler once he is inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Among the historical televersions, only a few have had one particular actor designated to represent them in the Hall. There's Ford Rainey as Abraham Lincoln, and Charles Durning as Santa Claus (Art Carney as a Santa counterpart in an alternate dimension). And Simon Callow as Charles Dickens will be so honored next year in December.

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: THE TRIB AS LEAD STORY

I went searching the web for a picture of Larry Harmon, owner of the "Bozo" franchise, as a Stan Laurel look-alike in an episode of 'Matt Houston'. And so I found myself at Chuck McCann's website (http://chuckmccann.net) because he was the co-star as the Oliver Hardy look-alike.

No pics of Harmon with Chuck, but there was a clip from 'Matt Houston' with Chuck in another episode. This time he was a serial killer who wanted his victims to make the front page of the paper. And it really irked him to find that Matt Houston got the front page glory when one of his victims was "buried" on page sixteen. (And there's another reference to a 'Lost' number!)

And that newspaper with Matt's mug plastered above the fold?
The Los Angeles Tribune.

Of course, all true TV aficionados recognize that name from 'Lou Grant'. But it's also made its mark in the second version of 'Burke's Law', the failed pilot episode of 'Lookwell', the TV movie "The Chinese Typewriter", and now this!

(It was also in an episode of '24', but that would be an extra-dimensional counterpart since '24' must take place in an alternate dimension due to the number of American Presidents it's had instead of the ones from Earth Prime-Time and the real world.)

Does anybody know if 'Matt Houston' deserved to be officially in the TV Universe already before this? I'll put the shout-out to RAF to check on this, as I can't find my copy of his list in my hard drive!

-30-
Toby OB

THE CARRADINE COINCIDENCE

Purely serendipiteevee, honest: after inducting Kwai Chang Caine into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, I turned on the set to find David Carradine in the last forty minutes of "Kill Bill, Volume Two".

BCnU!

Toby OB

JULY, 2008 TVXOHOF: PRAISING CAINE

Even with all the things I've had to do in the last few days, I'm still running farther behind on the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame than I intended. So I've called upon Wikipedia for help in talking about this month's inductee into the Hall.

Traditionally, the month of July is dedicated to TV Westerns here at Toobworld Central. In the old days of the Tubeworld Dynamic, there would be pages upon pages of material for July and August combined, usually all tied in to that month's inductee, and topped off with an essay about Dr. Miguelito Loveless, my all-time favorite TV character.

So now that we're on a daily basis with the Inner Toob blog, I've also cut back on the Western content. But we're still going to be inducting Western characters into the Hall during the month of July to maintain that tradition.

And for July of 2008......

KWAI CHANG CAINE

This wasn't in any way due to the upcoming Olympics in China, but it makes for a nice bit of serendipiteevee....

Here's the entry from Wikipedia:

Kwai Chang Caine is a fictional television character played by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a younger Caine and Radames Pera as the youngest Caine, in the 1972-1975 western television series, Kung Fu.

In the late 19th century China, Kwai Chang Caine was the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. He was raised in a Shaolin Monastery, and was trained by the monks to be a Shaolin master. Kung Fu follows his adventures as he travels to the American Old West (armed only with his skill in martial arts) as he seeks hishalf-brother, Danny Caine. Although it was his intention to find his brother Danny in a way which would escape notice, the demands of his training as a priest in addition to the sense of social responsibility which was instilled within him during his childhood, forced Caine torepeatedly come into the open to fight for justice. He would then leave his new surroundings in a further search for anonymity and security.

Orphaned after his maternal grandfather's death, Caine eventually found himself outside the local Shaolin temple along with other hopeful candidates. After waiting patiently for several days (even after being told to go home), Caine and the few other remaining candidates were taken inside the temple where only Caine passed a subtle test in manners. Although taking a student of mixed parentage into the order was unprecedented, the head monk sagely noted "For everything there is a first time," and welcomed Caine.

Following his induction into the order, Caine then lived in the temple until adulthood, mastering many of the fighting forms and lessons taught by the Shaolin monks. At one point during his training he was shown the various forms and his instructor explained that it wouldtake a lifetime to master one of the forms. Later, while in America, when asked by a student which forms he teaches, Caine's response was "All of them."

One of his first instructors was the blind master named Po. Po considered Caine his favorite pupil and behaved more like an elderly grandfather. Caine was given nickname "Grasshopper" by Master Po. The reference was from an exchange where the still ignorant young Caine asked the old blind master how he could function without seeing. Pothen described the room in detail, including a grasshopper at Caine's feet. Incredulous, Caine asked Po, "Old man - how is it that you hear these things?". Po's reply was, "Young man, how is it that you do not?". From that point on, Po affectionately called Caine"Grasshopper".

Years after his graduation, Caine travel to the capital to meet Po, whose lifelong ambition was to travel to the city on that date. While talking, the Emperor's nephew and his entourage come along and an altercation ensued. While defending himself from an unruly and belligerent guard, Master Po is shot by the Emperor's nephew. In a moment of shock, Caine kills the Royal nephew. With his dying words, Po instructs Caine to flee to America.

Caine flees to the American Old West during which time he discovers that he has a half-brother, named Danny. At the same time, he was on the run from a steady stream ofbounty hunters and Chinese agents searching for him.

Although it was his intention to find Danny in a way which would escape notice, the demands of his training as a priest in addition to the sense of social responsibility which was instilled within him during his childhood, forced Caine to repeatedly come into the open to fight for justice. He would then leave his new surroundings in a further search for anonymity and security.

This conflict between a desire for anonymity and a sense of social responsibility is conveyed through the frequent use of flashbacks. In these flashbacks, the adult Caine (Carradine) recalls a particular lesson during his training in the monastery while a child (Rad Pera) by his teachers, the blind Master Po (Keye Luke) and Master Kan (Philip Ahn).

During the concluding four episodes of the third (and final) season (Barbary House, Flight to Orion, The Brothers Caine, and Full Circle,) Caine not only finds his brother Danny, but his nephew Zeke as well.

In 1986 Kung Fu: The Movie premiered as a made-for-TV movie. In reality, the movie was the pilot for a new series in which Caine finds himself hunted by the father of the royal nephew killed by Caine in the original pilot. The royal's primary weapon against Caine is ayoung man named Chung Wang - unknowingly Caine's adult son (played by Brandon Lee).

In 1987 a second series called Kung Fu: The Next Generation was supposed to be launched. It was set in the present day telling the story of Kwai Chang Caine's grandson (played by David Darlow) and great-grandson, played by Brandon Lee. Throughout this series, Caine would teach his rebellious son of the Shaolin ways. The series ideanever took off beyond the pilot, however, and was not launched.

In 1993 a third series was begun, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, wherein Carradine played the grandson of the original Caine. Identical in appearance to and named after the first Kwai Chang Caine, this Caine was reunited with his son from whom he was separated fifteen years ago (when both thought the other had died in an explosion).

Raised by a Los Angeles policeman, the son is now a police detective who has long since abandoned his boyhood Shaolin training.

David Carradine made one final appearance as Caine in "The Gambler-The Luck of the Draw", part of Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" telefilm series. It also featured the final appearance of Chuck Conners as Lucas McCain, 'The Rifleman'.

Apparently that page in Wikipedia has not been updated, as the original Caine swapped places with his grandson in an episode of 'The Legend Continues'. This episode also marked an appearance by fellow Hall of Famer Cheyenne Bodie. They both appeared in the earlier "Gambler" movie, but did not meet during the course of it.

Kung Fu (1972)

"Kung Fu" (1972) (TV series)

Kung Fu: The Movie (1986)

"CBS Summer Playhouse"
- Kung Fu: The Next Generation (1987) TV episode

The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991)

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1992)

"Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1993) (TV series)

Not that it technically applies for the original Caine, but in the "Kung Fu Divas" episode of 'Eve', Rita and Shelley took part in a martial arts class in which David Carradine played the Master Teacher of the class. Since he was not named, it could be that he was appearing as the Kwai Chang Caine of the new millennium, originally seen in 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'......

I'm of a mind to just ignore those Yellow Book ads with Carradine as some kind of Zen master hawking yellowbook.commmmmmmmm....... Maybe there is something to be said for Hugh Davis' idea there should be an "Adverse".

I've included the 'CBS Summer Playhouse' burnoff of the first Next Generation pilot which starred David Darlow as a descendant of Caine. I could have easily tossed it off to an alternate dimension, but whose to say that the branches of the family tree didn't spread farther than the too-linear lineage of the Caines seen in the shows and movies generally accepted as being part of the canon?

So even though Carradine doesn't appear in that pilot, he is in its historical background.

Just for bleeps and giggles (or perhaps in this case, hee-haws), here are the other Western inductees into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame:

Proto-Hall: James West & Artemus Gordon
1999 - Brady Hawkes
2000 - Calamity Jane
2001 - Dr. Miguelito Loveless (honorary induction)
2001 - Bart Maverick
2002 - Wyatt Earp & Bat Masterson
2002 - Lucas and Mark McCain
2003 - Cheyenne Bodie
2004 - none (special 'Star Trek' salute that year)
2005 - Hec Ramsay aka Paladin
2006 - none (special 'Law & Order' salute that year)
2007 - Bret Maverick
2008 - Kwai Chang Caine

BCnU!
Toby OB

"THE NUMBERS" IN "POIROT" AND THE "ZONE"

Thanks to the Fourth of July marathon of 'The Twilight Zone' on the Sci-Fi Channel, and to my O'Bsession to complete my viewing of the 'Poirot' series, I have a few more examples of "The Numbers" from 'Lost' appearing in the TV Universe.

First up, from the episode "King Nine Will Not Return", the serial number on the WWII bomber which crashed in the African desert began with "42".
Unfortunately, the other numbers when added up equal "22", one short needed to make "23". As Maxwell Smart would say, "Missed it by that much!"

Then, in one of my top favorite episodes of the whole series, we have hospital room "15" in "And When The Sky Was Open". This is where Ed Harrington, Clegg Forbes, and William Gart were brought after their experimental spacecraft, the X-20, crashed in the desert. And one by one, each of them disappeared - as if "someone or something" realized it had been a mistake for them to return; that they no longer belonged.
Here we see Bill Gart as he came to the realization that it was really happening and that he would soon be next........

And then it's over to 'Poirot', where I finished off the last three hour-long episodes in the series' run. I have just one more two-hour tele-flick to watch and I've completed the series as it stands right now.
In "Murder In The Mews", Hercule Poirot and Inspector Japp called upon MP Laviton-West to inform him of the death of his fiancee. The number of his residence in London was "8".

And in "Four And Twenty Blackbirds", one of the major clues damning the guilty party was an altered postmark to look like it had arrived on the 16th of June, 1934, rather than on the 15th.
So...... Those are my latest finds of "The Numbers" in other TV shows.

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: REMEMBERING ROY

It was ten years ago today that Leonard Slye passed away.

For Western fans and the Baby Boomer TV generation, he was better known as Roy Rogers.

In 2002, Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans were inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Cowboys show up on TV today, they're usually presented in an ironic fashion. Or as jokes.

Roy Rogers does seem like a lightweight to me as a cowboy, and he did even back then when I was a kid watching his show. I'm a fan of Westerns and he just didn't measure up to my image of John Wayne, Randolph Scott, and the like.

But it didn't matter. He believed in who he was on the screen, so we believed it as well.

BCnU....
Toby OB