AS SEEN ON TV: OLD HICKORY

I'm thinking that just because Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States yesterday, we shouldn't just abandon this theme of showing the tele-versions of our former presidents. After all, this feature of "As Seen On TV" has to run through the whole year and I'm gonna have to fill up the other 300 plus days with somebody!

So today, we have Andrew Jackson, as he looked during the War of 1812. A few minutes after we see him here, two time-travelers by the names of Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones would come into his life with the intent of altering History so that it would revert back to the original timeline.

This tele-version of Andrew Jackson was played by Lance LeGault in 'Voyagers!', but others who have played Old Hickory in other Toobworld productions have included Victor Jory, J.D. Cannon, John Anderson, and McLean Stevenson. Not having seen any of those other productions, I can't speculate on why their physical features were altered within the reality of Toobworld. But I can offer up a splainin for our seventh president looking as he does here.

First off, Phineas and Jeffrey went back in Time and changed history so that Jean Lafitte would come to Jackson's aid, which would then provide the ripple effect leading to Jackson's presidency. So at this juncture in Time, Andrew Jackson is the focal point for two dimensional divergences. And as he could be seen as the Jackson who would end up in an alternate TV dimension, we're not going to get all flustered about his looks.

Added to that is that he's about to come into contact with time travelers. The time differential could have been shorted out by their arrival and that would have an effect on his physical appearance.

We have precedent for that in last year's 'Doctor Who' sketch from the "Children In Need" telethon, in which the tenth Doctor met his earlier incarnation as the fifth Doctor:

"Mind you, bit saggier than it ought to be, hair's a bit grayer. That's because of me, though, the two of us together has shorted out the time differential, should all snap back in place when we get you back home."

Just a theory, of course.....

BCnU!
Toby O'B