Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A POST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Even with the holiday hiatus, I didn't put much of a dent in my DVR queue; I always seemed to find something to record and watch even during the so-called down-time. But today I finally watched the Muppets' Christmas special, "Letters To Santa"..... I don't know, there just seems to be some spark missing from their heyday. Maybe it's the sense of anarchy you could feel in the syndicated show from the mid 70's?

At any rate, the Muppets, like all puppets who interact with humans on Television, are citizens of the main Toobworld. And as such, there were two connections made within the special that had ramifications on the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.
First up, the Kermit and his friends met Mayor Mike Bloomberg outside of a NYC post office, and that marks his required third appearance in different TV shows. (He must have some kind of deal with NBC - his other two appearances as himself were in episodes of 'Law & Order' and '30 Rock'.)

And then we saw Jesse L. Martin playing a postal worker. Martin used to play Detective Ed Green of the 27th Precinct on 'Law & Order' (already a Hall of Famer), but he left during last season. So we could make the assumption that this mailroom employee was Ed Green pursuing a new line of work.
Now some new to my version of "a rough whimper of insanity" might think it strange that I mix such a realistic police procedural like 'Law & Order' with the Muppets, but that's what Toobworld is all about. On occasion, even cartoon characters cross over from the Tooniverse and interact with live-action characters.


And the fact that no living puppets were ever seen on any of Dick Wolf's shows in the 'L&O' franchise is not an obstacle. There's a prejudice against puppets among humans in the TV Universe, so that's why we don't see any of the cops or prosecutors dealing with them. And if any puppets were involved in a case prosecuted by Ben Stone or Jack McCoy, it was one of the many cases that we never see taken care of in front of the camera.

See? Easy splainin!

BCnU!
Toby O'B

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