GROO TUBE

First off, I have to give credit to my blog buddy Thom Holbrook (Crossovers & Spinoffs, to the left) for suggesting this post. When I posted Deep Six Wish-List of "Return Engagements", he revealed one of his own on my Facebook page: Seth Green's character of "Oz" from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' should team up with the Groosalugg, a recurring character from the spin-off 'Angel'. It would be a buddy road trip show - sort of a cross between 'Supernatural' and 'Route 66'. (Too bad the title of "Route 666" was used for a TV movie.)

I think it's a great idea! The "Buffyverse" created by Joss Whedon is rich enough to support a continuing franchise like 'Star Trek' or the 'L&O'/'CSI' shows. And this permutation would prevent it from becoming formulaic.

You wouldn't need either Sarah Michelle Gellar or David Boreanaz to sell the idea; the fans are out there to welcome any of their old faves back to Toobworld. (But it would be nice if Buffy and Angel could make a special guest appearance during a Sweeps period.) Seth Green certainly has a following, especially as Oz, and Mark Lutz proved the Groosalugg popular enough to last for awhile on 'Angel'.

But in the meantime, in traditional Toobworld fashion, I have another suggestion.....

Anytime Mark Lutz appears on a TV show as a one-shot character, we could make the claim that he was appearing as the Groosalugg - under an alias. (Of course, there's a proviso: the character must still be alive by the end of the episode. We'd like to see Groo live to show up again on TV.)

So far I've got two candidates:

1) 'What About Brian?' - "Moving Day"
According to IMDb.com, Lutz was uncredited as Mitchell Piedmont, and there was no further information to be found at TV.com. However, this summary excerpt from Wikipedia might be a clue: "Deena is torn between staying home with her sick child or accepting a date from the cute divorced dad she met at her daughter's school."

Not sure Groo would be posing as some kid's dad though. Unless maybe she was part demon too.....?

2) 'Twins' - "Blonde Ambition"
In this sitcom, Mark Lutz showed up as Trevor, who was dating Farrah, and her father wasn't too pleased about it. Now, that could be Groo, bouncing back after realizing he was never going to win Cordelia's heart.

Two one-shot appearances, and Groo could walk away to appear on some other TV show.

If Mark Lutz's career can keep providing these one-shot roles, one day the Groosalugg might be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame on the Birthday Honors list.

Thanks again, Thom!

BCnU!
Toby O'B