A PASSING MENTION

"Reali-TV" will have a stranglehold on our TV screens today with massive coverage of the circus that will be the Michael Jackson memorial in Los Angeles.

In less than 24 hours after the shocking news of his passing, Michael Jackson's death became "official" in the alternate reality of Toobworld. In a scene near the beginning of 'EastEnders' the next night, Denise Wicks mentioned that Jackson had died while wishing Patrick Trueman a happy birthday.

No, wait. That doesn't sound right. Michael Jackson did not die while wishing Patrick Trueman a happy birthday. Denise Wicks wished Patrick Trueman a happy birthday and then told him that Michael Jackson had died. Much better!

Diedrick Santer, the show's executive producer, said: "There are some news stories and events which get everyone talking, and this one of them. Given the quick turnaround, it’s only a small scene, but I hope it reflects to some extent the impact of Michael Jackson’s death has had."

A spokesman for the soap said: ""We always aim to reflect topical events that we think will strike a chord with our audience and have previously filmed additional scenes including the election of Barack Obama and England’s participation in the World Cup."

BCnU!

CASTIN' MARPLE

I tend to drift away from a TV character, sometimes even the whole show, once there has been a re-casting. Such is the case with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. For me, she's Joan Hickson; I never did see the series of mysteries with Geraldine McEwan in the role.

But I did watch last night's presentation of "A Pocketful Of Rye" which presented the American audience of 'Masterpiece Mystery' with the new Jane Marple, played by Julia McKenzie. I wasn't at all taken by her performance, but I wasn't watching it for her. Instead, I was eager to see the following actors in the cast:

KENNETH CRANHAM as Rex Fortescue ("Hot Fuzz")

RUPERT GRAVES as Lance Fortescue

MATTHEW MACFADYEN as Inspector Neele ("MI-5")

HELEN BAXENDALE as Mary Dove ("An Unsuitable Job For A Woman", "Friends")

WENDY RICHARD as Mrs Crump ("Are You Being Served?", "EastEnders")

LIZ WHITE as Jennifer Fortescue ("Life On Mars")

PRUNELLA SCALES as Mrs Mackenzie ("Fawlty Towers")

And not one of them disappointed!

Still and all, Joan Hickson was in the 1985 version of this story and that's the one that belongs in the main Toobworld. This series will be off in a third TV dimension, with Geraldine McEwan in the second Toobworld, perhaps even the 'West Wing' one?

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: HARVE PRESNELL

When Harve Presnell died last week at the age of 75, more creative universes than just Toobworld lost a great talent. Most of the obituaries focused on his powerful singing voice and the roles he played in musical theater; and also how he broke into movie musicals just as the genre was waning. Later, he was "re-discovered" by movie audiences with his role as Wade Gustafson in "Fargo".

But this being a blog about the TV Universe, we're saluting the body of work he contributed to Toobworld.

His longest-running role on TV was also his scariest, and with that imposing frame, hard-chiseled face, and especially that gruff voice, any role - even the comedic ones - played by Harve Presnell could already be plenty scary. Mr. Parker was the Chairman of the Centre Council on 'The Pretender', who was willing to kill in order to get what he wanted or to protect his own self-interests. And that may have included his wife, the mother of Miss Parker (who may or may not have been his daughter.)

He played a key role in the ABC crossover night of sitcoms set in Las Vegas which linked together 'The Drew Carey Show', 'Ellen', 'Grace Under Fire', and 'Coach'. In the 'Grace Under Fire' segment, Grace met an older man named Jack and was so entranced by his virility that she brought him back to her motel room for a bit of the ol' nudge nudge wink wink - only to have him die on her floor while showing off with a few push-ups.

But for ye olde Caretaker of Toobworld, his best role was that of Lew Staziak, a retired P.I. who formerly occupied Andy's office in 'Andy Barker, P.I.'. Lew was off the wall nuts and you were never quite sure if he was ever telling the truth. Maybe he was hallucinating from all the peyote he used to take. And at any moment he could snap and go off the deep end.

Lew was one of the funniest characters to come along in the last few years.....

Good night and may God bless.....

Harve Presnell's TV credits include:

TV SERIES
"Andy Barker, P.I." .... Lew Staziak (2007)

"Dawson's Creek" .... Arthur Brooks (2000-2001)

"The Pretender" .... Mr. Parker (1997-2000)

THE TOONIVERSE
"The Lionhearts"

"Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man"

"The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest"

TV PILOTS
Legally Blonde (2003) (TV) .... Henry Whitehouse

TV SEQUELS
The Pretender: Island of the Haunted (2001) .... Mr. Parker

The Pretender 2001 (2001) .... Mr. Parker

RECURRING ROLES
"Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" .... Dr. Sam Lane (1995-1997)

"Ryan's Hope" .... Matthew Crane (1984)

TV GUEST APPEARANCES

"Cold Case"

"ER"

"Monk"

"Charmed"

"The Lyon's Den"

"The Practice"

"Hope & Faith"

"Frasier"

"Strong Medicine"

"Payne"

"The Outer Limits"

"Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place"

"George & Leo"

"Players"

"EZ Streets"

"Grace Under Fire"

"Star Trek: Voyager"

"Nash Bridges"

"The Client"

"The Red Skelton Show"

"General Electric Theater"

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"

TV MINI-SERIES
"From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) .... Alan Shepard's party guest

TV MOVIES
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot (2001) (TV) .... Joe Kennedy

Everything That Rises (1998) (TV) .... Garth

A Bright Shining Lie (1998) (TV) .... General Harkins

Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997)

The Guardian (1997) (TV) .... Clovis McConnell

The Great Man's Whiskers (1972) (TV) .... Ballad Singer

BCnU....

AS SEEN ON TV: MOSES (TWO FOR TUESDAY)

AS SEEN IN:

'Mentors'

AS PLAYED BY:

Jan Rubes

From the 'Mentors' website:

First a prince of Egypt, then later a simple shepherd, Moses became the prophet who led the Hebrews out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses was born of Hebrew parents in a time when male newborns were ordered to be executed by the Pharoah. In an effort to save his life, his mother set him adrift on the Nile in a basket of reeds. Ironically, it was the Pharoah's daughter that found Moses (named for being "drawn from the water"), and raised him as her own son.

When God appeared before him in a burning bush, Moses was tasked with his destiny as liberator of the Israelite people. As a servant of God, Moses witnessed God's mighty power such as the parting of the Red Sea which delivered the Israelites from the hands of the approaching Egyptian army.

With God's guidance and protection, Moses successfully led his people to the Land of Canaan. En route, while in the presence God on Mount Sinai, Moses received God's new revealed law, the Ten Commandments. Moses died in Moab at the age of one hundred and twenty, and is regarded as the greatest Jewish leader.

As with all of the other historical figures summoned by that magical computer in 'Mentors', it is the decision by Toobworld Central that this Moses was not the actual Law-Bringer, but a computerized construct; sort of a living hologram. We're leaning towards Burt Lancaster as the actual Moses for Toobworld. (But we're open to other possibilities.)

AS SEEN IN:

"Moses The Law-Giver"

AS PLAYED BY:

Burt Lancaster

Today's "As Seen On TV" Two For Tuesday feature is a tribute to Jan Rubes. The actor passed away at the age of 89 last Monday in Toronto after suffering a stroke. He is best known for playing the Amish grand-father in "Witness".

BCnU....

KLEINE KLEIN HUT-GRUPPE

Allen Klein has died at the age of 77. For a short time, he managed the business affairs of the Beatles just before they broke up.

In Toobworld, he was spoofed by the character of Ron Decline in the Rutles TV special "All You Need Is Cash". This "documentary" was Eric Idle's hybrid of the humor styles of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and 'Saturday Night Live', and John Belushi was featured as Ron Decline.

Here's the introductory clip of Ron Decline. Say what you will about Klein, but he knew how to make an entrance......



In case you didn't recognize them, Ron Decline's bodyguards were played by Tom Davis and Senator-Elect Al Franken......

BCnU!

A SLAG-HEAD HEAD'S-UP

Tim Minear is a writer/producer who has worked on 'Angel', 'Firefly', 'Wonderfalls', and 'Dollhouse'. Now he's turned his attention towards bringing 'Alien Nation' back to television.

However, he's not picking up where the series and sequel movies left off. This will be a completely new version in which the aliens didn't land on Earth until 2000 or so. The new series will pick up 20 years later as the refugee aliens, whose population has grown to 3.5 million on Earth, mark out a section of the Pacific Northwest to be their home away from home.

Whether their previous home is still Tencton, and whether they still resemble the "slag-heads" of the original 1988 theatrically released film and subsequent series, remains to be seen. But the central focus of the new show will still be a human cop teamed up with an alien cop with the alien cop's family in tow.
Here's how Variety broke the news:

"'Alien Nation' centers on the partnership between a veteran cop and his alien detective partner, set against the larger tale of alien "newcomers" who move to Earth and attempt to assimilate into society.

Fox 21 topper Chris Carlisle said he believed 'Alien Nation' could rep the next franchise revival for SCI FI, which found huge success in dusting off 'Battlestar Galactica' and reworking it for today's auds. Carlisle said 'Alien Nation' works both as a sci-fi piece and a procedural drama."It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show," Carlisle said. "They're looking for more grounded sci-fi and close-ended episodes, and at the heart of 'Alien Nation', it's a cop movie. It's grounded. And it has a tremendous amount of dramatic possibilities and humor.""
Since we don't even know how the aliens will look in this new version, and considering the timeline pushes it way past the original arrival of the Tenctonese slave ship, this new version of 'Alien Nation' (should it get the green light) will have to reside in the alternate TV dimension of remakes, along with Tim Daly's version of 'The Fugitive' and the recently concluded 'Battlestar Galactica'.

Which is a shame, because I would have liked to re-visit the team of Matt Sykes (as played by Gary Graham) and George Francisco (portrayed by Eric Pierpoint) from the original series at this stage of their lives on the Toobworld timeline. Especially after seeing Lauren Woodland all grown up on 'The Young & The Restless' back when my Mom was still alive and watching the show.....

Just sayin', is all......

BCnU!

TUNGUSKA, IN TOOBWORLD

Here's a report from the BBC:

More than 100 years ago, an enigmatic explosion devastated 80 million trees in a Russian forest. Today, researchers say the mystery known as the Tunguska event may be solved.

They say new evidence suggests a comet -- not a meteor as previously thought -- was behind the explosion. And, as the BBC reported, they're pointing to clouds that form thousands of miles away at Earth's polices to explain the theory.

Scientists claim these "noctilucent" clouds -- formations that are similar to what was seen after the Tunguska event -- reach the poles because water vapor appears to be quickly traveling in two dimensions, rather than three. The phenomenon, experts believe, happens when something like a magnetic field constrains the vapor, forcing it to move extremely fast in the remaining two dimensions.

Researchers noted this occurring when the shuttles Discovery and Endeavour launched in 1997 and 2003, respectively. The launches deposit tons of water into the upper atmosphere.

All of this, according to scientists, suggests a water-laden comet that shed its icy coating in that same part of the atmosphere is what flattened 830 square miles of Siberian forests in 1908, reported Examiner.com.

"It's totally new and unexpected physics," Michael Kelley of Cornell University told the BBC. "It's almost like putting together a 100-year-old murder mystery."

For Toobworld, 'The X-Files' provided its own splainin as to what happened at Tunguska in 1908. Here's the TV.com summary for the episode "Tunguska":

A rock sample taken from Mars is intercepted at an airport and infects a security officer with the Black Cancer, while Mulder is given a tip about potentially dangerous paramilitary operations but is doubtful when the informant turns out to be Alex Krycek.

Reluctantly, Mulder accepts Krycek's help and tracks the rock to Russia where he discovers an elaborate test being performed by Russian scientists.

From Wikipedia:
Black oil, or black cancer is the name given on 'The X-Files' to a form of extraterrestrial virus with the ability to control the host. In the series, the black oil (Purity) represents a form of extraterrestrial biological entity and an invasion force. It appears as a liquid with the consistency of crude oil, can move on its own, and is sentient. It can hibernate for thousands of years, usually in petroleum deposits. When it comes into contact with humans, it absorbs itself into the host, sometimes appearing to move directly under the skin and over the eyes of the victim. After pooling in the third ventricle of the brain (Vienen), it takes possession of the person and controls them.

In 2012, alien artifact collector Henry Van Statten made confessed to the Gallifreyan Time Lord about "the medical find his researchers recovered from the mysterious crater that had been created by some sort of seismic blast in 1908 Russia - the cure for the common cold. (Of course, his corporation decided to keep that a secret for fear of ruining the cold & flu medicinal industry.)"
(Previously... on "Inner Toob"....)

For Toobworld Central, another alien race was involved in that scene of devastation over 100 years ago. Back when we were writing about the 'Doctor Who' episode "Dalek", we repeated a theory first posted on the old website "The Tubeworld Dynamic":

(It's also one of the Toobworld hypotheticals that another alien [who was] involved in that blast {and survived} had been a Conehead from Remulac. This Conehead, whether it was a male or a female somehow fit into the human society during the early stages of Soviet Russia and even fathered a half-human hybrid child who grew up to become an arch-villain in Gotham City.... Egghead.)

Egghead would have been born in Russia several years after his Remulac parental unit crashed in Tunguska; probably in 1911, the same birth year as the actor who portrayed him - Vincent Price.

Just sayin', is all.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: MARGARETHE CAMMERMEYER

AS SEEN IN:
"Serving In Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Glenn Close

From Wikipedia:

Margarethe "Grethe" Cammermeyer (born March 24, 1942) is a former colonel in the Washington National Guard and a gay rights activist. Born in Oslo, Norway, she became a United States citizen in 1960. In 1961 she joined the Army Student Nurse Program. She received a B.S. in Nursing in 1963 from the University of Maryland.

She met her partner, Diane Divelbess, in 1988, when she was 46 — after she had ended a 15-year marriage to a man and had four sons.

In 1989, in response to a question during a routine security clearance interview, she disclosed that she is a lesbian. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was not yet in effect at the time, and the National Guard began military discharge proceedings against her. On June 11, 1992, she was honorably discharged from the military. Cammermeyer filed a lawsuit against the decision in civil court. In June 1994, Judge Thomas Zilly of the federal district court in Seattle ruled her discharge, and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military, unconstitutional. She returned to the National Guard and served as one of the few officially accepted openly gay or lesbian people in the military until her retirement in 1997.

After retirement, Cammermeyer ran for the United States Congress in Washington's 2nd congressional district in 1998. She won the Democratic primary, but lost in the general election to Republican incumbent Jack Metcalf.

An excellent biography on Cammermeyer can be found here.

In the second picture, the televersion of Cammermeyer is pictured with Diane Divelbess, her life partner, who was played by Judy Davis.

It may seem like I'm featuring a lot of military personnel these last few days in the "As Seen On TV" feature, but it had nothing to do with the Fourth of July holiday. In this case, it was because the late Jan Rubes appeared in this TV movie and so this came out of my research on his TV roles. The others grew out of my Hat Squad tributes to the late Karl Malden and Harve Presnell.

BCnU!

MALDEN: THE LAST HURRAH

Joe Bua featured this clip on his blog "I Am A TV Junkie" the other day, and far be it for me not to steal a good idea! And since this is the Sabbath Day.....

A lot of actors can't be lucky when it comes to their final acting project; no one ever knows when it's Time. I'm sure James Dean would rather have lived, but at least he left us with 'Giant' still to come. It would have been nice if Peter Sellers could rest on 'Being There' as his final project, but instead he's saddled with that 'Fu Manchu' movie.

It's only six minutes long, but I don't think Karl Malden couldn't have asked for a better final showcase of his talents than this short scene from 'The West Wing'. Sometimes it's hard to see the character for the actor, but not this time.



It was only just now as I was putting this piece together and watching the clip once again that I noticed Father Tom called President Bartlet "Jed". I think it all stems from earlier, when Bartlet told him to call him "Mr. President" because it was easier to think of himself as the Office, not the Man when it came to difficult decisions. But no priest is going to hear confession from a job, but only from the man.....

Father Thomas Cavanaugh is one of the best one-shot guest roles seen on 'The West Wing'. And I'm not just saying that because he died; always thought so.

BCnU.....

THE HAT SQUAD: ANNA KAREN MORROW

Anna Karen Morrow has passed away at the age of 94. Her biggest role in Toobworld was that of Mrs. Chernak, a housekeeper for the Harrington family in 'Peyton Place'. (She appeared in at least 19 episodes.)

Her most recognizable role would probably be that of the woman saved by Captain Kirk who later accused him of being a witch to save herself. This happened in the Cromwellian past of the planet Sarpeidon in the 'Star Trek' episode "All Our Yesterdays". (The episode is more famous for the doomed love affair between Spock and Zarabeth played by Mariette Hartley in the planet's Ice Age.)

TV SERIES
"Peyton Place" .... Mrs. Chernak (1965-1966)

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Project U.F.O."

"Marcus Welby, M.D."

"Star Trek" .... Woman

"The Iron Horse"

"Gunsmoke"

"The Farmer's Daughter"

"Wagon Train"

"The Rebel"

"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond"

"Jefferson Drum"

"Matinee Theatre"

"The Doctor"

"Steve Randall"

"Lights Out"

"The Perry Como Show"

BCnU....

THE HAT SQUAD: JAN RUBES

Jan Rubes, best known for his role of the grand-father in the movie "Witness" has passed away. He suffered a stroke last Monday in Toronto. He was 89. Born in Czechoslovakia, he immigrated to Canada in 1948. He was also well-known for his roles in opera.

TV SERIES
"Due South" .... Dr. Mort Gustafson (1997-1999)

"Max Glick" (1990) .... Augustus Glick

"Kay O'Brien" .... Dr. Josef Wallach (1986)

"Vanderberg" (1983) TV series .... Lewis Vanderberg

"Castle Zaremba" (1970) TV series .... Col. Kazimir Zaremba

TV MOVIES
The Christmas Secret (2000)

What Katy Did (1999)

Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples (1998)

The Third Twin (1997)

Flood: A River's Rampage (1997)

Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995)

The Birds II: Land's End (1994)

Lamb Chop and the Haunted Studio (1994)

Coming of Age (1993)

Devlin (1992)

The Witches of Eastwick (1992)

Descending Angel (1990)

The Garden (1990) (TV)

Two Men (1988)

The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988) .... Augustus Glick
(Pilot for the series 'Max Glick')

No Blame (1988)

The Marriage Bed (1986)

Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985)

Murder in Space (1985)

Charlie Grant's War (1984)

Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982)

TV MINI-SERIES
"Crossings" (1986) TV mini-series .... Isaac Zimmerman

"Kane & Abel" (1985) TV mini-series .... The Polish Consul

TV RECURRING ROLES
"The X Files" .... Vassily Peskow
- Terma (1996)
- Tunguska (1996)

"E.N.G." .... Arno Hildebrandt
- Harvest (1992)
- Running with the Pack (1989)

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Tilt"
"Mentors"
"Stargate SG-1"
"The Outer Limits"
"The City"
"ER"
"Side Effects"
"Maniac Mansion"
"By Way of the Stars"
"Life Goes On"

"Street Legal"
"War of the Worlds"
"The Beachcombers"
"Katts and Dog"
"MacGyver"
"Fame"
"The Edison Twins"
"Night Heat"
"The New Avengers"
"King of Kensington"
"Lassie"
"The Forest Rangers"

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES
"Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show"

"Guess What?" (1975) TV series .... Host

BCnU.....

PROVIDENCE PASSIONS

While 'Passions' was on the air, the soap opera made several crossovers with other shows, most of which garnered publicity at the time. For instance, Dr. Bombay of 'Bewitched' appeared several times in the town of Harmony. (It's what got the witch doctor inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame in its first year.) His first appearance coincided with the 35th anniversay of the premiere of 'Bewitched'.

And there was the time Mary McConnell of the Montecito kept tabs on some Harmony citizens as they gambled in another 'Las Vegas' casino.

'Las Vegas' wasn't the only prime time series to link with the daytime soap opera. During the final episode of 'Providence' ("The Eleventh Hour") in 2002, two of the 'Passions' players could be seen attending the wedding Owen and Syd. Dr. TC Russell and Eve Russell were played by Rodney Van Johnson and Tracey Ross, but neither of them had lines to confirm their identity in the scene. Still, Toobworld Central is taking the position that they were in fact playing their characters from 'Passions'.

JIM:
"Your mother would be very happy."

SYD:
"She ALWAYS talked about my wedding.
I never imagined she wouldn't be here for it."
'Providence'

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WILLIAM WESTMORELAND

AS SEEN IN:
"A Bright Shining Lie"

AS PLAYED BY:
Kurtwood Smith

William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was an American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968, with the Tet Offensive. He had adopted a strategy of attrition against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. He later served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. In 1976, he published his memoirs, "A Soldier Reports".
[from Wikipedia]

BCnU!

CROSSING ZONE: WELCOME TO GIANT WORLD

The traditional Fourth of July marathon of 'Twilight Zone' episodes on Sci-Fi will be over in the middle of the night. This year, they tweaked the format a bit by including a batch of episodes from the 1980s version of the show at the beginning of the marathon.

A few hours ago Sci-Fi aired "The Invaders", the classic episode with Agnes Moorehead; probably one of the top five stories told on the show.

I've probably mentioned this before; but what the hell, I'm going to do it again.

Although "The Invaders" was broadcast first (27 January 1961), in the Toobworld timeline it takes place after the debut episode of the TV series 'Land Of The Giants' (22 September 1968). US Air Force Space Probe 1 was sent into that greenish cloud that masked the wormhole leading to the world of the giants in order to discover what happened to the Spindrift. The experimental sub-orbital airliner disappeared in June of 1983, and after an investigation, Toobworld Central believes that the government launched the secret probe to discover what happened to them.

Unfortunately for Gresham and his partner, the two astronauts didn't have as much luck as the passengers and crew of the Spindrift once it landed on the giants' planet.....

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: MOLLIE SUGDEN

Over here in America, Mollie Sugden may not be remembered by name by the general public, but they will always remember her character of Mrs. Slocombe from 'Are You Being Served?' With hair in colors that shouldn't exist except on the planet Arcturus, and with a pussy that kept her preoccupied most of the day, Mrs. Slocombe will live on in TV Heaven. Even as Mollie Sugden has joined her former co-star Wendy Richard... one step beyond.

But over in the United Kingdom, Mollie Sugden left an impressive body of work with roles on such famous shows and mini-series as 'The Bill', 'Coronation Street', 'Z Cars', 'Up Pompeii', 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII', and 'Steptoe And Son'. She had starring roles in other Britcoms like 'The Liver Birds', 'Come Back, Mrs. Noah', and 'Hugh And I'. But it will always be Mrs. Slocombe who will come to mind first when we think of Mollie Sugden, who passed away the other day at the age of 86. Because of their participation in 'Are You Being Served?', movie and series, and in the sequel 'Grace And Favour', the employees of Grace Brothers will one day be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, probably en masse. This will probably happen just as soon as... I'm free.....

Ms. Sugden, good night, and may God bless.

Here are the roles she contributed to the Tele-Folks Directory: "The Bill" .... Lally (2003)

"Revolver" (2001) .... Mother

"The Liver Birds" (1976 - 1996) .... Mrs. Thelma Hutchinson

"Dennis the Menace" .... Vilhemina Slop Bucket (1996)

"Romuald the Reindeer" (1996)

"Just William" .... Great Aunt Florence (1995)

"Oliver's Travels" (1995) .... Mrs. Robson

"Grace & Favour" (1992-1993).... Mrs. Betty Slocombe

"Cluedo" (1991) .... Mrs. White

"My Husband and I" (1987-1988) .... Nora Powers

"That's My Boy" .... Ida Willis (1981-1986)

"Are You Being Served?" .... Mrs. Betty Slocombe (1972-1985)

"Tickle on the Tum" (1984) TV series .... Bessie Bagwash

The Talking Parcel (1978) (voice) .... Hortense, the Flying Train

"Come Back Mrs. Noah" .... Mrs. Noah (1977-1978)

Are You Being Served? - The Movie (1977) .... Mrs. Betty Slocombe

"Three Comedies of Marriage" .... Mother (1975)

Holiday with Strings (1974) .... Doris

"Love Thy Neighbour" .... Sister Martin (1974)

"Coronation Street" .... Nellie Harvey (1965-1974)

"Son of the Bride" .... Mum (1973)

"The Fenn Street Gang" .... Mrs. Greer (1972)

"My Wife Next Door" .... George's Mother (1972)

"A Class by Himself" .... Lesley Charles (1972)

"Emma" .... Mrs. Goddard (1972)

"Doctor in Charge" .... Mrs. Waring (1972)

"Six Days of Justice" .... Mrs. Dunne (1972)

"Steptoe and Son"
- Oh What a Beautiful Mourning (1972) .... Minnie
- And Afterwards at... (1965) .... Mother Of The Bride

"Mandog" (1972) .... Mrs. Morris

"Comedy Playhouse" .... Lady Wright (1972)

"Please Sir!" .... Alice Larch (1971)

"For the Love of Ada" .... Nellie Pollitt (1971)

"Doctor at Large" .... Mrs. Mollett (1971)

"The Goodies" .... Minister for Trade and Domestic Affairs (1970)

"Up Pompeii" .... Flavia (1970)

"The Six Wives of Henry VIII" .... Lotte (1970)

"Oh Brother!" - (1969) "Just Jimmy" .... Mum
- Harem Scarem! (1968)
- Chips with Nothing (1964)

"Jackanory" .... Storyteller
- The Unwelcome Guests: Welcome at Last (1968)
- The Unwelcome Guests: Lost and Found (1968)
- The Unwelcome Guests: The Golden Coin (1968)
- The Unwelcome Guests: The Beachcombers (1968)
- The Unwelcome Guests: The House on It's Own (1968)

"Z Cars" .... Vera (1967)

"Armchair Theatre" .... District nurse
- I Am Osango (1967)

"Hugh and I" (1962-1966) .... Mrs. Crispin

"First Night" .... Mrs. Phillips
- Maggie (1964)

"Benny Hill" .... Woman Tenant (1962)

"Suspense" .... Belle
- Killer in the Band (1962)

BCnU.....

THE HAT SQUAD: GALE STORM

When I was growing up in Connecticut, 'My Little Margie' was part of my afternoon viewing habit. (By this time it was already in rerun syndication.) Even then as a little kid, I thought Margie was too old to be the way she was; nowadays an actual teenager would be cast in the role. Maybe a character like 'Blossom' was a latter-day version of Margie Albright.

But I've been looking at some online photos of Gale Storm these last few days, and I can see the real reason I kept coming back to the series. She was cute - even with that horrible hair style! And just this morning I discovered the website tv4u.com where I caught an old episode of the show and was able to admire her again, from a more adult viewpoint. (At least as best of one that I can conjure up!)

Ms. Storm passed away this past week, part of one those blasted "They Go In Threes" curses. (Her companions for the journey were Billy Mays and Fred Travalena.) She was 87 years old.

After 'My Little Margie', she had another successful run with 'The Gale Storm Show', in which she played a cruise ship's social director, Susanna Pomeroy. But as Toobworld primarily exists within my own cranium, I prefer the title of the show as 'Oh, Susanna!', as that's what it was known as when I watched that in reruns as well.
I never could figure out why I saw so little of her on the TV screen after that - two episodes of 'Burke's Law', a 'Love Boat' and a very funny performance in an episode of 'Murder, She Wrote'. I just assumed she withdrew for a while to raise her family, but now (after reading her obituary in the L.A. Times) I wonder if it might have been due to her battle with alcoholism. Once I read about how she successfully fought back, I came away with a new admiration that was deeper than just because of her talents.
As Red Skelton would say, "Good night, and may God bless."

Here are the characters she contributed to the citizenry of Toobworld:

"Murder, She Wrote" .... Maisie Mayberry

- Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (1989)

"The Love Boat" .... Rose

- Never Say Goodbye/New Woman, A/Trial Romance (1979) "Burke's Law"
- Who Killed Wimbledon Hastings? (1965) .... Dr. Nonnie Harper

- Who Killed His Royal Highness? (1964) .... Honey Feather Leeps

"The Gale Storm Show" .... Susanna Pomeroy (1956-1960)
... aka "Oh! Susanna"

"Shower of Stars"

- Cloak and Dagger (1957)

"The Ford Television Theatre" .... Hope Foster
- Johnny, Where Are You? (1955)

"Celebrity Playhouse"

- Mink Does Something for You (1955)

"Robert Montgomery Presents"

- Tomorrow Is Forever (1955)

"My Little Margie" .... Margie Albright (1952-1955)

"The Unexpected" .... Eileen
- The Puppeteers (1952)

"The Bigelow Theatre"

- The Hot Welcome (1951)
- Mechanic on Duty (1950)

"Hollywood Theatre Time" (1950)

BCnU.....

AS SEEN ON TV: ELMO ZUMWALT, JR. & ELMO ZUMWALT III

THE ZUMWALTS

AS SEEN IN:
"My Father, My Son"

AS PLAYED BY:
Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. - Karl Malden
Elmo Zumwalt III - Keith Carradine

Adapted from Wikipedia:

Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was an American naval officer and the youngest man to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in U.S. military history, especially during the Vietnam War. A highly-decorated war veteran, Zumwalt reformed Naval personnel policies in an effort to improve enlisted life and ease racial tensions.

During his son Elmo III's illness in the early 1980s, Admiral Zumwalt was very active in lobbying Congress to establish a national registry of bone marrow donors. (Such donors serve patients who do not have suitably matched bone marrow donors in their families. This was ultimately a disinterested act, since his son was able to receive a transplant from his own sister, but many patients don't have close relatives who are able and willing to help in this heroic way. His efforts were a major factor in the founding of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) in July 1986. Admiral Zumwalt was the first chairman of the NMDP's Board of Directors.

Admiral Zumwalt said he felt his son's cancer was most definitely due to Agent Orange. However, Zumwalt said he did not regret ordering the use of Agent Orange, because it reduced casualties by making it difficult for the enemy to hide and find food.

Admiral Zumwalt, along with his son Elmo III and writer John Pekkanen, authored a book called "My Father, My Son", published by MacMillan in September 1986, where they discussed the family tragedy of his son's battle with cancer. The book contains chapters narrated by Admiral Zumwalt, Lieutenant Zumwalt, and other family members.

After treatment in a number of hospitals, Elmo III went to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, where he received a bone marrow transplant from his sister Mouzetta, whose tissues fortunately matched his well enough for this treatment to be feasible. Results were promising at the end of "My Father, My Son", but he died in 1988.

That same year, 1988, "My Father, My Son" was adapted for a TV movie of the same name, starring Karl Malden as the elder Zumwalt and Keith Carradine as his son.

BCnU!

GOING FOURTH

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE FOURTH OF JULY!

And in the words of Sgt. Esterhaus:

"Let's be careful out there...."

BCnU!

SON OF A SEKULOVITCH!

If you didn't know already, Karl Malden's real name was Mladen Sekulovich. And whenever possible, he tried to work that name into his dialogue in various movies. (O'Bviously he couldn't do it in his scenes for "How The West Was Won"; not sure it would have worked in "Bullwhip Griffin" either.)

Here's what Wikipedia has on Malden's use of the name:

(Karl) Malden often found ways to say "Sekulovich" in films and television shows in which he appears. For example, as General Omar Bradley in "Patton", as his troops slog their way through enemy fire in Sicily, Malden says "Hand me that helmet, Sekulovich" to another soldier.

In "Dead Ringer", as a police detective in the squad room, Malden tells another detective: "Sekulovich, gimme my hat."

In "Fear Strikes Out", Malden, playing Jimmy Piersall's father John, introduces Jimmy to a baseball scout named Sekulovich.

In "Birdman of Alcatraz", as a prison warden touring the cell block, Malden recites a list of inmates' names, including Sekulovich. (Malden's father was not pleased, as he told his son 'Mladen, no Sekulovich has ever been in prison!')

Also, in "On the Waterfront", in which Malden plays the priest, among the names of the officers of Local 374 called out in the courtroom scene is Mladen Sekulovich, Delegate.

Perhaps the most notable usage of his real name was in the TV series 'The Streets of San Francisco'. Malden's character in the program, Mike Stone, employed a legman (played by Art Metrano) with that name, who did various errands.
[edited]

According to the IMDb.com, Art Passarella also played an Officer Sekulovich in two episodes of 'Streets of San Francisco': "Breakup" and "Dead Lift".

I have no problem for Toobworld in suggesting that Sgt. M. Sekulovich and Officer Sekulovich were related. As there was nearly a thirty year age difference between the men, Metrano's Sekulovitch could have been the son of Passarella's.
BCnU!

CASTLE BOOK

Over the years, I've read a fair share of tie-in novels based on TV series - mostly for 'Star Trek', but also 'Bonanza', 'The Prisoner', 'Columbo', etc. But it's not often when I come across a book that purports to have been written from within television's alternate reality.

Some that come to mind - the mysteries of Jessica Fletcher, "Bad Twin", which was worked into the plotline of 'Lost', guide-books and diaries from 'Twin Peaks'. And there's one from a current soap opera, but I'm blanking on the show. And with over 400 books here in the Toobworld Central Library, it's a daunting task to track it down.

But now comes word that ABC will be publishing a mystery novel "written" by Richard Castle, the main character on its returning series 'Castle' and played by Nathan Fillion. Apparently elements of the novel will find themselves integrated into episode storylines.

Before the novel is published as a hard-cover, the first half of the book will be serialized online, a chapter a week for ten weeks. Its actual publication release date is September 29, by Hyperion.

The novel is "Heat Wave", so the protagonist must be Nikki Heat. She's a new character for Castle, having dispatched his previous hero Derek Storm after becoming bored with writing about him. Nikki Heat is influenced by the detective at the 12th Precinct who's been saddled with him by a veiled demand by the Mayor while she's working cases.

Since 'Castle' has a black man currently as Mayor of New York City, the show had to be relegated to an alternate TV dimension, as Mayor Mike Bloomberg has already established himself as "Hizzoner" in '30 Rock', 'Law & Order', and a Muppets Christmas special.

But I think it fits nicely into the dimension of 'The West Wing', the next best thing to the main Toobworld!

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: KARL MALDEN

Academy Award winning actor Karl Malden has passed away at the age of 97. He made over fifty films including "Patton", "The Birdman Of Alcatraz", "Baby Doll", "On The Waterfront" (for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor), and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (recreating his Broadway role of Mitch, for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).

On TV, he appeared in nine TV movies, many of which had him portraying real-life figures like Herb Brooks, Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., and Leon Klinghoffer. He also played The Walrus in an adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland".

But in Toobworld, he is best known for playing Lt. Mike Stone, a 20 year veteran police inspector working 'The Streets Of San Francisco', and as himself in a series of commercials he made for American Express Traveler's Cheques and for the American Express credit card over a 21 year period.

He also played the title role of Pete Skagska, a Pittsburgh steelworker felled by a stroke in the short-lived 'Skag'. His last character appearance on TV was as President Jed Bartlet's former priest in a first season episode of 'The West Wing'. (Father Tom Cavanaugh, like all of the characters in 'The West Wing', can be found in an alternate TV dimension and not Earth Prime-Time.)

He was a solid, dependable actor who never disappointed, and Toobworld is richer for the characters he provided.

TV SERIES
"Skag" .... Pete "Skag" Skagska

"The Streets of San Francisco" .... Detective Lt. Mike Stone

TV PILOTS
Skag (1980) .... Pete 'Skag' Skagska

TV SEQUELS
Back to the Streets of San Francisco (1992) .... Mike Stone

TV MOVIES
They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping (1993) .... Ed Ray

Absolute Strangers (1991) .... Fred Zusselman

Call Me Anna (1990) .... Doctor Harold Arlen

The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1989) .... Leon Klinghoffer

My Father, My Son (1988) .... Elmo Zumwalt Jr.

Fatal Vision (1984) .... Freddy Kassab

With Intent to Kill (1984) .... Thomas E. Nolan

Miracle on Ice (1981) .... Herb Brooks

Word of Honor (1981) .... Mike McNeill

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"The West Wing" .... Father Thomas Cavanaugh
- Take This Sabbath Day (2000)

"Armstrong Circle Theatre"
- Anything But Love (1950)

TV COMMERCIALS
American Express

LITERARY ADAPTATIONS
Alice in Wonderland (1985) .... Walrus

Captains Courageous (1977) .... Disko Troop

"The Ford Theatre Hour"
- Little Women (1949)
"Good night, and may God bless."

BCnU.....