TVXOHOF, 07/2009-C: QUEEK STRAW

I'm running late with this week's induction into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame. But I was waiting to borrow a DVD from a co-worker to get just the right frame grab for this piece.

For the third week of the month in this 10th anniversary year, we've been inducting characters from the Tooniverse. And since it's July, I wanted to keep it in a Western theme, per tradition. And that's why our honorees this month are that Durango Duo....

QUICK DRAW McGRAW
&
BABA LOUIE

Sure, they were eligible not only for their many Hannah-Barbera crossovers - like "Yogi Bear's Laff-a-Lympics" - to go along with their own series of cartoons, but also because of a cameo appearance that is so over the top, it demanded special mention. (Sure, Quick Draw McGraw was a client of 'Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law', but then, so were a lot of H-B characters; that wasn't anything special. Nevertheless, it does add to the legend!)

In the far future of the Tooniverse, long after the devestation of the world (but before the 'Futurama' world in which Fry and Bender live), there is a ronin wandering the world named 'Samurai Jack'. In the episode "The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful", Samurai Jack was in the desolate regions of the American West: and he was on board a train crossing the plains which also had Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Louie as passengers.

That he shared the same world as anthropmorphized animals isn't so unusual; you should see some of the other denizens of that future! Besides, n the Tooniverse, they co-exist equally. (But they don't necessarily like to share each other's company, which is why talking animals don't show up in 'Jonny Quest'.)

What was strange was that Quick Draw and Baba Louie should be found so far into the future. Although it was never explained, the two of them must have tumbled through a rogue temporal wormhole from Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine. Or perhaps it was after a disastrous encounter with the Time Squad.

Although it was just a quick cameo, it was more than enough to elevate the two into the Hall of Fame.

Brazos!

NUMBERS RUNNING: "BETTER OFF TED"

By the way......

A couple of "The Numbers" of 'Lost' showed up at that Digivation press conference on 'Better Off Ted'......

BCnU!

FEATS OF KLAE

When Veronica's father Elija Palmer, who was the head of Digivation, was about to announce a new 7 year battery, one of the stations covering his news conference was KLAE, Channel 8. (As seen this week on 'Better Off Ted' - "Father, Can You Hair Me?".)

Toobworld Central can't prove it of course, but the KLAE TV station could have been a subsidiary of the Klae Corporation. Back in the mid to late 1970's, the Klaie Corporation was worth almost 1 billion dollars; it has to be at least double that by now - unless it was looted during the 1980's by some greedy member of the Klae family. Back in those days in the late 1970s, Dr. Daniel Westin worked as a research scientist for the Klae Corporation. Whether he still does, whether he found a cure for his invisibility, or whether he eventually died from the toll taken on his body.... we'll never know.

And for alls I know, the Klae Corporation also owned Veridian Dynamics and their TV station was there to learn all they can - or capture Palmer's hoped-for embarrassment so that Veronica could enjoy the view back in her own office. BCnU!

THE WALLY/WHO BALLYHOO

In that same episode of 'The Listener' ("Iris"), Toby Logan and Oz Bey helped out an old derelict named Wally. As he rested up in a hospital bed, Wally expressed regret that he never got the chance to see the sky catch fire.

I'd have to assume then that Wally was passed out drunk when a Gallifreyan Time Lord - known as The Doctor - burned off the poisonous gasses in the atmosphere, which had been triggered by the Sontarans and the ATMOS devices in every car.

(from 'Doctor Who' - "The Poisoned Sky")

BCnU!

PETRIE DISH

Before 'Alias', Carl Lumbly's biggest TV role was as Detective Mark Petrie in the 1980's series 'Cagney And Lacey'. Mark Petrie may have been based in NYC, but that doesn't mean his whole family lived there. Toobworld Central's theory is that his nephew, although never mentioned on 'Cagney And Lacey', was living in Toronto. And this nephew was also named Mark Petrie, probably in honor of his uncle.

If so, it's likely we saw him last week on 'The Listener'. Distraught because his wife couldn't be saved from the cancer that eventually took her life, Mark Petrie (2) shot and wounded the father of a young faith healer named "Iris".
As to why he was in Toronto? Perhaps his father, Detective Mark Petrie's older brother, was a draft dodger back in the late sixties, early seventies.

All just a theory of relateeveety, of course. But if feels right....

BCnU!

DATELINE: TOOBWORLD - DEXTER TOONS!

The Showtime series 'Dexter' will be joining the webisode craze with a dozen cartoons about how Dexter mastered the art of killing. These animated webisodes will be online in the fall, and will probably feature a relatively realistic art style.

I mean, at least we know 'Dexter' won't look like this:
BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SPRINGER IN SPRINGFIELD

Let's take a trip to the Tooniverse!

JERRY SPRINGER

AS SEEN IN:
'The Simpsons'
("Treehouse Of Horror IX")

AS PLAYED BY:
Himself

BCnU!

SEPINWALL'S BIT O' WISH-CRAFT

I love it when others who blog about TV dabble in the Toobworld theme..... In reviewing the fourth episode of 'Torchwood: Children of Earth', Star-Ledger TV columnist Alan Sepinwall had this to say about the back room politics regarding the demands of The 4-5-6:Even more disturbing, though, is the scene where the Prime Minister and his people hash out how to select the 10 percent of their children who will be turned into immortal, catatonic fanny packs for The 4-5-6. Davies' work has never shown much fondness for politicians, but Denise's speech about the necessity of discrimination at a time like this -- "Should we treat them equally? God knows we've tried and we've failed." -- are among the most chilling words ever uttered by a "Doctor Who" villain -- if not moreso, because she's not an alien invader bent on global domination, but a scared human being trying to protect what's hers by passing the burden on to someone else.

(There aren't a lot of commonalities between "Doctor Who"/"Torchwood" and "The Wire," but I could sure imagine Tommy Carcetti participating in the American version of that meeting, couldn't you?)
And one would think that since this was such a global threat, and all TV shows should be sharing the same dimension, that Carcetti was involved in just such a contingency plan over in Baltimore. If the U.S. government of Toobworld was engaged in the same kind of conversations as seen with Prime Minister Green and his advisers, then I would imagine their cold-heartedness would lead them to think cities like Baltimore would be the primary source for their 10% quota.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

BUD ABBOTT & LOU COSTELLO

AS SEEN IN:
"Bud And Lou"

AS PLAYED BY:
Harvey Korman as Bud
Buddy Hackett as Lou
The TV movie looks at not only their professional lives, but also at their personal lives. It's a very downbeat "tears of a clown" kind of movie, especially as it covers the tragic death of Lou's toddler in a backyard swimming pool.

BCnU....

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

I haven't done one of these posts in a while; I've been trying to cut down on my online spending. ("I'm a good doggie....")

But with vacation coming up and being in need of some DVDs to take along with me (as well as stuff for my 4½ year old nephew), I decided to splurge a bit. And the first wave of products arrived yesterday:

A tote bag that reads "I am not an auditor, but I play one on TV". Says it all....

A read-aloud picture book about the movie "Up" for my nephew

The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack - a collection of the weirdest comic strips I have ever seen. My cousin Paul had a different book by the same guy and it was flat-out hysterical. I'm saving this for vacation!

"The Best Of Friends" - the PBS movie that was adapted from a play adapted from the writings of Shaw, Cockerill, and Dame Laurentia which starred McGoohan, Gielgud,and Dame Wendy Hiller

"The Girl Most Likely To...." a TV movie I only saw once decades ago, but really loved. Stockard Channing, Ed Asner, Chuck McCann, and Jim Backus among the actors. Written by Joan Rivers. Black comedy.

Both DVDs are used, promised to be in very good condition. We'll see.

I ordered everything through Amazon, a name you can trust as they commercials would put it. Not so sure about a company called "A Different City"......

Back in February I ordered about six DVDs from them of TV movies I wanted to see again. I sent them a check, they cashed it in early March, and despite two follow-up emails, they've failed to contact me and let me know where my order is.

So even though the titles are tempting ("Between Time And Timbuktu"! How could I resist?), my advice right now would be to steer clear of them. If they ever get back to me, I'll let you know.

BCnU!

CHILDREN OF EARTH, LIFE ON MARS

This blog post will contain spoilers not only for the first couple of episodes of the new 'Torchwood' mini-series, but also for another series from the BBC. Discretion is advised.....

We've been introduced to a very interesting citizen of Toobworld in the mini-series 'Torchwood: Children Of Earth'. Clement McDonald was the only child to survive the 1965 encounter with The 4-5-6 in Glasgow. We saw him in the flashback of that first encounter, when he ran away at the last minute instead of going into the light with the other eleven children. But by the time we met him, Clement was an adult in an East Grimstead institution under the name of Timothy White. In the over forty years he lived on the run (to avoid being discovered by the government officials who tried to hand him over to The 4-5-6), Clement McDonald lived all over the United Kingdom, probably under several assumed names. And eventually on his journey from Glasgow to East Grimstead, perhaps he spent some time in Manchester.

I think we've seen Clement McDonald AKA Timothy White before in Toobworld.....

When Manchester DI Sam Tyler was struck by a car and lapsed into a coma, his sub-conscious mind provided a fantasy world in which he found himself as a cop in 1973 Manchester. We assumed as the series progressed that the characters peopling his inner life were figments of his imagination. But could it be that they were based on people that he knew back in the Manchester of 2006?

In the sixth episode of the first season of 'Life On Mars', Sam found himself being held hostage at a newspaper office by Reg Cole. What if Reg Cole - in the real world - was an alias used by Clement McDonald when he was hiding out in Manchester? Perhaps he got into some sort of trouble with the Law, despite his best efforts to avoid notice, and thus came into contact with Sam Tyler. When Sam Tyler's mind needed to flesh out the character of the hostage-taker in that scenario, it pulled "Reg Cole" out of Sam's memories. Perhaps something that Reg might have ranted to Sam about The 4-5-6 stuck with the Mancunian police detective and made him consider Reg to be a possible threat to others.

The best part about this is that we're not actually saying Clement McDonald/Timothy White is the Reg Cole we saw; just that he provided the inspiraton for the Reg Cole as seen in Sam Tyler's mind. It was Sam's sub-conscious that provided the differences in personality.

I gotta say, it's a theory that feels Zonk-proof.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WAGNER

On the New York Times website, Dick Cavett shares his memories about how he lured Richard Burton into appearing on his talk show back in 1980. You can also see the first night of that appearance at the site, with Burton resplendent in his bright red argyle socks....

It's the little things that will inspire me to publish a particular "As Seen On TV" showcase.....

RICHARD WAGNER

AS SEEN IN:
"Wagner"

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Burton

Here's how Wikipedia begins their profile of the controversial operatic legend:

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813, Leipzig, Germany – 13 February 1883, Venice, Italy) was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as they were later called). Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works.

Wagner's compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for contrapuntal texture, rich chromaticism, harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs: musical themes associated with particular characters, locales or plot elements. Wagner pioneered advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, which greatly influenced the development of European classical music.

He transformed musical thought through his idea of Gesamtkunstwerk ("total artwork"), the synthesis of all the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, epitomized by his monumental four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876). To try to stage these works as he imagined them, Wagner built his own opera house, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Based on this picture of the real Wagner, I think John Wayne looked more like him.....

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: GINGER

Ginger has passed away, but she led a full life - she was a centenarian when she died.

No, I'm not talking about Tina Louise of 'Gilligan's Island'. I'm referring to the female Chihuahua who played the Taco Bell-loving male in those blipverts that ran until 2000. Those ads provided a TV catch-phrase that enjoyed a short shelf-life: "Yo Quiero Taco Bell!"

As the Taco Bell spokesperson (her voice supplied by Carlos Alazraqui), Ginger's life within the reality of Toobworld proved to be different from most dogs. Like any talking canine, "he" may have been reincarnated from a past life as a Toobworld human (perhaps as some tele-revolutionary like El Puerco of 'Soap'?).

And "he" faced down the tele-version of the new Godzilla in one of the last ad campaigns, trying to lure the monster into a trap using the food of Taco Bell. ("Here, Lizard, Lizard, Lizard....")

As my Iddiot friend Brian-El said, Ginger has dropped the chalupa for the last time.....

BCnU.....

CROSSING OVER SEVERN BRIDGE

On "Day One" of 'Torchwood: Children Of Earth', Gwen Cooper was driving from Wales to England, and to get there she had to use the Severn Bridge. When she realized that she was about to cross it, she jokingly told her husband Rhys Williams over the phone that she would soon be lost forever.

'Lost' has had a field day with showing how most of the 815 Survivors had crossed paths with each other in the past. With Toobworld, I'd like to think we could expand that concept so that characters from various series intersect in each others' lives - most of the time without even realizing it. Stealth crossovers!

So why can't we imagine that in one of those cars heading over the Severn Bridge back into Wales, 'Gavin & Stacey' were on their way to Barry in order to see Stacey's Mum? Or maybe they were in the next car over from Gwen, heading into England and back to Essex after a visit.....

As Mushrat would say in many a 'Deputy Dawg' episode, it's pozz'ble, it's pozz'ble.....

BCnU!

GREEN IS THE NEW BROWN

Even with an invasion by the alien race known only as the 4-5-6, 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' could have fit neatly into Toobworld as a whole. So what if no other show ever depicts or even mentions the time when every child on Earth stopped in their tracks and began chanting "We. Are. Coming."? We could always say it happened off-screen for those other shows, at a time not depicted in their regular episodes.

And as for it never coming up in conversation between characters? Before 'All In The Family' came along, only a miniscule few of the American sitcoms during the sixties ever mentioned the war in Vietnam. It just wasn't front and center in their current concerns.

The same goes for ethnic cleansing in the 1990's and the War on Terror since 2001. Within Toobworld only, the same is true for any mentions of the Eugenics Wars outside the 'Star Trek' franchise.

Let's say the events that began in the original broadcast of the first episode of 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' were happening at the same time as the events in the episode of 'The Closer' which was broadcast at the same time (at least in the Eastern seaboard time zone). (The 'Torchwood' mini-series was broadcast first in the United Kingdom two weeks before its American premiere; thus, that's when it may have taken place*.) Nobody on that episode of 'The Closer' bothered with mentioning the fact that all of the kids in Los Angeles served as the vessel through which the 4-5-6 spoke. That's because they were too busy trying to solve the crime depicted in that particular episode.

*Since the events within 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' showed kids still in school, it was probably depicting what happened in Toobworld just a few weeks earlier, in June. If so, then in the correlating episode of 'The Closer' ("Blood Money"), the Major Crimes Squad was investigating a staged kidnapping. But again, they were too pre-occupied with that to be discussing the strange occurrence with the world's children.....

So to make a short story long, Toobworld could have absorbed the story of the 4-5-6 invasion into the world of Earth Prime-Time... if it weren't for the depiction of the Prime Minister as Brian Green instead of as Gordon Brown, who's the PM in both the Real World and in the main Toobworld.

At least one show with no reason to be banished from Earth Prime-Time has mentioned Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister - 'Outnumbered'. I wouldn't be surprised if his name has come up in dialogue on prime time soaps like 'EastEnders' and 'Coronation Street'. Since the so-called "reali-tv" show 'Dragon's Den' was depicted within an episode of 'The IT Crowd', I suppose it could be said that Gordon Brown has already joined the League of Themselves since he appeared in an episode of 'Dragon's Den'.

So with Gordon Brown established as the Prime Minister in Toobworld, does that mean Torchwood, along with 'Doctor Who' has to be banished to another TV dimension? (Jack Lord only knows 'Doctor Who' has given plenty of provocation in that regard since Russell T. Davies brought it back to life!)

It'll probably cause plenty of backache from bending over backwards to make it work, but I think I may have a splainin as to why the Prime Minister is Green, not Brown (in name, not skin color)......

After the events of the 'Doctor Who' two-parter "Aliens Of London" and "World War Three" (horrible episode titles in my opinion!), new emergency protocols were drafted. They were to be used during such a state emergency as an alien invasion. When the coming arrival of the 4-5-6 became imminent, those protocols were invoked. And one of them had the real Prime Minister - Gordon Brown - shuffled off to a secret location until the crisis was over. Such protocols have always been in place for the President of the United States as well in case the Cold War ever went critical.

However, a fake Prime Minister would then be put in place and the government would take emergency control of all TV, radio and newspaper sources so that the PM would be referred to as being this fictional figurehead - in this case, Brian Green. This would be done in order to deter the alien invaders from seeking out the true leader of the country.

If the 4-5-6 were monitoring the information output from Great Britain, they would see only mentions of Brian Green as the leader of that nation. We saw in 'Torchwood: Children Of Earth' examples of the military clamping down on a rebel TV news broadcast, so we can be assured that's what would happen if anybody tried to "blair" the truth about the Prime Minister. (blair/blare..... Sorry about that, Chief.)

The main function of this fictional Prime Minister would be to make sure that nothing could be traced back to 10 Downing Street in any official capacity, all the while serving as a sacrificial lamb in case the 4-5-6 did attack.

I don't know if Brian Green was the actual name of this pseudo-Prime Minister - I'm leaning towards the belief that it was - but his actions would be in the name of the real PM. And we'll see how that plays out over the course of the week.....

If it is a fake name, it could very well have been chosen because of the events depicted in that 'Doctor Who' story about the Clan Slitheen. The alien who assumed the duties of the Prime Minister, Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen, was disguised in the skin of a human MP, Joseph Green. Maybe this was either a tip of the hat in his memory, or a sick in-joke by whoever wrote up the new protocols..... What do you think? Is that a splainin that could work in this situation?

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: GORDON WALLER

Gordon Waller has passed away at the age of 64 in Connecticut. The cause was cardiac arrest.

Waller is best known as being part of the English musical duo of Peter & Gordon, who performed "A World Without Love" and who appeared on such variety shows as 'Shindig' and 'The Red Skelton Show'. But Waller also contributed a character to the roster of Toobworld:

"Theatre 625" .... Peter Charles
- The Fantasist (1967)

Good night, and may God bless.

BCnU.....

AS SEEN ON TV: SUSAN WILSON

While at the dentist's office this morning, I saw the story about the ESPN reporter who was videotaped by some perv through the keyhole in her hotel room door. The 'GMA' reporter mentioned the story of a Susan Wilson whose neighbor secretly video-taped her throughout her house - and who got away with it because there was no law on the books against such a practice at the time.

SUSAN WILSON

AS SEEN IN:
"Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Angie Harmon

A TV movie was made about Susan Wilson and her fight to get such a law made. Here's the a description posted anonymously at the IMDb.com:

"A Louisiana woman discovers that a trusted neighbor has installed video surveillance equipment in her home to spy on her family. As a result, the real-life Wilson lobbied for a 1999 state law passed in nine other states since making video voyeurism a felony."

Also in the cast of this TV movie was Dale Midkiff as her husband, Gary Wilson, and Jamey Sheridan as her neighbor, Steve Glover.

BCnU!

NUMBER 10 DOWNING SPLAININ

Before Russell T. Davies resurrected 'Doctor Who' in 2005, the original series fit nicely into Earth Prime-Time. Even with all of the alien invasions and disruptions of Earth's history, the series didn't create any major Zonks that clashed with what was established on other TV shows.

RTD changed all that by installing new Prime Ministers, and doing the same with the President of the United States (giving Toobworld a black POTUS before Obama had even declared his intention to run).

This creates Zonks, discrepancies with the rest of the TV Universe. Nearly every other TV show will refer to the current real world President (or Prime Minister or Mayors of New York City and London) as the current office-holders, keeping Toobworld in line with the Real World.

I blame 'The West Wing'. Before Sorkin's high-water mark of a series, most shows only referred to the people in power without ever showing them, at best only suggesting the identity of the office-holder. Shows back in the mid-sixties might show a strategically placed cowboy hat or have a Texan accent heard on a speaker-phone, and that's all that was needed to imply that it was LBJ in the Oval Office.

But once Sorkin's series started racking up the Emmy awards, everybody wanted to take a shot at depicting the President, either with full series (like 'Commander-in-Chief' or '24') or by having their characters meet the POTUS.

RTD wasn't content with just having brought in new Prime Ministers; the guy seems to have issues with the government, the way he keeps killing off or disposing of the PMs in several episodes of 'Doctor Who'... and now 'Torchwood'.

And I'm not just being self-centered because it messes with my fantasy world of Toobworld. Another reason I don't like it when 'Doctor Who' introduces new Prime Ministers is that it's a declaration that the story you're watching is not real. It creates a separation from the "reality" on screen - if a kid sees a fictional Prime Minister and not the one they know is currently in office, I think it creates a disconnect. Once that's no longer real, why be concerned with the other events in the story? Prime Minister's a fake, then so are the Cybermen and Daleks. And there goes the interest in the story....

It's the presence of the Prime Minister in 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' that throws a sonic screwdriver in the works when it comes to placing the new mini-series into the main Toobworld. In the old days, having high-ranking official John Frobisher would have been enough, with the presence of the Prime Minister being implicit. We could have assumed the PM was Gordon Brown, in keeping with any current British shows which have probably already referred to him.

But no.... RTD wanted to take his potshots at the office of the Prime Minister. I don't know whether he thinks Gordon Brown would try to keep himself distant from any responsibility for the 4-5-6 crisis, or for any other major crisis facing the United Kingdom, or whether he just thinks it's the lot of every PM to wash his hands of it all. But that's what we're getting with Prime Minister Brian Green.

Green... Brown... I'm thinking it's a deliberate jab at the current PM of the Real World and the main Toobworld. And as such, it should be another reason why 'Doctor Who' and 'Torchwood' can't be allowed into Earth Prime-Time.

But! I think I may have a splainin that can get around the situation. And when I get home, I'll write it up and submit it for your approval....

BCnU!

GALLIFREYAN TIME NERD

Here's the new look for The Doctor on 'Doctor Who'. This is the 11th incarnation of The Doctor, to be played by Matt Smith:
What do you all think?

AS SEEN ON TV: GEORGE IV

GEORGE, PRINCE REGENT

AS SEEN IN:
'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (1955)

AS PLAYED BY:
Alexander Gauge From Wikipedia:
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his father's relapse into insanity from an illness that is now suspected to have been porphyria.

George IV is remembered largely for his extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the British Regency. By 1797 his weight had reached 17 stone 7 pounds (111 kg or 245 lb), and by 1824 his corset was made for a waist of 50 inches (127 cm). He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and Sir Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. He was largely instrumental in the foundation of the National Gallery, London and King's College London.
AS SEEN IN:
'Blackadder The Third'

AS PLAYED BY:
Hugh Laurie

On television, George IV has also been played by:

Robert Stephens in the 'BBC Play of the Month' "Kean" (1978), based on the play by Jean-Paul Sartre about the actor Edmund Kean

Peter Egan in the BBC drama series 'Prince Regent' (1979), covering his life until his ascent to the throne

Julian Fellowes in the British dramas "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1982) and "Sharpe's Regiment" (1996), the latter based on the novel by Bernard Cornwell

David King in the episode of the Yorkshire Television drama series 'Number 10' entitled "The Iron Duke" (1983)

Roy Dotrice in the miniseries 'Shaka Zulu' (1986), based on the novel by Joshua Sinclair

Peter Schofield in the BBC series 'Vanity Fair' (1987)

James Saxon in the Yorkshire Television sitcom 'Haggard' (1990) and the British drama 'Poldark' (1996), based on the novels by Winston Graham

Richard E. Grant in the 1996 BBC docudrama "A Royal Scandal"

Roger Ashton-Griffiths in the drama series 'Vanity Fair' (1998)

Jonathan Coy in the British drama series 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (1999)

Hugh Bonneville in the British drama "Beau Brummell: This Charming Man" (2006), based on the biography by Ian Kelly

If either Julian Fellowes or James Saxon could get one more portrayal on their resume, one of them could be the official face of George IV for Toobworld...

(Gauge's George IV is seen with Sir Percy Blakeney - AKA The Scarlet Pimpernel. Laurie's Prince Regent is seen with Edmund Blackadder.)

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

WALTER CRONKITE AND THE 1969 MOON LANDING

Here's Walter Cronkite, reminiscing about his coverage of the 1969 lunar landing. I think his enthusiastic and nervous glee at that moment captured the mood of the country about that historic event....



BCnU!

JUST A LOT OF LUNAR-CY

Okay, since blogs are also supposed to be personal journals, I thought today would be a good day to air out a few misty water-colored memories of the way I was - forty years ago today, when Man first landed on the Moon. Share with you what I remember from watching those grainy images as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin bounced around on the lunar surface.

I didn't see it.

That's right, ye olde televisiologist, the man who viewed too much, never saw the original broadcast of the 1969 moon landing.

I was at Deer Lake Boy Scout Camp in Killingworth, Ct. that week. And there was absolutely no TV - not even radio! - available to us.

But I do have a TV-related anecdote from that night of July 20th, 1969.

We were at dinner in the big hall when one of the counsellors stood up and announced that he had some very bad news to report.

"Oh no!" I remember thinking. "Something's happened to the astronauts!"

"Today... Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion has died."
And that's all I can tell you about that day in history from my own perspective.....

BCnU!