A SPLAIN IN THE GLASS

Hopefully 'Being Human' won't fly under the radar for too long on BBC-A, and fans of 'True Blood' will embrace it eagerly soon enough. Doing its small part to reconcile the vampire underworlds of the two series, Toobworld Central had to find a splainin for the discrepancy between their two environments. In 'True Blood', vampires are living openly, striving for their civil rights, thanks to the Tru-Blood drink which came on the market just over two years ago. But in 'Being Human', vampires still live in the shadows, their existence unsuspected by the general human public. I was toying with the idea that maybe 'Being Human' could be taking place more than two years ago, before that Japanese corporation introduced Tru-Blood on the market. But then there would be a constant stream of Zonks to splain away when contemporary movies, TV shows, current events get mentioned.
Instead, here's my suggestion: both shows are taking place in the Toobworld Here & Now. But in 'Being Human', Tru-Blood has not yet been introduced to the British consumer. Probably some tie-up in the UK equivalent of the FDA. Therefore, until Tru-Blood can be found on the store shelves of ASDA, Tesco, and Arkwright's, the vampires of the British Isles have to remain in the shadows....

BCnU!

A KINGDOM OF SPOOKS

Near the end of Season One of 'Kingdom', it was stated that Peter Kingdom's father Roger was a notorious shagger in his day. He probably stepped out on both his wives (the second one being the mother of Peter's siblings Simon and Beatrice).

It could be that Roger Kingdom had no qualms in chasing after married women, some of whom may have become pregnant by him and then forced to pass off the resultant offspring as their husbands' children.

If so, Peter Kingdom may have at least one half-sibling he may never know about - Ros Myers, who works for 'MI5' in 'Spooks'.
Ros grew up believing that her father was really Sir Jocelyn Myers, a well-to-do diplomat who was involved in the conspiracy to force the Prime Minister to sign a special measure act. This would have allowed the co-conspirators (led by MI6 head Michael Collingwood) to lock up people without trial and to use the police to prevent civilian protests.

It was Ros who helped expose the conspiracy and saved the lives of Harry Pearce and Adam Carter in the process. She severed her ties to MI6 afterwards and joined MI5 where she has risen to become the head of MI5's Section D after Harry Pearce.
She looks a lot like her half-sister Beatrice Kingdom, but probably doesn't have the same sort of mental health issues......

BCnU!

IT'S NOT HBO; IT'S TOOBWORLD

HBO has "staked" out a piece of that "promoverse" mentioned yesterday. In their promotional blipverts, characters from various HBO TV series interacted with each other. But unlike the situation with USA Network, these were already established shots digitally blended together.

In this new spot, TV characters are phasing into the homes of "real-life" people of Toobworld:



Am I the only one who thinks of 'Hi Honey, I'm Home'? In that early 90's sitcom, the Nielsen family joined the Sitcom Relocation program and were brought out of their TV universe to live in the "real" world. (Since we were watching it on TV, they ended up in Toobworld. We're the ones living in the Trueniverse.)

Among the other TV characters who came to visit them were Alice Kramden, Trixie Norton, Mr. Mooney, and Alice Nelson. This HBO promo seems to be working along the same principle..... BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JOHN CHARLES FREMONT

As it's been tradition for Toobworld Central to celebrate the TV Western during the summer months, it's our plan to feature an historical Western figure every day in the "As Seen On TV" spotlight.

And to kick things off....

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT

AS SEEN IN:
"Dream West"

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Chamberlain
John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813 – July 13, 1890), was an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder, which remains in use, sometimes as "The Great Pathfinder".
[from Wikipedia]

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: LITIGATOR GLORIA, HAPPY AT LAST

Shark Week kicks off August 2nd on the Discovery Channel. To celebrate, Toobworld Central is showcasing its own kind of shark in the "As Seen On TV" feature......

GLORIA ALLRED

AS SEEN IN:
"Amber Frey: Witness For The Prosecution"

AS PLAYED BY:
Nora Dunn

BCnU!

LIE TO ME, BONES

Here's a little crossover being dangled by Ausiello of "Entertainment Weekly":

Sources confirm that Fox is toying with the idea of staging a crossover next season that would find Booth and Brennan (of 'Bones') working on a case with Tim Roth’s 'Lie to Me' doc Lightman.

He goes on to say however, that the FOX tipster warns that it may never happen.....

BCnU!

Thanks to Rob of "The Medium Is not Enough" (link to the left) for the head's-up!

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

I'd been good for so long in staying my desire to order books and DVDs.... One little chink in the dam and the floodwaters come spilling out!

Here are the latest acquisitions at the Toobworld Central library, which arrived yesterday:

"Here's Looking At Us: Celebrating Fifty Years Of CBC" by Stephen Cole
At least this one I didn't pay for; it was a gift from a friend, a high muckety-muck at Sony-BMG. Canadian television, like all world television, is an interest because I'd like to keep expanding the concept of Earth Prime-Time beyond the US borders - as if over sixty years of American content wasn't enough to keep me busy!

And my knowledge of Canadian TV is certainly lacking. From the cover I was only able to identify one TV icon from the Great White North - The Friendly Giant.....

"Space Buddies"
This DVD is for my 4½ year old nephew; I'll give it to him when I see him on vacation. Not sure if I want to go through the experience of watching it with him though....

'Torchwood: Children Of Earth'
I couldn't think of a better way to honor everyone involved in bringing this exciting and very brave work of television than by buying a copy of it....

'Life On Mars' - the UK version, Season One
Can't wait for my brother to finally meet Gene Hunt. He knows Glenister already from 'Cranford'. We all know he's in for a treat!

'Cronkite Remembers'
A 3 DVD box set of the anchorman's remembrances of the events of the 20th Century, from both a personal as well as from a news story angle. There was a similar videotape back in the mid 1990's and I picked that up for my Mom as a gift. So this is something of a nostalgic gift to myself......

BCnU!

NUMBERS RUNNING: EXAM ROOM 4

Number 4, the first number in the Valenzetti Equation (the numerical sequence made famous in 'Lost'), showed up in the most recent episode of 'Nurse Jackie':

BCnU!

FOR AN IDDIOT'S BIRTHDAY.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY.......

AS SEEN ON TV SPECIAL: JACKIE

Had she lived, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis would have been 80 years old this past Tuesday.

Earlier this year, she was seen in the HBO drama "Grey Gardens", a dramatization of the lives of her cousins Edith and "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale. Jeanne Tripplehorn played the former First Lady in a short scene of a very uncomfortable visit she made to their home. (Little Edie asked her: "Did Jack Kennedy give you gonorrhea?")

JACQUELINE KENNEDY

AS SEEN IN:
"Grey Gardens"

AS PLAYED BY:
Jeanne Tripplehorn Here is a partial list of the actresses who have played Jackie O over the years on TV:

Francesca Annis
. . . Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988)

Jacqueline Bisset
. . . America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story (2003)

Blair Brown
. . . "Kennedy" (1983)

Juanin Clay
. . . "Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985)

Robin Curtis
. . . LBJ: The Early Years (1987)

Jennifer Dale
. . . Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War (1987)

Roma Downey
. . . "A Woman Named Jackie" (1991)

Jill Hennessy
. . . Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot (2001)

Karen Ingram
. . . "Quantum Leap" (1989)
{Lee Harvey Oswald - Oct 5, 1957-Nov 22, 1963: Part 1 (#5.1 & 5.2)}

Elizabeth Lambert
. . . "Dark Skies" (1996)
{Moving Targets (#1.2)}

Cristine Rose
. . . The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977)

Jaclyn Smith
. . . Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981)

Jeanne Tripplehorn
. . . Grey Gardens (2009)

Anna Valle
. . . Callas e Onassis (2005)

Joanne Whalley
. . . Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000)

Jesalyn White
. . . LBJ vs. the Kennedys: Chasing Demons (2003)

Laura Yonker
. . . "Days That Shook the World" (2003) {JFK} BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 07/2009-D: PARADISE

"New York's a real city, Claire.
Chicago's a real city.
Paradise... has got a way to go...."
John Taylor
'Guns of Paradise'

For the final July entry into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, we're heading to Paradise! No, there won't be 72 virgins waiting there - we're talking about the Western town in California, which even had its own series.

Paradise, California, is a real town, but its history and current development is probably a lot different in the TV Universe than it is in the Trueniverse. Over the years, we've been able to see the historical development of TV's Paradise from a simple mining camp to a frontier town to a scenic resort area.

It begins with my favorite TV Western:

'Maverick' - "The Cats Of Paradise"
Bret gets involved [in] financing Modesty Blaine's plan to sell cats to a mining town to control the rat population. But when she leaves him holding an empty bag, Bret must face the wrath of a jealous but superstitious sheriff and a hired killer willing to put cash and duty ahead of friendship.

In this episode, there were a few buildings, but the citizens lived mostly in camps near their mining stakes. Paradise had a mayor and a murderous, superstitious sheriff named Scratch Madden (played by a surprisingly mean Buddy Ebsen).

'Guns Of Paradise'/'Paradise'
Gunfighter Ethan Cord, left to raise his dead sister's children, tries to settle down in the town of Paradise, but finds that his past continues to haunt him.
A few decades later, the town was thriving and becoming more civilized, but there were still signs of trouble. So it was a good thing the townsfolk had Ethan Cord there to help out. (Although a lot of that trouble came to town because of Cord.....)

'Quincy, M.E.' - "Visitors In Paradise"Quincy and Danny plan a simple fishing vacation in the town of Paradise. Then a case of mistaken identity drags Quincy into a closed murder case. The more Quincy digs, the more he realizes the case should never have been closed the way it was - and the more determined someone becomes to discourage the investigation. A new test that permits Quincy to tell the difference between male and female blood will confirm or deny the suspect's story, and maybe expose something worse...

Jumping ahead nearly a century, Paradise is now the tourist attraction where you can just go to relax and leave the city life behind. For everybody except Quincy, that is. (Rockford would have had trouble here too if he ever drove through. Some people just attract trouble.)

It would have been nice to include two other series in this collection, but their versions of Paradise lie elsewhere.....

'The Roy Rogers Show' - "Ride Of The Ranchers"
Every year, during Paradise Valley's Ride of the Ranchers, wealthy rancher Don Jose traditionally leads the ride. However, this year a gang of outlaws plans to attack Don Jose's ranch while he's away at the Ride, in order to take his strongbox which they believe is full of money.

'The Roy Rogers Show' - "Strangers"
Although Lanny Gaines and his ailing father have lived in Paradise Valley for several months, none of their neighbors has stopped by to introduce themselves. One day a group of surveyors arrives at his ranch and Lanny, overjoyed to finally have some company, takes them in. What he doesn't know is that the men are not surveyors but a gang of outlaws on the run from the law.

I don't think it was ever explicitly stated where Mineral City could be found, but I think it was probably one of the more traditional Western states like Arizona or Oklahoma or Texas. Otherwise, I'd love to have Paradise Valley nestled between the towns of Paradise Valley and Mineral City in California.

'Bat Masterson' - "The Price Of Paradise"
Bat arrives in Paradise, Colorado, to collect a gambling debt from a crooked casino owner who doesn't like to pay his debts. He also doesn't like to pay his taxes, going so far as to change the course of a river so his town would lie beyond the authority of the county tax assessor - until Bat accepts the appointment.

This would have been so perfect for the Toobworld version of Paradise, California, but alas! I'll hopefully get the chance to see this episode one day; it could be that these episode guides online have been perpetuating the wrong information all this time. We'll see.

But at any rate, we not only have three series to insure the qualification of Paradise, California, but 'Paradise'/'Guns Of Paradise' had a decent three year run to make the town a true contender.

Welcome to Paradise!

BCnU!

All episode descriptions courtesy of the IMDb.com......

ECCE PROMO! A TRIBUTE TO "MONK"

USA Network has its own little "promoverse", a TV dimension in which all the characters from their shows interact with each other.

Although many of the shows invoked are to be found on Earth Prime-Time, these promotional blipverts can't be considered part of the main Toobworld. That's because 'Monk' and 'Psych' both interacted with 'The Dead Zone' in other promotional interstitials. And 'The Dead Zone' had a US President and Vice President differing from the established holders of those offices.

At any rate, USA Network is now showing a new promo in which various characters from other shows celebrate Adrian Monk as his series enters its final year......



BCnU!

NUMBERS RUNNING: ORDER-23 ON THE 8TH FLOOR

Wednesday night's episode of 'Leverage' was "The Order-23 Job", and right there is one of "The Numbers" from 'Lost'. "Order-23" was the scam they pulled on a Bernie Madoff-type of swindler, in which they had the guy thinking he was under quarantine during a massive infection crisis.

And they pulled off this con on a nearly abandoned floor of the hospital in Belbridge, Massachusetts. That was the 8th Floor, another in the sequence of "The Numbers".

It could be said that the amount of money Mardashian had stolen was based on "The Numbers" - $400,000.00, with "4" being the key integer.

This particular scam had the feel of an operation from 'Mission: Impossible', especially the ones used in "Two Thousand" and "Encore". Maybe Nate and the gang got hold of an IMF playbook....

BCnU!

CRYPT-ICK REMARKS

Actually, speaking of the destruction of the Hub, I'm surprised the Black Ops only found Jack's body parts. Many of the past members of Torchwood who died in the line of duty were kept in a crypt deep within the Hub, including Suzy Costello. And Jack's brother Grey was there as well.

Plus there should have been at least one Weevil down in the cells.

How convenient then that the Black Ops found Jack's arm out of all of that....

BCnU!

THE PTERODACTYL OF PTORCHWOOD

With all the grief being spent over the death of Ianto Jones at the end of "Day Four" in 'Torchwood: Children Of Earth', I've also seen some online sorrow that the pterodactyl (nicknamed Myfanwy, Welsh for "Beloved") may have perished in the blast that destroyed the Hub as well.

I'd say those people should chillax. Myfanwy always had a means of escape - after all, we saw it soaring over the city of Cardiff at the end of the very first 'Torchwood' episode, "Everything Changes".

I'd like to think it did so again before the Hub went kablooey.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SCOTT PETERSON

SCOTT PETERSON

AS SEEN IN:
"Amber Frey: Witness For The Prosecution"

AS PLAYED BY:
Nathan Anderson

The less said, the better.....

BCnU!

FROM THE NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL..

BCnU!

GETTIN' THE HULU HOOK

All "apolgies" for the removal of that video of Shatner interpreting Palin's farewell speech as beat poetry.

I HATE when Hulu lets you embed a video - and that Palin Poetry Piece was up most of the night! - and then takes it away again. I've seen this so many times on other websites. I don't know how those people can stand it!
Well, see if I ever link to them again! So far as I'm concerned, Hulu execs are right up there with network suits. May they be nibbled to death by ducks!

BCnU!

POETRY CORNER

"Hello, poetry lovers!"
Bullwinkle J. Moose
'Bullwinkle & Friends'

BCnU!

LITTLE MARTHA

Here's a conversation I had with fellow TV blogger Thom Holbrook in Facebook:

Thom:
I do like the conceit that apparently Martha Jones stays honeymooning through a world wide calamity. And, even though they really can't do it and have the show work... wouldn't ya take a shot at calling The Doctor? Jack has to have a direct line at this point. Toby:
Good point! I could see Martha not showing up, but I know she wouldn't have stayed on her honeymoon. She would have returned to the NY offices of UNIT where she had been stationed perhaps, or whichever one was closest to where she was on her honeymoon (since UNIT is an international body). As to calling the Doctor, maybe she did. Maybe the 456 invasion occurred at a time when the Doctor didn't have the phone on him, when he was separated from the TARDIS.

I'm going to wait until I see what happens in "Waters Of Mars" before I come up with a theory. (Wouldn't work with the "Planet of the Dead" special; nobody seemed to be concerned with the mystery of the children speaking in unison when the bus returned to Earth....)

Thom runs that first Crossover web-site seen listed on the left.....

BCnU!

A WEDNESDAY CLASSIC

Forty years ago this summer, Prince Spaghetti introduced us to Anthony Martignetti of the North End of Boston in a commercial that ran for 13 years.

Boston.com went back to the North End with Anthony to relive that time, and they took a look at how the area has changed since 1969.

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PASTA
[Great title!]

Here's the original commercial, in a crisper print than that misty water-colored memory seen in the article.

And then here's the 1998 "sequel". More like a spin-off, since it was for Polcari's Restaurant:

Supposedly, there's a Red Sox commercial with Anthony Martignetti yet again in which they tell him, "Hey, Anthony! Your Sox are on!"

But if so, then Anthony Martignetti is eligible for the TV Crossover Hall of Fame!

ANTHONY MARTIGNETTI

THEN & NOW

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: AMBER FREY

For the last three days of July, before we begin a month-long theme of "True Life TV Western Historical Figures", the "As Seen On TV" showcase has a mini-theme of its own.....

AMBER FREY

AS SEEN IN:
"Amber Frey: Witness For The Prosecution"

AS PLAYED BY:
Janel Moloney
BCnU!

THEORIES OF RELATEEVEETY: NICHOLS & RAINES

Criminal Intent ("Major Case"), July 26, USA:

Det. Zach Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) to Det. Eames: "I try to avoid transferential relationships with dead people -- it's always so one-sided."

Methinks maybe Det. Nichols had a half-brother Michael Raines on the NYPD, who eventually moved to Los Angeles and started having transferential relationships with dead people.

Enjoy,

Martin

I'm glad Martin, who runs the 'Columbo' fanfic site "Just One More Paragraph" (link to the left!), contacted me about this. I watched the episode when I got home in the morning, and even with Martin's head's-up, I could see how I probably would have let the Extra In-Joke reference slip by me; it was that subtle. (At least to me!)

Not sure Raines ever worked in the NYPD; I think he was always in Los Angeles (and in his rebellious youth, he protested outside the Suarian embassy there in an episode of 'Columbo'). But Zach Nichols may have learned his father had an illegitimate son, and that could have been one of the reasons which led him to take his seven-year sabbatical from the NYPD. During that time, he may have gone out to the 'City of Angels' and met his identical half-brother (the main character of an earlier NBC series, 'Raines').

And if so, that may have been on his mind when he made that quip to Detective Eames......

Thanks, Martin!

BCnU!

THE TWO WORLDS OF "BEING HUMAN"

The British series about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost sharing a home together - 'Being Human' - began airing on BBC-America this past Saturday night. The original pilot (which I saw in segments on YouTube a while back) had been part of an on-air competition to find the pilot most worthy of becoming a series. I guess 'Being Human' won.

However in the process of becoming a series, 2/3rds of its cast was replaced, with only the very talented Russell Tovey (as George the wolfman) returning. Another of my favorites, Adrian Lester, appeared in that pilot episode as an antagonist and his role of Herrick, the chief vampire of London, was also recast. (My belief is that if you cast a name actor in a supporting role to help sell your pilot, make sure that role is totally removed from the plot so that people don't expect to see that star again in that role.)

I liked the original actors who played Mitchell the vampire (Guy Flanagan) and Andrea Riseborough as the ghost. So I was a bit trepidatious to hear they would not be returning for the series. For the sake of Toobworld, I began coming up with ideas as to how to splain away the differences in the characters' appearances - maybe Mitchell had cast a glamour so that everyone saw him now as played by Aidan Turner; perhaps "Dead Girl" changed her ectoplasmic shape (and skin coloring) to better reflect her growing, more outgoing, personality. (And that's why Lenora Crichlow assumed the role.)

But I've seen the first episode which aired Saturday night here in the United States, and you know what? I'm not even going to bother putting that much effort into splainins. Instead I'm going to invoke the rule of Occan's Razor.

Granted the general rule of thumb here at Toobworld Central is that whatever is broadcast first belongs in the main TV Universe; so the pilot should have been guaranteed "citizenship", while the resulting series would have been tossed off into the Remake dimension. However, I think this situation calls for a reversal of that mandate in much the same way as "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford" was handled. The original version from 'Studio One' starred Art Carney, but the remake appeared as an episode of 'The Twilgiht Zone' with Pat Hingle - and that's the version most TV viewers know because it's syndicated and shows up still (especially during Fourth of July marathons!)

BBC-America didn't broadcast that pilot, and even though the BBC did, it probably won't see the light of day again (except at YouTube and other online platforms, maybe in a future DVD collection). The body of the series will provide much more to expand the TV Universe than could be gleaned from the pilot only and that gives the series more in its favor for remaining in Earth Prime-Time.

But Toobworld will always be grateful for the service rendered by the pilot episode in first introducing the audience in the Trueniverse to these characters.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WALTER CRONKITE 2x4

WALTER CRONKITE
(with President Jimmy Carter)

With this week's Two For Tuesday edition of the "As Seen On TV" showcase, we're paying tribute to Walter Cronkite - with portrayals on two different NBC series, but by four actors.

On 'Saturday Night Live', Bill Murray portrayed the veteran newscaster in six sketches, which had him in situations ranging from moderating as Jimmy Carter took calls from listeners to being hog-tied by Idi Amin. He even did some peyote in a sketch that spoofed the movie 'Altered States'.

In 1981, Dave Thomas of 'SCTV' appeared on 'SNL' during which he also played Uncle Walter. My memory is foggy on this, but apparently he critiqued Brad Hall's performance as the Weekend News Update anchorman......

Darrell Hammond also played Cronkite on 'Saturday Night Live', getting grilled on the runway by Joan Rivers:

In 1981, Johnny Carson also played Walter Cronkite, in a sketch on the 'Tonight' show about the newscaster's retirement from the anchor chair. And with thanks to Andy and Verne of the Newsday TV blog for pointing it out, here's the sketch as seen now on YouTube:

BCnU!

ANOTHER DOOL-IN GANG MEMBER

Near the end of the latest episode of 'In Plain Sight', Mary Shannon noted that it was time that she "get back to the days of our lives".

Normally, for the audience at home, they should have heard that quote in their heads with "Days Of Our Lives" capitalized so that they could identify it as the NBC soap opera. (Both shows are under the aegis of NBC's parent company.)

But this is Toobworld; we do things differently.

To keep 'Days Of Our Lives' and 'In Plain Sight' in the same dimension, we have to "hear" Mary's line as a reference to the day in/day out routine of the WitSec job that she and her partner Marshall have to do.

And hopefully that keeps the DOOL Zonks at bay. That show does seem to gather them!

BCnU!

And this serves as a little birthday salute to my cousin's wife Denise - a 'DOOL' fan whose birthday is today!