TVXOHOF, 10/2009-C: SCOOBY DOO

Still playing catch-up on the inductions into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame......

If there's one cartoon character who's been especially connected to all things spooky in the Tooniverse, it has to be Scooby Doo! That's why we're inducting him this week as the newest Tooniverse member in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as part of our October/Halloween theme. 'Robot Chicken'
'Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law'
"Night Of The Living Doo"
"The Scooby Doo Project"
'Johnny Bravo'
'A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'
'Dynomutt Dog Wonder'
'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?'
'Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics'
'Scooby's Mystery Funhouse'
'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo'
'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo'
'The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show'
'The New Scooby Doo Movies'
"Scooby Doo Goes Hollywood"
"Scooby Doo Meets The Boo Brothers"
"Scooby Doo And The Ghoul School"
"Scooby Doo And The Reluctant Werewolf"
"Scooby Doo In Arabian Nights"
'Grim & Evil'
'Shaggy & Scooby Doo: Get A Clue!'
'What's New, Scooby Doo?'
"A Scooby Doo Christmas"
"Scooby Doo! The Mystery Begins"

And that doesn't even count the new media like direct-to-video releases and video games! It isn't just that Scoob has had so many TV shows of his own over the years, but it's also because of the many other Tooniverse characters he's met during that time. A quick look through that list above provides a few - Harvey Birdman, Johnny Bravo, Dynomutt, Grim, Billy and Maddy plus Batman and Robin! And then there are all the celebrities whose tooniversions have met the Scooby Gang, like Dick Van Dyke, Jonathan Winters, Mama Cass Elliott, and even Laurel and Hardy.

Here's the intro to the 'Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law' episode in which his clients were Shaggy and Scooby:



Last week, an Iddiot friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook of a crossover mash-up that even I - not your biggest Scooby Doo fan - would love to see actually happen: Indeed.

So, even though it is with some reluctance (I missed that whole original Scooby boom back in the day while growing up), I'd like to welcome Scooby Doo into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame!

BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 10/2009-B: CHARLES MANSON

Traditionally October has been reserved for inductions into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame that have some sort of Halloween vibe to them - Lily Munster and Grampa, Frankenstein's Monsters, Sweet the Demon, and Orson Welles (for his Halloween broadcast of "War of the Worlds", which played a part in Toobworld more than three times).

But a lot of real word figures as seen on TV have been inducted during October over the years, and some of those have been monsters as well. And real life monsters are the most horrible of all - like Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack the Ripper, those already inducted, as well as Hitler and Stalin, who'll probably be inducted someday. Since this year also marks the 40th anniversary for the horrors known as the Tate-LoBianco murders, we've chosen to induct a monster who still exists - mastermind of that murder spree, Charles Manson.

Here are some of the portrayals of Manson that have appeared over the years: Jeremy Davies
. . . Helter Skelter (2004)

James DeAngelo
. . . "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) {(1996-02-22)}

Michael Reid MacKay
. . . Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys (1990)

Erik Passoja
. . . The Beach Boys: An American Family (2000)

Steve Railsback
. . . Helter Skelter (1976)

Adam Wilson
. . . Manson (2009) (TV)

The one pictured here is of Jeremy Davies as Manson. And finally, from the TV dimension of Skitlandia, here's Charles Manson as seen on Ben Stiller's show:



Maybe that should have been Schizlandia....

No welcome forthcoming from the Hall this time around!

BCnU!

FROM THE TOOBWORLD CENTRAL FRONT OFFICE:

I've been so caught up in work on my Toobworld novel that I have been remiss in my curator duties at the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. I'm two weeks behind now in the inductions ceremonies, which is not good in this celebration of our tenth anniversary when we're supposed to be inducting a new member each week rather than every month.

So I will be playing catch-up today.....

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": W.E. KNOX

W.E. KNOX

WESTINGHOUSE INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN

AS PLAYED BY:
Stacy Keach, Sr.

This is the lone American in this year's theme, but at the same time he was a foreigner. (He was in Moscow at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.) Not wanting to deal with the American Ambassador, Kruschev summoned Knox to reassure him that the missiles were meant to be only defensive......



BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: SOUPY SALES, PIE-O-NEER

When I was a kid, I saw only one episode of Soupy Sales' kid show... and it scared the bleep out of me.

The only thing I remember from it was that there was a Franklin stove in the middle of the room. When you opened the top door, there was a face in there; when you opened the bottom one, where you'd sweep out the ashes, there was the guy's feet.

We had a Franklin stove in our living room when I was growing up. I knew how hot those things could be. So if anybody could survive in Soupy's, he had to be a devil.

I didn't want to see it again.

I came into my appreciation for Classic Soup once I was an adult and could check out the various compilations of his routines and songs. And I did two off-off-Broadway shows with his sidekick Frank Nastasi. We had a lot of fun backstage as we all tried to recite Shakespeare in the voice of White Fang.

I also remember Soupy was on an episode of 'Wings' and his character suffered a very Toobish demise: he was a cruise ship social director who specialized in playing "Simon Says". But when he suffered a heart attack, nobody would go get him any help when he begged for it because he didn't say "Simon Says".....

My Toobworld novel - the perpetual work-in-progress has little tips of the hat throughout for hundreds of shows. And there's one for Soupy Sales as well - actually two! - in the final chapter. (I suppose the zebra puppet in the window at the Cooper house could be a tribute as well.....)

A Soupy Celebration


Pookie does Motown


Come Pie With Me


Rest in pies, Soupy........

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": ORGANOV

NIKOLAY ORGANOV

CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDIUM

AS PLAYED BY:

Richard Karlan

As was the case with the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations, this character was only identified as the Chief of the Presidium. A little research singled out Organov as holding that position during the Crisis.

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": INCHAUSTEGUI

MARIO GARCIA INCHAUSTEGUI

CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS

AS PLAYED BY:
Jay Vallera

The character is only identified as the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations. But a quick Google search supplied the identity of the one serving at that time in history.

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": YEFTESHANKO

YEFGANI YEFTESHANKO

AS PLAYED BY:

John McMurtry

This character may be fictional. He is seen only once, speaking directly to the camera, delivering anti-America propanda as though he was being broadcast to the Cubans and to the Americans in Florida (at least). The speech could have been a recitation of a newspaper column, perhaps.

There is no mention of him in Google searches save as a character in the tele-play....

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": ZORIN

VALERIAN ZORIN

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS

AS PLAYED BY:

Will Kuluva

Ambassador Zorin was also seen in the mini-series "Kennedy"....

AS PLAYED BY:
Merwyn Goldsmith

2 для вторник!

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": ORMSBY-GORE

SIR DAVID ORMSBY-GORE
BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

AS PLAYED BY:

Peter Donat

BCnU!

"THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER": DOBRYNIN

ANATOLY DOBRYNIN

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

AS PLAYED BY:
Albert Paulsen

BCnU!