HARLAN WANTS TO BOLDLY GO... AGAIN

Recently, legendary (and cantankerous) author Harlan Ellison expressed an interest in working with JJ Abrams on the next 'Star Trek' movie - even after his 40 year battles with Gene Roddenberry and Paramount over his last collaboration with them on 'Trek':

"I would jump at the chance to work with the inordinately-talented J.J. Abrams on a new STAR TREK film. Yes, I would likely try to steer him toward the original film idea I was asked to pitch, by the late Gene Roddenberry and a production exec whose name I have blissfully flensed from memory (but he had been, if I recall, a hairdresser or clothing designer or ex-boyfriend of someone or other, and he kept trying to press me to include the Mayan Calendar).

If the very smart Abrams didn’t want to go that way, I would be wide-open to rethinking such a film from the git-go."

Before he made that announcement, a friend of mine noted:

No Guardian in 'Star Trek' -- in other words, Harlan Ellison said, "$Give$ $me$ $money$!" and the producers said, "Frell that, we'll just make our own time travel device with blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget time travel."

Gotta love dem 'Futurama' references.....

BCnU!

ON LOCATION: ST. ELIGIUS HOSPITAL

After sending along those pictures of St. Eligius which were featured in the "As Seen On TV" spot December 1st, my Iddiot buddy Brian-El also sent some pictures he took of the building that subbed for St. Eligius Hospital in Boston:

Wicked! Thanks, Bri!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WOLF BLITZER

WOLF BLITZER

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Jason Sudeikis

From CNN:
Wolf Blitzer is the anchor of CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer", CNN's innovative, fast-paced political news program which airs in a three-hour block every weekday and in an hour-long format on Saturday evenings. Blitzer also serves as the network's lead political anchor. BCnU!

PS:
That's not my cat Sand in the second picture.....

NUMBERS RUNNING: "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS"

Team jerseys are an excellent source for finding the mystical sequence of "The Numbers" from 'Lost'. And there's no better place to find some of those numbers than in 'Friday Night Lights':

Number 42 (in the background)

My thanks to Alan Sepinwall for posting this pic in his blog, "What's Alan Watching?", the link for which can be found to your left.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BAT MASTERSON

BAT MASTERSON

AS SEEN IN:
'Bat Masterson'
'The Guns Of Paradise'
'Gambler 4: Luck Of The Draw'

AS PLAYED BY:
Gene Barry

William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a figure of the American Old West known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, U.S. Marshal, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph.

'Bat Masterson' is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961.

Back when the West was very young
There lived a man named Masterson
He wore a cane and derby hat
They called him Bat
Bat Masterson!

A man of steel, the story says
But women's eyes all glanced his way.
A gambler's game he always won
His name was Bat
Bat Masterson!

Refrain

The trail that he blazed is still there
No one has come since to replace his name
and those with too ready a trigger,
forgot to figure on his lightning cane.

Now in the legend of the West
One name stands out above the rest
The man who had the fastest gun,
His name was Bat
Bat Masterson!

(All from Wikipedia)

Gene Barry went on to star in 'Burke's Law', 'Amos Burke, Secret Agent', 'The Name Of The Game', 'The Adventurer' and once again in 'Burke's Law'. Earlier he was in the final season of 'Our Miss Brooks'. And he was nominated for the Tony Award for his performance in the hit 1980s Broadway musical "La Cage aux Folles".

Mr. Barry died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at Sunrise Assisted Living in Woodland Hills, according to his son, Michael.

In 2002, the year of duos for the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, Gene Barry's portrayal of Bat Masterson was inducted, along with Wyatt Earp - as played by Hugh O'Brian.

A tip of the derby to you, Sir.

BCnU.....

For an excellent fan site dedicated to Gene Barry, visit here. My thanks to them for the pictures I nicked. (I did a favor for them once, so I hope they'll forgive me....)

NEW 2 VIEW AT TOOB HQ

I did all of my Christmas shopping online Cyber-Monday, which wasn't hard since basically I was just getting stuff for my 5 year old nephew and a couple of friends of mine. (My two older nephews - 21 and 18 - you know they're impossible to shop for so they're getting the Almighty Dollar.)

But I couldn't resist and did a bit of shopping for myself - DVDs to add to the Toobworld Central library:

"CHILDREN OF THE STONES" - "Spooky turns to sinister as science and the supernatural collide." I've heard of this British thriller from various sources and thought I'd check it out.

"SHAKESPEARE'S AN AGE OF KINGS" - The old UConn drama student rose up and demanded this. But it's also a great way to integrate the History plays into Toobworld. And it should provide plenty of fodder for the "As Seen On TV" feature in the Inner Toob blog.

"BLAZING SADDLES" - I already had this, but this is the anniversary edition, so there should be plenty of new extras to check out. There better be....!

'MAUDE' - The First Season. I feel so Michael. And those who know Michael will understand.

"CHRISTMAS CAROL" - The Alistair Sim version, for me the very best one there ever was. This comes with the original version and the "turnerized" - i.e., the color - version. I'd never play that one unless it was requested by someone who didn't know any better.....

"ROME" - The complete series (2 seasons). Amazon was offering this in a one day only deal for less than fifty bucks so I figured I might as well go for it. Just checked the site now and each individual season is a bit over thirty bucks, and the complete package over $70, so I guess I made the right choice. Now I'll be able to make up for missing it the first time around. (Plus I can look for locations that were also used as Pompeii in that 'Doctor Who' episode....)

"SWING OUT, SWEET LAND" - A John Wayne NBC TV special celebrating America from 1970, sponsored by Budweiser and starring an incredible amount of the TV stars of the day. It may sound corny, but it proved to be quite moving in its own way; and who doesn't want to revisit old friends like Red Skelton, Jack Benny, and Dean Martin. Like "An Age Of Kings", this will provide plenty of material for "As Seen On TV".

"1001 CLASSIC COMMERCIALS" - Definitely something to take along when I go on vacation next year in April, just in case of a rainy day!

A new friend of mine also gave me a copy of the book "Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul", so there's a special area in the stacks for books of that nature. Hopefully there are some useful pointers in there that will come in handy for any future projects. (I'm afraid I'm locked into the way the Toobworld novel is constructed, for better or more likely, for worse.)

So that's the latest haul for Toobworld.....

BCnU!

COLLARED BY THE LEDGER

With the mid-season break for the holidays, 'White Collar' officially joined the TV Universe in the last episode, "Free Fall". Neal Caffrey was on the run and a very bad mug-shot was plastered on the front page of the New York Ledger.

Most TV fans know that the New York Ledger is probably the ultimate bit of TV trivia from Dick Wolf's corner of the TV Universe. It frequently shows up as the paper of record in episodes of 'Law & Order', 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit', and 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'. I think it also appeared in at least one episode of 'Law & Order: Trial By Jury'. And then there was another off-shoot series which had the Ledger as its focal setting, 'Deadline'.

According to Wikipedia, the Ledger has shown up on 'CSI: NY', which would make sense since even though they're different production companies and different networks, it's still one big tele-NYC.

And now we find a copy of the Ledger in 'White Collar', bringing this USA Network show into the Westphallian fold. (Its inclusion in the Toobworld version of the TV Universe was a given. All are "well come".)

Which is no surprise considering USA Network is a subsidiary to the NBC parent company (which was GE, but now looks to be Comcast)..... BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: TIGER & ELIN WOODS

It was O'Bvious that 'Saturday Night Live' would have to tackle the story.....

TIGER & ELIN WOODS

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Kenan Thompson as Tiger
Blake Lively (host) as Elin

From Yahoo TV News:
'Saturday Night Live' is making headlines for featuring a skit over the weekend, which parodied domestic violence.

On Saturday night's episode, the NBC sketch comedy show made light of Tiger Woods' scandalous week, satirizing reports - denied by the golfer - that his wife, Elin Nordegren, attacked him prior to his early-morning car accident on November 27 with a sketch featuring Keenan Thomson and host Blake Lively.

However, the show's musical guest was Rihanna - a victim of domestic violence earlier this year from then-boyfriend Chris Brown -- prompting concerns from several media outlets that the show's humor was insensitive from some corners. From the New York Times:

In the comedy sketch, Tiger Woods (played by the “S.N.L.” performer Kenan Thompson) gives a series of press conferences attempting to apologize for acts of infidelity. In each appearance, the fictional Woods appears with more bruises and injuries, evidently sustained at the hands of Elin (played in the skit by Ms. Lively).
Wherever you stand on the subject, once broadcast, it has become a fixture in Skitlandia.....

You can see the sketch at either nbc.com or at hulu.com...

BCnU!

FROSTY THE INAPPROPRIATE SNOWMAN

To bring adult eyes to their upcoming rebroadcast of the two classic Frosty the Snowman specials, the Eye Network - CBS - has created a couple of mash-ups of scenes from 'Frosty The Snowman' and 'Frosty Returns' using audio clips from 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Two And A Half Men'.

Of course, FOX News jumped on the story and is practically calling for somebody to burn at the stake. But I thought it was funny. And for Toobworld Central, very timely - as you'll see next week.....






Ho Ho Ho, Bro!

DEEP SIX: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

CBS recently had a trifecta with its week-long crossover of its 'CSI' series, and the characters from the 'NCIS' mothership have been crossing over into the next hour's Los Angeles spin-off. Before the season is over, 'Lie To Me' and 'Bones' will also be crossing over.

But for all the O'Bvious ones, there are other crossover opportunities which slip away. For this Deep Six, here are a few ideas I had that probably never could have happened due to the rights to the characters. But so what? This is Toobworld, Television sans frontieres!

1] 'Extras' & 'The Larry Sanders Show'
Andy Millman tries to establish himself in America and only succeeds in embarrassing himself further.

2] 'The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.' in 'The Wild, Wild West'
I still contend that a guest appearance by Robert Conrad as James West for the finale could have gained the series a second season.

3] 'Criminal Minds' and 'Close To Home'
CBS really missed the ball on this one. The BAU is always flying in to suburban crime scenes and the setting for 'Close To Home' would have been a natural as they worked with the local justice system.

4] 'Chuck' vs. 'Jake 2.0'
Theoretically, this could still happen. Christopher Gorham could appear in an episode without ever actually saying that he's Jake Foley. It would be like one of those classic Marvel Team-Ups: the two heroes battle each other at first under mistaken circumstances and then work together to defeat the real enemy.

5] 'Torchwood' teams up with 'The X-Files' or 'Special Unit 2'
Similarly to #4, Gillian Anderson is already over there in Great Britain, she could make a guest appearance as Dana Scully. However, she's rumored to be the Rani in the new adventures of the Eleventh Doctor and having her also appear as Scully might muddy the waters. (And to be realistic - not that I've ever been hampered by that! - nobody's going to waste the effort to revive 'Special Unit 2' for this.)

But here's a thought I'll bring up again - Torchwood is going to need new team members. Why not also bring in a different perspective by adding demon fighter John 'Strange', as played by Richard Coyle?

6] 'The Librarian' visits 'Warehouse 13'
Not likely to happen since they are for different properties, but it would be nice to establish a rivalry between the two groups in securing some of these mystical items....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JOHN MILTON

Last week we featured the major players in the 'You Are There' episode of "The Tragedy Of John Milton (August 13, 1660)". That is, all but one: the main man, Milton himself.

I decided to save his ASOTV showcase for his 401st birthday.....

JOHN MILTON

AS SEEN IN:
"The Tragedy of John Milton (August 13, 1660)"
- 'You Are There'


AS PLAYED BY:
Barry Jones

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, author, polemicist and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He is best known for his epic poem "Paradise Lost" and for his treatise condemning censorship, "Areopagitica".

He was both an accomplished, scholarly man of letters and polemical writer, and an official serving under Oliver Cromwell. His views may be described as broadly Protestant, if not always easy to locate in a more precise religious category. Milton was writing at a time of religious and political flux in England, and his poetry and prose reflect deep convictions, often reacting to contemporary circumstances. He wrote also in Latin and Italian, and had an international reputation during his lifetime. Though Cromwell’s death in 1658 caused the English Republic to collapse into feuding military and political factions, Milton stubbornly clung to the beliefs that had originally inspired him to write for the Commonwealth. In 1659 he published A Treatise of Civil Power, attacking the concept of a state-dominated church (the position known as Erastianism), as well as Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hirelings, denouncing corrupt practises in church governance. As the Republic disintegrated, Milton wrote several proposals to retain a non-monarchical government against the wishes of parliament, soldiers and the people.


Upon the Restoration in May 1660, Milton went into hiding for his life, while a warrant was issued for his arrest and his writings burnt. Re-emerging after a general pardon was issued, he was nevertheless arrested and briefly imprisoned before influential friends, such as [Andrew] Marvell, now an MP, intervened.
(From Wikipedia) BCnU!

WHAT DREAMS MAY ZONK

I'm cleaning out my email box of all the notes for blog posts I never completed. And I found this account of a dream I had. I have no memory of it now:

Woman called me looking for Cordell Walker - or at least wondering if Walker was the same man she had a fling with.

Her description did not fit Walker, who was a friend of mine and an author. I had a book by him wit his name in big letters on the cover.

her description included the fact that he had a military family background.

I told Walker - who looked like Tom Selleck, but he had no clue.

The corner of my bed on the floor was covered with grey hair balls.

I slept in the basement, it looked like family house on Highland avenue.

i realized that this woman might come looking for me to shut me up if i knew too much.

I was lying in bed with a beautiful woman, who was fully clothed, and we did not have sex. she was with me while I talked to woman n phone, yet still could have been that woman somehow.

I feared that she may kill me when I tried to cross the street.

She ordered me not to say anything to anybody about the call.

The most disturbing thing about the dream is that I would dream about a Chuck Norris character.....

BCnU!

LOST BOYS

My brother, an editor at a Connecticut newspaper, let me know that two former members of the 'Lost' cast are sharing a birthday today: Dominic Monaghan is 33 and Ian Somerhalder is 31. Both of their characters, Charlie Pace and Boone Carlyle respectively, were killed off on the show, but have shown up in flashbacks and weird metaphysical visitations.

And both actors have landed on their feet since leaving 'Lost'. Monaghan is currently playing Simon Campos on 'Flash-Forward' while Somerhalder is bad-boy vampire Damon Salvatore in 'The Vampire Diaries'.

Happy birthday boys!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: COTTON MATTERS

ELI WHITNEY

Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor best known as the inventor of the cotton gin. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum South. Whitney's invention made short staple cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost his profits in legal battles over patent infringement, closed his business, and nearly filed bankruptcy.
(from Wikipedia)

AS SEEN IN:
"Swing Out, Sweet Land"

AS PLAYED BY:
Dean Martin Eli Whitney was the inventor of the "cotton beer" over in Skitlandia. (This variety special was fully sponsored by Budweiser.) As Whitney splained it, he didn't need eight Clydesdales to pull a martini.

But in the Tooniverse, Eli Whitney invented something that had nothing to do with cotton.....

AS SEEN IN:
'Time Squad'

AS PLAYED BY:
Tom Kenney (voice)

Here's part two of the first adventure on 'Time Squad', which gets to the heart of the story:



BCnU!

PS:
I... imagine you thought I'd feature somebody else today? Plenty of December 8ths to come for that. Besides, next year will be the thirtieth anniversary, sadly......

TVXOHOF, 12/2009-B: CHARLES DICKENS

Our next inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame for December, representing the "As Seen On TV" category, has made several appearances in the posts of Inner Toob in the past.

CHARLES DICKENS

AS PORTRAYED BY:
Simon Callow

AS SEEN IN:
. . . "Doctor Who" (2005)
{The Unquiet Dead (#1.3)} . . . An Audience with Charles Dickens (1996)
. . . Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairy Tale (2001)

. . . The Mystery of Charles Dickens (2000) That many appearances in Toobworld as Dickens earns Simon Callow the "honor" of representing the author in the Hall of Fame gallery.

(There's also "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001, which is mostly an animated film. But it begins with a live-action introduction that takes place in 1857 Boston where Dickens is about to give a live reading of "A Christmas Carol" - as we saw him do in that 'Doctor Who' episode'. And again, over in the Cineverse, Simon Callow played Dickens.)

This doesn't negate any other portrayals of Charles Dickens on television; all save one, that is. Most of the others can be placed in alternate TV dimensions.

The one exception is the Dickens played by Jonathan Harris in an episode of 'Bonanza'. In his tour of America, Dickens never made it past the Mississippi River, and yet there he was in Carson City, Nevada and at the Ponderosa Ranch if I'm not mistaken.

O'Bviously, as I once splained in the old Tubeworld Dynamic website, this charlatan was a professional Charles Dickens impersonator who scammed the people of the wild, wild West into paying him for his "lectures". He was a very confident confidence man - not even after being arrested for a crime he didn't commit did this grifter drop the ruse and reveal himself to be anyone else other than Charles Dickens.
Here's Charles Dickens, as seen in "The Unquiet Dead", one of my favorite episodes of 'Doctor Who':



And here's the imposter as seen in the 'Bonanza' episode "A Passion For Justice":



So here's to Charles Dickens, and to his "official" representative, Simon Callow, for this induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

BCnU!

ZONKS: SCROOGED BY "FLASH-FORWARD"

'Flash-Forward' has now gone on hiatus until March, and when it returns, it'll probably play out its storyline before leaving the airwaves forever.

I've been enjoying the series, although it never had the must-see right away quality of the show it was most compared to - 'Lost'. Still, I'm invested in what happens to the Benford family and their friends and co-workers, and in finding out the secret behind the massive blackout.

However, I'm also not keen on solving any Zonks that might pop up in the series because it has no bearing on the main Toobworld. From the very first episode we knew this was an alternate dimension, because one of the planes that crashed was Air Force Two carrying the Vice President. Had this been Earth Prime-Time, that would have meant that Joe Biden was now dead because he's the Veep for both Toobworld and the real world.

So when Demetri Noh blathered on about an established TV character and the actor who played him, I didn't go diving for my notebook to write down the details - because Dem and that other TV character weren't sharing the same dimension. (I wish now I had jotted down the information though - at least then I'd have remembered the character's name!)

In a later episode we learned the Toobworld/F-F Vice President's name, although bleeped if I could remember it now. But we also got to meet the POTUS, and it's not Barack Obama - his name is David Segovia (played by the great Peter Coyote). And we also met the future Vice President, Senator Joyce Clemente played by Barbara Williams. So Earth Prime-Time/F-F doesn't have to be held to the same rules as those that govern the maintenance of Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld. And that's why I don't have any problem with the characters of a TV show were watching a TV production of 'A Christmas Carol' in this last episode before the hiatus. Instead of showing us Reginald Owens or Alistair Sim or Albert Finney (or even Jim Carrey if ABC really wanted to push the Disney synergy!), the "Christmas Carol" clips were of Sir Michael Hordern as Ebenezer Scrooge and John LeMesurier as Jacob Marley. This was from a cheaply produced, poorly received 1977 version from Britain. In this at least, Toobworld/F-F and the real world have something in common: this version of "A Christmas Carol" was made for TV. Although why it was considered good enough to be shown twice in Hong Kong, I have no idea....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DOROTHY DANDRIDGE

DOROTHY DANDRIDGE

AS SEEN IN:
"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge"

AS PLAYED BY:
Halle Barry

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and popular singer. Dandridge was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

All of her early parts were stereotypical African-American roles, but her singing ability and presence brought her popularity in nightclubs around the country.

In 1954, director and writer Otto Preminger cast Dandridge, along with Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Madame Sul-Te-Wan (uncredited), and Joe Adams in his production of "Carmen Jones". Dandridge's singing voice was dubbed by Marilyn Horne.

"Carmen Jones" grossed $60,000 during the first week and $47,000 in the second upon release in 1955. The film received favorable reviews, and Dandridge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming only the third African American to receive a nomination in any Academy Award category (after Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters). Grace Kelly won for her performance in "The Country Girl".

On September 8, 1965, Dandridge spoke by telephone with friend Gerry Branton. Dandridge was scheduled to fly to New York the next day to prepare for her nightclub engagement at Basin Street East. Several hours after her conversation with Branton ended, Dandridge was found dead by her manager, Earl Mills. Two months later a Los Angeles pathology institute determined the cause to be an accidental overdose of Imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. She was 42 years old.
(edited from Wikipedia)

BCnU

HEIR A PERRIN?

'Dollhouse' returned last night to polish off its remaining episodes. One of the characters introduced this second season was Senator Daniel Perrin, played by Alexis Denisof. Perrin had more information on the Dollhouse system than any outsider really should have, and was publicly trying to end the practice through the influence of his office.

With no idea of what is the final fate of Senator Perrin before 'Dollhouse' goes off the air for good, and with a couple of hundred years separation to keep the issue cloudy, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that Ambassador Sarek's third wife Perrin could have been named after this theoretical ancestor.... Just sayin', is all.....

BCnU!

BLOODLINES: HERRICK

Jason Watkins made quite an impression this year as the vampire Herrick in 'Being Human'. And coming from me, that's high praise as I'm not a fan of recastaways which are too much work when it comes to splainins. Also, I'm a big fan of Adrian Lester, who played Herrick in the 'Being Human' pilot.

We know that William Herrick was already a vampire during World War I, where he turned John Mitchell into one as well.

Here's what Wikipedia has about the character:

William Herrick (Jason Watkins) is a socially powerful vampire who is interested in the way Mitchell lives his life. They used to be close partners but grew apart as Mitchell decided to try and control his vampire urges. Herrick was the vampire who "recruited" Mitchell, during World War I. Herrick is the leader of the vampires based in Bristol, their headquarters being a funeral parlor called B Edwards. He works as a police sergeant. He is leading a vampire styled Final Solution, which sees the whole world either turned into vampires, or kept like cattle as food. Their motto is 'No one gets left behind'. [Watkins's portrayal of the character was designed to be "more down-to-earth" than that of his predecessor in the role.]

I took out the next paragraph - it's a spoiler.

This doesn't tell us when Herrick was "embraced" into the Kindred himself. He could have been hundreds of years old, at least. And he was certainly old enough to have sired children before he became a vampire.

So there could be many family trees out there in Toobworld that can be traced back to William Herrick. And every so often the tele-genetics of Toobworld could produce a carbon copy of the source for those lineages - such as:

Oswald Cooper in 'Lewis' - "The Great And The Good"
Havers in 'Holby Blue' - "Episode 2.11"
Murray in 'Hotel Babylon' - "Episode 3.5"
Desmond Marshall in 'The Last Detective' - "Once Upon A Time On The Westway"
Barr in 'Blue Murder' - "In Deep"

(This is a picture of Jason Watkins in "Wild Child", but it could have easily been of Oswald Cooper at least.)

But Herrick can't be the ancestor for Colin Merrick in a second season episode of 'Life On Mars'. I won't play Spoiler King here for those still not exposed to one of the greatest TV series ever. But those in the know understand why this is not an option.

BCnU!