RIDDLE ME THIS, LEMON!

When Jack Donaghy escorted financial reporter Avery Jessup to a bliack tie affair at the Natural History Museum on this week's '30 Rock', Avery remarked that "You always know you're at the right party when it feels like the Riddler is about to attack." '30 Rock' is notorious for its Zonks, especially since it is about the show business world of TV production at NBC. This episode had several references to other TV shows - real ones, not just the fictional 'Bitch Hunter', which either starred Will Ferrell or a fictional character that happened to look like Will Ferrell.

But this reference to the Riddler is not a Zonk. There was no mention of the 'Batman' TV series or to Frank Gorshin (or even to John Astin).

Avery's mention of the Riddler was to the actual Prince of Puzzles, the Gotham City criminal himself.

It's Toobworld Central's conceit that the Riddler has figured into the history of 'Doctor Who' - that one of the Doctor's earlier incarnations found his way into the Riddler's lair and absconded with several items from his wardrobe. That's why later regenerations of the Doctor favored items that bore the symbol of the question mark.

(And it's not like the Doctor is above stealing his wardrobe. Although Janis Joplin may have given him the overcoat favored by the Tenth Doctor, we've seen the Third Doctor and most recently the Eleventh Incarnation nick their duds.)

The Riddler stole a collection of Moldavian stamps, which could possibly tie him to 'Dynasty' (and from there to 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', thanks to the televersion of Bette Ford.)

So it's no problem for Avery to have mentioned the Riddler on '30 Rock', as they share the same TV reality.

BCnU!