THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART SEVEN)

We're getting closer to the end of this annual presentation of the Toobits Awards, and I know what a big letdown that is for you: just as big a letdown as the presentations themselves!

So here we go with some of the best and worst when it comes to the ancillary projects from 2009......

BEST SPIN-OFF
'Stargate Universe'

I could just as easily have chosen 'NCIS: Los Angeles'. I watched a few episodes of both franchises but wasn't excited by either to make it a regular addition to my view-queue. But they both do the job in expanding the mythology of their franchises and in bringing in characters from the parent shows for crossovers. I finally went with 'Stargate Universe' because it at least is going for something different in its storyline, whereas the LA version of 'NCIS' is just more high-tech of the same situated on the Left Coast.

BEST SEQUEL
"Dead Like Me - Life After Death"

I'll admit it has problems - no Rube, for starters. And a recast Daisy - and you know how I feel about recastaways. It also is very choppy in its editing and storytelling. Still, it gave us a chance to reunite with George and the gang of Reapers, and even tied up the storyline about the family she left behind. That freed up George for any future sequels, not that I think we'll ever see any...

BEST REMAKE
'The Prisoner'

I knew going in that there would be no way for this mini-series to usurp the original show's place in my heart as my all-time favorite series. Forty years past and still twenty years ahead of its time, I say. But I think it does give a sense that what occurred in that original series was a part of Toobworld and not just in the mind of the original Number Six. And, like the original, it can lead to some serious discussion about what it all meant. So I thank them for that.

BEST PILOT
'Being Human' Again, this was a bad case of recastaways as three-fourths of the cast (Annie, Mitchell, Herrick) were replaced when it went to series, leaving only Russell Tovey as George from this original premise. At first I was resistant to the idea, but then I grew to like the new versions of the characters even more. So much so that the original pilot, while still having been first on the air, was the one chosen to go off into the hinterlands of another TV dimension - in much the same way as the original TV movies for 'The Murdoch Mysteries'.

Still, they got the job done in getting the continuing story of a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost living together into the TV Universe.

WORST SEQUEL
'Melrose Place'

Never liked the original version, why would I want it to return?

WORST SPIN-OFF
'The Cleveland Show' 'Family Guy' is a great show and I hope it runs for a long time. But with each succeeding project from Seth MacFarlane, it's a case of diminishing returns. Cleveland was never a strong enough character in the first place to be the center of a spin-off and it shows.

WORST ONLINE TELEVISION
'Popetown' This goes way beyond it being in bad taste - it's just not funny!

BEST TIE-IN
'Castle' novel Except for the blurb about ABC on the cover, it's as though this fell through a worm-hole from the TV dimension......

BEST REVIVED SERIES
'Dollhouse'

As the series heads for its pre-determined cancellation, the show has really been firing on all cylinders with the twists and turns in the plot, making this a unique and exciting example of sci-fi television.

BEST CLASSIC TV EXPERIENCE
"The Million Dollar Incident"
"The Man In The Funny Suit"

No way I would choose between the two. Both of them are serio-comic looks at the lives of real-life celebrities who played themselves, but only one of them was actually based on fact. "The Man In The Funny Suit": The warts and all story of the making of "Requiem For A Heavyweight" and how Ed Wynn nearly ruined the live broadcast was unflinching in its depictions of what happened. It's amazing that most of the actors - and Rod Serling - agreed to play themselves because nobody really comes off looking good... except maybe Red Skelton.

"The Million Dollar Incident": Jackie Gleason came up with this idea of what it might have been like had he been kidnapped for a large ransom to be paid out by CBS. Ed Sullivan and Georgie Jessel played themselves while Harvey Lembeck played Gleason's pal Bullets Durgom. And Everett Sloane, Jack Klugman, and Peter Falk played the kidnappers.

More Toobits Awards coming tomorrow!
BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ERNEST SHACKLETON

January 16, 1909 – Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.

ERNEST SHACKLETON

AS SEEN IN:
"Shackleton"

AS PLAYED BY:
Kenneth Branagh

From Wikipedia:

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO OBE, (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish explorer who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Scott’s Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned to Antarctica in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909 he and three companions made a southern march which established a record Farthest South latitude at 88°23'S, 97 geographical miles (114 statute miles, 190 km) from the South Pole, by far the closest convergence in exploration history up to that time. For this achievement, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII on his return home.

After the race to the South Pole ended in 1912 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to what he said was the one remaining great object of Antarctic journeying—the crossing of the continent from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, was trapped in pack ice and slowly crushed, before the shore parties could be landed. There followed a sequence of exploits, and an ultimate escape with no lives lost, that would eventually assure Shackleton's heroic status, although this was not immediately evident. In 1921 he went back to the Antarctic with the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, intending to carry out a programme of scientific and survey activities. Before the expedition could begin this work Shackleton died of a heart attack while his ship, Quest, was moored in South Georgia. At his wife's request he was buried there.

BCnU!

THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART SIX)

With the presentation of the 2009 Toobits Awards, we're getting down to the big guns now. Today we're focusing on the best crossovers of the past year....

BEST CROSSOVER
Children In Need music video Peter Kay spent two years putting this together for the Children in Need charity - it features characters from children's TV shows of today and yesterday, going back to the 1950's, and not only from the UK but from the USA as well. And all of the original vocal actors were brought together to record the medley, including Bernard Cribbins, Jane Horrocks, Ringo Starr, and Casey Kasem - but shhh! Don't tell anybody he was there! (Since Don Messick passed away, Frank Welker did the honors as Scooby-Doo.)

Enjoy!



BEST CROSSOVER PLOTLINE
'NCIS: Los Angeles' - "Random On Purpose" Abby Sciuto wasn't brought in from the 'NCIS' mothership just as window dressing for the crossover, she became an integral part of the case.

MOST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
'Greek' & 'Party Down' When the frat boys went to work for a catering company, they wore the same pink ties as the employees did in 'Party Down'. Thus, they were all working for the same company!

MOST HYPED CROSSOVER
The week-long 'CSI" event

In the course of the week, Dr. Raymond Langston travelled to 'CSI: Miami', 'CSI: NY', and finally back to home base at 'CSI' in order to solve a case.
You can expect to see Dr. Langston in this blog again next month because of this......

FIRST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR 2009
'Grey's Anatomy' & 'Private Practice' (02/05)

And they did at least one more before the year was out. They were late out of the gate with the first of their 2010 crossovers though, so they've already lost their shot at retaining the title.

BEST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER WITH A DIFFERENT MEDIUM
AFLAC & "Up"



BEST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT
Comic Relief's gathering of UK advert icons Like the 'Children In Need' music video, this comedy sketch brought together many of the major advertising icons in Britain's television history with the hope of finding a way they could contribute to Comic Relief.

BEST THEORETICAL COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER
From AdRants: Here's an intriguing bit of information provided to us by Adrants reader Don Russell. Russell notes the use of Amazon's paperless Kindle in a Verizon FiOS commercial which humorously compares a Verizon repairman's installations with a cable guy's cancellations. They're all the same, of course.

That's not the intriguing part though. It's the Kindle, which is powered by Sprint's EVDO network that raises the eyebrow. It's not often you see a competitor's product displayed so prominently in an ad. Of course, as self-professed geek Russell notes, it does take a geek to notice these things and most other people - including the props people on the set - simply don't. Still."

BEST COMMERCIAL RETURN
Mr. Six, 'Six Flags Great Adventure' He's still creepy though.....

WORST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER
Another guest commentary: "So Verizon is slamming the iPhone by saying it belongs on The Island Of Misfit Toys? Yeah, well guess what, idiots: the toys on The Island Of Misfit Toys are the coolest toys ever. Seriously, who didn't love the Charlie In The Box? Or the polka dotted elephant? And you think by associating the iPhone with them will make people NOT like it? Good thinking, Braniacs." - by Thom Holbrook

BEST ONLINE CROSSOVER
As usual, it's from 'How I Met Your Mother':

It features a variety of colorfully named sex acts from the Great White North. But be careful when you click on those links!

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE (aka MEDIUM)
BOOK to TV
'Little Dorrit' - from the Charles Dickens novel
COMIC BOOK to TV
'Smallville' - "Legion" from "The Legion Of Superheroes"
TV to MOVIE
'Star Trek'


BEST RECASTAWAY
'The Murdoch Mysteries' I only just came to this in 2009; the show started in 2008, but there were three earlier TV movies in 2004. Peter Outerbridge played 1890's Toronto detective William Murdoch in those first productions, but when it went to series a few years later, Yannick Bisson assumed the role.

And it works because it's O'Bvious they both are from different TV dimensions. Due to actors dropping out of the TV movies before they ended, the plotlines veered from the original source material so that Detective Murdoch basically was on the path to gaining a family. As I'm one who's usually resistant to shows being recast, I surprised myself by how much I was taken by the series when those disks arrived from Netflix. There were even some improvements from the original cast with regard to the main characters. I even made the "executive decision" that the series should be considered part of the main Toobworld, while the TV movies could be relegated to an alternate TV dimension.

That's it for today. Hopefully by tomorrow, we can wrap up this awards ceremony for another year....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: RAY BOLGER

RAY BOLGER
[as the Scarecrow in "The Wizard Of Oz"]

AS SEEN IN:
"Life With Judy Garland: Me And My Shadows"

AS PLAYED BY:
Noah Henne

From Wikipedia:
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hunk in the 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz".

Bolger's MGM studio contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose; however, he was unhappy when he was cast as the Tin Man. The Scarecrow part had already been assigned to another lean and limber dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen.

In time, the roles were switched. While Bolger was pleased with his role as the Scarecrow, Ebsen was struck ill by the powdered aluminum make-up used to complete the Tin Man costume. The powdered aluminum badly coated Ebsen's lungs, leaving him near death. Ebsen's illness paved the way for the Tin Man role to be filled by Jack Haley. Whenever asked as to whether he received any residuals from telecasts of the 1939 classic, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."

He was good friends with actress Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, until her death, and gave a eulogy at her memorial service.

Bolger died of bladder cancer on January 15, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, five days after his 83rd birthday. He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35. He was survived by his wife of over 57 years, Gwendolyn Rickard. They had no children.

At the time of his death, he was the last surviving main cast member of The Wizard of Oz.

BCnU.....

L&O: LVU

Over in Skitlandia, Dick Wolf has a new TV series about the Late Night Wars coming to NBC. Here's David Letterman with the news:



My thanks to tele-bloggin' buddy Joe Bua for pointing this out...

BCnU!

THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART FIVE)

Run for your lives! More Toobits Award winners are on their way!

Today's presentation continues with the Tele-Folks Directory of those TV characters who debuted in 2009 and who really brightened up the world of the Toob. You'll see, once all of the categories are announced, that some of the categories don't match up. There will be characters who won in the Drama category, but their show is named in the Dramedy category. When seen on their own, these particular characters (basically one particular one) are just so tragic, while the show has heavy elements of humor.

And so... allons-y!

BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER

COMEDY:

Cameron Tucker, 'Modern Family'

DRAMA:

Owen Thoreau, Jr., 'Men Of A Certain Age'

DRAMEDY:

Neal Caffrey, 'White Collar'

BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER

DRAMA:

Jackie Peyton, 'Nurse Jackie'

DRAMADY:

Precious Ramotswe, 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'

COMEDY [tie]:

Veronica Palmer & Linda Zwordling, 'Better Off Ted'

[How could I choose between them?]

BEST NEW MALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER

Mozzie, 'White Collar'

BEST NEW SUPPORTING FEMALE CHARACTER

Zoey Barkow, 'Nurse Jackie'

BEST NEW RECURRING CHARACTER

Captain Sharon Raydor, 'The Closer'

BEST ADDITION TO AN EXISTING CAST

Lane Pryce, 'Mad Men'

BEST NEW GUEST APPEARANCE

Male:

Godric, 'True Blood'

FEMALE:

DeDe Pritchett, 'Modern Family'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Conrad Hilton, 'Mad Men'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER REVISION

The Rock Obama, 'Saturday Night Live'

BEST NEW CHILD CHARACTER

Male

Brick Heck, 'The Middle'

VERY close runner-up:

Manny Delgado, 'Modern Family'

Female

Grace Peyton, 'Nurse Jackie'

BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE

Dramedy:

'Nurse Jackie'

[The only problem is, Nurse Mo-Mo has been dropped from the cast, as the picture illustrates. And Mo-Mo proved to be a very popular supporting player on the show. We'll see how this affects the balance in the series' second season....]

Mini-Series:

"Little Dorrit"

Comedy:

'Modern Family'

Music Video:

"Children In Need"

SPECIAL MENTION, GUEST APPEARANCE

Beau Bridges

for:

Eli Scruggs, 'Desperate Housewives'

Georgette Andrews, 'The Closer'

We'll be back tomorrow with even more winners of the 2009 Toobits Awards!

BCnU!