Saturday, January 23, 2010

DOCTOR MOM

Claire Bloom showed up in "The End Of Time", the 'Doctor Who' finale for David Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor, as a mysterious Gallifreyan. She was never identified within the the two-part episode, but in published reports RTD has stated that she was the Doctor's mother.

However, another theory has it that she was the regeneration of Susan, the Doctor's grand-daughter. The thinking goes like this: when Wilf Mott asked the Doctor who that woman was, all Ten did was to nod in the direction of Donna Noble, Wilf's grand-daughter and a former Companion to the Doctor. It's almost as if he was trying to give a clue that as Donna was Wilf's grand-daughter, so that woman was his own grand-daughter.

I like both theories and I just wish RTD had clarified it for the episode. Why bother brining in such a talented actress for a role when we never know who she really was or her motivation in trying to help the Doctor. (For that matter, why didn't they ever identify the other Time Lady being punished by Rassilon? If theory was correct and she was the mother of the Master, then why didn't she look up to see her son?)

I've come up with a new splainin for an old problem about the Eighth Doctor which makes me lean toward the identity of Claire Bloom's Time Lady being the Doctor's Mom.......

The Eighth incarnation of the Doctor claimed near the end of that 1996 TV movie that his mother was half-human. I used to contend that it was further proof that the Doctor is a liar (as he is about his age and the fact that humans can no longer cross between dimensions). But now I have a new suggestion.....

What if the Doctor's Mom had undergone a transformation via the Chameleon Arch so that her body had become, right down to the cellular level, human rather than Gallifreyan? And during that time (without knowing anything about her past life since the Arch also gave new memories) she became pregnant by the Time Lord who was the Doctor's father.

Maybe it was because she transformed that she was finally able to conceive - I would think that Nature would impose restrictions in biology on any society in which the populace would basically be immortal. Eventually she would revert back to her Gallifreyan physiology - perhaps even before she was able to give birth to the Doctor. (It would certainly be the more dramatic option for television!)

Whether it had any effect on the Doctor's own DNA, who knows? We could also combine both of my theories about why the Doctor said that for a new option: The Eighth Doctor was only telling a half-truth. Yes, his mother was a human, but only during the time she was under the transformation by the Chameleon Arch. And so he was still basically lying to Dr. Grace Holloway, just so that he could get into her scrubs.....

Just sayin', is all....

BCnU!

NOT AS SEEN ON TV: JOHN HANCOCK

John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born on this date in 1737. But I couldn't track down a good picture of him as seen on TV to feature - I gave "John Adams" to my brother and he has my copy of "The Adams Chronicles". Eventually I'll get at least one of those for next year.

But in the meantime, on Thursday night '30 Rock' featured a John Hancock impersonator played by comedian Kevin Meaney. (Haven't seen him in ages!)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: GOODBYE, DALI

Salvador Dali died on this date in 1989......

SALVADOR DALI


AS SEEN IN:
"Surrealisimo: The Trial Of Salvador Dali"

AS PLAYED BY:
Ewen Bremner

From Wikipedia:
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres.

Dalí (Spanish pronunciation: [da'li]) was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, "The Persistence of Memory", was completed in 1931. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire includes film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.

Dalí attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to a self-styled "Arab lineage," claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Moors.

Dalí was highly imaginative, and also had an affinity for partaking in unusual and grandiose behavior, in order to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork.

BCnU!

Friday, January 22, 2010

WISH-CRAFT: WHO'S FOR ROMANA?

Speaking of Who News, it was also announced that Jane Tranter might try to reboot 'Doctor Who' for a US audience, which I'm assuming wouldn't mess with the established mythology as much as the 1996 TV movie did. (The Doctor stated that his mother was a human and they still haven't found a way to address that since.)

Regarding that TV movie, the one thing that gives me pause about this 'Torchwood' project is that it will be done for FOX. FOX has never had a good relationship with sci-fi; 'The X-Files' being the exception to the rule. ('Fringe' looks like it may have the legs, though.) Even when they have something good from the get-go - and I'm thinking 'Alien Nation' and 'The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.' - they don't show enough support, or just lose interest in it and let it get cancelled.

Here now, the Wish-Craft section of the post.....
As for another 'Doctor Who'? Re-creating the Doctor for an American audience "worked" once only because there was no other version currently on air at the time. And we did see Sylvester McCoy as the last Doctor hand off the character via regeneration to Paul McGann. But now Matt Smith is the current Doctor and his run in the series would overlap with any new Doctor. If that happened, the American version would have to be shunted off to some other TV dimension, and what good is that for Toobworld?

I'd rather have Tranter's proposed project turn out to be about another Time Lord from Gallifrey, and one who wasn't lost to the time-locked Time War. To keep the continuity with the original series, why not about a Gallifreyan gal? I'm thinking it's time to bring back Romana! With an escape from E-space and a regeneration from Lalla Ward in a cameo (who still looks great today!), I'm sure there are plenty of American actresses who could essay the role. It would certainly bring some buzz to the show.....
Of course, FOX would probably insist on somebody not only established with sci-fi acting creds to take on the role, but also somebody who's smoking hot - like a Tricia Helfer or Katee Sackhoff. Personally, I'd prefer somebody who's more unique, someone who could suggest that although they look human, they're really alien (and yet still fulfill the network mandate for eye-candy).
This could be the type of show that would create a star, so you don't have to start with one. I was originally thinking Signy Coleman might be a possibility (but my mental file on her could be outdated). However, the talent pool at just the soap operas alone are deep enough that you could find someone to pull off that Gallifreyan feel....

Just sayin', is all.....
Geez... I'm getting a Calista Flockhart vibe off that picture. But trust me - that's NOT the way I'd want to see this go!
BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: NICOLAS CAGE

NICOLAS CAGE

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Andy Samberg

BCnU!

JACK & GROUCHO

The blending of real TV game shows (as opposed to shows like '$50,000 Steeplechase' from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show')with TV characters from other shows has been a staple in TV crossovers: 'LA Law' and 'Wheel Of Fortune', 'Cheers' and 'Jeopardy!', and 'Family Matters' and 'American Gladiators'.

This is from April of 1955, two months before I was born - it's a scene from 'The Jack Benny Show' in which Jack disguised himself so that he could appear on 'You Bet Your Life' with Groucho Marx and win some cash. The other contestant is great character actress Irene Tedrow, perhaps playing Congresswoman Geddes (from two episodes of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show') before she ran for office......



This may be the first such crossover between a TV series and a game show, although if any show might have trumped it, I would guess 'I Love Lucy' might have done so.....

(My thanks to Mark Evanier - link to the left! - for pointing this out!)

BCnU!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

"AMERICAN TORCHWOOD": STAY AWAY FROM ME?

Guess Who..... LOL

Once again, attempts are being made to translate a British TV show for an American audience, and this time the target is 'Torchwood'.

'Torchwood', an anagram of 'Doctor Who' for those not in the know, is a spin-off of that series intended for a more adult audience. It dealt with a group founded by Queen Victoria that works outside of the government to investigate - and if necessary, battle - alien visitations to the British Empire. There were at least four Torchwood hubs in the UK - the one in London was destroyed by the Dalek-Cybermen war on Canary Wharf; the Cardiff hub was the setting for the TV series and was destroyed in the first episode of the "Children Of Earth" mini-series; there's one in Glasgow which apparently is staffed by only one man; and then the fourth one which disappeared but which might be found someday. (Sounds like one of the space stations in 'Babylon 5'....)

The one reason I'm feeling a little more confident of this project than for others that have been announced in the past (Looking at you, 'Coupling'!) is due to the script being written by the creator of the original series, Russell T. Davies.

(I was happy to see RTD take his death-grip off the controls of 'Doctor Who', but I also loved the pilot script for 'Torchwood', "Everything Changes".)

His producing partner from 'Doctor Who' is also on board, Julie Gardner, as well as Jane Tranter, who's the executive Vice President in charge of programming at BBC Worldwide Productions in the United States.

There's talk that John Barrowman might return as Captain Jack Harkness for this new series. But if not, hopefully RTD will create all new characters and not just rework the originals. The new show will have a more global aspect than the original, which focused on the "Rift activity" to be found in Cardiff.

BCnU!

GUS AGAIN... AGAIN

In February of last year, Inner Toob speculated about a DirecTV commercial with Dule Hill who appeared to be playing his character of Gus from 'Psych'.

We didn't make any speculation about who Alan Tudyk was supposed to be playing in the blipvert because the only TV character we really knew him for was Wash from 'Firefly', and that was set too far into the Future to be of any use.

But since we posted that article, he's shown up on 'Dollhouse' as one of the Big Bads for the series: Alpha, the homicidal maniac "doll" that went on a rampage and has yet to be caught.

It could be that he's appearing in the ad as Alpha, channelling one of his more benign personalities. And if so, Gus was lucky he only escaped that situation as a hostage......
Here's the ad in case you haven't seen it recently:



BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DAVID LETTERMAN

Continuing with 'Saturday Night Live' and its look at the late night talk show mess.....

DAVID LETTERMAN


AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Jason Sudeikis

'SNL' may not be the shining star it once was, but they're still the go-to when you need a real-life figure "as seen on TV" in a pinch....

BCnU!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

BLIPVERT CLASSIC: SUN FIZZ

That USPS ad with the creepy clown doll reminded me of this favorite from a few years back......



BCnU!

THE NEW CLOWN WITHOUT PITY

January's not even over and we have a candidate for the 2010 Toobits Award for Best Commercial of the Year!



BCnU

THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (ADDENDUM)

Turns out that there was one Toobits Awards category I forgot to post. So please forgive this late entry for Best New TV Commercial Character:



BCnU!

HEIR A PERRIN 2

Speaking of theories of relateeveety.......

Back in December, Toobworld Central suggested that Senator Perrin of 'Dollhouse' might be the great-grandfather to whatever power for Perrin, the third wife of Ambassador Sarek.

Now we can look backwards along that family lineage as well..... In a Christmas episode of 'Branded', Julius Perrin was a Jewish immigrant to America who was living in the Old West town of New Hope. (This may have been the televersion beginnings for New Hope, in Smith County, Texas.)

Besides the prejudice held against him for being Jewish, the townspeople - led by Boss Martin Stoddard - also didn't take kindly to him housing orphans, especially a young Indian boy blamed for the shooting of Stoddard's son. It took the intervention of Jason McCord to get Stoddard to see the error of his ways and to make right what once went wrong. And it later came out that young Master Stoddard was the one responsible for his own shooting.....

BCnU!

A STERLING REFERENCE

Clancy Brown is playing Hart Sterling in the new ABC legal drama, 'The Deep End'. Sterling is the boss at a very prestigious law firm which bears his name in Los Angeles. (In case you don't know who Clancy Brown is, he's the distinguished gray-haired gentleman standing third from the right above.)

So here's the Toobworld question of the day: Could Hart Sterling be related to Roger Sterling of the NYC ad agency Sterling-Cooper (and later, Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce) in the early 1960's, as seen in the AMC drama 'Mad Men'? (And for those who don't know John Slattery who plays Roger, he's standing on the far left in this picture below.) I think you can make a good argument for such a theory of relateeveety.

If Hart Sterling is basically the same age as Clancy Brown, then he was born in 1959. By that point in the Toobworld timeline, Roger Sterling was old enough to have sired several children out of wedlock with a long string of mistresses. But since we need only the one, that makes the odds better that he must have at least one illegitimate child.

Eventually we may meet Hart Sterling's parents in the course of the series. If so, not a stumbling block: We could propose that his father was a cousin to Roger; nothing says Roger ever has to mention the extended branches of the Sterling family tree.

Just another missing link heavily reliant on conjecture. It's all in a day's work for Toobworld Central.....

BCnU!

MARSHAL DEALIN'

It's surely one of the most basic tenets of Toobworld: when a show is cancelled, those characters - at least the ones still alive at the end of the series - continue to live on in the TV Universe. We've seen some of them come back long after their show has ended - Alan Brady, Bones McCoy, Bret Maverick, and Amos Burke, for example.

But eventually we have to admit that mortality must take its toll on these characters; they're only immortal within the boundaries of the reruns. Certainly some characters outlive the actors who played them, but when the actor passes away sometimes it's better to think that the character left the stage as well (rather than risk seeing somebody else assay the role.)

And due to circumstances concerning those characters within their
show, we have to assume the character died before the actor. The Toobworld Timeline plays a big role in this, of course. David Carradine died last year, but even had he lived, Kwai Chang Caine must have died about eighty years ago or so. (I think he was last seen in 1906 in "The Gambler: Luck of the Draw", but could have been around for another twenty years or more.)

Because of his affliction with MS, we have to assume that former President Josiah Bartlet will die before Martin Sheen. (And probably by his own hand before the disease takes its full toll.)

So what of all those other TV characters? Eventually we have to assume they reached the end of their lives, one way or the other, in Toobworld. And sometimes we could make assumptions about their deaths in order to clear out the Tele-Folks Directory. I postulated something along these lines when the TV version of "The Poseidon Adventure" aired a few years ago - finding a number of TV characters who might have been aboard that ocean liner when it capsized. And I did the same with the collapse of the Twin Towers in the real world because so many shows incorporated it into their storylines, from 'Becker' to 'Without A Trace'.

This is all a long-winded way of saying that I may have found another possibility regarding an off-screen death for an established TV character, with this past week's episode of 'Fringe'.....
.
Rose:
You think killing those Federal officers is the best way to put a stop to this?
Sheriff Velchik:
It did the last time.
That Federal Marshal a few years ago....
No one came looking for him, did they?

And that was all that was said about this character; we never learned the name of this Federal Marshal. So why can't we attribute his fate to one of the established Federal Marshals of Toobworld?

I'm thinking Winston MacBride, played by Jeff Fahey in 'The Marshal'....
We've seen Fahey since then, most notably as Frank Lapidus in 'Lost'. But it's unlikely we'll ever see him as Marhal Winston MacBride again, unless he makes a special appearance in some future episode of 'Justified'. Sure, it would be nice to think his character lives on, but at the same time his occupation is a highly hazardous one.

Here's a description of 'The Marshal' from the IMDb: "MacBride is a U.S. Marshal and his job is to guard criminals, protect witnesses, and pursue escaped convicts. His job takes him all across the country where he meets all kinds of people."


That would certainly apply once he reached the city limits of Edina, New York! But it could be that he was caught off-guard by the sight of these mutations outside the reach of the "hum", and that's all that was needed for the Sheriff to get the better of MacBride and dispatch him.

Don't get me wrong - I liked 'The Marshal'; I thought it was brilliant casting to bring in Robert Mitchum as MacBride's dad. But if MacBride's death in the line of duty can make a theoretical link to 'Fringe', then Toobworld Central would have to put personal preferences aside for the greater good.

The greater good....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JAY LENO & "COUSIN" CONAN

In keeping with the latest TV news...

JAY LENO & CONAN O'BRIEN

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Darrell Hammond (Jay Leno)
Bill Hader (Conan O'Brien)



BCnU!

WHEN TOOBWORLD GOES BAD



Close, but no cigar (whew!)

BCnU!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

AS SEEN ON TV: PETRAEUS & SALEH

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS & PRESIDENT ALI ABDULLAH SALEH

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Will Forte - General Petraeus
Fred Armisen - President Saleh



BCnU!

Monday, January 18, 2010

THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (FINALE!)

So here we are, down to the last batch of the 2009 Toobits Awards.....

BEST NEW TV SERIES
COMEDY:
'Better Off Ted' & 'Modern Family' (TIE)
This was way too close to call. The shows have different tempos and attitudes but both succeeded in their main O'Bjective: to make me, watching alone at home, laugh out loud. And they did that several times each episode.

DRAMA:
'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'
What a breath of fresh air this was, even if it was hot and dusty but especially because it took place in Africa. Not once did the show lean on the old stand-by of a murder investigation and was more concerned with character than the mystery. I'm hoping this will come back with a second season, but if not, there's always the series of books about Precious and her friends....

BEST TV MOVIE
"Virtuality"
Granted, it left us dangling at the end with no resolution because it was meant to be a pilot for a TV show which never materialized. Still, it had interesting characters with intriguing "lives" in virtual reality and a central mystery that should have been explored further. There was enough there to justify this award for the way it helped expand the vision of life in Toobworld.

BEST MINI-SERIES
'Torchwood: Children Of Earth'
Devastating and probably the bravest piece of TV writing I've ever seen. I can't picture any TV network in America allowing their main character to make the decision that Captain Jack Harkness faced by the end.....

BEST ONLINE TELEVISION
Paul McCartney, 7/16/09 "rooftop" concert at Ed Sullivan Theatre (I was there!)
Susan Boyles, 'Britain's Got Talent'
BEST COMMERCIAL
"Alec In Huluwood"
WORST COMMERCIAL
Boost Mobile - the girl with long-haired armpits
Disgusting!

BEST PUBLIC SERVICE COMMERCIAL
The cast of 'Monk' warning about heart disease, in memory of cast member Stanley Kamel who passed away suddenly.
BEST IMPORT
Comedy:
'Kingdom'
Drama:
'Murdoch Mysteries'
With both of these, I was late with the introductions. But better late than never, as they each made me feel welcome to the worlds they depicted. With 'Murdoch Mysteries', it was the Toronto of the Victorian era, while 'Kingdom' took place in one of those small towns of Toobworld filled with the eccentricities I take delight in.

BEST EPISODE, ANY GENRE
'Torchwood: Children Of Earth' - "Day Five"
BEST EPISODES
DRAMA:
'MAD MEN' - "Close The Door, Have A Seat"
DRAMADY:
'Chuck' - "Chuck vs. The Colonel"
COMEDY:
'Modern Family' - "Fizbo"
BEST TWO-PART EPISODE
'Lost' - "The Incident (1&2)
BEST MOVIE THAT SHOULD BE ADAPTED INTO A TV SHOW
"Avatar"
And not just because it's an incredible world that should be seen on a weekly basis. It's more because of the motion capture technology which could be used to revolutionize the look of the aliens that could be introduced on shows like 'Star Trek' and 'Doctor Who'. No more need for those stupid forehead molds or Zastupnevich zippers running up the back!

And ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that's a wrap on the 2009 Toobits Awards. Thanks for checking them out! Onwards and upwards! In fact, we've already got several candidates for a lot of the major awards and we're not even out of January yet. So stay tuned!
BCnU!

BRETT & BART

I know it's not August, when Toobworld Central usually celebrates the Old West of TV Land, but I just felt like saluting my favorite pair of brothers on the Toob....



BCnU!

THE 2009 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART EIGHT)

Here we are with still more awards to be handed out in our annual presentation of the Toobits Awards!

BEST SEASON FINALE
'Lost' - "The Incident (1&2)

'Lost' has had a stranglehold on this category for the last couple of years. The only reason it shouldn't get it next year is because it would be more fitting in the Best Series Finale category. At any rate, how could you top the heart-break of seeing Juliet striving to fulfill the hopes of the Lostaways by smashing Jughead's basic bomb at the very end - and then have the end title be seen inverted on a white screen?

BEST SERIES FINALE

'Monk' Everything - including that attraction between Lt. Disher and Sharona Fleming that we all knew was there - was tied up neatly by the end of the series. Adrian Monk found out who killed his wife, was happily reunited with a part of her life that he never knew about, and was as restored mentally as he could ever hope for - to the point where he could go to work wearing a turtleneck rather than his buttoned up brown shirts. And at least we know he's still on the case there in San Francisco... should Tony Shalhoub ever want to revisit the role.

But if Monk had been killed off, the way this show has always played up his attachment to the spirit of Trudy, I would have been okay with that as well. At least they would have been together....

WORST SERIES CONCLUSION

'Kings' They should have realized this was a show that would not be so big a smash that it would ever get a second season. They should have told the story all in one season and be done with it. But no, they left it dangling and we'll never know how it plays out in the kingdom of Gilboa.

BEST HISTORICAL RECREATION

"Little Dorrit" on 'Masterpiece Theatre' It was more than just a (fairly) faithful adaptation of the Dickens' novel; it evoked the times and places which Dickens railed against.

BEST SENSE OF ONE'S OWN HISTORY

'Doctor Who' - "Waters Of Mars" During the episode there were references back to the following episodes:

"The Fires Of Pompeii"

"The Stolen Earth"

"Journey's End"

"The Impossible Planet"

"The Satan Pit"

"Planet Of The Dead"

"Rise Of The Cybermen"

"Gridlock"

"Utopia"

"The Sound Of Drums"

"Last Of The Time Lords"

"The Seeds Of Death"

"The Monster Of Peladon"

plus references to K-9 and the Cloister Bell. (There may have been even more which I may have missed...)

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD HISTORY
Pepsi ad "Generations"


BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD CELEBRITY

'Bollywood Hero' Several celebrities besides Chris Kattan portrayed wacked versions of themselves in this mini-series, including Maya Rudolph, Jennifer Coolidge, and Kattan's own dad Kip King. Best of all though was Keanu Reeves in the first episode.

Runner-up:
'Free Radio'



Again, another show I discovered only this past year....

Sorry, but there's still more to come in our presentation of the 2009 Toobits Awards! BCnU!