Saturday, July 24, 2010

WNU-TOOB: THE DRACULA OF EARTH PRIME-TIME

"THE DARK PRINCE" POST-SCRIPT (OR IS IT POST-CRYPT?)




BUFFY VS. DRACULA TRAILER





For Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, the true Dracula is represented by the character as played by Rudolf Martin. The actor played the pre-vampire Impaler in "Dark Prince" TV-movie, and the Vampire King in an episode of 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'.

(The Dracula of Earth Prime-Time may have created a soul-clone of his own in the pilot episode of 'Moonlight' or was using an alias; I saw it, but it wasn't very memorable. Rudolf Martin also appeared as Dracula in archival footage from a Russian movie entitled "Night Watch".)

For more information on the Dracula of the Wold Newton Universe, please visit Win Scott Eckert's excellent site, which you'll find linked to the left. And hopefully you'll also pick up his two-volume book "Crossovers", now available.

BCnU!

WNU-TOOB: COUNT DRACULA

Continuing with our look at characters to be found in the Wold Newton Universe as well as in Toobworld, and in keeping with today's "As Seen On TV" portrait of Bram Stoker, here are a few clips from two different versions of Count Dracula. From 1973 we have Jack Palance and, from 1977, Louis Jourdan.......


DRACULA TRAILER (WITH JACK PALANCE)



LOUIS JOURDAN AS DRACULA



THE 1977 MINI-SERIES: MINA SCENE (LOUIS JOURDAN)



THE DEATH OF DRACULA (JACK PALANCE)



Wold Newton scholar Chuck Loridans has proposed a theory for all of the many Draculas to be found in the literature, movies, TV shows, etc. which make up the "Newtonverse": there is the one true Dracula, and then there are the soul-clones. Dracula Prime created the soul-clones by exchanging his blood with a human and imprinting his own psyche into the mind of that victim.

This theory is appealing for Toobworld Central because there are many variations on Dracula to be found in the TV Universe. However, we reserve the right to use that theory only for those Draculae who appear in new stories, mostly with previously established TV characters. For instance - the Dracula played by Michael Nouri in the "Curse of Dracula" segments of 'Cliff-Hangers'.

But when it comes to the re-telling of the original story by Bram Stoker, then we're going to have to select only one version and then send the rest of them packing to alternate TV dimensions.


BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BRAM STOKER

BRAM STOKER

AS SEEN IN:
"Shadow In The North"

AS PLAYED BY:
Owen Roe

From Wikipedia:
Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.

In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Balcombe of 1 Marino Crescent, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. Stoker had known Wilde from his student days, having proposed him for membership of the university’s Philosophical Society while he was president. Wilde was upset at Florence's decision, but Stoker later resumed the acquaintanceship, and after Wilde's fall visited him on the Continent.

The Stokers moved to London, where Stoker became acting-manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, London, a post he held for 27 years.

It is at the Lyceum in 1878 where Mr. Stoker is encountered during Sally Lockhart's investigation for her client, Miss Walsh.

BCnU!

Friday, July 23, 2010

SERENA TV NOW!

SERENA'S LAST SCENE ON 'LAW & ORDER'



ELIZABETH ROHM: BEHIND THE SCENES


BCnU!

NEW TO VIEW @ TOOB HQ

I was out for lunch today with one of my oldest friends and afterwards I decided to check out the bootleg TV DVDs at my midtown source. I've got a feeling that pretty soon they'll be gone for good. There used to be a lot more wall space dedicated to them....

Anyhoo, here's the selection I picked up:

'Harry Lime' (four episodes)
"Barcelona Massacre"
"Queen Of The Nile"
"One Kind Word"
"Act Of Atonement"

I'll be really curious to see if they even address the type of man Harry was in the book and in the movie. Charismatic as he may have been in the hands of Orson Welles, Lime was still a monster. And it doesn't help that Michael Rennie just automatically looks evil.

'Muppet Classic Theater' (three episodes)
"Three Little Pigs"
"King Midas"
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf"

I'm fairly certain I've read about the Muppet version of the King Midas story, but I don't think I've seen any of these before.

'A Man Called Sloane' (complete collection)

By "complete collection", I'm assuming that only nine episodes aired, because that's all I'm getting in this set. As guest stars in this 1979 series, Robert Conrad goes up against Robert Culp, Roddy McDowall, Eric Braedon, Morgan Fairchild, and Edie Adams.

"Unaired Pilots Collection"
includes:
'Batgirl' with Yvonne Craig
'Alexander the Great' with William Shatner
'Dick Tracy'
'Superpup'
'Power Pack'
'Mandrake The Magician'
'The Phantom'
'City Beneath The Sea'
'The Man From the 25th Century'
''Crossroads Avenger' by Ed Wood
1973 'Mad Magazine' cartoon
'The Wonderful World of Wilbur Pope'
('Mr. Ed', but with an entirely different cast)
'The Munsters Collection'
'The Hillbillies of Beverly Hills'

BCnU

AS SEEN ON TV: BARON VON STOCKMAR

BARON VON STOCKMAR

AS SEEN IN:
"Victoria And Albert"

AS PLAYED BY:
David Suchet

From Wikipedia:
Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar (22 August 1787 – 9 July 1863) was an Anglo-Belgian statesman, who was a leading player in the affairs of the United Kingdom under Queen Victoria.

He was born in Coburg of a Swedish family. He was educated as a physician, and became the personal physician of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1816 at the time of Leopold's marriage to Princess Charlotte of the United Kingdom. Stockmar stayed in Leopold's service as his private secretary, comptroller of the household, and political advisor.

Leopold came under scrutiny for the position of King of the Belgians, and was made king in 1831. Stockmar took up residence in Coburg, continuing to advise Leopold. In 1837, he was sent by Leopold to serve as advisor to Queen Victoria: one of his first tasks was to brief her on whether Leopold's nephew, Prince Albert (later Prince Consort), was a suitable mate. After the marriage of Victoria and Albert, Stockmar became their unofficial counsellor, and intervened in several crises.

His prominence in the United Kingdom's political circles led to resentment at what was seen to be Albert's (and, generally, German) intervention in the UK's affairs.

Stockmar was raised to the rank of baron by the King of Saxony.

I guess Suchet can't help but to play the Belgie.....

BCnU!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

WNU-TOOB: MYCROFT HOLMES

I'm adding a new category to the labels found at the bottom of each post here at Inner Toob: "WNU-Toob". It will be for the articles and videos I find that deal with the characters shared by the Wold Newton Crossover Universe.

Yesterday we got the chance to watch the final episode of 'Maigret' from 1964, and today we have a series of videos celebrating the older brother of Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft.....

The series based on the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A thousand pardons! I mean by Dr. Watson and edited by Conan Doyle.) starred Jeremy Brett as the Great Detective. And he is considered to be the official portrayer of Holmes in Toobworld. This first video shows how very odd a man his brother Mycroft was.....


INTRODUCTION TO MYCROFT HOLMES



Mycroft Holmes is one of those characters who has an exact replica in at least one other universe created out of Man's imagination. Like Radar O'Reilly, and King Mongkut, and the Pigeon Sisters, this incarnation of Sherlock's brother can also be found in the movie world, sometimes known as "The Cineverse". In this particular case, it's the movie dimension in which Sherlock was played by Nichol Williamson.

Here we see Charles Gray, but this time in the movies, in his first portrayal of Mycroft Holmes. He and Doctor Watson (Robert Duvall) are confronting the so-called "Napoleon of Crime", Professor James Moriarty.


MYCROFT OF THE MOVIES




To wrap things up, here are two fan-created music videos in which Mycroft Holmes is the featured subject:


BROTHER OF MINE




HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER



You didn't really think we'd finish off this salute to a great man in the Wold Newton Universe on a reverent note, did you.....?

BCnU!

WNU-TOOB: THE DIOGENES CLUB

Although the televersion of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure Of The Greek Interpreter" veered wildly from the original (thus proving that Toobworld's Holmes is not the same as the literary version), one thing remained the same - the Diogenes Club, that sanctuary for the odd gentlemen of London where they might seal themselves away from the distractions of the world.
Here's how it's described in Wikipedia, with the appropriate quote from the Dr. Watson manuscript (edited by Conan Doyle):

The Diogenes Club is a fictional gentleman's club created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featured in several Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably "The Greek Interpreter". It seems to have been named after Diogenes the Cynic (although this is never explained in the original stories) and was co-founded by Sherlock's indolent older brother, Mycroft Holmes.

The club is described by Sherlock Holmes in the stories thus:

"There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere."
– The Greek Interpreter
It is described as a place where men can go to read without any distractions, and as such the number one rule is that there is no talking, to the point where club members can be excluded for coughing.

In the Wold Newton Universe, triggered by its appearance in the movie "The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes", the Diogenes Club also serves as a front for the British Secret Service and apparently is the center of attention for the investigation into the occult. (I imagine the Torchwood Institute remained the hub for the containment of alien activity in the British Empire.)

Toobworld Central accepts this premise, as there is nothing to invalidate it (so far as I know) in other TV presentations. In fact, the suggestion could create links to other TV shows and TV movies that might otherwise still be drifting free in the Great Link.

For example:'Colonel March of Scotland Yard' was likely a member of the Diogenes Club, as a cover for his Department of Queer Complaints. William Sebastian, who faced the "Spectre" of his own mortality because of his opposition to the Dark Powers, may have come to the club for advice in his investigations. And almost certainly Sebastian was probably ordered there to be debriefed at the club by British Intelligence after the Cyon case in London back in 1977.
But in order to maintain that cover, the Diogenes Club still had to operate as a gentlemen's club. And as such, I think we have found another TV show - another in the classic detective genre - where the Diogenes Club made an appearance.
After a day of sight-seeing throughout London, Lieutenant Columbo was brought to the club where his host, Detective Chief Superintendent William Durk, was a member. There they were to enjoy "tea", which 'Columbo' thought would consist of those dainty sandwiches. Instead he was treated a traveling sideboard of hearty fare - fruits, roasted beef, cheeses of all types - to this day I wish I could take a crack at sampling the options when I watch that scene.
Unfortunately for Columbo, the pathologist Divers showed up with unsettling autopsy photos that put the Lieutenant off his feed.

Apparently this scene in the episode "Dagger Of The Mind" takes place in the Strangers' Room of the club, which has seen much embellishment since its days when Mycroft Holmes co-founded the place. Since Durk is a member, it's quite possible that he is somehow connected to the Secret Service. He may even have been mentored by Colonel Percival March.
[This is NOT a picture of them working undercover!]

As to the differences in the club entrances seen in "Dagger Of The Mind" and "The Adventure Of The Greek Interpreter", it's simply a matter of them being on different streets as the club has expanded to take up the entire block (although it's not visibly apparent from the outside that the various buildings all inter-connected, even though they are of different architectural styles.
The entrance seen in 'Columbo' would be the unassuming public entrance for the regular members who have no clue of what else goes on there in the club. And the more imposing doorway down a side street which was used by 'Sherlock Holmes' and the first Dr. Watson* has now become the highly guarded entry for those in the Secret Service.
O'Bviously this is a "missing link", but one that can provide common ground with the alternate world of the Wold Newton Universe, even if the characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories differ.

TV SHOWS & TV MOVIES CITED:
'The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes'
'Columbo'
'Colonel March Of Scotland Yard'
"Spectre"
'The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.'

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BARONESS LEHZEN

It was Diana Rigg's birthday on Wednesday, so to celebrate, albeit belatedly, we present today's "As Seen On TV" showcase in her honor.....

BARONESS LEHZEN


AS SEEN IN:
"Victoria And Albert"

AS PLAYED BY:
Dame Diana Rigg

From Wikipedia:
Baroness Louise Lehzen (3 October 1784 – 9 September 1870) was the governess, and later adviser and companion to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

In 1827, the Duke of York died, making the Duke of Clarence heir presumptive. George IV died in 1830, and was succeeded by his brother, who became King William IV. William formally recognised Victoria as his heir, and made Lehzen a Baroness of Hanover. At this time, the famous scene took place, in which Lehzen slipped a copy of the genealogy of the House of Hanover into one of the Princess's lesson books. After perusing it for some time, Victoria came to see that her father had been next in line after the King, and Queen Adelaide had no children. This was the first time Victoria came to realise the destiny that had been assumed by many since her birth; that she would be the next British queen. After a pause, Victoria is reported to have said "I will be good."

When Victoria's first child, the Princess Victoria, was born on November 22, 1840, Victoria trusted Lehzen to make the arrangements for the nursery staff. Albert, who was devoted to his first-born, confronted Victoria on the incompetence of the staff selected by the Baroness. There was a quarrel, after which Albert declared that he would leave the affair in her queenly hands, and be it on her head if the child died. After this argument, Victoria gave in to him, and ultimately dismissed Lehzen.

When Lehzen was dismissed from the court in 1842 she returned to her native Germany. She lived on the pension that Victoria sent her, and covered the walls of her house with any portraits of the Queen she could find or cut out of newspapers. She continued to regard Victoria with affectionate emotion and frequently wrote to the Queen, who occasionally responded to her lonely mentor. The Baroness Lehzen died in 1870.

"The More You Know"

BCnU!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

THE END OF MAIGRET

For today's video selection, Toobworld Central presents the official portrayal of Georges Simenon's classic detective, Inspector Jules Maigret. He has been described as an intuitive detective of infinite patience who preferred to observe and never act rashly; eventually one of his suspects would slip up under Maigret's scrutiny.

In much the same way that Earle Stanley Gardner proclaimed Raymond Burr as the perfect embodiment of his character Perry Mason, Simenon was quite enthusiastic about the BBC's choice of Rupert Davies to be Maigret. The series began back in October of 1960 and lasted four seasons with a total of 51 episodes.

Maigret has been portrayed on television almost as often as Sherlock Holmes, perhaps in even more countries. As time goes on, Toobworld Central will examine the place of all the Maigrets in the grand scheme of Toobworld and its alternate TV dimensions.

But Davies remains the official televersion and today's offering is the final episode of the series. It has the feel of a finale - even though there is no indication that Maigret is officially stepping down (He's only taking a three week vacation.), the torch is passed to his former assistant Luca, who has been promoted to Inspector himself.

There is also a call-back to the previous episode which explains why Maigret is wearing a sling. (He had been shot by the murderer, Pepito Moreno. As seen in the newspaper article, Moreno had been played by Roger Delgado - better known to my friends as the first incarnation of the Master seen in Toobworld - the Doctor's arch-nemesis on 'Doctor Who'.) And Gaston, the owner of the cafe where Maigret spends his days, is played by Barry Letts, who went on to produce 'Doctor Who'.
Many of you may be unfamiliar with Rupert Davies' portrayal of Maigret. If my friends Mark and Michael are any indication, there will be still others who are unfamiliar with Inspector Jules Maigret. If so on either count, I hope you enjoy this presentation.....

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

PART FIVE

PART SIX

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: FREDERICK SELOUS

Continuing with the topic from yesterday, we're also going to take a look at an historical figure who was the inspiration for a member of the Wold Newton Family.

FREDERICK SELOUS

AS SEEN IN:
'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'

AS PLAYED BY:
Paul Freeman

From Wikipedia:
Frederick Courteney Selous DSO (31 December 1851 - 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in south and east of Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir H. Rider Haggard to create the fictional Allan Quatermain character. Selous was also a good friend of Theodore Roosevelt, Cecil Rhodes and Frederick Russell Burnham. He was the older brother of ornithologist and writer Edmund Selous.

Frederick Courteney Selous' image remains a classic, romantic portrait of a proper Victorian period English gentleman of the colonies, one whose real life adventures and exploits of almost epic proportions generated successful Lost World and Steampunk genre fictional characters like Allan Quatermain, to a large extent an embodiment to the popular "white hunter" concept of the times; yet he remained a modest and stoic pillar in personality all throughout his life. As himself he was featured in the "Young Indiana Jones" and "Rhodes" series. He was widely remembered in real tales of war, exploration and big game hunting as balanced blend between a gentleman officer and epic wild man.

'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' (1992-1993)
played by Paul Freeman
"British East Africa, September 1909" (1992)
"Young Indiana Jones and the Phantom Train of Doom, German East Africa, November 1916" (1993)

In Toobworld, both Selous and Alan Quatermain would co-exist......

BCnU!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

CELEBRATING DIANA RIGG

We're late putting this up, but....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAME DIANA!

SCREEN FREES

I wrote about legendary voice man Paul Frees' character of John Beresford Tipton last week. Here's the video of him actually on screen in a bad sci-fi movie from the 1950's......



BCnU!

WILBUR MEETS ED

From a classic ending to a beginning....



BCnU!

THE MTM CURTAIN CALL

This holds a special place in my heart. I can still remember where I was sitting when I first saw this 33 years ago.....



Goodbye to Tipperary! BCnU to Leicester Square!

RAISED BY WOLF!

Time once again is running away with me as I prepare Toobworld Central for my upcoming vacation.

So I must resort to a few video clips once again.

I'm sure you'd prefer that to my yammering on about some trivial bit o' nonsense anyway.....

Girl Raised From Birth By Wolf Blitzer Taken Into Protective Custody

BCnU!

JOYCE? BROTHER!

I took one of those online quizzes, using the opening paragraphs of my Toobworld novel to be analyzed. And this was the result:

I write likeJames Joyce
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!


I think it's because of the influence from Molly's soliloquy.....

(Maybe that'll get the Toobworld book banned in Boston!)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: HAT SQUAD EDITION

Actor James Gammon passed away the other day at the age of 70. In Toobworld he may be best known for playing Nash Bridges' father (even though he was only nine years older than Don Johnson!) Toobworld Central has always toyed with the idea of claiming that Paladin of 'Have Gun Will Travel' was Nick Bridges' grandfather. There was something similar to their looks and builds and the San Francisco locale helps as well.

My favorite role of his was in an episode of 'In The Heat Of The Night", which was a condemnation of capital punishment. It's his performance in that which stays with me to this day of all his work.

I met him a few times at work, where he'd like to hang out after doing a show down the street at the Atkinsson theatre. I think it was "Buried Child", but I could be wrong.....

As a tip of the pith helmet in his memory, Inner Toob's "As Seen On TV" gallery puts the spotlight on one of James Gammon's historical characters.....

FORMER PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT

AS SEEN IN:
'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'

AS PLAYED BY:
James Gammon

From the 'Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' wiki:
After [Teddy Roosevelt's] second term as president had completed in the spring of 1909, he and one of his sons, Kermit, traveled to British East Africa on a hunting expedition to help collect animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. They were joined by big game hunter Frederick Selous. Roosevelt brought along his weights for weight training in the camp.

In September, Roosevelt's camp received some guests, Richard Medlicot and the Jones family. Roosevelt was impressed with young Indiana Jones, teaching him to fire a gun, and the importance of conservation, and how this hunt was important in bringing education to America through the museums that would benefit from stuffed animals. Giving the boy a pair of binoculars, Roosevelt encouraged Indy to explore and witness nature. One night, over a game of checkers, Roosevelt agreed to allow Indy to help solve the mystery of the Burton's fringe-eared oryx. Indy was presumed lost the next day and Roosevelt led the search parties. When Indy appeared in the evening, Roosevelt sternly rebuked him in front of his parents. However, the next morning at breakfast, Roosevelt was pleased when Indy and Meto had discovered where the oryx was to be found, and the scientific reasoning that Indy provided as to why so few where around.

Roosevelt and his crew followed Indy and Meto to the oryx's grounds, and shot three of the creatures before being stopped by a pleading Indy. Realizing that his young friend was distressed, he stood down his rifle and rationalized to the hunting party that Indy was right -- there were too few of these creatures to kill any more of them.

Indy kept a photo of himself and Theodore Roosevelt in his journal.

Good night and may God bless, Mr. Gammon.

BCnU......

Monday, July 19, 2010

MODUS OPERANDI

Here are the opening credits from three international TV shows, the likes of which have never been seen in the world before!

From Russia:


From France:


From the UK:


BCnU!

(Time just got away from me today. So this will have to do.....)

AS SEEN ON TV: ANNA LEONOWENS

ANNA LEONOWENS

AS SEEN IN:
'Anna And The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Samantha Eggar

From Wikipedia:
Anna Leonowens (26 November 1831–19 January 1915) was an Anglo-Indian travel writer, educator, and social activist, known for working in Siam from 1862–1868, where she taught the wives and children of Mongkut, king of Siam. She is also known for co-founding the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Leonowens's experiences in Siam were fictionalised in Margaret Landon's 1944 bestselling novel Anna and the King of Siam and in various films and television miniseries based on the book, most notably Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1951 hit musical The King and I.

In 1972 Twentieth Century Fox produced a 13-part American television adaptation for CBS, with Samantha Eggar taking the part of Leonowens and Brynner reprising his role as the king. Landon charged the makers with 'inaccurate and mutilated portrayals' of her literary property and sued unsuccessfully for copyright infringement.
In the TV series, however, Mrs. Leonowens and her son Louis were portrayed as Americans instead of Welsh, and their names were changed to Anna and Louis Owens. Otherwise the story remained basically the same. Such nationality changes were seen before in Toobworld: the actress Emma Thompson, for example. Her televersion was actually born in Akron, Ohio - or so it was revealed on the sitcom 'Ellen'.....

BCnU!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

VIDEO SUNDAY: COOKOO FOR KO-KO PUFF PIECE

For Video Sunday, we're traveling to the Land of the Rising Sun, but in two different TV dimensions... neither of which are to be found in Earth Prime-Time.

Here are two of the funniest men I've ever seen, only one of whom I've had the good fortune to meet, both performing variations on my favorite song from light opera.....


KO-KO
THE LORD HIGH EXECUTIONER


ERIC IDLE



GROUCHO MARX



Here's another version of "The Mikado" featuring my favorite song from the show......

THREE LITTLE MAIDS



Finally, I know this isn't from TV, but it's got Billy Barty so shut up! This isn't "The Mikado", but the operetta played a prominent role in the proceedings of this comic thriller. This was one of the highlights, featuring one of my faves - Billy Barty.

BEWARE OF THE DWARF! ("FOUL PLAY")



And what the hell - here's one of the all-time great comic fight scenes, also from "Foul Play", with a splash of "The Mikado" music to boot!

MR. HENNESSEY VS. DELIA DARROW



And so concludes Video Sunday.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: LEONARDO DA VINCI

LEONARDO da VINCI


AS SEEN IN:
'Futurama'

AS PLAYED BY:
unknown at this time....
In the Tooniverse, Leonardo da Vinci was a space alien from the planet Vinci. Only there he was considered a bit of an idiot compared to the other brainiacs of his planet. So Leonardo traveled to Earth where his sub-standard genius would not be surpassed by the native Terrans.

Back on his home world, more than a thousand years later, Leonardo da Vinci created a doomsday weapon that would wipe out everybody who ever laughed at Leonardo......
BCnU!