IVAN & DAISY: A "BEING HUMAN" PREQUEL

IVAN, 1773

When Mitchell mentioned that Ivan was 237 years old on a recent episode of 'Being There', the Russian vampire said nothing to dispute the claim. So that means Ivan was "embraced into the Kindred" around 1773. And there were two major events in Russia around that time when vampires had plenty of opportunities to feed and create new vampires:

Emelian Pugachev started a rebellion in Russia.

&

The Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774: Russian forces failed to take Silistria in 1773.

Under the chaotic cover of such carnage, Ivan may have been a mortally wounded Russian soldier who was turned by some vampire who took a fancy to him....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: EUSTACIA GRANDIN & DR. CARLOCK

EUSTACIA GRANDIN

AS SEEN IN:
"Temple Grandin"

AS PLAYED BY:
Julia Ormond

From Wikipedia:
Julia Ormond as Eustacia Grandin, mother of Temple. When Temple was younger, Eustacia was in denial over the doctor's diagnosis of Temple's autism. Eustacia was determined to have her daughter receive an education and lead a normal life despite the diagnosis.

Temple was diagnosed with classic autism, a severe case of autism in which she seemed aloof, lacked eye contact, had no language, and avoided human affection and touch. At this time, science classified autism as a form of schizophrenia, blaming mothers as the cause for the disorder and claiming that they were cold and brutal to their autistic child, naming them "refrigerator mothers". The diagnostician suggested placing Temple in an institution. Temple's mother refused to listen to the diagnostician and helped Temple adapt to the everyday world. Her mother hired a speech therapist, who worked one-on-one with Temple and enabled her to acquire language.

From Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith:
Ormond says her own biggest challenge in making the highly acclaimed movie was "struggling with the uncertainty that I was representing parents of autistic children fairly. I've had a few people who've intersected with my life who have autistic children, and I know it's hard, very hard."

She had read Eustacia Grandin's book, but didn't meet her real-life alter ego until the movie's premiere. "Her whole wisdom was that she had to be able to do things for herself," notes the actress. Meeting the strong, tough-minded woman "was terrifying and wonderful at the same time. She was wonderfully sweet and supportive."

DR. CARLOCK

AS SEEN IN:
"Temple Grandin"

AS PLAYED BY:
David Strathairn

Temple Grandin talked about him while promoting the movie.

From the Time magazine interview:

What do you hope people will get from this film?
I hope they'll get that somebody who is severely autistic really can achieve. Another thing I hope they get is the importance of the mentor teacher. I'm seeing a lot of smart, geeky kids and there's no Dr. Carlock [a high school science teacher played by David Strathairn] around to mentor them. Actually, my teacher was Mr. Carlock. I noticed they'd made that mistake in the script, but I decided he deserved an honorary doctorate so I didn't change it. He was just so important to my success.

And this is from NPR's "Talk Of The Nation":

FLATOW:
Temple, you credit much of your success to a high school science teacher. Tell us about that, please.

Dr. GRANDIN:
Yes. Yes, Mr. Carlock(ph). I was a goof-around student who just wasn't interested in school, just didn't want to study, totally bored with school. High school was a disaster. I got kicked out of a large girls' school because I threw a book at a girl after she teased me. And I was sent away to a special boarding school for emotionally disturbed children.

You've got to remember, this is the ‘60s. And so they now know that autism's not an emotional disturbance. But they didn't know that in the ‘60s. And I was still a goof-around student. Now, they had horseback riding. That was one of my favorite things to do. We had model rocket club. We had electronics club. These were all activities where I could get away from teasing and get in with other students where I had shared interests, you know.

FLATOW:
Mm hmm.

Dr. GRANDIN:
People with autism aren't interested in social chit-chat. And Mr. Carlock, I mean, took my interests and used that as a way to motivate me to study science. And I mean Mr. Carlock was an extremely important mentor in helping me to develop. And when you look at, let's look at the people with the milder forms of autism that are successful. They have their area of strength, you know, built-up on. I have a career that involves using my visual thinking skill for designing. And then mentor teachers, another really, really important thing because the autistic brain tends to be a specialist brain, good at one thing, bad at something else.

Two Sundays ago, David Strathairn and Julia Ormond both won the Best Supporting Emmy Awards for their work as Dr. Carlock and Eustacia Grandin, respectively.

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

SUPER SIX: THE WORST JOBS IN TOOBWORLD

It's Labor Day, the time when we salute the American workforce. And that's why this Super Six list is going to take a look at a few of the thankless jobs to be found in Toobworld:

1) Security officer on the starship Enterprise in 'Star Trek'

It's a simple formula. Red Shirt = Expendable

2) Secretary for 'Murphy Brown'

The 'FYI' newswoman was notorious for firing her secretaries, usually just for some off-beat personal quirk but also for their incompetence. My friend Mary Cadorette played the very first secretary seen in the series, Sherry French. (That pilot episode had three altogether, culminating with the late great Kathleen Freeman.) Eventually many of them came back and kidnapped Murphy to put her on "trial" for the way she treated them (in the ninth season episode "Defending Your Life").
3) Mayor of Rome, Wisconsin ('Picket Fences')

When the Dancing Bandit was offered the opportunity to serve as the town's mayor rather than serve out her jail term, she saw it as a death sentence. One mayor died from spontaneous combustion; another was conked over the head with a frying pan and locked in a deep freezer; a third, already suffering from age-related dementia, was shot in the back of the head by his own son.

4) Henchman in Gotham City vs. 'Batman'

Let's face it - Crime doesn't pay.

5) Prosecuting attorney vs. 'Perry Mason' or 'Matlock'

I don't know how these people were able to keep their jobs, after losing so often to defense attorneys Perry Mason and Ben Matlock. Hamilton Burger was able to savor the sweet taste of victory only once in his series, but eventually Mason snatched it away from him. Oh well. At least he never slept with Mason like ADA Julie March probably did with Matlock......

6) Human resources representative for Dunder Mifflin at 'The Office'

I'd feel sorry for anybody who found themselves to be Michael Scott's nemesis, even if their name wasn't Toby.....
Have a happy Labor Day, every-a-body!

AS SEEN ON TV: PETROVITS = DANZIGER

OFFICER DANZIGER

AS SEEN IN:
"A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Graham Jarvis

Of the main characters in this tele-movie, the police officer who first showed up at the time of the stabbing had his name changed for his televersion. The real police officer's name was Petrovits......

"That's me!"

Thurman v. City of Torrington
United States District Court D.
Connecticut
October 23, 1984
595 F.Supp. 1521

[The following is an excerpt from the case.]

RULING ON MOTION TO DISMISS
BLUMENFELD, Senior District Judge.

On June 10, 1983, Charles Thurman appeared at the Bentley-St. Hilaire residence in the early afternoon and demanded to speak to Tracey. Tracey, remaining indoors, called the defendant police department asking that Charles be picked up for violation of his probation. After about 15 minutes, Tracey went outside to speak to her husband in an effort to persuade him not to take or hurt Charles Jr. Soon thereafter, Charles began to stab Tracey repeatedly in the chest, neck and throat.

Approximately 25 minutes after Tracey's call to the Torrington Police Department *1526 and after her stabbing, a single police officer, the defendant Petrovits, arrived on the scene. Upon the arrival of Officer Petrovits at the scene of the stabbing, Charles Thurman was holding a bloody knife. Charles then dropped the knife and, in the presence of Petrovits, kicked the plaintiff Tracey Thurman in the head and ran into the Bentley-St. Hilaire residence. Charles returned from within the residence holding the plaintiff Charles Thurman, Jr. and dropped the child on his wounded mother. Charles then kicked Tracey in the head a second time. Soon thereafter, defendants DeAngelo, Nukirk, and Columbia arrived on the scene but still permitted Charles Thurman to wander about the crowd and to continue to threaten Tracey. Finally, upon approaching Tracey once again, this time while she was lying on a stretcher, Charles Thurman was arrested and taken into custody.

If you check the video of the attack which I posted earlier, you'll see that the actual events differ in the real world than they do in Toobworld.....

BCnU

VIDEO SUNDAY: MYRMIDONS

It's Labor Day weekend and I started thinking about worker ants. Doesn't everyone?

From Wikipedia:

Myrmidon, a king of Thessalian Phthia who was a son of Zeus and "wide-ruling" Eurymedousa, a princess of Phthia. She was seduced by him in the form of an ant. An etiological myth of their origins, simply expanding upon their supposed etymology — the name in Classical Greek was interpreted as "ant-people", "ant's nest", "ant" — was first mentioned by Ovid, in Metamorphoses: in Ovid's telling, King Aeacus of Aegina, father of Peleus, pleaded with Zeus to populate his country after a terrible plague. Zeus said his people would number as the ants on his sacred oak, and from the ants sprang the people of Aegina, the Myrmidons.

In Toobworld, the Greek "gods" existed, but as powerful beings from another dimension whose abilities may have seemed like magic. The stories about them have been twisted and embellished down through the ages as myths and legends, but at the core there must be some truth.

So... what if in the telling, the story of the Myrmidons was diminished? Perhaps by some storyteller who wanted to make it all sound reasonable?

What if Zeus actually did create a race of sentient insects to serve as soldiers, but not actually transform them into humans?

If so, these Myrmidons could still be in Toobworld today......




















Just sayin', is all....... As Mushrat would say in those 'Deputy Dawg' cartoons, "It's pozz'ble, it's pozz'ble."

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: C.J. THURMAN

C.J. THURMAN
[shown here with his parents Tracey, left, and Buck]

AS SEEN IN:

"A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story"

AS PLAYED BY:

From WikiAnswers:

On June 10th, 1983, Charles "Buck" Thurman, husband of Tracey Thurman, assaulted Tracy in Torrington, CT. He stabbed her thirteen times in the chest, neck, shoulders, and face - ten minutes AFTER she had called the police. He kicked her in the head with a booted foot, grabbed their two-year-old son, told the child, "I've killed your rotten mother," and then dropped the child on top of Tracey in a pool of blood.

Let's see how that turned out......

Three stories for the Register-Citizen of Torrington & Winsted, CT:

Published: Wednesday, September 25, 2002

BY Tracy Kennedy

Motusick has served time before, for a larceny conviction and he's been on probation twice. When probation offices noticed his positive results from drug tests early this year, they made an unannounced visit to his house where they discovered a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun, a small amount of cocaine and a syringe.

Motusick pled guilty to criminal possession of a firearm and admitted to violating his probation on Tuesday. The gun charge calls for a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Motusick's case was scheduled for Dec. 10, so the court could review the status of his rehabilitation.

Published: Saturday, January 08, 2005

BY Tracy Kennedy

Torrington resident Charles "C.J." Motusick, 23, was sentenced to serve six and a half years in jail on Friday in Litchfield Superior Court for violating his probation and assaulting a local woman.

With the assistance of his defense attorney, A. Thomas Waterfall, Motusick pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and admitted two counts of violating probation as part of a plea bargain with the state. Motusick has a record of drug convictions and prior probation violations.

His most recent arrest was in December in Torrington where a 21-year-old Torrington woman said Motusick acted violently toward her and when she broke off the relationship, he pushed her onto the sidewalk at the corner of Prospect and Water streets.

Published: Thursday, August 05, 2010

BY Ronald DeRosa

LITCHFIELD — A Torrington man who was out on parole when he was arrested in March for having 81 grams of cocaine will now spend seven years in prison.

Charles Motuzick, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Litchfield Superior Court to one count of possessing narcotics, accepting a court offer of 15 years suspended after seven years incarceration plus three years probation. Then, as part of the offer, Motuzick agreed to be sentenced to serve that jail time Tuesday, forgoing his chance for a pre-sentencing investigation.

When Judge James P. Ginocchio gave Motuzick a chance to speak on his behalf, he declined.

Motuzick was arrested March 5 after police executed a drug raid at his 125 Harvard Drive home. Police seized the narcotics both inside the home and inside a car parked in the driveway, the latter of which Motuzick denied was his, said Attorney Matthew Dyer, Motuzick’s legal counsel.

Police also found approximately $2,700 in cash rolled up into bundles, and later obtained $9,079.78 from Motuzick’s bank account, explained State’s Attorney David Shepack. Police also seized a digital scale, surgical masks and sandwich bags, Shepack said.

“This all comes in context of Mr. Motuzick previously admitting to his parole officer that he was engaged in the sale of narcotics,” Shepack said.

Motuzick is the son of Tracey Thurman, the victim of a near-fatal beating at the hands of Motuzick’s father, Charles “Buck” Thurman. Thurman won a $2.6 million federal lawsuit against the police department and city for failing to protect her.

I'm not saying that what happened to him as a little boy is to blame - Motuzick has to take responsibility for his own actions and decisions. But it's no wonder if he was bleeped up in the head by it all.....

BCnU!

"O'BSERVATIONS": THE IN MEMORIAM TRIBUTE AT THE EMMYS

On Thursday night, I finally fast-forwarded my way through the recording of the 2010 Emmy Awards presentation; got it down to about an hour's worth of actual viewing.

As usual every year with the ceremony (as well as at the Oscars), I was not looking forward to the "In Memoriam" tribute segment. Lately those who passed away in the industry were given short shrift either by an obsession with flying camera-work or by not getting mentioned at all.

But I have to admit that this year's tribute was pretty good, especially the choice of Jewel to sing her composition which dealt directly with the loss of a loved one......





Of course, there was still the matter of who didn't make the cut.....

I'm glad that they did mention Art Clokey, James Gammon, and Caroline McWilliams; but why were they chosen and not Peter Haskell or Dorothy Provine? Dorothy Provine, for bleep's sake! She would have been good for an audience reaction, surely?

They included Edward Woodward, Brittany Murphy, and Gene Barry, all of whom passed away in 2009, but after that year's telecast of the Emmys. But why not Carl Ballantine, Connie Hines, or Arnold Stang?

I realize it's a question of time - they had to fit the segment around the song - but they abused that in producing the video. It should always be a collection of equals; no one should be singled out for more air time. So I would have cut down that mini-tribute to David Wolper so that he was just a photo and identification like most everybody else behind the camera. One clip for Roy Disney would have served as well.

I would also have excluded Patricia Neal (at the very least chosen only one quick clip, not three!) and Dorothy Adelle DeBorba (the little girl from "The Little Rascals").

The argument used at the Academy Awards for excluding Patrick McGoohan in their tribute was that he was primarily known for TV, despite appearing in "Ice Station Zebra", "Escape From Alcatraz", "Scanners", and even being nominated for an Oscar for his work in "Braveheart"!

So I would say then that the reverse should hold true for these two ladies. Patricia Neal did do TV, but she was better known for her films - she won the Oscar for "Hud"!

And even though the TV of my youth was saturated with "The Little Rascals" on Saturdays, those films were still made for the movies.

And I would have cut out the tributes to Corey Haim and Andrew Koenig. With Haim, again, it was because he was better known for the movies rather than TV. And I'm sorry about the troubles Koenig may have been going through to have taken his own life, but if it hadn't been for his father being Walter Koenig of 'Star Trek' fame, I don't think many people would have ever heard of him.

So that wouldn't be too much time saved, but it would have been a start, enough to squeeze in a few people from this list I put together:

Peter Haskell - 'Bracken's World', 'Ryan's Hope', and plenty of guest-starring roles ranging from 'The Outer Limits' and 'Frasier' to 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and 'Columbo'

Dorothy Provine - 'The Roaring Twenties' and 'The Alaskans'

Corey Allen - as a director of many TV shows, if not for his acting as well

Mitch Miller - How could they miss Mitch Miller? 'Sing Along With Mitch'! And it's not a question of the cut-off date for production of the video - Maury Chaykin made the cut; he died on July 27 (his birthday). Mr. Miller passed away on the 31st. And Ms. Neal died August 8th. So how could they exclude Mitch Miller and yet pay tribute to Captain Phil Harris?

Daniel Schorr - The news is just as integral to television as so-called "reality" programming. So Harris made the cut, but not a journalist who won THREE Emmy Awards?

Nathan Scott - a composer who gave us music for 'Dragnet,' 'Lassie,' 'Have Gun-Will Travel,' 'Rawhide,' 'The Twilight Zone,' 'The Untouchables' and 'Wagon Train'! A simple photo like those for writers Bernie West and David Lloyd would have been sufficient.

Because of the production deadline, I'll give them a pass on writer Jackson Gillis, but he better be mentioned at next year's presentation!

Okay, I'll bet off my soapbox now. I could rant a little more, but the heights are making me dizzy and I'm getting a nosebleed.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JUSTICE FOR TRACEY THURMAN

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE ATTACK ON TRACEY THURMAN

I had no memories of this in the news, despite it taking place the next town over from my family's summer cottage. But then I saw the date on which this happened listed in news stories.

On June 10, 1983, my Grammy O'Brien passed away, so I wasn't really paying attention to much else....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: M. JOSEPH BLUMENFELD

JUDGE M. JOSEPH BLUMENFELD

AS SEEN IN:
"A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Philip Baker Hall

From the New York Times:

By ALFONSO A. NARVAEZ
Published: November 6, 1988

M. Joseph Blumenfeld, the former chief judge of the Federal District Court in Connecticut, died of heart failure yesterday at Hartford Hospital. He was 84 years old and lived in Bloomfield, Conn.

Judge Blumenfeld, who was appointed to the Federal bench in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, was still active as a Senior Judge, carrying a full court calendar despite his official retirement in 1977. He suffered a heart attack in his chambers on Friday.

During his 27 years on the bench he was considered one of the state's most lenient and liberal Federal judges and decided several cases of national significance.

He was the first Federal judge in the nation to allow a woman to sue the police for failing to adequately protect her against an abusive husband. The woman, Tracey Thurman, of Torrington, Conn., was awarded $2.3 million in 1985 and her success paved the way for about 20 other women across the nation to seek redress in Federal courts in similar cases.

During his career, Judge Blumenfeld ordered state officials to pay for abortions for welfare recipients even when the mother's life was not in danger. He also ordered Connecticut officials to undertake an extensive outreach program to inform the poor that they were eligible for food stamps.

Judge Blumenfeld was born in St. Paul on March 23, 1904. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1925 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1928.

Among his other decisions, Judge Blumenfeld approved the $1.5 billion merger between the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and the Hartford Fire Insurance Company in 1971 and later rejected efforts by Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, to have the case reopened to determine if President Richard M. Nixon had intervened in the settlement of antitrust cases against the company.
BCnU!

TIME WARNER & DISNEY/ABC AGREEMENT. (yawn, er, yay...)

Just got the word in my email box:

To Our Valued Customers...

Time Warner Cable is always negotiating new deals with TV networks. Recently, we reached a new long-term agreement with Disney/ABC and ESPN, so you can continue to watch your favorite channels and the shows you love for years to come.

There will be no interruption of ESPN or Disney channels, as well as WABC in New York, KABC in Los Angeles, WTVD in Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville and WTVG in Toledo. They'll stay right here on Time Warner Cable. In fact, our agreement means more networks and services for you, including the following*:

•Disney Junior - a new 24-hour basic channel for preschool-age children, parents and caregivers launching in 2012.

•ESPN3.com - ESPN's live sports broadband network will be available to all Time Warner Cable subscribers who get ESPN.

•A New ESPN Service - customers will be able to view ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU through broadband and mobile Internet devices.

•ESPN Goal Line - a college football super-highlight channel will be available only to Time Warner Cable’s Sports Pass customers starting as early as September 4, 2010.

•ESPN Buzzer Beater - a college basketball service similar to ESPN Goal Line, will be available to Time Warner Cable’s Sports Pass customers for college basketball season.

•Expanded Video On Demand Services - including ABC On Demand, Disney-branded On Demand offerings for kids, local sports content in select markets, plus the subscription Video On Demand service "Disney Family Movies."

•Start Over and Look Back - featured on a variety of Disney Media Networks content.

•ESPN Deportes - will be available to a larger Time Warner Cable footprint.

•ESPN 3D

*All on a market-to-market basis.

Great. I thought I had too many ESPN channels as it was. But okay, I know for everybody else, there's sport. But I wish my local Time Warner would give me back the Fox Movie Channel which used to be a freebie. It looks like it's a premium channel now....

I wasn't concerned with the battle between Time-Warner and Disney/ABC. Now that 'Lost' is gone, I didn't have that many shows left on that network to be that concerned - 'Modern Family', 'The Middle', 'Brothers & Sisters', 'Castle'. That's it. And I could easily go watch them elsewhere.......

But it's settled, so great. On with the shows.....

BCnU!

THE DAY AFTER: "90210" & THE TOOBWORLD TIMELINE

TV critic/columnist Alan Sepinwall shared his favorite memory of 'Beverly Hills 90210' for yesterday's observation (NOT O'Bservation this time!).

What's Alan Watching?

Since I didn't watch the show, I had no idea about that temporal Zonk. I suppose it's something I'll have to address one day.

But I'll hold off as long as possible.....

BCnU!

NOT SO WELLS?

The folks at CliqueClack.com noticed something strange in this past week's episode of 'Warehouse 13' - something I noticed as well. I figured it was meant as a cheat - that we were meant to think it was really HG, but that it was instead some other woman - maybe even Tia Carrere's character. In fact, when the bad guy finally revealed himself, I was expecting the daughter of Artie's Russian contact, not the son.......

So, if you've been watching 'Warehouse 13', with Jaime Murray on a recurring basis as this female HG Wells (See my take on that!), what do you think - was Helena* the one who froze the agent to death?

BCnU!

PS:
In my original article, I listed her first name as "Hannah". I'm pretty sure that's what I heard. But now I'm seeing it listed as "Helena". So I'm not sure if it's me or a production gaffe.

Probably me.....

AS SEEN ON TV: BUCK THURMAN

CHARLES "BUCK" THURMAN

AS SEEN IN:
"A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Dale Midkiff

In 1983 Charles “Buck” Thurman was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his brutal attack on his wife Tracey Thurman led to a $1.9 million suit against the Torrington, Connecticut police. In the Torrington case, Thurman was found guilty of stabbing his wife 13 times, stomping on her head, and partially paralyzing her for life.

Thurman was released from prison in 1991 after serving only nine years of the twenty year sentence. In 1999 a woman Thurman was living with in Northampton, Massachusetts, and mother of their child, fled the state accusing him of repeatedly choking and sexually assaulting her.

No criminal charges were filed as she only asked for a restraining order to keep him away from her. The order was issued, she returned to Massachusetts and Thurman, who has a long history of ignoring court orders, violated this latest order.

Thurman pleaded guilty only to violating a restraining order. A judge placed Thurman on probation for a year. He ordered Thurman to participate in any counseling ordered by the probation department and ordered him to comply with the restraining order against him.

This was the only action taken by the judge despite the fact that Charles “Buck” Thurman is a chronic violent abuser who has a history of beating women and ignoring court orders. Buck Thurman had a restraining order against him and he was on probation when he beat and stabbed Tracey Thurman and traumatized her for life.
- Richard L. Davis
SAFE Speaker

BCnU

90210 DAY

September 9, 2010

9/02/10.......

Even the Huffington Post has noted the date and its significance.

For those of you who liked 'Beverly Hills 90210', I hope you have a great time celebrating the occasion today. For me, it's another day closer to the Apocalypse. (TVShowsOnDVD.com wasn't too happy with me for pointing that out in a Facebook comment on their page. But then, it just didn't sit right that the "occasion" was being used to shill the show. Oh, well - I saw the point in their response, that I was insulting legit fans, and they were right. I apologize for doing so - over there. Here in my own bailiwick it's a whole nutha story......)

I can't think off-hand of this happening with any other show, having a built-in reason to celebrate. So I hope those fans who do like '90210' indulge in the opportunity while they have the chance.... It won't come around again for a century!

BCnU

STAN THE MAN - HIS OWN SELF

Stan Lee is definitely getting inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame next year. I'm thinking for June.

I realized he deserved it when I heard the news that he'll be appearing in upcoming episodes of 'Eureka' and 'Nikita' (although I don't know if he'll be in those shows as a card-carrying member of the League of Themselves.)

He was recently in an episode of 'Entourage' and in 'The Big Bang Theory' last season. Plus there were his animated appearances in 'Spiderman' and 'The Simpsons' and live-action crossovers into the Tooniverse with 'The Fantastic Four' (where he displayed his serlinguistic abilities) and 'The Muppet Babies'.

It will be not only for his onscreen appearances as himself in Earth Prime-Time as well as the Tooniverse, but also for creating so many Marvel comic book characters that have been translated to the world of television.

And here's a little something that mixes all of that up:

Oh. By the way..... It's probably not safe for work. Or your kids.......

SUPERHEROES TONIGHT!

Excelsior!

A MODERN FAMILY GUY

The Emmy Award presentations are always a good source for TV crossovers. This past Sunday, we got to see such a crossover - between 'Modern Family' and 'Family Guy'.......





This wouldn't be Stewie Griffin's first appearance at the Emmy Awards - he and Brian Griffin did a song-and-dance number on stage when FOX hosted the broadcast. That served as a good example of how characters from the Tooniverse can cross over into Toobworld. But this time, Stewie found himself in Skitlandia, the TV dimension for sketch comedy. BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: TRACEY THURMAN

TRACEY THURMAN

AS SEEN IN:
"A Cry For Help: The Tracey Thurman Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Nancy McKeon

From All-Movies:
Tracey Thurman was a real-life Connecticut housewife who, throughout her marriage, suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her husband. The beatings culminate in a single bloody night when Buck Thurman stabs his estranged wife 13 times. She survived--barely--and Buck was arrested.

[The significance of this frame grab: Ms. Thurman was so badly injured still when she took the stand, that she could not raise her right hand to take the oath.]

Having failed to get proper protection from the local police force, Tracey successfully sued the officers in 1989. The long-range result was the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states.

Nancy McKeon, who plays Tracey Thurman in "A Cry for Help", starred in the film in the hope that it would prevent Buck Thurman's early release from prison.

"A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story" first aired on October 2, 1989; Thurman was scheduled for release in 1991.

BCnU!

PS:
The true-life events happened in the next town over from the Lake cottage which has been in my family for generations. While I was on vacation there back in August, 28 year old Charles Motuzick - the son of Buck and Tracey Thurman - pleaded guilty to one count of possessing narcotics (while on parole) and will be going back to prison for at least the next seven years.

ECHOES: THIS JUST OUT

"I absolutely hate it when someone tells me 'no'
or 'it can't be done' or 'that's just the way it is.' "
James J. Lee
Discovery Network hostage taker
[09/01/10]

"Don't tell me what I can't do!"
John Locke
'Lost'

Special Guest Appearance: Medium Rob!

Modern Family make-over: Family Guy and George Clooney!

BCnU!

WISH-CRAFT: AUTUMN TV

'Entourage' is winding down and you can feel it in the performances and the story-lines. Sometimes it's been almost painful to watch. (On the Toobworld front, however, it maintains a high level of "League Of Themselves" appearances that will serve well for future connections.)

One bright spot in all of this has been the opportunity to ogle - er, watch - Autumn Reeser in the role of Lizzie Grant.

I've seen her in a few things before (but not 'The O.C.' - not my thang), and I was hoping her two guest appearances on 'Human Target' might lead to her joining the cast. Instead, I see she's joining the cast of 'No Ordinary Family' as the wife's co-worker. (Hopefully they'll expand on that, even if it means she's revealed to be one of the bad guys.) But I came up with an idea for her to star in her own show, one which would build on the Past.

'Banacek'

That's right - the 1972 rotating "Mystery Movie" starring George Peppard as Thomas Banacek, a freelance insurance investigator in Boston who solved impossible thefts for a very large fee.

I see Autumn Reeser as a third generation Banacek (Please, Lord - NOT a Thomasina!) who is following in her late grandfather's footsteps.

But she's not freelance as he was; she would work for a specific firm as she's still just starting out, as good as she is.

And here's the kicker - her boss at this company would be Carlie Kirkland, the character played by Christine Belford in the original series. Although this Banacek is sporting a great track record in with recovery results, Ms. Kirkland is still antagonistic towards her. That's because she can't help holding it against Ms. Banacek that her grandfather found love and started a family with somebody else, not her.

This wouldn't have to be a network show. As it would be set in Grandpa Banacek's old stomping grounds of Boston, I think an episode of 'Leverage' would serve up nicely for a backdoor pilot.

Why did I think of 'Banacek' as a vehicle for Autumn Reeser? I just like the way that she fills out a business suit. And Thomas Banacek was always a snazzy dresser.

Besides, I just want to hear more of those phony Polish proverbs.....

BCnU!

"TRUE BLOOD" - IN MEMORIAM

Since Sunday was the night of the Emmy Awards presentation, HBO showed their own version of a memorial tribute to all the characters who've died so far on their hit series 'True Blood'.....

"MAKE IT WORK, JIMMY!"

Well..... After that gruesome bit of nastiness, how about something to cleanse the palate?

Here's the opening musical sketch from Sunday night's presentation of the 63rd annual Prime-Time Emmy Awards.

I had to look up one of these people, so I can understand if you don't know all of them.

Here are the people involved:

Jimmy Fallon
Lea Michele
Chris Colfer
Cory Monteith
Amber Riley
Tina Fey
Kate Gosselin
Jon Hamm
Betty White
Jane Lynch
Jorge Garcia
Joel McHale
Nina Dobrev
Tim Gunn
Randy Jackson

I'm pretty sure I caught everybody with that list.

My IDD friend Esther noted in Facebook that the ensemble could have used a vampire, but I guess they came close by including Nina Dobrev.

I wish Jorge Garcia had a better entrance, but seeing him next to Jon Hamm made me think - there's a buddy movie I'd like to see!

This has already been nominated for the 2010 Toobits Awards for Best League Of Themselves Appearance (Group)......

BCnU!

TRAILER OF "THE WALKING DEAD"

I already know I won't be into "The Walking Dead" for the long haul. As it will have to be sent to an alternate TV dimension because it will be a prime-time Earth overrun by zombies, it won't hold much interest for me as a Toobworld caretaker.

Besides, my interest in zombies faded after the shopping mall zombie flick by Romero back in the late 70's. (Although I may still check out "Zombieland".)

Anyhoo, just because I'm not into it, that doesn't mean I should withhold info from my visitors who might like it.

So here's the link to the trailer for this new series.....

The Walking Dead

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CARLOS THE JACKAL

After a month that seemed to be full of outlaws, we're kicking off September with still another.....

CARLOS THE JACKAL

AS SEEN IN:
"Carlos"
(Coming in October to the Sundance Channel)

AS PLAYED BY:
Edgar Ramirez

From Wikipedia:
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (born October 12, 1949(1949-10-12)) is a Venezuelan convicted in France. After several bungled bombings, he achieved notoriety for a 1975 raid on the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, resulting in the deaths of three people. For many years he was among the most wanted international fugitives. He is now serving a life sentence in La Santé Prison in Paris for the murder of two French agents of the DST (counter-intelligence) and an alleged informant.

Ramírez Sánchez was given the nom de guerre Carlos, when he became a member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Carlos was called The Jackal by The Guardian when Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal was reportedly found among his belongings.

BCnU!