WNU-TOOB: A SPLAININ IN BOHEMIA

When Cyber-Monday rolled around, I - being naturally self-centered - purchased only items for myself. Among these was the DVD box set of the complete "Sherlock Holmes" series starring Jeremy Brett, David Burke, and Edward Hardwicke. For this televisiologist, Brett's Holmes is the definitive version, the official portrayal for Earth Prime-Time, despite Ronald Howard, Peter Cushing, Douglas Wilmer, Stewart Granger and others having come before.

I've taken the collection to work, where I'm watching an episode each night during my lunch break. And if there's something relevant for Toobworld, I'll bring it up here.

I believe we have to take these stories by Dr. John Watson at face value as presented in the series, that we are seeing what actually transpired - even though the argument could be made that what we are seeing is the visualization of a book within Toobworld (as is the case with 'Burn Notice', 'Pushing Daisies', and 'Jack Of All Trades'.)

As such, Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, who appears in perhaps the second most famous story in the Holmes canon "A Scandal In Bohemia", is the actual King of Bohemia. Some Sherlockian theorists have conjectured that he is the veiled, roman a clef version of Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, and that the actress from New Jersey, Irene Adler, is in fact Lilly Langtry, the Jersey Lilly.

But for Toobworld, they are two distinct characters.

Also, Toobworld is inundated with fictional countries. Bohemia is a real place, but it was never a monarchy in the real world. In TV Land, it is. (And when will Ruritania finally get a live-action version in Earth Prime-Time?) There is mention of Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, daughter of the King of Scandinavia. For us in the Trueniverse, "Scandinavia" refers to the general area covered by Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. But back in the 1880s, it must have been its own tiny kingdom in Toobworld, but probably one that was eventually absorbed by one of those aforementioned nations.

And perhaps in the construction of the Earth by the Magratheans, Slartibartfast was responsible for the crinkly bits along the shores of Scandinavia as well as for those of Norway......

BCnU!