NOT THE GREAT BIRD OF THE GALAXY

One more 'Star Trek' mash-up....

BCnU!

LOOK THAT UP IN YOUR FUNK AND WAGNALL'S!

Because of this scene, I'm using "akbar" as a new word. It's a video clip that shows up on your Facebook wall allegedly coming from a friend... but there's no personal message accompanying it. Turns out that it's a virus which your friend fell for.

It's a trap!

BCnU!

WHAT'S IN SPOCK'S SCANNER?

'Doctor Who' isn't the only sci-fi series I'm interested in....

BCnU!

"DOCTOR WHO" PLEDGE BREAK

Here's a little something different for our weekly 'Doctor Who' video......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SHARON STONE

SHARON STONE

AS SEEN AT:
Julie Brown's MySpace Page & YouTube

AS PLAYED BY:
Julie Brown

Thanks again to J.r. Klink!

BCnU!

REALI-TV: THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI

Forget that last story. This is the real breaking news - Toobworld doesn't often refer to the actual news of the world, but the images from this tsunami are horrific.

(CNN) -- A tsunami warning has been issued as far west as Hawaii after a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Japan.

Tsunami warnings were issued Friday for at least 20 countries and numerous Pacific islands, including Japan, coastal Russia and the Marcus Islands, the Northern Marianas, Wake Island, Taiwan and Guam.

People along coastal areas are urged to evacuate, emergency officials warned.

The tsunami could cause damage "along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii," warned the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a bulletin issued at 9:31 p.m. Thursday local Hawaiian time. "Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."

For More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/11/tsunami.hawaii.japan.warning/#

They've issued a tsunami warning for Taiwan.... I've got a personal interest in praying that the country will be spared......

ONE LAST FAREWELL TO CANNELL

Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Line is reporting that 'Castle' will be paying tribute to the late Stephen J. Cannell in the April 11th episode. Cannell had been seen on the show occasionally as one of Rick Castle's poker buddies (along with James Patterson and Michael Connelly).

Dennis Lehane will be joining the table now, which is probably what sparks the mention of Cannell.....

When the producer of 'Wiseguy', 'The A Team' and the writer of some of the best episodes of 'The Rockford Files' passed away, this is something I hoped would happen within the reality of 'Castle' (which is in an alternate TV dimension because of their different NYC mayor).

I posted it here, where you can also see the earlier tribute to Cannell on the show. (But that was in the credits; this one will actually be in Toobworld.)

BCnU.....

THEY HAVE CALLED THIS DAY THE ELEVENTH OF MARCH

A small remembrance of someone from Toobworld whom we lost near the end of last year.....

Make sure you've synchronized your calendars......

BCnU!

"N.Y.P.D." MUG SHOT - 2ND IN A SERIES

I may turn this into a regular Friday feature - so long as the actor screen captchas last.......

Here's another guest actor from an episode of 'N.Y.P.D.', back in 1967. I'm not going to give you the character's name, because then it would be too easy to use resources like the IMDb, epguides, or CTVA to find the info.

But he played a shopkeeper who was robbed, and he had a recurring role in one of the best new shows from last year. It's probably wrong for me to use personal information as a clue, but his wife, also famous, recently passed away.....

Any guesses?

I'll have the answer on Monday.....

BCnU!

CYMRAEG GENETEG

Wales must have some kind of insurmountable barrier at its borders to keep it insulated from the outside world and thus be closed off in the gene pool. Certainly, nobody wants to go there, it seems. (At least based on the reactions of Rose Tyler of 'Doctor Who' and Annie Sawyer of 'Being Human' when they found out they were in the country.) So the country probably doesn't get as many new DNA contributors as it could.

As such, the unusual strength of tele-genetics found in Toobworld could be even more prevalent in TV-Wales.

Here are three examples:

RHYS WILLIAMS ('TORCHWOOD') and BOB ('BEING HUMAN')
George Sand was checking the woods near his new home in Wales because he taught he taw another werewolf when he stumbled upon a group of illegal dog-fighting enthusiasts. He barely had time to fumble his introductions (leading them to think he was gay) when he was arrested. (The police just assumed he had been part of the dog-fighting operations.)
George ended up sharing a cell with Bob, one of the organizers of the dogfight, an d it looks like this guy must have been an identical cousin to fellow Welshman Rhys Williams, the husband of Gwen Cooper of 'Torchwood'.
Luckily for all concerned, George's girlfriend Nina got him out of the cell before the effects of the full moon took effect. Otherwise, George might have killed Bob. And that might have brought George and his friends unwanted attention from the survivors of Torchwood Three.....

GWEN ('GAVIN & STACEY') and EMMA ('BEING HUMAN')
When 'Gavin & Stacey' planning their wedding, there was never any mention of Stacey's Mom Gwen having any siblings. Could it be that she might have had a sister - even a twin sister - but the reason why this sister was never mentioned was because she had long since passed away?
Or at least, so the family thought....

In the 'Being Human' episode "Adam's Family", we were introduced to a vampiress named Emma. Save her black hair, Emma looked just like Gwen (whose tresses were red.) It appears as though Emma was a one-shot appearance, and if so, this theory could hold since 'Gavin & Stacey' have called it a day.
But if she does return, and it turns out that Emma is a far older vampire than she looks, we can always amend this theory of relateeveety so that she was an ancestor of Gwen's.

As Nessa would say, "Tidy."

And speaking of Nessa.....

NESSA JENKINS ('GAVIN & STACEY') and NIKKI BEVAN ('TORCHWOOD')
In Cardiff, there lives a woman named Nikki Bevan whose son vanished just a few years ago due to one of the spatial rifts that occur frequently in that Welsh city. The young lad spent more than half a lifetime in the far reaches of space where he suffered severe physical and mental damage before somebody helped him return to Earth not long after he left. (That good samaritan was probably the Doctor.) Nikki looks like Nessa Jenkins (Stacey's best friend), minus the tattoos, the severe hairstyle, and the Goth make-up. But I don't think we can make the claim that they could be sisters. If they were, surely Nikki would have been at the aborted wedding ceremony for Nessa and Dave... or at least to see Nessa's baby. (Those two events did not happen in that order.) And in those scenes where Nessa had conversations with her erstwhile father, there was never any mention of other siblings.
So I would suggest that Nessa and Nikki were "cousins, identical cousins. One pair of matching bookends, different as night and day."

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: PHOENIX HOUSE

A little something different for the ASOTV showcase.....

PHOENIX HOUSE

AS SEEN IN:
'N.Y.P.D.'
"Candy Man, Parts One & Two"

From the Phoenix House website:
In 1967, six heroin addicts came together at a detoxification program in a New York hospital.

They talked about the struggles of staying clean and decided to help one another through the tough days ahead. Together, they moved into a brownstone on Manhattan’s West Side and lived as a community, encouraging and helping each other to stay sober. That is how Phoenix House was born. What made it work was the structure and approach to treatment brought to the fledgling program by psychiatrist Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D. and counselors from New York City’s Addiction Services Agency (ASA). As deputy commissioner of ASA for rehabilitation, Dr. Rosenthal made Phoenix House the model for a citywide treatment network. In 1972, Phoenix House became an independent nonprofit organization and has since grown to become the nation’s leading provider of alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention services operating more than 123 programs in eleven states. Currently, we care for a population of more than 6,000 men, women, and adolescents. We work with teens at risk, support clients in recovery, and offer a wide range of treatment options for adults and adolescents. These include assessment and evaluation, detoxification, outpatient and residential programs, sober living residences, after-school and day programs for teens, case management, special women’s services, and programs that serve substance abusers with mental health problems.

So this episode took place soon after that first Phoenix House was established, and the dialogue reflects that.....

Detectives Ward & Corso enter Phoenix House.....

For More:
http://www.phoenixhouse.org/locations/new-york/

BCnU!

THE MUIR VIEWER

In the 'NYPD' episode "Last Port Of Call", a young boy was nearly abducted by a deviant in a lower Manhattan playground. The boy's name was Robert "Bobby" Muir - he was six years old, which means he was born in 1961.

I'd like to suggest that his great-grandfather met the Time Lord known as "The Doctor" back in 1925, in the 'Doctor Who' episode "Black Orchid". Sir Robert Muir was the Chief Constable for the area in Oxfordshire where Cranleigh Hall was located, and he was good friends with Lord Cranleigh and his family. (Although he was a married man, Sir Robert showed particular interest in the Doctor's Companion Tegan... and it wasn't altogether unrewarded.)

The Doctor thought maybe Sir Robert knew more about the Time Lords than he should, since the Chief Constable kept talking about another Doctor who was also known as "The Master". But it turned out he was only speaking of the famous cricketer W.G. Grace.

As I mentioned earlier, Sir Robert could have been Bobby Muir's great-grandfather. Although not seen or mentioned in the story, Sir Robert must have had a son old enough to start a family of his own if he hadn't already. Sir Robert's grandson, Bobby's father, may have been in the United States in the late 1950's working as a diplomat at the British Consulate, or maybe he was in New York on business. Whichever, he may have been a bit of a rake as well, which resulted in him getting a local Manhattan girl pregnant. Muir was probably pressured into marrying her to give the child legitimacy, but it was a loveless marriage and didn't last long. (Patricia Muir didn't sound too upset that her former husband had remarried and moved to Florida, even though she seemed to have been left worse off financially.)

Bobby Muir will be turning 50 this year in Toobworld, if his character wasn't already killed off at some point off-screen.....

Another theory of relateeveety filled with maybes.......

BCnU!

CASTING OUT "OUTCASTS"

It looks like 'Outcasts', the latest sci-fi offering from the BBC (which hasn't even made it across the Atlantic yet), is insisting on the show taking place in 2040 AD, rather than leaving open the pozz'bility of 2040 as being designated in a new timeline.

I've seen five episodes of the series so far, and at one point Tipper Malone, Forthaven's wunderkind wastrel, talked about the New York Dolls as being from the last century.

This could still be saved, however, with a splainin that he was talking about a new incarnation of that band with nebulous ties to the original. (We've seen that happen with other groups, like the Inkspots, only not with hundreds of years between them.)

And if we accept that, then 'Outcasts' must take place more than four hundred years in the future. That way it's out of the way of the various 'Star Trek' series. Why is that important? Because PAS Chief Stella Eisen mentioned that with the last earthquake, San Francisco tipped into the bay.

Frisco is the location for Starfleet headquarters, so for both shows to exist on the same timeline, 'Outcasts' has to take place after at least 'Star Trek: Voyager'.

But if they continue to make allusions to our own recent events, why even bother to keep coming up with splainins?

So if we're forced to cast out 'Outcasts' from the main Toobworld, then what alternate TV dimension should be its new home?

As long-time readers must have figured out by now, I have a couple of suggestions.....

1] "OVER THERE"
This is the alternate dimension which has been dominating the third season of 'Fringe'. It's already a world of chaos because Dr. Walter Bishop crossed over from Earth Prime-Time to abduct the doppelganger of his recently deceased son. The walls between the dimensions have been breached and are in danger of collapsing; the drastic measure to seal the rift was to fill the affected area with "amber" - no matter how many people - or who - happened to be trapped in the vicinity. This is a world already pushed to the limit, but which has made incredible scientific advancements because of it. This would be a world which could build huge ark ships to travel to distant planets by 2025, and which could have developed accelerated human cloning. As for that DBV apparatus that could visualize what a person was thinking, no matter where in the TV Universe the show took place - even if it was the main Toobworld - that machine does exist. It was developed after forty years of improvements over the model used on 'The Prisoner' Number Six in the episode "A, B, or C".

2] "THE WEST WING WORLD"
Because of his Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with "The Social Network", I don't think Aaron Sorkin will be interested in looking back and working on old successes like 'The West Wing', not with so many new opportunities ahead of him. But let's say he eventually wanted to re-visit the world of Jed Bartlet's America (now maybe even past the administration of Matt Santos.)

One reason to go back, if only for a one-shot reunion TV movie? Former President Josiah Bartlet finally dies (one way or the other, if you know your 'West Wing') from complications of his MS affliction. If that were to happen, then we would have to toss 'The West Wing' out of contention to be the new home for 'Outcasts'. But in the meantime, this TV dimension, which had been the home of international conflicts in Qumar and Equatorial Kuhndu, could logically serve as the scene for such events as the Shanghai Uprising, the First and Second Taiwan Crisis, the nuclear destruction of Chicago - and all before 2040. And it has had its share of natural disasters, so what's a few more?

I won't be surprised if in the next three episodes of 'Outcasts' (There are eight in all.) more references to the date being 2040 AD are tossed out by various characters. But with these options available for its new home, I'll be okay with it.

Not like you really care. LOL
BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JUSTIN BIEBER

JUSTIN BIEBER

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Miley Cyrus

From Wikipedia:
Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop/R&B singer-songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His debut single, "One Time", released worldwide in 2009, peaked in the top ten in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets. His debut release, My World, followed on November 17, 2009, and was eventually certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries, and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010. The music video of "Baby" is currently ranked as the most viewed, most discussed, and most disliked YouTube video. Bieber followed-up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never – The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - which had an opening weekend gross that nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film.

The singer has been nominated and awarded numerous accolades over the past few years, winning Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards, and being nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards, among others. Bieber is considered a teen idol, and has been subject to acclaim from fans, as well as criticism and controversy from matters concerning his popularity and image.

BCnU!

TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY: CLOSING AN ACCOUNT

'BEING HUMAN'
In order to escape notice after Mitchell's vampiric feeding frenzy on the "Box Tunnel 20", George, Mitchell, Annie, and Nina moved to Wales. To the island of Barry, actually, where half of 'Gavin & Stacey' took place.

In a perfect world of television programming, this would eventually lead to appearances - even if they were just passing by in the background - by Gwen, Uncle Bryn, Nessa, Dave, and frisky neighbor Doris.
Well, she couldn't actually show up, as she passed away along with the actress who played her, Margaret John. But perhaps it could be mentioned that she was a victim of some visiting vampire or werewolf in the area.

Just an idea......

BCnU!

RAISING CAINE

'The Mentalist'
When Patrick Jane harangued Foley, the beleaguered forensics technician, down in his cramped basement "lab" for quick results on a fingerprint check, the nervous schlub griped: "I'm not David Caruso!"

This was, in a Toobworldly way, pretty ballsy on the part of the production team for 'The Mentalist'. After all, the day may come when the Eye Suits will ask for a crossover between 'The Mentalist' and 'CSI'; and 'CSI: Miami', on which David Caruso stars, is a spin-off from the original 'CSI'. So how does it look if 'The Mentalist' is referring to 'CSI: Miami' as a fictional program and yet might be one day interacting with the show that spawned it?
Now THAT is what I call a Zonk!

Granted, Foley only mentioned Caruso, not the show or even his character of Horatio Caine. In any other circumstance, I'd just fudge it and say it could have been a reference to some other project in which the televersion of David Caruso is involved.

But what stymies that suggestion is that this isn't the first time for a mention of David Caruso on a TV series to Zonk 'CSI: Miami'. Recently on 'Hot In Cleveland', both Valerie Bertinelli and Betty White did their impersonations of Caruso as Caine. AND specifically mentioned the show.

And that was a good example why 'CSI: Miami', out of all three 'CSI' shows, is singled out for mention by other TV shows - it's that schtick Caruso has with his sunglasses and a quip......

(Other shows to have Zonked it: 'House', 'Psych', 'Castle', 'Reba', 'Californication', 'Gilmore Girls', 'Burn Notice', 'Cougar Town' and 'How I Met Your Mother'. 'Reno 911' even had one of its characters wearing the show's logo on a T-shirt!) So we'll just have to claim that a TV show was made about the forensics team down in Miami, and that David Caruso was hired to play Horatio Caine. (How many pasty red-headed actors could there be in Toobworld? Does Damian Lewis even have a televersion?)

And with all the attention and interference being brought to Horatio Caine's team at the "actual" crime lab while this show is being filmed, it's no wonder they haven't yet caught on to the fact that a serial killer is right there in their midst, working alongside them! BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: GEORGE STEVENS

GEORGE STEVENS

AS SEEN IN:
"James Dean: Race With Destiny"

AS PLAYED BY:
Robert Mitchum

From Wikipedia:
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Among his most notable films were "Diary of Anne Frank" (1959), nominated for Best Director, "Giant" (1956), winner of Oscar for Best Director, "Shane" (1953), Oscar nominated, and "A Place in the Sun" (1951), winner of Oscar for Best Director.

BCnU!

ECHOES: STORMWATCH

"You come into my house and take my children away …

there's a storm coming – and it's me."

Charlie Sheen

"You know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld?

The Oncoming Storm."

The Doctor

BCnU!

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A CROSSOVER

'Fringe':
Back in the 1980's, when Dr. Walter Bishop was performing experiments on children in Jacksonville, Florida, he tested young Olivia Dunham (identified as "Subject 13") for mental acuity with a challenge to put together a group of blocks correctly in some sort of significant pattern. She complained that she couldn't do it, but Walter kept sharply insisting that she finish it.
'Alias':
Around that same period of time, young Sydney Bristow assembled the blocks under the supervision of her father Jack. It was all part of "Project Christmas", which tested the aptitude of children to see if they should be recruited later in life to be spies.
Although "The Indicator" blocks are admittedly a very trivial connection, it forges a link between the two series that holds as strongly as a crossover.

Both shows were produced by JJ Abrams, making it a similar situation to the Toobits-winning Coffee Bucks - the coffee franchise that has been referenced in 'Scrubs' and 'Cougar Town', both of which were produced by Bill Lawrence. BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WOODY ALLEN

WOODY ALLEN

AS SEEN IN:
"The Spitting Image Movie Awards 1987"

AND:

'D.C. Follies'

AS VOICED BY:
Unknown

From Wikipedia:
Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright.

Allen’s distinctive films, which run the gamut from dramas to screwball sex comedies, have made him a notable American director. He is also distinguished by his rapid rate of production and his very large body of work. Allen writes and directs his movies and has also acted in the majority of them. For inspiration, Allen draws heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema, among a wealth of other fields of interest.

Allen developed a passion for music early on and is a celebrated jazz clarinetist. What began as a teenage avocation has led to regular public performances at various small venues in his hometown of Manhattan, with occasional appearances at various jazz festivals. Allen joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the New Orleans Funeral Ragtime Orchestra in performances that provided the film score for his 1973 comedy Sleeper, and performed in a rare European tour in 1996, which became the subject of the documentary "Wild Man Blues".

For more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen

BCnU!

THE REEL McCOY

So here's that picture again, which I posted on Friday.......

It's from an episode of 'N.Y.P.D.' called "Murder For Infinity". (That has a real Quinn Martin ring to it, don't you think?) The detectives are tossing a scuzzy room in a Seventh Street flop-house trying to find clues that will lead them to their suspect in a murder investigation.

Detective Johnny Corso brings in this guy, another "resident" by the name of "Marco" who is less than forthcoming with any information about the suspect - that is, until Mike Haines tells Corso to check him out. Fearful that the cops might search his pad, "Marco" describes the guy who was with the suspect.

"Marco" was played by Sam Waterston, and the reason I put his name in quotation marks is because I want to make the argument that he was actually Jack McCoy, the character Waterston played on 'Law & Order' for sixteen years. Jack McCoy grew up in Chicago, the son of an abusive, bigoted cop who would beat him and his mother for failing in his eyes. (The father would later die of cancer.) Since he would write an article for the New York University Law Review in 1972 (in defense of Catholic priests who protested the Vietnam war), two years after he began work as a prosecutor, it could be that he chose that publication because he himself was an alumnus of their school of law.

One reason why he may have gone to NYU's School of Law was to put distance between him and his father.

Since he started working as an ADA in 1970 (according to the 'L&O' episode "Second Opinion", which introduced him), McCoy would have been in law school by November of 1967, which is when the 'N.Y.P.D.' episode "Murder For Infinity" took place. (I'm not saying he went directly to work for the D.A.'s office upon graduating, but it does take three years to complete law school in the United States.)

And that flophouse down on 7th Street would be walking distance to the school. Maybe it was a dump, but Jack probably didn't have access to much money at the time. Even later in life, when he was making a very nice living as the Executive ADA for New York City, he was appreciative of a bargain. ("$362 a month for a 3 bedroom apartment? I'd kill for it.")

According to Wikipedia, Jack McCoy was never that deep into the counter-culture scene (although he did take part in protests against the Nixon Administration's involvement in Vietnam), so the whole "Marco" persona could have been just an act to bluff the cops into not probing too deeply into who he was. Being involved in a murder investigation wouldn't look good in the future on his resume if he did choose to become a prosecutor.

Since he wasn't really into that scene, I doubt young Jack McCoy was a drug user, not even the recreational stuff like marijuana. No, as often hinted at in 'Law & Order', alchohol was Jack's personal drug. So I don't think he panicked about the cops searching his pad and finding any narcotics. I think he had something else to hide in there - I'm thinking it was an underage girl. Whether she was still in high school or an NYU undergraduate freshman, she could also have been the girl who would later become the first of Jack's wives. (He was married twice.)

As for the name of "Marco".....

As everyone knows from the movie "National Lampoon's Animal House" (which counts as a reference for Toobworld since it spawned a TV spin-off, 'Delta House'), college students come up with odd nicknames for each other. Sometimes they're based on the student's name - like "Bluto" Blutarsky". Others have something to do with their looks or their personalities. (If you ever want to know why Larry Kroeger got the frat name "Pinto", you better read the original story. I'm trying to run a clean blog here! Or write to me privately.) And sometimes there's no real splainin to be found - just ask my friend Zoilo. (Actually, there is a story to that one, but it never made sense, even to a nonsensical guy like me, why he got saddled with it.)

Anyhoo.....

Perhaps Jack McCoy ended up being called "Marco" by his college friends as a corruption of his last name. He may have later been a fan of the punk scene and the band The Clash, but back in the sixties, who wasn't into the Beatles? Maybe as a tip of the hat to Paul McCartney, his friends first started calling him "Macca", but eventually it devolved into "Marco".

Several decades after the incident at the flophouse, there would be an investigation into a crane collapse at a construction site. The company that was in charge of that site was owned by Wayne Hardy, who probably looked very similar to Detective John Corso in his youth. But Jack McCoy never would have seen a resemblance when he saw Hardy interviewed on the news. After all, his encounter with Detective Corso probably lasted no more than twenty minutes and it happened more than forty years earlier. And in his later years, Hardy no longer looked like the younger Corso.....

So that's my argument for the character of Marco, in just one scene from 'N.Y.P.D.', being Jack McCoy, with the second-longest tenure on 'Law & Order'.

Maybe. I'm not married to the idea.

But just so's ya know, I'm not doing this to buttress the defense of Jack McCoy's inclusion into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. He was rightfully inducted in December of 2006 based not only on his 368 episodes of 'Law & Order' but also his three episodes of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit', two episodes of 'Law & Order: Trial By Jury', two episodes of 'Homicide: Life On The Street', and the TV movie "Exiled".

This is just gravy.

BCnU!

"Some of us were wondering how long it'd take
the real Jack McCoy to rear his shaggy, hippy, liberal head."
ADA Josh Latham
'Law & Order'

TELEFFLUVIA: NOW WITH ULTRA-SHEEN!

I posted this to Alan Sepinwall's column about the "Net Work" episode of 'The Good Wife', which had a Zuckerberg vs. Sorkin court case where it was the Sorkin clone who came out as the bad guy......

This has been the second episode of a TV show that has created its own version of Zuckerberg. 'Lie To Me' had a Zuckerberg clone in a recent murder mystery episode. For a while there it seemed like everybody had their own versions of Nancy Grace and Blackwater Security. I wonder how many more Zuckerbergs we're likely to see in other shows, and if there have been any others already? It seems like he's a character that could provide more plot possibilities than just his own.....

And now I'll bet you we're going to see plenty of Charlie Sheen clones hit the airwaves, especially on "Ripped From The Headlines" shows like those in the 'Law & Order' franchise (what's left of them......)
~
Is there anybody out there in my readership who has the first season of 'I Dream Of Jeannie' on an officially released DVD set? There was an episode called "This Is Murder", which had a Princess Tarji visting Cocoa Beach on a state visit. I'd like to know what the captioning says is the name of her home country. It sounded like Paquait (or was it Parquait), but I'd like to be sure. If you can get back to me, I'd appreciate it...
~
One thing I enjoy about treating all of TV as one big fantasy world is finding new names of characters that feel like they stepped out of a fantasy trilogy. My latest find - Hobey Jabko, a soldier played by Howard Duff in an episode of 'Combat!'.....
~
This occurred to me at work one night - in "A Christmas Carol", the latest 'Doctor Who' Christmas special, if the Doctor went back in Time and altered the life of Kazran Sardick, then why didn't that trigger an attack by the Reapers from "Father's Day"?

From Wikipedia:
Although never named in the programme, the creatures were called the Reapers in publicity material. They bear a strong resemblance to the Chronovores (first featured in "The Time Monster") as portrayed in Paul Cornell's Doctor Who New Adventures novel "No Future", the Vortisaurs in the Eighth Doctor's first series of audio adventures for Big Finish Productions, and the Hunters in the New Adventures novel "The Pit" by Neil Penswick.
~
It's always fun to find TV characters with the same names as friends and family members. The latest one is an "Amy Booth" from an episode of 'Burke's Law'. Amy was the first "Iddiot" from the Idiot's Delight Digest group to visit the Lake.

I've got a name doppelganger in Toobworld as well. There was an L.A. cop named Toby O'Brien in an episode of 'Police Story' from the early 1970's.
~
As my DVR capacity reached 50% capacity, I noticed that I had two episodes of 'Harry's Law' on deck, but no real compulsion to watch them. I enjoyed the show, but it really wasn't must-see TV for me. I'm a big fan of David E. Kelley, but this just doesn't have the spark to keep me coming back to that law firm/shoe store in Cincinnatti.

For me, the DEK high point was 'Picket Fences', with his 'Boston Legal' and his work on 'L.A. Law' following close behind.

I wish 'Harry's Law' all the best, especially for Kathy Bates, and if I read of something truly off-the-wall happening in an upcoming episode - or a really special guest star - I'll pop in again.

And if you're still watching the show, let me know if there's ever any mention of the radio station WKRP.....
~
I could have been a "high priest Vatican assassin warlock" like Charlie Sheen, but I didn't keep up on my union dues. And I only have tiger moth's blood.....
~
Here's my prediction: The 'Two And A Half Men' backstage craziness will be the next behind the scenes TV movie in the style of those made about 'Dynasty', 'Three's Company', 'Gilligan's Island', and 'Mork & Mindy'.
~
If any TV show should have a movie made about its production, it should be 'Doctor Who'.
~
If Charlie Sheen is looking for a new role to play, how about Itchy in a remake of "Dick Tracy"?

~ BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ERNEST HEMINGWAY

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

AS SEEN IN:
'Any Human Heart'

AS PLAYED BY:
Julien Ovenden

From Wikipedia:
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that resonated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously.

In 1937 Hemingway agreed to report on the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA). In March he arrived in Spain with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens. Ivens, who was filming The Spanish Earth, needed Hemingway as a screenwriter to replace John Dos Passos, who left the project when his friend José Robles was arrested and later executed. The incident changed Dos Passos' opinion of the leftist republicans, which created a rift between him and Hemingway, who spread a rumor that Dos Passos was a coward for leaving Spain.

Journalist and writer Martha Gellhorn, whom Hemingway had met in Key West the previous Christmas (1936), joined him in Spain. Like Hadley, Martha was a native of St. Louis, and like Pauline, she had worked for Vogue in Paris. Of Martha, Kert explains, "she never catered to him the way other women did." Late in 1937, while in Madrid with Martha, Hemingway wrote his only play, The Fifth Column, as the city was being bombarded. He returned to Key West for a few months, then back to Spain twice in 1938. He was present at the Battle of the Ebro, the last republican stand, and was among fellow British and American journalists who were some of the last to leave the battle as they crossed the river.

BCnU!

CRYER ENGAGEMENT

FREEMAN IN PARODY

It's at times like this, I have to wonder: what does Morgan Freeman think about all of these "Sheenanigans"?

BCnU!

CHARLIE SHEEN GETS MASHED

Gotta thank ol' Charlie, that high priest Vatican assassin warlock with the body of Adonis infused with tiger's blood in his DNA, for bringing a new word to the Toobworld vocabulary:

"Sheenanigans"

BCnU!

SNACK TIME WITH THE MUPPETS

And now a word from somebody's sponsor.......

BCnU!

THE FIVE DOCTORS? OR THE FIVE STOOGES?

It wouldn't be a proper Video Weekend here at Inner Toob without some 'Who'!

I tripped over this fan-made revision to the special anniversary offering of "The Five Doctors" while hoping to find a picture of the Brigadier with the "First" Doctor, and thought it deserved to be in any one of several TV dimensions - that of Skitlandia, the World of Zonks, or the Doofus Toobworld......


PART ONE



PART TWO



BCnU!

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY WARS

Here's a little something "church"-related to kick off this Video Sunday!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CHARLIE SHEEN

I'd be remiss if I didn't jump on the band-wagon - um, make that "crazy train" - with this for the daily ASOTV.....

CHARLIE SHEEN

AS SEEN ON:
'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'

AS PLAYED BY:
Jimmy Fallon

BCnU!