THE BOY WHO BLOGGED "WOLF"

One of my Facebook friends sought my help in tracking down a pretty obscure (It's obscure if I never heard of it!) TV series or an episode from an anthology series. Since her description didn't ring my chimes, I decided to turn to Team Toobworld for help.

Here's what she could offer:

Back in either the late 70's or very early 80's when after-school-specials were big, I saw something that I want to get my hands on. I am not sure if it was an after-school-special per se, but it was on after school.

It was about a boy that could do out-of-body experiences. At one point he went into the body of a wolf and saw and smelled what the wolf could see. I don't remember anything else abou it though.

The show did a great job of showing that the wolf could hardly see the boy standing there even though he was wearing a checkered shirt.

I have searched before and not had any luck. I looked in the after-school-special sets but it is not there as far as I can tell (although I haven't look at any recent sets)

Your mission, should you decide to take it, is to find a copy of that scene in the woods with the boy and the wolf, good luck.

I get the feeling that finding the scene would be next to impossible, save by bit torrents or bootlegs, but if anybody could help me track down what show this might have come from, it would be a big help!

[She says it was a one-shot story, so I guess that excludes 'Lucan' from 1977-78........]


Thanks!

SINGING ABOUT JANE, JUST SINGING ABOUT JANE....

As my last piece celebrating the 29th birthday of Michael Cleary (author of "The Cleary Theory"), here's Bette Davis singing her heart out on 'The Andy Williams Show'......

Happy birthday, Michael! All the best from your only friend at Toobworld Central..... Bwahahahaha!

BCnU!

BETTE DAVIS GOT GAME

Bette Davis put on her game face and appeared on 'What's My Line?' twice, ten years apart. And both times she had laryngitis. Guess who she blamed?

Continuing my celebration of Michael Cleary's birthday - the last year in which he can be trusted......

BCnU!

THE GUY WITH BETTE DAVIS EYES

I'm not done celebrating Michael Cleary's birthday. He doesn't get off THAT easy!

Here's the legendary Charles Pierce in his stage show as Bette Davis. He also played Miss Davis on the TV series 'Madame's Place'.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BETTE DAVIS

BETTE DAVIS

AS SEEN IN:
"Norma Jean & Marilyn"

AS PLAYED BY:
Nancy Linehan Charles

From Wikipedia:
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.

After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and her confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized.

Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.

BCnU!

Today's ASOTV showcase is going out in celebration of my friend Michael Cleary's birthday.....

TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY: ON SCREEN AND ONLINE

Speaking of 'CSI', a recent episode featured a video gamer who had been murdered while playing online against a lot of other fans of the game "Aeron's Legion".

As Muskie Muskrat said, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble that some of those players could be found as regular characters in other TV shows like 'Dweebs', 'Deadly Games', and perhaps Turtle from 'Entourage' - if his tastes in video games extended beyond mixed martial arts. Maybe even Hardison of the 'Leverage' team was in it to win it.

I suppose Sheldon Cooper is loyal to "The World of Warcraft", but maybe his friends Leonard, Raj, and Wolowitz could have been in the running as "Descendants" in "Aeron's Legion".....

See that first name in the list?  "TodDAMAn003" might have been a character in a recent episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' named Todd Zarnacki.  Todd committed "The Zarnacki Incursion" - hacking into Sheldon's online gaming account and stealing all his files.

It's pozz'ble... just pozz'ble......

BCnU!

"THE DEFENDERS": CROSSED OVER AND CROSSED OFF

I've got a feeling that 'The Defenders' will never see the dawn of a second season.  (They should never have appropriated that name; it brought a curse down on them!)

But before they rode off into the cathode sunset, the series got their official connection to the TV Universe, through a shout-out on that other Las Vegas crime drama.

One of my fellow "Extras" hunters, Artie from Howell, brought it to the attention of David Bianculli in his website "TV Worth Watching". (The link is to the left, my legal beagles!)

artie from howell said:
On the March 10th Episode of 'CSI', "Bombshells", one of the suspects
was implicated by a series of payments made to a legal firm. The name
of the legal firm was Morelli & Kaczmarek...the names of the partners
in the Jim Belushi/Jerry O'Connell CBS series, 'The Defenders'.

[Oh, that's a good one -- even if it melds a decent show to a bad one.
Thanks! - DB]

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JOSEPH SMITH, JR.

1830 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette or Manchester, New York.

JOSEPH SMITH, Jr.

AS SEEN IN:
"Savage Journey"

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Moll

From Wikipedia:
Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of what later became the Latter Day Saint movement, popularly known as Mormonism. He was also a theocrat, city planner, military leader, and polygamist.

Raised in western New York during a period of religious enthusiasm, Smith was wary of Protestant churches and was strongly influenced by folk religion. Even as a young man, he was recognized as one who could find buried treasure through supernatural means. In the late 1820s, Smith said that an angel had directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a religious history of ancient American peoples. After publishing what he said was an English translation of the plates as the Book of Mormon, he organized branches of the Church of Christ, a church whose adherents were later called "Latter Day Saints," and popularly, "Mormons."

In 1831, Smith moved west to Kirtland, Ohio intending to establish the city of Zion in western Missouri, but his plans were frustrated when Missouri settlers expelled the Saints in 1833. After leading an unsuccessful paramilitary expedition to recover the land, Smith began building a temple in Kirtland. In 1837, the church in Kirtland collapsed after a financial crisis, and the following year Smith joined his followers in northern Missouri. A war ensued with Missourians who believed Smith had incited insurrection. When the Saints lost the war, they were expelled, and Smith was imprisoned on capital charges.

After being allowed to escape state custody in 1839, Smith led his followers to settle at Nauvoo, Illinois on Mississippi River swampland, and there he served as both mayor and commander of its large militia, the Nauvoo Legion. In early 1844, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. That summer, after the Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith's practice of polgyamy, the Nauvoo city council ordered the paper's destruction. During the ensuing turmoil, Smith first declared martial law and then surrendered to the governor of Illinois who promised his safety. Smith was killed by a mob while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.

Richard Moll also played Smith in the Movie Universe in the mid-1970's......

BCnU!

"ACTION JACKSON" - THE "MADTV" MOVIE

As you probably saw in the previous post, I sort of gave a pass to John Belushi and 'Saturday Night Live' for their portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor as being over-weight and choking on chicken. It was of the time, when that actually happened to the legendary actress.

On the other hand....

This similar portrayal in this 'MadTV' sketch just felt wrong when they introduced the chicken nun-chucks. (I didn't have any problem with a guy playing her as being heavier. It's Ron Woodard, I believe, and he actually looks good in the part - until he sinks his teeth into the chicken....) By then (1998), it was just old news and lazy joke-writing.

On the whole, though, it's a damned funny sketch. Hypocrite that I am, I have no problem with jokes at Michael Jackson's expense.....

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"CELEBRITY CORNER" with ELIZABETH TAYLOR

I realize this is going to feel disrespectful, but Elizabeth Taylor's presence in Skitlandia, the sketch comedy dimension, was pretty much defined by this portrayal by John Belushi during the "Weekend News Update" segment of 'Saturday Night Live':

Bill Murray: The Senatorial race in Virginia was so close, that they are recounting the votes. So far the winner is Republican John Warner, who's ahead by a very slight margin. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying, "Bill, you maniac, what does this have to do with "Celebrity Corner"? Aren't you getting off the track?" Uh-uh. Because this chief politician John Warner's wife is none other than perhaps the greatest actress who's ever lived, and whose face has set the standard for screen beauty for so many years. Of course I'm talking about Elizabeth Taylor.

[ a plump Elizabeth Taylor eating a chicken leg appears on the screen behind Bill ]

Bill Murray: Liz, welcome to "Celebrity Corner"!

Elizabeth Taylor: Thanks, Bill. It's so nice to be here.

Bill Murray: Liz, how does it feel to be Mrs. Almost-Too-Soon-to-Tell Senator-Elect Warner, anyway?

Elizabeth Taylor: [ chewing as she talks ] Very exciting, Bill. I'm looking forward to being a Washington hostess.

Bill Murray: Liz, tell me this: we heard that you promised that if John won the election, that you would go on a diet from your present weight of 167 pounds, down to your "Butterfield 8" weight of 120. Is that true?

Elizabeth Taylor: That's right. I've started on a strict diet. Nothing but chicken.

Bill Murray: That sounds great, Liz. But to me, I don't care how much you weigh, just so your cheeks don't puff up over those beautiful violet eyes that I've been in love with since "National Velvet".

Elizabeth Taylor: [ not paying attention ] Mmm-hmm...

[ suddenly, Taylor starts to choke ]

Bill Murray: Liz, what about your career? I mean, can we look forward to seeing you in a movie soon? How about "Cleopatra II"? It seems like such a natural. I mean, how would John feel about that? Would there be a career conflict, now that you are also the wife of a United States Senator? [ Elizabeth Taylor pounds her chest to free the chicken, then starts spitting it up ] Well, thank you so much, Liz. It has been a real treat for me to have you on "Celebrity Corner". And I think all your friends in the whole world join me when I say, "Good luck with that diet, I KNOW you're gonna lose that weight." She looks great, doesn't she? I just know she's gonna be a big hit on Capitol Hill.

A big thanks to the SNL Transcripts site, where you can find more classics like this!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DICK & EDDIE

RICHARD BURTON

AS SEEN IN:
'The Benny Hill Show'

AS PLAYED BY:
Benny Hill

EDDIE FISHER

AS SEEN IN:
"Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Corey Parker

Just a couple of Elizabeth Taylor's hubbies for "Two for Tuesday".....

BCnU!

SUPER SIX LIST: NAMING THE LITTLE GUY

THE SUPER SIX LIST:

The Top Six TV Character Names That Could Be Nick-Names For The Penis

1] Hoss or Little Joe - 'Bonanza'
(Depending on the size and - if you're aiming for "Hoss" - girth)

2] Big Mike - 'Chuck'
(It helps if your name is Michael, but you better be able to back up your claim)

3] Manmeet - 'Outsourced'

(They knew what they were doing when they named his character, that phone center Lothario)

4] Frank Cannon - 'Cannon'

(Or if your initials are "T.V.", you can simplify it as "TV's Frank")

5] 'Peter Gunn'
(But if you're talking classic, you can't beat....)

6] Beaver Cleaver - 'Leave It To Beaver'
(That's right - leave it to beaver... unless you play for the other team)

Other names I could have used - Mike Stivic (you know, as in "Meat-Head"), Stretch Cunningham, Little Ricky, Big Eddie, Keen Eddie, Lonely (from 'Callan'), Top Cat, Herman Munster, Magnum, Dirty Sally (Hey, I don't judge....), the Big Giant Head, and Karl Pilkington.

Actually, that's not really a good nickname for the penis, but have you ever seen the cartoon version of that little round-headed buffoon? He looks like a penis!  In real life, his case isn't helped much by the image below.....

BCnU!

"Say good-night, Dick."

Dan Rowan

'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'

AS SEEN ON TV: KNUT THE POLAR BEAR

From CNN:
Knut the polar bear, the star attraction at the Berlin Zoo who suddenly died March 19, drowned after falling into his swimming enclosure, investigators said Friday.

Knut had encephalitis, or severe inflammation of the brain, which caused the muscle spasms that led to his drowning, according to the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the official German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

A pathologist with the institute said the encephalitis would have killed Knut eventually if he had not drowned.

But here's how the Chicago NBC affiliate reported the story:

KNUT

AS SEEN ON:
WMAQ News

BCnU!
 
Thanks to my brother Bill for letting me know about this....

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

THE "TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY" TRAILER

Everybody in 'Doctor Who' fandom was in a tele-tizzy this week with the debut of the new 60 second trailer for the next season. And so the 'Torchwood: Miracle Day' trailer slipped under the radar.....

In Toobworld, Death is not only an embodied personage, but there's a whole family of them. It's not just a matter of Death being able to change its appearance to suit the situation or its own whims, but there's a different Death serving various sections of the world. And on other planets as well.  And since they're a family, that means there is reproduction going on. (See 'Mulberry'.....)


It'll be interesting to see how this new 'Torchwood' story affects that premise.....


BCnU!

CHANNELING MY INNER FERRET

My friend Michael Cleary got me in contact with my inner ferret....

Bucky Katt of "Get Fuzzy" is not going to like that.....


BCnU!

THUMBING THE RED NOSE AT "EASTENDERS"

This two-part video was made for a Red Nose Day telethon several years ago:

It could be considered part of Skitlandia, that TV dimension for comedy sketches, but it could also be part of the TV Land in which the television shows we watch are considered TV shows as well, complete with the acknowledgement of the actors who perform in them. This is the same world in which we would find '30 Rock', 'Extras', 'The Larry Sanders Show' and all those behind-the-scenes TV movies about 'Three's Company', 'Dynasty', 'Gilligan's Island', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Steptoe & Son' and the life of Frankie Howerd.


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"FALLING SKIES" PREVIEW

Here's the extended trailer for the new Dreamworks' series 'Falling Skies':

 

 O'Bviously this will have to go to an alternate TV dimension, but which one? Should it have its own Toobworld, or is there a dimension which we'll probably never visit again which would be suitable for being the location for this new show?

If there are no shots of the Moon during the series, we could make the claim that this is the same world as the short-lived series 'Three Moons Over Milford'.....

My Little Buddy Sean is always hoping these types of calamities will befall the dimension of 'The West Wing', give it the proper apocalyptic ending. But I know one day Aaron Sorkin will return to that milieu for reunion TV movie or something....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BARBARA WALTERS

While looking for the '30 Rock' video of Rachel Dratch as Elizabeth Taylor for last week's tribute, I also found this......

BARBARA WALTERS

AS SEEN IN:
'30 Rock'

AS PLAYED BY:
Rachel Dratch

I probably should have saved this for a "Two for Tuesday" showcase with Gilda Radner as Baba Wawa.....


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JAMAICA ON TIME?

Here's your weekly serving of 'Doctor Who', with just a dash of Jerk Sauce....

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THE QUEEN OF SIN

After seeing the vampiress Emma in her naughty wardrobe on 'Being Human' (UK version - the episode was "Adams' Family"), it put me in the mood to see Emma Peel as one of the Hellfire Queens....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: MORGAN FREEMAN

MORGAN FREEMAN

AS SEEN IN:
'Robot Chicken'

AS VOICED BY:
Alfonso Freeman

First, the news:

BCnU!

THE SUPER SIX LIST: NEVER-WAS TV

I was reading about how the never-finished 'Doctor Who' story "Shada" by the late Douglas Adams is being re-worked to be a novel, with the blessings of the Adams estate. And it got me thinking about some other TV show episodes that, for one reason or another, never were completed......

So I've put together a Super Six List of the more interesting examples, starting with the oldest one I could find:

1] 'BONANZA' In "The Ponderosa Birdman", Buster Keaton was scheduled to portray crackpot inventor Phineas T. Klump back in 1965. That was the one where Hoss Cartwright was supposed to be the guinea pig for an experimental flying device.

But Keaton raised too many objections about the script. He felt that his character should be the one to test the device out; that he could come up with some funny routines based on his old silent movie material. But as the producers pointed out, they needed the participation of one of the Cartwrights, or it wouldn't be a 'Bonanza' episode.

So then Keaton suggested that Little Joe would be the more logical since Michael Landon was smaller and lighter. Keaton tried to put a polite spin to it by saying that Dan Blocker was not "aerodynamically sound".

Again, the producers stepped in saying that the image of Hoss with wings would be funnier, but Keaton insisted that the basis of humor needed believability, and that a fat man with wings was not funny, just stupid. It was all the stage-hands could do to keep Dan Blocker from tackling Buster Keaton.

Ultimately, Keaton was paid off and let go. The producers brought in Ed Wynn to play Klump. (Coincidentally, Wynn had visited the set just a few days earlier to see his old friend.) Keaton never held a grudge about it and went off to make a few "Beach Blanket" movies instead.

2] 'COLUMBO'

While in England during the summer of 1972 to film establishing location shots for "Dagger Of The Mind" later that year, Peter Falk was introduced to Sir Laurence Olivier. Sir Larry let the star of 'Columbo' know that he would be delighted to get the opportunity to play a murderer on the American detective series. Eager to land the "Master Thespian" for a guest spot, the script for "Greenhouse Jungle" was hastily written with Olivier in mind to play Jarvis Goodland. Unfortunately, a computer glitch caused problems for Olivier in securing a work visa in time for the shooting schedule. Since Falk had worked with Ray Milland previously in the episode "Death Lends A Hand", he was brought in to play the role instead. It was a rush job, evident in Milland's performance, and was put on the schedule ahead of "Dagger Of The Mind".Sadly, the opportunity for Peter Falk to work with Laurence Olivier on 'Columbo' never presented itself again.

3] 'SOAP'

Halfway through the first season of 'Soap', producer Susan Harris made inquiries to Jackie Gleason's people to see if he would be open to the idea of playing a character on the soap opera spoof. It would have been nothing elaborate - she knew Gleason's reputation for wanting it all done in one take - and would have just been a recurring role leading up to the season finale cliff-hanger. Ms. Harris had it in mind for "The Great One" to play Judge Petrillo, who would preside over the murder trial for Jessica Tate. But Gleason was only interested in doing a cameo, as his own character of Reggie Van Gleason, and he wanted Witt/Thomas/Harris to bring the production down to Miami.

Susan Harris realized it would have been more trouble than it was worth, so the offer was withdrawn. Eventually Charles Lane was hired to play the role of Judge Petrillo.

(Rumor has it that Gleason was hoping to revive interest in Reggie Van Gleason for his own show. He thought the time was right, since there was so much fascination with the rich in the prime-time soaps, to use Reggie {his own personal favorite character} to mock the genre.)

4] 'SABRINA THE TEEN-AGE WITCH'

Salem Saberhagen was a sorcerer who was serving a term of punishment by being transformed into a black cat. For the most part, his time on 'Sabrina The Teen-age Witch' was spent tossing off one-liners from the sidelines.

Voiced by Nick Bakay, Salem was supposed to get his own spin-off series. But the pilot didn't test well with the research audiences. Remembering the ratings debacle of the pilot for 'Toonces, The Cat Who Could Drive A Car', the network didn't want to risk burning off the pilot by airing it and thus harming the character's potential on the parent series.

Instead, they killed the project and quietly re-edited certain scenes back into the 'Sabrina' series as a cost-cutting measure.

 

5] 'LEVERAGE'

During the first season of the con man series on TNT, a very special script was written for a very special guest - Patrick McGoohan. "The Six Days Of Christmas Job" was about a shopping mall Santa Claus who was targeted for murder and who may have been a spy but who retired from the business long ago.
  

The script was full of references to McGoohan's career - the action took place at the Village Mall, where the Santa had been hired by the firm's "Number Two"; the activity area for children had a giant inflatable white ball; and McGoohan's character's name was supposedly "Drake Rafferty". There would have been a variation on his famous "I am not a number; I'm a free man!" speech, and even the title of the episode carried a reference to his character from 'The Prisoner'.

(By the end, it would still remain a possibility that McGoohan was appearing as Number Six. But as was the case in never identifying Number Six as John Drake of 'Danger Man'/'Secret Agent', it was deliberately left vague to avoid paying a license fee.) Unfortunately, McGoohan was only around long enough to be fitted for a costume and pose for a few publicity photos before he took ill. He died in January of 2009. The producers later took that script and reworked it for a 2010 episode, "The Ho Ho Ho Job".

6] 'SUPERNATURAL'

Earlier this year, an over-zealous writer and associate producer for the CW series 'Supernatural' had an idea for an episode that continued the meta humor standard set by earlier episodes "Changing Channels" and "The French Mistake". This time, he was hoping to develop a script in which the Winchester boys were given advice by a witch as they tried to save her grand-daughter and stop a hostile take-over of the Witches' Council.

And it wouldn't have been just any witch, but the most famous witch in all of TV Land. Samantha Stephens!

Astute readers of this blog will know that Elizabeth Montgomery, the actress who played Sam on 'Bewitched', passed away nearly sixteen years ago. Not that this writer saw that as a deterrent - apparently he previously worked on the 1990's HBO comedy series 'Dream On' which used clips from old Universal TV shows.  He was planning to use selected scenes from 'Bewitched' which would contain appropriate dialogue from the character of Samantha Stephens for "conversations" with Sam and Dean. (A recurring joke would have been for both Samantha and Sam to reply "Yes?" whenever Dean said "Sam".)

It appears he certainly did his home-work.  The plan was to utilize a plot point from the sitcom - that when a witch was close to death or losing her powers, she had to transform herself into something that would continue to be useful. Witches of 'Bewitched' had been transformed into objects before - chairs, bedpans.... (I once suggested that the house of Bartlett Finchley in 'The Twilight Zone' episode "A Thing About Machines" was full of objects that were actually transformed witches.)

The premise was established in a 'Bewitched' episode, "The Corn Is As High As A Guernsey's Eye", where Aunt Clara's powers were waning and she felt the time was right to follow the mandate to transform. (Samantha thought she then turned herself into a cow.)

In the proposed script outline for 'Supernatural', Samantha Stephens had become too ill for even Dr. Bombay to cure. And so at some point after the series ended, she tearfully said good-bye to her family and then used her powers to transform herself into something useful.

A television's remote control.

Sam and Dean Winchester confer with Samantha Stephens on their TV

And it was a universal remote, able to work on any TV. That way, she could "stay on the move" and be seen on any TV set, and the producer could also use black and white footage from the early years on a black and white TV.
 
See, Samantha was smart - she saw this as a way to remain in contact with her family there in Westport, Connecticut. But somehow the remote control was stolen and Sam Winchester eventually came into its possession. And with Samantha's help, as she popped up on whatever video monitor was nearby, Sam and Dean would be able to put down a plot against the Witches' Council and rescue Samantha's grand-daughter. (The character's name was Lizbeth as a tip of the hat to Elizabeth Montgomery. But apparently it was Elspeth in an early draft.)

The twist to the episode was that it turned out Lizbeth was the mastermind behind the plot against the Witches' Council. In order to protect her from a more serious fate, Samantha and Tabitha had no choice but to punish her with transformation - into a framed photograph of herself. (My source tells me that in the script, Tabitha explained that they didn't make the same choice as Samantha did because Lizbeth was being punished - and that meant no TV privileges. Also, Dean mutters as they leave that it was creepy the way her eyes followed him across the room.)

My source for this information also said that the original script called for her to be transformed into a bowling ball so that she could still be part of the family routine of bowling night. [Tabitha married a mortal - like mother, like daughter.] But then the writer realized Dad would be sticking his finger in the holes. It was bad enough that Sam Winchester was always fingering Samantha's buttons on the remote.....

The writer was so confident that the script would work that he contacted Sony Pictures on his own for permission to use the clips. He even put together a demo film of Sam and Dean "talking" with Samantha, using the two lighting stand-ins for Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as substitutes to play the Winchesters in the scene. He also hired the actress he had in mind for playing Lizbeth. (I recognized her from the very grainy bootleg I saw - it's either Keri Lynn Pratt or Kirsten Prout. I'm always getting those two confused.)

But he didn't run the idea by the executive producers of 'Supernatural' first. So they were blind-sided when Robert Foxworth and Elizabeth Montgomery's family approached show creator Eric Kripke personally to lodge a complaint against the idea.

I'd tell you the name of this writer, but he was fired over the incident and I don't want to embarrass him even further. Besides, I'm sure you can look through the credits of the series on IMDb and see which writer/producer is no longer attached to the show.

The funny thing was, Sony Pictures was keen on the idea. (They also okayed the appearance of Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay on 'Passions' during the 35th anniversary of 'Bewitched'.) And it looks like Fox and Erin Murphy (as Tabitha) would have been available to make cameos as their characters. But the protests by Ms. Montgomery's loved ones would have been publicity they just didn't need.  
So those are my choices for the top six TV show episodes that never saw the light of the broadcasting day.....

BCnU!

"THE WIRE" - A NOVEL

Fans of the HBO series 'The Wire' would probably agree that the following scene is one of the best - if not THE best from the show.

But a word of caution - basically the dialogue is a litany of variations on the F-word. If you feel you would be offended by such dialogue, you may as well move on to some other blog......

What most people don't realize is that 'The Wire' was based on a Victorian novel written by little-known author Horatio Bucklesby Osgood. And this scene is almost verbatim to the original manuscript.

For more about the novel of 'The Wire', please read this detailed analysis from The Hooded Utilitarian.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: RODDY McDOWALL

RODDY McDOWALL

AS SEEN ON:'
The Carol Burnett Show'

AS PLAYED BY:
Roddy McDowall

BCnU!