JENNA-RATIONALE

The televersion of a real person has just as much validity for crossovers as do fully fictional characters - at least in the Toobworld Dynamic. (Mileage may vary in other shared universes.) Televersions don't even have to actually appear on a show to have it count as a credit towards their League of Themselves resume. All that is needed is that something is different about them that would never have happened (probably) in the real world.

As an example: It was revealed in an episode of 'Movie Stars' that Tom Hanks once lashed out in anger... using his Oscar statue as a weapon. (This is why I added the caveat "Probably" - how do I know he's not full of homicidal rage?) Hanks didn't show up on screen but it can serve to connect 'Movie Stars' with 'The Naked Truth', '30 Rock', 'Life With Bonnie', and 'Primetime Glick'.

'30 Rock'* had two examples this week in which the real person didn't show up but still could be linked to other TV shows. And both examples were courtesy of Jenna Maroney, one of the stars of 'TGS with Tracy Jordan'. (The episode title was "Idiots Are People Two".)

Kenneth:

“I’m afraid I have bad news.”

Jenna:

“Jenny McCarthy died?

But who could have been slowly poisoning her?

Was she poisoned?

I have no way of knowing because I’m just hearing about it.”

Jenny McCarthy hit it big in the real world back in the early 90's with an appearance in Playboy magazine. Since then she's added to the roll call of Toobworld's citizenry with characters on 'Two And A Half Men', 'Just Shoot Me', 'In The Motherhood', 'One On One', and 'Chuck' among others. Plus several TV movies and feature films.

But she's also become famous enough to warrant appearing as herself in several TV productions - an episode of 'Sesame Street', in the 'Baywatch' episode "Beachblast", and in the sitcom pilot 'Lipshitz Saves The World' with Leslie Nielsen and Ty Burrell. (If I'm not mistaken, you catch a quick glimpse of her in this trailer.....)

I suppose if the loverly Ms. McCarthy should die in real life, God forbid!, it could be surmised that her televersion was finally killed off by Jenna Maroney.

As for that second reference to a real life celebrity.....

“I’m just going to tell you what I told Phil Spector:

It’s okay, baby.

We just have to get some trash bags

and get back here before anyone’s the wiser.

Then we can keep recording my album.”

Jenna Maroney

So apparently Jenna was involved in the murder of Lana Clarkson, for which Phil Spector was found guilty. She doesn't quite come out and admit it, but what else could Spector have been guilty of that might have needed trash bags....?

Out of all the shows this quote could possibly link to, how many of you might have picked a 1960's sitcom about the use of magic?

I'll have to go back and check out other Jenna Maroney quotes from the past and see what other TV series she could connect. It just may be that she could find herself on the Birthday Honors List for membership in the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame... as a playa behind the scenes!

BCnU!

* I thought I had thrown in the towel on '30 Rock' being part of Earth Prime-Time because it had so many Zonks with mentions of other TV shows which should have been sharing the same reality. But apparently I had a change of heart. I've come to embrace that sooner or later, every TV character will have his or her own TV show.