THE MAGNIFICENT 7X7

On Monday, I was ambushed by Ivan Shreve of "Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear" (Link to the left, Academy members) with the 7x7 Award. And by "ambushed" I just mean that I was surprised by the honorific. I really am delighted to receive it.

Of course it came with conditions. These awards always do! (Why is it that it's only in the blogosphere that they make you work for your award?)

Tell everyone something that no one else knows about.

There's always some small secret in everybody's life, not just mine, that may not be general knowledge, but there's somebody somewhere who knows it. I'm kind of like "Zelig" in that I have a different persona for whichever group I'm currently hanging out with; it's been like that since high school, when I could easily gravitate out of the circle of nerds to hang with the jocks.

So I don't think there's any one thing that no one else knows about me, not even my fascination for Little People (the men as actors, the women for other reasons) - and now everybody knows that one, not just my co-workers!

Gee. In declining to answer, I've probably answered. How does that happen? LOL

"I’m supposed to talk about some of the past posts here at the blog that fit into seven different categories." That's according to Ivan, and I suppose it was part of the original mandate for this award.

And like Ivan, I'm mainly going to focus on certain regular features of the blog rather than individual posts, because I think the case can be better made in each category when I look at the subject as a whole.

Most Beautiful Piece:

The yearly "Hat Squad" memorial - It never fails to anger me when I see those memorial tributes on awards shows and in magazines and newspaper articles at year's end which salute those in show business who left this world in the previous year. Invariably, they always leave out somebody who deserved the accolade. (This year's glaring omission at the Oscars? Harry Morgan. Don't get me started!)

I used to do detailed tips of the hat (ergo "The Hat Squad") to each individual contributor to the TV Universe, but I surprised even myself when I suddenly developed something akin to a life and I no longer had time to do those. (Well, except for a few who meant a lot to me - Patrick McGoohan, of course, and most recently, Davy Jones.) Instead I just did the best I could in catching the obituaries for those with TV connections - even from all over the world - no matter how slight so that I could have a much more complete list by the end of the year.

So maybe these "Hat Squad" posts are more functional than beautiful, but it's nice to know these people will be remembered. And isn't that a beautiful thing?

It's the least they deserve for all the joy they have brought into our homes......

Most Helpful Piece:

That would be "Anniversary Schmaltz", in which I gave a short description of the various tags to the televisiological pieces I write. Just in case there are Toobworld terms which new visitors don't understand. (I tend to make up words, my own Toobspeak.) I probably should look into making this a permanent link in the sidebar....

Most Popular Piece:

The "Who's On First?" yearly 24 hour marathon.  (It's held on New Year's Day.  It's all about 'Doctor Who'.  Who's On First - get it?

I'd say this was a given, considering how many "Whovians" are out there in "E-Space". And best of all, it's so easy to put together! Because of the nature of the show - covering so much territory in time and space and utilizing every genre known to Toob, the source of inspiration is inexhaustible. (On the other hand, my one time only 24 hour marathon for 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' was a killer!)

Most Controversial Piece:

I'll have to cheat and go back to the days before the Inner Toob blog, back to the antedeluvian days of yore at "The Tubeworld Dynamic". That was the blog I ran about this same topic, only changing it on a monthly basis. (It's just as well AOL screwed me over and disabled the easy-to-use AOLPress function so that it was impossible to do the site anymore. A blog is much better in handling all of the new televisiogy tidbits that come out every day.)

Not long after the attack on the World Trade Center, I posted a "splainin" as to why the Twin Towers had to fall in Toobworld as well, and why the "televersion" of Superman couldn't save the buildings or the people. (He was already dead.) If I'm not mistaken, I also posited a few TV characters who might have been in the buildings, as a reason why we never see them in their old shows anymore.

I got a few responses that it was in poor taste and that no one should ever use the 9/11 attacks for entertainment value. (One person wrote to the NY Daily News and demanded that no one ever use the tragedy in a movie.)

Since then, we've seen it used as the backdrop for movies and for TV shows which have all added to the victims list in much the same way as happened with depictions of the Titanic tragedy.

Most Surprisingly Successful Piece:

"THE FRANK MORGAN SHOW"

I hate to talk about this so close to the First of April, because that would mean readers might not be caught unawares, but every year I enjoy putting together the April Fool's post. Oftentimes, there are a couple of posts - one big and flashy which takes away notice from the smaller, subtler piece. Hopefully.

Two years ago I may have posted my crowning achievement when it comes to April Fool's Day. I wrote up a very detailed history of 'The Frank Morgan Show' which lasted only for a few episodes (due to the death of the star.) It contained a description of the premise, as well as pictures from the series, plus an episode guide, info about the co-stars and their characters, guest stars, the works. As you probably figured out - no such show existed.

The next day I received an email from the archive historian of the Screen Actors Guild, wanting more information about this series (of which no prints survived, that helped the illusion.) Apparently she had been doing research via Google on the actor after interviewing Gloria Stuart for the archives and my post was quite near the top.

In a follow-up email, after I confessed the ruse, she said that she had a feeling that it had been an April Fool's gag considering the date it was posted. And that I made one "fatal" mistake - one of the pictures I used was of Frank's brother Ralph. I would have preferred perfection (say that ten times fast!), but I also knew it would probably slip past a lot of other readers. (But not you, of course!)  I just re-read the piece and I see a few other mistakes I made.  But still and all, I am proud of it.

Most Underrated Piece:

The As Seen On TV Showcase & The Toobworld Tiddlywinkydinks

I no longer do the Daily Tiddlywinkydinks (or "Twd" as opposed to the TwD which is the Toobworld Dynamic) because looking up historical events and their TV applications was a lot of hard work. I'm not here for hard work. And much of the Daily Twd was covered anyway with the As Seen On TV showcase. That is an examination of historical figures (including celebrities and newsmakers) as played by actors in either TV movies, TV show episodes, or even in commercials.

This year we changed the focus to literary characters as seen on TV, just so I don't run out of historical figures. Let the fields lie fallow as it were......

There's a new one every day, but I never seem to get much feedback on these. I realize commenting on blogs isn't for everybody, but every so often I'd like to know if it's worth it.

Kvetch over.  Don't mind me.....

Most Pride-Worthy Piece:

'The Dick Van Dyke Show' blog-a-thon entries

This was a one time only 24 hour celebration of the greatest sitcom ever, in connection to Ivan's call to arms for the fiftieth anniversary of the show back in October. I've been doing a monthly addition to this oeuvre since then, leading up to this coming October to make it a year long salute. But it's not a show like 'Doctor Who' which lends itself to an all day extravaganza.

There were some clunkers, but it was like the jokes in 'Airplane!' - wait a bit and a better one will come along soon enough.

And speaking of Frank Morgan, I was ready to bust my buttons when I was complimented on these DVDS@50 posts recently with the added suggestion that I should gather them all together for a book. (Minus the clunkers of course!)

So, I guess that's it. I hope you liked that trip down Memory Lane with this inane mammary. (Did you know that the anagram for Toby O'Brien is "Inert Booby"?)

And thanks again to Ivan of "Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear" for the recognition.....

BCnU!