THE HAT SQUAD: WHITNEY HOUSTON

From the Los Angeles Times:

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Inner Toob featured Whitney Houston in the "As Seen On TV" showcase back in December.

When Maya Rudolph hosts 'Saturday Night Live' on February 18, you know any Whitney sketch has already been scrapped....

BCnU!

"CHUZZLEWIT" VIDS

Here's the final entry for the Saturday edition of Inner Toob's Video Weekend - a couple of videos connected to an "As Seen On TV" entry from earlier in the week.....

BCnU!

"THE LATHE OF HEAVEN"

The first TV adaptation (and the better one) of Ursula K. LeGuin's classic s-f novel "The Lathe Of Heaven" is available on YouTube in twelve segments. Unfortunately, it's not possible to embed them here.

But no matter. I have each of the URLs needed to enjoy this great fusion of Toobworld with the Literary Universe......

PART ONE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anl0nKLABWo

PART TWO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6p6J-2GkI

PART THREE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-wP13Ff1A

PART FOUR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0xYGmed5M

PART FIVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTb-h-Xy1eE

PART SIX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_zentZpg7c

PART SEVEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAmy_7JF0U

PART EIGHT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uspYo3FhjTk

PART NINE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxsraF6bprQ

PART TEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXS0JtswmuE

PART ELEVEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJ3oM5ffUw

PART TWELVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g42u8CwP0PY

BCnU!

TRAILER PARK: "THE LATHE OF HEAVEN"

BCnU!

"WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS"

I'm offering this up because of the role played by the song in that excerpt from "The Lathe Of Heaven" from the last post.  If you view the TV movie, you'll see how important it becomes.....

From the IMDb.com:
Unseen for twenty years because of a copyright issue: in one scene, George Orr plays a record of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends." The film was finally allowed to be rebroadcast when The Beatles' version of the song was replaced with one sung by a different vocalist.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: TIUA'K ENNBE ENNBE (aka EMMIN EMMIN ASTA)

EMMIN EMMIN ASTA
 [TIUA'K ENNBE ENNBE]

AS SEEN IN:

"The Lathe Of Heaven"

AS PLAYED BY:

Not Applicable

(No record of voice credit)

CREATED BY:

Ursula K. LeGuin

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time, Revamped

("Near Future")

STATUS:

Recastaway

Living Dream

From Wikipedia:

"The Lathe of Heaven" is a 1971 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. The plot revolves around a character whose dreams alter reality. The story was first serialized in the American science fiction magazine "Amazing Stories". The novel received nominations for the 1972 Hugo and the 1971 Nebula Award, and won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 1972. Two television film adaptations have been released: the acclaimed PBS production, "The Lathe of Heaven" (1980); and "Lathe of Heaven" (2002), a remake produced by the A&E Network.

"The Lathe of Heaven" is a 1979 film (released in 1980) based on the 1971 Science Fiction novel "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was produced in 1979 as part of New York City public television station WNET's Experimental TV Lab project, and directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk. Le Guin, by her own account, was involved in the casting, script planning, re-writing, and filming of the production.

The film stars Bruce Davison as protagonist George Orr, Kevin Conway as Dr. William Haber, and Margaret Avery as lawyer Heather LeLache.

George Orr, a draftsman, has long been abusing drugs to prevent himself from having "effective" dreams, which retroactively change reality. After having one of these dreams, the new reality is the only reality for everyone else, but George retains memory of the previous reality. Under threat of being placed in an asylum, Orr is forced to undergo "voluntary" psychiatric care for his drug abuse.

George begins attending therapy sessions with an ambitious psychiatrist and sleep researcher named William Haber. Orr claims that he has the power to dream "effectively" and Haber, gradually coming to believe it, seeks to use George's power to change the world.

George attempts to dream into existence "peace on Earth" – resulting in an alien invasion of the Moon which unites all the nations of Earth against the threat.

So the aliens, which slightly resemble sea turtles because Orr dreamt of them as well, never existed before Orr dreamed them into existence. And they still existed as part of the reality - in both the Literary Universe and the Toobworld Dynamic - after George Orr dreamed of a final version of his world.  (They were no longer perceived of as a threat once it was discovered that they only fired nuclear missiles at Earth because they thought this was the norm when it came to Terran greetings since Earth first fired nuclear missiles at them.)

Because of the alteration to Reality, these aliens (never identified by species) had full histories which would have been accepted throughout the TV Universe. But the fact they never existed before George Orr dream-invented them would have gone unnoticed, perhaps even by the Gallifreyan Time Lords of 'Doctor Who'.

From the source:

One of those shops under the ramp was a secondhand store; the sign above the windows said ANTIQUES and a poorly lettered, peeling sign painted on the glass said JUNQUE. There was some squat handmade pottery in one window, an old rocker with a motheaten paisley shawl draped over it in the other, and, scattered around these main displays, all kinds of cultural litter: a horseshoe, a hand-wound clock, something enigmatic from a dairy, a framed photograph of President Eisenhower, a slightly chipped glass globe containing three Ecuadorian coins, a plastic toilet-seat cover decorated with baby crabs and seaweed, a well-thumbed rosary, and a stack of old hi-fi 45 rpm records, marked “Gd Cond,” but obviously scratched. Just the sort of place, Orr thought, where Heather’s mother might have worked for a while. Moved by the impulse, he went in.

It was cool and rather dark inside. A leg of the ramp formed one wall, a high blank dark expanse of concrete, like the wall of an undersea cave. From the receding prospect of shadows, bulky furniture, decrepit acres of Action Paintings and fake-antique spinning wheels now becoming genuinely antique though still useless, from these tenebrous reaches of no-man’s-things, a huge form emerged, seeming to float forward slowly, silent and reptilian: The proprietor was an Alien.

It raised crooked left elbow and said, “Good day. Do you wish an object?”

“Thanks. I was just looking.”

“Please continue this activity,” the proprietor said. It withdrew a little way into the shadows and stood quite motionless. Orr looked at the light play on some ratty old peacock feathers, observed a 1950 home-movie projector, a blue and while sake set, a heap of Mad magazines, priced quite high. He hefted a solid steel hammer and admired its balance; it was a well-made tool, a good thing. “Is this your own choice?” he asked the proprietor, wondering what the Aliens themselves might prize from all this flotsam of the affluent years of America.

“What comes is acceptable,” the Alien replied

A congenial point of view. “I wonder if you’d tell me something. In your language, what is the meaning of the word iahklu’?”

The proprietor came slowly forward again, edging the broad, shell-like armor carefully among fragile objects.

“Incommunicable. Language used for communication with individual-persons will not contain other forms of relationship. Jor Jor.” The right hand, a great, greenish, flipperlike extremity, came forward in a slow and perhaps tentative fashion. “Tiua’k Ennbe Ennbe.”

Orr shook hands with it. It stood immobile, apparently regarding him, though no eyes were visible inside the dark-tinted, vapor-filled headpiece. If it was a headpiece. Was there in fact any substantial form within that green carapace, that mighty armor? He didn’t know. He felt, however, completely at ease with Tiua’k Ennbe Ennbe.

“I don’t suppose,” he said, on impulse again, “that you ever knew anyone named Lelache?”

“Lelache. No. Do you seek Lelache.”

“I have lost Lelache.”

“Crossings in mist,” the Alien observed.

“That’s about it,” Orr said. He picked up from the crowded table before him a white bust of Franz Schubert about two inches high, probably a piano-teacher’s prize to a pupil. On the base the pupil had written, “What, Me Worry?” Schubert’s face was mild and impassive, a tiny bespectacled Buddha. “How much is this?” Orr asked.

“Five New Cents,” replied Tiua’k Ennbe Ennbe.

Orr produced a Fed-peep nickel.

“Is there any way to control iahklu’, to make it go the way it... ought to go?”

The Alien took the nickel and sidled majestically over to a chrome-plated cash register which Orr had assumed was for sale as an antique. It rang up the sale on the register and stood still a while.

“One swallow does not make a summer,” it said. “Many hands make light work.” It stopped again, apparently not satisfied with this effort at bridging the communication gap. It stood still for half a minute, then went to the front window and with precise, stiff, careful movements pulled out one of the antique disk-records displayed there, and brought it to Orr. It was a Beatles record: “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

“Gift,” it said. “Is it acceptable?”

“Yes,” Orr said, and took the record. “Thank you — thanks very much. It’s very kind of you. I am grateful.”

"Tiua'k Ennbe Ennbe" is the alien's name in the novel.  In the TV adaptation, George Orr is working for the alien rather than meeting him as a customer.  He addresses it as "Emmin Emmin Asta" as he's leaving to take Heather Lalache out to lunch.....

BCnU!

REMEMBERING PETER BRECK: "THE BLACK SADDLE"

Here are a couple of episodes from the TV Western 'Black Saddle' which starred Peter Breck as Old West lawyer Clay Culhane. (Breck died on February 6 at the age of 82.)

The first one might be of particular interest to 'Star Trek' fans: the guest star was DeForest Kelley who would gain Toobworld immortality as Doctor "Bones" McCoy......

BCnU......

THE HAT SQUAD: PETER BRECK

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Peter Breck, who played a hot-headed son of California ranch owner Barbara Stanwyck on the 1960s TV Western The Big Valley, died Monday in Vancouver after a long illness. He was 82.

His wife announced his death on the website The Big Valley Writing Desk.

He was perhaps best known for 'The Big Valley', but his first major TV Western was in 'The Black Saddle' in which he played a traveling lawyer in the Old West. But I'll remember him best for his portrayal of Doc Holliday in several episodes of 'Maverick'.

I never did get around to disabling the Zonk of him playing Holliday, but I did take a look at NIck's evil half-brother (not Heath!) who appeared in an episode of 'Branded'.....

Good night and may God bless........

ROOTS OF THE PETRIE-FIED FAMILY TREE

In "The Great Petrie Fortune", an episode of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', we were posthumously introduced to another member of the Petrie family - Rob's great uncle, Hezekiah Petrie. When the episode began, old Hezekiah was already dead, but we got to see him in an old movie which Hezekiah made specifically for Rob and bequeathed him in the will. (It turned out to be a clue about the real worth of his bequest to Rob - a roll-top desk.)

Uncle Hezekiah was over 100 years old when he died in October of 1965. We know this because there was recorded proof that he was present as a baby in Gettysburg back in the middle of November, 1863. Rob said that for as long as he could remember, Uncle Hezekiah was kind of mean and crotchety, but he always had a special liking for Rob as a boy.

Rob also said that Uncle Hezekiah never married (as far as he knew.) This could have been the cause for Hezekiah Petrie's sour disposition, because I think the old hoofer fell in love but never could marry the woman due to pressures from society.

I think Hezekiah Petrie had been in love with a black woman back in the constrictive 1890's. And whether he was able to marry her in secret or not, I think she bore him at least one male child.

I don't know where Hezekiah Petrie was raised, but we do know he was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, as he was seen as an infant being held by his father in a photograph on that historically momentous day. (I won't spoil it, but you can probably figure out from what I've provided as to what was going on.)

Whether he was raised in Pennsylvania or in New York, there were no anti-miscegenation laws on the books in either state at that time which could have prevented Hezekiah from marrying a black woman if he so desired. New York never enacted such a law and the one in Pennsylvania had been struck off the books by 1780 after being in effect for less than fifty years.

Since Rob was raised in Danville, Illinois, Hezekiah may have been living in that state as well. Illinois' anti-miscegenation laws weren't repealed until 1874, when Hezekiah was eleven years old. Even so, I think public opinion would have been strongly against the idea of whites marrying blacks by the time Hezekiah was old enough to make such a decision.

(From Wikipedia: "Most white Americans in the 1950's were opposed to interracial marriage and did not see laws banning interracial marriage as an affront to the principles of American democracy. A 1958 Gallup poll showed that 96 percent of white Americans disapproved of interracial marriage." So it could only have been worse back in the 1890's.)

Facing probable pressures from his family and by society at large, Hezekiah would likely have succumbed, and never married his love. She probably left him in despair, and most likely without telling him that he was going to be a father.

From that male offspring, two more TV characters joined the Petrie family tree - one a regular character on a TV series, and the other a guest role in another show.

DETECTIVE MARCUS PETRIE - 'Cagney And Lacey'

MARK PETRIE - 'The Listener' - "Iris"

As you can see, both of them have similar first names. I take this to mean that they were probably cousins who had the same grandfather - Marcus Hezekiah Petrie - after whom both of them were named. It is my contention that this Marcus Petrie was the illegitimate son of Hezekiah Petrie.

Detective Marcus Petrie was a member of the NYPD, working out of the 14th Precinct, alongside detectives Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey..... 

His younger cousin Mark Petrie may have grown up in Canada, where he married a woman named Fanny. Unfortunately, Fanny became terminally ill and not even the powers of a teenaged "healer" named Iris could save her. Fanny was too tired to keep fighting and wanted to finally rest. (This angered Mark Petrie so much that he sought revenge, shooting the uncle of Iris before he was stopped.)

So with this theory of relateeveety, we can make a tentative connection between 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'The Listener', and 'Cagney And Lacey'........

This marks the "Black History Month" edition of our year-long salute to 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', in celebration of its fiftieth anniversary last October. We'll have more about Hezekiah Petrie and his family tree in next month's post about the classic sitcom.......

BCnU!

JONESING.....

Writing about today's "As Seen On TV" showcase about Dr. Spearchucker Jones and then the suggested connection between 'White Collar' and 'The Cosby Show', it got me thinking about FBI agent Jones from 'White Collar' (seen here with his boss, Peter Burke.)

Could it be he is somehow related to the televersion of Oliver Jones from 'M*A*S*H'? Perhaps Spearchucker is his grandfather?

Just askin'......

BCnU!

SWEATER MEN

Because his in-laws were coming to visit in order to celebrate their daughter Elizabeth's birthday, FBI agent Peter Burke wore an ugly, scratchy sweater which had been knitted by his mother-in-law. And because he was devoting the weekend to his wife, Peter wasn't going in to the office; so agent Diana Berrigan came out to his house to bring him up to date on a case.

As she was leaving, Diana noticed Peter's sweater (seen here as Peter greeted his mother-in-law). "Goodbye, Dr. Huxtable," she cracked.

Going strictly on the intent of the scriptwriter, it was supposed to be a reference to 'The Cosby Show', in which Bill Cosby played Dr. Cliff Huxtable (who was known for his sweaters). Thankfully, Channing Powell trusted the audience to get the reference without hitting them over the head with adding a mention of the show's title.

So there's no Zonk on that level; Dr. Huxtable was being mentioned as a real person in the same world as FBI agents Berrigan and Burke.

But why would Diana have known him, and have said his name as though she knew Peter would understand who he was?

In ordinary circumstances, I might have said that Dr. Huxtable had done something to gain fame, perhaps even notoriety, in the years since the show went off the air. Instead it's on a more personal level. And I think that answer lies with Peter and not with Diana.

I believe Peter and Elizabeth live in the same general neighborhood as the Huxtable Family.

At some point, either in the past before the series started or off-screen between episodes, the Burkes may have thrown a neighborhood block party and invited the Huxtables over. And perhaps co-workers like Diana and Agent Jones were also invited.

I'd like to keep the idea running and claim that Diana may have even dated Dr. Huxtable's daughter oldest daughter while Denise was in an experimentation stage. But I don't want to push it - that brings me deeper into fanfic territory and that's your job.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: "SPEARCHUCKER" JONES

 DR. OLIVER "SPEARCHUCKER" JONES

AS SEEN IN:

'M*A*S*H'

AS PLAYED BY:

Timothy Brown

CREATED BY:

Richard Hooker

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

STATUS:

Multiversal

(Books, Movie, TV Series)

From Wikipedia:

Captain Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones or Captain Oliver Wendell "Spearchucker" Jones was portrayed by Fred Williamson in the movie and Timothy Brown in the television series. Spearchucker was [in] several episodes during the first season of the series. His full name was never mentioned in the series. The character's middle name was Harmon in the film and Wendell in the novels. He is a board-certified neurosurgeon in the film, and in the episode in which Hawkeye becomes chief surgeon, Spearchucker's specialty is indicated as he struggles to do surgery and when he asks Hawkeye for help he says "anything outside of the brain and I'm dead".

Dr. Jones was one of the original Swampmen with Trapper, Hawkeye, and Frank Burns, and was the sole black surgeon at the 4077th. In the pilot episode, when planning a party, the captains jokingly considered raffling Spearchucker, but chose a date with Nurse Dish instead. During his brief run on the show, it was implied that he and nurse Ginger Bayliss (played by Odessa Cleveland) were romantically involved.

Spearchucker's role was limited. He is implied to have assisted Hawkeye and Trapper in their schemes on the sidelines. The producers decided to drop the character after the first few episodes deciding they wouldn't be able to write enough meaningful episodes for Spearchucker if they were concentrating on Hawkeye and Trapper, and because they were made aware that there is no record of African American doctors having served in Korea.

"Spearchucker" Jones was also a character in both the novel "M*A*S*H" (and its sequels) by Richard Hooker and Robert Altman's movie. In each, the Spearchucker character, who was a stand-out collegiate athlete ("Spearchucker," a common racial slur, is said to instead in this case refer to his javelin-throwing prowess) as well as a surgeon, is transferred to the 4077th to help them win a football game against a rival outfit. It is established in the novel that Jones is from Duke Forrest's hometown of Forrest City, Georgia, and knew Duke's father. Duke makes racist comments about Jones, causing Hawkeye and Trapper to punish Duke. 

In the novel it is related that while a poorly-paid resident he had been scouted by the Philadelphia Eagles playing semi-professional football in New Jersey for extra cash, and had been signed by the Eagles, playing with them until caught up in the draft. According to the movie, his professional football career had been with the San Francisco 49ers prior to the war in Korea.

I'll never forget a sequence featuring Jones in one of the sequel novels by Hooker, "M*A*S*H Goes To Maine". The doctors were trying to get a wealthy patron to cough up the money needed to build a trauma center, but he didn't think they needed one in that part of Maine. They took him out to the golf course in hopes of making him change his mind but he was resolute in his decision.

Suddenly at an isolated hole, a man came running out of the woods screaming for help. Unbeknownst to the philanthropist, this was a Korean War veteran who now had a wooden leg. He was being chased by Spearchucker Jones who was armed with a chain saw. He caught the first guy, knocked him down, and proceeded to saw off his "leg".

The patron hastily agreed to fund the trauma center.....

BCnU!

SUPER MUSINGS

The good thing about watching the Super Bowl down in Florida this year? I wasn't surrounded by my Giants-loving friends, as they can get very obnoxious. (I'm O'Bnoxious. There's a difference.)

But when 9 PM came along, I switched the TV over to 'Downton Abbey'. So if it makes other Patriots fans feel better, I should be blamed for them losing.

While I was watching the game, I did jot down a few notes.....

Who knew "gas station ribs" could be so tasty?

"Brandon Spikes - what a great porn name!

Jason Pierre-Paul should have been cited for illegal use of voodoo.

"The Giants are about to make their 17th play, while the Patriots only had one." - That's it! Wear them out!

Thousands of cat lovers will never eat Doritos again.

Why does Madonna have Richard Simmons on the high wire?

One of Madonna's backup dancers is dressed like a flying monkey.

There was a weird video glitch right after M.I.A. finished singing - everything vanished off the set. Forget being lip-synched - Is this whole concert being super-imposed? (I found out later it was a failed attempt to blur out M.I.A. giving the finger.)

Somebody should tell Cee Lo Green that black is not always slimming.

Somebody must have thrown a bucket of water on Madonna. She just disappeared in a puff of smoke.......

BCnU!

SATANA MADONNA

Televisiology takes all forms. And people can use their studies and interpretations to advance whatever cause they see fit.

For example.....

Somebody has taken Madonna's half-time show from the Super Bowl and turned it into a symbolism-drenched examination of Satanism......

Satanic Ritual Performed at The NFL Half Time Show

M.I.A. flipping the bird during the performance didn't help much either on that score.....

BCnU!

My thanks to Stella Miller for finding this for me.......

AS SEEN ON TV: MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT

Since I was in transit on Tuesday and could not join in then with O'Bservations of Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, my little tribute to him is a belated one....

OLD MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT

AS SEEN IN:

'Martin Chuzzlewit'

AS PLAYED BY:

Paul Scofield

CREATED BY:

Charles Dickens

STATUS:

Recastaway

TV DIMENSION:

To Be Determined

(There was an earlier adaptation of the novel with Gary Raymond in the role, broadcast in 1964. Although I'm certain this version from thirty years later had the better production values, that first one has the "bragging rights" of residency in Earth Prime-Time.)

From Wikipedia:

"The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit" (commonly known as "Martin Chuzzlewit") is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialized between 1843–44. Dickens thought it to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels. Like nearly all of Dickens' novels, "Martin Chuzzlewit" was released to the public in monthly instalments. Early sales of the monthly parts were disappointing, compared to previous works, so Dickens changed the plot to send the title character to America. This allowed the author to portray the United States (which he had visited in 1842) satirically as a near wilderness with pockets of civilization filled with deceptive and self-promoting hucksters.

The main theme of the novel, according to a preface by Dickens, is selfishness, portrayed in a satirical fashion using all the members of the Chuzzlewit family. The novel is also notable for two of Dickens' great villains, Seth Pecksniff and Jonas Chuzzlewit. It is dedicated to Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, a friend of Dickens.

Old Martin Chuzzlewit, the wealthy patriarch of the Chuzzlewit family, lives in constant suspicion of the financial designs of his extended family. At the beginning of the novel he has aligned himself with Mary, an orphan, in order to have a caretaker who is not eyeing his estate. Later in the story he makes an apparent alliance with Mr. Pecksniff, who, he believes, is at least consistent in character. His true character is revealed by the end of the story.

From the source:

He was, beyond all question, very ill, and suffered exceedingly; not the less, perhaps, because he was a strong and vigorous old man, with a will of iron, and a voice of brass. But neither the apprehensions which he plainly entertained, at times, for his life, nor the great pain he underwent, influenced his resolution in the least degree. He would have no person sent for. The worse he grew, the more rigid and inflexible he became in his determination. If they sent for any person to attend him, man, woman, or child, he would leave the house directly (so he told them), though he quitted it on foot, and died upon the threshold of the door.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: A DICKENS SUPER SIX LIST

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Tuesday marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. Had I known in advance about that, I might have had something prepared for that day. But I was traveling back from Florida that day and had to return to work that night, so I just added the day to my vacation's fairy tale theme.

But better belated than never I never say, so here is a Super Six List of my favorite Dickens characters as seen on TV....

1) EBENEZER SCROOGE - "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"

In my opinion, Quincy Magoo's portrayal of Scrooge is the greatest since Alistair Sim's in the movie universe. It's a stage production and not the actual Scrooge for the Tooniverse, which is why I gave credit to Magoo and not to Jim Backus as the voice of Magoo. (The animators get kudos, of course.)

2) MR. WILKINS MICAWBER - "David Copperfield"

I was first introduced to Micawber because of the portrayal by W.C. Fields back in the 1940's. (I was a big fan of William Claude Dunkenfield back in high school, but I never could splain why.) And then Sir Ralph Richardson, my favorite among the "Big Three" of the 20th Century acting giants from the UK (Olivier and Gielgud being the others in that triumvirate), took on the role for TV.  Since then, the character proved how popular he was by being "spun off" into his own TV series starring David Jason in the role.  (So we'll be coming back to Mr. Micawber later this year....)

3) SMALLWEED - "Bleak House"

It was this role that re-ignited my interest in the career of Phil Davis. When he first showed up on screen, I thought to myself, "THAT'S the kid from 'Quadrophenia'???"  His version of this crotchety old money-grubber is a perfect example of a Dickensian character.

4) ESTELLA - "Great Expectations"

Truthfully, I should have gone with Miss Havisham, but we already featured her last month for the literary edition of "As Seen On TV". And I would have preferred finding a picture of the eternally loverly Francesca Annis in the role from the late 1960's. But Vanessa Kirby in the more recent televersion is homina thrice material as well, even if she is allegedly heartless.

5) RIGAUD - "Little Dorrit"

This brutal beast of a man - as played by Andy Serkis - won the Toobits Award for the Best Male Villain a few years ago. His savagery actually repulsed me, and I'm usually a bit inured to that sort of monster as seen on the toob....

6) "CHARLES DICKENS" - 'Bonanza' ("A Passion For Justice")

I already mentioned that Mr. Dickens himself is a TV character, and as played at least three times by Simon Callow has been inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. (Pictured at the top is his most famous portrayal of the author, from the 'Doctor Who' episode "The Unquiet Dead". But Jonathan Harris of 'Lost In Space' fame also played Dickens in this classic TV Western.

However, although Dickens did travel to America for a lecture tour, he never made it past the Mississippi River (and 'Bonanza' takes place in Nevada.) And since Simon Callow is the official televersion for the writer in the main Toobworld, I have judged this man to be an imposter, which is why his name is in quotation marks. Nevertheless, it's a great performance within a performance (which brings us full circle from Magoo's Scrooge......)

The whole point of my Super Six List - my variation of a Top Ten List - is to set a limit for myself.  And in a case like this, I could have gone on and on.  Luckily the "As Seen On TV" showcase is all about the literary characters, so there's plenty of time to feature characters like Uriah Heep (Ron Moody), Fagin (George C. Scott), Inspector Bucket (Alun Armstrong), and the Ghost of Christmas Past (Joel Grey).......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: JASON BOURNE

JASON BOURNE

AS SEEN IN:

"The Bourne Identity"

AS PLAYED BY:

Richard Chamberlain

CREATED BY:

Robert Ludlum

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

STATUS

Multiversal

(Also versions in the Literary and Movie Universes)

From Wikipedia:

Jason Charles Bourne (born David Webb) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the novels by Robert Ludlum and subsequent film adaptations. He first appeared in the novel "The Bourne Identity" (1980). This novel was first adapted for television in 1988, and then adapted to the film, which is very loosely based on the novels, in 2002 under a title of the same name.

The character has been in eight sequel novels (the last six of which are written by Eric Van Lustbader) with another novel due to be released in 2012. Along with the first feature film, "The Bourne Identity" (2002), Jason Bourne also appears in two sequel movies "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007).
 
From the source material:
“Look! Over there!”

It was his brother; apparently sleep was to be denied by sharp family eyes.

“What is it?' he yelled.

“Port bow! There's a man in the water! He's holding on to something! A piece of debris, a plank of some sort.”

The skipper took the wheel, angling the boat to the right of the figure in the water, cutting the engines to reduce the wake. The man looked as though the slightest motion would send him sliding off the fragment of wood he clung to; his hands were white, gripped around the edge like claws, but the rest of his body was limp-as limp as a man fully drowned, passed from this world.

“Loop the ropes!” yelled the skipper to his brother and the crewman. “Submerge them around his legs. Easy now! Move them up to his waist. Pull gently.”

“His hands won't let go of the plank!”

“Reach down! Pry them up! It may be the death lock.”

“No. He's alive . . . but barely, I think. His lips move, but there's no sound. His eyes also, though I doubt he sees us','

“The hands are free!”

“Lift him up. Grab his shoulders and pull him over. Easy, now!”

“Mother of God, look at his head!” yelled the crewman. “It's split open.”

“He must have crashed it against the plank in the storm,” said the brother.

“No,” disagreed the skipper, staring at the wound. “It's a clean slice, razorlike. Caused by a bullet; he was shot.”

“You can't be sure of that.”

“In more than one place,” added the skipper, his eyes roving over the body, “We'll head for Ile de Port Noir; it's the nearest island. There's a doctor on the waterfront.”

“The Englishman?”

“He practices.”

'When he can,” said the skipper's brother. “When the wine lets him. He has more success with his patients' animals than with his patients.”

“It won't matter. This will be a corpse by the time we can get there.  If by chance he lives, we'll bill him for the extra petrol and whatever catch we miss. Get the kit; wet bind his head for all the good it will do.”

“Look!” cried the crewman. “Look at his eyes.”

“What about them?” asked the brother.

“A moment ago they were gray-as gray as steel cables.  Now they're blue!”

“The sun's brighter,” said the skipper, shrugging. “Or it's playing tricks with your own eyes. No matter, there's no color in the grave.”

Jason Bourne may be better known as played by Matt Damon, but Toobworld had him first.....

 

BCnU!

AN ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS KILLING

In the 20th anniversary special for 'Absolutely Fabulous', Edina Monsoon was so fixated on the Danish TV series 'Forbrydelson' ('The Killing'), that she came to believe she could speak Danish.

Eventually she had a dream in which Sarah Lund (as played by Sofie Gråbøl) from that series was investigating Edie's bedroom as if it was a crime scene - intimating in her phone call that Edina would probably be the next to die. (Edina was afraid of her daughter's friend from prison, who wanted payback from Patsy.)

This is how it played out:

Edina does mutter that it's Sarah Lund, so there's no getting around that Zonk.

Although Toobworld Central has covered TV shows from other countries, not just the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, the Toobworld Dynamic is still mainly focused on the American content. After all, it's just me in the shop and that's mostly the source of my viewing habits.

So every now and then I need an example like this to remind me that Toobworld should be truly global. And what applies to TV shows from the U.S. should also go for international productions as well.

Therefore, that murder case in Denmark, within the reality of Earth Prime-Time, so fixated the country that Danish television decided to make a TV series out of it. And luckily they were able to hire Sofie Gråbøl to play the lead since she "somehow" looked just like the lead detective on the case, Sarah Lund.

Or now that I think of it, since Edina only said that there was a show called 'The Killing' from Denmark, and acknowledged the figure in her dream only as Sarah Lund, it could be that the whole series was a documentary with Sarah Lund "appearing as herself".

Works for me.

BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 02/2012 - HEAVY D

Toobworld Central is also inducting Heavy D today. The rapper died just a few days after Smokin' Joe Frazier, collapsing on the walk just outside his own home.

Heavy D appeared in several TV shows, most notably - 'Roc', 'The Tracy Morgan Show', and 'Boston Public' as members of the Toobworld citizenry. But he also appeared as himself in two series set in Earth Prime-Time and one in the Tooniverse:

'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'
Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect: Part 2 (1990)

'A Different World'
Delusions of Daddyhood (1989)

'Waynehead'
Botzwana Aki and the Hydrant of Doom (1996)

I'm sorry it was his death which got him into the Hall.

BCnU......

TVXOHOF, 02/2012 - SMOKIN' JOE

From The New York Times:

Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion whose furious and intensely personal fights with a taunting Muhammad Ali endure as an epic rivalry in boxing history, died Monday night at his home in Philadelphia. He was 67.

His business representative, Leslie Wolff, said the cause was liver cancer. An announcement over the weekend that Frazier had received the diagnosis in late September and had been moved to hospice care early this month prompted an outpouring of tributes and messages of support.

Known as Smokin’ Joe, Frazier stalked his opponents around the ring with a crouching, relentless attack — his head low and bobbing, his broad, powerful shoulders hunched — as he bore down on them with an onslaught of withering jabs and crushing body blows, setting them up for his devastating left hook.

It was an overpowering modus operandi that led to versions of the heavyweight crown from 1968 to 1973. Frazier won 32 fights in all, 27 by knockouts, losing four times — twice to Ali in furious bouts and twice to George Foreman. He also recorded one draw.
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: November 7, 2011

For more.....

Joe Frazier made his mark in Toobworld as well, with several appearances by his fictional televersion in various TV series and commercials:

'TV Funhouse'
– Astronaut Day (2001)
– Safari Day (2001)

'A Whole New Ballgame'
– Brett's Beef (1995)

'Frank's Place'
– Frank Returns (1987)

'The Jeffersons'
– You'll Never Get Rich (1985)

TV commercial for RaGu (2004)

TV commercial: Lite Beer From Miller (late 70s)

TV commercial for Vitalis with Muhammad Ali (1971)

1971: TV commercial for Muriel Cigars with Edie Adams

And in the Tooniverse:
'The Simpsons'
- Homer's Paternity Coot (2006)
– Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes? (1992)

There's certainly enough there for entry into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

It's been a recent change in the rules for the Hall of Fame that when such a member in the League of Themselves passes away, he - or she - should gain immediate entry into the Hall. Too often in the past, your lowly Toobmeister would forget to eventually induct these worthy candidates and then never remember who was eligible.

But I also thought that Joe Frazier would be a wonderful addition to kick off Black History Month as well. I'm writing this up in November, a few days after his death, but it's being published today.

So here's a little something in which Mr. Frazier has beaten Muhammed Ali - he is in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame and Ali is not... yet.

Welcome, Smokin' Joe!

BCnU.......

AS SEEN ON TV: PRINCE CHARMING

 PRINCE CHARMING

(DAVID NOLAN)

AS SEEN IN:

'Once Upon A Time'

AS PLAYED BY:

Josh Dallas

TV DIMENSION:

The Literary Universe/Earth Prime-Time

STATUS:

Recastaway

PRINCE CHARMING

(ERIC CHARMING)

AS SEEN IN:

'The Charmings'

AS PLAYED BY:

Christopher Rich

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

STATUS:

Recastaway

From Wikipedia:

Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to [the] rescue of the damsel in distress, and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella", even if in the original story they were given another name, or no name at all.

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CINDERELLA

ELLA aka CINDERELLA

(ASHLEY BOYD)

AS SEEN IN:

'Once Upon A Time'

AS PLAYED BY:

Jessy Schram

TV DIMENSION:

The Literary Universe/Earth Prime-Time

STATUS:

Recastaway

ADAPTED BY:

Charles Perrault

From Wikipedia:

"Cinderella and The Little Glass Slipper" (French: Cendrillon ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre, German: Aschenputtel) is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The story was first published by Charles Perrault in "Histoires ou contes du temps passé" in 1697.

The word "Cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of "Cinderella" continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media.

BCnU!

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

Today's the day.......

GO PATRIOTS!

LITTLE RED RIDING VIDS

AS SEEN ON TV: RED RIDING HOOD

RED RIDING HOOD

(RUBY)

AS SEEN IN:

'Once Upon A Time'

AS PLAYED BY:

Meghan Ory

TV DIMENSION:

The Literary Universe/Earth Prime-Time

STATUS:

Recastaway

ADAPTED BY:

Charles Perrault

From Wikipedia:

Little Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings. The story was first published by Charles Perrault in "Histoires ou contes du temps passé" in 1697.

BCnU!