THE "ANNA KARENINA" TRAIN ACCIDENT IN THE MULTIVERSE

This sequence in "Anna Karenina" has greater meaning at the end of the story.  Here is a compilation of all the train accident scenes from different productions of "Anna Karenina".  Most of them belong in alternate dimensions of the Cineverse, but today's "ASOTV" showcase can be seen in there as well.  It represents Earth Prime-Time.....

Yeah.... sorry about that, Chief!

BCnU!

"ANNA KARENINA"

Here's the trailer for today's "ASOTV" showcase, 'Anna Karenina':

THE "DOCTOR WHO" CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - PREQUEL

So good to see Strax back in the game!  I suppose this is from earlier in his life before "A Good Man Goes To War".  However, he could also be a Sontaran clone of the original.....

BCnU!

THE "DOCTOR WHO" CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - TRAILER

Next up in our 'Doctor Who' offerings - the trailer for the Christmas special!

This was presented last night during the Children In Need telethon.....

THE "DOCTOR WHO" CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - BEHIND THE SCENES

We've got quite a bit o' 'Doctor Who' content for this Video Weekend!

First up: 

Here are three videos of filming behind the scenes for this year's Christmas special.....

"ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS" - "BAD ACTOR"

Maybe because I saw it first, but the remake of this episode, "Method Actor", seen in the 80s remake of the series, had a more powerful finish.  Of course, that was probably because we finally saw what was in the ice bucket.....

Still, you can't beat Robert Duvall!



The "Method Actor" remake starred Martin Sheen, Robby Benson, Marilu Henner, and Parker Stevenson.  It was directed by Burt Reynolds.

BCnU!

REALI-TV: DEER-SPOTTING NEWS

I would not be surprised to see this story adapted as a "Twipped From The Headlines" plotline in some murder mystery series.  It doesn't really work for 'L&O: SVU', but I think its proper home would be in an episode of 'Longmire'......

AS SEEN ON TV: ANNA KARENINA

I trust that Team Toobworld knows that the character of Anna Karenina originated in BookWorld. However, I'll bet there are a lot of younger people out there who'll think Keira Knightley's new movie - which opened yesterday - is an original story......

ANNA KARENINA

AS SEEN IN:

"Anna Karenina"

CREATED BY:

Leo Tolstoy

PORTRAYED BY:

Claire Bloom

TV STATUS:

Original of the TV Recastaways

Multiversal:

(BookWorld, Cineverse, Toobworld)

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

"Anna Karenina" is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical "The Russian Messenger". Tolstoy clashed with its editor Mikhail Katkov over political issues that arose in the final installment (Tolstoy's unpopular views of volunteers going to Serbia); therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form.

Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered "Anna Karenina" his first true novel, when he came to consider "War and Peace" to be more than a novel.

Princess Anna Arkadyevna Karenina was Stepan Oblonsky's sister, Karenin's wife and Vronsky's lover.

"Anna Karenina" is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled womanizing—something that prefigures her own later situation, though with less tolerance for her by others.

A bachelor, Vronsky is willing to marry her if she would agree to leave her husband Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures of Russian social norms, her own insecurities and Karenin's indecision. Although Vronsky eventually takes Anna to Europe where they can be together, they have trouble making friends.

Back in Russia, she is shunned, becoming further isolated and anxious, while Vronsky pursues his social life. Despite Vronsky's reassurances she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined infidelity, fears losing control.

BCnU!

SCHNITZEL ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

This is a turkey schnitzel.

I'm not sure if my friend Javier Andino made this as part of his cooking class, or if it was his lunch order last week and he liked it so much he photographed it. (Thankfully before he digested it.)

However, when I saw the picture, the first thing I thought was - I wish I had my 'Star Trek' action figures there......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DAMON SALVATORE

Since it's Casual Friday here at Toobworld Central.....

DAMON SALVATORE

AS SEEN IN:

'The Vampire Diaries'

CREATED BY:

L. J. Smith

PORTRAYED BY:

Ian Somerhalder

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

Damon Salvatore is the anti-hero and a main character of 'The Vampire Diaries'. He was the main antagonist in Season One. He is the elder brother of Stefan Salvatore. He was born in the 1800s and lived in the colonial town of Mystic Falls with his brother Stefan and his father, Giuseppe Salvatore. He became a vampire in 1864. At the time of his return to Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan hadn't seen each other in fifteen years due to their bitter, violent relationship. 

Damon’s sole purpose for coming back to Mystic Falls was to free Katherine Pierce, the vampire who turned him and the woman he loved. After realizing that Katherine never loved him, Damon started working with Stefan and Katherine’s descendent and doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert, with whom he fell in love with. 

Damon is also the head of the Town Council, along with Sheriff Forbes and Carol Lockwood, and currently lives with Stefan in the Salvatore Boarding House. For the majority of the first season, Damon was the main antagonist, but during the later seasons, he cooperates with Stefan to protect Elena as he has a change of heart, literally. 

He was bitten by Tyler Lockwood, a werewolf, after freeing him during a full moon. He was saved when Katherine brought him a vial filled witih the cure, Klaus’ blood.

O'BSERVATIONS:

Toobworld Central has determined that one of the many reboots to the timeline of Earth Prime-Time will wipe out the development of Tru-Blood and thus the acceptance of vampires in open society.  So 'True Blood' is on the "previous" timeline (whichever that may be), but most of the storylines from that show will be gone forever.  (However, the characters will still exist but with different destinies.)

On the other hand, the lives of the Salvatore brothers will for the most part remain unaffected by this seismic temporal alteration.  (The same holds true for the characters in the UK version of 'Being Human'.)

BCnU!

PORTLAND'S POPULATION PRUNED

'Grimm' took one of my personal boogiemen and transferred them into wesen for the show's mythology.....

Wendigos are monsters created when a man devours human flesh. (I first learned of them in a Marvel comic book - "The Incredible Hulk", I think?) and I found the idea... disturbing, to say the least.

Side Note: The show suggested that Jeffrey Dahmer was a Wendigo.

The Wendigo in question had been prowling on the Portland area residents for at least a decade. According to the 'Grimm' version of the legend, Wendigos bury the bones of their victims near where they live (perhaps to mark their territories?)

A small grocery had been built over the property where these Wendigo brothers used to live. and when the floor was dug up, the skeletal remains of at least eight people were found. (8 - a 'Lost' number!)

It was suggested there were to be dozens more to be found elsewhere around the Portland area.

You do realize what this means for the Toobworld Dynamic, don't you? It's a way to bring closure for TV characters from cancelled TV shows that were set in Portland.

MUWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I hope you're not feeling sorry for them. If they meant anything to you, their shows might still be on the air!

The first to have been served up as human jerky should be the various detectives from the TV series 'Under Suspicion'. Otherwise, why haven't we seen Detectives Vitelli and Phillips cross paths with Nick and Hank on some city-wide manhunt?

When we saw the surviving Wendigo simmering a stew with a human foot as part of its stock, I'd like to think it was that of high school coach Spud Lincoln from the early 90s family dramedy 'Sons And Daughters'. It looked to be the size for someone who worked out.

From that same show the rest of the Hammersmith family should be considered polished off as a series of entrees. And for the tangy taste of ethnic and racial variety, the Brothers Kreski couldn't go wrong with the Randall family. Among the members of that family were Sam, a boy of Korean heritage, and Sally, who was black.

(The interesting thing about that show - 'Together We Stand' - is that it was pulled from the airwaves after about a month. It returned after being retooled under the title 'Nothing Is Easy'. But now the father of the family had died in a car accident. Perhaps David Randall ran off the road after seeing the Kreski brothers in their Wendigo form. Maybe they caused the accident to remove him for the picture so they could pick off the members of his family......)

Another family to be removed from the census in Portland thanks to the Wendigos would be the Hansens, as seen in 'The Boys Are Back' - especially Rick Hansen, who was an undercover cop on the Portland police force.

But the best of the bunch for finding potential victims of the Wendigos would be MacLean Stevenson's much-maligned sitcom, 'Hello, Larry'.

'Hello, Larry'? Hello, Lunch!

By the way, one show set in Portland, Oregon, which would be safe from this type of cannibalistic culling would be 'Portlandia'. It is only to be found in Skitlandia.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: LUCY CARMICHAEL

Here's another character you may not have known originated (somewhat) in BookWorld:

LUCY CARMICHAEL

AS SEEN IN:

'The Lucy Show'

ADAPTED FROM:

"Life Without George"

BY:

Irene Kampen

PORTRAYED BY:

Lucille Ball

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

After the death of her husband, Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball) and her friend, the recently divorced Vivian Bagley (Vivian Vance), move into a house together with their children. The series follows the adventures of the widow Lucy as she grapples with the comic complications of life on her own.

- DVD Release Note

'The Lucy Show' does not have the iconic status of I Love Lucy, but it was a worthy and very popular successor (it was the fifth-rated show in its inaugural season). Based on a book, Life Without George, it was something of a groundbreaking series in that it centered on two single moms: one, Lucy, a widower, and the other, Vivian (Vivian Vance), a divorcee (the first such sitcom character). Vivian and her son, Sherman (Ralph Hart), share Lucy''s suburban home in Danfield, New York, with her two children: teenage daughter Chris (Candy Moore) and wisecracking young son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett), who delivers zingers like a pint-sized Fred Mertz.

-Donald Liberson

Tower Video Review

From Wikipedia:

Irene Kampen (April 18, 1922, in Brooklyn, NY – February 1, 1998 in California) was an American newspaperwoman and writer who wrote several books about events in her life.

Kampen's first book, "Life Without George", was published by Doubleday in 1961 and was about her divorce. The book became the basis for 'The Lucy Show', a TV series that ran from 1962 to 1968 and starred Lucille Ball, who had also experienced divorce recently in her split with Desi Arnaz. (Producers re-wrote Ball's character, Lucille Carmichael, as a widow, however, Vivian Vance's character, Vivian Bagley, is portrayed as divorced.)

The credits list the show's basis as the novel "Life Without George", by Irene Kampen. This book was a collection of humorous pieces about two divorced women and their children living together. A next-door airline pilot neighbor, Harry Connors, became a character in the series played by Dick Martin. The character of Chris, Lucy's daughter in the series, had the same name in the book. In a later volume of essays, "Nobody Calls at This Hour Just To Say Hello", Kampen wrote a piece entitled "How Not to Meet Lucille Ball," which detailed her efforts to meet Lucy when she visited Los Angeles. Ms. Kampen and Ms. Ball never met.

O'BSERVATIONS:

I suppose this will be considered heresy, but I preferred 'The Lucy Show' over 'I Love Lucy'.....

BCnU!

SUPER SIX LIST: DEATH COMES TO TOOBWORLD

SIX NOTABLE DEATHS IN TOOBWORLD

1] CHUCKLES THE CLOWN ('The Mary Tyler Moore Show')

Dressed as Peter Peanut, George Bowerchuck was shelled to death by a rogue elephant named Jocko. But as Murray Slaughter pointed out, it could have been worse - he could have been dressed as Billy Banana and have a gorilla peel him to death. (This will probably serve as the gold standard for Toobworld deaths for all time.)

Look at him. He was just asking for it.

2] ROSALIND SHAYS ('L. A. Law')

This came out of nowhere. One minute the rather unlikable lawyer is waiting for the elevator, chatting with the senior partner of MacKenzie-Brackman, and the next she got the shaft.

3] VICTOR GIANNELLI ('The Bob Newhart Show')

After being drummed out of Dr. Hartley's therapy group, Mr. Giannelli was crushed by a truckload of zucchini. There have been a lot of deaths by crushing in Toobworld - by piano ('Night Court'), by satellite ('Northern Exposure'), by car compactor ('Bones'), by elephant ('Monk'), by hospital bed ('St. Elsewhere'), and by the wife ('Picket Fences') - but this was the most ignoble.

4] MERLIN THE GREAT ('Burke's Law')

After being submerged for hours in an airtight coffin at the bottom of a swimming pool in front of many witnesses, the magician was brought back to the surface - only to be found dead of a gunshot wound. It must not have made that much of an impact in the news because it happened again about twenty years later, but was solved by the magician Alexander Blacke ('Blacke's Magic'). But when it happened again to a magician named Merlin the Great and the case was handled once again by Amos Burke, then I knew he had to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's if he couldn't remember that first case he solved.

THE SECOND ATTEMPT
SOLVED BY ALEXANDER BLACKE

5] EDDIE LeBEC ('Cheers')

A former pro hockey player, Eddie was working as a team mascot (dressed as a penguin) when he was run over by a Zamboni. It was only through his death that it was learned that Eddie was a bigamist.

6] COACH LEROY FEDDERS ('Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman')

We end this list with my pick for the second greatest death in Toobworld history. Suffering from the flu, Coach Fedders tried to fight it by over-medicating himself with booze and pills. When Mary brought over a big bowl of chicken soup, Fedders passed out face down in the bowl... and drowned.

Three honorable mentions:

A)  Susan ('Seinfeld')
She overdosed on licking the toxic envelopes for her wedding invitations.

B)  Beverly Leslie ('Will & Grace')
He was picked up by a gust of wind and blown off the balcony to his penthouse apartment.

C)  Monica Mancuso ('Las Vegas')
A gust of wind also took out Ms. Mancuso, snatched off the roof of the Montecito Casino/Hotel in her billowy dress.

What are some of your favorite deaths to be found in Toobworld?

Had I been doing a list of deaths in the Tooniverse, I would have had the death of Chef on 'South Park' topping the list. For Skitlandia? Probably the Killer Christmas Trees on 'Saturday Night Live'. (I ran through the sketches of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', but nothing really jumped out at me, except maybe the 16 ton weight and Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days".....)

BCnU!

THE TWO VICTOR GIANELLIS

Victor Gianelli was one of the patients of psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley. His problem mainly dealt with anger management issues. He held little regard for Dr. Hartley and even less for his fellow members in the group therapy sessions, and they were all happy when Dr. Hartley threw him out of the group. That is, until Mr. Gianelli was crushed to death by a truckload of zucchini.

Victor Gianelli was so dismissive of Dr. Hartley's attempts to treat him that he once sent his brother to take his place during a session. Using his brother Victor's name, this brother also had anger issues, which is why Dr. Hartley never challenged him on his right to be there.

And that's the way Toobworld Central disables the recastaway Zonk of the last on-screen appearance by Victor Gianelli in 'The Bob Newhart Show'. Up until that point, Noam Pitlik played the role but he dropped out to concentrate on his directing career. So the role was recast for one episode with Daniel J. Travanti.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: FBI AGENT BOOTH

FBI AGENT SEELEY BOOTH

AS SEEN IN:
'Bones'

CREATED BY:
Kathy Reichs

PORTRAYED BY:
David Boreanaz

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:
Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series 'Bones' (2005–present), portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series with his girlfriend Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), whom he affectionately refers to as "Bones".

Seeley Booth is a former sniper in the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division, 75th Ranger Regiment, and Special Forces. He is also an expert knife thrower. Before leaving the Army, Booth held the rank of master sergeant. He served in the Gulf War, Somalia and Kosovo. While in the military he earned a Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal. For a time, he held the record for the longest shot ("Well over a kilometer") made in combat.

Acting as a liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian Institute, Booth frequently consults with his professional partner Dr. Brennan and her team, whom he refers to as "squints" or "squint squad". Booth's approach to solving crimes is different from that of Brennan and her team; he prefers a more human, interpersonal and intuitive set of methods. While Booth values the information uncovered by Brennan, he often finds their methods convoluted and restrictive. Initially, Booth's presence is met by hostility from some of the team members, especially Jack Hodgins, but these differences are put aside and Booth is accepted as a member of the group.

Created by Hart Hanson, ['Bones'] is very loosely based on the life and writings of novelist and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, who also produces the show. Its title character, Temperance Brennan, is named after the protagonist of Reichs' crime novel series.

For MUCH more, click here.

BCnU!

DOUBLE VISION: A RODDY BASTID!

I thought about sharing this on Veterans' Day, but as much as I like Roddy McDowall, my take on these characters he played in '12 O'Clock High' and 'Combat!' makes them unworthy to be seen in Inner Toob on a day when we honor those who fought for our country.....

During WWII, the fighter planes were given colorful names, the most famous - in both the real world and in Toobworld - would probably be the Enola Gay.

Over in England there was Angel Babe, which was coming up on her fiftieth combat mission. A film crew had come over from the States to get some footage before Angel Babe was retired and sent back to go on a publicity tour (probably to raise money through war bonds.)

T/Sgt. Willets protested against this, saying that Angel Babe did not want to be retired, that she wanted to keep fighting. A legend had grown around Willets and Angel Babe, that he really could get in touch with how the plane was feeling.

And sure enough, a string of misfortunes happened that kept preventing Angel Babe from reaching that fiftieth mission milestone. When she finally did go up, she almost didn't make it back to base and T/Sgt. Willets lost faith in her. But she got them all home safely, only to burst into flames as soon as everybody was clear.

The general feeling was that Angel Babe committed suicide rather than be paraded for show. More than likely, however, the plane was so severely damaged by that last raid, that its fuel storage system caught fire.

But what if it was sabotage? Who could have done such a thing?

I think it was T/Sgt. Willets. And I believe he was a Nazi spy.

Willets showed up a few months later in France, only now he was an infantry man named Murfree. But he still looked the same, still had that "good ol' boy" Southern drawl. He infiltrated Sgt. Saunders' platoon and was eventually revealed to be a Nazi.

Both roles were played by Roddy McDowall - Willets in '12 O'Clock High' ("Angel Babe") and Murfree in 'Combat!' ("The Long Walk").

Why was "Willets" so adamant that Angel Babe should not be retired, that "she" did not want to go back to America?

I think he had special equipment secretly installed on board which aided the efforts of the enemy every time the plane flew over Europe. Perhaps it passed messages, perhaps it gave the German guns exact directions for shooting down the other planes around it. Maybe that's why it was able to reach the fiftieth mission mark unlike many other planes.

"Willets" knew that the heightened interest in Angel Babe would make it impossible for him to get the hidden equipment safely removed without revealing his true identity. And so he set the plane up to explode - once he was safely away from it, of course. And then a few days later - unseen by the viewing audience at home in the Trueniverse - "Willets" went AWOL and fled to France. There he killed an American soldier by the name of Murfree and wore his dog-tags in an attempt to pass himself off as American until he could reach the safety of his own kind.

Here's the 'Combat!' episode "The Long Walk":

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: RIZZOLI & ISLES

Another two TV characters you might not have realized came from BookWorld.  Or maybe you did, as Mr. Crider would say......

DETECTIVE JANE RIZZOLI & DOCTOR MAURA ISLES

AS SEEN IN:
'Rizzoli & Isles'

CREATED BY:
Tess Gerritsen

PORTRAYED BY:
Jane Rizzoli - Angie Harmon
Maura Isles - Sasha Alexander

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:
'Rizzoli & Isles' is a TNT television series starring Angie Harmon as police detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The one-hour drama is based on the "Rizzoli & Isles" series of novels by Tess Gerritsen. The series' backstory is inspired by "The Surgeon". Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) was investigating a serial killer named Charles Hoyt (Michael Massee) some time before the series began.  The series pilot, "See One. Do One. Teach One", is largely based on the novel "The Apprentice". Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) investigate a killer with Hoyt's modus operandi, plus an interest in necrophilia.

JANE RIZZOLI

Jane Clementine Rizzoli, is a Boston detective working for the Boston Police Department. From an Italian American family, Jane is brash, brilliant, and often prickly but also a confident and independent woman. She is the tomboy daughter of an overprotective mother. She is extremely competitive, especially with her little brother, Frankie, who is often caught in her shadow. Jane can tackle a perp like a linebacker. She rarely lets her guard down with anyone, except her best friend, Maura Isles. As a child, she was slightly chubby, earning her the nickname "Roly-Poly Rizzoli". She mentioned in one episode that she played field hockey as an attacker in junior college. She is the eldest Rizzoli sibling, and graduated high school in the class of 1994. She is hopeless with men and allergic to dogs, but she winds up taking in Jo Friday, a stray dog rescued by her former partner, Korsak. Raised in the blue-collar Boston suburb of Revere, Jane has fought long and hard to win the respect of her colleagues, but it's her relationship with her equally stubborn mother, Angela Rizzoli, that sometimes proves to be her biggest headache. During her time on the force, she had a traumatizing experience at the hands at a serial killer known as 'The Surgeon', Charles Hoyt. While trying to rescue one of his victims, she was taken by surprise from behind and almost became a victim herself. She has matching scars in the center of her palms where Hoyt stabbed her with scalpels, keeping her pinned to the ground. Her original partner Vince Korsak saved her life, and Jane survived the brutal, near-death attack by Hoyt. Although she put Hoyt behind bars, she is still haunted by him. In the season 2 episode "Remember Me", she stabbed and killed him.

MAURA ISLES

Dr. Maura Dorthea Isles, is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Chief Medical Examiner and a forensic expert working at the Boston Police Department. She is Rizzoli's best friend. Maura is a walking library, able to spout out facts, regardless of whether or not they are relevant to a case. She has a pet tortoise named Bass, after renowned forensic pathologist William M. Bass. Maura is not easily ruffled and has a steady temperament. She absolutely loves examining dead bodies, but she has a tendency to diagnose living people a little too often. She is an adopted only child of a wealthy family. In high school, she was nicknamed "Maura-The-Bore-A" because her classmates thought she was boring. She is always dressed impeccably, as if she were going to a photo shoot. She is known around the force as "Queen of the Dead"; her ring tone on Jane's phone appropriately plays Chopin's "Funeral March". Maura is the complete opposite of Jane, though they are best friends; Rizzoli is more of a tomboy, while Maura always looks like she is going to a fashion shoot rather than to the morgue or a crime scene. Though Maura is socially awkward and has trouble with men due to her brutal honesty and habit of revealing all their medical conditions, she isn't awkward around Jane. She can analyze x-rays and blood chemistries, can slice open muscles and organs, but possesses no scalpel with which to dissect human emotions. Maura also can not lie; if she does, she breaks out in hives. It is later revealed that her biological father is an Irish crime boss named Paddy Doyle, something she finds out while investigating her half-brother's death. She finds out in the first episode of the third season entitled, "What Doesn't Kill You" that her father said she died as a newborn on the day she was born August 7, 1976 and has a gravesite and marker with the name of Baby Maura Doyle on it.

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

RICK HARRISON: STUCK IN "THE MIDDLE" WITH YOU

Thom Holbrook, who runs the encyclopedia of TV crossovers (His link is the top one at the left, Team Toobworld - that's how important it is!), asked this on Facebook tonight (11/11/12):

"Did I just see 'The Middle' crossover with 'Pawn Stars'???"

Apparently he did.  Sue and Brick Heck bought a safe at a garage sale which they thought contained a document signed by former President Gerald Ford*.  'Pawn Stars' regular Rick Harrison appeared as his own televersion and offered them 20 bucks just to cover their loss.  But Sue insisted on haggling and only got seven dollars in the end.

Technically, 'Pawn Stars' already existed in Earth Prime-Time just by being broadcast.  But it's always better when there's an actual connection made to another show of fictional content.  'Jeopardy' on 'Cheers', 'Wheel Of Fortune' on 'L.A. Law', 'American Gladiators' on 'Family Matters', 'Big Brother' on 'Yes, Dear' etc. - that sort of thing.

So this sub-plot on 'The Middle' gives 'Pawn Stars' Toobworld street cred.  And it puts Rick Harrison just one credit away from eligibility for the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

*The signature was that of Gerard Ferg, by the way.......

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Thom!

BCnU!

HE'S A GRUMBY, DAMMIT!

During the time spent by the castaways on 'Gilligan's Island' (1964-1978), a lot of people crossed paths with the passengers of S. S. Minnow and its crew.  (For a deserted island, it had a lot of traffic!)  And from April 1967 to October of 1978, we never saw those seven stranded castaways on our TV screens, so who knows how many more visitors arrived on 'Gilligan's Island'?

And perhaps among those unseen arrivals were doppelgangers for Mary Ann, Mrs. Howell, the Professor, and the Skipper.  That's over a decade, so it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, it could have happened.  Normally the odds are against it, but in the three years in which we did see them on the island, evil twins for Gilligan, Ginger, and Thurston Howell III showed up:

• An "ugly duckling" named Eva Grubb was transformed into a dead ringer for Ginger Grant.  She escaped the island with the intent of taking over Ginger's movie career.
• A crook who looked like Thurston Howell III passed himself off as the only survivor of the shipwreck.  But when he fell overboard from a party yacht, he washed up on the island.
• Gilligan's doppelganger was the most dangerous, as he was a KGB spy and it was the height of the Cold War.

If a doppelganger of the Skipper ever showed up, almost any modern-day TV character played by Alan Hale, Jr. could be used.  (All of his Western roles would have long been dead, and his character from 'Land Of The Giants' was from Brobdingnag in another dimension.)

Some of them - with "Big" as part of their names - would have caused trouble for the castaways, and others would have been good-natured lunks willing to help the others get off the island - only to see the plan collapse due to Gilligan's bleep-up.

But there was one Alan Hale Jr. character whom I think could have fit right in on 'Gilligan's Island', even though he originated on a drama series - because I believe he was more than just a look-alike, he was the Skipper's actual twin brother! 

Unfortunately, he died before the Skipper set ground on that uncharted desert isle.

A land swindler named Nelson Barclift willingly participated in an insurance scheme, without realizing he was being set up to be the patsy.  A very dead patsy.  (Della Street, the secretary of 'Perry Mason', filed this report as "The Case Of The Bouncing Boomerang".)

In the course of the investigation, Paul Drake discovered that "Nelson Barclift" was not even his real name.  But we were never told what his real name actually was.

The Skipper's real name wasn't used very often on 'Gilligan's Island', but he is listed as "Jonas Grumby".

So why couldn't "Nelson Barclift" actually be a Grumby?  Perhaps even Nelson Grumby (for some reason taking the name Barclift from the real world choreographer Nelson Barclift.)

He had been dead nearly a year before Captain Jonas Grumby and the others on board the S. S. Minnow were caught in a bad storm during a three hour tour.  A three hour tour.  So I don't see why the topic of the Skipper having lost his twin brother should have come up during any of those episodes - except maybe those three previously mentioned which dealt with evil twins.

In those fourteen years on that island, so much of it off-screen, maybe the Skipper finally opened up and told the others about his ne'er-do-well twin brother.  Maybe during one of those group therapy sessions on the beach which we always saw in the closing credits.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ASTA

ASTA

AS SEEN IN:

'The Thin Man'

ADAPTED FROM:

"The Thin Man"

BY:

Dashiell Hammett

PORTRAYED BY:

Asta Junior

TV STATUS:

Multiverse Recastaway

[BookWorld, the Cineverse, Toobworld]

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

Asta was the playful pet dog of Nick and Nora Charles, tugging them around town on his walks, hiding from danger, and sniffing out corpses. ("Asta, you're not a terrier, you're a police dog," Nick tells him.) The character later appeared in the sequels "After the Thin Man", "Another Thin Man", "Shadow of the Thin Man", "The Thin Man Goes Home", "Song of the Thin Man", as well as the 1950s television show 'The Thin Man'.

The original character of Asta in Dashiell Hammett's book of "The Thin Man" was not a male Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, but a female Schnauzer. Due to the enormous popularity of the Asta character as played by Skippy, interest in pet terriers skyrocketed. Asta's enduring fame is such that the name is a frequent answer in The New York Times crossword puzzles (crosswordese), in response to clues such as "Thin Man dog" or "Dog star."

Although Skippy played Asta in the first two "Thin Man" films, other terriers, trained by the Weatherwax family and by Frank Inn, took on the role in subsequent films of the series, and in the television show.

O'BSERVATIONS:

Making such a drastic change in Asta -from a female schnauzer to a male fox terrier - would be like changing Jim in "Tom Sawyer" into a white man. (Or into a robot as has been done in an edition of the book.) I wonder how Hammett felt about that. (Probably didn't give a damn so long as the checks kept coming in.....)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: GENERAL JAMES MATTIS

The "ASOTV" showcase does its part to honor the veterans......

GENERAL JAMES N. "CHAOS" MATTIS

AS SEEN IN:
'Generation Kill'

PORTRAYED BY:
Robert John Burke

TV STATUS:
Multiversal
[Trueniverse, BookWorld, Toobworld]

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:
James N. Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a United States Marine Corps general and the current commander of United States Central Command. Having replaced David Petraeus on August 11, 2010, he previously commanded United States Joint Forces Command from November 9, 2007 to August 2010 and served concurrently as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation from November 9, 2007 to September 8, 2009. Prior to that, he commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Forces Central Command, and 1st Marine Division during the Iraq War.

General James Mattis is portrayed by Robert John Burke in the HBO miniseries 'Generation Kill'.

QUOTES:
Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling.... You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.
—James Mattis,  Speech in San Diego, 2005

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all.
—James Mattis,  Message to the Iraqi leaders

O'BSERVATIONS:
I guess the reason I chose General Mattis for today's showcase - aside from this being Veterans' Day - is the mention of General Petraeus, who happens to be in the news this week.....

I think we've featured only one other TV character this year who was not only from BookWorld but from the Trueniverse as well.  

Today's entry sort of kicks off a week-long theme - TV characters you might not have realized originated in a book.  (But like I said, General Mattis exists in the real world first and foremost.)

BCnU!

ELECTION 2012 - "IN MEMORIAM"

MACCA RUTLES

GEORGE HARRISON & "THE PIRATE SONG"

I should have featured this on "Talk Like A Pirate Day"

LATE FOR HALLOWEEN

"WEST WING" & OBAMA

A CROSSOVER CLASSIC

"DOCTOR WHO" ON REMEMBRANCE DAY (VETERANS' DAY)

For this Veterans' Day, we kick things off with our weekly 'Doctor Who' content:

Thanks to my brother for pointing out that the old video link was disabled sometime after 4 this morning.  This one is better because it puts into context who the old soldier is.....

Thank you to all the veterans.....

BCnU!