From the Reali-TV division of the Toobworld Dynamic.....
Back in college, this would be considered a hedge-toad......
BCnU!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
"DOCTOR WHO?"
Friday marked the forty-ninth anniversary for 'Doctor Who'. Next year, I
think the lead-up to the fiftieth anniversary will examine the answer to "the
First Question", a question that must never be answered.
I think this is the question:
BCnU!
THE GHOSTS OF ERIC & ERNIE.....
Morecambe & Wise were the biggest comedy duo in Great Britain for
decades. Although no way similar in style, they may have been the equivalent in
popularity to Abbott & Costello over here in the States. I'm probably wrong
in that estimation and comparison, but then they weren't known over here; I know
very little about them.
For the annual "Children In Need" telethon, their act was resurrected
onstage - in the form of a hologram, a la Tupac Shakur earlier this year.
How does this play out in the Toobworld Dynamic?
I think in Skitlandia this would mark their appearance as ghosts in front
of a live audience.....
But what do I know?
BCnU!
FAGEN ON "LETTERMAN"
Donald Fagen, one half of my all-time favorite group (Steely Dan), performed a song from his new album, "Sunken Condos" on 'The Late Show with David Letterman':
AS SEEN ON TV: WILL STOCKDALE
Even though this was one of Andy Griffith's greatest roles, and he truly
made it his own by going multiversal with it, this is the portrayal that's the
official televersion for Earth Prime-Time......
WILL STOCKDALE
AS SEEN IN:
'No Time For Sergeants'
CREATED BY:
Mac Hyman
PORTRAYED BY:
Sammy Jackson
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time
From Wikipedia:
The series was produced by George Burns's production company and shown in the UK on ITV from 1965 to 196. It also preceded Burns' own 'Wendy and Me' sitcom, with Connie Stevens, which aired on the Monday night ABC schedule.
Friday, November 23, 2012
AS SEEN ON TV: KING ARTHUR
We're taking a break from the "TV Rerun Leftovers" on this Black Friday, in
order to pay tribute to a legendary actor.....
On this date 125 years ago, William Henry Pratt was born in Camberwell, London, UK.
He's better known to the world as Boris Karloff......
KING ARTHUR
AS SEEN IN:
'Studio One' -
"A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court"
ADAPTED BY:
Mark Twain
PORTRAYED BY:
Boris Karloff
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
Dream Figure
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time (but in a dream)
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th
centuries, who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of
Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's
story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical
existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical
background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the "Annales
Cambriae", the "Historia Brittonum", and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name
also occurs in early poetic sources such as "Y Gododdin".
The legendary
Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the
popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century
"Historia Regum Britanniae" ("History of the Kings of Britain").
The revived
Arthurian romance also proved influential in the United States, with such books
as Sidney Lanier's "The Boy's King Arthur" (1880) reaching wide audiences and
providing inspiration for Mark Twain's satiric "A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court" (1889).
BCnU!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
A VERY WKRP THANKSGIVING
I suppose this should be a Thanksgiving Day tradition - the greatest TV show episode ever about Thanksgiving.....
AS SEEN ON TV: HERCULE POIROT (x 3)
For the week of Thanksgiving, we're featuring reruns as our leftovers -
literary characters as seen on TV who have been previously featured in this
showcase.
And for Thanksgiving Day, we have over-stuffed the gallery with three versions of Dame Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot.
When he was featured early in the year, we used the Poirot from the Cineverse Borderlands. And we still have not given this "tribute" to the Hercule Poirot of Earth Prime-Time, as played by David Suchet.
HERCULE POIROT
CREATED BY:
Dame Agatha Christie
AS PORTRAYED BY:
Alfred Molina
AS SEEN IN:
"Murder On The Orient Express"
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
TV DIMENSION:
Evil Toobworld
Liberties with the original story can be expected in any TV production.
For the official Earth Prime-Time adaptation of this, the best known of Poirot's
cases, a major revision was given to the televersion of Dr. Constantine. But
that not only worked, in my opinion it was an improvement over the original
story. However, this TV movie eliminated too many characters and by doing so
removed the important reason for such a large cast. And thus, it is EVIL!
AS PORTRAYED BY:
Martin Gabel
AS SEEN IN:
'G.E. True Theater'
"Hercule Poirot"
TV STATUS:
Recastaway (Original)
TV DIMENSION:
Prequel Toobworld
Gabel's performance as Poirot was the first appearance for the character
and this episode of the anthology series served as a pilot for a proposed TV
show. Normally the rule in Toobworld is the first portrayal of any character is
the official televersion for Earth Prime-Time. But a one-shot version has to be
put aside in favor of a recastaway who logs more screen time with an actual
series, and such is the case here. By the end of next year, David Suchet will
have been seen in adaptations of every single story by Christie about Poirot.
He will forever stand as the benchmark for the role. Gabel's performance then
has to be relegated to the world of prequels (no good name for that world yet)
in which we also find Art Carney's version of Horace Ford and Stuart Margolin as
Rabbi David Small.
(I'd also like to think his TV dimension might be that of "Over There" as seen in 'Fringe', if only for the fact that Martin Gabel's grandson Seth Gabel played FBI/Fringe Division Agent Lincoln Lee in that world.)
I need to get to the Paley Center one of these days and see if they have Gabel's performance in the archives......
PORTRAYED BY:
Sir Ian Holm
AS SEEN IN:
"Murder By The Book"
TV STATUS:
Dream Figure
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time Dream
Toobworld Central makes allowances for recasting due to aging. So Dame
Peggy Ashcroft is Dame Agatha Christie for Earth Prime-Time as a woman near the
end of her life, while Fenella Woolgar is the younger Agatha Christie as seen in
the 'Doctor Who' episode "The Unicorn And The Wasp". Holm's Poirot is merely
the manifestation of Christie's sleuth in a dream she had while working out the
details for the last book to be written about Poirot, "Curtain".
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. As one of our Poirots (at least!) would never say:
"Gabel Gabel Gabel!"
BCnU!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
AS SEEN ON TV: QUASIMODO, PART THREE
For our "Rerun Leftovers" week, here's something appropriate for Hump
Day......
QUASIMODO
CREATED BY:
Victor Hugo
PORTRAYED BY:
Mandy Patinkin
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
TV DIMENSION:
Alternate Toobworld
From Wikipedia:
Quasimodo is described as "hideous" and a "creation of the devil." He was
born with a hunchback, and a giant wart that covers his right eye. He is found
abandoned in Notre Dame (on the foundlings' bed, where orphans and unwanted
children are left to public charity) on Quasimodo Sunday, the first Sunday after
Easter, by Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, who adopts the baby,
names him after the day the baby was found, and brings him up to be the
bell-ringer of the Cathedral. Due to the loud ringing of the bells, Quasimodo
also becomes deaf. Although he is hated for his deformity, it is revealed that
he is fairly kind at heart.
Quasimodo's name can be considered a pun. Frollo finds him on the cathedral's doorsteps on Quasimodo Sunday and names him after the holiday. However, the Latin words "quasi" and "modo" also mean "almost" and "the standard measure" respectively. As such, Quasimodo is "almost the standard measure" of a human person.
Quasimodo's name can be considered a pun. Frollo finds him on the cathedral's doorsteps on Quasimodo Sunday and names him after the holiday. However, the Latin words "quasi" and "modo" also mean "almost" and "the standard measure" respectively. As such, Quasimodo is "almost the standard measure" of a human person.
BCnU!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
AS SEEN ON TV: THE WHITE KNIGHT (2 x)
THE WHITE KNIGHT
CREATED BY:
Lewis Carroll
PORTRAYED BY:
Bill Dana
AS SEEN IN:
"Alice In Wonderland:
Or What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?"
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
TV DIMENSION:
Wonderland Of The Tooniverse
PORTRAYED BY:
Matt Frewer
AS SEEN IN:
'Alice'
TV STATUS:
Recastaway/Descendent
TV DIMENSION:
Original Wonderland
(150 years later)
BCnU!
Monday, November 19, 2012
AS SEEN ON TV: LT. TRAGG (RECASTAWAY)
LIEUTENANT ARTHUR TRAGG
AS SEEN IN:
'The New Perry Mason'
CREATED BY:
Earle Stanley Gardner
PORTRAYED BY:
Dane Clark
TV STATUS:
Recastaway
TV DIMENSION:
An updated Toobworld
Possibly an evil dimension*
From "The Perry Mason TV Show Book"
The most famous of the three policemen regularly featured on the Mason series was the wry, dry-witted Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. Although not as prominent, Tragg was in reality an even bigger loser than his boss, Hamilton Burger. After all, whereas Burger was guilty only of losing every case he brought to court against Perry Mason, Traggand his later counterpartswas guilty of making all those false arrests.
The most famous of the three policemen regularly featured on the Mason series was the wry, dry-witted Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. Although not as prominent, Tragg was in reality an even bigger loser than his boss, Hamilton Burger. After all, whereas Burger was guilty only of losing every case he brought to court against Perry Mason, Traggand his later counterpartswas guilty of making all those false arrests.
From Sleuth Noir:
Lt Arthur Tragg is a... detective lieutenant from the Los Angeles Police Department. He worked very closely for many years with Hamilton Burger, a Los Angeles district attorney who always lost his cases when he faced Perry Mason. Lt Tragg spent years observing the methodology of Mason and his associate Paul Drake, and was particularly impressed with Mason's ability to handle difficult witnesses with tough questioning, and Drake's ability to make deductions from crime scene evidence.
Lt Arthur Tragg is a... detective lieutenant from the Los Angeles Police Department. He worked very closely for many years with Hamilton Burger, a Los Angeles district attorney who always lost his cases when he faced Perry Mason. Lt Tragg spent years observing the methodology of Mason and his associate Paul Drake, and was particularly impressed with Mason's ability to handle difficult witnesses with tough questioning, and Drake's ability to make deductions from crime scene evidence.
BCnU!
*Well, it would have to be an evil dimension, wouldn't it? To bring the
show back with all new actors a year after the original series ended its lengthy
run, showing no respect to the audience's love for those characters?
Sunday, November 18, 2012
PROGRAMMING NOTE: THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS
Since Thanksgiving is this week, we'll be serving up "reruns" in the
"ASOTV" gallery - by that I mean different incarnations of characters whom we
featured already in the past year.
It's our version of leftovers.
I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
BCnU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "JOE ISUZU"!
David Leisure, whose best known role has to be "Joe Isuzu", celebrated his 62nd birthday the other day. And so who better to help us pay the bills for Toobworld Central this week?
TOOBMUSIC: LASSIE'S THEME... PLUS
One of the touchstones in the audience memories of 'Lassie' has to be the
theme music.....
But other music played an important role in underscoring scenes from the show. Here's a very moving piece. (Make sure you read the description of the scene - it must have broken a lot of hearts back in the Trueniverse when it first played out.)
BCnU!
LASSIE - "A BRAND NEW FAMILY"
Eventually it was decided to replace the human cast of 'Lassie' (probably
because Tommy Rettig was getting older?) Thankfully, the producers chose not to
play the recastaway game and instead brought in a whole new family to live on
the farm and care for Lassie.
Here's a great example of Life During Prime Time done right!
BCnU!
'LASSIE' - IN THE BEGINNING
Here's a classic - the first episode of 'Lassie', in which she came to live
with Jeff......
BCnU!
LASSIE UBER ALLES!
There are alternate TV dimensions in which all of the TV characters speak
one particular language because a certain country at some point conquered the
world.
With German Toobworld, that happened with Germany winning World War II.
(It was a world in which Edith Keeler survived her encounter with three
Starfleet officers from the starship Enterpise.)
For the most part, life in German Toobworld (Earth Prime-Time/Deutsche?)
played out the same as it did in Earth Prime-Time.
Here is an example:
BCnU!
LASSIE TO THE RESCUE!
We can consider this to be the Lassie from either the alternate TV
dimension of Skitlandia or the Blipverse/Adverse.....
THE DAY LASSIE WENT TO THE MOON
So I'm thinking there should be a musical spot each Video Weekend as a
regular feature. And what could be better than this further adventure of our
"ASOTV" showcase?
AS SEEN ON TV: LASSIE
One last TV character who began life as a character from BookWorld, and you
probably didn't know it. Maybe you did. Or maybe you thought "she" began life in the
Cineverse?
LASSIE
AS SEEN IN:
'Lassie'
CREATED BY:
Eric Knight
PORTRAYED BY:
Pal
TV STATUS:
Multiversal
[BookWorld, the Cineverse, Toobworld]
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time
From Wikipedia:
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a
short story expanded to novel length called "Lassie Come-Home". Published in
1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as "Lassie Come Home" with a dog named
Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other
MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax then
acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as
"Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early
1950s.
In 1954, the long-running, Emmy winning television series Lassie debuted, and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.
O'BSERVATIONS:
Lassie has to be one of those examples of a human being who was
reincarnated into a dog and who retained their previous human intelligence. The
evidence comes in the 1959 episode "The Trap" in which Ruth got her leg caught
in a trap which was set to capture a cougar. She tells Lassie to go fetch a
C-Clamp, and the collie knows exactly what she wanted!!!!
Lassie was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame in January of 2003......
 |
| Um... That's not a C-Clamp, Dawg. |
BCnU!