MORE OF LARA'S THEMES

That video with the loverly Lara playing the 'Doctor Who' theme was so enjoyable, I thought I'd share some of her other covers with you......

There are plenty of others to be found at YouTube, but these were the ones that either "spoke" to me, or at least felt right in a Toobworld sense. (I'm not a video game playa, so a lot of those themes I just let slide....)

Isn't she great???

BCnU!

LARA'S (VERSION OF THE) THEME

And now, for a bit o' 'Doctor Who' content.....

#8600!: LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES/HAT SQUAD - DEBI AUSTIN

DEBI AUSTIN

TWIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES:
Deborah "Debi" Austin, a Californian who became a symbol of the anti-smoking movement for her powerful role in advocacy and education, died last week. She was 62.

Austin, of Canoga Park, is perhaps best known for her role in a public-awareness television ad in the mid-1990s and later spots she filmed after being diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and receiving a laryngectomy.

"They say nicotine isn't addictive," Austin says in one ad, taking a drag of her smoke. "How can they say that?"

Her raspy voice, poised demeanor in the face of adversity, and dark hole in her throat are unforgettable.

In recent years, Austin continued filming advertisements for anti-smoking groups and died (February 22) after a two-decade bout with cancer, according to a statement from her family.
- from L.A. NOW

AS SEEN IN:

Smoking killed Ms. Austin. Smoking killed my Dad, 20 years and a month ago. If you smoke, do everything you can to quit.

If you don't smoke, don't start.

Thank you.

(POST NUMBER 8600!)

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS" - THE LAST CASE OF CHIEF O'HARA

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS"

[EPISODE FOURTEEN]

"HAIL TO THE CHIEF"

Last year I had a run of articles about the O'Hara Family Tree which came to an abrupt end just before I went on one of my vacations.  I never returned to the topic, mostly because I had run into a brick wall with my look at Frank O'Hara (played by William Shatner on 'Psych').  His storyline had wandered too far afield with no basis in previously established plots from other TV shows.  Although I was happy with the idea that he married J.J. Drinkwater as a first wife, I had no justification for that idea - nor for the sub-plot about exposing Governor Drinkwater as a Nazi sleeper agent......

But there was more I wanted to cover - especially getting back to the story of Helen O'Hara and her illegitimate child by Kal El (aka Superman, aka Clark Kent).

Hopefully I will pick up that gauntlet again, because I do know where that one leads.  (My blogging buddy Ivan Shreve knows that Kryptonian/Terran half-breed as "Fishface".)  But in the meantime, I only recently discovered that there was more to the story of Chief O'Hara, the father of Frank and Helen.  And it didn't end in Gotham City, as I originally thought.

As he neared retirement age, Chief O'Hara took stock of his career in Gotham City and sadly came to the conclusion that he had not been fooling anybody.  If it had not been for the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin, Gotham City would have been over-run by the costumed criminal element it seemed to attract.  The Chief of Police understood that he would have been ineffectual against their threat for all those years.

So he retired of his own accord and moved away from Gotham City.  He wasn't ready to give up his career in law enforcement; just that he wanted to pursue criminals of a more low-key nature in a more tranquil environment, perhaps in some backwater small town.

He found just what he was looking for back East, in Massachusetts, somewhere along the Northeast Corridor of the train line that led to Boston.  It would be a few years before he had any type of excitement when it came to investigating crime - the prototype for a new automobile (and its train car bed) disappeared from a moving train as it headed for Boston.

At one point, Chief O'Hara helped insurance investigator Thomas Banacek in the investigation, providing what little information he had on the hit-and-run death of a vagrant in the area.....

Otherwise, Chief O'Hara spent his last years in quiet seclusion there in Massachusetts, not far from where his family tree began....

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - KIERNAN SHIPKA

KIERNAN SHIPKA

From Wikipedia:

Kiernan Brennan "Kiki" Shipka (born November 10, 1999) is an American child actress noted for playing Don and Betty Draper's daughter Sally on the AMC series 'Mad Men'.

Shipka began doing commercial print modelling when she was a baby.

As part of 'Mad Men''s ensemble cast, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2008 and 2009.

Shipka's individual performance on 'Mad Men' has been well received. In naming her as his dream nominee for the "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" Emmy Award, Austin American-Statesman critic Dale Roe remarked, "This 10-year-old actress was so affecting as troubled Sally Draper last season that it seems odd that she's only just been upgraded to series regular. If Shipka's upcoming 'Mad Men' work—struggling with the broken marriage of her parents and entering preteendom in the tumultuous 1960s—remains as amazing as it was in season 3, this is a ballot wish that could come true next year." 

Initially a recurring guest star, Shipka was upgraded to a series regular with the start of season 4.

AS SEEN IN:

'Don't Trust The "B" In Apartment 23'

"The Parent Trap"

SYNOPSIS:

James Van Der Beek accepted a part without reading the script just so he could work with child star Kiernan Shipka, but it's a body swap and learning to be a pre-teen girl in his studly body proves extremely hard. he does however learn to appreciate fan adoration again. (from the IMDb)

O'BSERVATION:

I didn't realize it when I chose her for today, but I guess Kiernan Shipka stands as my contribution to the International Women's Day.  Granted, she's a young girl, but as herself or as Sally Draper, she is wise beyond her years.  And on the Toobworld timeline, the character of Sally Draper in 'Mad Men' is now my age.....

BCnU!

MISSING LINKS: POOR OL' CHARLIE

Ya gotta feel sorry for good old Charlie Duffy......

After a hitch in the Navy as a "dog robber", Charles Duffy sought a career at sea as an officer aboard ocean liners. But on his terms, with as little work as possible. This didn't sit too well with one of his employers and he found himself branded as employment poison.

Stranded in his native Bronx with nowhere to turn, Charles turned to drink. Around the police precinct house of his old neighborhood (the 53rd Precinct near Tremont), he became known as Charlie the Drunk.

But eventually, Charlie Duffy was able to pull himself out of the slump he was in and, with a falsified resume and a newfound swaggering confidence, he was able to land a job aboard the cruise liner Amsterdam Queen as the junior officer.

Everything was smooth sailing (Sorry about that, Chief Petty Officer!) for several years, even if J.O. Duffy had to circumnavigate the suspicions of First Officer Nelson about the various con games he was running.

However, the owners of the Amsterdam Queen announced in the late 1960's that they wanted to sell the old lady of the sea for scrap metal. It took all of Duffy's bluffing to keep it afloat for as long as he did, but eventually there was no dissuading the owners.*

By the mid-1970's, opportunities aboard ocean liners were once again impossible to get - probably because Oliver Nelson had spread the word about him and his gambling among other vices.

So Charles Duffy eventually found himself near the San Diego Naval Base, and once again back on the sauce. There he encountered Chief Petty Officer Otto Sharkey and his crew.

It's a good bet that Charles Duffy may be still alive today in Toobworld. He'd be about 90 years of age (just like the actor who played him in three different series - Larry Storch.) But will we ever see him again? Who knows?

Perhaps he changed his name and sought a job in a new field.....

SHOWS CITED:

"Car 54, Where Are You"
2.That's Show Business (4 November 1962) - Charlie the Drunk
3.Pretzel Mary (2 December 1962) - Charlie the Drunk
4.Here Comes Charlie (24 February 1963) - Charlie the Drunk

"The Queen and I" 
1.Duffy's Cruise (16 January 1969) - Charles Duffy
2.The No-Cruise Cruise (23 January 1969) - Charles Duffy
3.The Promotion (30 January 1969) - Charles Duffy
4.Requiem for Becker (6 February 1969) - Charles Duffy
5.Who's Holding the Bag? (13 February 1969) - Charles Duffy
6.Duffy Against the Computer (27 February 1969) - Charles Duffy
7.Who Am I Talking To? (6 March 1969) - Charles Duffy
8.My Karate Lies Over the Ocean (13 March 1969) - Charles Duffy
9.Hossfeathers (20 March 1969) - Charles Duffy
10.But to a Captain, Is He a Captain? (27 March 1969) - Charles Duffy
11.The Trousseau (3 April 1969) - Charles Duffy
12.Don't Make Big Waves (10 April 1969) - Charles Duffy
13.Kowalski of Harvard (24 April 1969) - Charles Duffy

"CPO Sharkey"
1.A Wino Is Loose (23 March 1977) - The Wino

Sorry, Charlie....

BCnU!

* In my Toobworld novel, the Amsterdam Queen was sunk by the villain of the story - a one-armed man named Kimball......

DO I SPY A LINK TO ST. ELSEWHERE?

'I SPY'

"RETURN TO GLORY"

While in Mexico City, Alexander Scott picked up a silver gravy boat for his mother to give to the Westphalls for their 25th wedding anniversary. Scotty's partner Kelly Robinson knew this would make Mrs. Scott angry because she specifically said that she wanted to give them a silver chafing dish.

(Scotty is holding the gravy boat in that package, seen in the picture above.....)

This happens back in January, 1966*, so I think it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, to make the claim that the Wesphalls were the parents of Dr. Donald Westphall. (Dr. Westphall would one day become the head of the Boston teaching hospital St. Eligius.....)

I also think Mrs. Scott is mistaken about which anniversary was being celebrated by the Westphalls.  In order to keep Dr. Westphall from being a bastard, she probably meant the 35th anniversary.  She may have even said it and Scotty didn't hear her correctly.

If that's the case, a nice jade gift from Mexico would have been more appropriate.....

BCnU!

* The episode aired in February of that year, but it would only be the framing device of their argument for getting reimbursed that took place early in February.  The story they recount about the "Glass Pants" expenditure took place the month before.

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - BOBBY DARIN

Earlier this year, I posted a "Two for Tuesday" edition of the League Of Themselves in which singers were accused of murder - Willie Nelson in 'Monk' and Kid Rock in 'CSI: NY'. It's a plot device that doesn't happen often, but I have found an earlier occurrence from the 1960's.....

BOBBY DARIN

From Wikipedia:

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter and actor. He performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk, and country.

He started as a songwriter for Connie Francis, and recorded his own first million-seller "Splish Splash" in 1958. This was followed by "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife", and "Beyond the Sea", which brought him world fame. In 1962, he won a Golden Globe for his first film Come September, co-starring his wife Sandra Dee.

Although he made a successful television comeback, his health was beginning to fail, as he had always expected, following bouts of rheumatic fever in childhood. This knowledge of his vulnerability had always spurred him on to exploit his musical talent while still young. He died at 37, following a heart operation in Los Angeles.

AS SEEN IN:

'Dan Raven'

["The High Price Of Fame"]

SYNOPSIS:

In the premiere episode, Bobby Darin was performing at the Cloister Club in Hollywood. Nearby, a woman was found dead and clutching an autographed picture of Bobby Darin. She was heard screaming a name as she died - "Bobby!" The case was investigated by Lt. Dan Raven.

O'BSERVATIONS:

Bobby Darin sang three songs during the episode:

• "Bill Bailey"
• "That's All"
• "Was There A Call For Me?"

BCnU!

BAYLISS WATCH 3 ADDENDUM....

Finding out now that the grandfather of the two Tim Baylisses and of Chuck Bayliss was living in California gives a little more weight to the theory that Tim Bayliss of Baltimore and Tim Bayliss of Los Angeles were half-brothers and not cousins. Their father probably traveled to California from Baltimore at least once a year to visit his father, Professor Bayliss. While out there, he may have met someone and had an affair which resulted in the second Tim Bayliss.

BCnU!

BAYLISS WATCH 3 - THE PROFESSOR

'MARCUS WELBY, M.D.'

"A PASSING OF TORCHES"

A year ago this past February I wrote about Chuck Bayliss, a taxi dispatcher in the DC area who was the cousin of former Baltimore detective Tim Bayliss. Several years before, I also wrote about the half-brother of Tim Bayliss... who was also named Tim Bayliss.

Their grandfather moved to California many decades before and died there in 1972 of lung cancer.

Professor Bayliss had been the mentor of future doctor Marcus Welby. In his final days was able to impart some advice to one of Dr. Welby's associates Apache medical student Roger Nastili.

In 1923, Professor Bayliss published a book that was controversial in its time. "The Glory Of Self" was a treatise on "enlightened selfishness". It was the Professor's belief that Man's first obligation was to himself. This was something which appealed to Roger Nastili, who owed the rest of his life to his tribal council because they paid all his education costs.

A few years after the death of Professor Bayliss, that belief about "enlightened selfishness" was revived in a new book "How To Say No" which was read by two employees of WJM-TV in Minneapolis - Murray Slaughter and Mary Richards.

BAYLISS WATCH - THE TWO TIMS

BAYLISS WATCH 2 - CHUCK

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - PAT KIERNAN

PAT KIERNAN

From Wikipedia:

Patrick "Pat" Kiernan (born November 20, 1968) is a Canadian-born television host, appearing as the morning news anchor of NY1 since 1997. He is widely known in New York City for his "In the Papers" feature, in which he summarizes the colorful content in New York City's daily newspapers, replete with his deadpan humor. Kiernan has also hosted game shows and appeared in films and on television either as himself or as a reporter.

AS SEEN IN:

'Golden Boy'

["Pilot"]

From Pat Kiernan his own self:

I’m going to be on TV this morning and this evening. Many months ago, producers from CBS called and asked NY1 if we could record a newscast about the events on the pilot episode of their cop show, “Golden Boy.” We did, and tonight, my scene is finally going to air. The show is about a young cop who rises quickly through the ranks to become New York City’s youngest Police Commissioner. It’s on CBS at 10:00 p.m. and my scene is about 3 1/2 minutes into the first episode.

TV DIMENSION:

Alternate Toobworld [TBD]

O'BSERVATION:

This was not NY1's first time at the Toobworld dance.  It has been seen in other TV shows, most notably 'The Sopranos'.  Many of its other appearances can be considered part of Earth Prime-Time, but not this one.

Since the show was a flashback from seven years in the future, I thought it might be safe to put this TV show into the same TV dimension as 'Blue Bloods'. I figured that show would be off the air by that point and so would not cause any Zonks to the theory. By that point, Police Commissioner Regan could be considered retired if they brought in a new character for the role.

However, that only worked for the future part of the show. Back in the present day, the NYC Police Commissioner may not have shown up in the pilot episode, but he was named - Dowdell. So that scuttles that theory.....

The televersion of Pat Kiernan you see every day on NY1 News and the one who hosted an episode of 'Live With Kelly' is not the same one as this incarnation. That other Pat Kiernan is the main one and can be found in Earth Prime-Time.

BCnU!

TWIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES - POPESTAKES

From the Seattle Times:
Bookmakers have been quick to offer odds on candidates to replace Pope Benedict XVI, with cardinals from Ghana, Nigeria and Canada among the early favorites.

Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, Canada's Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria lead in betting with Britain's major bookmakers.

It also offered 1,000/1 odds on Father Dougal Maguire, the simpleminded fictional priest from 1990s U.K. sitcom "Father Ted."

Thanks to fellow Iddiot Richard Gordon for the story......

BCnU!

ECHOES IN THE COURT

"They've been in more courts than Perry Mason!"

Felix Mulholland

'Banacek'

"I'll get the best legal mind around - Perry Mason!"

Tom Ballard

'Waiting For God'

After eleven seasons in Earth Prime-Time and of course all of those books by the prolific Erle Stanley Gardner, 'Perry Mason' was a character who could be mentioned without those boring splainins by the script-writer.

Therefore, when no allusion to his origins is mentioned, Toobworld Central accepts that the speaker is living in the same TV dimension as the famous lawyer.....

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES/HAT SQUAD - DALE ROBERTSON

DALE ROBERTSON

From the Los Angeles Times:

Dale Robertson, an Oklahoma horseman who became a TV and western movie star during the genre's heyday, died Tuesday at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. He was 89.

Robertson, who was best known for starring in the series "Tales of Wells Fargo" from 1957 to 1962, had pneumonia and lung cancer, his family said.

The handsome, square-jawed actor, who was often said to resemble Clark Gable, was an able horse rider by age 10 and was training polo ponies in his teens. He applied those skills in Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 60 movies.

In the 1950s, Robertson moved into television, where the faster pace appeared to suit his no-nonsense style.

Starring as stagecoach troubleshooter Jim Hardie in NBC's "Tales of Wells Fargo," he made the role memorable in part because he drew his pistol with his left hand, a quirk that became necessary because he drew so fast with his right hand that the camera missed the action.

After that series ended, Robertson appeared in "Iron Horse" from 1966 to 1968 as a ladies' man who wins a railroad in a poker game. The actor then was a host on the anthology series "Death Valley Days" from 1968 to 1970.

Robertson continued to work in TV through the 1980s, when he landed roles in the popular nighttime soap operas "Dallas" and "Dynasty." He also starred in the short-lived 1987 series "J.J. Starbuck" as an eccentric, crime-solving Texas billionaire.

In 1993, he took what would be his final role, as Zeke in the television show "Harts of the West," before retiring from acting to spend more time at his ranch in Yukon, Okla., where he raised horses.

AS SEEN IN:

'The Six Million Dollar Man'

["Little Orphan Airplane"]

From the Bionic Wikia:

• [Sister Annette, a nun doing missionary work in the African country of Katara,] asks every American that she meets if they know Dale Robertson, star of the "Tales of Wells Fargo". Sister Anneti has seen every episode of the actor's series twice, and is the president of his fan club.
• Dale Robertson's cameo appearance is uncredited. He is the first celebrity to appear as himself in the Bionic franchise. (The last, for the record, will be fast-food guru Dave Thomas in "Bionic Ever After?" 20 years later.)

Good night and may God bless.....

Hat tip to Caeric ArcLight for help on this.....

BORN TO RERUN - FROM ROME TO DOWNTON

In the Toobworld Dynamic, certain souls are destined to be reincarnated together. The best example we have - aristocratic (and rather straight-laced) Ross Poldark and his free-spirited gypsy wife Demelza who lived in the Cornwall area. More than a century later, they were reunited half a world away in San Francisco, reborn as upper-class Greg Montgomery and hippie Dharma Liberty Finkelstein.

We have a new example of a couple that could not be kept separated by Death and Time......

From Wikipedia (about the HBO series 'Rome'):

Marcus Agrippa is portrayed as an earnest, loyal and understanding young man who Gaius Octavian values highly despite being so humble. His character is based on Augustus' real-life childhood friend, soldier and ally Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.

Agrippa is in love with Octavian's sister, Octavia, but they keep their assignations secret from her brother whom they fear would disapprove because of Agrippa's lowly birth.

Although of high rank, his rising to his position from a lower class leaves Agrippa a careful man. He stops short of criticising Octavian where others of high birth may have. His honesty is surprising considering his company; when Octavian confronts his family with accusations of infidelity, Agrippa is the first to admit that he and Octavia are having an affair. After Octavian has forgiven him, an honorable Agrippa breaks off his relationship with Octavia out of respect for his friend's wishes and legal rights.

[D]espite her pleas for them to run away together, an honorable Agrippa has decided to break off the relationship out of respect for Octavian. Octavia accuses him of choosing the power Octavian gives him over her, and calls him a coward. As she walks away, Octavia mentions that she is pregnant; it is almost certain that the child is his.

Many centuries later, they would be reunited, but again, they would not stay happy for long......

From the 'Downton Abbey' wiki:
Tom Branson (born in or before May 1890) is an Irish Republican, the husband and widower of Lady Sybil Branson née Crawley.

Hired to be the Crawley family chauffeur, he inspires Lady Sybil Crawley to get involved in political causes, and over time they develop a romantic relationship, later marrying, despite the reservations of her family, and living in Dublin, Ireland where Tom got a job as a journalist. By Christmas 1919, they were expecting their first child and in 1920 returned to Downton to visit the Crawley family and attend Mary's wedding.

Months later, Tom unexpectedly arrived at Downton after fleeing Ireland without Sybil, leaving her to arrive the following day. Due to the trouble he was in, Tom has been forbidden from returning to Ireland, so he and his wife began living at Downton. Sybil later gave birth to their first and only child and daughter, but died shortly afterwards of eclampsia with Tom and her family at her side, leaving Tom, the Crawley family and their staff shocked and heartbroken.

Tom has named his daughter after his late wife.

Two men of lowly birth but of the moral high ground, aspiring to love women above their station....

The soul of Marcus Agrippa seems to have reached his spiritual height, and that might have contributed to his being reborn looking so similar to his original form. Octavia, on the other hand, may have gone through several reincarnations to keep perfecting herself with each new life and that's why she didn't look exactly as she did so long ago.

Or I could just be talking out of my chauffeur's cap......

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES/HAT SQUAD - RICHARD BRIERS

RICHARD BRIERS

From the Los Angeles Times:

Richard Briers, 79, a British actor who was an avuncular comic presence on TV and movie screens for decades, died Sunday at his London home, said his agent, Christopher Farrar. A former heavy smoker, Briers had suffered from emphysema.

Briers starred in the 1970s sitcom "The Good Life" as Tom Good, a man who decides to quit the urban rat race for a life of self-sufficiency in suburbia. Broadcast in Britain between 1975 and 1978, it aired in the United States as "Good Neighbors." He also starred in the comedy-drama "Ever-Decreasing Circles," the Scottish Highlands drama "Monarch of the Glen" and a host of other shows.

From The Guardian

by

Michael Coveney

Although he excelled in the plays of Alan Ayckbourn, and became a national figure in his television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s, notably 'The Good Life', he could mine hidden depths on stage, giving notable performances in Ibsen, Chekhov and, for Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance company, Shakespeare.

'The Good Life' defined his career, though he spent a lot of time getting away from his television persona as the self-sufficient, Surbiton smallholding dweller Tom Good in the brilliant series – 30 episodes between 1975 and 1978 – written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and produced by John Howard Davies.

Paired with Felicity Kendal as his wife, Barbara, and pitted against their formidable, snobbish neighbour Margo Leadbetter (Penelope Keith) and her docile husband, Jerry (Paul Eddington), he gave one of the classic good-natured comedy sitcom performances of our time. Briers was already an established West End star when he started in 'The Good Life'.

In the same year as the first series, he up-ended expectation as Colin in "Absent Friends", Ayckbourn's bitter comedy about death, and the death of love, at the Garrick theatre. Like the playwright, he proved once and for all that he "did" bleak, too.

AS SEEN IN:

'Extras'

["Chris Martin"]

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

ROBO-BLIPVERT

It's also been awhile since we "paid the bills", so here's a crossover blipvert:

WHO-TOONS

Haven't done a 'Doctor Who' video on the weekends for some time.....

Far too many episodes of 'Doctor Who' are lost forever, thanks to the short-sightedness of the BBC which wiped the tapes clean in order to use them again. But an effort is being made to recover those stories even without the near-miraculous recovery of long-lost videos from around the world. Using the still-existing audio tracks, animation is being used to replace the missing footage.

Here's an example for an upcoming release:

I got such a 'Clutch Cargo' vibe from watching that!

Here's how it plays out for the Toobworld Dynamic: the original live-action version was already broadcast, and even though much of it is now lost, it still happened in the main Toobworld. But with this new release, the viewpoint for the Trueniverse audience will switch back and forth from Earth Prime-Time to the Tooniverse (and perhaps back again?) The exact same story played out in the animated Toobworld as it did for the main Toobworld with no variations, as often happens in such adaptations.

BCnU!

REAL LIFE, NOT TV

For me, it's both.....

INTER-COM: "THE GOLDEN GIRLS" GO DUTCH

What first got me going (again) on the international remakes of sitcoms yesterday was this clip, which was shared by my IDD friend Kristin McCracken. She used to work for the Tribeca Film Festival and now works "with independent films to build online communities." She's gone to the Netherlands a few times where she was involved in forums on movies, which is where I guess she first saw this show....

As with all of the international remakes of 'The Office', 'The Honeymooners', and 'Ugly Betty', I see no problem with having two TV shows called 'The Golden Girls' in different countries with the same premise. Three mature women (plus the mother of one of them) living together to save on expenses is not so unique an idea. Even the similar personality traits of the characters isn't a hindrance, unlike the similar situation with the two versions of 'Being Human'. I could have let the rather unique idea of a vampire and a werewolf living together in a ghost's house go - hey, it could happen. (Although I would have preferred that things could have been switched up - say, with the ghost being a guy and the vampire a girl, perhaps.) But then to give them all similar jobs and situations (How the ghost got that way, for example.), not even the name changes and relocation to Boston helped.

This is why one of the two Spanish remakes of 'The Golden Girls' has to be sent packing to the alternate TV dimension in which the whole world speaks Spanish (probably because the Spanish Armada was victorious in that world, and the Spanish won the Spanish American war.)

I have no problem with 'Juntas Pero No Revueltas' remaining in the main Toobworld, but as for 'Las Chicas De Oro', the four main characters are Blanca Devereaux, Rosa, Doroti, and her mother Sofia Garces. Despite the switch from Petrillo to Garces, these are too similar to the originals. (With the first Spanish adaptation, they are Benigna, Rosa, Nuri, and Julia. We can let Rosa slide; I'm sure it's fairly common.....)

In Greece, the names in 'Hyrsa Koritsia' come close (Dora, Sofia, Bella, and Fifi), but not enough to make a difference to my way of thinking. And in the Britcom 'Brighton Belles', the women are Frances, her mother Josephine, Bridget, and Annie - not even a "Rose" or "Sophia" to carry over.

As for the 'Golden Girls' seen here from the Netherlands? We've got Barbara, Els, Toos, and Millie. No cause for alarm in the land of dikes......

Sorry about that, Chief. Couldn't resist.

BCnU!

Thanks to Kristin McCracken for posting that video to Facebook!

STRITCH IN PRIME-TIME - A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY LOST

I'll let Ms. Stritch tell the story:

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - BILLY DEE WILLIAMS (FINALE)

One last League of Themselves for Black History Month (giving it a proper 30 days!) and one last showcase for the February TV Crossover Hall Of Fame inductee......

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

AS SEEN ON:

'Sesame Street'

["Episode 20.9"]

Just in case there was any doubt.....

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

The Puppet People are real, man!

BCnU!