CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER - CHEVY CHASE ON "THE NANNY"

But this is how it happened in the alternate dimension of German Toobworld.  It's just like Earth Prime-Time, but in German Toobworld the Nazis won WWII and everyone on the planet was forced to speak German.....

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - CHEVY CHASE

CHEVY CHASE

From Wikipedia:

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, writer, television actor and film actor. Born into a prominent New York family, Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy and began acting with National Lampoon. He quickly became a key cast member in the inaugural season of 'Saturday Night Live', where his Weekend Update skit soon became a staple of the show. Chase is also well known for his portrayal of the character Clark Griswold in four "National Lampoon's Vacation" films, and for his roles in other successful comedies such as "Caddyshack" (1980), "Fletch" (1985), "Spies Like Us" (1985), and "Three Amigos!" (1986). He has hosted the Academy Awards twice (1987 and 1988) and briefly had his own late-night talk show, 'The Chevy Chase Show'. In 2009, he became a regular cast member (Pierce Hawthorne) on the NBC comedy series 'Community'. Chase left the show in 2012, having already filmed most of the episodes in season 4.

AS SEEN IN:

'The Nanny'

"A Decent Proposal"

SYNOPSIS:

C.C. Babcock came up with the idea of mounting a one-man show on Broadway with Chevy Chase, so the whole family headed to Atlantic City in order to pitch the idea to the actor.  He considered Nanny Fine to be good luck and wanted her by his side when he played poker that night, but she decided to use the situation as a ploy to make Maxwell Sheffield jealous.

BCnU!

TOOBMUSIC - REMEMBERING NORMAN

My cousin Norman Smith would have been 58 today.  After Yours Truly, he was the next oldest among the Griffin cousins.  I believe we are all here for a reason, and for as long as it takes to fulfill that reason.  

Norman's reason to be on this Earth was simple to determine - he left behind three beautiful daughters in Danielle, Kelly, and Sandy.  And his lineage continues with grandchildren Kayla, Kaiya, Trace, Phoenix, and Pixie Rose.

But even so, he was gone far too soon.

Whenever I hear this song, I think of my cousin.  Whenever I got the chance to stay with the Smiths on Ravenwood Road, either while exploring the bird sanctuary behind their property or up on a roof with my Uncle Skippy as he fixed a TV antenna, eventually Norman and I would be listening to this song......

BCnU, Cuz.......

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - MR. T

MR. T

From Wikipedia:
Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952) is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series 'The A-Team', as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film "Rocky III", and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry, and his tough-guy image. In 2006 he starred in the reality show 'I Pity the Fool', shown on TV Land, the title of which comes from the catchphrase of his Lang character.

AS SEEN IN:
'Diff'rent Strokes'
"Mr. T and mr. t"

SYNOPSIS:
With a television camera crew shooting a scene from "The A-Team" in Drummond's apartment, Arnold becomes jealous when Dudley's attractive cousin pays more attention to Mr. T than him. So he decides that the best way to win her over is to dress and look exactly like Mr. T. (from IMDb)

BCnU!

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - FROM BESS TO JOSS

"MURDER SHE WROTE: THE LAST FREE MAN"

Thomas Mercer was not the only character in this TV movie sequel to 'Murder, She Wrote' who would have a descendent working in law enforcement in New York City (despite the ancestor being from Culpeper, Virginia.)

Bess Pinckney was a slave from another plantation who was secretly married to Samuel Pinckney, a slave owned by Miss Sarah McCullough.  Miss Sarah helped them to flee north by the Underground Railroad, although Sam unfortunately never made it.  

Bess was pregnant at that time with their child and raised her in Pennsylvania.  Eventually some member of that family tree headed farther north to New York City, which is where one of Sam and Bess' great great great grandchildren* became a police detective - Joss Carter, who looked remarkably like her ancestor Bess Pinckney.

SHOWS CITED:

• "Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man"
  
• 'Person Of Interest'

BCnU!

* When Cassandra Hawkins counted off her own line of descent from Sam and Bess Pinckney at the end of "Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man", I believe she lost count on the number of generations involved.  She listed at least seven "begats" which I think was far more than possible in a lineage stretching from 1860 to 1948.  (Cassandra Hawkins should share the same birth year as her portrayer, Phylicia Rashad.)

Although it could be that several members of that family tree had their own children at VERY early ages; that could account for so many generations.

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY: LINE OF DEKAY

On his wedding night in 1860, Thomas Mercer was shot dead in his carriage house.  A slave owned by his neighbor Miss Sarah McCullough was accused of the crime and eventually gunned down for it, but he was innocent.  The crime would go unsolved for nearly one hundred and fifty years until Miss Sarah's distant relative Angela Fletcher was able to track down her long-missing journal which revealed the truth.

But before his fateful encounter, Mercer had enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh with his bride, the former Mary Hobbs.  And though she never realized it during the course of the events recounted in the journal of Miss Sarah, Mary was impregnated that very night.

She eventually married a former lover, Jeb McNell, who was also one of the suspects in the murder, and he raised her son as his own.  (Mrs. Fletcher tartly remarked that the couple deserved each other.)  

Eventually one of the descendents in that family tree moved north to the New York area and his grandson, Peter Burke, became an agent in the FBI.

(Peter Burke was also distantly related to Amos Burke, a millionaire homicide detective in Los Angeles.  The son of Captain Burke was also named Peter, and the two Peter Burkes were probably named in honor of some other distant relative.)

SHOWS CITED:

• "Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man"
  
• 'White Collar'
  
• 'Burke's Law'

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ADAM SCOTT

ADAM SCOTT

From Wikipedia:

Adam Paul Scott (born April 3, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series 'Party Down' and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy 'Parks and Recreation'.

AS SEEN IN:

'Maron'

"Mexican Angel"

SYNOPSIS:

Adam Scott thought he was to be interviewed on Marc Maron's podcast, but Maron spent most of the time venting about himself, to the point where Adam Scott told him that he thought he was crazy.

BCnU!

TOOBWORLD CENTRAL - IN THE MONTHS TO COME

When this finally publishes at Inner Toob, I should be undergoing surgery for some foot problems.  Hopefully everything goes well.

But whether it does or doesn't, I wanted to prepare for the blog's future. It's come to mean a lot to me over the last eight years or so.

So if you notice any sort of change, it will only be that I'm not posting much more than the League of Themselves showcases over the next several months.

That's because I've set them up already, plus the TV Crossover Hall of Fame inductees and the "Who's On First" blogathon for New Year's Day.  About sixty posts at least that day, all about 'Doctor Who'!  (Not a big deal, I've been writing them all year long.)

For 2014, I even have a few scattered posts set up, right up to August of next year.

Just in case.

Even if all goes well, I'll be recuperating at my sister's home where my internet access will be limited to my iPhone and my Blackberry tablet.  I've never been happy blogging from the tablet and I doubt I'll feel any differently with the iPhone.  I need a real keyboard and mouse at my disposal!

So that's another reason I've now got 258 posts queued up.  I'd say it's a good thing I don't have a life, but I'm still worried about keeping the one I have.

Yeah, I'm a pessimist.

Okay, I'll definitely post again once I'm settled in at my sister's place.  Maybe even off the phone from the hospital afterwards  Hopefully!

Take it easy, Team Toobworld!

CROSSING THE POND IN THE PROMOVERSE

I knew about the crossover between 'CSI: NY' (the host series) and 'Cold Case'.  This happened in May of 2007 in an episode called "Cold Reveal", in which Scotty Valens traveled up from Philadelphia to learn more about the connection which Stella Bonasera had to an unsolved case.

But 'Cold Case' had another crossover, according to Wikipedia......

In 2005, John Finn, Kathryn Morris and Jeremy Ratchford appeared in a satirical promo on the Irish language television station TG4. The commercial won a Gold Medal in the "Best Drama Promos" category of the 2007 Sharks International Advertising Awards Festival of Ireland (Sharks Awards). The promotion features John Finn and Kathryn Morris in character interrogating a murder suspect (Peader Cox) from the TG4 soap 'Ros na Rún' who refuses to speak in English; both detectives then begin talking in Gaelic, much to the surprise of Jeremy Ratchford's character. The promo tied in with a murder investigation in 'Ros na Rún'.

That two cops from Philadelphia would be involved in an Irish murder investigation seems a bit far-fetched, even for Toobworld.  (Although it might make more sense if I could speak Gaelic.)

As such, I think it belongs in the Promoverse with all of those USA Network promos that combine their shows.

What do you think?

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - HUBBELL ROBINSON

 

AS SEEN IN:
'You'll Never Get Rich'
"Bilko's TV Pilot"

SYNOPSIS:
Hubbell Robinson showed an interest in casting Private Duane Doberman as a comic sidekick in a CBS Western, but was horrified by the pilot directed by Sgt. Bilko.

For a concise biography, click here.

From the Classic TV History Blog (link to the left)
Hubbell Robinson [was] a former CBS executive who was shown the door when the network veered away from the dramatic anthologies that he had championed.  Robinson landed at Revue, the bustling television company run by MCA, where he produced segments for the prestigious 'Sunday Showcase'.  In 1960, the cult classic 'Thriller' went out under Robinson’s banner, and he sold '87th Precinct' the following year.  

Robinson has an entry in the "Encyclopedia of Televsion Volume 1" and you can read his pages here.

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD - LEE THOMPSON YOUNG

Too soon gone.  I really liked his character on 'Rizzoli & Isles'.

This was the memorial title card at the end of the episode which was followed by two quick and silent clips of him as Detective "Barry" Frost:

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

NUMBERS RUNNING - "PIE IN THE SKY"

In the 'Pie In The Sky' episode "A Matter Of Taste", several scenes took place outside the wine warehouse (lock-up they called it over there) for Drummond's Wine Shop, marked #23.

As Team Toobworld might not remember since I'm always going on now about 'Doctor Who', I am also a Lostaway.  And "23" was one of the numbers in the Valenzetti Equation from that series.

This was an episode from 1994 and 'Lost' would not debut for another decade, but within the Toobworld reality, that sequence of numbers is as old as Time.

BCnU!

CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER - "THE LUCY SHOW" ("LUCY AND JOHN WAYNE" II)

O'BSERVATIONS:

When I wrote about this episode for the blogathon celebrating the 100th birthday salute to Lucille Ball, I looked at the inner reality of Toobworld and wondered how come the Duke didn't remember another redhead who looked just like Lucille Carmichael?

Whenever I have to concede that a TV series exists in Toobworld as it does in the real world, I always make the stipulation that the premise and/or the episodes would  be different.  It's not a problem when it comes to movies from the Trueniverse existing in the TV Universe, but we know that this is what happened with "The War Wagon".  The scene we see Lucy constantly interrupting is not a part of the actual movie.

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JOHN WAYNE III

JOHN WAYNE

AS SEEN IN:
'The Lucy Show'
"Lucy And John Wayne"

SYNOPSIS:
From bkoganbing at the IMDb:
One of I Love Lucy's classic episodes involved her stealing John Wayne's footprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater right before her trip back to New York with Desi. It was a two part episode, maybe the only one I can recall from I Love Lucy.

The Duke gets his second involvement with television's best known redhead. She has to deliver some papers to John Wayne's set and you know it wouldn't be Lucy if she didn't try to meet the famous movie star, whether she's Lucy Ricardo or Lucy Carmichael.

She makes a general nuisance of herself and the thing I remember best about this episode is after it's suggested to John Wayne that maybe we could send her over to the set of the Burt Lancaster movie next door, he replied something what did Burt ever do to me that I could be that vicious.

Nice episode for Lucy and Duke fans.

O'BSERVATIONS:

I wrote about this episode once before, during the blogathon celebration of Lucy's 100th birthday.

BCnU!

BREAKING NEWS - DICK VAN DYKE PULLED FROM BURNING CAR

This happened around 2 pm today in California.....

TOOBMUSIC - PAT BRADY'S "HIGH-FALUTIN' NEWTON"

Tomorrow would have been Pat Brady's 99th birthday.....

BCnU!

THEORIES OF RELATEEVEETY - THE CARPENTERS

A lot of my theories of relateeveety hinge on extra-marital affairs.  This helps splain away how two characters could be father and son and yet still have different last names.

This became pervasive in Toobworld thanks to the glut of romantic entanglements when soap operas dominated daytime programming.  Even today when there are only a handful of soaps left, this influence still holds true.

And it wasn't just in modern times.  Such carnal behavior is as old as man and woman.  So it should be no surprise that it hold true for the days of the wild, wild West as well.

Such a case is the Carpenter family tree.  With their tele-genetics, two distinct strands of DNA kept repeating with every other generation.  Ken Carpenter looked exactly like his grandfather, while Ken's father Edwin looked exactly like his grandfather.

"I wear a bowtie now.  Bowties are cool."

Now, the resemblance between Luke Carpenter and his grandson Ken is easy to prove.  Luke was buried in an avalanche while prospecting for gold in Alaska in 1900.  Sixty-seven years later, his body was discovered and resuscitated.

Luke went to live with his son Edwin (who now looked so much older than him) and his grandson Ken.  And he and Ken would often be mistaken for each other and would even trade places.

But how can we be sure that Edwin's grandfather looked exactly like him?  It's not like he showed up in the program.

This is where the theory of relateeveety kicks in.

Toobworld Central contends that Luke Carpenter is the bastard son of Theophilus Ragan, who was the ne'er-do-well warden of the prison in the Arizona territory.  He ran the place as his own private kingdom, overseeing the crimes committed by the prisoners on his orders.

It's not hard to imagine that Warden Ragan would have taken a mistress, got her pregnant, and then refused to marry her.  He was that sort of rotter.

His grandson Edwin wasn't as staid in his youth as he was in his later years.  He sowed wild oats of his own, I'm thinking.  And we met his illegitimate son in another sitcom.

Lou Grant had an old buddy named John Corcoran.  He was a globe-trotting journalist with a roving eye.  And he set his sights on Lou's associate producer, Mary Richards.  

But even though she was attracted to him, Mary was able to resist his charms because she was able to recognize the kind of man he was.  (That's not to say they didn't sleep together, however.....)

And that's how we've extended the Carpenter family tree back another g-g-generation, as well as expand the last one.  (It's unknown if Ken Carpenter or John Corcoran - or even Luke Carpenter for that matter! - had any children.....)

SHOWS CITED:

'The Second Hundred Years'

'The Wild, Wild West' - "The Night Of The Bars Of Hell"

'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' - "Just A Lunch"

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - BURT WARD & ADAM WEST

BURT WARD & ADAM WEST

From Wikipedia:

BURT WARD

Burt Ward (born July 6, 1945) is an American television actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal of Robin in the television series 'Batman' (1966–68) and its theatrical film spin-off.

ADAM WEST

William West Anderson (born September 19, 1928), better known by his stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the 'Batman' TV series on the ABC TV network and the 1966 "Batman" feature film. He is currently known for portraying eccentric or psychotically delusional characters, as well as his voice work on animated series such as 'The Fairly Odd Parents' and 'Family Guy', in both of which he voices a fictional version of himself.

AS SEEN IN:

'Futurama'

"Leela And The Genestalk"

SYNOPSIS:

When it became apparent that Fry and Bender weren't dynamic enough to rescue them, West and Ward returned to their imprisonment by "Mom" to be subjected to more gruesome and painful experiments.  (Burt Ward's cloned head had been attached to a robot body - colored like his old Robin costume - and Adam West's head had been surgically grafted onto a giant bat, making him a Man-Bat.)

TV DIMENSION:

The Tooniverse in 3013 AD

O'BSERVATIONS:

Adam West is a member of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame twice over - once for his live action appearances as himself and the other for his appearances as Adam West in the Tooniverse.  

His Tooniverse appearances are from:

• 'Family Guy'
• 'The Simpsons'
• 'Johnny Bravo'
• 'The Fairly Odd Parents'

and now, 'Futurama'

This marks Burt Ward's first foray into the Tooniverse as himself.  He has two live action appearances as himself to his credit in Earth Prime-Time and one in the TV dimension for those behind-the-scenes movies.  He is technically eligible for membership in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

BCnU!

BEHIND THE SCENES - WHEN GOOD STUNTS GO WRONG

"THE WILD, WILD WEST" - A MINI-DOCUMENTARY

CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER - ROBERT CONRAD IN "JUST SHOOT ME"

BLIPVERTS - ROBERT CONRAD FOR EVEREADY BATTERIES

It's time to pay the bills......

From Wikipedia:
Robert Conrad was widely identified in the late 1970s for his television commercials for Eveready batteries, particularly his placing of the battery on his shoulder and prompting the viewer to challenge its long-lasting power: "Come on, I dare ya". The commercial was frequently parodied on Johnny Carson's 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Carol Burnett Show'.

The DVD set [for 'The Wild, Wild West'] also included one of Conrad's Eveready battery commercials; in his introduction, Conrad stated that he was flattered to be parodied by Carson.

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ROBERT CONRAD

ROBERT CONRAD

From Wikipedia:

Robert Conrad (born March 1, 1935) is an American film and television actor, best known for his role in the 1965–69 CBS television series 'The Wild Wild West', playing the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West. He also portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. He was a recording artist of pop/rock songs in the early 1960s as Bob Conrad before he began his acting career. He has hosted a weekly two hour national radio show ("The PM Show with Robert Conrad") on CRN Digital Talk Radio.

 In 1959, he played Billy the Kid in the episode "Amnesty" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, 'Colt .45', starring Wayde Preston. Willis Bouchey appears in this episode as Governor Lew Wallace of the New Mexico Territory, who offers The Kid amnesty.

Before 'The Wild Wild West', Conrad played Tom Lopaka on the ABC/WB series, 'Hawaiian Eye', opposite Anthony Eisley and Connie Stevens. The show was a hit and lasted from 1959 to 1963. The show was also a big hit overseas. In Mexico he signed a recording contract with the Orfeon label where he released two albums a few singles sung in spanish and was introduced as Tom Lopaka himself. 

In the 1970s, he played such roles as prosecuting attorney Paul Ryan in a short-lived 1971 CBS series, 'The D.A.', and American spy Jake Webster in the series 'Assignment Vienna'. He also starred in a third season episode of 'Mannix' called "The Playground" and an episode of 'Columbo', "An Exercise in Fatality". With his muscular build and cigarette-induced gravelly voice, Conrad found ratings success from 1976 to 1978 playing legendary tough-guy World War II fighter ace Pappy Boyington in 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' on NBC, retitled for its second season and in later syndication as 'Black Sheep Squadron'.

He played a modern-day variation of James West in the short-lived series 'A Man Called Sloane' in 1979, which was around the same time that he reprised the role of West in a pair of made-for-TV films. He also starred in the 1978 TV miniseries 'Centennial' on NBC.[citation needed]

In 1988, Conrad starred in a short-lived television series, 'High Mountain Rangers', with two of his sons. 'High Mountain Rangers', known for its spectacular scenery and stunts, had a one season spin-off, Jesse Hawkes.

In 2006, Conrad recorded audio introductions for every episode of the first season of 'The Wild Wild West' for its North American DVD release on June 6.

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"Jack Gets Tough"

SYNOPSIS:

Thinking he was writing about William Conrad (who was safely dead), Jack Gallo wrote in his auto-biography that he once beat up Robert Conrad.  Conrad then showed up to set things right.

BCnU!