Thursday, December 31, 2015

THE 2015 HAT SQUAD



ACTORS
Donna Douglas ('The Beverly Hillbillies', 'The Twilight Zone')
Rod Taylor ('Bearcats!', 'Falcon Crest', 'The Oregon Trail', 'Hong Kong', 'Outlaws', 'Masquerade')
Taylor Negron ('Detective School', 'The Hughleys', 'So Little Time', 'Hope & Gloria')
Bob Magruder (narrator for 'Fairy Tail', 'Dallas')
Anita Ekberg ('Beauty Centre', the TV version of 'Casablanca', 'Private Secretary', but best known for "La Dolce Vita")

Anne Kirkbride (43 years on 'Coronation Street')
Faten Hamama (Arabian actress)
Don Harron ('Hee Haw', co-creator of 1955 Canadian TV musical based on "Anne Of Green Gables")
Geraldine McEwan ('Miss Marple', 'Mulberry', 'The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie')
Mary Healy ('Peter Loves Mary', 'Make Room For Daddy', "Miracle On 34th Street")
Lizabeth Scott ('Burke's Law', 'Adventures In Paradise', 'The Third Man')
Louis Jourdan ('Columbo', 'The F.B.I.', "The Count Of Monte Christo", "The Man In The Iron Mask")
Lorena Rojas ('Rosario', 'El Cuerpo del Deseo')
Movita Casteneda ('Knots Landing', Brando's second wife)
June Fairchild ('The Monkees')
Ben Woolf ('American Horror Story: Freakshow')
Alan Howard ('Cover', 'A Perfect Spy', 'Jute City', 'No Bananas')
Leonard Nimoy ('Star Trek', 'Mission Impossible', 'Fringe', 'In Search Of.....')
Daniel Von Bargen ('Seinfeld', 'Malcolm In The Middle')
Lynn Borden, ('Hazel')
Windell Middlebrooks ('Body of Proof', Miller High Life ads, 'The Suite Life Of Zach & Cody')
Gregory Walcott ('87th Precinct', 'Bonanza', 'Rawhide', 'Laramie', 'Murder, She Wrote')
Sally Forrest ('Climax!', 'The Red Skelton Hour', 'Family Affair', 'Rawhide', 'Front Row Center')
Julie Wilson ('The Young Doctors', 'Bilko', 'Monsters', "Rough Riders")
James Best ('The Dukes Of Hazzard', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Centennial', 'Bonanza', many westerns)
Geoffrey Lewis ('The X-Files', 'Salem's Lot', 'Centennial')
Richard Dysart ('L.A. Law')
Tom Towle ('NYPD Blue', 'Bakersfield, PD', 'Push, Nevada')
Judith Malina ('The Sopranos', "Over/Under", 'The Equalizer', 'Tribeca', 'ER')
Jonathan Crombie ('Anne Of Green Gables')
Ben Powers ('Good Times')
Robert Rietti ('The Prisoner', voice-over actor par excellence)
Peter Howell ('Emergency Ward 10', 'The Prisoner', "The File On Harry Jordan", 'Doctor Who')
Sawyer Sweetin ('Everybody Loves Raymond')
Jayne Meadows ('Medical Center', 'Meeting Of Minds', 'I've Got A Secret', 'To Tell The Truth', Steve Allen's widow)
Suzanne Crough ('The Partridge Family')
Besty Von Furstenberg (baroness, 'The Secret Storm', 'As The World Turns', 'Another World')
Ellen Albertini Dow (101!  'Seinfeld,' 'My Name Is Earl,' 'Scrubs' 'Six Feet Under' and 'The Golden Girls')
Nigel Terry ('Covington Cross', 'The Orchid House', 'Resort To Murder', 'The Time Of Your Life')
Elizabeth Wilson ('East Side/West Side', 'Doc', 'Morningstar/Eveningstar', 'Delta')
Audree Norton (first deaf actress on American TV - 'Mannix'.  plus 'Family Affair', 'Streets Of San Francisco', became deaf actors' advocate)
BB King (blues legend, 'New York Undercover', 'The Cosby Show', 'Sanford & Son', 'Cow And Chicken')
John Stephenson ('The People's Choice', 'Top Cat', 'The Flintstones')
Elias Gleizer ('Pe Na Jaca', 'Sinha Moca', 'Passione', 'India: A Love Story')
Claire Gordon
Anne Meara ('Kate O'Hara', 'Archie Bunker's Place', 'H:LOTS')
Renaldo Rey ('227', 'Sanford', 'The Royal Family', 'The Bernie Mac Show')
Richard Johnson ('MI-5', 'Doc Martin', 'The Robinsons', 'Magnum PI', 'The Member For Chelsea')
Mary Ellen Trainor ('Relativity', 'Roswell', 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose')
Christopher Lee ('Gormenghast', 'The New Adventures Of Robin Hood', 'Street Gear', 'The Tomorrow People', 'Saturday Night Live', 'The Avengers', 'Charlie's Angels', Horror king)
Ron Moody ('Nobody's Perfect', 'The Animals Of Farthing Wood', 'EastEnders', 'Hideaway')
Monica Lewis (voice of Chiquita Banana, 'Shotgun Slade', 'The Virginian', many guest roles)
Rick Ducommon ('The Last Precinct', 'Wayans Brothers', 'Max Headroom')
Laura Antonelli (Disperatamente Giulia, A Time of Indifference)
Phil Austin (Firesign Theatre, 'The Tick', "Barbra: The Concert")
Thomas Anthony Sydes (child actor, 'The Adventures Of Wild Bill HIckock', 'The Lone Ranger', 'Hopalong Cassidy')
Dick Van Patten ('Eight Is Enough', 'Mama', 'The New Dick Van Dyke Show', 'When Things Were Rotten')
Patrick Macnee ('The Avengers', 'Gavilan', 'Empire', 'Super Force', "The Return Of The Man From UNCLE: The Fifteen Years Later Affair", 'NightMan', 'Thunder In Paradise'')
Jack Carter ('The Ed Sullivan Show', 'The Adventures Of Ellery Queen', 'Batman', 'Monk')
George Winslow ('The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet', 'Dear Phoebe', 'Blondie')
Diana Douglas ('The Paper Chase', 'The West Wing', 'Naked City', Kirk's ex, Michael's mother)
Amanda Peterson ('Jack's Place', 'A Year In The Life', 'Boone')
Omar Sharif ('Petits mythes urbains', 'The Far Pavillions', 'L'isle Misterieuse', 'Gulliver's Travels', "Catherine The Great", "Peter The Great", "Anastasia")
Irwin Keyes ('The Jeffersons', 'On The Air', 'And You Know Who You Are')
Aubrey Morris ('The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy', 'Hot Metal', 'Babylon 5', 'Jamie', 'Touch And Go', 'Columbo', 'The Molly Wopsies')
Alex Rocco ('The Famous Teddy Z', 'Murphy Brown', 'Maron')
George Coe ('Saturday Night Live', 'Max Headroom', 'LA Law', 'The West Wing', 'Archer')
Olaf Pooley ('The Master', 'Gravelhanger', 'The Adventures Of Ben Gunn', 'Doctor Who', 'Star Trek: The Next Generation')
Theodore Bikel ('Johnny, You're Wanted', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', 'Columbo', 'Ellery Queen', 'All In The Family')
Nova Pilbeam ("Prison Without Bars", "The Shining Hour", teenage actress in 2 early HItchcock movies)
Coleen Gray ('McCloud' 'Maverick', 'Rawhide', '77 Sunset Strip', 'Perry Mason')
George Cole ('Minder', 'New Tricks', 'Midsomer Murders')
Mark Sheeler ('Captain Z-Ro', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'The Adventures of Superman')
Stephen Lewis ('On The Buses', 'Last Of The Summer Wine')
Yvonne Craig ('Batman', 'Star Trek')
Melody Patterson ('F Troop', 'Hawaii Five-O')
Anna Kashfi ('Bronco', 'The Deputy', 'Adventures In Paradise', Brando's first wife)
Dean Jones ('The Love Bug' [TV series & movies], 'What's It All About, World?')
Judy Carne ('Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In', 'Love On A Rooftop', 'Fair Exchange')
Martin Milner ('Route 66', 5 shows as Pete Malloy - 'Adam 12', Dragnet plus)
Gerald S. O'Loughlin ('The Rookies', 'Our House', 'Automan')
John Connell ('Young Dr. Malone', 'Dark Shadows', 'Mr. Peepers', 'Captain Video')
Cheng Hui-Yu ('The Legend Of Bruce Lee')

Jack Larsen ('The Adventures Of Superman')
Catherine Coulson ('Twin Peaks' - The Log Lady)
Barbara Meek ('Archie Bunker's Place', 'Big Brother Jake', 'Melba')
Frank Albanese ('The Sopranos')
Joan Leslie ('Murder, She Wrote', 'Simon & Simon', 'Branded', 'Police Story', 'Charlie's Angels', several TV movies and early anthology shows)
Andrew Rubin ('Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', 'Jessica Novak', 'Hometown', 'Joe Bash')
Alan Weeks ('Dallas', 'Baker's Dozen', 'Fame', 'Police Story', 'Hull High', 'Police Woman')
Bruce Hyde ('Star Trek', 'That Girl', 'Beverly Hillbillies')
Marty Ingels ('I'm Dickens, He's Fenster', 'The Phyllis Diller Show', 'Pac-Man')
Leon Bibb ('Channing', 'Mom P.I.')
Maureen O'Hara ("The Christmas Box", "The Red Pony", "Cab To Canada", "The Last Dance")
Dick Maugg (Ed Jaymes in the Bartles & Jaymes commercials)

Al Molinaro (Murray the Cop, 'The Odd Couple', Al 'Happy Days')
Gregg Palmer
Nathaniel Marston ('One Life To Live', 'Matt Waters', 'Blue Bloods', 'Castle')
Ritch Brinkley ('Murphy Brown', 'Saved By The Bell: The New Class', 'Dolly', 'Thunder Alley', 'Beauty And The Beast')
Betsy Drake ('Wanted: Dead Or Alive', 'General Electric Theater', former wife of Cary Grant)
Saeed Jaffrey ('The Far Pavillions', 'A Passage To India', 'The Jewel In The Crown')
Keith Michell ('The Six Wives of Henry VIII', 'Murder, She Wrote')
Robin Stewart ('Bless This House', 'Sons & Daughters', 'Welcher & Welcher')
Rex Reason ('Man Without A Gun', 'The Roaring 20's', 'Conflict')
David Canary ('All My Children', 'Bonanza')
Setsuko Hara ('Musume to watashi' - worked mostly in films)
Norbert Gastell (German voice for Homer Simpson)
Al Markim ('Tom Corbett, Space Cadet', 'Studio One' - "The Night America Trembled)
Anthony Valentine ('Raffles', 'Callan', 'Colditz', 'Codename', 'Justice', 'Coronation Street')
Robert Loggia ('T.H.E. Cat', 'Mancuso, FBI' & "Favorite Son", 'The Sopranos')
Melvin Williams (drug kingpin, 'The Wire')
Martin E. Brooks ('The Six Million Dollar Man', 'The Bionic Woman', 'Dallas', 'McMillan & Wife', 'Hunter')
Nicholas Smith ('Are You Being Served?')
Marjorie Lord ('Make Room For Daddy', 'Make Room For Grand-Daddy')
Bryony Brind ("The House Of Eliott", "The House On Oxford Street", "Unfinished Business")
Will MacMillan ('The West Wing', 'Hunter', 'Matlock', NYPD Blue')
Pat Brooker (Nanny Pat in 'The Only Way Is Essex')
Patricia Elliott ('One Life To Live')
Noboru Ando ('Shin Sanbiki no Samurai")
John Bottoms ('The Jeffersons', "The First Affair", "Parole")
Ken Pogue ('Adderly', 'Millennium', 'The Edison Twins', 'Red Widow', 'Rin Tin Tin: K9 Cop')
Elaine Riley ('Range Rider', 'The Lone Ranger', 'Hopalong Cassidy', 'The Adventures Of Superman')
Angela McEwan ('Getting On', 'Leaving Bliss', 'Parks & Recreation')
Zale Kessler ('My Olde Roommate', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Alice', 'Lois & Clark', 'Night Court')
Carol Burns ('Prisoner: Cell Block H', 'Strike It Rich!', 'Queen Kat, Carmel, & St. Jude')
Fred J. Scollay ('Somerset', 'Law & Order', 'Armstrong Circle Theater')
Jason Wingreen ('Archie Bunker's Place', 'The Twilight Zone')
Wayne Rogers ('M*A*S*H', 'City Of Angels', 'House Calls', 'Murder, She Wrote')

PERSONALITIES 
Lance Percival ('Lance At Large', 'The Lance Percival Show', the Beatles cartoon show, 'Up The Workers', 'Bluebirds', "Yellow Submarine")
Joe Franklin, NYC TV legend, spoofed on 'Saturday Night Live'
Gary Owens ('Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In', Antenna TV announcer)
Eugene Patton ('The Gong Show')
Reverend Robert H. Schuller ('Hour Of Power' evangelist)
Lois LIlienstein ('Sharon, Lois, & Brahms')
Ben Wattenberg (PBS neoconservative)
Val Doonican ('The Val Doonican Show', 1965-86)
Loredana Nesci ('Loredana, Esq.' - former LA cop turned lawyer with her own reality show, killed by her boyfriend, was in high school with my sister)
Stuart Bagg ('The Apprentice' (UK), death to due asthma at 27)
Tony Lara (Captain in 'The Deadliest Catch')
Tobias Strebel ('Botched' - spent $100,000 to look like Justin Bieber)
Denise Lor ('The Garry Moore Show', 'The Mike Douglas Show')
Yogi Berra (legendary Yankee catcher, 'Bilko', 'The Honeymooners', 'Arli$$')
Mark & Debby Constantino (paranormal iinvestigators in murder/suicide)
Paul Prudhomme (New Orleans chef, many chat shows)
Erik Roner (MTV extreme sportsman)
Scott Marshall ('Ink Master' Season 4 winner)
Jim Perry ('Card Sharks', 'Sale Of The Century')
Meadowlark Lemon ('Hello, Larry', 'The Harlem Globetrotters')

NEWS & SPORTS
Stuart Scott (ESPN anchor)
Stuart Loory (LA Times journalist who helped found CNN)
Sandy Socolow (CBS news executive during 1960s & 70s)
Bob Simon (CBS news reporter, most Emmy awards for any reporter)
Stan Chambers (six decades at KTLA)
Lisa Colagrossi (WABC reporter, died on assignment; 2 local news Emmy Awards in Miami)
Dr. George Fischbeck (KABC weatherman for decades)
Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley (voice of the Utah Jazz; called NBA games for CBS)
Richie Benaud (cricket commentator for BBC and Australia's Nine Network)
Steve Byrnes (NASCAR broadcaster for FOX, TNT, CBS)
Diane White Clatto (first full-time black television weathercaster in the country at KSD in St. Louis)
Ed Fouhy (executive at all three network news programs)
Sam Zelman (100! Created 45 minute news show at KNXT; helped create CNN)
Jacobo Zabludovsky (Mexican anchorman)
Marlene Sanders (Emmy winning writer & producer of documentaries, reporter at WABC & WCBS, first woman to be a fill-in anchor, mother of Jeffrey Toobin)
Frank Gifford ('Monday Night Football', also 'Hazel', 'Captain Kangaroo', 'The San Pedro Beach Bums', 'Coach', 'Psych', 'The Adventures of Pete & Pete')
Alison Parker
Adam Ward (WDBJ reporter [Parker] and photographer [Ward] shot dead while doing on air story by  a disgruntled employee of the TV station)
Vester Flanagan aka Bryce Williams (WDBJ reporter fired two years ago who murdered Parker and Ward.  Took his own life after cornered by the police.)
Gene Elston (Astros broadcaster 1962-1986, winner of the Ford Frick Award)
Gordon Honeycombe (ITN newsreader)
Hugh Scully (newsreader & 'Antiques Roadshow')
Dr. Jamie Zimmerman (ABC medical correspondent)
Ray Gandolf ('Our World', 'CBS Sunday Morning')
Robert Flick (West Coast producer, NBC News, coordinating producer, 'Entertainment Tonight' - survived the Jonestown massacre)


DIRECTORS
Tony Verna (came up with the concept of instant replay)
Kathryn Windfield ('The Bridge', 'The Killing', 'The Crown Princess')
Danny Schechter ('Who Rules America', 'America's Surveillance State')
Richard L. Bare ('Green Acres', 'The Twilight Zone')
Michael Blake ("Laughing Horse", wrote "Dances With Wolves")
Marty Passetta (17 Academy Awards show, Elvis satellite show)
Jane Aaron ('Sesame Street' film-maker)
Jack Gold ("The Naked Civil Servant", "Escape From Sobibor", "Goodnight, Mr. Tom", 'Kavanagh, QC', 'Inspector Morse' [last episode])
John Guillermin ('Aggie', 'Sailor Of Fortune', 'Your Favorite Story', "Towering Inferno")

WRITERS
Colleen McCullough ("The Thorn Birds")
Don Mankiewicz (created 'Ironside' & 'Marcus Welby, MD', 'Playhouse 90')
Ruth Rendell ('The Ruth Rendell Mysteries')
William Bast ('The Colbys', "The Man In The Iron Mask", "James Dean" - in which he was a character)
Ann Rule (true life crime novel writer whose books were adapted for TV)
David Nobbs ('The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin' & its sequels, 'The Two Ronnies')
Frank D. Gilroy ('Burke's Law', 'Texas John Slaughter', "The Subject Was Roses")
Henning Mankell (Swedish crime novelist, "Wallander" books led to two TV series - one Swedish, one British)
Jerome Kass ("Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom", "A Brand New Life", "The Only Way Out")
Melissa Mathison (nominated for "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial", wrote 1 segment of "Twilight Zone: The Movie")
James Prideaux ('Lincoln', 'The Secret Storm', "Mrs. Delafield Wants To Marry", "Laura Lansing Slept Here", "Lyndon Johnson", "The Man Upstairs")
Anthony Read ('Doctor Who' editor and writer)
George Clayton Johnson ('The Twilight Zone', 'Star Trek', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'Kung Fu')

PRODUCERS
Richard Rosenbloom ('Cagney & Lacey', "Scarlett", "Pioneer Woman")
Jerry Weintraub (movie producer but also for TV - 'The Karate Kid', 'The Brink', 'Westword', 'Szysznyk', several John Denver specials)
Joseph McMahon (associate producer, 'Deadliest Catch' - murdered)
Merv Adelson ('Dallas', 'The Waltons', 'Knot's Landing')

MUSICIANS
Clark Terry (trumpeter for 'Tonight' band)
Milton DeLugg (music director for 'Broadway Open House')
James Horner (composer 'Fish Police', 'CBS Evening News with Katie Couric')
Van Alexander (bandleader turned composer, 'Bewitched', 'I Dream Of Jeannie')
PF Sloan (composer, 'Secret Agent')


HYPHENATES
Terry Becker (actor - 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea', director - 'The Brady Bunch', 'M*A*S*H', 'Room 222')
Brian Clemens (producer and writer - 'The Avengers', 'The New Avengers', 'The Professionals')
Lesley Gore (singer/actress, 'Batman')

Harris Wittels (exec producer 'Parks & Recreation', writer 'Eastbound Down')
Harve Bennett (writer/producer of 'Star Trek' movies)
Dirk Shafer (actor - 'Will & Grace', self - "In The Life", gay Playgirl centerfold)
Sam Simon (writer/producer - 'The Simpsons')
Jenna McMahon (writer, creator of 'Mama's Family' & 'The Facts Of Life', comedienne)
Gene Saks (actor - 'Law & Order', "On Seventh Avenue", 'Mike Hammer', 'You Are There', director - "You Are There")
The Other Ray Charles (singer, composer, musical arranger - "Come And Kno On Our Door", Emmy Awards for "The First Nine Months Are The Hardest" & "The Funny Side", 'Your Hit Parade', 'Glenn Campbell Good-Time Hour', 'The Muppet Show')
Stan Freberg (writer, actor, performer, voice actor, puppeteer, commercial creator)
Jule Huffman ('Mr. Cartoon', WSAZ weatherman)
Betsy Palmer (actress - 'Knots Landing', herself - 'I've Got A Secret')
Jim Bailey (actor - 'Ally McBeal', himself - 'Switch')
Peggy Lynch (writer/producer/actor - 'Ethel And Albert', 'The Kate Smith Evening Hour')
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper (wrestler, actor - 'Zorro', 'Superboy', 'Highlander', 'Walker, Texas Ranger', 'The Outer Limits')
Cilla Black (singer, presenter - 'Surprise, Surprise', 'Blind Date', portrayed by Sheridan Smith in TV biopic "Cilla")
Lela Swift (producer/director)
Jackie Collins (author: 'Hollywood Wives', 'Lady Boss', 'Lucky Chances', actress: 'The Saint', 'Danger Man')
Kevin Corcoran (actor - Moochie of 'Mickey Mouse Club', many Disney films, producer/director - 'The Shield', 'Sons Of Anarchy', 'Scarecrow & Mrs. King')
Former Senator Fred Dalton Thompson (The Watergate Hearings, 'Wiseguy', TVXOHOF member for the 'Law & Order' franchise)
Colin Welland (writer - Oscar for "Chariots Of Fire", actor - 'Z Cars', 'Man At The Top', 'Cowboys')
Sam Sarpong, Jr. (personality & actor - 'LA Live The Show', 'Mr. Show With Bob & David', 'Boston Public', 'Bones')
Natalie Cole (singer - video performing with her father after he died, "Wizard Of Oz In Concert" & actress - 'I'll Fly Away', 'Touched By An Angel', 'Law & Order: SVU')

OTHERS
Governor Mario Cuomo (played himself in an episode of 'Tanner On Tanner')
Heather Hicks Ervin (executive with KoMut productions, worked on 'Will & Grace', 'Buzzy's')
Robert Kinoshita (production and art designer, designed Robbie the Robot and the 'Lost In Space' Robot)
Peggy Charren (leader of Children's Television Workshop)
Monty Oum (online animator)
Carl J. Rubino (lawyer during the 1950s quiz show scandal)

Patricia Norris (costume designer, 'The Waltons', 'Apple's Way', 'Twin Peaks', "Sybil")
Eddie Hice (stunt man - 'Star Trek', 'Bonanza')
Paul Goldhammer (camera and electrical department, 'In Gayle We Trust', 'The Sarah Silverman Show')
Rudolph Perz (creator of the Pillsbury Doughboy)
Bill Arhos (created 'Austin City Limits')
Vivian Nicholson (from poor to rich and back again life was chronicled in 'The Play Of The Day' - "Spend, Spend, Spend")
Andrew Lesnie (cinematographer 'House Of Fun', 'Wonder World!', Oscar winner for "Lord Of The Rings")
Joanne Carson (ex-wife of Johnny Carson)
Michael King (built the KingWorld syndication empire)
Vincent Bugliosi (Manson Family prosecutor, portrayed by George DiCenzo, Richard Crenna, Arliss Howard, and Bruno Kirby in several TV productions)
Ralph Roberts (cable tv pioneer who built Comcast)
Danny Villanueva (founder of Univision)
Joan Archer Aldrin (Buzz Aldrin's former wife, portrayed on TV by Shirley Knight ("Return To Earth", Maureen Mueller ("Apollo 11"), and Kelly Kerslake ("Moonshot")
Paul Goldenberg('King of Big Screen', TV sales king in Los Angeles)
Julian Bond (civil rights leader, hosted 'Saturday Night Live' once)
Bud Yorkin (producer/director - 'All In The Family', 'Sanford & Son', 'What's Happening?')
T.C. Williams (Make-up artist, won Emmy for "Son Of The Morning Star")
Joy Golden (Winner, 5 Clio Awards)
Warren Braren (a reformed smoker who helped trigger a congressional ban on tobacco advertising on television and radio in 1970 by blowing the whistle on broadcasters’ lax self-regulation)
Reverend Everett Parker (fought the blatant racism at NBC affiliate WBLT until it was overturned in 1969)
Derek Ware (stuntman for 'Doctor Who')
Pete Dougherty (creator of 'Yo! MTV Raps')
John Backe (led CBS back to the top in the 1970s)
Howard A Anderson (visual effects pioneer who created the 'Star Trek' transporter effect, also "Mission Impossible", "Get Smart", "The Untouchables", "The Fugitive")
George Barris (built the Batmobile for the 1966 'Batman' series)
Michael C. Gross (created the "Ghostbusters" logo, designed the most famous National Lampoon cover - If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog)
Arthur R. Taylor (CBS President who sold Yankees to Steinbrenner)
Christie George (hairdresser whose favorite show to work on was 'Mannix')
Haskell Wexler (Oscar winning cinematographer, 'Big Love')
Louis DiGiamo (casting director, 'Homicide: Life On The Street', 'Movin' On', 'Night Heat')





Wednesday, December 30, 2015

THE WORD MADE TOOB - A 2015 RETROSPECTIVE



Looking back at 2015, I think the year in Toobworld could be summed up as "ToobWord".  Some of the best additions to the Toobworld Dynamic as a whole, and some of the top news stories about the TV Universe have involved the adaptations of novels and short stories, from BookWorld to Toobworld.

Among the new adaptations of literature into TV movies, mini-series, and continuous shows have been:

'THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE" by  PHILIP K. DICK

'ARTHUR & GEORGE' by JULIAN BARNES

'JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL' by SUSANNA CLARKE

'CHILDHOOD'S END' by ARTHUR C. CLARKE

'POLDARK' by WINSTON GRAHAM

Most of those were limited runs, fully contained based on the events depicted in the books alone.  However, 'Poldark' and 'The Man In The High Castle' will return for second seasons.  
And save for 'Arthur & George', they all took place in alternate Toobworlds because of those depicted events (although 'Poldark' must take place in the Land O' Remakes since there was a previous series based on Graham's books from 1975 to 1977.)  And even with 'Arthur & George' it could be argued that the three part mini-series should take place in some alternate TV dimension because of the recasting of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Martin Clunes' portrayal was excellent, don't get me wrong, and he is likely to win a Toobits Award for Best Historical Portrayal.  However, preference in Earth Prime-Time is always given to those historical figures who are depicted in interactions with previously established fictional characters.  In the case of Conan Doyle, that would include the author as seen in episodes of 'Mr. Selfridge' and 'The Murdoch Mysteries'.  (Conan Doyle in a 'Mentors' episode was a computer simulation and as seen in an episode of 'Voyagers!', he was from an alternate timeline.)

Each of their individual Toobworlds, for I doubt they can share each others' realities, would be Borderlands, fictional realms where Television blends with some other fictional universe - in this case, BookWorld (a term coined by Jasper Fforde for the universe of literature as seen in his books about Thursday Next.)

Come to think of it, I would put the NBC live broadcast of the musical "The Wiz" on that list as well.  Plus there's 'Once Upon A Time' and 'The Librarians', each of which deal with Fictionals who escaped their literary sources of existence to roam through Toobworld.  And 'Daredevil', 'Jessica Jones', 'Supergirl', 'The Flash', 'Arrow', and 'Agents Of SHIELD' could loosely be considered in the mix as well......

Other TV productions based on books made news in 2015 as well.  'Haven' was a series on Syfy which was loosely based on the story in Stephen King's "The Colorado Kid"; it finished up its fifth and last season just this month.  Another one of King's books, "Under The Dome" made it through three summer seasons before it was finally cancelled due to low ratings.  (O'Bservation: CBS was greedy.  This should have been a one-season and done TV series, wrapping up the mystery of the Dome by the end of that first season.)

'Game Of Thrones', the popular fantasy series on HBO, is based on "A Song Of Ice And Fire", the multi-book cycle by George R.R. Martin.  Earlier this year it finished its fifth season and will next be delving into uncharted territory since it has completed the adaptations of Martin's already published novels.  Luckily Martin has given the show's producers a detailed outline of everything he plans to put into the novels so that they can remain basically in synch.  (A lot of the books' materials never made it into the show and certain characters were either dropped or combined with others or just renamed to make things easier for viewers.)

Along with 'Childhood's End' this month, Syfy also presented a commercial-free sneak peak at a series coming in 2016 that is based on a trilogy of novels by Lev Grossman.  'The Magicians' can be loosely summed up as a "Harry Potter series for adults" which begins at a magical studies university in upstate New York named Brakebills.  The novels move on to an alternate realm by the second novel ("The Magicians' King"), but I'm not sure the TV series will follow.

'About A Boy' was the third entry in the multiverse of Nick Hornby's novel which was then followed by a movie before being Americanized for the TV series.  After two seasons, it was canceled by NBC earlier this year and its last remaining episodes were dispatched to other platforms like iTunes.  At the beginning of the year, 'Resurrection' - the American version of Jason Mott's novel 'The Returned' - was cancelled.

British comic actor David Walliams attempted to bring a new version of Dame Agatha Christie's "Tommy & Tuppence" mysteries back to TV, updating the stories to the Cold War of the 1950s.  But after three installments, the project was cancelled.  And currently, Rowan Atkinson is bringing his own version of French Inspector Jules Maigret to the small screen.  After Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, Maigret may have had the most adaptations of a literary detective on TV.

Speaking of Holmes, 2016 will ring in with a special holiday episode of the modernized 'Sherlock' on New Year's Day, while the the game is till afoot with the similar CBS production of 'Elementary'. 'Backstrom' only ran for half a season this year, but I felt it deserved a shot at a full second season.  But what do I know?  'Strike Back' was an international series that ran for five seasons, ending this year.  Apparently 'Wallander', the UK version starring Kenneth Branagh, is still running - by the way, the author of the original novels, Henning Mankell, passed away earlier this year.

Here are some of the other current TV series currently on the air which are originally based on books:
  • 'THE 100'
  • 'THE VAMPIRE DIARIES'
  • 'HOUSE OF CARDS'
  • 'PRETTY LITTLE LIARS'
  • 'THE LEFTOVERS'
  • 'BOSCH'
  • 'WAYWARD PINES'
  • 'GRANTCHESTER'
  • 'MISS FISCHER'S MURDER MYSTERIES'
  • 'ENDEAVOUR'
  • 'THE LAST SHIP'
  • 'RIZZOLI & ISLES'
  • 'MIDSOMER MURDERS'
  • 'OUTLANDER'
  • 'WALLANDER'
  • 'THE ROYALS'
  • 'THE STRAIN'
  • 'YOUNGER'
  • 'ZOO'
I was surprised by several book adaptations on that list.

2016 will see a few more adaptations as well, including 'Emerald City' and 'Dickensian'.  (But both of them will be in alternate TV dimensions.)

One word of advice, if you like any of these series, track down their original sources.  Not only do you support the authors, but you keep an important mantra going:

Reading is FUNdamental!

BCnU!


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

TUESDAY NEWS DAY - SHAKESPEARE 2016


This is going to be the last Tuesday News Day for 2015... and probably the last regularly scheduled one ever.  I love writing posts for the Inner Toob blog, don't get me wrong.  And I will continue next year.  But the news stories always felt like they were late or that they were rendered moot when a project fell through.  I'm lazy enough as it is without finding out I exerted all of that effort for nothing!

So with that said, "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly...."

April 23, 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, so that's when the BBC Shakespeare Festival will launch to celebrate the Bard's 452nd birthday.  (Probably because it's the only date History can lock down.)

On BBC Two, there will be three more episodes of 'The Hollow Crown' - new adaptations of Shakespeare's History Plays with Benedict Cumberbatch and Dame Judi Dench leading the dramatis personae.  And then the Royal Shakespeare Company will be staging a live birthday celebration hosted by David Tennant.  I hope we get to see that here in America - live TV promises epic disaster.  Just ask Steve Harvey.....

There will be another staging of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for BBC1, directed by Russell T. Davies and including Matt Lucas, Bernard Cribbins, Elaine Page, Maxine Peake, and Richard Wilson.

In the greater Toobworld universe, there have been many portrayals of Shakespeare in a variety of programs.  Those who were in self-contained TV movies and mini-series, like the Bard played by Tim Curry, would be relegated to other dimensions.  The Shakespeares that would be included interacted (for the most part) with previously established TV characters.






The recasting for all of those Shakespeares can be splained away either as ghosts ('The Twilight Zone'), computer simulations ('Mentors'), magical summonings ('Sabrina, The Teenage Witch' & 'I Dream Of Jeannie') which could be Fictionals out of a book, but for the most part as figments of dreams ('The Zack Files', 'Northern Exposure', and 'The Drew Carey Show', although that's more of a coma than a dream.)  It was the Doctor and Martha Jones' encounter with Shakespeare in 'Doctor Who' that could be considered the true Bard of Avon.  (But it must have been Casual Friday as to his look......)

BCnU!

Monday, December 28, 2015

CONVERSATION PIECES: "THE GRIMMPSONS"



"Two things I know about kids. 
One: they are the Future and should be cherished. 
Two: they're lying little bastards!" 
Monroe
'GRIMM'

"I believe that children are our future...
unless we stop them now!"
Homer Simpson
'THE SIMPSONS'

Sunday, December 27, 2015

VIDEO WEEKEND - TOOBWORLD TIME CAPSULE (DANNY THOMAS & THE THREE STOOGES)


I wish I had found this a month ago for its fiftieth anniversary.......





Saturday, December 26, 2015

SATURDAY MORNING SUPERHEROES - AFFIXING "VIXEN" TO "ARROW'



According to TV Insider and Deadline, another DC Comics superhero will be joining 'Arrow', a show set in Comic Book Toobworld.  And the best thing about it is that has televisiological value.


Megalyn Echikunwoke is joining 'Arrow' as Mari Mable, AKA Vixen.  According to DC Comics, Mari is an African orphan who had an inherited talent to be mimic any animal.

Here's the interesting part.....

Echikunwoke has already voiced the role in a web series about Vixen.  It was animated so it would be situated in the Tooniverse.  And the stars of 'Arrow' and 'The Flash', Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin respectively, also voiced their characters in episodes of 'Vixen'.

Once Vixen arrives in 'Arrow', it won't qualify as a crossover.  'Vixen' takes place in the Tooniverse, an alternate dimension, and is just a counterpart to the activities in still another alternate dimension - Comic Book Toobworld.

For alls I know, she'll eventually cross over to 'The Flash', which is very good news for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  In the month of February, as our celebration of Black History Month, we induct black TV characters who fulfill the requirements.  But it's a finite supply, unfortunately.  As far as I can see, I have only about six characters or even League of Themselves members left to induct.  Vixen would be a welcome inductee once the time came....

BCnU!

Friday, December 25, 2015

THE 2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART FIVE)


2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

WORST NEW SERIES TITLE
'Best Time Ever'
It would be tough to live up to such a title.  And they didn't.


BEST EPISODE TITLE
"12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer" - 'Inside Amy Schumer'

BEST BINGE-WATCHING EXPERIENCE
'Transparent'
I don't count my lunch-hour viewing of other shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime as binge-watchinng.  I'm talking about the definition as it was meant to be - one after the other in a single sitting.  (I was taking advantage of the free use of Amazon Prime to watch the show after it won the Golden Globes awards.)

WORST CLASH BETWEEN TOOBWORLD & THE REAL WORLD
'The Good Wife'
Governor Peter Florrick's campaign to get the Democratic nomination to run for President.  It started out with him trying to get considered for Clinton's Veep and that could remain believable.  But I think everybody in the viewing audience knows that Florrick isn't even in the running for the nod and yet now the show has him in first place in the Iowa polls.

WORST TV EXPERIENCE
Any Republican debate.  Take your pick.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A SHOW

Imported
'Broadchurch' (Second Season)
Domestic
'How To Get Away With Murder' (Second Season)

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A NETWORK
For shame, NBC - for backing down on your stand against Donald Trump appearing on the network in the entertainment division so that you could get him to host an episode of 'Saturday Night Live'.  My revulsion at this idea extends to Lorne Michaels for going along with this.  I just wish there were cast members brave enough to sit the week out in protest, as Nora Dunn did when Andrew Dice Clay hosted (even if it did damage her remaining time on the show, maybe even her career.)

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE GENERAL AUDIENCE
'Forever' was canceled at the end of its first season back in May.  It was too good to deserve that fate.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN MYSELF
I just couldn't continue with 'Y Gwyll' ("The Hinterland") after seeing the first episode.  The problem may have been that I had just seen that same storyline used the night before in the final episode of 'Dicte'.  I don't have the same disappointment in myself for not continuing with 'Shetland'.  I couldn't even finish the first episode.  I like the writer's previous series and I like Doug Henshall, but the series lacked crackle of 'Vera' and Henshall as Perez was not as compelling or interesting as Brenda Blethyn as Vera Stanhope.  (The only female detective in Toobworld who could stand against Columbo in comparison.)

BEST CRITIQUE BY AN ONLINE COMMENTER
Ray Brizzi:
If they're not splitting series up the last season into two seasons a year apart, they're making shorter seasons on the others. Where are we, England? Steam came out of my head when i went to watch Better Call Saul this morning.

WORST ANALYSIS BY AN ONLINE COMMENTER
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-11-21/these-doctor-who-fans-cant-cope-with-evil-david-tennant-in-jessica-jones

Fans can't tell the difference between the Tenth Doctor and Killgrave.  Just a notch below those people who cant tell the difference between the characters and the actors who play them. 

BEST O'BSERVATION OF A TV SERIES

“Thank you for being my family,” he said. “I love you both and really, nothing else matters, does it?”


And that made it easier to see him go. One look at Harry at that awkward-can't-make-eye-contact stage and how his Father lit up like a Christmas tree, of course he needs to go spend more time with his family. Good for you Dave. Good for your family. It was a perfect ending. - Amy Chen O'Connell (about the last 'Late Show with David Letterman')

BEST TELEVISIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

So this weekend Amanda and I watched the Lifetime movie about the girls in Cleveland who were kidnapped and held hostage for over a decade. They were chained up, raped... I have watched some full on crazy ass messed up movies. This was made for TV and even keeping it safe for TV it was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen. Jumping off from that, I was floored and baffled that someone would choose to buy ad time in this movie for 50 Shades Of Grey. Really???? You want to advertise your movie about the fun of bondage and S&M in a movie about woman facing real degradation and abuse? Classy. - Thomas Holbrook

BEST CONTRIBUTION TO TOOBWORLD
'The Librarians' - the Fictionals
The splainin of living characters stepping out of BookWorld to become three-dimensional in Toobworld served to bring 'Once Upon A Time' and 'Once A Hero' a reasonable background for why their characters also came from another fictional universe.



2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART FOUR)


2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

THE BEST MISCELLANIA OF 2015


BEST EXIT FOR A CHARACTER
TOOBWORLD
 Chief Roger Dooley, 'Agent Carter'



BEST DEATH SCENE


SADDEST DEATH SCENE
Jason Gideon, 'Criminal Minds'

WORST (GRISLIEST) DEATH SCENE
Dr. Allerdyce, killed by her daughter Shirley, 'Fortitude'
 
FIRST MAJOR TV CHARACTER TO DIE
DCI Emma Summerhayes, 'EastEnders '

MOST DESERVING TO DIE

Dandy Mott, 'American Horror Story: Freakshow'
 
BEST NEW CHARACTER NAME
Roland Schitt, 'Schitt's Creek'
Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, 'Game Of Thrones'
[Mostly because it's an in-joke reference to Phil Simms, formerly of the Giants.  Wun Wun = #11.  1-1....]

WORST NEW CHARACTER NAME

Yezzan zo Qaggaz, 'Game Of Thrones' (surprise!)

BEST NEW ALIAS
Hundred Eyes (Se Fu), 'Marco Polo'

BEST ZONK VISUAL

'You're The Worst' - "Spooky Sunday Funday"
Gretchen dressed as Daenerys from 'Game Of Thrones'



BEST MOVIE REFERENCE
Cabe Gallo: Hey, John McClane, need a ride?
Walter O'Brien: Who's John McClane?
Cabe Gallo: Some guy in a movie. Never mind. Let's go.

'Scorpion'

BEST LINE
"S'all good, man." - Jimmy, 'Better Call Saul'

BEST EXCHANGE OF DIALOGUE
Kristen Clark: We know more now than we did before.
Cameron: Yep!  We know that when confronted by a bouncer named "Cleaver", I leak urine.
'Stitchers'

BEST SPEECH/MONOLOGUE

OVERALL


DRAMA
Wilson Fisk: I was thinking about a story from the Bible.  I'm not a religious man... but I've read bits and pieces over the years. Curiosity more than faith. But this one story... There was a man. He was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho... when he was set upon by men of ill intent. They stripped the traveler of his clothes, they beat him, and they left him bleeding in the dirt. And a priest happened by... saw the traveler. But he moved to the other side of the road and continued on. And then a Levite, a religious functionary, he... came to the place, saw the dying traveler. But he too moved to the other side of the road, passed him by. But then came a man from Samaria, a Samaritan, a good man. He saw the traveler bleeding in the road and he stopped to aid him without thinking of the circumstance or the difficulty it might bring him. The Samaritan tended to the traveler's wounds, applying oil and wine. And he carried him to an inn, gave him all the money he had for the owner to take care of the traveler, as the Samaritan, he... continued on his journey. He did this simply because the traveler was his neighbor. He loved his city and all the people in it. (sighs deeply) I always thought that I was the Samaritan in that story. It's funny, isn't it? How even the best of men can be... deceived by their true nature. 

Guard: What the hell does that mean?


Wilson Fisk: It means that I'm not the Samaritan. That I'm not the priest, or the Levite. That I am the ill intent... who set upon the traveler on a road that he should not have been on.
('Daredevil')

SITCOM
Senator Gil John Biggs:  I decided to play a little hooky today.

I drove down to my hometown of Ruby Shoals, which is right on the shore.  Angie, show ’em a bit of where we’re at, go on.

OK, so it was tore up some by Sandy, but you get the general -#  Oh, grab a shot of them gulls there.  Cute little suckers....


Anyway, being back on this beach reminds me of what a privilege it was to grow up in a place where you could run through tide pools, hunt for sharks’ teeth, blow up crabs with cherry bombs.  Man, that’s just good times.
Anywho, Ruby Shoals has always been pretty conservative.  Soid Republican.  And as Republicans, the thing we believed in most of all was opportunity.  Which meant we believed in building stuff to create opportunity.  Like roads and schools and power grids.
It was a Republican, Ike, who built our highway system.

And another, Nixon, who created the EPA to protect what we are looking at right now.
As conservatives, we believed in conservin’ and free markets, which is why most of us used to favor cap and trade to fight climate change.
Anyway, that was then.  We don’t believe in climate change now.  Or any research into it.  Same with mandates or infrastructure or background checks or a dozen other things we used to support before we got within pissin’ range of the Tea Party.

I’ve about had it with all that.
Remember the old Gil John Biggs? The one who used to bring home a new clinic or research center or whatnot without apology? Sure, I named ’em after myself, but I don’t mind future generations knowing who invested in ’em.
You remember Coach Biggs? Who made college loans a huge priority because he’d seen how they changed lives.

And remember the guy that never voted to shut down the government or wreck our credit or suppress voting rights or compared people to Hitler?


Remember that guy?  He’s back.
('Alpha House')

BEST ZONK LINE
”A blind old man taught you the ways of martial arts? Isn’t that the plot to 'Kung Fu'?” - Foggy Nelson, 'Daredevil'

BEST ZONK DIALOGUE
'MADAM SECRETARY'
"YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION"

Henry McCord: I'm having a tough time with this.  I haven't been sleeping well.
Allison McCord: Really?
Henry McCord: Yeah.... I've been watching a lot of 'Gunsmoke' in the middle of the night.
Allison McCord: What's 'Gunsmoke'?
Henry McCord: It's an old TV show, a Western.  I liked it as a kid...
Henry McCord: Today I just wanted to go back in Time to our trip to England when touring churches was our thing.

Allison McCord: you should wake me up the next time you watch 'Gunsmoke'.  Maybe that could be our thing.

The writer trusted the audience to recognize the title as being for a Western.  No mention of it being about Matt Dillon, or that he could have been a fictional character.  Any mention of 'Gunsmoke' in any show as a TV show isn't a problem - it would have been an historical recreation of Matt Dillon's tenure as a US Marshal.
WORST ZONK DIALOGUE
'NCIS: LA'
"BLAME IT ON RIO"
Sam Hanna: It's a post-op kit for cosmetic surgery......
Tony DiNozzo: Of course!  Michael Long!
Marty Deeks: That's right....
Tony DiNozzo: Lieutenant Michael Arthur Long.
Marty Deeks: He was shot in the face; he was rescued by billionaire Wilton Knight.  He was a primary field agent for the Foundation of Law And Government.
Tony DiNozzo: F.L.A.G.
Marty Deeks: F.L.A.G.
Sam Hanna: What are you two talking about?
Nell Jones: 'Knight Rider', starring David Hasselhoff.
Marty Deeks: The Hoff.  Don't you dare hassle him.
Nell Jones: 80s TV show with the talking car....
Eric Beale: AKA "KITT".  And the Knight Industries Two Thousand was a little more than a talking car.
G Callan: Do you ever get the feeling we're working alone here?
Sam Hanna: Every single day.....
This was another example of a script writer who didn't trust his audience to understand the reference without clubbing them over the head with the source. This scene would still have worked if it ended after the two mentions of F.L.A.G.
 
BEST NEW COINED WORDS
 "Incognegro" - a white person passing as black ('The Nightly Show' 6/15/15)
"Killgraved" - to be under the mind control of Killgrave ('Jessica Jones')
"Show-Hole" - when your TV show has ended and left you with nothing to watch (Netflix)

BEST THEME SONG
TV SERIES:
"Unbreakable" from 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

TV COMMERCIAL MUSIC
MODERN
"5 Years Time" - Noah And The Whale
(Used in a Volkswagen Golf commercial)

CLASSIC
"Prelude": "The Magic Flute" - Mozart
(Used in an Infiniti QX60 commercial)


BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
The song and dance number in the movie "Daddy's Boy" ('The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt')

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

"The Wishing Boot", 'Saturday Night Live'

 

BEST DREAM SEQUENCE
Jim Gaffigan's media nightmare - 'The Jim Gaffigan Show'
 
BEST NEW TOOBWORLD LOCATION
World
 Fortitude

USA
Schitt's Creek

 

BEST NEW ALIEN LOCATION
 "Monolith World" (Ego?) 'Agents Of SHIELD'

BEST NEW ALTERNATE TV DIMENSION
DRAMA
'The Man In The High Castle'

SITCOM
'The Last Man On Earth'

WORST NEW ALTERNATE TV DIMENSION

'Quantico'

This is purely subjective.  Had they destroyed some fictional building in NYC instead of Grand Central Terminal, I could have kept this series in Earth Prime-Time.

BEST NEW FICTIONAL COUNTRY
Urkesh, 'Forever'

BEST MAKE-UP

I've never done this category before, but I have to give props to the make-up wizards on this show for the wounds inflicted on various characters.  But mostly for the transformation of Rebecca DeMornay as Trish Walker's mom Dorothy - from an unrecognizable older woman to the DeMornay I remember from "Risky Business" and "Identity" in the flashbacks.

BEST FIGHT SCENE
Hundred Eyes vs. Jia Sidao, 'Marco Polo'
Some may argue that the fight scenes in 'Daredevil' and even 'Jessica Jones' were better, but they had to be more tricked out since enhanced humans were involved in them.  This was between two "ordinary" men from centuries ago, so the choreography of the fight scenes really couldn't depend on anything more than camera tricks.


BEST ACTION SCENE

The attack by the White Walker army on Hardhome, 'Game Of Thrones'
 
BEST NEW FICTIONAL BOOK


"Into The Light" by Peter Van Owen - 'Proof' 
According to the book cover, Van Owen wrote "The After Life You Live". His obsession with the Afterlife could be due to him really being the Reaper Mason from 'Dead Like Me'. If so, perhaps a lot of his information came from that job he had in the Pacific Northwest.....

BEST NEW FICTIONAL MOVIE
"Daddy's Boy" - 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' 
"Operation: Eagle's Nest" - 'Fargo'

BEST NEW FICTIONAL TV SHOW


"The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show", 'Parks And Recreation'
We got a whole show out of that!

Special mention for "It's Patsy" from Comic Book Toobworld, as seen/heard in 'Jessica Jones'

BEST NEW FICTIONAL RADIO SHOW
"Trish Talk" - 'Jessica Jones'
First time for this category; I doubt I'll be using it again.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
DOMESTIC
 'Alpha House'

IMPORTED
'Jonathan Creek'
'QI'
I came to 'QI' because of Stephen Fry and the informative banter and moved on to 'Jonathan Creek' because I discovered Alan Davies in 'QI'.

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE (aka MEDIUM)
MOVIE TO TV
'Limitless'

TV TO MOVIE
 "Entourage"

BOOK to TV
'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell'

COMIC BOOK to TV
'Jessica Jones'
 
WORST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE (MEDIUM)
TV TO MOVIE
 "Jem And The Holograms"

BOOK TO TV
The pilot for "The Wheel Of Time"

MOVIE TO TV
'Minority Report'

BEST BOOK THAT SHOULD BE A TV SHOW
"Banner Deadlines" by Joseph Commings
I could see this being a great vehicle for John Goodman.