TVXOHOF, MAY 2016 - QUEEN RAQUEL

Kermit the Frog: 

For tonight, we are honored to present the one and only Miss Raquel Welch.

Miss Piggy: 

Pity we can't book an *important* guest star once in a while.

Kermit the Frog: 

W-What are you saying, Piggy? 

Tonight, we have an internationally acclaimed actress, singer, dancer, 

And one of the sexiest ladies alive!

Miss Piggy: 

You get that every night, Frog!

'The Muppet Show'

 
 Ah, May!  Spring is in the air!  I'm no longer sure as to what a young man's fancy turns, but traditionally the Television Crossover Hall of Fame should be able to supply it.  More or less....

And this year, as we celebrate the League of Themselves, we're lucky that it is "more".  Because for May of 2016, our newest member in the TVXOHOF is Cinema's Sex Siren of the Sixties......

RAQUEL WELCH

Well, my job is done for this induction ceremony.  What more needs to be said?  I mean, it's Raquel Welch!

Oh, all right......

Here are the reasons why she deserves membership:

'Bewitched' 
Stewardess
- "Witch or Wife" (1964) 
Raquel Welch (as the Stewardess) is only seen from the rear and partially from the side; not full face.

'Bracken's World'
- "Fade In" (1969)
Opening episode. Tom Hudson tries to get into the acting school. Paulette Douglas refuses to take her clothes off for a photo shoot despite her mother Grace implying it's okay. Kevin Grant has an unhappy marriage with Marjorie. Kevin gives Rachel Holt the part in his movie instead of Diane Waring and explains why. 

'Saturday Night Live'
- "Raquel Welch Hosts"
Lorne Michaels tries to lure the Beatles onto the show. Baba Wawa makes her first appearance.
The host for the episode is Raquel Welch, and the musical guests are Phoebe Snow (her second appearance) and John Sebastian. The skits for this episode are as follows:

• Chevy Chase presents an award for best performance by a political actor, but becomes angered when he gets handed a card telling him to stop talking and just do the fall already.
• During Raquel Welch's monologue, she is joined by Joe Cocker in a duet performance of "Superstar".
• An ad pitches a new Purina pet food for rats.
• A spokesman from the U.S. Council of Standards and Measures presents a new streamlined metric alphabet.
• Two sportscasters present the results from the Claudine Longet Ski Invitational, in which every competitor gets 'accidentally' shot by Claudine as they go down the slope.
• During the weekend update, Laraine Newman looks at the results of the preliminary party elections and Baba Wawa complains about Tom Snyder's hair.
• Producer Lorne Michaels makes an offer to pay the Beatles $3000 if the come on the show to give a reunion performance.
• At a mental hospital, the Bees want to watch the Academy Awards, but the evil Nurse Ratched won't let them.
• Raquel Welch performs "Ain't Necessarily So", Phoebe Snow performs "All Over" and "Two-Fisted Love", John Sebastian performs "Welcome Back".

Here's an interesting review of the episode she hosted.  Some of the show's sketches went on to become legends of infamy....

Here are two more reviews from the IMDb.....

'The Muppet Show'
- "Raquel Welch" (1978)

'Seinfeld'
- "The Summer of George" (1997)
Kramer is also at the Tony Awards ceremony and gets dragged on stage with some of the winners. He basks in the glow of having 'won' a Tony and the producers decide to use him to get rid of their star, Raquel Welch.

  
"Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" 
Frank Drebin comes out of retirement to help Police Squad infiltrate a gang of terrorists planning to detonate a bomb at the Academy Awards.

O'BSERVATIONS
People's lives can be different from how they play out on Television, especially with celebrities or historical figures. 

• Mark Twain traveled through Time and Space.
• Both Ellen DeGeneres and Roseanne had sex with Larry Sanders.
• Art Carney was related to Vera, one of the waitresses from 'Alice'.
• Dennis Rodman is an extraterrestrial.

And the same is true for Raquel Welch.....

While working her way through college and acting school, TV's Raquel got a job as an airline stewardess before she got her big break as an actress.  And that's what we saw her doing in that 'Bewitched' episode.

Because 'Saturday Night Live' has been acknowledged as a TV show on other shows, and because the Muppets are considered  living beings who interact with humans, I've included those two episodes which featured Raquel.  The interesting thing about her interactions with the Muppets on both shows is that the 'Muppet Show' Muppets are considered alive.  My buddy Skred and the other residents of the Land of Gortch are kind of treated as delusional puppets who think they're alive.  Then again, there were times when the usual gang of Muppets alluded to the fact that they were puppets.  (Toobworld splainin for "living" puppets - they are the Spirit Beings of the Isle of the Blessed encased in shells to make them visible.)
Certain movies can be absorbed into the TV Universe, but it is determined on a case by case basis. Because of the recasting of two main characters from the original TV show 'Police Squad', it's just easier to relegate the three "Naked Gun" movies to the Cineverse so that Frank Drebin is a multiversal character. And that would make Raquel one as well.

So welcome aboard the Crossover Hall of Fame, Raquel Welch!