SATURDAY COMICS - "CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?"

From Wikipedia:

'Car 54, Where Are You?' is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963, and was about two New York city police officers based at the fictional 53rd precinct in The Bronx. Car 54 was their patrol car. The show was filmed only in black-and-white. Episodes had different directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio and Stanley Prager. Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Filming was on location, and at Biograph Studios in The Bronx.

As with all of our Comic Book "heroes" these last few weeks, Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon are Multiversals.  Besides the T show and the comic books, they also appeared in a movie back when La-La-Land went ga-ga over TV series adaptations.  However, different actors played Muldoon and Toody... but strangely enough, Leo Schnauzer was still played by Al Lewis.

So here are a few pages from their comic book incarnations.  (Click on them to see a larger size.....

VETERANS' DAY - WAYNE MORRIS OF THE TRUENIVERSE

FOR VETERAN'S DAY
NOVEMBER 11, 2016

'MADAM SECRETARY' 
"SOUTH CHINA SEA"

PRESIDENT CONRAD DALTON:
Good evening, my fellow Americans. 

As many of you are aware, earlier today, a Chinese fighter jet struck the aircraft carrier USS Wayne Morris in the South China Sea, taking the lives of three American sailors and wounding many others.

During tense negotiations with China, a Chinese fighter jet clipped the con tower on the USS Wayne Morris, killing three sailors and injuring others. 

In the real world, there appears to be no ship named the Wayne Morris. There is no Navy ship by that name in the real world; no need to do any research into the possibility that there might be one in Toobworld as 'Madam Secretary' takes place in an alternate TV dimension where Conrad Dalton is the POTUS. 

So could it be that the USS Wayne Morris in that dimension is named after the most famous person to bear that name?

From Wikipedia:
Wayne Morris (February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many notable films, including "Paths of Glory" (1957), "The Bushwackers" (1952), and the title role of "Kid Galahad" in 1937.

While filming "Flight Angels" (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. He flew the F6F Hellcat off the aircraft carrier USS Essex.

A December 15, 1944 Associated Press news story reported that Morris was "credited with 57 aerial sorties, shooting down seven Jap Zeros, sinking an escort vessel and a flak gunboat and helping sink a submarine and damage a heavy cruiser and a mine layer."

He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. He flew with the VF-15, the famed "McCampbell Heroes."

Morris died of a coronary occlusion September 14, 1959, aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard. 

There's no problem with the assumption that a Real Worlder like Wayne Morris existed in that Toobworld; after all, in various episodes of the show, we saw the real Madeline Albright, Jane Pauley, and Bob Schieffer. 

But he didn't have to lead the exact same life as the original from Earth Prime-Time. Remember, there had to be changes in the lives of other Real Worlders in order to bring about a world in which Conrad Dalton became President of the United States. 

As a fighter pilot the Wayne Morris of this alternate Toobworld may have done something else during the war to warrant having a major Navy vessel named after him in that world. He may have even have been in a different branch of the military. 

So today, Veteran's Day, Toobworld Central is saluting the memory of Wayne Morris of the Real World in thanks for his service during WWII. We're glad this trivial tip of the hat to his counterpart in the fictional TV dimension of 'Madam Secretary' brought him to notice again. 

BCnU!

DOUBLE VISION - THE DALTON GANG

Are you sick of anything to do with presidents yet?  Sorry about that, Chief.

In the alternate Toobworld in which 'Madame Secretary takes place, Keith Carradine portrays the President of the United States Conrad Dalton.

It hasn't been spelled out exactly when the timeline for this Toobworld diverged from that of Earth Prime-Time, but at least one fictional POTUS was in office before Dalton.  

Just about everybody in Toobworld has a doppelganger in the many alternate TV worlds, and the same should hold true for those other Toobworlds, that the people that live in their dimensions can be found on Earth Prime-Time as well.  

So... since the Commander-in-Chief for Earth Prime-Time should always be the same as the one of Earth Prime, we know Conrad Dalton isn't the President in Toobworld.  So could Dalton have a different life on the main Toobworld, and better yet... could we have seen him already in some other show?

I think we have.  

First off, the role of President Dalton is played by Keith Carradine.  So, unlike other examples of the same character found in several dimensions but with different genetics (Real World splainin: recasting) - which would include Clark Kent, Dr. Richard Kimble, Hannibal Heyes, Gomez & Morticia Addams - I think in this case we should focus only on other TV characters played by Carradine.

O'Bviously, that rules out Wild Bill Hickock of 'Deadwood'.

I've also posited theories in the past that two characters played by the same actor, but with different names, could have been the same character in parallel worlds.  The splainin could be chalked up to adoption in that case.  

I don't think it's any fun for me as a televisiologist to just pick any character played by Carradine who would definitely be found in Earth Prime-Time and just say the alternate dimension was a case of adoption.  Borrring!

And I wanted to avoid his longer-lasting roles, like Frank Lundy ('Dexter'), Julian Decker ('Damages'), and Nick Savage ('Complete Savages'), because they all have more baggage in their back-story the longer a show goes on.  

But I did narrow down the options to three of his one-shot roles on TV.

The first possibility was a washed-up country rocker who got caught up in an 'NCIS' investigation.  His name was Mannheim Gold - that is the type of name that could have been made up for his stage career.  He may have been born Conrad Dalton and followed his muse rather than political ambitions.  (Episode: "Rock And A Hard Place")

I can hear his fans now.  We love you, Conrad... Oh yes, we do....  Oops, wrong Conrad.

With the other two characters, they could both have the name of Conrad Dalton even if we never heard it being used in their shows.

We never even see the next candidate on the screen!  He was allegedly named "Carl" and he had called in to Dr. 'Frasier' Crane's radio show when he broadcast on KQZY in Spokane.....

Carl: Well, it's hard to talk about.  She hasn't technically dumped me yet, but I'm pretty sure it's coming.  And I don't know if I should bring it up first, or just avoid the whole subject and hope things get better.

Sure, he identified himself as "Carl", but he could have been using the anonymity of the call to hide who he really was. (Episode: "Frasier Has Spokane")

Or maybe not.

And that's why I'm eliminating him from consideration.  Instead, it's more intriguing to conflate him with another one of Keith Carradine's characters - FBI Security Agent Carl McGowan.  Even though he appeared in three 'Numb3rs' episodes ('The Decoy Effect', 'Blowback', and 'Jack Of All Trades'), his story line was concerned with his obsession against Agent Don Eppes so relationship troubles would be a back-story that never came up.

But Carl McGowan at least is two/thirds of the way toward joining the Television Crossover Hall of Fame!

So that leaves one option.

I think that in the main Toobworld, Conrad Dalton - under that name even though it never came up - was actually the president of the film division of an entertainment corporation.  He once romanced (and perhaps even married) a rising movie star back in the 1980s.  So instead of running the entire country, Dalton ran a movie studio.

I'm not sure if their relationship lasted, mainly because Conrad was not truthful at the beginning when they met.  He tried to pass himself off as a poor guy driving an old pick-up truck.  Who knows how the sultry actress reacted when she found out.  

So where did I dig up that character.....?

What do you think?

WIKIPEDIA WEDNESDAY - RONNIE ADAMS AND THE 1956 MONTE CARLO RALLY

From Wikipedia:
Ronald James "Ronnie" Adams (8 March 1916 – 12 April 2004) was a British rally driver from Belfast.  [He's seen on the right, above.]

Adams won the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally, for Jaguar, whose team was the first to come from Ireland to do so, and was the first winner of the Circuit of Ireland rally in 1936 at the age of 20. 

During a 30-year motorsport career, Adams was one of the leading Ulstermen at this time, and became a Jaguar works driver following the war.

In 1956 he and his co-drivers Frank Biggar and Derek Johnston had their most successful victory at the Monte Carlo Rally in January in a Jaguar Mark 7. They defeated the Mercedes-Benz 220 A of Walter Schock (West Germany) and the Sunbeam Mk3 of Peter Harper (UK).

The connection to Toobworld?

'INSPECTOR MORSE'
"DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION"

Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse had the steering wheel from this car which he got at auction. Out of guilt, Morse gave it to a man he mistakenly believed to be the only suspect in a murder investigation. It was this blind fixation that nearly cost the man his life. 

BCnU!

TWO FOR TUESDAY SUPER SIX LIST - POTUS

I figured this election was big enough to warrant a Two for Tuesday extra post, so here's a quick Super Six List of fictional Presidents of the United States in the alternate Toobworlds.  None of them held the office in Earth Prime-Time because the POTUS of the main Toobworld should be the same as the President currently in office on our world, Earth Prime.  After all, a lot of sitcoms will be throwing out punchlines at his or her expense.  Dramas will mention the current Commander-in-Chief (as seen below in that 'Orange Is The New Black' screencap.) 

Some even revolve a plotline around the President:

'L.A. Law'
"F.O.B"
The entire firm is interested when Ann takes a test case from a man who says he is a friend of Bill Clinton. [From Wikipedia]

At any rate, here's my Super Six List of my favorite fictional Presidents:

1] JOSIAH "JED" BARTLET, 'The West Wing'

2] MACKENZIE ALLEN, 'Commander-in-Chief'

3] CONRAD DALTON, 'Madam Secretary'

4] SELINA MEYER, 'Veep'

5] CONSTANCE PAYTON, 'State of Affairs'

6] HENRY TALBOT McNEIL, 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' & 'Lost In Space'

There are plenty of other presidents in alternate Toobworlds who didn't make this list, mainly because I don't watch their shows.  Frank Underwood ('House Of Cards'), David Palmer and several others ('24'), Fitzgerald Grant ('Scandal'), as well as in 'Bordertown', 'The Last Ship', 'Corey In The House', 'The First Family', 'Hail To The Chief', 'Mr. President', and quite a few TV movies.

Get out and vote!

TVXOHOF ADDENDUM - MICHELLE OBAMA

It was two years ago when I decided that my November inductee during this election year would be the First Lady.  There had been a bumper crop of appearances for her in 2014, so I figured while those news stories were fresh on the web, I should grab some pertinent screencaps from each of them. And then I wrote up the blog post and scheduled it for November 1, 2016.  

I guess I should have kept it in draft but I probably would have forgotten about it there too. So I never updated it and meanwhile Mrs. Obama continued to build her League of Themselves appearances in Toobworld.  Just about all of her appearances concerned her commitment to physical fitness for kids and to helping military families. 

Here is my complete list... for now:

'Sesame Street'

- "Frankly, It's a Habitat" (2009)

'iCarly'

- "iMeet the First Lady" (2012)
[Couldn't be embedded]

http://youtu.be/eNUkCb1h9pU

'Nashville'

- "All or Nothing with Me" (2014)

'Jessie'

- "From the White House to Our House" (2014)

'Parks and Recreation'

- "Moving Up: Part 1" (2014)

- "Moving Up: Part 2" (2014)

'Li'l Bub's Big Show'

Episode 1.13 (2015)

'The Night Shift'

- "Moving On" (2015)

'NCIS'

- "Homefront" (2016)

(Those last three entries are the new additions.  With 'Nashville', 'Night Shift', and 'Li'l Bub's Big Show', the "FLOTUS" appeared via video-screen but they still count.)

Thanks to a syndicated repeat last night, I learned of the missing entry for 'NCIS':

Anne:

I am so honored to have been a part of this. I still can't believe I'm here. Listening to everyone's stories, it made me feel like I'm not alone.

Mrs. Obama:

Because you're not alone, Anne. One of the reasons we hold these round tables is to stay connected to our military families. 

        Special Agent Gibbs, I've been briefed on everything you've done for Anne's family, and from what I heard; you've gone above and beyond.

Gibbs:

It's my job.

Anne:

Both NCIS and Joining Forces, their support has been… I can't thank you enough.

Mrs. Obama:

Anne, we should be thanking you. I mean, we know the sacrifices our military families are making and it doesn't go unnoticed. Nor do the sacrifices of our veterans.

Gibbs:

Honour to serve, ma'am.

Mrs. Obama:

Now, I understand that there's somewhere else you need to be. Isn't that right, Special Agent Gibbs? 

Gibbs:

Absolutely.

Remember to vote!

DATELINE TOOBWORLD - NOVEMBER 7, 1922

Ralph Drang:

My grandfather was a member of the team that discovered King Tut's tomb.  

Inside the tomb there was this curse written on the walls.  

It was written in Egyptian hieroglyphics....  

It said "All who read this are doomed!"

He left the tomb and he was dead within three days....  

It's been passed down for generations and now it's come to me!

'Dear John'

Besides the fact that Ralph Drang's grandfather was just as fictional as Ralph, this could only have happened in Toobworld.  No one from the original expedition died within three days of the discovery.

From the Unmuseum:

Herbert E. Winlock, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, made his own calculations about the effectiveness of the curse. According to Winlock's figures, of the 22 people present when the tomb was opened in 1922, only 6 had died by 1934. Of the 22 people present at the opening of the sarcophagus in 1924, only 2 died in the following ten years. Also ten people were there when the mummy was unwrapped in 1925, and all survived until at least 1934.

Lord Carnavan, who owned the castle/mansion that served as 'Downton Abbey' and who financed the expedition, is considered the first to have died after exiting the tomb and that was three months later, not three days.

Had it not been for that fact, we might have made a claim that it was Ralph's maternal grandfather who died.  That way we could have said any member of the team could have been the father of Ralph's mother and t'would serve as a splainin as to why the last names differed.  It would not have been the first time that a fictional TV character was related to someone from the Trueniverse.  (Art Carney, Tim Russert, Bryan & Greg Gumbel....)

Otherwise we would have to claim that Grandpa Drang wasn't listed in the official records as a member of the team; that he may have just tagged along for the adventure.

So that's what we'll do.  We'll fall back on this being purely televersional, just as is the case with all of the fictional characters who died on the Titanic, at Custer's Last Stand, and in the World Trade Center.  (Howard Carter existed in the real world, and has a televersion.)

O'BSERVATION:
The entrance to King Tut's tomb was discovered November 4, 1922.  So Ralph's grandfather died on November 7th of that year...

BCnU.....