A TVXOHOF INDUCTION TWIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES - MATT LAUER

From NBC News:

Matt Lauer, the anchor of "Today" for two decades, was fired by NBC News after a detailed complaint about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.

"Today" co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb announced Lauer's firing Wednesday, telling viewers at the top of the show that they were processing his departure but didn't yet know all of the details.

In a memo to employees sent Wednesday morning, NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said the complaint, which was made by a colleague of Lauer's, prompted a serious review and represented a "clear violation of our company's standards."

by ERIK ORTIZ

Wow.

This was a big shock upon waking Wednesday morning!  

I’ve always had Matt Lauer on the back burner for inclusion in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  As was the case with Jay Leno, Lauer was the face of NBC and as such he made plenty of appearances on NBC’s line-up of shows set in Toobworld, from ‘The Blacklist’ to ‘Will & Grace’.

And he wasn’t confined to just Earth Prime-Time.  Lauer has also played himself in Skitlandia (‘Saturday Night Live’), and he’s already been killed off in Disaster Toobworld.  (He appeared in two “Sharknado” movies.)  He’s even heard as himself in the Tooniverse.  (‘Father of the Pride’)

I kind of figured that I would add Lauer to the TVXOHOF once he retired from the ‘Today’ show.  But now he’s been fired.  And as he would probably begrudgingly admit, that’s news.  Yes, it may be crass, but I’m going to capitalize on it and rush through his induction into the Hall.

He'll probably never see this, but let it stand as a gallery of everything he tossed aside to satisfy some crass, bestial desire.

Here are the credits which qualify him as a Multi-dimensional:

EARTH PRIME-TIME

NewsRadio

- The Secret of Management (1998) 

This basically kicked off his League of Themselves appearances after joining the ‘Today’ show two years earlier.

30 Rock 

- Murphy Brown Lied to Us (2012) 

- Grandmentor (2012) 

- 100: Part 1 (2011) 

- Klaus and Greta (2010) 

- Generalissimo (2009) 

How could you do a show at NBC headquarters without the mainstay of the biggest show produced there?

Alpha House 

- The Love Doctor (2014) 

- In the Saddle (2014) 

Will & Grace 

- Bathroom Humor (2006) 

It appears NBC and Netflix saw him as a good way to launch shows….

Up All Night
- Pilot (2011)

The Michael J. Fox Show
- Pilot (2013)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Kimmy Goes Outside! (2015)

And then he also appeared in a couple of dramas…..

Royal Pains
- Ta Da For (2011)

American Odyssey
- Oscar Mike (2015)

The Blacklist
- Berlin (No. 8): Conclusion
(2014)
.... Anchor
Even though he wasn’t actually named in this episode, it’s apparent that he was playing himself.

Sesame Street
- A New Helper At Hoopers Store (2007)
- Maria and Luis' Wedding Anniversary (2006)

In case you didn’t know, independent puppets are living beings in Toobworld.   

And finally for Earth Prime-Time:

Another World
According to the IMDb, in 1982, Lauer had a walk on role as an art gallery patron while filming a behind-the-scenes look at the show for P.M. Magazine.

SKITLANDIA

Saturday Night Live  
- David Duchovny/Puff Daddy/Jimmy Page (1998) - Brian Williams/Feist (2007)

Brian Williams:
So much of what we do in the news business is serious.
Sometimes I find it's healthy to take a break and have a little fun. 

Brian Williams:
Ah, the morning duo! 
[Williams grabs a fistful of pennies.] 

[Al Roker and Matt Lauer are delivering a piece on "The Today Show", when they are suddenly pelted by the hailing pennies ] 

Al Roker:
What is that?

Matt Lauer:
What kind of asshole throws pennies from a window? 

[Brian Williams smiles as he ducks back into his office and shuts the window,] 

THE TOONIVERSE

Father of the Pride

- Larry's Debut, and Sweet Darryl Hannah Too (2004)
So this is how he was portrayed in this style of animation.

DISASTER TOOBWORLD

This is the dimension in which the Earth is battered by the worst possible situations – tornadoes, volcanoes, ice ages, earthquakes, asteroids, and…..

Sharknado 2: The Second One (TV Movie)
 

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (TV Movie)

MOTWAN TOOBWORLD
“Motwan” is sort of an acronym for “Movie Of The Week”.  Many TV movies could be included in the main Toobworld, but sometimes there are situations and characters who cause too many Zonks should they be included.  So since they are usually stand-alone programs, they have a stand-alone dimension in which they can be housed.

Who Is Clark Rockefeller? (TV Movie) 
Many of the characters in this docu-drama are now “historical figures” and could show up in other shows or TV movies.  Without any fictional characters to lock them down in Earth Prime-Time as POV televersions, it’s better to send it off to Motwan Toobworld.  So far, this is the only televersion for Clark Rockefeller, but should there be more to come (although I think he’s already forgotten by many people), then there are plenty of other Toobworlds out there where they can be shipped.

THE BORDERLANDS

Matt Lauer Meets the Fockers (Video short) 
I’ve not seen this, so I don’t know if they maintain the illusion throughout that they really are the characters from the two “Fockers” movies.  If so, this short video could be left in the Cineverse since Matt Lauer does have a presence in the movie universe because of “Zoolander 2” and “Land Of The Lost”.  But when there are times when the movies blend with TV, as might be the case here, there are “the Borderlands” in which these two major fictional universes are melded together.

One last example to be dealt with:

Entourage (Film)

This was a movie, but which used all the original characters and actors from the HBO TV series.  Movies like “The Addams Family Values” and “Star Trek: Beyond” which have totally recast the characters who were originally played by other actors on TV.  This movie falls into the same category as the first ten ‘Star Trek’ movies, the 1966 ‘Batman’ flick, and ‘Maverick’.  Those films have been absorbed into the world of Toobworld.  And this will be the case for “Entourage”- it may have been made for theatres, but it’s now part of the TV Universe.

I’ll add to his Earth Prime-Time tally his twenty years plus on the ‘Today’ show, ten Macy’s Thanksgiving Parades, three Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies, a couple of Red Day specials, and ‘Matt Lauer Reports’.

I’m sorry his induction into the Hall is under a cloud of dishonor, but I’m also sorry for his accuser and as with her lawyer, I’m in awe that she stepped forward. 

And so it goes…..

MATT LAUER
IN THE CINEVERSE

And he really should.