VIDEO SATURDAY - THE GREAT DANE

One of my favorite soap opera characters was Marco Dane (played by the late Gerald Anthony) from 'One Life To Live' and 'General Hospital'.  He was one of those very bad boys who proved to be so popular that eventually they had to be rehabilitated and downgraded to being a naughty boy at best.  [Insert Luke Spencer remark here.]

From Wikipedia:
Marco Dane is a fictional characterfrom the American soap opera 'One Life to Live'. The role was played by actor Gerald Anthony from its debut in 1977 through 1986, and from 1989 until 1990. Anthony crossed over in the role on sister soap opera 'General Hospital' on September 2, 1992 as Marco, remaining in the role through December 24, 1993.

Apparently this is how it all began:

In 1977, Karen Wolek (Kathryn Breech), fiancée to Llanview Hospital chief of staff Dr. Larry Wolek (Michael Storm), was planning for her impending nuptials when ex-boyfriend Marco Dane arrived in Llanview. Fearful that Larry would not marry her if he were to learn about the confidence tricks and embezzlement schemes she participated in with Marco before her arrival in town, she agitated at Marco's presence. Karen and Larry married without Marco divulging Karen's secret past, while Marco planned to blackmail her into another business venture instead.

Finally establishing a business venture in Llanview, Marco forced Karen to become one of his prostitutes in exchange for his silence on their past dealings. After Marco took clothed photographs of naive, teen-aged Tina, he edited the images to make them appear as if Tina posed nude. When Marco published the photos of Tina, a livid Viki confronted a nonchalant Marco who conceded to none of Viki's accusations.

Newspaper publisher Viki proceeded with pursuing an exposé in her family newspaper, The Banner, about Dane's doings.   

Karen admitted to the affairs and divulged her forced prostitution by Marco to Viki. Simultaneously empathetic to Karen's plight and livid with Marco's lurid behaviors, Viki proceeded to share and publish the story of Marco's business dealings with the help of her husband and editor-in-chief, Joe Riley. 

Before the story could be published, Marco found the murdered corpse of his brother, Dr. Mario Corelli (also played by Anthony). Marco soon devised a plan to assume the identity of his dead brother in an effort to frame Viki for his apparent murder.

I first saw Marco Dane when I picked up the storyline in 1980.  An afternoon hanging out with my friend Mary got me hooked on the show.  By that point, Marco and Karen were on the run, being hunted down by a hired killer named Gus.

O’Bservation:

Gus was played by an actor I knew back in college, Dan Lauria.  I’m sure most of you know of him as well from ‘The Wonder Years and plenty of other TV shows and movies.  In my first Toobworld adventure, Toob Cooper shared with his friends his theory that Dan’s character of Gus was the same villain who appeared in ‘The Scarecrow And Mrs. King’, but known as Nardo.  Toob’s theory was that his full name was Gus Nardo and he was the no-good brother-in-law of Elaine Nardo from ‘Taxi’.  (The last name finally assigned to him in 1984 - Thompson - was O'Bviously an alias.)

Anyway, getting back to Marco….

At some point I finally had to quit soap operas cold turkey.  They were just eating up my afternoons.  Mary got me hooked on OLTL, my first overnight job in the Hamptons got me re-hooked on ‘General Hospital’ during the Ice Princess storyline (my Mom first hooked me up back in high school), and an actor I knew in a Meat & Potatoes Theater production got me hooked on ‘Edge Of Night’ because he was going to play a Native American character on a spirit quest. 

It was all too much.

Let's continue with Marco's story from Wikipedia:

Now a private investigator, Marco arrived in Port Charles in 1992, much to the intriguing delight of heiress Tracy Quartermaine Hornsby, who was in the middle of marital woes. Tracy preceded to engage in an extramarital romance while hiring Marco to investigate the mistress of her husband, Jenny Eckert, a distant cousin of Luke Spencer.

Marco, as a side venture, became a boxing promoter managing high school student Jagger Cates.

When Jagger discovered Karen and Sonny in bed together and learned she had been stripping and abusing drugs, boxer Jagger engaged in an altercation which left Sonny greatly injured. An incensed Sonny put a hit out on Jagger in retaliation, only to put the plan on indefinite hold at the insistence of Marco, who urged him to cancel the planned killing in return for a cut of Jagger's boxing winnings.

Marco left town when Anthony left the series in 1993.

‘One Life to Live’
Marco Dane / Mario Crawley

‘General Hospital’
Marco Dane

Anthony earned his second nomination and first Daytime Emmy Award win for Outstanding Supporting Actor for the latter portrayal in 1993 (his first being in the same category for the role on OLTL in 1982), becoming the first actor to win an Emmy for a crossover role.

O'Bservation: I think for that distinction, Marco Dane may find himself inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, (but I do have another theoretical appearance to pad out his actual tally.  More on that another day.) 

Until next time.....

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER - CASS WINTHROP

Cass Winthrop is a fictional character on the soap opera 'Another World'. He was portrayed by Stephen Schnetzer from 1982 to 1999. Schnetzer also appeared as Cass on 'As the World Turns' from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2005 to 2006 and on 'Guiding Light' in 2002.

'Another World'
1982-1999
1,030 episodes

'As the World Turns'
1999-2006
28 episodes

'Guiding Light' 
(2002)

GENERAL INFORMATION(From a variety of sources)

First Appearance: July 21, 1982
Last Appearance: June 25, 1999
Portrayer: Stephen Schnetzer

July 21, 1982 - December 5, 1986
July 24, 1987 - June 25, 1999
Arrival: (1982)
Introduced as a new Cory Publishing executive.
(1987)
Returned to resume his life in Bay City.
Departure:
Left to go on an around-the-world honeymoon with Kathleen McKinnon.
Introduction Scenes:
(1982)
To Elena DePoulignac on the Cory Mansion terrace, "Hi, Elena."
(Reintro, 1987)
Mary's Place, explaining the presence of a priest to Vince and Mary McKinnon, "He's here because I asked him to come."
Exit Scenes:
(1986)
The back seat of a car, to Vince McKinnon, supplementing Kathleen McKinnon's exit line, "You heard the lady."
(1999)
Affectionately to Charlie Frame Winthrop in Foster Park, "Come here, you."
Birthday:
October 22.
Other Aliases:
Cass Cadwallader Winthrop (full name).
Krystal Lake (female identity)

Spouses
Kathleen McKinnon
Frankie Frame (RIP)
Lila Roberts
Relatives:Claudia Winthrop (mother)
Unnamed Older Brother (deceased)
Stacey Winthrop (sister)
Megan Singleton (niece) (deceased)
Morgan Winthrop (brother)
Alan Winthrop (cousin)
Children:Charlotte 'Charlie' Frame Winthrop (daughter; with Frankie)
Occupation:
Lawyer
Former co-owner of Wallingford's
Former owner of Winthrop Publishing
Residence:
88 Longridge Road

Cass was born into a bad family. Cass' father died of a heart attack and his mother, Claudia, disowned him due to a childhood event. One of Cass' brothers died of the same disease that would almost claim his daughter's life. Cass is the brother to Morgan and Stacey Winthrop. Cass is an attorney.

Cass is known to be a casanova with the ladies. He began seeing Felicia Gallant, a romance novelist, in the early 1970's. When Cass came to Bay City in 1982, he resumed his fling with Felicia. However, the casanova part of Cass got to him, and he cheated on Felicia with Cecile de Poulignac.   

Cass made his mark as an attorney. He was regarded as one of the state's finest lawyers and had at one time or another represented the lion's share of the cast of characters.

Cass Cadwallader Winthrop came to town as a scheming but good-natured casanova - a skilled attorney who kept looking for shortcuts to success. He was a former lover of Felicia Gallant and the two resumed their complicated romance, though Cass also had eyes for Sally Frame. Cass and Felicia later became best friends and always stood by each other throughout the years.

In 1983, he founded Winthrop Publishing, a publishing company with Felicia as his star author. This was a minor venture that folded before the year was out.

Cass borrowed money from loan shark Tony the Tuna and couldn't pay it back.  So he went in hiding, dressing as a woman named Krystal Lake.  Unfortunately Tony became smitten with Krystal and started dating "her".   Cass finally got out of it by agreeing to turn Tony's niece, Dee, into a high society girl.  

During his long stay in Bay City, Cass was accused of the murders of three people: Alma Rudder, Daphne Grimaldi, and Monique Berajacques. These incidents completely slipped from the memories of Bay City residents soon after.  

Cass formed a partnership with aspiring reporter Kathleen McKinnon, leading to several years of romantic sparring, criminal investigations, dangerous adventures, and the first real love of his life. Cecile, now a widow, tried to get Cass back, kidnapping him and making Kathleen believe Cass had chosen her, but Cass escaped and won her back. At one point, Kathleen was paralyzed by Carl Hutchins and tried to withdraw from the world, but Cass nursed her back to health.

The two finally married, and left Bay City. Some months later, Kathleen was seemingly killed in a plane crash. Cass went into an emotional tailspin that only his and Kathleen's close friend Wallingford was able to bring him out of, telling him that Kathleen had been the best part of him.

In 1983, he founded Winthrop Publishing, a publishing company with Felicia as his star author. This was a minor venture that folded before the year was out.

From 1987-1989, Cass was involved in the fashion business with Nicole Love, handling the legal end of the business. When she left town in 1989, she left him the Design House, which he redesigned and used as his legal offices until 1994.

Cass never thought he would fall for anyone again until he got involved with Nicole Love. With his wedding day to Nicole fast approaching, Cass crossed paths with eccentric detective, Frankie Frame. Frankie proved Nicole had murdered her uncle, Jason Frame, and she was institutionalized.

At first, Cass and Frankie did not like each other (similar to his early relationship with Kathleen), however they came to find they had a lot in common. They fell madly in love.

A few months after they married, Cass discovered Kathleen was alive--she had concealed this to save Cass' life from shadowy criminal forces led by Carl Hutchins. His marriage to Frankie was now invalid and he had to choose between his two wives. Still in the grip of his passion for Kathleen, and knowing she needed him more because of the danger she was in, Cass chose her over Frankie.

Frankie discovered she was pregnant shortly after splitting with Cass, but chose not to tell him. She later miscarried the baby. It soon became apparent that Cass and Kathleen no longer had the same feelings they used to and Cass realized he wanted Frankie back. They grew closer, but upon finding out about Frankie's miscarriage, the pair hit another rough patch. Cass realized why Frankie had lied to him and forgave her, but Frankie was still reluctant to reunite with him because of his previous abandonment (though she had known for a long time that he was still in love with Kathleen).

They eventually managed to reunite and legally marry in a ceremony in Venice surrounded by their loved ones. They honeymooned on the Orient Express.

He was poisoned by Christy Carson in 1993.

Not long after the wedding, Frankie found out she was pregnant again. She gave birth to their beloved daughter Charlotte, nicknamed Charlie. When Charlie was a few months old, it was discovered she had a genetic heart condition. Cass blamed himself for Charlie's illness and the stress triggered his bipolar disorder. Cass refused to accept he was ill, but with the love and support of Frankie and his brother, Morgan, eventually sought treatment.

The shock of learning that it was his genes that were to blame for his daughter Charlie's heart defect consumed him with guilt. He began showing signs of erratic behavior and wild mood swings. His brother Morgan Winthrop, a doctor, noticed that he was exhibiting the symptoms of manic depression. Cass was later diagnosed with this disease.

He first strenuously denied being ill, but when one of his mood swings almost cost Charlie her life, Cass realized that he had to be hospitalized. He received treatment under the care of psychiatrist Emily Bradford, and by the end of the year was able to function on his own, although he was forced to take medication (Lithium) for the rest of his life. The Lithium made him thirsty, and he was often seen with a water bottle at hand.

Frankie was tragically murdered by the Bay City Stalker. Cass tried to move on and be a good father to Charlie. 

In 1995 he gave up his practice to open a bookstore (Wallingford's) with long-time friend Felicia Gallant. After Frankie's death, he found he couldn't bear to go there anymore as it brought back many memories. Since Felicia didn't want to run the store without him, they sold it to Page Turners, a book store chain.

He grieved for months and months. Cass still mentioned his beloved Frankie. In 1998, Cass was consumed with someone's sick plan of reenacting Felicia's novel, "Embers in the Snow". Cass was fearful for his life because his character died in Chapter 13.   

He began a flirtation with Lila Roberts, but she was with Matthew Cory. Once they split up, the two began a relationship. Cass and Lila married on the last episode of 'Another World' (their union seemingly blessed by Frankie's ghost).

In the end, Cass finally realized that his deepest and most lasting feelings were not for any of his many lovers, but for his daughter. Bay City's ultimate playboy had finally grown up.

In late 1999 (after the cancellation of 'Another World'), Cass began appearing on 'As the World Turns', initially defending Margo Hughes against charges that she'd murdered Alec Wallace. After Margo was acquitted in early 2000, Cass remained on 'As the World Turns', frequently interacting with Jake McKinnon (who'd also crossed over to ATWT after 'Another World' ended), and collaborating with his legal colleagues Tom Hughes and Jessica Griffin. The character remained on ATWT through 2002.

So Cass was a basic crossover character - transferred to another series, guest starring on another.  But if you read that summary above, you can see a few possibilities for fanfic storylines that theoretically could link to other TV shows or characters.

Chief among those would be Cass and Frankie's honeymoon on the Orient Express.  O'Bviously Hercule Poirot was long since dead by the time they wed.  But why not just a quick mention that they were in the same cabin as he had during that famous murder investigation.  (I think it would be amusing to have Cass learn from the steward that actually they were in the compartment in which "Ratchett" was murdered, but "best not let my wife find out....")

When they married in Venice, perhaps some incarnation of the Doctor might have shown up, perhaps in connection to a previous 'Doctor Who' episode, "Vampires Of Venice".

Frankie Frame's ghost in Bay City could be a topic for fanfic crossovers involving the casts of 'Supernatural', 'Haunted', 'Ghost Whisperer', 'Deadbeat', and 'The X-Files'.

Just the name "Page Turners" for a book store anywhere in "Telemerica" would be enough for a crossover point. 

And it's never too late for Stephen Schnetzer to appear on 'The Young & The Restless' and 'The Bold & The Beautiful' as Cass Winthrop.

Just sayin', is all.....

Welcome to the Hall, Cass Winthrop!

THURSDAY'S THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - A FROMAN FAMILY

Toobworld is awash with identical twins.  Some share the same mother; others are identical cousins; and some of those identical cousins are actually half-siblings who are the results of an affair.

We have a unique case though during our soap opera showcase this month.  We have identical twin brothers... who have an "identical cousin". Their Daddy sure had a powerful strand of DNA which overpowered the recessive genes of the two mothers.

I'm referring to the Wagner brothers of Monticello Gunther and Bruno.  Both of them were shady characters, but Bruno was bad to the bone; Gunther finally stayed on the straight and narrow... for the most part.
 
Here we have the final moments of "Gunther" Wagner.

I used quotation marks around the name "Gunther" because  Bruno actually disguised himself as his brother Gunther.  When he was murdered, everyone believed that it had been Gunther who died.  It would be some time before the real Gunther showed up and set the record straight.  

Meanwhile....

Inner Toob suggested depiction
of Old Man Wagner

Daddy Wagner had gone on the road during the Great Depression, ostensibly to find work.  But he also wanted to shirk his duties as a family man back in Monticello.  

At the same time as his wife was finally discovering that she was pregnant with twins, Old Man Wagner met a girl by the last name of Brooks in Atlanta.  He didn't stay with her long, just long enough to leave her burdened with his seed.

The shame of her family back in 1938, Miss Brooks gave birth to a boy whom she named Robert, the name given her by the man who sired the child.  (Whether or not that was Mr. Wagner's real name is unknown.)

That boy grew up in Atlanta, going by the nickname of Bob.  When he graduated from college, he joined the Atlanta police department.  Eventually he rose to the rank of lieutenant.

It's not exactly known where Monticello is, save that it is somewhere in the general Midwest area.  At any rate, I don't think Lt. Bob Brooks ever had a reason to go there, nor did either of the Brothers Wagner probably ever visited Atlanta.  So the three men who resembled each other so closely, never realized they had other siblings.

(In the Trueniverse, the reason for their strong resemblance was because they were played by the late actor David Froman - the Wagner brothers on '[The] Edge of Night' and Lt. Brooks was from 'Matlock'.)

Until next time....

WEDNESDAY WISH-CRAFT - A TRIFECTA FOR DR. MATT HARMON

Today's soap opera spotlight is on Dr. Matt Harmon, formerly a surgeon at General Hospital in Port Charles, NY.  I was looking for information on an actor who was playing blind in a TV show and I was curious as to whether or not he was blind in real life.  That quest led me to this entry in TV Tropes:

Actor Mitch Longley was paralyzed in a car accident his senior year in high school. Despite this, he went on to be a very successful actor, with roles on several TV shows and soap operas, including one where he played a physician. He was written as "normally" as possible. Any difficulties in mobility were also incorporated into the show—a narrow-minded supervisor was reluctant to let him participate in a surgical rotation, and he was given a groundbreaking storyline in which his character embarked on a romance with another—it was made clear that his injuries had not affected his sexual abilities.

"My disability is a huge thing to some people, but to me it's just a personal characteristic like hair color. I'm hoping that in a few years, it won't even be an issue for me as an actor because it will be so commonplace."

From Wikipedia:
Mitch Longley (born June 23, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his role of Matt Harmon on the soap opera 'Port Charles' (1997-2000).

On March 13, 1983, after attending a Senior class party, Mitch was involved in a serious car accident in which he fell asleep at the wheel of his car a few blocks from home wrecking his car by plowing into a wall. He was 17 and a half years old when he learned he suffered a spinal cord injury and would be a paraplegic. 

That did not deter Longley from his childhood dreams of becoming an actor.  After graduating from Northeastern, he moved back home to Rowayton, Ct., and became a model for Ralph Lauren.  From that he was discovered by 'Another World' and landed the role of Byron Pierce, a lawyer at Cass Winthrop's firm. 

But as much as a breeding ground for crossovers as that show was, it is his next role, as Dr. Matt Harmon, which interests me as a crossoverist.  (That, and the fact that Longley is from my home state.)

'Port Charles' was one of two spin-offs from 'General Hospital', one of the few soap operas still in production.  As Dr. Matt Harmon, Longley appeared not only as a regular on 'Port Charles' but in four episodes of the mothership as well.  That puts him 2/3s of the way to membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  And I'd like to see him get that final credit to gain entry into the Hall.  It would be nice to have more Connecticut members to hang out with.  (Yes, I'm a member as well!)

Here's how Dr. Harmon's storylines kicked off:

Matt:
"I feel that I am not being trained as aggressively as the rest of the interns on rotation."

Dr. Boardman:
"Given your physical limitations, there are only so many ways that I can use you effectively in the O.R."

Dr. Boardman was only concerned with the bottom line, fearing malpractice suits; he didn't give a damn about Matt's future and his dreams to be a surgeon.  But that all changed when Matt was able to save Boardman's life in surgery after he was attacked by a psychotic resident at the hospital.  And so Dr. Harmon got to work in the O.R. with Dr. Monica Quartermaine, herself newly minted as a member of the Hall of Fame.

I would love for Dr. Matt Harmon to get that chance to join as well.  He only needs one more credit but it would be a tough sell.  Ardent soap opera fans have deep memories, but it has been quite a while since Mitch Longley has assayed the role.  And ABC only has one soap opera left on their schedule, 'General Hospital', and it's already "been there, done that" for Dr. Harmon.

Mitch Longley walked away from 'Port Charles' on his own terms after his three-year contract was up, with his last storyline being about Dr. Harmon's trials using the new technology of the Parastep-I, a microcomputer-controlled, neuromuscular electrical stimulation system that enables individuals with paraplegia to stand and walk short distances.  So when I said he walked away from the show, I wasn't being flippant.

His career certainly didn't suffer.  He was one of the stars of 'Las Vegas', had a regular role on 'Joan of Arcadia', and a recurring role in 'Judging Amy'.  He appeared in guest spots on shows like 'Bones', 'Weeds', 'Law & Order', 'NCIS: Los Angeles', and a great scene facing off against Gaby in an episode of 'Desperate Housewives'.

But even so, I would love to see some other show, even if it's not a soap opera, even if it's not on ABC, bring Mitch Longley in for an episode as Dr. Mark Harmon.  'Grey's Anatomy' would be a logical choice.

Will it ever happen?  Not likely.  But 'tis devoutly to be wished by this curator of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

Until next time....

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - VENTURA HI-DEF

From Roger Cormier:
A fan of 'The Young and the Restless' since his wrestling days, Jesse Ventura made an appearance on his favorite soap opera while he was the governor of Minnesota.

Knowledgeable fan that he was, Ventura insisted that if he was playing himself as the governor, he would only meet with the powerful character Victor Newman—so the writers were forced to scrap their original plan, which had Ventura sharing a scene with the lawyer character Cricket.

In the episode, Gov. Ventura asked international businessman Newman to become his running mate in a bid for the U.S. presidency. Things didn't work out between the two, because they couldn't decide on who would take the vice president position.

From Wikipedia:
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American media personality, actor, author, former politician and retired professional wrestler, who served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was the first and only member of the Reform Party to win a major government position, but later joined the Independence Party of Minnesota, and then joined the Green Party of the United States.

Ventura was a member of the U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team during the Vietnam War. After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name Jesse "The Body" Ventura. He had a long tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a performer and color commentator, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004. In addition to wrestling, Ventura also pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as "Predator" and "The Running Man" (both 1987).

Ventura first entered politics as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, from 1991 to 1995. Ventura was the Reform Party candidate in the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual ads that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". 

Ventura's campaign was unexpectedly successful, with him narrowly defeating both the Democratic and Republican candidates. The highest elected official to ever win an election on a Reform Party ticket, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office amid internal fights for control over the party.

As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives taken under Ventura included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, and cuts in income taxes. 

Ventura left office in 2003, deciding not to run for re-election. After leaving office, Ventura became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2004. He has since also hosted a number of television shows and has written several political books. Ventura remains politically active and currently hosts a show on Ora TV and on RT America called 'Off the Grid'.

As of September 2017, Ventura is hosting a variety news show on RT called 'The World According to Jesse'.  Ventura has repeatedly floated running for President of the United States on a Green Party ticket.

The great thing about Jesse Ventura as a member of the League of Themselves is that on his own, he's basically Zonk-free.  If he gets mentioned, it could be in connection to his past as the governor or his career in wrestling.  If the reference is to him as an actor, then we could claim they're talking about his roles in movies like "Predator" or "The Running Man".  The only problem would be specific references to appearances on TV... like that time he was on 'Small Wonder'.  A sitcom about an android that looked like a little girl?  Who could resist taking a crack at that?

It's just my opinion, but I think his appearance on 'The Young & The Restless' is the best of the bunch; at the very least it had more "oomph" to it.  And his other appearances add more connections to the popular soap opera.

However, his appearance on 'Small Wonder' gives it a run for its money.  Especially since the televersion of Jesse Ventura was not born James Janos.  His original name in Toobworld was Wally Crandall, and he was a 98 pound weakling in college.  Not as weird a deviation as Dennis Rodman being an extraterrestrial or Willie Mays being a warlock, but 'twill serve...

Here are the relevant TV shows for making Toobworld connections.  (All descriptions are from the IMDb.)

'Small Wonder'
- "Wally the Wimp" (1987)

Pro-wrestler, Jesse Ventura, is invited to the Lawson house for dinner. He has a surprise for Ted, as years before he was the nerdy little kid named Wally whom Ted teased in college.  

'Arli$$'
- "The Cult of Celebrity" (1999)  

Country music star Cooter McCoy wants Arliss to help him live a dream of playing professional baseball, not just playing music before the games. In the office, Stanley ends up having Rita and Kirby play matchmaker for him.
 [This description comes from TV.com]

'Young & The Restless'
- Episode #1.6921 (July 10, 2000)

O'Bservation: See the description in the Cormier excerpt above.

'The View'

- Episode dated 18 May 2009

- Episode dated 3 October 2010   

- Guest Co-Host Jesse Ventura (2013) 

O'Bservation: As I've mentioned in the past, the televersion of 'The View' is a valid part of Toobworld because it was fictionalized in an episode of 'SportsNight'.

'Cubed' 
- Episode 84 (2011) 

Pizzi and Bernie lap dance their way to an entertaining Thursday at the office, the group bonds over crying about ridiculous things, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura tells Pizzi about the CIA watch-list.  

As a member of the League of Themselves, the televersion of Ventura links 'The Young & The Restless' to those other shows.

You'll notice I didn't include any of his wrestling appearances.  Okay, I'm not a wrestling fan.  But I do accept that his appearances as a wrestler would be acceptable on a second tier of eligibility, as with talk shows, award presentations, variety programs, news reports etc.  (Sorry, Matt.)

And there's one other appearance I feel I should address.  In one of my favorite episodes of 'The X-Files' ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space"), he and Alex Trebek appeared as shadow operatives colloquially known as "Men In Black".

They weren't named, but I don't think we can extrapolate that Ventura and Trebek moonlighted as MiBs.  I think these operatives were groomed to look like famous people so that any reports to the authorities could be discounted for such absurdity.  "Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek as Men in Black?  Get out of my office!"

So there you are, connections for 'The Young & The Restless' via Jesse Ventura to 'Cubed' and 'Small Wonder', with amplification for the connections with 'Arli$$' and 'The View'.  

One day, Governor Ventura will be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Until next time....

MONDAY MINUTIAE - A SUPER SIX LIST OF NAMES

Just a little something to keep the theme chugging along and to give me a grace period to continue writing the longer posts about soap operas......

I'm a connoisseur of names; it may be a reason why I first answered the call of Fantasy.  And the soap operas gave me some great ones to savor.  I didn't watch many soap operas, so I don't have an extensive knowledge of their "tele-folks directory", but these names always stood out for me....

1]  MIKKOS CASSADINE

('GENERAL HOSPITAL')
What can I say?  I like the bad guys!  And this name trumpeted the darkness and elegance within his soul.

2]  SKY WHITNEY
('THE EDGE OF NIGHT')
I will admit that this is a classic example of confusing the actor with the character - I keep thinking his name was Sky Larkin, combining the character's first name with the first name of the actor who played him, Larkin Malloy. I don't know, maybe my version is better.  But even so Sky Whitney was a name that oozed "cool" to me.

3]  ROBERT SCORPIO
('GENERAL HOSPITAL'
& 'NIGHT SHIFT')
Could they have come up with a better name to suggest an international man of mystery? 

4]  ASA BUCHANAN
('ONE LIFE TO LIVE')
I don't think I'll ever see that first name of Asa again.  I can't envision anybody daring to use it.  Philip Carey made it his own, the perfect name for a cowboy in the modern world.

5]  LAUREN FENIMORE

('THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS'
& 'THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL')
I wasn't that much of a fan of the character, but she was a hell of a lot better than her arch-enemy Sheila Carter!  And she sported a better moniker as well.  Just something about it flows.  (Her married names kind of throw the rhythm off though when they're tacked on.)

6]  SALLY SPECTRA
('THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL')
A bold name for a big and brassy broad made immortal by Darlene Conley.  One day she'll make it into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as an honorary multidimensional - Ms. Spectra showed up in two American soap operas and in an international part of Skitlandia, still played by Ms. Conley.

Until next time......

VIDEO SUNDAY - "SUSPENSE" - "MURDER'S MEETING"

Back in July, during my search of YouTube for Wally Cox in 'The Adventures of Hiram Holliday', I found this episode of 'Suspense' in which Wally Cox co-starred with Jackie Cooper.

It felt right for a September eve, closing out the weekend.  Watch it late Sunday night before you go to bed....

BCnU!