TVXOHOF 5Oth ANNIVERSARY RERUN - BUZZ ALDRIN

Me and my dog Brandon 

want to be astronauts.

We want to be like Buzz Aldrin
who walked on the moon,

and Sally Ride,
the first woman in space.   

‘Punky Brewster’

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Man’s first setting foot on the Moon.  Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Lunar Module touching down on the surface of the Moon.  And we at Toobworld Central’s Mission Control thought the best way to mark the occasion was via the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

Buzz Aldrin is already a member of the TVXOHOF due to his membership in the League of Themselves.  Unlike Armstrong and Collins, Aldrin is a very outgoing personality and he's never been afraid to poke fun at himself.  ('30 Rock' and 'The Big Bang Theory' are good examples of that.)

So we're going to kick off today's celebration of Apollo 11 with a look back at the membership of both Buzz Aldrins - of Earth Prime-Time and of the Tooniverse - with this revamped rerun containing some new material....

Buzz Aldrin
(picture taken by
fellow Hall of Famer
Neil Armstrong)

As a member of the League of Themselves, he’s established quite a presence in Toobworld with his televersion – a little irascible, somewhat loopy, a sympathetic counsellor at times, and perhaps the face of Classic NASA for most Americans.

And now we’ll take a look at the Buzz Aldrin of the Trueniverse:

From Wikipedia:
Buzz Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American engineer and a former astronaut and fighter pilot. As the Apollo Lunar Module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission, he and mission commander Neil Armstrong were the first two humans to land on the Moon.

Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin graduated third in his United States Military Academy at West Point class in 1951, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force, and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15aircraft.

After earning a Sc.D. degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aldrin was selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 3, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. His doctoral thesis was Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous, earning him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts. His first space flight was in 1966 on Gemini 12 during which he spent over five hours on extravehicular activity. Three years later, Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nineteen minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. A Presbyterian elder, Aldrin became the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon when he privately took communion.

Upon leaving NASA in 1971, he became Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He retired from the Air Force in 1972, after 21 years of service. His autobiographies “Return to Earth” (1973), and “Magnificent Desolation” (2009), recount his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years after leaving NASA. He continued to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars, and developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars more efficient in regard to time and propellant. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and is listed in several Halls of Fame.

And with this post, we’re giving him another Hall of Fame in which he can hang around.

Buzz Aldrin
(with fellow Hall of Famer Stan Lee)

I wrote about Buzz Aldrin in the past, when he made his most accessible appearance in Toobworld:

30 ROCK BUZZ

His induction into the Crossover Hall of Fame could have happened right then, but I’m glad I resisted temptation to mark the occasion today on the 50th anniversary of him being the second man to set foot on the lunar surface.

Here are the list of his credits:

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
(TV Movie 1973)

From the IMDb:
The girl next door makes a teen born with immune deficiencies want to leave his germ-free bubble.  

The Fall Guy
- High Orbit (1985)

From TV.com:
Thieves change the stunt to cover the theft of a chip from a space shuttle.

O’Bservation – Scott Carpenter also appeared in this episode. 

Punky Brewster
- Accidents Happen (1986)

From the IMDb:
When the Challenger shuttle, which had history teacher Christa McAuliffe on board, exploded, the executives at NBC knew a lot of children would be devastated by her loss as the shuttle launch was shown in many schools. A script was immediately written in which the character of Punky had to come to terms with what the shuttle explosion meant.  

Buzz Aldrin:
Your teacher tells me you'd like to be an astronaut.
Penelope 'Punky' Brewster:
Yeah but you know, because of what happened to the space shuttle, my friends think I'm out of my gourd.
Buzz Aldrin:
A lot of the kids at my elementary school laughed at me for wanting to fly to the moon and be part of the space program.
Penelope 'Punky' Brewster:
Wait a minute, they didn't have the space program way back then.
Buzz Aldrin:
Maybe that's why they laughed. But this is the way I look at it; astronauts are explorers and all through history, people have thought that explorers are a little bit off their rockers.

Head of the Class
- The Bright Stuff: Part 1 (1989)

From the IMDb:
Dennis and Arvid create an experiment that qualifies for a NASA competition in Houston but tensions soon arise between the two of them.  

Da Ali G Show 
- Art (2003) 
- Law (2003) 

[in an interview with astronaut Buzz Aldrin]
Ali G:
You better learn about these things from my man Buzz Lightyear here.

Sesame Street - Cookie Moon (2005) 

Numb3rs
- Killer Chat (2006)

From the IMDb:
The team tries to track the person murdering men in homes that are for sale, and Larry's dream of space may be in jeopardy.   

O’Bservation: When he was finally cleared, NASA sent Buzz Aldrin to escort Larry personally for training. 

The Price Is Right
- Episode #38.47 (2009)

O'Bservation: Buzz was on hand for the observation of the moon landing’s 40th anniversary by this game show.

30 Rock
- The Moms (2010)

From the IMDb:
In Liz's mom's flashback she is played by Tina Fey and her boyfriend (astronaut Buzz Aldrin) is played by the same actor that plays the made up astronaut (Mike Dexter) Liz always fantasizes about.

Liz Lemon:
Excuse me, Doctor Aldrin? I'm sorry. There wasn't a door so I just...
Buzz Aldrin:
I don't believe in barriers because I always break them.

Buzz Aldrin:
I'm sorry if I've disappointed you. Would you like to yell at the moon with Buzz Aldrin?

The Big Bang Theory
- The Holographic Excitation (2012)

From the IMDb:
While Raj plans Stuart's Halloween party at the comic book store, Howard annoys the rest of the gang by constantly talking about space, and Penny tries to take more of an interest in Leonard's work.  

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong, makes his first guest appearance on the show.

Buzz Aldrin:
[Handing out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters] Here's a Milky Way. The Milky Way is a galaxy in space. I've been to space. Here's a Mars bar. I'm an astronaut. This one's a Moon Pie. I've walked on the moon. What have you done?

Moonshot
(TV Movie)
Himself (uncredited)  

O'Bservation: Aldrin appeared in this TV movie as himself, but he also was played by another actor.  I don’t know how that affects the status for this presentation.  I’m thinking some alternate TV dimension.  But I would have to see it before I could make judgement.

‘Space Ghost: Coast To Coast’
“Brilliant Number One” (1997)
“Brilliant Number Two” (1998)

O'Bservation: Aldrin was able to converse with Space Ghost in the Tooniverse.  I don’t know how much energy it takes to open a dimensional portal like that, but SG could have cut down on expenses by just having the “Tooniversion” of Buzz Aldrin appear in the studio!

The Simpsons
- Deep Space Homer (1994)

From the IMDb:
In an effort to increase the dismal television ratings for their space launches, NASA decides to send an ordinary man into space, and Homer is chosen for the task.

 The Simpsons
- The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular! (1995)

Recess
- Space Cadet (1999)

 The Simpsons
- Behind the Laughter (2000)

Futurama
- Cold Warriors (2011)

‘Camp Camp’
“Parents’ Day”

From the ‘Camp Camp’ wikia
Buzz Aldrin is Space Kid's uncle. He is modeled after the actual Buzz Aldrin.

So when it comes down to it, we're inducting two Buzz Aldrins into the TVXOHOF - the one from the main Toobworld and the one from the Tooniverse.

Welcome into the TVXOHOF, Dr. Aldrin.  I know the Hall isn’t as great as some of the other Halls of Fame in which you’ve been inducted, but the “honor” bestowed is no less heartfelt  Not that you'll ever read about this....

“There's no greater crime
than faking a moon landing!”

Buzz Aldrin

‘Camp Camp’