2019 TOOBITS AWARDS
It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.
As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independently of each other at times.)
Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2019 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2019. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)
This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)
So without further ado, let's have at it:
BEST NEW TV SHOW
‘The Watchmen’
I was a big fan of the comic books/graphic novel. Really enjoyed the movie. (Never checked out the follow-up comics which apparently blended Moore & Gibbons’ vision into the greater DC Universe. (Diluted it, actually, I would think.) Since Moore wasn’t involved (but with Gibbons on board as a consulting producer), I wasn’t sure if they could carry on the vision of the Wathmen’s world and its original feel. But with Damon Lindelof in charge, who put ‘Lost’ into my top ten favorite TV series, I figured I should at least check it out.
Proved to be the fastest nine weeks to pass in a long time, and luckily without the agony in between episodes. They threw a lot of balls into the air and successfully juggled them all to a satisfying conclusion.
Lindelof has been hedging if the show will be coming back; that this might have been a one-off; and that he might not be back if it does. I probably should have listed this as the Best Limited Series, but I’d rather hold out hope.
BEST TV MOVIE
“The Aeronauts”
It doesn’t matter that it aired for maybe two weeks first in theatres; this was made for Netflix. And I’m glad it was. I don’t think I could have taken some of those scenes on the big screen!
WORST TV MOVIE
A puzzler. I could have sworn that there would have been a 2019 sequel to “Sharknado” by now. Oh well.
BEST MINI-SERIES
‘Good Omens’
This was everything I hoped it would be, knowing the writings of Neil Gaiman and having heard so many good things about Terry Pratchett. A great multi-national cast, witty bon mots and clever plot tricks, all fronted by the fantastic pairing of Tennant and Sheen.
BEST COMMERCIAL
Bud Light -> ‘Game Of Thrones’
Mint Mobile – “Chunky Milk”
BEST IMPORT COMMERCIAL
Tine
I usually don’t see commercials from other countries until Christmastime. That’s when the world ups their A games. It took me two years to see this one so it’s new to me.
BEST EPISODE, ANY GENRE
‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’
“Season Six/Episode 107”
The fifth year anniversary show played out in the style of the late Garry Shandling’s great ‘The Larry Sanders Show’. It was a knowing, loving tribute to Shandling’s masterpiece, right down to the warm-up speech to the studio audience about the “Applause” sign. Few commercials so that we could see more of the backstage antics mostly involving Ben Stiller.
And we've got a runner-up:
“The Intransigence of Love” – ‘You’re The Worst’
This sitcom has won this category once before, when it did something similar: kicking off the episode in such a way to make you think you must have recorded the wrong show. Being off-balance while watching it leads to a pleasurable experience as it all pulls together.
BEST SERIES RETURN
‘The Twilight Zone’
This marks the fourth incarnation of the series. Being an anthology series, it could afford to take some liberties with what came before and Peele pulled it off.
BEST SERIES FINALE
‘Game of Thrones’
The final season had its flaws, which I blame on HBO for rushing the last three years. But even so, I think as far as the televersion of the George R.R. Martin opus goes, showrunners Benioff and Weiss stuck the landing. (We probably won’t see the culmination of Martin’s vision for a couple more years.)
BEST CLIFF-HANGER
‘Watchmen’
“See How They Fly”
To watch Angela swallow the egg and start to step on the water was low-key. But if the show never comes back, I know I won’t be the only one wondering what happened next.
BEST SPIN-OFF
‘Schooled’ from ‘The Goldbergs’
BEST SEQUEL
“Deadwood: The Movie”
BEST PROMO
‘The Twilight Zone’
‘Stumptown’
“Forget It, Dex. It’s Stumptown”
That first four minutes was like a mini-Tarantino movie. It’s been a fun ride since.
BEST EPISODE TITLE
'Watchmen'
“If You Don’t Like My Story, Write Your Own”
It practically stands as a declaration by Damon Lindelof and luckily his challenge stood up to any possible criticism. (That title could be a reference for Alan Moore as well, I suppose.)
BEST HISTORICAL RECREATION
‘The Watchmen’
The Tulsa, Oklahoma, massacre of 1921
Before this episode, I had never even heard of this horrific event.
BEST SERIES REVIVAL/REVAMPING
‘Murphy Brown’
It may not have been successful, but the revisit to Murphy’s world acknowledged the passage of time for the characters, the medium, and current history of our world.
WORST SERIES REVIVAL/REVAMPING
‘Jeopardy!’
Champion Teams Week
Maybe it was a minor adjustment, but the show should be like kabuki theater. Everything has to be just so. This format threw that out and I think it suffered for it.
BEST CLASSIC TV EXPERIENCE
‘Perry Mason’ & ‘Maverick’
Now that I’m retired, I have the time to give over to classic comfort series. That helps when Perry Mason airs four times a day!
BEST CATCH-UP
‘The Outlander’
In January I first saw this show, beginning with the last few episodes of the fourth season. It was off to the library and I sped through the first three seasons. Then Starz reran the fourth in a marathon. Wow.
BEST CROSSOVER
“Crisis On Infinite Earths”
Can there be any doubt? And we’ve only seen three/fifths of the crossover so far. A lot of potential inductees into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame will come out of this.
BEST CROSSOVER PLOTLINE
“Crisis On Multiple Earths”
Hands down.
BEST MULTIVERSAL CROSSOVER
EARTH PRIME-TIME & THE CINEVERSE
It’s a ‘Goldbergs’ tie!
‘The Goldbergs’ (“The Wedding Singer”)
“The Wedding Singer”
The sitcom blended their cast members into the Adam Sandler movie from 20 years ago or so. Instead a simple mesh of scenes took place. They didn’t actually interact with the characters played by Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Billy Idol, but Barry and Lainie were on the plane, watching the romantic final scene from across the aisle. And all Sandberg had to do to make this crossover possible was to okay it – he produces ‘The Goldbergs’.
‘The Goldbergs’ ("Animal House")
“National Lampoon’s Animal House”
With this we get a look at two characters from the movie as to how they looked twenty years after the events of the film – Hoover and Otter. Played by James Widdoes and Tim Matheson.
FIRST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
‘Young Sheldon’ with ‘ALF’
Missy Cooper wrote a fan letter to Alf, the main character of the eponymous sitcom. But as we saw in “A Race Of Superhumans And A Letter To Alf”, Alf was not just a puppet in a sitcom as he appeared here in the Real World. He is a living being of Toobworld. This links ‘Young Sheldon’ not just with ‘ALF’ but also with ‘Matlock’.
Sorry, ‘Schooled’. And Coach Mellor and Beverly Goldberg as well. You were six days too late. And being a spin-off is kind of a cheat. But crossing over with a show that has no previous connection and one with a puppet alien? You never stood a chance.
LAST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
As far as I can tell, “Crisis On Multiple Earths” is the last crossover for 2019. Who would want to follow that?
BEST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER
Walmart Grocery Pick-up – “Famous Cars”
BEST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER WITH A DIFFERENT MEDIUM
THE CINEVERSE AND TOOBWORLD
Stella Artois
Crossing over with “The Big Lebowski” & ‘Sex And The City’
Again, in the same commercial, Jeff Bridges showed up as The Dude. He even got to deliver the most famous line from the movie.
As for Carrie Bradshaw, this puts her in contention for membership in the TV Crossover Hal of Fame.
‘Milo Murphy’s Law’ – “The Phineas & Ferb Effect”
Basically kicked off the competition for this award right out of the gate for 2019 (Jan. 5.) It was also a great example of a basic principle for the Tooniverse – despite the difference in animation styles, the characters didn’t notice it. From their perspective, everybody is the same. (Phineas and Ferb have now had their own series, appeared in another and interacted with the tooniversions of Marvel’s Avengers from their cartoon series. I think you’ll see them in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame soon enow.
BEST MULTIVERSAL SPOOF
“Hamilton” as seen on ‘Tonight’
BEST RECASTAWAY
OVERALL
‘Worzel Gummidge’
Although they didn’t fully utilize the concept for recastaways, the adaptation which starred Jon Pertwee (1979-81) introduced the concept of switching heads for the living scarecrow. While all those different heads back then were still Pertwee, we can use that splainin as to why Worzel Gummidge looks so different in this new incarnation.
FEMALE
Laurie Blake, ‘Watchmen’
It's the passage of time which helps the belief that Malin Akerman became Jean Smart after thirty plus years. (The same could be said for Dr. Manhattan as well, but it’s his powers that make that more believable.)
MALE
Lord William Ransom, ‘Outlander’
When we first met Jamie’s illegitimate son, Willie was a newborn baby. And then (played by Clark Butler). That was in the third season. In the fourth season he returned with his step-father, Lord John Grey, as a twelve year old, now played by Oliver Finnegan. It’s a long-standing tradition for Toobworld Central to accept recastaways due to aging of characters. O’Bviously, the show couldn’t wait for Clark Butler to grow up.
WORST RECASTAWAY
Colonel George Washington, ‘Outlander’
It’s just that he was colorless. Whether he was written that way or it was the fault of the actor, I don’t know.
BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER
Tie!
Crowley & Aziraphale, ‘Good Omens’
Really. How could I split up the set?
BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER
Tie!
Dex Parios, ‘Stumptown’
Angela Abar, ‘Watchmen’
BEST NEW MALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Looking Glass, ‘Watchmen’
A great concept for a “superpower”, an intriguing backstory and a cool actor to play the role. (Tim Blake Nelson)
BEST NEW SUPPORTING FEMALE CHARACTER
Dottie, ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’
Christine Ebersole was funny enough when she was first introduced. She’s got the comedy acting chops to call on. But once her character had the stroke, she could not be fenced in!
BEST CHARACTER ADAPTED FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM
Doctor Manhattan, ‘Watchmen’
Thanks to his powers, recasting wasn’t going to be a problem. And the writing kept his secret well through the run of the series. And we mustn’t forget his origins in the four color fictional universe either.
BEST CROSSOVER CHARACTERS
The Flash of Earth-90, “Crisis On Infinite Earths”
BEST GUEST FEMALE
Beverly Goldberg, ‘Schooled’
"Bevzilla" appeared in the pilot episode launching Lainie into her own series. (I had to give it to her. She’s a force of nature; I had to submit.)
BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE
Drama
‘Watchmen’ They had talent to spare - look at the contribution from Don Johnson!
Comedy
The NFL 100th Anniversary Commercial
BEST INTRODUCTION OF A CHARACTER
Will Davenport, ‘Grantchester’
When it comes to replacing characters, no major reasoning is needed for vicars; such a generic event happens all the time. Yet they were still able to work in compelling drama on both sides of the replacement.
BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER
Governor William Tryon, ‘Outlander’
The best part about this is that Tryon is not exactly the historical figure that could show up anywhere in Toobworld. That only happens to the historicals who are easily recognized – like George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Julius Caesar in ‘Bewitched’. And even in historical settings as found in ‘Outlander’, Tryon might have been depicted, but in a generic sense so that he’d be just listed as “Governor” in the credits.
BEST NEW ALIEN CHARACTER
The Worry Monsters for POM
Here's one of them:
BEST NEW PUPPET CHARACTERS
Grandma & Otis, Dean’s Stoves & Spa
What gave them the edge? They are puppets living in Connecticut. It’s the Connecticut of Toobworld, but they were seen out in it. And they were seen interacting with a human. Everything needed to show that in Toobworld puppets are alive, and all in 30 seconds.
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE
Robert Picardo, ‘Schooled’
In the Real World, Picardo graduated from the William Penn Charter School in 1971, but in Toobworld, he graduated from William Penn Academy. He came back to help drum up support for the school’s drama department but when he heard that a few alumni were also coming back to support the athletic department, he took off. Picardo didn’t want to endure their hazing again.
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN ALT-TOOBWORLD
Peter Frampton, ‘Madam Secretary’
Unfortunately, it’s not the main Toobworld, but hey! We got to hear him play a house concert.
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN A COMMERCIAL
Harrison Ford and his Boston Terrier, Amazon/Alexa
BEST CHARACTER RETURN
Zachariah, ‘Supernatural’
He was able to make it back for the 300th episode, even though an angel blade was driven right through his skull. Now, that’s dedication!
BEST CHARACTER RETURN IN SKITLANDIA:
It’s a tie!
Gumby
Mr. Robinson
Velvet Jones
Buckwheat
“Saturday Night Live”
With the final episode of 2019 for ‘Saturday Night Live’, host Eddie Murphy brought back four of the characters he embodied during his time as a regular on the series back in the early 1980s. (Here’s hoping he’ll come back for a Christmas show again, so that we can see more of Kiddle Diddles the Elf.)
BEST NEW MALE VILLAIN
Captain Stephen Bonnet, ‘Outlander’
And because of his inherently evil tendencies to get all rapey, we can depend on him for plenty of theories of relateeveety for Ed Speleers characters.
BEST NEW FEMALE VILLAIN
Dr. Trieu, ‘Watchmen’
BEST EXIT FOR A CHARACTER
TOOBWORLD
Lainie, ‘The Goldbergs’
She and Barry broke up in 1980-something and she moved to California to find herself. This helped to set her up for her own show, ‘Schooled’, which debuted after her exit episode.
Young Ian Fraser, ‘Outlander’
The door was left open that we might see him again in the future.
SADDEST DEATH SCENE
WORST (GRISLIEST) DEATH SCENE
Father Alexandre Fernigault & Johiehon, ‘Outlander’
This is a double-header as the Mohawks put the priest to the stake and were slowly torturing him with fire. Roger threw a barrel of fire-water on the flames to put him out of his misery. The Mohawk woman who loved the priest and bore his child left her baby behind and willingly climbed into the flames to join him.
MOST SURPRISING DEATH SCENE
Dick Grayson, “Crisis On Infinite Earths”
I didn’t think they’d have the guts to do it.
FIRST MAJOR TV CHARACTER TO DIE
Lewis Archer, ‘Coronation Street’
It seems to be a tradition for this show to kill off a major character on New Year’s Day. This year it was the rogue Lewis Archer who supposedly turned over a new leaf. He died from stress about proposing to the woman whose family he wronged. She found him with the engagement ring in his hand.
BEST NEW CHARACTER NAME
WORST NEW CHARACTER NAME
Dex Parios, ‘Stumptown’
As it stands, fine. But her first name is Dexedrine? Blerg.
BEST NEW ALIAS
It's a tie!"Looking Glass" AKA Wade Tillman – ‘Watchmen’
“Otter Tooth” AKA Robert Singer, ‘Outlander’
BEST LINE
“The wealthiest camel has the biggest hump.” – NerdWallet commercial.
It reminds me of those signs found in the Village in ‘The Prisoner’
BEST NEW TOOBWORLD LOCATION
Hindafing in Bavaria, ‘Hindafing’
The show is two years old, and apparently only six episodes deep. I suppose I should count it as a miniseries. But at the least, Hindafing is here to stay on the Toobworld map.
BEST FIGHT SCENE
‘Stumptown’
And that was within the first four minutes of the series!
BEST ADAPTATIONS TO ANOTHER MEDIUM
TV TO MOVIE
‘Downton Abbey’
COMIC BOOK to TV
‘Stumptown’
COMIC BOOK TO MOVIE TO TV
‘Watchmen’
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A SHOW
The powers that be (lower case) moving ‘The Orville’ to HULU. Greedy bleeps.
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