VIDEO WEEKEND - PETER MAYHEW, "No. 73"

To continue the celebration of Peter Mayhew in Toobworld, we're offering up an episode of a kids-oriented talk show/variety program in which Mayhew showed up for one edition. 

Usually we avoid talk shows and variety shows as being part of a candidate's tally for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  But with 'No. 73', the hosts of this show were fictional, played by actors, chief among them Sandi Toksvig whom I know best from 'QI'.

NO. 73

Truly, as seen in this episode, he was a gentle giant.  Good night and may God bless, Sir.

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER, 05/10/19 - BILLIE JEAN KING

We started off the month of May with Wonder Woman.  Not only does she fit the year’s anniversary theme of superheroes, but also as the traditional Queen of May.

So for the first of the Friday Hall of Famers, let’s continue with another Wonder Woman.  The last one was a princess, but this one is a King!

BILLIE JEAN KING

From Wikipedia:
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World No.1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She won the singles title at the inaugural WTA Tour Championships. She often represented the United States in the Federation Cup and the Wightman Cup. She was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, she was the United States' captain in the Federation Cup.

King is an advocate for gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice.  In 1973, at age 29, she won the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. She was also the founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. She was also instrumental in persuading cigarette brand Virginia Slims to sponsor women's tennis in the 1970s and went on to serve on the board of their parent company Philip Morris in the 2000s.

Regarded by many in the sport as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on her in 2010. In 1972, she was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award and was one of the Time Persons of the Year in 1975. She has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1990, and in 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In 2018, she won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more on Ms. King, click here.

Because that “Battle of the Sexes” was so iconic in mid-70s pop culture, both Ms. King and Bobby Riggs were able to ride the wave for a while to get their fifteen minutes of fame on various TV shows.  Since this is a celebration of Billie Jean, here’s her list of appearances as a member of the League of Themselves in fictional realities.  (All of the descriptions are from either the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes.)

The Odd Couple
- The Pig Who Came to Dinner (1973)

Bobbie Riggs hustles Oscar out of everything he owns and then even loses Felix. Felix then has a plan to beat him playing ping-pong. 

Arli$$
- Our Past, Our Present, Our Future (1999)

Arliss represents a young ice-skater whose parents are spending all of her money with Charles Barkley; Billie Jean King.

Kirby sees his dream die when his namesake car wash becomes a washout; Arliss helps a teen skater with money-hungry parents; and Billie Jean King refuses to help Rita sort out a romantic mistake. Charles Barkley also appears.   

O'Bservation - I wish I had a picture of Ms. King from this episode, but finding frame grabs from this show is tough!

The L Word
- Light My Fire (2006)

|While Tina and Helena attend a documentary screening of up-and-coming film maker Dylan Moreland, Bette travels to Washington D.C. to speak at a Senate hearing about asking for increased funding for left-wing artwork and afterwords, she meets with Senator Barbara Grisham who makes a move on her. Back in Los Angeles, Jenny, in an attempt to provide for both herself and Moira, puts her dreams of becoming a writer on hold and starts working as a waitress at The Planet. Jenny and Moira are also invited to a party hosted by Billie Blaikie where Moira meets like-minded people. Meanwhile, Carmen has to decide whether to give up Shane's opening party at WAX in exchange for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to DJ at an exclusive VIP party that Russell Simmons is throwing. Alice has an emotional meltdown on-the-air during her radio show and giving her boss, Ruth, a migraine. Also, Dana plays at a tennis tournament and declares her love for Lara in front of TV cameras.  

O’Bservation – I’m assuming that Billie Jean King was at that tennis tournament.  It seems like an easy bet.

Ugly Betty
- Curveball (2009)

The sudden death of a Mode editor leaves Betty and Marc competing for the same job. Meanwhile, Matt lets his jealousy over Henry get the best of him.

Fresh Off the Boat
- Michael Chang Fever (2016)

Louis and Jessica learn that Emery has great potential to be the next Chinese-American tennis super star. But after hiring tennis legend Billie Jean King to take Emery to the next level, they realize she may be taking the training too far. Meanwhile, Eddie helps Evan pay off a gambling debt. 

I’m Dying Up Here
- Sugar And Spice (2017)

During the course of the episode, characters watched “the Battle of the Sexes” on TV.  (The series took place during that time.)

Billie Jean King and of course, Bobby Riggs as well, didn’t even have to show up in a TV show to solidify their presence in Earth Prime-Time; they just had to be talked about.

Rescue Me
Carrot

Tommy Gavin(?):
We bill it as like a Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean kind of thing, a “Battle of the Sexes” for the modern world, only instead of swatting around a faggy little yellow ball, these two are beating the piss out of each other.

O’Bservation: I can’t be certain – the site where I found that quote doesn’t give credit as to who is speaking in the episode – but I’m going to guess that it was Denis Leary’s character, Tommy Gavin.

Ray Donovan
Goodbye, Beautiful

Ray Donovan:
Do you remember the battle of the sexes?
Unknown:
Tennis? Yeah.
Ray Donovan:
Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King?
Unknown:
Yes.
That was 1973.
Ray Donovan:
My father threw his low-ball, Scotch and all, right across the room after that match.
He had a huge wager on it.
I was four years old and I remember being in our great room, and my father saying to me that no woman could ever beat a man, not in a game of strength and strategy.
There was a lot of laughing.
Until there wasn't.
She beat him.
Annihilated him.
And my father and my uncle and all those men, they were so furious that this woman had lost him all that money.

O’Bservation: I don’t know who Ray was talking to.  But that’s definitely Ray with the reminiscence about his father.

Banacek
The Vanishing Chalice

There was a reference to Billie Jean King in this episode, but I can’t find proof of that.

That’s just in the main Toobworld.  In a TV movie dimension, Holly Hunter played Billie Jean King.  (“When Billie Beat Bobby” also starred Ron Silver as Bobby Riggs.)

Welcome to the Hall, Ms. King. 

SER ZONKSALATTE

Everybody plugged into pop culture knows this by now: in “The Last Of The Starks” episode which aired this past Sunday night, a modern age coffee cup could be seen on the Winterfell dining table near Danaerys.  And that unleashed a flood of memes…..

I’ll be revisiting this topic on January 1st, 2020, during the annual "Who's On First" blogathon.  You know this calls for intervention by the Doctor!

Dracyris!

"GAME OF THRONES" - PENULTIMATE PREDICTIONS

This coming Sunday marks the penultimate episode for ‘Game of Thrones’.  There are only six episodes for this last year, just over half as many as previous seasons.  And it came to be expected beginning with that first season that the BIG episode would usually come in the ninth episodes.  (Usually.  For example, in season 5, the eighth episode, “Hardhome”, is more action-packed than the ninth.)

But as for those ninth episodes?  Think about it:

• The beheading of Ned Stark
• The Battle of Blackwater Bay
• The Red Wedding
• The death of Ygritte and the Wilding attack

So this year, this Sunday, the fifth, penultimate, episode should be a gut-wrencher.  We’re going to lose some of the top tier characters this round now that most of the “Farm Team” were eliminated in the third episode “The Long Night”.

And I’ve got a few thoughts on the matter.

Here’s my theory. 

First, a reminder - Maggy the Frog’s prophecy to Cersei:

1 Cersei asks if she will wed the prince. Maggy responds, “You will never wed the prince. You will wed the king.”

2  Cersei asks if she will be queen. Maggy responds, “Oh, yes. You’ll be queen. For a time. Then comes another, younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear.”

3  Cersei asks if she and the king will have children. Maggy responds, “No. The king will have 20 children and you will have three. Gold will be their crowns, gold their shrouds.”

Mulling over Maggy the Frog’s prophecy, I think it also applies to Danaerys. Which would mean Drogon will die before the series concludes. And even if the last part of the prophecy didn’t make it into the TV series, I think Jon will prove to be her “valonqar” - the “little brother” who kills her. They have been playing up Jon’s height or lack thereof lately. And there is a broader definition to “brother”.  

(For Cersei, that sounds like Tyrion, but Jaimie is younger than her by a few minutes.)

I think once they vanquish Cersei, Danaerys will turn on Jon, the inbred Targaryen madness and her lust for the throne will drive her to attempt to kill him. He’ll have no choice but to save his own life.

But he will still refuse the throne. He’ll stay true to that.  And Tyrion will be crowned King, the hero of Blackwater Bay. 

I also don’t think Arya survives. I hate to say that. I think she will be killed by the Mountain and that triggers the fight we all knew was coming - brother vs. brother, Sandor against Gregor.  And Clegane wins!

Okay, Okay.  The Hound wins.

To this I’ll add a fantastic theory from my brother Bill – during the fight between those two behemoths, fire will become involved somehow.  But Sandor the Hound will overcome his fear of it to vanquish Gregor the reanimated Mountain.

Definitely dying on Sunday (only my opinion) - Varys. Tyrion will feel compelled to turn him in for his threat about her assassination; he’s still too far under her spell to accept that Varys may be right.

So I think we have at least three major deaths that will take place Sunday night:

• Varys.
• Drogon,

and like I said,

• Arya.

There may be others.  I don’t hold out much hope for Grey Worm to make it through the first big battle, distraught as he must be after the death of Missandei.  His mind won’t be focused and he will make a lethal mistake.

I would have added the Mountain, but I think his battle with his brother will be epic and spill over into the final episode.

With all of that focus which the series has had on death, perhaps we might be gifted with a “rebirth”.  With Arya returning to King’s Landing, dare we hope to see her “dancing instructor” Syrio Forel?  We never did see Syrio, once the first sword of Braavos, actually die from his battle with Ser Meryn Trant.  I wouldn’t assume that he did, even if he was slightly hampered with a broken, wooden sword.

Finally, here’s my vision of the final scene of the entire series, so from the sixth episode:

Beyond the Wall, in the true North, Tormund is enjoying some drink and doing his best to coax a Wilding girl into his home. Ghost perks up; someone is approaching. And into the clearing steps Jon, finally taking Tormund’s advice to join him. 

Well, that’s what I’d have happen if I had my druthers.  But we shall see what we shall view….

Valar urnēbis!

TWO FOR TUESDAY - LAST WEEK IN TOOBWORLD II

Lance Bass played himself in an episode of ‘Single Parents’ adding to his tally for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  He may turn out to be a double entry as he is well on his way to having enough credits in the Tooniverse.

From Wikipedia:
James Lance Bass (born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film and television producer, and author. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film and television. 

After completion of NSYNC's Pop Odyssey Tour, Bass moved to Star City, Russia, in a much publicized pursuit of a seat on a Soyuz space capsule. Bass was certified by both NASA and the Russian Space Program after several months of cosmonaut training, and planned to join the TMA-1 mission to the International Space Station. However, after his financial sponsors backed out, Bass was denied a seat on the mission.

In July 2006, Bass came out as gay in a cover story for People magazine. He was awarded the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award in October 2006, and released an autobiography, "Out of Sync", in October 2007, which debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list.

The televersion of Lance Bass has appeared in these other Toobworthy TV shows along with his appearance on last week's 'Single Parents'.

THE TOONIVERSE
'The Simpsons'
"New Kid On The Blecch"

'BoJack Horseman'
"Out To Sea"

SKITLANDIA
'All That'

STOP MOTION WORLD
'Robot Chicken'

'Rick and Steve'
"Death Of A Lesbian Bed"

EARTH PRIME-TIME
'Review'
"Best Friend; Space"

'Real Husbands Of Hollywood'
"Don't Vote For Nick"

'Single Parents'
"Lance Bass Space Camp"

From the IMDb:
Will forgets to send in Sophie's deposit for space camp, so he must woo the owner of the company in order to get her spot at camp back.  

‘Review’ and ‘Real Husbands Of Hollywood’ are a bit shaky as solid qualifications, but he should have more appearances as a member of the League of Themselves eventually.
Two for Tuesday!

TWO FOR TUESDAY - LAST WEEK IN TOOBWORLD I

From Wikipedia:
'Schooled' is an American television sitcom and a direct spin-off to 'The Goldbergs'. It was ordered by ABC with Tim Meadows, Bryan Callen and AJ Michalka set to star in it. The concept aired as a backdoor pilot on a January 24, 2018 episode of 'The Goldbergs' called "The Goldbergs: 1990-Something". The series premiered on January 9, 2019.

'Schooled'
From the IMDb:
A spinoff of 'The Goldbergs' set in the 1990s that follows the faculty of William Penn Academy who, despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, are heroes to their students.
  

"CB Likes Lainey"  

From the IMDb:
When C.B. finally gets the courage to tell Lainey that he has feelings for her, Barry derails his plans.

Barry Goldberg didn't show up until the end of the episode, but he'll be a full guest star with this week's episode.  He's now in the running for the 2019 Toobits Award for Best Crossover Character.

This is part one for this new feature "Last Week In Toobworld".  Check back in an hour for the next segment....

Two For Tuesday!

MONDAY MINUTIAE - NUMBERS UP (AGAIN)

My Triple B (British Blogging Buddy) Rob Buckley (The Medium Is Not Enough, link to the left) sent me this screencap from the latest episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’.  So the “1015” numbers continue.

Now to find out if the other numbers in the sequence ("060816") echo throughout the series…..

BCnU!