Saturday, May 18, 2019

VIDEO WEEKEND - REMEMBERING DORIS DAY


Yesterday we inducted the late Doris Day into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Today, for our video weekend entry, we're presenting one of the episodes which qualified her. 

In this episode of her eponymous sitcom, a traditional TV trope was invoked in which the main character of the sitcom gets to meet the actor who plays them.

I've included all five of the YouTube segments, but more than likely they follow one after the other.  I'm just a Doubting Thomas. 

And there's an uncredited guest appearance which will put that star on the fast track for his own membership in the Hall.....







BCnU!


Friday, May 17, 2019

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMERS - REMEMBERING DORIS DAY





From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Doris Day, the sunny blond actress and singer whose frothy roles in comedies and musicals made her one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1950s and ’60s and a symbol of wholesome American womanhood, has died. She was 97.




In recent years, Day had been an animal rights advocate and her Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed her death early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. The foundation said she was surrounded by close friends.



“Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death,” the foundation said in an emailed statement.



Ms. Day only had the one long-running fictional television role to her credit, that of Doris Martin in her eponymous sitcom which ran for 128 episodes over five seasons.  It may be that one day I may still find Doris Martin eligible for membership due to the changes to the show’s format over the course of the series.  Changes proved to be so drastic that I determined that we were watching three different Doris Martins from three different TV dimensions.



But if I ever do that, it would have to be one of the Birthday Honors inductions, in which the requirements are much looser.



So I looked into the “life” of her televersion – the fictional representation of herself, and preferably as played by herself.  So many appearances as herself on talk shows and various TV specials - and at least one game show - before she went into seclusion.  One of the major appearances in these genres would be her own talk show that combined her love of animals and the friends she made in show business.  I’m sure her fictional televersion did ‘Doris Day’s Best Friends’ as well.

~
Johnny Carson:
It was murky out there.
Ed McMahon & The Audience:
How murky was it?
Johnny Carson:
It was so murky out there today and gloomy,
that Doris Day kicked a dog.

(Thanks to my brother Bill for finding that.)


One day 'Tonight' will be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame and at that time it will carry more weight in the tally for members of the League of Themselves like Doris Day (who appeared on 'Tonight' surprisingly only three times back in the mid-1970s.)


Doris Day only appeared twice as herself in a fictional setting in the main Toobworld, and even then only one of them was only her voice.



The Doris Day Show 

Doris Goes to Hollywood (1971)

From the IMDb:
When Doris Martin wins a Doris Day lookalike contest, she and Myrna head to Hollywood to have lunch with the star, but things don't turn out the way they had planned.

O’Bservation - I’ll be sharing that episode tomorrow.


The Governor & J.J. 

- A Day in the Life (1970) 
... Doris Day (voice)

O’Bservation - Two CBS stars lent their voices to phone messages in this episode - Ms. Day and Sebastian Cabot, who played Giles French on ‘Family Affair’.

She also appears as a technicality in other shows, when scenes from her movies are seen within the fictional world of Earth Prime-Time.  So we’re seeing Doris Day as her characters from those movies.


Let’s just take two examples:


SEND ME NO FLOWERS



The Beverly Hillbillies 

Jed Becomes a Movie Mogul (1964)

The Clampetts get to see the rushes and dailies from this movie a month before it was released.


O’Bservation – Hopefully I’ll have this episode skedded for Sunday….

PILLOW TALK



Madam Secretary

Labor of Love (2017)

Daisy is watching this movie when the FBI comes to search her apartment.  (However, this takes place in another TV dimension.)


I’ve written about that scene before, soon after it first showed up on the show.




So those examples count toward her appearances in the fictional settings of TV shows.  Therefore, she has at least four TV shows in which she appeared as herself – we may find more scenes from her other movies.


Doris Day was such a cultural icon that there are plenty of TV shows in which their fictional characters mention her.  Therefore all of those shows accept the existence of TV’s Doris Day in their world.  (We include in this list the references made by fictional characters to her movies.)



Because of the transcript site I frequent, I don’t always know who the speakers are.  So you may see some quotes with no credit to whoever is speaking.


Prime Suspect 3 (1993)

The Keeper Of Souls

?
I tried to contact you; you know I did. 

?
Oh, stop with the Doris Day act.

It´s getting on my nerves.

Laverne & Shirley 

Call Me a Taxi (1977)

In order to make money after getting fired from their jobs, Laverne and Shirley got jobs as “taxi dancers” (ten cents a dance) at Danceland….


Shirley: 

I just thought it was going to be more like James Cagney and Doris Day.
Laverne: 
They’re not coming.

O’Bservation – This is a reference to their movie “Love Me Or Leave Me”.



Mad Men 

Christmas Comes But Once a Year (2010)

Peggy Olsen:
On the shortlist I've got Tallulah, Jessica Tandy, Barbara Stanwyck, and Doris Day, different types. 
?
I don't even understand your list. 

?
What's wrong with Elizabeth Taylor? 

Isn't it about making old ladies look good? 
?
Nothing makes old ladies look good.


Mad Men 

Long Weekend (2007)


“Send Me No Flowers”, starring Doris Day, is one of the movies which Don and Lane are contemplating seeing.


Joan Holliday:

I feel like I’m stuck somewhere between Doris Day in “Pillow Talk” and “Midnight Lace”. 

Happy Days 

Hardware Jungle


O’Bservation – Richie needed six dollars to go to the concert, but didn’t think he could raise that kind of money.

Fonzie: 
Like Doris Day says, “Que sera, sera.”

Happy Days 

The Deadly Dares (1974)

O’Bservation – As part of their initiation into the Demons Club, Potsie and Richie had to dress as girls and go to the sock hop until somebody danced with them.

Howard Cunningham:
What we’re talking about is why my son is out there walking the street looking like Doris Day!


White Collar 

Ice Breaker (2013)

Neal Caffrey:

There’s plenty of metered parking
down the street.

Why risk another ticket?
Peter Burke:
Doris Day parking.
Neal:
I’m sorry, Doris Day what?
Peter:
A spot, right in front.  
The kind Doris Day miraculously finds
in all her movies.

Neal:
I didn’t know you were a fan.
Peter:
Oh, I love ‘em!

The Beverly Hillbillies 

Jed Becomes a Movie Mogul (1964)


From the IMDb:

Mr. Drysdale buys Mammoth Pictures, a movie studio. Jed, Granny, Elly and Jethro try to "help" the studio, which is losing money, by working at the studio.

The movie scenes the Clampetts watched were for a movie (Send Me No Flowers) which would be released in theaters the month after this was originally broadcast. This show was in effect a coming attraction for the movie. 


When the Clampetts view the Rock Hudson and Doris Day movie, they're surprised to see that there's no piano player in the "theater". Yet, they don't react at all to the film not being silent.  


Car 54, Where Are You? 

Joan Crawford Didn't Say No (1963)

From the IMDb:

When a septuagenarian delicatessen owner reports he will be marrying Joan Crawford, the boys of the 53rd are sent out to bust the phony matrimonial service that promises to pair its clients with Hollywood movie stars.  

O’Bservation – Mrs. Bronson tried to match up Officer Francis Muldoon with one of her “clients” at the Wedding Bells Matrimonial Agency….


Mrs. Bronson:

Now where were we?
Oh yes.  A girl for you…
Doris Day…?  No, too young.
Susan Hayward?  No, a bit too emotional….

Partners in Crime 

N or M?: Part 1 (2015)

From the IMDb:

Tommy is sent on a secret mission to discover the identity of a Soviet spy staying at a seaside guest-house; Tuppence refuses to be left behind. In their regular life, the Beresfords sell wigs.

Tuppence Beresford:

Have you finished the stock list? 
Tommy Beresford:
Yes. I think we need to order more brunettes.
Tuppence: 
Doris Day, Grace Kelly, Diana Dors…. 
Tommy:
Blondes….
We need to order more blondes.

Ray Donovan 

New Birthday (2013)

?
Too fucking bad about Rock Hudson.

?
What? Made some good movies. 

Pillow Talk, fucking great.
But that Doris Day did not do it for me.
Should've been Lena Horne in Doris Day's part.
Or Eartha Kitt.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

Put That on Your Plate! (2017)

From the IMDb:

With Susie's help, Midge hones her act at the Gaslight. 

Miriam “Midge” Maisel:

What does this look like?
Susie Myerson: 
You got a mirror?
You look kind of wet and out of focus,
Like… like a Doris Day picture.

The Ropers

The Doris Letters


From the IMDb:

Mrs. Roper thinks her husband is having an affair when she finds his hidden stash of love letters, written to a woman named Doris.

Stanley Roper:

I wrote those letters to… Doris Day.
Helen Roper:
Doris… Day?  The movie star?
Stanley Roper:
Yeah.  You know…. “It’s Magic.”  “Pillow Talk.”
They’re just fan letters.

Melissa & Joey 

The Unkindest Cut (2013)

Melissa:

Oh, I feel like I'm in
an old-fashioned romance movie. 

That's why I'm wearing my Doris Day dress.
Joey:
What's Doris Day?
Oh, is that a fake holiday like Arbor Day?

That '80s Show 

Valentine's Day (2002)

R.T.:

Gimme that jacket, Tuesday. 
June Tuesday:
No! 
R.T.:
Gimme the jacket! 
June Tuesday:
Aah! 
Corey Howard:
I saw this in a Doris Day-Rock Hudson movie once 
and I didn't like it then.

WPC 56 

Walk the Line (2015)

Annie:

"The new Doris Day".
That's what they called me at the Butlins talent show. 
Sergeant:
Yes. I'm sure that you were very good.

Petticoat Junction 

Young Love (1966)

Uncle Joe:

Kate, think of the publicity!
A nice young couple getting married -
Here at the Shady Rest.
The press snapping pictures of them!
Him carrying her over the threshold….
Like Doris Day and Rock Hudson!

The Lucy Show
Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere
(1966)


Mr. Mooney:
Mrs. Carmichael, isn’t $75 a lot of money
to pay 
for a second-hand
pink chiffon nightgown?

Lucille Carmichael:
It was worn by Doris Day in ‘Pillow Talk’!
Mr. Mooney:
I wouldn’t pay $75 for a nightie
if it was worn by Jack Lemmon
in “Some Like It Hot!”


Lucille Carmichael:

Mary Jane works at the studio
and she gets free passes.
But I do need money for a new dress
because I don’t have a thing to wear.
Mr. Mooney:
Why don’t you go in Doris Day’s nightgown?

The Dame Edna Treatment
Episode 1.1


Dame Edna Everidge (to Michael Bolton):

Are you doing any more tributes to people? 
That was of Frank Sinatra…. 
Pat Boone would be good. 
Or Doris Day. 
You could do a tribute to Doris Day.

The Dame Edna Treatment

Episode 1.3


Alec Baldwin:

My birthday is next week.
My birthday is April 3rd.
And I share my birthday
with a very strange array of people.
Dame Edna:
Who are they?
Alec:
Marlon Brando, Wayne Newton,
Doris Day, and Eddie Murphy.
Isn’t that the strangest group of people
you ever heard of in your life?
Dame Edna:
No, no.  They’ve all got something in common…
Alec:
What is that?
Dame Edna:
American.

O’Bservation – I consider this series (and her previous shows) to be part of Earth Prime-Time and not Skitlandia.  I saw her on Broadway and my televersion is definitely a main Toobworldling!

The Bob Newhart Show

The Separation Story (1974)

O’Bservation – Carol thought Bob and Emily were splitting up. So when she thought they were getting back together, she got on the phone:


“Jerry? 

Doris and Rock are back together! 
Pass it on!”

Dr. Bob Hartley:

Room Service?
This is Dr. Hartley in Room 544.
I have somebody coming up for dinner.
And I noticed that you forgot the vase
With the single rose in it.
Like in the movie “Pillow Talk”, right.

When the rose is finally delivered, Emily sniffs it.

“Oh, just like “Pillow Talk”!

Emily came to Bob’s hotel room prepared to carry on the “Pillow Talk” scenario a bit further….



And speaking of props, there are a few which verify Doris Day’s existence in Toobworld.

These three deal with “Pillow Talk”:


The Doctor Blake Mysteries

Still Waters (2013)
Title seen on front of theatre



The Doctor Blake Mysteries

Crossing the Line (2014)
A poster is seen 

Sense8

I Am Also A We (2015)
Poster seen 

We also know that Doris Day was a multidimensional, as she appeared in s couple of TV dimensions outside Earth Prime-Time.


TOOBWORLD POTUS-BARTLET

The West Wing
Institutional Memory
(2006)


From the IMDb:

CJ examines her relationship with Danny….

Danny Concannon:

Look, I'm not trying to turn you into Doris Day. I know if we have a future together, I'd be Mr. C.J. Cregg, that's fine. But you don't even see me in the picture, do you?  

TOOBWORLD POTUS-DALTON

Madam Secretary
Labor of Love
(2017)


From the IMDb:

The movie that Daisy is watching when the FBI comes to search her apartment is “Pillow Talk”.

THE TOONIVERSE

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Ruby Yacht Parts 3 & 4


Citizen:

What's the parade for, Featherby? 
Featherby:
Don't know. Must be Labor Day or sumthin'. 
Citizen:
I wish it were Doris Day!

There is one references to Ms. Day for which I have not been able to pinpoint the exact mention. 


More Tales Of The City

Episode 1.3 (1998)

If you ever get the chance to find out what it is, let me know, there’s a good lad!



Welcome to the TVXOHOF, Ms. Day.

Thank you for the joy you brought into our lives.

Good night and may God bless…. 




Thursday, May 16, 2019

THURSDAY'S THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - MILLER & CLARK


Just a quick theory of relateeveety today.  I have tomorrow’s Friday Hall of Famer post to finish up; it’s taken most of my time for blog writing all week.  And then I have to begin work on the Monday Memorial TVXOHOF Tribute.  Both of them are sad occasions.


At any rate, let’s delve into today’s theory….


Captain Barney Miller
‘CAPTAIN MILLER’


From Wikipedia:
Main star and regular character throughout the series' run. In the Season 5 episode "Accusation", it is learned that he worked Vice for a time previous to being assigned to the 12th Precinct.  


But to really know Barney, who better to ask than the man who portrayed him?


In the show we met his wife Liz and his children, son David (who only appeared in the pilot episode) and his daughter Rachel (less than a handful of episodes.) 


But the family member we’re interested in is not official canon.  That’s why these are theories of relateeveety, Bunky!


Assistant District Attorney Clark
‘CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?’
“JOAN CRAWFORD DIDN’T SAY NO”


Although it was never stated in either show*, Barney and ADA Clark were identical cousins, both living in New York City.  We got to know Barney over 8 seasons and 171 episodes, but we only met ADA Clark once.


ADA Clark in his only official Toobworld appearance, prosecuted Mrs. Bronson of the Bronx for running a scam – promising elderly clients the chance to marry famous celebrities through her Wedding Bells Matrimonial Service.  He asked the judge to dismiss all the charges when it was learned that all her clients did get married – to each other, if not the celebrities they were promised.


Whenever I use the term “identical cousins”, it could mean either one of two things. It could be in the conventional sense as most famously depicted in ‘The Patty Duke Show’, or it might be of a somewhat unseemly reason.  It could be that Captain Miller and ADA Clark share the same father.  Because it’s more likely somewhere in those 171 episodes we learned more details about Barney’s parentage, I‘m going to suggest that it was his father who cheated on his wife and in an illicit affair he impregnated his mistress, Mrs. – or Miss? – Clark.



Either way works for this theory. 

BCnU!

* O'Bservation - It could have happened at any time in 'Barney Miller' to refer back to the earlier series.  But for 'Car 54' to project into the Future about 'Barney Miller'?  Not likely!




 

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

WIKI TIKI WEDNESDAY = BLACKBEARD


'The Saint'
"The Old Treasure Story"


From the IMDb:
In a pub in Cornwall, the Saint meets three men, each of whom owns a third of a map that allegedly shows the whereabouts of sunken treasure in the West Indies. He joins their party to discover whether the treasure is a myth or a reality. On arriving at the supposed location of the treasure he quickly comes to see that there is - literally - a deadly rivalry among the group members.  


The treasure - which did exist, at least in Toobworld - was reportedly hidden away by Blackbeard.

From Wikipedia:
Edward Teach or Edward Thatch (c. 1680 – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before settling on the Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured, and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy. Their numbers were boosted by the addition to their fleet of two more ships, one of which was commanded by Stede Bonnet; but Hornigold retired from piracy towards the end of 1717, taking two vessels with him.

Teach captured a French merchant vessel known as La Concorde, renamed her Queen Anne's Revenge, and equipped her with 40 guns. He became a renowned pirate, his nickname derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance; he was reported to have tied lit fuses (slow matches) under his hat to frighten his enemies. He formed an alliance of pirates and blockaded the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, ransoming the port's inhabitants. He then ran Queen Anne's Revenge aground on a sandbar near Beaufort, North Carolina. He parted company with Bonnet and settled in Bath, North Carolina, also known as Bath Town where he accepted a royal pardon. But he was soon back at sea, where he attracted the attention of Alexander Spotswood, the Governor of Virginia. Spotswood arranged for a party of soldiers and sailors to capture the pirate, which they did on 22 November 1718 following a ferocious battle. Teach and several of his crew were killed by a small force of sailors led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.

Teach was a shrewd and calculating leader who spurned the use of force, relying instead on his fearsome image to elicit the response that he desired from those whom he robbed. Contrary to the modern-day picture of the traditional tyrannical pirate, he commanded his vessels with the consent of their crews and there is no known account of his ever having harmed or murdered those whom he held captive. He was romanticized after his death and became the inspiration for an archetypal pirate in works of fiction across many genres.


Treasure hunters have long busied themselves searching for any trace of his rumoured hoard of gold and silver, but nothing found in the numerous sites explored along the east coast of the US has ever been connected to him. Some tales suggest that pirates often killed a prisoner on the spot where they buried their loot, and Teach is no exception in these stories, but that no finds have come to light is not exceptional; buried pirate treasure is often considered a modern myth for which almost no supporting evidence exists. The available records include nothing to suggest that the burial of treasure was a common practice, except in the imaginations of the writers of fictional accounts such as Treasure Island. Such hoards would necessitate a wealthy owner, and their supposed existence ignores the command structure of a pirate vessel, in which the crew served for a share of the profit. The only pirate ever known to bury treasure was William Kidd; the only treasure so far recovered from Teach's exploits is that taken from the wreckage of what is presumed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was found in 1996.  As of 2009 more than 250,000 artifacts had been recovered.  A selection is on public display at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. 



  • In the 1968 Doctor Who serial, The Mind Robber, the Master of the Land of Fiction summons Blackbeard in his mental battle with the Second Doctor.
  • In the 2000 action-comedy series Jack of All Trades Blackbeard appears in two episodes played by Hori Ahipene.
  • In the 2005 BBC miniseries Blackbeard, Blackbeard was played by James Purefoy.
  • In the 2006 Hallmark Channel miniseries Blackbeard, the famed pirate (Angus Macfadyen) searches for Captain Kidd's treasure.
  • The 2006 Bones episode "The Man with the Bones" centers around a murder on Assateague Island, the legendary home of Blackbeard's hidden treasure.
  • In the 2014 Once Upon a Time episodes "The Jolly Roger", "Snow Drifts" and "Fall", Blackbeard is featured as an enemy of Captain Hook. He is portrayed by Charles Mesure.
  • The 2014 series Crossbones features Blackbeard (John Malkovich) as the main character.
  • Ray Stevenson portrays Blackbeard in the third and fourth season of the Starz series Black Sails.
  • The 2018 DC's Legends of Tomorrow third season episode "The Curse of the Earth Totem" features Blackbeard, portrayed by Jonathan Cake, after coming into possession of the mystical Earth Totem. Cake reprises his role in the season's finale "The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly".
Maybe in the Real Word, Blackbeard didn't kill members of the crew to "guard" the treasure, but it certainly happened in Toobworld.  And on this particular excursion, they found proof of that.


And traps were set which would have been worthy of Indiana Jones' attention. For instance, this beautiful diamond necklace:


The plan was for the necklace to be grabbed by somebody who stumbled on the treasure.  And that would trigger a stalactite to crash down and kill the thief.
\

Unfortunately for Simon Templar and his fellow treasure hunters, Blackbeard's treasure was lost forever.  





But at least most of them escaped with their lives....

BCnU!