TVXOHOF, BOXING DAY 2021 - LURCH

And so here we are with the last of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame inductions for 2021.  As with most of the year, this will fall into the mini-theme of our salute to the Addams Family.

Breaking TVXOHOF tradition, we not only had a ceremony on Christmas Day, but we have one also for the day after.  It’s not such a big thing in the United States, but elsewhere in the Real World, December 26th is observed as Boxing Day.   It is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. [Wikipedia]

So for Boxing Day, it seemed appropriate that we would be saluting the hired help….

LURCH

From Wikipedia:
Lurch (whose first name is unknown) is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Charles Addams as a manservant to The Addams Family. In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy, who used the catchphrase, "You... rang?"

Lurch is a 6 ft 9 in (2.05 m) tall, shambling, gloomy butler. In the original Addams Family television series, Lurch has a deep and resonant voice. Although fully capable of normal speech, Lurch often communicates via simple inarticulate moans, which, much like the dialogue of Cousin Itt, his employers have no trouble understanding.

The family summons him with an ever-present bell pull (in the form of a hangman's noose). When pulled, it produces a loud gong noise that shakes the house, to which Lurch instantly appears and responds, "You... rang?", even if wide-angle shots reveal that he was clearly nowhere in the vicinity before; on a few occasions Lurch arrives even before the bell pull is tugged.

Lurch largely shares the family's macabre standards, although he occasionally looks askance at some of their activities. He has a similar attitude toward visitors – almost a sixth sense. When a plainclothes policeman named Mr. Hollister (portrayed by George N. Neise) visits in "The Addams Family Meets the Undercover Man," Lurch pats him down and removes his service revolver from inside his suit coat. Although Lurch groans disapprovingly at the idea of someone bringing a weapon into the house, he returns the gun after Hollister shows his badge.

With Uncle Fester

With Gomez

With Morticia

With Wednesday & Pugsley

Much of Lurch's history, including his first name and the nature of his relationship to any other Addamses, was originally unspecified. "Lurch" was revealed during the original TV series to be a surname, as there was a "Mother Lurch" who appeared in one episode (portrayed by Ellen Corby). She addressed Lurch as "Sonny", which could either be a parental nickname or his actual first name.

As for his father, he was mentioned twice, once in the second animated series, and in an apparent reference to his Frankenstein's monster-like appearance, Lurch said, smiling, "He put me together." And another time in the original series where Lurch mentions his father wanted him to be a jockey (typically short and light people) instead of a butler.

Lurch's mother appears to be a physically normal, elderly woman, although she does not see anything unusual about the Addams family or their home, with the exception of Thing. 

[O'Bservation - I like to think Lurch is a reanimated corpse and Mother Lurch never knew that her son had died and then was brought back to life.]

Lurch appears in ‘The Addams Family’, portrayed by Ted Cassidy. He is physically imposing and plays a harpsichord that was originally in Cousin Crimp's family for 400 years.

Cassidy made a cameo appearance as Lurch in the ‘Batman’ episode "The Penguin's Nest". As Batman and Robin are climbing the wall of Penguin's restaurant, the Addams Family theme is heard in the background. Lurch pops his head out of the window, sees Batman and Robin, and comments that they gave him quite a start. Batman tells Lurch that he can return to his harpsichord as Robin states that they are on official business.

Ted Cassidy reprised his role of Lurch in ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies’ episode "Wednesday is Missing". He is the one who finds Mystery Inc.'s Mystery Machine stuck in the mud outside the Addams Family house and takes them inside where Gomez and Morticia hire them to be the housekeepers while they are away at the Okefenokee Swamp. By the end of the episode, Lurch helps the Mystery Machine out of the mud.

Ted Cassidy reprised his role of Lurch in the 1973 cartoon adaption of ‘The Addams Family’ and in the 1977 Halloween reunion special.

• ‘The Addams Family’
• ‘Batman’
• ‘The New Scooby Doo Movies’
• ‘The Addams Family’ [animated]
• "Halloween With The New Addams Family"
  

Within the original sitcom, Lurch even got to meet another member of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame....

In keeping with the Season....

Five qualifications, more than enough.  And Lurch probably has the most unique addition to his tally with that Bat-climb window scene.

Welcome to the Hall, Sonny! Enjoy your Boxing Day being catered to by the Addams Family!

CHRISTMAS HONORS LIST 2021 - COUSIN ITT

 
O’BSERVATION:

I’m sorry for the day’s delay in getting the Christmas induction online.  My extended family was hit with a major loss last week, followed the next day by the loss of a friend of mine from my Nooyawk era….

Here Itt is!  Our penultimate tribute to ‘The Addams Family’ and the annual Christmas induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Why did I make this choice for the holiday?

ITT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Come on!  How could I resist?

COUSIN ITT

From Wikipedia:
Cousin Itt is a fictional character in the Addams Family television and film series. He was developed specifically for the 1964 television series and is a regular supporting character in subsequent motion-picture, television and stage adaptations.

Cousin Itt is a diminutive, hirsute being, his visible form composed entirely of floor-length blonde hair. He has an IQ of 320, is often attired in bowler hat and round sunglasses, and speaks in a high-pitched gibberish that is understood only by his family.  As he was created specifically for the television series, illustrations of the character by cartoonist Charles Addams followed the show's debut, first in a single-panel sketch showing Itt on the telephone ("This is It speaking"), and later in family-portrait artwork.  He drives a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller.

Cousin Itt is introduced in the television series as the cousin of family patriarch Gomez Addams. He is an occasional guest in the Addams home, entering and exiting through the chimney, though he also has his own quarters which are furnished in proportion to his size. He vainly attempts a multitude of professions such as an actor, a singer, a marriage counselor, and a zoo curator, while his physical appearance is the subject of one episode in which he begins to lose his hair.

Cousin Itt appeared in 19 total episodes of the original series and was played by Felix Silla, except for two appearances in which he was played by Roger Arroyo. Silla attended a casting call in Los Angeles and was given the role on the spot without having to audition. The character's heavy costume was first constructed with real hair but later changed to a fire-retardant synthetic, as smoking was common on-set and the real hair was therefore a fire hazard. Silla's instructions were simply to walk around on the set, as Itt's voice (provided by sound engineer Tony Magro) was dubbed in post-production, but he often had difficulty seeing through the costume.

The character appears with the other family members in a September 23, 1972 crossover episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, titled "Wednesday Is Missing". His vocal effects were provided by John Stephenson, who returned to the role in the 1973 Hanna-Barbera animated series.

He also appeared in the 1977 Halloween reunion TV special.

Welcome to the Hall, Itt.  Feel free to relax and let your hair down.

Yeah... I have no regrets.

Exit, Stage Left....

THE HAT SQUAD - REMEMBERING FOSTER BROOKS

Foster Brooks (May 11, 1912 – December 20, 2001) was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunk in nightclub performances and television programs.  

As his "Lovable Lush" character, Brooks usually portrayed a conventioneer who had had a few too many drinks — not falling-down drunk, but inebriated enough to mix up his words and burp to comedic delight. Brooks is most affectionately remembered for his appearances on ‘The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast’ during the 1970s, where he roasted other comedians, such as Don Rickles, Johnny Carson, and Lucille Ball, or serious personalities such as author Truman Capote, or consumer activist Ralph Nader.

On those Celebrity Roasts (which take place in Skitlandia the sketch comedy TV dimenson), Foster Brooks may have done more to embellish the Sktlandian televersions of those celebrities than anybody else on the dais.  It wasn’t enough just to belittle the “honoree”; Brooks made himself part of their lives, adding details to their history which were never shared in any other TV dimension and not even in the Trueniverse.  

Let’s take those celebrities described in that Wikipedia excerpt.  Well, except for Capote – I haven’t seen his clip yet.  We’ll replace him with Hubert Humphrey.
In each of these appearances, Foster Brooks played himself:

• DON RICKLES – Brooks was having an affair with his Rickles’ wife, Mrs. Pickles.  (That wasn’t a drunken malaprop; he called her that because she was a real dilly in bed.)
• JOHNNY CARSON – Like Mrs. Miller at ‘The Jack Paar Show’, Foster Brooks had been in the audience of every ‘Tonight’ show since Johnny became the host.  And he regaled the audience with details from his interviews with other celebrities which never took place in real life.  (Like when the jockey told Johnny that he weighed 98 pounds soaking wet.  Johnny told him that would teach him for standing underneath his horse.)
• LUCILLE BALL – Foster Brooks passed himself off as Lucy’s first fiancé, left behind in Jamestown, New York, but still devoted to her.  He was the high school football star and she would shake her pom-poms at him… and she wasn’t even on the cheerleading squad.
• JIMMY STEWART – Brooks was Stewart’s navigator during WWII, so I would count that as a supplemental tidbit for Jimmy Stewart’s eventual entry in the TVXOHOF even if it is in the Skitlandia section.
• HUBERT HUMPHREY – Brooks served as the campaign manager for the Vice President’s presidential run in 1968.  If it had not been for Brooks, we would have had Hubie the Boobie instead of Tricky Dick.
• RALPH NADER – Foster was also one of Nader’s Raiders.  While he was test-driving a car one day, an old lady started walking right in front of him.  Brooks had to swerve off the sidewalk to avoid hitting her.

So it’s been 20 years since Mr. Brooks passed away.  I only discovered that an hour and a half before midnight because I was watching his Celebrity Roast videos while on the can.  So we’re shuffling the schedule around, last minute, in order to give him a proper salute by sharing those clips and more from the Roasts.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  If not… well, I guess I don’t really care.

We’ll start with the most famous person to grow up in my new hometown….

This next one isn't a hometown boy, but he came from just down Route 8....

Well, ladies and gennel -# 

Ladies and gennuh-#
Folks....

I hope you enjoyed it, but like I said earlier, it doesn't really matter to me if you do or don't.  It's December 20, 2021.  I put this together December 19, 2018.  For alls I know I could be dead by now.  Even worse, these videos may have been removed from YouTube!

BCnU!

FOR WOLD NEWTON DAY - TARZAN YET AGAIN?

HAPPY WOLD NEWTON DAY!

From Wikipedia:
In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorite, fell near Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England, on December 13, 1795.

[Philip Jose] Farmer suggested in two fictional biographies, Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke (1972) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) that this meteorite caused genetic mutations in the occupants of two passing coaches due to ionization. Many of their descendants were thus endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good or, as the case may be, evil deeds. The progeny of these travellers are purported to have been the real-life originals of fictionalised characters, both heroic and villainous, over the last few hundred years.

I don't know why I'm so fixated on Tarzan when it comes to the representations of the Wold Newton Family as depicted in Toobworld.  I suppose the same is true for Sherlock Holmes; but at least I honor him on his alleged birthday each year and not use him for the Wold Newton Day showcase as often as I do with the Lord of the Apes.

For those who have never seen any of my earlier theories about the most famous character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, here is a simple recap:

Lord John Greystoke, AKA Tarzan, as seen in the series is the same character from the books despite the modern (1960s) setting. 

My theory is that decades before, Tarzan had found the immortality elixir as described in one of the later stories.  Drinking it, he was now an eternal, frozen in Time at the age he was when he ingested the elixir.

But let me make one thing clear - in no way am I advocating that this is THE Tarzan of the Wold Newton Universe.  This is Tarzan of Toobworld, and although they have some similarities, there is more which keeps them irreconcilable.  (So many great "wolders," chief among them Win Scott Eckert and Sean Lee Levin, do incredible research in order to expand the WNU, that they don't need a boob-toober like me underfoot!)

At any rate, here is the review of the 'Tarzan' TV series as was presented in the TV Guide, written by acerbic critic Cleveland Amory:

ENJOY YOUR WOLD NEWTON DAY!

TUESDAY TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - SENATOR BOB DOLE

I thought (foolishly) that we might be able to sneak out of 2021 without adding any more memorial inductions into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. 

Sadly….

From CNN:

(CNN) - Bob Dole, a Republican Party stalwart and presidential hopeful who espoused a brand of plain-spoken conservativism as one of Washington's most recognizable political figures throughout the latter half of the 20th century, died Sunday.

"Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years," according to a statement from his family.  He had announced in February that he was being treated for advanced lung cancer. President Joe Biden visited Dole shortly after learning of the diagnosis.

Dole, who was seriously wounded during World War II, had suffered a series of health ailments in previous years. In 1991, he received surgery for prostate cancer, received abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery in 2001, was hospitalized in 2005 after a fall in his home and was treated for a leg infection in 2009.

Dole is survived by his wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and daughter Robin Dole. 

SENATOR BOB DOLE

From Wikipedia:
Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the United States Senate during the final 11 years of his tenure, including three nonconsecutive years as Senate Majority Leader. Prior to his 27 years in the Senate, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969. Dole was also the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 election and the vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election.

President Gerald Ford chose Dole as his running mate in the 1976 election after Vice President Nelson Rockefeller withdrew from seeking a full term. Ford was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the general election. Dole sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, but quickly dropped out of the race. He experienced more success in the 1988 Republican primaries but was defeated by Vice President George H. W. Bush. Dole won the Republican nomination in 1996 and selected Jack Kemp as his running mate. The Republican ticket lost in the general election to Clinton, making Dole the first unsuccessful major party nominee for both president and vice president. He resigned from the Senate during the 1996 campaign and did not seek public office again after the election.

Dole remained active after retiring from public office. He appeared in numerous commercials and television programs and served on various councils. In 2012, Dole unsuccessfully advocated Senate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He initially supported Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican primaries, but later became the only former Republican presidential nominee to endorse Donald Trump in the general election. Dole was a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and special counsel at the Washington, D.C., office of law firm Alston & Bird. On January 17, 2018, Dole was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. He was married to former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina.

Dole passed away in his sleep on December 5, 2021.

As Senator Dole would have said, “Bob Dole is a multidimensional of the TV Universe.”  He was represented in Earth Prime-Time, the Tooniverse, Skitlandia, and an alternate Toobworld to be determined later.  Here are the shows in which he portrayed himself:

EARTH PRIME-TIME

Tanner '88
- The Dark Horse (1988)

Fellow campaigner Dole chatted with Tanner and his daughter.

Murphy Brown
- All the Life That's Fit to Print (1993)

The Senator was one of those who were interviewed for a book about Murphy Brown.

Saturday Night Live – the actual episode

- Robert Downey Jr/Fiona Apple (1996)

Norm MacDonald tried to cajole Dole into running for office again because it would be good for his own career.  (O'Bservation: Bob Dole serves as a good example that 'Saturday Night Live' fed three different fictional TV dimensions as will be shown.)

The X-Files
- Wetwired (1996)

Dole and Pat Buchanan appeared in recorded news coverage on a videotape which Special Agent Scully was watching.

Suddenly Susan
- The Me Nobody Nose (1997)

Dole was already in an elevator when Jack and Nestor entered.

Plus there were the TV blipverts in which he appeared as a member of the League of Themselves interspersed through the 1990s and beyond which displayed his serlinguistic skills:

TV commercial for Visa (1996)

TV commercials for Viagra (late 1990's)

TV commercial for Pepsi (2001)

Public service announcement for USA Freedom Corps (2002)

SKITLANDIA

Saturday Night Live – the sketches

The 25 sketches with Norm McDonald playing Bob Dole and the five earlier sketches in which Dan Aykroyd portrayed the Senator from Kansas became part of Skitlandia as soon as they aired.  In my opinion, the best for MacDonald was when Dole was one of the roommates for ‘The Real World’.  With Aykroyd, it was the 1988 Republican candidates debate.  (“George, how would you like me to stick this pen in your neck?”)

Not Necessarily The News

Archival footage was used for humor.

THE TOONIVERSE

The Simpsons
Treehouse of Horror VII

Kang and Kodos impersonate Clinton and Dole so that one of them will gain control of the United States.

Saturday Night Live 
TV Funhouse

Animation is added to the audio from one of the debates between Dole and Clinton.

I would never have wanted Dole in the White House and yet here I am, post-Drumpf, thinking he was at least reasonable.  I’m sorry he supported Orange Gasbag in 2016, and I hope he saw the error of his ways in 2020.  But I admired how he was able to compromise and work with the other side while he was in Congress.

Thank you for your service, Sir, and welcome to the Hall of Fame.

SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE - "THE JEREMY KREUZER SHOW"

I can't tell you how chuffed I am that other people get the Toobworld concept.  There's hope for the future!

I've got a special guest appearance lined up for today, thanks to Jeremy Kreuzer.  In fact, this post has inspired me to add Jerry Seinfeld to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame for 2022!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did....

Hi Toby, 

I’m a longtime reader of the Toobworld blog. As a huge fan of interconnected universes, the connections and crossovers established within the Toobworld dynamic are always a delight to read. I’ve actually written to you once before years ago, asking for your thoughts on shows’ differing interpretations of the Kennedy assassination. This time, I had some theorizing of my own I was hoping to share. 

While reading some older posts on the blog, I came to realize that Jerry Seinfeld had made quite a few appearances on other television shows while ‘Seinfeld’ was on the air. Unfortunately, this usually was accompanied by zonks of all sorts. Jerry is referred to as an actor and having a show, complete strangers know who his friends are, and other characters even submit scripts for the series.

In most cases, Toobworld has a coverall explanation for such zonks: everyone has a television show based upon their lives, even if we don’t see it. However, ‘Seinfeld’ is unique in that we actually do see such a television adaptation integrated into its ongoing plot. And it’s a plot point that the pilot for ‘Jerry’ was never developed into a full show while ‘Seinfeld’ was on air. I wondered, then, how appearances contemporaneous to Seinfeld’s original run could be dezonked. After some digging, I think I may have a thorough “splainin”. 

It all begins in September of 1992, when Jerry is approached by NBC to develop a pilot for them.¹ He and George spend the next few months working on a pilot script for the network. Meanwhile, Paul Buchman has been subletting his apartment to Kramer, but is spurred by his wife to give up his old residence and turn over the apartment. While meeting with Kramer, he asks what happened to the Jerry living across the hall. When told about Jerry’s pilot, he is skeptical that it will succeed.² 

In February of 1993, Jerry goes to Los Angeles, possibly for an appearance on a late night talk show. While in a CBS back lot, he is nearly run over by the crew of the WKRP radio station in Cincinnati, who were themselves in L.A. to develop a sitcom about their own lives. Mr. Carlson recognizes Jerry (presumably from his standup) and has Frank film him. Jerry flirtatiously introduces himself to Mona, claiming he has ‘a show’ – a slight exaggeration when in truth he has but a work-in-progress pilot.³ 

Over the next few months the pilot is completed and filmed. ‘Jerry’ airs that spring, but never gets off the ground due to the incoming head of NBC passing on the project.⁴ 

Despite this, the pilot is a hit with viewers who appreciate the unique approach of ‘a show about nothing’. The news that the massively popular pilot would not be proceeding to a full series is upsetting to its loyal fan base. Some fans reach out to Jerry and push him to pitch the series elsewhere, many of them sending their own scripts for consideration as well. That summer, Jerry is convinced that there may be some future for the show. After the hectic writing partnership he experienced with George, however, he opts to look elsewhere for a co-writer. 

Enter Larry David, a fellow comedian with some television credits to his name already. Hoping that his bit of professional experience might help get the series off the ground, Jerry enlists Larry to help develop new scripts for a potential second pilot at a new network. 

Writer Andrew Barton is among those to have watched the ‘Jerry’ pilot, and an interest is sparked to write a spec script for the aborted show. In December of 1993 he spends time at the Blue Shamrock bar/restaurant working on the script, which features Kramer sleeping with Elaine. With only a pilot to work off of, the characters haven’t been too defined, and he’s not sure if the plot is plausible. Nonetheless, he finishes the script and sends it to Jerry and Larry. Initially unimpressed, upon further consideration they decide to give the spec another look.5 

Ultimately, the endeavor doesn’t go anywhere. Shortly thereafter, Jerry and Larry tired of rejections from television networks and the overwhelming barrage of scripts. They finally retire the ‘Jerry’ project and go their separate ways.

Regardless, Jerry and his pilot retain some level of notoriety. In May of 1997, his popularity is recognized by WNYX broadcaster Bill McNeal, who cajoles Jerry into an interview. Bill has ‘seen [Jerry] on TV’, and refers to him as an actor and ‘a big Hollywood star’, apparently unaware that the ‘Jerry’ pilot was filmed in New York.⁶

In May of 1998, yet another new NBC president expresses interest in reviving ‘Jerry’ (in part inspired by the cult following the pilot had amassed), but a chain of events winds up leaving Jerry sentenced to a year in prison.⁷ Fortunately, this conviction is overturned by his lawyer Jackie Chiles, who successfully argues for a mistrial due to the blatant improper character evidence presented by the prosecution. 

Jerry is back in New York by September of 1998, where he briefly runs into Paul Buchman, who is under the effects of Viagra at the time. Paul’s opinion of Jerry’s work has risen since his dismissal of Jerry’s pilot in 1993 (and seemingly untainted by Jerry’s recent conviction), and attempts to get Jerry’s autograph.⁸

A free man, Jerry is happy to learn that NBC still has interest in his show – Jerry and the gang’s high profile incident in Latham, Massachusetts, led to massive publicity and interest in ‘the New York four’. Hoping to distance himself from the group that helped land him in jail, Jerry once again exchanges George for Larry to help produce the show.  Significantly, the original cast of the pilot sans Jerry is replaced with Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards. 

The rest is history. With the newly retitled ‘Seinfeld’ hitting the waves in 1999, it becomes a cultural touchstone that many other characters would reference. Despite its success, it enjoyed only a brief run. Shortly thereafter, Larry David was no longer working on ‘Seinfeld’.⁹ 

So that’s my theory. Admittedly a bit long, but I was determined to be thorough, ha-ha. If you find it useful, I would be honored if it became the official Toobworld ‘splainin. At any rate, it’s a plot bunny that needed to come out in some form, so thanks for the inspiration! Can’t wait to see what other fascinating ideas Toobworld might have in store. 

Best, 
Jeremy 

Shows Cited 

‘Seinfeld’ 

                ¹The Pitch (1992) 

                ⁴The Pilot (1993) 

                ⁷The Finale (1998) 

 ‘Mad About You’ 

                ²The Apartment (1992) 

                ⁸Season Opener (1998) 

 ‘The New WKRP in Cincinnati’ 

                ³Johnny Goes to Hollywood (1993)

 ‘Love & War’

                ⁵Let’s Not Call it Love (1993)

 ‘NewsRadio’

                ⁶The Real Deal (1997)

 ⁹’Curb Your Enthusiasm’

O'Bservation time....

I think Jeremy has done a great job in delineating what would be pertinent for Earth Prime-Time only.  I would add a post-script though, one in which Jerry doesn't take more of an active part than in making the series' finale....

'Dharma & Greg'
"Much Ado During Nothing"

From the IMDb:

Greg discovers why Dharma is so eager to 'do it' with him in weird, dangerous, public places: it's a contest with Jane, the winner is awarded the duck (actually a goose), just one of many silly rules. Still Greg decides to help her win the duck back when told doing it with a dull guy like him was worth a bonus. They get arrested, but are released without bail by cop Mel, an old friend of the Finkelsteins. Greg reasons the safest time is during the last episode of 'Seinfeld', when all San Francisco will be watching inside. However, enlisting Pete to give instructions by walkie-talkie is just the lead Jane needs, and she first tricks the Montgomerys to come to the steps of the courthouse....

Of course, it did not go well.  That's what keeps sitcoms going.....

Like I said, Jeremy did a great job remaining true to the main Toobworld.  So this is just an O'Bservation from another dimension:

'Saturday Night Live'
Season 25, Episode 1
[10/02/99]

Jerry hosted this episode of the comedy warhorse - which takes place in the main Toobworld as well as in the Trueniverse.  But there was a filmed sketch which parodied HBO's 'Oz,' showing what happened when Jerry served his year in jail.  That happened in Skitlandia.  (Here is the transcript.)

However, Tele-Jerry may have told the televersions of the show's writers about his experiences in prison and so they wrote the sketch based on that.  In which case, 'Oz' is a TV show from another dimension; or has a TV show based on the 'real life' situations there; and if so, Jerry actually spent time there.

Thanks for the special guest appearance, Jeremy!  Happy holidays and all the best for 2022!