TVXOHOF, JUNE 2022 [PART ONE] - BOB SAGET

For our annual “Gemini” induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, our pair this year is a remorseful one.  
With this post we present Part One….

BOB SAGET

From Wikipedia:
Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget is known for playing Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom 'Full House' (1987–1995), and its Netflix sequel 'Fuller House' (2016–2020). He was also the original host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (1989–1997), and the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the CBS sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother' (2005–2014).

Saget was also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy, and his 2014 album "That's What I'm Talkin' About" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Following a short stint as a member of CBS' 'The Morning Program' in early 1987, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner in 'Full House', which became a success with family viewers, and landed in the Nielsen ratings' Top 30 beginning with season three.

In 1989, Saget began as the host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos', a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s, Saget worked on both 'Full House' and 'AFV' simultaneously. In 2009, he returned to 'AFV' for the 20th-anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Tom Bergeron.

From 2005 to 2010, Saget had a recurring role in four episodes of the HBO TV series 'Entourage' playing a parody version of himself. He would later appear in the 2015 feature film based on the series.

From 2016 to 2020, Saget reprised his role as Danny Tanner for fifteen episodes of 'Full House''s sequel series, 'Fuller House', including the series premiere and finale.

On January 9, 2022, at about 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Saget was found unresponsive in his room at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, south of Orlando, Florida, near Williamsburg. He had missed his scheduled checkout time, and family members became concerned after being unable to contact him. Emergency responders pronounced Saget dead at the scene; he was 65 years old. No cause of death was immediately announced, though foul play and drug use were ruled out by the sheriff and the medical examiner. At the time of his death, Saget was on a stand-up tour, and had performed in Ponte Vedra Beach the previous evening.

An autopsy report was released on February 9, 2022, and found that Saget had blunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head, likely from a fall, and subsequently died from the resulting injuries (subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage) in his sleep. At the time of his death, he was COVID-19 positive, though there were no signs of inflammation. On February 15, 2022, Saget's family sued to prevent county officials from releasing additional documents from the investigation of his death, arguing that their graphic content would present privacy violations; a permanent injunction was issued against their release on March 14.

Here are the shows which qualify Saget for TVXOHOF membership:

Bosom Buddies

- The Show Must Go On (1981)
... Bob the Comic
O’Bservation: Saget was a stand-up comedian, so why shouldn’t “Bob the Comic” be Bob Saget?

The Goldbergs
- Just Say No (2015)
References are made to both 'American Gladiators' and 'America's Funniest Home Videos'. Both shows started in 1989. Key to the plot was the 1984 election between Reagan and Mondale.
O’Bservation: This is a Zonk, but we can call on one of the "Essentials" when it comes to discrepancy crutches – the Doctor.  In the ‘Doctor Who’ episode “The Doctor’s Wife”, temporal fluctuations have caused a collapse of the Toobworld timeline so that all of Time was happening at the same time.  Its effects just weren’t as noticeable the farther one got from the center of the distortion.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

(1987-1992)
14 episodes
O’Bservation: This is one of the few talk shows which has had its televersion inducted into the TVXOHOF.

America's Funniest Home Videos

(1989-2019)
193 episodes
O’Bservation: As the host of the show, it should be included, but especially since they’re both cited in other TV shows.

The All New Mickey Mouse Club

- Guest Day (1989)
Two lucky club members get to visit the set of 'Full House'.

The Larry Sanders Show

- Hey Now (1992)

O’Bservation:
M*A*S*H (1972)
Bob Saget references the show and 'Major' during his rambling.

There is no Zonk in this.  A TV show within the TV Universe about a Korean War hospital unit could have been produced in the forty years since.

- Office Romance (1994)

O’Bservation:
Cagney & Lacey (1981)
Mentioned by Bob Saget
Two women detectives partnered together on the NYPD was at one time novel enough of a concept to warrant a TV show about them.
O'Bservation:
Full House (1987)
Mentioned by Bob Saget

Thanks to ‘America’s Funniest Videos’, we know that Saget and Tanner looked alike.  So he would be an O’Bvious choice for playing him in a sitcom based on Tanner’s life.

The Jeff Foxworthy Show
- A Sore Winner (1995)
Jeff, Karen and Matt go to California for free to be on ‘America's Funniest Home Videos’. There, Karen gets a "big head" over winning.

The Naked Truth

- Girl Buys Soup While Woman Weds Ape! (1995)

Ellen
- Ellen's Improvement (1995)
- Alone Again... Naturally (1997)

Entourage

- Neighbors (2005)

While Johnny and Turtle keep spending money Vince still doesn't have, his TV celebrity neighbor Bob Saget expresses high praise for landing Staci, inaccessible to him, and discloses her dubious profession.

- No More Drama (2009)
Scott Lavin:
Bob, what you don't know about me is that I am 24/7. That is my middle fucking name - Scotty "24/7" Lavin. What that means is that every time you turn around anywhere, any time, you will be looking at this.
[points to face]
Bob Saget:
That's just great, Scotty. That's just what I wanna be looking at while I'm sniffing a line of blow off her ass - your fucking face.

- Buzzed (2010) ... Bob Saget

- Bottoms Up (2010) ... Bob Saget

Drama has to compete for work against Bob Saget.
O’Bservation:
Full House (1987)
mentioned by Bob Saget

See the O’Bservation from ‘The Larry Sanders Show’

The View

(2005-2020)
Guest/Guest Co-Host
12 episodes
O’Bservation: Thanks to shows like ‘SportsNight’, there is a televersion for ‘The View’ and it has been inducted into the TVXOHOF.

Free Radio
- Lance Gets a Bodyguard (2008)

Louie
- Oh Louie/Tickets (2011)

Legit

- Licked (2014)

 
Entourage (The Movie from 2015)

Nightcap
- Bringing Up the Baby (2017)

The Masked Singer

(2020-2021)
Self - Squiggly Monster
O’Bservation: I have a feeling that ‘The Masked Singer’ will generate plenty of references in other shows, perhaps even mentions of contestants who never really took part.

Saget is also a multidimensional….

ALTERNATE TOOBWORLD  

Pryor Offenses (TV Movie)
In the 21st century, Richard Pryor has made a successful career performing non-controversial comedy, and considers what it would be like if he performed material that was more true to his life.

All three passed away this year,
And in this order.
But Bob is the last to be inducted.

This year’s class of TVXOHOF has been unfortunately triggered by the deaths of far too many inductees in 2022.  Sadly, Saget was one of the first.  I held off inducting him earlier because he was perfect to be the Gemini candidate, as the next post will demonstrate.

Welcome to the Hall, Bob.  I’m sorry it was under these circumstances.

Good night and may God bless….