TVXOHOF, MEMORIAL TRIBUTE - DAME AGATHA CHRISTIE

On this day, fifty years ago, Agatha Christie passed away.

From Wikipedia:
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), was an English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers, particularly in the mystery genre.

A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a nickname now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery “The Mousetrap”, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

Christie's first published book, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, was released in 1920 and introduced the detective Hercule Poirot, who appeared in 33 of her novels and more than 50 short stories.

Over the years, Christie grew tired of Poirot, much as Doyle did with Sherlock Holmes.  By the end of the 1930s, Christie wrote in her diary that she was finding Poirot "insufferable", and by the 1960s she felt he was "an egocentric creep".

Thompson believes Christie's occasional antipathy to her creation is overstated, and points out that "in later life she sought to protect him against misrepresentation as powerfully as if he were her own flesh and blood". Unlike Doyle, she resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular. She married off Poirot's "Watson", Captain Arthur Hastings, in an attempt to trim her cast commitments. 

Miss Jane Marple was introduced in a series of short stories that began publication in December 1927 and were subsequently collected under the title “The Thirteen Problems.”   Marple was a genteel, elderly spinster who solved crimes using analogies to English village life.  

Christie said, "Miss Marple was not in any way a picture of my grandmother; she was far more fussy and spinsterish than my grandmother ever was", but her autobiography establishes a firm connection between the fictional character and Christie's step-grandmother Margaret Miller ("Auntie-Grannie") and her "Ealing cronies".  Both Marple and Miller "always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right". 

Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories.

Christie had a heart attack and a serious fall in 1974, after which she was unable to write.  

Christie never wrote a novel or short story featuring both Poirot and Miss Marple.  In a recording discovered and released in 2008, Christie revealed the reason for this: "Hercule Poirot, a complete egoist, would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady. Hercule Poirot – a professional sleuth – would not be at home at all in Miss Marple's world."

O’Bservation:
Toobworld Central does accept the photo of David Suchet and Joan Hickson as Poirot and Miss Marple to be part of the main Toobworld, just an adventure never seen by the audience in the Trueniverse.

In addition to Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Christie also created amateur detectives Thomas (Tommy) Beresford and his wife, Prudence "Tuppence" Beresford (née Cowley), who appear in four novels and one collection of short stories published between 1922 and 1974. Unlike her other sleuths, the Beresfords were only in their early twenties when introduced in “The Secret Adversary,” and were allowed to age alongside their creator.  She treated their stories with a lighter touch, giving them a "dash and verve" which was not universally admired by critics. Their last adventure, “Postern of Fate, was Christie's last novel. 

The television adaptation “Agatha Christie's Poirot” (1989–2013), with David Suchet in the title role, ran for 70 episodes over 13 series. It received nine BAFTA award nominations and won four BAFTA awards in 1990–1992. The television series “Miss Marple” (1984–1992), with Joan Hickson as "the BBC's peerless Miss Marple", adapted all 12 Marple novels. The French television series “Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie” (2009–2012, 2013–2020), adapted 36 of Christie's stories.

There have been at least fourteen incarnations of Hercule Poirot in the Great Mosaic of the Television Universe, including in the Tooniverse, Skitlandia, a Cineverse Borderland, and of course in the main Toobworld, Earth Prime-Time, with David Suchet being accepted as the primary Poirot due to the number of episodes to his credit.

As for Miss Marple, she can be found in at least eight Toobworlds, including the Tooniverse and Skitlandia.  For Earth Prime-Time, Joan Hickson is recognized as the premiere Jane Marple.

Other Christie staples, like Tommy and Tuppence Beresford plus “Bundle” Brent, can be found in several alternate Toobworlds as well.

And so, on the anniversary of her passing, Toobworld Central recognizes Dame Agatha’s contributions to the expansion of the TV Universe as a Creator.

JANUARY SIX - REMEMBERING SHERLOCK HOLMES ON HIS BIRTHDAY (COMIC BOOK UNIVERSE)

For several years now, Toobworld Central has celebrated Sherlock Holmes on what many Sherlockians/Holmesians consider to be his birthday.  (Although there is some disagreement - click here.)  

And because I count myself among that original (and more respectable) group of January Sixers, the TVXOHOF continues that tradition today....

From the FB page, “The Crossover Universe” (April 25, 2025)
By Jess Nevins:

I'm more than a little surprised that nobody ever caught this one, from the Zatara story in ACTION COMICS #21 (on-sale date Dec 24, 1939).

(Holmes' name doesn't come up in the rest of the story, and nothing more is made of Zatara being in Holmes' old stomping grounds).

There have been many movie and TV appearances by Sherlock Holmes over the last century, and unless they are played by the same actor, each of those productions need to be shuttled off to separate fictional universes.

New pastiches of the Holmes Mythos appear weekly in story form, whether as short stories or novels, and for the most part they can be treated as existing in the same universe.  (There are a few tales too outlandish to be reconciled with the established canon.)  

As they all exist in the mind of the reader, it is their imagination which blends the portrayals together.  (And while Sir Arthur Conan Doyle defined the appearance of Holmes with words, it was Sidney Paget who first provided the artistic template upon which every fan builds their mental vision of the Great Detective.

The overall comic book universe is not my bailiwick; I’m a Toobworld Curator (mostly retired).  But it’s my contention that for the most part, any Sherlock Holmes story illustrated for comic books belongs in the same dimension as the others, no matter the different styles of artwork.  It’s the story which remains key; the artwork merely illustrated that story for the reader.

What I especially liked about this fleeting mention of Holmes in a story about Zatara is that it can be shared by so many Sherlock Holmes stories in comic books, no matter if their storyline is too contradictory to the greater output of stories.  Most of that is due primarily to Holmes only being mentioned, and the statement about him is probably considered to be an established fact by many fans.

So, what Jess Nevins has brought up is not only a damned good crossover (I will have to check my books by Win Scott Eckert and Sean Lee Levin to see if Zatara is considered part of the Wold Newton Universe.  I’ll get back to you before this is posted; I’m writing it in April of 2025), but it could be a nexus point for so many Sherlock Holmes stories in the Greater Metafictional Universe for all media, including Toobworld.

ON THE PROFESSOR'S BIRTHDAY

Today, Toobworld Central is remembering
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
on the 134th anniversary of his birth.

In the greater TV Universe, J.R.R. Tolkien and his writings are represented in several alternate Toobworlds.  “The Hobbit” and “The Return Of The King” were both animated and are considered part of the Tooniverse.  Gollum and Frodo showed up in sketches on ‘Saturday Night Live’, thus placing them in Skitlandia.  

And a TV movie based on his early adult life could be considered part of the man Toobworld – Earth Prime-Time – but it’s definitely part of the TV dimensions which is comprised of made-for-TV movies.

He also exists in the alternate dimension of Toobworld DC (‘Legends of Tomorrow’ and in an as-yet-unnamed TV dimension in which Tolkien’s faith was examined (‘A Question of God’).    

'Legends of Tomorrow'

O’Bservation: During RTD’s first tenure as the showrunner of ‘Doctor Who’, the Time Lord met a series of writers – Christie, Shakespeare, Dickens, Mary Shelley, King James 1, HG Wells, and Bracebridge Hemyng.  (Look him up!)

Tolkien as seen in
"CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia"

(My fanfic fantasy involved the Doctor and Tolkien in an adventure, with Tolkien inspired to create the Ents after meeting the humanoid trees from the Forest of Cheem.)

I’ve only seen one episode of “The Rings of Power” so I can’t make a qualified assessment as to whether or not it belongs in Earth Prime-Time.  I’m tempted to add yet another TV dimension called “Middle-Earth Prime-Time”.  (O’Bservation: I didn’t care for that first episode; I found it boring.)

As far as references to his world of Middle-Earth go, I think it’s a safe bet that most of the mentions by TV characters deal with the Peter Jackson movies.

The Tolkien Televersion ('Columbo')
&
The Professor His Own Self

O’Bservation: I even posited a theory that Tolkien was actually seen in the main Toobworld, and Lt. Columbo sat right next to him!

In the latest episode of ‘Harry Wild’ (a special movie entitled “You Are Cordially Invited To An Assassination”), the topic of the movie adaptations versus the original books comes up near the beginning….

I accept that ‘Harry Wild’ is part of Earth Prime-Time.  So if “Rings of Power” does get absorbed into the main Toobworld, there will have to be a splainin to do to reconcile the books and the adaptation (plus the references to the movies) all being in the same TV dimension.

And I think I have one….

The televersion of J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the novels, but they were actually based on the historical record set down in the Red Book of Westmarch.  And so if ‘Rings Of Power’ is accepted as part of the main Toobworld, the adaptations of his account, which was already diluted by his use of more common names and other words instead of the original Shire-speak, should be considered TV adaptations within the TV Universe and not as the actual, factual, historical depictions.  

If there be scenes which were created specifically for the series, then we could assume the Red Book of Westmarch, as well as “The Lord Of The Rings,’ is different from the books we know here in the Trueniverse, Earth Prime.  They include chapters which don’t exist in our world, making the trilogy even heftier!

Well, that’s my splainin to do, anyway.

Here’s to you, Professor…. 

A LOST CROSSOVER - "DOCTOR WHO" & "DEEP SPACE NINE"

From Screen Rant:
A proposed ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Star Trek’ crossover would have sent the Doctor to ‘Deep Space Nine’. In the early 2010s, IDW released a crossover that saw Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor meet Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise. The book was a hit with fans and critics, and IDW began plans for a follow-up, titled “Domination”. However, due to licensing issues, the series was scrapped early on, depriving fans of what could have been an epic crossover.

Rich Handley, a noted ‘Star Trek’ comics historian, provided more details about the aborted crossover on his website. Details about the project were scarce, but it would have seen the Doctor arrive at Deep Space Nine. While the site did not specify which Doctor the series would star, two clues point towards it being Matt Smith. First, the crossover would have seen print in 2013, and Smith was still the incumbent at that time. Second, “Domination” would have involved companion Clara Oswald, who, while serving with Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor, also traveled with the 11th.

For fans, part of “Domination”’s appeal would have been watching the Doctor interact with Deep Space Nine’s crew, some of whom have rougher edges than their counterparts on the Enterprise. How the Doctor would have taken to former revolutionary Major Kira or Doctor Bashir is anyone’s guess, and thanks to licensing issues, fans will never know. Likewise, fans have been deprived of watching the Doctor potentially put the Founders and the Vorta in their place, which would have been satisfying to read. While another ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Doctor Who’ crossover may be a pipe dream at this point, there are always possibilities—including the potential to go to ‘Deep Space Nine’.

I have one suggestion for a plot sideline – the sonic screwdriver should have in its databanks a record of the DNA for Lady Cassandra O’Brien.  And in a moment of idle curiosity on board the space station, the Doctor surreptitiously takes a reading from Commander Miles O’Brien and finds that through his daughter Molly, he is a direct ancestor to the “Human Trampoline” who was present at the “End of the World”.  

What he does with that information… well, that I would leave in more capable hands.

TVXOHOF, DECEMBER, 2024 - "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!" (THE ANIMATED TV SPECIAL)

Every movie and many TV series from the Trueniverse (that is, our world, Earth Prime) has a “televersion” in Toobworld (Earth Prime-Time).  The same holds true for TV commercials as well.  This helps to limit the number of Zonks – discrepancies – which can be caused whenever said movie or TV show is seen or referenced within a TV series.

It’s really not a problem when it comes to movies.  They may have their own reality (explored in a series of books by Craig Shaw Gardner, who gave that world the name “the Cineverse” – which I see is now being used by some company), but when seen or mentioned in various TV shows, they are exactly as they exist in the real world; there is no deviation from the true version.

There is one TV dimension where this is not true, however.  In Skitlandia, alternative versions can always be found.  (My favorite example of this can be found in the ‘Saturday Night Live’ show which was hosted by William Shatner.  Speaking of Christmas themes, they presented the original, lost ending to “It’s A Wonderful Life”.)

Last year for the Christmas entry into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, I inducted the aforementioned Frank Capra classic which starred Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, and Henry Travers.  This year, I’m going with one of my favorites of the traditional Christmas TV specials, animation division.

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

From Wikipedia:
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" (also known as "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!") is a 1966 American animated television special, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones. Based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, the special features the voice of Boris Karloff (also a narrator) as the Grinch. It tells the story of the Grinch, who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and animation divisions of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (the company that Jones was under contract at the time). The special completed production in a year and originally aired in the United States on CBS on Sunday, December 18, 1966. The special is considered a perennial holiday special.

PLOT SPOILERS!!!!!
The Grinch is a surly, antisocial green creature with a heart "two sizes too small" who lives alone in a snowbound cave atop Mt. Crumpit, located above the village of Whoville. He especially hates Christmas and has always been annoyed by the town's Christmas celebrations. One Christmas Eve, he finally decides to stop Christmas Day from coming to Whoville by disguising himself as Santa Claus, his dog Max as a reindeer and, in a reversal of Santa's visit, stealing all presents, decorations, and symbols of Christmas. Once loaded, he plans on dumping the bags of stolen goods. He is noticed by a girl named Cindy Lou Who, but is otherwise undetected.

As the Grinch reaches the icy summit of Mt. Crumpit, ready to dump the bags, he discovers that the citizens of Whoville, despite having no gifts or decorations, have gathered in the middle of town to sing as Christmas Day dawns. Realizing that Christmas means more than just material possessions, the Grinch's heart grows three sizes. He saves the sleigh, returns the presents and the other belongings to the Whos, and joins in the town's Christmas celebration by carving the roast beast, giving Max the first slice.

O’Bservation:
I included the synopsis, even though I can’t believe it could be unknown by this point – at least by those who would be reading the Inner Toob blog.  (And thank you for doing so!)
As it would be with movies as seen in the TV Universe, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” is exactly the same version which we watch in the Real World.  Any deviations would be relegated to either Skitlandia or the Tooniverse, depending on their presentation.

The following list of appearances and/or mentions in TV shows which qualify the cartoon’s televersion for inclusion in the TVXOHOF are of the 1966 TV special ONLY.  Either the show’s characters are actually watching it, they are discussing the TV cartoon, or they are quoting the song lyrics.

If there is some leeway of doubt as to the reference being of the original Dr. Seuss book, I will defer to the book rather than to the cartoon (which, by the way, was narrated by Crossover Hall of Famer Boris Karloff.)  That way, I have a future Christmas induction ceremony.

Any appearances by TV characters dressed as the Grinch are considered references to the book.  (Someday I might start inducting books into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  This would be a good first choice.  But today is not that day.]

If the reference is definitely about one of the other versions, you won’t even see it listed here at Inner Toob.

Here then are the reasons why the televersion of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” belongs in the Hall…..

ER

HOMELESS FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1996)
The family is watching this program on television

THAT '70s SHOW
THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER (1998)
The gang is watching it.

Fez:
“Nothing says Christmas like a big green Grinch ass.” 

FRIENDS
THE ONE WITH THE BUTT (1994)
Discussion of the heart-growing scene

AURORA:
Why can't we just have what we have now? Why can't we just talk, and laugh, and make love, without feeling obligated to one another... and up until tonight I thought that's what you wanted too.
CHANDLER:
Well, y'know, part of me wants that, but it's like I'm two guys, y'know? I mean, one guy's going 'Shut up! This is great!' But there's this other guy. Actually it's the same guy that wells up every time that Grinch's heart grows three sizes and breaks that measuring device... And he's saying, y'know, 'This is too hard! Get out! Get out!'

O’Bservation:
I think we all know Chandler is the type of character who would have the cartoon foremost in mind.

SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND
THE RIVER OF STARS (1995)
Mentioned by Lt. Vansen

3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN

HAPPY NEW DICK! (1998)
Dick, Harry, and Tommy watch it on TV.

Harry & Tommy:
♪ fah who fore-aze ♪
♪ Da who dor-aze ♪
♪ Welcome, Christmas ♪
♪ Come this way ♪
Dick:
Oh, come on!
How can they let the
Grinch carve the roast beast
After what he did?
Harry:
I think they feel bad for him
because of his enlarged heart.
Dick:
Totally unrealistic.

SIX FEET UNDER
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR (2002)
It is mentioned that Julio is watching "The Grinch."

NATURALLY, SADIE
A VERY SADIE CHRISTMAS (2006)
The musical montage featuring Hal is reminiscent of Thurl Ravenscroft's song about the Grinch.

NIP/TUCK
CHAZ DARLING (2007)
"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch."

THE BIG BANG THEORY
THE MATERNAL CONGRUENCE (2009)
They mention the movie.

Penny:
Oh, I always tear up when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.
Sheldon:
Tears seem appropriate. Enlargement of the heart muscle, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is a serious disease which could lead to congestive heart failure.
Leonard (singing Deck the Halls):
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la.
Penny:
You really didn’t like it, Sheldon?
Sheldon:
No, on the contrary. I found the Grinch to be a relatable, engaging character, and I was really with him right up to the point that he succumbed to social convention and returned the presents and saved Christmas. What a buzz kill that was.

BIG TIME RUSH
BIG TIME CHRISTMAS (2010)
Reginald putting a slice of turkey on Katie's plate resembles the Grinch putting a slice of roast beast on the plate of Cindy Lou Who.

GLEE
A VERY GLEE CHRISTMAS (2010)
Sue dresses up like the Grinch. The students also sing "Welcome Christmas," which comes from this movie.

NCIS: LOS ANGELES
HIGHER POWER (2011)
Callen tells Sam "You're a mean one, Mr. Hanna."

THE BIG BANG THEORY
THE LAUNCH ACCELERATION (2012)
Leonard sings part of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

PSYCH: THE MOVIE (TV Movie 2017)
Shawn says, "Gus, don't be the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile."

F IS FOR FAMILY
THE MAHOGANY FORTRESS (2021)
Frank mistakenly thinks that the Grinch died at the end of this.

Hopefully, there should be at least two more inductions into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Hmmmm....  I'm getting on in years, maybe I should set them up in advance.

HoHoHo!

 

BANNED BOOKS ON GALLIFREY?

Of course, The Doctor is not supposed to cross his own timestream, so the Third Incarnation wouldn’t know that his future self, the Thirteenth Incarnation, would meet Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley on the night when she was inspired to write about the “modern Prometheus”.

It could be that the High Council of Time Lords banned the “Frankenstein” book from Gallifrey’s libraries and from the curriculum of their various levels of academia.  While they practiced regeneration, revitalizing themselves when they were “mostly dead”, they probably had serious qualms about bringing someone back from being completely dead.

By the way, the Lux Foundation Library planet had to have a copy “Frankenstein” in its massive data storage core, possibly more than one copy, as with any book, in a separate backup drive. 

CROSSOVER TIME - THE SYCORAX IN VEGAS

It was only last week, on Christmas Eve, when I discovered this unintentional crossover with ‘Doctor Who’.  It has been out there since December, 2006, and it’s possible somebody else out there has already discovered it.  If so, I tip my hat to them.

This crossover occurs on the Toobworld timeline in December of 2006, but it began on the Real World timeline in December of 2005.  That’s when “The Christmas Invasion” – the first of the annual Christmas specials in the return of ‘Doctor Who’ – was broadcast.  While it was first seen on Christmas Day, 2005, the events depicted took place from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day the following year.  

In the episode, the Sycorax attempted to take over the Earth while the Doctor was basically in a coma after regenerating from his previous incarnation.  (That incarnation was considered the Ninth, but that was before we learned of the existence of the “War Doctor” and were later reminded of the Doctor’s previous incarnations first suggested in the adventure “The Brain of Morbius” with the continuing storyline about the Doctor as “The Timeless Child”.)

The Doctor was revived in time to challenge the Sycorax leader to a one-on-one duel to determine the fate of the big blue marble.  And while he did lose his hand in the battle, he was still the Time Lord Victorious.  The Sycorax honored the results and made ready to depart Earth’s Orbit.  But once the Doctor and Rose returned to Earth, Prime Minister Harriet Jones ordered Torchwood to blast the retreating Sycorax spaceship once it was in space and out of Earth’s atmosphere.

A few hours later, the shrapnel from that explosion re-entered the atmosphere, where it burned to ash.  As it rained down on the world below, it resembled snow to those living in the northern hemisphere.  (In the southern hemisphere, where they were in the summer season, it was probably looked upon as the ash that it was.)

ROSE:

Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?
DOCTOR:
It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash.
ROSE:
Okay, not so beautiful.

And this is where the crossover comes in….

One year later, the American TV series ‘Las Vegas’ aired its Christmas episode on December 15, 2006.  However, the storyline began over a week later, two days before Christmas, when the temperature was recorded at 95°.  And even with those highs, the Montecito Casino/Hotel was going all out with their celebration of the more commercial aspects of Christmas… which included hot swimsuit models romping in the artificial snow wearing bikinis and Santa caps.

But by Christmas Eve, the temperature had dipped precipitously, where it actually got cold.  In the afternoon on Christmas Day, it actually started snowing and all of the show’s main characters gathered to enjoy the wonder of it.

Only… in this TV dimension of Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, ‘Las Vegas’ and ‘Doctor Who’ co-exist.  What the residents of Las Vegas were experiencing was the ash-fall from the burned-up remains of the Sycorax spaceship.  If any one of them tried to catch a snowflake on their tongue, they were actually tasting the cremated remains of the Sycorax aliens.

Only later, they would learn on the evening news what had really happened to cause that freak "snowfall".

“The Christmas Invasion” already had a crossover within it.  After the Doctor had beaten the Sycorax leader, Rose helped him into his borrowed bathrobe since he was only wearing “jim-jams”.

DOCTOR:

Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams.
(Rose helps him on with the dressing gown.)
DOCTOR:
Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man.

That observation suggests that he actually knew Arthur Dent, the unlikely protagonist of ‘The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ in all its various media incarnations.  This connection was already established in the original run of the series, with the Fourth Incarnation reading a book by Oolong Colluphid (a copy of which was later found in the stacks of the library planet visited by the Tenth Incarnation.)

So ‘Doctor Who’ serves as the crossover conduit between ‘Las Vegas’ and ‘The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’.

TVXOHOF, FEBRUARY 2022 - HOLBROOK'S LINCOLN

 
If an historical figure appears as a guest character in several TV series, but has been recast with every appearance, the priority is to keep as many of those shows together in the same universe, preferably in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld.

The easiest way to do this is to accept the physical differences as being due to perspective.  What we see as the Trueniverse audience would be the point of view of a particular character within that show.  Take for example, President/General Ulysses S. Grant.  He has been a member of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame since November, 2020, but that is not based on just one actor playing Grant.  His membership for Earth Prime-Time was based on appearances in such series as ‘Cheyenne’, ‘The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin’, and ‘The Wild, Wild West.’  Each of them had a different actor playing Grant, but to keep them together in the same dimension, we have to accept that that’s how he looked to Cheyenne Bodie, Corporal Rusty, and Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon, respectively.  That holds true for the other shows – ‘Grizzly Adams’, ‘Black Saddle’, ‘Wagon Train’, ‘Branded’, ‘Hell on Wheels’, and ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’.

But when the historical character appears in stand-alone mini-series and TV movies, each of those get shunted off to their own TV dimension.  The only time those TV movies can share the same Toobworld is if that historical character is played by the same actor.

When it then comes to the other historical figures in those connected TV movies and/or mini-series being played by different actors, that’s when we call on the P.O.V. option. That way we are seeing those characters from somebody else’s perspective, not from the perspective of that one common historical figure.  After all, he or she should have been seeing them all from the same point of view.

I bring that all up because of our “newest” member into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  I used quotation marks around “newest” because the historical figure involved is already a member of the TVXOHOF, but for Earth Prime-Time.  This time we’re inducting his doppelganger from another TV dimension, one shared by four mini-series....

PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN

This incarnation of Lincoln, who is the linchpin for this dimension, was played by the late Hal Holbrook.  The actor died just over a year ago and so we’re honoring his memory with this memorial induction ceremony for his portrayal of our sixteenth President.

Holbrook played Honest Abe in three TV mini-series:

LINCOLN

(aka SANDBURG’S LINCOLN)
6 episodes
1974-1976

From Wikipedia:
Sandburg's Lincoln scholarship, primarily in these volumes, had an enormous impact on the popular view of Lincoln. The books were adapted by Robert Sherwood for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938) and David Wolper's six-part dramatization for television, Sandburg's Lincoln (1974).

From the IMDb:

NBC aired the six-hour mini-series on a staggered basis. The first three segments aired during the 1974-75 television season. The final three segments aired during the 1975-76 television season.

Also from the IMDb:

This is not a typical mini-series, in that its 6 episodes were made and shown over a period of some 20 months between 1974 and 1976, are not sequential, and cover Lincoln only from around the time he met Mary Todd until his assassination. Indeed, the 5th episode covers his activities on the day of his shooting, while the 6th one covers his trip to, and early days in, Washington in 1861. It makes little difference, however, in that each episode is totally self-contained and each is a viewing delight in itself.

Hal Holbrook also played President Abraham Lincoln in ‘North & South: Books 1 and 2.

NORTH & SOUTH: BOOK 1

- Episode #1.6 (1985)

O’Bservation – For the first five episodes in this mini-series, Holbrook received credit, but did not appear.

NORTH & SOUTH: BOOK 2

[‘North & South: Book 2, Love & War’]
5 episodes

O’Bservation – Holbrook was credited with six episodes, but did not appear in the fifth one.

The events in the first two ‘North & South’ mini-series dealing with Abraham Lincoln include:

(From Wikipedia)

• Abraham Lincoln is elected president; several Southern states make plans to secede from the U.S. and establish themselves as a separate nation.
• Billy joins the U.S. Sharpshooters regiment, while George becomes a military aide to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
• President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation frees the slaves in the rebel Southern states.
• George learns that Orry is wounded and searches for him, finally finding him in a Union hospital. Their reunion is spoiled when both learn that President Lincoln has been shot.

O’Bservation - I did say this Toobworld was home to four mini-series.  The fourth wasn’t dependent on Holbrook’s participation:

NORTH & SOUTH: BOOK 3
[‘North & South, Book 3: Heaven & Hell’]
O’Bviously it belongs with the first two mini-series in the franchise, even though Lincoln, and thus Hal Holbrook, was no longer involved in the adaptation of John Jakes’ books.  (This TV dimension may end up including three other mini-series – ‘The Bastard’, ‘The Rebels’, and ‘The Seekers’.  All of those were part of the grand design in books by John Jakes.)

Lincoln is not the only historical, real-world figure who is in the TVXOHOF more than once.  Santa Claus is the other.  Charles Durning is the main physical form of Santa in the main Toobworld, while in the Evil Toobworld, the jolly old elf looks like Art Carney.

If you’ve got a problem with what I just said, you keep your nog-hole shut!

This may not be the only time Lincoln shows up in the TVXOHOF.  Eventually there could be another actor who plays Abe in several TV movies and mini-series, enough to lock down an alternate Toobworld for himself.

Here’s to President Abraham Lincoln and to Hal Holbrook.  Welcome back, both of you, to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame!