"SKAEP NIWT - 3#, 5202 REBMETPES, FOHOXVT"

In the last few years, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame inducts actual TV series into the Hall.  These are not the TV shows as we watched them back in the Trueniverse; these are the televersions of those shows, as either seen or mentioned in other TV series.

I had already planned September to be a double tribute to the late David Lynch, who revolutionized the Television landscape with ‘Twin Peaks’.  And then I thought:  “Why not make it a tribute three times over?  When was the last time TV had a triplecast?”

And so with this ceremony, the TVXOHOF is proud to welcome the televersion of….

TWIN PEAKS

These are just some of the TV shows in Earth Prime-Time – the main Toobworld* - which also have their own ‘Twin Peaks’:

THE CHRONICLE   SMART GUY   GRACE UNDER FIRE  
L.A. LAW   CAMP WILDER   EERIE, INDIANA  
PARKER LEWIS CAN’T LOSE   HEAD OF THE CLASS
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000   MURPHY BROWN
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR   COMMUNITY
NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS   PARENTHOOD
BEVERLY HILLS 90210   CHASING LIFE
DETECTORISTS   WAREHOUSE 13   JONATHAN CREEK

To be qualified for membership in the TVXOHOF, a minimum of 3 separate appearances are required, and ‘Twin Peaks’ easily covered that.  But I’m thinking from now on, since pop culture references are always good for a quick mention in the dialogue, that I should make it harder for TV show televersions.  

We’ll see… but first, a piece of pie to mull it over.

Welcome to the Hall, ‘Twin Peaks’!

* ‘Twin Peaks’ is actually a multi-dimensional series, with fictional televersions to be found in alternate Toobworlds like Toobworld-DCU and especially in the Tooniverse.  But Earth Prime-Time is the Hall’s main focus, so we’re focusing on that.
 

TVXOHOF FOR JUNE, 2025 (THE GEMINI INDUCTIONS) - OLIVER & LISA DOUGLAS

With the June entry for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, we salute the Gemini concept – twins, loving couples, any kind of duos (dynamic or otherwise.) 

This year we’re celebrating a partnership in marriage in which both members appeared together in all the connecting qualifiers... for Earth Prime-Time.  There wasn’t a time when one appeared but not the other… at least in the main Toobworld.  

Theirs was an unconventional marriage but they were a true partnership in which they loved each other.

OLIVER WENDELL & LISA DOUGLAS

I couldn’t do better than the Wikipedia entry, so I’ll just use that:

‘Green Acres’ is about Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), a prominent and wealthy New York City attorney, fulfilling his dream to be a farmer, and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), his glamorous Hungarian wife, uprooted unwillingly from an upscale Manhattan penthouse apartment to a dilapidated farm in Hooterville that Oliver purchases from the ever-hustling Mr. Haney, to the disbelief of the residents.

The debut episode is a mockumentary about their decision to move to a rural area, anchored by former ABC newscaster John Charles Daly. Daly was the host of the CBS game show ‘What's My Line’, and a few weeks after the show's debut Albert and Gabor returned the favor by appearing on ‘What's My Line’ as that episode's Mystery Guests, and publicly thanked Daly for helping to launch their series.

Oliver Wendell Douglas
(portrayed by Eddie Albert)

Named for Oliver Wendell Holmes, he is an attorney who makes the rash decision to leave his successful law practice and pursue his lifelong dream of being a farmer, despite having no real-world knowledge or experience, as evidenced by him doing farm chores while wearing a three-piece suit (in "The Hooterville Image," the denizens decide Oliver is ruining the town's image by doing his chores in a suit and demand that he wear overalls).

Much of the humor throughout the series derives from Oliver's striving toward success and happiness in an absurd situation, despite the rural citizenry, his high-maintenance wife, and his affluent mother (Eleanor Audley), who ridicules him for his agricultural pipedreams in the episode "The Wedding Anniversary."

Oliver is also subjected to ribbing by the Hootervillians when he launches into starry-eyed monologues about "the American farmer"—replete with a fife playing "Yankee Doodle" in the background (which every on-screen character except Oliver can hear). 

Oliver drives a Lincoln Continental convertible, a stark contrast to the often decrepit vintage vehicles generally shown. In later seasons, the Lincoln is replaced by a Mercury Marquis convertible.

Lisa Douglas
(portrayed by Eva Gabor)

Lisa and Oliver are both veterans of World War II. In "Wings Over Hooterville," she recalls how they met. According to Lisa, she was a sergeant in the Hungarian underground, and he was a United States Army Air Forces flier, forced to bail out of his plane.

However, she gives several other fanciful versions of how they met in subsequent episodes. In the episode, "A Royal Love Story," he is a tourist in Paris, and she is a waitress/tour guide, living with her father, the deposed King of Hungary.

Pampered by her wealthy family, her skewed world view and domestic ignorance provide fertile ground for recurring gags. Instead of washing dishes, Lisa sometimes tosses them out the kitchen window.

In the episode, "Alf and Ralph Break Up," Lisa admits she has no cooking abilities and that her only talent is Zsa Zsa Gabor impersonations (the real-life sisters were often mistaken for each other).

Oliver and Lisa are both depicted as fish out of water. While Oliver instigated the move from Manhattan to Hooterville over Lisa's objections, he is typically uncomprehending of and impatient with his new situation. Lisa, on the other hand, somehow understands the sometimes surreal world of their neighbors, and they in turn are accepting of her own bizarre notions.

Here are the appearances which qualified them for membership….

GREEN ACRES
170 Episodes (1965-1971)

PETTICOAT JUNCTION
12 Episodes (1965-1968)

THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
1 Episode (1968)

RETURN TO GREEN ACRES (1990 TV Movie)

And now for the reason behind my elliptical hesitation earlier.

HI HONEY, I’M HOME
1 Episode (1992)

O'Bservation:
Lisa Douglas appeared in an episode of this sitcom in which the premise was that characters from TV shows knew they were fictional and were now living on Earth Prime-Time in some kind of witness protection program until their shows could be brought back.  As weird as it could get within the reality of ‘Green Acres’, the majority of the residents of Hooterville, like most of the Toobworld citizenry, were never fully tele-cognizant.  

So there were two Lisa Douglases, making her multidimensional.

And there you have it, the TVXOHOF team for June, 2025!

Welcome, "Oleevar" and that Hotscake herself, Lisa Douglas!

(This has not been a Filmways presentation, Dahlingks....)

TVXOHOF MEMBER UPDATE - SAM HANNA

TVXOHOF MEMBER UPDATE

Sam Hanna (as played by LL Cool J) was inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame in February of 2023.  Here is a rundown of what qualified him for membership in the TVXOHOF:

• NCIS: LA – 323 episodes
• NCIS: HAWAI’I – 12 episodes
• NCIS – 3 episodes

ALTERNATE TELEVERSIONS

AMERICAN DAD!
(The Tooniverse)

HAWAII FIVE-0
(Toobworld 2)

On April 21, 2025, Sam Hanna added to his tally with a fourth appearance on NCIS (“After The Storm”.)

Sam Hanna is the kind of character who could drop into any of the crime-fighting shows on the CBS Network.  He could crossover into any of the FBI series, if Dick Wolf was looking for any publicity juice; he could make a guest appearance in either 'Fire Country', 'Tracker', or even in 'Elspeth'. 

There are other options, but that would mean dealing with the televersion of Sam Hanna from Toobworld2 more than likely....

BARBIE/DOCTOR WHO SYNERGY

 

The benefits recognized early on that it could only benefit them when it came to publicity if they tipped their cap to the summer's mega-hit "Barbie".

Especially since one of the many Kens in the movie was Ncuti Gatwa, who had been cast to be the Fifteenth Incarnation of the Doctor....

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!

TVXOHOF TUESDAY - HUDSON UNIVERSITY

One day Hudson University of New York will be inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  It gets used often enough to be on a par with Morley’s Cigarettes and the Los Angeles Chronicle and the New York Chronicle.

Among the shows in which Hudson University showed up:

Without a Trace
Blindspot
The Cosby Show
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Law & Order
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
Unforgettable
Murder, She Wrote
Beauty & the Beast
The Mysteries of Laura
Bull
The Flash  
13 Reasons Why
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
SEAL Team

ALTERNATE TV DIMENSIONS:

Blue Bloods
Elementary  
The Flash  
Castle  
Quantico
Shooter

Just as a fluke, today I caught the “Fade Away” episode of ‘Without A Trace’ which had the references to Hudson University.





Xander Marrs:Dude, you're gonna get into Hudson U. You can make it easy.





Samantha Spade:All right, his name is Lyle Carver.
Hudson U, class of '85.
He's now a big donor to the athletic department.





Ted Soros:Oh, I'm going in style too.
Xander Marrs:I like HU already.


Dorm Security Footage


Xander Marrs:We went to a Hudson U mixer last weekend.
That's when I knew Ted was in deep.



Xander Marrs:So, what happens at these parties?
Ted Soros:Well it starts with alums and boosters trying to sell you on playing for Hudson U.

BCnU!

THE TOP 25 CLASSIC TV SHOWS (AN OPINION PIECE)

CLASSIC TV BLOG ASSOCIATION

From the Classic TV Blog Association:
“Now in its seventh year, the Classic TV Blog Association recently undertook its biggest project yet: Selecting the 25 Greatest Classic TV Series.

To qualify for the list, a TV series had to air during prime time and its first season had to begin no later than 1989 to be considered “classic.” Association members nominated shows based on criteria such as enduring popularity, social impact, and influence on other TV series.

During the first round of voting, over 55 shows were nominated. That number was whittled down the 25 classic TV series below and four honorable mentions.”


1.    The Twilight Zone
2.    I Love Lucy
3.    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4.    Columbo
5.    All in the Family
6.    Dragnet
7.    Monty Python’s Flying Circus
8.    Star Trek
9.    The Prisoner
10.  M*A*S*H
11.  The Dick Van Dyke Show
12.  The Fugitive
13.  Dallas
14.  Doctor Who
15.  The Andy Griffith Show
16.  The Defenders
17.  The Golden Girls
18.  Perry Mason
19.  SCTV
20.  The Honeymooners
21.  Alfred Hitchcock Presents
22.  Hill Street Blues
23.  The Odd Couple
24.  The Outer Limits
25.  The Avengers

Honorable Mentions:  Get Smart, The Ed Sullivan Show, Leave It to Beaver, and WKRP in Cincinnati.

I’ve been a member of this group for almost a year now and was more than happy to participate in this new group project.  I think I was shooting my list of ten candidates back within minutes after the group email was sent out.

Here was the list that I came up with:

• Doctor Who
• The Prisoner
• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• Maverick
• Columbo
• The Twilight Zone 
• Star Trek
• Monty Python’s Flying Circus
• All In The Family
• Rocky and Bullwinkle

I did my best to consider shows other than my top ten favorites.  But that was hard since a lot of those TV series fit the requirements I was looking for – shows that were ground-breakers, the top of their fields, So if I had done only my top ten shows, I would have included ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘The Wild Wild West’.  I also wanted to include as many genres as I could – science fiction, animation, Western, sitcom, sketch comedy, detective mystery.  (There was an addendum soon after I sent my list, that it should be only prime-time shows.  I apologized for my inclusion of ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’, but apparently that was broadcast in prime-time at one point.)  

I also took into consideration shows which most people would still have access to so that they could check out what might have made them worthy of such an honor.   

As you can see, eight of my nominees made it into the final 25.  Sorry, Rocky and Bullwinkle; sorry, Bret and Bart.  (I keep eyeing those slots taken by ‘Dallas’ and ‘The Golden Girls’.  LOL  But hey, that’s democracy for you.)

“Do you agree with our list? If not, what TV series would you have included and which ones would you have omitted?”

If you’d like to read what other members of the CTVBA opined about the list, click on the link with that logo above and check out their links.

BCnU!

THURSDAY'S THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY: LUKE WALTON

On August 30th, 2006, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Luke Walton showed up in Genoa City, Wisconsin.  There he  played a game of one-on-one basketball with Neil Winters.  According to Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott on 'Young & The Restless', "Walton was a nervous wreck. Even if you're an actor, soaps are difficult because we work at a quick pace."

O'Bviously, the LA Lakers exist in Toobworld, even if you dismissed the telecasts of their games on TV.  They were mentioned on 'The Big Bang Theory' once, as an example:

'THE BIG BANG THEORY'
"THE LOCOMOTIVE MANIPULATION"  

Leonard:
Got you a little something, too. 
Penny:
Aw. Jewelry? Oh, my God. Lakers tickets?! 
Leonard:
It gets better. 
Instead of me, you can take someone
who will actually enjoy it. 
Penny:
Aw! You are the best boyfriend ever. Thank you. 
Leonard:
Seriously, please don't make me go.

Luke Walton has another appearances as himself in a TV show - he was a celebrity guest contestant on an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune' during its "NBA Week 1" in 2005.

'Wheel of Fortune' exists in Toobworld, thanks to so many references to it in other TV shows.  Clips from the game show can be seen in over ten different series while over forty TV shows mention it as being a part of their characters' lives.  'The Goldbergs' and Dustin from 'Stranger Things' even have the home version board game!  But best of all, characters from the following shows actually appeared on 'Wheel of Fortune':

• '227'
• 'Gimme A Break'
• 'LA Law'
• 'The A-Team'

(The mother of a main character on 'Til Death' only got so far as the try-outs; she got a nice coffee maker for the effort.)

Even more impressive, Nina Van Horn (of 'Just Shoot Me') saw her name used as the solution to a puzzle on the show.

So all of those shows can connect to 'Young & The Restless' through Luke Walton being on 'Wheel of Fortune'.

This is a Thursday Theory of Relateeveety, soap opera style, and I'm using Luke Walton not because he can make a connection via family, but through his other family - his teammates.

As with the televersion of Luke Walton being accepted as part of the Lakers, that would hold true for his teammates.
From 2005 to 2007 (the years key to that appearance on 'Young & The Restless'), Luke Walton was on the Lakers team with Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.  And because of his association with those two players, his appearance on 'Young & The Restless' could be linked to the TV shows they appeared in as themselves.

So, because of Kobe Bryant being on the same team with Luke Walton, 'Young & The Restless' can be connected to:

• 'Modern Family'
• 'Sister, Sister'
• 'Hang Time'
• 'Bette'
• 'Arli$$'
• 'In The House'

And also to 'The View', which is considered "reality" being a talk show.  It is still incorporated into Toobworld because a character from 'SportsNight' appeared as a guest on the show.

As for Lamar Odom, he can link 'Young & The Restless' through his teammate to 'Entourage' and 'Arli$$' like Kobe did as well.

So there's that.

As Lt. Columbo would say, just one more thing: Luke Walton's number as a Lakers star was "4", part of the Valenzetti sequence number.....

Until next time....