THE TVXOHOF 2025 BIRTHDAY HONORS LIST - AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Just like the monarch, I also have a Birthday Honors List for inductions into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  It’s always somebody or something who/which might not get in otherwise.  For instance, the first two were Susie McNamara of ‘Private Secretary’ and Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless of ‘The Wild, Wild West’.

Susie was a special induction as one of the first TV crossovers, appearing in an episode of ‘The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour’.  (At the time, I thought she was first but I’ve since learned the first was four years earlier – Superman on ‘I Love Lucy’.  Interesting enough, both were in connection to Lucy Ricardo.)

As for Dr. Loveless, he falls into the theoretical category – I made the case that he was descended from Alexander in a ‘Star Trek’ episode and that his father was Mr. Roarke of ‘Fantasy Island’ (but under a different name in an episode of ‘Zorro’.)  And then I claimed that several other characters played by Michael Dunn – Mr. Big (‘Get Smart’), The Clown (‘Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea’), Mr. Sin (‘Amos Burke, Secret Agent’) and Arthur Boyle (“Good Night, My Love”) – were all the immortal Time Lord/Platonian hybrid under aliases.

This year my birthday is something of a milestone, not as momentous as my 50th, I guess, when every monthly induction was a special case… including myself on the actual birthday!  But with this one, I’m only marking the occasion today on my actual birthday.  And for this special event, I thought I would celebrate something completely different, not a character, not a League of Themselves televersion, not an animal, not a location (real or fictional), all of which made the grade in the past.

The 2025 Birthday Honors member is more of a situation….

THE “STARING AT THE TELEPHONE” CLICHÉ

When it comes to classic clichés in movies and TV shows – like Italian bread in shopping bags or the Eiffel Tower outside of every French window – my favorite is when somebody pulls the phone receiver away from their ear to stare at it, incredulous about what was just said to them.

Here are a few of them to show that the requirement to get inducted is easily covered:

Mary Richards

THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Frances “Gidget” Lawrence
GIDGET

Bruce Banner (as the Hulk)

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Daisy “Granny” Moses
THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

Ethel Mertz
I LOVE LUCY

Ash
ASH VS. EVIL DEAD
CONFINEMENT

Mark Sanger
IRONSIDE

Michael Grady
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
LAST NIGHT OF A JOCKEY

Betty Ford
THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
THE SEMINAR

Clarence Nash
WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR

Fran Ryan
THE OPTIMIST
HEALTHY BODY, UNHEALTHY MIND

Stanley Adams
(Source Unknown)

And from the Tooniverse….

Fred Flintstone
THE FLINTSTONES
THE ASTRA’ NUTS

Bullwinkle J. Moose
THE BULLWINKLE SHOW

For the "2025 Class Picture", I'll be using an example from a 1970s Benson&Hedges commercial.  I wouldn't want to give any previously established TV character or show an unfair advantage.  (That's who is featured as the header up top.)

So there you have it.  Something unique for the 2025 Birthday Honors List.

Oh!  And since it is my birthday, here’s a combination of the 2025 Birthday Honors inductee with the previous 2005 Birthday Honors member….

I'm sure there are plenty more out there.  If you come across any examples (from TV, remember!) not displayed here, send them along to me!

BCnU!

THE DOCTOR AS MAIAR? OR JEDI?

And now Disney owns the 'Star Wars' franchise and controls world-wide distribution of 'Doctor Who'.

I hope the Mouse doesn't try to grab up Middle-Earth....

IT'S 7 AM! WAKEY WAKEY!

Good morning!

I'm just sharing this because I found it to be an odd juxtaposition of story content with advertising.

I don't even remember what the story was about; it was probably dealing with the return of Bonnie Langford to the role of former Companion Melanie Bush, now a staff member of UNIT.

But I'll probably have Mel linked in my noggin to the effects of Crohn's Disease....

What a thought to wake up to....

O'BSERVATION - ROSE NOBLE

 

From MSN:

The 2023 episode "The Star Beast" introduces a new character, Rose Noble, played by trans performer Yasmin Finney. BBC reportedly received 144 complaints regarding her inclusion, with the episode in question receiving 7.6 million viewers in total, meaning the complainers represent only 0.00002% of the episode's audience.

BBC responded to the objections firmly: "As regular viewers of 'Doctor Who' will be aware, the show has and will always continue to proudly celebrate diversity and reflect the world we live in. We are always mindful of the content within our episodes."

Good!  I thought she was a fascinating character – engaging, talented, and yes, very pretty.  Everything one would want in a companion for The Doctor.  (I just wish she would take a new first name now that the influence over her by that pent-up binary cosmic power has diffused.  We’ve already got a Rose and there are so many names out there, with little girls in the audience wishing that if they can’t be the Doctor – whose name is never revealed - they could at least be the Doctor’s sidekick.  It would be nice if they could hear their own names eventually.)

The ending of ‘The Giggle’ revealed that the 14th Incarnation already took Rose Noble on a trip to Mars* – once again going to places he’s been before with other Companions.  So I’m hoping that we will not only see occasional other side trips, but that eventually she will get to travel with the 15th Incarnation as the constant Companion.

* Why he would risk her safety by taking her to Mars is a reckless act; it had better be revealed that he had no control over the TARDIS’ intentions.  He knows the water on the Red Planet has long been infested with a sentient organism which could immediately take over its host once it got into its system.

THE DOCTOR IS A KEN DOLL! (HE'S AN ACTION FIGURE; HE'S NOT A DOLL!)

2023 proved to be a big year for Ncuti Gatwa.  His role as Eric in ‘Sex Education’ came to an end after 4 seasons and 32 episodes; he was in the mega-hit summer blockbuster of “Barbie” as one of the five central Kens; and with the last episode of the 60th anniversary trilogy celebration of ‘Doctor Who’, he made his debut as the Fifteenth Incarnation of the Time Lord.

There were a lot of Kens in Barbieland, but five central ones – Ryan Gosling as the main Ken, with Gatwa, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, and Kingsley-Adir as his main companeros, with John Cena making a cameo appearance as the Ken of the Merfolk.  Because there were so many Kens, he didn’t really stand out from the other citizens of Kendom until nearly the end – he had a sweet reunion with his Barbie, who was played by his ‘Sex Education’ co-star, Emma Mackey, who looked like she could be Margot Robbie’s brunette sister.

O’Bservation – I was floored to find while writing this post that another of their ‘Sex Education’ co-stars (Connor Swindells) was also in “Barbie”.  He played lowly Mattel office drone Aaron, a far cry from his closeted homosexual school bully in the Britcom.

I would not be surprised if “Barbie” experiences a renewed surge at the box office on re-release, once Whovians who previously had no interest in seeing the movie about a doll learn that the latest Doctor is in the cast….

ROSE TYLER, UCONN FAN?

During an appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’, Billie Piper once said that her appearances in commercials for Smash Hits magazine led to her earliest acting gigs. 

It’s nice to see that UConn has even a tenuous connection to ‘Doctor Who’….

IF THE TWELFTH INCARNATION HAD HIS OWN JUKEBOX....

 

That was part of the advice provided by the Twelfth Incarnation of the Doctor to the successor who would arrive after regeneration.  It reminds me of a very moving song by a husband/wife duo who call themselves Sirsy….

I saw them open for the Adam Ezra Group in Hartford on New Year's Eve's Eve....

DRESS CODE (WITH AN APOLOGY)

 

Usually I don’t share memes with spelling errors. 

But hey!  I’ve got 48 blog berths to fill!

TEN & FOURTEEN

 

It's just a promo picture, but it captures the subtle differences between both Incarnations.  A regenerated Time Lord changes more than just his physical appearance and his wardrobe tastes.  All of the quirks in his previous personality should be excised and replaced with new ones.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but I think I have it pegged.  The Tenth Incarnation was a go-getter, excitable, eager to explore.  He was wiling to take risks, sometimes as odd yet simple as analyzing foreign matter by tasting it.

Meanwhile, Fourteen, being older, far older, was slower to respond, probably due to his overwhelming suspicions brought on by the mystery of regaining his previous visage.  He was more cynical than Ten.

I don't know if we'll see Fourteen in action ever again, but should he choose to take Rose Noble as his companion, she could go a long way toward relieving him of the weariness resting on his billion-year-old soul; perhaps even bringing him closer to his old self.

But it's doubtful that he would ever return to full normality....

WHO NEWS - JINKX MONSOON

I don't think this will see the light of day until after this "Who's On First" blogAthon.  More news may be released during the coming year and I'll probably add updates.  But I'm not going to speculate as to whom they will be playing.

From Variety:

Jinkx Monsoon, winner of the fifth season of 'RuPaul’s Drag Race' and the seventh season of 'RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,' has been added to the cast of the BBC’s long-running and immensely popular 'Doctor Who' series.

Monsoon is set to be playing a major role in the series.

“In a galaxy of comets and supernovas, here comes the biggest star of all. Jinkx Monsoon is on a collision course with the TARDIS, and ‘Doctor Who’ will never be the same again,” showrunner Russell T Davies said.

“I’m honored, thrilled, and utterly excited to join ‘Doctor Who!’ Russell T Davies is a visionary and a brilliant writer — I can’t wait to get into the weeds with him and the crew! I hope there’s room in the TARDIS for my luggage,” Monsoon said.

UPDATE
[based on the last special, "The Giggle".]

All might be revealed come Christmas*, but I'm guessing Monsoon will be the new Rani.

For the full story, click here.

* O'Bservation - it wasn't.  But a feminine hand was seen picking up the Toymaker's gold tooth which contained the essence of the Master.  So now I'm thinking that was Monsoon and they will be playing the Rani.

I hope that's true, mostly for my friend Mike who really wants to see the return of the Rani....

A LITTLE ABOUT MYSELF....

It occurs to me that I should have begun this blog-A-thon with a little about me, WHO I am....

 

THE COVID PROGNOSTICATION

 

Interesting that this meme, from 2016 into 2017, omits 2020 and 2021.  O'Bviously, being a Time Lord, the Doctor knew Earth Prime-Time - as was also the case for our world, Earth Prime - would be devastated by COVID-19.

Hmmmm....  But how did the meme-maker know?

THE DOCTOR IN SKITLANDIA

 

Don't even bother trying to figure out where these incarnations belong in the regenerative timeline for the Doctor of Earth Prime-Time.  That's because they can only be found in an alternate Toobworld known as Skitlandia, which is founded on all of the comedy sketches ever seen on our TV variety programs and other broadcast sources.

These incarnations of the Doctor are not included in the tally recognized by the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Maybe one day they will get their own induction ceremony as a group.

That is all.

A BELATED WELCOME TO 2023 ADDENDUM

 

A BELATED WELCOME TO 2023!

 
Oh, by the way....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

PEAR WITH ME....

 

And what was his reasoning?

There could be another reason why
the Twelfth Incarnation of the Doctor advised
against eating pears….

They could be sentient beings from another planet!

SAINT WHO 3 - 'DOCTOR WHO' ACTORS AS SEEN IN "THE SAINT"

 

If I'm not mistaken (and I often am), this is Michael Wolf, who played the hotel clerk in that 'Saint' episode "The Helpful Pirate".  He was Nils in the 'Doctor Who' serial "The Moonbase".

If I am wrong, feel free to send me a correction.  (It gets lonely here at Toobworld Central....)

A CROSSOVER THWARTED

 

THE JOKER GOES FOURTH

 

I can see the artist finding inspiration in the visage of Tom Baker.  As a "writer" myself, I find inspiration everywhere, even in this old lady who rides my bus.

WHO MEME - SNOW DAYS