VIDEO - 10 AWKWARD AFTERMATHS

 
I don't know why I put myself through this.  I'm adding this YouTube video back in April; I can only hope that it will still be available for the "Who's On First?" blogAthon.

Hopefully I remember to check the line-up the day before.

Yeah....  What else do I have to do on New Year's Eve?

Doctor Who - All Regenerations 2022

There is some incredible enhancements in here!  I think my favorite would be the transformation of the Second Incarnation to the Third.  (But if an earlier video I shared re: "Doctor Ruth" and where she fits into the timeline proves true, that regeneration would be a neverwas.)

GROUNDHOGMANAY OF THE DALEKS

 

AN INTERVIEW WITH JON PERTWEE AND KATY MANNING

 

MR. MOTIVATOR VS. A DALEK

 

DOCTOR RUTH - WHERE DOES SHE FIT IN?

 

FROM THE TOONIVERSE - "THE SECRET OF NOVICE HAME"

 
I figure I better share this now, as it will definitely be a factor in another post - if not more! - later today.

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMERS 06/11/2020 - NORM & CLIFF

Because my birthday falls in June, my preference for Hall of Fame inductees are the TV puppets.  But as it is also the month for the Zodiac sign of Gemini (for the most part), I also showcase the dynamic duos in television – like British detectives Charlie Barlow and John Watt from the ‘Softly, Softly’ series.

Well, we kicked off the month with a puppet, so it’s time for a new odd couple to join the ranks….

NORM PETERSON

&

CLIFF CLAVIN

From Wikipedia:
CLIFF CLAVIN
Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. (born 1947 or 1949), is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers co-created (and played) by John Ratzenberger. A postal worker, he is the bar's know-it-all and was a contestant on the game show ‘Jeopardy!’ Cliff was not originally scripted in the series' pilot episode, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", but the producers decided to add a know-it-all character and Ratzenberger helped flesh it out. The actor made guest appearances as Cliff on ‘The Tortellis’, ‘St. Elsewhere’, ‘Wings’ and ‘Frasier’.

In the 1993 series finale, Cliff finally receives a promotion. In "The Show Where Sam Shows Up" (1995), an episode of the Cheers spinoff ‘Frasier’, Sam (Ted Danson) tells Frasier that Cliff has not left home since he read an article about flesh-eating bacteria; however, Sam then discovers that Cliff is one of the other men with whom Sam's fiance Sheila (Téa Leoni) had had sex. In another ‘Frasier’ episode, "The Show Where Woody Shows Up", Woody tells Frasier that Cliff almost married a mail-order bride, but she decided to go back to Bosnia after spending a few days with him. In another ‘Frasier’ episode, "Cheerful Goodbyes", Cliff has his retirement party at the airport bar; he had planned to move to Florida, but decides to stay in Boston (to Carla's dismay).

Cliff appeared in 273 episodes of ‘Cheers’ between 1982 and 1993. He also made guest appearances as an animated character (voiced by Ratzenberger) in ‘The Simpsons’ episode "Fear of Flying", in ‘The Tortellis’ episode "Frankie Comes to Dinner, in the ‘Wings’ episode "The Story of Joe" and the ‘Frasier’ episode "Cheerful Goodbyes".

In 2014, Ratzenberger reprised his role as Cliff in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called".  

(O’Bservation: All of the characters who show up in the blipvert could be taking part in the sitcom relocation program, a premise set up in ‘Hi Honey, I’m Home.’  This would include those members of the League of Themselves like Mary Lou Retton and Hulk Hogan.)

The fact that Cliff appeared as a contestant on the televersion of ‘Jeordy!’ is balanced out by Norm’s appearance on the ‘Tonight’ show with Cliff’s Mom.  (But Cliff did get to be onstage after the show was finished taping.)

So it only makes sense that they should enter the TVXOHOF together.

From Wikipedia:
NORM PETERSON
Norman "Norm" Peterson is a regular fictional character on the American television show ‘Cheers’. The character was portrayed by George Wendt and is named Hilary after his grandfather.

Norm appeared in all 275 episodes of ‘Cheers’ between 1982–1993 and was initially the only customer featured in the main cast, later joined by best friend Cliff Clavin, Frasier Crane, and Lilith Sternin. Along with Sam Malone and Carla Tortelli, Norm is one of only three characters to appear in every episode of ‘Cheers’.

He also made one guest appearance each in the three other sitcoms set in the Cheers universe: the ‘Frasier’ episode "Cheerful Goodbyes," the ‘Wings’’ episode "The Story of Joe" and the spin-off ‘The Tortellis’.

Norm's entrance into the bar is a running gag on ‘Cheers’, typically beginning with a greeting by Norm. This is followed by the bar crowd yelling his name (except Diane Chambers, who would follow with a more refined "Norman", and Woody Boyd who would refer to him as "Mr. Peterson").

Norm is also greeted with the customary "Norm!" shout at other locations, including a bowling alley ("From Beer to Eternity", season 4, episode 9), The Hungrey Heifer ("Cheers: The Motion Picture", season 5, episode 24), and Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, Cheers' rival bar ("Bar Wars VI", season 10, episode 23). When Sam asks why the people at Gary's know him by name, Norm replies that he goes there on Christmas when Cheers is closed.

A recurring gag in the series is, following a commercial, for the bartender to ask Norm if he wants another beer; Norm replies "one quick one," after which he inevitably stays a lot longer. "Norm" is actually the first word of Frederick Crane, son of Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin. (However, Lilith joyously believes that he said "Mommy!")

Prior to the show, Norm was born in Chicago, and moved to Boston to become an accountant, and is a lifelong Boston Celtics fan who went to Boston Garden as a child. Norm previously served in the United States Army.

He loses his job in an accounting firm by defending Diane from his boss, and after struggling for a few years as an independent accountant, eventually becomes a housepainter. Norm was also revealed to be an accomplished interior decorator and beer taster, capable of spotting a bad vat in a factory by drinking a single bottle.

George Wendt guest starred as Norm Peterson on ‘St. Elsewhere’, ‘Cheers’ first spinoff ‘The Tortellis’, ‘Wings’, and ‘The Simpsons’ episode "Fear of Flying", which also guest starred Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Woody Harrelson, and John Ratzenberger as their respective characters.

Years after ‘Cheers’ ended, Wendt played Norm in a 2002 episode of its spinoff ‘Frasier’, where he got along famously with Martin Crane. (Martin: "Wow, that's some mug callus you've got there." Norm: "Judging from your grip, I'd say you were a can man.")  

Also, in the first part of a two-part episode on ‘Frasier’ entitled "Three Dates and a Breakup," Frasier calls Norm to brag that he has three dates for the weekend. Frasier specifically says "Norm Peterson," though Norm is not actually seen or heard. Norm was most recently seen in animated form, voiced by Wendt, on ‘Family Guy’ in the episodes "Road to Rupert" and "Three Kings".

Domino's Pizza released a commercial in February 2020 parodying Cheers (including the opening theme song and a Domino's version of the Cheers sign) with Norm entering a Domino's, surprised to find that no one knows his name. Norm's face was actually digitally taken from a Cheers episode to replace a body double's face.

Welcome to the Hall, Norm and Cliff.  Here’s looking at ya!

Cheers!

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - KOBE

From CBS News:
Los Angeles Lakers icon and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. An investigation into the crash that killed all nine people on board, including Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, is ongoing, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department    

From Wikipedia:
Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, Bryant entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) directly from high school, and played his entire 20-season professional career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, was named the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and was a two-time NBA Finals MVP winner. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list.

At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1, 2010, surpassing Jerry West. Bryant was also the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, while it is the record for most consecutive appearances as a starter. Bryant's four All-Star MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film, Dear Basketball (2017).

Bryant died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, and college baseball coach John Altobelli, were also killed.

I’m not a basketball fan, but I certainly knew of Kobe, the highs but also the lows.  That rape claim caught my notice, which basketball accolades never could.  And I did know of the Oscar win as well.

So sadly, I might never have even thought to research his qualifications for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame had it not been for his death.  I couldn’t use his game footage, news reports, talk show appearances.  But I figured if he showed up in any TV show as his fictional televersion, it might be ‘Arli$$’.  So off to IMDb I went.

He definitely deserves to be in the Hall.

Here are the roles which qualified him:

Arli$$
- What About the Fans? (1996)

From the IMDB:
Arliss gets an offer he can't refuse: find a new home for the L.A. Kings hockey team and become their part-owner. Will it be Raleigh, North Carolina, Las Vegas or New Mexico?

Sister, Sister
- Kid-Napped (1996)

From the IMDb:
A new girl's popularity drives Tia and Tamera to pull strings. Playing himself, Bryant-as-a-character shot a commercial for popular girl Rhonda's father. He also had a line about loving waffles, because reasons.

Hang Time
- The Hustlers (1997)

From the IMDb:
In California, Julie and Teddy are the only ones practicing; the rest of the team goes with Mary Beth to watch for celebrities at their hotel. Julie and Teddy are targeted by professional basketball hustlers. Vince finds Mel Gibson's wallet.

In the House
- Men in the Black (1997)

From the IMDb:
When Marion dates a construction boss, the clinic's decor improves. Tonia attracts attention with her new appearance. Basketball players DEREK FISHER and KOBE BRYANT guest star.

Bette
- I Love This Game (2000)

From the IMDb:
Bette's attempts to score Lakers tickets at the last minute for her husband's birthday hardly go off without a hitch.

Modern Family
- Family Portrait (2010)

From the IMDb:
Claire goes through great lengths to organize a family portrait. Gloria and Phil have an awkward moment while taking Manny and Alex to a Lakers game. Cameron becomes a wedding singer, and Jay has to help Luke with a school project.

And he even had a presence in the Tooniverse.

The Proud Family
- One in a Million (2003)

From the IMDb:
Penny wins a chance to shoot a half court shot at a basketball game for one million dollars. Oscar convinces her to let him make the shot to make good on a high school dream.

I’m sorry for the reason you’re being inducted now, Kobe.  I wish it had been for a happier occasion – like your eventual induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.  But welcome to the Hall.  Kareem Abdul Jabar is already here so you could get a game of Horse going in the gym.

And my condolences to all the family and friends of the other victims.

VIDEO SATURDAY - ENSIGN CHUCK PARKER

Our Video Saturday is dedicated to celebrating Ensign Charles Parker, recently inducted into the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame.

First up, we have the first episode of 'McHale's Navy' as a series.  Most of the cast had already worked together in a more dramatic pilot called "Seven Against The Sea".  The first episode of the series introduced Tim Conway as the new ensign assigned to McHale's unit.  This certainly established Conway's bumbling nature, especially showcased in a cartwheel into the grass.

I will becoming up with a theory of relateeveety eventually based on this episode in which I surmised that Parker married his French sweetheart.  I'd just like to find some Parkers in other TV shows who could be their descendants.  (If you can think of any, let me know!)

And of course, we have to have a blooper reel!

Finally, here's the late Tim Conway remembering how he got involved with 'McHale's Navy'.....

Rest in peace, Mr. Conway. Thanks for the laughs!

VIDEO SUNDAY - REMEMBERING DORIS DAY

Doris Day, who died this past week, was featured in scenes from "Send Me No Flowers" with Rock Hudson.  The movie would premiere a few months after this episode was first aired.  By then it had to have been finished, I'm sure, so it's not likely the Clampetts were really seeing the daily rushes. 

In a way, this episode served as a promotional stunt to advertise the movie which was the third and final film made by Ms. Day, Mr. Hudson, and Tony Randall together.

BCnU!

VIDEO WEEKEND - PETER MAYHEW, "No. 73"

To continue the celebration of Peter Mayhew in Toobworld, we're offering up an episode of a kids-oriented talk show/variety program in which Mayhew showed up for one edition. 

Usually we avoid talk shows and variety shows as being part of a candidate's tally for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  But with 'No. 73', the hosts of this show were fictional, played by actors, chief among them Sandi Toksvig whom I know best from 'QI'.

NO. 73

Truly, as seen in this episode, he was a gentle giant.  Good night and may God bless, Sir.

VIDEO SATURDAY - REMEMBERING GEORGETTE

Remembering the sweet Georgia Engel, here is the episode of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' which best exemplified her character of Georgette Franklin (later to become Georgette Franklin Baxter.)

I hope it will bring a smile to your heart....

Good night and may God bless....

VIDEO WEEKEND - THE SIMPSONS & DISNEY

This wasn’t the first time the Simpsons have met a Disney character, but it’s probably the first official one.

Here are more Disney(ish) references combined with 'The Simpsons' to make a Super Six List:

We get the German version here…..

Here is a Spanish version but I’m not sure it’s actually from the show…..

Here’s a combination from ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy’:

Here’s a weirdie….

And to bring it back around to Dumbo….

Th-Th-That’s all, folks!

TOOBMUSIC - RAINING BLOOD

'SINGLE PARENTS'
"RAINING BLOOD"

From the IMDb:
To celebrate Angie's 30th birthday, Will throws a big party re-creating Ozzfest; Douglas takes Graham shopping to help him find the perfect gift for Angie.  

At the end of this episode, with her 30th birthday falling apart, Angie at least got to get up on stage and sing this Slayer number.

From Wikipedia:
"Raining Blood" is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Written by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King for the 1986 studio albumReign in Blood, the song's religious concept is about overthrowing Heaven.

The song is four minutes and fourteen seconds in duration. It ends with a minute of rain sound effects. Described as a "classic" by Allmusic, it is noted by fans as one of Slayer's most popular songs. As an almost permanent addition to their live sets, both Hanneman and King acknowledged it as their favorite song to play live. Many of Slayer's live performances of the song have been captured on the band's live albums and also multi-band compilation albums including MTV2 Headbangers Ball.

There have been many appearances of the song in the media and elsewhere, including the South Park episode "Die Hippie, Die", and the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, where it is considered difficult to play.

Raining Blood

Trapped in purgatory
A lifeless object, alive
Awaiting reprisal
Death will be their acquiescence
The sky is turning red
Return to power draws near
Fall into me, the sky's crimson tears
Abolish the rules made of stone
Pierced from below, souls of my treacherous past
Betrayed by many, now ornaments dripping above
Awaiting the hour of reprisal
Your time slips away
Raining blood
From a lacerated sky
Bleeding its horror
Creating my structure now I shall reign in blood

Songwriters: Jeffery John Hanneman / Kerry King

Raining Blood lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

VIDEO WEEKEND - THE GUEST STARS OF "GET SMART"

VIDEO WEEKEND - BLIZZARD OF 1888

Dr. Izzy Frome:

This is nothing. 

The great white out of 1888, 

they had to shut down Maine. 

Literally closed it like it was a Denny's. 

Safety first. 

Well, 400 people still died that day.  

But we will be fine.

'New Amsterdam'

From Wikipedia:
The Great Blizzard of 1888 or Great Blizzard of '88 (March 11 – March 14, 1888) was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States of America. The storm, referred to as the Great White Hurricane, paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, as well as the Atlantic provinces of Canada.  Snowfalls of 10 to 58 inches (25 to 147 cm) fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and sustained winds of more than 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) produced snow drifts in excess of 50 feet (15 m). Railroads were shut down, and people were confined to their houses for up to a week.  Railway and telegraph lines were disabled, and this provided the impetus to move these pieces of infrastructure underground. Emergency services were also affected.  
For more on the storm, click here.

Had the '88 blizzard happened in the West, there would have been plenty of TV Westerns which would have addressed it in their fictional plotlines.  As it is, many of them did have plot lines dealing with blizzard conditions of their own, but I don't think any of them had any connection to the overall 1888 storm.  (Most TV Westerns were set in the 1870s.)

But there wasn't much call for TV "Easterns" set in 1888 New England.  So that mention of the blizzard in the March 12, 2019 episode of 'New Amsterdam' may be the only acknowledgement of it happening in the Television Universe. 

But I'm only one guy.  Can't check out all of the archives.  It's dark down there!

At any rate, here are some documentaries about the Blizzard of 1888, kicking off with a first-person account by someone from my new/old hometown.....

BCnU! 


 

NON-VIDEO WEEKEND - BARNABY JONES AND THE BACKDOOR PILOT?

For this week’s Video Weekend, we have an episode from the last season of ‘Barnaby Jones’.  I could be wrong about this, but Buddy Ebsen does look tired in this adventure and that might have been one reason it was time to call it a day.  (Not that he was done by a long shot; he just knew it was time to let somebody else shoulder the heavy work.)  Ratings could have been another reason the show was ready to pack it in.

I haven’t yet consulted my handy-dandy guide to unsold TV pilots book by Lee Goldberg (I have both hardcover and paperback versions!), but I have this feeling that this episode of ‘Barnaby Jones’ was a backdoor pilot for a show that would have starred Harry Guardino as crusading reporter W.W. DiAngelo of the Los Angeles Chronicle.  (That makes another notch in that newspaper’s TV credits, mostly from ‘Perry Mason’ and ‘Quincy, M.E.’.)

The set-up was in place – W.W. (which stood for Walt Whitman) was a thorn in the side of his “nephew in all but blood” who was an LAPD detective.  We also got to meet the reporter’s assistant back at the paper, Lucy, who was played by one of my many TV crushes, Laurette Spang.  And there was Philip Pine as the Chronicle’s editor and Charles Lampkin as Benny, a guy who ran a hot dog stand and would probably have been W.W.’s source for info on the street.

The story centered around this quintet of characters as the heroes with Barnaby taking a back seat to give them the spotlight.  (Barnaby’s best moment was a short interaction with a secretary/records archivist who was kind of sweet on him.  She was played by Barbara Perry, who was the first actress to play Pickles Sorrell on ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’.  After her two episodes, Joan Shawlee took over the role and knocked it out of the park.)

UPDATE:I watched that episode of 'Barnaby Jones' on the morning of February 27.  I wrote up this post and added in the link to the video that same morning.  Later in the day I went back to YouTube to grab a few stills from it for a future article about the Los Angeles Chronicle and I needed one of Linden Chiles as the murderer.  However, just a few hours after seeing it the first time, it was now taken down by the user.

"They" must be on to me.....

BCnU!

VIDEO WEEKEND - TUBULAR KNELLS FOR PETER TORK

From the Los Angeles Times:
Peter Tork, a guitarist who became an overnight star in the late 1960s as one of the Monkees, the made-for-television rock band that was a pop-culture sensation, has died. He was 77. 

“It is with beyond-heavy and broken hearts that we share the devastating news that our friend, mentor, teacher, and amazing soul, Peter Tork, has passed from this world,” Tork’s official Facebook account announced Thursday morning.

Inner Toob's Video Weekend would like to pay tribute to Mr. Tork.....

Good night and may God bless.....

2019 SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS (PART SEVEN)

From iSpot.tv:
While marveling over the taste of McDonald's Cheesy Bacon Fries, J.B. Smoove and Ken Jeong debate about what makes the savory side so delicious. J.B. says it's all about the fries that simply feature bacon. However, Ken counters that it's the bacon that will bring the fries to a whole new audience. When they're unable to come to an agreement, Ken begins a bacon ovation to make his point clear. For a limited time, McDonald's invites you to find out for yourself if this is the best thing to happen to its classics ... or to bacon.

To me, it looks like they’re backstage in the green room for a talk show.  But what talk show?  

Of course I’m going to advocate for a fictional talk show found only in Toobworld.

I’d love for it to be ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ but those brick walls were nowhere to be seen during the run of the HBO show.  (And I’m afraid that show is off the air, even if we try to ignore the probability that – like Garry Shandling – Larry Sanders has ceased to be.)

So I’m asking you, Team Toobworld – what talk show could JB and Ken be at?  And you could come up with your own idea.  There are plenty of TV characters out there who could have their own TV show in Toobworld.  Here in the Real World, it seems like every celebrity had their own talk show for a time.

BCnU!