HOLIDAY ZALES

It's still early in the Christmas blipvert season, but I think right now my favorite has to be the new one from Zales. You know, with the guy who can't stop looking at the pendant necklace he got for his wife, and then she walks in behind him.

First off, it's because - like last year's ad, - it re-uses the piano intro from Vanessa Carlton's song "1000 Miles". I had never heard the song before last year's Zales blipvert and sought it out afterwards. I found it lived up to that instrumental intro. And I love the video as well, with her playing the piano as it crosses the country (especially when the owl joins her).

Okay, so bleep off; I like the song!

And then there's the fact that they went with a regular guy, kind of a schlub, to be the star of the commercial. It's almost like watching a new Mark Addy at work.

I'm sick of the ads out there starring the guy with the perfectly chiseled jawline always getting the girl with a smooth move. The Ralph Kramdens of the world can pull if off too, you know.

Kind of....

Anyway, that's the Christmas blipvert to beat this holiday season.

BCnU!
Toby OB

FIVE & TEN WILL GET YOU PLENTY

Last night the BBC hosted the annual "Children In Need" charity telethon, which fetched in a record 19 million pounds. (Don't ask me what that is in American currency. I only dabble in simoleons and quatloos.)

I suppose a lot of that money was generated by grateful fans of 'Doctor Who' because the special featured a seven minute "episode" of the series which fit in nicely between Martha's departure from the TARDIS and the collision with the Titanic (as seen in this season's final episode "The Last Of The Time Lords").

The scene - and I won't call it a sketch; this deserves to be included in the canon! - was entitled "Time Crash", and it featured the return of Peter Davison in the role of the Fifth Incarnation of the Doctor. Apparently, Number Ten forgot to raise the temporal shields of the TARDIS and that caused the ship to merge with itself in the time-stream when they crossed paths.

It was written by the fantastic Stephen Moffatt who must be a walking, breathing computer file on all things "whovian". With only seven minutes to play with, he touched on the Cloister Bell and other forms of TARDIS alarms, the changing styles of the TARDIS interior, past adventures from the era of Number Five (as well as 'Love & Monsters' for Ten), and of course, the celery boutonniere. Just splainin why Doctor Number Five looked so much older than he did when he regenerated would have taken more than that allotted seven minutes in lesser hands. But Moffatt tossed it off with a flippant observation by Number Ten which can now be used to provide the splainin for the same situation in 'The Three Doctors', 'The Five Doctors', and 'The Two Doctors' (and, I suppose, for 'Dimensions In Time').

Number Ten asked Five about where/when he was in their shared timeline. But as usual, he never stopped talking long enough to find out the answer. I'd be curious to know when this took place from the Fifth Doctor's perspective, as none of his companions were about.

But then again, the whole thing took only seven minutes. That might not have been enough time for Peri to step out of the shower, towel off the twins, get dressed and race back to the main console room.

Excuse me for a moment. My brain is apparently freeze-framed on the image of Peri in the shower......

Okay. I'm back.

If I was still running the feature, this would have certainly qualified to be the "Crossover Of The Week", even if it was with itself. (Because of the 'Children In Need' telethon being the showcase - sorry, 'Grim Adventures Of The Kids Next Door'.)

I just hope that when the next DVD collection is put together for 'Doctor Who', this scene is included as an extra!

BCnU!
Toby OB

"Time can take forever."
Olive Snooks
'Pushing Daisies'

MORE ON THE "GRIM CODE-NAME" MORONS

Okay, I saw 'The Grim Adventures Of The Kids Next Door' and it made for a pleasant diversion while I had breakfast and waited for the computer to open up a 'Doctor Who' video from last night's "Children In Need" telethon.

But woof! When the Delightful Reaper split apart and all of the assimilated children spilled forth, it was nearly impossible to see all of the individual toon characters due to my MacDivver's limited capabilities (no slo-mo). I ran that scene back a few times and freeze-framed as best I could, but I'm just glad somebody else did the work of identifying them all for us.

BCnU!
Toby OB

SATURDAY'S DAILY REMINDER

CLICK ON THE BANNER FOR THE LATEST INFO!

The writers may not be out on the picket lines today, but that doesn't mean the strike doesn't go on!

The Monday following Thanksgiving, the studios & networks have agreed to come back to the bargaining table to meet with the Writers Guild of America. But even so, the writers are going to keep up the good fight and will still be walking the picket lines during next week.

Let them know - in your own blogs or websites, if you pass them picketing on the streets of Hollywood or New York, in emails to the Guild and to forums like NY Times - that you support them in their struggle to get what they deserve for their valuable contributions to the world of "new media".

Make it so.

BCnU!
Toby OB

BAD DATE

BIG mistake with 'Journeyman', this week! But luckily it's within the online site from NBC and not within the show itself, so there's no real need to worry about de-Zonkifying it.
Check that graphic above. In their interactive timeline for the latest episode, "Winterland", they claim that the first episode of 'Saturday Night Live' aired in 1973 with George Carlin hosting. But actually, and I remember this because I KNOW I was in college at the time and NOT in high school!, that it happened in 1975. I just looked it up and it was October 11th, 1975.

But at least they got it right that George Carlin hosted.

I went to the NBC site to check if they really were in 1974 or not, since the hippies who were living in that time weren't even sure what year it was. And I was doing that because I was checking a website for Neil Young's gigs at the Winterland, and he didn't play there in 1974. He did in 1973, which is what year the hippies originally thought it was.

And yet supposedly they were on their way to the Winterland to see Neil in concert.

Sloppiness...... Sad, really..... Don't they have somebody fact-checking the online team?

BCnU!
Toby OB

THE GRIM CODE NEXT DOOR

Or something to that effect....

I received this anonymous comment in the blog the other day:

"good to see you back, were you aware that there was a cartoon crossover last Sunday on cartoon network between Kids next door and the grim adventures of billy and mandy, it was pretty good"

I wasn't aware of it and so I unfortunately missed it. But huzzah! It's on again tonight at 8:30 pm EST, so I'll make sure I "divver" it. (I'm sleeping at that time!)

I checked out its pages at TV.com and Wikipedia and found out the following information... information... information...

1] This crossover special between 'The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy' and 'Code Name: Kids Next Door' revolved around Billy being rescued from his dad's "lucky pants". ("When a scythe-related mishap gets Billy stuck in his Dad's lucky pants, only the Kids Next Door can save him from a grounding of a lifetime.")

2] When the Delightful Reaper blowed up real good, out popped the 'Powerpuff Girls', 'Ed, Edd n' Eddy', Adam from 'My Gym Partner's a Monkey', Goo and Mac from 'Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends', Dexter, Dee Dee, and Mandark, from 'Dexter's Laboratory' and Andy from 'Squirrel Boy' pop out.

3] There were references to other cartoons 'Camp Lazlo', 'Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends' and 'My Gym Partner's A Monkey' when Fred Fredburger said:

"I like shows with monkeys... monkeys that go to camp, and also imaginary friends..."

4] Another tooncentric quote that didn't Zonk:

Billy: "Hey, You're not the Powerpuff Girls!"

5] And there just HAD to be a Scooby reference!

Mandy: "And I would have gotten away with it if wasn't for you meddling Kids Next Door."

6] Dora from 'Pandora's Lunch Box' was seen arguing over which stuffed animal is better; it was her third appearance in the toon series.

BCnU!
Toby OB

"Um, can I come out of the TV?
I gotta poo-poo."
Fred Fredburger
'The Grim Adventures Of The Kids Next Door'

SIDLE OUT THE DOOR

"Gil,

You know I love you. I feel I've loved you forever.

Lately, I haven't been feeling very well. Truth be told, I'm tired. Out in the desert, under that car that night, I realized something, and I just can't take it. Since my father died, I've spent almost my entire life with ghosts. We've been like close friends, and out there in the desert, it occurred to me that it was time for me to bury them. I can't do that here. I'm so sorry. No matter how hard I try to fight it off, I'm left with the feeling that I have to go.

I have no idea where I'm going, but I know I have to do this. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll self destruct, and worse, you'll be there to see it happen.

Be safe. Know that I tried very hard to stay. Know that you're my one and only. I will miss you with every beat of my heart. Our life together was the only home I've ever really had. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you. I always will.

Good bye."
And with that message, Sara Sidle left the Las Vegas world of forensics.

(For the sake of alliteration, I wanted to say she left forensics forever, but CBS has said that the door is open for her to return someday.)

CBS put up a video a few weeks ago that gave the character of Sara a farewell musical tribute and you can find it here. ("Breaking Down" by Jenni Alpert was the song.)

Where will Sara Sidle go now in Toobworld? Alls I know, as Stuart Best used to say on 'Murphy Brown', is that it probably won't be televised. We'll see women who look like her, I'm sure, but I don't see any reason now why Sara would be living under an alias. (One from the past, FBI Agent Gina Toscano, lives in an alternate TV dimension where Matt Santos is the President of the United States.)

Based on that goodbye note, she won't be pursuing the same life in forensics that she had in Las Vegas. So that means we can't assume Sara could be working on other cases unseen on TV for shows like:

'CSI: NY'
'CSI: Miami'
'Law & Order'
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
'Dexter'
'The Closer'
'Saving Grace'
'Without A Trace'
'Cold Case'
'Criminal Minds'
'NCIS'
'Numb3rs'
'Bones'
'The Shield'
'Women's Murder Club'

Nor should we think that Sara is living within the realms of old shows like 'Homicide: Life On The Street' and 'The X-Files'. (Although I am charmed by the idea of her working with Lt. Columbo!)

I think she would pursue some other interest that still called on at least one of her talents - her skill with a camera. Perhaps she can take the time to clear her head, her heart and her soul by removing herself entirely from the general population. Sara could head back out into the wild to experiment with nature photography.

I think she has some past experience living in the great outdoors, before her life in the Las Vegas crime lab. Because if I'm not mistaken, it sure looks like Sara Sidle in this blipvert for Labatt's Beer.....

Wherever she ends up, Toobworld Central wishes her well. And the same goes for Jorja Fox - not that the two are related in Toobworld, of course.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

VIRAL RERUN

Zonks can be like a virus. They can be successfully treated in one show, only to reappear in another series, stronger than before.

Such is the case with the "Rerun" Zonk. One week ago, 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' made a reference to the character of "Rerun" from 'What's Happening!'. This was easy to fix because the only thing that was mentioned was "Rerun". So I was able to deflect that pretty easily.

But now it's resurfaced, this time on '30 Rock' and it's more virulent. This time, Liz Lemon mentioned not only "Rerun", but the name of the show, 'What's Happening!'.
So that means I have to do a bit more of that same riff as established before. For some reason, the real life of "Rerun" Stubbs and his friends was thought to be interesting enough to have a TV series produced about it. And it could be that Fred "Rerun" Berry, who in Toobworld could have been a "Rerun" Stubbs impersonator, was hired to play the role.

And that would splain why Tracy Jordan was seen pre-credits on this week's episode of '30 Rock' dancing like "Rerun" from 'What's Happening!'.

By next week, if a "Rerun" Zonk pops up on 'Face The Nation', I'm packing it in!

BCnU!
Toby OB

FRIDAY'S DAILY REMINDER

CLICK ON THE BANNER
FOR THE LATEST INFO.


SUPPORT THE WGA!

THE MEI LING DYNASTY

Looking through the IMDb section about character names, one might come to the conclusion that "Mei Ling" is about as common a Chinese name as "Susan" or "Mary". (Not really sure what would be the most common/popular names in Toobworld, actually. No matter how many times you say it, I don't think it would be "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia".)

And just as I wouldn't claim that Mary Richards of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' was related to Mary Ingalls of 'Little House On The Prairie', just because they share the same first name, I'm not making any claim that all of the Mei Lings I have listed here are related.

(Hrmmmm..... that idea about Mary Ingalls and Mary Richards though..... Both women living in Minnesota.....)

Where was I? Oh yeah. The name "Mei Ling".

TV series episodes
Ling Bai (Mei Ling) . . . "Jake 2.0" (2003)
{Cater Waiter (#1.3)}

Tina Chen (I) (Mei Ling) . . . "Delphi Bureau, The" (1972)
{The Deadly Little Errand (#1.1)}

Judy Dan (Mei Ling) . . . "Adventures in Paradise" (1959)
{Queens Back to Back (#3.4)}
Inspector Bouchard needs a judge for the "Miss Tahiti" beauty contest. The job is a little hard to fill since the citizens of Tahiti generally turn the annual beauty contest into an annual Donnybrook.

Lorna Ho (Mei-Ling Wan) . . . "Hawaii Five-O" (1968)
{Twenty-Four Karat Kill (#1.6)}

Mia Korf (Mei Ling) . . . "Loving" (1983) {(1988-01-15)}

Michelle Krusiec (Mei Ling Hwa Darling) . . . "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007)
Mei-Ling Hwa Darling is one of the Darling family's daughters-in-law of Tripp and Letitia Darling. (Mei Ling Hwa Darling is pictured to the left.)

Ankie Lau (Mei-Ling) . . . "Eurocops" (1988)
{Doppelleben (#1.34)} TV Series

Carol Lawrence (I) (Princes Mei Ling, The Widow O'Rourke) . . . "Wagon Train" (1957)
{The Widow O'Rourke Story (#7.4)}
Coop sets out to find Duke and Charlie who are being held prisoner by Princess Ling, the matriarch of a hidden Chinese empire which is guarded by Oriental men and worked by slaves. Princess Ling takes a liking to Coop because he bears an uncanny resemblence to her late husband, Terence O'Rourke an Irish sea Captain. She offers to adopt him, provide him with a chinese bride and bequeath him all her riches. (Robert Fuller in a dual role as Cooper Smith & Terence O'Rourke, the Irish sea Capt).

Lisa Lu (Mei Ling) . . . "COronado 9" (1959)
{Four and Twenty Buddhas (#1.9)}
A United States Customs badge, whose owner is dead, and a beautifuloriental girl, who is the custodian of a certain solid gold Buddha, are part of the intrigue in which Dan Adams is involved.

Lisa Lu (Mei Ling) . . . "Cimarron City" (1958)
{Chinese Invasion (#1.24)}
A foreman in charge of a Chinese work gang has terrorized the workers, who are building a railroad spur near Cimarron City. Mayor Matt Rockford and Sheriff Lane Temple look into the foreman's activities.

Lisa Lu (Mei Ling) . . . "Tightrope" (1959)
{The Chinese Pendant (#1.28)}
The Undercover Agent enters the jewelry-robbery game in order tocrack Ben Verlaine's mob.

It could be that the Mei Ling played by Lisa Lu in both 'Tightrope' and 'COronado 9' are the same woman. And the Mei Ling of the Old West in 'Cimarron City' could be her ancestress.

Christina Ma (I) (Mei Ling) . . . "Martial Law" (1998)
{Diamond Fever (#1.2)}
{Shanghai Express (#1.1)}

Taayla Markell (Mei Ling) . . . "Twilight Zone, The" (2002)
{Time Lapse (#1.7)}

Nobu McCarthy (Mei Ling) . . . "Mister Ed" (1961)
{Coldfinger (#6.3)}
{Ed Breaks the Hip Code (#6.4)}

Pilar Seurat (Mei Ling) . . . "Islanders, The" (1960)
{The Strange Courtship of Danny Koo (#1.19)}

Irene Tsu (Mei Ling) . . . "Wonder Woman" (1976)
{The Man Who Made Volcanoes (#2.9)}

Teo-Wa Vuong (Mei Ling) . . . "Bill, The" (1984)
{Too Many Cooks (#14.110)}

But wait! There's more!

TV Movies
Natalie Au (Mei Ling) . . . Walking Shadow (2001)

Susan Egan (Mei Ling) . . . Aladdin (1990)

Hannah Ho (Mei Ling) . . . Crooked Man, The (2003)

Helena Li (Mei Ling Kwong) . . . Border Line (1999)

Victoria Mallory (Princess Mei Ling) . . . Aladdin (1967)

Julia Nickson-Soul (Mei Ling) . . . Harry's Hong Kong (1987)

And as an added bonus.....

Tooniverse
Jane Perry (I) (Mei-Ling (Lin-lin)) . . . Vampire Hunter: The Animated Series (1997)

Moira Quirk (Mei Ling) . . . "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" (2002)
{Block-Long Hong Kong Terror (#3.9)} TV Series

Ultimately, it's just a first name; there are no ramifications - except perhaps in the case of those characters played by Lisa Lu - to be found in the women listed above sharing the same name.

But then again....

BCnU!
Toby OB