AS SEEN ON TV: CLEMENT ATLEE

Near the end of the 'Doctor Who' episode "Victory Of The Daleks", Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructed an aide to gather his war cabinet, including Clement Atlee.

We never get to see that happen though and from the Toobworld Central perspective, that was a shame. What sort of reaction might we have seen from the Eleventh incarnation of the Doctor when faced with a man who resembled his Second incarnation?

CLEMENT ATLEE

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward & Mrs. Simpson'

AS PLAYED BY:
Patrick Troughton

From Wikipedia:
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was also the first person to hold the office of Deputy Prime Minister, under Winston Churchill in the wartime coalition government, before leading the Labour Party to a landslide election victory over Churchill's Conservative Party in 1945. He was the first Labour Prime Minister to serve a full Parliamentary term, and the first to have a majority in Parliament.

The government he led put in place the post-war settlement, based upon the assumption that full employment would be maintained by Keynesian policies, and that a greatly enlarged system of social services would be created – aspirations that had been outlined in the wartime Beveridge Report. Within this context, his government undertook the nationalisation of major industries and public utilities as well as the creation of the National Health Service. After initial Conservative opposition to Keynesian fiscal policy, this settlement was broadly accepted by all parties until Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 and neoliberalism became mainstream.
His government also presided over the decolonisation of a large part of the British Empire when India, Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and Jordan obtained their independence. The British Mandate of Palestine also came to an end with the creation of Israel on the day of British withdrawal.

In 2004, he was voted the greatest British prime minister of the 20th century in a poll of 139 professors organised by [a major British survey organization].

BCnU!

HOY THERE! (AND THERE....)

Robert Hoy, who died earlier this year, is perhaps best known for his role as Joe Butler on 'The High Chaparral' from 1967-1971. And it seems that Joe was known for always wearing a blue shirt while working on the ranch.

If so, it could be that he was wearing blue shirts long before he started working for the Cannon family.

From the opening scene of the 'Bonanza' episode "The Mission", Hoy can be seen as a cowboy drinking at the saloon in town where he had been listening to the stories of old Charlie Trent. When a couple of other cowboys started roughing up Charlie for what they thought were lies about his connection to the 1847 Fremont Expedition, Hoss Cartwright had to step in to save the old-timer.

Hoy played about nine roles in episodes of 'Bonanza', and we're not making the claim that all of them were Joe Butler; just this one. As for the rest, since the simplest splainin is always the best, we're going to claim that Butler's Pappy was a rolling stone......

A 'Bonanza' website timeline established that each episode took place 100 years before it aired, so this would be taking place around 1860. And as a Calvary captain (played by John Dehner) pointed out, there looked to be a war coming, so that could be verification.

Now, at a website celebrating 'The High Chapparal', it was voted that 1873 was the year in which the High Chaparral ranch was founded. So that gave Joe Butler plenty of time to grow that mustache of his.... BCnU!

TRAIPSIN' THROUGH THE MAPESES

In "Standing Room Only", one of the episodes of 'The Roaring 20's' which I watched at the Paley Center for Media after learning of the death of Dorothy Provine, there was a gambler/loan shark named Benny Mapes. Mapes had loaned Broadway producer Sheldon Farrington $10,000.00 in 1921 (thereabouts) and was willing to plant Farrington in cement shoes if he didn't get a return on his investment.

It could be that Mapes' father was a criminal named Art Mapes. And is so often the case in Toobworld, there was an incredible similarity in the tele-genetics of Art and Benny Mapes.

If they were father and son, the acorn didn't fall far from the tree. Art Mapes went to Canada in the early 1900's to help Maizie Atwater search for the will of her late husband. Their plan was to destroy the will so that his grand-daughter Jill couldn't inherit his estate. (Luckily, 'Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon' was able to stop them.)

Thousands of years later in the Toobworld timeline (circa 10,191 AG - "After Guild"), a Fremen on the Planet Arrakis served as the head housekeeper for the Imperial Residence in Arrakeen. Her name was Mapes and her honorary title was "Shadout". (It means "well-dipper.")

When Dr. Wellington Yueh realized that the Shadout Mapes knew he was the traitor in Atreides retinue, he killed her.

Any continuation of the exact lineage that links Art Mapes to the Shadout Mapes through his alleged son Benny is probably lost to the future ages......

As always, this is pure speculation.

Lewis Charles (seen here in an episode of 'Burke's Law') played both Art Mapes in 'Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon' and Benny Mapes in 'The Roaring 20's'. Jaroslova Siktancova played the Shadout Mapes in the TV mini-series of 'Dune'. BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WINSTON CHURCHILL

Last night, here in the United States, 'Doctor Who' presented their version of Winston Churchill (circa WWII) in "Victory Of The Daleks".

Toobworld Central will have a detailed reason as to why that man was an impostor. But in the meantime, here is the official televersion of the British Prime Minister:

WINSTON CHURCHILL

AS SEEN IN:
"Hallmark Hall of Fame"
- The Gathering Storm (1974)

"Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years"

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Burton

The reason why Mr. Liz Taylor soars above his nearest competitor, Robert Hardy (with five major productions, one of which had 12 episodes, so sixteen in all), is because Burton's Churchill racked up 25 episodes within 'Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years'!

The Gathering Storm (27 November 1960)
Combat Deepens (4 December 1960)
Dunkirk (11 December 1960)
French Agony (8 January 1961)
Take One with You (15 January 1961)
The Ravens Remain (22 January 1961)
Hinge of Fate (5 February 1961)
Alone No More (12 February 1961)
Out of the East (19 February 1961)
The Torch Is Lit (26 February 1961)
Sand and Snow (5 March 1961)
Strike Hard, Strike Home! (12 March 1961)
Closing the Ring (19 March 1961)
Be Sure You Win (26 March 1961)
Turning of the Tide (2 April 1961)
The Die Is Cast (9 April 1961)
D-Day (16 April 1961)
Set Europe Ablaze (23 April 1961)
Triumph in France (30 April 1961)
Beginning of the End (7 May 1961)
Final Christmas (14 May 1961)
Yalta (21 May 1961)
Tying the Knot (28 May 1961)
Gotterdammerung (4 June 1961)
Goodbye, Mr. Churchill (11 June 1961)

BCnU!

NUMBERS RUNNING: 4 NOW AND THEN

The number "4" from the 'Lost' sequence showed up twice today in my "toobing": one was from a classic detective drama and the other was so fresh, it only happened ten minutes ago as I write this!

First up, its appearance in the 'Burke's Law' episode "Who Killed Avery Lord?" And then it was the number worn by the winning team of Calvin Borel and Super Saver at the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
(I'll post this once I get up from my pre-work nap and I can get some actual photos from the Derby.....)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV NEWS: "CAMELOT" CASTING

The History Channel has announced the major cast members for its controversial mini-series on the Kennedy family:

John F. Kennedy - Greg Kinnear

Jacqueline Kennedy - Katie Holmes

Bobby Kennedy - Barry Pepper

Joseph Kennedy, Sr. - Tom Wilkinson

The mini-series is being drubbed because it's being produced by Joel Surnow, the ultra-conservative creator of '24'. However, Stephen Kronish, who claims to be a Democratic liberal, is writing the script.

We'll see what we shall view.....

BCnU!

HUNTIN' PECK

This is one of those posts I call my "days off stories", because it takes so long to work it all out....

'Fringe' has really been delivering the goods this season and a recent episode - "White Tulip" - was a fascinating look at time travel; made even better with the guest performance by Peter Weller as Alistair Peck, an astrophysicist specializing in bio-temporal travel. Basically, he was a home-grown quantum leaper.

But as good as the episode was, there was still a problem with its use of time travel.

Here's what happened: back in 2009, Peck's fiancee died in a horrible car accident. And since then Professor Peck worked on realizing his time travel theories so that he could go back to the accident. (We were led to believe that he wanted to change history by saving her life.) But every time he tried, Peck could only go back to a moment on board a "Mass Transit" train. (Not sure on the actual name of the train system, but I think it was a commuter service like a lower level Amtrak, more like NJ Transit.)

This ended up killing everybody in that train car - his "quantum leap" needed to drain all of the energy in the immediate area upon Peck's arrival and that included the bio-electrical energy in human bodies. With an assist by Walter Bishop, Peck was finally able to get back to before the accident - in time to join his fiancee in the car before the crash and so he died with her.

But here's the thing - what happened to the Alistair Peck of 2009?

On that date, at the time of the crash, Peck was standing in a field looking at a hot-air balloon. He chose to go back to that field so that the energy drain would only kill the surrounding vegetation - the grass and the trees. (No idea where the guy was who was supposed to be tending that hot-air balloon.)

But if he was already there, he would have been killed as well. And that would have negated his whole future, which would have rewritten history or created a parallel timeline. By rights, Peck should have faded from existence as soon as he reached the past if this happened.

Now, let's suppose the 2009 Peck didn't reach that field before the 2010 Peck arrived from the future. He was a genius so it wouldn't be long before he realized that he'd have to change his identity while he continued his research. But the plan of action would alter history as well since he no longer would be following his original timeline. In the 'Doctor Who' episode "The Idiot's Lantern", the Doctor and Rose Tyler were enjoying the neighborhood block party celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on June 2, 1953 at the end of their current adventure....

Out on the street, 50's music is playing, people are out on the street dancing and talking. Trestle tables line the centre of the road covered in pastries, cakes, drinks, etc. The Doctor and Rose walk down the street.

ROSE

We could go down the mall, join in with the crowd.

THE DOCTOR

Nah, that's just pomp and circumstance.

This is history right here.

ROSE

The domestic approach.

THE DOCTOR

Exactly.

[courtesy of the Doctor Who (2005+) Transcripts site]
History isn't just the big events; it's the result of the small interactions we have with other ordinary people. Change just one of those encounters, and history could be affected. It brings to mind that classic example of Chaos Theory - kill a butterfly in the primordial past and you could alter the future timeline.

So if 2009 Peck had to abandon his previous life, that means he could no longer have any interaction with the people he should have met in his previously played-out future - family members, business associates, friends, neighbors, grocery clerks, his doctor and dentist, etc. And those lost encounters would remove the ripple effects which could have led to other "historical" events. Small they may have been, but ultimately they could have led to something of greater impact.

We could use such an alteration to the timeline to splain away any discrepancy in a TV show episode that took place between May 18, 2009, and whenever "White Tulip" took place. (That's a project I have not yet looked into. I was hoping it could be used to wipe out the appearances of Governor Shalvoy from 'Law & Order', but Tom Everett Scott began playing that role in 2008.) So if you think of anything that causes a discrepancy in a TV show after May 19, 2009 (in the Toobworld timeline), let me know. Maybe we can bring that show back into the fold using this rewrite of history.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BUSTER KEATON

BUSTER KEATON

AS SEEN IN:
"Lucy"

AS PLAYED BY:
Ian Mune

You can read about Lucille Ball's association with the legendary silent film star here.

And here's a picture of the real life Buster Keaton with Lucille Ball..... BCnU!

TELE-GENETICS: DUNPHY DADS

I think Fred Willard's appearance as Frank Dunphy on this past week's episode of 'Modern Family' has to be the top contender for Best Tele-Genetics in the 2010 Toobits Awards!

Frank Dunphy Phil & Claire Dunphy

Just sayin', is all......

BCnU!

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY: PINKY AND DAISY

In order to pay tribute to Dorothy Provine, who passed away this week at the age of 73 (according to the IMDb; I've seen her age listed as 75 as well.), I went to the Paley Center for Media today and watched two episodes of 'The Roaring 20's'. (I would have watched the only other one that they had in the library, but it was on tape and not digital; I would have had to access that from a different terminal.) There were no episodes from her other TV show, 'The Alaskans', which I would have liked to see, nor anything from her guest work on such shows as 'Hawaiian Eye' and '77 Sunset Strip'. (In two episodes separated by several years - "Downbeat" and "Upbeat" - Miss Provine's character of Nora Shirley participated in a crossover between '77 Sunset Strip' and 'Bourbon Street Beat'.)

Dorothy Provine played Delaware "Pinky" Pinkham on 'The Roaring 20's', a flapper entertainer at the Charleston Club in Manhattan, but who also performed in burlesque houses like B.F. Keith's Palace. And it was during her rendtion of "Ain't We Got Fun?", dressed like a hobo, that I had an idea for a "Theory of Relateeveety".

Prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933, but since the show is called 'The Roaring 20's', we'll limit the range of the series to the decade from 1920 to 1930. Allowing that Prohibition was underway for about a year (Everybody seems to have become comfortable with the situation), I'm thinking that Pinky was the same age as Miss Provine when she filmed the series. So Pinky Pinkham was 23 in 1921, and that means she was born in 1898.

It'll be my contention that when she was 15 or 16 years old and before she was professionally known as "Pinky", Delaware Pinkham had a child out of wedlock and either gave it up for adoption, or gave it to a family member to raise.

A child that young having a child of her own is not unheard of. (Consider Nancy from the 'Doctor Who' episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances".) By the age of 15, Pinky could have already embraced the easy morals that would come to be associated with the following decade.

Whether Pinky had any relationship with the child once she gave it up is as unknown as the actual truth to this theory. But either way, the child - a daughter who was given the name of Daisy and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, - grew up to have the same natural talent as her birth mother. (And we got to meet her in the TV series 'Dead Like Me'.)

In her adopted family (or in her foster family if she was raised by a family member), there was another girl whom Daisy considered to be her own sister. (They may have been half-sisters.) During the course of the series, it was suggested that Daisy's sister had been killed by an abusive husband/boyfriend/lover.

Whether she was adopted by a family named "Adair", or it was a stage name she took upon starting her own career, Daisy Adair headed west when she came of age to seek out a career in the movie business.

Sadly, Daisy's life was short-lived. She died at the age of 25, a year after Prohibition ended. (The cause of death was asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation; she would tell people she died giving head to Clark Gable during the making of "Gone With The Wind".) After death, she became a reaper, collecting the souls of those who were about to die violently. Well into the Aughts of this millennium Daisy Adair was still reaping souls.

It is unknown if she ever learned the truth of her birth and that her mother was the entertainer known as Pinky Pinkham. As always, this is all pure conjecture.....

BCnU!