HANGING OUT THE SHINGLE IN TWO DIMENSIONS

I've added 'Harry's Law' to my DVR queue on Monday nights, probably the most over-packed night of programming for Toobworld Central. But I'm a big fan of the David E. Kelley style of quirk and so far I'm enjoying what 'Harry's Law' is contributing to the televersion of Cincinnati.

The series is only two episodes old, but did you know it already exists in an alternate TV dimension?

First, take a look at this overview of the series, provided by NBC:

In the pilot episode that was aired, the opening scene - with Harry getting fired from a high-profile law firm where she dealt in patent law - featured voice-over narration by Harriet Korn. Later, she worked with the nerdy young lawyer who struck her down with his car. Adam Branch was played by Nate Corddry.

You don't find that in the alternate TV dimension.....

Right off the bat, the most notable difference missing from the pilot that was aired is the Woody Woodpecker cartoon. Instead we got a clip from a Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam cartoon. (Maybe 'Harry's Law' is a Warner Brothers production?)

But there were two key casting changes as well. Adam Branch started out as an older British lawyer, played by Ben Chaplin. The word on him being dropped was that it wasn't a good fit between the actor and the character. And Harry's boss at the old law firm was changed too, most noticeably follicle-wise. I have no clue who that actor was playing the role originally, but Ivar Brogger is the official version now in the main Toobworld. BCnU!

"EAGLEHART" PREVIEW

Chris Elliott has a new show coming to Adult Swim, which could be described as 'Walker, Texas Ranger' given the 'Get Smart' treatment.

Here's the preview.....

Elliott's an acquired taste, so we'll see......

BCnU!

DVD (& MTM) PLAYER

I don't think I'm ever out of a DVD/MTM frame of mind, so here are three videos to satisfy that craving this Video Weekend......

First up, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore appearing together on the 'Tonight' show. And for once, Johnny Carson was actually there as the host......

Several years later, Mary was the very special guest on Dick's variety show, 'Van Dyke & Company'.......

And finally, CBS put together a fantastic montage of scenes from 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' as part of the celebrations during a TV special....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE TEFLON DON

The word on the street has it that John Travolta will be playing John Gotti on the big screen.

He's been played several times on television. Here are a couple of scenes from one of those productions.....

JOHN GOTTI

AS SEEN IN:
"Gotti"

AS PLAYED BY:
Armand Assante

BCnU!

PAMIRO?

When I went looking for the 'Office'/'Office' crossover video on YouTube, this fan-made video popped up as well. Video appears to be the future for 'shipper fanfic:

Of course, it can't be part of the main Toobworld, and I'm not sure it belongs anywhere in the TV Universe. Too many factors had to be changed in the characters' lives just to get to the point where this leads off and that would ruin the dynamic for both series.

Now, if they had only kept it simple and had Hiro appear at the "Casino Night" held by the Dunder-Mifflin staff in Scranton, using the 'Heroes' footage of Hiro at the casino in Las Vegas, then that might have been more acceptable.

Still, there is one thing I'm thankful for, having seen this video. I'm now a fan of the music of Mike Doughty. I LOVE "I Hear The Bells", and I've gone on to watch several other videos based on his songs.

BCnU!

"OFFICE"/"OFFICE" O'BSERVATIONS

We had to wait seven seasons for it, but it was well worth the wait - Michael Scott, the main character of the American version of 'The Office' met David Brent of the original British version:

As Emperor Palpatine said, everything proceeded exactly as I had foreseen it. I knew they would literally bump into each other - but I thought it might have been at a paper convention or something of the like. I also knew it would be short and sweet, because anything longer would have eventually felt labored. Never planned on it happening during the opening tease, but that also made sense - keep it apart from the main stories.

And yet even so, I was left wanting more. In the end, I guess that means it was successful.

The length of the scene ultimately didn't matter, because it still held massive ramifications for Toobworld and justifies having both series in the same dimension. As such, I think we have already locked in the winner for Best Crossover of the Year in the 2011 Toobits Awards!

BCnU!

THE NTAs = NATURAL TEMPORAL ANOMALIES?

For our Video Weekend offering of 'Doctor Who', we've got a timely clip - the NTA Awards were handed out this week in Great Britain. And without giving anything more away, here's how the show opened:



It reminded me of some of the very best of the Emmy Award openings over the years......

And for Toobworld's purposes, I'm leaning toward accepting it as canon. Everybody who appeared in it were presented as members of the League of Themselves or remained in character as they appear in Toobworld. There was no real breaking of the fourth wall, no shattering the illusion.

As such, there would be connections to 'Coronation Street', 'EastEnders', 'The X-Factor' (? Or was that their 'Idol' show? NO! MediumRob says it's 'Britain's Got Talent' with future prime minister Amanda Holden) plus people like Bruce Forsyth, Ant & Dec, and the host for the awards presentation, Dermot O'Leary.

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: CHARLIE CALLAS

From the New York Times:
Charlie Callas, a rubber-faced comedian who cavorted on television and the nightclub circuit in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, often punctuating punch lines with sound effects emanating from his motor-mouth, died on Thursday in Las Vegas. He was 86.

A string bean of a man with a Cyrano-sized nose, Mr. Callas appeared on virtually every television variety and talk show in the days of Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson. He was a regular on “The Andy Williams Show” and “The ABC Comedy Hour,” a semiregular on “The Flip Wilson Show” and a co-host of “The Joey Bishop Show.”

For More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/arts/television/29callas.html?_r=1&src=twrhp

Here are three videos in which Charlie Callas showed off his specialties:

Charlie tells a joke, with all of those weird sound effects he could make:

And here he is playing two different characters on 'The Dean Martin Roasts':

You brought a lot of joy to the small screen, Mr. Callas. Thank you. Good night and may God bless.

BCnU.....

AS SEEN ON TV: GEORGE JESSEL

Comedian Charlie Callas has passed away at the age of 86. Rubbery-faced and an all-around manic nutjob in his comedy routines, he also played it straight - or near as, anyway - in a few TV shows and movies. I'll remember him best as Malcolm Argos on the mid-70's detective series 'Switch' with Robert Wagner, Eddie Albert, and Sharon Gless.

But here he is in character for one of the 'Dean Martin Roasts', this time for Don Rickles. And for the young-uns out there, he's doing an impression of "Toastmaster General" Georgie Jessel.....

GEORGE JESSEL

AS SEEN ON:
'The Dean Martin Roasts'

AS PLAYED BY:
Charlie Callas

From Wikipedia:
George Jessel (3 April 1898 – 23 May 1981) was an American illustrated song "model," actor, singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning movie producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. He was widely known by his nickname, the "Toastmaster General of the United States" for his frequent role as the master of ceremonies at political and entertainment gatherings.

He became known as a host on the banquet circuit, famous for his good-natured wit aimed at his fellow celebrities. In 1946, he was one of the founding members of the California branch of the Friars Club. (A recording exists of an example of his "blue" work in front of a stag audience, although it was actually recorded at a roast hosted by the Friars' rival, the Masquers Club.) He also traveled widely overseas with the USO entertaining troops. As he grew older, he wrote eulogies for many of his contemporaries in Hollywood.

And this is the type of Jessel material we see Charlie Callas performing here......

For more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jessel_(actor)

BCnU!

MONA LIZABETH

Although sex reassignment surgeries were publicized world-wide in late 1952, men had been getting their genders changed years before Christine Jorgenson. And I don't see why that couldn't be the case as well in Toobworld. And if so, why couldn't some of the female TV characters we've seen over the years have that type of secret in their background? They may be played by actresses, but couldn't there be a few women who were once men?

I mean no disrespect to the actress who played her, and I had this idea before I learned of the slurs about her own personal life which she fought in the courts, but I'm thinking of at least one TV character who was presented as a woman, but who might have been a man before undergoing the surgeries - Mrs. Roberts, in an episode of 'Burke's Law'.

Aside from the strong definition to her features that gives her a hardened look, and that husky nature to her voice, nothing suggests that the woman could be a man. But once I got the idea in my head, it was hard not to see that the pozz'bility existed.

Captain Burke may have sensed her secret and wasn't open-minded about it. "You don't like me," Mrs. Roberts said to him. But then, she had been making a very blatant attempt to come on to him, and he may have been repulsed just by that alone.

It wasn't just Amos Burke who was put off by Mrs. Roberts......

Detective Tim Tilson:
"A woman like that makes me nervous."

Sgt. Les Hart:
"I've got news for you, son.
I've been around a lot longer,
And a woman like that makes me nervous too."

She and her husband had separate bedrooms and an arrangement in their marriage. She was more of a trophy for him and she had access to his wealth and fame. If she was a transgender, it could be that he probably didn't even know about it. Secrets go both ways - she didn't know her husband had a brother, for example.

Near the end, the conversation between Mrs. Roberts and Captain Burke took on a new dimension if we listen to it with that suggestion in mind....

Captain Burke:
"I've learned a great deal about you too."

Mrs. Roberts:
"Have you?"

Captain Burke:
"Oh, we all leave a trail behind.
All you really have to do is learn how to pick up the signs."

Mrs. Roberts:
"And what did you find?"

Captain Burke:
"You've been on a few safaris all by yourself."

Double entendre? It could be that Mrs. Roberts got the sex change in order to make it easier to chase after other men as a woman. And just because she caught herself a husband, that didn't mean the hunt was over. She said as much herself earlier in the episode......

Mrs. Roberts:
"We all hunt... in one way or another....."

It's definitely an idea that was not in the script, nor in the interpretation by the actress. But it's a theory that just might be pozz'ble, just pozz'ble......

Oh yeah?
Then where's her Adam's Apple?

BCnU!