BURKE'S ZONK

When a TV show mentions another TV show AS a TV show, even though they should be sharing the same TV dimension, that's what we all a Zonk (from 'Let's Make A Deal!')

One way to disable those Zonks is to claim that those mentioned TV shows were based on actual events. A lot of the subjects in those TV shows were based on newsworthy events - for example, 'Gilligan's Island'. When they were eventually rescued in the mid-1970's, I'll bet there were plenty of producers vying for their story. 'The Brady Bunch' may not have seemed newsworthy, but a blended family of a widower with three boys and a widow with three daughters (the youngest one in curls) would be a good human interest story.

Some of these TV shows based on TV shows/"real life" were produced while the original TV shows were on the air. 'Lost' inspired several references during its six year run, but that was set mostly in the past so that's a ready-made excuse.

The best example with visuals up to now was seeing Kramer of 'Seinfeld' working as a secretary in the TV adaptation of the life of 'Murphy Brown' (which starred Candice Bergen, who bore an amazing resemblance to the newswoman.) But I've now found what may be the oldest example of this form of Zonk-disabler - and it comes from within the referenced TV series!

At the end of the "Who Killed Cynthia Royal?" case in 'Burke's Law', Captain Amos Burke shared a TV dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and succotash with a "Sweet Young Thing". (That's how she was listed in the credits!)

And the TV show chosen by that Sweet Young Thing in the back of Burke's Rolls Royce? That Gene Barry was cast as Amos Burke means the millionaire detective had more than one doppelganger in Toobworld. There was also Snooky Martinelli, a wealthy playboy who would soon be the late Snooky Martinelli; and there was also Gene Bradley, a movie star who worked undercover for the government on missions located near the shooting locations for his films. For a while, 'The Adventurer' Gene Bradley would use "Amos Burke" as his alias, which I covered in the blog some time back.

And of course, the characters played by Gene Barry in such shows as 'The Name Of The Game', 'Our Miss Brooks', and guest spots in shows like 'Columbo' were also look-alikes for the millionaire police captain. BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: MICHELLE MALKIN

Something quick because we have a lot of other stuff to get to today.....

MICHELLE MALKIN

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Nasim Pedrad

From Wikipedia:
Michelle Malkin (née Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly, syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites nationwide. She has been a guest on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN, and national radio programs. Malkin has written four books.

No Valentines heading her way from Toobworld Central.....

BCnU!

AS STEWIE WOULD SAY: "CREAM OF HWEAT"

Finally, here's a blipvert to pay the bills.... as if!

BCnU!

SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS: "HOUSE" CALL

This was an in-house blipvert for FOX - literally, given the main character!

I have no problem with considering this as part of the 'House' storyline, so I'm calling it.....

Get it? House call? Ehhh, never mind......

BCnU!

THE STORY OF "O"

Speaking of TV superheroes, here's a recent blipvert from DirecTV:

I think that may be the same big City which was home for the superheroes Bat Manuel, Captain Liberty, the Tick, and Arthur as the Moth, as seen in the TV series 'The Tick'.

I'm not sure what happened to that quartet which would be keeping them from saving the City from such villainous scum, but they certainly don't appear in this commercial. Perhaps they had already been captured?

At any rate, the City is doomed because this guy has DirecTV. Thanks a lot, DirecTV!

But who is he, exactly?

I'm guessing, based on his emblem, that his name begins with an "O" - Omni-Man? Obsidian? Obelisk? No, they're already established in the comics. Omega Man? No, that's the name of a Charlton Heston movie. Captain Olfactory? Gus on 'Psych' already has a super-sniffer. What if it's a zero? It can't be Captain Z-Ro, however - that Time Lord had a totally different look back in the 1950's. (Perhaps it could be his grandson?)

The Oligarch? It has pozz'bilities, and Glenn Beck would hate it! (Mostly because it would be a reminder that he doesn't know how to spell the word.)

Well, whoever he is, and however this turned out, I'm going to link it to 'The Tick' for the time being......

BCnU!

THE KING OF SKITLANTIS

Recently, Inner Toob took a look at Aquaman's place in the main Toobworld, and we acknowledged that his traditional appearance does exist in the Tooniverse.

But thanks to my friend Tay Mueller, I learned that the Superhero King of the Sea can be found in Skitlandia as well!

Thanks, Tay!

B-Sea-nU!

"TELL HER ABOUT IT"

If I hadn't already featured Will Jordan as Ed Sullivan for the Sunday "As Seen On TV" video showcase back in 2009, then I would have used this video to do so. Because who better than the man who owned Sunday night TV for so many years....?

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: PEE-WEE HERMAN

Pee-Wee Herman recently brought his Playhouse to Broadway, and it was recorded for broadcast on HBO. But here's how Pee-Wee looked in Skitlandia:

PEE-WEE HERMAN

AS SEEN IN:
'MadTV'

AS PLAYED BY:
Jim Carrey

And here's a bit of a tease preview for that Pee-Wee Herman on Broadway special which will be coming to HBO on March 19:

I think my Uncle Skippy went through that process everyday to choose the proper bow-tie.....

BCnU!

SUPER BOWL BLIPVERT: ECCE PROMO!

Yeah, this Super Bowl blipvert was the biggest Zonk of the night. But it made me smile... even as I was banishing it to the Promoverse:

All of those scenes already happened in the main Toobworld (or as with 'South Park' and 'Family Guy', in the Tooniverse), and not even the CGI addition of uniforms and props could make it acceptable for it all to happen again.

BCnU!

THE SPIRIT OF TELEVISION

The networks rarely get super-heroes right for Toobworld. Currently, 'Smallville' is counting down through its final season and it's been highly successful..... Too bad it's set in the 'West Wing' TV dimension and not the main Toobworld. But Earth Prime-Time did have 'The Adventures of Superman' and that wasn't too shabby. 'Batman' was pretty good too. And for all its flaws, 'The Tick' was a lot of fun. ('Lois & Clark' was okay, but like 'Smallville', it was in another dimension.)

But for those few successes, there have been others like 'Once A Hero', 'Captain Nice', 'Mr. Terrific', 'Night Man', and on and on. And currently? 'The Cape'.

TV tried to make a TV hero out of Will Eisner's comic book hero The Spirit, but it's got the riff of cheesy 80's TV all about it. Even so, like most of those other TV comic book heroes, The Spirit is part of the main Toobworld.

Here's the first chapter of the TV movie pilot. It'll be up to you if you want to continue on and watch the whole thing.....

Up, up, and away!