Monday, February 28, 2011

THE HAT SQUAD: DUKE SNIDER

Duke Snider has passed away at the age of 84. He was the centerfielder of the Brooklyn - and then Los Angeles Dodgers - back when they were "The Boys Of Summer". And he was instrumental in bringing the World Series trophy to Brooklyn in the Dodgers' only Series win while they were still in New York.

From the New York Times:
He was the only player to hit four homers twice in a World Series, including in 1955, when the Dodgers ended decades of frustration and defeated the Yankees, bringing Brookyn its only World Series championship.

As if for good measure, in 1957, before the Dodgers left for Los Angeles, he hit the last home run at their famous Brooklyn ballpark, Ebbets Field.


Twice Duke Snider appeared as himself in Toobworld (aside from all of those televised games, talk shows, etc.) First, he appeared in a 1956 episode of 'Father Knows Best' entitled "Hero Father". And then three decades later, he was in a 1988 episode of 'Simon & Simon' known as "Zen And The Art Of The Split Finger Fastball".

He may have also been in at least one of those classic "Less Filling vs Tastes Great" blipverts for Miller Lite......

BCnU.....

AS SEEN ON TV: THURGOOD MARSHALL

Toobworld Central brings its O'Bservation of Black History Month to a close with a biggie for the "As Seen On TV" showcase.....

THURGOOD MARSHALL

AS SEEN IN:
"Thurgood"

AS PLAYED BY:
Laurence Fishburne

From Wikipedia:
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education. He was nominated to the court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.


On November 30, 1993, Justice Marshall was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.






We upped the ante with this year's collection, but there's always room for improvement. At the same time, the portrayal of historical blacks is a limited Toobworld resource without filling the roster with SNL parodies. Those just defeat the purpose if that's all you use.

The one place where there could have been true improvement this year was in the portrayal of black women. We had only six historical blacks represented last year in February, but half of those were women. This year we had nine black historical characters, yet none of them were women.

We'll see what we can do for 2012.

BCnU!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

RECASTAWAYS: KINGS & QUEENS

It's looking to be the typical love affair Hollywood has with all things British when it comes to the Best Picture race at the Oscars, with "The King's Speech" getting all the buzz to be the winner. I still think "The Social Network" has a chance to snatch it away from what I thought was a well-made, but rather ordinary movie with two stellar performances that should be recognized. But what do I know? I think "Inception" was the best movie of the year for what it represented as the push forward in what film-making is all about. THAT is the movie that people will still be talking about and watching years from now, but then... this is "E.T." vs. "Gandhi" all over again.....

Anyhoo, here's a video compilation of the line of kings and queens who have ruled over England and then Great Britain right up to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Both movies and TV are represented here, and it was nice to see a touch of 'Doctor Who' flit past during the collection of Queen Victorias.


This video was made before "The King's Speech" came out; othewise, there could have been three more entries to be presented - George V (Michael Gambon), Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), and George VI (Colin Firth).

My favorite moment? When contact is made with that cannonball! You'll know it when you see it!






BCnU!

PYTHONIAE

How about a couple of fat juicy Python sketches from outside of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'?



MONTY PYTHON IN AMERICA



TOP OF THE FORM



BCnU!

BLIPVERTS: ADIDAS "STAR WARS"

Time to make believe to pay the bills....






BCnU!

MISTER FREEMAN

Words fail me. But I do see a little bit o' myself in this guy!




I'm glad he's only in the Tooniverse.....

BCnU!

ASOTV VIDEO: JAMES FRANCO

In connection to James Franco being one of the co-hosts for the Oscars tonight.....




BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE OSCARS HOSTS

Sunday's the big night for the annual Academy Awards presentation on ABC. And this year the hosts are Anne Hathaway and James Franco (who's also nominated for Best Actor for his role in "127 Hours").......

From the Academy's press release:
Beverly Hills, CA (November 29, 2010) – James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today. Both have previously appeared on the telecast but not in hosting capacities.
"James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27," said Cohen and Mischer. "We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that."

Franco, who currently can be seen in "127 Hours," will be making his second appearance on an Oscar telecast. His other film credits include "Eat, Pray, Love," "Date
Night," "Milk" and "Pineapple Express." Franco is also known for his portrayals of Harry Osborn in the "Spider-Man" trilogy.

Hathaway will be making her fifth appearance on an Academy Awards telecast. She was recently seen in "Alice in Wonderland" and currently can be seen in "Love and Other Drugs." Hathaway's other film credits include "Bride Wars," "Becoming Jane," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Princess Diaries." She was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for her lead performance in "Rachel Getting Married."

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
James Franco:

Paul Brittain

Anne Hathaway:
Abby Elliot

BCnU!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR?

I'm not really crazy about the idea, but based on what I've written in the past, the "crossover" between 'Hot In Cleveland' and 'All My Children' which played out over the last two weeks actually does work (in a convoluted way). And begrudingly, it may be hard to top when it comes to the 2011 Toobits Awards winner for Best Crossover of the Year......





BCnU!

BLIPVERTS: SUPER-HARMONY

BCnU!