AS SEEN ON TV (BONUS): BEETHOVEN

LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN

AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Jimmy Fallon

From About.com:

Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Op. 125, D Minor “Choral”

Beethoven’s last symphony, Symphony No. 9 marks a triumphant and glorious end. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was completed in 1824 when Beethoven was completely deaf, and was premiered on Friday, May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. Beethoven was the first composer to include the human voice at the same level as the instruments. Its text, “An Die Freude” was written by Schiller. When the piece ended, Beethoven, being deaf, was still conducting. The soprano soloist turned him around to accept his applause.

From The New York Times:
The Ninth had its premiere on an ambitious program that included an overture (“The Consecration of the House”) and three sections from the “Missa Solemnis,” Beethoven’s late-period sacred work. This symphony, the longest yet written and the first to include an elaborate choral finale, presented unprecedented technical challenges. The piece was performed by an assembled roster of professional and amateur players and choristers, apparently after just two full rehearsals. It is impossible to imagine that the performance came close to even subpar accounts today.

There was a tumultuous ovation, since Beethoven was a living legend and the sheer impact of this monumental symphony must have been astonishing. One anonymous critic proclaimed that Beethoven, a “son of the gods,” had “brought the holy, life-giving flame directly from heaven.”

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DEXTER MORGAN

DEXTER MORGAN

CREATED BY:

Jeff Lindsay

PORTRAYED BY:

Michael C. Hall

AS SEEN IN:

'Dexter'

From Wikipedia:

Dexter Morgan (né Moser) is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" (2004), "Dearly Devoted Dexter" (2005), "Dexter in the Dark" (2007), "Dexter by Design" (2009), "Dexter Is Delicious" (2010) and "Double Dexter" (2011). In 2006, the first novel was adapted into the Showtime TV series 'Dexter' and its companion web series 'Dexter: Early Cuts'.

In both the novels and the TV series, Dexter is a forensic blood spatter analyst who works for the fictitious Miami-Metro Police Department; in his spare time, he is a serial killer who preys on other murderers who have escaped the justice system. He follows an elaborate code of ethics and procedures taught to him in childhood by his foster father, Harry Morgan (which he refers to as "The Code" or "The Code of Harry"), which hinges on two principles: Dexter can only kill people after finding evidence that they are guilty of murder, and he must dispose of all evidence so he never gets caught.

Today's "As Seen On TV" showcase is dedicated to my friend Kathleen Trovato......

BCnU!

SKED ALERT! "SHERLOCK"

The second season of 'Sherlock' returns tonight to American TV. It's already been seen in Great Britain MONTHS ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if that lag time will be responsible for a drop in viewer support. I'll probably be the only one who didn't rush to the bit torrents to see it as soon as possible.

I'm just a luddenite that way.....

BCnU!

QUIXOTE KARLOFF

During the early years of television, Boris Karloff played the role of "Don Quixote". At least a decade later, he kind of returned to the role....

As Don Ernesto Silvana, he was an addled scientist with vital information in the 'I Spy' episode "Mainly On The Plains". Kelly and Scott had to keep him safe, but Don Ernesto insisted on acting out the role of Don Quixote, with the two spy babysitters as his squires, Pancho and Sanza......

BCnU!

TILTING AT WINDMILLS ONCE AGAIN

Here's another tooniversion of "Don Quixote". For as expansive as the magnum opus is, this story runs only about ten minutes......

BCnU!

MAGOO'S "DON QUIXOTE"

When Mr. Magoo portrayed "Don Quixote", he did so as an actor playing a role; he was not actually the errant knight. It's a conceit adopted by the book of "Man Of La Mancha" as well.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DON QUIXOTE

It's been a while since I dallied in the Tooniverse......

DON QUIXOTE

CREATED BY:

Miguel de Cervantes

VOICED BY:

Fernando Fernán Gómez

AS SEEN IN:

'Don Quixote'

From Wikipedia:

The novel follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, who reads too many chivalric novels, and sets out to revive chivalry under the name of Don Quixote. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza as his squire, who frequently deals with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood with a unique Earthy wit. He is met by the world as it is, initiating themes like Intertextuality, Realism, Metatheatre and Literary Representation.

Published in two volumes a decade apart, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published. In one such list, Don Quixote was cited as the "best literary work ever written".

Don Quixote, a Spanish gentleman of La Mancha Alonso Quijano (or Quesada, or Quijada), who believes himself and acts as a knight-errant as described in various medieval books of chivalry, riding his horse Rocinante.

Alonso Quijano, the protagonist of the novel, is a retired country gentleman nearing fifty years of age, living in an unnamed section of La Mancha with his niece and housekeeper. While mostly a rational man of sound reason, his reading of books of chivalry in excess has had a profound effect on him, leading to the distortion of his perception and the wavering of his mental faculties. In essence, he believes every word of these books of chivalry to be true though, for the most part, the content of these books is clearly fiction. Otherwise, his wits, in regards to everything other than chivalry, are intact. He decides to go out as a knight-errant in search of adventure. He dons an old suit of armour, renames himself "Don Quixote de la Mancha," and names his skinny horse "Rocinante". He designates a neighboring farm girl as his lady love, renaming her Dulcinea del Toboso, while she knows nothing about this.

For more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote

BCnU!

AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE! (TAKE YOUR TIME....)

As a theoretical concept, the Toobworld Dynamic works. In practice, we've seen it in action many times - a Western crossed over with a cop show. A sitcom that gave birth to a drama series. And then there's the TV cop who appeared in about nine different series (including a cartoon), over four different networks at least.

The Toobworld Dynamic is a visual world, unlike some of the other shared universes which can look beyond such problems as recasting. But sometimes the possibilities of the crossover should be left to the mind only.

This version of the new "Avengers" movie - using the 1970's TV counterparts of the super-heroes - is a good example. On paper, it works......

Of course, once you get to Hawkeye, the Destroyer, and Loki, it does get a bit silly (although Paul Lynde does rock the horns......)

Over in some off-shoot of the Cineverse, this 1940's version of the Avengers works better:

I could see the Rocketeer fitting right in with these people....

BCnU!

SKED ALERT! "TREASURE ISLAND"

Here are some more videos about "Treasure Island". This four hour mini-series will be seen in its entirety tonight on Syfy, starting at 7:00 PM EST.

It stars Eddie Izzard, Elijah Wood, Philip Glenister, Rupert Penry-Jones, David Harewood, Daniel Mays, and Donald Sutherland.

I'm really looking forward to this!

BCnU!

"TREASURE ISLAND" - ECCE PROMO!

I know 'The Mentalist' and CBS didn't plan this, since Syfy is part of the Univeral TV platform, like NBC.  But they gave a nice shout-out to tonight's presentation of the four hour mini-series.....

"So now we go home; watch TV.

Rent 'Treasure Island' - if it's not too depressing."

Patrick Jane

'The Mentalist'