I was thinking that all of the Friday Hall of Famers for July 2020 should be TV police detectives and maybe patrol officers. But it is a fairly finite group and I have to think of having enough for the Future. So after this one, we’ll get as far from that category as possible with a couple of League of Themselves inductees.
But for now….
ANTONIO DAWSON
From Wikipedia and two Chicago PD wikis: Antonio Dawson, portrayed by Jon Seda, is a fictional character in the Chicago franchise and is a main character in ‘Chicago P.D.’ and ‘Chicago Justice’. He was introduced as a recurring character on ‘Chicago Fire’ before the spin-off ‘Chicago P.D.’ was created. He was previously the second in command of the Intelligence Unit of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and regularly appears on ‘Chicago Fire’ as he is the older brother of Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson, formerly a paramedic-turned-firefighter at Firehouse 51.
The character was first introduced in ‘Chicago Fire’ as one of several recurring characters from the CPD who cross paths with the firefighters.
In October 2016 Seda confirmed that the character would move to the third spin-off ‘Chicago Justice’, debuting in March 2017, after resigning from his position in the CPD to take up a job with the State's Attorney's Office. After ‘Chicago Justice’ was cancelled, the character was written to have returned to the CPD due to his frustration with the bureaucratic red tape he often encountered.
Dawson and his wife Laura have two children, Eva and Diego. His wife runs a restaurant which the children help in. However, Dawson's dedication to his job take a toll on their marriage, resulting in her leaving with their two children. They eventually divorce under acrimonious terms and she prevents the children from seeing their father for some time. Eva took it particularly hard and even resorted to running away to see her father.
The custody issue was never fully explained on the show; the children live with their mother and Dawson keeps in touch with them by phone.
Dawson was raised Catholic and once quipped to Olinsky about being "in a confessional every other day" as a boy. A boxing enthusiast (like actor Jon Seda), he had a difficult adolescence and boxing was his outlet, as shown by the fact that he runs his own gym and moonlights as a trainer when off duty. He is the older brother of ‘Chicago Fire’ character Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson. The siblings come from a large extended family and share a close relationship. (He is supposedly ten years her senior.)
The character is frequently seen on ‘Chicago Fire’ and was first introduced in the episode "Professional Courtesy" after Gabby and her colleagues from Firehouse 51 rescue a boy and his father in a car accident caused by a drunk Justin Voight, Hank's son. He is generally well liked by the firefighters at 51.
Before transferring to Intelligence, Dawson worked on the Vice Squad. He was partnered with Detective Julie "Jules" Willhite, with whom he shared a close friendship, until she was killed by drug lord Andres "Pulpo".
Antonio joined the CPD at a young age and after passing the academy, had Trudy Platt as his Field Training Officer. He then pulled Platt out of the line of fire when she was shot during a shootout.
Dawson soon showed his abilities to ranking officers and was quickly assigned to the VICE unit and worked with them for a few years before transferring.
Hank Voight recruited Dawson into the Intelligence Section after he was arrested by him and saw that he was a determined and honest police officer. Dawson and Voight had somewhat of a strained partnership through the first few seasons, but soon they figured out how to work together.
Antonio resigned from the CPD after receiving a job offer from Peter Stone. Dawson was offered to join the State Attorney's Office as a Chief Investigator. His partner investigator is Laura Nagel.
However, he took Voight up on the offer to come back, because he felt the job he did at the Office was "boring".
After returning, Antonio is paired with Kim Burgess. He got a new car - a Ford Fusion titanium.
Antonio carried a Glock 17, but was seen often switching between a shoulder holster and a standard belt holster; since Season 6 same thing.
Antonio's badge number was 50259.
According to Voight, Antonio was going to be in the Olympics for boxing prior to the series. This is further implemented into his character in how he owns a training gym.
Dawson's radio code is 5021 Frank.
Antonio's character is known as the crossover king in the Chicago series, being that he started as a recurring character on Fire then a main character on PD and a main character on Justice. Not to mention an episode on Law and Order SVU. Here are the reasons why Antonio Dawson is being inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame….
2012-2019 Chicago Fire 47 episodes
2014-2019 Chicago P.D. 115 episodes
2016 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Nationwide Manhunt (2016)
2017Chicago Justice 13 episodes
Welcome to the Hall, Detective Dawson!
You’ve got a lot of fans out there who wish you’d come back, but as far as the TVXOHOF is concerned, you’ve earned a place here and you can rest on your laurels.
We’re sadly inducting another posthumous member to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame as a member of the League of Themselves.
HUGH DOWNS
From CNN Business: Hugh Downs, the versatile and Emmy-winning broadcaster whose decades-long TV career ranged from anchoring ABC News' "20/20" to the "Today" show to serving as Jack Paar's sidekick on "The Tonight Show," has died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 99.
Local outlet AZFamily was first to report the news of Downs' passing, citing a statement from his great-niece, Molly Shaheen.
Downs -- who retired in 1999 -- was essentially there for the very start of commercial television, serving as the announcer for the children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and comedy legend Sid Caesar's "Caesar's Hour" in the 1950s.
In 1957, when Paar succeeded Steve Allen as host of "The Tonight Show," Downs became the announcer. The next year, Downs launched his run as the original host of the game show "Concentration."
Hugh Downs was a multidimensional in the greater TV universe, appearing as a member of the League of Themselves in Earth Prime-Time, but also in the Tooniverse.
From Wikipedia: Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921 – July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer. A regular television presence from the mid-1940s until the late 1990s, he had several successful roles on morning, prime-time, and late-night television. For several years, he held the certified Guinness World Record for the most hours on commercial network television, before being surpassed by Regis Philbin.
Downs served as announcer and sidekick for ‘Tonight Starring Jack Paar’ from 1957 to 1962, co-host of the NBC News program ‘Today’ from 1962 to 1971, host of the ‘Concentration’ game show from 1958 to 1969, and anchor of the ABC News magazine ‘20/20’ from 1978 to 1999.
Downs started his career in radio, and began in live television in 1945 in Chicago, where he became a regular on several nationally broadcast programs over the next decade. He moved to New York City in 1954, when he was invited to do a program there. Among other shows during his career, he hosted the PBS talk show ‘Over Easy’ and was the occasional co-host of the syndicated talk show ‘Not for Women Only’.
In [1984], he was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records (now Guinness) as holding the record for the greatest number of hours on network commercial television (15,188 hours), though he lost the record for most hours on all forms of television to Regis Philbin in 2004.
Well, if he had to lose the crown to somebody, better that it was to a fellow member of the Hall.
Here are the shows which define his membership as a multidimensional.
1958-1969 Concentration [Served as the host] O’Bservation – My guidelines are a lot looser after a candidate dies. Much like my morals at a wake where booze is served. Unlike ‘Hollywood Squares’, I’m not finding any references to ‘Concentration’ in other fiction-based shows, only in a couple of episodes from ‘To Tell The Truth’. But he’s identified with it and being such a long-running show, there might be one eventually.
1961 Car 54, Where Are You? - Catch Me on the Paar Show (1961) After a chance traffic stop with Hugh Downs, Gunther finagles an appearance on the Jack Paar show of a fellow officer he thinks is funny.
1962 The Jack Benny Program - Rock Hudson Show (1962) Jack debates sex appeal with Rock Hudson. Jack wants to do a show like the ‘Tonight Show’. Opinion from the IMDb: The centerpiece, a take-off on the Jack Paar show, has dated. Benny spoofs Paar's mannerisms as host of ‘The Tonight Show’. Trouble is you have to be my age or older to recall Paar's stint as host (1957-62). The humor may have been timely for 1962, but is now badly dated. Also, Hugh Downs, Paar's announcer, was known for his erudition, which he spoofs here. But it's not very funny. Don Wilson takes the short end of the stick against Downs with good humor.
The Hollywood Squares - Episode dated 19 November 1979 O’Bservation – Just two weeks ago, the Hall inducted ‘Hollywood Squares’ for its fictional version – its “televersion” – within other shows, or at least mentioned in those other shows. So Mr. Downs’ appearance on the show (and it was probably for the full week) qualifies for his membership requirements.
1984 Call to Glory - Call to Glory (1984) ... News Reporter (uncredited) O’Bservation – Even though he looked older than he did in the early 1960s, which is when the show took place, I think it’s still supposed to be the televersion of Hugh Downs appearing as himself.
The shows which qualify him for membership then for just the main Toobworld would be:
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?
THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
CALL TO GLORY (with splainins)
Even if someone wanted to disqualify that last one, the minimum requirement is three series. As I said at the beginning, Hugh Downs was a multidimensional – he also appeared in the Tooniverse.
Family Guy - The Kiss Seen Round the World (2001)
Since televersions could have fictional elements, (like Dennis Rodman being an alien; Art Carney and Tim Russert being related to fictional characters), then the same could apply to Hugh Downs. In Toobworld, here’s a theory of relateeveety: he is descended from Dan Flynn who was seen back in the early to mid-1800s….
1960 Riverboat - The Night of the Faceless Men (1960)
Good night and may God bless Hugh Downs. Welcome to the Hall, Sir.
July, like March, is a month which has been hard for me to pigeonhole into a category for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame showcase. But lately I have been championing qualified candidates from police and detective series.
And this year, we follow that trend….
CHIEF ROBERT T. IRONSIDE
From Wikipedia: ‘Ironside’ is an American television crime drama that aired on NBC over 8 seasons from 1967 to 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, a consultant for the San Francisco police (usually addressed by the title Chief Ironside), who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while on vacation. The character debuted on March 28, 1967, in a TV movie titled “Ironside”.
When the series was broadcast in the United Kingdom, from late 1967 onwards, it was broadcast under the title ‘A Man Called Ironside’. The show earned Burr six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations. ‘Ironside’ was a production of Burr's Harbour Productions Unlimited in association with Universal Television.
The series revolved around former San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr), a veteran of more than 20 years of police service, forced to retire from the department after a sniper's bullet to the spine paralyzed him from the waist down, resulting in him having to use a wheelchair.
In the pilot episode, a television movie, Ironside shows his strength of character and gets himself appointed a "special department consultant" by his good friend, Police Commissioner Dennis Randall. He does this by calling a press conference and then tricking Commissioner Randall into meeting his terms. In the pilot, Ironside eventually solves the mystery of the ambush. He requests Ed Brown and Eve Whitfield be assigned to him.
Ironside uses a fourth-floor room (for living and office space) in the old San Francisco Hall of Justice building, which housed the city's police headquarters.
Although Ironside was good-hearted and honest, he often maintained a somewhat gruff persona.
Pilot episode was titled “A Man Called Ironside”.
Burr and the main cast reunited for a made-for-TV movie in 1993, “The Return of Ironside”, which aired on May 4, 1993 on NBC, not long before Burr's death. At the time, Burr was starring in a series of telefilms for NBC playing his most famous character, Perry Mason. In the intervening years between the end of Ironside in 1975 and the first Perry Mason movie in 1985, Burr's appearance had undergone some changes. His hair was grayer, he had gained a significant amount of weight, and after years of playing clean shaven characters he grew a beard.
Since nearly twenty years had passed since ‘Ironside’ left the air, and as he had been playing Perry Mason on television for the previous eight years, Burr felt that he was more associated with Perry Mason. He believed that in order to play Ironside properly and not confuse viewers, he would need to undergo a small makeover to distinguish the Ironside character from the more identifiable Perry Mason. Burr thus had his hair colored (which was unnecessary, since Burr was already gray-haired when Ironside originally aired) and cut his beard down to a goatee.
One thing Burr did not need to do, however, was pretend to be disabled. At the time the ‘Ironside’ reunion went into production, Burr had been suffering from kidney cancer that had metastasized to his liver, and the disease robbed him of the ability to stand or walk without assistance. Thus, like Ironside, Burr was forced to use a wheelchair to get around.
Unlike the original series, which took place in San Francisco, California, the reunion was set and filmed in Denver, Colorado, with the justification that the character Ed Brown had become the city's deputy chief of police. (Denver was also where most of Burr's Perry Mason TV movies were produced.) Galloway, Mitchell, Anderson, and Baur re-created their roles for the movie even though Anderson and Baur had not worked together at the same time on the original series.The Chief and his team were involved in two crossovers with other series. In 1971, an ‘Ironside’ TV-movie served as the “booster rocket” for ‘Sarge’ after the pilot launched it.
From Wikipedia: 'Sarge' is an American crime drama television series starring George Kennedy. The series aired for one season on NBC from September 1971 to January 1972.
Kennedy stars as Samuel Patrick Cavanaugh, a San Diego police detective sergeant who decides to retire and enter the priesthood after his wife is murdered. Sarge had initially studied for the priesthood prior to his police career, but his seminary studies were interrupted by military service during World War II.
The series, which ran in 1971-72, was preceded by a pilot titled "Sarge: The Badge or the Cross", (February 22, 1971 airdate) which set the premise for the subsequent series. One week before the show's fall premiere, on September 14, 1971, Cavanaugh traveled to San Francisco because of the death of a friend and fellow priest. His investigation caused him to cross paths with the characters from Ironside in a two-hour special that consolidated the two series' consecutive time slots. This has been subsequently seen as a TV-movie, "The Priest Killer".
And then a year later, there was a two-part crossover with the anthology series ‘The Bold Ones’, the segment dedicated to ‘The New Doctors’.
Ironside Episode: Five Days in the Death of Sgt. Brown (1972)While in Los Angeles to testify for a trial against gangster Frank Harmon, Ed is shot and falls off the balcony of his hotel room. He is then taken to the Craig Institute where he undergoes emergency surgery. Although the bullet wounds were non-life threatening, Ed suffers a broken back in the fall and some damage to his spine. The scarring leaves him paralyzed and only an experimental surgical procedure is the only option to regaining his mobility. Also, even though all the evidence points to Harmon, Ironside has doubts that he was the person responsible for the attempted hit. Also, the chief begins having flashbacks to the night he was shot and paralyzed.
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Episode: Five Days in the Death of Sgt. Brown: Part II (1972) Sgt. Ed Brown decides to go through with the surgical procedure that will hopefully restore mobility to his legs. The procedure involves the a process where his nerves will be reconnected in a procedure invented by Dr. Ritter as well as an infusion of polypeptides administered by Dr. Paul Hunter. However, a complication arises when the daughter of Dr. Ritter, the man who will be performing the surgery, is kidnapped by someone who was hired by the person who wants to see Ed dead. Also, Chief Ironside has flashbacks to the events surrounding his own paralysis and confinement to a wheelchair.
So here are the titles which got Ironside into the Hall.
A MAN CALLED IRONSIDE Pilot Movie
1967-75 IRONSIDE 198 Episodes, including:
1971 IRONSIDE:THE PRIEST KILLERCrossover with 'Sarge'
1972 THE BOLD ONES: THE NEW DOCTORS FIVE DAYS IN THE LIFE OF SGT. BROWN: PART II Crossover with 'The New Doctors'
1993 THE RETURN OF IRONSIDE Reunion movie
Perry Mason is already a member of the TVXOHOF, so he’ll now join a man with whom he has a lot in common. And Ed Brown is already a member of the Hall as well.
Welcome to the Hall, Chief Ironside! You’ll find the place wheelchair accessible….
Last week got away from me totally; I was so fixated on getting my Wayside Pride story written for today, that I forgot all about the Friday Hall of Famers post for Inner Toob.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
As I’ve been doing for this Year of the Pandemic, the last Friday of every month has been the chance to induct the televersion of one of our TV shows into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. There are so many TV shows which mention other TV shows AS TV shows, when they should be sharing the same dimension.
Toobworld Central finally had to acknowledge this for fear of gutting the universe of Earth Prime-Time with so many Zonks disqualifying one show after another.
And so we hit on the idea that the lives of people in TV shows proved to be so interesting that eventually Hollywood made TV shows about them.
So there are the TV shows which we watch and those shows then exist in the main Toobworld, where they are watched by the characters in other shows.
Were you able to follow that? I’m sorry if I only made it more confusier. When I write about Toobworld, sometimes I’m like the Dad in the speedboat and you, dear Readers, are the kids in the tube I’m trying to shake off….
So! As June was my birthday month, let’s end with something completely different – a game show! And one which has seen plenty of League of Themselves members who are members of the TVXOHOF already.
On with the show; this is it!
THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
From Wikipedia: ‘Hollywood Squares’ is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes.
The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the same network. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.
Though ‘Hollywood Squares’ was a legitimate game show, the game largely acted as the background for the show's comedy in the form of joke answers (commonly called "zingers" by the production staff), often given by the stars prior to their real answer. The show's writers usually supplied the jokes. In addition, the stars were given the questions' subjects and bluff (plausible, but incorrect) answers prior to the show. The show was scripted in this sense, but the gameplay was not.
In any case, as original host Peter Marshall explained at the beginning of the Secret Square game, the celebrities were briefed prior to the show to help them with bluff answers, but they otherwise heard the actual questions for the first time as they were asked on air.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at No. 7 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
Internationally, there have been multiple versions produced under a variety of names.
One thing which can guarantee that the televersion of the show will be inducted into the Hall goes beyond the title being mentioned, beyond characters watching it, beyond even scenes from the show being transmitted. It’s a slam dunk if we get proof that the televersion is not just a copy of the original; we need to know that the televersion is truly fictional and could not have been seen in the real world.
For ‘Hollywood Squares’, here is that proof:
Sanford and Son: The TV Addict (1976) Officer Hoppy stops by to catch Jack Webb's appearance on the program.
Cheers: Where Nobody Knows Your Name (1990) Jeanne-Marie appears as a celebrity square.
The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage: Pilot (1991) Everyone recognizes Barry from his guest spot on the show.
Growing Pains: Meet the Seavers (1991) Alan Thicke as "himself" calls about appearing on "the new Hollywood Squares."
The Nanny: Making Whoopi (1998) Maxwell appears on the show as a celebrity "square". The Big Bang Theory: The Russian Rocket Reaction (2011) Sheldon mentions Wil Wheaton's appearance on the show.
Jack Webb
Jeanne-Marie
Barry Tarberry
Alan Thicke
Maxwell Sheffield
Wil Wheaton
None of them ever appeared on ‘Hollywood Squares’.
Three of those “contestants” were already fictional. The three others are real people, but two of them are dead. So no chance of retconning there.
Here are the other qualifiers:
REFERENCES TO THE ORIGINAL SHOW 1965-1980
Banacek: The Three Million Dollar Piracy (1973) Banacek asks Diana if she is going to miss this show when she's living in the Middle East.
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976) Paul Lynde: "Sounds like 'Hollywood Squares.'"
Phyllis: The Christmas Party (1976) Phyllis says she learned some esoteric fact from Paul Lynde on the Hollywood Squares.
The Rockford Files: Hotel of Fear (1977) Angel quotes Vincent Price from this show.
That '70s Show: Hyde Gets the Girl (2001) Eric, Hyde, and Fez watch this in the opening
Freaks and Geeks: I'm with the Band (1999) Bill sarcastically says that Neal should be on the show. O’Bservation: the series takes place 19 years earlier, in 1980.
Family Ties: Margin of Error (1983) Elyse uses the show's set as an analogy as she describes her 3-level chapel design to Jennifer
Freaks and Geeks: Noshing and Moshing (2000) Neal asks to be excused from the dinner table because "Willie Tyler and Lester are on The Hollywood Squares this week."
Growing Pains: Menage a Luke (1992) Luke: "Guest shots on 'Hollywood Squares'"
Nurses: No, But I Played One on TV (1993) "This is a hospital, Hank, not the Hollywood Squares!"
REFERENCES TO 1ST REBOOT 1986
Christmas at Pee-wee's Playhouse (1988) (TV Movie)
Out of This World: Star Dog (1989) Star Dog is watching the show and says, "Hit Joan Rivers to block, ya dope!"
REFERENCES TO 2ND REBOOT 1998
Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Silent Movie (1999) When the Brady Bunch squares are shown, Hilda says she will take Jan Brady to block, referencing the game play in this show.
Big Wolf on Campus: Stage Fright (1999) While watching television, Dean says, "Whoopi, you were born to be Centre Square!"
Big Wolf on Campus: Hello Nasty (2000) When Tommy asks him if he has seen anything funny recently, Dean replies, "Are we talking Centre Square funny, like Whoopi Goldberg?"
Big Wolf on Campus: The Manchurian Werewolf (2000) The show that Dean is watching
Lizzie McGuire: El Oro de Montezuma (2002) Liz talks about Whoopi Goldberg on this show Watching Ellie: Feud (2003) Susan prefers to go to "Hollywood Squares" instead of "Family Feud"
How I Met Your Mother: The Playbook (2009) Barney uses the show's catchphrase "circle gets the square"
Community: Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing (2015) Jeff says, "Thirty years ago, the most power the openly gay could achieve was the center square."
F Is for Family: Paul Lynde to Block (2018) Title reference and Chet's wife Nguyen-Nguyen says the line.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Is in a Love Square! (2019) Titus: "You know how I want my career to end: falling off the top row on 'Hollywood Squares.'"
Here are some other shows which mentioned ‘Hollywood Squares’ in some way, but I don’t know the reference specifics:
Sanford and Son: Julio and Sister and Nephew (1974)
Miami Vice: Brother's Keeper (1984)
Night Court: Auntie Maim (1989)
Frasier: Selling Out (1993)
Roseanne: Roseanne in the Hood (1995)
The Nanny: That's Midlife (1996)
The Nanny: The Ex-Niles (1997)
Scrubs: My Chopped Liver (2006)
The Middle: Halloween VII: The Heckoning (2016)
GLOW: Rosalie (2018)
Popular: We Are Family (2000)
ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS
The West Wing: The Crackpots and These Women (1999) Toby sarcastically refers to the show during a conversation with Mandy.
Designated Survivor: Summit (2018) Kendra says to Emily, "Circle gets the square."
It shows up at least twice in Skitlandia, with disaster movie overtones – once with the set collapsing and the other as “The Towering Squares”. Since it doesn’t affect Earth Prime-Time, I’m leaving the topic there.
Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame to “Hollywood Squares”!
Until an hour before I began writing this post, I was planning to induct another TV couple in keeping with the Gemini theme. However, I realized that this couple was so iconic that they deserved to be the monthly showcase when they are inducted.
Good Lord willing, you’ll see them as the inductee for the month of June 2021. Instead, we’re going with another puppet and again from overseas.
EDD THE DUCK
From Wikipedia: Edd the Duck (originally Ed the Duck) is a puppet duck which appeared on the CBBC interstitial programme ‘The Broom Cupboard’ alongside presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters. His movements were performed by Christina Mackay-Robinson, an assistant producer employed by the BBC. He also had a severe allergy to ham.
He made his debut in late 1988, originally with a bald head until Mackay-Robinson added a green woollen mohawk, salvaged from an old Blue Peter 'Punk Teddy'. His co-star and enemy was Wilson the Butler, a character who was off screen apart from his arm visible to the viewers.
Edd the Duck starred in a number of pantomimes and short films alongside actors including Bill Oddie and Gorden Kaye. Edd made a guest appearance on the CBBC Channel on Easter Monday 2009 alongside Ed Petrie. In 2014 Edd made an appearance on ‘Celebrity Juice: The Big Reunion’ special which also included Andi Peters in the Broom Cupboard.
Edd the Duck released a single, "Awesome Dood!", in 1990.
Edd was the official UK Olympic team mascot at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
In 2015, Edd along with Andi Peters appeared on Hacker's Birthday Bash to mark 30 years of CBBC.
From the CBBC Wiki: Edd the Duck is a puppet who appeared in the interstitial programmed ‘The Broom Cupboard’, alongside presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters, between 1988 and 1992. His movements were performed by assistant producer Christina Mackay-Robinson.
Edd is a tiny duck with a bright green mohawk, which was salvaged from an old teddy bear. His co-star and rival was Wilson the Butler, who apart from his arms is never seen on screen.
Along with Gordon the Gopher, Edd was an extremely popular figure in the late 80s and early 90s, with lots of merchandise released during that period. He also makes reappearances to anniversary events and in 1992 was the UK mascot for the Barcelona Olympics.
Edd the Duck is a multiversal. Beside his Toobworld appearances, he made live appearances, was featured in two video games (both poorly received), on records, and in children's books.
If I’m not mistaken, this induction marks the most puppets entered in the TVXOHOF in any given year. (Fozzie Bear was the April showcase and Roland Rat was inducted two weeks ago as the June 2020 showcase. We have another inductee scheduled for October who might be considered a puppet.)
Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Edd, you awesome dood! You should find it slightly more roomy than the Broom Cupboard. (And best of all, Wilson the Butler is nowhere to be found here.)
Because my birthday falls in June, my preference for Hall of Fame inductees are the TV puppets. But as it is also the month for the Zodiac sign of Gemini (for the most part), I also showcase the dynamic duos in television – like British detectives Charlie Barlow and John Watt from the ‘Softly, Softly’ series.
Well, we kicked off the month with a puppet, so it’s time for a new odd couple to join the ranks….
NORM PETERSON
&
CLIFF CLAVIN
From Wikipedia: CLIFF CLAVIN Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. (born 1947 or 1949), is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers co-created (and played) by John Ratzenberger. A postal worker, he is the bar's know-it-all and was a contestant on the game show ‘Jeopardy!’ Cliff was not originally scripted in the series' pilot episode, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", but the producers decided to add a know-it-all character and Ratzenberger helped flesh it out. The actor made guest appearances as Cliff on ‘The Tortellis’, ‘St. Elsewhere’, ‘Wings’ and ‘Frasier’.
Cliff appeared in 273 episodes of ‘Cheers’ between 1982 and 1993. He also made guest appearances as an animated character (voiced by Ratzenberger) in ‘The Simpsons’ episode "Fear of Flying", in ‘The Tortellis’ episode "Frankie Comes to Dinner, in the ‘Wings’ episode "The Story of Joe" and the ‘Frasier’ episode "Cheerful Goodbyes".
In 2014, Ratzenberger reprised his role as Cliff in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called".
(O’Bservation: All of the characters who show up in the blipvert could be taking part in the sitcom relocation program, a premise set up in ‘Hi Honey, I’m Home.’ This would include those members of the League of Themselves like Mary Lou Retton and Hulk Hogan.)
The fact that Cliff appeared as a contestant on the televersion of ‘Jeordy!’ is balanced out by Norm’s appearance on the ‘Tonight’ show with Cliff’s Mom. (But Cliff did get to be onstage after the show was finished taping.)
So it only makes sense that they should enter the TVXOHOF together. From Wikipedia: NORM PETERSON Norman "Norm" Peterson is a regular fictional character on the American television show ‘Cheers’. The character was portrayed by George Wendt and is named Hilary after his grandfather.
Norm appeared in all 275 episodes of ‘Cheers’ between 1982–1993 and was initially the only customer featured in the main cast, later joined by best friend Cliff Clavin, Frasier Crane, and Lilith Sternin. Along with Sam Malone and Carla Tortelli, Norm is one of only three characters to appear in every episode of ‘Cheers’.
He also made one guest appearance each in the three other sitcoms set in the Cheers universe: the ‘Frasier’ episode "Cheerful Goodbyes," the ‘Wings’’ episode "The Story of Joe" and the spin-off ‘The Tortellis’.
Norm's entrance into the bar is a running gag on ‘Cheers’, typically beginning with a greeting by Norm. This is followed by the bar crowd yelling his name (except Diane Chambers, who would follow with a more refined "Norman", and Woody Boyd who would refer to him as "Mr. Peterson").
Norm is also greeted with the customary "Norm!" shout at other locations, including a bowling alley ("From Beer to Eternity", season 4, episode 9), The Hungrey Heifer ("Cheers: The Motion Picture", season 5, episode 24), and Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, Cheers' rival bar ("Bar Wars VI", season 10, episode 23). When Sam asks why the people at Gary's know him by name, Norm replies that he goes there on Christmas when Cheers is closed.
A recurring gag in the series is, following a commercial, for the bartender to ask Norm if he wants another beer; Norm replies "one quick one," after which he inevitably stays a lot longer. "Norm" is actually the first word of Frederick Crane, son of Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin. (However, Lilith joyously believes that he said "Mommy!")
Prior to the show, Norm was born in Chicago, and moved to Boston to become an accountant, and is a lifelong Boston Celtics fan who went to Boston Garden as a child. Norm previously served in the United States Army.
He loses his job in an accounting firm by defending Diane from his boss, and after struggling for a few years as an independent accountant, eventually becomes a housepainter. Norm was also revealed to be an accomplished interior decorator and beer taster, capable of spotting a bad vat in a factory by drinking a single bottle.
George Wendt guest starred as Norm Peterson on ‘St. Elsewhere’, ‘Cheers’ first spinoff ‘The Tortellis’, ‘Wings’, and ‘The Simpsons’ episode "Fear of Flying", which also guest starred Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Woody Harrelson, and John Ratzenberger as their respective characters.
Years after ‘Cheers’ ended, Wendt played Norm in a 2002 episode of its spinoff ‘Frasier’, where he got along famously with Martin Crane. (Martin: "Wow, that's some mug callus you've got there." Norm: "Judging from your grip, I'd say you were a can man.")
Also, in the first part of a two-part episode on ‘Frasier’ entitled "Three Dates and a Breakup," Frasier calls Norm to brag that he has three dates for the weekend. Frasier specifically says "Norm Peterson," though Norm is not actually seen or heard. Norm was most recently seen in animated form, voiced by Wendt, on ‘Family Guy’ in the episodes "Road to Rupert" and "Three Kings".
Domino's Pizza released a commercial in February 2020 parodying Cheers (including the opening theme song and a Domino's version of the Cheers sign) with Norm entering a Domino's, surprised to find that no one knows his name. Norm's face was actually digitally taken from a Cheers episode to replace a body double's face.
Welcome to the Hall, Norm and Cliff. Here’s looking at ya!
As the Trickster once said, "Reality is boring, that's why I change it whenever I can."
I'm just "The Man Who Viewed Too Much", and "Inner Toob" is a blog exploring and celebrating the 'reality' of an alternate universe in which everything that ever happened on TV actually takes place.
Most of my theories about the TV Universe come from thinking inside the box and thus can't be proven. But I've never been one to shy away from a tall tale.....
Remember: "The more you watch, the more you've seen!"
