NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

Taking advantage of the big sale at Amazon.com, I picked up a handful of DVDs and the first two arrived today:

"Rowan Atkinson: Live!"

and

'Eureka' (Season One)

Presents for loved ones this holiday season?

What are you? Nuts?

BCnU!
Toby OB

ZONKIN' ON UP

While investigating a report about the comic book "Cosmic Man" (thanks to fellow student of Westphallia "RAF"), I came across this snippet of dialogue from the first season of 'Everybody Hates Chris':

"Do I look like Florence from 'The Jeffersons'?"
Rochelle

No wonder everybody hates Chris if he's gonna go around Zonking like that back in 1982!

It was supposed to be a reference to the hit sitcom for the benefit of the audience. But within the reality of Toobworld, it's a Zonkish slap upside the head. 'The Jeffersons' and 'Everybody Hates Chris' should be sharing the same TV dimension.

And with Florence Johnston already inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame this year, we don't want to go thinking about tossing "EHC" into some alternate dimension. Because that's the show that would have to go, since 'The Jeffersons' is already well-established in Earth Prime-Time with all of its many crossovers.

I think this Zonk can be fixed.

Although we never saw it happen, apparently Rochelle and Julius Rock may have known the Jeffersons. Maybe not as friends; they were on different social levels by that point in Time. But perhaps the Rocks were customers at one of George Jefferson's dry cleaning establishments throughout the City.

And it could be that not only did they come to know the Jeffersons through the business connection, but perhaps on occasion they ran into the Jeffersons' maid Florence Johnston.

It seems kind of weak, but only because it doesn't have the dramatic oomph of TV reality. Instead, it feels more like something that actually could happen in mundane real life.

And if so, we don't get Rocked by a Zonk.

BCnU!
Toby OB

MILLER'S BLARNEY

The Google GMail quote for Monday was:

"Chaos is the score upon which Reality is written."
Henry Miller

Seems apt for Toobworld's reality as well. Without Chaos (and not just KAOS), there might not be conflict. And without conflict, where would we get the plots that drive the episodes of our favorite TV series?

BCnU!
Toby OB

HOISTING HEISLERS

Big thanks go out to "RAF" for pointing out the existence of Heisler beer in Toobworld! A quick check at Wikipedia has this rundown of the TV series which have seen Heislers on store shelves, in bars, and in personal refrigerators:

'Bionic Woman'

'Burn Notice'
Sam Axe is frequently seen drinking a bottle of Heisler beer.

'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'
In the episode "Sounds of Silence" Heisler beer can be seen in a refrigerator at a crime scene.

'CSI: Miami'
In the episode "High Octane," Heisler beer bottles are collected from a crime scene and analyzed at the crime lab.

'Everybody Hates Chris'

'Ghost Whisperer'

'K-Ville'
In the episode "No Good Deed," Marlin Boulet and Charlie Pratt each drink a bottle of Heisler beer in a bar.

'My Name Is Earl'
Heisler beer is seen in many episodes and frequently consumed by characters.

'Prison Break'
In the episode "The Message," Charles "Haywire" Patoshik purchases Heisler beer for two teenagers.

'Star Trek: Enterprise'
In the episode "Carpenter Street," Heisler beer can be seen in a character's refrigerator.

'The Shield'

'Two and a Half Men'

'The Unit'

'Veronica Mars'
In the episode "Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down," Heisler beer is consumed by characters while at the beach.

Of these, 'The Unit', 'Bionic Woman', and 'Prison Break' all belong to alternate TV dimensions. ('The Unit' and 'Prison Break' because they have different Presidents than George W. Bush, and 'Bionic Woman' because the 1970s version has claimed territorial rights in Earth Prime-Time.)

So that just means that Heisler Beer is multi-dimensional!

The day we see some TV character kicking back with a can of Heisler in one hand and a Morley's cigarette in the other, there'll come a seismic merging in the TV Universe!

BCnU!
Toby OB

COMIC QUOTE

Somebody pointed out that I forgot to add the promised comic book convention quote from 'Entourage' in my post "Conventional Linking"......

Jesse Jane:
Promoting my new comic book, "Pussy Patrol."

Johnny "Drama" Chase:
Nice.

Jesse Jane:
It's just me and the girls. We lick ass by day and kick ass by night.
'Entourage'

BCnU!
Toby OB

ACCESS TOOBWORLD

Thanks to framed photos, certain celebrities, as well as the President of the United States, found themselves entangled in the world of 'Moonlight'.

In the episode "12:04 AM", movie producer Jerry Drake had a picture of himself with Jessica Simpson and one with Adam Sandler.

Simpson has only promotional appearances and performances to her credit in Toobworld, but Sandler showed up on campus to perform in an episode of 'Undeclared' and was on hand during "Hank's Wedding" in 'The Larry Sanders Show'.

Meanwhile, the L.A. D.A., George Quinlan had a photograph of himself with George W. Bush in his office. Since he was soon after killed by a vampire, I wonder if the President will attend the funeral.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

CONVENTIONAL LINKING

Several TV shows have had episodes set at comic book conventions across the country. (But as Comic-Con gains more influence and power,they'll probably be the focus of attention from now on, as they were for an episode of 'Entourage'.)

What's great about the use of a comic book convention as the location is that no matter what city is hosting, you can still make theoretical links to other TV shows. All you need are the fictional comic books that have appeared in other shows.

And you don't even need to see them. Take for example this latest episode of 'Numb3rs' - "Graphic" was focused mainly on two comic books, the ultra-rare "Ultra-World" and the currently popular "NanoPunk".

But there had to be at least a hundred dealers at that conventions, all with thousands of titles from a wide variety of publishers.

Here are a few titles we might assume were there:

From 'Psych':

Issues of classic "Red Phantom" and the more popular "Green Spirit" -the prices of which might be affected by the popularity of the movies based on them.

From 'Mad About You':"Mega Void #1 - Not only is it the premiere issue of the comic, but it also introduced the character of Talon, who was the evil bitch empress of the galaxy (supposedly based on the artist's ex-girlfriend).

From 'Dharma & Greg':
Another comic book based on the main character in a TV show - "Blonde Tornado"

From 'Heroes':
The late and lamented Isaac Mendez was working on "9th Wonders" when he was murdered. That should make his comics all the more valuable!

From 'Entourage':
Definitely an adults-only title - "Pussy Patrol". Check out the quote at the end of the post!

From 'The Adventures Of Ellery Queen':
I'm not sure if they would be in mint condition, but there might be issues of "Swamp Critters" and a comic based on Ellery Queen himself (both from the mid-1940s) published by Capricorn Comics.

From 'Once A Hero':

Pizazz Comics would be represented by their line of "Captain Justice"comic books, but I doubt the superhero who uses 'Captain Justice' as his role model would show up.

From 'Too Close For Comfort':
Evoking a more innocent age of readership, there would be a lot of old issues of "Cosmic Cow" in remainder bins.

From 'Bob!':

It would be great to have a panel of past stars of the Ace Comics line on a panel together! Not only Bob McKaye, creator of "Mad Dog", but others like Buzz Loudermilk, Jim Fleisher, Don Palermo, and Vic Victor. Each of them had their own niche in war comics, nurse/romance comics, supernatural thrillers, and fuzzy Fizzy tales.

And you could get Henry Rush and Abner Bemis on the panel as well! (Ross Moore as well, if he hasn't yet succumbed to his emphysema.)

But of course, it's too late for Isaac Mendez.......

Excelsior!

My thanks to TV Acres (link to the left!) for most of the info about these comic books.

BCnU!

Toby OB

HERE'S ANOTHER LUCY

Lately, before I go to bed Sunday evening, I watch the opening minutes of the 'Burke's Law' repeat on American Life Network in order to see who the guest stars are going to be. Then I watch the full episode when I get home in the morning from work.

Tonight I had to look up who the actress was playing Lucy Brewer, who discovered the murder victim. (Like Marlyn Mason who was also in "Who Killed Jason Shaw?", she didn't merit a major credit at the beginning of the episode.)

Joyce Jameson played the slightly addled woman who did "favors" as her profession, and according to the IMDb.com, she played several women named Lucille over the course of her career. Even better, none of those other roles had last names attached to them and all of them were to be found in Los Angeles!

'The Fall Guy'
- "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harold" (1982) TV Episode .... Lucille

'Baretta'
- "They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To" (1976) TV Episode .... Lucille

"Promise Him Anything" (1975) (TV movie) .... Lucille

'Emergency!'
- "Kidding" (1975) TV Episode .... Woman Stuck in Door

(I threw that last one in as a gimmee. After all, why shouldn't we assume that her name may have been Lucille, and Lucy Brewer at that?)

So, depending on how this episode of 'Burke's Law' turns out, and what I can find out about these other episodes, it could be that Joyce Jameson as Lucy Brewer can one day be a minor addition to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as part of my birthday honors list.

Sadly, Ms. Jameson won't ever know about it. She took her own life back in the 1980s.

BCnU....
Toby OB

BAM! POW! ZONK!

It's no longer a Zonk if a comic book character becomes a TV character, while the original comic book gets mentioned in some other show. Super-powered beings are the stuff of comic books, so it would stand to reason that Toobworld comics would be published about "real" super heroes.

This came up several times in "Graphic", this past Friday's episode of 'Numb3rs'. The focus at the comic book convention crime scene was on two comic books only to be found in Toobworld, "UltraWorld" and "Nano Punk". But mention was made of other super heroes like Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and Daredevil - all of whom exist in the TV Universe.

(I noticed no DC comics were mentioned in the episode. Could that have been part of a product placement deal with Marvel?)

All of the above-mentioned comic super heroes exist in the Tooniverse, (and a few of them over in the movie universe as well); but that's not a major concern here at Toobworld Central. But they have all made their debuts on Earth Prime-Time one way or the other - Spidey had his own TV series back in 1978; Doctor Strange had his own TV-movie which served as the unsuccessful pilot for a series; Daredevil partnered up with the Hulk in a TV movie sequel to 'The Incredible Hulk'; and the Fantastic Four (the same actors from the two recent movies) showed up to play basketball against Magic Johnson in 2005 NBA promotional spot.

Other "real life" super heroes appeared in Toobworld comic books over the years and the same situation would apply. In fact, it all began with Superman and he's the perfect example of existing in Toobworld and in comic books at the same time. In "The Birthday Letter", one of the episodes of 'The Adventures Of Superman', little Katie is seen reading the comic book based on his life.
The Superman comic book continued to be published long after the death of Superman in the dimension of Earth Prime Time. (Superman still lives in other TV dimensions.) And apparently the facts of his secret identity must have become public knowledge, because they were worked into the comic books as well.

This is how Jerry 'Seinfeld' learned that Superman's father on Krypton was named Jor-El, which is the word he used for his bank code.

So, no Zonks here, Masked Man!

BCnU!
Toby OB

Alan:
"Oh, you were into super heroes?"

Larry:
"Well, Daredevil, Fantastic Four.
Of course my favorite was Galactus."

Charlie:
"That’s the guy who ate planets."

Larry:
"Yeah, well, he was stellar Darwinism.
He was necessary to the survival of the universe."

Charlie:
"Huh?"

Larry:
"Yeah, he was the third force along with eternity and death."

Charlie:
"Larry, he wanted to eat the Earth."

Larry:
"But, he didn’t."
'Numb3rs'

JABBA THE HOT TUB

My brother Bill says I'm a chicken for not posting a "better" picture of me in my cousins' hot tub on Thanksgiving day. He thought I was going to use the one he calls "the Auntie Mame" pose.

I said that it made me think less of Auntie Mame and more of Jabba the Hut.

Nevertheless, I decided to rise to the challenge - and don't worry, I was wearing a bathing suit.....
BCnU!
Toby OB