FROM THE NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL..

BCnU!

GETTIN' THE HULU HOOK

All "apolgies" for the removal of that video of Shatner interpreting Palin's farewell speech as beat poetry.

I HATE when Hulu lets you embed a video - and that Palin Poetry Piece was up most of the night! - and then takes it away again. I've seen this so many times on other websites. I don't know how those people can stand it!
Well, see if I ever link to them again! So far as I'm concerned, Hulu execs are right up there with network suits. May they be nibbled to death by ducks!

BCnU!

POETRY CORNER

"Hello, poetry lovers!"
Bullwinkle J. Moose
'Bullwinkle & Friends'

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LITTLE MARTHA

Here's a conversation I had with fellow TV blogger Thom Holbrook in Facebook:

Thom:
I do like the conceit that apparently Martha Jones stays honeymooning through a world wide calamity. And, even though they really can't do it and have the show work... wouldn't ya take a shot at calling The Doctor? Jack has to have a direct line at this point. Toby:
Good point! I could see Martha not showing up, but I know she wouldn't have stayed on her honeymoon. She would have returned to the NY offices of UNIT where she had been stationed perhaps, or whichever one was closest to where she was on her honeymoon (since UNIT is an international body). As to calling the Doctor, maybe she did. Maybe the 456 invasion occurred at a time when the Doctor didn't have the phone on him, when he was separated from the TARDIS.

I'm going to wait until I see what happens in "Waters Of Mars" before I come up with a theory. (Wouldn't work with the "Planet of the Dead" special; nobody seemed to be concerned with the mystery of the children speaking in unison when the bus returned to Earth....)

Thom runs that first Crossover web-site seen listed on the left.....

BCnU!

A WEDNESDAY CLASSIC

Forty years ago this summer, Prince Spaghetti introduced us to Anthony Martignetti of the North End of Boston in a commercial that ran for 13 years.

Boston.com went back to the North End with Anthony to relive that time, and they took a look at how the area has changed since 1969.

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PASTA
[Great title!]

Here's the original commercial, in a crisper print than that misty water-colored memory seen in the article.

And then here's the 1998 "sequel". More like a spin-off, since it was for Polcari's Restaurant:

Supposedly, there's a Red Sox commercial with Anthony Martignetti yet again in which they tell him, "Hey, Anthony! Your Sox are on!"

But if so, then Anthony Martignetti is eligible for the TV Crossover Hall of Fame!

ANTHONY MARTIGNETTI

THEN & NOW

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AS SEEN ON TV: AMBER FREY

For the last three days of July, before we begin a month-long theme of "True Life TV Western Historical Figures", the "As Seen On TV" showcase has a mini-theme of its own.....

AMBER FREY

AS SEEN IN:
"Amber Frey: Witness For The Prosecution"

AS PLAYED BY:
Janel Moloney
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THEORIES OF RELATEEVEETY: NICHOLS & RAINES

Criminal Intent ("Major Case"), July 26, USA:

Det. Zach Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) to Det. Eames: "I try to avoid transferential relationships with dead people -- it's always so one-sided."

Methinks maybe Det. Nichols had a half-brother Michael Raines on the NYPD, who eventually moved to Los Angeles and started having transferential relationships with dead people.

Enjoy,

Martin

I'm glad Martin, who runs the 'Columbo' fanfic site "Just One More Paragraph" (link to the left!), contacted me about this. I watched the episode when I got home in the morning, and even with Martin's head's-up, I could see how I probably would have let the Extra In-Joke reference slip by me; it was that subtle. (At least to me!)

Not sure Raines ever worked in the NYPD; I think he was always in Los Angeles (and in his rebellious youth, he protested outside the Suarian embassy there in an episode of 'Columbo'). But Zach Nichols may have learned his father had an illegitimate son, and that could have been one of the reasons which led him to take his seven-year sabbatical from the NYPD. During that time, he may have gone out to the 'City of Angels' and met his identical half-brother (the main character of an earlier NBC series, 'Raines').

And if so, that may have been on his mind when he made that quip to Detective Eames......

Thanks, Martin!

BCnU!

THE TWO WORLDS OF "BEING HUMAN"

The British series about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost sharing a home together - 'Being Human' - began airing on BBC-America this past Saturday night. The original pilot (which I saw in segments on YouTube a while back) had been part of an on-air competition to find the pilot most worthy of becoming a series. I guess 'Being Human' won.

However in the process of becoming a series, 2/3rds of its cast was replaced, with only the very talented Russell Tovey (as George the wolfman) returning. Another of my favorites, Adrian Lester, appeared in that pilot episode as an antagonist and his role of Herrick, the chief vampire of London, was also recast. (My belief is that if you cast a name actor in a supporting role to help sell your pilot, make sure that role is totally removed from the plot so that people don't expect to see that star again in that role.)

I liked the original actors who played Mitchell the vampire (Guy Flanagan) and Andrea Riseborough as the ghost. So I was a bit trepidatious to hear they would not be returning for the series. For the sake of Toobworld, I began coming up with ideas as to how to splain away the differences in the characters' appearances - maybe Mitchell had cast a glamour so that everyone saw him now as played by Aidan Turner; perhaps "Dead Girl" changed her ectoplasmic shape (and skin coloring) to better reflect her growing, more outgoing, personality. (And that's why Lenora Crichlow assumed the role.)

But I've seen the first episode which aired Saturday night here in the United States, and you know what? I'm not even going to bother putting that much effort into splainins. Instead I'm going to invoke the rule of Occan's Razor.

Granted the general rule of thumb here at Toobworld Central is that whatever is broadcast first belongs in the main TV Universe; so the pilot should have been guaranteed "citizenship", while the resulting series would have been tossed off into the Remake dimension. However, I think this situation calls for a reversal of that mandate in much the same way as "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford" was handled. The original version from 'Studio One' starred Art Carney, but the remake appeared as an episode of 'The Twilgiht Zone' with Pat Hingle - and that's the version most TV viewers know because it's syndicated and shows up still (especially during Fourth of July marathons!)

BBC-America didn't broadcast that pilot, and even though the BBC did, it probably won't see the light of day again (except at YouTube and other online platforms, maybe in a future DVD collection). The body of the series will provide much more to expand the TV Universe than could be gleaned from the pilot only and that gives the series more in its favor for remaining in Earth Prime-Time.

But Toobworld will always be grateful for the service rendered by the pilot episode in first introducing the audience in the Trueniverse to these characters.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WALTER CRONKITE 2x4

WALTER CRONKITE
(with President Jimmy Carter)

With this week's Two For Tuesday edition of the "As Seen On TV" showcase, we're paying tribute to Walter Cronkite - with portrayals on two different NBC series, but by four actors.

On 'Saturday Night Live', Bill Murray portrayed the veteran newscaster in six sketches, which had him in situations ranging from moderating as Jimmy Carter took calls from listeners to being hog-tied by Idi Amin. He even did some peyote in a sketch that spoofed the movie 'Altered States'.

In 1981, Dave Thomas of 'SCTV' appeared on 'SNL' during which he also played Uncle Walter. My memory is foggy on this, but apparently he critiqued Brad Hall's performance as the Weekend News Update anchorman......

Darrell Hammond also played Cronkite on 'Saturday Night Live', getting grilled on the runway by Joan Rivers:

In 1981, Johnny Carson also played Walter Cronkite, in a sketch on the 'Tonight' show about the newscaster's retirement from the anchor chair. And with thanks to Andy and Verne of the Newsday TV blog for pointing it out, here's the sketch as seen now on YouTube:

BCnU!

ANOTHER DOOL-IN GANG MEMBER

Near the end of the latest episode of 'In Plain Sight', Mary Shannon noted that it was time that she "get back to the days of our lives".

Normally, for the audience at home, they should have heard that quote in their heads with "Days Of Our Lives" capitalized so that they could identify it as the NBC soap opera. (Both shows are under the aegis of NBC's parent company.)

But this is Toobworld; we do things differently.

To keep 'Days Of Our Lives' and 'In Plain Sight' in the same dimension, we have to "hear" Mary's line as a reference to the day in/day out routine of the WitSec job that she and her partner Marshall have to do.

And hopefully that keeps the DOOL Zonks at bay. That show does seem to gather them!

BCnU!

And this serves as a little birthday salute to my cousin's wife Denise - a 'DOOL' fan whose birthday is today!