CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER - "MAUDE" ("MAUDE MEETS THE DUKE")

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JOHN WAYNE

JOHN WAYNE

AS SEEN IN:

'Maude'

"Maude Meets The Duke"

SYNOPSIS:
from "bkoganbing" at the IMDb:
Maude who was NEVER at a loss for words defending her beliefs is reduced to a tongue tied stammering idiot just by the mere presence of John Wayne. And the Duke says some of the things just calculated to outrage her. Had Archie Bunker said them to Maude, she'd have clobbered him with a frying pan. But when John Wayne says to her that it's all right for a woman to have a career just as long as she's got supper on the table for him when he arrives home from work, she just becomes a babbling idiot.

It's the power of celebrity, of being a movie star. Even a liberated woman like Maude Findlay isn't immune from it.

BCnU!

O'BSERVATIONS - BLACK EYE FOR CBS

So I'm in one of the markets that no longer has CBS due to the Eye Network's rate battle with Time Warner Cable.  

And you know what?  I don't care.

Negotiations like this during the summer was a big mistake on CBS' part.  Who put that timeline into the last contract?  

And there's nothing on CBS right now that I NEED to see.  

Not even 'Under The Dome'.  We're too many weeks in and the story-telling hasn't imporved.  It isn't compelling TV viewing anymore.  And with CBS showing their greed by announcing they're going to drag out the storyline to return next summer, I was already of a mind to only makes this a one summer only show for me.

That decision only highlights the greed exhibited by CBS which also underscores their conflict with TWC.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

THE HAT SQUAD - REMEMBERING MICHAEL ANSARA

MICHAEL ANSARA
1922-2013

On July 31st, the eve of our annual salute to the TV Western, actor Michael Ansara passed away from complications of Alzheimer's disease.  He was 91.  He was born in Syria in 1922 but his family moved to New England when he was 2, and then from the age of 10 he grew up in the Los Angeles area.

I like to think of Mr. Ansara as the Anthony Quinn of the small screen, in that he played a wide variety of nationalities and ethnic groups, Hispanics, Italians, Jews, Arabs, Hawaiians, Indians of the Sub-Continent, even an English king and a Vietnamese rebel, because he had an indefinably exotic look to his handsome features. 

As Elric the Technomage in
'Babylon 5'

As The Ruler in
'Lost In Space'

As Qarlo in
'The Outer Limits'

As Colonel Hruda in
'The Time Tunnel'

And that served him well for the sci-fi characters he played as well, with roles in such series as 'The Time Tunnel', 'Land Of The Giants', 'Lost In Space', 'The Outer Limits', 'Babylon 5', and 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'.  

"Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" - the Cineverse
Barbara Eden & Michael Ansara... with a puppy

He also appeared in the movie version of 'Voyage' which must be kept separate in the Cineverse.  (As you can see from four of these entries plus the movie, Irwin Allen must have realized that Ansara was tailor-made for his type of shows.)

"Buck Rogers In The 25th Century"

For 'Buck Rogers In The 25th Century', Ansara played Kane in three episodes.  But of course the role for which he'll probably be best remembered was that of the Klingon commander Kang whom he first portrayed in an episode of the original 'Star Trek' series.  He would later return to the character for two other shows in the 'Star Trek' franchise - 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager', thus making him eligible for membership into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  (But I think there's another character for which he'll get in this month as well.....)

COMMANDER KANG

Of all those ethnic groups, Mr. Ansara was probably best known for playing Native Americans, and back when they were still being referred to as Indians.  The role that brought him to fame was that of the televersion of Indian leader Cochise of the Apache in the series 'Broken Arrow'.  

"Broken Arrow"

A year after that series ended, he played another Apache, Sam Buckhart, who was a Harvard-educated U.S. Marshal working out of Santa Fe.  That series lasted only one season, but the character was first introduced in an episode of 'The Rifleman'.  And I think I can make the case he appeared one last time on TV so that at the very least he can be an honorary inductee in the TVXOHOF for our Western salute.

As Sam Buckhart in two episodes of 'The Rifleman'
He would go on to play the role in his own series, 'Law Of The Plainsman'

The last great Native American role he would have - as my O'Bservation, of course - would be Lame Beaver in the amazing mini-series made from James Michener's epic tome "Centennial".

'Centennial'

Being Syrian-born, perhaps it's no surprise that he played several Arabs over his career in such shows as:

'Hardcastle & McCormack'

'McCloud'

'Vega$'

'The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.'

and for one of his episodes of 'Fantasy Island' he appeared as Ptolemy.

Take a gander at the TV shows he made guest appearances in over the years.  During the 1960s and 70s, he was in great demand!

As we're in August, let's start with the Westerns, those that I haven't already mentioned:

'The Lone Ranger'

'Wagon Train'

As Dr. Adam MacKenzie in
"The Adam MacKenzie Story"

'Rawhide'

'Gunsmoke'

'Barbary Coast'

'Bearcats'

'The Virginian'

'Lancer'

'High Chaparral'

'The Road West'

'The Iron Horse'

'Here Come The Brides'

As Wakando in
"Wives For Wakando"

'A Man Called Shenandoah'

'Tales Of Wells Fargo'

'Wagon Train'

'The Westerner'

'The Rebel'

'Zane Grey Theater'

'Frontier Doctor'

modern Westerns like

'Nakia'

'The Wide Country'

and two that were on the Eastern seaboard, but about the frontier life:

'Daniel Boone'

'Hawkeye And The Last Of The Mohicans'

As the evil Ogana in
"Hawkeye's Homecoming"
[Series Premiere]

[It's a shame he never appeared in an episode of 'The Wild Wild West'.  I think he would have been a formidable antagonist against Jim West and Artemus Gordon.  There were several cases of actors being brought back for different roles on that series and surely one of them could have been ably played by Ansara.  (I'm thinking in particular of John Dehner's first appearance in "The Night Of The Casual Killer".)

Ansara was in the Toobworld adaptation of "The Ox-Bow Incident", one of the many Cineverse remakes of movies to be found in 'The 20th Century Fox Hour'.  And the 1950s were the high water mark for anthology series, like 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'Family Theatre', and in the 1970s, 'Police Story', which could provide more than one role to an actor like Ansara.  But he also played more than one role on several of the regular series as well.  

As Sammy Warren in
'McMillan & Wife'

In fact, in several series, like 'MacMillan & Wife', 'Dangerous Assignment', and 'Rawhide', he would come back to play three or more roles.  I think the series which he enjoyed returning to the most would have been 'I Dream Of Jeannie', playing three roles on that show and directing another.  Why?  Because the star was his wife at the time, Barbara Eden.

As the Blue Djinn & as King Kamehameha in
'I Dream Of Jeannie'

As for the other shows in which he guest starred, there were a handful of medical dramas:

As Eddie in
'Police Surgeon'

'Ben Casey'

'Medic'

'Police Surgeon'

As Sergio in
'It Takes A Thief'

Spy shows:

'It Takes A Thief'

'Mission Impossible'

and both 'U.N.C.L.E.' series, 'Man' and 'Girl'

As Ed Stoner in
'Mission Impossible'

Private eye shows:

As Joseph DeMinna in
'The Rockford Files'

'The Rockford Files'

'Boston Blackie'

'Simon and Simon'

'China Smith'

'The New Mike Hammer' 

(That would be set in an alternate TV dimension.)

As Nick Rossi in
'Murder, She Wrote'

And there were a couple of mystery shows that didn't quite fit into that category, like 'The Fall Guy', 'Perry Mason', 'Murder, She Wrote', and 'The Name Of The Game'.  As for shows difficult to pigeon-hole, there were also 'The Fugitive', 'Tarzan', 'Cowboy In Africa', 'Fantasy Island', 'The Survivors', 'Tales Of The Bengal Lancers' and 'Terry And The Pirates', based on the comic strip.

But for the most part, Michael Ansara's work outside of Westerns was in cop dramas:

As Piro Manoa in
'Hawaii Five-O'

As Keith McCallum in
'Kojak'

'Hawaii Five-O'

'Burke's Law'

'Kojak'

'Hunter'

'CHiPs'

'Chopper One'

'The Untouchables'

'Shaft'

'The Streets Of San Francisco'

'Mod Squad'

'Naked City'

'Jigsaw John'
'Dragnet'

As Big Bwana Smith in
'Burke's Law'

As Charlie Steuben in
'The Untouchables'

But don't let all of those dramas fool you into thinking he could only play the heavies.  He had a light touch as well, sometimes playing his tough-guy persona and morphing ethnicity to that advantage, and it was on display in several sitcoms besides 'I Dream Of Jeannie':

'The Farmer's Daughter'

'The Wackiest Ship In The Army'

'The Bill Cosby Show'

'The George Burns Comedy Week'

As the Russian diplomat in
'The Farmer's Daughter'

And for the kiddies, he also appeared twice on 'Reading Rainbow', hosted by fellow 'Trek' alumnus LeVar Burton.

It was on 'Bewitched' where Ansara played an English king, the infamous Rufus the Red.  Partly because of this episode I chose Rufus as the subject of a high school essay when the assignment was to write about somebody in the English monarchy.  (The other reason was because my hair used to be as red as his.)

As Rufus the Red in
'Bewitched'

Michael Ansara also made his home over in the Tooniverse, and one of his characters will also one day be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. There was more instability in the casting of Mr. Freeze (real name Dr. Victor Fries) in the Tooniverse than in his three appearances on 'Batman' in Earth Prime-Time, but in the end they're all the same guy.  Other big name actors to give voice to Mr. Freeze include Ted Knight, Casey Brown, Keith Szarabajka, Lennie Weinrib, and John DiMaggio (of 'Futurama' fame as Bender).

As Mr. Freeze in
'Batman'

But Ansara played Mr. Freeze in three separate series:

'Batman'

'The New Batman Adventures'

'Batman Beyond'

If Michael Ansara played Mr. Freeze in "real life"
[Image by "Input Jack"]

So Michael Ansara might well become the first actor to have three roles inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Among other roles in the Tooniverse, he voiced General Warhawk in over sixty episodes of the 'Rambo' cartoon, based on the movie.  (Quite frankly, I didn't even know that show existed!)

Frequent visitors to the Inner Toob blog may have noticed that I have spent far more time on Mr. Ansara's television career than I've probably done in the past for other actors.  I don't think I've done a Hat Squad tribute quite like this since 2005.  Well, you can take that as a sign of how much I enjoyed seeing his performances.  I'm a big fan of character actors and he was a type that was more than just menace and brute force.  There was always the presence of great intelligence behind those dark eyes.

Here's to you, Mr. Ansara!

Plus, so many of his roles are notable for what they can bring to the Toobworld Dynamic.  O'Bviously this includes his portrayal of Cochise, the official televersion for Earth Prime-Time.  (His Rufus the Red is also the official televersion.)  Three of his roles are worthy of the TVXOHOF - Kang, Sam Buckhart, and Mr. Freeze.

But there are also shows in which he appeared that have connections to other fictional universes, like BookWorld, the Cineverse, and the Comic Strip Universe.  There are other historical portrayals like Ptolemy, and King Kamehameha (although both were technically recreations).  And some of those other series are just ripe for making theoretical connections to other shows.

Just one last Toobnote - long before he died, I tipped my hat to Mr. Ansara by making his last name part of the Telvish language.  Telvish was created for the TV elves that show up at the end of my Toobworld novel, where it sounds a lot like English, but with actor names substituting for our words.  

As an example, "ansara" means "answer".  Only a handful of Telvish words will make it into the novel and "ansara" is one of them.

Usually when I sign off on a Hat Squad tribute, I co-opt Red Skelton's signature farewell, "Good night and may God bless."  But in honor of Mr. Ansara's memorable turn as Kang, I shall say instead:

bomDI' 'IwwIj qaqaw

"The memory of you sings in my blood."

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ANDY KINDLER

ANDY KINDLER

From Wikipedia:

Andy Kindler is an American stand-up comedian from New York City who resides in Los Angeles.  He plays a fictionalized version of himself in the IFC series "Maron".

His material often covers the comedy industry itself, criticizing other comedians for being too predictable. At his annual state of the industry address at Montreal's "Just For Laughs" festival, he criticized Dane Cook, Louis CK, Chelsea Handler and Jay Leno.  

O'BSERVATIONS:

Recently he compared Adam Carolla to Hitler:  "He's like Hitler if Hitler weren't funny."

AS SEEN IN:

'Maron'

"Marc's Dad"

SYNOPSIS:

Kindler hangs out a lot with Maron and is an occasional guest on the podcast.

BCnU!

THE NEW DOCTOR IS HERE!

And so now we know at last.  Peter Capaldi is the new Time Lord.  The Thirteenth Incarnation of the Doctor.  (He was called the Twelfth Doctor during the special and around the web, but we still have to take into consideration where John Hurt's character fits into his life cycle.)

Readers of my blog know that I was hoping for Julian Rhind-Tutt to be the next Doctor.  But he placed well in the betting that led up to the final selection, so he may still have a shot at it someday.  I just hope he doesn't hold any hard feelings about this......

This isn't the first time around the block with 'Doctor Who' for Capaldi.  He's been a life-long fan, even writing letters to the Radio Times and to the producers of the show (back then) at the BBC.  But he was also in an episode, "The Fires Of Pompeii", where the Doctor - at the urging of his companion Donna - saved the family of Caecillius from the destruction of Vesuvius.

Having been saved, the lineage of Caecillius continued to flourish until a descendant who resembled the marble salesman, by the name of Frobisher.  John Frobisher was a functionary in the British government who was sent to negotiate with the 456 aliens.

You can see the DNA was strong in this family.....

There will be plenty of TV viewers out there, mostly in the UK, who will know Capaldi best from 'Thick Of It', an off-color sitcom about the inner workings of the British government.  It's 'Yes, Minister' dipped in acid.

Capaldi's character of Malcolm Tucker has to have the foulest mouth ever in Toobworld.  Make sure your children aren't around to listen to this, and don't watch it at work.  When you're ready, have a look & listen:

I'm sure there will be a lot of people who can't separate the actor from that character.  In fact, somebody will eventually capitalize on that and do mash-up videos combining his Time Lord with the Spin Doctor.  In fact, I can't wait to see that!

But his past history as Malcolm doesn't concern me.  I prefer to think of his role from thirty years ago, his first major part, in the movie 'Local Hero'.  A man with an awkward gait who chases after a "mermaid" is a far better template for the Doctor, no matter what the quirks to be sported by his new incarnation.

All the best, Peter Capaldi.  Every so often I bring up the mantra "Trust in Moffat" and I figure if you pleased the Grand Moff in the auditions, then we're in for a treat once the new episodes roll out.....

Wouldn't this make for a great new look for the Doctor?

BCnU!

CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER: "LAW OF THE PLAINSMAN" ("THE MATRIARCH")

With the announcement of the death of Michael Ansara, I decided to check out his TV series 'Law Of The Plainsman' in which he played Sam Buckhart, an Apache serving as a U.S. Marshal who had a Harvard degree.

At least five episodes sparked my interest in televisiology.  Throughout the month I'll be showcasing each of them on the weekends.  

Today we'll be watching "The Matriarch".  There's nothing outwardly special about this episode, except for the always welcome presence of Denver Pyle in the cast.

But here in the video's description, and at the Classic TV Archives (Link at the left for the CTVA), it's claimed that British actor Patrick Troughton is in the cast.

From the CTVA:

[21] Law of The Plainsman: THE MATRIARCH
18Feb60 NBC Thur
  Written by: Teddi Sherman
Directed by: Arthur D. Hilton
Starring: Michael Ansara
Guest Cast:
Lynn Bari ..................... Constance Valeri
Denver Pyle ................... Burke
Alan Reed ..................... Dey Valeri
Michael Hinn .................. Hodie Carver
Patrick Troughton
Constance Valeri claims that she shot a ranch hand, but Sam Buckhart is suspicious of her confession.

Here's a more complete cast listing from YouTube:

Michael Ansara as Sam Buckhart
Lynn Bari as Constance Vateri
Michael Hinn as Hodie Carver
Robert F. Hoy as September Smith
Patricia Huston as Greta Lane
Michael T. Miller as Link Carver
Denver Pyle as Burke Carew
Alan Reed Jr. as Dev Valeri
Patrick Troughton

Oh, my giddy aunt!  When I read that, my hearts each skipped a beat!

However.....

In case you don't want to watch it yourself, I checked - Troughton is nowhere to be seen in the episode.  

But this being the wistful, fanciful world of the Toobworld Dynamic, I'd like to dabble in a bit o' Wish-Craft.  Not only would I like to think Troughton is in the episode, but that he was there as the Second Incarnation of the Doctor.  (Of course!)

Why would he be in Valeriville?  Probably on some adventure totally unrelated to the events seen here in the episode and his path never crossed with that of Sam Buckhart.  Perhaps he was trying to bring Victoria back to her own time period in Victorian London, but as usual the TARDIS brought them someplace else.

But if Patrick Troughton was in the episode at all, then he had to be in this scene near the end - when many of the townsfolk are gathered on the main street:

At this point in time in the real world, Troughton's career was too well established in British television.  There would have been no reason for him to travel all the way to America simply to be one of the atmosphere people in a single Western episode.

But dealing in reality is no fun.  Let's go back to imagining that the Doctor really was there!

In fact, I think we might even claim that the man in black in the background towards the left, in front of that flight of stairs with the woman in white, could be the 2nd Doctor.  And the woman in white?  Perhaps it's Victoria Waterfield.  (I suppose Jamie MacCrimmon was back at the TARDIS.)

Anyway, today's edition of the Classic Television Theater is the first in a month-long series celebrating Michael Ansara's role as Sam Buckhart.  I hope you'll enjoy "The Matriarch", even if Patrick Troughton isn't in it.

BCnU!

WHO'S ON TV - TALKIN' 'BOUT REGENERATION......

Today is the day!

At 7 pm GMT (2 pm EDT for this corner of Toobworld), there will be a simulcast BBC special to unveil the actor who has been chosen to replace Matt Smith as the Time Lord in 'Doctor Who'.

Once upon a time we might have thought of him as being the 12th Doctor.  But with John Hurt now thrown into the mix, he (or she - we have no clue) should be considered the 13th Incarnation.  That would also mean the last by the old reckoning, but this is a sci-fi show, so there's probably some techno-babble way of circumventing that.  (My personal theory?  Why, thank you for asking!  I think the Doctor gained many new lives because he absorbed the time stream at the end of Christopher Eccleston's tenure in the TARDIS.)

We never got any regeneration from the Eighth Doctor to the Ninth, so I think this is where Hurt's character would fit in.  Someday the FB meme pictures and other videos about all the Doctors will have to adjust to fit him into the mix.  But until then, here's the sked alert for today's announcement......

BCnU!

"WAREHOUSE 13" - "RUNAWAY": THE BEST LINES

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - CHERIE CURRIE

CHERIE CURRIE

From Wikipedia:
Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. After The Runaways she became a solo artist. Then she teamed up with her identical twin sister, Marie Currie and, released an album with her. They released a duet "Since you've Been Gone" which charted number 95 on US charts. 

AS SEEN IN:
'Warehouse 13'
"Runaway"

SYNOPSIS:
Artie wanted to get Claudia something special for her 21st birthday, so he called in a favor from Cherie Currie to perform at the birthday party.  (Also in the band was Cherie's son.)  Claudia got up on stage to perform "Cherry Bomb" with the band.

Here's a video tribute to Cherie Currie:

BCnU!