TUESDAY NEWS DAY - "TWIN PEAKS" UPDATE

Variety is reporting that David Lynch is walking away from the 'Twin Peaks' revival for Showtime after contest negotiations broke down.

On Sunday, Lynch sent out several Tweets to break the news:

"Dear Twitter Friends, Showtime did not pull the plug on ‘Twin Peaks'.  After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done.  This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing. 'Twin Peaks’ may still be very much alive at Showtime. I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.”

Showtime quickly responded by saying that:

"We were saddened to read David Lynch’s statement today since we believed we were working towards solutions with David and his reps on the few remaining deal points. Showtime also loves the world of ‘Twin Peaks’ and we continue to hold out hope that we can bring it back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm.”

So it could be that Lynch used the nuclear option to push Showtime into acceding to his contractual needs.  But Showtime may hold fast and press on without his further involvement.  According to the Variety article, the scripts for the 'Twin Peaks' revival are already written by Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost. And there was no mention of Frost's stance on the situation.

The fact that Lynch contacted the actors is troubling, because he may have done more than just let them know he was off the project.  But Showtime announced back in January that Kyle MacLachlan was coming back to play FBI Agent Dale Cooper, so he might already have signed a contact.

No.  No, you're not.

Some of the actors from the original series have since died, including Jack Nance and Dan O'Herlihy, but I would think many of the others would leap at the chance to reprise their roles.  Haven't seen much of Michael Ontkean lately, and Daphne Ashbrook can't be filling up all her time with 'Doctor Who' conventions. Many of the actors were willing to appear in the 'Psych' homage episode "Dual Spires" so they might still come back for this project with or without David Lynch.

I hope it can still proceed and still be on the air sometime next year, if only to fulfill the prophecy made by Laura Palmer in the Red Lodge:

BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 04/2015 - MR. HUMPHRIES, ARE YOU FREE?

If you've been following along with the 2015 inductees into the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame, you know that there has been a theme - it's a British Invasion!  (There have been two additional new members based on circumstances - Robert Conrad for his 80th birthday, and Leonard Nimoy [twice over - in Toobworld and in the Tooniverse] after his death.)

When I was making up the list of the potential new members into the Hall, I also wanted to make sure I adhered to the traditional entries for certain months - a horror-related inductee for October, a black character for February, one for the ladies in May.  And of them all, April - the month of the April Fool's Day - was locked in right from the beginning:

WILBERFORCE CLAYBORNE HUMPHRIES

Probably the longest name in the Hall this year!

Mr. Humphries was a salesman in the Grace Brothers' Department Store in London.  'Are You Being Served?' had the slimmest of basic plotlines and yet ran for two decades.

Here's a list of the episodes that qualifies Mr. Humphries for inclusion in the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame:

• Comedy Playhouse - 'Are You Being Served?' pilot
• Are You Being Served? - sixty-nine episodes
• Are You Being Served? - movie (set in Costa Plonka)
• Are You Being Served in Australia? - sixteen episodes
• Are You Being Served? Again! - twelve episodes

When it comes to a body of work, Mr. Humphries has a big one!

(I'm sure the late Jeremy Lloyd could have made a much better double entendre.)

Mr. Humphries gains entry into the Hall without his fellow employees because of Inman's participation in the Austrlian spin-off of the Britcom.  But I could see several of the other cast members finally gaining entry in the Hall eventually from the other options.

So welcome aboard, Mr. Humphries!  That is... if you're available for membership.....?

VIDEO SUNDAY - A TVXOHOF PREVIEW

'THE SIMPSONS'

"MY FARE LADY"

One of the greatest characters to have come out of 1970s TV - Reverend Jim Ignatowski - made the leap from Earth Prime-Time to the Tooniverse.  And with that appearance he became eligible for membership in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

In the story, Marge Simpson went into business for herself by using her family's station wagon as an Uber-like taxi.  This put her in the cross-hairs of the taxi drivers in Springfield.  And it was Reverend Jim who led the drivers against her.

Lloyd started out on 'Taxi' as a guest character in one episode, in which he officiated at the wedding of cabbie John Burns during the first season of the sitcom.  But he proved to be so popular in the role that he was brought back to be a regular during the second season (ironically replacing Randall Carver who played John.)

His first major scene as a regular has since become an iconic bit of funny business that is still imitated today.

But he was not always like that.....

Here are a couple of other scenes that made great showcases for Jim:

In all, Reverend Jim appeared in 84 episodes of 'Taxi' which is a nice haul, but with his dimensional crossover episode that still isn't enough to qualify him for membership in the TVXOHOF.  

But a blipvert puts him over the top.......

While Lloyd is not specifically identified as Reverend Jim, everything about his appearance in this commercial points to that cosmic truth:

• He's driving a taxi.
• He's in NYC.
• He's a little spacey. 

He's also kind of scary, which might be what happened to him after ingesting all of those drugs after so many decades.

This year we're inducting British TV characters into the Hall, but I see no reason why Jim couldn't make it in next year for the April Fool's edition!

BCnU!

NUMBERS RUNNING - 4 "COLUMBO"

4/04

Since today is one of "The Numbers" days ('Lost'), here is one of the numerals in the Valenzetti Sequence to be found in other shows.....

'COLUMBO'

"DAGGER OF THE MIND"

BCnU!

LA TRIVIATA - A TAITI TIDBIT

That poster in the background reminded me that even though I might be watching an American TV show, even Toobworld speaks more than just English.  We're not dealing with universal translators here.

Taiti would be the spelling in several languages for the largest island in the French Polynesian islands, which Americans would know as Tahiti.

BCnU!

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - HARRIET COOPER & MIRIAM BAXTER

'Batman'

'The Man From U.N.C.L.E' 

["The Alexander The Greater Affair Parts 1&2"]

Harriet Cooper was Bruce Wayne's aunt but his youthful ward Dick Grayson considered her as his aunt as well and addressed her as such, which she accepted.  (But she was never aware of the fact that they were the crime-fighters known as Batman and Robin.)

She was the sister of Bruce's mother and although she rarely talked about her family, Miss Cooper had another sister as well - named Miriam.

Miriam Cooper married Harry Baxter and moved with him to Ohio where Harry built an empire in the plumbing fixtures business.

They had a son who grew up to be a brilliant industrialist bent on taking over the entire world.  Calling himself "Alexander The Greater", Baxter embarked on this madman's quest with an added challenge: to break each of the ten commandments as he proceeded.

And one of those commandments O'Bviously involved his parents - "Honor Thy Mother And Father".  Alexander the Greater had the senior Baxters kidnapped and chained up in a rock quarry where they had to work like slaves.  

Luckily for them, U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin (with help from Alexander's soon to be ex-wife Tracey Alexander) were able to track them down and rescue them.

Harriet Cooper must not have been in frequent contact with her sister Miriam Baxter or she would have become concerned after not hearing from her in months.  And then she would have involved Bruce in the matter and you know what that means - the Dynamic Duo would have been on the case!

BCnU!

TAKE THE PLEDGE!

TUESDAY NEWS DAY - RONALD REAGAN RETURNS

Proving that it won't fit into any one groove, the second season of 'Fargo' will be taking place back in 1979.  Patrick Wilson will be playing Lou Solverson, who was portrayed by Keith Carradine in the modern day iteration of the first season.  Also in the cast are Cristin Milioti, Nick Offerman, Ted Danson, and Jean Smart.  But the big Toobishy casting news?  Bruce Campbell, the "Chin" himself, will be playing Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate for President.

I'm assuming it will be a one-shot guest appearance as Reagan makes a campaign stop in town, but who knows? According to FX CEO John Landgraf: "Some of the characters have some interactions with him. And some of his movies are also a part of the show.  A lot of what it’s about is the cultural transformation that was going on at the time." 

Apparently Reagan's campaign fits into the narrative themes for 'Fargo', according to Landgraf.

This would mark Reagan's third fictional appearance in Earth Prime-Time; the other two were in "Bloodlines", an episode of paranois-infused alien invasion timeline series 'Dark Skies', and as just his voice in "Smaller Than Life", an episode of 'Magnum, P.I.'

BCnU!

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO MY BROTHER BILL!

I'm not sure I would have checked out the Netflix series 'Marco Polo' had my brother Bill not recommended it so enthusiastically, but it became my "binge" show back in January and I'm not one to binge watch TV. As far as I'm concerned, this series - which will be getting a second season - is THE portrayal of Kublai Khan in the main Toobworld.

The only other Kublai Khan I can think of that belongs to the main Toobworld would be the emperor as seen in the story from the adventures of the first incarnation of the Doctor in 'Doctor Who'. But he was such a frail old man, I have to figure the TARDIS had utilized its ability to travel to relative dimensions in space. (He couldn't be Kublai Khan from later in life, which we can excuse for casting reasons based on character aging, because Marco Polo was still at court.)

Today is my brother Bill's birthday, so I wanted to share this alternate dimension's depiction of Kublai Khan's grandfather, Genghis Khan, to mark the occasion.  I figured he deserved something dignified and refined........

Happy birthday, Brothermine!

VIDEO SUNDAY - LASSIE AND THE C-CLAMP

This was recently in Dave Barry's blog:

The Blog has oft remarked (in print and otherwise) that we think collies are smart because we grew up watching 'Lassie'. Today the s.b. was spinning the dial and found an episode of the early show with Jon Provost as Timmy. In this episode, June Lockhart, aka Mom, had her foot caught in a cougar trap (for obvious reasons). Lassie heard her calling and came a'runnin'... This is the actual dialogue that June Lockhart had to say to her co-star, a dog:

"Do you remember the c-clamp that the trapper brought? I think I left it on the kitchen counter. Go get it, girl! And hurry!"

That is all.

Posted by judi on March 7, 2015 at 12:26 PM

If I ever saw that episode when I was a kid, I don't remember it.  I probably was so young that I didn't have any problem in accepting the premise.

Since then, I've seen that particular scene in a TV retrospective special and on its own it is the most ridiculous concept that Lassie should understand about C clamps.

But in the TV Universe, I use it as a good example of dogs being the reincarnation of humans and who still have a retention of their human intelligence.

So it works for Toobworld.

Here's the episode.  If you just want to see the C Clamp scene, go to the 11:20 mark:

BCnU!