TWO FOR TUESDAY 2: MONKEY KING RECASTAWAYS

In the penultimate episode of this season's 'The Librarians', Jacob Stone spent several months in Shangri-La where he was tutored by the Monkey King.  He was then able to utilize his new skills to rescue the Monkey King and save Shangri-La from a ruthless collector named Sterling Lam.

From Wikipedia:

Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a mythological figure who features in a body of legends, which can be traced back to the period of the Song dynasty. He appears as a main character in the 16th century Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. Sun Wukong is also found in many later stories and adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.

Sun Wukong possesses immense strength; he is able to lift his 13,500 jīn(7,960 kilograms (17,550 lb)) staff with ease. He is also extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (21,675 kilometres (13,468 mi)) in one somersault. (Note that this is more than half way around the world.) Sun knows 72 transformations, which allow him to transform into various animals and objects; however, he is troubled in transforming into other forms, due to the accompanying incomplete transformation of his tail. Sun Wukong is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best warriors of heaven. Each of his hairs possess magical properties, capable of being transformed into clones of the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects. He knows spells to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans, demons, and gods alike.

The Monkey King has been depicted on TV so many times, rivaling almost all other incarnations of demi-gods on TV save perhaps for Jesus.  (Yes, he should fall into the demi-god category - he was born of a Terran woman.)

But not all of them deserve to remain in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld.  Here's a rundown of those TV series:

'Monkey' ('Saiyūki'), a 1978–1980 Japanese television series based on "Journey to the West". It was translated into English by the BBC.

Known simply as Monkey, "the punkiest monkey that ever popped" was born of a stone egg and gained immortality by gorging himself on Immortality Peaches.  Because of his riotous nature, Buddha imprisoned Monkey under a mountain to learn patience and was released in 630 AD.  And that's when his adventure with new companions begin.

'Journey to the West', a two-season television series produced by CCTV, starring Liu Xiao Ling Tong as Sun Wukong. The two seasons were released in 1986 and 1999 respectively. Noted for its faithfulness to the original novel, this series is still considered by many as a classic.

The original lead actors of 'Journey to the West' (1986) — Liu Xiao Ling Tong, Chi Chongrui and Ma Dehua — reprised their roles in 'Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West', a 2010 television series about Wu Cheng'en and his inspiration for writing the novel "Journey to the West". Sha Wujing, however, was portrayed by Liu Dagang because Yan Huaili, who played the character in 1986, died in April 2009.

This 1986/1999 series is the version I've seen, but only about ten episodes out of the forty or so.  For me, classic though this series was, it is all just a visual recreation of the novel by Wu Cheng'en as seen in that 2010 series..  Anything that happens within it were manifestations of events found in the novel.  Even the recasting of Sha Wujing is okay since it's all part of Whu Cheng'en's imagination.  That same splainin applies to the recasting of many of the actors in several roles while other roles had more than one actor in the role.  To me, that just meant that the author was in the process of rewriting.

So the portrayal of Wu Cheng'en from the 2010 series is firmly planted in the world of Earth Prime-Time and the 1986/99 shows are depictions of his imagination.

'Journey to the West', a 1994 Japanese television series. Nippon TV produced another television series, based on "Journey to the West", titled 'New Monkey', it ran for only one season.

I think if another Monkey King TV series reworks previously established material based on "Journey To The West", then it should be relegated to yet another TV dimension.  Which is fine since there are so many.  However, any time an established character from a different series meets that character, we have to find some way out of the Zonk caused by recasting.  Take former President Bill Clinton as he appeared in the following shows:

• 'The Nanny' --->
• 'Niania' (Polish adaptation of 'The Nanny')
• 'Murphy Brown'
• 'Leaving L.A.'
• 'The Powers That Be'
• 'Beverly Hills, 90210'
• 'Women of the House'
• 'The Wayans Brothers'
• 'Men Behaving Badly'
• 'Beatrix, Oranje onder Vuur'

Save for Pat Rick in 'Leaving L.A.' and 'Murphy Brown', no actor played Bill Clinton in this list did so again in some other series.  They were all supposed to be President Clinton, so the resemblance to him was paramount.  But if there were differences between them, they could be chalked up to differences in the perception of the character whose basic point of view was shared by the Trueniverse audience

So far I think this is only a problem in the case of 'The Librarians'.  But if you know of a TV portrayal of Sun Wukong aka the Monkey King not covered here, let me know.

'Journey to the West', a 1996 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, starring Dicky Cheung as Sun Wukong. It was followed by a 1998 sequel, 'Journey to the West II', starring Benny Chan as Sun Wukong.  'The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra', a 2002 Hong Kong television series loosely based on the novel. It was produced by TVB and starred Dicky Cheung as Sun Wukong again.

There's no Zonk in the recasting of Sun Wukong from Dicky Cheung to Benny Chan and back again.  Toobworld Central accepts that demi-gods can change their appearance, no matter the "religious" source.  As chronicled in the Wikipedia excerpt above, Sun Wukong has the power to go through 72 transformations and that probably includes different versions of his original form. (The other three main characters remained intact with their original actors.) 

In the end, however, these three shows fall into another dimension because it's yet another rehash of the "Journey To The West" saga.

'The Monkey King', also called 'The Lost Empire', a 2001 television adaptation of the legend by Sci Fi Channel.

Nicholas Orton (played by Thomas Gibson) is an American businessman who has lived in China for several years. He has a chance encounter with a beautiful Chinese lady (played by Bai Ling) who says that he is the only one who can save the world from reverting five-hundred years. He is unswayed by this until many modern buildings begin disappearing before his eyes. This mystical lady (revealed later as Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion) transports him to a portal which offers entrance, through the teachings of Confucius (played by Ric Young), to the ancient Chinese underworld.

When Orton (soon to be named The Scholar From Above) reaches the other side of the portal, he finds that his studies of Confucius will come in handy for the path that lies ahead. Orton's first action is to rescue Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, from the mountain in which he has been imprisoned for centuries. Wukong travels with Orton in his quest to save the original manuscript of Journey to the West from retroactive destruction; if the story itself is erased from history, all of the people who were ever inspired by the lessons it teaches will be worse off, and history will permanently change for the poorer. They are later joined by Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) and Sha Wujing (Friar Sand) to help them on their way.

I need to see this, despite the bad reviews.  One main reason is that Eddie Marsan as Pigsy - big fan of the actor since 'Little Dorrit' and "The Thirty-Nine Steps", and he's got the snout for the role already.   

With the precedence now set that the Monkey King can transform into other forms, we still have no problem with him being a Recastaway.  If he was imprisoned under a mountain again, then he was there for four hundred centuries at best.  (Another reason I need to see this.)  Then again, Orton crossed over into a different dimension and so this Sun Wukong could be the counterpart to the Monkey King of Earth Prime-Time's dimension.

But for the time being, I'll consider Russell Wong's character to be the Monkey King of Earth Prime-Time.

Saiyūki, a 2006 Japanese television series produced by Fuji Television. The lead character of Son Goku (Sun Wukong) was given to Shingo Katori, a member of the pop group SMAP. This remake has been so successful as to break viewing records with one in three Japanese viewers watching each episode of the series.

It is a successor to the popular 1970s TV show 'Saiyūki', known outside Japan as 'Monkey'. There have been three dramas and one special based on "Journey to the West" that have aired previously, making this one the fifth adaptation in Japan.

Rather than producing a second season, [because of a failing first season) Fuji TV and Toho produced a feature film version of "Saiyūki", that was released in Japan on July 14, 2007. The film was a box office success, becoming the 8th highest-grossing film of 2007 in Japan. The whole plot of the film is loosely based on chapters 32-35 of "Journey to the West", Son Gokū trying to save a kingdom (with the help of a young princess) usurped by King Gold Horn and Silver Horn.

While I have no problem with a variety of Recastaways, I don't want to deal with seeing the same storyline played out again and again.  So I think this version should go to the Borderlands where movies and TV shows are blended together.  

'Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West', a 2010 Chinese television series which tells the story of Wu Cheng'en and his inspiration for writing the novel. The main cast from the 1986 'Journey to the West' version reprised their roles in this series.

I dealt with this series above while talking about the 1986 series.  This series causes that original version to be considered as similar to other shows like 'Jack Of All Trades' and John Hart's version of 'The Lone Ranger' in being TV shows within Toobworld but visible to the Trueniverse audience.

'Journey to the West', a 2010 Chinese television series directed and produced by Cheng Lidong, starring Fei Zhenxiang as Sun Wukong. It started airing on Zhejiang Satellite TV on 14 February 2010.

Being yet another version of the events chronicled in "Journey To The West", I'm going to send this series off to the Land O' Remakes.

'Journey to the West', a 2011 Chinese television series produced by Zhang Jizhong, starring Wu Yue as Sun Wukong. It started airing on Southern Television Guangdong on 28 July 2011.

And yet another dimension reporting in since it walked the path of all the earlier TV shows.  As the TV Universe is full of dimensions that need their own versions of so many characters, I might as well spread the wealth.

So in the end, I'm using these three shows as being a part of the main Toobworld.

• 'Monkey' ('Saiyūki') - 1978–1980 from Japan 
• 'Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West' - 2010 from China
• 'The Monkey King' ('The Lost Empire') - 2001 from USA

with a reminder that 'Journey To The West' (1986/1999 from China) was basically a manifestation of the book author's imagination.

Finally we come to the Monkey King's appearance in 'The Librarians'.....

'THE LIBRARIANS'

"AND THE FATAL SEPARATION"

When The Monkey King's sacred homeland of Shangri-La is taken over by a ruthless collector of magical artifacts, the balance of the Universe is put in jeopardy, forcing all the Librarians to come together to help save the imperiled land but at a terrible cost.

It would seem that this Monkey King has been ensconced in Shangri-La for centuries, probably longer than Sun Wukong had been buried under that mountain.  This would negate the possibility of keeping the mini-series from Sci-Fi in Earth Prime-Time.  (I'm not about to remove 'The Librarians' from the main Toobworld!)

But Ernie Reyes, Jr.'s portrayal is only known as the Monkey King, not as Sun Wukong.  "Monkey King" can be considered a job title and so he could have been the son of Sun Wukong and had been the Heir Apparent to the title of Monkey King.  

But citing Occam's Razor, it's probably easier to say that he was the one and only original Monkey King, the same demi-god who had been imprisoned in that alternate dimension (but not an alternate TV dimension.)  He had already been the ruler of Shangri-La before he went to that other world centuries ago and was imprisoned under the mountain.  Once freed in 2001, he probably returned to the dimension of Toobworld with Nick Orton. (Again, I need to see this series.)  And once he was back, perhaps hoping for a fresh start in his immortal life, he took advantage of another of his 72 transformations to basically regenerate into the new visage seen in 'The Librarians'.

Perhaps the Monkey King will show up again someday in 'The Librarians'.  As he is a character in the public domain, maybe he could appear in other TV shows as well.  'Doctor Who' is one possibility; the new incarnation of 'Star Trek' is another.  (Hey, the original had Apollo show up, so why not?)  But the heyday for the Monkey King may be over in Toobworld - the perfect show for Sun Wukong could have been either 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' and 'Xena, Warrior Princess' as mythic figures from other beliefs interacted with those main characters as well.

I doubt we'd ever see the Monkey King in an episode of 'The New Pope', but damn!  It would've helped make that interesting!

BCnU!

TWO FOR TUESDAY I: QUOTH THE MONKEY KING

Monkey King:

"Every man has a plan until he is struck." 

Jake Stone:

Sun Tsu? 

Monkey King:

No. 

Jake Stone:

Confucius? 

Monkey King:

Mike Tyson. 

'THE LIBRARIANS'

The Monkey King was paraphrasing.  Here's the actual quote:

I'm sure the Monkey King knowingly changed the quote so that it sounded more like the proverbs from the great masters.  

Easier to trick Jake that way.....

BCnU!

LINKIN' HAZE - THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

FLYNN CARSEN:
That is an exact replica of the Ark of the Covenant.

JUDSON: 

It's not a replica.

Don't touch it or you'll be electrocuted.

Or as they used to say, "smote down. "

FLYNN:

Am I on TV?

Is this one of those hidden-camera shows?

JUDSON:

Trust me, Flynn, this...

This is your destiny.

"THE LIBRARIAN: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR"

From the wikia for 'The Librarians':

• The Ark of the Covenant is an artifact in The Library.
• The  Ark of the Covenant is cited in ancient Hebrew texts as a symbol of mankind's allegiance with God. It has appeared many times in popular culture (e.g "Raiders of the Lost Ark"), usually, having supernatural powers. It is thought to be in Axum, Ethiopia , a city with huge historical value.
• As it was never seen [in action] on the series, its powers are unknown.

And speaking of "Raiders"......

There have been four movies in the movie universe about Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones, archaeologist and adventurer.  And in between them there was a TV series about Jones as a boy and as a young man, and there was a TV movie which showcased Harrison Ford to one of the roles that will grant him cinema immortality.

Because of the TV show and movie, Toobworld Central has grabbed copies of the Indiana Jones movie franchise and absorbed them into the TV Universe.  

So the Ark of the Covenant was grabbed by Indy in the 1940s in the TV Universe as well.

But where was it stored?

Eventually it ended up in the Library as noted in that scene above.  But before that it must have been snagged, bagged, and tagged for 'Warehouse 13'.  Since all of the Indiana Jones saga should be considered part of Toobworld, then it makes sense that the Ark would be stored by the US Government in the Warehouse while Warehouse 13 was under "control" of the United States.

But the shadowy operatives who really govern in "Telemerica" knew eventually the Warehouse would relocate to another country.  And they couldn't let its incredible power potentially fall into the hands of one of America's enemies.

Whether the Ark was transferred willingly to the Metropolitan Library or the Librarian and Guardian who served prior to Edward Wilde took it upon themselves to "liberate" it, but it now resides in the Library.

We'll just have to wait and see if any other TV show tries to access the Ark for its own purposes.....

BCnU!

VIDEO SUNDAY - CELEBRATING ROB & LAURA

The day after the news broke of the death of Mary Tyler Moore, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame inducted Rob and Laura Petrie, joining their look-alikes Dr. Mark Sloan and Mary Richards Cronin,

On this Video Sunday, we'd like to continue our tribute to them, as well as the actors who played them - Dick Van Dyke (long may he reign!) and "Our Mayr"......

and

BCnU!

SATURDAY COMICS - "BEWITCHED"

It doesn't seem possible that this Toobworld essential is unknown to anyone, but just in case.....

From Wikipedia:

'Bewitched' is an American television sitcom fantasy series, originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It was created by Sol Saks under executive director Harry Ackerman, and starred Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York (1964–1969), Agnes Moorehead, and David White. Dick Sargent replaced an ill York for the final three seasons (1969–1972). The show is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man, and vows to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife. Bewitched enjoyed great popularity, finishing as the number two show in America during its debut season, and becoming the longest-running supernatural-themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s. The show continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and on recorded media.

Samantha and her family and friends are Multiversals, appearing in several TV shows, cartoons, a movie, and as befitting this weekly feature, comic books.

Here are some of the covers for the Stephens Family in the Comic Book Universe:

BCnU!

GAME OF THE NAME - SEND IN THE CLOWNS

"Everybody loves a clown."

William Krebs

aka

Bingo the Clown

'BARNEY MILLER'

"THE CLOWN"

Bingo the Clown was entertaining the crowd outside the Tivoli Theater on Houston Street when he was mugged by repeat offender Arthur Duncan.  Duncan had switched to attacking street performers after ripping off the Salvation Army and assaulting the handicapped.  Before Bingo, Duncan had mugged three other clowns, a mime, a juggler, and a couple of one-man bands.  (After Bingo, Duncan also mugged a clown named Mr. Jingles.)

You guys know me. I can't just leave it at that.  I needed to fill in the blanks and find appropriate TV characters to be those three other clowns, the mime, the juggler, and the one-man bands.

THREE OTHER CLOWNS

HoHo the Clown

'Bewitched'
Episode: Hoho the Clown
(1967)
Darrin gets free tickets for Samantha and Tabatha to a live taping of "Hoho the Clown", Tabatha's favorite television show, as Solow Toys, the show's sponsor, is a client of Darrin's. Samantha and Darrin, who saw the show live on television as well, are unaware of is that Endora also put a spell on Hoho to make Tabatha the one and only person for whom he will do the show and direct his attention. So when Hoho pays all his attention to Tabatha at the next show, Samantha and Darrin have to get Endora both to remove the spell, and somehow overcome the inevitable problem of implied fraud when Solow finds out that Tabatha is Darrin's daughter.

By the time Hoho the Clown was mugged by Duncan in 1982, the former star of his eponymous kids' show in New York City had fallen on hard times.  When the Solow Toy Company pulled their sponsorship of the afternoon program on WXIU, TV stations were finding it more cost effective to run syndicated reruns of shows like 'Mosquito Man' and 'Jed Clayton, US Marshal' rather than provide their own programming.  (And then when talk shows and reality programming took hold, fuhgeddaboutit!)  Because of the rumors of corruption due to the mess caused by Endora, Hoho found himself virtually blacklisted in the TV industry.  He was forced into competing in the cut-throat business of birthday party entertainment in the Big Apple.  And from there, he was reduced to becoming a down-and-out street performer.  And that's when Arthur Duncan struck.

Mike Kelley

'Make Room for Daddy'
Episode: Christmas and Clowns 

(1956)

Anticipating the first Christmas without Margaret, Danny invites a troupe of circus clowns for Christmas dinner to cheer Rusty and Terry.

Mike Kelley had been kind of a mentor to Danny Williams when he ran away from home to join the circus at a young age.  By the time they were reunited, Mike and his fellow circus folk had fallen on hard times, but the Christmas performance in the Williams' living room did a lot to cheer them all up that holiday.  (O'BSERVATION: I think that IMDb summary is wrong.  I think the kids asked Mike to perform in order to cheer their father up.)  Thanks to the rekindling of his friendship with Danny Williams, things began to happen for Mike Kelley - there were nightclub gigs, tours with a few small circuses including a tour with Inky's carnival that took him to Hawai'i.  One person who was probably glad to see the upturn in Mike's fortunes was his identical cousin in Westport, Ct., who sometimes lent Mike money and let him stay at his house on Morning Glory Circle.  (Bad enough he had to share it year round with his nosy busybody of a wife!)

Sherman

'The Odd Couple'

Episode: Surprise, Surprise

(1968)

Felix's surprise birthday party for his daughter is in competition with Oscar's big poker game.

Sherman had quite an enterprise going in children's entertainment.  Business was so good he probably got the other clowns to work for him which helped to cut down on the rivalries.  But he also had a bad gambling habit which nearly brought him to ruin.  (Addictions ran strong in his family: he had an identical cousin down in North Carolina who had a very bad drinking problem.)  So by 1982, Sherman Enterprises had been reduced to just him, working whatever street corner or small city park that wasn't already claimed by one of his former proteges.

THE MIME

Sotto

'Cheers'
Episode: 2 Good 2 Be 4 Real 

(1985)
Diane is taking a mime class and brings the resident mime, Sotto, into the bar to entertain the patrons. Diane is sure that Sam, who hates mimes as does everyone else in the bar, will love the art form by evening's end. Every single person in the bar does have the same attitude toward Sotto as Diane by the time that he is ready to leave at the end of the night.

"Sotto" was so traumatized and embittered by his experiences in New York City, he decided to move to Boston after being mugged by Duncan.  Unfortunately, the psychological damage from the mugging left him with PTJS - Post-Traumatic Jester Stress - which he then transferred to his audiences in Beantown.

THE JUGGLER

Marko the Magnificent

'The Flying Nun'
Episode: Sister Socko in San Tanco 

(1969)
Convent orphan Michael Antonio idolizes his uncle, renowned magician and juggler Marko the Magnificient. Marko is coming to San Tanco to visit Michael, an opportunity Sister Bertrille cannot let pass. Since the hot water pipes in the convent had just burst, she persuades the Reverend Mother to hold a benefit concert headlining Marko the Magnificent. The Reverend Mother thinks it's a good idea since she has seen the amazing feats of Marko. Marko however does not want to do it since he has come to San Tanco for some rest and personal time with Michael. Feeling pressured from Michael as well as some pre-publicity of the concert, Marko reluctantly concedes to doing it.  Sister Bertrille learns that Marko's reluctance masks the fact that his hands are afflicted with arthritis and he can no longer perform magic or juggle. Sister Bertrille comes up with a solution for Marko. They can create a magic act around levitating Sister Bertrille, who will be flying on her own. 

By 1982, Marko the Magnificent had long since retired and was only making special appearances on the nostalgia circuit, a few talk shows whose hosts had grown up idolizing the magician/juggler, and hosting himself at the few nightclubs which still booked magic acts.  Marko was on his way home from one of these gigs when he was attacked by Duncan.  (Theory of Relateeveety: Marko's full name might have been Marko Manzeppi.  If so, he might then have been descended from Count Manzeppi from a century previous who had been a master criminal in the wild, wild West.

A COUPLE OF ONE-MAN BANDS

Rory, The One Man Band Man

'Maude'

Episode: The Telethon

(1975)
Maude and the gang come together to perform in a telethon that Maude has organized. However, when she fails to come up with a celebrity to appear in the telethon she is left organizing a telethon without a cause, when the charity for which Maude has put in a lot of work withdraws at the last moment. As the minutes wind down, she must come up with a cause or face being taken off the air.

This was probably the One Man Band Man's only shot at TV "stardom", even if it was broadcast on Channel 72 to the viewing public in the Tuckahoe area.  Otherwise, he contented himself with supplementing his social security with street performances near City Hall on the weekends.  (It was a very patriotic act he performed.)  But the mugging cut short his musical ventures because the shock of the experience weakened his heart.  Thereafter he focused only on his job working for Walter Findlay.  (O'Bservation: Dick Winslow is only credited as "One-Man Band" in this episode.  But he would resurface again in a Christmas episode as Rory, one of Walter's employees.)

Jerry 

'The Andy Griffith Show'

Episode: Banjo-Playing Deputy 

(1965)

When Andy forces the harem dancer show at the carnival to shut down, the owner decides to move on but leaves his one-man band, Jerry, behind. Andy takes pity on the jobless and penniless young man and invites him home for dinner. With Barney away, Aunt Bee suggests to Andy that he should hire Jerry to do some general work around the courthouse. Andy decides to try him out, but the somewhat inept Jerry has ideas about being a Deputy that don't quite work out. When Aunt Bee has her purse snatched at the carnival however, Jerry knows exactly who did it and shows his mettle to get it back.

Jerry and Mayberry, North Carolina did not make a good fit, so he soon moved on until he finally gravitated to Manhattan and immersed himself into the counter-culture scene.  After getting mugged by Duncan, Jerry crossed the river and decided to try his luck along the boardwalk in Atlantic City.  At least there he felt at home among the oddities on the fringes of show business.

One last O'Bservation: I am tempted to induct Arthur Duncan into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame on the Birthday Honors List this June for this.....

I've also got one more Theory of Relateeveety: The last street clown mugged by Duncan went by the nom de beauzoux "Mr, Jingles".  It could be that the inspiration for his moniker came from his great-grandfather, Jingles P. Jones.  Jones rode along with James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickock but unfortunately parted ways with the folk hero of the Old West before Hickock rode to Deadwood where he would meet his fate.  

Here's another bit of Wish-Craft, a fanfic tidbit:

When he was 11 years old, somewhat-little Cameron Tucker was brought to NYC by his parents so that he could see his very first Broadway show (one starring Dick Burgess and Mary McKinnon.)  While they were down in the Village, Cam saw Bingo the Clown doing his routines on the street and right there on the spot, he decided he too wanted to become a clown.

And thus Fizbo was born.....

Remember, these are all just theories.  Should they be challenged, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of my connections....

SHOWS CITED:

• 'BARNEY MILLER'
• 'BEWITCHED'
• 'MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY'
• 'THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW'
• 'CHEERS'
• 'THE FLYING NUN'
• 'MAUDE'
• 'THE WILD, WILD WEST'
• 'MODERN FAMILY'
• 'THE VAN DYKE SHOW'
• 'THE ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKOCK'

BCnU!

TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - OH, ROB & LAURA

(CNN) - Actress Mary Tyler Moore, whose eponymous 1970s series helped usher in a new era for women on television, died Wednesday at the age of 80, her longtime representative Mara Buxbaum said.

"Today beloved icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine," she said. "A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile."

As part of my salute to female TV characters in the 2000 Class of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Mary Richards was inducted as my Birthday Honors List member.  "Mayr" was eligible on her own merits - appearing in three sitcoms and a TV movie with yet another TV series spinning off from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'.  But I'm self-centered and I couldn't think of any other TV character I would have wanted to share my birthday with than Mary Richards.

Well.... There is one other.  Laura Meehan Petrie.

I've got candidates lined up for entry into the TVXOHOF to last the next five years.  I don't even know if I will last that long!  And the plan was to induct Rob and Laura Petrie into the Hall next June as the duo for the month of Gemini.  Sadly, the news about Mary Tyler Moore has changed all of that.  And of course, as was the case with Ilya Kuryakin and will be with Officer Jim Reed, how could Laura enter the Hall without her partner, Rob Petrie?

From Wikipedia:

• Robert Simpson "Rob" Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) – head writer for The Alan Brady Show, a fictional network television comedy/variety show broadcast from New York City. The role of Rob Petrie was almost given to Johnny Carson, but Sheldon Leonard, the show's executive producer, suggested Van Dyke.

• Laura Petrie (née Meehan; played by Mary Tyler Moore) – Rob's wife. As a 17-year-old dancer in the United Service Organizations, she met and married Rob. Then, she became a stay-at-home mom. About 60 actresses auditioned for the part before Moore was signed. Moore later wrote that she almost skipped the audition.

The Petries of Bonny Meadow Road in New Rochelle had a solid block of episodes in 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' which became a cultural milestone often referenced in other TV shows.  

• 
  'Mystery Science Theater 3000'
• 'Green Acres'
• 'Thirtysomething' -->
• 'Herman's Head'
• 'The Nanny'
• 'Homicide: Life On The Street'
• 'The X-Files'
• 'Diagnosis Murder'
• 'Oz'
• 'Murder 101'
• 'Pushing Daisies'
• 'The Middle'
• 'Friends'
• 'The King of Queens'

(It was called the "Camelot of Sitcoms" for a reason.)  Luckily, those "Zonks" can be splained away - within the TV Universe, future Hall member Alan Brady bought the rights to Rob Petrie's autobiography and turned it into a sitcom starring himself.  (Brady later reworked the premise and the new series starred the televersion of Dick Van Dyke who bore an incredible resemblance to Petrie.)

A few years later, Rob and Laura showed up again in the greater TV Universe, in Skitlandia.  In 1969 DVD & MTM were re-teamed in a special entitled "Dick Van Dyke And The Other Woman" which seemed to be predestined.

Big shocker for this 14 year old in the sketch - Richie Petrie had grown up to be gay!  It was my first exposure to the maturity that television would soon be embracing.

Decades later, the Skitlandian Rob and Laura showed up again in an episode of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Hour' in two sketches:

But if you think I'm just being sentimental and not being a stickler for the rules (that a strict reading would insist on all three requirements come from Earth Prime-Time and not from alternate Toobworlds, then here you go:

Those blipverts are as much a part of the main Toobworld as any episode of the show itself.  It's no different than any product placement excerpt you can find in TV shows from today.  (And one day, Richie can enter the TVXOHOF himself because of the Crest commercial.)

The Petries were last seen in a TV reunion movie, "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited", in which Alan Brady brought back his writers Rob and Sally Rogers to come up with the perfect eulogy salute to him.  (Sadly, Buddy Sorrell, Dr. Jerry Helper, and Mel Cooley had already passed away.)  The Petries now lived in Manhattan in an apartment so huge that Laura was able to conduct dance classes in it, including her grand-daughter as a student.  

(It could be that Richard ROSEBUD Petrie was gay in the main Toobworld as well - not that there's anything wrong with that.  But at least in Earth Prime-Time he had a daughter.)

So with the TV series, the TV sketches, the reunion movie, and all of those references in other TV shows which validated their existence in the main Toobworld, Rob and Laura Petrie deserve to bring their Camelot personalities into the Hall of Fame. 

I will always love Mary and the characters she gave to Toobworld.  Earlier i admitted I was selfish and this is proof of it - with this induction, I get to keep both "Mayr" and now Laura in my little realm of Toobworld.  And Rob is an added bonus who joins his look-alike Dr. Mark Sloan in the Hall.

Welcome to the Hall, Mr. & Mrs. Petrie.  And good night and may God bless Mary Tyler Moore......

BCnU......

ZONK-SPLAININ - NURSE WALTON

'BARNEY MILLER
"ARRIVAL"

Wojo took a call from a woman who wanted to report a missing family but he told her there was nothing that they could do. 

Turns out she was reporting 'The Waltons' as missing. 

Harris threw in a sarcastic comment that the mother was a nurse now. 

'The Waltons' was an historical tv series about that family in the Depression, so it is acceptable that there was a TV show about them. 

As for Michael Learned, who played Olivia, she actually was a nurse... on TV. In 1981 she starred as a widowed nurse who got back into the routine of work. And the show used her job description as its generic title. 

But 'Nurse' wasn't named in Harris' comment, so it doesn't have to be the show he was talking about. Maybe the televersion of Michael Learned was playing a nurse in some fictional show within a show.

Maybe it was in "Endless Tomorrows", the fictional soap opera which was part of a subplot in an earlier episode of 'Barney Miller'.

BCnU!

TUESDAY NEWS DAY WISH-CRAFT: **NOT** MY FRIEND IN TOOBWORLD

Every so often I like to share pictures of my Earth Prime friends which would suggest that they do have doppelgangers in Earth Prime-Time.  (The most frequent "victim" has been Mark Thompson.  But then, he makes it so easy!)

This time out, I want to get it on record and state categorically that the person I'm showcasing today is NOT my friend.  I don't even know him.

But Brian Leonard is a friend of mine and he sent me the link to this news story.  So I want to make sure I gave him a big ol' Iddiotic shout-out.

Here's the headline for the story by Todd Wellington:

And here are the lead two paragraphs:  

(I'm providing the link here, but they do want you to sign up to read more.)

So let's take a look at Perry Mason's counterpart in Toobworld....

The Caledonian Record is the daily newspaper in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, serving northern Vermont and New Hampshire.  (It's practically on the border shared with the Granite State.)  Here's the charming tidbit of information... information... information provided by Wikipedia:

St. Johnsbury is the shire town of Caledonia County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 7,603 at the 2010 census.

"Shire Town"....  Isn't that cute?  There could be Hobbits there!

Anyhoo, in Toobworld Perry Mason practiced law in Los Angeles, California, until he accepted a judgeship in Denver, Colorado.  After he resigned that position to defend his former secretary Della Street on a murder charge, he remained in Colorado to practice law again.

Doesn't get him close to Vermont though, does it?

I'm thinking that back in 1969 or even earlier, somebody in the televersion of this ne'er-do-well's family had known Perry Mason Esquire in Los Angeles.  Maybe they interned with him; maybe Mason taught the in a law class.  And perhaps the lawyer defended that person on a serious charge - like.. murrrderrr!

In gratitude, especially since it seems a lot of Mason's clients never had to pay the exorbitant fees usually charged by lawyers, perhaps that person felt a need to somehow honor Mason for his beneficence.  So now, maybe another family member married a man who shared the same surname as Mason.  And so around 1969, when that family member discovered that she was pregnant, the suggestion was made that they should honor Perry Mason by naming the child after him be it boy or girl.

But unfortunately, this Perry Mason failed to stay on the right side of the Law which his namesake championed.

Just a reminder - I am NOT talking about this Perry Mason exactly.  I'm talking about the possibilities for his television counterpart, who would be fictional.

BCnU!