TWO FOR TUESDAY - "NEGATIVE REACTION" FOR CROSSOVERS

‘COLUMBO’
“NEGATIVE REACTION”






I found two theoretical connections in this episode, one of them being an inner crossover to another ‘Columbo’ episode.

Here’s the first one, a traditional bit of conjecture….

Paul Galesko:
I had some pictures to take in a mountain area up north of the Valley. I'm a photographer, Lieutenant, on an assignment with a magazine.

We never learn what magazine commissioned the assignment.  But I’m sure Columbo looked into that to make sure that Galesko wasn’t lying to him.






But when I’m thinking of magazines in Toobworld, my go-to has always been those which were published by Howard Publications, as seen in the NBC mystery “wheel” ‘The Name Of The Game’.  



The two magazines most often mentioned in the show were Crime (edited by former FBI agent Dan Farrell) and People (where Jeff Dillon was a reporter.)  But I’m sure Glenn Howard’s empire had other magazines in play, perhaps even a nature magazine, something similar to National Geographic.  At the very least, I’m going to stick with the theory that it was published by Glenn Howard’s corporation.

Let's take a look at the other example....

Paul Galesko:
Mrs. Galesko isn't here.
She's visiting relatives.
Mrs. Moyland:
Oh? That's strange, her going off.
With the symphony opening tonight 
and her buying that new dress and all.






With this exchange of dialogue, I’m making the inner crossover.  The symphony which was having their opening that night was the Southern Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles.  This was Liz Fielding’s “baby” seen in the ‘Columbo’ episode “Etude In Black”.  By the time Frances Galesko was planning to attend, Mrs. Fielding’s son-in-law Alex Benedict was no longer the maestro.  (He was incarcerated on death row, but with many years of appeals ahead of him.)

Who could have been the conductor that night?  Being the opening night, the conductor would be whoever succeeded Benedict.  Had the ‘Negative Reaction’ episode took place a year or so later, I would have suggested Mason Woodruff, the junior conductor at the Boston Symphony (seen in the series ‘Friends & Lovers’.)






Any suggestions as to who the conductor could have been?  Of course I’m looking for a conductor who was a character in some other TV show.

Two for Tuesday!

TOOBWORLD'S TRIBUTE FOR PRESIDENTS' DAY

Today marks Presidents’ Day and there’s no better member of that very exclusive club – at least this current TV season – than the Father of His Country….

My personal connection to the Father of Our Country is very tangential – my paternal grandfather was born on February 22 and so he was given the middle name of “George”.  And that was passed down for the next two generations, making me the third to carry the full true name.  (And that’s why I prefer the nickname I was given.)

In the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, George Washington is a multidimensional who was inducted as part of the Class of the Proto-Hall.  The Proto-Hall consists of all those members who were celebrated for their crossover contributions before the Hall actually existed.  (He is considered the member in the November in those years before the Hall, from circa 1990 - 1998.)

Let’s take a look at the February 22nd birthday boy….

From Wikipedia:
George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States (1789–1797). He commanded Patriot forces in the new nation's vital American Revolutionary War and led them to victory over the British. Washington also presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which established the new federal government. For his manifold leadership during the American Revolution, he has been called the "Father of His Country".

Washington succeeded a prosperous family of slaveholding planters in colonial Virginia. He had educational opportunities and launched a favourable career as a land surveyor. He then became a leader of the Virginia militia in the French and Indian War. During the Revolutionary War he was a delegate to the Continental Congress, was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief of the Army, and led an allied campaign to victory at the Siege of Yorktown ending the conflict. Once victory was in hand in 1783, he resigned as commander-in-chief.

Washington was unanimously elected President by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. He promoted and oversaw implementation of a strong, well-financed national government, but remained impartial in the fierce rivalry between subordinates Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. In the French Revolution, Washington proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title "President of the United States". Washington's Farewell Address was widely regarded as one of the most influential statements on republicanism.

Washington customarily owned and traded African slaves, but became troubled with the institution, and freed them in his will. He was a member of the Anglican Church and the Freemasons, and urged tolerance for all religions in his roles as general and President. Upon his death, he was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."  Washington has been memorialized by monuments, art, places, stamps, and currency, and he has been ranked by scholars among the four greatest American presidents.

For more on the man in the Trueniverse, click here.

There have been plenty of “televersions” for George Washington in the greater TV Universe, perhaps especially in the Tooniverse.  With so many, I feel charitable in sharing the wealth – any of the mini-series and TV movies in which he was depicted could be relegated to other TV dimensions since they have nothing to actually tie them to the main Toobworld of Earth Prime-Time.

But for every time Washington showed up in a regular TV series and interacted with their fictional characters, there is a splainin to do in order to disable the Zonks caused by recastaways.  Each of these incarnations of the First President are how they appeared to the relevant TV character’s perspective.

One time where that doesn’t apply was in the ‘Bewitched’ episode “George Washington Zapped Here.”  In that case, as with the Halloween figures summoned by Tabitha, George and Martha were brought to life out of a book in the Stephens’ home.

We gained a new portrayal of George Washington in Earth Prime-Time this season.

‘OUTLANDER’
“WILMINGTON”

Simon Harrison played Washington at the age of 36 in 1768 when he was a member of the landed gentry in Virginia and held the title of Colonel after his exploits during the French & Indian War.  Washington and his wife Martha apparently were in Wilmington, North Carolina for some reason – perhaps on business? – and was attending the opening night production of a play.  There he met the Frasers, Jamie and Clare, as well as several other tele-historical figures like Royal Governor William Tryon and Edmund Fanning, a colonial administrator in North Carolina.

Washington even got pulled into Jamie’s scheme to warn off a gang of “Regulators” who were about to walk into a trap while robbing a coach that was supposed to be carrying the excessive train revenue.  It is because of how Clare Fraser viewed him upon first espying him across the theatre lobby that locked in how Washington appeared to us in the Real World.  So even when Jamie Fraser encounters the Washingtons outside the theater on his own, we are still seeing Washington as he was first perceived by Clare.

Just another cosmic mystery of Toobworld…

2019 SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS (PART SEVEN)

From iSpot.tv:
While marveling over the taste of McDonald's Cheesy Bacon Fries, J.B. Smoove and Ken Jeong debate about what makes the savory side so delicious. J.B. says it's all about the fries that simply feature bacon. However, Ken counters that it's the bacon that will bring the fries to a whole new audience. When they're unable to come to an agreement, Ken begins a bacon ovation to make his point clear. For a limited time, McDonald's invites you to find out for yourself if this is the best thing to happen to its classics ... or to bacon.

To me, it looks like they’re backstage in the green room for a talk show.  But what talk show?  

Of course I’m going to advocate for a fictional talk show found only in Toobworld.

I’d love for it to be ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ but those brick walls were nowhere to be seen during the run of the HBO show.  (And I’m afraid that show is off the air, even if we try to ignore the probability that – like Garry Shandling – Larry Sanders has ceased to be.)

So I’m asking you, Team Toobworld – what talk show could JB and Ken be at?  And you could come up with your own idea.  There are plenty of TV characters out there who could have their own TV show in Toobworld.  Here in the Real World, it seems like every celebrity had their own talk show for a time.

BCnU!

 

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER - SMOKEY ROBINSON

Danger, Will Robinson!

You’re about to enter the TVXOHOF!

Oh.  Not THAT Will Robinson…..

SMOKEY ROBINSON 

From Wikipedia:
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr.(born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as the Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown's vice president.

However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Robinson was awarded the 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music.

Mr. Robinson is being inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame as a member of the League of Themselves.

Here are his main credits for qualification:

 Sesame Street 
- Episode #19.8 (1987)
- Episode #19.51 (1988)
- Episode #20.129 (1989) 

From the Muppet Wiki:
He appeared on Sesame Street with a letter U, singing "U Really Got a Hold on Me," a spoof of his 1962 song "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." He also appeared in a segment with Telly to sing "It Takes Time."

The Jim Henson Hour 

- Health and Fitness (1989) 

From The Muppet Wiki:
Robinson guest starred in episode 107 of The Jim Henson Hour, where he sang "Just to See Her" and "Jump (For My Love)" with the Muppet cast.

The Young and the Restless 
- Episode #1.7837 (2004) 

According to Mental Floss, Smokey gave advice on the music industry to one of the characters (see below), but they don’t identify the resident of Genoa City, Wisconsin.

Days of Our Lives 
- Episode #1.10444 (2006) 

From Access:
BURBANK (October 6, 2006) — Smokey Robinson will play a stranger with an ax on an upcoming story line on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives.”

He plays a nice guy, not a murderer. The story has Marlena Black lost in the snow and she runs into Robinson, who happens to be vacationing at a secluded cabin nearby. He rescues her from the cold and calls authorities.

When John tracks her down, Robinson gives them an impromptu performance of his new song “I Love Your Face,” from his new album, “Timeless Love.” 

From Mental Floss:
Music legend Smokey Robinson appearing on a soap opera wasn't unusual in and of itself; in 2004, he had a cameo on The Young and the Restless and gave a character advice on the music business. The nature of the storyline on his two-episode appearance on Days of Our Lives, though, was a bit stranger.

While flying to Canada to find an antidote for the poisoned Steve and Kayla, Marlena and John's plane crashed. Marlena Black got lost in the snowy wilderness after parachuting out, and was startled when a mysterious man approached her carrying an axe. That man turned out to be Smokey Robinson, in the middle of his vacation. Robinson brought Marlena to his secluded cabin and called the proper authorities. To ensure his status as the World's Greatest Host, Robinson serenaded the reunited Marlena and John the next day with his 1991 song "I Love Your Face."

I was surprised to find only one Toobworld reference to Smokey Robinson and that was from the goldmine of pop culture references…..

Psych
Shawn and Gus Truck Things Up

BURTON “GUS” GUSTER
Why are people named Smokey always so shady? 
SHAWN SPENSER:
Smokey in “Friday”.
GUS: 
Smokey from “The PJs”. 
SHAWN:
Smokey Robinson.

I’m surprised that was the only one.  I would have thought he’d have been cited in shows like ‘Empire’ and ‘Star’. 

Smokey not only has a televersion in the main Toobworld, but he also is a toon over in the Tooniverse……

The Proud Family - Wedding Bell Blues (2003) 

Smokey is paid 50,000 dollars to perform at Suga Mama’s wedding.  He was paid in advance and planned to try his luck in the casino.

Welcome to the Hall, Smokey!

TOOBWORLD TIMELINE - "BIG LOVE"

A little something for Valentine's Day....

From the IMDb:
Jonathan Creek:
Time Waits for Norman (1998)
Maddy refers to Rebecca as "Kojak" because she's bald,  She's also seen an episode "about some bloke in Utah with three wives".

I admit, the temptation is there to make a connection to ‘Big Love’.  But ‘Big Love’ debuted in 2006 and ran until 2011.  The series seen in the Trueniverse depicted events which were taking place at around the same time as the broadcast.  We can’t make the claim that while ‘Big Love’ was taking place in the main Toobworld, it had actually occurred in the past.  If that was true, then there could have been a Toobworld TV series which treated Bill Henrickson and his three wives as historical figures.

But I can’t sustain that argument because of trivial timeline matters that belie the historical aspect – makes of cars, topical references, etc.

Besides, I know (better than most, considering I’m the Curator of the Toobworld Dynamic!) that a basic tenet is that eventually everybody in Earth Prime-Time will have a TV show made about them.  However, I just don’t like it that much, except in the case of true historical series – Westerns and all of those British costume dramas.

Even so, if I looked it into deep enough for references to ‘Big Love’ by other TV series characters, I will eventually have to admit that a fictional TV show about the Henrickson enclave actually does exist in Toobworld.

And so it goes.

THE 2019 SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS (PART SIX)

Regarding that last statement, “Who cares?”

I had to look up who those two guys were.  For a second, I thought they had cloned Zachary Quinto.

Jonathan and Drew Scott are twin brothers and the co-hosts “of the TV series ‘Property Brothers’, as well as the program's spin-offs ‘Buying and Selling’, ‘Brother Vs. Brother’, and ‘Property Brothers: At Home’, which are broadcast in the U.S. on HGTV. Scott is also co-founder and executive producer of Scott Brothers Entertainment, which creates TV, film, and digital content for North American and international broadcasters. In addition to entertainment, the twins have launched the lifestyle brand Scott Living and its extension, Dream Homes.”
(From Wikipedia)

Do they really have that big a following that they didn’t need to be identified in the commercial?  If so, I’m O’Bviously in the wrong demographic.

Bring back Ving Rhames!
BCnU!

O'Bservation - By the way, Jonathan and Drew Scott?  Two for Tuesday!

THE 2019 SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS (PART FIVE)

For me, this was the worst of this year’s Super Bowl commercials.  And that’s because I just found it boring.  It really lowered the excitement in the room.  I will not be surprised should I find out there has been hatred towards the commercial for promoting harmony with this image:

I actually thought it looks pretty sexy.  Gee, I don't what makes me think that....

I would have tried to go for something that really grabbed the attention instead of this, which was sweet but too slow.  Considering the Super Bowl was already being dominated by Pepsi with their sponsorship of the half-time show, Coke really needed to step up and pull out all the stops.

Fear not though, Coke.  You’re still my drink (diet version).

BCnU!

VIDEO SATURDAY - 2019 SUPER BOWL BLIPVERTS

In a poll taken by USA Today, this blipvert was voted as being the worst of this year’s crop of Super Bowl commercials.  One of the reasons cited was that most of the audience today don’t even recognize the late pop artist even if they know of his work.

I’m sure if he was still here with us, he’d be laughing about the reaction.

I also think this commercial can be counted toward his eventual inclusion in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

BCnU!

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER - GERALDINE JONES

As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we're turning out attention today to the alternate dimension of Skitlandia....

From Wikipedia:

Geraldine Jones was a fictional African American character, the most famous recurring persona of comedian Flip Wilson.  Geraldine was played as a sassy liberated Southern woman who was coarsely flirty yet faithful to her (unseen) boyfriend "Killer". Poorly educated, she was nevertheless confident; she did not change her behavior to suit anyone. Several of Geraldine's sayings entered U.S. popular culture as catchphrases, especially "When you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not," "The Devil made me do it," and "What you see is what you get!"

Wilson portrayed Geraldine many times in the early 1970s on his variety series The Flip Wilson Show, though not on every episode. He made comedy albums featuring Geraldine, notably "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress", and he appeared as Geraldine on other programs such as Saturday Night Live. He sang and danced as Geraldine at the Kennedy Center in 1983 for Bob Hope's 80th birthday celebration.

Wilson tired of the Geraldine character late in his career; he responded to most requests by saying: "She's retired."

The character of Geraldine was intended by Wilson to "relate to women" without putting them down. Wilson said he wanted Geraldine to be strong, proud, and honest in her dedication to her man; a woman who felt free to act spontaneously.In contrast to other comedians who belittled women, Wilson wanted Geraldine to be "the heroine of the story."

Wilson first introduced Geraldine by name and appearance in a comedy sketch on Labor Day, September 1, 1969, within a television special put together by Wilson, his manager Monte Kay, and NBC executives. The show was called The Flip Wilson Special.  In the skit, comedian Jonathan Winters, dressed in drag as his popular character Maude Frickert—a gray-haired lady with a sharp tongue, was a passenger in an airliner. Wilson's Geraldine character entered, walking down the jet's aisle in a stewardess's miniskirt, and a bouffant flip hairdo topped by a pillbox hat.  Geraldine sat down next to Maude and the comedic interaction was immediately infectious. Wilson said that Winters was chosen because his Maude character was well-known, and because there would be several points of comic tension: both men playing women, the generational difference in apparent age, and the difference in race.

Wilson also performed as Geraldine on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' on January 11, 1970.  In the routine, Wilson takes on the persona of a preacher's wife. The wife (Geraldine) explains to her angry husband why she has an expensive new dress, telling him that "the devil made me buy this dress."

This skit was also performed by Wilson on his fourth comedy album, "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress"—its title taken from Geraldine's retort. The album, featuring Geraldine on the cover, was certified Gold, and it won the 1970 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording.

"The Flip Wilson Special" was seen by 42% of all U.S. television viewers; this success led to NBC signing Wilson to 'The Flip Wilson Show'. Wilson portrayed Geraldine many times during the four-year run of the show. Geraldine was cast in skits with a number of guests on the show, including David Frost, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin (playing Ernestine), Joe Namath, Jim Brown, Arte Johnson, Moms Mabley, Sammy Davis Jr., Tim Conway, Ray Charles, Lola Falana, Perry Como and Muhammad Ali.

In just that list, Geraldine got to interact with Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammed Ali, plus a few future Hall of Famers like David Frost and Ernestine.  Plus, as mentioned earlier, Geraldine worked with Maudie Frickert in the special that started it all and with Ed Sullivan a League of Themselves member who is part of the Hall.

For more about Geraldine Jones, click here.

Why did I induct Geraldine Jones now as a Friday Hall of Famer?  Well, for one thing, this is Black History Month and I think Geraldine is the greatest black character to come out of Skitlandia.

Besides... the Devil made me do it.

Welcome to the Hall, Miss Geraldine!

SKED ALERT! "JEOPARDY!" AND THE NJ HALL OF FAME

New Jersey Hall of Fame
c/o The Charles Edison Fund
1037 Raymond Boulevard, 
Suite 340 
Newark NEW JERSEY 07102