Saturday, February 14, 2009

AS SEEN ON TV: MORE LOVEY-DOVEY

Just wanted to share one more picture of E.J. Peaker as Natalie Schaefer as Lovey Howell in "Surviving Gilligan's Island". She's pictured here with Steve Vinovich, who played Jim Backus (who played Thurston Howell on 'Gilligan's Island'.)

BCnU!
Toby O'B

"CHEYENNE": A LUST STORY

In the 'Cheyenne' episode of "War Party", Cheyenne Bodie found himself attracted to the wife of a man he had shot in self-defense. Her name was Jeannie, and she felt the pull as well, offering herself to him willingly.

Cheyenne backed off at the last moment; however, he admitted that he wasn't strong enough (morally) to do so. It was just the thought that her husband, Morgan, was lying in the next room, a man he shot, that kept him from taking her.

Having seen "Missouri Breaks", I find it hard to believe now that any cowboy would resist the temptation to have his way with a lonely frontier wife. (Well, maybe Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, but that's about it....) And I think that with the threat looming over them from the three bad guys bunking down in the barn, as well as the imminent danger from the Sioux tribe on the warpath, Cheyenne and Jeannie did succumb to their passion during the night. (At one point we see Willis Peake - played by James Garner - watching the cabin window.... But what can he hear from there as well?)

When Morgan confronted Jeannie the next day that he heard them in the other room the night before, I think it could be interpreted that he meant more than their earlier conversation.

We never learned the last name of Morgan and Jeannie, just that they grew up together in Virginia. So.... let's suggest the surname of "Whitman"......

And we never learned where they ended up after abandoning their cabin because of the Indian uprising. Maybe they continued West towards California; maybe they headed back East. If so, perhaps they went home to Ol' Virginny, or maybe they decided to buy some farmland in the mid-west, maybe Ohio or even western New York state.

If Jeannie became pregnant by Cheyenne (and this being TV, of course she would!), we could make the suggestion that the descendants of that brief coupling could show up anywhere - anywhen! - in Toobworld.

One possible suggestion?
Don Draper, AKA Dick Whitman, could be their great-grandson!

Just suggestin', is all.....

BCnU!
Toby O'B

And that's the best I can muster for such a dreary "holiday"...... Bah, humbug!

AS SEEN ON TV: NATALIE SHAEFER

After dealing with a monster like Hitler for Friday the Thirteenth, I thought something different was in order, to cleanse the palate for the "As Seen On TV" feature. And for Valentine's Day, I thought I'd 'fess up to a teen-age crush (one of many)......

With the musical sitcom 'That's Life', I fell hard for E.J. Peaker. And I followed that up with the TV movie "Three's A Crowd", in which she and Jessica Walter were both the wives of Larry Hagman's character, living in different cities. (Eventually, as expected, romantic hilarity ensued.)

But I lost track of her for years, and with no internet to apprise me back then as to what TV shows she'd be making guest appearances in. So basically thirty years later, it was a surprise to finally see her again; this time playing another actress from that same time period, but now closer in age to that actress back then: Natalie Shaefer of 'Gilligan's Island'.

In 2001, Ms. Peaker appeared in the TV movie "Surviving Gilligan''s Island: The Incredibly True Story Of The Longest Three-Hour Tour In History", which I think was either based on the memories of Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, or was produced by her. This TV movie falls into that dimension in which our TV shows are seen by fictional characters. It's populated by other such TV movies like those that depict the behind the scenes drama for other programs like 'Dynasty', 'Three's Company', 'Charlie's Angels', and British offerings like 'Steptoe And Son' and 'Up Pompeii' (in connection to the life of Frankie Howerd).

So Thomas Wolfe be damned, it was still nice to see E.J. Peaker again....
BCnU!
Toby O'B

Friday, February 13, 2009

SWITCH HITLER

As Adolph Hitler is in the spotlight today for our "As Seen On TV" feature, I thought we'd take a look at the man in Toobworld, specifically the reason why his appearance kept changing......

There's a 'Twilight Zone' episode called "The Man In The Bottle" in which a genie grants a curio shop owner and his wife four wishes. But the wishes were booby-trapped, so that Mr. and Mrs. Castle came to regret each one. And with the penultimate wish, when Arthur Castle desired to become the ruler of a foreign country in the 20th Century who couldn't be voted out of office, the genie turned him into Adolph Hitler at the end of WWII.

Hitler is one of those real-life historical figures who prove to be irresistible to screenwriters, like Lincoln or JFK. He's made an appearance in many TV shows as well as TV movies which could have caused a zonkish headache due to all those recastaways.

The TV movies and many of the mini-series aren't really a problem; there are plenty of alternate TV dimensions which should have their own Hitler. But the series - including 'Highlander', 'Red Dwarf', and 'The Time Tunnel (all pictured below) - should all be sharing the same dimension, so having so many different incarnations of Hitler could have been a problem.
This is why "The Man In The Bottle" is part of the Toobworld Essentials collection. It provides the splainin as to why Hitler's appearance kept changing in Toobworld - that genie (or another one from a different bottle) kept replacing the Fuhrer with men who wished to be a man of power in the world.

Really, look at the "Hitler" with Tony and Doug from 'The Time Tunnel'; that's got to be a wannabe! And the same goes for that "Hitler" who survived the explosion in 'Highlander'. (As for that scene in 'Red Dwarf', that's stock footage into which Dave was inserted. However, Kenneth Hadley did portray Hitler in an episode.)

For a little variety, of course, we could always claim that a few of those Hitlers were quantum leapers from the future, when the technology was more stable.

So, unless Adolph Hitler is played by Michael Sheard on TV (and sadly, that's no longer possible), then we're seeing an imposter transplanted there by a 'Quantum Leap' or by a genie's magic.

And many of those imposters would handle the opportunity far better than Arthur Castle... of 'The Twilight Zone'.

BCnU!
Toby O'B
PS:
An interesting side-note, outside of Toobworld..... Luther Adler, who played Arthur Castle in this episode of 'The Twilight Zone', also played Hitler in two movies as well. However I don't think we should be dragging them into the TV universe since he was in command of himself as Hitler in those films. Arthur Castle was shocked by the realization that he had become Hitler in the bunker near the end of Hitler's life.

BLIPVERTS OF OZ, PART TWO

My blogging buddy Mercurie, who runs "A Shroud Of Thoughts" (Look to the left for the link!), clued me in to a campaign being run by Pillsbury - "Home Is Calling". In the commercial, people are clicking their heels and thinking there's no place like home - for fresh out of the oven biscuits.

So there's another blipvert for 'The Wizard of Oz'! Thanks, Merc!

BCnU!
Toby O'B

AS SEEN ON TV: ADOLPH HITLER

For Friday the Thirteenth, we needed a right bastid for the "As Seen On TV" feature. After all, thanks to the movie franchise, it's a day given over to the monsters. And no bigger monster existed in history than Adolph Hitler. Michael Sheard's portrayal of Hitler stands as the official one for Toobworld. He played the role of the Fuhrer in the TV movies "Rogue Male", "Hitler Of The Andes", and "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission", and in two episodes of the series 'The Tomorrow People'.

Sheard also played Hitler in "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade", a theatrical release. But it has been absorbed into the TV Universe because of the series 'The Indiana Jones Chronicles' and a TV movie extension of that series starring Harrison Ford again as Indy, "Young Indiana Jones And The Mystery Of The Blues".

Well, that's enough of this monster... for now. I'll have more later today, but in the meantime.....

To Hell, Hitler!

BCnU!
Toby O'B

Thursday, February 12, 2009

AS SEEN ON TV: CHARLES DARWIN

On this date 200 years ago, it was not only Abraham Lincoln's birth date, but that of Charles Darwin as well. So we have a double feature today for "As Seen On TV".

These are three views of Malcolm Stoddard as Charles Darwin: Top left - as a young man, pondering his future in his father's study

Top right - during his voyage with the HMS Beagle

Bottom center - as an old man poring over his manuscripts and maps of South America

These were from the mini-series 'The Voyage Of Charles Darwin' from just over thirty years ago on the BBC.

BCnU!
Toby O'B


THE BLIPVERTS OF OZ

In August later this year, we'll be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the movie version of 'The Wizard Of Oz'. And as far as commercial tie-ins go, the celebration has begun a little bit early.

GE has a blipvert using the vocals of Ray Bolger singing "If I Only Had A Brain" while a wired-up scarecrow dances on an electrical grid. (Not sure you want little kids getting ideas from that....)

The Wicked Witch of the West has a new BFF, a girl named Vicky, as seen in the new spot for Orange, a French-based mobile phone service over in the UK*. There's also a cameo by Nikko, the Flying Monkey. (And for you fans of 'Gavin & Stacey', James "Smithie" Corden does the voice-over at the end.)

And then there's my favorite of the batch - the batch of cookies, that is. Even in the Wonderful Land of Oz, Chips Ahoy cookies aren't safe from human-sized munchkins! This ad has incredible detail in the little realm of Munchkinland as well.

Who knows what else we'll see as the anniversary gets closer.....?

BCnU!
Toby O'B

* I thought Orange was a cinema chain; the commercial still doesn't make it clear for those out of the loop, like me. But thanks to Medium Rob for alerting me to my mistake!

THE HAT SQUAD: PHILIP CAREY

Phil Carey has passed away at the age of 83. Most of the obituaries I've seen have focused on his role as Asa Buchanan, the transplanted Texan whose family eventually took over most of the major venues in Llanview, Pennsylvania. (It amazes me how many women fell under Asa's spell over the years, all the while his first wife was locked away in the attic, I think. But it's Victor Newman on my Mom's favorite soap, 'The Young & The Restless', who really surprises me with the number of women who are caught up in whatever machismo he's peddling.)

Carey died of lung cancer, which has taken out so many other men who, like Carey, projected such a strong, powerful image; as someone who should have been invincible: John Wayne, Chuck Connors, my Dad........ Some of my blogging buddies also remembered Carey as Captain Parmalee in 'Laredo', but that show never crossed my radar, much as I love TV Westerns. (I'll have to check to see if they have any episodes at the Paley Center.) Carey shows up in one of my TV history books with a picture from his 1950's series 'Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers'. That one was before my time and not something that would have been widely available in syndication even back in the 1960's.
But on a personal level, my first introduction to Philip Carey was in February of 1971. At the time, I was big into a show called 'Room 222' and it was one of the many shows for which I monopolized the family TV.

However, on this particular night, my Dad said that he'd been hearing about this show from the guys at the Post Office, one that had only begun about a month before. And he wanted to check it out. Reluctantly I went along with his request, convincing myself in advance that no matter what it was like, I would hate it because it was keeping me from watching 'Room 222'.

The show was 'All In The Family' and the episode was "Judging Books By Covers", in which Archie's friend Roger was a big "fruit". He said as much to his buddy Steve down at the bar. Steve was a big, strapping former pro football player (Maybe for the Condors? LOL!) who finally had to step in as Archie continued his rant about Roger. Steve told him that he knew Roger, and he knew Roger wasn't gay. And who better to know than himself - as Steve finally revealed to Archie, he was gay.
I think my Dad regretted introducing me to the show, but it was too late for all of us; 'All In The Family' became a staple in the household after that. I think I gave up 'Room 222' for good soon after as well; the allure of sitcoms changed with 'All In The Family'. (Philip Carey showed up in an episode of 'Room 222', coincidentally.)

I didn't see Phil Carey again until May of 1980 when I was visiting my friend Beth back in Connecticut. (At least not in anything that made an impression on me. Based on the many credits listed below, I know I've seen him many times over.)
Beth's sister Mary was saddled with entertaining me at their mother's condo while Beth was at work; so while she worked on some photo albums, she explained to me about all of the characters and plotlines on 'One Life To Live' (still one of her favorite shows). I still remember to this day that most of that hour concerned Dorian Lord and her husband and Cassie, but that oilcat billionaire Asa showed up during the episode and I remembered him from 'All In The Family' episode from nearly a decade before.

(And thanks to Mayr's tutorial, I became hooked into "OLTL" for at least the next eight years, maybe longer.....)
Here are Mr. Carey's television credits:

"One Life to Live" .... Asa Buchanan

"All My Children" .... Asa Buchanan [crossover!]

"Little House on the Prairie" .... Commander Kaiser
- The Halloween Dream (1979)

"The Betty White Show" .... Larry
- Joyce's Wedding (1977)

"The Bionic Woman" .... Major Andrews
- The Vega Influence (1976)

"The Blue Knight"
- A Slight Case of Murder (1976)

Crackle of Death (1976) (TV)

"Police Story" .... Captain Ben Johnson
- The Execution (1975)

"McCloud" .... Howard Barnett
- The Man with the Golden Hat (1975)

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" .... Sgt. Mayer
- Firefall (1974)

"Police Woman" .... Walter Grainger
- Anatomy of Two Rapes (1974)

"Wide World Mystery" .... Detective Arnburg
- Hard Day at Blue Nose (1974)
- Shadow of Fear (1973)

"Banacek" .... Art Gallagher
- Rocket to Oblivion (1974)
Scream of the Wolf (1974) .... Sheriff Vernon Bell

"Room 222" .... Benjamin Evans
- I've Got the Hammer, If You've Got the Thumb (1973)

"Bright Promise" (1969) TV series .... Bob Corcoran

"McMillan & Wife" .... Arthur Kendall
- The Night of the Wizard (1972)

"Gunsmoke" .... Bannion
- Trafton (1971)

"All in the Family" .... Steve
- Judging Books by Covers (1971)

The Rebel Rousers (1970) .... Rebel

Once You Kiss a Stranger... (1969) .... Mike

"Ironside"
- Goodbye to Yesterday (1969) .... Vic Richards
- Barbara Who (1968) .... Dick Richards
[That has to be a misprint. I'm betting they're the same character.]

Three Guns for Texas (1968) .... Capt. Edward A. Parmalee
[This is a couple of episodes from 'Laredo' stitched together.]

"Cimarron Strip" .... Kallman
- Knife in the Darkness (1968)

"Felony Squad" .... Tillery Gage
- No Sad Songs for Charlie (1967)

"Custer" .... Benton Conant
- Massacre (1967)

"Laredo" .... Capt. Edward Parmalee
[It's the Toobworld Central contention that Parmalee was the great-grandfather of Asa Buchanan from 'One Life To Live'.]

"Daniel Boone" .... Gordon Lang
- The Necklace (1967)

"The Virginian"
- We've Lost a Train (1965) .... Captain Edward Parmalee [crossover!]
- Siege (1963) TV episode .... Duke Logan

"Kraft Suspense Theatre" .... Edgar Martin
- My Enemy, This Town (1964)

"G.E. True" .... Pete Foley
- Nitro (1963)

"77 Sunset Strip"
- Flight 307 (1963) .... Charles 'Brick' Garrett
- The Night Was Six Years Long (1963) .... Chris Benton
- Flight from Escondido (1962) .... Captain Shore
- Violence for Your Furs (1962) .... Mac Maguire

"The Nurses" .... Ernie Bass
- The Thunder of Ernie Bass (1963)
[Hard to imagine he might be related to Ernest T. Bass of 'The Andy Griffith Show'!]

"The Gallant Men" .... Sgt. Matt Barragan
- The Leathernecks (1963)

"Cheyenne"
- Johnny Brassbuttons (1962) .... Marshal Frank Nolan
- One Way Ticket (1962) .... Cole Younger

"Bronco" .... Josh Glendon
- Until Kingdom Come (1962)

"Lawman" .... Barron Shaw
- Change of Venue (1962)

"The Roaring 20's" .... Tim McCool
- Kitty Goes West (1961)

"Tales of Wells Fargo" .... Joe Squire
- The Dodger (1961)

"The Asphalt Jungle" .... Tennessee
- The Professor (1961) .... Tennessee

"The Rifleman" .... Dr. Simon Battle
- Death Trap (1961)

"Stagecoach West" .... Major Ralph Barnes
- The Root of Evil (1961)

"Thriller" .... Darryl Hudson
- Man in a Cage (1961)

"Zane Grey Theater" .... John Baylor
- One Must Die (1961)

"Michael Shayne" .... Brad Harper
- Shoot the Works (1960)

"Philip Marlowe" .... Philip Marlowe

"Lux Playhouse" .... Robert Garvin
- A Deadly Guest (1959)

"Lux Video Theatre"
- Edge of Doubt (1957)

"The Ford Television Theatre"
- Torn (1957) .... Dr. Douglas Gregg
- Duffy's Man (1956) .... Duffy's Man
- Panic (1956) .... Wayne Douglas
- Twelve to Eternity (1955) .... Bill Adams
- Second Sight (1955) .... Dr. Ed Marshfield

"Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers" .... Lieutenant Michael Rhodes

"Celebrity Playhouse"
- I'll Make the Arrest (1956) .... Police Lt. Mike O'Shean
- Known But to God (1955) .... Police Lt. Joe Karns

"Four Star Playhouse"
- Eddie's Place (1955) .... Dr. Ed Marshfield

"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
- Two Lives Have I (1953)

As Red Skelton used to say: "Good night and may God bless....."

BCnU.....
Toby O'B


SKED ALERT: BIG BANG TERMINATOR

The year is still young and I think we've already got a lock for the 2009 Toobits Award winner for Biggest Zonk. Actress Summer Glau, who plays Cameron the Terminator protecting John Conner in 'The Sarah Conner Chronicles' will play herself in the March 9th episode of 'The Big Bang Theory'.

Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj will be riding the train to San Francisco when they discover that their current fave sci-fi actress is also on board the train. This sounds like one massive headache for Toobworld Central - I don't think there'll be any way to find a splainin that can smooth over the discrepancies. I'm sure there will be non-stop references to her cyborg role on the show, when the sitcom and the sci-fi actioner should be sharing the same dimension. I'd be a lot happier if they found Cameron on the train instead.

Oh well. As a fan of both shows, I'm still going to enjoy the ride!
BCnU!
Toby O'B