AS SEEN ON TV: PRESIDENT OBAMA (& BO)

It's been a while since I featured a United States president. And even though I've showcased Mr. Obama several times, this is not only different, but timely.....

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

AS SEEN IN:
'The XYZ Show'

On Saturday, President Obama gave a speech in Ghana which was chosen to bring attention to its dedication to democracy; that was also the reason why he wasn't speaking from Kenya, birthplace of his father. One of the CNN commentators Saturday morning mentioned the political unrest and controversy and violence connected to the elections in Kenya.

'The XYZ Show', which only began in May, lampoons the political figures involved in Kenyan politics, but their sketches don't have so narrow a focus. Here we see the puppet President Obama in the Oval Office with family dog Bo.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: MWAI KIBAKI OF KENYA

And now for something completely different.....

MWAI KIBAKI
PRESIDENT OF KENYA

AS SEEN ON:
'XYZ SHOW'

From BBC News, by Will Ross:

The satirical puppet show, which was influenced by the British 1980s show 'Spitting Image' and France's 'Les Guignols', is a chance for a group of scriptwriters and puppeteers to delve into the murky world of Kenyan politics.

The man behind it is East Africa's best known cartoonist, Gado, who has been taking a pop at Kenya's elite for years and encourages people to question events in Kenya.

"I think it's everybody's duty," he said.

"You can't put that responsibility on one individual, as every Kenyan should contribute to expose what is happening and to expose corruption."

Kenya has its fair share of political scandals and people have a fairly low view of their politicians, several of whom were accused of stoking the ethnic violence which flared after the disputed election in December 2007.

Kenya's 'XYZ Show' has been in the pipeline since 2002 but was recently given a financial leg-up when several embassies and the Ford Foundation came forward to support it.

Projects that might help keep the politicians under scrutiny and promote democracy and accountability are seen by donors as worth sponsoring.

There was a production delay in the puppet workshop recently as Kenyan customs officials raised a few eyebrows over a small package which apparently contained the eyes of the First Lady, Lucy Kibaki.

Here's the trailer for the show which showcases President Kibaki:

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH

GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH

AS SEEN IN:
'Merlin'

AS PLAYED BY:
Michael Cronin

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100 – c. 1155) was a British clergyman and one of the major figures in the development of British history and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain"), widely popular in its day and translated to various other languages from its original Latin.

Geoffrey is traditionally said to have been a Welshman, born somewhere in the region of Monmouth around 1100, though one or both of his parents may have come from Brittany. His father's name was apparently Arthur, a man who would perhaps have told his son stories of his Royal namesake from an early age.
[from Wikipedia]

However in the alternate TV dimension in which 'Merlin' and his version of Camelot can be found, Geoffrey of Monmouth was a contemporary of the legends he would later write about. And in Camelot, he served as the Royal Genealogist, so he was still writing about the Royal Family of Pendragon.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: LUCREZIA BORGIA

The debut episode of 'Warehouse 13' (as usual with first episodes, boringly entitled "Pilot") name-checked a lot of famous people who had some sort of connection to the secret government repository that served as "America's Attic". Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, and Philo Farnsworth.

But the episode concerned itself mainly with Lucrezia Borgia....
AS SEEN IN:
'The Borgias'

AS PLAYED BY:
Anne-Louise Lambert

The agents working for Warehouse 13 were sent to Iowa on their first mission in order to retrieve the comb of Lucrezia Borgia. Crafted by an alchemist, it allegedly contained the spirit of Lucrezia. And whoever possessed the comb was driven to act out her murderous, sexually-driven desires.

But I think by "spirit" it probably meant that the comb would imbue its owner with the qualities that Lucrezia Borgia displayed, rather than it housed her actual soul. But that's my interpretation....

Here's what Wikipedia says about the old girl:

Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 - 24 June 1519) was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia.

Lucrezia's family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. Lucrezia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, and films.
Very little is known of Lucrezia as a historical personage, and her complicity in the political machinations of her brothers and father cannot be determined at this time. Her father and/or brother certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions.

Several rumours have persisted throughout the years, primarily speculating as to the nature of the extravagant parties thrown by the Borgia family. Many of these concern allegations of incest, poisoning, and murder on her part; however, no historical basis for these rumors has ever been brought forward, beyond allegations made by the rivals of the Borgias.

At any rate, whether the stories about her were true or not, the comb depicted in 'Warehouse 13' shouldn't play hob with the depiction of Lucrezia Borgia in such TV productions as 'The Borgias'....

BCnU!

NOT READY FOR OPTIMUS PRIME-TIME?

Continuing their domination of Toobworld (after ads for Burger King, M&Ms, and some camera/cell phone), the Transformers have now conquered late night television.

Optimus Prime appeared on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' to present the Top Ten List: "Top Ten Things That Sound Cool When Spoken By A Giant Robot"........



I, for one, welcome our new robotic masters.......

BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 07/2009: BEST HESTON

July and August are traditionally the months in which Toobworld Central celebrates the TV Western. In the old days of the Tubeworld Dynamic web site, we'd put up a massive "expo" of material at the beginning of July and then just take the next two months off.

When it comes to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame nowadays, we usually induct the televersion of an historical Western figure in one month and a TV Western character in the other. This year, as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Hall of Fame, we have an induction each week:

First week: The League Of Themselves
Second week: As Seen On TV
Third week: The Tooniverse
Fourth week: Location, Location, Location

So, for the first week of July, we're inducting an actor who made quite a few Western movies during his career, and who had no problem in spoofing his own image by playing a televersion of himself in several shows:

CHARLTON HESTON

"Cursed"
... aka "The Weber Show"
- ...And Then Larry Brought Charlton Heston Home (2000)

"Friends"
- The One with Joey's Dirty Day (1998)
"Space Ghost Coast to Coast"
- Dam (1997)

"America 2-Night"
- 60 Seconds of Fame (1978)

He also had a cameo in the second "Wayne's World" movie, which would be a Cineversal extension of Skitlandia, the sketch comedy TV dimension....... So here's a tip of the hat to the late actor and activist for his entry into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame.

BCnU!

[Heston is seen with future Hall of Famer Joey Tribbiani and with Space Ghost.]

INDIANA BABIES

Back in June, I wrote about an Indiana Jones wanna-be in an episode of 'CSI: NY' with the intent of de-Zonking the reference. In the course of that post, I mentioned that there had been four actors to have played Henry "Indiana" Jones on television: "Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, George Hall, and Harrison Ford himself, who of course originated the role in the movies."

A poster named "P" set me straight on that issue; that there were in fact six "actors" seen on TV as Indy:

"For better or worse a child named Neil Boulane played 'Baby Indy' and "Boutalat" is credited as 'Toddler Indy' in the 'Young Indiana Jones' episode: "My First Adventure"."

So, via Netflix, I received a copy of that DVD and can now show you what Indiana Jones looked like as a newborn and as a roof-climing toddler: I think Dr. Henry Walden "Indiana" Jones is one of the few Toobworld citizens to have so much of his personal timeline chronicled in a regular series - from birth nearly to death. (It's the type of biographical history usually seen in mini-series.)

And as Indiana Jones' birthday was a week ago (He was born on July 1st, 1899.), I'm thinking it is safe to say that he has passed away in Toobworld. Although I'm fairly certain he was able to enjoy his centennial celebration....

BCnU!

THE "AS SEEN ON TV HAT SQUAD": ROBERT McNAMARA

ROBERT S. McNAMARA

AS SEEN IN:
"Path To War"

AS PLAYED BY:
Alec Baldwin

From the New York Times:

Robert S. McNamara, the forceful and cerebral defense secretary who helped lead the nation into the maelstrom of Vietnam and spent the rest of his life wrestling with the war’s moral consequences, died Monday at his home in Washington. He was 93.
Mr. McNamara was the most influential defense secretary of the 20th century. Serving Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, he oversaw hundreds of military missions, thousands of nuclear weapons and billions of dollars in military spending and foreign arms sales. He also enlarged the defense secretary’s role, handling foreign diplomacy and the dispatch of troops to enforce civil rights in the South. From Mark Evanier:

Mr. McNamara was, of course, one of the prime architects of the Vietnam War at its inception, though to his credit, he later tried to dial it down...and, still later, apologized and admitted some pretty deadly errors.
One wonders if Donald Rumsfeld will ever have the self-awareness to try and atone. His recent statement that he regrets how they happened to foresake compliance with the Geneva Conventions gives one hope. On the other hand, Rumsfeld doesn't regret that they did it; only that they seem to have done it sorta by accident.

McNamara has been played in the TV Universe by:

Alec Baldwin
. . . Path to War (2002)

Dana Elcar
. . . The Missiles of October (1974)

Hanns Ernst Jäger
. . . Die Kuba-Krise 1962 (1969)

James Rae
. . . Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000)

Mitch Ryan
. . . "Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985)

David Schramm
. . . "Kennedy" (1983) I have 'Kennedy' and "The Missiles Of October" on order from Netflix and will soon be sharing other pictures of McNamara....

BCnU.....

[Also seen in these photos: Michael Gambon as President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Donald Sutherland as Clark Clifford.]

A PASSING MENTION

"Reali-TV" will have a stranglehold on our TV screens today with massive coverage of the circus that will be the Michael Jackson memorial in Los Angeles.

In less than 24 hours after the shocking news of his passing, Michael Jackson's death became "official" in the alternate reality of Toobworld. In a scene near the beginning of 'EastEnders' the next night, Denise Wicks mentioned that Jackson had died while wishing Patrick Trueman a happy birthday.

No, wait. That doesn't sound right. Michael Jackson did not die while wishing Patrick Trueman a happy birthday. Denise Wicks wished Patrick Trueman a happy birthday and then told him that Michael Jackson had died. Much better!

Diedrick Santer, the show's executive producer, said: "There are some news stories and events which get everyone talking, and this one of them. Given the quick turnaround, it’s only a small scene, but I hope it reflects to some extent the impact of Michael Jackson’s death has had."

A spokesman for the soap said: ""We always aim to reflect topical events that we think will strike a chord with our audience and have previously filmed additional scenes including the election of Barack Obama and England’s participation in the World Cup."

BCnU!

CASTIN' MARPLE

I tend to drift away from a TV character, sometimes even the whole show, once there has been a re-casting. Such is the case with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. For me, she's Joan Hickson; I never did see the series of mysteries with Geraldine McEwan in the role.

But I did watch last night's presentation of "A Pocketful Of Rye" which presented the American audience of 'Masterpiece Mystery' with the new Jane Marple, played by Julia McKenzie. I wasn't at all taken by her performance, but I wasn't watching it for her. Instead, I was eager to see the following actors in the cast:

KENNETH CRANHAM as Rex Fortescue ("Hot Fuzz")

RUPERT GRAVES as Lance Fortescue

MATTHEW MACFADYEN as Inspector Neele ("MI-5")

HELEN BAXENDALE as Mary Dove ("An Unsuitable Job For A Woman", "Friends")

WENDY RICHARD as Mrs Crump ("Are You Being Served?", "EastEnders")

LIZ WHITE as Jennifer Fortescue ("Life On Mars")

PRUNELLA SCALES as Mrs Mackenzie ("Fawlty Towers")

And not one of them disappointed!

Still and all, Joan Hickson was in the 1985 version of this story and that's the one that belongs in the main Toobworld. This series will be off in a third TV dimension, with Geraldine McEwan in the second Toobworld, perhaps even the 'West Wing' one?

BCnU!