THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - KURAGIN TO KURYAKIN

Could it be that the family name of Kuragin from "War And Peace" - within the Toobworld Dynamic only, of course - was corrupted over the decades into the last name of Kuryakin?

Just wonderin', is all......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ANATOLE KURAGIN

We now return to our run of "ASOTV" literary characters as played by actors who portrayed the lead role in 'Doctor Who', already in progress........

ANATOLE KURAGIN

AS SEEN IN:

'War And Peace'

CREATED BY:

Leo Tolstoy

PORTRAYED BY:

Colin Baker

(The Sixth Doctor)

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

[See "O'Bservations"]

From Wikipedia:

Anatole Vassilitch Kuragin is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well.

Anatole is Helene Kuragin's brother and a wild-living soldier. It is rumoured that he has had an incestuous affair with his sister, and he tries to elope with Natasha Rostova despite being secretly married. He loses his leg during the Napoleonic Wars.

Esther Polianowsky Salaman writes that what "is so interesting about Anatole Kuragin are the many characteristics Tolstoy gives us about him all at once: something he seldom does."

O'BSERVATIONS:

There was a version of "War And Peace" done for television back in 1963, but that was a heavily truncated adaptation for the 'ITV Play Of The Week'. In that version, Tom Adams played Kuragin. Since the 1972 presented more of the story in serial form, the 1963 version would be relegated to that world of TV "premakes".

BCnU!

TVXOHOF - CHRISTMAS, 2012: THE BORROWERS

While watching the latest TV version of Mary Norton's classic "The Borrowers", it occurred to me that at least as far as the Toobworld Dynamic is concerned, there should be some sort of splainin as to where the Borrower folk come from. And I think we need to turn to another classic to find those origins.

I believe the Borrowers are the descendants of Lilliputians who were transplanted to England in the 17th Century.

After Lemuel Gulliver returned from his sea-faring adventure, he related everything that happened to him in a bid to secure his freedom. (We're talking the TV version starring Ted Danson, of course.) It was a risk that might have landed him in an asylum for the rest of his days, but apparently it worked.

However, someone who learned of his incredible tale not only believed it, but was also desirous of visiting Lilliput to see the Little People for himself - not only see them, but to capture and enslave them as well.

That someone probably funded an expedition to Lilliput, hiring experienced slave traders as his crew, and was able to capture several hundred of the diminutive denizens of that island.

But something must have happened once the ship returned to England - the "cargo" managed to escape. Perhaps they mounted a rebellion - despite their small size, the Lilliputians were able to overpower and elude their captors. From the docks on London's East End, the little people fanned out to make their new homes in the hidden underground of the city's architecture. And some of them moved out to the countryside.  Over time, they diminished in size.

Of course, then it becomes a question as to where did the Lilliputians come from. Fine....

They were the survivors of an alien race that crash-landed on the island which they named Lilliput.

It's not inconceivable that "Homo Sapien Redactus" evolved on some other planet in the Television Galaxy. In an episode of 'The Twilight Zone' ("The Little People") Terran astronauts landed on a planet where the inhabitants were even smaller than the Lilliputians.

That they could be so small and still resemble humans of our size had to be due to genetic tinkering by the race known as the Preservers.

(I suppose this theory could work in the fictional universe known as BookWorld, but that's not my bailiwick.)

Getting back to "The Borrowers":

The version I just saw starred Christopher Eccleston and Stephen Fry. It was quite enjoyable and I hope to find it available on DVD for my nephew.

However, it is not the version of Mary Norton's story that exists in Earth Prime-Time. That honor goes to a charming, low-key TV movie from the early 1970's which starred Eddie Albert, Tammy Grimes, Dame Judith Anderson, Beatrice Straight, and Barnard Hughes.

In between these two versions was another which starred Ian Holm. And then there's the version to be found in the Cineverse in which Jim Broadbent played Pod Clock with John Goodman as the villain of the piece.

Because this latest version of the tale had an overall Christmas theme to it, I've decided to induct "The Borrowers" as the Multiverse entry into the TV Crossovers Hall Of Fame for the Christmas Honors List.

BookWorld, the Cineverse, and three dimensions of the TV Universe - not bad....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE GRINCH & CINDY LOU WHO

Since Christmas falls on a Tuesday, here's a holiday two-fer.......

THE GRINCH & CINDY LOU WHO

AS SEEN IN:

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas"

CREATED BY:

"Doctor Seuss"

VOICED BY:

Boris Karloff (as the Grinch)

&

June Foray (as Cindy Lou Who)

TV DIMENSION:

The Tooniverse

(A microscopic speck of a planet)

From Wikipedia:

The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared as the main antagonist in the 1957 children's book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

The devious, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the term Grinch coming to refer to a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations or to someone with a coarse, greedy attitude. In fact, a document in the live-action film (the Book of Who) stated that "The term Grinchy shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply".

The Grinch makes himself a Santa coat and hat and disguises the innocent Max as a reindeer. He loads empty bags onto a sleigh and travels to Whoville with some difficulty. In the first house he is almost caught by Cindy Lou Who (voiced by an uncredited June Foray), a small Who girl who wakes up and sees him taking the Christmas tree. Pretending to be Santa, the Grinch tells Cindy Lou that he is merely taking the tree to his workshop for repairs, and then gets her a drink before sending her back to bed.

The Grinch has since become an icon of the winter holidays, despite the character's hatred of the season, and has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such as Christmas ornaments, plush dolls, Halloween costumes, and various clothing items.

In 2002, TV Guide ranked The Grinch number 5 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PS:

And even though it's not connected to the Doctor today, we still get to have a Who!

AS SEEN ON TV: DOCTORS 5&10 TOGETHER, BUT NOT QUITE

A CHRISTMAS SERVICE

AS SEEN ON TV: INSPECTOR CHRISTMAS

It's Christmas Eve!  So this is fantastic timing!

"INSPECTOR CHRISTMAS"

AS SEEN IN:
'The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries'
1]  "Death At The Opera"
2]  "Rising Of The Moon"
3]  "The Worsted Viper"

CREATED BY:
Glady Mitchell

PORTRAYED BY:
Peter Davision

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time

From the IMDb.com:
Mrs. Bradley and chauffeur George visit a seaside village to wish Inspector Christmas a happy retirement and find themselves investigating the murder of Chastity Baines, the daughter of Reverend Baines. Wrapped around the dead girl's neck is a worsted viper with her ring stuffed in its mouth. The circumstances remind Mrs. Bradley of her first case involving a cult led by Black Jack Briggs that killed virgins. George's daughter lives in the villages and he is shocked to learn that his daughter is engaged to be married. Things become serious when she is kidnapped and may be the cult's next victim. [Written by garykmcd]

From PBS.com:
"The Worsted Viper" ends the season with a double celebration: Mrs. B.'s esteemed colleague Inspector Christmas is being honored for services to a seaside town; at the same locale, George's daughter Cecily is marrying hotel clerk Ronald Quincey. The festivities are marred when the daughter of Reverend Baines turns up dead on the beach, a worsted viper tied around her neck and her hair roughly shorn. It reminds Mrs. B. of the case of Black Jack Briggs, involving similar murders centered on a religious cult. Another victim with a worsted viper appears, suggesting that this town has more to worry about than smugglers, adulterers, and chicken thieves. Add to that devil worshipers. Piecing together clues from the victims, the parish register, and letters to a local advice columnist called Miss Behavior, Mrs. B. concludes that the risk factors for sudden death are weddings and virginity, which point ominously to Cecily as the next target. In the course of the surprising solution, we learn how Inspector Christmas got his name.

O'BSERVATIONS:

• As an added bonus, David Tennant played Max Valentine in "Death At The Opera" - you can see him in the background of the picture above.  So in one episode we had two of the actors who would play or had played the Doctor.  
• They would become future in-laws as well, once Tennant married Davison's daughter (who played his clone-daughter in a 'Doctor Who' episode.  If their child doesn't grow up to play the Doctor as well......!)  
• Christmas, Valentine?  Are they Doctor Who or Doctor When?

BCnU!

THE CHRISTMAS 2012 PREQUELS

AS SEEN ON TV: "SHERLOCK HOLMES"

"SHERLOCK HOLMES"
aka

THE DOCTOR

AS SEEN IN:
"The Hound Of The Baskervilles"

"CREATED BY"*:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

PORTRAYED BY:
Tom Baker
(The Fourth Doctor)

TV STATUS:
An impostor using an alias - 
This actually was the Doctor from Earth Prime-Time.

TV DIMENSION:
Evil Toobworld

O'BSERVATIONS:
Of all the entries in this final run of the "ASOTV" Gallery, this is the only rerun.  We covered this topic last year during the "Who's On First" marathon.  And in the year since, I've not seen anything to convince me that this Sherlock Holmes was not really the Doctor.....

BCnU!

*Everybody knows Conan Doyle didn't create Sherlock Holmes - he was the literary agent for Doctor Watson!

TWO SHADES OF GREY

Earlier this week, our ASOTV showcase featured two ghostly figures played by Joel Grey - the Ghost of Christmas Past from the Patrick Stewart version of "A Christmas Carol" and Adam, from the series finale for the original 'Dallas'. It was our contention that they were the same character.....

Here are video clips of them both (although the Ghost of Christmas Past is among other versions of the character, including Muppet and Disney toon versions.....)