LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ANDY KINDLER

ANDY KINDLER

From Wikipedia:

Andy Kindler is an American stand-up comedian from New York City who resides in Los Angeles.  He plays a fictionalized version of himself in the IFC series "Maron".

His material often covers the comedy industry itself, criticizing other comedians for being too predictable. At his annual state of the industry address at Montreal's "Just For Laughs" festival, he criticized Dane Cook, Louis CK, Chelsea Handler and Jay Leno.  

O'BSERVATIONS:

Recently he compared Adam Carolla to Hitler:  "He's like Hitler if Hitler weren't funny."

AS SEEN IN:

'Maron'

"Marc's Dad"

SYNOPSIS:

Kindler hangs out a lot with Maron and is an occasional guest on the podcast.

BCnU!

THE NEW DOCTOR IS HERE!

And so now we know at last.  Peter Capaldi is the new Time Lord.  The Thirteenth Incarnation of the Doctor.  (He was called the Twelfth Doctor during the special and around the web, but we still have to take into consideration where John Hurt's character fits into his life cycle.)

Readers of my blog know that I was hoping for Julian Rhind-Tutt to be the next Doctor.  But he placed well in the betting that led up to the final selection, so he may still have a shot at it someday.  I just hope he doesn't hold any hard feelings about this......

This isn't the first time around the block with 'Doctor Who' for Capaldi.  He's been a life-long fan, even writing letters to the Radio Times and to the producers of the show (back then) at the BBC.  But he was also in an episode, "The Fires Of Pompeii", where the Doctor - at the urging of his companion Donna - saved the family of Caecillius from the destruction of Vesuvius.

Having been saved, the lineage of Caecillius continued to flourish until a descendant who resembled the marble salesman, by the name of Frobisher.  John Frobisher was a functionary in the British government who was sent to negotiate with the 456 aliens.

You can see the DNA was strong in this family.....

There will be plenty of TV viewers out there, mostly in the UK, who will know Capaldi best from 'Thick Of It', an off-color sitcom about the inner workings of the British government.  It's 'Yes, Minister' dipped in acid.

Capaldi's character of Malcolm Tucker has to have the foulest mouth ever in Toobworld.  Make sure your children aren't around to listen to this, and don't watch it at work.  When you're ready, have a look & listen:

I'm sure there will be a lot of people who can't separate the actor from that character.  In fact, somebody will eventually capitalize on that and do mash-up videos combining his Time Lord with the Spin Doctor.  In fact, I can't wait to see that!

But his past history as Malcolm doesn't concern me.  I prefer to think of his role from thirty years ago, his first major part, in the movie 'Local Hero'.  A man with an awkward gait who chases after a "mermaid" is a far better template for the Doctor, no matter what the quirks to be sported by his new incarnation.

All the best, Peter Capaldi.  Every so often I bring up the mantra "Trust in Moffat" and I figure if you pleased the Grand Moff in the auditions, then we're in for a treat once the new episodes roll out.....

Wouldn't this make for a great new look for the Doctor?

BCnU!

CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER: "LAW OF THE PLAINSMAN" ("THE MATRIARCH")

With the announcement of the death of Michael Ansara, I decided to check out his TV series 'Law Of The Plainsman' in which he played Sam Buckhart, an Apache serving as a U.S. Marshal who had a Harvard degree.

At least five episodes sparked my interest in televisiology.  Throughout the month I'll be showcasing each of them on the weekends.  

Today we'll be watching "The Matriarch".  There's nothing outwardly special about this episode, except for the always welcome presence of Denver Pyle in the cast.

But here in the video's description, and at the Classic TV Archives (Link at the left for the CTVA), it's claimed that British actor Patrick Troughton is in the cast.

From the CTVA:

[21] Law of The Plainsman: THE MATRIARCH
18Feb60 NBC Thur
  Written by: Teddi Sherman
Directed by: Arthur D. Hilton
Starring: Michael Ansara
Guest Cast:
Lynn Bari ..................... Constance Valeri
Denver Pyle ................... Burke
Alan Reed ..................... Dey Valeri
Michael Hinn .................. Hodie Carver
Patrick Troughton
Constance Valeri claims that she shot a ranch hand, but Sam Buckhart is suspicious of her confession.

Here's a more complete cast listing from YouTube:

Michael Ansara as Sam Buckhart
Lynn Bari as Constance Vateri
Michael Hinn as Hodie Carver
Robert F. Hoy as September Smith
Patricia Huston as Greta Lane
Michael T. Miller as Link Carver
Denver Pyle as Burke Carew
Alan Reed Jr. as Dev Valeri
Patrick Troughton

Oh, my giddy aunt!  When I read that, my hearts each skipped a beat!

However.....

In case you don't want to watch it yourself, I checked - Troughton is nowhere to be seen in the episode.  

But this being the wistful, fanciful world of the Toobworld Dynamic, I'd like to dabble in a bit o' Wish-Craft.  Not only would I like to think Troughton is in the episode, but that he was there as the Second Incarnation of the Doctor.  (Of course!)

Why would he be in Valeriville?  Probably on some adventure totally unrelated to the events seen here in the episode and his path never crossed with that of Sam Buckhart.  Perhaps he was trying to bring Victoria back to her own time period in Victorian London, but as usual the TARDIS brought them someplace else.

But if Patrick Troughton was in the episode at all, then he had to be in this scene near the end - when many of the townsfolk are gathered on the main street:

At this point in time in the real world, Troughton's career was too well established in British television.  There would have been no reason for him to travel all the way to America simply to be one of the atmosphere people in a single Western episode.

But dealing in reality is no fun.  Let's go back to imagining that the Doctor really was there!

In fact, I think we might even claim that the man in black in the background towards the left, in front of that flight of stairs with the woman in white, could be the 2nd Doctor.  And the woman in white?  Perhaps it's Victoria Waterfield.  (I suppose Jamie MacCrimmon was back at the TARDIS.)

Anyway, today's edition of the Classic Television Theater is the first in a month-long series celebrating Michael Ansara's role as Sam Buckhart.  I hope you'll enjoy "The Matriarch", even if Patrick Troughton isn't in it.

BCnU!

WHO'S ON TV - TALKIN' 'BOUT REGENERATION......

Today is the day!

At 7 pm GMT (2 pm EDT for this corner of Toobworld), there will be a simulcast BBC special to unveil the actor who has been chosen to replace Matt Smith as the Time Lord in 'Doctor Who'.

Once upon a time we might have thought of him as being the 12th Doctor.  But with John Hurt now thrown into the mix, he (or she - we have no clue) should be considered the 13th Incarnation.  That would also mean the last by the old reckoning, but this is a sci-fi show, so there's probably some techno-babble way of circumventing that.  (My personal theory?  Why, thank you for asking!  I think the Doctor gained many new lives because he absorbed the time stream at the end of Christopher Eccleston's tenure in the TARDIS.)

We never got any regeneration from the Eighth Doctor to the Ninth, so I think this is where Hurt's character would fit in.  Someday the FB meme pictures and other videos about all the Doctors will have to adjust to fit him into the mix.  But until then, here's the sked alert for today's announcement......

BCnU!

"WAREHOUSE 13" - "RUNAWAY": THE BEST LINES

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - CHERIE CURRIE

CHERIE CURRIE

From Wikipedia:
Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. After The Runaways she became a solo artist. Then she teamed up with her identical twin sister, Marie Currie and, released an album with her. They released a duet "Since you've Been Gone" which charted number 95 on US charts. 

AS SEEN IN:
'Warehouse 13'
"Runaway"

SYNOPSIS:
Artie wanted to get Claudia something special for her 21st birthday, so he called in a favor from Cherie Currie to perform at the birthday party.  (Also in the band was Cherie's son.)  Claudia got up on stage to perform "Cherry Bomb" with the band.

Here's a video tribute to Cherie Currie:

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MY SO-CALLED LIFE - "THE RANGER ANDY SHOW"

In 2005, when I reached a particular milestone in my personal chronology, I celebrated by invoking the motto "What I say, goes" when it came to the new members of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  And when it came time to bestow the Birthday Honors, I chose myself to be inducted.

But it wasn't just an ego trip.  At least I fulfilled the membership requirements:

'THE HAP RICHARDS SHOW'

I was a certified citizen of Joyville - not only do I still have my certificate, but I had my name read on the air.

'THE RANGER ANDY SHOW'

During the summer of 1966, I appeared in the Ranger Station along with two of my brothers, three of my Hansen cousins, and all four of my Smith cousins, along with about thirty other kids.  That so many kids from the same family were on the same broadcast merited a small article in the Winsted newspaper.

"THE DEADLIEST SEASON"

Along with many other students in the UConn Drama Department, I spent three days working as an "atmosphere person" for this TV movie, which establishes me with a two degree separation from Kevin Bacon.  It was twenty five dollars a day and for those times, that was pretty sweet money for a college student.

'THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN'

Thanks to my buddy Patrick Scully, we were in the audience for the 100th episode of the show.  And we can be seen as Dave himself came down into the audience to hand out copies of his vacation picture.

But anyhoo, I just wanted to share with you what it was like on the old 'Ranger Andy Show'.  I'm not in this particular clip, but it must have been quite similar.....

"MAJOR CRIMES" PSA

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME - TO ZONK OR NOT TO ZONK?

Dream sequences aren't always valid crossovers for the Toobworld Dynamic.  With some, as when TV characters dream of interactions with the characters from 'Gilligan's Island' ('Meego', 'Roseanne', 'Alf', 'Baywatch', and even in the Land of Remakes with 'The New Gidget'), there is no Zonk because that TV show was based on the true events dealing with those seven stranded castaways.

But in other cases, we have to consider those dream sequences to be Zonks:

Don't get me wrong, I believe Leon the Lizard and Digit are living puppets in the world of Earth Prime-Time, but I'm not sure if Dr. Huxtable would be aware of their existence.  One way in which that could work is due to a segment of 'The Jim Henson Hour' called "MuppeTelevision", which served as a 'Muppet Show' continuation, after a fashion.

Perhaps Cliff Huxtable saw that independently of the rest while watching TV with his youngest daughter Rudy.

That just might work.  Otherwise, it would have to be considered a Zonk.

BCnU!

"HADLEY'S HUNTERS" - THE GUEST STARS

It was this episode of 'Maverick' which gained Bart Maverick entry into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame before Bret Maverick, even though Bret was the original star of the series.....

Technically, there was one more crossover, but with a CBS Western - Prender (Herb Vigran) offers Bart a sawed off Winchester left by a bounty hunter. (To pay his bar tab, I believe.) The name of the gun was "Mule's Leg" or something, says the bartender. It's obviously Mair's Leg, the gun used by Josh Randall (Steve McQueen) in 'Wanted: Dead Or Alive'......

BCnU!