NUMBERS RUNNING - 4 "COLUMBO"

4/04

Since today is one of "The Numbers" days ('Lost'), here is one of the numerals in the Valenzetti Sequence to be found in other shows.....

'COLUMBO'

"DAGGER OF THE MIND"

BCnU!

LA TRIVIATA - A TAITI TIDBIT

That poster in the background reminded me that even though I might be watching an American TV show, even Toobworld speaks more than just English.  We're not dealing with universal translators here.

Taiti would be the spelling in several languages for the largest island in the French Polynesian islands, which Americans would know as Tahiti.

BCnU!

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - HARRIET COOPER & MIRIAM BAXTER

'Batman'

'The Man From U.N.C.L.E' 

["The Alexander The Greater Affair Parts 1&2"]

Harriet Cooper was Bruce Wayne's aunt but his youthful ward Dick Grayson considered her as his aunt as well and addressed her as such, which she accepted.  (But she was never aware of the fact that they were the crime-fighters known as Batman and Robin.)

She was the sister of Bruce's mother and although she rarely talked about her family, Miss Cooper had another sister as well - named Miriam.

Miriam Cooper married Harry Baxter and moved with him to Ohio where Harry built an empire in the plumbing fixtures business.

They had a son who grew up to be a brilliant industrialist bent on taking over the entire world.  Calling himself "Alexander The Greater", Baxter embarked on this madman's quest with an added challenge: to break each of the ten commandments as he proceeded.

And one of those commandments O'Bviously involved his parents - "Honor Thy Mother And Father".  Alexander the Greater had the senior Baxters kidnapped and chained up in a rock quarry where they had to work like slaves.  

Luckily for them, U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin (with help from Alexander's soon to be ex-wife Tracey Alexander) were able to track them down and rescue them.

Harriet Cooper must not have been in frequent contact with her sister Miriam Baxter or she would have become concerned after not hearing from her in months.  And then she would have involved Bruce in the matter and you know what that means - the Dynamic Duo would have been on the case!

BCnU!

TAKE THE PLEDGE!

TUESDAY NEWS DAY - RONALD REAGAN RETURNS

Proving that it won't fit into any one groove, the second season of 'Fargo' will be taking place back in 1979.  Patrick Wilson will be playing Lou Solverson, who was portrayed by Keith Carradine in the modern day iteration of the first season.  Also in the cast are Cristin Milioti, Nick Offerman, Ted Danson, and Jean Smart.  But the big Toobishy casting news?  Bruce Campbell, the "Chin" himself, will be playing Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate for President.

I'm assuming it will be a one-shot guest appearance as Reagan makes a campaign stop in town, but who knows? According to FX CEO John Landgraf: "Some of the characters have some interactions with him. And some of his movies are also a part of the show.  A lot of what it’s about is the cultural transformation that was going on at the time." 

Apparently Reagan's campaign fits into the narrative themes for 'Fargo', according to Landgraf.

This would mark Reagan's third fictional appearance in Earth Prime-Time; the other two were in "Bloodlines", an episode of paranois-infused alien invasion timeline series 'Dark Skies', and as just his voice in "Smaller Than Life", an episode of 'Magnum, P.I.'

BCnU!

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO MY BROTHER BILL!

I'm not sure I would have checked out the Netflix series 'Marco Polo' had my brother Bill not recommended it so enthusiastically, but it became my "binge" show back in January and I'm not one to binge watch TV. As far as I'm concerned, this series - which will be getting a second season - is THE portrayal of Kublai Khan in the main Toobworld.

The only other Kublai Khan I can think of that belongs to the main Toobworld would be the emperor as seen in the story from the adventures of the first incarnation of the Doctor in 'Doctor Who'. But he was such a frail old man, I have to figure the TARDIS had utilized its ability to travel to relative dimensions in space. (He couldn't be Kublai Khan from later in life, which we can excuse for casting reasons based on character aging, because Marco Polo was still at court.)

Today is my brother Bill's birthday, so I wanted to share this alternate dimension's depiction of Kublai Khan's grandfather, Genghis Khan, to mark the occasion.  I figured he deserved something dignified and refined........

Happy birthday, Brothermine!

VIDEO SUNDAY - LASSIE AND THE C-CLAMP

This was recently in Dave Barry's blog:

The Blog has oft remarked (in print and otherwise) that we think collies are smart because we grew up watching 'Lassie'. Today the s.b. was spinning the dial and found an episode of the early show with Jon Provost as Timmy. In this episode, June Lockhart, aka Mom, had her foot caught in a cougar trap (for obvious reasons). Lassie heard her calling and came a'runnin'... This is the actual dialogue that June Lockhart had to say to her co-star, a dog:

"Do you remember the c-clamp that the trapper brought? I think I left it on the kitchen counter. Go get it, girl! And hurry!"

That is all.

Posted by judi on March 7, 2015 at 12:26 PM

If I ever saw that episode when I was a kid, I don't remember it.  I probably was so young that I didn't have any problem in accepting the premise.

Since then, I've seen that particular scene in a TV retrospective special and on its own it is the most ridiculous concept that Lassie should understand about C clamps.

But in the TV Universe, I use it as a good example of dogs being the reincarnation of humans and who still have a retention of their human intelligence.

So it works for Toobworld.

Here's the episode.  If you just want to see the C Clamp scene, go to the 11:20 mark:

BCnU!

SATURDAY MORNING SUPERHEROES - BY THE BOOK

I can't recall if it was in a DC or Marvel comic book, but there was a story about the man who made his ill-gotten gains from hiring out the henchmen who worked for various super-villains.  I'd like to think this same character had a televersion who had business dealings with all of the colorful villains who plagued Gotham City back in the 1960s.

And there is another character who was never seen on 'Batman', as well as a few other TV series*, but whose work was evident in almost every episode.  I'm talking about the inventor who created all of the deadly traps and other dangerous props used by the villains in their attempts to subdue and kill the Dynamic Duo.

One such prop can be found in the 'Batman' episode "Death In Slow Motion" - a giant book that had been made for the Bookworm.

Astute readers and avid fans of 'Batman' must think they found an error in that statement above.  After all, it was a prop used by the Riddler which contained two riddles for Batman & Robin.  

This is true; however, I said it was made for Bookworm.  But at the time, the Bookworm couldn't take possession of it from the avaricious artisan who built it.  He may have been in prison, perhaps short on the funds needed to pay for it.  Whatever the case may have been, the Riddler bought it for his own use in his silent film caper.

BCnU!

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - THE TIMSONS/TIMPSONS, A DOUBLE SHOT OF BAILEYS

It's not unusual for a member of a family to alter the spelling of their last name. Sometimes it was done for them by the government upon arrival into the country at Ellis Island. President Ronald Reagan had cousins who spelled the family name "Regan".

Den Timson
'Rumpole Of The Bailey'

 

Micky Timpson
'Scott & Bailey'

Fred Timson (Rumpole of the Bailey (1978))
Cyril Timson (Rumpole of the Bailey (1978))
Den Timson (Rumpole of the Bailey (1978))

Scott & Bailey
Micky Timpson
- Episode #2.7 (2012)

 

So making the claim that a character named Micky Timpson in an episode of 'Scott & Bailey' could be related to the notorious Timson clan who basically kept the roof over the head of Horace Rumpole and his wife "She Who Must Not Be Named" is not much of a stretch. Toobworld Central declares it a perfectly valid theory of relateeveety.

BCnU!

PS:
It provides no validity to my argument at all, but it amuses me that both shows used for this theory of relateeveety have "Bailey" in their titles.....

 

 

LITTLE BIG SCREEN: "KING KONG VS. MIGHTY JOE YOUNG"

'MacMillan & Wife'

"Point Of Law'

When Mac was finally home from two weeks with the Naval Reserve where he had worked hard to save a young woman in the Navy from being convicted of murder, Sally decided to tease him by denying him her sexual favors.  She professed an interest in watching a late night movie instead and while looking through the TV Guide, she found the perfect one - "King Kong Vs. Mighty Joe Young".

There are two ways to look at this.  Sally could have just made that title up as part of her teasing.  Or there really was a movie in Toobworld by that title and she really did see it listed in the Guide.

I think you know where I stand on this.....

If it was a real movie in Toobworld, it was probably made in the 1950s.  Mainly because the original "Mighty Joe Young" film came out in 1949, but also because it had to be around long enough to be relegated to the late night lineups.

This could be one of those movies directed overseas by Cortland Evans when he was blacklisted in America.  As for actors in it (besides the guys in the ape suits), maybe it was one of Dash Riprock's first leading roles, with Quirt Manly as the already established main actor.

"Point Of Order" was the last episode of 'MacMillan & Wife'.  Susan Saint James left the series and it continued on as just 'MacMillan'.  Apparently, Sally died in a plane crash at some point between the two iterations of the series.

I've always held on to the belief that it was a small plane and that Mac had somehow fixed it so that it would crash, killing all those on board.  (Hopefully just Sally and the pilot.)

Yes... I'm declaring Stuart MacMillan to have been a murderer who got away with it.

SHOWS CITED:

'Marcus Welby, MD'

'The Beverly Hillbillies'

BCnU!