As we’ve been doing all year, each month’s last Friday Hall of Famer is a TV series from Earth Prime (our world) which has a counterpart in Earth Prime-Time (Toobworld.) And as we always celebrate the ladies during the month of May, there was only one obvious choice for this inaugural induction as our May TV Show….
I LOVE LUCY
From Wikipedia: “I Love Lucy” is an American multinational television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons (including the 'lost' original pilot and Christmas episode). The show starred Lucille Ball, her real-life husband Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. It followed the life of Lucy Ricardo (Ball), a young middle-class housewife in New York City, who either concocted plans with her best friends (Vance & Frawley) to appear alongside her bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (Arnaz) in his nightclub, or tried numerous schemes to mingle with, or be a part of show business.
After the series ended in 1957, a modified version continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials; it ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as “The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show’ and later in reruns as “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour”. “I Love Lucy” became the most-watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and it was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by “The Andy Griffith Show” in 1968 and “Seinfeld” in 1998). As of 2011, episodes of the show have been syndicated in dozens of languages across the world and remain popular with an American audience of 40 million each year. A colorized version of its Christmas episode attracted more than 8 million viewers when CBS aired it in prime time in 2013, 62 years after the show premiered; CBS has aired two to three colorized episodes each year since then, once at Christmas and again in the spring. The show, which was the first scripted television program to be shot on 35mm film in front of a studio audience, by cinematographer Karl Freund, won five Emmy Awards and received numerous nominations and honors. It was the first show ever to feature an ensemble cast. It is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history. In 2012, it was voted the 'Best TV Show of All Time' in a survey conducted by ABC News and People magazine. Originally set in an apartment building in New York City, “I Love Lucy” centers on Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and her singer/bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), along with their best friends and landlords Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). During the second season, Lucy and Ricky have a son named Ricky Ricardo Jr. ("Little Ricky"), whose birth was timed to coincide with Ball's real-life birth of her son Desi Arnaz Jr. Within the “reality” of the TV Universe, ‘I Love Lucy’ is a TV show based on the life of a “real” person. To be honest, Lucy’s life would probably never have been considered by a TV producer for adaptation into a series had she not been married to Ricky Ricardo. (In fact, that’s probably how that TV producer in Toobworld learned about her – he must have already known the Cuban bandleader.) To qualify for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, the candidate for membership must appear or be mentioned in three separate TV shows. By that criteria, ‘I Love Lucy’ surely must be the most over-qualified inductee ever! (Or at the very least, tied with ‘Star Trek’.) I’m not going to list all of the TV series which confirm that ‘I Love Lucy’ was a TV show within the TV Universe. (Doing that for ‘Star Trek’ back in January was a killer and I doubt anybody reads those lists throughtly.) But here’s a sampling: Our Miss Brooks, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, December Bride, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Andy Griffith Show, Mr. Ed, Green Acres, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Sanford and Son, MASH, Lou Grant, Mork & Mindy, Knots Landing, St. Elsewhere, The A-Team, Miami Vice, ER, Charles In Charge, Webster, Cheers, The Golden Girls, The Charmings, Murphy Brown, China Beach, Columbo, Wings, Designing Women, Seinfeld (even though he claimed that he never saw it), Roseanne, Married… With Children, The Nanny, Homicide: Life On The Street, Third Rock From The Sun, Babylon 5!, The Outer Limits, Hope Island, Brimstone, The Sopranos, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Queer As Folk, Gilmore Girls, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate: Infinity, Oz, The West Wing, NCIS, Veronica Mars, Parks and Recreation, Mad Men, Californication, The Newsroom, Shameless, Orange Is The New Black, The Good Wife, Mom, This Is Us, The Goldbergs, Days Of Our Lives
I left out a lot of shows that just compared their own characters to combinations of Lucy, Ricky, Fred, or Ethel. I didn’t bother with a lot of shows which just quoted the standards, like “Hi Lucy, I’m home!” or “You got some splainin to do!” I also excluded series which take place in Skitlandia, the Tooniverse, and several alternate Toobworlds. (Although how could I resist ‘The West Wing’?)
This past season, the biggest and best reference to ‘I Love Lucy’ belonged to ‘Will & Grace’ in an episode leading up to the second go-round at a series finale. So here’s to ‘I Love Lucy’! By being a member of the TVXOHOF, it is now a recognized TV series in both the real world and Toobworld. No longer will it be considered a Zonk if it’s mentioned in some way. ‘I Love Lucy’ has no longer got some splainin to do. Hi, ‘I Love Lucy’! You’re Home!
Today we’re inducting the last of the May Queens into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. (For the last week of May, the Friday Hall of Famer will be the Toobworld televersion of the TV show which showcased one of Toobworld’s greatest queens.)
But for this Friday, we’re taking a trip down to Mayberry, North Carolina. For a small country town, Mayberry certainly has racked up quite a few members of the Hall; this will mark the seventh. As Melissa Steadman once said, “Seven – it would be a mythic number.”
HELEN CRUMP TAYLOR
Edited from Wikipedia: Helen Crump is a fictional dramatic character on the American television program ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ (1960–1968). Helen made her debut in the third-season episode "Andy Discovers America" (1963). Helen was a schoolteacher and became main character Sheriff Andy Taylor's girlfriend. Helen also appeared in TAGS spinoff, ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ (1968–1971), and in the TAGS reunion telemovie, “Return to Mayberry” (1986). Helen was portrayed by Aneta Corsaut.
Helen Crump hails from Kansas and attended college in Kansas City. She majored in journalism. Helen takes up residence in Mayberry and is employed as an elementary schoolteacher. Her uncle, Edward, and her young niece, Cynthia, visit her in Mayberry.
Unlike other Mayberry women, Helen has no special skills in the kitchen. She enjoys picnicking, and, in one episode, directs the high school's senior play. An independent, self-sufficient, professional single woman, Helen is a wise and thoughtful character, but at times can be abrupt. [She] serves on most occasions as the voice of reason on the show.
In the third-season episode, "Andy Discovers America" (1963), Opie and his classmates take a dislike to their new teacher Helen Crump (whom they call "old lady Crump"). The boys complain about her history assignments. After Andy gives Opie some advice about his own experience with school (which Opie misconstrues into thinking he doesn't have to do his history schoolwork), Helen appears at the courthouse and, acting on her assumptions based on Opie's misinterpretation of his father's advice, proceeds to give Andy a piece of her mind on his interference in her domain.
Andy is dumbfounded but finds a way to get the boys excited about their history assignments. Helen is astonished but pleased with the change in Opie and his pals. When she learns Andy played a part in the turnabout, she thanks him and the two become friends.
At the end of the episode, Andy shows his attraction to Helen by offering to walk her home and attempting to rid himself of Barney Fife who wants to discuss history with Helen.
Andy and Helen have many pleasant social outings: they attend dances, picnic at Myers Lake, and double date with others (usually Barney Fife and Thelma Lou).
In "Helen, the Authoress", Helen has written a book and uses her evenings to rewrite the manuscript before its publication by a Richmond firm.
In the first episode of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ spinoff, ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’, Andy and Helen married. The episode gave CBS the highest ratings for a new TV series debut for the decade.
The couple moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, but returned to Mayberry at a later date on ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ to christen their newborn son, Andrew Samuel Taylor.
In 1986, Andy and Helen made appearances in the reunion telemovie “Return to Mayberry”. In the telemovie, Andy has recently retired from the United States Postal Inspection Service in Cleveland and returns to Mayberry to see Opie and his wife become first-time parents. In a continuity error, Opie's half-brother, who would have been a teenager then, wasn't mentioned at all.
Here are Helen’s three separate appearances which qualify her for membership in the TVXOHOF:
1963-1968 The Andy Griffith Show 66 episodes
Mayberry R.F.D. - Andy's Baby (1969) - Andy and Helen Get Married (1968)
1986 Return to Mayberry (TV Movie)
Welcome to the Hall, Mrs. Taylor! You’ll find your husband and stepson and other friends from Mayberry ready to welcome you.
The pandemic brought an early end to many TV series this season; many came close to completing their storylines. But with shows foregoing the last two episodes and cobbling together new conclusions from existing footage (‘The Flash’) – or in the case of ‘Blacklist’, resorting to animation to complete an arc.
It’s made me wonder what will happen when TV shows do come back with a new season, hopefully in the Fall. Will they all acknowledge what happened this Spring? After all, there were shows twenty years ago which never made any indication that the 9/11 attacks happened.
(I’m not sure if it was ever addressed when ‘100 Centre Street’ returned for a second season in October of 2001. I can understand if those episodes produced before September couldn’t shoehorn even just a reference to the tragedy, obviously. But it wasn’t cancelled until March of 2002; Team Toobworld, let me know – did they ever acknowledge what happened just a few blocks away?)
With warnings that there will be a resurgence of Covid-19 in the Fall, coupled with flu season ramping up, will we be seeing Life in the Otto household of Norwalk, Ct. putting on face masks before the kids head off to school on ‘American Housewife’? Will ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ have to grapple with the prospect of prison being a possible death sentence for the suspects they bring in? Would it lead to arguments that it doesn’t matter?
But there are current shows out there which won’t have to deal with the spectra of the coronavirus… because they all take place in the Past.
Here is my Super Six List of my favorite current TV shows which will remain unaffected by COVID-19 within their “reality”….
1] YOUNG SHELDON 2] OUTLANDER 3] MURDOCH MYSTERIES 4] ENDEAVOUR 5] FATHER BROWN 6] THE GOLDBERGS/SCHOOLED
I would have liked to have included ‘Doctor Who’ in this list, but then the Time Lord doesn’t just travel back in Time; the Doctor visits the Future as well as the Present Time. Will they be addressing the pandemic when the series eventually returns?
I’m not considering TV shows which are set in the Far Future, like ‘Doctor Who’ sometimes is. Like everybody else, I’m hoping we’ll eventual be free of this coronavirus. But people in the Future will have lost family members, friends, occupations to COVID-19.
And now I’m wondering how they’ll address the pandemic in their past. They can’t very well claim that it was eradicated; it might be with us in some form forever.
No doubt about it – it will be an interesting TV season come the Fall!
The Television Crossover Hall Of Fame continues its tribute to the Queens of May with this week’s Friday Hall of Famer….
MISS JANE HATHAWAY
There are certain Toobworld characters that just need to have a form of address in connection to their names: Lt. Columbo, Dr. Kildare, Sister Bertrille….
I’ve always felt that should apply with Miss Jane, but as a sign of respect. Unfortunately, it also highlights her single status.
Some might think it odd that Miss Jane would be considered among the “Queens”. But Nancy Kulp was the archetype for the man-hungry spinster and it’s a position she will hold for tele-eternity.
From Wikipedia:
In 1962, [Nancy] Kulp landed her breakout role as Jane Hathaway, the love-starved, bird-watching, perennial spinster, on the CBS television series ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. In 1967, she received an Emmy Award nomination for her role, and she remained with the show until its cancellation in 1971.
From The Beverly Hillbillies Wiki:
Jane Hathaway (played by Nancy Kulp in 246 episodes), whom the Clampetts address as "Miss Jane", is Drysdale's loyal and efficient secretary. Though she reluctantly carries out his wishes, she is genuinely fond of the family and tries to shield them from her boss's greed. Miss Hathaway frequently has to "rescue" Mr. Drysdale from his schemes, receiving little or no thanks for her efforts. The Clampetts consider her family; even Granny, the one most dead-set against living in California, likes her very much. Jane harbors something of a crush on Jethro for most of the series' run.
Here are the appearances of Miss Jane Hathaway in Toobworld which garner her a place within the TVXOHOF.
1962-1971 The Beverly Hillbillies 246 episodes
Winston Cigarettes
Petticoat Junction - A Cake from Granny (1968)
(O'Bservations:In addition to this episode, she interacted with the characters of 'Petticoat Junction' and 'Green Acres' within the framework of 'The Beverly Hillbillies' in several episodes.
This photo of Lori Saunders with Nancy Kulp in an episode of 'The Beverly Hillbillies is of a different character she played after 'Petticoat Junction' had been cancelled. For now, 'twill serve as an example.)
1981 The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (TV Movie)
For extra enjoyment of Miss Jane Hathaway’s lengthy career working for Mr. Drysdale, click here.
Welcome to the Hall, Miss Jane!
(Don’t worry, Ms. Kulp. Miss Jane’s showcase Is located on a different floor from Jed Clampett’s, so that she doesn’t have to run into him. I’ll make sure the same holds true for Barnaby Jones when the time comes….)
Every so often, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame has the sad duty of conducting an induction ceremony in the memory of a Toobworld character who has passed away before the Hall was ready to welcome them.
For the most part they have met the qualifications, although there are those times in which the rules are tweaked because the character and/or actor held special meaning for Yours Viewly.
But this is a case in which the new member has met those requirements; sadly, we just kept putting his membership on a back burner.
I am speaking of…
TED BUCKLAND
From Wikipedia:
Sam Lloyd Jr. (November 12, 1963 – April 30, 2020) was an American actor, singer, and musician, best known for his portrayal of lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series ‘Scrubs’ and the sitcom ‘Cougar Town’.
Lloyd was born in Weston, Vermont, on November 12, 1963. He was the nephew of “Back to the Future” star Christopher Lloyd, and his father, Sam Lloyd, was also an actor.
Lloyd was an accomplished singer with the a cappella group The Blanks, who made many appearances on ‘Scrubs’ under the name The Worthless Peons (also known as Ted's Band).
In January 2019, Lloyd was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, which was subsequently revealed to be metastatic lung cancer that had spread to his liver, spine, and jaw.
He died on April 30, 2020, in Los Angeles at the age of 56.
Here are the qualifications for Ted Buckland’s membership in the TVXOHOF:
2001-2009 Scrubs 95 episodes
2009 Scrubs: Interns - Legal Custodians Outakes (2009) - Our Meeting with the Brain Trust (2009) - Screw You with Ted and the Gooch (2009)
2011-2012 Cougar Town - A One Story Town (2012) - Something Good Coming: Part 1 (2011) - Something Good Coming: Part 2 (2011)
Good night and may God bless, Sam Lloyd. May your son Weston grow up hearing only good memories about you, and that all those hours of your acting immortalized in film and television give him some sense of how talented you were.
In the meantime, welcome to the Hall, Ted Buckland. Oddly enough, you may be the only member of the ‘Scrubs’ dramatis personae who ever makes into the TVXOHOF.
George Burns: You know, Blanche Morton is played by Bea Benaderet, and as Blanche Morton she's not supposed to like me, but off the stage as Bea Benaderet... she doesn't like me at all!
For our first Friday Hall of Famers entry into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame for May, 2020 when we celebrate the “Queens of May”, we have chosen a staple of Toobworld Life – the confidante to a show’s female lead, the best friend, and sometimes the partner in crime.
Probably people might think of Ethel Mertz of ‘I Love Lucy’ first, but I think she would be better served as a future “Queen of May” monthly showcase as she was such an archetype.
Instead, I’m going with a multiversal character who first came into existence in the Radio Universe….
BLANCHE MORTON
From the “Beverly Hillbillies” Wiki: Beatrice "Bea" Benaderet (April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, California. She appeared in a wide variety of television work, which included a starring role in the 1960s television series 'Petticoat Junction' and 'Green Acres' as Shady Rest Hotel owner Kate Bradley, supporting roles as Blanche Morton in 'The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show' and as the voice of Betty Rubble during the first four seasons of 'The Flintstones', and in 'The Beverly Hillbillies' as Pearl Bodine.
From Wikipedia: Bea Benaderet carried over from the radio show, portraying neighbor Blanche Morton. Her husband Harry Morton was first portrayed by Hal March (October–December 1950), and then by John Brown (January–June 1951), and after that, Fred Clark, until 1953 when the role was assumed by Larry Keating.
(I already covered those Recastaway Zonks about Harry Morton. When he is eventually inducted into the Hall, it will be as Larry Keating.)
Here are the shows which qualified Blanche for membership in the TVXOHOF:
1953-1958 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show 292 episodes
1957 The Bob Cummings Show - Bob Meets the Mortons (1957)
1959 The George Burns Show 25 episodes
Welcome to the Hall, Mrs. Morton. You’ll find George already here and one day your husband Harry will be joining you as well.
We celebrate the ladies of Television in the month of May, the Queens of May as it were, beginning with our showcase star for the month and then each Friday, including the TV show to be inducted on the last Friday of May.
This month’s showcase inductee is a tribute to a great lady whom we lost three years ago. She may not have accrued actual crossovers, but she certainly cleaned up in the sequels department.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…
DELLA STREET
From Wikipedia:
Della Street is the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, short stories, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Gardner described her this way:
"Della Street … Secretary, twenty-seven, quiet, fast as hell on her feet, had been places. Worked in a carnival or side show, knows all the lines, hard-boiled exterior, quietly efficient, puzzled over the lawyer, chestnut hair, trim figure, some lines on her face, a hint of weariness at the corners of her eyes."
When Gardner submitted “Reasonable Doubt” to William Morrow, an editor suggested that "Della Street is a better character than the secretary." Gardner took this suggestion when he rewrote “Reasonable Doubt” as “The Case of the Velvet Claws” and made Della Street Perry Mason's secretary. In the published novel, the carnival or side show was jettisoned, and Street came from a more "respectable" background.
On television, Della Street was played by Barbara Hale in the series, for which she received an Emmy Award, and in the 30 made-for-TV movies.
Hale was considering retirement from acting when she accepted her best known role as legal secretary Della Street in the television series ‘Perry Mason’, starring Raymond Burr as the titular character.
The show ran for nine seasons from 1957 to 1966, with 271 episodes produced. The role won Hale a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
In 1985, Hale and Burr (by then the only surviving cast members from the original series) reprised their roles for the TV movie Perry Mason Returns. The film was such a ratings hit, that a further 29 movies were produced until 1995.
Hale continued her role as Della in the four telefilms produced after Burr's death in 1993, subtitled “A Perry Mason Mystery” (and starring Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso in the first film and Hal Holbrook as "Wild" Bill McKenzie in the remaining three). Hale is thus the only actor to feature in all 30 films.
From the Perry Mason wiki: Della Street is Mason loyal, compent, confidential secretary. Not as clever as Mason, she is a very smart, practical self possessed person. Paul Drake is very respectful to her and teases her with the words "Hi Beautiful"
Usually referred to as Della Street; there is a question as to whether or not she is unmarried or a widow. One episode refers to her as Mrs. Della Street.
[I have no way of verifying that.]
Here are the list of Della Street’s qualifications for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame:
Perry Mason 271 episodes
THE TV MOVIES
Perry Mason Returns (1985)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun (1986)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (1986)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love (1987)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (1988)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake (1988)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (1989)
Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen (1990)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer (1990)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter (1990)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (1991)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin (1991)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo (1992)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride (1992)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host (1993)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss (1993)
A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993)
A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle (1994)
A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994)
A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester (1995)
30 in all.
That’s close to 331 hours of television featuring Della. Not too shabby!
As the Trickster once said, "Reality is boring, that's why I change it whenever I can."
I'm just "The Man Who Viewed Too Much", and "Inner Toob" is a blog exploring and celebrating the 'reality' of an alternate universe in which everything that ever happened on TV actually takes place.
Most of my theories about the TV Universe come from thinking inside the box and thus can't be proven. But I've never been one to shy away from a tall tale.....
Remember: "The more you watch, the more you've seen!"
