TVXOHOF, JUNE 2022 [PART TWO] - DANNY TANNER

As you probably guessed, here is Part Two of our “Gemini” induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame….

DANNY TANNER

From Wikipedia:
'Full House' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three daughters, eldest D.J., middle child Stephanie and youngest Michelle in his San Francisco home. It aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.

'Fuller House' is an American sitcom created by Jeff Franklin that airs as a Netflix original series, and is the sequel to the 1987–1995 television series 'Full House'. It centers around D.J. Tanner-Fuller, a veterinarian and widowed mother of three sons, whose sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy—along with her teenage daughter—live together at the Tanners' childhood home in San Francisco, California. Most of the original series ensemble cast have reprised their roles on 'Fuller House', either as regular cast members or in guest appearances, with the exception of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who alternated the role of Michelle Tanner in 'Full House'.

Daniel Ernest "Danny" Tanner (portrayed by Bob Saget, John Posey in the unaired pilot) is left with three young daughters to raise after his wife, Pam, dies in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. At the beginning of the series, he works as a sportscaster for Channel 8 News. In the season two episode "Tanner vs. Gibbler", he is chosen by his station's general manager Mr. Strowbridge to be the co-host for the station's new morning talk show, 'Wake Up, San Francisco', alongside Rebecca Donaldson. In season one's "The Big Three-O," Danny's beloved car, "Bullet," is severely damaged after another driver rear-ends the vehicle, leading it roll out of park and become submerged in the San Francisco Bay as Jesse and Joey shop for new seat covers for the car to surprise Danny with as a present for his 30th birthday; Jesse and Joey end up bidding for a new car that is identical in appearance, unknowingly competing with Danny, who purchases the car (and later named it "Walter") after he calls the car dealership [where] Jesse and Joey are and places a bid over the phone.

Danny goes on his first date since his wife's death in the season one episode "Sea Cruise," as part of a fishing trip that was intended to only include himself, Jesse and Joey; he is seen going out on dates on select occasions throughout the series. While Rebecca goes on maternity leave in season five just before giving birth to his nephews Nicky and Alex, Danny ends up falling in love with her co-host replacement, Vicky Larson. The two of them begin dating in season five's "Easy Rider," becoming Danny's most serious relationship since he became a widower, and the two later become engaged in the season six finale "The House Meets the Mouse".

However, their relationship turned into a long-distance situation as Vicky was assigned various reporting jobs away from San Francisco. In season seven's "The Perfect Couple," Vicky ended up getting her dream job of anchoring the network news in New York City, but a long-distance relationship did not work for either of them, so Danny decides to break up with her; this leads him to a mass feng shui habit in the following episode, "Is It True About Stephanie?," to which his family acknowledges was his way of trying to cope with his breakup. Danny eventually meets fellow single parent Claire Mahan in season eight episode "Making Out Is Hard to Do," and [they] go on a date in the episode "Claire and Present Danger."

Although he is not established with this trait early on (season one's "The Return of Grandma" depicts him as begrudgingly trying to clean the messy house with Jesse and Joey after their mothers threaten to move in if they cannot keep the place clean), much of the humor surrounding Danny's character comes from his obsession with cleaning and cleanliness. Danny can often be found cleaning for cleaning's sake, sometimes even cleaning his cleaning products (in a version of the original season three opening titles, seen during episodes in which Lori Loughlin does not appear as Rebecca Donaldson, Danny is even shown to be cleaning his floor vacuum with a handheld vacuum).

He says the family motto is "clean is good, dirt is bad". Danny views spring cleaning as his equivalent to Christmas and home movies as his New Year's Eve (as revealed in the season two episode "Goodbye, Mr. Bear"). His quirkiness and generally "unhip dad" personality are also targets for humor. He is a skilled pool & dart player and guitarist (as respectively revealed in season four's, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," and season eight's, "To Joey, with Love").

Like most other characters, he generally cannot stand Kimmy Gibbler, considering her as “an annoying, obnoxious nuisance”; at times, urging D.J. to make new friends whenever Kimmy does something that irritates him. Danny also has one brother and one sister, and his parents are divorced. Unlike his brother-in-law Jesse (who is more into rock-and-roll), Danny has a taste for 1970s Disco music; one of his favorite songs is "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry.

In the first episode of 'Fuller House', Danny and Becky relocate to Los Angeles for their new talk show, 'Wake Up USA', and it is revealed that Danny got remarried to a woman named Teri. During the second season Danny goes through a little bit of a mid-life crisis since he just turned 60. In season three Danny reveals that he and Teri got divorced. Danny and Becky asked for raises on their show but since they asked for too much they are fired and replaced by Mario Lopez. After feeling sorry for themselves they go back to 'Wake Up San Francisco' to ask for their old jobs back but the station only wants Becky back.

To cheer him up, the girls somehow tracked down Vicky and surprised him with her. He invites her to the 30th "Dadi-versary" party the girls threw for him, Jesse and Joey. Since Becky, Jesse and Joey are all moving back to San Francisco, Danny announces he's moving back too, and back into the house. In season four Becky's talk show 'The Gab' was a success but it turned back into 'Wake Up San Francisco'. Danny refused to audition to be her co-host, and briefly lived life as a retiree. He eventually realizes that he misses being on air and gets his old job back.

Here are the shows which qualified Danny Tanner to join Bob Saget in the TVXOHOF:

Full House (1987-1995)

192 episodes

America’s Funniest Home Videos

O’Bservation: In one episode, Danny and his daughter Michelle stopped by the show to see for themselves how much Bob Saget looked like Danny Tanner.  (It would be this resemblance which landed Saget the role of Danny.)

Full House of Horrors (2007)
Video Short
Sitcom series "Full House" meets PETA. Characters from "Full House" get an unexpected visit from Futureman, who warns them against wearing fur in the future. The film also makes fun of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's fur-wearing.  (Warning: Grisly video of animals being slaughtered for their fur is shown.)

O'Bservation: This PETA oddity should not be confused with a roblox video game by the same name....

From Wall Street Insanity:

Remember the loving, big-family-fun dynamic of the 80s and 90s sitcom, “Full House?” The innocence of the show made it a comedy appropriate for the whole family, and you’d never think of central, single dad figure Bob Saget as anything other than kind and even, perhaps, heroic.

Now, this haunting trailer lets you into the dark side of this “joyous family romp.” An assignment for the Seattle Film Institute re-imagines “Full House” with Saget as the evil, abusive protagonist, while his little girls and the famed Uncle Jesse cower from him in fear. Created by Jay Somsen, the clever assignment aimed to use real TV show footage to send a completely different message from what the popular sitcom originally intended.

ABC TGIF

- Episode dated 8 March 1991 (1991)
"Full House" stars Danny and Stephanie Tanner are joined by Mickey, the star of "Baby Talk."

Some Jerk with a Camera
- Full House Goes to Disney World! (2013)
An ABC retrospective in earnest targeting 'Full House' and its 1993 two-part season six finale, "The House Meets The Mouse," in which the Tanners have a suspiciously eventful Walt Disney World vacation.  Jerk talks about the show and shows clips from several episodes.  Jerk explains the family almost went to Disneyland in the episode “The Seven-Month Itch: Part 1”.

Fuller House

(2016-2020)
15 episodes

Childhood Thoughts
- Pam Tanner (Full House) (2019)

Based on most of those entries, Danny Tanner looks to be tele-cognizant - aware that he exists in a television meta-universe.  Or it's all connected because he was involved in the production of the TV series based on his life (as suggested by his visit to the set of 'America's Funniest Home Videos'.)

There is no other option but to consider the televersion of Bob Saget as being dead like the Bob Saget of the Trueniverse.  (I think it also has to be accepted that they both died the same way.)

But that doesn't have to be the case with Danny Tanner.  Even though the actor who portrayed him is dead, Danny Tanner could still be alive in Toobworld.

Welcome to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, Danny.  Until Alice Nelson gets here, feel free to keep the Hall tidy....

TVXOHOF, JUNE 2022 [PART ONE] - BOB SAGET

For our annual “Gemini” induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, our pair this year is a remorseful one.  
With this post we present Part One….

BOB SAGET

From Wikipedia:
Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget is known for playing Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom 'Full House' (1987–1995), and its Netflix sequel 'Fuller House' (2016–2020). He was also the original host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (1989–1997), and the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the CBS sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother' (2005–2014).

Saget was also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy, and his 2014 album "That's What I'm Talkin' About" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Following a short stint as a member of CBS' 'The Morning Program' in early 1987, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner in 'Full House', which became a success with family viewers, and landed in the Nielsen ratings' Top 30 beginning with season three.

In 1989, Saget began as the host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos', a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s, Saget worked on both 'Full House' and 'AFV' simultaneously. In 2009, he returned to 'AFV' for the 20th-anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Tom Bergeron.

From 2005 to 2010, Saget had a recurring role in four episodes of the HBO TV series 'Entourage' playing a parody version of himself. He would later appear in the 2015 feature film based on the series.

From 2016 to 2020, Saget reprised his role as Danny Tanner for fifteen episodes of 'Full House''s sequel series, 'Fuller House', including the series premiere and finale.

On January 9, 2022, at about 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Saget was found unresponsive in his room at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, south of Orlando, Florida, near Williamsburg. He had missed his scheduled checkout time, and family members became concerned after being unable to contact him. Emergency responders pronounced Saget dead at the scene; he was 65 years old. No cause of death was immediately announced, though foul play and drug use were ruled out by the sheriff and the medical examiner. At the time of his death, Saget was on a stand-up tour, and had performed in Ponte Vedra Beach the previous evening.

An autopsy report was released on February 9, 2022, and found that Saget had blunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head, likely from a fall, and subsequently died from the resulting injuries (subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage) in his sleep. At the time of his death, he was COVID-19 positive, though there were no signs of inflammation. On February 15, 2022, Saget's family sued to prevent county officials from releasing additional documents from the investigation of his death, arguing that their graphic content would present privacy violations; a permanent injunction was issued against their release on March 14.

Here are the shows which qualify Saget for TVXOHOF membership:

Bosom Buddies

- The Show Must Go On (1981)
... Bob the Comic
O’Bservation: Saget was a stand-up comedian, so why shouldn’t “Bob the Comic” be Bob Saget?

The Goldbergs
- Just Say No (2015)
References are made to both 'American Gladiators' and 'America's Funniest Home Videos'. Both shows started in 1989. Key to the plot was the 1984 election between Reagan and Mondale.
O’Bservation: This is a Zonk, but we can call on one of the "Essentials" when it comes to discrepancy crutches – the Doctor.  In the ‘Doctor Who’ episode “The Doctor’s Wife”, temporal fluctuations have caused a collapse of the Toobworld timeline so that all of Time was happening at the same time.  Its effects just weren’t as noticeable the farther one got from the center of the distortion.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

(1987-1992)
14 episodes
O’Bservation: This is one of the few talk shows which has had its televersion inducted into the TVXOHOF.

America's Funniest Home Videos

(1989-2019)
193 episodes
O’Bservation: As the host of the show, it should be included, but especially since they’re both cited in other TV shows.

The All New Mickey Mouse Club

- Guest Day (1989)
Two lucky club members get to visit the set of 'Full House'.

The Larry Sanders Show

- Hey Now (1992)

O’Bservation:
M*A*S*H (1972)
Bob Saget references the show and 'Major' during his rambling.

There is no Zonk in this.  A TV show within the TV Universe about a Korean War hospital unit could have been produced in the forty years since.

- Office Romance (1994)

O’Bservation:
Cagney & Lacey (1981)
Mentioned by Bob Saget
Two women detectives partnered together on the NYPD was at one time novel enough of a concept to warrant a TV show about them.
O'Bservation:
Full House (1987)
Mentioned by Bob Saget

Thanks to ‘America’s Funniest Videos’, we know that Saget and Tanner looked alike.  So he would be an O’Bvious choice for playing him in a sitcom based on Tanner’s life.

The Jeff Foxworthy Show
- A Sore Winner (1995)
Jeff, Karen and Matt go to California for free to be on ‘America's Funniest Home Videos’. There, Karen gets a "big head" over winning.

The Naked Truth

- Girl Buys Soup While Woman Weds Ape! (1995)

Ellen
- Ellen's Improvement (1995)
- Alone Again... Naturally (1997)

Entourage

- Neighbors (2005)

While Johnny and Turtle keep spending money Vince still doesn't have, his TV celebrity neighbor Bob Saget expresses high praise for landing Staci, inaccessible to him, and discloses her dubious profession.

- No More Drama (2009)
Scott Lavin:
Bob, what you don't know about me is that I am 24/7. That is my middle fucking name - Scotty "24/7" Lavin. What that means is that every time you turn around anywhere, any time, you will be looking at this.
[points to face]
Bob Saget:
That's just great, Scotty. That's just what I wanna be looking at while I'm sniffing a line of blow off her ass - your fucking face.

- Buzzed (2010) ... Bob Saget

- Bottoms Up (2010) ... Bob Saget

Drama has to compete for work against Bob Saget.
O’Bservation:
Full House (1987)
mentioned by Bob Saget

See the O’Bservation from ‘The Larry Sanders Show’

The View

(2005-2020)
Guest/Guest Co-Host
12 episodes
O’Bservation: Thanks to shows like ‘SportsNight’, there is a televersion for ‘The View’ and it has been inducted into the TVXOHOF.

Free Radio
- Lance Gets a Bodyguard (2008)

Louie
- Oh Louie/Tickets (2011)

Legit

- Licked (2014)

 
Entourage (The Movie from 2015)

Nightcap
- Bringing Up the Baby (2017)

The Masked Singer

(2020-2021)
Self - Squiggly Monster
O’Bservation: I have a feeling that ‘The Masked Singer’ will generate plenty of references in other shows, perhaps even mentions of contestants who never really took part.

Saget is also a multidimensional….

ALTERNATE TOOBWORLD  

Pryor Offenses (TV Movie)
In the 21st century, Richard Pryor has made a successful career performing non-controversial comedy, and considers what it would be like if he performed material that was more true to his life.

All three passed away this year,
And in this order.
But Bob is the last to be inducted.

This year’s class of TVXOHOF has been unfortunately triggered by the deaths of far too many inductees in 2022.  Sadly, Saget was one of the first.  I held off inducting him earlier because he was perfect to be the Gemini candidate, as the next post will demonstrate.

Welcome to the Hall, Bob.  I’m sorry it was under these circumstances.

Good night and may God bless…. 

MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE INDUCTION - REMEMBERING RAY LIOTTA

Ray Liotta:

Everyone thinks I'm like my character in “Goodfellas”,

but in real life, I'm more like my character
in “Operation Dumbo Drop”.

From Wikipedia:
Raymond Allen Liotta (December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor and producer. He was known for playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams” (1989), Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” (1990), and Tommy Vercetti in the video game “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002).

Liotta's other roles included Ray Sinclair in “Something Wild” (1986), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, as well as starring in “Unlawful Entry” (1992), “Cop Land” (1997), “Hannibal” (2001), “Blow” (2001), “John Q” (2002), “Identity” (2003), “Observe and Report” (2009), “Killing Them Softly” (2012), “The Place Beyond the Pines” (2012), “Marriage Story” (2019) and “The Many Saints of Newark” (2021), as well as the drama series ‘Shades of Blue’ (2016–2018).

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Ray Liotta, the intense actor from New Jersey best known for his turn as the hustler turned mob rat Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas”, has died. He was 67.

Publicist Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor died Wednesday night or early Thursday in his sleep in his hotel room while in the Dominican Republic making the movie “Dangerous Waters”. His fiancée, Jacy Nittolo, was with him. He had begun work on the film about a week ago.

Whenever Liotta did show up as himself in various TV shows, I’d mark it for future use in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, always thinking there was plenty of time to get around to inducting him as a member of the League of Themselves.  

Never thought that time would come up so quickly.  He was so young!  (Full disclosure – my opinion is skewed because I’m basically the same age.)

And so, here we are….

RAY LIOTTA

Here are the shows which not only qualified him for membership in the TVXOHOF, but which showed him as a multidimensional:

Just Shoot Me!

- Christmas? Christmas! (2001)
Maya meets a handsome celebrity who loves Christmas even more than her, to the point of obsession.  

(Ray Liotta's apartment is 1225 [the date of Christmas] which adds to his obsession of the holiday.)

- Liotta? Liotta! (2002)

Ray Liotta is back and he's obsessed with Maya. He even vows to give up show business for her, but can't adjust to normal life.

O'Bservation: How many stars can claim that their name is part of an episode title?

Ray Liotta:

I don't want to be a celebrity anymore.

I just want to do boring, ordinary boyfriend stuff.

Nina Van Horn:

You're a moron, Ray.

Ray Liotta:

This is great.
Just a couple of regular people calling each other morons.

Saturday Night Live

- Episode dated 18 January 2003

Hosted, with The Donnas as musical guest (2003)

O’Bservation: SNL has a televersion and even exists in the Comic Book Universe.

The View
- Episode dated 26 September 2006
O’Bservation: The televersion of ‘The View’ is a member of the TVXOHOF, so it’s one of only a few talk shows which are allowed to be included in an inductee’s tally.

Modern Family

- Playdates (2016)
Haley, Alex and Luke are surprised when Uncle Mitchell comes over to cash in on the birthday coupon they gave him for a belated present.  The Dunphy kids make a last-minute birthday surprise for Mitchell, and run into Ray Liotta. [IMDb]

Great News

- Early Retirement (2018)
Diana St. Tropez returns with good news for "The Breakdown" staff: Fenton Pelt has agreed to drop his lawsuit on the condition that Chuck Pierce deliver a humiliating on-air apology and resign from news forever. Chuck, defeated, agrees, until Portia reminds him why he got into journalism in the first place. With Chuck's final broadcast approaching, Katie convinces Carol to reunite for one last job, and they race against the clock to find the one person in New Jersey who could disprove Fenton Pelt's claims and save the show. [Great News Wiki]

And to qualify to be a multidimensional, Liotta made it into….

THE TOONIVERSE

Phineas and Ferb

- What a Croc! (2012)
Liotta was a friend of Francis Monogram at The Academy and he owed the Major a favor.  He filled in for Major Monogram in giving Perry the Platypus his mission.

Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Ray.
I wish it was under better circumstances.
Good night and may God bless….

Ray Liotta:

Remember in "Hannibal" when Hannibal
made me eat my own brain?

This is worse.

Because it's not my brain this time, Maya.

It's my real heart.

TVXOHOF QUEEN OF THE MAY, 2022 - OLIVE RUDGE

 
From Wikipedia:
Ann Harrison McCall (19 September 1936 – 22 February 2022), professionally known as Anna Karen, was a British actress best known for playing Olive Rudge in the sitcom ‘On the Buses’ (1969–1973) and she also reprised the role of Olive Rudge in ‘The Rag Trade’ from 1977 to 1978.

From The Guardian:
The actor Anna Karen, who has died in a house fire aged 85, was already appearing in a TV sitcom, ‘Wild, Wild Women’, as one of the workers in a millinery sweatshop, in 1969 when she was cast in another, in the role for which she is best remembered – Olive Rudge in the bawdy but hugely popular ‘On the Buses’.

The writing team of Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who created both programmes, conceived Olive as the dowdy, put-upon wife of the idle Arthur (played by Michael Robbins). They would appear alongside Reg Varney as Olive’s brother, the bus driver Stan Butler, Bob Grant as his conductor, Jack, Stephen Lewis as their boss, Inspector “Blakey” Blake, and Doris Hare as Olive and Stan’s domineering mother.

Sadly, it seems like every other month this year, the inductee into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame has been a memorial tribute – Rose Nylund for Betty White (who was already inducted as herself years ago), Louie Anderson as himself, and now Olive Rudge, as a salute to Anna Karen, the actress who portrayed her.

OLIVE RUDGE

QUEEN OF MAY

From the "On The Buses" Wiki:
Olive (Rudge) Butler (Anna Karen) is one of the main characters of the television series. She is Stan's sister. In all but the last series and a few individual episodes in other series, Olive hangs around the home all day in her dressing gown, until she divorces Arthur in the last series of the show and gets a job as a conductor ('clippie') on the buses.

She is married to Arthur Rudge until the final series of the show. Arthur constantly insults her as well as the other members of her family especially Stan Butler, and his best friend Jack Harper who make nasty jibes at Olive Rudge as well as when and before she became a clippie she is always the butt of everyone's jokes.

From Wikipedia:
Anna Karen as Olive Rudge, Stan's sister. Olive is always being criticised by her husband Arthur, even though she helps her mum with household jobs and frequently helps Stan with the decorating. Olive has twice been a clippie at the bus depot, both times being unsuccessful. She is always wanting "an early night" with Arthur, much to his displeasure.

Here are the credits which qualified Olive Rudge for membership in the TVXOHOF.  All sumaries are from the IMDb:

ON THE BUSES

(1969-1973)

Jack-the-lad bus driver and conductor Stan and Jack enjoy the female employees more than their work and Inspector Blake is relentless in his attempts to make their lives a misery.

ON THE BUSES [Movie]

(1971)
When the bus company finds itself short-staffed, it is Inspector Blake who comes up with the brilliant idea of employing women drivers. The company is delighted, but the bus crews are horrified and try to get rid of the women.

ALL STAR COMEDY CARNIVAL 
ON THE BUSES SKETCH
(1972)
Six specially-written scenes from popular ITV comedy series.
Jimmy Tarbuck hosts another ‘All Star Comedy Carnival’, this time with skits from the following television programs: ‘Love Thy Neighbour’; ‘On the Buses’; ‘Christmas with Wogan’; ‘Nearest and Dearest’; ‘Thirty Minutes North’; ‘Sez Les’; ‘The Fenn Street Gang’; and ‘Father Dear Father’.

MUTINY ON THE BUSES [Movie]

(1972)
Bus driver Stan Butler agrees to marry Suzy, much to the anguish of Mum, her son-in-law, Arthur, and daughter Olive. How, they wonder, will they ever manage without Stan's money coming in? Then Arthur is sacked, and Stan agrees to delay the wedding. Meanwhile, he hits on an idea: Arthur should learn to drive a bus. Somehow he does just that, and even gets a job. Stan then blackmails the Depot Manager into giving him the job of driver on the new money-making Special Tours Bus. A great idea... if only the inspector hadn't taken Stan on his trial run to the Windsor Safari Park.

HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES [Movie]

(1973)
Stan and Jack seek work at a bus driving holiday camp after being fired from the bus company for crashing two buses, only to find Inspector Blake works there also.

THE RAG TRADE

22 episodes
(1977-1978)
Peter Jones played the owner of Fenner Fashions, a small factory cum sweat-shop situated in London. The hilarious (in my view) situations which occurred in every episode, centered around Karlin doing her utmost to avoid her and her fellow union members, from completing any work. Unless they were given incentives, which the poor harassed Mr. Fenner would have to indulge, in order to complete orders on time.

Christopher Beeny played the smarmy van driver, who was always making advances toward long haired Gillian Taylforth (Cathy Beale, from Eastenders). While Anna Karen (Olive from another gem of a series On The Buses) played one of the skiving machinists.

Good night and may God bless Anna Karen.

And welcome to the Hall, Olive….