2023 BIRTHDAY HONORS LIST - REBECCA STEINBERG, HAVE HORN WILL TRAVEL

I’ve been enjoying my birthday month way too much.  Not only have I left the June showcase for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame empty for two weeks, but I’ve also neglected to induct a special Hall member as my Birthday Honors list on my birthday.  

Let’s take care of that one now.

This one is very special for me because the honoree is part of my Litchfield family; she’s almost like an honorary niece….

REBECCA STEINBERG

Rebecca is an accomplished trumpet player, currently playing onstage in the Broadway show “New York, New York”.

A lot of musicians have played in a lot of different TV productions over the years and will probably never find entry into the TVXOHOF except as paying visitors.  But Rebecca has been racking up credits which are unique and noteworthy.

Plus, as I said, she’s my friend.

Here is a list of those credits:

ADELE LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY
November 17, 2015 on CBS

Rebecca appeared on the Radio City Music Hall stage as part of Adele’s orchestra.

LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
1st Season Episode
May(?), 2016

On April 15, 2016, what was formerly known as Tax Day, Stephen Colbert sent “Astronaut Ice Cream” into space so that it was no longer living a lie.

Rebecca was part of the marching band accompanying this (ahern!) historic event.  And she also had to clamber up on the shoulders of another band member to retrieve the ice cream from the tree where it landed upon re-entry.

O’Bservation – Most sites which shared this video, or wrote about it, did so on May 06, nearly a month after it occurred.

MOZART IN THE JUNGLE
DANCE
February, 2018

Even if I was not her friend, this is why Rebecca belongs in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  She didn’t just appear as a member of the League of Themselves; she was a true “Televersion”.  She was a fictional version of herself in the TV Universe.  

All those people around her in those other orchestras, they were appearing as themselves, sometimes as themselves appearing as other characters in a different meta-fictional universe.

But here….  Maybe most of the musicians around her were playing themselves, but like Rebecca, they were doing so in a fictional orchestra.  In her other qualifications, Rebecca was appearing as part of Adele’s orchestra, as part of the “New York, New York” orchestra, as part of Colbert’s marching band.  

But in the episodes she did for ‘Mozart In The Jungle’, we can assume she’s appearing as her televersion, but the orchestra also has at least two fictional characters, Warren and Union Bob. 

And for that one night only, Debra Monk’s Betty… with Rebecca sitting almost directly behind her.

So even if Rebecca is appearing as herself, it has to be a fictional version of herself.

GOOD MORNING, AMERICA
Episode dated April 14, 2023

The morning talk show featured a performance by the cast of the new Broadway show “New York, New York”.  The orchestra, including Rebecca, was integrated into the performance.

THE 76TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS
June 11, 2023

A number from multi-nominee “New York, New York” kicked off the night’s showcases, and Rebecca got some good exposure onscreen.

Welcome to the Hall, Rebecca!

If you need anything, just ask.  I’ve been a member since my birthday in 2005!

TVXOHOF, MAY 2023 - OLIVIA BENSON, LONGEST-RUNNING PRIME-TIME TV CHARACTER

Sorry I'm late in delivering this.

And speaking of Time, it was about time for this induction.....

CAPTAIN OLIVIA BENSON, NYPD

From Wikipedia:

Olivia Margaret Benson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the NBC police procedural drama 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit', portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank and pay-grade of Captain and is the Commanding Officer of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, which operates out of the 16th Precinct. She investigates sexual offenses such as rape and child sexual abuse.

When the series began, Benson held the rank of detective. Benson was partnered with Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), serving as the junior member of the pair. Following Stabler's departure at the end of the 12th season after a deadly shootout in the precinct, she is partnered with Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and becomes the senior member. During the 15th season, Benson is promoted to sergeant and appointed as squad supervisor in the wake of the retirement of Sergeant John Munch (Richard Belzer). Soon afterward, Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) retires, and appoints Benson acting commanding officer of SVU until Lieutenant Declan Murphy (Donal Logue) comes to the squad. In Season 17, she is promoted to Lieutenant and becomes the squad's official commanding officer. She is promoted to Captain in the 21st season.

The character first appeared in the 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' pilot episode, "Payback", which aired September 20, 1999. Hargitay remains the only original cast member still present on the series. As of season 24, Benson has been credited in 538 episodes of SVU (559 in the franchise/universe).

With the premiere of season 21, Hargitay's Benson became the longest running prime-time live-action character of all time, surpassing the record held by Marshall Matt Dillon of  'Gunsmoke' and Kelsey Grammer's character Frasier Crane from 'Cheers' and 'Frasier', as well as Belzer’s John Munch, who was a regular character for 22 seasons (7 on 'Homicide: Life on the Street' and 15 on SVU).

[The key word is "prime-time".  According to Wikipedia - "As of 2023, William Roache holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving actor in a television soap opera, having played Ken Barlow on Coronation Street since 1960."]

List of assignments

• Patrol Officer, NYPD 55th Precinct (1992)16th Precinct (1993)
• Junior Detective, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (May 1998–May 18, 2011)
• Senior Detective, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (September 21, 2011 – January 15, 2014)
• Acting Commanding Officer (Sergeant), NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (January 22, 2014 – April 9, 2014)
• Sergeant—Supervisor Detective Squad, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (April 9, 2014 – May 21, 2014)
• Acting Commanding Officer (Sergeant), NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (May 21, 2014 – October 7, 2015)
• Lieutenant—Commander Detective Squad, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (October 7, 2015 – September 26, 2019)
• Captain, Commanding Officer, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (September 26, 2019—Present)

Temporary assignments

• Detective, NYPD Computer Crimes Unit (May 2, 2006 – May 9, 2006)
• Undercover operative, FBI Domestic Terrorism Unit (September 19, 2006 – October 31, 2006)
• Special Deputy United States Marshal for the Eastern District of New York (October 6, 2010)
• Public Relations Officer, NYPD One Police Plaza (Public Relations) (March 2, 2016 – March 23, 2016)

Ranks

• Officer
• Detective 3rd Grade
• Detective 2nd Grade
• Detective 1st Grade (Shield number 40115)
•  Sergeant (Shield number 01139)
•  Lieutenant
•  Captain

OLIVIA BENSON
CREDITS TALLY
(As of 5/19/2023)

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT

538 episodes

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME

13 episodes

LAW & ORDER

5 episodes

CHICAGO P.D.

3 episodes

CHICAGO FIRE

1 episode

LAW & ORDER: TRIAL BY JURY

1 episode

O'Bservation: I have to take it on faith that Benson is in the background with Stabler, who can be seen in the distance.

SKITLANDIA

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

1 episode

O'Bservation: This was actually an appearance by the televersion of Mariska Hargitay playing Olivia Benson in a 'Game of Thrones' version of 'Law & Order'.  (She appeared with Ice-T's televersion of Fin Tuotola, who was inducted into the TVXOHOF in February of 2020.)

From Wikipedia:
Benson appears on five episodes of Law & Order, one episode of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, three episodes of Chicago P.D. and one episode of Chicago Fire.

• Law & Order: "Entitled: Part 2" (February 18, 2000)
• Law & Order: "Fools for Love" (February 23, 2000)
• Law & Order: Trial by Jury: "Day" (May 3, 2005)
• Law & Order: "Flaw" (September 28, 2005)
• Chicago P.D.: "They'll Have to Go Through Me" (November 12, 2014)
• Chicago Fire: "We Called Her Jellybean" (April 28, 2015)
• Chicago P.D.: "The Number of Rats" (April 29, 2015)
• Chicago P.D.: "The Song of Gregory William Yates" (February 10, 2016)
• Law & Order: "Black and Blue" (May 19, 2022)
• Law & Order: "Gimme Shelter – Part Three" (September 22, 2022)
• Law & Order: Organized Crime

To date, Benson further appears recurringly as a special guest in [thirteen] episodes of the spin-off 'Law & Order: Organized Crime':

• "What happens in Puglia" (April 1, 2021)
• "Not Your Father's Organized Crime" (April 8, 2021)
• "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" (April 22, 2021)
• "An Inferior Product" (May 13, 2021)
• "Forget It Jake; It's Chinatown" (June 3, 2021)
• "The Outlaw Eddie Wagner" (September 30, 2021)
• "The Good, The Bad, and The Lovely" (October 14, 2021)
• "The Christmas Episode" (December 9, 2021)
• "Takeover" (March 10, 2022)
• "Lost One" (May 5, 2022)
• "Gimme Shelter – Part One" (September 22, 2022)
• "Shadowerk" (May 11, 2023)
• "With Many Names" (May 18, 2023)

I think it's safe to say that Olivia Benson is the Queen of TV Crossovers.

Welcome to the Hall, Captain.  Long may she reign....

TVXOHOF - APRIL 2023: THE 12TH PRECINCT OF THE NYPD

I couldn’t think of a good candidate for the traditional April Fool’s Day induction for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Took me nine days to finally come up with something at least unique for the month’s latest member.

And so….

12TH PRECINCT

NYPD

Every so often a location does get inducted into the TVXOHOF.  They include places which can only be found in Toobworld – the Montecito Casino and Hotel, St. Eligius Hospital, Hooterville, Mayberry, Altair IV, and Fernwood, Ohio.  There have been a few Real World locations as well, beginning with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  Other locations which can be found here in the Trueniverse include Las Vegas, the Playboy Mansion, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, The White House, and the OK Corral.

The 12th Precinct is a multi-dimensional location.  It might even be multiversal if it exists in movies or literature.  But you won’t find it anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City.  For safety concerns, the NYPD doesn’t allow real precincts to be cited in movies and TV shows.

The most famous appearance by the 12th Precinct is in ‘Barney Miller’, where it is the main setting.  Here are other places where the 12th Precinct showed up in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld:

• ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’
• ‘Law & Order: Criminal Intent’
• ‘CSI: NY’

As you can see, that’s four TV series which covers the minimum requirement, plus one.

But wait!  There’s more!

Back in 2011, Vincent Audette wrote to me:

“This precinct is the home of TV's 'McCloud', 'Barney Miller', 'The Unusuals', 'Can't Hurry Love', 'Castle' and 'The Beat'.”

Of those, ‘Castle’ is one of the series which makes the 12th Precinct a multi-dimensional location and I’ll be getting to that later.

As for the others….

‘McCLOUD’ – This “fish out of water” cop show had the Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud from Taos, New Mexico, on loan to the NYPD to learn new techniques.  He worked out of the 27th Precinct, but there was always some interaction with other precincts.  So the 12th Precinct may have been cited or actually shown up in at least one episode.

‘THE UNUSUALS’ – I don't remember if I ever saw this short-lived series.  But one of my old blog posts says I was really enjoying it.   No matter; I found it available online.  I will be watching for any references to the Ol’ One-Two.  But the detectives in the Second Squad worked out of the 2nd Precinct according to the episode summary on the IMDb.

‘CAN’T HURRY LOVE’ – In three episodes of this one-season sitcom, the main character dated an NYPD detective, including the episode which was included in the Elizabeth Taylor crossover event, “Taylor-Made Monday”.  He may have been working at the 12th Precinct.

‘THE BEAT’ - Despite its pedigree behind the scenes, and an appearance by Crossover King Detective John Munch, this series about patrolmen had a very short run, with only a few of the produced episodes ever getting broadcast.  But the two patrolmen could have been working at the 12th.

Here are the shows which I can definitely say establish the 12th Precinct as existing in the main Toobworld:

‘BARNEY MILLER’ (Duh.  O’Bviously.)
Most famously, the 12th, originally located on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village, was the home of 'Barney Miller' and his squad of detectives, throughout the run of the series.  But that original building is now home to the Theodore Roosevelt Police Commissioner Museum as seen in the 3-episode finale.  (Its lamp outside that original building will be the emblem for all of its representations in other series.)

‘LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT’
“INTERNAL AFFAIRS”
Detective Brian Cassidy was forced to infiltrate a corrupt precinct whose officers were suspected of raping young women during their shifts.  Ed Tucker later investigated the entire precinct for kickbacks, extortion and rape.  

“GAMBLER’S FALLACY”
It is later mentioned that a dirty cop from the 12th that was previously thought to have committed suicide was actually killed by Anton Nadari.

‘LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT’
“MONSTER”
Detectives Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames visited the precinct during their investigation into the death of Laura Dietrich.  (Hopefully no relation to Detective Arthur Dietrich of 'Barney Miller', but then again - it is a small world.)

‘CSI: NY'
I am not sure if the 12th Precinct worked most closely, if intermittently, with the crime lab, or if it was the regular precinct throughout the series.

ALTERNATE TOOBWORLDS

‘CASTLE’
Detective Kate Beckett is working out of the 12th Precinct. (It was embossed on the elevator doors in "Always Buy Retail".)  The backdrop against which the events of Castle are seen, this is home to Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan and permanent playground to Rick Castle. The 12th has had two captains so far whilst Castle has been running loose, Roy Montgomery and Victoria Gates.

In 2015, Captain Gates was promoted, and Beckett was assigned as the new precinct commander in "XY".

What keeps ‘Castle’ out of the main Toobworld is that New York City had a different mayor than the one established for Earth Prime-Time.  That mayor must always be the same as the one from the Real World.

BLUE BLOODS
Jameson Reagan was formerly assigned to this precinct, along with Eddie Janko-Reagan.  Before he died, Joseph Reagan, also worked at the 12th Precinct.

The same reason why ‘Castle’ is out of the main Toobworld can be applied to ‘Blue Bloods’ – because the mayor was different from the one in the Real World.

'ELEMENTARY'
"THE BEST WAY OUT IS ALWAYS THROUGH"
Detective Marcus Bell of the 11th Precinct was dating Detective Shauna Scott of the 12th Precinct.  What Bell didn't know was that Scott was also working for the Internal Affairs Bureau....

Since the series is about the Sherlock Holmes of the modern age in a world in which Arthur Conan Doyle never took credit for the stories about a similarly named consulting detective in the Victorian era (of which there is no mention in 'Elementary'), I've placed the show in the same TV dimension as 'Sleepy Hollow'.  For that series, Washington Irving apparently never wrote about Ichabod Crane who - like Sherlock - exists in the modern age (although he did begin life in the Colonial period.)

‘24’
“DAY 8: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM”
When Victor Aruz went to Jack Bauer with information about a possible threat against President Omar Hassan, he contacted CTU New York. The Special Agent in Charge, Brian Hastings, told Jack to take Victor to the 12th Precinct where he would have him picked up. However, when Jack was en route to the precinct, he was ambushed by Red Square assassins.

This exclusion goes beyond different mayors.  It goes to the top, with a slew of fictional Presidents when it should be the same one as in the Real World.

So…. Four series in the main Toobworld, four in alternate Toobworlds.

And that ain’t all!

Thanks to shows like ‘Primeval’ and the mega-crossover event for all the DC superhero shows (plus a few others), not to mention TV shows which focused on time travel like ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘The Time Tunnel’, the timeline for Earth is always being revamped.  Perhaps it has happened so much that the Earths depicted in the alternate Toobworlds mentioned here have been changed so that they have been brought into alignment with Earth Prime-Time and no longer exist as different Earths.  That is, if the shows are no longer on the air and thus unable to contradict this theory.

So ‘Castle’ could be blended back into the main Toobworld if we assume it now has a back-story which eliminates the show’s mayor and all the episodes he was involved with.  (There is precedent for this – ‘Primeval’ caused the appearance of Ford Rainey as the POTUS in episodes of ‘Lost In Space’ (voice only) and ‘Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea’ to be replaced by whoever was the actual President at the time.

If we apply the same scenario to ‘Elementary’, now it is in a world in which Conan Doyle at least served as the literary agent for Dr. Watson.  This means that the entire series of ‘Elementary’ no longer exists.

‘Blue Bloods’ is still in production, so for the time being, we, as the TV PTB, have a hands-off policy in effect.

And finally, I think it saves a lot headaches to keep ‘24’ in its own TV dimension.  Too many presidents to contend with.

Welcome to the TVXOHOF, 12th Precinct!

Thanks to:
Vince Audette
Brad Mengel
Brett McKee

One final O'Bservation....

I was just starting to add the pictures to the post when I realized I did have a candidate for the Hall following the very loose tradition of April's Fool. Considering who he is, I should have thought of him almost immediately.

I'll save him for next year....