NOVEMBER, 2023 TVXOHOF - CHARLES PHILIP ARTHUR GEORGE AKA CHARLES III

For most of the quarter century plus during which I’ve been the Curator of Toobworld and Director of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, most of the inductees into the TVXOHOF for the month of November (which has been the main showcase for political crossovers and those newsmakers and newsmen who have met the requirements for membership) have been Americans.  Many of them have been the multidimensional Presidents of the United States.

But because of the events of May 6^th of this year, there was only one real choice for the November “candidate”, a different world leader….

CHARLES III

From Wikipedia:
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and became heir apparent when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, acceded to the throne in 1952. He was created Prince of Wales in 1958 and his investiture was held in 1969. He was educated at Cheam School and Gordonstoun, and later spent six months at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a history degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.

In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer. They had two sons, William and Harry. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996, after they had each engaged in well-publicized extramarital affairs. Diana died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner, Camilla Parker Bowles.

As heir apparent, Charles undertook official duties and engagements on behalf of his mother. He founded the Prince's Trust in 1976, sponsored the Prince's Charities, and became patron or president of more than 800 other charities and organizations. He advocated for the conservation of historic buildings and the importance of architecture in society. In that vein, he generated the experimental new town of Poundbury.

An environmentalist, Charles supported organic farming and action to prevent climate change during his time as the manager of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, earning him awards and recognition as well as criticism; he is also a prominent critic of the adoption of genetically modified food, while his support for alternative medicine has been criticized. He has authored or co-authored 17 books.

Charles became king upon his mother's death on 8 September 2022. At the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.

His coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.

Since he was only crowned this year, all of his appearances as his own televersion listed here, as well as most of the references to him and his status, reflect the decades he spent as the Heir Apparent.  It will be interesting to see if he will have enough time to exert any cultural influence in the scripts of future television programs as his mother had for seventy years.  After all, her reign coincided with early years of the medium and just about all of the fictional TV series which were considered current to the timeline of the real world knew no other monarch but Elizabeth II.  No matter what year a TV show represented in the latter half of the 20^th Century, it always felt up-to-date with any mention of Her Royal Nibs (despite the presence of modern vehicles and appliances and the like.)  With Charles now His Royal Majesty, all of those previous series are time-locked into a specific time period.

Well, that’s enough out of me maundering on….

Here are the three TV appearances by then-Prince Charles which establish the existence of his televersion:

JACKANORY

THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR (1984)

O’Bservation – The Prince was the Storyteller on the show once, to read the children's book he had written - "The Old Man Of Lochnagar".  It could be that his televersion served in that function for the televersion of the program as well.  We know it existed in Earth Prime-Time because it was referenced in such shows as ‘Bergerac’, ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Sykes’, and ‘Are You Being Served?’.

CORONATION STREET

EPISODE 1.4945 (2000)
This episode was recorded and transmitted live to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the live broadcast of the series' very first episode on 9 December 1960.

Audrey enjoys a royal encounter.
At the hospital, Vera is critical but stable, having had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. Tyrone and Maria convince Jack to go home and rest, as he has been at Vera's bedside all night, but when Martin advises them that Jack shouldn't stay away very long, Tyrone panics and phones Curly to ask him to fetch Jack. While speaking on the phone to Tyrone in The Kabin, Curly is overheard by Norris, who assumes from Curly's half of the conversation that Vera has died.

Meanwhile, Audrey brags to Rita about her upcoming lunch date with Prince Charles, who is visiting Weatherfield to open a new planning office at the Town Hall.  At the Rovers, Natalie tells Liz that she is spending the day with the brewery, who are going to show her around other pubs. Emily has been told that Vera has died and has come to offer her sympathies. Jack and Curly race to the hospital, where they are relieved to learn that there has been no change in Vera's condition.

At the Rovers, the "news" about Vera spreads, putting a dampener on the spirits of the protesters. Curly later puts the record straight in the Rovers. Just as everybody celebrates the fact that Vera hasn't died, Audrey arrives from her lunch with Prince Charles.

O'Bservation - From what I've been led to believe, Prince Charles visited Vera Duckworth in the hospital.

EASTENDERS

EPISODE 1.6497 (2022)
As the residents of Albert Square celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, Mick's guests-of-honour leave everyone speechless.  (This episode was dedicated to Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee and featured the special appearances of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.)

Thanks to archival footage, many famous people can have their presence confirmed in Toobworld, and Charles is no exception.

SHAMELESS

THREE BOYS (2011)
Sheila Jackson watched The Royal Wedding TV Special on her living room TV.

THE GOLDBERGS

THE FACTS OF BLEEPING  LIFE (2014)
Beverly Goldberg also watched the Royal Wedding on TV, which then inspired her to renew her vows with her husband Murray.

O’Bservation – If I get one more example of TV characters watching the Royal Wedding in 1981, I can induct that broadcast into TVXOHOF wing for the televersions of TV shows, as is the case with shows like ‘Star Trek’, ‘Hollywood Squares’, ‘Kaw & Order’, and ‘Saturday Night Live’.  Who knows?  Maybe ‘Doctor Who’ might even have the Time Lord attend it or at least watch it himself.  (Hell, I might be tempted to accept a photoshopped picture of one of the Incarnations in attendance!)

There are plenty of other TV shows which have made references to Prince Charles, thus verifying his existence in Toobworld.  Here are a few examples:

DYNASTY
THE HONEYMOON (1981)
Cecil Colby:
You can't not like Jeff. He's bright enough, he's good looking, caring.
Quite a catch, some would say. Sort of a Denver version Prince of Wales.

THE POWERS OF MATTHEW STARR
WINNING (1982)
Matthew Star:
Look, I just want to belong. I'm tired of being an outsider.
And you know what they say about teamwork and competition and all that stuff.
That's good for future leaders!
Walt Shepherd:
Ah, ah, ah, just one moment! I decide what is best for this future leader.
Matthew Star:
Alright, would you agree what's good for one is good for another?
Well, Prince Charles of England, when he was my age, he played soccer and rugby!
He learned how to fly planes, played polo, chased girls with reckless abandon!
And I'll give all that up... for football.

AIRWOLF
ECHOES FROM THE PAST (1984)
In an example of life imitating television, this episode has a fake news report talking about the divorce of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in July of 1984. In reality, they did get divorced in August, 1996.  (Shades of the movie "36 Hours.")

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS
HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’, & FISHIN’ (2003)
Following a promotion for Prince Charles' biscuits Eddy becomes obsessed with the high life and pays thirty thousand pounds for a weekend at a country house for herself and Patsy, though they soon get bored as there is nothing glamorous to do.

SUITS
WAR (2013)
Louis jokingly calls Nigel "Prince Charles" when they are at the bar.

Here are other episodes which mentioned Prince Charles in some way, but I have yet to find out the details….

7^TH HEAVEN
ANYTHING YOU WANT (1996)

THE A-TEAM
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE (1983)

BIRDS OF A FEATHER
1] WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE MAJORCA (1991)
2] PUPPY LOVE (1994)
3] STAND BY YOUR MAN (1997)

THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW
BOBBIE GENTRY & SCOEY MITCHELL (1969)

KAVANAGH QC
BLOOD MONEY (1997)

MY HERO
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO LUNCH (2000)

SHELLEY
FULLY FURNISHED (1980)

TAXI
MR. PERSONALITIES (1981)

TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS
ON THE BLOB (2002)

THE VICAR OF DIBLEY
COMMUNITY SPIRIT (1994)

GAVIN & STACEY
EPISODE 1.3 (2007)
EPISODE 1.6 (2007)

WAKING THE DEAD
ANGER MANAGEMENT: PART 2 (2004)

THE INBETWEENERS
THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS (2009)

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
LIGHT MY FIRE (2009)

BENIDORM
EPISODE 3.6 (2009)

PSYCH
SHAWN RESCUES DARTH VADER (2011)

THE CARRIE DIARIES
FRIGHT NIGHT (2013)

THE NEW NORMAL
THE GOLDIE RUSH (2013)

HART OF DIXIE
A GOOD RUN OF BAD LUCK (2014)

BLAUMACHER
BLASEHASE (2017)

FRESH OFF THE BOAT
LIAR LIAR (2018)

O’Bservation – I know there are episodes of ‘Veep’ and ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’ which mentioned the Prince, but as they take place in alternate Toobworlds, I’m just going to ignore them.

And speaking of alt-Toobworlds, there are at least eight of those TV planets who have their own distinctive Charles III, including Toobstage (with Tim Pigott-Smith as “King Charles III”) and Skitlandia – with Charles’ face changing from Dana Carvey to Seth Meyers to Beck Bennett on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and Craig Ferguson when he was hosting ‘The Late Late Show’.

Here are the TV movies which are responsible for bringing those other Toobworlds to life.

• “The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana”
• “Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story”
• “Charles & Diana: Unhappily Ever After”
• “Diana: Her True Story”
• “Princess in Love”

And finally there’s the Toobworld known as “Crownworld”.  Over the course of his televersion life on that world, he has been portrayed by four different actors in ‘The Crown’.

I’m sure His Majesty will find better ways to ring out the year, but a membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame isn’t too shabby….

Welcome, King Chuck!

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - SALUTING SUZANNE SOMERS

I understood that Suzanne Somers epitomized the dumb blonde archetype to heights which Carol Wayne could only dream about.  But until I started chronicling the list of TV shows in which she made appearances as a member of The League of Themselves, I never realized how much of an icon she was as Suzanne, not just as Chrissy.

SUZANNE SOMERS

From Wikipedia:
Suzanne Marie Somers (née Mahoney; October 16, 1946 – October 15, 2023) was an American actress, author, singer, businesswoman and health spokesperson. She played the television roles of Chrissy Snow on 'Three's Company' (1977–1981) and Carol Foster Lambert on 'Step by Step' (1991–1998).

Somers later wrote several books, including two autobiographies, four diet books and a book of poetry. Her book "Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones" (2006) about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and the Wiley protocol, controversial treatments for menopausal women, was heavily criticized. Her book "Knockout" (2009), which promoted alternative cancer treatments, was criticized by the American Cancer Society.

In 1991 a two-hour biographical film of Somers, starring the actress herself, entitled "Keeping Secrets", based on her first autobiography of the same title, was broadcast on ABC. The movie chronicled Somers' troubled family life and upbringing, along with her subsequent rise to fame.

After divorcing [her first husband] in 1968, Somers worked as a prize model on 'The Anniversary Game', a game show hosted by Alan Hamel. Although he was already married, they began dating; she had an affair with him that led to an abortion. They married in 1977.

From CNN:
Suzanne Somers, the actress who lit up the small screen on “Three’s Company” and one of TV’s most iconic fitness pitch-women, has died, according to a statement provided to CNN from her longtime publicist R. Couri Hay.

She was 76.

“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Hay wrote in a statement shared on behalf of the actress’ family.

She passed away the day before her birthday....

Here are the shows in which she appeared as herself, qualifying her to be inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame:

THE ANNIVERSARY GAME (1968)
She was the model/presenter for two years.

BILLY
THE PRIZE (1979)
Billy and his date attend the Mortician's Ball where the young lady wins trip tickets to Hollywood. Billy assumes he will go and get an opportunity to meet his fantasy woman Suzanne Somers.

KEEPING SECRETS (1991 TV movie)
The FILM Autobiography of actress and entrepreneur Suzanne Somers with all the trials and tribulations that made her who she is today.

SISTERS
MOVING PICTURES (1993)
A TV movie on the sisters unites Alex with her romantic idol (Patrick Duffy); guests Suzanne Somers, John Schneider.

THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW
LARRY LOSES INTEREST (1993)
Larry begins to lose interest in his show and throws his interest into a potential film project.

FULL HOUSE
LOVE ON THE ROCKS (1994)
When she starts hanging out with Kimmy and her new boyfriend (who can't keep their hands off of each other), DJ realizes that she and Steve have really cooled off. So when Steve goes on a class trip to Los Angeles, DJ contemplates whether or not the two of them have a future as a couple. Meanwhile, after Joey pulls a prank on the rest of the family, they make a plan to have the last laugh.

THE NAKED TRUTH
STAR AND COMER COLLIDE!  GIANT BUGS INVADE! (1995)
Nora throws a party to introduce her old friends to her new ones, but hoards of uninvited guests attend and Camilla butts heads with Suzanne Somers.

And of course, there are all the Thighmaster infomercials….

Ms. Somers is a multidimensional in the greater TV Universe….

THE TOONIVERSE

THE SIMPSONS
THE DAY THE VIOLENCE DIED (1996)
Bart and Lisa meet a vagabond who claims to be the creator of Itchy from "Itchy and Scratchy."  (In his script, John Swartzwelder randomly paired David Brinkley and Suzanne Somers together as the parade commentators. The producers were unable to get Brinkley to play his part, so he was instead voiced by Harry Shearer. However, they were successful in getting Somers to voice herself.)

Good night and may God bless Suzanne Somers.  Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. 

OCTOBER, 2023 - COVID-19

For years, it has been the tradition in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame that the October inductee should be some kind of monster – figuratively, or literally.  Some ot those monsters have been fictional, but many are televersions of historical figures – Hitler, Stalin, Lee Harvey Oswald.  

And this year is no different.  Our newest member is a monster who has been represented in Toobworld more than enough times to warrant inclusion in the Hall.

The difference this time is that this monster from the Trueniverse was never human….

COVID-19

From Wikipedia:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The symptoms of COVID‑19 are variable but often include fever, cough, headache, fatigue, breathing difficulties, loss of smell, and loss of taste. Symptoms may begin one to fourteen days after exposure to the virus. At least a third of people who are infected do not develop noticeable symptoms. Of those who develop symptoms noticeable enough to be classified as patients, most (81%) develop mild to moderate symptoms (up to mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms (dyspnea, hypoxia, or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging), and 5% develop critical symptoms (respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction). Older people are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. Some people continue to experience a range of effects (long COVID) for months or years after infection, and damage to organs has been observed. Multi-year studies are underway to further investigate the long-term effects of the disease.

COVID‑19 transmits when infectious particles are breathed in or come into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth. The risk is highest when people are in close proximity, but small airborne particles containing the virus can remain suspended in the air and travel over longer distances, particularly indoors.

Transmission can also occur when people touch their eyes, nose or mouth after touching surfaces or objects that have been contaminated by the virus. People remain contagious for up to 20 days and can spread the virus even if they do not develop symptoms.

Testing methods for COVID-19 to detect the virus's nucleic acid include real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR), transcription-mediated amplification, and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT‑LAMP) from a nasopharyngeal swab.

Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. Other preventive measures include physical or social distancing, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, use of face masks or coverings in public, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. While work is underway to develop drugs that inhibit the virus, the primary treatment is symptomatic. Management involves the treatment of symptoms through supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.

A Visit From The Neighbors,
Mr. & Mrs. Herpes

Covid was so prevalent that it even factored into the Tooniverse.  But for all our sakes, we’ll just deal with Earth Prime-Time.  However, none of those shows had screen grabs which specifically exemplified COVID in any fashion.  So for visual interest, I’ll be using the anthropomorphic COVID family in Skitlandia, as seen in ‘Saturday Night Live’ back in 2020.

These are just some of the TV series which have dealt with COVID-19 in Toobworld.  They are presented in no particular order.  Just make believe you’re flipping through the dial as a channel surfer….

• Superstore
• It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
• The Bear
• The Other Two
• The Righteous Gemstones
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• You
• The Morning Show
• Brooklyn 9-9
• NCIS Los Angeles
• New Amsterdam
• The Good Fight
• Shameless
• Greys Anatomy
• This Is Us
• Law & Order: Organized Crime
• Interview With The Vampire
• 9-1-1
• The Connors
• The Good Doctor
• Bull
• NCIS
• Saved By The Bell
• Billions
• Station 19
• Your Honor
• Black-ish

Even ‘The Orville’, set in the far future, did a story on COVID-19, thanks to a time travel episode.

I can’t be certain, but I think COVID-19 is the first “monster” from the Trueniverse in the 21st Century to be inducted into the TVXOHOF.

As usual, I am not welcoming this month’s inductee into the Hall.  (Probably Frank Barone of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ was the only one I welcomed.)  But a head’s up to the other members of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame to keep their vaccinations up to date, no matter what century they’re from. 

Bottom's Up!

TVXOHOF - REMEMBERING A MEMBER OF THE HALL

The Toobworld Dynamic has established plenty of traditions over the years, in what we cover annually and certain months representing specific categories for the inductions into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

But there’s one tradition that I wish was never started - remembering the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001.

The Toobworld Dynamic paid tribute the next month by inducting the Twin Towers into the TVXOHOF for the appearances of its televersions in TV series, TV movies, and even music videos.  (Not sure about commercials.)  And every year we chose to showcase their appearance in a different production.

This year I found a “new” one which I only just saw for the first time back in January.  It showed up several times in the 1991 TV movie “Perry Mason: The Case Of The Fatal Fashion”.  Perry and Della were in New York City because Perry was going to receive an award from a national bar association.  While there, Della reconnected with an old friend who would be charged with the murder of a fashion magazine rival.

To remind the audience that they were in the Big Apple, every so often the movie came out of the commercial break with a view of the World Trade Center from different angles.  Here are those appearances….

The O'B-OCD in me wanted to put those pictures in the order of a daily passage of Time.  But as far as I remember it (because of how I labeled them), this is the order in which they appeared.

Today, keep the 2,996 souls lost that day in mind, as well as those who later died from ancillary causes....

SEPTEMBER, 2023 TVXOHOF - ARMY ARCHERD, "JUST FOR VARIETY"

 
I’m beginning this post on October 05, 2023 and finally posting it December 18.  Not bad for the September inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame!

With the September ceremony, the TVXOHOF aims to honor those who worked behind the scenes to ensure the viability of Toobworld.  Past inductees have included Norman Lear, Sherry Lansing, Rod Serling, Jamie Tarses, Gene Roddenberry, Susan Harris, Wm. T. Orr and even the fictional UBS Network.

This year’s candidate was responsible for the successful promotion of many TV series, not only by writing about them in his Variety column, but also appearing as his fictional televersion in many sitcoms and dramas, becoming the common character to link them all in Earth Prime-Time.  (Granted, there may be other episodes which would negate their inclusion, but the Toobworld Dynamic has no problem in relegating those single episodes to another Toobworld but keeping the rest of the series in Earth Prime-Time.  For examples, check out ‘Law & Order’-“Gov Luv” and the crossover between ‘NCIS-L.A.’ and ‘Hawaii Five-0’.)

So that’s why we’re celebrating…

From Wikipedia:
Armand Andre Archerd (January 13, 1922 – September 8, 2009) was an American columnist for Variety for over fifty years before retiring his "Just for Variety" column in September 2005.  In November 2005, Archerd began blogging for Variety and was working on a memoir when he died.

Archerd was born in The Bronx, New York, and graduated from UCLA in 1941. He was hired by Variety to replace columnist Sheilah Graham (former girlfriend of F. Scott Fitzgerald) in 1953. His "Just for Variety" column appeared on page two of Daily Variety and swiftly became popular in Hollywood. Archerd broke many exclusive stories, reporting from film sets, announcing pending deals, giving news of star-related hospitalizations, marriages, and births. In 1984, he was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, in front of Mann's Chinese Theater, where he had emceed dozens of movie premieres.

One of his most significant scoops was in his July 23, 1985, column, when he printed that Rock Hudson, despite denials from the actor's publicists and managers, was undergoing treatment for AIDS.

Archerd made four appearances on the popular, long-running game show ‘The Hollywood Squares’ in the 1970s. His bluffs to questions from Peter Marshall became legendary, as he was able to fool contestants into believing his (often ridiculous) answers. Some say he was even better than the accepted champion in that regard, long-time participant John Davidson.

Also in that decade, Archerd and his wife Selma made appearances on the game show ‘Tattletales’.

Archerd died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from a rare form of lung cancer (pleural mesothelioma), as a result of his exposure to asbestos in the Navy during World War II.

O’Bservation - He made several appearances in TV series, like ‘Burke's Law’, ‘ Mannix’, and the one which probably gets repeated most often in syndication, ‘Columbo’.

Here are the shows which guaranteed him membership in the Hall*….

77 SUNSET STRIP
SIX SUPERIOR SKIRTS (1959)

A high end charity fundraiser is being held at Dino's, the private event being televised to bring further publicity. Among the highlights are the six young socialites chosen from around the country to model a total of $1 million dollars worth of jewels being loaned by jeweler, Halevy. Stuart has been hired by the insurance company to oversee the security of the jewels. After the organizers deal with a medical incident where "Miss Boston" Laura Stanley, a diabetic, goes into what is eventually deemed insulin shock, Halevy notices that the Morfield diamond necklace she was wearing, valued at $100,000, has been replaced by a fake. The incident occurred when Stuart was dealing with another issue in the main room, namely throwing out known jewel thief, Phil Ashton.

Halevy eventually receives a ransom request to pay the $100,000 after what would be the end of the charity event for return of the diamond, which may be a more palatable option to the insurance company than they are paying the insured $300,000 value. The theft could have been done by any one of the dozen or so people in the room, with Stuart partly relying on Kookie, as one in the room, to provide an accurate eyewitness account.

While Gil knows that whoever stole the diamond is working on Ashton's behalf, Stuart believes the diamond is still on site somewhere and that the six socialites are probably not involved, not even Miss Stanley, as $100,000 is mere pocket change for any of their families. But with unwitting assistance by one of the socialites in her knowledge of jewelry and getting the answer to three further technical questions, Stuart may discover the nature of the plot, including who the inside person is and where the diamond is located.

O’Bservation – This sounds like the kind of event Archerd would have been covering on his “beat”.  Unfortunately, ’77 Sunset Strip’ is not currently streaming anywhere so that I might check his involvement.

SAINTS AND SINNERS
THE YEAR JOAN CRAWFORD WON THE OSCAR (1963)
[Newsman]

A famous entertainer inadvertently shoots a hotel bellhop during a drunken game. But when Nick investigates, he finds the bellhop reluctant to talk.

O’Bservation - The first example in which Archerd was identified by occupation and not by name.

BURKE’S LAW
4 out of 6 Episodes (See the O’Bservation)

1] WHO KILLED MARTY KELSO? (1964)

Ruthless Hollywood agent Marty Kelso is murdered and leaves behind a plethora of suspects including a new wife and three ex-wives.

O'Bservation - Of the three classic 'Burke's Law' episodes, this is the only one in which Archerd was the only entertainment reporter on the scene.

2] WHO KILLED THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD? (1964)

When wealthy Amenor arrives in town to sell a lucrative oil lease, an apparent sniper attack on Amenor kills his bookkeeper and suspicion immediately suggests the culprit is one of three parties vying for a deal.

3] WHO KILLED WIMBLEDON HASTINGS? (1965)

A tennis star is murdered at a charity event - by an exploding tennis ball.

O’Bservation – This tally of episodes includes one from the 1990s return of the series, which will be dealt with at that point in the Toobworld timeline.  However, it does not include an episode in which Archerd played a father, nor does it include the one in which he was the White House Press Secretary.  (Those were O’Bviously other characters who bore incredible likenesses to Army Archerd.)

HONEY WEST

COME TO ME, MY LITIGATION BABY (1966)

Although stymied when they try to get incriminating photographs of a man suspected of making a phony accident claim, Honey and Sam discover that the subject's accident witness, a seemingly sweet old lady, is suspiciously accident-prone herself.

MANNIX

FALLEN STAR (1968)

Vain, arrogant, fading movie star Anne Marion calls a press conference to announce plans for an autobiography. Then, a bomb goes off. The actress hires Intertect and, after a look at available operatives, decides Mannix is her man. The assumption was the bomb was a publicity stunt. Mannix visits one of Anne's ex-husbands, who performs special effects work. The bomb was supposed to be a dud. Mannix is convinced that someone wants to do the actress harm. She has three suspicious ex-husbands, one of whom is an arrogant hothead, the other who employs shady and violent bodyguards. Mannix decides to make himself a target by having Anne's college-age daughter take the diary of the actress and letting the ex-husbands know it. Is one of them the potential killer? Or is it somebody else?

HERE’S LUCY

LUCY MEETS THE BURTONS (1970)

Richard Burton, the movie star, escapes riotous fans by wearing a plumber's disguise. Lucy Carter mistakes him for a much needed plumber, and brings him back to the office to fix a sink. Lucy later finds a remarkable diamond ring in his discarded overalls. By the time Lucy discovers it is THE famous Elizabeth Taylor diamond ring, it is already stuck on her finger. The end result is a crescendo of comedy as Liz feverishly tries to get the ring off Lucy's finger. Ultimately, Lucy's arms are used as Liz Taylor's while Richard & Liz do a scheduled press party.

THAT GIRL

OPENING NIGHT

Ann is nervous about the opening night of the first ever Broadway play in which she is performing. 

Army Archerd, Joyce Haber, and Vernon Scott all appear as themselves reviewing a Broadway play. Each was in his or her own right a successful columnist writing almost exclusively about famous personalities in the entertainment world and the various shows in which these personalities performed, but, unlike the suggestion in Ann's fantasies that these three columnists give her and the New York-based play bad reviews, these three columnists lived and worked their entire careers primarily in Los Angeles and, for the most part, restricted their columns to topics pertaining to Hollywood. Army Archerd wrote for Variety; Joyce Haber wrote for the Los Angeles Times, and Vernon Scott wrote for United Press International (UPI).

THAT SENORITA (1970)

Ann is excited to be performing in a new Broadway revue. Her specific sketch is a comic one where she portrays a Mexican woman complete with Spanish accent and Mexican stereotypical behavior. What she is unaware of is that a lobby group, calling itself Dignidades (Spanish for Dignities), is trying to have that sketch taken out of the show for its offensive nature. The producer, George Phillips, refuses their demands.

O’Bservation – In this episode, Archerd is identified as a TV critic, but as he’s basically his televersion then he can be whatever the script calls for.

ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN 
S6 E1 (1972)
Archerd was part of the "news team", reporting that Barbra Streisand was going to get a nose job in November of 1972.  And that the procedure would take at least a week.  (I wonder if she ever forgave him?)

HERE WE GO AGAIN
THE BASKETBALL TICKETS (1973)

Richard and Judy's season tickets to the Lakers basketball games suddenly become an issue of community property. It's playoff time for the team, and five people want to attend. However, there are only three tickets. How to divide them fairly among the new families is the humorously tricky issue to solve.

ADAM-12

FOOTHILLS DIVISION: MAC’S BOOTS (1973)

Officer Wells is taking up a collection for a man, his daughter and her baby to have gas money to make it to San Franisco for an operation on the baby for a tumor.

Mac tells Wells the man he collected money for is a well known con-artist with a rap sheet everywhere west of the Mississippi River.

O’Bservation – Archerd is listed as “Reporter”, but he must have been playing himself.  As he was interviewing that grifter for a human interest story, it must have been a slow news day for show biz.

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER

THE VAMPIRE (1974)

After Kolchak put a stake through the heart of vampire Janos Skorzeny and all his victims were cremated, that was thought to have been the end of the line for the vampire. However, one victim, a call girl named Catherine Rawlins was not found and after a road crew unknowingly freed her she resumes her "career". However, instead of turning tricks she uses her job as a way to meet unsuspecting victims of her own and begins a murderous rampage of her own and eventually makes her way to Los Angeles. Kolchak heads for L.A. to hunt her down and try to stop her before the City of Angels becomes the city of the undead.

O’Bservation – The “Man” whom Archerd is playing is accompanied by a woman played by his real-world wife, Selma.  Therefore, I’m declaring them to be appearing as themselves.

COLUMBO

FORGOTTEN LADY (1975)

At the premiere of a movie compiling movie clips a la ‘That’s Entertainment!’, Archerd did a live interview with former movie star Grace Wheeler.

MARCUS WELBY, M.D.
THE FRUITFULNESS OF MRS. STEFFIE RHODES (1975)
[Man Reporter]

O’Bservation – As opposed to what?  Female Reporter?  Alien Reporter?  Android Reporter?  It’s another example of Archerd going about his job as a reporter.

JAMES AT 16
FAST AND LOOSE (1977)
[M.C.]

James befriends a new boy at school from a wealthy family, and the two take an unsupervised trip to California.

O’Bservation – Nothing says that Army Archerd couldn’t get a side gig as an emcee.  Hey – a gig’s a gig….

THE USERS (1978 TV MOVIE)
A beautiful girl from a small town with dreams of making it in Hollywood marries an actor whose career is fading, then schemes to get him back into the big time - and her with him.

MORE THAN FRIENDS (1978 TV MOVIE)
Matty and Alan are old friends. Alan wants to be a writer, meanwhile he's a teacher, and wants Matty, a long time friend, to be more than a friend. She doesn't exactly know what she wants, other than being in show business (her mother is less than enthusiastic).

ARTHUR HAILEY'S THE MONEY-CHANGERS 
(1976 MINI-SERIES)

Roscoe brokers a fishy deal with a multinational corporation and his moral turpitude is exposed, Miles is raped in prison, and a peaceful protest organized by Alex's wife Margot turns violent when a bomb is placed in the bank.

MATT HOUSTON

WHO WOULD KILL RAMONA? (1982)

Actress Ramona Landers reports to the set of her comeback film. Her young costar Todd Gallagher accuses her of drunkenness, then gulps her drink and dies of poisoning. Houston interviews her husband and those involved with the film.

O’Bservation 1 - Archerd was on the scene when Ramona Landers was about to make her return to the silver screen, just in time to witness a murder and order his cameraman to keep rolling.

O’Bservation 2 – I’m wondering why he didn’t recognize the similarity between Ramona Landers and Grace Wheeler?  As the Splainer-in-Chief for Toobworld, I got some splainin to do – Army Archerd already knew and it was old news.  Ramona and Grace were twin sisters.  But like Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, they were bitter rivals and on the outs with each other.  So it was a wise decision on Army Archerd’s part to avoid that topic when setting up his interview with Ramona. 

By the way, this episode set up that premise… sort of.  Ramona’s daughter had lost her twin brother in a plane crash; it could be her bloodline was genetically pre-disposed to twins.

HOTEL
CHOICES (1983)

The hotel hosts a Beauty Pageant where an obsessed mother pushes her daughter to win at any cost.

O’Bservation – I think Peter Marshall hosted the beauty pageant (but not as himself), so Archerd was probably acting in a reporter capacity.

THE RATINGS GAME (1984 TV MOVIE)
A newly rich New Jersey trucker moves to Hollywood and creates a slew of hit TV shows by manipulating the ratings system with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.

GLITTER 

THE TRIBUTE (1985)

A party was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Eileen Todd's first movie, which marked her first appearance in public since a terrible accident on set 40 years earlier.  And Archerd was there to cover the celebration.

THE LOVE BOAT

WHO KILLED MAXWELL THORNE? (1987)

This episode includes cameos by Jayne Meadows, Steve Allen, Army Archerd, Barbi Benton, Milton Berle, Barbara Billingsley, Tom Bosley, Ruth Buzzi, Carol Channing, Charo, Bert Convey, Elinor Donahue, Tony Dow, David Doyle, Florence Henderson, Artie Johnson, Gordon Jump, Don Knotts, Judy Landers, Tina Louise Jerry Mathers, Tom Poston, Louis Nye, Juliette Prowse, Robert Reed, Charlene Tilton, Vic Tayback, Leslie Uggams, Jo Ann Worley and Jane Wyatt. All of whom appeared on ‘The Love Boat’ several times during the run of the show.

NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS
INSIDE ENTERTAINMENT (1987)
[Emcee]

BURKE’S LAW

WHO KILLED THE SOAP STAR? (1994)

When the star of a popular daytime soap arrives at the annual awards show, she is murdered on the red carpet in full view of a television audience. Peter and Amos have many suspects to choose from.

MURPHY BROWN

DICK AND DOTTIE (1995)

Murphy must apologize for what she said about a popular talk show host.

ELLEN

EMMA (1997)

While attending a Hollywood social party with Paige, Ellen spots British actress Emma Thompson making out with another woman and afterward convinces Paige to hire her as Emma's personal assistant while she's in town to film a movie and to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Ellen then convinces Emma to "come out," to the public, against Paige's protest. But Emma soon reveals to Ellen that it's not the only sordid secret that she hides of her past. At the banquet, Sean Penn appears with a surprise revelation of his own.

"Jerk...."
[Referring to Regis Philbin's character, Darren Tate]

DIAGNOSIS MURDER

TALKED TO DEATH (1998)

A pair of talk-show hosts pull a ratings stunt that ends with one murdering the other. But Sloan quickly discovers someone may have set them up and discovers the cutthroat business of daytime talk shows gives him quite a few suspects.

When Darrin Tate is brought into Community General after his co-host Mary Montgomery decked him in their TV talk-show, they both insist it's staged between good friends during the weeks when crucial ratings are measured. In the next show he shoots her, and claims to be shocked finding someone switched the blanks she loaded herself with fatal live ammo.

The doctors and Steve unravel motive and opportunity in the brutally competitive and deceptive studio circles for that murder and Mary's personal assistants which is masked as a fatal car accident.

BEST ACTRESS (2000 TV Movie)
Ted, a recently murdered writer for a Hollywood tabloid magazine, narrates his story about the five sordid and scandalous lives of five actresses nominated for the Academy Award for best actress who include British star Fiona Covington; teenage drug addict Amber Lyons; alcoholic, self-hating lesbian Lori Seefer; blond vixen and center-fold Karen Kroll; and washed-up singer Connie Travis, and out of all of these individuals, one of them vows to kill the one who wins the award if she doesn't.

O’Bservation – TV movies are as much a part of the main Toobworld as are sitcoms, dramas and even commercials.  But often they need to be shunted off to an alternate Toobworld because the creators know that it’s probably on one-shot, so anything goes; there’s no need for any consideration given to poor, poor pitiful me as I try to maintain a Television Universe.  (That’s basically why I retired.)

I have no problem with this character coming back from the Afterlife; Toobworld has been home to witches, genies, androids, Martians, angels, Lucifer, and talking horses.  But take a look at this quote:

Brianna:
I think that guy who plays Henry on ‘Dawson's Creek’ is cute.
Tatianna:
Jennifer Radley slept with him. She said he broke last week's record.
Brianna:
Isn't she a dyke?
Tatianna:
Nah, she's just outdoorsy.
Brianna:
The gay look is so in these days.

I have a feeling that this TV movie, which was probably a failed pilot, was chock-full of Zonks – those discrepancies where TV characters refer to other TV shows which should be sharing the same TV universe.  Like that reference to ‘Dawson’s Creek’.  Why deal with that headache?  So I’m shipping it off to the alt-Toobworld where it’s accepted that the TV series from the Trueniverse were just that – TV shows – and not part of the fabric of Earth Prime-Time.  This makes Army Archerd a multi-dimensional.

And then there are several game shows in which Archerd took part, including fellow TVXOHOF member 'The Hollywood Squares'.  (One day I'll find a copy of him on that show....)

'TATTLETALES'

'CELEBRITY BOWLING'

Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Mr. Archerd.  I'd like to think you'll be announcing all the future inductees into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame....

* All descriptions are from the IMDb.