THE ZONKER STRIKES AGAIN!

The big climax to the 'Bored To Death' second season finale took place at the Brooklyn Comic-Con. There were quite a few people - nerds, geeks, my kind of folk - who were there in costume as comic book superheroes. And some of those comic book characters aren't just to be found in the four-color pages, but they actually exist as "real people" in Toobworld.

"Gojiratoho" worked as an extra for those scenes and reported back about what he saw. And he spotted a lot more comic book characters there than made the final cut. (I only spotted seven!)

Here's his list of the costumes on the set:

Joker

Fallout suit of armor (this poor guy ended up getting heat stroke from the costume/lights/hot ass set)

Julie Newmar catwoman (I wish I saw that one!)

60’s Batgirl

Comedian

Harley Quinn and Black Cat (twins sisters, kinda hot)

Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill in motorcycle outfit

Green Power Ranger

2 Green Lanterns

Captain Planet

V from V for Vendetta

Avatar the last airbender

The Spirit (comic, not movie)

Flash

Supergirl

Riddler

Storm

Spock

The Prince from Katamari

Pacman

A T’wilek (sp?)

And a Wonder Woman (though she was an actress)

I think he missed one, but he'll get his own post.....

I saw the black Green Lantern (John Stewart), who has a presence in the Tooniverse, but not in Earth Prime-Time... yet. I've long said that Green Lantern should be a TV character in the main Toobworld. (No need to send him off to the 'Smallville' dimension, is there?)

The Green Lantern known as Hal Jordan will be in the Cineverse next year. I may bring up the Wish-Craft topic about GL in Toobworld again at the 2011 Toobits Awards.

The main character from "V for Vendetta" was seen on the second floor of the convention, and he exists in the movie universe as well. Should he ever be seen on television, he'll have to be shuttled off to an alternate TV dimension because of the type of police-state dictatorship he was living in. Of course, considering how the movie (and probably the comic book) ended, he may have a similar situation as Richard Widmark's 'Madigan', as well as the characters in 'Lost' and 'Ashes To Ashes' (and the British 'Life On Mars' for that matter).

[Angry Bob was in attendance -
that's him checking the autograph on the left.]

In the background I spotted Felicia Hardy, aka the Black Cat, and wish she had a close-up. After Starfire ("So round, so firm, so fully-packed!" - Sing with me!), the Black Cat is at the top of my list for sexy comic book women. She's made many appearances in the Tooniverse, but has yet to appear in Toobworld. I hope that can be remedied!

So those are the other ones that I saw with no televersions. Now let's take a look at those I saw who do exist on Earth Prime-Time.....

THE JOKER
The Joker made the Gotham City police blotter in the 1960's, but eventually the headlines faded away - probably because the Joker had died. The guy that was clad as the Clown Prince Of Crime may have been just as influenced by the news accounts as by the fictional representations of the Joker's career (movies as well as comic books). You can just see the back of his head there to the left.....

HARLEY QUINN
The Joker's apprentice does exist in a Toobworld, just not in Earth Prime-Time. She was seen in a Gotham City that seemed to be based more on the way it looked in the 1989 movie, so it could be from a dimension that's Toobworld/"Cineverse" blend. But Harleen Quintzel - her alias in that world - may have existed in Earth Prime-Time as well. And although 'Bored To Death' isn't the format to expect something like this to happen, maybe that was the real Harley Quinn at the comic book convention. At the very least I would think she'd be active in the main Toobworld, just not seen by us. And if that's the case, I don't think she'd be too happy that the televersion of a comic book company had been publishing stories about her, or that this chick decided mock her by wearing the same outfit.

But of course, we're not going to see that happen.....

THE FLASH Barry Allen gained his super speed powers in 1990, and for the next year he was quite active in Toobworld battling crime as the Flash. But at some point he may have either lost his powers or died, as he hasn't been seen for nearly 20 years. It could be that having lost his powers, Barry Allen decided to cash in on his fleeting fame (heh heh. "fleeting"... "Flash"....) by selling the rights to his story. And with that came the ancillary deals so that he made money from the tie-in merchandise, like the T-shirts worn by Sheldon Cooper.
WONDER WOMAN
As an action heroine in Toobworld, Wonder Woman has been around since the 1940's. And comic book about her has been around for almost as long. (We know this because Mary Richards read them when she was a girl.) I have a feeling that her comics were published without her permission, but if they helped the war effort..... Wonder Woman may still be active in Toobworld, at least as she appeared to be immortal in that span between WWII and the 1970's. So when sisters Faith and Hope remarked that their father's fiancee was a lot like Wonder Woman (when she took measures to get them off a plane that was already sealed shut), it could be that they were basing that comparison on Wonder Woman still being around in the new millennium.

Just one last note about all those other costumes seen at the convention. In Toobworld, characters from the comic book/comic strip universe can cross over to the TV Universe. We've seen this happen in the TV series 'Once A Hero', and in the A-Ha music video for "Take Me On".

So even though 'Bored To Death' is the wrong format in which to see it happen, one of those costumes could have been the real deal - a comic book character come to life!

BCnU!

(This was Inner Toob post #5700!)

WISH-CRAFT: A GREEN LANTERN WHAT-IF?

Here's another preview, but one solely built on wish-craft. A Fillion fan over at YouTube has posted a video trailer for a version of "Green Lantern" which will never be - one in which the superhero ring-bearer would have been played by Nathan Fillion ('Firefly', 'Castle')......

I like the idea, but Fillion is just fine where he is right now - even if 'Castle' isn't in the main Tooboworld... yet.

But I've always advocated a TV presence for Green Lantern, and hopefully one day he will get a series of his own.....

BCnU!

HUGHNIVERSAL SHOCK

With the news that Kid Flash will soon appear in the alternate TV dimension shared by 'Smallville' and 'The West Wing', my thoughts have been on superheroes of late. Particularly of an emerald-clad ringbearer and champion of the universe.

But until such time as I get my thoughts tracked down, stunned, roped, branded, and corralled into order, I'd like to share with you another email from my colleague in the study of the TV Universe.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's Hugh:

Toby:
Are you familiar with the cartoon Static Shock? Unfortunately, it was cancelled this past year, but it made many televerse connections.

Produced for the WB, it was an animated adaptation of an Icon Comics character named Static. It told of Virgil Hawkins in Dakota, a teen who got electricity based powers after "the Big Bang", an explosion at the docks. His best friend Richie was the only one with his secret, and, starting in season three (of four total), he started dressing as Gear, using his high IQ to fight crimes as well.

From a real world standpoint, the show featured Shaquille O'Neal as himself in season one (the "Static Shaq" episode), A.J. McLean from Backstreet Boys (in "Duped," also season one), and Lil' Romeo (in "Romeo in the Mix" from season three), and the final season featured Karl Malone (voicing himself) with Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash, and Yao Ming (voiced by other actors) in "Hoop Squad," which had the NBA all-stars becoming a super-team (reminiscent of the Power Rangers).

One late season three episode, "Blast from the Past", introduced Soul Power (the plan to use Black Lightning from the comics fell through), a retired black super hero who came out of retirement to help Virgil. The show also put together a pair of superbly written episodes, "Static in Africa" for season 3 then the sequel "Out of Africa" for season 4, which featured the heroic Anansi and the villainous Osebo, bringing African (and island) legends to animated form, and making a superhero out of folktale figure Anansi. Potential crossover here: the Gargoyles cartoon, when it featured Goliath and company wandering the earth, had an Anansi episode, "Mark of the Panther", where the great spider was a monster/villain instead of a magical hero.

It's greatest crossovers, however, began with the first season of episode two, "Big Leagues," in which Static teamed up with Batman and Robin to beat the Joker (all voiced by their actors from the WB's Batman, the animated series). It turns out Static is firmly in the world of those animated series, as season three began with "Hard as Nails" and found Static in Gotham, helping Batman, Comm. Gordon, Alfred and Harvey Bullock stop Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.

Then, in the two-part "A League of Their Own," Static and Gear helped most of the Justice League (Batman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Flash, and Hawkgirl) defeat Brainiac. Static finally met Superman in "Toys in the Hood", a direct sequel to the "Obsession" episode of the Superman animated series, as the kids in Dakota teamed with the Man of Steel against Toyman. Season four then offered both "Future Shock", with Static thrown forward to the future of Batman Beyond. And finally, Virgil and his old hero, the John Stewart Green Lantern, fought Sinestro in "Fallen Hero."

The Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman: The Animated Series, later The Advs. of Batman & Robin, later part of the Batman/Superman Advs. hour, later Batman: Gotham Knights, but basically all one show) directly ties into Superman: The Animated Series (also part of that hour with Batman), the sequel series Batman Beyond, and Justice League, which is now called Justice League Unlimited (and looks to be an omnibus of the entire DC universe of characters). It also ties to some of the Webtoons from the WB, with women of Gotham City, such as Harley Quinn, Zatanna, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman. Batman Beyond spun off the Zeta Project, but Batman's most remarkable cross (in my mind) was when Mark Hamill's voice was used for the Joker on the live-action Birds of Prey, a rare cartoon to live-action link up.

Also, there's a debatable point as to whether or not Teen Titans fits into this world. It's in a different style anyway. However, in "Hard as Nails," Static asks about Robin, and he's told "he's with the Titans--you'll know about them soon enough," suggesting a crossover was planned.

Another possible cross--the villain Sinestro, from "Fallen Hero", and who has been on JL and Superman, appears in the "Green Loontern" episode of Duck Dodgers (which also has a Samurai Jack cameo); it's a different actor, but all are by WB animators.

Anyway, just info for you.
Hugh
____________
And always welcome, thanks!

Any interesting cross-over/spin-off stories you'd like to share? Send them along! We're always hungry for ways to expand the TV Universe!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WISH-CRAFT: ROAD TRIP TO OA

One of the winners of the 2011 Toobits Awards was the movie version of the comic book "Green Lantern". I've always believed that he's a super-hero that deserves to have a live action TV series, considering the neat special effects you can do when it comes to the beams that shoot out of his ring. Plus the Green Lantern Corps would be a field day for make-up artists and CGI effects. And who could argue with the boon to actors who are also little people, because you'd need a lot of them to play the Oans.

And once it was firmly established in the TV Universe, why not have the Time Lord known as the Doctor pop in?

This is what it would look like as the TARDIS approached the planet Oa......

BCnU!

This is the 8400th blog post at Inner Toob!

AND NOW A WORD FROM.....

Here's a guest essay by my cathode comrade, Hugh Davis. It's a great read to see how Gorshin's Riddler ultimately fit so deeply into the TV Universe overall......

I'm sorry to hear of Frank Gorshin's death, and I thank you for the tribute.

I've always liked him. My father (definitely the one who has fed my interest in pop culture) has always said he was the first impressionist to really make himself look like the person he was portraying, such as stretching or contorting his face to become Kirk Douglas.

I will take issue with you mentioning Jim Carrey--Carrey didn't stand a chance against ol' Frank.

In the grand interest of the televerse, however, I wanted to point out Frank Gorshin's Riddler and his connection(s) to the greater network of television shows, one which crosses at least two media forms and includes animated versions of characters. As you'll recall, I normally link programs through common actors in roles.

Frank Gorshin played the Riddler on Batman, which had direct and official crossovers with The Green Horner (both in a two-parter and as part of a "wall-crawling" gag). Also popping out of windows for such gags were Lurch, Col. Klink & Sgt. Schulz, and Jose Jimenez.

*Lurch was from The Addams Family, which ties to a pair of animated versions (the 1970s version had Jackie Coogan recreating Fester; the 1990s version had John Astin recreating Gomez); the earlier animated version crossed with Scooby Doo.

*Klink & Schulz were from Hogan's Heroes, which tied through a gag in a flashback story to Green Acres, which was part of the world of Hooterville with Petticoat Junction. There is a Granny connection to Mr. Ed, which I contend is still a legit link. Also, through the Ad-verse (I think I like that better than Blipverse), Jed Clampett was seen having dinner with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which tied to Different Strokes and The Jeffersons, two very popular programs in Toobworld.

*Jose Jimenez was Bill Dana's comic creation, one of the times (as with Elvira and Pee Wee Herman) that an actor was completely taken for one character. Besides appearing on such programs as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1980s version), Toast of the Town, and the Steve Allen Show, the character was the focal point on the Bill Dana Show and the elevator man on Make Room For Daddy.

Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show is one of the key programs for crosses, spinning off Make Room for Granddaddy and The Andy Griffith Show (which itself begat Mayberry, RFD--the rural shows from the old CBS are all linked after all). Among other things, Danny Williams was on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, an extended version of I Love Lucy, which had the episode "Lucy Meets Superman."

I go through all of this to point out that it is my contention that, as George Reeves is credited as playing Superman in the episode, never as "himself," this is a crossover to The Adventures of Superman tv show. Thus, Adam West's Batman and Reeves' Superman are part of the same tv universe.

As for crossing media boundaries, one need only notice that the later Lois Lane on this show (played by Noel Neill) was also Lois to Kirk Alyn's Superman in the two Columbia serials to realize that connection.

Going back to Batman:Adam West and Burt Ward also voiced the Dynamic Duo on the Filmation animated New Advs. of Batman & Robin in the 1970s, a show which both aired as a single series and with the anthology Batman (later Tarzan...) & the Super 7. This included segments of "Superstretch & Microwoman", "Webwoman," "Manta & Moray," "Galactic Guardians," and "Jason of Star Command."

*Tarzan was also part of an animated hour with Filmation's cartoons of Zorro and the Lone Ranger.

*Jason of Star Command had the spinoff Space Academy.

*Galactic Guardians was a team featuring Super Samurai, Merlin, and Hercules (who had the previous year been part of a show called Young Sentinels, later Space Sentinels) and an animated version of Isis. Filmation made a real point that Isis was their character from the live-action show being animated.

That show had several crossovers with the Shazam! show (Captain Marvel), and Filmation later also made an animated version of Captain Marvel's Marvel Family on The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! The rest of the hour was based around a sequence called Hero High, and one episode had Isis, again animated, as a substitute teacher at the school.

In the late 1960s, Filmation had an earlier animated show of Batman & Robin. This was part of a joint hour with a Superman cartoon, which the year before had also paired with Aquaman. Filmation also made short sequences with Hawkman, Green Lantern, Atom, the Flash (brought together in JLA installments), and the Teen Titans.

*Superman was voiced by Bud Collyer, who first provided that voice for the Superman radio show and then for the Max Fleischer animated film shorts. Ergo, by my logic, all these Superman are the same.

*Filmation's one other Superman was brought to (animated) life for an episode of the Brady Kids, which also featured as guest stars Wonder Woman and the Lone Ranger. The show further crossed over with Mission: Magic.

*Brady Kids was the cartoon spinoff of the Brady Bunch, which in live action also produced The Bradys, the Brady Brides, and the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. The Brady Kids also appeared Live at the Hollywood Bowl with HR Pufnstuff of Sid & Marty Krofft's canon.

The original Filmation voices for Batman & Robin were Olan Soule and Casey Kasem, respectively. These two went on to voice the Duo on Scooby Doo (which crosses several places, including Addams Family, as said above) and on the Superfriends, which existed under several variant titles over about 12 years.

*Several of the "added" SuperFriends (completely created by Hanna-Barbera) have appeared on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

*In the final season of SuperFriends (the Galactic Super Powers Team), Wonder Woman was voiced by BJ Ward, who also provided the voice in an episode of the 1988 Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon (thus allowing one more Superman series to be included).

*In this same season, Batman was voiced by Adam West, tying up all these Batmen.

Finally--in 1978, there were two live-action comedy specials featuring super heroes. Called "Legends of the Superheroes," the two installments were The Challenge and The Roast, and they were similar to the Legion of Doom season of SuperFriends. The villains were played by a variety of comics, including Jeff Altman, Ruth Buzzi, Howard Morris, and Charlie Callas. The heroes were played by unknown actors, but the characters included the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern and Captain Marvel (so these animated and live action versions link), and the headliners were West & Ward as Batman and Robin, and the chief villain in the Challenge was The Riddler, as played by Frank Gorshin.

This is my long-way-around version of things to point out that Gorshin is at the center of one of the most intricate and detailed corners of the Televerse.

May he rest in peace and reruns.

Hugh

SATURDAY COMICS - FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD!

In the Super Bowl this year, KFC introduced their new version of Colonel Sanders - the Colonel Sanders Gold.  He supplanted the previous NFL Colonel Sanders, making him the sixth successor of Colonel Harland Sanders, the original recipe as it were, who was established in Toobworld as a member of the League of Themselves.  (Among his appearances on talk shows and a couple of panel game shows, Colonel Sanders also did a cameo bit on 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'.)

As for the six "Colonels" whom we've seen in the commercials, the Toobworld Dynamic is turning to Marvel Comics for a splainin about their origins.

From Wikipedia:

A Life Model Decoy (or LMD for short) is a S.H.I.E.L.D.-designed robot that duplicates all outward aspects of a living person. The owner can see through, speak through, and control everything the Life Model Decoy does. Nick Fury's Life Model Decoys are probably the most common in the Marvel Universe.

It is designed to function as an exact body double for VIPs. Their design is such that they mimic the subject's outer appearance (i.e., fingerprints, hair, all details of the skin), speech patterns, scent, iris and retina patterns, body language, thought patterns (to fool telepaths), and any other biological indicators. Aside from any invasive procedure and vulnerability to strong EMP, they are indistinguishable from the original.

LMDs first appeared in "Strange Tales" #135 (August 1965), in which the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. created LMDs of agent Nick Fury to use as decoys for an attack by HYDRA.

Currently, 'Agents of SHIELD' just reached the height of their story arc about LMDs replacing the original humans in charge of SHIELD.  So they do exist in the TV Universe now.  But that's in the dimension of Comix Toobworld which has absorbed the Marvel line of movies as well.  As a matter of fact, Nick Fury as played by Samuel Jackson is a member of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame because he has straddled both the many films and this TV show as well.

But Jackson is not the Nick Fury of the main Toobworld.  That "honor" goes to David Hasslehoff who played the role in a TV movie which also served as a pilot for a TV show that was never picked up.  (But the Hoff did have the blessing and praise of Stan Lee in the role.)  Marvel is represented in Earth Prime-Time with the TV series of 'Spiderman' and the one for 'The Incredible Hulk' with additional appearances by Daredevil and Captain America, among others.  (The Netflix shows are to be found in Comix Toobworld because they do have tangential connections to the various Marvel movie franchises.)

And androids have been in the main Toobworld for decades, like Hymie the Robot and the Fembots who were eventually defeated by Jamie Sommers.  Basically they were all LMDs as well, despite who created them.  (Although the TwD does assert that Dr. Franklin designed the original specifications for Hymie.)

But unlike their use in Comix Toobworld, androids have been absorbed into the mainstream of televised life in Toobworld.  And so now, in the Toobview, KFC is using LMDs to continue the tradition of Colonel Sanders' image in the main TV dimension.  And it only became apparent that they were androids with the introduction of this new golden Colonel Sanders, made of a malleable metal.

Actually Comix Toobworld in the end could be a better choice for the appearance of these KFC LMDs even though their existence should be considered a secret to the public at large.  Why?  Didn't you wonder why I'm talking about these Kentucky Fried blipverts on Saturday when I usually run blog posts about TV characters as comic book characters?

Well, check this out:

And compare that with this advertising confrontation which led up to Super Bowl XI:

The Flash* and Green Lantern would also be in Comix Toobworld; it's a TV dimension which houses DC Comics characters as well as the Marvel heroes and villains even if they don't interact.

So even though this promotional comic came out first, we can still say that it represents a visualization of TV characters in Comix Toobworld.

By the way, these are the actors who has played the Colonel in these KFC commercials:

Darrell Hammond

Norm McDonald

Jim Gaffigan

Rob Riggle

George Hamilton (Crispy version)

Billy Zane (Gold version)

BCnU!

* The main Toobworld does have its share of Marvel and DC superheroes as seen in such shows as 'The Adventures Of Superman', 'Batman', 'Wonder Woman', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Swamp Thing', and 'Spider-Man'.  The Flash is in the main Toobworld thanks to the 1990 series, but it was the new version from Comix Toobworld which acknowledged the presence of Green Lantern.  This was due to a subtle reference with the use of the Ferris Airfield in the first episode of the new show.

"JUSTICE" - "THE LEAGUE"

I've stated this in the past - I can't stand it when TV writers feel the need to splain a pop culture reference in their dialogue. If it needed to be splained away, then it wasn't worth using.

But there's another reason I detest such splainins - if left on their own, we could make the assumption that the subject of that pop culture reference shares the same world as the show which cited it.

Here's a good recent example, from 'Alphas':

When Skylar saw how upset and preoccupied Nina was, she asked: "Trouble in the Justice League?"

The remark was a comment on Nina's team-mates having super-powers by comparing them to the DC comic book super-hero team (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, etc.)

There was no mention of comic books or cartoons, so we can make the assumption that the Justice League exists in Earth Prime-Time. (We know it exists in 'The West Wing' TV dimension, thanks to 'Smallville'.)

However......

• Superman is dead in Earth Prime-Time.
• Batman is probably retired and it's beginning to look more and more that someone else, perhaps even Bruce Wayne's son, has donned the cowl and assumed the identity of the Dark Knight.
• Being nearly immortal, Wonder Woman appears to have withdrawn from the outside world and retired to the "Paradise Island" of Themyscira.
• The Flash could still be active, or it could be that he is dead, perhaps killed by the very chemical combination that first gave him his powers.
• As for Aquaman, his pilot may not have been picked up, but it was one of the lucky ones to be broadcast. (Even though it was on Canadian TV, it still counts - putting the world in Toobworld.)

The new Green Arrow (NOT from the world of 'Smallville'!) is just a baby in comparison to the older crew.

The actual appearance of the Justice League in Earth Prime-Time, as opposed to its incarnation in the 'West Wing'/'Smallville' TV dimension, would cause some massive Zonks because of the fates and ages of those original portrayals. First off, more than likely all of the roles would be recast so some heavy splainin would be needed.

• New Superman? An escapee from the Bottled City of Kandor or the Phantom Zone determined to carry on the tradition? Mon-El?
• New Batman? Again, perhaps Bruce Wayne's son.....
• New Wonder Woman? Daughter of Diana Prince?
• New Aquaman? A citizen of Atlantis who decided to co-opt the character's name from Vincent Chase's movie (as seen in 'Entourage'?

It would take a lot of logistical limbo moves, but it could be pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that the Justice League could exist in the main Toobworld.

If I had my druthers, I'd cast the Justice League with all new members never seen in Earth Prime-Time:

• Power Girl
• Green Lantern
• Elongated Man
• Zatarra
• Black Canary
• Atom

Any other suggestions?

At any rate, even if they never show up, thanks to Skylar's comment we can claim that they still exist in Toobworld.......

BCnU!

"DOCTOR WHO" & "THE BIG BANG THEORY"

The "science guys" dressed up as the Justice League of America in the end of year episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' for the New Year's Eve party at Stuart's comic book store.

(For the record - Raj was Aquaman, Howard was the Batman, Leonard was Green Lantern, Sheldon was the Flash, with Penny and her current boyfriend Zack tossed in as ringers - Wonder Woman and Superman, respectively.)

But it was Stuart's costume that gets this post into today's line-up. As he announced the winner of the costume contest, we saw him dressed as the Fourth Incarnation of the Doctor, as played by Tom Baker. No mention was made of the TV show. No mention was made of Tom Baker. And in the way Toobworld Central handles 'Doctor Who' Zonks, either would have been okay.

Because in the TV Universe, we speculated that there is an organization, perhaps run by the United Nations, which helps deflate the rumors of the existence of the Gallifreyan Time Lord by creating fictional representations of him and then claiming that anybody who makes references to him actually existing must be confused with the TV show and the movies.

But we didn't have to go that extra step because there was no mention of Baker or the show. And since Stuart is the kind of "geek" that would investigate such conspiracy theories on the internet, he was probably dressed as the actual Doctor, not as the character as seen on TV.

BCnU!

THE 2011 TOOBITS AWARDS (FINALLY!)

THE 2011 TOOBITS!

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

It took so long to get around to posting this because I just didn't feel it this year. The Fall 2011 line-up was especially dreary and most of the great stuff ('Downton Abbey', 'Game of Thrones') happened early in the year and so couldn't carry any enthusiasm against all of the other dreck that was broadcast. (As it is, I even dropped a lot of categories because it was such a listless selection in 2011, but then... maybe that's a good thing.)

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independently of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2011 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2011. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new. 'Whitechapel' is a good example of that.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

BEST NEW TV SERIES
COMEDY: 'Happy Endings'

DRAMA: 'Game Of Thrones'

BEST MINI-SERIES

'Whitechapel'

WORST MINI-SERIES

'Torchwood' - "Miracle Day"

BEST SKETCH

'SNL' - "The Ambiguously Gay Duo - In the Flesh"

'SNL' - "The Merryville Trolley"

BEST COMMERCIAL

Muller Yogurt - "Wonderful Stuff"

WORST COMMERCIAL
Best Buy - "Game On, Santa"

Nobody messes with Santa Larry!

BEST IMPORT
'Downton Abbey'

BEST EPISODE, ANY GENRE
'Fringe' - "LSD"

BEST COMEDY EPISODE

'Louie' - "Duckling"

BEST TWO-PART EPISODE
'Doctor Who' - "The Impossible Astronaut" & "Day Of The Moon"

BEST MOVIE THAT SHOULD BE ADAPTED INTO A TV SHOW

"Green Lantern"

BEST SERIES RETURN
'Chuck'

BEST SEASON FINALE
'Chuck'

BEST SERIES FINALE
'Smallville'

BEST CLIFF-HANGER

'Doctor Who'

WORST CLIFF-HANGER

'Bedlam'

WORST SEASON FINALE

'The Killing'

BEST REMAKE
'Wilfred'

BEST HISTORICAL RECREATION
'Downton Abbey'

BEST SENSE OF ONE'S OWN HISTORY

'Two And A Half Men' - the return of many of Charlie's exes at his wake, especially Tricia Helfer, Jenny McCarthy, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Jeri Ryan, Liz Vassey, and Emmanuelle Vaugier

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD HISTORY
'The Hour'

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD CELEBRITY
'Episodes'

BEST REVIVED SERIES

'Law & Order: Los Angeles' (not that it did them any good)

BEST CLASSIC TV EXPERIENCE

'The Rifleman' - Saturday morning marathons on AMC

BEST CROSSOVER

'The Office' with 'The Office'

BEST CROSSOVER PLOTLINE
'Hot In Cleveland' & 'All My Children'

Although it did take some back-straining pretzel logic to avoid a Zonk!

BEST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
'Fringe' & 'Twin Peaks'

Dr. Walter Bishop mentioned that he was friends with Dr. Lawrence Jacoby

BEST INTERNATIONAL CROSSOVER

"The 2011 National Television Awards Opening"

FIRST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
'Saturday Night Live' with 'PeeWee's Playhouse' and CNN's 'AC360'

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE (aka MEDIUM)
BOOK to TV

'Game Of Thrones'

MOVIE to TV

"Zoolander" on 'Saturday Night Live'

BEST RECASTAWAY
Canton Everett Delaware III, 'Doctor Who'

You can't beat a father & son team to play the same character at different ages!

BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER
COMEDY: Max Blum, 'Happy Endings'

DRAMA: Tyrion Lannister, 'Game Of Thrones'

BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER
DRAMA: Dr. Megan Hunt, 'Body Of Proof'

COMEDY: Penny, 'Happy Endings'

BEST NEW SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Violet, Dowager Countess Lady Grantham, 'Downton Abbey'

BEST NEW RECURRING CHARACTER
Deangelo Vickers, 'The Office

BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE
DRAMA: 'Downton Abbey'

COMEDY: 'Happy Endings'

BEST ADDITION TO AN EXISTING CAST
Robert California, 'The Office'

BEST NEW GUEST APPEARANCE
Male - Grandfather Earle, 'True Blood'

Female - Mrs. Winterbottom, 'Chuck'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Ernest Hemingway, 'Any Human Heart'

WORST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Adolph Hitler, 'Doctor Who'

But we had a splainin for that.....

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER REVISION
Richard Nixon, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW CHILD CHARACTER

Arya Stark, 'Game Of Thrones'

CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO BECOME A REGULAR
Gavin Q. Baker III the lawyer, 'The Closer'

Not that it would be likely - once Brenda's storyline is over, there's no reason for him to hang around.

BEST NEW COMMERCIAL CHARACTER

Nick the Chevy Salesman - Chevrolet
The Pinata Kid - VW Tiguan

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE
Male - Michael J. Fox, 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

Female - Susan Lucci, 'Hot In Cleveland'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN A COMMERCIAL

Kate Winslet, Lancome

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN SKITLANDIA
Anderson Cooper - 'Saturday Night Live' 

BEST CHARACTER RETURN

Dharma & Greg - on 'Two And A Half Men'

BEST INTRODUCTION OF A REGULAR CHARACTER

Julius Berger, 'Outcasts'

BEST ALIEN CHARACTER (SINGULAR)

George the Tenza, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW ALIENS
The Silence, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW MALE VILLAIN
Julius Berger - 'Outcasts'

BEST NEW FEMALE VILLAIN
O'Brien - 'Downton Abbey'

O'Briens always make for great villainy......

BEST NEW CHARACTER NAME
Jilly Kitzinger, 'Torchwood: Miracle Day'

WORST NEW CHARACTER NAME

Mirri Maz Duur, 'Game Of Thrones'

BEST COSTUME

Gloria's nightie in 'Modern Family'

BEST LINE

"I am the one who knocks." - Walter White, 'Breaking Bad'

I confess I don't watch this show, but I saw him deliver that line in an end of the year compilation of great quotes and I was really impressed with the power in it. There's a menace in its interpretation and I think it has the power to stand on its own out of context. (I also think it would look great on a T-shirt!)

BEST EXCHANGE OF DIALOGUE

“I want to hear all about Mitchell from high school. Did he have a beard?” – Cam
“Uh … you’re lookin’ at her; although I didn't know it at the time.....” – Tracy

'Modern Family

BEST SPEECH/MONOLOGUE

"I learned a pretty long time ago that I am not the hero of the story. And if I want to be in the story, I have one of two options - I can either help the hero or try to destroy him." - Larry Munsch, 'Mad Love'

BEST ZONK-FILLED DIALOGUE

Liz Lemon: Do I know you?

Aaron Sorkin: You know my work. Walk with me. I'm Aaron Sorkin - 'The West Wing', "A Few Good Men", "The Social Network"....

Liz Lemon: 'Studio 60'?

Aaron Sorkin: Shut up.

'30 Rock'

BEST REALITY SPEECH

“This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.” - Charlie Sheen

WORST REALITY QUOTE

"The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that," CNBC financial analyst Larry Kudlow

BEST NEW THEME SONG
'Mr. Sunshine'

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
The last minute of 'Smallville' with the John Williams theme from the 1978 movie

BEST NEW TOOBWORLD LOCATION
Downton Abbey - 'Downton Abbey'

BEST NEW ALTERNATE TV DIMENSION
'Homeland'

BEST NEW FICTIONAL COUNTRY

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros

BEST NEW FICTIONAL PLANET

Carpathia, 'Outcasts'

BEST EXIT FOR A CHARACTER
Michael Scott, 'The Office'

BEST DEATH SCENE

Justin Bieber's in 'CSI'

SADDEST DEATH SCENE

Coroner Steiner in 'The Mentalist' ("The Red Mile")
Vincent Nigel Murray in 'Bones'

WORST DEATH SCENE
Vaserys Targaryen, 'Game Of Thrones'

Jory, 'Game Of Thrones'

BEST NEW FICTIONAL MOVIE

"Threat Level Midnight" - 'The Office'

BEST NEW FICTIONAL TV SHOW

'Goodnight Burbank'

BEST EPISODE TITLE

'Doctor Who' - "Let's Kill Hitler"

It sounds like so much fun!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
'Doc Martin'

BEST SERIES MARATHON ON DVD
'Spaced'

BEST CROSSOVER PROP

The building blocks used in 'Alias' and now 'Fringe'.....

BEST COINED WORDS and PHRASES

WORDS

flinking - the sensation of floating and sinking at the same time ('Raising Hope')
gaycist - someone who thinks all gays are alike ('Happy Endings')

PHRASES

The Muppet Lobby

Gift of the Vagi - 'Modern Family'

BEST ZONK OF THE YEAR

"American Family" - the NFL Super Bowl Commercial

BEST REALITY TELEVISION
During an on-air TNT segment prior to the Knicks' 93-88 win over Miami, Tracy Morgan was asked by TNT analyst Charles Barkley whether he thought former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is attractive. Morgan responded, "She's good masturbation material," which rendered the always talkative Sir Charles speechless.

WORST ON-CAMERA MOMENT

Serene Branson's aphasia while on the red carpet at the Grammys. As far as I know, she has recovered.

WORST OFF-CAMERA MOMENT

The sexual assault on Lara Logan as she covered the downfall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt

WORST REALITY TELEVISION
Tsunami footage from Japan

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A SHOW

'The Killing'

I think it treated its fans horribly in pursuit of a buck that it just makes me angry when I think about it and you wouldn't like me if I'm angry.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A NETWORK
AKA "The Nibbled To Death By Ducks" award

TIE:

The decision by NBC to pull 'Community' from the schedule

The decision by ABC to hold back 'Cougar town' 

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE GENERAL AUDIENCE
There wasn't enough support for 'Bored To Death'

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN MYSELF

I'm too cheap to get Showtime so I can watch 'Homeland' and Starz! so I can watch 'Boss'

BEST EXPANSION OF THE TV UNIVERSE

'The Nine Lives Of Chloe King'

For its introduction of the Mai species into Toobworld

BEST TV BLOG HEADLINE

"Grey's, Grey's, Grey's Of The Jungle..."

from "I Am A Child Of Television"

(About Shonda Rhimes third series, 'Off The Map')

BEST REVIEW OF A TV SERIES

Ken Levine's look at 'The Playboy Club' - Here's how it ended:

"THE PLAYBOY CLUB debuts Monday. A better way of spending the hour is just being under the covers with a copy of the magazine."

BEST CRITIQUE BY AN ONLINE COMMENTER

Kimberly Massengill
First you tell me David Brent will be joining Michael Scott on an upcoming episode of The Office, and now Chris Elliot's gonna give us his best Walker, Texas Ranger? I might just explode in a telecrossovergasm.

HONORARY MENTIONS
Wilfred, 'Wilfred'

John Barrowman, 'Goodnight Burbank'

Bill Buckner, 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

Had it not been for the participation of Michael J. Fox in the series, making fun of an illness that might eventually kill him, I would have picked this League of Themselves appearance as the one that took big balls.

Phil Davis as Ray Miles, 'Whitechapel'

It took just one glance in the final episode, one which spoke volumes, that made me realize how much I appreciate all the roles I've seen him in over the last few years.

Well, that's it.  I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was a stripped-down version unlike past years when it had to run over several days to get in all the commentary and pictures.  Hopefully 2012 will be more inspired (if the Mayans don't bleep us over!)  And it seems like it's off to a good start, since I've got candidates for a lot of categories already and it's just the middle of January!

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD - REMEMBERING JERRY MAREN

Actor Jerry Maren, the green-clad tough guy of the Lollipop Guild who famously handed Dorothy (Judy Garland) a giant lollipop in the 1939 film classic “The Wizard of Oz,” has died at 98.

Standing at 4 feet 3, Maren was the longest-living member of the munchkins and the last surviving little person to appear in the iconic film.

He died on May 24 in a San Diego nursing home, his niece Stacy Michelle Barrington confirmed to the Los Angeles Times. News of his death only began circulating on Wednesday. His nephew Lloyd Decker told the New York Times that the cause of death was congestive heart failure.
- Nadine Saad
Los Angeles Times

That image above will be how we'll always remember Jerry Maren, and rightfully so.  The high point of his career and it was practically right out of the gate!

But he also made an interesting contribution to the citizenry of Toobworld.  Below are a list of those characters with comments about some of them.

Superman and the Mole-Men 
Mole-Man

This was a movie but it has been absorbed into Earth Prime-Time because it starred George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman and Phyllis Coates as Toobworld's Lois Lane (who mysteriously vanished from Earth Prime-Time and was replaced by another Lois Lane from the Cineverse.) 

The Mole Men still exist in the subterranean realm, but they know better than to risk visiting the surface world again.

Smilin' Ed's Gang
- Camp Baby (1954) 

Andy's Gang (1955) 
Buster Brown 

Producers' Showcase - The Lord Don't Play Favorites (1956)

The Beverly Hillbillies- The Flying Saucer (1966) 

... Spaceman #2 

The three actors who were disguised as Martians were originally from Italy and are probably not related to any of the other characters played by Maren and the other two actors.

Bewitched
- A Safe and Sane Halloween (1967) 

... Gremlin

The Gremlin, along with the Goblin and Jack O' Lantern, were summoned out of a Halloween story book by Tabitha.  That book probably served as the conduit for them to arrive from the same world where the characters from 'Once Upon A Time' came from.

The Wild Wild West
- The Night of the Running Death (1967) 

... Coco  

Mr. Coco never spoke, so it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that he was from Italy and as such may have been the grandfather to the actor who played a Martian in the 'Beverly Hillbillies' episode.  Actually, he could be the grandfather for any number of these characters.

The Bob Hope Show- Episode dated 19 December 1968 

... Santa's Elf 

Julia
- The Jolly Green Midget (1970) 

... Little Green Man

Get Smart
- Hello, Columbus - Goodbye, America (1970) 

... Lower Gemini 

The Gemini agent was played by two little people.  One of my favorite actors, Billy Barty, was the Upper Gemini and Jerry Maren played the bottom half.

Here's Lucy
- Lucy and Ma Parker (1970) 

... Milton

Milton was hiding out at Lucy's home disguised as a little girl named Mildred.  With no last name given, Milton could be related to any of these other Maren characters.

Lidsville
17 episodes 
Boris & Rah-Rah

Boris is an executioner's hood and Rah-Rah is a football helmet in the dimension where hats are alive... like Mr. Tallman.

The Odd Couple - Felix the Horse Player (1975) 

... Harry Tallman

Tallman wanted more than anything to become a jockey and finally got his chance in Panama.  But that meant he could no longer be Oscar's inside man for info about upcoming races in the NYC area.

When Things Were Rotten
- A Ransom for Richard (1975) 

... Archer
This archer comes from Doofus Toobworld and so can't be the ancestor for any of the other characters.

Switch
- The Snitch (1977) 

... Shoe Shiner 

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
5 episodes
Dash

Charlie's Angels
- Circus of Terror (1977) 

... Jerry Maren
Jerry Maren got to play himself this time out.

The Amazing Captain Nemo (TV Movie)  

Side Show (TV Movie)
Tom Tiny

Lou Grant
- Hunger (1982) 

... Man on Street
Maren's nameless character here could be any of his other characters from Toobworld - as long as they spoke English

No Soap, Radio (1982)

5 episodes

Morris

Wizards and Warriors
- The Dungeon of Death (1983) 

... Floyd the Feather
This may have taken place on Earth Prime-Time's twin planet Mondas.

High School U.S.A. (TV Movie)
Robot
Being a robot, there's obviously no relation to any of these other characters.

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (TV Movie)
Elf 3

Petronella (TV Movie)
George

The Twilight Zone
- Personal Demons (1986) 

... Creature

Short Ribbs
- Episode #1.2 (1989)

The Dreamer of Oz (TV Movie)
Mr. Munchkin 

Seinfeld
- The Yada Yada (1997) 

... Dad

Not just Dad, but Karen's Dad.  Karen is the woman who is going to marry Mickey, another little person.  Yada yada yada and so it goes.

Good night and may God bless, Mr. Maren.  Thanks you for all that you have given to the expansion of Toobworld....