Taking the premise of the Toobworld Dynamic as a fictional reality, what we see on our own TVs as 'Downton Abbey' is the actual presentation of the historical events of the Crawley/Grantham family in the early decades of the 20th Century. Any reference to 'Downton Abbey' as a TV show in other TV shows which shared the same dimension of 'Downton Abbey' would not be a Zonk. O'Bviously a TV show was made about those historical events, but it would not look the same as what we see in the show we watch.
The casting of Freddie Thornhill as a butler in the Toobworld 'Downton Abbey' TV show is a good sign that it is a different looking TV show from the one we see. As happens with "televersions" of historical figures as seen in our TV productions, they don't always look like the actual persons portrayed. (Richard Crenna as Ross Perot, anyone?) And such would be the case with whichever butler was played by Freddie Thornhill.
And I think I knew who he was playing. Freddie only made a guest appearance on the program, so he would not have been a member of the regular cast of servants at the Abbey. (And most of those were younger men. Carson was the only one of an approximate age to how Freddie looked, but again, he was a major character.)
Instead, I think Freddie was playing Stowell as seen in the "Moorland Holiday" episode of 'Downton Abbey'. He was the butler to the Aldridge family and sometimes he was insolent to Lord Sinderby, probably because of his employer's Jewish heritage.
Freddie looks nothing like the historical Stowell and he was certainly older than the butler was in 1924. (Freddie was almost a decade older when he played the role.) But it's the only role of some meat to it which could have fit the aging, self-centered thespian.
Dame Maggie Smith, one of Britain’s best-known actresses whose long career ranged from starring opposite Laurence Olivier in “Othello” on stage and screen, to roles in “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey,” has died, her sons announced in a statement shared by their publicist Clair Dobbs.
She was 89.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” the statement reads. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”
O’Bservation:
Before 'Downton Abbey', Dame Maggie was better known for her work in the theatre and in the movies. She had very few credits on the small screen, mostly “Plays of the Week”, an adaptation of “David Copperfield”, a few TV movies, and only one other fictional character in a TV series, and that was a one-off episode. (But she also appeared in three episodes of ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ as herself, so that’s saying something.)
So for her to be eligible for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, one might think it had be due to her playing herself, making it a League of Themselves technicality.
And one would be wrong.
VIOLET CRAWLEY
From the ‘Downton Abbey’ wiki: Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (b. 1842 - 1928), was the matriarch of the Crawley Family by her marriage to the late Earl of Grantham and a relative of the MacClare Family via her niece and goddaughter, Susan MacClare, Marchioness of Flintshire. She is the mother of Robert Crawley, the 7th Earl of Grantham, and of Lady Rosamund Painswick, and the grandmother of Robert and his wife Cora's three daughters: Mary, Edith, and Sybil. Through her granddaughters she has five great-grandchildren: Mary's children, son George, and daughter Caroline, Sybil's daughter Sybbie, Edith's children, daughter Marigold and son Peter.
Born in 1842, Violet was the daughter of a Baronet and had at least one sister, the mother of her niece and goddaughter, Susan MacClare, Marchioness of Flintshire, and one aunt. While she was born into the aristocracy, her family was relatively impoverished and she brought almost no money with her upon marriage. When she married the Earl of Grantham sometime before 1860, she brought her upper class blood but little money into her marriage. After her wedding, she was "pursued" by Lord Hepworth's father.
At some point as a young girl in the 1850s and 1860s Violet wore "the bustle, the crinoline, and the leg of mutton sleeve."
Violet gave birth to two children, a son and heir, Robert and a daughter, Rosamund. Not following in their mother's footsteps, her children married into money rather than nobility. The Countess was against Robert's engagement and marriage to the American heiress Cora Levinson, in 1889, but did reap the benefits of her fortune.
Violet visited Russia, where she met Prince Igor Kuragin, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1874. Violet later reveals to Isobel they fell madly in love and attempted to elope. They planned to leave on his yacht, but were intercepted by Kuragin's wife, who had discovered their romance. She pulled Violet out and sent her back to her own husband.
Born 1842 Died 1928 (aged 86) Downton Abbey, Yorkshire
Marital status Widow of Patrick Crawley, 6th Earl of Grantham
Residence Dower House, Downton, Yorkshire
Title Dowager Countess of Grantham
It was special circumstances which gained her entry into the Hall: the Dowager Countess was so powerful a character, that it took two forms of the media to contain her and gain her the three separate titles to qualify....
DOWNTON ABBEY 52 episodes 2010 – 2015
That was followed by two theatrically released movies which I have removed from the Cineverse and placed on Earth Prime-Time….
DOWNTON ABBEY (2019)
DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022)
This was not a special dispensation just because I liked the character so much. There has been precedent for this situation, with various movies absorbed into the TV Universe.
Welcome to the TVXOHOF, Countess. Good night and may God bless, Dame Maggie.
Season Three of 'Downton Abbey' premiered last night on 'Masterpiece
Theater (Classic)'. Viewers in the UK and elsewhere - including those habitues
of bit torrents - saw it last year. Not that it matters in terms of the
Toobworld timeline - no matter when it was telecast, it's still 1920 in their
lives.
As a caretaker of the TV Universe, one line of dialogue in particular
leaped out at me. When Lady Cora learned that her husband, Lord Grantham, had
lost the bulk of her fortune in an investment scheme, she took the news that
they might lose the estate with aplomb: "I'm an American," she smiled sweetly.
"'Have Gun, Will Travel'."
To me that meant that all she needed were the bare essentials and it didn't
matter where the family ended up - so long as they were together.
But it was the turn of phrase that caught my attention. "Have Gun, Will
Travel" was the title of a popular TV Western in the 1950's starring Richard
Boone. And a quick search (meaning NOT exhaustive!) of the Internet did not
lead to any previous usage from which the series might have borrowed it.
I figured there would be 'Downton Abbey' fanatics out there who might have
taken umbrage that this period piece had been sullied by such a reference. So
it was off to Google once again, where I found plenty of mentions of that line.
Many noted that it was an anachronism from the Future, and worse yet, a
reference to a TV shown no less! (Hello? What is 'Downton Abbey' then?)
I suppose it never occurred to them 'Downton Abbey' and 'Have Gun Will
Travel' existed in the same TV dimension. Because that way, it's perfectly
acceptable that Lady Cora should say such a thing.
'Have Gun Will Travel' was not just the title of that TV Western. It was
the motto on the business car of a frontier "equalizer" who called himself
"Paladin". (Toobworld Central believes that his real name was 'Hec
Ramsey'.)
Paladin was based in San Francisco, working out of the Carlton Hotel. But
he traveled all over the American West in order to help those in need. The time
period for his adventures was a bit nebulous, but certain episodes locked
themselves in to a specific year. For example (since this is a crossover blog)
- when Paladin met Phileas Fogg and Passepartout, that had to be 1873.
Lady Cora's mother, Martha Levenson, mentioned that she had homes in New
York and Newport, but I don't know if Paladin ever traveled that far east.
However, the family began in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Isidore Levenson made his
fortune as a dry goods merchant. If he shipped his goods west, perhaps he hired
the services of Paladin to protect his shipments en route to San
Francisco.
If the mercenary agreed to make the trip from Cincinnati to San Francisco,
it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that Cora and her brother Harry got the chance to
meet Paladin when they were children. And that's when she could have seen the
business card.
If not?
Ernest Pratt
Paladin, like his contemporaries the Brothers Maverick, was a legend of the
West. Surely there had to be at least one writer, one "dime novelist", willing
to pay him for the chance to publish his stories. I have three such candidates
in mind - Nimrod Bligh, Ernest Pratt, and Tobias Wentworth Finch. But Finch and
Bligh were rather unsavory characters so I don't think Paladin would have had
any truck with them. So even though Mr. Pratt would have been more focused on
his own creation (Nicodemus Legend, whom Pratt sometimes portrayed in the real
world), he still might have added Paladin into the narrative.
Young Cora Levenson might have been a prim, young lady in the American
version of the Victorian Era, properly trained a finishing school like
Brackenridge, but she had a well-hidden rebellious streak which we have seen
rise to the fore on occasion in 'Downton Abbey'. It could be that as a young
girl she kept a well-worn, dime store novel about Paladin under her
mattress.
John Drake was a simple crofter working on the Downton Abbey estate. He was married with several small children when we met him as a hospital patient in the second episode of 'Downton Abbey' (by the American TV reckoning).
In March of 1913, Drake was suffering from dropsy of the heart (an abnormal accumulation of fluid in a body cavity which is known today as edema). This would have killed the farmer had it not been for a new and very risky procedure by Dr. Clarkson (at the urging of Mrs. Isobel Crawley) which drained the fluids from the pericardial sac and saved his life. We'll probably not see Mr. and Mrs. John Drake again in the series, which is more concerned with the family and staff within 'Downton Abbey' itself. For Toobworld Central, this would be a good thing, because it leaves us free to do some speculation for a theory of "relateeveety".
We know nothing more about John Drake's children other than that there were several of them. And it was inferred that they were all too young to work the farm if Drake had died before or even after getting that procedure.
So let's say one of those children was a boy, perhaps around ten years old. By 1923, he would have been 20 years old and perhaps even married. I would think definitely by 1927 he would have a wife and even perhaps a child on the way.
If so, then on March 19, 1928, a son could have been born to that son of Mr. & Mrs. John Drake of the Downton Abbey farms. And what better name for the first-born son than to name him in honor of his grandfather?
I doubt very much that 'Downton Abbey' will play out in the timeline that far for us to learn if such a supposition actually happened. And the concerns of the series would lie elsewhere as I've already mentioned. So I think we're safe in making this claim:
John Drake, crofter of 'Downton Abbey', was the grandfather of John Drake, a 'Danger Man' who worked for NATO and then for MI-6. It seems harmless enough as a theory of relateeveety. After all, most McGoohanists already make the assumption that 'Secret Agent' John Drake became 'The Prisoner' known as Number Six in a mysterious place called "The Village".
It was there that they had given him a number, and taken away his name..... BCnU!
While watching the Season 3 finale of 'Downton Abbey', this Super Six List
idea came to mind.....
SIX TV CHARACTERS
WHO COULD CROSS OVER
INTO 'DOWNTON ABBEY'
I'm not going to let this spin off into a Wish-Craft of whimsy, summoning
TV characters who would be too old for the time period, or too young (and thus
have to be recast) or those whose actors have passed away so the exercise would
have been moot. These are just six TV characters, not always current, but still
viable, who could show up there at the castle.....
1] THE DOCTOR, 'Doctor Who'
Well, of COURSE I'm going to lead off with the Doctor! I thought the Fifth
Doctor would have fit right in during the cricket match as Season 3 headed for
the finale. But with Matt Smith now in charge of the TARDIS, the Eleventh
Doctor is at least dressed closely enough to blend in with the villagers at
least. Tempting though it might be that he could have arrived to save the day
for certain other characters, those events must remain fixed in Time. However,
he could have been working behind the scenes during the Crawley family's outing
in the Highlands - seeing those magnificent stags roaming the hills made me
think that the Doctor could face an alien threat which looked like the legend of
Herne the Hunter. And all without the family being aware of the danger.
2] HERCULE POIROT, 'Agatha Christie's Poirot'
Of course, in that time frame, at least for the televersion of the little
Belgie, he would have Captain Hastings in tow. So as the list stands now,
technically I'll have seven characters in total. Anyhoo, had he been around in
time, Poirot could have made sure Mr. Bates never even went to trial, let alone
prison. But still, Mr. Bates made a few enemies in prison, so if the time ever
comes when Brendan Coyle wants to leave the series, the visiting detective could
be on hand to solve his murder. And all the time we're suspecting either the
guard or Bates' cell-mate, or God forbid, Anna - it would turn out to be someone
totally unsuspected. The Dowager Countess, perhaps? What a high note that
would be if Dame Maggie wanted out of the series!
3] MRS. ROSE BUCK, 'Upstairs, Downstairs'
Now this would be the most logical of crossovers for 'Downton Abbey'! The
updated version of the series has played a bit loose with the time-span versus
that between the two shows, so any discrepancies in the aging of Rose could be
ignored since the precedent to do so has been established. Rose could accompany
her new employers at Eaton Place when they come to call upon the Crawleys at the
Abbey.
4] CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS, 'Torchwood'
I wondered whether I should include Jack since I was already using the
Doctor, but he's long since established his independent presence away from the
mothership of the franchise. Several times over he was back in that time
period, although in one case he was buried underground and then entombed at the
Cardiff hub for the Torchwood Institute. Although I'd much rather see Lady
Edith finally find a lasting romance, I think a fling with Captain Jack might do
her a world of good. And there's always an opportunity to be found with Thomas
Barrow......
5] NUCKY THOMPSON, 'Boardwalk Empire'
With Prohibition still in full swing back in America, Nucky might find a
reason to travel to England in order to finalize a deal to smuggle some of their
liquor back to the United States. And he could make the ocean voyage in the
company of Martha Levinson, Lady Cora's mother, which would serve as his
introduction to the family.
6] MARK McCAIN, 'The Rifleman'
As established in "The Gambler IV: Luck Of The Draw", Mark found a career
in the silent movies back in 1906, creating the first cinematic interpretation
of the Lone Ranger. By the mid-1920s, he could have become popular enough to be
a sensation at public appearances even across "the Pond". Young Crawley cousin
Rose might beg Branson to drive her into London for the chance to see him. And
Lord Grantham's sister Lady Rosamund might also have an infatuation for the
cowboy actor. (John Ernest Crawford's own personal timeline combined with that
of his character of Mark matches up with the chronology for 'Downton Abbey', I
believe......)
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!
In the Christmas special of 'Downton Abbey', which in America served as the finale to Season 2, Lord Robert Grantham had a heart-to-heart talk with his oldest daughter, Lady Mary about the Kemal Pamook scandal. As a loving father (and as one who had his own brush with a near-miss affair), Lord Grantham not only forgave his daughter but gave her advice on how to proceed so that they all could weather the coming storm of scandal.
He told her to go to America to visit her grandmother, and since it looked at the time as though any chance for a reconciliation between Lady Mary and Robert's heir Matthew might be impossible, Lord Grantham had a suggestion for her love life as well:
“Find a cowboy in the Middle West and bring him back to shake us up a bit!”
As soon as he said it, my mind began racing - what TV Western cowboy could she meet and bring back with her who was still alive - and eligible - in 1920? Many of them were probably dead; most of the others would have been too old.
I'm sure the possibilities were being considered by many 'Downton Abbey' fanficcers out there as well......
The first option I could think of was Brisco County, Jr., whose adventures were set at the dawn of the new century. Based on Bruce Campbell of today, it's not inconceivable that Brisco would still be around by 1920 as 'The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.' took place one hundred years before the time of their broadcast (as was the case with 'Bonanza'.) Yes, he'd be an older suitor, but as we saw with Mary's sister, Lady Edith, who was chasing a courtship with the much older Sir Anthony Strallan, that wouldn't have been an O'Bstacle.
I also considered that it should be a brand-new character, but there would still be no impediment in making a connection to a classic TV Western. To that end, I considered one of the many illegitimate sons of Secret Service Agent James T. West, who had all been established as officially part of the Toobworld Dynamic in the first reunion TV movie for 'The Wild, Wild West'.
Even if this newly created TV cowboy were introduced with a different surname and with parents in tow, a splainin could be found to maintain the theory of "relateeveety" with Jim West.
But it was all moot by the end of the special, as Matthew Crawley finally came round to asking Mary for her hand in marriage and Lady Mary happily accepting.
Still, she may be going to America anyway during the hiatus before Season 3. We already know that Lady Mary's grandmother, Cora's mother Martha Levinson, will be arriving from America to visit her family (and played by Shirley MacLaine.) So why couldn't this "Middle West cowboy" tag along to England anyway? Perhaps Lady Mary might have met him on the ship during the return voyage, and she might think of him as being a possible suitor for Lady Edith.
Like I said, it was all moot - and then I read about a tweet from actor David Boreanaz ('Bones', 'Angel') after the episode aired......
I'd like to be that American cowboy who shakes things up at Downton Abbey. I'm open for a visit Mr Fellowes
That would be wonderful casting! And not only because he would perfectly epitomize that idealized vision of the American cowboy, but also because Boreanaz is part of a long-standing theory of relateeveety I've had - that somehow James Garner should be considered a relation to one of Boreanaz' characters (preferably as the other grandfather for his FBI agent Seeley Booth.)
So how about David Boreanaz playing one of the sons of legendary TV Western character Bret Maverick?
SPOILER ALERT!
I say one of the sons, because the Toobworld Dynamic has accepted the film version of "Maverick" as part of the TV Universe. Mel Gibson was Bret Maverick Junior with James Garner as the original Bret Maverick (although throughout the movie we thought he was named Zane Cooper. As Bret Junior's father, he now took the same "title" as his own father - "Pappy".)
Of course, if 'Downton Abbey' were to follow through on this (and let's face it - this is all just ramblings by a madman in a box), and did make David Boreanaz a guest star as Bret Maverick Junior, then the movie "Maverick" would have to be sadly jettisoned back to the "Cineverse".
It would O'Bviously have to be just a guest appearance, as Boreanaz is tied up with his role as Booth in 'Bones'. But it would surely be a lot of fun! Think of his brash American ways clashing with the veddy proper style of the British. Maybe Lord Grantham and Matthew Crawley take him to a gentlemen's club in London where he could trounce Sir Richard Carlisle in a game of cards. Perhaps the butler Thomas could see this 'Young Maverick' as a mentor.
As to why he was in England? Perhaps he was coming to see his second cousin Beau Maverick, who might have returned to the land where he was once in exile for disgracing the family name of Maverick (by being a hero in the Civil War.)
And there could always be a chance, doomed though it would have to be, for a romance with Lady Edith.
Let's say Julian Fellowes did decide to take Boreanaz up on the offer and did create this cowboy character for him to play. Even if he was cut from whole cloth as being an original character with a name unassociated with any established TV cowboy, regular visitors to the Inner Toob blog know that wouldn't stop me from making some kind of connection for this character to Bret Maverick - or to James West, for that matter. (I've always said that the best actor to play a son of James West would have been Scott Reeves.)
It's likely not going to happen in any form, even without the participation of Boreanaz. I think Fellowes is going to have enough trouble dealing with the naysayers over the family background for Lady Cora's American kin. But it's fun to give in to a bit o' speculation.
If you stumble across any fanfic about an American cowboy shaking things up at 'Downton Abbey', or are thinking of writing some, let me know. I'd like the chance to read it....
The Jewish Week looked into the news that Shirley Maclaine would be joining
the cast of 'Downton Abbey' in Season 3 as Lady Cora's mother, Martha
Levinson:
A period drama set in the years before and after World War I, “Downton Abbey”
follows the doings of the noble family and their servants on an impossibly
gorgeous estate.... [T]he show’s press packet describes Cora’s father as
“Isidore Levinson, a Cincinnati dry goods millionaire.” Sounds promising! Sadly though for the social climbers, all historical evidence indicates it’s
highly unlikely that anyone like the U.S.-born Lady Grantham would also have
been Jewish. Baron Julian Fellowes, the show’s creator, has evaded repeated
requests to comment, but a number of scholars feel duty-bound to let Jewish
Downton fans down gently. “I cannot offhand think of any Cincinnati Jew who actually married into
European royalty,” said Brandeis professor Jonathan Sarna, who would probably be
in the best position to know as he wrote a book called “Cincinnati Jews.”
This reminds me of the time when then-Senator Hillary Clinton wrote a letter to Josh Lyman, a fictional character on 'The West Wing', protesting his remarks about the closing of a New York military base (in the episode "Full Disclosure".) They say now that it was meant to be tongue in cheek, but I don't know....
What people always seem to forget is that 'Downton Abbey' exists in Earth
Prime-Time, not Earth Prime. We don't have extraterrestrial aliens living among
us (although I'm not too sure about this couple at the far end of my floor), nor
humanoid robots and talking horses. And yet they exist in Toobworld. I'm the one writing about the fantasy world of the TV Universe, and yet I'm
not the one who has problems distinguishing between reality and fiction..... (Thanks to my fellow "Iddiot" from the IDD, Sharon Goldberg, for pointing this out.....) BCnU! BTW - the pictures are of Shirley MacLaine as Coco Chanel.......
As the Trickster once said, "Reality is boring, that's why I change it whenever I can."
I'm just "The Man Who Viewed Too Much", and "Inner Toob" is a blog exploring and celebrating the 'reality' of an alternate universe in which everything that ever happened on TV actually takes place.
Most of my theories about the TV Universe come from thinking inside the box and thus can't be proven. But I've never been one to shy away from a tall tale.....
Remember: "The more you watch, the more you've seen!"
We'll probably not see Mr. and Mrs. John Drake again in the series, which is more concerned with the family and staff within 'Downton Abbey' itself. For Toobworld Central, this would be a good thing, because it leaves us free to do some speculation for a theory of "relateeveety".
It seems harmless enough as a theory of relateeveety. After all, most McGoohanists already make the assumption that 'Secret Agent' John Drake became 'The Prisoner' known as Number Six in a mysterious place called "The Village".
BCnU!
