AN ART WORLD MISSING LINK: "DOCTOR WHO" & "FIREFLY"

One of my bosses, Steve DeFazio, sent this picture to me back in March.  I think it's a pretty good artistic rendering of an adventure the Doctor might have had with the crew of Serenity.

'Firefly' is an American space western science fiction drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive producer, along with Tim Minear. The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things".

The show explores the lives of a group of people who fought on the losing side of a civil war and others who now make a living on the fringe of society, as part of the pioneer culture that exists on the fringes of their star system. In this future, the only two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, fused to form the central federal government, called the Alliance, resulting in the fusion of the two cultures. According to Whedon's vision, "nothing will change in the future: technology will advance, but we will still have the same political, moral, and ethical problems as today".

O'Bviously since the Doctor traveled to the end of Time, there would be no problem for him arriving in the Serenity timeline.  I just have reservations as to whether or not 'Firefly' belongs in the timeline of Earth Prime-Time.

'Firefly' takes place about three hundred years after the original five year mission of the starship Enterprise.  And this Alliance doesn't seem to take into account the Federation of Planets.  

But a lot could happen in three hundred years.

Still, it's a cool painting.  My congratulations to the artist, John Sumrow....

SUMMER OF MY DISCONTENT

Long-time visitors to this site know how I feel when a TV show mentions another TV show AS a TV show. That's a "Zonk", a discrepancy in the concept that all TV shows should be sharing the same TV Universe. Sure, we have 'Sliders' to provide the template for alternate TV dimensions (although the basic idea existed long before 'Sliders' came along, thanks to shows like 'Star Trek'). But the dream is for them all to co-exist.

On Monday night, the four uber-nerds of 'The Big Bang Theory' took a train from Pasadena to San Francisco to attend a conference, and most of them became spazmodos once they realized that actress Summer Glau was riding in the same car with them (at least to Santa Barbara). For genre fans, Summer is currently starring in 'Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles' and has also been in 'Firefly', its sequel movie "Serenity", and 'The 4400'.

Raj, Howard, and Leonard all took a shot at chatting her up, with only Raj even coming close to keeping her interested - at least until he found that he was "buzzed" on near-beer. And several times during their various conversations with Ms. Glau, her work in both 'Firefly' and 'The Sarah Conner Chronicles' came up. But even those Zonks paled before the biggie tossed off by Sheldon - who wasn't even i the running to talk to Summer!

"If Skynet actually did exist in the Future, a perfect way to infiltrate and destroy all of Mankind would be to send Terminators back, posing as actors who have played Terminators in popular films and television series; lulling us into a false sense of security - i.e.: 'That's Summer Glau from "The Sarah Conner Chronicles"! No, Summer! Don't kill me! I'm pro-robot!' Pow! Aaaaack!"

Sure, it was a major blow to the unified Toobworld concept, but man, was he funny with the delivery!

When the series first started, I dealt with the problem of Terminator Zonks, but those were all about the earlier movies, usually just the first one, mentioned in TV shows that were broadcast before 'The Sarah Conner Chronicles' debuted. Now we had a TV sitcom making jokes about the 'T:TSCC' series itself. Add to that Raj's reference to 'Firefly' and how Summer - as River Tam - once traveled the stars on that show, and the entire episode was one big Zonkfest.

Toobworld Central had already established that the basic series of 'Firefly' was off in the alternate TV dimension for the revamped 'Battlestar Galactica' because the Serenity - or some other Firefly-class spaceship was seen in that show's pilot episode. But it looks like I'll have to dump 'The Sarah Conner Chronicles' as well now after that Summer Squee.

Probably just as well. The 'Terminator' movies, with a new one coming soon, are such a pop culture touchstone now, there will always be Zonks about them. I'm sure 'The Big Bang Theory' will still deliver its onw fair share of Zonks in episodes to come, but hopefully we'll be able to find a way to disable them. (It'll be easy enough if they stick to just mentioning 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars'.)
One added item of interest - if you check out the preview clip at either CBS.com or at Hulu.com, you'll see Sheldon's Skynet speech reworked with added SFX to later scenes of Summer Glau dealing with the other guys. It's pretty funny if low-tech.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

MAL CONTENT

"Zero", an episode of 'Law & Order' which first aired back in December, was repeated this past Saturday night, the elephant's graveyard of TV schedules. During the hour, we met Judge Malcolm Reynolds whose once-brilliant mind was slowly losing the battle to adult dementia or Alzheimer's, but who was being kept on the bench by the machinations of his law clerk.

At one point when Judge Reynolds was still lucid, he mentioned that he wanted to keep presiding in court because his wife was dead, his son was an alcoholic in Las Vegas, and there was nothing else for him in Life but the bench.

This wastrel of a son in Las Vegas.... Well, for once I'm not so manic intensive that I have to track down every character named Reynolds who might fit the possible age spectrum to be the Judge's son, on shows ranging from 'CSI' to 'Las Vegas' itself. I'd rather skip over the son and just move on down the timeline to consider the "pozz'bility" that the Judge might be the founder of the family tree which spawned Malcolm "Mal" Reynold, captain of the 'Firefly' class starship "Serenity" around the year 2517. There's only one hitch to making this claim, however. 'Law & Order' is firmly rooted in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld. 'Firefly' was determined by Toobworld Central to take place in the same TV dimension as the new, "re-imagined", incarnation of 'Battlestar Galactica'. This was due to an in-joke appearance in the series' pilot by the Serenity (or a similar model ship) over the skies of one of the planets, probably Caprica, just before the Cylon invasion began. (It's about 14½ minutes into the episode.) This doesn't negate the pozz'bility, however. Shows like 'Star Trek', 'Buffy', and 'Hercules' have shown that TV characters have doppelgangers in other TV dimensions and their lives usually run similar to each other - unless of course it's the evil mirror universe!

I still want to keep 'Firefly' on the whole in Earth Prime-Time/BSG, simply to keep that show from getting lonely. However, that doesn't mean the characters and events of 'Firefly' can't also exist in the future timeline of the main Toobworld as well. And as such, Judge Malcolm Reynolds could be the ancestor to Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds.......

BCnU!
Toby O'B

PREQUELS: "CAPRICA" (ONE)

This is from a press release from the Sci Fi Channel:

'CAPRICA'

From executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick ('Battlestar Galactica'), writer Remi Aubuchon ('24') and NBC Universal Television Studio, this new series is set over a half a century before the events that play out in 'Battlestar Galactica.'

The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high-technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better. But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot - a Cylon.

Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the 'Battlestar Galactica') 'Caprica' weaves corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television's first science fiction family saga.

This will place three series in the same TV dimension; parent show 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Firefly' being the other two. (For more on why/how 'Firefly' shares the same dimension with 'Galactica', check out Thom Holbrook's excellent "Crossovers & Spinoffs", one of the top links there to the left.)

It would be nice to fill out that particular dimension a bit, so that it's not so void of TV shows. Therefore, as far as I can see, since 'Firefly' is set in the future, and 'Galactica' hasn't reached Earth yet, for the time being I see no reason why it can't share the same dimension as 'The West Wing', 'Mr. Sterling', and 'Smallville'.

I could always be proven wrong later, but that's the wonderful thing about Toobworld - it's always in flux.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MY TOOBITS OF 2005 - THE SHOWS

IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR [AS WE VIEW IT]
Now that we've reached the end of the calendar year, but not the end of the TV season, I'd like to salute those shows and characters who made the best contributions to the TV Universe.

They aren't necessarily recognized for expanding the universe through the means of spin-offs and crossovers, but because they enriched - or as they say in 'The Simpsons', embiggened - the possibilities and various aspects of Toobworld.

This year, I wanted to give this li'l tribute a catchy name, like the Oscars, the Grammys, the Emmys, etc.

I considered the Toobies, but I didn't want to get the twoppers in a snit. And the Toobins were pushed aside since I didn't want to give CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin a swelled head. You take one look at that guy and you can see his head is already of an odd shape.

So I settled on Toobits, and here's what I like about it - I'm giving out my two bits. See? I amaze even myself!

As you'll see, there was one show that dominated my interests in 2005....

I've divided this into two parts - one for for the characters, and this one for the shows.......

BEST NEW TV SERIES
COMEDY: 'How I Met Your Mother'
DRAMA: 'Bones'
What the two shows have in common are casts that are well-meshed and yet individually are lot of fun to watch. It's their interactions, and not the plots, that keep me focused on each episode.

But it's also their contributions to Toobworld - Barney's catch-phrases on 'HIMYM'; fictional companies and products found in 'Bones'. And then there is the crossover potential. 'HIMYM' is set in NYC, as is CBS' 'The King of Queens' and 'Still Standing'. And 'Bones' could easily do a two-parter with 'House', which follows it on the sked.

BEST TV MOVIE
"THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE"
Many of my favorite movies have televersions - 'The Wizard Of Oz', 'The Lord Of The Rings', 'Star Wars', even 'Blazing Saddles'. I would have loved an opportunity to spend more time in that small Scottish fishing village of 'Local Hero', but Cicely, Alaska, was a nice substitute for a community of lovable eccentrics.

Now there's a Toobworld version of "The Poseidon Adventure". And best of all, it serves a very important purpose in the TV Universe. As a mass grave underwater, it can be a repository for those TV characters for whom we need a splainin as to why they no longer appear on TV. I had a field day with this concept two months ago; check it out in the archives!

BEST REVIVAL OF A TV SERIES
'Doctor Who'
There were only three series this year which had me antsy for a week waiting for the next episode - 'Lost', 'Slings & Arrows', and 'Doctor Who'. After a sixteen year wait, the series returned fully revamped and turbo-fitted for the 21st Century.

Thanks to a brilliant splainin for whatever new actor came along to play the role, the Doctor himself was always ready for the Times - which should be expected from a Time Lord. But the pace of the show, the sophistication and complexity of the stories, and especially the image of the Doctor's Companion all shook off the spectre of moribundity and made the series the freshest, most exciting sci-fi series on the air.

Too bad most of America isn't getting the chance to savor it!

BEST REVIVED TV SERIES
'The West Wing'
With the focus split three-ways (between the campaigns of Democratic nominee Matt Santos, Republican Arnold Vinick, as well as back in the West Wing itself), the thrill of political wonkiness returned in a spectacular run to the end of last season and which didn't miss a beat despite the break for the summer.

Sadly, the real-life death of John Spencer, who played former Chief of Staff and current Dem. Veep candidate Leo McGarry, has added a whole new dimension to the drama. Now we're all waiting to see who will be chosen to replace him.

BEST IMPORT
'Slings & Arrows'
This series came out in Canada in 2003; otherwise, I would have had it eligible for so much more. What a show! What a cast! And a production of 'Hamlet' had me as much on the edge of my seat as did the fate of the raft in the season finale of 'Lost'. Plus, it added a town, a movie, a soulless corporation, and an action star to the Toobworld roster.

BEST SERIES FINALE
'SIX FEET UNDER'
It totally served the Toobworld concept in those last ten minutes. As Claire drove away to seek her future in New York City, we were treated to a montage of scenes showing the future final fates for all of the main characters from the show. It was rich in details that revealed themselves on multiple viewings and was scored so beautifully that it might not have even mattered if you knew who these people were or not. It stood alone as a music video tribute to the driving force behind the series.

BEST SENSE OF ONE'S OWN HISTORY
'LOST'
It's quite a juggling act to not only create these rich tapestries of flashback stories for each of the main characters. But then the producers and writers have to work in the connections to all of the other characters as well. And to add a few more balls into the air, they re-told the entire first 48 days on the island from the point of view of those passengers who had been in the tail section of the plane.

It is inspiration from the gods that keeps them from dropping the whole shebang in a spectacular crash-and-burn.

A close runner-up: Larry David's near-Death flashback as his Life passed before his eyes... all of it showcasing the worst aspects of his nature, and yet he saw nothing to confess at the end.

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD HISTORY
'DOCTOR WHO'
The third episode, 'The Unquiet Dead', took a chapter from the life of Charles Dickens - the final year of his life and his unfinished, unsolved mystery of Edwin Drood, and added its own unique twist. The series began as a look at Earth's history, not as the monster of the week show which it eventually became, but this episode combined both aspects perfectly.

Had I been able to invest the time in 'Rome', I might have made a different choice... from what others have told me.

BEST SPIN-OFF
"SERENITY" from 'FIREFLY'
I had to go to the movies to find the best example for this category, and I approached it as someone who had never seen the TV series. I had my opportunities once it went into repeats and syndication, but by then I had heard about the movie. So I wanted to see if it would work for somebody unfamiliar with the show. And it delivered.

(I'm now making up for lost time with the series.)

On the DVD's commentary track, creator Joss Whedon says, "We'll never make 'Firefly' again, because that was a thing that existed and is now gone. And 'Serenity' isn't 'Firefly'." But to my mind that just means it was a concept that was evolving, a living thing not stuck in stasis. That's all part of the Toobworld concept.

WORST SPIN-OFF
'QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GAL' from 'QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY'
I chose this only because it was a case of overkill for the original concept. It's just a shame I can't pick 'Joey' again because I'd really like to do my part in driving a nail into its coffin.

BEST CROSSOVER
'LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT' & "EXILED"
The TV movie "Exiled" was our last encounter with classic 'Law & Order' detective Mike Logan, but nobody can stay away long from the Dick Wolf franchise - even if they are banished to Staten Island. And his appearance in one episode of 'Criminal Intent' last season has brought this popular character back in a major way, as he'll now be shouldering half the 'CI' season to take some of the burden off Detectives Goren and Eames.

WORST CROSSOVER
'PASSIONS' & 'LAS VEGAS'
This crossover was great only for Nikki Cox's character Mary Connell, as it adds to her credentials for eventual induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. But if this had been set in the Montecito, the creator of 'Las Vegas' would have every right to sue. The set was pure soap opera cheesiness and cheapness, and the storyline that purported to link the two shows together had the vibrancy of molasses, not Sin City.

But like I said, kudos for Nikki Cox. The show's set may have been lacking, but hers never is!

And on that note.......

BCnU Next Year!
Tele-Toby

"SERENITY" NOT

If you see news blips that the 200th episode of 'Stargate SG-1' was going to tip its hat to 'Firefly' and "Serenity", don't let it trip you into arrhythmia. It's not going to be like the inside joke homage seen in a quick cameo on 'Battlestar Galactica'; there will be no crossover possibility.

Instead, it's the situation of the plotline that seems to echo the Real World history of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series, which was untimely ripped from the schedule, only to be reborn as a theatrical released sequel.

As such, it provides more fodder for the entertainment folder of Toobworld trivia:

From SCI Fi Wire:

The 200th episode will bring back the character of Martin Lloyd (Willy Garson) and his fictional TV show 'Wormhole X-treme', which was the subject of the 100th episode, "Wormhole X-treme," and is a parody of SG-1 itself.

This time around, the SG-1 team helps Lloyd turn 'Wormhole X-treme' into a movie. "Even though the series was canceled after three episodes, it did well on DVD."

Thus, the 'Firefly'/"Serenity" reference.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

CROSSOVER 2005

Here are most of the crossovers - at least the ones I knew about - that occurred during 2005... presented in no particular order save by grouping.

CROSSOVERS
Alias - Lost
Lost - The Office
Law & Order: Criminal Intent - Exiled
Third Watch - Medical Investigations
The Young & The Restless - As The World Turns
What I Like About You - Living With FranBoston Legal - Boston Public
Passions - Las Vegas
Enterprise - Star Trek: The Next Generation
Law & Order: Trial By Jury - Law & Order & Deadline & Special Victims Unit
Cheap Seats & Mystery Science Theatre 3000
Enterprise - Star Trek's Evil Mirror Universe (also Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)

SPIN-OFFS
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy ----> Queer Eye For The Straight Gal
One On One ----> Cuts
Firefly------> Serenity

MISSING LINKS
Law & Order - Clubhouse
Blind Justice - CSI: NY
Stacked - Batman

FICTIONALIZED YET REAL TV SHOWS
Amazing Race & Survivor: All-Star Edition
Hope & Faith - Wife Swap
Joey - The Tonight Show
Las Vegas - Fear Factor
Doctor Who - Blue Peter
Less Than Perfect - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

BLIPVERTS
Cheez-It - Maytag
7-Up Plus - Sex And The City
Comcast - 10,000 Pyramid
Chrysler - Seinfeld
Alka-Seltzer - Everybody Loves Raymond
The Apprentice/Domino's Pizza - Papa John's Pizza

IMPLIED LINKS (IN-JOKES)
Veronica Mars - The X-Files
Crossing Jordan - CSI: MiamiNCIS - The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Lost - Curb Your EnthusiasmThe Inside - Angel
Battlestar Galactica - Firefly

TOONIVERSE
Justice League Unlimited - Batman Beyond & Static Shock
The Simpsons - Futurama
GEICO - Speed Racer

POISONED FRUIT
All My Children - Extra
Larry King Live - Primetime Glick
Passions - Nanny & The Professor

BCnU Next Year!
Tele-Toby

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

My crossover compadre Thom Holbrook has updated his great Crossovers & Spinoffs page (link found to the left). And he has a great article detailing how 'Battlestar Galactica' (the new version) should be linked to 'Firefly', all based on an in-joke:

http://www.poobala.com/battlestarandfirefly.html

And I'm more than willing to accept it. The new version of 'Battlestar Galactica' may be the better show, but I relegated it to Earth Prime-Time Delay where all the remakes of TV shows exist. (At least the first remake attempts.) The original show just worked better in connection to Earth Prime-Time. And besides, it does have that great connection to 'McCloud' (Grover played by Ken Lynch) and 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' (UBS TV network from 'America 2Night') via 'Galactica 1980'.

Besides, I really wasn't too keen on trying to find a place in the main TV Universe to wedge in 'Firefly'. Its view of the future didn't seem to gel with a more generic vision which could easily house 'Star Trek', 'Babylon 5', and 'Doctor Who'.

It's the same problem I have with shows like 'Andromeda', 'Planet Of The Apes', and others.

Visit Thom's site. The power of crossovers compels you!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

TOOBWORLD LOOKS AT BSG: PART ONE

From the April 28, 2006 edition of "Inner Toob":

It would be nice to fill out that particular dimension a bit, so that it's not so void of TV shows. Therefore, as far as I can see, since 'Firefly' is set in the future, and 'Galactica' hasn't reached Earth yet, for the time being I see no reason why it can't share the same dimension as 'The West Wing', 'Mr. Sterling', and 'Smallville'.

I could always be proven wrong later, but that's the wonderful thing about Toobworld - it's always in flux.

And so here we are, three years later, and the "re-imagined" version of 'Battlestar Galactica' basically rode west into the Sun. Literally.

It's no secret to regular visitors to Toobworld that I wasn't watching 'BSG'. I caught a few episodes, mainly because of the promise revealed in their promos - like the discovery of the burnt cinder of a planet that was their "Earth", a season-ending cliff-hanger to make us wonder if it was ours as well.

And when asked why I wasn't watching what many have hailed as one of the best series ever to grace our screens, I'd say it was because Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, already had its own 'Battlestar Galactica', the original one. Sure, it wasn't great TV, but it still served as an inspiration to Ron Moore and his co-creators for the new version, right? Besides, the original was too deeply imbedded into Toobworld already, with connections to 'McCloud' and the 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' franchise. My main concern, my particular bailiwick as a Toobworld caretaker, would then have to be for the original series.

But actually, there was another reason I couldn't bring myself to watch the series.

See, I started to; just because it was in some alternate TV dimension wasn't reason enough to keep me from checking it out. There was no way 'The West Wing' could be part of the main Toobworld, but that wasn't going to stop me from making Wednesday night "Must See TV" because of it. ('Lost' has since picked up its mantle.) And currently, I'm enjoying 'Kings', also on NBC, in which there is a Kingdom of Gilboa that basically serves the same purpose as the traditional United States of America. (Although I'm not sure where Gilboa and its neighbor to the north, Gath, are supposed to be located.)

So I started to watch the original 'Battlestar Galactica' mini-series, and I only lasted a short time; looking back now, it was probably only a few minutes.

When that Cylon "Six" reached into the baby carriage and there was that sickening snap.....

Okay, so I'm squeamish; sue me. But something told me that there was no way Six was going to get her come-uppance quickly for such an act. Not when she was such a stunner; it went against all the rules of TV. And I knew from experience that the longer such characters are allowed to remain in a series, the softer their characters are made until they're no longer quite the villain they started out to be. (A good case in point: Luke Spencer of 'General Hospital'.)

And I think that the finale bore this out, as we saw "Head Six" (which is how I think she was referred to?) having the last laugh in Times Square 150,000 years after the events of the series.

Yeah, I watched the 3 hours of the finale, "Daybreak" parts 1 & 2. I thought it would make for a nice experiment to see if it would work for someone who had not invested 80+ hours into the entire project. It's not like I was going in blindly, however. I was quite familiar with where the story had been going all through the series, thanks to weekly episode synopses and excellent reviews in blogs like Alan Sepinwall's. (The link for "What's Alan Watching?" is to the left, Skinjobs.)

And so, now I know that my original quote above does need to be revised, as far as 'BSG' is concerned*. Like I said, the great thing about Toobworld is that it's always changing.

And that will be addressed in Part Two of this essay. (This was just the confessional warm-up.)

So say we all at Toobworld Central....

BCnU!
Toby O'B

* I'll get to the 'Firefly' reference in some future post. Today is for 'Battlestar Galactica'. Besides, its placement in the Toobworld timeline - and in what dimension - could be even more problematic......

THAT OVERNIGHT GLOBAL FOREST? SPLAINED.

'DOCTOR WHO'
"IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT"

I don't think the Doctor actually knows that the Earth (known as "Earth Prime-Time" here at Toobworld Central) is a super computer built by the Magratheans to the specifications of the computer known as Deep Thought.  When he showed the formation of the planet to Donna Noble, he made no mention of the robot barges that must have been attached to the rocks in order to guide them into place.

 

Had he known that the Earth was an artificial construct, he might have realized that the sudden overnight growth of world-wide forests (which would protect the planet from a massive incoming solar flare) was nothing more that an automatic safety program to protect the computer from harm. 

 As for the "fae", those firefly-like lights - "thoughts" as Maeve called them - which pestered the little girl and finally spoke through her, they are the manifestation of the computer's brain, its memory banks and mainframe.  They interfaced with Maeve in order to communicate with the Doctor.  They were the "Interfae" if you wll and even if you won't.

It might seem fortuitous that they just happened to pick her and the Doctor just happened to be there, but I think there must be thousands of people all over Earth Prime-Time who have been conditioned to be the spokesmen for the computer if need be.  And how could it not be Maeve - the Queen of the Fairies was a "Maeve" derivative and her last name was Arden (as in the Forest of Arden.)

It could be that the computer known as Earth steered generations of people to each other in order to mate so that a girl like Maeve would be born.

Nice use of a "tool" that shouldn't have even been on the planet in the first place according to Deep Thought's original plans!

BCnU!

A SLAG-HEAD HEAD'S-UP

Tim Minear is a writer/producer who has worked on 'Angel', 'Firefly', 'Wonderfalls', and 'Dollhouse'. Now he's turned his attention towards bringing 'Alien Nation' back to television.

However, he's not picking up where the series and sequel movies left off. This will be a completely new version in which the aliens didn't land on Earth until 2000 or so. The new series will pick up 20 years later as the refugee aliens, whose population has grown to 3.5 million on Earth, mark out a section of the Pacific Northwest to be their home away from home.

Whether their previous home is still Tencton, and whether they still resemble the "slag-heads" of the original 1988 theatrically released film and subsequent series, remains to be seen. But the central focus of the new show will still be a human cop teamed up with an alien cop with the alien cop's family in tow.
Here's how Variety broke the news:

"'Alien Nation' centers on the partnership between a veteran cop and his alien detective partner, set against the larger tale of alien "newcomers" who move to Earth and attempt to assimilate into society.

Fox 21 topper Chris Carlisle said he believed 'Alien Nation' could rep the next franchise revival for SCI FI, which found huge success in dusting off 'Battlestar Galactica' and reworking it for today's auds. Carlisle said 'Alien Nation' works both as a sci-fi piece and a procedural drama."It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show," Carlisle said. "They're looking for more grounded sci-fi and close-ended episodes, and at the heart of 'Alien Nation', it's a cop movie. It's grounded. And it has a tremendous amount of dramatic possibilities and humor.""
Since we don't even know how the aliens will look in this new version, and considering the timeline pushes it way past the original arrival of the Tenctonese slave ship, this new version of 'Alien Nation' (should it get the green light) will have to reside in the alternate TV dimension of remakes, along with Tim Daly's version of 'The Fugitive' and the recently concluded 'Battlestar Galactica'.

Which is a shame, because I would have liked to re-visit the team of Matt Sykes (as played by Gary Graham) and George Francisco (portrayed by Eric Pierpoint) from the original series at this stage of their lives on the Toobworld timeline. Especially after seeing Lauren Woodland all grown up on 'The Young & The Restless' back when my Mom was still alive and watching the show.....

Just sayin', is all......

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD 2021 - BEHIND THE SCENES

WRITERS
Marc Wilmore ('In Living Color')
Betty Willingale ('Midsomer Murders' script editor')
Larry McMurtry ('Lonesome Dove', 'Streets Of Laredo', 'Buffalo Girls')
Anne Beatts ('Saturday Night Live', 'Square Pegs')
Maggie Perkins, script editor ('The Saint', 'The Avengers', 'The Professionals', 'Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)')
Delia Fiallo ('Milagros', 'Morelia', 'Emelia', Cristal'. Check out her incredible output here.)
Bob Baker ('Doctor Who', Z Cars')
Suzette Winter (Hollywood star documentaries)

DIRECTORS
Michael Apted, ('Masters of Sex', 'Rome', 'ITV Playhouse')
Richard Donner ('The Twilight Zone', 'The Man From U.N.C.LE.', 'The Wild, Wild West', 'Perry Mason', 'The Rifleman', 'Get Smart', 'Cannon', Kojak', 'Gilligan's Island', 'The Banana Splits Adventure Hour')
Michael Gargiulo ('The Match Game', 'The $10,000/$25,000 Pyramid', 'Password', CBS Thanksgiving Parade', 'Tournament of Roses Parades', Moscow "Kitchen Debate")

PRODUCERS
David Richardson ('The Simpsons', 'Two And A Half Men', 'F Is For Family')
Mike Pearl (ESPN, "Halloween On Ice", 'Calgary 1988: XV Olympic Games')
Mamood Jamal ('Turning World', 'Hotel London', 'Rahm')
Roger Englander ('Young People's Concerts')
Karen Hudson-Samuels (WGPR news producer/director)
Francesca Kirby-Green (BBC current affairs programs in the 1970s)
John Sacret Young ('China Beach'), 'The West Wing', 'Firefly Lane')
John Langley ('COPS' creator, producer, writer)
Gareth Hughes (The Masters, The NFL, '60 Minutes Sports')
Amanda Bayard ('Last Week Tonight', 'Bunk', 'The Onion News Network')
Michael Ferguson ('Doctor Who', EastEnders', 'The Bill', 'Casualty')
David H. DePatie (Pink Panther cartoons, 'The ABC Afternoon Special', 'The Fantastic Four', 'Return To The Planet Of The Apes', 'Spiderman And His Friends', 'What's New, Magoo?')

MUSIC
Elliott Lawrence ('The Edge Of Night', 'Search for Tomorrow', "The Tony Awards")
David Frishberg (Composer for 'Schoolhouse Rock')

ANIMATION
Dave Creek,('Bob's Burgers')
Charles Boyer (Disney Legend, Master Illustrator)

CREW
Tony Mendez (cue card guy for 'The Late Show with David Letterman')
William G. Clotworthy (Censor for 'Saturday Night Live')
Izzie Blechman (Cameraman for 'On The Road', 'CBS Sunday Morning')
Roy Neher ('CBS Sunday Morning' Cameras)
Ryan Davis (Recording mixer: 'Bull', 'Claws', 'The 100', 'The Fosters', 'The Chi', 'SEAL Team')

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES: SUMMER GLAU

It's the first day of Summer!

SUMMER GLAU

From Wikipedia:
Summer Lyn Glau (born July 24, 1981) is an American actress. She is best known for playing River Tam in 'Firefly' and "Serenity", as well as Cameron in the 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' series.

AS SEEN IN:
'The Big Bang Theory'
"The Terminator Decoupling"

TV DIMENSIONS:
Earth Prime-Time & the Promoverse
(The picture above could have been seen only in the commercial for the episode.)

SYNOPSIS:
"The Terminator Decoupling" is an episode of the United States television series 'The Big Bang Theory' that first aired on CBS on March 9, 2009. It is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the series and the thirty-fourth episode overall. The episode features guest appearances by actress Summer Glau and cosmologist George Smoot.

On board the train, they learn that Summer Glau (played by herself) is riding the same train. Raj and Howard debate on who should approach her first. With Raj unable to talk to women except when under the influence of alcohol, he departs to find alcohol on the train. As Howard is trying to figure out the best opening line, Raj swoops in and starts talking with Summer (even using the same line Howard planned to use: "It's hot in here, it must be Summer").

Their conversation is going very well until Howard points out that Raj is drinking non-alcoholic beer. Realizing he was under a sort of placebo effect, Raj quickly departs the scene, unable to talk anymore.

Howard tries to strike a conversation but is unable to create an impression; instead he just comes off as annoying. Finally he asks to have his picture with her to which she agrees until he gets annoying again and she breaks his phone.

With the failure of both Raj and Howard, Leonard musters the courage to approach Summer, but she gets off the train as he is introducing himself.

BCnU!

TODAY'S TWD: SCRIBE DIATRIBE

On the morning before the season finale of 'Doctor Who' aired, producer/writer Russell T. Davies appeared on a morning talk show in the UK to promote what would be his swan song with the series.

He was asked by one of the hosts if he would be making an appearance in the program and RTD laughed off the suggestion; adding that he hates writers who appear in the TV shows they write.

So here is a partial list of writers that Russell T. Davies hates:

Douglas Adams
- 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'

(Thanks, Sean!)

Neil Simon
- 'The Odd Couple'
(Toobnote: Actually, Simon wrote the original play. But he got to meet his creations in the TV adaptation.)

David E. Kelley
- 'Snoops'

Steve Franks
- 'Psych'

Tim Minear
- 'Wonderfalls'

Aaron Sorkin
- 'The West Wing'
- 'SportsNight'

J. Michael Straczynski

- 'Babylon 5'

Joss Whedon
- 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'
- 'Angel'
- 'Firefly'
And although he didn't write it:
- 'Veronica Mars'

And if what RTD claimed is true, here is the writer whom he probably hates the most:

Stephen King
- 'Kingdom Hospital'
- 'Rose Red'
- 'Storm Of The Century'
- 'The Shining'
- 'The Langoliers'
- 'The Stand'
- 'Golden Years'

BCnU!
Toby OB

ADDENDUM:
Here's another writer (and producer/director) who's appeared in shows he was producing and/or writing:

Ken Levine

- 'Frasier'

- 'The Marshall Chronicles'

But also in:

- 'The Simpsons'

- 'Brooklyn Bridge'

And thanks to my buddy Michael (Sean's brother), I'm wondering now if RTD hates writers who host presentations of their work, like Rod Serling or Ray Bradbury......?

THE END

THE ANNUAL TOOBWORLD SALUTE TO TV WESTERNS - AN INTRODUCTION

As we have done since 1999, Toobworld Central is celebrating that classic TV genre, the Western, during the month of August. At one time, there was at least one Western on the air each night of the week, usually more. Nowadays, that pre-eminence is held by the police procedurals, but the Western hasn't completely died out. Attempts have been made to bring the genre back over the last two decades - 'Trinity', 'Ponderosa', 'Peacemakers', 'Legend', and HBO's under-rated 'Deadwood'. Long-form mini-series and TV movies like 'Lonesome Dove' and "Broken Trail" have proven to be well-received by both the critics and audiences alike. And this Fall, AMC - which has been mostly successful with TV series (I'm not counting you, 'The Killing'!) - will be adding 'Hell On Wheels' to the mix.

The TV Western is so beloved that producers of modern TV series try to invoke a Western motif into their shows on occasion. Examples would include 'The Brady Bunch', 'Psych', 'The Prisoner', 'One Life To Live', 'Doctor Who', 'Star Trek', and 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. 'McCloud' was about a cowboy cop in New York City, and 'Firefly' has been described as a Western in outer space.

In 1999, we launched this Western showcase with a specific theme - 'The Lone Ranger'. In later years we had other themes like 'The Wild Wild West' (mostly with a focus on my all-time favorite TV character, Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless), 'Alias Smith And Jones', and last year I got fourteen posts out of just two episodes of 'Maverick' to cover my vacation!

This year is no different. All month long, we'll be taking episodes of 'The Rifleman' and running posts on them - some long, most of them short takes. And there was so much to work with, we didn't even get to the end of the third season (out of five). Even with skipping a few that just didn't pique our interest, there was more than enough material to fill out the month.

Tuesdays will have two thematically connected posts as our "Two For Tuesday" feature. (That will take the pressure off the "As Seen On TV" gallery, which gets harder to do in August as we're running low on historical TV Western characters. Sundays will be the extra-long essays, including out theory that 'The Rifleman' can be connected to 'Doctor Who'... theoretically, that is.

And it would be remiss of me if I didn't point this out - these Inner Toob posts would not have been possible without the fantastic fansite dedicated to 'The Rifleman' - "The Rifleman Episode Guide List".

I've been watching the series in its Saturday morning marathons on AMC (speaking of which!), but this site has great synopses in the form of reminiscences by Lucas and Mark McCain - with links to pictures of the actors playing each character and a catalogue of the flubs from each episode. This salute would have been poorer without them.

So if you're a fan of 'The Rifleman' or TV Westerns in general, or of my theories of "relateeveety", "born to re-run" suggestions and other toobish ravings from Yours Truly, I hope you'll keep checking in all month long!

BCnU!

LINKIN' CASE: "FRINGE" & "TWIN PEAKS"

January isn't even over and yet we already have a slew of new crossovers for Toobworld. Before the month is over, we'll even have what I guarantee to be the Crossover of the Year!

But this one was pretty cool as well......

'Fringe' returned to the airwaves* on Friday night with the episode "The Firefly". At one point, Dr. Walter Bishop was sporting custom-made, wire-framed 3D glasses. When Astrid commented on them, Walter said that they were a gift from his friend Dr. Jacoby, who was in Washington state. Dr. Lawrence Jacoby was a character in the 1990 cult hit 'Twin Peaks', a town situated in Washington. And Dr. Jacoby was known to wear such eyewear during the course of the series. Walter and Jacoby may not have been classmates in college - there's about a decade's difference in their ages. But they could have been colleagues in research (at least before Walter ended up in St. Claire's.) There's no age limit in that - after all, Dr. William Bell was over a decade older than Walter as well.

It's always possible that Walter's "son" Peter was on his way to visit Dr. Jacoby (perhaps an old family friend as well as Walter's research associate) in the state of Washington when he became entangled in the events of the episode "Northwest Passage".

'Fringe' has made connections to 'The X-Files' and to 'Lost' in the past, both of which can link to many other TV series. So this would bring 'Twin Peaks' into the fold and that's a big get. There have been more obscure references to the off-beat classic in the past, but shots of swinging traffic lights, damn good coffee & cherry pie, and eery Badalamente-style music aren't enough to declare a connection to the 1990 cult classic. And for shows like 'The Chronicle', 'Beverly Hills 90210', and 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air', it was just a TV show anyway.

The show that came the closest to making a theoretical connection would be 'Northern Exposure'. In the episode "Russian Flu", Holling took Joel and his fiancee to the waterfalls of Cicely, Alaska, (which suspiciously looked like the waterfalls in Twin Peaks, Washington), and there they saw a woman who looked a lot like the Log Lady from the other show.

Okay, so we never actually got to see the Log Lady. But I'm willing to accept that it was Margaret Lanterman anyway, seen from a distance. Now, the filming locations for both shows were near each other, but in the reality of Toobworld, there's quite a distance between Twin Peaks and Cicely. Easily splainable - Ms. Lanterman was on vacation up in Alaska.

(The recent 'Psych' episode "Dual Spires" was James Roday's homage to 'Twin Peaks'. But even though so much was similar to the original series, and aside from the use of five cast members from 'Twin Peaks' appearing in guest roles, no connection can be made between the two shows.)

Having Walter actually be friends with a character from 'Twin Peaks' is quite a prize for Toobworld Central. It's a moment to be treasured....... Too bad it can't be wrapped in plastic.

BCnU!

* I realize in this age of digital, cable, and satellite TV, the term "airwaves" - as well as "broadcast" and "televised" and "telecast" may be archaic, but they're part of the history I'm not willing to give up.....

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!

TOOBWORLD LOOKS AT BSG: PART TWO

From the April 28, 2006 edition of "Inner Toob":

It would be nice to fill out that particular dimension a bit, so that it's not so void of TV shows. Therefore, as far as I can see, since 'Firefly' is set in the future, and 'Galactica' hasn't reached Earth yet, for the time being I see no reason why it can't share the same dimension as 'The West Wing', 'Mr. Sterling', and 'Smallville'.

After first visiting the burnt-out cinder of a planet which was their fabled version of "Earth", the Galactica fleet reached our concept of "Earth" about 150,000 years ago. (Kara Thrace knew "there's got to be some kind of a way out of here" when the brokered peace with the Cylons fell apart - she went for broke and jumped the old battlestar, based on musical notes that also served as coordinates. And that's how they ended up in the Sol system in "the prehistoric dawn on a small blue-green planet in the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy.") So part of that quote of mine above no longer holds true. Not only had they reached Earth, but had done so many thousands of years in the past.

I have friends who have asked me to consider both versions of 'Battlestar Galactica' for inclusion in my vision of Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld. Their argument basically is that the new version happened in the distant past, and then History repeated itself as the original series took place in the decades leading up to 1980. But I still have to hold that this re-imagining of the series has to find a new home in some alternate TV dimension. Such a repeat of History is too great a coincidence, not that it's impossible in Toobworld. Depending on how this Thursday's finale of 'Life On Mars' plays out, I'm hoping to keep the American version in Earth Prime-Time just like the original British series; there are ways to splain around it. But this kind of repeat of events and characters goes beyond the realm of believability.

And it's not just the original 'Battlestar Galactica' that would be duplicated. There's also a key segment of the TV version of 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' to consider - when the Golgafrinchams crashed on Earth and became the real ancestors to the human race. So I'm thinking the first part of my original premise can stand - the whole enterprise would be better suited for a particular alternate TV dimension, that in which Matt Santos is the current President of the United States, the dimension of 'The West Wing'. Other series already included in this dimension are:

'Mr. Sterling' (meant by its creator to be in that same world)
'Smallville' (since Clark Kent had not come to be known as Superman yet - and STILL hasn't)
'Raising The Bar' (different NYC D.A. than 'Law & Order', which is a powerhouse Toobworld staple)
and possibly the USA version of 'Life On Mars'.........

It's not bad company to be keeping, so I can't see why there should be complaints. I rather like the idea that two of the most critically acclaimed series of all time share the same dimension. In fact, some of the characters from 'Battlestar Galactica' could be distant ancestors to those in 'The West Wing'.......

BCnU!
Toby O'B

"PRIMEVAL" - NOT FOR U.S. EYES!

This post is going to discuss MAJOR events in Series 3, Episode 3 of 'Primeval', which has not yet aired in the USA. If you don't want to be spoiled, come back later for more toobfoolery and toobish delight.

But leave now.

Due to pleading, cajoling, much wheedling on my part, I got to see the first three episodes of 'Primeval' S3, thanks to Mark & Michael.
Wow.

My online reading about British shows must have been BBC-oriented lately, because I had no clue that this turn of events was even a possibility.

I'm not sure hwo much this will affect the series' basic dyanmic, but I think they did a good job with early introductions for three new cast members and (last chance to jump ship if you don't want to be spoiled!) with the gradual weaning of Nick Cutter from the central action . And even then they provided nice showcases for Douglas Henshall, literally from birth to death (plus a chance to act with himself!) Still, I'm not sure they've adequately filled the void left by the death of Nick Cutter; nobody has the skill or knowledge he had about those prehistoric time periods. That type of information is being left in the hands of a couple of kids, basically - with Connor and Abby.

The one new scientist is an Egyptologist who'll be focused on the origins of mythological creatures to better understand what they might have been and where best to find them. Soldier boy Captain Becker is a combination of the late Stephen Hart and the late Captain Ryan. (Including the fact that all three are/were supposed to be male eye-candy.) And I'm not sure what former DI Danny Quinn will bring to the table when he finally joins the team in Episode 4.

But looking beyond that dynamic in the present day, the ramifications from Helen's murder of her husband is the bigger picture. It opens up new areas of discussion with regard to the Toobworld timeline.
In fact, it could lead to several shows being brought back into the main TV Universe!

Helen used an anomaly into the Future to see Mankind wiped out by genetically engineered creatures. And somehow it could all be traced back to Nick Cutter being responsible for those creatures being created in the Anomaly Research Centre. So Helen decided to save Mankind by blowing up the ARC and shooting Nick dead square in the chest in order to negate that future.
Let's say Helen was right. If so, then her actions have wiped out that potential timeline and hopefully set the Toobworld Future on the path that leads to 'Star Trek', 'Babylon Five', perhaps even 'Firefly'.

But now we can say any shows set in the Future which had something of a post-apocalyptic feel to them did exist in the timeline for Earth Prime-Time - before Helen wiped them out. It's much the same theory Toobworld is using to keep 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' (with its President McNeil) and 'Monk' (with its California Governor Wechsler) in the main TV Universe.

With those shows, they originally played out as is. But then - either by intervention by a temporal 'Journeyman', a 'Quantum Leaper', or during the wholesale make-over by Helen and Nick Cutter's earlier journey into the past - everything in the world changed from prehistoric times onward.

So now, even though we didn't get to see it, 'Monk' saved the life of Governor Schwarzenegger at that parade, and it was Presidents Nixon and Ford who were involved in those early 70's adventures of the Seaview.
The same thing happens now, but in the opposite direction of the timeline, and with much more drastic alterations. The events from those shows wouldn't just be changed; the entire series would be eliminated, to be replaced by something more akin to the timeline we're now living through.

One alternate future that I'm removing from this consideration is that of the TV version of 'The Planet Of The Apes'. It's now the Toobworld contention that the series takes place in an alternate dimension in which apes have always been the dominant species - thanks to other TV shows like 'Lancelot Link' and 'The Chimp Channel'. But we can place on this destroyed timeline other shows that owe their apocalypse to more than just genetically engineered monsters. Those one-eyed bat thingies may have eaten what was left of Humanity, but most of the world's landscape could still have been destroyed by good old-fashioned nuclear Armageddon. If so, we can throw in a show like 'Whoops!' (like it or not) and that episode of 'The Twilight Zone' with Burgess Meredith, "Time Enough At Last". Farther down the line, we can add in 'Logan's Run', which had Rem, its own T-888 in the "Terminator" line.

I think the "Terminator" timeline established in 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' could be added in, with nothing changed until after John makes the jump into the Future with Catherine Weaver. (I'm just waiting for official word from FOX as to the fate of the show before I publish my analysis of its effect on the timeline, the creation of an alternate dimension, and John's self-contained temporal loop. Hopefully I can disable all of the major Zonks - like the mention of Terminators in other series and even the appearance of Summer Glau as herself on 'The Big Bang Theory'.) Most of the post-apocalyptic scenarios that can be dealt with in this fashion will come from single episodes in anthology series. However, if I understand the mechanics of the Many Worlds theory correctly, even if this timeline is wiped out from the main Toobworld, they would still exist as an alternate timeline. But at least this way, they would have their moment in the sun as part of Earth Prime-Time.
BCnU!
Toby O'B