O'BSERVATIONS: "THE EMPTY CHILD"/"THE DOCTOR DANCES"

While watching the 1/2 season finale for 'Monk' last night, I began formulating an essay idea regarding kid actors playing established, older characters. And I suddenly had a revelation regarding 'Doctor Who' and these two episodes in regards to one of the most popular recurring characters in the series.

I'll work it up and share it soon in a separate post......
~~~~~~~~
When the Doctor reveals that he likes bananas ("a great source for potassium"), he wasn't being facetious.

In 'The Two Doctors', the sixth incarnation of the Doctor was carrying a banana around in the pocket of that god-awful tatter-scrap jacket.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Russell T. Davies certainly likes the name "Harkness". In two previous series for which he was the creator and/or writer, he also had characters by that name.

In 'The Grand', Susan Hampshire played an aging prostitute just after World War I at a hotel in Manchester - the same city where RTD's 'QAF' later took place.

The prostitute's name was Esme Harkness. And over forty years later, there was an Esme Harkness living in 'Century Falls' with her sister and her mother. Guess what? RTD wrote that spooky children's series as well.

This Esme was probably named after the prostitute, who might have been an auntie.
~~~~~~
A central location for the action in these episodes was St. Albion's Hospital, which was the same place where the pig alien was brought in "Aliens Of London".

There was something of a circular enclosure to the stories of this season of 'Doctor Who' - characters, themes, locations.... all kept coming back around in the Doctor's travels with Rose. And I don't think it all could be linked to the mystery surrounding the phrase "Bad Wolf".

I wonder if the hospital will re-surface in next season's episodes with David Tennant?
~~~~~~
With these episodes, the new series certainly put the lie to the idea that 'Doctor Who' was a "children's show". Themes are brought up in the episodes that would probably be more at home on American TV after 10 pm, let alone that stupid "Family Viewing Hour" concept.

I've always envied the sophisticated attitude to be found in British TV, since the 'Monty Python' days. I just hope it doesn't prove to be the sticking point in bringing this series over to the American airwaves!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

TIP O' THE HAT SQUAD: BROCK PETERS

TV SERIES
"Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" (1994) TV Series (voice) .... The Snorch (Voicebox Translater)
"Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron" (1993) TV Series (voice) .... Dark Kat
"Pirates of Darkwater" (1991) TV Series (voice) .... Bloth
"Captain Planet and the Planeteers" (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
"Gravedale High" (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Boneyard
"Wildfire" (1986) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
"Galtar and the Golden Lance" (1985) TV Series (voice) .... Tormack
"Challenge of the GoBots" (1984) TV Series (voice) .... General Newcastle
"This Is the Life" (1983) TV Series
"The Young and the Restless" (1973) TV Series .... Frank Lewis (1982-1989)
"As the World Turns" (1956) TV Series .... Dr. Bellows #1 (1966)

TV MOVIES
The Locket (2002) (TV) .... Henry McCord
10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) (TV) .... Leon Frey
An Element of Truth (1995) (TV)
Cosmic Slop (1994) (TV) .... Minister Coombs (segment "Space Traders")
The Secret (1992) (TV) .... Thurgood 'Uncle T.' Carver III
Highway Heartbreaker (1992) (TV) .... Bert Quinn
You Must Remember This (1992) (TV) .... Gus
The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990) (TV) .... David Motubu
Polly (1989) (TV) .... Mr. Pendergast
To Heal a Nation (1988) (TV) .... Paul Turner
Broken Angel (1988) (TV) .... Sergeant Mercurio
A Caribbean Mystery (1983) (TV) .... Dr. Graham
Denmark Vessey's Rebellion (1982) (TV)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1981) (TV) .... Jim
The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (1979) (TV) .... Joe
A Bond of Iron (1979) (TV)
SST: Death Flight (1977) (TV) .... Dr. Ralph Therman
Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972) (TV) .... Berdahl

TV MINI-SERIES
"Barone, Il" (1996) (mini) TV Series .... Le roi Aschwinda
"Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Ab Decker
"Black Beauty" (1978/I) (mini) TV Series .... Mr. Carmichael
"Seventh Avenue" (1977) (mini) TV Series .... Sgt. Rollins

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Static Shock" playing "Morris Grant/Soul Power" (voice) in episode: "Blast from the Past" (episode # 3.15) 21 June 2003
"Samurai Jack" playing "Lazzor" (voice) in episode: "Jack, the Woolies, and the Chritchellites" (episode # 1.4) 13 August 2001
"The Wild Thornberrys" playing "Jomo" (voice) in episode: "Forget Me Not" (episode # 2.27) 24 February 2000
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" playing "Joseph Sisko"
in episode: "Shadows and Symbols" (episode # 7.2) 7 October 1998
in episode: "Image in the Sand" (episode # 7.1) 30 September 1998
in episode: "Far Beyond the Stars" (episode # 6.13) 11 February 1998
in episode: "A Time to Stand" (episode # 6.1) 29 September 1997
in episode: "Paradise Lost" (episode # 4.12) 8 January 1996
in episode: "Homefront" (episode # 4.11) 1 January 1996
"Spicy City" playing "Bird" (voice) in episode: "Raven's Revenge" (episode # 1.6) 22 August 1997
"The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" playing "The Shaman" (voice) in episode: "Dark Sentinel" (episode # 2.15) 10 February 1997
"The Pretender" playing "Henry Cockran" in episode: "Prison Story" (episode # 1.12) 1 February 1997
"The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" playing "Masai" (voice) in episode: "Ndovu's Last Journey" (episode # 1.5) 30 August 1996
"The Commish" playing "Abraham" in episode: "Born in the USA" (episode # 4.4) 15 October 1994
"Batman" playing "Lucius Fox" (voice)
in episode: "Feat of Clay: Part 2" (episode # 1.5) 9 September 1992
in episode: "Feat of Clay: Part 1" (episode # 1.4) 8 September 1992
"Cagney & Lacey" playing "Mr. Higgins" in episode: "Ahead of the Game" (episode # 6.14) 2 February 1987
"Murder, She Wrote" playing "Thornton Bentley" in episode: "Trial by Error" (episode # 2.13) 12 January 1986
"Magnum, P.I." playing "President Kole" in episode: "Old Acquaintance" (episode # 6.2) 3 October 1985
"Faerie Tale Theatre" playing "Ogre" in episode: "Puss in Boots" (episode # 4.6) 9 September 1985
"Battlestar Galactica" playing "Chief Opposer Solon" in episode: "Murder on the Rising Star" (episode # 1.18) 19 February 1979
"Quincy" playing "Dr. Matthews" in episode: "Death by Good Intentions" (episode # 4.4) 26 October 1978
"The Bionic Woman" playing "Jack Stratton" in episode: "Which One Is Jaime?" (episode # 3.18) 25 February 1978
"Police Story" playing "Sergeant Bagney"
in episode: "Odyssey of Death: Part 2" (episode # 3.15) 16 January 1976
in episode: "Odyssey of Death: Part 1" (episode # 3.14) 9 January 1976
"Baretta" in episode: "Photography by John Doe" (episode # 2.7) 22 October 1975
"Medical Center" playing "James Rosemont" in episode: "If Mine Eye Offends Me" (episode # 6.20) 24 February 1975

"Baretta" playing "Shockley" in episode: "Woman in the Harbor" (episode # 1.3) 31 January 1975
"McCloud" playing "DDT" in episode: "The Concrete Jungle Caper" (episode # 5.5) 24 November 1974
"The Streets of San Francisco" playing "Jacob Willis/Earl Barnes" in episode: "Jacob's Boy" (episode # 3.7) 24 October 1974
"Gunsmoke" playing "Jesse Dillard" in episode: "Jesse/II" (episode # 18.22) 19 February 1973
"O'Hara, U.S. Treasury" playing "Jess Florian" in episode: "Operation: Rake-Off" (episode # 1.19) 11 February 1972
"Night Gallery" playing "Logoda" in episode: "Logoda's Heads" (episode # 2.42) 29 December 1971
"The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" playing "John Goodman" in episode: "Glass Cage" (episode # 3.6) 5 December 1971
"Longstreet" playing "Danny" in episode: "Elegy in Brass" (episode # 1.5) 14 October 1971
"The Virginian" playing "Ivers" in episode: "Crooked Corner" (episode # 9.7) 28 October 1970
"Mannix" playing "Sonny Carter" in episode: "Time Out of Mind" (episode # 4.3) 3 October 1970
"Gunsmoke" playing "Cato" in episode: "The Good Samaritans" (episode # 14.24) 10 March 1969
"The Outcasts" playing "Ben Pritchard" in episode: "Act of Faith" (episode # 1.16) 10 February 1969
"It Takes a Thief" in episode: "To Catch a Roaring Lion" (episode # 2.12) 31 December 1968
"Judd for the Defense" playing "Jessie Aarons" in episode: "Commitment" (episode # 1.12) 1 December 1967
"Mission: Impossible" playing "Walter DuBruis" in episode: "The Money Machine" (episode # 2.8) 29 October 1967
"Run for Your Life" playing "Lieutenant Wallace" in episode: "Night Train From Chicago" (episode # 1.27) 11 April 1966
"The Trials of O'Brien" playing "Isadore Jaconey" in episode: "The Only Game in Town" (episode # 1.22) 18 March 1966
"The Loner" playing "Lemuel Stove" in episode: "The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove" (episode # 1.10) 20 November 1965
"Rawhide" playing "Phinn" in episode: "The Spanish Camp" (episode # 7.28) 7 May 1965
"Daniel Boone" playing "Pompey" in episode: "Pompey" (episode # 1.10) 10 December 1964
"The Nurses" playing "Fox" in episode: "The Family Resemblance" (episode # 3.8) 17 November 1964
[Could this be Toobworld's Lucius Fox, as seen in the Tooniverse 'Batman'?]
"The Eleventh Hour" playing "Dennis Packsey" in episode: "Who Is to Say the Battle Is to Be Fought?" (episode # 2.24) 11 March 1964
"The Great Adventure" playing "Joe Bailey" in episode: "Go Down, Moses" (episode # 1.6) 1 November 1963
"Sam Benedict" playing "Frank Elton" in episode: "Accomplice" (episode # 1.25) 9 March 1963
"Adventures in Paradise" playing "Nicholas" in episode: "Walk Through the Night" (episode # 1.16) 25 January 1960

TV RELATED APPEARANCES
Star Trek: Starfleet Command III (2002) (VG) (voice) .... General Mi'Qogh
The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) (voice) .... Jomo
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) .... Adm. Cartwright
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) .... Adm. Cartwright

TV CROSSOVER ALERT!
"Judd for the Defense" playing "Marcel Nburo" in episode: "The Law and Order Blues: Part 2" (episode # 2.17) 31 January 1969
"Felony Squad" playing "Marcel Nburo" in episode: "The Law and Order Blues" (episode # 3.17) 15 January 1969

BCnU.....
Tele-Toby

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD REDUX

Terry Gilliam's new movie, "The Brothers Grimm" opens today in theatres, and almost in connection to that, NY Daily News TV critic David Bianculli came up with a suggestion for a remake of 'Faerie Tale Theatre' which ran on Showtime back in the mid-1980s.

It's a fun, viable idea and he has some great ideas for recasting the old scripts. Of course, it would have to be relegated to Earth Prime-Time Delay, as the main Toobworld would already house the original series.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/340621p-290834c.html

BCnU!

Tele-Toby

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK: "THE DOCTOR DANCES"

'Doctor Who' is back on Earth!

Fifteen years after the last regular episode, six years after the one TV movie for the Eighth Doctor, we've had a full series of thirteen episodes featuring Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Incarnation.

The final episode for this year has aired, signaling the end of Eccleston's tenure and marking the debut of David Tennant in the role.

And so to celebrate, most of my essays and all of the Crossovers will be dedicated to the Doctor for the rest of the summer.

Be forewarned: In my essays during this summer salute to 'Doctor Who', there will be spoilers for each of the episodes, especially in regard to summaries.....

Location: London, England
Date: 1941
Enemy: The Empty Child

London, 1941, at the height of the Blitz. A mysterious cylinder is being guarded by the army, while homeless children, living on the bomb-sites, are being terrorized by an unearthly child.

A mauve cylinder hurtles through space and Time with the TARDIS in hot pursuit (literally -- the Doctor burns his hand on the overheating console). According to the Doctor, mauve is the universally recognized code for danger; humans use red, but the rest of the Universe thinks that's camp. The Doctor has hacked into the cylinder's flight computer and is following it, but the cylinder is jumping time tracks, making it difficult to lock onto. Whatever it is, it's dangerous and it's 30 seconds away from crashing down in the center of London...
[Thanks to The Doctor Who Reference Guide]

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK
'DOCTOR WHO' - "THE DOCTOR DANCES"
&
'TIME TUNNEL', 'TIME TRAX', '7 DAYS', 'TIMECOP',

'STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE', & 'STAR TREK: VOYAGER'

Majestic 12, the secret commission formed to fight off a hostile alien takeover of Earth by the Hive, was the nucleus of the shadow government that truly ran the United States government. It's true that some of the members of their "Black Ops" inner circle had gone rogue (either to serve their own ends or the commands of other powers). But for the most part, this consortium truly believed they were doing the right thing when it came to their fight to stave off alien threats.

However, I believe that when it came to dealing with Mankind's burgeoning advancements into one particular area of scientific research - Time Travel - the shadow government allowed themselves to be swayed by an outside alien influence.

By the Time Lords of Gallifrey.

The Gallifreyans had already interfered in the exploration of time travel by humans when they sabotaged the 'Time Tunnel' experiment beneath the deserts of Arizona. Not that they had to do too much in order for the equipment to fail. I think the basis for the project had been the initial research conducted by Professor Periwinkle of Metropolis. (Most of his experiments were flawed, anyway.)

The shadow government probably had to wait until after Superman's death by radioactive Kryptonite dust poisoning in the early 1960s (after saving two Chicago gangsters at a Nevada A-bomb test site) before they could seize Periwinkle's time machine prototype which he kept disguised as a toolbox.

But the Time Lords must have convinced the team headed by General Heywood Kirk that despite the well-meaning attempts by scientists Doug Phillips and Tony Newman, the events of History must not be rewritten - not one line!

(The fates of Phillips and Newman are unknown, but I think there was at least one Gallifreyan Time Lord who was able to pluck them out of the time-stream and then deposit them where they could no longer be a threat to the Timeline.

They may not have believed or understood it, but such an imposed sentence probably saved their lives. Once Majestic 12 understood the threat to Time posed by the duo, the "Men In Black" would have had no qualms in killing them. Because even though they were presented even though they were presented as heroes, Doug and Tony were idealists who believed History should be altered, despite the ramifications. And such men are too dangerous to be allowed to continue.)

But as the world had seen with the atom bomb, research and development of time travel devices could not be kept under tight control. Majestic 12 tried to shut down the Quantum Leap project in New Mexico by cutting off its funding, but scientist Dr. Sam Becket would not be deterred. Before the project could be properly tested, Becket stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished.

Becket never did come home; instead he kept leaping from life to life, making right what once went wrong.

And this must have really pissed off those in charge at Majestic 12, because some of those "wrongs" which Becket righted - assassinations, manipulated business reversals, various "accidents", - had been approved by and engineered by Majestic 12. And they didn't think those events had gone wrong in the first place!

Even with Operation Backstep, over which they held tight control, Majestic 12 came to realize that the use of time travel had to be strictly monitored and enforced. Plus, the experimental use of temporal technology often unleashed energies which created rogue wormholes.

(Somewhere in the Old West in the territory of New Mexico, not far from the future site of the Quantum Leap project, such a wormhole brought 1847 pioneer Christian Horn "A Hundred Yards Over The Rim"... and over one hundred years into the future. Horn was able to bring back medicines to save his son in the past, and that was a good thing as his son would grow up to play an important role in History.

But such a temporal anomaly could also create havoc, as when a "Little Black Bag" full of futuristic medical marvels fell into the hands of two bums in the early 1970s.)

Thanks to the input by members of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) who had experience with the Gallifreyans and time travel, the Temporal Enforcement Commission was created by the dawn of the new millennium.
Although Frank Bach, the Cigarette Smoking Man, and Deep Throat were all dead, other members of Majestic 12 may have been involved with the formation of the Temporal Enforcement Commission.

Others who were probably founding members might have been:
Admiral Al Calavicci
Brigadier General Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart
Dr. Raymond Swan
Dr. Ann McGregor
Bradley Talmadge
Dr. Isaac Mentnor
Professor "Reg" Chronotis

Those who enforced the rules of the Commission would be known by the slang term 'Timecop'. One of the more famous chrono-criminals in their Rogues Gallery would have been Dr. Mordechai Sahmbi, a futuristic Fabian Lavendor who helped other criminals to escape into the past of the 1990s.

The principles to which they adhered would become the basis for the charter governing the "Temporal Prime Directive" in the future. As it is delineated by the 24th Century, "the Temporal Prime Directive is a fundamental principle guiding Starfleet. The regulation states that all Starfleet officers are forbidden to directly interfere with history and thus alter the timeline.

Unlike the Prime Directive, however, Starfleet time travelers are further charged with a duty to maintain the current timeline and prevent history from being altered. The events of the Temporal Cold War may suggest that the regulation has been rescinded, at least temporarily, by the 31st century.

However, the human faction in the Temporal Cold War is dedicated primarily to keeping the timeline intact and preventing the other factions from fiddling with it, which would be completely in keeping with the Temporal Prime Directive."
[thanks to Memory-Alpha.org]

By the 24th Century, a 'Timecop' would be working for the Department of Temporal Investigations, under the mantle of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. (No doubt other planets had also begun their explorations into time travel.)

"The Department of Temporal Investigations is... mandated with investigating and reporting on all incidents of time travel involving Federation citizens or otherwise affecting the UFP."
[from Memory-Alpha.org]

One of their cases occurred in 2373, when there was a temporal incursion resulting from an assassination attempt against the James T. Kirk in the year 2268. Temporal Investigations agents later concluded that the crew of the 'Deep Space Nine' station had acted appropriately in attempting to uphold the Temporal Prime Directive.

If the Gallifreyans were still around and still involved in guiding these newbies in time travel, they certainly had their work cut out for them! That's why the Temporal Displacement Policy was such an integral part of the curriculum at the Starfleet Academy for all students (and most likely taught by a Gallifreyan instructor - maybe even Professor Urban Chronotis himself, under some new alias.)

By the 29th Century, the Temporal Integrity Commission was the governing body which ultimately decided any questions regarding the use of time travel in the UFP. They were the ones who forced the starship Voyager to not only leave 1996 and return to the future, but also to go back to their point of departure: the distant reaches of the Delta Quadrant. It may have been a harsh verdict, but it was the only way to maintain the integrity of Time.

So far, we don't know by what name the organization that polices the time-stream is known in the 51st Century, but we do know the Timecops are referred to as Time Agents. So far as we know, we've met one - Captain Jack Harkness.

But as the Time Agents wiped out two years of his memory, Captain Jack isn't too eager to deal with them again... unless it's for revenge.

Shows cited for this essay:
'Doctor Who'
'Star Trek'
'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'
'Star Trek: Voyager'
'Enterprise'
'The Time Tunnel'
'Timecop'
'Dark Skies'
'Quantum Leap'
'7 Days'
'The Adventures Of Superman'
'The X-Files'
'The Twilight Zone'
'The Night Gallery'
'The Wild, Wild West'
'Crime Story'

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

FIRST DOWN

Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Making my fall premiere......
Well, here I am.... have no idea what that Shoe Hand has pushed me into, but let's see what may be on the horizon for this new attempt at a web presence for Toobworld........
I'll just be getting my feet wet right now, dipping the toes actually. I'll see later what I might come up with for content.
posted by Toby @ 8:43 AM


One year ago today, that kid-havin' kid Sean Cleary spurred me to re-establish my online presence as a televisiologist (or to put it more plainly, a TV nutjob).

It came along at just the right time in my life, as I was still grieving over the loss of my cat, Tigli Oddfoot, after 20 years of companionship. So this gave me something to take my mind off her for a while.....

Previously, I had been running my Tubeworld Dynamic website for five years... until AOL disabled AOLPress, one of the easeiest programs I think there could ever be for creating web pages.

So I went back to work on my Toobworld novel until I figured it was time to try again in preaching my particular madness in cyber-space. Trying to come up with something daily has been a lot less work than setting up the monthly edition of the old TwD ever was and so I've been enjoying it immensely.

And it's given me plenty of material to use in a new project, sort of a field guide to the TV Universe that goes far beyond just crossovers and spin-offs.

So hopefully I'll be around for a long-time to come with more of this bleep as I try to splain away the discrepancies of the TV Universe.

I also want to say thanks to readers like Hugh D, "Markhael", Jaia, and "Words Say Nothing". They help me to "right what once went wrong".

And with my Swiss-cheese memory, they need to do that often!

Also, thanks to visitors like Lee Goldberg and Bryce Zabel, whov'e been a big boost to my ego!

As sort of an anniversary gift to myself, I just picked up a few TV DVD boxed sets for my growing collection.

I went in hoping to pick up the 'McCloud' set... for research into the tele-version of the Edison Hotel.

But instead I got:

'Combat!' - Season 1, Campaign 1
'The Muppet Show' - Season 1
'At Last The 1948 Show' (one of the predecessors to 'Monty Python's Flying Circus')
and
'Hit Celebrity TV Commercials' (It just sounds soooo bad.....)

Thanks for visiting. Come back often. AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

CLOSE CALL

Writer/Producer Bryce Zabel expressed an interest in seeing an essay I wrote for the old Tubeworld Dynamic website back in 1999, which envisioned a link between his show 'Dark Skies' and Glenn Gordon Caron's 'Now & Again'. It was an easy link to create since both featured Eric Close in the lead roles.

Unfortunately, my disk containing the files for 1999 was corrupted. (Luckily my Western showcase for that year was kept on a separate disk!) So I had to take the basic premise and rewrite it. That effort follows.

Mr. Zabel has visited my site in the past, so hopefully he'll return and see this rejiggered spotlight on my Toobworld past.......

THE MISSING LINK
'DARK SKIES' and 'NOW & AGAIN'

Just as challenging as finding new splainins for "recastaways" (those characters whose features have been altered by casting changes back in the Real World) is the search for new splainins for lookalikes.

It's o'bvious as to what causes many TV characters to resemble each other... as far as the Real World is concerned - the same actors keep getting cast over and over again. It's a process I've dubbed "urichosis", named for the late Robert Urich. (Mr. Urich just might hold the record for the number of leading roles in prime time series. Even if he doesn't, I like the sound of "urichosis".)

As for splainins regarding lookalikes, one can only depend on the excuse of "identical cousins" just so many times.
But there are plenty of other options:

aliens
holograms
shape-shifters
androids
dimensional counterparts
time travelers
plastic surgery
make-up
cloning
magic
transporter malfunctions

And then within categories like those above, there can be variations.

Take for example two main characters portrayed by Eric Close - John Loengard in 'Dark Skies' and "Michael Newman" in 'Now & Again'.

Technically, there was never a chance they would be mistaken for each other should a character from one show happen to bump into the Eric Close character from the other series. 'Dark Skies' aired its last episode in 1997 and 'Now & Again' began broadcasting in 1999. So the two characters were at the peak of their resemblance to each other - in the Real World. But in Toobworld, they were separated by decades, as 'Dark Skies' was set in the 1960s while 'Now & Again' took place in the year that it aired.

You may have noticed that I put quotation marks around the name "Michael Newman". That's because it was an alias for the character. Originally he was Michael Wiseman, a bloated, middle-aged schlub who accidentally fell in front of a subway train.

Now only his brain survived, and it was housed in a new super-body that closely resembled John Loengard, a man caught up in the nightmare half-truths of the alien conspiracy throughout the 1960s. That's because Newman's body was cloned from the DNA collected from Loengard.

But John Loengard was an ordinary man, trapped in extraordinary circumstances. How did his clone become nearly impervious to cellular damage? And how did Dr. Theo Morris get hold of such DNA?

In the final episode of 'Dark Skies', we learned that Loengard volunteered for a dangerous Majestic 12 mission - that he would take the place of the next known target for alien abduction. (That man was Governor Ronald Reagan of California.)

Loengard was abducted as expected; and the last we saw of him, he was still trapped - with his augmented, age-accelerated son - inside the Hive's mothership.

We know the aliens were experimenting on human subjects, infecting them with ganglia that would eventually render them as empty thralls subservient to the Hive.

Perhaps there were other experiments for which they now had John Loengard as their test subject.

More than likely, Majestic 12 and the Government were able to rescue John Loengard, his son, and Juliet. We don't have any televised proof of this, as the series ended on a cliffhanger.

But I imagine producers are nothing if not optimists, so Bryce Zabel and his partners must have had a plan of rescue to keep the show alive.

In execution of that rescue, I think Majestic 12 was also able to capture alien data and files that would prove useful to the humans as well. And that would include the information gathered about the experiments conducted on John Loengard's cellular structure.

In the thirty years since, Government scientists continuted the research, using that same DNA of Loengard's; cloning it over and over again for fear that they would not be albe to recreate the same results using someone else's DNA.

Based on his age, I don't think Dr. Morris was in charge of the the research from the very beginning. He just happened to come up through the ranks of the scientific team over the years to finally oversee the project just as they were finally able to transplant a brain into the superhuman shell that at least superficially resembled a man from the 1960s named John Loengard.

And what of Mr. Loengard himself?

I'd like to think he's still out there, fighting the good fight against the alien conspiracy. Look how many things he could have investigated, either working with or working against Majestic 12:

The Watergate break-in
The Iran-Contra deal
The assassination of John Lennon
The death of Pope John Paul I (and the election of a Polish Pope)
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The plane crash of JFK, Jr.
The Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal

Perhaps an older actor could portray Loengard as he might appear today - Robert Wagner, perhaps? - and he could team up with the mirror image of his younger self, "Michael Newman", for a TV movie that might provide closure for both series at the same time.

Think of the potential for ratings based on the publicity surrounding such a concept!

Well, I'd watch anyway.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

IT'S A GOOD LIFE AT "THE SITUATION ROOM"

During Monday's edition of 'The Situation Room' on CNN, Jack Cafferty closed his story about Saddam Hussein with "He's just a bad man."

To which Wolf Blitzer responded, "He's a very bad man."

At that point, I expected to see Bill Mumy appear (a la 'The Twilight Zone' by way of 'The Steven Banks Show') so that he could wish the former Iraqi dictator into the corn-field!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

doot doot doot doot, doot doot doot doot, doot doot doot doot.....

SERENDIPI-TV

Yesterday, on the American Life TV Network, they showed episodes of 'The Lawman' and 'I Spy' back to back.

Nothing really odd in that; both shows have been on that "network" for a long time on Sundays. But only recently have they been joined at the hip to be broadcast beginning at 5:30 pm EST on Sundays.

It's an odd fit. 'The Lawman' was an ABC half-hour Western filmed in black and white on the backlot of Warner Brothers in the 1950s. Prosducer Sheldon Leonard treated 'I Spy' like a feature film production, shooting episodes in color all over the world, which proved to be a big hit for NBC during the 1960s.

But it's the combo of episodes from yesterday that once again showed me there was always some higher power guiding what I saw on TV.

No, reallly! I believe that! I can't tell you how often I've turned on the TV and/or flipped to a new channel just in time to discover a new crossover or link between shows, found a new TV quote for my collection, or just learned something new in general.

For instance, I never check out Discovery on a whim. And yet this past week I decided to do so and found a show called 'Craftiest Animals', just in time to see an hour dedicatd to the cunning strategy shown by squirrels. And everything I learned in that show backed up my Toobworld claim that squirrels are among the top ten most intelligent species on Earth.

As for the 'Lawman'/'I Spy' combination this week, here are the plots for the episodes shown:

'The Lawman' - "The Outsider"
Rene LeBeau is a half-breed Indian woman who lives on a ranch with her Sioux mother after her father dies, and the cattlemen in the area are trying to run her off. Intolerance causes a host of problems for the woman, but especially a group who keep running off her help. One of the cattlemen's employees, however, disagrees with the treatment, and is shot for it. Dan must fight the small group of hate-mongers, as well as one who secretly lusts after Rene.
[from TV.com]

'I Spy' - "The Time Of The Knife"
Kelly walks into a murder frame when he looks into what happened to an old friend who was apparently killed while holding information on a remote control missile guidance system sought by several parties.
[from epguides.com]

It all looks like two random episodes lumped together.

But while checking out the credits for the names of the actors at the end of the episode of 'The Lawman' (I recognized one actor as the voice of Race Bannon of 'Jonny Quest'!), I saw Earl Hodgins listed as "Fane".

From the IMDb:
Earl Hodgins
"Lawman" playing "Fane" in episode: "The Outsider" (episode # 1.14) 4 January 1959

Less than two minutes later, after 'I Spy' had established the episode's location with stock footage of Japan's back streets and markets, there was a close-up of a sign outside an office door which announced the inhabitant to be "Michael Fane".

Also from the IMDb:
Warren Stevens
"I Spy" playing "Michael Fane" in episode: "The Time of the Knife" (episode # 1.8) 3 November 1965

Truth be told, I've seen the name of Hodgins' character listed as "Pane" in several sites, including one dedicated to 'The Lawman'. And I can't remember hearing it one way or the other during the episode.

But there's no denying what I saw printed in the credits or on that sign - both men were named "Fane". And it's not that common a name.

I don't know whether some programmin' Suit at American Life noticed this and deliberately arranged for both episodes to be shown in tandem. But as far as I'm concerned, it was a sign from some Powers That Be that both shows were now linked by a family tie.

So I'm making that declaration now - Earl Hodgson's character of Fane in 'The Lawman' was the great-grandfather for Michael Fane as played by Warren Stevens on 'I Spy'.

And Great Grandpappy would have been ashamed to see how Mikey turned out.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

SNAP CRACKLE PROPS

Over to the left you'll see a link to the fictional cereal pages of "Topher's Breakfast Castle". I've contributed a few sightings of Toobworld cereals over the last few years - Rainbow Rings, Corny Smacks, the use of a Zoom boxtop for identification.

But the site is a grand celebration of all things dealing with breakfast cereals, and now Topher is publishing a book detailing that rich history:

Milking That Crazy Cow
[A Century of Cereals]

"Milking That Crazy Cow - A Century of Cereals" is a definitive encyclopedia to breakfast cereals. Researched and written by Marty Gitlin and Topher Ellis, this 152 page black and white book features information on over 400 breakfast cereals dating from the late 1800's to 2005. Everything from Addams Family to Yummy Mummy!

Reference your favorite cereals and spokescharacters, check out cereal ingredients, manufacturer, dates of issue, cereal name changes, product variations, fun facts, and the bizarre wit of award-winning Ohio sportswriter Marty Gitlin.

You will also enjoy a very informative foreword by long-time industry insider, and marketing genius, Alan Snedeker.

http://www.lavasurfer.com/crazycow.html

It's the kind of reference guide that might come in handy for the people who visit this site. I would think fanfictioneers might find it particularly useful.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

LIFE DURING THE COMMERCIAL BREAKS

'Lost' producer/writer Damon Lindelof on new cast member Michelle Rodriguez:

"We know she was sitting in the tail section of the plane, so we know that there was at least one other survivor of the crash who's been out there leading this sort of Tom Hanks-ian castaway existence by herself.

But I think people are really compelled to see what's been going on with her for the last 45 days. She's had her whole own second show going on, we just weren't watching it. So, when she joins the cast, she has two backstories: (1) everything that happened pre-crash, and (2) everything that happened between the crash and when we meet her.

We're gonna tell that story in one awesome concept episode. I'm not gonna tell you when, but we haven't talked about it with anyone before you, so that'll be pretty kick-ass."

[Thanks to Kristin at E! Online & SpoilerFix.com]

"She's had her whole own second show going on, we just weren't watching it. "

That's what I've been going on about with all of Toobworld. This is why Khan knew Checkov in "Wrath Of Khan", yet Checkov was never seen in the "Space Seed" episode of 'Star Trek'.

There is more going on in each TV show than what we get to see during one hour of prime time each week......

Sharona's been having her own second show since she left the cast of 'Monk' two seasons ago.

'Now & Again' has left us hanging for over five years with a cliffhanger that cries out for resolution - what has Michael Wiseman/Newman been up to since he went on the run?

How's that relationship between Ross and Rachel been going? Has he left her for the TV version of Angelina yet?

And who knows what adventures Captain Jack Harkness will be getting into before we meet him again in 2007 (as promised by RTD) on 'Doctor Who'?

As for that last one... I, for one, would like to know. So I'm reiterating my wish-craft that John Barrowman be spun off into his own series as Captain Jack!

Hrmmmmm..... maybe he can pick up Bitty Schramm as Sharona to be his companion!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby