ON THE NEXT "INNER TOOB".....

While on vacation, and mostly while I was camping up near Tamworth, New Hampshire, I hunkered down and wrote yet another essay for my eventual collection of "Toobworld splainins". (What the bleep, I didn't have access to my computer or to TV out in the woods; I had to do something to keep me occupied. Nature? Phah!)

Having already "documented" the creation of the TV Universe, with this essay I zeroed in on how the Earth came into existence - as a scientific evolution formed from cosmic debris over billions of years... or in a flash as God's Creation?

Would you believe.... both?

The essay should be posted at some point after midnight - just in time for later use in Sunday school!

BCnU!

MULTIPLE MAIGRETS

In that post about the way HBO will be farming out 'In Treatment' to other countries, I mentioned how certain characters have been recast over and over again for TV productions.
Here's how many TV dimensions you'd need just for Inspector Maigret. (Although I'm sure many of these, like the one played by Richard Harris, are from the movie universe.....)

BCnU!

GLOBAL TREATMENT

The concept of Toobworld isn't limited to just American shows; not even to shows from just English speaking countries. It should encompass the TV output from all over the globe, and we try to bring some of it to your attention. Of course when it has sexy Thai stewardesses in a cat-fight, that always helps!

A lot of the time, you'll probably never see those shows produced in foreign countries; you probably don't know so many of them exist. But they have every right to get a shot at being part of the Earth Prime-Time dimension... even if their creators couldn't give a daggit's ass one way or the other.

But if this is so, what are we to do with shows from one country being exported so that new versions can be developed for new audiences. Can the same dimension contain the different versions?

In some cases, no. When a specific character is reproduced in its entirety right down to the name, then of course we have to shunt them off to new TV dimensions. Good examples of this would be Inspector Maigret, Hercule Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes. Not that it's limited to detectives, of course, but they prove to be the most popular characters, perhaps due to their literary origins.

But if it's the basic premise that's being copied, in which the characters may have similar traits but who are still different individuals, then Toobworld doesn't have a problem with that speading across the globe.

The O'Bvious example is, of course, 'The Office'. The same premise exists, and the same situations, following the blueprint of the British original - at least for the first dozen episodes. But David Brent can only be found in England. America has Michael Scott, and Germany and France and Peru (?) have different characters at their paper companies. Other shows that have "echoes" in other lands include 'Desperate Housewives', 'Law & Order', and 'Ugly Betty' - which started in another country and also is an exemption to that idea that if the doppelgangers all have the same name, they have to be sent off to another dimension. (I'm fairly certain Betty's last name is different in each country.) And now it's happening again; this time with HBO's 'In Treatment'. It's a remake as well, of an Israeli show called 'Bi'Tipul'. And now HBO is planning to take this strip-format show about a psychiatrist and his patients and translate it for a Romanian audience. Should that prove successful, they have plans to bring adaptations to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

"We want to make the series feel local," Linda Jensen said. (She/s the chief executive at HBO CEntral Europe.) "I think it is a great format, and it gives us a lot of flexibility to work with." As an example, she said that the Romanian producers of the series will decide how closely this version will adhere to the 'In Treatment' format. Certain characters, such as the military pilot, may have to be adapted to local circumstances.

Which, of course, is perfect for Toobworld's purposes.

BCnU!

WHICH BEATLE?

This has been rattling about in the Toobworld Central files for a while now. Since I'm cleaning out my hard drive as much as possible, I figured I should finally get around to it.

This is an exchange of dialogue from 'Sanctuary'.....

Will: Okay, favorite album.
Ashley: Nevermind
Will: What, is it that personal?
Ashley (laughing): No … "Nevermind", Nirvana.
Will: Oh …
Ashley: You?
Will: "Joshua Tree", obviously.
Helen: "Sgt. Pepper" and "Rhapsody In Blue".
Will: That's two.
Helen: Over the course of two lifetimes. Gershwin played it for me while he was writing it.
Will: And no doubt you've watched the sun come up with the Beatles.
Helen: Just one of them.

Well, that's intriguing. Which Beatle? For some reason, I'm thinking it was George. I think of them all, Dr. Magnus might have been more in tune with his explorations into his spiritual growth.

Of course in the long run, it doesn't matter. 'Sanctuary' was banished to an alternate TV dimension because of its radical takes on the characters of Jack The Ripper, Dr. James Watson, and Dr.Tesla. I'm sure there must be something odd about their version of the Beatles as well, evne more so than by Toobworld standards.

And I can't figure out why "Joshua Tree" would be an obvious choice for Will. Anybody familiar with the album and the show who could enlighten me?

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DR. O'MEARA

BARRY O'MEARA

AS SEEN IN:
"Eagle In A Cage"

AS PLAYED BY:
Michael Williams

Barry Edward O'Meara (1786-1836) was an Irish surgeon and founding member of the Reform Club, who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena and became his physician, having been surgeon on board the Bellerophon when the emperor surrendered himself. He is remembered as the author of "Napoleon in Exile, or A Voice From St. Helena" (1822) a book which charged Sir Hudson Lowe with mistreating the former emperor and created no small sensation on its appearance.

(from Wikipedia)

BCnU!

FEATS OF CLAY: ADRIC

In that TV dimension in which claymation characters rule (where there's even a Clay Jesus!), 'Doctor Who' is represented alongside characters like 'Gumby' and 'Moral Orel'.

The lives of the Doctor probably played out exactly as seen in the live-action dimensions, but apparently there are additional scenes not available from Earth Prime-Time.

Here's an example:



BCnU!

WISH-CRAFT: PAGING ELLEN PAGE TO THE BRIDGE!

TVSquad wrote about the casting rumor floating about of Jack Black beaming on board the next 'Star Trek' movie as con man Harry Mudd (a role twice assayed by Roger C. Carmel.)

Here's my response:

I just hope they don't turn to doing a 'Space Seed' Khan reboot; 'The Wrath Of Khan' was the perfect coda to that story, even if it is set in another reality now.

I'd like to see them revisit the story of "Charlie X". But maybe go the 'BSG'/Starbuck route and have young Charlie be a girl this time.

And for the casting rumor mill: Ellen Page!

For those who don't remember that 'Star Trek' episode, Charles Evans was a 17 year old who spent most of his life alone on the planet Thasus until he was rescued by the space freighter crew of the Antares. Once handed over to the Enterprise, Charlie began to exhibit dangerous mental powers similar to those of Anthony Fremont in the 'Twilight Zone' episode "It's A Good Life".

Finally, the disembodied Thasians arrive to take Charlie back to their planet where they can keep an eye on him. They gave him the powers in order for him to survive on Thasus, but now those same powers make him too dangerous to live among others.

Charlie has one of the most haunting exits you'll ever see in any TV show.

And I think Ellen Page would knock this role into the Delta Quadrant!

Just sayin' is all......

BCnU!

"THE DEEP END" OF STANFORD

'Reaper'
'Chuck'
'Knight Rider' (the pilot movie for the remake)
'Boston Legal'
'The Big Bang Theory'
'Journeyman'
'Moonlight'
'CSI'
'One Man's Family'
'Grey's Anatomy'
'Supernatural'
'Party Of Five'
'One Tree Hill'
'Too Close For Comfort'

What ties all those shows together in Toobworld? A real world school, Stanford University, was the alma mater for characters in some of those shows; it was a school option for others; and it was the scene for some of the action in the rest. (With 'Too Close For Comfort', it was just that Henry Rush once wore its sweatshirt.....)

Stanford will come into play again this fall when 'The Deep End' premieres on ABC. The series is a drama about four of the best and brightest among the recent law school graduates who now have to swim among the sharks at the law firm which hired them.

BCnU!

(Thanks to "Child Of Television" Brent - link to the left! - for the info.)

AS SEEN ON TV: SIR HUDSON LOWE

SIR HUDSON LOWE

AS SEEN IN:
"Eagle In A Cage"

AS PLAYED BY:
Sir Ralph Richardson

Sir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG (28 July 1769 - 10 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish military commander, best known as the Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.

During this period the island was strongly garrisoned by the regular British regimental troops, local St Helena Regiment troops and naval shipping circling the island. Agreement was reached that St Helena would remain in the East India Company’s possession, the British government meeting additional costs arising from guarding Napoleon and the East India Company. Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe (1816–1821), was appointed by, and directly reported to, the Lord Bathurst, Secretary for War and the Colonies in London.

The 1817 census recorded 821 white inhabitants, a garrison of 820 men, 618 Chinese indentured labourers, 500 free blacks and 1,540 slaves. In 1818, whilst admitting that nowhere in the world did slavery exist in a milder form than on St Helena, Lowe initiated the first step in emancipating the slaves by persuading slave owners to give all slave children born after Christmas of that year their freedom once they had reached their late teens.

The Duke of Wellington later said that he was "a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew nothing at all of the world, and like all men who knew nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous."

BCnU!

AS ARCHIE BUNKER WOULD SAY: GOOD NIGHT, NURSE!

According to the Daily News, the New York State Nurses Association wants a disclaimer added to the credits at the end of 'Nurse Jackie'; that the show is an aberration from how nurses really are. But actress Edie Falco, who plays Jackie Peyton in the show, had it right:

"We're not saying this is a show about nurses. This is a show about a nurse."

"That's not who I am," said Barbara Crane, president of the National Federation of Nurses. "That's not what I do."

That's right. Because you're not Jackie Peyton!

"I almost fell out of my chair when I saw 'Nurse Jackie.'," she continued. "What are my patients going to think when they see that [show]?"

You know, maybe if your patients can't make the distinction between a TV show and reality, maybe you should be more concerned about them than 'Nurse Jackie'!

I don't think my mother, who was a nurse, would have had a problem with the show; in fact, I'm pretty sure she would have loved it. I told my sister-in-law and an Iddiot friend to watch it - they're both nurses, and I thought they'd like it as well. Haven't heard yet from MJ, but Lydia was upset that she'd probably have to get Showtime now to see more of it.

"We are confident the viewing public will understand that [it is a show of fiction] and can differentiate between a work of fiction and a documentary, which this clearly is not." said Stuart Zakim, vice president of corporate communications at Showtime.

Who'd-a thunk I'd ever agree with a network suit?

They should still be nibbled to death by ducks......

BCnU!

BORN TO RE-RUN: KUNG FU MENTAL

Professor Gideon Graham was a brilliant philosopher who authored such books as "Anti-Wisdom" and "The Book Of Judges". He had been brought to Morton Memorial Hospital in hopes that he could be brought out of his catatonic state, which he had been in since he and his wife had been struck by lightning while up in the mountains. Although he survived, Mrs. Graham died.

One of the few responses he gave to outside stimuli was to kick off his footwear if anybody tried to put some on his feet. It could be this was some kind of subliminal callback to a past life for his soul, which was tapped into by first the lightning and then by the muting of Gideon's present personality. Perhaps his soul once walked the Earth as Kwai Chang Caine, a former Shaolin priest initiate whose father was a white American and his mother was Chinese.

Caine was burdened by the knowledge that he also had caused the death of another. (In his case, it was the nephew of the Chinese Emperor.) And perhaps as part of his self-inflicted punishment, Caine walked the Earth in his bare feet.

And this could be what rose to the surface in the buried recesses of Gideon Graham's mind.

By the way, Professor Gideon Graham (in an episode of 'Mental') and Kwai Chang Caine (the main character of 'Kung Fu') were both played by the late David Carradine.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ALEXANDER WOOLCOTT

ALEXANDER WOOLCOTT

AS SEEN IN:
'Backstairs At The White House'

AS PLAYED BY:
Tom Clancy

Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table.

He was the inspiration for Sheridan Whiteside, the main character in the play "The Man Who Came to Dinner" by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and for the far less likable character Waldo Lydecker in the classic film "Laura". He claimed to be the inspiration for Rex Stout's brilliant detective Nero Wolfe, but Stout, although he was friendly to Woollcott, said there was nothing to this idea.

Woollcott's review of the Marx Brothers' Broadway debut, "I'll Say She Is", helped the group's career from mere success to superstardom and started a life-long friendship with Harpo Marx. Harpo's two adopted sons, William (Bill) Woollcott Marx and Alexander Marx, are named after Woollcott.

(From Wikipedia)

BCnU!

NUMBERS RUNNING: 23 SKIDOO!

Although I thought it might have the number "42", I think it's "23" of the 'Lost' numerical sequence which shows up most often in Toobworld. In the opening sequence from the pilot of 'Royal Pains', a NYC basketball player was seen wearing "23" on his jersey as Dr. Hank Lawson worked to save the life of one of their fellow B-ballers who had been stricken on the court. That someone was wearing that number, with all of its still-unknown mystical qualities, just as Dr. Hank's life was about go through a radical change, makes me wonder if it was a sign that the Fates were about to step in.

(I'm pretty certain it wasn't an intentional allusion from one show to the other! LOL)

The other day, Sci-Fi ran a marathon of 'Friday The 13th: The Series' episodes; one of which was "Mightier Than The Sword". At one point, Detective Adams mentioned that he had been on the police force for 23 years. A few minutes later, that run was ended.....

The number "23" on a jersey showed up again, but this time in the real world. As seen here on the front page of the NY Daily News, the NYPD football team won the game against the FDNY in honor of fallen officer Omar Edwards.

If I'm not mistaken, the officer holding the "23" jersey aloft is himself wearing "42".....

BCnU!

TOOB MUSINGS

After splainin the recent references on other TV shows to 'Batman', 'The Adventures Of Superman', and 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles', I realized that I'm going to have to keep doing that over and over if I'm to remain working in the blog format. On my to-do list for the Future would be an actual website for Toobworld Central, on which I could have the permanent answers to so many of the cosmic questions about the TV Universe.

(This one, from the pilot episode of 'Nurse Jackie', would not be in that list: "What does one serve as a side dish when serving John the Baptist's head on a silver platter?")

But the site would include the splainins which "de-Zonk" any references to the following shows and TV characters, which should be sharing the same TV dimension where the mentions were made:

'Star Trek'
'Doctor Who'
'Batman'
'Superman'
'The Brady Bunch'
'Gilligan's Island'
'Indiana Jones'
'Columbo'
'The X-Files'
'Murphy Brown'
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
'Seinfeld'

and many more.....

AS SEEN ON TV: THE DREAMER OF "OZ"

While I was on vacation, I was subjected to watching "The Wizard Of Oz" 3 times, thanks to my four and a half year old nephew. Don't get me wrong - I love the movie; it's my all-time favorite! But that can be a little much after awhile. (Especially when 'Harper's Island' is playing at the same time and you have no recording capabilities!)

But it did put me in mind to honor the man who gave us that magical world of Oz.....

L. FRANK BAUM

AS SEEN IN:
"The Dreamer Of Oz"

AS PLAYED BY:
John Ritter

It's also a nice way to honor the memory of John Ritter once again this month. He was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame last week, in the League of Themselves division.....

BCnU!

TVXOHOF, 06/2009-B: RFK

For the second week of the month, which is dedicated to historical portrayals, Robert F. Kennedy has received the "honor". Back when I was 13, I was a political naif. Well, that's putting it politely. I was brain-dead when it came to the politics of the real word. But even so, RFK was able to cut through the miasma that insulated me from what was going on and appealed to my more realistic dreams.

And then forty-one years ago this past weekend, he was gunned down in Los Angeles, dying on my birthday. And once again, I retreated back into my imaginary worlds.

Here is a list of the actors who have portrayed Bobby Kennedy in the many dimensions of Toobworld:

Sam Chew Jr.
. . . Tail Gunner Joe (1977)

Steven Culp
. . . Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis (2001)
(This was a video presentation, but he also played RFK in the theatrical movie "Thirteen Days".)

Cliff De Young
. . . "King" (1978) {(#1.1-1.3)}

Timothy C. Furlong
. . . "Unsolved History" (2002) {Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (#2.13)}

David Marshall Grant
. . . Citizen Cohn (1992)

Brian Hill
. . . Keep the Faith, Baby (2002)

James F. Kelly
. . . J. Edgar Hoover (1987)

Robert Knepper
. . . Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot (2001)

Peter Krantz
. . . Sugartime (1995)

Jim McMullan
. . . Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976)

Linus Roache
. . . RFK (2002)

John Shea
. . . "Kennedy" (1983)

Martin Sheen
. . . The Missiles of October (1974)

Cotter Smith
. . . Blood Feud (1983)

BCnU!
(Why not?)

DOUBLE VISION: PHIL HER UP!

Here's a segment from Alan Sepinwall's interview with Edie Falco about her new show 'Nurse Jackie' which jumped out at me with regards to Toobworld:

What's the experience been like working with Paul Schulze again, in arelationship that's similar in some ways but in others very much not?

Well, Paul Schulze is one of my oldest friends in the whole world. We've known each other about 30 years. This is something like 15 or 17 projects we've worked together on -- films, plays, musicals, theater, movies -- we've traveled in a pocket of people who graduated from Purchase and have worked together a lot. And throughout the years, we've played every kind of relationship that a man and woman could have. Very little is completely new. We played husband and wife in a movie called Sweet Talk a million years ago. There were reverberations of that when we were working together on this. I love Paul, I've worked with him so many times.

On a meta level, it's just so weird to see Father Phil finally --

I know, I know -- getting what he wanted. (Laughs) Ah, what are you gonna do?

Actually I'd say she was the one who finally got what she wanted, as Father Phil was more interested in the DVD collection of 'The Sopranos' than he was in her. But aside from that..... As I mentioned in that post about 'Nurse Jackie', the relationship between Jackie and Eddie the hospital pharmacist could have "spiritual" connections to Carmela and Father Phil, the two characters previously played by Falco and Paul Schulze on TV. It would be something akin to the situation with the Corsican Brothers - whatever one twin felt, so would the other. We even see this happen in real life every so often.

As Dana Scully once pointed out on 'The X-Files', Nature produces only so many originals. This is a good splainin as to why so many TV characters look alike - without us having to admit that it is all just television and not an alternate reality, and that they all look alike because they're played by the same actors.

And so these copies could somehow be linked to each other on some primal (or prime-timal) level and feel what the others feel.

In this case, if two characters in a show or TV movie are played by Falco and Schulze, they will always feel that same level of attraction to each other. But Father Phil and Carmela couldn't act on it in 'The Sopranos', but even marriage to others couldn't keep Eddie and 'Nurse Jackie' from connecting with each other.

Just a theory....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SOPHIA LOREN'S PAIR

For our final look at the real life figures portrayed in the TV movie "The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers", I thought it best we brought in some feminine pulchritude. An... ample supply of pulchritude......

SOPHIA LOREN

AS PLAYED BY:
Sonia Aquino

And let's make this a "Two For Tuesday" showcase for "As Seen On TV". Here's a picture of Ritza Brown; she played Young Sophia in the 1980 TV movie "Sophia Loren: Her Own Story"..... I have this big coffee table book about MGM, which has a fantastic, full-page glossy portrait of Sophia Loren. It's a publicity shot for the movie version of "Man Of La Mancha" and I found it online: I have to admit, that when I was much younger, it served as quite the... inspiration.

BCnU!

O'BVIOUSLY: A RUSH FOR TONY

Geoffrey Rush took home the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actor In A Play last night for his performance in Ionesco's "Exit The King".

See? O'Bviously the week-long salute to his portrayal of Peter Sellers in "The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" MUST have had something to do with that!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: STANLEY KUBRICK

Getting back to the theme of the HBO movie "The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" for two last showcases, but neither one of them is of Sellers (as played by Geoffrey Rush).

Since we put the spotlight on a famous director yesterday to celebrate the Tony Awards, today's "As Seen On TV" features Stanley Kubrick, who directed the comic actor in "Dr. Strangelove".
He was portrayed by Stanley Tucci.

BCnU!

BACK TO THE BATCAVE!

Batman is another superhero, like Superman, who has had several incarnations on TV. But the Caped Crusader from the main Toobworld was primarily active in Gotham City during the 1960's.

I don't think the citizens of Earth Prime-Time are aware that Batman was really Bruce Wayne; but there could be some references scattered about in various series. I suppose there are plenty where it's mentioned that Adam West played both roles. (Zonks from the Tooniverse don't count, so I'm safe as far as 'Family Guy' goes.)

But the fact that Batman operated out of his secret headquarters known as "The Batcave" would be common knowledge. Villains were always trying to gain access to it and newspaper accounts eventually would have reported this.

While I was on vacation, I saw the Batcave mentioned on two very different series, which didn't have anything to do with superheroes. First up was an old episode of 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' in which Detective Robert Goren compared an old warehouse used as a murder site to the Batcave. The other reference came from one of the last episodes of 'Surviving Suburbia' to be shown, in which Bob Saget's character thought of his son's closet as his personal Batcave, where he could escape from his wife.

BCnU!

TAKING A TURN FOR THE NURSE

Just a quick note:

I've seen a bleeped version of the 'Nurse Jackie' pilot on msn.com. I liked it a lot and would watch it every week - if I had Showtime. But I can't even justify the cost of HBO for the series I watch on that, so I'm not about to add another one premium channel.

But it adds a new hospital to TV-Manhattan, All Saints. (Does anybody know the name of the hospital at the beginning of the 'Royal Pains' pilot, where he lost his privileges?) And there may be something to the idea that TV characters who resemble each other may lead parallel lives. (In this case: Jackie and Eddie act on the sexual impulses which Carmela Soprano couldn't with Father Phil.)

If you have Showtime, I recommend that you check out the series. It begins Monday night at 10:30 ET...

BCnU!

PIE MAN & SUPERMAN

'Pushing Daisies' returned to the airwaves to complete its undeserved Death March towards cancellation. Well, as it's only back for three last episodes and two have now aired, it's more of a Death Stroll.

ABC treated this series shoddily, but the audience is to blame as well. And once it's gone, it's going to be that much harder for TV creators to come up with something that doesn't smack of the same-old, same-old.

Anyhoo, enough of my griping... for now.

During the run of last week's episode, there was a lot of discussion of Superman - who he was as a man and as a super-man. His identity as Clark Kent was even mentioned.

This has been brought up before in Toobworld Central. Despite all the various incarnations of Clark Kent/Superman that have popped up on TV, on Earth Prime-Time, there was only the One: from 'The Adventures Of Superman'. But sadly, Superman died. (According to our splainin, it's tied in to events that took place in an episode of 'Crime Story' which took place in the early 1960's.)

By this point in the Toobworld timeline, everyone now knows that Superman's secret identity had been that of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper. There was even a foundation dedicated to the memory of Clark Kent (mentioned in Jerry Orbach's final episode of 'Law & Order'). And all of the details of the life/lives of Clark and Superman have been revealed since his death - even the name of his Krypton father (which Jerry Seinfeld uses for his ATM pin number).

So there's no super-sized Zonk with all the mentions of Superman and Clark Kent in 'Pushing Daisies'. Not once was George Reeves name invoked, nor was there any mention of a TV show, the movies or even of the comic books. Ned the Pie-Maker talked about him as if he really existed:

"Nobody gave a crap about Clark Kent. He could disappear off the face of the Daily Planet and nobody would even notice. But I bet he’d spit spandex to find someone special enough who cared about a man and not a cape. But if Lois or Mr. White or Jimmy Olsen found out that Clark and Superman were one and the same, then Clark would be more studly and cool. But on his own, he’s just a super-tall clumsy guy cramming himself into a phone booth."

And in Toobworld, he did exist.

Up, Up, and BCnU!

A JONES FOR INDY-TV

In "The Cost Of Living", an episode of 'CSI: NY', the murder victim was an archaeologist who took the name of "James Sutton". (His real name was Mitch Henson.) At the time of his death, Sutton was on the trail of the answer behind the disappearance and probable murder of Judge Crater back in the 1930's. He even found the Judge's pocket watch near FDR's long-abandoned personal train cars under the Waldorf-Astoria.

Seeing the body's old scars, Sutton's battered fedora, and hearing about his exploits at the nearby explorers' club, Investigator Stella Bonasera remarked:

Stella: Seems James fashioned himself a real Indiana Jones.
Mac: Until someone made this his last crusade.

Perhaps a better way to have described him would have been as "another Indiana Jones", or as "the next Indiana Jones", because the original Indiana Jones was real in Toobworld.

Four actors have played Indy on TV: Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, George Hall, and Harrison Ford himself, who of course originated the role in the movies.

Stella didn't really mis-speak, but she could have chosen her words better. At any rate, there was no Zonk unearthed in this mention of Dr. Henry Jones.

BCnU!

A BIT O' SHERLOCKIANA

"The Man Who Disappeared" is a short film from the 1950's based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story of "The Man With The Twisted Lip" (a MUCH better title!) It starred John Longden as Sherlock Holmes and was meant to be the pilot for a proposed series. Instead, it was released theatrically as a short film.

The movie universe is welcome to it, as there are enough incarnations of the Great Detective to fill quite a few TV dimensions. (And besides, it was pretty shabbily produced.)

If there is anybody out there who deals with the movie universe (as Craig Shaw Gardner did with his "Cineverse" trilogy), then I offer up this trivial nugget for you to do with as you see fit:

The man at the heart of this mystery, "The Man Who Disappeared", was named Neville St. Clair (played by Hector Ross). In the movie adaptation of the comic book series "The Rocketeer", Timothy Dalton played a swashbuckling movie star of the 1930's who was also a closeted Nazi. And that character's name was Neville Sinclair.

The difference in last names isn't insurmountable when dealing with Hollywood actors and/or breaking with old family ties. So if there are any Wold Newton genealogists who want to run with the idea, go for it.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ELIA KAZAN

The Tony Awards will be presented tonight (Sunday, June 7, 2009) and will be telecast on CBS. And even though it's all about a totally different universe - that of the theatre world - Toobworld Central still wants to keep its hand in. (A hand with a bent pinkie, 'Invaders'-style, that is!) The first Tony Awards were presented on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947 at a black-tie optional dinner in the Waldorf Astoria Grand Ballroom. Among the big winners at that first presentation was director Elia Kazan, for his guidance of the production "All My Sons".

The controversial director (having named names at the HUAC hearings) has been portrayed by several actors over the years in TV bio-pics about James Dean and Natalie Wood. But the most prominent actor to assay the role of Elia Kazan was Enrico Colantoni in the 2001 TV movie "James Dean" (which starred James Franco as the doomed actor). BCnU!
(And good luck to all the nominees tonight!)