ON THE PROFESSOR'S BIRTHDAY

Today, Toobworld Central is remembering
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
on the 134th anniversary of his birth.

In the greater TV Universe, J.R.R. Tolkien and his writings are represented in several alternate Toobworlds.  “The Hobbit” and “The Return Of The King” were both animated and are considered part of the Tooniverse.  Gollum and Frodo showed up in sketches on ‘Saturday Night Live’, thus placing them in Skitlandia.  

And a TV movie based on his early adult life could be considered part of the man Toobworld – Earth Prime-Time – but it’s definitely part of the TV dimensions which is comprised of made-for-TV movies.

He also exists in the alternate dimension of Toobworld DC (‘Legends of Tomorrow’ and in an as-yet-unnamed TV dimension in which Tolkien’s faith was examined (‘A Question of God’).    

'Legends of Tomorrow'

O’Bservation: During RTD’s first tenure as the showrunner of ‘Doctor Who’, the Time Lord met a series of writers – Christie, Shakespeare, Dickens, Mary Shelley, King James 1, HG Wells, and Bracebridge Hemyng.  (Look him up!)

Tolkien as seen in
"CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia"

(My fanfic fantasy involved the Doctor and Tolkien in an adventure, with Tolkien inspired to create the Ents after meeting the humanoid trees from the Forest of Cheem.)

I’ve only seen one episode of “The Rings of Power” so I can’t make a qualified assessment as to whether or not it belongs in Earth Prime-Time.  I’m tempted to add yet another TV dimension called “Middle-Earth Prime-Time”.  (O’Bservation: I didn’t care for that first episode; I found it boring.)

As far as references to his world of Middle-Earth go, I think it’s a safe bet that most of the mentions by TV characters deal with the Peter Jackson movies.

The Tolkien Televersion ('Columbo')
&
The Professor His Own Self

O’Bservation: I even posited a theory that Tolkien was actually seen in the main Toobworld, and Lt. Columbo sat right next to him!

In the latest episode of ‘Harry Wild’ (a special movie entitled “You Are Cordially Invited To An Assassination”), the topic of the movie adaptations versus the original books comes up near the beginning….

I accept that ‘Harry Wild’ is part of Earth Prime-Time.  So if “Rings of Power” does get absorbed into the main Toobworld, there will have to be a splainin to do to reconcile the books and the adaptation (plus the references to the movies) all being in the same TV dimension.

And I think I have one….

The televersion of J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the novels, but they were actually based on the historical record set down in the Red Book of Westmarch.  And so if ‘Rings Of Power’ is accepted as part of the main Toobworld, the adaptations of his account, which was already diluted by his use of more common names and other words instead of the original Shire-speak, should be considered TV adaptations within the TV Universe and not as the actual, factual, historical depictions.  

If there be scenes which were created specifically for the series, then we could assume the Red Book of Westmarch, as well as “The Lord Of The Rings,’ is different from the books we know here in the Trueniverse, Earth Prime.  They include chapters which don’t exist in our world, making the trilogy even heftier!

Well, that’s my splainin to do, anyway.

Here’s to you, Professor…. 

TVXOHOF, JANUARY 2026 - REMEMBERING DENNIS MITCHELL

Every January, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame kicks off another year of inductions into the Hall with a classic TV character.  This year is no different, but I never would have guessed this entry would be so sad.  And so soon.

DENNIS MITCHELL

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Jay North, who starred as the young mischief maker with the characteristic blond cowlick on the 1959-63 CBS comedy 'Dennis the Menace', has died. He was 73.

On Sunday, 04/07/2025, Jay North died at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, after years of battling colon cancer, according to Jeannie Russell, who played Margaret Wade on his show, told The Hollywood Reporter. She called him her “otherworldly brother.”

Here are the credits which qualified him for membership in the Hall....

DENNIS THE MENACE
149 EPISODES (1959-1963)

From the IMDb:
The live-action adaptation of the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. Dennis Mitchell was a loveable young boy, dressed in overalls and carrying a slingshot in his pocket. Everywhere he went, Dennis' wide-eyed curiosity, well-meaning attempts to help out, and his simply being a normal, red-blooded American boy growing up always seemed to lead to trouble. Usually on the receiving end was Dennis' next-door neighbor, retired business machine salesman George Wilson.

Dennis worshiped Mr. Wilson, but he usually displayed a less-than-cordial attitude around the young lad. Mr. Wilson's wife, Martha, adored Dennis and saw him as a surrogate grandson (since the Wilsons never had any children). Dennis' long-suffering parents were Henry (an engineer) and Alice (a stay-at-home mother).

Episodes revolved around Dennis' adventures and the trouble that usually followed. Also involved in the fun were Dennis' friends Tommy, Margaret, and Seymour. During the final year of the show, Mr. Wilson's brother, John, moved in after George and Martha left the neighborhood (due to the death of Joseph Kearns). The live-action "Dennis the Menace" ran for years in syndication; an animated series showed up in the 1980s.—Brian Rathjen

THE DONNA REED SHOW
DONNA DECORATES (1960)

From the IMDb:
Donna has her kitchen remodeled and new appliances installed.

While crossover appearances are not uncommon in television shows (it is an easy way to promote a second show), this particular instance was unusual. Even though the two shows were produced by the same studio (Columbia), they were broadcast by different networks. Donna's show was on ABC while Dennis' show was on CBS.

Jay North and Joseph Kearns reprise their roles from the CBS series "Dennis the Menace" in this episode, which aired on ABC. This marks one of the earliest times in TV history that two scripted series on different networks cooperated on a multi-network crossover, not counting variety shows.

SKITLANDIA

THE RED SKELTON HOUR
FREDDIE'S MILLIONS (1960)

From the IMDb:
Just as he's about to apply for unemployment insurance, Freddie the Freeloader finds himself a multimillionaire, but has to contend with small boys, newspapers, bureaucrats and police.

O'Bservation:
North plays Dennis in this episode.  Two seasons later, he returns, playing himself.  So Freddie is one of those rare TV characters to meet both the actor and the character he played.)

COMMERCIALS
FOR RICE KRISPIES, BOSCO'S, BEST FOOD MAYONNAISE, SKIPPY PEANUT BUTTER

O’Bservations:
I can only vouch for the Skippy and Rice Krispies commercials that North appeared as Dennis.  Both can be found online.

Because he also appeared in the commercial for Skippy, George Wilson (as played by Joseph Kearns) will one day be inducted into the TVXOHOF as well.  (That's Gale Gordon as George's brother John in the Rice Krispies picture above.)

As Red Skelton would say, “Good night and may God bless.”
Welcome to the TVXOHOF, Dennis….

THE POWER OF DONNA

 

Donna showed that she had power even before she became "Doctor/Donna".  She understood her self-worth and was not afraid to show that.

ACTORS IN BOTH 'DOCTOR WHO' & THE 'HARRY POTTER' FRANCHISE

 

THE INCARNATIONS Q&A - "ARE YOU A WOKE WARRIOR?"

 

AGE OF THE DOCTOR

 

Here's a theory from Facebook (February, 2025):

Simple - pre-Time war the doctor uses Gallifreyan years.

Post-Time War it's Earth years.
- Sean Mills

RACY LINE OF THOUGHT....

 

A TWO-BEATER TOOBIT

From "DOCTOR WHO FANS UNITE":

At the time of filming her regeneration scene, Jodie Whittaker was pregnant.

This makes her the first actor playing the Doctor to officially have two hearts in her body.

PRESENTED WITHOUT O'BSERVATION

 

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

 

FANFIC, FIT TO A TEE

This was posted on the Classic Television Shows FB page back in January:

I happened to notice this anachronism on ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ this morning. The episode is “The Kid” (Seaon 5 Episode 15.)

Paladin is wearing a V-neck T-shirt, which did not exist in the 1870s and 1880s. During that time, men typically wore full undershirts made of wool or cotton, often with high, round necklines or buttons at the chest. The V-neck T-shirt as we know it today was not introduced until the mid-20th century, as a variation of the basic crewneck T-shirt.
[Alan DeCampli]

I think we know, as Whovians, the Time Lord responsible for this pollution of the timeline….

The Meddling Monk, of course.

I have no idea why he felt it was an important anachronism, however.

That is the stuff fanfic is for.

Care to give it a whirl? 

WHOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?

 
Well, it's not Saturday morning this year, but it's time for a cartoon anyway....

From Phillip Kelley:
This post is with thanks to Paul Burley who was a designer and held the position of art editor for Doctor Who Magazine from issues 319 to 334.

This artwork has my own favorite period of Doctor Who being the Tom Baker years. This also features Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Smith as Harry Sullivan in 1975 to 1976. It coincides with the time of Scooby Doo in the seventies. Tom Baker played the Doctor for seven years.

"I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling time travelers!"
- the Cyberman.

DOCTOR WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

 
Before we get started, here’s a chance to review all of the incarnations of the Doctor who took part in adventures seen in the television series.  (Not seen are the supposed incarnations who were seen in the Fourth Incarnation’s memories during his mental battle with Morbius in “The Brain of Morbius”.)  They are not seen in any ordered sequence, at least not in any which I can discern.  But I think it’s better this way – rather in a linear fashion, like chronological order, they appear in a timey-wimey jumble.

Hopefully, I will have some kind of blog post showcasing each one individually over the next 24 hours.

2026 "WHO'S ON FIRST" BLOG-A-THON KICKS OFF!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everybody had a great New Year's Eve?

Welcome to the 18^th anniversary edition of the "Who's On First?" blogAthon.  For the next 24 hours, there will (hopefully) be twenty-four posts about 'Doctor Who', one every hour.

I wrote this WELL in advance:
This round-the-clock celebration of 'Doctor Who' began somewhat modestly - there were only seven "episodes" for that first outing.  But it has grown to the point where for the last couple of years we have tried to present a new blog post about the universe of the Doctor every half hour.   That may not be the case this year.  We'll at least try to get one in every hour.

And I always amaze myself that I find enough topics each year.  But then, I have yet to see every episode of the 61 year old series.

Because of their time-sensitive nature, there were a few posts I published earlier in the year.  Some are just mentions of the Doctor, most of them dealt with the breaking news about the show.  If so, I'll re-post them early in the day's schedule (when it's the middle of the night for most visitors.)

This edition will hopefully be special.  (I'm setting up this post in January, 2025!)  And I see this as the perfect moment to thank everybody who came up with the wonderful memes and artwork which I hope is okay to share.  (If not, I'll replace it.)

So here it is - the kick-off to the 2026 edition of 'Who's On First'!  And as always, we begin with the frame grab from 'Robot Chicken' which has become our mascot....