OFF TO SEE THE MADMAN IN A BOX

Just a fun little meme made by somebody else, turning ‘Doctor Who’ into a production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’…..

Seen here are:

• A Cyberman, one of The Doctor’s greatest enemies
• Dr. Martha Jones, a Companion of the 10th Incarnation who went on to work for UNIT and later married Mickey Smith
• One of the scarecrows who were controlled by the “Family of Blood” in 1913
• Thomas Kinkaide Brannigan, a member of Catkind who was trapped in traffic for years with his human wife and litter of kitlings

So here’s a fanfic story idea….

What if there was a renegade Time Lord, one who might have been driven mad by staring into the Untempered Schism as a Gallifreyan Lad?  Similar to the Celestial Toymaker, he might have taken sadistic delight in torturing his prisoners by forcing them to perform in deadly theatrical productions.  My name for him would be “The Impresario”.

This would be an “UnScene” adventure where the Impresario sought revenge against The Doctor by forcing him and Companions to enact his own adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.  In order to survive, they have to play out the basic storyline, including singing their dialogue when music is cued up.  (Musical episodes of dramatic TV series were in vogue for a time – among them ‘Psych’, ‘Fringe’ ‘Supernatural’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, and ‘One Life To Live’, plus several sitcoms – so why not ‘Doctor Who’*?

Now, two of those pictured here were foes of The Doctor, so they might try to disrupt the Impresario’s scheme in order to ensure the Doctor’s demise.  This is where I now point out that just because Martha is involved, this doesn’t have to be an adventure for the Tenth Incarnation.  This could have taken place during her UNIT tenure or later while working with her husband as a team.  So The Doctor could be any future incarnation.

And I think it would have to be a future incarnation because of the participation of the Cyberman.  What if that was the Brigadier, brought back after death as a Cyberman by Missy?  At least that would guarantee the participation of at least one Cyberman.

As for the Scarecrow, let’s leave it as one of those programmed “soldiers” working for the Family of Blood.  I don’t know why the Impresario would have chosen it – perhaps it was snatched out of its time period by mistake.  Maybe the Impresario meant to grab Tim Latimer but the lad’s premonitions warned him to maneuver into proximity of that scarecrow so that it got scooped up instead.

I like the idea that the Scarecrow would be an adversary out to sabotage the Impresario’s revenge.  It could be how it was dispatched quickly by the Impresario, perhaps by having him ripped apart by winged monkeys.

As for the Doctor… whoever the Incarnation is, I see him/her/they as the musical’s Wizard with the story focused on the friends striving to reach him in order to save him.  (This fanfic story could be considered a “Doctor-Lite” episode, like “Blink” and “Turn Left”.)

I should point out here that there is one Companion who fits into the Oz template and should be included – K-9, playing the role of Toto.  And the Impresario would take on the role of the Wicked Warlock, dressed in black and with green skin.

There should be a flaw in the Impresario’s plot, one which the Companions could exploit.  Maybe the Impresario never foresaw the involvement of Mickey Smith who was scooped up along with his wife.  Maybe he was in disguise throughout the whole journey along the yellow brick road – first as a Munchkin, then as a Winged Monkey, and finally hiding in plain sight under the Impresario’s nose, as one of the Winkie Guards.

When it’s all over and the Impresario defeated, Mickey’s response?  “At least I wasn’t the tin dog!”

Once the Impresario is defeated (“I’m regenerating!”) and The Doctor is rescued, they all enter the TARDIS to go home to their respective time periods.  That’s when The Doctor delivers the final line….

“There’s no place like home!”

So that’s another fanfic idea spurred by a photoshopped meme.

* O'Bservation - Technically, "The Church On Ruby Road" was a musical episode....

BANNED BOOKS ON GALLIFREY?

Of course, The Doctor is not supposed to cross his own timestream, so the Third Incarnation wouldn’t know that his future self, the Thirteenth Incarnation, would meet Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley on the night when she was inspired to write about the “modern Prometheus”.

It could be that the High Council of Time Lords banned the “Frankenstein” book from Gallifrey’s libraries and from the curriculum of their various levels of academia.  While they practiced regeneration, revitalizing themselves when they were “mostly dead”, they probably had serious qualms about bringing someone back from being completely dead.

By the way, the Lux Foundation Library planet had to have a copy “Frankenstein” in its massive data storage core, possibly more than one copy, as with any book, in a separate backup drive. 

WHOVIAN CROSSOVERS - DON'T PANIC!

 
Here's one reason why the Doctor is in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame....

TVXOHOF, JULY 2019 - JESSICA JONES

July is kind of an amorphous month for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Many of the other months have themes – January/Classic TV, February/Black History, April/”The Fool”, May/the Ladies, August/Westerns, September/Behind The Scenes, October/Horror, November/Newsmakers, December/Multiverse lately….

But I was never sure what I could do with July.  Lately I’ve been toying with the idea of using that month for cops and private eyes.  And since our overall theme for this 20th anniversary year of the TVXOHOF has been superheroes, I’m lucky enough to have one who fits the bill… just barely.

JESSICA JONES!

It was a toss-up for me to go with either Luke Cage, the Hero for Hire, or Ms. Jones.  I decided that Luke Cage, having the heftier credits list, deserved a more fitting showcase than a Friday Hall of Famer.  So I’m fitting him up for February of 2021.

Let’s take a look first at who Jessica Jones is and where she came from….

From Wikipedia:
Jessica Campbell Jones is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, and first appeared in Alias #1 (November 2001), as part of Marvel's Max, an imprint for more mature content.

Within the context of Marvel's shared universe, Jones is a former superhero who becomes the owner (and usually sole employee) of Alias Private Investigations. Bendis originally envisioned the series centered on Jessica Drew and only decided to create Jones once he noticed that the main character had a distinct voice and background that differentiated her from Drew.

Jones has since starred in three ongoing series: Alias, The Pulse and Jessica Jones. Alias ran for 28 issues before ending in 2004, while The Pulse ran for 14 issues from April 2004 to May 2006. Jessica Jones debuted in October 2016. She became a member of the New Avengers, alongside her husband, Luke Cage, during Marvel's 2010 Heroic Age campaign. She has used various aliases throughout her history, including Jewel, Knightress, and Power Woman.

Marvel's Jessica Jones, or simply Jessica Jones, is an American web television series created for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that led to The Defenders crossover miniseries.

The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Tall Girls Productions, with Rosenberg serving as show-runner.   Krysten Ritter stars as Jessica Jones, a former superhero who opens her own detective agency.

A version of the series was originally developed by Rosenberg for ABC in 2010, but the network passed on it. By late 2013, Rosenberg was reworking the series for Netflix as A.K.A. Jessica Jones. Ritter was cast as Jones in December 2014. Jessica Jones is filmed in New York City, in areas that still look like old Hell's Kitchen.

All episodes of the first season premiered on November 20, 2015. They were released to critical acclaim, with critics noting Ritter's and Tennant's performances as well as the series' noir tone, approach to sexuality, and depiction of darker topics such as rape, assault and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In January 2016, Netflix renewed Jessica Jones for a second season; filming began in April 2017 and concluded in September 2017.

The second season was released on March 8, 2018, and a third season was ordered on April 12, 2018, which was released on June 14, 2019. On February 18, 2019, Netflix canceled the series, making the third season its last.

From the IMDb:
Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City.

Played by Kristen Ritter, Jessica Jones appeared in the following series:

JESSICA JONES
29 episodes

THE DEFENDERS
8 episodes

You see my dilemma?  She’s only appeared in two series and to be a member of the TVXOHOF, a character or a member of the League of Themselves has to be in three different series.

As Prime-Time marches on and we’re kind of reaching a shortage of Hall-worthy candidates, we have relaxed the rules… a little.  If the character is mentioned elsewhere and in such a way that denotes they actually exist, than that gives credence to their existence in the TV Universe.

And we have three such references for Jessica Jones:

I was surprised that Jessica Jones didn’t show up in the 'Luke Cage' series, even just for a cameo, considering how… tight they were together for a time during her own show.  But unless her photograph showed up and I happened to be blinking, this is all we got:

Luke Cage:
The Main Ingredient (2018)

Daniel Rand:
Look, Luke… you're not alone. I've got your back. So does Misty. So does Jessica.

I find myself typing “Jessica Jones” as if it’s just not complete without both names.  I feel like Tracy Jordan always saying “Liz Lemon”.

Here was another reference….

Daredevil:
Kinbaku (2016)

Marci Stahl mentions that she has been hired on by Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz….

Marci Stahl:
Rumors among my new partners? Reyes has her sights on the mayor's office.
Matt Murdock (?)
This is my shocked face.
Marci Stahl:
And she aims to do so by building a platform on Frank Castle's conviction. She gets him, she sets precedent against these other vigilantes popping up. One in our office is already under serious scrutiny, lady by the name of Jessica Jones.

This last one is a little more oblique….

Iron Fist:
The Blessing of Many Fractures (2017)

Daniel Rand:
Where did you get this?
Joy Meachum:
I hired a private investigator a while ago to start digging.  She was worth every penny… when she was sober.

Sure, that could be just about any female private eye in Toobworld.  Maybe Honey West has seen the end of her better days.  But I think we're supposed to assume that this rarely sober P.I. is Jessica Jones.

Eventually she teamed up with Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage as the Defenders, so it’s all good.

All five Netflix shows have been cancelled now as mighty Disney, who owns Marvel, probably has plans to use them on their own streaming platform.  But with the same actors?  Doubtful.  

In the meantime, welcome to the Hall, Jessica Jones.
I did it again!

O'Bservation:
In case you didn't notice, this also serves as our Wiki Tiki Wednesday offering as well.

MONDAY MINUTIAE = UNSCENE IN WESTEROS

‘Game of Thrones’ has been over for more than a month now, and here I am still yammering on about it.

I haven’t read the books, and the TV show trundled on before the last two books have been published, but just from the truncated final season I know that the viewers were missing out on so much.  And as such it serves as a great example of the deep divide between Toobworld and BookWorld.

George R.R. Martin, the man who created this world in both metafictional universes, acknowledges that:

“If nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet.  And yes, there will be unicorns… of a sort…Book or show, which will be the ‘real’ ending? It’s a silly question…How about this? I’ll write it. You read it. Then everyone can make up their own mind, and argue about it on the internet.”  

Even having not read the books, I don’t have to make up my mind.  For me they’re both valid because they are two different universes.

And who knows?  All of those characters probably do exist in the Earth Prime-Time version of the saga; we just didn’t get the chance to meet them.

BCnU!

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - KING KONG BUNDY

Via the Los Angeles Times:
Professional wrestler King Kong Bundy has died at age 61. 

Promoter and longtime friend David Herro says Bundy died on Monday. Herro posted on Facebook: "Today we lost a Legend and a man I consider family." The cause of death and other details were not disclosed. 

Bundy, whose real name was Christopher Pallies, was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters), 458-pound (208-kilogram) wrestler made his World Wrestling Federation debut in 1981. 

He was best known for facing Hulk Hogan in 1986 in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2, which Hogan won.   

Mr. Bundy is one of those special cases with regards to membership status in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  First off, we don’t consider appearances in sporting events, as is the case also with talk shows and for the most part variety programs and game shows.  However, professional wrestling is more like theater and the wrestlers are playing characters, oftentimes fictional televersions of themselves.. 

Even though the TVXOHOF might not mean much to others, I think his passing should be acknowledged - even though he barely squeaks by with two appearances as a member of the League of Themselves and as a mention in another series which verifies his existence.

So for his three credits for qualification:

Married with Children
- Flight of the Bumblebee (1995)

From the IMDb:
In order to join Al's group NO MA'AM, Bud must go through a process where he must crash a televised wrestling match in order to get an photograph taken of him with pro-wrestler King Kong Bundy. Bud not only gains backstage access by dressing in a Bumblebee outfit, but thank to Kelly's big mouth, he lands in the ring facing the star wrestler as well.  

Weird Science
- Men in Tights (1996)

From the IMDb:
Wyatt and Chett become professional wrestlers.
The wrestling event of the show is the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) however the only actual WWF wrestler making an appearance is King Kong Bundy. Neither Michael Clark Duncan or Brian Thompson where actual wrestlers.  

O’Bservation: Bundy asks Angel out on a date and they go to a frozen yogurt place.

Billions
- Kompenso (2018)

From the IMDb:
It's bonus time at Axe Cap and Bobby has an iron fist around all things compensation, which has Taylor wondering if they are in the right place. Chuck goes out on a limb to save his closest friend, and tries a new tactic to build momentum with the destruction of his boss. 

Bobby Axelrod
On top of your other bonus that's more than a two-ball for this year. But that is not a repeatable trick. When we're here 12 months from now, if you're not still body-slamming like uh-#
Mafee
King Kong Bundy!Did you pretend not to remember that to make me feel good?

This mention proves that he does exist in the main Toobworld as a fictional televersion.

As a final (for now) entry in his resume, check out this ESPN commercial which my brother Crossoverist Matt Hickman pointed out to me:

Even though everybody in this blipvert is appearing as themselves, this was a fictional occurrence.  So it has as much validity as a mini-TV show as Bundy's appearances in the sitcoms.  Thanks, Matt!

Should there be any other references to King Kong Bundy in the future in some TV show, I'll be sure to add it to his "gallery" in the TVXOHOF page on Facebook.  Check that page out when you get the chance!

In the meantime, we welcome the spirit of King Kong Bundy into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Please be careful with the furniture.  We don't want any knicks.

WISH-CRAFT WEDNESDAY PRESENTS - THE LAUNCH OF "UNSCENE"

Today we're using the semi-regular feature "Wish-Craft Wednesday" to launch a new feature - "The UnScene".

There are plenty of TV characters out there in Toobworld beyond those we actually see on the screen.  After all, every TV character had parents; some had siblings and cousins, co-workers and next-door neighbors; they had ancestors going back centuries.  And some of those characters we know by name even if they are never seen:

• Dr. Lars Lindstrom ('The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and technically 'Phyllis')
• Maris Crane ('Frasier')
• Otis the Elevator Operator ('The Mary Tyler Moore Show')
• Enid Kelso ('Scrubs')
• Stan Walker ('Will & Grace')
• Mrs. Bloom ('The Goldbergs'*)
  
  
  
  
  
• Charlie Townsend ('Charlie's Angels')
• Mrs. Wolowitz ('The Big Bang Theory')
• POTUS ('Veep')
• Tino ('My So-Called Life')
• The Gooch ('Diff'rent Strokes')

At least two of those characters we never saw, but we did hear them - Mrs. Wolowitz and Charlie Townsend.

And then there are the "UnScene" whom we see, but only partially - a hand, the feet, the backside; sometimes their faces are seen but they're hidden - Vera with a pie, Carlton in a gorilla mask.

• Carlton the Doorman ('Rhoda')
• Vera Kreitzer Peterson ('Cheers')
• J. Beresford Tipton ('The Millionaire')
• The Ugly Naked Guy ('Friends')
• Robin Masters ('Magnum P.I.')

And we heard the voices of at least three of those - Carlton, Vera, and Tipton.  (I think Masters hired Orson Welles to provide his voice as a substitute for his own.)

You may have noticed one glaring omission of an UnScene - Mrs. Columbo.  Then again, you might have thought - but we did end up seeing her.  She even had her own show!

But that woman wasn't the wife of the Lt. Frank Columbo of Earth Prime-Time, despite the presence of Dog and Columbo's car.  Her show was set in some alternate Toobworld.  She was the wife of some other Columbo, perhaps still played by Peter Falk.  Or maybe not. 

I doubt she was married to the Lt. Columbo from the Pilot Universe.  He was born circa 1919 while she was born circa 1955.  May-December marriages with an age difference of 36 years like that have been seen in the Real World as well as in Toobworld, and that's not even as great an age difference as seen in some TV shows.  But I just don't see Mulgrew's Rose being married to Freed's Columbo.

As you may have noticed, I called that Mrs. Columbo "Rose".  Although not often heard in the episodes, during the first season that was her first name.  But by the second half of the first season she was "Kate Columbo" and then she was finally "Kate Callahan" in the second season when the series underwent a title change to 'Kate Loves A Mystery'.

I think we have three different TV dimensions involved here.  

First there was the Toobworld in which she was named Rose and married to that world's Lt. Columbo.  

Halfway through the first season, she was now known as Kate Columbo, not Rose Columbo.  She was from a second TV dimension where she had a different first name and she had divorced Columbo.  

When Kate divorced that Columbo, she dropped that name and went back to her maiden name.  As for Jenny, Kate went to court and changed her daughter's name from Columbo to her own name, Callahan. 

Finally, in a third TV dimension when the show was now 'Kate Loves A Mystery', she was Kate Callahan, never having married anyone named Columbo.  However, her ex-husband (Mr. Callahan) was the same man as the Columbo in those other two dimensions.  He would have to be in order to provide his fair share of the DNA which created Jenny Callahan (Jenny Columbo in those other dimensions.) 

He must have been adopted in all three dimensions.  In two of them, he was adopted by a family named Columbo.  In Earth Prime-Time, he was adopted by the Callahans.

I think that husband died, perhaps in the line of duty, maybe an accident.  My only reasoning for that is that I'd want one of those three sets of mother and daughter to have been happy, even if only for a short time.

Confusing, ain't it?  Sorry about that, Chief.

It's Kate and Jenny Callahan who are allowed to be members of Earth Prime-Time, unlike Rose and Jenny Columbo or Kate Callahan Columbo and Jenny Columbo Callahan.

All of the episodes in that second season share the same TV dimension as the Lt. Columbo we all know and love - the main Toobworld - because there was no longer any attempt to connect the two shows together. 

That first season was split between the other two dimensions.

We can't be certain as to what happened to Kate Callahan after the series concluded, but suppositions could be made about the future of little Jenny Callahan.  She studied the violin and when she grew up she became a professional violinist. 

And we saw her practicing her passion and profession in two different series: 'Transparent' ("Kina Hora") and 'Dharma & Greg' ("Without Reservations".) Lili Haydn is listed in the credits for both episodes as merely "Violinist", so why couldn't it be that she was Jenny Callahan?

One day she may even be a Birthday Honors List inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

Just one more thing....

As for the Mrs. Columbo of Earth Prime-Time, she remains an UnScene and will be to the end of Prime-Time, I'm afraid.  But based on the way Columbo would speak of her, and with acknowledgement of the wishes of the men who created her, Richard Levinson and William Link (who pictured Maureen Stapleton in the role), I've always thought Sada Thompson would have been the perfect Better Half for the Rumpled One.

But of course, we'll never know.....

We will have a new "UnScene" post on Friday, and that will be about another UnScene character from 'Columbo'.

BCnU!

* And by "The Goldbergs", I mean the original series, the brain-child of Gertrude Berg, you amnesiac millennials!