CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK (THIS WEEK, REALLY!)

While watching 'Monk' this past weekend, I came across this week's crossover. But it wasn't connected to 'Monk' at all. It was a commercial that played during the episode.

Ol' Lonely III, the Maytag repairman, was sitting at his office eating from a box of Cheez-Its. When the phone rang, there was a frantic woman was calling in with a plea for help - her Maytag washer was broken and flooding her house.

"Is the water over your head yet?"

"Um... no...."

"Well, make sure you hold your breath when that help happens." After he hangs up, Ol' Lonely shouts out, "Nice try, Rookie!"

And then we see that the Maytag novitiate is in the back room with a cell phone, foiled in his attempt to get the box of Cheez-Its.

And the familiar voiceover for the Cheez-It company says, "Get your own box."

Usually, Ol' Lonely, played by actor Hardy Rawls, and the Apprentice, portrayed by Mark Devine, are found attesting to the dependability of appliances made by Newton-based Maytag.

The commercial, directed by Jim Gartner of Gartner Films, is not the first time the two repairmen have been used to promote another company's product. In 2002, they appeared in a spot for the Chevrolet Impala. That ad was created by Chevy's lead agency, Interpublic Group's Campbell-Ewald in Warren, Mich.

Kellogg says it likes seeing its product promoted by "two much-loved and instantly recognizable characters."Maytag gets a kind of subliminal plug, too, because when viewers see the two Maytag men, they're going to think of, well, Maytag.

The 30-second Cheez-It spot will air on national network and cable television through spring.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

TV CROSSOVER OF THE (LAST) WEEK

I've been remiss in keeping track of the TV crossovers for these last few weeks (not that we've had that many).

I guess the last update was the celebration of the musical link between 'Lost' and 'Alias', with DriveShaft's "You All Everybody" playing in the background at Sydney Bristow's party.

Before that, it was a commercial link in which 7-Up Plus had half a reunion of the 'Sex And The City' pretties - Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York.

For these last couple of weeks, we also turn to the world of advertising.

First up was a blipvert for Dove Imaging which featured crosstime testimonials from three of Hanna-Barbera's leading ladies of cartoons:

Meet Jane Jetson, from the far-flung Future of 2001 ('The Jetsons'), Wilma Flintstone from a place right out of History ('The Flintstones'), and Velma Dinkley of the stuck-in-the-70s Now ('Scooby Doo, Where Are You?').

In magazine print ads, they are joined by Marge Simpson of 'The Simpsons', and it looks like only Wilma was chosen for the subway posters. (But then who better represents that cave-like ambience in order to proclaim that a little yabba dab'll do ya?)

Unfortunately, they are all "interviewed" separately about the product. It would have been great to get them all together; to hear them kvell about various topics.... sort of a toon 'View'.

I suppose all three women will eventually enter the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. (Wilma's daughter Pebbles Flintstone Rubble is already a member.)

Besides the various TV movies, spin-offs, and specials evolved from 'The Flintstones', Wilma has also done a few commercials. Most infamous would be the old Winston cigarettes blipvert.

Jane Jetson has been quite the darling of the ad planet in recent years, mostly for Radio Shack.

And all three ladies have even crossed over to theatrical releases, with Wilma and Velma being portrayed in flesh and blood rather than just pen and ink.

Wilma and Jane have crossed paths before in a special toon..... Perhaps someday the Mystery Machine might be transported into some temporal vortex where these three Hanna-Barberellas can let their hair down and diss the men - and dogs/dinos - in their lives.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

CHOW TIME

Sonny Chow was a martial arts movie star in Toobworld until his death in 1998 from a morphine addiction.

Among his many movies are:

Enter The Cobra
Ten Fingers Of Doom
Fist Of The Cobra
Death From The Darkness
Kung Fu Assassin
Legend Of The Cobra
Ninja Fury
Blood Rage II

Apparently, his movies are probably hard to find now in Toobworld. An author who had written an expose about Sonny Chow had only videotapes of the movies, not DVDs. And Lt. Disher considered the bootleg tape of "Enter The Cobra" to be a rare find.

But now that John Ricca, who wrote the hated tell-all "Paper Cobra", was murdered in a failed attempt to convince the police that Sonny Chow was still alive, perhaps it's time to release the movies again in a deluxe DVD boxed set.

It would be a big seller and probably be a lot better than watching DVD of old 'Jetman' shows starring Oscar North......
('Monk' & 'He & She')

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

A FEW QUICK HITS

With Topher Grace leaving and Ashton Kutcher going part-time on 'That '70s Show' next fall, co-star Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Fez, will be getting a higher profile next season. Does this mean Valderrama might be getting a spin-off as a result?

"There's been talk," he says. So would he be interested? Valderrama says maybe -- if the stars align. He certainly isn't dismissing the notion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC has ordered a pilot of an updated Night Stalker series from former The X-Files executive producer Frank Spotnitz, Variety reported. The show will rework the classic 1970s ABC show Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which detailed a hard-boiled journalist's investigations into freakish occurrences, the trade paper reported.

Ironically, The X-Files creator Chris Carter has said he was inspired in part by the original Night Stalker series, which starred Darren McGavin.

This new series would have to be relegated to the alternate TV dimension of Earth Prime-Time Delayed, as the one true Kolchak already made his mark in Toobworld back in the 1970s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
League of Themselves alert:
Scott Reeves (ex-Ryan, 'The Young and the Restless') will play himself when his hit country band Blue County appears on 'As the World Turns' Feb. 14 in scenes with Craig and Jennifer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By JOHN PAIN, AP Business Writer
MIAMI - When Burger King decided to try a new promotion to cash in on the reality TV craze, the No. 2 fast-food chain turned to the master of the pitch — Donald Trump.

Burger King put a twist on product placement into the premiere of the third season of Donald Trump's NBC hit "The Apprentice." The two teams in the latest incarnation of the cutthroat reality TV show each had to help design a new Burger King product along with the chain's head chef, Calvin Harris. They then had to sell it while running two busy stores in midtown Manhattan during lunchtime. The team with the most sales won.

The winning team, Networth, hawked a Western Angus steak burger, loaded with onion rings, cheese, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomatoes That burger was being debuted in 7,800 restaurants nationwide Friday.

"It will feel like a product has come from the boardroom into the restaurant in 24 hours," Klein said, even though the episode was taped months ago. Burger King is planning to run a 30-second commercial featuring Trump on NBC until the end of January, Klein said. The burger should be in stores until Feb. 4.

"It's a short, quick, targeted campaign ... It's driven more by the association with The Apprentice and Trump than it is with this particular burger."

Toobworld addendum:
It also ratchets up Trump's numbers when it comes to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame. He's appeared as himself on 'The Drew Carey Show', 'Suddenly, Susan', and 'The Job', plus commercials for Visa, Pizza Hut, and - quel horrors! - MacDonald's!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MECHANICAL CONNECTION

I was watching an old Western on the GoodLife Network and I decided to look up the actor John Dennis in the IMDb.com as he looked very familiar.

Here were three entries that jumped out at me:

"Taxi" playing "Maintenance Man" in episode: "The Reluctant Fighter" (episode # 2.5) 9 October 1979

"Incredible Hulk, The" playing "Mechanic" in episode: "The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas" (episode # 1.6) 21 April 1978

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" playing "Second Maintenance Engineer" in episode: "The Devil's Platform" (episode # 1.7) 15 November 1974

Here's how I think it played out:

The Maintenance Man/Mechanic played by John Dennis decided that cold and windy Chicago was no longer the life he was meant for. So in 1975 he moved to Las Vegas. (He probably heard Carl Kolchak mention it.)

But a liking for the dice proved to be his undoing and so a year later, he decided to move again. This time he headed East, to NYC, to begin again.

What he probably noticed was that he'd still be close to Atlantic City should the fever ever come upon him again.......

(My only fear is that his mechanic in the 'Kolchak' episode might have been killed by the monster of the week! And dat would be da name of dat tune!)

John Dennis also helps give credence to the idea that certain characters are not only reincarnated, but that they come back to do exactly the same thing they did in the previous life:

"Man from Atlantis, The" playing "Bartender" in episode: "Giant" (episode # 1.8) 25 October 1977

"Barbary Coast" playing "Bartender" in episode: "Irish Luck" (episode # 1.6) 13 October 1975

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

ATTENTION, JUNIOR TOOBWORLDERS!

While searching the web in hopes of finding a justification as to why I like the new sitcom 'Committed so much, I came across this intriguing item in one of the show's bulletin boards:

by - misfitdoll67 4 days ago (Sat Jan 8 2005 11:04:58 )
Whenever they show an establishing shot of the apartment building where Marni lives I get deja vu. I know it's from another sitcom. Anybody recognize it? "Mad About You", "Seinfeld", "Friends"??

by - dsera-1 1 day ago (Mon Jan 10 2005 20:54:12 )
I think it's Seinfeld. I immediately thought that when I saw it.
Cristina
~Get LOST~ http://www.lost-tv.com/

Could it be? Is it possible that I might make the claim that 'Committed' is taking place in the same building in which the TV Jerry Seinfeld lives?

If you've been watching the show, - and better yet, have been taping it so that you could go back and check out those establishing shots, - let me know what you think!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE GREAT CARSONI

"And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.'"
- Johnny Carson
'The Tonight Show'

Who else could lay claim to the power of their impact that they not only caused a toilet paper shortage in America, but that they were also a plot point in an episode of 'Columbo'?*

The butler played by Maurice Evans in the episode "Forgotten Lady" told the Lieutenant that he and his wife had been watching Carson on the 'Tonight Show' until 1 am at which time he had gone to check on the master of the house.

It not only provided Columbo with a time frame for the death, but it also serves as an historical record for the audience. It wasn't until 1980 (approx.) that the 'Tonight' show was cut back to just one hour.

For the thirty years he hosted 'The Tonight Show' alone, Johnny deserves accolades and honors as a true TV Giant. But there were all those other shows in which he honed his craft before getting that gig - 'Carson's Cellar', 'The Johnny Carson Show', 'Do You Trust Your Wife?'/'Who Do You Trust?'.....

Carson also appeared as himself, on other variety programs, game shows, retrospective specials, or even the many movies that made use of 'Tonight' archival footage.

Here are the main reasons Johnny is going to be eventually inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame in a combination of "Classic TV" and "The League of Themselves":

"The Simpsons" playing "Himself" (voice) in episode: "Krusty Gets Kancelled" (episode # 4.22) 13 May 1993
"Cheers" playing "Himself" in episode: "Heeeeeere's... Cliffy!" (episode # 10.24) 7 May 1992
"Newhart" playing "Himself" in episode: "Malling in Love Again" (episode # 7.22) 22 May 1989
"Night Court" playing "Himself" in episode: "Russkie Business" (episode # 5.18) 25 March 1988
"Mary Tyler Moore" playing "Himself" (voice) in episode: "Mary's Big Party" (episode # 7.22) 5 March 1977
"Here's Lucy" playing "Himself" in episode: "Lucy and Johnny Carson" (episode # 2.11) 1 December 1969

As the man for whom Carson once wrote jokes would say, "Good night and may God bless."

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

*If I also covered movies on a regular basis in this blog, of course I would have mentioned Jack Nicholson's blood-curdling version of the classic introduction: "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"

LAMONT BENTLEY, R.I.P.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lamont Bentley, who was a regular in the 1990s sitcom "Moesha" and appeared frequently in television and movies, was killed in a car crash, his manager said yesterday.

Bentley, 31, played Hakeem Campbell, the longtime friend of pop singer Brandy's character, Moesha Mitchell, in the UPN sitcom. He also played the role of Hakeem in three episodes of the 'Moesha' spin-off 'The Parkers'. (The episodes were "Road Trip", "Scary Kim", and "There's A Shag".)

And in the 'Clueless' crossover episode ("Prom Misses, Prom Misses"), he also made the leap as Hakeem.

Somewhere down the road, Hakeem Campbell will be inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

BISHOP OF TOOBWORLD

On a recent episode of 'Alias' (in fact, the one which had a crossover with 'Lost'), the villain was known by the name of "Martin Bishop".

For all I know, he was using an alias as well. And if so, it helps illustrate that there is a difference between the movie and TV universes.

Certain movies are connected to the TV Universe, - spin-off franchises and maybe MAYBE a few remakes, - but for the most part, the so-called "Cineverse" is a fragmented series of alternate dimensions that would be impossible to gel into a cohesive whole.

More than likely, the Martin Bishop of 'Alias' took his nom de espionage from either one movie which was inspired by another, or from them both:

In "Sneakers", Robert Redford played Martin Bishop. But that's just an alias he had gone by for the last 20 years, since running from the authorities. He was wanted for hacking into things he wasn't supposed to, causing quite a bit of mischief in the name of his bleeding-heart causes.

He and his team of security experts regularly broke into high-security establishments to check for security holes, so that these places can keep bad guys with the same means out.

In "Three Days Of The Condor" (1975) which also starred Robert Redford, a CIA building was hit. Subsequently, a list of the casualties was displayed.... The final two names on the list being Martin and Bishop, which was Redford's alias in "Sneakers".

It could be that the Redford character in "Sneakers" saw his resemblance to the character played by Redford in "Three Days Of The Condor". Who knows? Doesn't matter to me; I work for Toobworld.

But the Martin Bishop of 'Alias' must have liked the connection when he saw both movies; he must have been a big fan of the spy genre in films to have noticed it.

Unfortunately - but only for him, - the name's mojo didn't translate to his own success in the field.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

PASSAGES

Three actors passed away in the last two weeks that made their mark in Toobworld......

GENE BAYLOS
First, comic Gene Baylos died at the age of 98. He was known at the Friar's Club as the comic's comic, but was never able to translate that to major success or recognition from the public.

He appeared in a few movies and on several TV variety shows of the sixties, but he is remembered here for being one of the first people to whom I applied the "By Any Other Name" theory.

In 1961 and 1963, Baylos played "Backdoor" Benny Harper on 'Car 54, Where Are You?'. He was a bookie and an ex-con and never seemed to remain on the straight and narrow. On his last appearance on the sitcom, Toody and Muldoon tried to help Benny by setting him up with a candy store. But he soon lapsed into old habits and used the place as a front for illicit activities.

In 1965, Gene Baylos made an appearance on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' as the hobo who found the script for the next week's episode of 'The Alan Brady Show' at Grand Central Terminal. But instead of returning it for a small reward, he decided to hold it for ransom in exchange for 2500 dollars.

The character had no name; he's just referred to as "The First Hobo" or as "The Bum".

When I was first poring over episode guides in search of such mundane trivialities, it occurred to me that there was nothing really preventing me from saying both the Bum and Benny the Bookie were the same character.

It's not hard to believe that in 1963, Benny Harper was sent back to prison for a year or so because of his criminal activities at the candy store. And after a short sentence, he might have been returned to the outside world where he soon fell on hard times and had to live on the street.

I made such a notation in my first Tubeworld notebook and didn't do anything else with it at the time. But I did go on to apply that same kind of thinking to other shows in which I wanted to make connections, most notably with characters played by Michael Dunn so that in actuality they ALL were Dr. Miguelito Loveless.

RUTH WARRICK
For those movie fans who are rabid in their love for the silver screen, "Citizen Kane" is the film which reduces them to the fervor of Trekkies. Ruth Warrick was the last surviving member of the main cast (she played Emily Norton, the President's niece and Kane's first wife) and she passed away Saturday at the age of 88.

But as Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford Matthews Wallingford on 'All My Children', Ruth Warrick gained her greatest acclaim and renown from TV fans. She was with the show from the very beginning in 1970 and was still relatively active with it. (Only two weeks ago, she taped a special appearance for the show's upcoming anniversary.)

She also crossed over and took the character to 'Loving' for a time.

Now, if it turned out that she had any scenes with characters from either 'One Life To Live' or 'General Hospital' who might have appeared on either of her two soap operas, then I'd say Phoebe Tyler Wallinford deserves an eventual place of honor in the Crossover Hall of Fame. But we'll see.

She also played Hannah Cord, the Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper for Martin on 'Peyton Place'. She returned to the role in the 1985 TV movie reunion. Again, she falls short of the minimum requirements for entry into the Hall, but she does have a distinction of playing two different roles in two different sets of shows.

So who knows? Maybe one day she'll be inducted in the birthday honors.....

VIRGINIA MAYO
A classic beauty from Hollywood's Golden Age, Ms. Mayo passed away at the age of 84. She starred in one of my favorite Bob Hope flicks, "The Princess And The Pirate" - now THERE'S a movie that would make a fine B'way musical!

On the soap opera 'Santa Barbara', she played a character named "Peaches DeLight". Man, how can you resist a great name like that? For me, that's right up there with "Pinky Likewise" from an episode of 'Burke's Law'.

But she made her mark in the framework of Toobworld more for playing herself. She did so twice in fictional settings: once on 'The Naked Truth' and then a few years earlier in 'Remington Steele'.

Teaming with Lloyd Nolan and Dorothy Lamour, who were also playing themselves, Ms. Mayo hired Remington and Laura to find out who was threatening them with bizarre fan mail. And when Nora Wilde's ex-husband announced that he was getting remarried, Ms. Mayo somehow got involved because Nora was convinced she had seen the future bride's face before.....

Thanks to her membership in the League of Themselves, 'Remington Steele' thus has a firm connection to the TV Universe. ('The Naked Truth' had plenty of connections to lock them both in.)

On a technicality, she also appeared as herself on the forerunner of 'The Ed Sullivan Show' - 'The Toast Of The Town'. More than likely she would have been one of those celebs who would be sitting in the audience and saluted by Ed from the stage.

Still, as 'The Ed Sullivan Show' served as an inspiration for many a plot point or joke in plenty of sixties sitcoms, I think the original should then be included as a legit thread in the Toobworld fabric.

They all played their parts on the world's stage, and now that they have made their exits, we salute them.

Be seeing you.


Tele-Toby