EXTRA! EXTRA!

Once again I was mentioned in the "TV Extras" column by David Bianculli, TV columnist for the New York Daily News:

The USA series "Burn Notice," if my electronic mailbag is any indication, is popular among viewers who hunt for hidden jokes. Many caught one from an early episode, including Eddie Rabinowitz of Brooklyn, Tricia Metts of Dumont, N.J., and Marc Lighter, also of Brooklyn.

Lighter writes, "In the episode called 'Identity,' Bruce Campbell identified Gabrielle Anwar and himself as 'Detectives Cagney and Lacey.' Sharon Gless, who was Christine Cagney, is also a member of the series, playing Jeffrey Donovan's mother."

Referring to Gless' role on the classic 1980s CBS cop show was good enough to earn Extra points, but Toby O'Brien of Manhattan did even more by putting the playful prank into context.

"Using the TV show for their cover names was funny enough as an in-joke," he writes, "but it's been done before.

"Working undercover in a gated community on an episode of 'The X-Files,' Mulder introduced himself and his partner Scully as 'Rob and Laura Petrie'" - a nod, of course, to the roles played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

The full article can be found here.

By my records, Bianculli has published over 70 columns dedicated to TV in-jokes over the years. Looking through my copies of them, I see that I've contributed about 16 of them - that made it to print, that is. You should see how many that never saw the light of day in the Daily News! (Bianculli probably sees me as some kind of nut job by now; but then, why should he be any different from the rest of you?)

But this time out, this may have been the last publication of the TV Extras column - at least in the New York Daily News. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it appears that he and the paper's editor-in-chief came to an impasse over money with a new contract. So it's likely that Bianculli will be moving on.

I just hope that with the world so connected via the Internet, I'll be able to follow his work to wherever he ends up. I know there'll be plenty of new TV in-jokes out there in the future with which I can pester him.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

'KIDNAPPED': THREE IN ONE

There will be a few spoilers in this essay regarding 'Kidnapped', so if you have plans to one day watch the series on DVD, (and I suggest that you do), then come back after you've done so.......

For me, 'Kidnapped' was one of the better series of the 2006 TV season, and it was a crime that it never got to play out its freshman year on the air. But at least the production was finished so that an audience could watch the entire storyline and not be left dangling - like those suckers who were watching 'Reunion'.

I like to think Mr. Knapp is still out there in NYC, with his sexy sidekick Turner and former FBI Agent Latimer King now working with them. And what if he crossed paths with Detective Cyrus Lupo this coming fall? That should prove confusing for Lupo's partner, Detective Ed Green! (And then if Knapp runs into the new Executive Assistant District Attorney, who's the spitting image of the late FBI Supervisor Andy Archer.....)

It was a very self-contained season for 'Kidnapped'. Had it gone into a second season, maybe we could have seen such a crossover with 'Law & Order'.

Here's an interesting pozz'bility for a theory of "relateeveety" in connection to one of the supporting characters. FBI investigator Vance, who worked for Internal Affairs, could have been the identical half-brother to Mike Giardello. Giardello used to an FBI agent as well, but he transferred out to join the Baltimore Police Department like his father, Lt. Al Giardello.

Here's my theory: Mike was Al's son in name only; let's face it, there didn't look to be much between them to suggest a similar DNA match. And in Toobworld, tele-genetics are strong enough to create nearly exact duplicates from one generation to another.

But Alphonse Giardello was the man who raised him, so in more than just name he was Mike's father. However, Mike was the result of an affair between his mother and a man named Vance whose son by his own wife also grew up to join the FBI. Perhaps their father was an FBI agent as well - his son joined to follow his father's footsteps, and Mike Giardello joined to rub salt in G's wounds over the affair once Mike found out. (It would at least give a clearer reason as to why they had a falling out years earlier.)

I have one final Toobworld pozz'bility to suggest: In the penultimate episode of 'Kidnapped', we met a shady operative named Kurso down in Mexico, who helped Knapp with information and a supply of guns.

It's my contention that we've seen Kurso before in Toobworld, but that's not the name by which we knew him.

A lot can happen to a man in fifteen years. That's a lifetime in which one can drop out of society in one identity, only to rise again with another a world away (in more ways than one).

I think Kurso was Jerry Horne, younger brother to the powerful Ben Horne of 'Twin Peaks'. For one reason or another, he had a final falling out with his brother, perhaps in connection with something illegal in nature. Going underground, he possibly dabbled in arms dealing and being an informant to the FBI, which is probably what brought him into contact with Knapp in the first place.

A search of Google for "Kurso" shows it to mean "course" in the designed language of Esperanto. Jerry Horne could have been the type of man who learned how to speak Esperanto; perhaps he took the pseudonym of "Kurso" to suggest that he had something to teach others. Perhaps it was even loftier, part of some grand design to suggest that he was the course, the Path to some goal. But his dreams of being some kind of Messiah must have gone awry and now he was a low-life on the periphery on the shores of Mexico. It wouldn't be too out of the loop for someone out of 'Twin Peaks'.....

Who knows? If Kurso really was Jerry Horne, it's not like we'll ever see him again in Toobworld, save in flashback. Kurso never survived Knapp's assault to find and rescue kidnap victim Leopold Cain.

So.

A Theory of Relateeveety, a Double Vision/Wishcraft combo, and a Nom de Toob. Not bad for a post about a show which lasted only one season....

BCnU!
Toby OB

TUBULAR KNELLS: DIANA

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, ten years ago today. Even before her death, the People's Princess had her life translated for the universe of the Toob, and she was played by a wide variety of actresses. There have been enough portrayals of the Princess to ensure that there would be enough for all of the major alternate TV dimensions to have one of their own.

And that's the way that we would have to play it, for there were far too many recastings to even make an attempt to splain away the differences in how she looked - especially since most of these made-for-TV movies covered the exact same ground anyway. It's not like the situation with Doc Holliday, where we'd see him in different circumstances with each guest appearance on a TV show - 'Bonanza', 'Maverick', 'Lawman', as well as 'The Life And Legend of Wyatt Earp'. At least with Doc we can splain away all his different looks to the wasting progression of his tuberculosis. (And with his portrayal by John McLiam in the pilot episode of 'Bret Maverick', well he must have been pretty much at Death's door by then.

I once proposed there might be an alternate TV dimension in which Germany reigned supreme in the world, which is why there was a version of Sherlock Holmes who spoke Deutsche. This may be a good splainin for Katharina Schubert's televersion. Otherwise, the only recommendation I'd make would be that Nathalie Brocker's portrayal should be relegated to the evil mirror universe, as they actually come out and claim her death was murder.

So here's a list of the actresses who have portrayed Princess Diana over the years on Television.....

Nathalie Brocker (Princess Diana) . . . Murder of Princess Diana, The (2007) (TV)

Edita Brychta (Princess Diana) . . . Behind the Palace Doors (1993) (TV)

Edita Brychta (Princess Diana) . . . Fergie & Andrew: Behind the Palace Doors (1992) (TV)

Julie Cox (I) (Princess Diana) . . . Princess in Love (1996) (TV)

Nicola Formby (Diana, Princess of Wales) . . . Women of Windsor, The (1992) (TV)

Nicky Lilley (Princess Diana) . . . "Midsomer Murders" (1997) {Hidden Depths (#8.6)} TV Series

Emily Mortimer (Diana, Princess of Wales) . . . Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002) (TV)

Genevieve O'Reilly (Princess Diana) . . . Diana: Last Days of a Princess (2007) (TV)

Catherine Oxenberg (Princess Diana) . . . Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992) (TV)

Katharina Schubert (I) (Princess Diana) . . . Willi und die Windzors (1996) (TV)

Serena Scott Thomas (Princess Diana, Princess of Wales) . . . Diana: Her True Story (1993) (TV)

Amy Seccombe (Diana, Princess of Wales) . . . Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess (1998) (TV)

They won't be the last to play the part of Diana. I figure she'll have as many future incarnations on Television as JFK and Jackie, and Abraham Lincoln.

The attention may seem ghoulish, but you know what they say: Give the people what they want. And she was the People's Princess.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

"KIDNAPPED" ADVISORY

Well, I've finally had the chance to catch the last nine or so episodes of 'Kidnapped' which was too soon ripped from the airwaves on NBC last season. I was a fan of the show; it had a real cinematic quality to it. But I could see how it wasn't going to be allowed the time to find its audience. I'm hoping it will eventually. I would have gladly come back for another season to see Jeremy Sisto, Delroy Lindo, and Carmen Ejogo team up to work another season-long case.

I especially would have enjoyed seeing Ms. Ejogo return as Turner, who was following in the footsteps of some real sharp dames like Thelma Ritter. I've always enjoyed that tough as nails female sidekick character, but nothing says she can't be easy on the eyes as well.

If you haven't seen the series yet, do so. It's been available on disk for a while, but I don't know if it's still accessible on the web from the NBC parent site. But if you do watch in on DVD (as I did via Netflix), take my advice: Do NOT watch the extra feature "Ransom Notes" on the second disk until after you've seen the whole series. Stupid documentary gave away the whole ending! If you feel the need to blow the twist, at least save the feature for the final disk in the series!

Another stupid move by some network suit. May they be nibbled to death by ducks!

BCnU!
Toby OB

WON'T UFO BE MY NEIGHBOR?

I try not to pay attention to news about TV show pilots, because in general they never make it to become part of Toobworld. The best hope for these also-rans would be to get burned off on the air disguised as an anthology show.

But I liked the idea behind a new sitcom by Dan Fogelman, about a very special gated community......

When a family moves into one such neighborhood, they find that just about all of their neighbors are aliens - as in from outer space.

"This is a traditional family sitcom except that (the neighbors) are named after professional athletes and drool green goo out of their snout," said Fogelman.

So it looks like all of these aliens would be from the same planet, and one made up for the series. But I'd like to see the place serve as a safe-house community set up by the fine folks behind Area 51 to house a variety of aliens who, for one reason or another, are stuck here on Earth. In my dream of a perfect Toobworld, those who hold the rights to the classic TV aliens of the past would allow their creations to be seen living in this gated community.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

That Vulcan who stayed behind in Pennsylvania back in the 1950s. ('Enterprise')

Three-eyed "Venusians" from 'The Twilight Zone'

A variety of alien visitors from 'The Outer Limits'

Perhaps a Minbari Warrior-Priest from 'Babylon 5'; maybe even Bill Mumy as Lennier thrown back in Time

Perhaps a Vervoid or two from 'Doctor Who', just to brighten up the garden

And then there's 'Alf', but just for a special guest appearance during Sweeps

Of course, none of that will ever happen, but it's fun to imagine.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

SYNERGY CITY CRAPTACULAR

Well, I guess it counts as a crossover.....

Amber Siyavus and Danielle Donato got out of the 'Big Brother 8' house long enough to compete against each other on this week's installment of 'The Power of 10'. That's the game show which convinced CBS that Drew Carey was the man to replace Bob Barker on 'The Price Is Right'.

Amber outlasted Danielle, but that's not saying much - she was gone within ten minutes and with only $1,000.00 to take with her.

Technically anything broadcast on Television qualifies to become part of the Toobworld canvas. But so-called "reality" shows just don't add any spark to the landscape so we just tend to ignore their presence here at Toobworld Central.

However, the networks aren't about to let any opportunity to get these shows noticed pass by. So the suits (May they be nibbled to death by ducks!) have found ways to insert the programs into the consciousness of televisiologists like Yours Truly.

One way to do that is by crossing over a reality show with one of their sitcoms, as happened with 'Big Brother'. On the 'Yes, Dear' episode "Big Brother-In-Law", Jimmy Hughes got himself into the Big Brother house with eleven former playuhs on the program:

Amy Crews
Lisa Donahue
Justin Giovinci
Hardy Hill
Alison Irwin
Will Kirby
Roddy Mancuso
Michelle Maradie
Nathan Marlow
Marcellas Reynolds
Jun Song

In his attempts to make sure that Jimmy won the big prize so that he'd finally move out of the house, his brother-in-law Greg Warner eventually blew his chances because of his interference.

On the other side of this pairing, Drew Carey has a televersion, thanks to his appearances as himself on shows like 'The Larry Sanders Show', 'The Geena Davis Show', and 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch', not to mention his hosting duties on 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' and 'The Green Screen Show'.

(That other Drew Carey, the one who never amounted to much outside of Cleveland, as seen in 'The Drew Carey Show', was the result of a secret scientific experiment with cloning at the nearby DrugCo headquarters back in the 1950s.)

Therefore, on a technicality, this crossover between 'The Power Of 10' and 'Big Brother 8' is more than just promotional synergy. But that doesn't mean we have to give it any more notice than this blurb.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Drew Carey:
"I’m interested in knowing what's it been like for you,
Knowing that you've had so much scrutiny on you in this house,
But you don't know what they’re scrutinizing?"
Amber Siyavus:
"Honestly, I don’t know what scrutinized means."
'The Power Of 10'

DATELINE TOOBWORLD: BORDERTOWN BABY

Zack Martin:
"Well, if you're so smart, what's the capital of North Dakota?"

Cody Martin:
"Bismark."

Zack Martin:
"I thought Bismark was the capital of South Dakota."

Cody Martin:
"No, that's Pierre."

'The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody'

AUGUST 30, 2007

Fifty years ago today, Pierre Fargo was cryogenically frozen against his will in the Global Dynamics facility of 'Eureka'. ("Family Reunion")

This is conjecture on my part, but then so is two-thirds of the blatherings I post here....

Douglas Fargo's grandfather is named Pierre Fargo. I'm thinking he was born in 1927 right on the border between the two Dakotas. As the family name was already Fargo, his parents decided to honor the blessed event of his dual statesmanship by giving him the Christian name of Pierre.

Can't prove it; probably won't ever need to.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Kelly Bundy:
"You know, they're not as nice as they seem on television.
Like today, when I, like the rest of the nation,

was wondering where East Dakota was,
The weatherman told the manager that either I went or he went."
'Married... With Children'

PICTURE TOOB II

Here at Toobworld Central, I'm slowly learning my way around my new computer, Artemus. For the first time ever, I'm burning CD-R disks of my collection of TV crossover pictures out of my floppy disks and it's great that I'm able to squeeze about 800 of them onto one disk! Once I get rid of all these floppies, what WILL I do with the room?

I'm working on a post about the cosmic burps of the TV Universe, in connection with this week's episode of 'My Boys', but I want to get a few more disks done (one being a blipverts collection and of course there's always my porn....).

In the meantime, here's another picture dredged up from the murky depths, yet one that still has a life on the last remaining page of my old Tubeworld Dynamic website. This one was also made by my Iddiot friends Jim 'n' Tay, also known as Tay 'n' Jim:

THE TELE-TOBIES

DON'T QUOTE ME. PLEASE!

Well, I got another TV quote from last night's viewing to add to my ever-growing collection on my favorite subject: me.

But I'm not exactly sure I want the word to be spread.....

"Everybody hates an auditor."
Lt. Provenza
'The Closer'

KYLE XYZONK!

A couple of Zonks out of the Pacific Northwest this week, courtesy of 'Kyle XY'. And both of them are connected to the character Hillary.

Exasperated with the relationship between her friends Declan and Laurie, Hillary exclaimed, "For the love of Peter Petrelli!" in the same declarative voice you would use "By the power of Grayskull!"

Peter Petrelli is the moody young man in 'Heroes' on rival NBC ('Kyle XY' is broadcast on ABC Family.) who has the power to absorb the powers of those around him... but without having to eat their brains as Sylar is rumored to do.

But throughout the show's first season, Peter never displayed his powers so openly in public that he would become a household name known clear across the country from NYC to Seattle. At least, not until the final episode when he began to overload on the nuclear power he absorbed from Ted Sprague, as well as all of the other powers held by Sylar. It was left unclear by the final moments whether he survived the explosion in the upper atmosphere, but I'm hearing enough about the sophomore season of 'Heroes' to know that he'll back.

In the meantime, it is pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that the event was reported and investigated by journalists. Several months have now passed since then and there's been plenty of time for the news to even infiltrate the usually self-centered world of Hillary.

There's another theory that could splain away the Peter Petrelli reference. Like many kids of her generation, Hillary probably spends a lot of time on the Internet. It could be that in her excessive surfing of the Web, she stumbled across the home page dedicated to Nathan Petrelli's campaign for Congress. There, she could have found information and pictures about Nathan's brother Peter, and from that developed a crush on him.

As for the other Zonk, when Declan asked where Hillary was, Laurie told him something in reference to a 'Lost' marathon and that because of it Hillary bailed. (I played the scene over and over but couldn't get precisely what she said.)

The reference to 'Lost' doesn't necessarily have to be to the hit show on mother network ABC, as I once splained away in a post about its mention on an episode of 'Will & Grace'. Back then, I suggested it could have been the name of a movie. But since there was apparently a marathon, it's more likely that the 'Lost' of Toobworld is a TV show.

As of right now, the show we know as 'Lost' is still mired in the past, in December of 2004 (with a slight detour to the present day courtesy of this year's season finale). So even though the series won't end until 2010, it's possible that it will all be concluded in plenty of time for a TV show to be developed about the subject matter - should it become public knowledge - and to be broadcast.

Since we don't have to worry about that for another three TV seasons, we'll just put that Zonk on hold until we hopefully get the chance to backdate the information.

At least Hillary did contribute something to the expansion of Toobworld in this episode: a new word for the Lexicon.

"Fauxprah" - a fake Oprah. She used it to describe her failed attempts to counsel Declan and Laurie......

BCnU!
Toby OB