REFLECTIONS OF A CATHODE BRAIN

As I waited for the subway tonight to go to work, a woman walked past me whose hair had been dyed a deep day-glo orange. She wore tight dungarees and a checked red jacket.

And all I could think about was what it would be like to boink a post-op tranny Howdy Doody......

That's not too much information... information... information, is it?

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: OTTO PREMINGER

Otto Preminger's birthday was yesterday. But as Walt Disney is a member of the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, he won the day's ASOTV showcase.....

OTTO PREMINGER

AS SEEN IN:
"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge"

AS PLAYED BY:
Klaus Maria Brandauer
(Seen here with Halle Barry as Dorothy Dandridge)

Otto Ludwig Preminger (5 December 1906 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-born American film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood, directing over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as "Laura" (1944) and "Fallen Angel" (1945). In the 1950s and 1960s, he directed a number of high-profile adaptations of popular novels and stage works. Several of these pushed the boundaries of censorship by dealing with topics which were then taboo in Hollywood, such as drug addiction ("The Man with the Golden Arm", 1955), rape ("Anatomy of a Murder", 1959), and homosexuality ("Advise and Consent", 1962). He was twice nominated for the Best Director Academy Award. He also had a few acting roles.

While filming Carmen Jones (1954), Preminger began an affair with star Dorothy Dandridge, which lasted four years. During that period, Preminger reportedly had been in discussions to secure Dandridge for the featured role of Tuptim in the 1956 film of "The King and I". However, for reasons unknown, Dandridge was not cast. She ended the affair with Preminger upon realization that he had no plans to leave his first wife to marry her. Their affair was depicted in the HBO Pictures biopic, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge".
(from Wikipedia)
Among those "few acting roles" is a Toobworld character that is still a Zonk waiting to be splained away: Mr. Freeze from the 1960's show 'Batman'. Preminger was the second to assay the role, after George Sanders but before Eli Wallach. I'm still not sure if they were: all different men taking on that alias; the same man with splainins regarding the change in appearance; or a combination of both splainins.

BCnU!

TIDDLYWINKYDINKS: RETURN OF THE NOID

Domino's Pizza is bringing back the Noid to help raise money for St. Jude's Hospital.

Check out the news story here.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: WALT DISNEY

Walt Disney was born on this day in 1901....

WALT DISNEY

AS SEEN IN:
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Len Cariou

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Disney became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion.

Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created a number of the world's most famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse. He received fifty-nine Academy Award nominations and won twenty-six Oscars, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual. He also won seven Emmy Awards. He is the namesake for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, Japan, France, and China.

Disney died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, a few years prior to the opening of his Walt Disney World Resort dream project in Florida.
(from Wikipedia)

Several years ago, he was also made an honorary member of the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.
BCnU!

SKED ALERT! NEW WHO!

Fantastic news from Airlock Alpha about the BBC-A sked for the last two 'Doctor Who' episodes. They'll air the day after their BBC broadcasts:

http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6936

Finally they have figured out the best possible way to thwart the bit torrents. Took the suits long enough to wise up!

BBCnU!

(Thanks for the tip, Rob!)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS WITH THE DOCTOR

My thanks to Rob Buckley for pointing this out. (Check out his blog "The Medium Is Not Enough, folks. The link is to the left!)



This will probably win out as being my favorite Christmas station identification for 2009. But for all-time? Definitely the 1966 one for CBS by R.O. Blechman. I'll post that next week....

BCnU!

MR. MONK AND THE MIDNIGHT CALLER

Tonight, we say good-bye to 'Monk' as the series wraps up its two-part finale. I always enjoyed the show, but I will admit that many times - watching the episodes the next morning after I got home from work - I would fast-forward through a lot of the scenes in which Monk was being his obsessive-compulsive self, which you have to admit was often-times padding out the hour. A little goes a long way.

But like I said, I liked the show a lot. I just wish they could have done some cross-overs during its run with other USA Network shows, besides what we'd see in those alternate universe promos where he'd meet the characters from 'Psych', 'The Dead Zone', and 'The 4400'.

Still, every so often an unintentional crossover would pop up with some other show from the past. And I'm not just talking the Numbers from 'Lost' or other theoretical possibilities.

One such example came in an episode earlier this season, "Mr. Monk And The Critic", in which John Hannigan, the murderer, worked at the San Francisco Dispatch as a theater critic. He's not the only TV character who worked there. Back in the 80s series 'Midnight Caller', the gossip columnist at the Dispatch was Becca Nicholson (played by Eugenie Ross Leming. And Deacon Bridges was a reporter for the paper as well, often working in tandem with radio talk show host Jack Killian, the show's main character. (Mykelti Wiliams played Bridges.) The only reason we didn't see them in the 'Monk' episode (working from an inner reality perspective)? Deac was out working a lead for a story and Becca was in the ladies' room.....

My thanks to Jerome Holst of TV Acres for his help on this......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ANDREW MARVELL

ANDREW MARVELL

AS SEEN IN:
"The Tragedy of John Milton (August 13, 1660)"
- 'You Are There'

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Kiley
(We spared no expense! Sorry, couldn't resist.....)

Andrew Marvell (31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman (also named Andrew Marvell). As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert. He was a colleague and friend of John Milton.

Marvell was born in Winestead-in-Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, near the city of Kingston upon Hull. The family moved to Hull when his father was appointed Lecturer at Holy Trinity Church there, and Marvell was educated at Hull Grammar School. A secondary school in the city is now named after him.

His most famous poems include To His Coy Mistress, The Garden, An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland, and the Country House Poem, "Upon Appleton House".

Oliver Cromwell died in 1658. He was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son Richard, but in 1660 the monarchy was restored to Charles II. Marvell eventually came to write several long and bitterly satirical verses against the corruption of the court. Although they circulated in manuscript form, and some found anonymous publication in print, they were too politically sensitive and thus dangerous to be published under his name until well after his death. He avoided punishment for his own cooperation with republicanism, while he helped convince the government of Charles II not to execute John Milton for his antimonarchical writings and revolutionary activities. The closeness of the relationship between the two former office mates is indicated by the fact that Marvell contributed an eloquent prefatory poem to the second edition of Milton's famous epic Paradise Lost. According to a biographer: "Skilled in the arts of self-preservation, he was not a toady."
(from Wikipedia)

BCnU!

FROM EUREKA TO OZ

The character of Dr. Tess Fontana was a great addition to the cast of 'Eureka' this past season. Unfortunately, her stay in town was short-lived as she headed off to Australia to do research.

Should she ever come back to the show, I doubt that this will ever be mentioned in the series: I think while she was in the land down under, Tess worked alongside the staff of the Royal Australian Observatory in the Outback. (Their adventures could be seen in the sitcom 'Supernova'.) And Tess may be coming back to Eureka soon, I'm guessing. Jamie Ray Newman, who played the character, left to star in 'Eastwick', the TV series version of Updike's "The Witches Of Eastwick". But that show has been cancelled, so.....

BCnU!

DATELINE: TOONIVERSE, 1961

Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew (link to the left, me hearties!) was digging through the TV Guide collection of Stu Shostack and discovered a Tooniverse crossover gem:

This time I grabbed the July 1st 1961 issue, with the Flintstones cover, which contains a good article on the then-current trend towards prime time animation. It’s a pretty nice piece. The writer includes an intriguing list of forthcoming shows that were apparently never made: "Sir Loin and the Dragon", "Waco Wolf", "Muddled Masterpieces" and "The Late Late War".

Check out the story; Beck scanned in the pages of the article and for cartoon aficionados, it's a great time capsule of history.

In that picture reprinted above, we have Yogi Bear, Sylvester the Cat, Donald Duck, Vincent Van Gopher, Huckleberry Hound, Mickey Mouse, Dick Tracy, Flat-Top, Olive Oyl, Popeye, Quick Draw McGraw, Bugs Bunny, Pepe LePew, Augie Doggie and Augie Doggie's Daddy, Mr. Magoo, Pixie and Dixie, Tweety Bird, Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Deputy Dawg, and Felix the Cat. (I was most pleased to see the inclusion of Deputy Dawg and Vincent Van Gopher.)

A classic look at "life" behind the scenes in the Tooniverse!

BCnU!