SKED ALERT! "BOARDWALK EMPIRE" - SUNDAY OCTOBER 23

Here's the sked alert for tomorrow's episode of 'Boardwalk Empire':

 'Boardwalk Empire' airs on HBO Sunday nights at 9 PM EST.......

BCnU!

DUCKS IN THE WIND

And finally, an odd little bit o' nature....

Thanks, Bruddah Bob Cohen - especially for the subject heading!

BCnU!

WHO'S ON TV: THE HAND-BOTS

I always like throwing in some 'Doctor Who' during the Video Weekends, so here's a missing scene from the episode "The Girl Who Waited"....

This actually happened in the main Toobworld; we just never got to see it during the episode.  Must have happened during the commercials.  (Over here, at any rate.....)
 
BCnU!

PRODUCT UNBECOMING: GONNA GO FLACK IN TIME

Outside forces manipulate the TV Universe for nefarious objectives, none so heinous as Alfred Hitchcock would probably agree than the insertion of future product placements into shows that are already set in Time.

Here's a look at the practice.....

By doing this, these unseen forces are creating new timelines for alternate TV dimensions.  The original version of the episode as first broadcast would always remain the official "reality".

Within the TV Universe?  I think the Silence might be in league with these ne'er-do-wells!

BCnU!

THE JOKER OF MANY EARTHS

Here's a look at a great character who maniacally sweeps across the Multiverse. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he finds himself inducted as the honorary Multiverse representative into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame...

BCnU!

AYE YAI EYE! THE CBS LOGO TURNS SIXTY!

This past Thursday, the 60th anniversary was observed for the debut of the CBS logo - the CBS Eye.........

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE DEATH OF QADDAFI (AFTERMATH)

From a Skitlandia that never was....

Chevy Chase: "And now, as a public service to those of our viewers who have difficulty with their hearing, I will repeat the top story of the day, aided by the Headmaster of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing, Garrett Morris.

"Our top story tonight...."

Garrett Morris: "OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT...!"

Chevy Chase: "..Colonel Moammar Qaddafi..."

Garrett Morris: "..COLONEL MOAMMAR QADDAFI....!"

Chevy Chase: "..is dead."

Garrett Morris: "..IS DEAD!"

Chevy Chase: "And after thirty-six years...."

Garrett Morris: "..AND AFTER THIRTY-SIX YEARS...."

Chevy Chase: "Generalissimo Francisco Franco....."

Garrett Morris: "..GENERALISSIMO FRANCISCO FRANCO...."

Chevy Chase: "..is still dead."

Garrett Morris: ".. IS STILL DEAD!"

Chevy Chase: "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow."

Garrett Morris: GOOD NIGHT AND HAVE A PLEASANT TOMORROW!

COLONEL MOAMMAR QUADDAFI

AS SEEN IN:
'Second Chance'

AS PLAYED BY:
Zitto Kazann

Amazingly, they got the year of Qaddafi's death right back in 1987. The month and day may be wrong, but that's okay. Since that episode aired, the timeline of Earth Prime-Time had been "rebooted" at least three times by events depicted in at least three different series:

'Primeval' - Season One/Episode Six & Season Two/Episode One

'Doctor Who' - "The Big Bang"

'Fringe' - "The Day We Died"

Qaddafi's death is apparently not a fixed point in Time except for the year.  Certain details like the month and day could be fudged with each adjustment to the established timeline.

BCnU!

TOOBWORLD TAKE-AWAY: "CHARLIE'S ANGELS"

Okay, this Toobworld Take-Away may seem like a moot point since the series has been canceled already, but I think that because of its impact on the Toobworld Dynamic, it needs to be addressed.

'CHARLIE'S ANGELS'

Although technically they belong in the "Cineverse", the two "Charlie's Angels" movies can be absorbed into the TV Universe because of their connections to the original series. Both movies were wise enough to bring back John Forsythe to the unseen role of Charlie Townsend, who was no more than a voice emanating from a speaker box for these three new angels. And the sequel had an uncredited cameo turn by Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett.

As for the recasting of Bosley, first as Bill Murray and then as Bernie Mac, it would appear that the first John Bosley, as played by David Doyle in the series, was something of a player: both of these recastaways were actually his sons by different women. (Whether he was married to them or not is unknown to me.)

And the location remained Los Angeles, California. For this new series, however, the action was moved to Miami Beach. And the Charlie Townsend who operated this branch of the detective agency was voiced by Victor Garber.

With no other connections to the original series, one might think this should be shunted off to an alternate TV dimension.

Not so fast, Gumshoe Breath!

One small detail mentioned in the original series was that Charlie Townsend had once been married. What was never stated definitely - one way or the other - was if he had any children from that short-lived union.

So it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that Charlie Townsend had a son. And his son could have been named after him. Charlie, Jr.

After the death of his father, Charlie Jr. - who must have been estranged from the Old Man once he reached adulthood (which is why we never saw him or heard of him in the original series) - inherited the Townsend Detective Agency. But rather than take over the company and run it from there in California, Charlie, Jr. decided to move all the assets back East. (Living in Miami Beach all those years would also be a reason why Charlie Jr. never dropped in on Pops.)

As his new angels - Kate Prince, Eve French, and Abby Sampson - had backgrounds as criminals rather than in law enforcement, it seems O'Bvious that Charlie, Jr. was going to take a new approach to how he ran the family business. The previous three employees who were doing the leg work - Alex Munday, Natalie Cook, and Dylan Sanders - most likely decided to branch out on their own and stay rooted in Los Angeles. The same was probably true for the two Bosleys.

As for the new John Bosley working as the major domo for the Townsend agency, I think it's safe to say that he is of the same age as the actor who plays him, Ramon Rodriguez. Being born in 1979, he's old enough to be the son of Bill Murray's character, making him the grandson of the original John Bosley. (His family tree is quite the Benetton ad!)


Uh-oh!
Looks like Bosley just woke up to find a bed-bug!



Even though 'Sliders', as an essential for the Toobworld Dynamic, showed that there were an infinite number of alternate TV universes, it's always nice when we can keep a remake anchored in the main Toobworld, Earth Pime-Time.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet has been the merits of the show....? Like I said, it's a moot point since the show has been put on the Big Hiatus, but I will admit that I never got around to watching an episode. If I need to, I'm sure I can scare up a copy of the pilot still online.

BCnU, Angels......

AS SEEN ON TV: A.J. BALFOUR

There's no other reason for this next long line of historical characters from the Edwardian Age in the "As Seen On TV" showcase besides the fact that I finally finished Disk Three of the 1975 mini-series 'Edward The King'. I only had the thing from Netflix since March! If they're going to raise the rates on me, I better get the flow of product going. (But there will be some variety - Halloween is coming up, plus I have a few more historical action figures from "The Long Walk To Finchley" and 'The Devil's Whore'.......

So let's to it, then!

A.J. BALFOUR

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Lyndon Brook

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time (conditional)

From Wikipedia:
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL (pronunciation: bal-foor ; 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930) was a British Conservative politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from July 1902 to December 1905, and was later Foreign Secretary in 1916–1919.

Born in Scotland and educated as a philosopher, Balfour first entered parliament in the 1874 general election. At first seen as something of a dilettante, he attained prominence as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1887–1891. In this post, he authored the Perpetual Crimes Act (1887) (or Coercion Act) aimed at the prevention of boycotting, intimidation and unlawful assembly in Ireland during the Irish Land War.

Balfour succeeded his uncle Lord Salisbury as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in July 1902 (Balfour had been Conservative leader in the House of Commons since 1891). As Prime Minister, Balfour oversaw such events as the Entente Cordiale, but his party was split over tariff reform and in December 1905 he relinquished power to the Liberals. The general election the following January was a disaster for the Conservatives and their Liberal Unionist allies, left with a mere 157 seats in Parliament. Balfour himself lost his Manchester East seat and was rushed back to parliament in a by-election for the City of London constituency. He continued as Leader of the Opposition throughout the crisis over the Lloyd George People's Budget and the Parliament Act, but after failing to win either of the two General Elections in 1910 he resigned as leader in November 1911.

He returned to the Cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty in the coalition government formed in May 1915, then in David Lloyd George's coalition government he was Foreign Secretary (1916–1919). In this post, he authored the Balfour Declaration of 1917, supporting the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and for which his name perhaps remains best known today. Balfour retired from the House of Commons at the 1922 general election, and was granted an Earldom. In the late 1920s he served as an elder statesman in the second government of Stanley Baldwin.

Brook appeared in three episodes of 'Edward The King'; as played by Adrian Ropes, he appeared in four episodes of 'Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill'. I'd have to see that mini-series first to see who had more clout to be included in the main Toobworld.

As an unseen character working behind the scenes, Balfour also has a presence in 'Upstairs, Downstairs'. He promoted Richard Bellamy to the post of Civil Lord of the Admiralty....

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: NORMAN CORWIN

By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times

October 19, 2011
Norman Corwin, the legendary writer, director and producer of original radio plays for CBS during the golden age of radio in the 1930s and '40s when he was revered as the "poet of the airwaves," has died. He was 101.

Corwin, a journalist, playwright, author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter who was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, said his caregiver, Chris Borjas. The cause was not given.

With his often poetic words, Corwin moved and entertained a generation of listeners tuned to the CBS Radio Network during the late 1930s and '40s, with landmark broadcasts ranging from celebrations of the Bill of Rights and the Allied victory in Europe to a light-hearted rhyming play about a demonic plot to overthrow Christmas.

He also wrote for the movies, getting an Academy Award nomination in 1957 for his script "Lust For Life", about Vincent Van Gogh.

In 1972, Group W presented a television anthology series called 'Norman Corwin Presents'. One of his stories, "You Think You've Got Troubles?", has stayed with me for two reasons. One was the fact that the main character - a "Martian" who considered his planet to be named Delala - was played by one of my favorite actors, Michael Dunn, the man who gave life to my all-time favorite TV character Dr. Miguelito Loveless.

The second reason was this final speech given by the Martian:

Since I shall, against my will, be leaving you shortly, I have asked permission to sum up my impressions of this planet and of the life I have observed here at some slight remove from it.

Let me put it this way, you human beings are god-like in many ways, and lower than the ant in many others. You can fly the air and swim under the sea, and fling your voice around the world. You can turn night into day by the flick of a switch, you can take pictures of your insides from without. You weigh the earth you stand on, harness the pull of the magnetic pole, blast off into the vacuum of illimitable space and scrape your feet on the sand pits of the Moon.

Yet when you wonder men are given a problem in humaneness, such as how to keep from killing several million other wonder men just like yourselves every twenty years or so, you're baffled. You who have formulas for harmony and chemistry and the speed of light and the annihilation of primal matter; you who understand the most profound mathematics, you still divide so poorly that there is want among abundance. You can build a city overnight and yet there are people without shelter. You understand the meaning of the spectrum of a star and yet not the meaningless of the color of a skin. You comprehend the structure of a leaf, split the atom, teach whales to frolic and fleas to dance. Yet you don't know how to grasp the simplest truths and bend them to your will.

Yet... I did not despair for you. For always within you are the seeds of your own betterment and one day they will sprout.

I knew when I first heard Michael Dunn speak those words that it might make for a good monologue for the acting classes I would be taking once I got into college. However, back then I didn't have the means to record it and then transcribe it. And I thought it lost until I found it again at the Paley Center for Media in New York as part of a 1990's TV special about Norman Corwin and his works. That special is now available for online viewing at Amazon.com and I highly recommend it.

But that speech has come to mean far more than just a monologue; it's message has perhaps even more meaning today. And like everything Corwin wrote, it will resonate long after his death, and perhaps even after all of ours as well.

Good night and may God bless.

BCnU......