REMEMBERING JON.....

A JAMIE LEE COURTESY

One thing I enjoy doing with the Tele-Folks Directory of the Toobworld Dynamic is expanding the backstory of TV characters (and in some cases, "foresee" what their futures may bring.) It would be preferable to have some "hard" evidence to back up the claims, found in other TV shows, but I'm not averse to making theoretical connections to other shows without visual evidence.

But at least this time, I have the visuals to make a convincing argument.....

Jamie Lee Curtis has begun a recurring role on 'NCIS' as Dr Samantha Ryan, who works in PsyOps at the Department of Defense. She had been at the Naval War College, probably as an instructor or a psychiatric consultant, at the same time Director Vance had been there.

This doesn't mean she attended the Naval War College near Newport, Rhode Island. But she might have been invited to attend in order to gain another master's degree once she was working for the military. But she would have attended college somewhere else in the country for her bachelor's degree in the 1970's.

And I'm going to suggest she did so in Los Angeles, perhaps at the Keck School of Medicine to study psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

And like most college students, she probably took a job on the side to pay her expenses.

Just for the (relative) freedom in setting up a work schedule that could accommodate her class schedule, Samantha may have taken a job as a waitress.

And if so, then we saw her on the job........

Jamie Lee Curtis has expressed an interest in becoming a regular on 'NCIS'. Along those lines, she might also then play the role of Dr. Samantha Ryan on an episode of 'NCIS: LA'. And if she does that, then she'd be eligible for membership in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, on a Birthday Honors scholarship, of course.

I'm dedicating this post to my Auntie Ellie, my Godmother, who's a big fan of 'NCIS'.  And who let us come over to her cottage to watch 'Columbo' up at the Lake back during its first-run, because they could get NBC in Third Bay.  (Back in those pre-cable days, we couldn't get the signal in First Bay.....)

BCnU!

PS:

While writing this up, it occurred to me that she's not the only one in her family who's acted with the late Peter Falk. Her Mom, Janet Leigh, was the guest star in the 'Columbo' episode "Forgotten Lady", and her Dad, Tony Curtis, worked with Falk in the movie "The Great Race".

AS SEEN ON TV: MELISANDRE

MELISANDRE

CREATED BY:

George R.R. Martin

PORTRAYED BY:

Carice van Houten

AS SEEN IN:

'Game Of Thrones'

TV LOCATION:

Dragonstone, Westeros, Mondas

From the "Game Of Thrones Wiki":

Melisandre, often called Melisandre of Asshai, is a major character in 'Game of Thrones'. She is played by starring cast member Carice van Houten and débuts in the first episode of the second season. She is an eastern priestess of an eastern religion which is little-known in Westeros. She worships R'hllor the Lord of Light. She is living at the island stronghold of Dragonstone and has become a close advisor of Stannis Baratheon.

BCnU!

THE RETURN OF GERVAIS TOONS!

The best animated TV show currently on the air returns tonight on HBO!

At 9pm, the cartoon version of Ricky Gervais' podcasts, also starring Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington, will mark its third season (I think?)

Here's a sneak peek at a topic of grave importance.

 

I chose that one because it made me think of the Honey Badger...

HBO, 9 PM.  Be there!

SHERLOCK HOLMES - "OVER THERE"

There are a lot of differences between the home dimension of 'Fringe' (which should be Earth Prime-Time, but only the end of the series will determine that for sure) and "Over There". And the latest difference would be the discovery that Sherlock Holmes is not known "Over There".

Sherlock Holmes in the real world is considered one of the most recognizable literary creations of all time. (I think Bilbo Baggins - or Hobbits in general - would be in the top three as well.) Holmes is a true multiversal - found in BookWorld, the Cineverse, Toobworld and most of its subsets like Skitlandia and the Tooniverse, WorldStage, and the worlds of radio/audio, comics, music, and many other manifestations of the universes of Fictionalia.

In Toobworld, Sherlock Holmes was a real man but the general public thinks of him as fictional. Even scientific genius Walter Bishop thought of him as being fictional. (But then he also believed that vampires weren't real, more fool he.)

This can be attributed to Dr. Watson and his writing about Holmes' exploits, which were published under the aegis of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the literary agent. Because he substituted fictional names for certain people and locations, may people thought everything about those stories were fictional. In his own way, Dr. Watson served as the precursor to that "UNREEL" division which would cover up the existence of James Bond, U.N.C.L.E., and the Time Lord known as the Doctor so that people would consider them to be fictional as well.

But "Over There", "Fauxlivia" never heard of Sherlock Holmes. And at first consideration, this might lead a viewer to think that he never existed. Even if considered as being fictional, one might think that Conan Doyle never got those stories published.

I believe Sherlock Holmes did exist "Over There", but that his exploits went uncelebrated in The Strand. Putting aside the notion that Conan Doyle didn't exist, because that only leads to Zonks, I think it's more likely that Dr. Watson didn't exist.

I shouldn't say that he didn't exist. Rather, he was taken out of the picture before he ever had the chance to team up with Holmes. Perhaps he was killed rather than wounded in the Afghan campaign. It could be that Stamford never knew Sherlock Holmes, so he couldn't introduce Dr. Watson to him. And without Watson there to chronicle his investigations, Holmes' prowess in deduction would go unnoticed, which is just the way Holmes would have preferred in order to keep the criminal element from learning about him. (He only let Watson write his stories as a favor to his friend for being there as his sounding board. But he never did like the way Watson told those stories, and frequently said so.)

I just don't know what effect this would have had on those aficionados of the Wold Newton Universe "Over There"........

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SER DAVOS SEAWORTH

Today's ASOTV showcase may contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk

.....

SER DAVOS SEAWORTH

CREATED BY:

George R.R. Martin

PORTRAYED BY:

Liam Cunningham

AS SEEN IN:

'Game Of Thrones'

TV LOCATION:

Dragonstone, Westeros, Mondas

From the "Game Of Thrones Wiki":

Davos Seaworth is a major character in 'Game of Thrones'. He is played by starring cast member Liam Cunningham and débuts in the second season. It has been confirmed that he is one of the favorite characters of producer and showrunner David Benioff. Ser Davos Seaworth is a landed knight and a former smuggler in the service of Stannis Baratheon.

Ser Davos Seaworth is a landed knight and a former (and reformed) smuggler. His ship used to ply the Narrow Sea, smuggling goods from the Free Cities into the Seven Kingdoms and back again. During Robert's Rebellion, Davos relieved the siege of Storm's End by delivering smuggled onions into the castle, helping Stannis Baratheon's forces survive until the end of the war. For this service, Stannis forgave Davos his smuggling crimes and knighted him. He was disparagingly called 'the Onion Knight' for his services, but he has embraced this title proudly and adopted an onion on the sail of a ship as his sigil.

Stannis also took several fingers from Davos's right hand as punishment for his smuggling crimes. Davos submitted to this punishment willingly, judging it a fair exchange in return for improving his family's future prospects.

Davos is one of Stannis' most loyal and reliable vassals, but is treated with disdain by some of the other lords of Westeros for his low birth. Davos has several sons, including Matthos, who serves with him on his ship. Davos is left-handed.

Matthos & Davos Seaworth

Most of that information has not yet been revealed on the show, unless I'm not watching very carefully. (With the second episode, I was a bit distracted as I was visiting my sister......)

BCnU!

HAT SQUAD: REMEMBERING DICK CLARK

Over the next few days, I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of memorial tributes to Dick Clark, who passed away at the age of 82. Many of those will focus on his iconic status as a TV legend, his skill in front of and behind the cameras with 'American Bandstand' as the centerpiece. (But I think his duties ushering in the New Year with ABC's 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' will also be more of a factor than I think it probably should.)

Blog posts, newspaper and magazine columns.... The best I've seen so far, by the way, was a report by Jack Cafferty on CNN about how instrumental he was in the integration of TV during a tense and troubled time in our nation's history.

Dick Clark also contributed several citizens to Toobworld, mostly during the early part of his rise to national prominence - a couple of guest star shots on 'Burke's Law', a very prominent role in the final episode of 'Perry Mason' (and I think you can figure out what that means), and he is the televersion embodiment of an historical figure - circus impresario James A. Bailey (as seen in 'Branded'.)

But as his fame with 'American Bandstand' grew to epic proportions, his presence as a TV personality made it practically impossible for him to be seen as anybody else but Dick Clark, as happened to League of Themselves members Milton Berle, George Burns, and Bob Hope before him.

So I'm taking this opportunity to salute his fictional presence in Toobworld, that televersion of Dick Clark portrayed by the original.

2000 was the second year of the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, and I declared it to be the "Year Of The Women" when it came to inductees. (Lucille Ball and some of her characters were going to take up the first third of the year anyway!) But there were two exceptions - in October we saluted Captain Kangaroo on the 45th anniversary of his TV show, and Dick Clark was feted in December. It seemed apt, with the 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' coming up at the end of the month - and as it was leading into 2001, the TRUE beginning of the new millennium, nobody but Dick Clark would do.

Inductees into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame must have three separate items on their "resume" in order to be eligible. More than a decade ago, Dick Clark had more than enough credits to qualify.

Take a gander at this list of credits in which Dick Clark played himself:

Baby Bob

You Don't Know Jack

Just Shoot Me!

Mr. Jealousy

Tangled Up in Blue (TV movie)

Dharma & Greg

Mission: Implausible
Bed, Bath and Beyond
Invasion of the Buddy Snatcher

Arli$$
The Price of Their Toys

The X-Files
Millennium

(Seen on TV hosting the New Year's Eve special)

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
And the Sabrina Goes to...

Murphy Brown
Opus One

Jenny
A Girl's Gotta Love a Wedding

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Hero

The Drew Carey Show
Drew's the Other Man

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
I, Whoops, There It Is
The Philadelphia Story

Mad About You
New Year's Eve

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (TV movie)

Friends
The One with the Monkey

Will You Marry Me? (TV movie)

Blossom
Blossom - A Rockumentary

The People Next Door
Dream Date

The Return of Bruno (TV movie)

Police Squad!
Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)

The Odd Couple
The New Car

The Partridge Family
Star Quality

Batman
Shoot a Crooked Arrow

The Jack Benny Program
Dick Clark Show

The commercials he did for Havoline Motor Oil, Ballatore, Dairy Queen, Nabisco Shredded Wheat, and Office Depot would also count towards Dick Clark's televersion presence in Toobworld, as would a music video for the Muppets' cover of "She Drives Me Crazy".

Dick Clark also had a presence in the Tooniverse:

The Simpsons
Treehouse of Horror X

(Although that would be set in an alternate Tooniverse....)

Futurama

Space Pilot 3000

Recess
Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave: Part 1
Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave: Part 2

Pinky and the Brain
The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special

Fantastic Four
The Origin of the Fantastic Four: Part 1
The Origin of the Fantastic Four: Part 2

Differences in animation styles have no bearing in the Tooniverse. The characters in the Tooniverse should see each other as being the same despite having divergent artistic designs*, whereas the Trueniverse audience could differentiate between the varieties of artwork. Allowances have to be made, otherwise a splainin would have to be found as to why Dick Clark looks so "hulked" up when he hosted that telethon featuring the Fantastic Four!

(* There are exceptions, like the housemates in 'Drawn Together'.)

On 'Family Guy', Dick Clark was voiced by Joey Slotnick, but he's still part of the Tooniverse, not shunted off to some different dimension.

On the other hand, Dick Clark produced a TV show called 'American Dreams', which was centered around 'American Bandstand'. In that, the younger Dick Clark was portrayed by Paul D. Roberts. Since Dick Clark himself already held sway in Toobworld as his own televersion on 'American Bandstand', 'American Dreams' belongs in another TV dimension. (Which is just as well, since it had other Zonks - like Paris Hilton as Barbara Eden backstage at 'I Dream Of Jeannie'. My problem with 'American Dreams' Zonking Jeannie was bad enough, but such a leaden portrayal of the effervescenet Ms. Eden shouldn't be tolerated in Toobworld!)

And although he didn't actually appear in the three sketches, Dick Clark has a presence in Skitlandia, thanks to David Spade playing his appointment secretary on 'Saturday Night Live' (even making Jesus Christ wait in the reception area!)

Most of Dick Clark's fictionalized appearances as himself stemmed from his connection to the music biz and/or work behind the scenes in TV. For instance, when he interviewed Danny Partridge of 'The Partridge Family'.

 But sometimes there were those moments which could only happen in Toobworld, and Clark must have been self-assured enough to just run with whatever idea they came up with.

There was the time that he showed up with dozens of other people for a wild party with Dharma Liberty Finkelstein Montgomery - which threatened to turn into an orgy. When he realized it was Dharma's husband Greg who met him at the door, Dick Clark eagerly schpritzed his mouth with Binaca - as if in anticipation of letting the good times roll.

And then we found out how Dick Clark was able to stay ahead of the game in the music biz.....

(That scene also went a long way in splainin how he was able to remain the "world's oldest teenager"!)

Most of the time Clark was to be found in the Toobworld versions of Los Angeles or New York City, and of course his home base of Philadelphia. But every so often he had to travel to other cities not found on the maps of the Trueniverse....

One last O'Bservation of Dick Clark's televersion.....

As he was best known for charting the trends in the musical tastes of America's youth, it made sense that he should make a cameo in the music video which Drew Carey made for "What Is Hip?"

Also on that couch were Flip Wilson and HR Pufnstuf, who was voiced by Len Weinrib. Both of them have since passed away, and now Dick Clark has joined them. (Daws Butler provided the voice for Bingo, also on the couch with Pufnstuf, but he died in 1988....)

Dick Clark may be gone now, but at least we know that in the Tooniverse, he will return by the year 2999.....

As Red Skelton would often say, Good night and may God bless......

"DOC MARTIN" VS. 'DOC MARTIN'

The weather hit record highs Monday - on my day off - and yet I stayed inside, mainly to keep an eye on my cat Nucky who had surgery to remove a growth between his withers. (I'm a little worried about him as he's apparently scratched a few of the sutures loose. And before you comment, a cone around his neck would only have rested on the sutures themselves, so he couldn't wear one of those.)

So to occupy my time, besides cleaning out a bit of the apartment and going through old pictures to find the worthy ones to scan, I watched a few shows to clean out my DVR. An episode of 'George Gently', "Portrait Of An Unknown Man" from the anthology series 'Crisis' (although it was listed on Antenna TV as 'Suspense Theater') with Clint Walker and Robert Duvall, "None So Blind" from 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' (which truly caught me by surprise), and a couple of episodes of 'Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal' (online for that) which I can use for a future ASOTV Gallery, literary edition.

I also finally watched the original movie of 'Doc Martin', only to find that although the basics were there that set the stage for the series, so much of it was different that it has to be relegated to an alternate TV dimension.

Only Martin Clunes was present from the TV series, and he was the biggest change of all. In the 'Doc Martin' series, he was Dr. Martin Ellingham. But in this TV movie, he was Dr. Martin Bamford. Dr. Bamford came to this Cornwall village (Port Isaac, not Portwenn) after he found out that his wife*, another doctor, had cheated on him with three of his best friends in the medical profession.

"Doc Martin" Bamford was not adverse to blood, was not surly, distant, nor suffering from OCD and maybe even Aspberger's, unlike 'Doc Martin' Ellingham. Overall, he was a good enough character for a one-shot TV movie, but nothing special upon which to hang a TV series. (At least not in this day and age. He might have been just fine back in the more episodic TV of the 1970's.)

The change in hairstyles is a give-away as well......

None of the Portwenn citizens were to be seen in this TV movie, not even Aunt Joan. Dr. Bamford's motivation for going there was just that he remembered the place from his youth and he liked it there. The only actor I recognized was Paul Brooke as Charley the pub owner, who also appears in the follow-up movie as well as the theatrical film that preceded this.

Yes, there's a theatrical movie called "Saving Grace" in which Dr. Martin Bamford is a secondary character; "Doc Martin" was a prequel as to how he got to Port Isaac. And "Doc Martin and The Legend Of The Cloutie" was a follow-up before the character and premise was revamped for the TV series.

As these were just TV movies and not a full-fledged series, I'm thinking the TV Movie Of The Week dimension - Earth Prime-Time/MOTW - would be the best place to house this Doc Martin. The movie of the week world is the one which has a totally different succession of U.S. Presidents, going back to the 1930's with the TV adaptation of "Of Thee I Sing" (which was visited by Sweet the Demon!)

But because of the connection to the Cineverse via "Saving Grace", it could also reside in the "Borderlands", which is where the overlap with the movie universe is for films that cannot be fully integrated into the main Toobworld. (Like "M*A*S*H" and "The King And I")

"Doc Martin" Bamford was a pleasant enough fellow, and after seeing so many seasons of 'Doc Martin' featuring Dr. Ellingham's irritating manner, it was refreshing to see Martin Clunes so light-hearted. But in the end, I'm glad Dr. Ellingham is the citizen of Toobworld and not Dr. Bamford......

BCnU!

*Her name was Petronella, but I wanted to call her "Citronella"......

AS SEEN ON TV: SER JORAH MORMONT

SER JORAH MORMONT

CREATED BY:

George R.R. Martin

PORTRAYED BY:

Iain Glen

AS SEEN IN:

'Game Of Thrones'

TV LOCATION:

Pentos, Vaes Dothrak, the Dothraki Sea,

Essos, Mondas

From the "Game Of Thrones Wiki":

Ser Jorah Mormont is a major character in 'Game of Thrones'. He is played by starring cast member Iain Glen and débuts in the first episode of the first season. Ser Jorah is an exiled Westerosi lord living amongst the Dothraki, who know him as Jorah the Andal for his Westerosi origins, in Essos. He has sworn fealty to his fellow exile Daenerys Targaryen. He has developed strong and unrequited feelings for her.

Jorah Mormont is a knight from Westeros who has fled from his homeland and is living in exile in the Free Cities. He is the son of Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. He is the former Lord of Bear Island of House Mormont (a vassal of House Stark), losing his status as a lord for disgracing his house by trying to sell poachers into slavery to pay his debts.

BCnU!

SWEET MISTER RAD

Robert Wronski, Jr. is a comrade in crossovers. He's a big supporter of the Toobworld Dynamic and a fellow fan of Farmer's Wold Newton Universe. And he is building his own world of crossovers called the TVCU - the Television Crossover Universe, but so much more is involved than just TV shows. (The link for the Television Crossover Universe is to the left, Myspace Invaders!)

Robert also moderates a shared forum in Facebook called The Crossovers Forum, which is constantly being replenished with great crossovers involving comic books, toys, novels, songs.... And that's where he posted the following suggestion:

Is Mr. Sweet also perhaps the glee club teacher in 'Community'? Or is there more than one musical demon, accounting for groups that are affected over a longer term period, like in 'Glee' and 'High School Musical'?

And apparently Regionals was invented by this demonic force.

The Greendale Glee Club teacher was responsible for the deaths of two different sets of Glee Clubs and had the power to turn the normal world into a musical.

In case you're not familiar with Mr. Sweet, he was an inter-dimensional demon (portrayed by Hinton Battle) seen in "Once More, With Feeling", the musical episode of 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer".

Here's a thumbnail sketch of Sweet from the Buffy Wiki:

Sweet was the nickname of a powerful demon whose mere presence could cause the inhabitants of an area he visits [to] burst into song and dance, which would lead to some of the victims to spontaneously combust. 

He also had certain reality-bending abilities, allowing him to change the color of his suit from red to blue, rip out his still singing mouth without harm, creating a door to the streets in the middle of The Bronze, and changing Dawn's outfit from a blue top and black pants to a tan top and blue skirt. He also had teleportation powers and could sense Willow Rosenberg's raw magical power.

In 2005, Sweet was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame for October, because even though he only appeared in that one 'Buffy' episode, I think it would seem O'Bvious that he was working behind the scenes in several other shows - like 'Cop Rock' and 'Hull High' and perhaps even the British 'Pennies From Heaven'. (If there are Bollywood TV shows in India, I wouldn't put it past Sweet to be operating there as well.)

Demons have the power to alter their appearance, and as we see in the above description, Sweet the Demon not only could change the color of his suit, but he could rip his mouth out of his face with no harm done. So to be able to transform himself from a humanoid that resembled dancer Hinton Battle to a white-bread suburban Taran Killam look-a-like would have been child's play.

Cory Radisson, the glee club director of Greendale Community College, admitted that he was responsible for the deaths of the former club members on a bus - they probably were all singing and dancing onboard until spontaneous combustion set the bus on fire and over a cliff. And the next glee club ended up in a psychiatric unit.

Pretty demonic behavior if you ask me.....

And as for that name change from Sweet* to Cory Radisson?

Buffy: 

"You got a name?"

Sweet: 

"I've got a hundred."

Thanks for making me see that scene in a new light, Robert!

BCnU!

* The name of Sweet was never mentioned during the episode. However, there was a screen credit for the "Sweet Makeup", so fans called the demon Mr. Sweet. This is one time when an end credit does matter in Toobworld......