[A Blipverts Report]
Nowadays in the high-tech corporate world of TV Land, being a mutant with extra fingers on each hand is a positive boon. Those extra digits could help a mutant make a name for himself with higher productivity yields in the workplace.
But it wasn't always so in the TV Universe. Mutants had to hide their shame of extra fingers. They tried sanding them off; they tried slamming them off. (And, of course, mitts only hid the problem.)
Along came a pharmaceutical solution to remove the "problem" - Handi-Off. The patient would brush it on the unsightly fingers and in just three days they would fall off, never to grow back. That's because Handi-Off contained the "miracle" ingredient of Leprosin, and its tingle meant it was working.
There was even a product for those mutants who had too many toes - Toe-Riffic.
Thankfully, even in this time of sharply divisive prejudices, mutants in the TV Universe can embrace what makest them different. And even if the playing field is levelled at work when all the co-workers get Dell computers, there are always rewarding career options in middle-management massage and shadow puppetry.
('Dell Computers' & 'Saturday Night Live')
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Friday, November 19, 2004
CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK!
THE CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK
The intro for this past week's 'Monday Night Football' featured 'Desperate Housewives' star Nicollette Sheridan seducing Philadelphia Eagles star Terrell Owens in the Philly locker room.
Clad only in a white towel, Sheridan provocatively asks Owens to skip the game with the Dallas Cowboys in order to spend time with her. When he asks her what she has on under her towel, the camera pans to the towel dropping around her feet and then pans back up to a naked Sheridan jumping into Owens' arms.
But we know that Sheridan wasn't playing Edie Britt, her character from 'Desperate Housewives' because - and this is where the crossover comes in, - we see that it's all part of a TV show being watched by actual characters from the show: Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo.
The salacious nature of the intro, plus its "jungle fever" attitude, generated so many complaints from viewers that ABC apologized the following day.
"We have heard from many of our viewers about [the] opening segment and we agree that the placement was inappropriate," ABC said in a statement. "We apologize."
But the Towel Affair sure seemed to get Owens souped up more than Donovan McNabb's mother could with a bowl of Campbells - the wide receiver scored three touchdowns as the Eagles romped to a 49-21 win over the Cowboys.
So who was Nicolette Sheridan supposed to be? Perhaps she was appearing as herself in the promo; it would be the simplest solution. And I'm not sure if any of her past movie characters would be in a position to come on to Owens in such a manner.
And it would have to be one of her movie characters. Remember, ladies, all of her TV characters exist in the same universe as Susan and Lynette of 'Desperate Housewives'. She wouldn't be seen as Paige Mathison ('Knots Landing') in such a tawdry intro to 'Monday Night Football'!
No, I think we're actually seeing Nicollette Sheridan as a fictionalized version of herself as she once did on 'The Larry Sanders Show'.
('Monday Night Football' & 'Desperate Housewives' & 'The Larry Sanders Show')
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The intro for this past week's 'Monday Night Football' featured 'Desperate Housewives' star Nicollette Sheridan seducing Philadelphia Eagles star Terrell Owens in the Philly locker room.
Clad only in a white towel, Sheridan provocatively asks Owens to skip the game with the Dallas Cowboys in order to spend time with her. When he asks her what she has on under her towel, the camera pans to the towel dropping around her feet and then pans back up to a naked Sheridan jumping into Owens' arms.
But we know that Sheridan wasn't playing Edie Britt, her character from 'Desperate Housewives' because - and this is where the crossover comes in, - we see that it's all part of a TV show being watched by actual characters from the show: Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo.
The salacious nature of the intro, plus its "jungle fever" attitude, generated so many complaints from viewers that ABC apologized the following day.
"We have heard from many of our viewers about [the] opening segment and we agree that the placement was inappropriate," ABC said in a statement. "We apologize."
But the Towel Affair sure seemed to get Owens souped up more than Donovan McNabb's mother could with a bowl of Campbells - the wide receiver scored three touchdowns as the Eagles romped to a 49-21 win over the Cowboys.
So who was Nicolette Sheridan supposed to be? Perhaps she was appearing as herself in the promo; it would be the simplest solution. And I'm not sure if any of her past movie characters would be in a position to come on to Owens in such a manner.
And it would have to be one of her movie characters. Remember, ladies, all of her TV characters exist in the same universe as Susan and Lynette of 'Desperate Housewives'. She wouldn't be seen as Paige Mathison ('Knots Landing') in such a tawdry intro to 'Monday Night Football'!
No, I think we're actually seeing Nicollette Sheridan as a fictionalized version of herself as she once did on 'The Larry Sanders Show'.
('Monday Night Football' & 'Desperate Housewives' & 'The Larry Sanders Show')
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Thursday, November 18, 2004
BAD VIBE
SANTA MONICA, California (AP) -- A fight broke out near the stage at the Vibe awards ceremony as rapper Snoop Dogg and producer Quincy Jones were preparing to honor Dr. Dre. According to authorities and witnesses, one person was stabbed.
Dozens of people sitting near the stage Monday inside a hangar at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport began shoving each other as the show wound down about 7:30 p.m., said a photographer who covered the event for The Associated Press.
News video showed chairs being thrown, punches flying, people chasing one another and some being restrained. It was unclear if the stabbing preceded or followed the fight.
The victim, a 26-year-old man, was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition.
Witness Frank Williams told KCAL-TV that Dr. Dre was involved in the brawl."I saw Dr. Dre fighting somebody," Williams said. "I don't know if he was fighting back. But there was a guy taken out basically bloodied."
Andrea Ferguson, employed by a public relations firm that worked with Vibe for the awards ceremony, called the incident a "disruption" but declined to provide details. She added the show was allowed to continue but it was halted for about five minutes.
Dr. Dre, who was scheduled to receive a Vibe Legend Award for his lifetime contributions to hip-hop, had not come on stage yet when the fight erupted. Jones and Snoop Dogg stood on stage without saying anything.
"My understanding is that it was somewhat chaotic in there," police Lt. Frank Fabrega said in a press conference following the fight.
The UPN network aired a taped broadcast of the Vibe Music Awards last night, but the stabbing and wild melee that disrupted the event for three hours ended up on the cutting-room floor.
Monday night's award ceremony deteriorated into bloody mayhem when a man who asked Dr. Dre for an autograph began pummeling the rap mogul. Others came to his defense and Dre's assailant ended up getting stabbed.
Not that you could tell from UPN's broadcast. The sanitized TV broadcast skipped any scene of the melee and moved seemlessly to Dre coming to the podium to get his award. Dre, dead-serious, then looked out at the audience and declared, without mention of the violence, "They can't stop me. I don't care. That's real."
But in Toobworld, Reality is unreal.........
As a Caretaker for Toobworld, the situation presents me with a conundrum. The basic rule of thumb for the TV Universe is that if it's broadcast in the Real World, it's part of the TV Universe. Yet UPN chose not to show what transpired during the "riot".
However, CNN and other news outlets did show the footage. Therefore it did happen. So how do we splain away such a contradiction?
There are three men in Toobworld who might understand that sensation of dis-continuity. At least, they would know what it was like, if not actually understand it. But they are no longer in Toobworld, and as far as anybody knows, they never were there in the first place. You could even ask their own parents about them and you'd be greeted with puzzled looks.
For these three men have been erased from all aspects of Toobworld - "a man named Harrington, a man named Forbes, a man named Gart. They used to exist, but don't any longer. Someone - or something - took them somewhere. At least they are no longer a part of the memory of Man....."
Colonel Clegg Forbes, Colonel Edward Harrington, and Major William Gart flew an experimental interceptor dubbed the X-20 nine hundred miles into space. But at some point in their thirty-one hour flight, the ship disappeared from radar screens for twenty-four hours before finally crash-landing in the Mojave desert upon its return.
The newspapers were all over the story, calling the three pilots 'heroes'. But Forbes, Harrington, and Galt soon began to feel that there was something not quite right about their return.
Harrington was the first to be overcome by the sensation. He felt this urge to call home to his parents, but he was informed by his own father that the Harringtons never had a son named Ed.
Suddenly he disappeared, and only Colonel Forbes ever remembered him. The newspapers - the same copies that trumpeted the return of three heroes, now only showed a picture of Forbes and Galt with no mention of Harrington. Even Galt didn't remember his flight partner when he was confronted by Forbes back at the hospital.
Clegg Forbes was soon overcome by the same feeling that he no longer belonged to this world. But unlike the experience with Harrington, it washed over Forbes like the sensation of euphoria. And even though he didn't want it to happen, he transcended as if being bodily taken to a higher plane of existence.
For Galt, having witnessed this, and after hearing about a man named Harrington of whom he had no recollection but was supposed to know, the experience became a terrifying one. And he too soon disappeared with no trace left behind that he even existed. Even the X-20 plane disappeared.
No one can say how it must have felt about it......
"And if any of you have any questions concerning an aircraft and three men who flew her, speak softly of them... and only in the Twilight Zone."
Ultimately, we are the Powers That Be who control what happens in the TV Universe: the writers, producers, directors, actors... and even the audience, who make the ultimate decision as to whether a show lives or dies. (But as we should know, cancellation never means the end in Toobworld. Those characters continue living their lives, but unseen by our eyes.)
Within the Inner Reality of "TV Land", most of the characters don't know about that. Some, like David Addison of 'Moonlighting', have the gift of tele-cognizance. They understand that they are all living inside one big TV show for the perverse pleasures of the audience viewing back in the Real World.
For the others, their fates are splained away as being left up to God, or the Fates, or some other kind of Cosmic Muffin. For those who became one with the TV Universe by having their involvement in the Vibe Award fracas televised on the news, it must be unnerving to have the official remembrance of the events excised of any mention that something bad had gone down. Who could have done such a thing on such a "universal" level?
Those who do get to "remember" (via interviews on TV talk shows for example) will be considered tele-cognizants.
By the way......
Viewership for Tuesday's telecast on UPN of "The Vibe Awards" was up 20% from last year to 5.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Sure. Everybody was hoping to see a replay of the violence! I'd watch that for a dollar!
('The Vibe Awards' & 'The Twilight Zone')
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Dozens of people sitting near the stage Monday inside a hangar at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport began shoving each other as the show wound down about 7:30 p.m., said a photographer who covered the event for The Associated Press.
News video showed chairs being thrown, punches flying, people chasing one another and some being restrained. It was unclear if the stabbing preceded or followed the fight.
The victim, a 26-year-old man, was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition.
Witness Frank Williams told KCAL-TV that Dr. Dre was involved in the brawl."I saw Dr. Dre fighting somebody," Williams said. "I don't know if he was fighting back. But there was a guy taken out basically bloodied."
Andrea Ferguson, employed by a public relations firm that worked with Vibe for the awards ceremony, called the incident a "disruption" but declined to provide details. She added the show was allowed to continue but it was halted for about five minutes.
Dr. Dre, who was scheduled to receive a Vibe Legend Award for his lifetime contributions to hip-hop, had not come on stage yet when the fight erupted. Jones and Snoop Dogg stood on stage without saying anything.
"My understanding is that it was somewhat chaotic in there," police Lt. Frank Fabrega said in a press conference following the fight.
The UPN network aired a taped broadcast of the Vibe Music Awards last night, but the stabbing and wild melee that disrupted the event for three hours ended up on the cutting-room floor.
Monday night's award ceremony deteriorated into bloody mayhem when a man who asked Dr. Dre for an autograph began pummeling the rap mogul. Others came to his defense and Dre's assailant ended up getting stabbed.
Not that you could tell from UPN's broadcast. The sanitized TV broadcast skipped any scene of the melee and moved seemlessly to Dre coming to the podium to get his award. Dre, dead-serious, then looked out at the audience and declared, without mention of the violence, "They can't stop me. I don't care. That's real."
But in Toobworld, Reality is unreal.........
As a Caretaker for Toobworld, the situation presents me with a conundrum. The basic rule of thumb for the TV Universe is that if it's broadcast in the Real World, it's part of the TV Universe. Yet UPN chose not to show what transpired during the "riot".
However, CNN and other news outlets did show the footage. Therefore it did happen. So how do we splain away such a contradiction?
There are three men in Toobworld who might understand that sensation of dis-continuity. At least, they would know what it was like, if not actually understand it. But they are no longer in Toobworld, and as far as anybody knows, they never were there in the first place. You could even ask their own parents about them and you'd be greeted with puzzled looks.
For these three men have been erased from all aspects of Toobworld - "a man named Harrington, a man named Forbes, a man named Gart. They used to exist, but don't any longer. Someone - or something - took them somewhere. At least they are no longer a part of the memory of Man....."
Colonel Clegg Forbes, Colonel Edward Harrington, and Major William Gart flew an experimental interceptor dubbed the X-20 nine hundred miles into space. But at some point in their thirty-one hour flight, the ship disappeared from radar screens for twenty-four hours before finally crash-landing in the Mojave desert upon its return.
The newspapers were all over the story, calling the three pilots 'heroes'. But Forbes, Harrington, and Galt soon began to feel that there was something not quite right about their return.
Harrington was the first to be overcome by the sensation. He felt this urge to call home to his parents, but he was informed by his own father that the Harringtons never had a son named Ed.
Suddenly he disappeared, and only Colonel Forbes ever remembered him. The newspapers - the same copies that trumpeted the return of three heroes, now only showed a picture of Forbes and Galt with no mention of Harrington. Even Galt didn't remember his flight partner when he was confronted by Forbes back at the hospital.
Clegg Forbes was soon overcome by the same feeling that he no longer belonged to this world. But unlike the experience with Harrington, it washed over Forbes like the sensation of euphoria. And even though he didn't want it to happen, he transcended as if being bodily taken to a higher plane of existence.
For Galt, having witnessed this, and after hearing about a man named Harrington of whom he had no recollection but was supposed to know, the experience became a terrifying one. And he too soon disappeared with no trace left behind that he even existed. Even the X-20 plane disappeared.
No one can say how it must have felt about it......
"And if any of you have any questions concerning an aircraft and three men who flew her, speak softly of them... and only in the Twilight Zone."
Ultimately, we are the Powers That Be who control what happens in the TV Universe: the writers, producers, directors, actors... and even the audience, who make the ultimate decision as to whether a show lives or dies. (But as we should know, cancellation never means the end in Toobworld. Those characters continue living their lives, but unseen by our eyes.)
Within the Inner Reality of "TV Land", most of the characters don't know about that. Some, like David Addison of 'Moonlighting', have the gift of tele-cognizance. They understand that they are all living inside one big TV show for the perverse pleasures of the audience viewing back in the Real World.
For the others, their fates are splained away as being left up to God, or the Fates, or some other kind of Cosmic Muffin. For those who became one with the TV Universe by having their involvement in the Vibe Award fracas televised on the news, it must be unnerving to have the official remembrance of the events excised of any mention that something bad had gone down. Who could have done such a thing on such a "universal" level?
Those who do get to "remember" (via interviews on TV talk shows for example) will be considered tele-cognizants.
By the way......
Viewership for Tuesday's telecast on UPN of "The Vibe Awards" was up 20% from last year to 5.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Sure. Everybody was hoping to see a replay of the violence! I'd watch that for a dollar!
('The Vibe Awards' & 'The Twilight Zone')
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
BEHIND THE "SEENS"
As I reported last week, I attended a taping of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' (its 499th & 500th episodes). My brother Iddiot-in-arms, Brian-El, showed up there earlier in the day to actually audtion to be a contestant. And he sent along this look at what it was like......
Hi all,
For those of you who don't know, I was once again selected to audition for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (yes, it's still on in syndication--in most markets, during the day).
I won't bore most of you with the details of the whole trip, but here's the audition story:
This year, virtually all Millionaire contestants are being selected from the studio audience. You don't just sign up to audition--you sign up to audition *and* see two shows being taped. So I got to the building early and began conversing with two guys in line with me, both of whom happened to be from my original neck of the woods (central PA). I ended up being seated in the studio next to one of them, and then we all took the test. (The studio, BTW, is like all TV studios: much smaller than it looks on the tube.) Just like last time, it was 30 multiple-choice questions--but these questions seemed harder to me that the ones I'd had two years ago. I knew I got most of them right, but had no idea if I'd passed or not.
After the test, the non-auditioning part of the audience was ushered in (including my pal Toby, a TV nut from NYC whom I just had to invite), and the taping began. I was surprised to see that it didn't really take much more time than the actual show. I'd expected lots of stops and starts--especially when a new contestant came in, or when a phone-a-friend was called--but that didn't happen. The "Ask The Audience" lifeline lasts longer than it does in the final show, but I suspect that's to give the AOL IM audience more time to answer. (In case you don't know, that's one of the show's new gimmicks.) Meredith Viera (the current host, not Regis) had to do one re-read of a question she stumbled over, but that was it for any delays.
These shows (the second of which was Millionaire's 500th syndicated broadcast) are supposed to be aired in March (I forgot to bring the exact dates--I'll send them later).
Hi all,
For those of you who don't know, I was once again selected to audition for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (yes, it's still on in syndication--in most markets, during the day).
I won't bore most of you with the details of the whole trip, but here's the audition story:
This year, virtually all Millionaire contestants are being selected from the studio audience. You don't just sign up to audition--you sign up to audition *and* see two shows being taped. So I got to the building early and began conversing with two guys in line with me, both of whom happened to be from my original neck of the woods (central PA). I ended up being seated in the studio next to one of them, and then we all took the test. (The studio, BTW, is like all TV studios: much smaller than it looks on the tube.) Just like last time, it was 30 multiple-choice questions--but these questions seemed harder to me that the ones I'd had two years ago. I knew I got most of them right, but had no idea if I'd passed or not.
After the test, the non-auditioning part of the audience was ushered in (including my pal Toby, a TV nut from NYC whom I just had to invite), and the taping began. I was surprised to see that it didn't really take much more time than the actual show. I'd expected lots of stops and starts--especially when a new contestant came in, or when a phone-a-friend was called--but that didn't happen. The "Ask The Audience" lifeline lasts longer than it does in the final show, but I suspect that's to give the AOL IM audience more time to answer. (In case you don't know, that's one of the show's new gimmicks.) Meredith Viera (the current host, not Regis) had to do one re-read of a question she stumbled over, but that was it for any delays.
These shows (the second of which was Millionaire's 500th syndicated broadcast) are supposed to be aired in March (I forgot to bring the exact dates--I'll send them later).
Editor's note - March 24th & 25th, 2005!
Anyway, they then announced who'd passed the test. Of the 200 people who took the test, 10 passed, and, yes, I was one of them. Just like last time, my photo was taken and I had a brief interview. However, the interview went much, much better than last time and I have a really good feeling about this. I am in the contestant pool--and I'm supposed to hear something within two weeks. And the guy I'd been talking to was also one of the ten! We got kidded about that by the warmup comedian.
But even if I don't get on the show, it was a lot of fun. I'd never seen a national TV show taped before, and it was cool to be part of "Ask The Audience" (although we did screw up the last contestant). And I had a great time in New York.
Some of you will be getting more details. (Is that a promise or a threat?)
I will let you know when I hear something from the show, so stay tuned...
And stay warm,
Brian
Monday, November 15, 2004
WEEKLY ROUND-UP
THE YADA-YADA
We are human and given a chance,
We still might create an art form of television.
Gilbert Seldes.
CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK
'Crossing Jordan' & 'Las Vegas'
[See separate essay.]
THE GREAT LINK
'Law & Order' - Connecticut Governor's wife is murdered in Central Park and evidence of the governor's sexual orientation comes to light.
[See separate essay.]
MISSING LINK
When Detective Frank Arcaro was shot and wounded by an Arkansas hillbilly named Ansel Boulke, he was treated at Manhattan General Hospital. Twenty years later, this was the same hospital were "Kayo" O'Brien would be working as a surgeon.
('Naked City' & 'Kay O'Brien')
ZONK ADDENDUM
Just before he had his dream zonk involving 'The Munsters', 'Leave It To Beaver', and 'The Jetsons', George Lopez quoted catch-phrases from the following shows:
'Sanford & Son'
'Flo'
'Chico And The Man'
'The Honeymooners'
'Welcome Back, Kotter'
('The George Lopez Show')
BLIPVERT CROSSOVERS
Lee Jeans spokesdoll Buddy Lee plays the role of guidance counselor in a new series of branded entertainment films tied to the MTV2 program 'Control Freak'.
The series takes advantage of the show's format -- which lets viewers pick what video comes on next -- by letting viewers decide which career path Lee's young charge should choose. The initial episode aired on Oct. 31. The next two episodes, which will show the student pursuing the career selected for him, will air on Nov. 14 and Nov. 28.
In the first episode, we see Buddy reflect on his own past careers before viewers are asked to decide whether our young student should become a trapeze artist, a soap opera actor or a ventriloquist.
('Lee Jeans' & 'Control Freak')
plus....
'The Jetsons' & 'Electrosol'
I've been seeing this commercial for months, but it never clicked that it serves as a link. And that George Jetson deserves a chance at the TV Crossover Hall of Fame now.
I must be getting old........
THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES
Snoop Dogg filmed at the Montecito.
('Las Vegas')
BY ANY OTHER NAME
This week, BBC-America showed 'The Gold Napoleon', the second episode of 'The Persuaders', which starred Roger Moore and Tony Curtis.
Near the beginning of the episode, Bret Lord Sinclair conned a helicopter pilot out of his chopper and took it up himself in order to track down a scuba-diving assassin.
The helicopter pilot was barely seen, but according to the episode guide at TV Tome, he was played by a young Jan-Michael Vincent. The IMDb.com backs up this claim.
The credits only list him as "Helicopter Pilot". So what's to stop us from claming that he was Stringfellow Hawke, pilot extraordinaire and a bit of a rebel when it comes to protecting his chopper, Airwolf.
He must have learned that lesson well back in Nice Cote d'Azur!
('The Persuaders' & 'Airwolf')
LA TRIVIATA
The porn movie "Bootie And The Beast" was among the selections which Maya's son charged to their cable bill. If Fox Mulder owned a copy of this "classic", it would have been filed in his collection just before "Buffay The Vampire Layer".
('Girlfriends' & 'The X-Files' & 'Friends')
A giant tsunami struck Miami in November of 2004.
('CSI: Miami')
The Empires baseball team was founded in 1904.
('Clubhouse')
'American Goddess' is a reality show using plastic surgery, similar to 'Extreme Makeover' & 'The Swan'.
('Without A Trace')
The Huns are a professional football league, but its home city is unknown.
('Capital One Prime Lock')
Adrenalitis is a condition in which the patient suffers from a severe lack of adrenalin. So far, one cure seems to be owning and driving a Tacoma.
('Toyota Tacoma')
OBITUARIES
Charlie Metcalf was an alcoholic ex-con with nothing more to show for his life than a battered old suitcase containing an address book, a painting of a house, and a few tattered photos.
His cirrhosis was so advanced, that by the time he was admitted to the Cook County General ER in Chicago, he only had 44 minutes to live. But during that short time, Charlie was able to prove the maxim of Judge Henry Bone ('Picket Fences'): "People can come into your life for a moment and last a lifetime."
('ER')
Phillip Spaulding was found shot to death in Springfield. As is the case with so many murders in soap operas, there is a plethora of suspects. [See the following entry.]
('Guiding Light')
In a big dramatic addition to the year's best crossover, Paul Cramer was murdered in Llanview. His death will reverberate for months not only in that Pennsylvania town, but also in the town of Corinth.
('One Life To Live' & 'All My Children')
In Remembrance: Alcibiades Munoz was an international financier living splendidly on an island in the Aegean. He died of a massive coronary aboard his yacht in the Hudson River boatyards of New York City.
('Naked City')
HISTORY, CHANNELLED
Henry the VIII
[See separate essays.]
UNSTUCK IN PRIME TIME
I've been watching classic episodes of 'Naked City' on DVD and got a nice history lesson in ancient art.....
Pre-465 BC - The Minerva of Cycledes was stolen by Xerxes.
1887 AD - Lord Casseltine bought the Minerva for three pounds and a case of Scotch whiskey.
July 10th - October 31st, 1940 AD - The Minerva lost her hand during the Battle of Britain.
1950s - Miss Arlington tracks down the Minerva of Cycledes and arranges for her museum in New York City to display it.
November 29th, 1961 - The Minerva is stolen by self-proclaimed pirates, but recovered by detectives from the 65th Precinct.
('Naked City')
REALI-TV
CBS news has fired the producer who cut into "CSI: NY" to report the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
[See separate blog entry.]
CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME
Those who qualified this week for entry:
Snoop Dogg
In case anyone was interested in who the other 'Trek' inductees have been up to this point, here's the rundown of the year so far:
January - Captain James T. Kirk
February - Lt. Uhura
March - Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
April - Commander Montgomery Scott
May - Yeoman Janice Rand
June - Zephraim Cochrane
Birthday Honors - The Cast Of The Original 'Star Trek':
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichole, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney
July - Ensign Pavel Chekov
August - Helmsman Hikaru Sulu
September - Gene Roddenberry
October - The Tribbles
November - Ambassador Sarek
Well, that's it for another week. Please stay tuned!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Sunday, November 14, 2004
LAW & ORDER - SVU ('SLIDERS' VARIATION UNCOVERED)
[THE FINALE IN A SERIES OF "GREAT LINK" ESSAYS ABOUT ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS]
I wrote all of those blog entries about alternate dimensions in the TV Universe in order to finally come around to discussing the latest episode of 'Law & Order', "Gov Love".
In the episode, a politically connected businessman was charged with murdering the wife of the Connecticut governor in order to keep her from disclosing that the governor is gay and has been having an affair with another man. The best evidence against the guy was his own confession to his lover, but he tried getting the confession excluded from evidence on the basis that they were actually married in a New Paltz ceremony back in March of 2004.
Typical of the show's frequent boasts that it's "ripped from the headlines", "Gov Love" combined the recent problems faced by two real-life governors with the debate over whether same-sex marriages should get the same constitutional guarantees as a traditional form of marriage, between a man and a woman.
As for the governor who was the victim's husband, Governor Reardon was a combination of former Connecticut Governor John D. Rowland and New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who was to step down on November 15. On July 1, Rowland resigned amidst possible impeachment and indictment on corruption charges. On August 12, McGreevey announced that he would resign due to his having a homosexual affair and his desire to avoid having that affect his ability to govern; reports indicate that McGreevey had an affair with a man who had been hired in the state government and who had threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment.
Having a character based on the combination of the two wouldn't have been a problem, if only the Powers That Be had left the governor's home state nebulous; if we had never learned its name. But they stated outright that it was Connecticut; that the governor's vacation home (a target of investigation because it was built for free in exchange for political favors) was located in Litchfield. And several scenes were identified as taking place in Hartford, Stamford and in Bridgeport.
Yeah, McGreevey's personal peccadilloes (adultery, homosexuality, and cronyism) were blended into the character, but it was Rowland's state that was used; thus tying it closer to Rowland himself. And the fact that the governor's name was Reardon certainly didn't help.
(Rowland/Reardon, Reardon/Rowland... let's call the whole thing off!)
Personally I don't care if Rowland does end up feeling like he was unfairly portrayed in the episode (although they did take allegations about his marriages past and present to the ultimate limit). My problem lies in the fact that the 'Law & Order' creative team felt it necessary to proclaim the state as being Connecticut. (And not just because it's my home state and near and dear to my heart.)
My objections are based on the assertion that in the main TV Universe, Connecticut already has a governor, Jody Rell, and that the governor before her was John Rowland.
The basic maxim is that whatever is broadcast on TV becomes part and parcel of the TV Universe. And that includes the news. For the past few years, Governor Rowland dominated the airwaves in the Constitution State, leading up to the day that he finally resigned from office in disgrace.
As for Jody Rell, she had her own public affairs program on Connecticut TV all the time while she was the Lt. Governor under Rowland. That should solidify her presence in the TV Universe as a member of the League of Themselves.
I've admitted in the past that I can't possibly keep up with every little detail from all of the TV shows out there, so how am I to know whether or not Governor Rowland (and/or his political difficulties) was ever mentioned on TV shows that were set in Connecticut, like the current 'My Wife And Kids', 'The Gilmore Girls' or 'Judging Amy'?
In the past, 'Law & Order' has solidified its link with the real version of New York City by having Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg appearing on the show as themselves. Aside from the conventional wisdom that you don't bleep where you eat so don't piss off your hosts, why should the Big Apple get such consideration but not the political leaders of its neighbors? The audiences viewing in those states deserve just as much adherence to the reality to which they can relate as do the audiences in New York.
Every so often on other shows, there have been characters who were congressional representatives that no more existed in the real world than Spongebob Squarepants. Or Dennis Rodman. But usually the states they represent are never mentioned. (An example that comes to mind is Senator Matheson, Mulder's congressional ally on 'The X-Files'.)
And if they are linked to a particular state, like Congressman 'Charlie Lawrence' of New Mexico, well, at least the number of congressmen is so varied from state to state that it can remain fluid.... There's always room for one more.
If only they just identified the victim as the wife of Governor Reardon and never got around to mentioning where they were from. If only all the towns they visited had either fictional names or generic names that could have been found in any state, like Portland, Middletown, or the ever-popular Springfield.
No, they had to irrevocably tie it into a Connecticut that cannot exist in the TV Universe because of preexisting conditions.
Therefore, as a Caretaker for the Television Universe, I feel there is no other option but to banish this one episode to an alternate universe.
We know Kirk and Bones and Scotty and Uhura had mirror images in an alternate universe. We know Hercules, Ares, Quinn Mallory, and Frasier Crane all had dimensional doppelgangers as well.
So why can't Jack McCoy and Detectives Fontana and Green have counterparts in another realm as well?
I don't think we have to worry very much about the characters from Earth Prime Time, the main TV Universe, ever mentioning this case again. In the fifteen plus years that this show has been on the air, each episode pretty much stands on its own. Rarely do cases come back to flavor a current case (not that it doesn't happen).
And they proved it with this episode. When ADA Serena Southerlyn brought up the issue of an underling feeling sexually harassed by a more powerful superior on the job, there wasn't even the legendary raised eyebrow from ADA Jack McCoy. Considering that he has a few skeletons in his own closet concerning this issue, I would have thought it might have brought out some kind of reaction from him.
In the end, I think it would be better for all concerned if the audience viewing at home came to regard this singular episode as having taken place in the evil mirror universe. The way that McCoy was hell-bent on making sure gays were relegated to second-class status by having those paltry few New Paltz marriages declared null and void just so he could get a murderer convicted brought new shadings to a tarnished hero. But it won't rank up there as his finest hour.
So that's why I laid the groundwork for this argument with all of those other essays about alternate TV dimensions. All of that sliding in and out (literally and figuratively, heh-heh, heh-heh!) helps us to put this particular episode in its proper place in the firmament.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
I wrote all of those blog entries about alternate dimensions in the TV Universe in order to finally come around to discussing the latest episode of 'Law & Order', "Gov Love".
In the episode, a politically connected businessman was charged with murdering the wife of the Connecticut governor in order to keep her from disclosing that the governor is gay and has been having an affair with another man. The best evidence against the guy was his own confession to his lover, but he tried getting the confession excluded from evidence on the basis that they were actually married in a New Paltz ceremony back in March of 2004.
Typical of the show's frequent boasts that it's "ripped from the headlines", "Gov Love" combined the recent problems faced by two real-life governors with the debate over whether same-sex marriages should get the same constitutional guarantees as a traditional form of marriage, between a man and a woman.
As for the governor who was the victim's husband, Governor Reardon was a combination of former Connecticut Governor John D. Rowland and New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who was to step down on November 15. On July 1, Rowland resigned amidst possible impeachment and indictment on corruption charges. On August 12, McGreevey announced that he would resign due to his having a homosexual affair and his desire to avoid having that affect his ability to govern; reports indicate that McGreevey had an affair with a man who had been hired in the state government and who had threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment.
Having a character based on the combination of the two wouldn't have been a problem, if only the Powers That Be had left the governor's home state nebulous; if we had never learned its name. But they stated outright that it was Connecticut; that the governor's vacation home (a target of investigation because it was built for free in exchange for political favors) was located in Litchfield. And several scenes were identified as taking place in Hartford, Stamford and in Bridgeport.
Yeah, McGreevey's personal peccadilloes (adultery, homosexuality, and cronyism) were blended into the character, but it was Rowland's state that was used; thus tying it closer to Rowland himself. And the fact that the governor's name was Reardon certainly didn't help.
(Rowland/Reardon, Reardon/Rowland... let's call the whole thing off!)
Personally I don't care if Rowland does end up feeling like he was unfairly portrayed in the episode (although they did take allegations about his marriages past and present to the ultimate limit). My problem lies in the fact that the 'Law & Order' creative team felt it necessary to proclaim the state as being Connecticut. (And not just because it's my home state and near and dear to my heart.)
My objections are based on the assertion that in the main TV Universe, Connecticut already has a governor, Jody Rell, and that the governor before her was John Rowland.
The basic maxim is that whatever is broadcast on TV becomes part and parcel of the TV Universe. And that includes the news. For the past few years, Governor Rowland dominated the airwaves in the Constitution State, leading up to the day that he finally resigned from office in disgrace.
As for Jody Rell, she had her own public affairs program on Connecticut TV all the time while she was the Lt. Governor under Rowland. That should solidify her presence in the TV Universe as a member of the League of Themselves.
I've admitted in the past that I can't possibly keep up with every little detail from all of the TV shows out there, so how am I to know whether or not Governor Rowland (and/or his political difficulties) was ever mentioned on TV shows that were set in Connecticut, like the current 'My Wife And Kids', 'The Gilmore Girls' or 'Judging Amy'?
In the past, 'Law & Order' has solidified its link with the real version of New York City by having Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg appearing on the show as themselves. Aside from the conventional wisdom that you don't bleep where you eat so don't piss off your hosts, why should the Big Apple get such consideration but not the political leaders of its neighbors? The audiences viewing in those states deserve just as much adherence to the reality to which they can relate as do the audiences in New York.
Every so often on other shows, there have been characters who were congressional representatives that no more existed in the real world than Spongebob Squarepants. Or Dennis Rodman. But usually the states they represent are never mentioned. (An example that comes to mind is Senator Matheson, Mulder's congressional ally on 'The X-Files'.)
And if they are linked to a particular state, like Congressman 'Charlie Lawrence' of New Mexico, well, at least the number of congressmen is so varied from state to state that it can remain fluid.... There's always room for one more.
If only they just identified the victim as the wife of Governor Reardon and never got around to mentioning where they were from. If only all the towns they visited had either fictional names or generic names that could have been found in any state, like Portland, Middletown, or the ever-popular Springfield.
No, they had to irrevocably tie it into a Connecticut that cannot exist in the TV Universe because of preexisting conditions.
Therefore, as a Caretaker for the Television Universe, I feel there is no other option but to banish this one episode to an alternate universe.
We know Kirk and Bones and Scotty and Uhura had mirror images in an alternate universe. We know Hercules, Ares, Quinn Mallory, and Frasier Crane all had dimensional doppelgangers as well.
So why can't Jack McCoy and Detectives Fontana and Green have counterparts in another realm as well?
I don't think we have to worry very much about the characters from Earth Prime Time, the main TV Universe, ever mentioning this case again. In the fifteen plus years that this show has been on the air, each episode pretty much stands on its own. Rarely do cases come back to flavor a current case (not that it doesn't happen).
And they proved it with this episode. When ADA Serena Southerlyn brought up the issue of an underling feeling sexually harassed by a more powerful superior on the job, there wasn't even the legendary raised eyebrow from ADA Jack McCoy. Considering that he has a few skeletons in his own closet concerning this issue, I would have thought it might have brought out some kind of reaction from him.
In the end, I think it would be better for all concerned if the audience viewing at home came to regard this singular episode as having taken place in the evil mirror universe. The way that McCoy was hell-bent on making sure gays were relegated to second-class status by having those paltry few New Paltz marriages declared null and void just so he could get a murderer convicted brought new shadings to a tarnished hero. But it won't rank up there as his finest hour.
So that's why I laid the groundwork for this argument with all of those other essays about alternate TV dimensions. All of that sliding in and out (literally and figuratively, heh-heh, heh-heh!) helps us to put this particular episode in its proper place in the firmament.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
SLIP-SLIDIN' AWAY
[ANOTHER IN A CONTINUING SERIES OF "GREAT LINK" ESSAYS]
The alternate universes I've postulated for Amos Burke, Joey Barnes, and the Lone Ranger are just theories of mine. There are shows which actually deal with alternate dimensions as their central theme - 'Sliders', 'Otherworld', 'Land Of The Giants'..... 'The Twilight Zone' had quite a few episodes touching on other dimensions; one of them no more than a cornfield.....
But some of the best inter-dimensional episodes were usually stand-alones, and they didn't always come from genre shows. 'Star Trek' did "Mirror, Mirror" with evil counterparts to their regular characters, and it was a theme that 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' returned to for five of their own episodes:
1) "Crossover"
2) "Through The Looking Glass"
3) "Shattered Mirror"
4) "Resurrection"
5) "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Hercules, on his legendary journeys, also visited this same mirror universe back in the Age of Legend. In that otherworld where the basic nature of the regular characters was turned on its head, Hercules was a ruthless tyrant known as the Sovereign. And Ares was no longer the god of War, but the Elvis-like (Elvissian?) God of Love! (Episodes "Stranger In A Strange Land" & "Stranger And Stranger")
Like I said, it wasn't only the genre shows that explored the concept. In the episode "Sliding Frasiers" (a reference to the Gwyneth Paltrow movie "Sliding Doors"), 'Frasier' explored two different versions of the psychiatrist's Valentine's Day. In one, he met a beautiful artist; but in the other, Frasier stayed home lone.
The alternate dimension viewpoint also focused on Niles and Daphne: they either fly to Hawaii or stay home because of Niles' allergies.
And just a few weeks ago, the 'Law & Order' corner of the TV Universe dabbled in the dimensional differences when 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' showed two versions of an episode featuring arch-nemesis Nicole Wallace. In one, she lived. In the other; she died.
Viewers then voted as to which ending would be officially part of the main TV Universe. And they overwhelmingly voted that Nicole should live. So it's off to the mirror-universe for the version in which she did.
By opening the door to the concept of an alternate universe for the police procedurals, 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' makes it easier to accept that the same situation could befall its sister shows, the original 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: SVU'
Which makes it easier to claim that a recent episode of the 'L&O' mothership actually was taking place in an alternate dimension; perhaps even the "evil mirror" world. Because sure as bleep it couldn't have been what's happenin' now in the "real" TV Universe!
But more on that in the next installment......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The alternate universes I've postulated for Amos Burke, Joey Barnes, and the Lone Ranger are just theories of mine. There are shows which actually deal with alternate dimensions as their central theme - 'Sliders', 'Otherworld', 'Land Of The Giants'..... 'The Twilight Zone' had quite a few episodes touching on other dimensions; one of them no more than a cornfield.....
JERRY:
You know, this is like 'The Twilight Zone';
Where the guy wakes up and he's the same,
But everyone else is different.
KRAMER:
Which one?
JERRY:
They were all like that.
"Seinfeld"
But some of the best inter-dimensional episodes were usually stand-alones, and they didn't always come from genre shows. 'Star Trek' did "Mirror, Mirror" with evil counterparts to their regular characters, and it was a theme that 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' returned to for five of their own episodes:
1) "Crossover"
2) "Through The Looking Glass"
3) "Shattered Mirror"
4) "Resurrection"
5) "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Hercules, on his legendary journeys, also visited this same mirror universe back in the Age of Legend. In that otherworld where the basic nature of the regular characters was turned on its head, Hercules was a ruthless tyrant known as the Sovereign. And Ares was no longer the god of War, but the Elvis-like (Elvissian?) God of Love! (Episodes "Stranger In A Strange Land" & "Stranger And Stranger")
Like I said, it wasn't only the genre shows that explored the concept. In the episode "Sliding Frasiers" (a reference to the Gwyneth Paltrow movie "Sliding Doors"), 'Frasier' explored two different versions of the psychiatrist's Valentine's Day. In one, he met a beautiful artist; but in the other, Frasier stayed home lone.
The alternate dimension viewpoint also focused on Niles and Daphne: they either fly to Hawaii or stay home because of Niles' allergies.
And just a few weeks ago, the 'Law & Order' corner of the TV Universe dabbled in the dimensional differences when 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' showed two versions of an episode featuring arch-nemesis Nicole Wallace. In one, she lived. In the other; she died.
Viewers then voted as to which ending would be officially part of the main TV Universe. And they overwhelmingly voted that Nicole should live. So it's off to the mirror-universe for the version in which she did.
By opening the door to the concept of an alternate universe for the police procedurals, 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' makes it easier to accept that the same situation could befall its sister shows, the original 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: SVU'
Which makes it easier to claim that a recent episode of the 'L&O' mothership actually was taking place in an alternate dimension; perhaps even the "evil mirror" world. Because sure as bleep it couldn't have been what's happenin' now in the "real" TV Universe!
But more on that in the next installment......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Saturday, November 13, 2004
HEIDI HO
CBS news has fired the producer who cut into "CSI: NY" to report the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The staffer, a female senior producer, broke into the crime drama shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday with the report from "Up to the Minute" anchor Melissa McDermott, outraging viewers who missed the end of the show.
According to a source, the producer failed to follow standard procedures that require a senior CBS News executive to be consulted before interrupting regular programming. The fact Arafat already had been reported near death for several days also figured in the network's decision. The source said the producer disregarded explicit, advance instructions that breaking news of Arafat's death -- if it occurred during prime time -- was to be reported with a news "crawl" at the bottom of the screen.
"Arafat had been literally on his deathbed for a week. Everyone knew he was going to die. It was just a matter of when," the source said.
CBS apologized for the interruption Thursday, saying an "overly aggressive" staffer "jumped the gun on a report that should have been offered to local stations for their late news."
CBS declined to comment on the firing yesterday, but the network rebroadcast the episode last night.
If she broke explicit rules that had been set, then yeah, I guess I'd have to go along with the dismissal. But it's not like the infamous "Heidi" interruption of a football game back in the sixties. There wasn't much chance for the audience to get the info they missed before CBS re-broadcast the episode two nights later. With that live football game, the news of who won would have been revealed at any other source for information. And who really wants to see a taped replay of a game's finale... unless you're a 2004 Red Sox fan?
I'll be curious now to see what the ratings were for that 'CSI: NY' episode from both Wednesday and Friday night; to see how they stacked up.
CBS had already yanked 'dr. vegas' from that Friday timeslot for the November Sweeps.... I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the audience actually increased to watch the repeat of the episode after all the attention it got for being pre-empted!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The staffer, a female senior producer, broke into the crime drama shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday with the report from "Up to the Minute" anchor Melissa McDermott, outraging viewers who missed the end of the show.
According to a source, the producer failed to follow standard procedures that require a senior CBS News executive to be consulted before interrupting regular programming. The fact Arafat already had been reported near death for several days also figured in the network's decision. The source said the producer disregarded explicit, advance instructions that breaking news of Arafat's death -- if it occurred during prime time -- was to be reported with a news "crawl" at the bottom of the screen.
"Arafat had been literally on his deathbed for a week. Everyone knew he was going to die. It was just a matter of when," the source said.
CBS apologized for the interruption Thursday, saying an "overly aggressive" staffer "jumped the gun on a report that should have been offered to local stations for their late news."
CBS declined to comment on the firing yesterday, but the network rebroadcast the episode last night.
If she broke explicit rules that had been set, then yeah, I guess I'd have to go along with the dismissal. But it's not like the infamous "Heidi" interruption of a football game back in the sixties. There wasn't much chance for the audience to get the info they missed before CBS re-broadcast the episode two nights later. With that live football game, the news of who won would have been revealed at any other source for information. And who really wants to see a taped replay of a game's finale... unless you're a 2004 Red Sox fan?
I'll be curious now to see what the ratings were for that 'CSI: NY' episode from both Wednesday and Friday night; to see how they stacked up.
CBS had already yanked 'dr. vegas' from that Friday timeslot for the November Sweeps.... I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the audience actually increased to watch the repeat of the episode after all the attention it got for being pre-empted!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
SLIDING WITH KEMOSABE
[ANOTHER IN A CONTINUING SERIES
OF "GREAT LINK" ESSAYS]
To conclude the trilogy about TV shows that present two different TV universes*, we hearken back to Yesteryear, where we hear the cry of "Hi Ho, Silver!"
Heap big problem, Kemosabe - there are two men making that cry.
'The Lone Ranger' began its run on TV with Clayton Moore as the Masked Man. But when contract negotiations broke down between Moore and the producers, John Hart was brought in to assay the role of the Lone Ranger.
The suits must have thought that since the character was hidden away behind a mask, then the kids in the audience would never be able to figure out that there had been a switcheroo.
But as my Iddiot friend Stan could tell you, they noticed.
The experiment lasted two season, but it was obvious from the ratings that they couldn't pull the wool over the kids' eyes. So they brought back Clayton Moore to once again pull the mask over his eyes.
So instead of an alternate dimension at the beginning or the end of the episode, we now had a series that displayed the variant in the middle of the show's run.
But there's another splainin for the Lone Ranger who looked like John Hart. That's because he was John Hart, playing the Lone Ranger on a TV show that was seen by the populace of TV Land. What we saw during those two seasons were episodes from the Toobworld version of the Lone Ranger legend.
[Something similar happens all the time in the literary universe. One of the best examples is "Venus On The Half Shell". This book was written by Philip Jose Farmer as 'Kilgore Trout', the fictional author chronicled in various stories by Kurt Vonnegut.]
This splainin comes in handy decades later when John Hart appeared on shows like 'Happy Days' and 'The Greatest American Hero' as the man who portrayed the Lone Ranger on their TV shows.
It wouldn't be the only time we got to see the TV shows that the people of TV Land watched. Just recently there was a TV movie about the Brady Bunch, which had Mike Brady becoming President of the United States. Using the actors from the movie versions of the story, most likely they're the version known to other TV characters as 'The Brady Bunch'.
[It's always been my contention that the likes of the blended families who became 'The Brady Bunch' were the inspiration for a TV show within the TV universe. That's why so many other shows ('Day By Day' & 'The X-Files', for example) refer to 'The Brady Bunch' as a TV show and not part of their own universe.]
So Clayton Moore's portrayal embodied the real Lone Ranger in Toobworld, while John Hart was not the real thing but an incredible simulation.
But if the idea that a TV show we watch is watched by TV characters we watch is too much data input for your 2.0 mind, go back to the simpler splainin of the alternate universe. It will prevent your head from spinning so much that you'd want to put a silver bullet through your brain.
And on that cheery note....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
*This trilogy of essays dealt with series that had full season pickups for their alternate dimensions. Next time up, we'll look at a few "singular" shows.....
OF "GREAT LINK" ESSAYS]
To conclude the trilogy about TV shows that present two different TV universes*, we hearken back to Yesteryear, where we hear the cry of "Hi Ho, Silver!"
Heap big problem, Kemosabe - there are two men making that cry.
'The Lone Ranger' began its run on TV with Clayton Moore as the Masked Man. But when contract negotiations broke down between Moore and the producers, John Hart was brought in to assay the role of the Lone Ranger.
The suits must have thought that since the character was hidden away behind a mask, then the kids in the audience would never be able to figure out that there had been a switcheroo.
But as my Iddiot friend Stan could tell you, they noticed.
The experiment lasted two season, but it was obvious from the ratings that they couldn't pull the wool over the kids' eyes. So they brought back Clayton Moore to once again pull the mask over his eyes.
So instead of an alternate dimension at the beginning or the end of the episode, we now had a series that displayed the variant in the middle of the show's run.
But there's another splainin for the Lone Ranger who looked like John Hart. That's because he was John Hart, playing the Lone Ranger on a TV show that was seen by the populace of TV Land. What we saw during those two seasons were episodes from the Toobworld version of the Lone Ranger legend.
[Something similar happens all the time in the literary universe. One of the best examples is "Venus On The Half Shell". This book was written by Philip Jose Farmer as 'Kilgore Trout', the fictional author chronicled in various stories by Kurt Vonnegut.]
This splainin comes in handy decades later when John Hart appeared on shows like 'Happy Days' and 'The Greatest American Hero' as the man who portrayed the Lone Ranger on their TV shows.
It wouldn't be the only time we got to see the TV shows that the people of TV Land watched. Just recently there was a TV movie about the Brady Bunch, which had Mike Brady becoming President of the United States. Using the actors from the movie versions of the story, most likely they're the version known to other TV characters as 'The Brady Bunch'.
[It's always been my contention that the likes of the blended families who became 'The Brady Bunch' were the inspiration for a TV show within the TV universe. That's why so many other shows ('Day By Day' & 'The X-Files', for example) refer to 'The Brady Bunch' as a TV show and not part of their own universe.]
So Clayton Moore's portrayal embodied the real Lone Ranger in Toobworld, while John Hart was not the real thing but an incredible simulation.
But if the idea that a TV show we watch is watched by TV characters we watch is too much data input for your 2.0 mind, go back to the simpler splainin of the alternate universe. It will prevent your head from spinning so much that you'd want to put a silver bullet through your brain.
And on that cheery note....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
*This trilogy of essays dealt with series that had full season pickups for their alternate dimensions. Next time up, we'll look at a few "singular" shows.....
Friday, November 12, 2004
SLIDING WITH A SON OF A GUN
[ANOTHER IN A CONTINUING SERIES]
The second example of two TV dimensions within the same series begins its story in an episode of 'Make Room For Daddy' ('The Danny Thomas Show'). Danny Williams flew out Hollywood where he was supposed to be met by a public relations agent named Joey Mason. Mason was a put-upon young man, harried by the pressures of the job and the demands of his extended family. Although nothing seemed to go right for Joey, somehow is all worked out okay in the end.
This episode served as a spin-off to showcase Joey Bishop, who played Joey Mason. But when 'The Joey Bishop Show' debuted, he was now known as Joey Barnes; same job, same family, same life. The names may have been changed, but they were occupying the same space in the TV Universe. Like Lazarus A & B in 'Star Trek', the premise of the TV world was faced with a cataclysmic contradiction.
Okay, so only to me, but still! Something had to give.
A solution finally arrived by the second season of 'The Joey Bishop Show': the premise about Joey Barnes working as a public relations agent was scrapped; everybody else in the Barnes family was "disappeared".
Joey Barnes was now a newlywed TV talk show host broadcasting from New York. Based on conversations during that second season, it was apparent that Joey had been hosting his late night TV show for several years.
Now we had two Joey Barneses and a Joey Mason leading the same life as the West Coast Joey Barnes. So like soap in a wet fist, we just squeeze out that first season of 'The Joey Bishop Show' and plop it into the alternate dimension. This way we can keep both Joey Mason and the second Joey Barnes, even though they look alike, and just pray that Ellie Barnes never made the mistake of going to bed with Joey Mason!
Some might think that by airing in the first season, the episodes about Joey Barnes the PR agent should be given preeminence; that Joey 1 should stay in the main TV dimension.
But Joey 2 lasted longer, with at least 2 more seasons (moving over to CBS for the last one). And Joey and Ellie took in a boarder during that last year - Rusty Williams, the son of Danny Williams.
Danny Williams is an integral character of the TV Universe, linking his show to 'The Andy Griffith Show', 'The Lucy-Desi Comedy Show', and its own sequel, 'Make Room For Granddaddy'. So he must be kept on Earth Prime-Time!
Danny already knew Joey Mason and now his son was living with Joey Barnes 2, so it's almost as if it had been decreed from on high......
Son of a gun!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The second example of two TV dimensions within the same series begins its story in an episode of 'Make Room For Daddy' ('The Danny Thomas Show'). Danny Williams flew out Hollywood where he was supposed to be met by a public relations agent named Joey Mason. Mason was a put-upon young man, harried by the pressures of the job and the demands of his extended family. Although nothing seemed to go right for Joey, somehow is all worked out okay in the end.
This episode served as a spin-off to showcase Joey Bishop, who played Joey Mason. But when 'The Joey Bishop Show' debuted, he was now known as Joey Barnes; same job, same family, same life. The names may have been changed, but they were occupying the same space in the TV Universe. Like Lazarus A & B in 'Star Trek', the premise of the TV world was faced with a cataclysmic contradiction.
Okay, so only to me, but still! Something had to give.
A solution finally arrived by the second season of 'The Joey Bishop Show': the premise about Joey Barnes working as a public relations agent was scrapped; everybody else in the Barnes family was "disappeared".
Joey Barnes was now a newlywed TV talk show host broadcasting from New York. Based on conversations during that second season, it was apparent that Joey had been hosting his late night TV show for several years.
Now we had two Joey Barneses and a Joey Mason leading the same life as the West Coast Joey Barnes. So like soap in a wet fist, we just squeeze out that first season of 'The Joey Bishop Show' and plop it into the alternate dimension. This way we can keep both Joey Mason and the second Joey Barnes, even though they look alike, and just pray that Ellie Barnes never made the mistake of going to bed with Joey Mason!
Some might think that by airing in the first season, the episodes about Joey Barnes the PR agent should be given preeminence; that Joey 1 should stay in the main TV dimension.
But Joey 2 lasted longer, with at least 2 more seasons (moving over to CBS for the last one). And Joey and Ellie took in a boarder during that last year - Rusty Williams, the son of Danny Williams.
Danny Williams is an integral character of the TV Universe, linking his show to 'The Andy Griffith Show', 'The Lucy-Desi Comedy Show', and its own sequel, 'Make Room For Granddaddy'. So he must be kept on Earth Prime-Time!
Danny already knew Joey Mason and now his son was living with Joey Barnes 2, so it's almost as if it had been decreed from on high......
Son of a gun!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
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