Former Jonathan Antin hairstylist Brandon Martinez starred in 'Salon Diaries', a one-hour special that was scheduled for May 9th. (It appears that the special is getting multiple airings on Bravo.)
This was a spin-off from the reality series 'Blow Out' which centered on Jonathan Antin. But being a reality show, 'Salon Diaries' never really stood a chance against something like the 'Doctor Who'/'Red Dwarf' match-up.
'Salon Diaries' takes place at the Warren-Tricomi Salon in Los Angeles. If successful, the special could become a series.
"We are talking about a series," says salon co-owner Joel Warren, that won't be "just about whining and crying in one salon."
Sounds like... "fun". As Mel Cooley would say, "Yehckch!"
(Not that he had any reason to visit a salon......)
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Monday, May 15, 2006
CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK (5/15/06)
Remember how Murray Slaughter used to do that vocal trumpet riff whenever John Corcoran entered the room during the "Just A Lunch" episode of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'? ("What did I tell you? He's embarrasssed!")
I wish he was here to trumpet this week's big Crossover.....
For the first episode of the new season, and the second one for David Tennant as the Tenth incarnation of The Doctor (third if you count that online experience about the Graske), they traveled farther than they ever had gone before. And that meant going beyond 5 billion years and the end of Rose's home planet of Earth Prime-Time.
23 years beyond, in fact, and they ended up on the planet New Earth, which was almost an exact copy of the original. (It looked to have two moons though, but it could have been just my 'magination.)
Here they visited a hospital run by the Sisters of Plenitude, a religious order of sentient, humanoid felines. It could be said that their correct genus would be classified as Felis Erectus (officially recognized by the year 2,002,181).
We know who was responsible for their rise on the evolutionary ladder.....
Frankenstein.
No, not the revived man-thing of the Wollstonecraft legend (who was real in the TV Universe), but the cat smuggled aboard the "Red Dwarf" spaceship by Third Technician Lister during a stopover on Titan on February 21st, 2181. He did so in hopes that he would be caught with the cat and then thrown into stasis for the rest of the trip.
What he didn't count on was that Frankenstein was pregnant. By the time she died at the age of 14 in 2192, the cat population on board the ship was about 198,832.
By the year 502,181 , a plague hit the "Red Dwarf". We would know this plague by its more common name of "hunger".
Because of the "plague", less than thirty cat tribes survived. They roamed the cargo decks in search of food, but all the food was gone.
Here's how the 'Red Dwarf' Timeline site describes what happened next:
Weak and ailing, the cats prayed at the supply hold's silver mountain: huge towering acres of metals rocks which the Cats believed watched over them. One cat took down a silver rock, and placed the V-shaped metal icon on the rim of the rock, and turned the handle. And the rock opened. And inside it was Alphabetti spaghetti in tomato sauce. And in the other rocks were other delights. God had spoken.
Because of this "holy miracle", it could be said that Felis Sapiens was born.
The Timeline continues:
2,502,181
- A holy war flared up between two cat factions. One cat faction believed that their god was named Cloister, and he wanted the sausage diner hats to be red, and the other faction thought that their god was named Clister and he wanted the hats to be blue.
2,504,181
- A truce was called and both factions built 2 arks to go and search for Fucial. They left the sick and lame cats behind on Red Dwarf. The first ark, blue, flew into an asteroid. But, the red ark, flew onward, knowing they were truly righteous.
3,002,181
- Lister comes out of stasis, only to find out that the entire crew is dead and he is the only human left. His companions are the hologram of Rimmer, a lifeform who evolved from Frankenstein, and Holly, a tenth generation artificial intelligence computer with an IQ of 6000.
(+1 day)
- Lister discovers that he is a god to the cat people, and meets a dying priest who has lost his faith.
Based upon this, we can assume that the Sisters of Plenitude were descended from those "truly righteous" cat people. But the sick and lame cats that they left behind must have lived on in their legends and they probably never forgave themselves for abandoning them. And so they turned their attentions to the healing of the sick.
But after several billion years, once again these religious cats lost their way, which led to the events of the 'Doctor Who' episode.....
The Doctor must have had a previous experience with Cat, the lone survivor of his race left behind on the "Red Dwarf". For when trying to describe the properties of the 18th Century fireplace found on board a 51st Century spaceship, he called it a "spatio-temporal hyperlink" - a term he coined to avoid using the phrase "Magic Door".
This was the phrase used by Lister and Rimmer when they tried to explain a time portal to Cat in the episode "Stasis Leak". They finally gave up and just called it a "magic door".
(They should have called it a chrono-synclastic infundibulum, just like Stony Stephenson in 'Between Time And Timbuktu'.)
So, ta-DA! That's the Crossover of the Week for this first of the new episodes of 'Doctor Who'. If you're interested in checking out more of the 'Red Dwarf' timeline, click on the link to the left for "Things That Never Were" and looked under the Televsion Category.
Next week? The crossover for "Tooth & Claw"!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
I wish he was here to trumpet this week's big Crossover.....
'DOCTOR WHO' - "NEW EARTH"
&
'RED DWARF'
&
'RED DWARF'
For the first episode of the new season, and the second one for David Tennant as the Tenth incarnation of The Doctor (third if you count that online experience about the Graske), they traveled farther than they ever had gone before. And that meant going beyond 5 billion years and the end of Rose's home planet of Earth Prime-Time.
23 years beyond, in fact, and they ended up on the planet New Earth, which was almost an exact copy of the original. (It looked to have two moons though, but it could have been just my 'magination.)
Here they visited a hospital run by the Sisters of Plenitude, a religious order of sentient, humanoid felines. It could be said that their correct genus would be classified as Felis Erectus (officially recognized by the year 2,002,181).
We know who was responsible for their rise on the evolutionary ladder.....
Frankenstein.
No, not the revived man-thing of the Wollstonecraft legend (who was real in the TV Universe), but the cat smuggled aboard the "Red Dwarf" spaceship by Third Technician Lister during a stopover on Titan on February 21st, 2181. He did so in hopes that he would be caught with the cat and then thrown into stasis for the rest of the trip.
What he didn't count on was that Frankenstein was pregnant. By the time she died at the age of 14 in 2192, the cat population on board the ship was about 198,832.
By the year 502,181 , a plague hit the "Red Dwarf". We would know this plague by its more common name of "hunger".
Because of the "plague", less than thirty cat tribes survived. They roamed the cargo decks in search of food, but all the food was gone.
Here's how the 'Red Dwarf' Timeline site describes what happened next:
Weak and ailing, the cats prayed at the supply hold's silver mountain: huge towering acres of metals rocks which the Cats believed watched over them. One cat took down a silver rock, and placed the V-shaped metal icon on the rim of the rock, and turned the handle. And the rock opened. And inside it was Alphabetti spaghetti in tomato sauce. And in the other rocks were other delights. God had spoken.
Because of this "holy miracle", it could be said that Felis Sapiens was born.
The Timeline continues:
2,502,181
- A holy war flared up between two cat factions. One cat faction believed that their god was named Cloister, and he wanted the sausage diner hats to be red, and the other faction thought that their god was named Clister and he wanted the hats to be blue.
2,504,181
- A truce was called and both factions built 2 arks to go and search for Fucial. They left the sick and lame cats behind on Red Dwarf. The first ark, blue, flew into an asteroid. But, the red ark, flew onward, knowing they were truly righteous.
3,002,181
- Lister comes out of stasis, only to find out that the entire crew is dead and he is the only human left. His companions are the hologram of Rimmer, a lifeform who evolved from Frankenstein, and Holly, a tenth generation artificial intelligence computer with an IQ of 6000.
(+1 day)
- Lister discovers that he is a god to the cat people, and meets a dying priest who has lost his faith.
Based upon this, we can assume that the Sisters of Plenitude were descended from those "truly righteous" cat people. But the sick and lame cats that they left behind must have lived on in their legends and they probably never forgave themselves for abandoning them. And so they turned their attentions to the healing of the sick.
But after several billion years, once again these religious cats lost their way, which led to the events of the 'Doctor Who' episode.....
The Doctor must have had a previous experience with Cat, the lone survivor of his race left behind on the "Red Dwarf". For when trying to describe the properties of the 18th Century fireplace found on board a 51st Century spaceship, he called it a "spatio-temporal hyperlink" - a term he coined to avoid using the phrase "Magic Door".
This was the phrase used by Lister and Rimmer when they tried to explain a time portal to Cat in the episode "Stasis Leak". They finally gave up and just called it a "magic door".
(They should have called it a chrono-synclastic infundibulum, just like Stony Stephenson in 'Between Time And Timbuktu'.)
So, ta-DA! That's the Crossover of the Week for this first of the new episodes of 'Doctor Who'. If you're interested in checking out more of the 'Red Dwarf' timeline, click on the link to the left for "Things That Never Were" and looked under the Televsion Category.
Next week? The crossover for "Tooth & Claw"!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
MUNCHING ON A SIMPSONS RAP
David Bianculli, TV critic and columnist of the New York Daily News, wrote another column of TV Extras in-jokes and I was singled out for VERY special mention:
Champion class Extra hunter Toby O'Brien of New York City scores another one, thanks to the finale of "Arrested Development" on Fox, which featured a guest appearance by Richard Belzer as undercover officer John Munch.
"This marked Munch's ninth appearance in the TV Universe," O'Brien wrote, which, as he notes correctly, makes Belzer the easy record-holder of Actor Appearing in the Most Series as the Same Character.
O'Brien's impressively chronological tally includes "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Law & Order," "The X-Files," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "The Beat," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" and "Arrested Development." He reaches nine by including "Homicide: The Movie," but that's a bit of a cheat. The No. 9 is reached, though, if you add in Munch's cartoon appearance, with Belzer providing the voice, in a guest spot on "The Simpsons."
Okay, so I hope everybody read that right. I did not say that he appeared on an episode of 'The Simpsons'. If he did, that's great for me; gives me a future blog entry about Munch and the Tooniverse. But if he didn't - and I can't find anything saying that he did appear on 'The Simpsons', - I don't want to take the rap for that statement.
I'm thinking that maybe Mr. Bianculli might have made the same error that my intrepid bellman did this morning. Richie went to Wikipedia's entry on Richard Belzer and pointed out the mention of 'The Simpsons'. But had he read the line correctly, it was a reference to the appearance on 'The Simpsons' made by George Wendt and John Ratzenberger as their 'Cheers' characters. Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin are the two TV characters who come closest to Munch's record number of appearances.
But Richie is also convinced that he has seen Munch ("black suit and yellow face") on the long-running animated hit.
I'm thinking he got hit in the back of the head by an American Tourister bag tossed around by one of the other Magilla-like bellmen.
If anybody knows for certain, please contact me and let me know. Thanks!
Can't wait to see what kind of fallout comes of the statement. He's had two in-joke references in the past get shot down by the faithful readers. So if it happens again, I'll be doing a bit o' the ol' duck and cover!
But I do really appreciate the "Champion class" designation.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Champion class Extra hunter Toby O'Brien of New York City scores another one, thanks to the finale of "Arrested Development" on Fox, which featured a guest appearance by Richard Belzer as undercover officer John Munch.
"This marked Munch's ninth appearance in the TV Universe," O'Brien wrote, which, as he notes correctly, makes Belzer the easy record-holder of Actor Appearing in the Most Series as the Same Character.
O'Brien's impressively chronological tally includes "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Law & Order," "The X-Files," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "The Beat," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" and "Arrested Development." He reaches nine by including "Homicide: The Movie," but that's a bit of a cheat. The No. 9 is reached, though, if you add in Munch's cartoon appearance, with Belzer providing the voice, in a guest spot on "The Simpsons."
Okay, so I hope everybody read that right. I did not say that he appeared on an episode of 'The Simpsons'. If he did, that's great for me; gives me a future blog entry about Munch and the Tooniverse. But if he didn't - and I can't find anything saying that he did appear on 'The Simpsons', - I don't want to take the rap for that statement.
I'm thinking that maybe Mr. Bianculli might have made the same error that my intrepid bellman did this morning. Richie went to Wikipedia's entry on Richard Belzer and pointed out the mention of 'The Simpsons'. But had he read the line correctly, it was a reference to the appearance on 'The Simpsons' made by George Wendt and John Ratzenberger as their 'Cheers' characters. Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin are the two TV characters who come closest to Munch's record number of appearances.
But Richie is also convinced that he has seen Munch ("black suit and yellow face") on the long-running animated hit.
I'm thinking he got hit in the back of the head by an American Tourister bag tossed around by one of the other Magilla-like bellmen.
If anybody knows for certain, please contact me and let me know. Thanks!
Can't wait to see what kind of fallout comes of the statement. He's had two in-joke references in the past get shot down by the faithful readers. So if it happens again, I'll be doing a bit o' the ol' duck and cover!
But I do really appreciate the "Champion class" designation.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
GRACE NOTE
What better way to honor the memory of Leo McGarry during the finale of 'The West Wing' than with a framed prop which he created during one of the series' most inspirational moments?
The series practically ended with President Bartlet unwrapping the framed sheet of legal paper upon which Leo had scrawled "LET BARTLET BE BARTLET" as they approached the mid-term elections of the Administration's first term in office.
I'm hoping it was the original copy and not some well-made forgery of John Spencer's signature, but that would be more in the nature of Television than that of Toobworld.
For in Toobworld, it was real. All of the show was real while at the same time an ideal for what could be. And I think we were lucky to have it on the air for the past seven seasons.
Someday that framed piece of paper should find a home at the Smithsonian, not only to represent the TV show but also to represent that ideal of what our country could be.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The series practically ended with President Bartlet unwrapping the framed sheet of legal paper upon which Leo had scrawled "LET BARTLET BE BARTLET" as they approached the mid-term elections of the Administration's first term in office.
I'm hoping it was the original copy and not some well-made forgery of John Spencer's signature, but that would be more in the nature of Television than that of Toobworld.
For in Toobworld, it was real. All of the show was real while at the same time an ideal for what could be. And I think we were lucky to have it on the air for the past seven seasons.
Someday that framed piece of paper should find a home at the Smithsonian, not only to represent the TV show but also to represent that ideal of what our country could be.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Sunday, May 14, 2006
A BLIGHT FROM THE PIAZZA
Tonight, 'The West Wing' airs for the last time. For a time it was the show for which I couldn't wait for its next new episode as soon as I finished watching the previous one. But that ardor cooled and was replaced by other shows like 'Lost' and the new 'Doctor Who'.
Still, it was part of my weekly "Must-See" appointment TV and there'll be a big hole in my Sunday night sked come next fall.
And as the finale approaches, my sense of tele-synchronicity kicked in while I was working on the Hat Squad tribute to Susan Browning. While confirming the identity of Ben Piazza's character on 'Forever Fernwood', I discovered that he appeared in a 1987 episode of 'St. Elsewhere' as Josiah Bartlet(t).
Up until that point, I was under the impression that "Dr. Josiah Bartlet" of Boston General was mentioned, but never seen. Honestly, I never remembered him from that episode ("You Again?") and I can't even claim that was due to the time that's lapsed since it aired.
That's because one of the other sub-plots dealt with Dr. Kiem's attempts to concentrate on her work, even though her son had disappeared while hitch-hiking to Boston.
Why would that matter to me? According to reports, her son was last seen in Meriden, Connecticut, after ditching classes at Choate in Wallingford. And Meriden is my hometown.
With a face now attached to that of Josiah Bartlet in the main Toobworld, I can no longer claim that the character who became the President of the United States in an alternate dimension has a counterpart in Earth Prime-Time who became a Boston physician.
I can't even fudge the matter with claims about facial structural damage as the cause for the difference in their looks. I mean, can you picture the late Ben Piazza?
Summon an image of Martin Sheen in your mind. Then click here to see what Ben Piazza looked like in "The Blues Brothers".
If plastic surgery was involved to alter his appearance from Sheen to Piazza, then Dr. Josiah Bartlet better consult somebody at Crane, Poole, & Schmidt!
There is only one way that I can rescue some kind of connection from all of this......
Jed Bartlet has a brother whom we've never met on the show by the name of John. (We learned the brother's name when President Bartlet dressed down that smug bitch of a Dr. Laura Schlessinger radio host in a classic scene from 'The West Wing'. If you want to read that scene, check out Brent McKee's running theme of great moments from the show.)
So......
What if in the main Toobworld, the Bartlets' parents decided to switch their sons' names from the way we know them in the 'West Wing' universe? So that Josiah was now John, and vice versa?
There may be power in names, but it can only go so far in molding a person's future. Being named Josiah Bartlet didn't automatically seal his destiny to go into politics; instead he found his calling in medicine.
Okay, I just read that back. The only downside really is that I think that President Josiah Bartlet is supposed to be considered the older brother. If Martin Sheen and Ben Piazza were supposed to be playing brothers, Piazza was by far the older of the two actors by at least a decade.
And let's face it - they don't look like they could be brothers (not that that's ever been a deterrent for casting in TV shows past).
I've always wanted to see John Dye of 'Touched By An Angel' play the role. (He played Andrew, an Angel of Death.) He at least had a physiognomy that seemed connected to the same genetic lottery from which Martin Sheen might have sprung.
::Sigh::........
As it turns out, it was so much easier to find Leo McGarry's doppelganger in the main Toobworld when John Spencer played a detective named Leo, speaking of 'Touched By An Angel'.....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Still, it was part of my weekly "Must-See" appointment TV and there'll be a big hole in my Sunday night sked come next fall.
And as the finale approaches, my sense of tele-synchronicity kicked in while I was working on the Hat Squad tribute to Susan Browning. While confirming the identity of Ben Piazza's character on 'Forever Fernwood', I discovered that he appeared in a 1987 episode of 'St. Elsewhere' as Josiah Bartlet(t).
Up until that point, I was under the impression that "Dr. Josiah Bartlet" of Boston General was mentioned, but never seen. Honestly, I never remembered him from that episode ("You Again?") and I can't even claim that was due to the time that's lapsed since it aired.
That's because one of the other sub-plots dealt with Dr. Kiem's attempts to concentrate on her work, even though her son had disappeared while hitch-hiking to Boston.
Why would that matter to me? According to reports, her son was last seen in Meriden, Connecticut, after ditching classes at Choate in Wallingford. And Meriden is my hometown.
With a face now attached to that of Josiah Bartlet in the main Toobworld, I can no longer claim that the character who became the President of the United States in an alternate dimension has a counterpart in Earth Prime-Time who became a Boston physician.
I can't even fudge the matter with claims about facial structural damage as the cause for the difference in their looks. I mean, can you picture the late Ben Piazza?
Summon an image of Martin Sheen in your mind. Then click here to see what Ben Piazza looked like in "The Blues Brothers".
If plastic surgery was involved to alter his appearance from Sheen to Piazza, then Dr. Josiah Bartlet better consult somebody at Crane, Poole, & Schmidt!
There is only one way that I can rescue some kind of connection from all of this......
Jed Bartlet has a brother whom we've never met on the show by the name of John. (We learned the brother's name when President Bartlet dressed down that smug bitch of a Dr. Laura Schlessinger radio host in a classic scene from 'The West Wing'. If you want to read that scene, check out Brent McKee's running theme of great moments from the show.)
So......
What if in the main Toobworld, the Bartlets' parents decided to switch their sons' names from the way we know them in the 'West Wing' universe? So that Josiah was now John, and vice versa?
There may be power in names, but it can only go so far in molding a person's future. Being named Josiah Bartlet didn't automatically seal his destiny to go into politics; instead he found his calling in medicine.
Okay, I just read that back. The only downside really is that I think that President Josiah Bartlet is supposed to be considered the older brother. If Martin Sheen and Ben Piazza were supposed to be playing brothers, Piazza was by far the older of the two actors by at least a decade.
And let's face it - they don't look like they could be brothers (not that that's ever been a deterrent for casting in TV shows past).
I've always wanted to see John Dye of 'Touched By An Angel' play the role. (He played Andrew, an Angel of Death.) He at least had a physiognomy that seemed connected to the same genetic lottery from which Martin Sheen might have sprung.
::Sigh::........
As it turns out, it was so much easier to find Leo McGarry's doppelganger in the main Toobworld when John Spencer played a detective named Leo, speaking of 'Touched By An Angel'.....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"LOST" IN THOUGHT: FLASHBACKIN' [1]
So far we've officially met members of three distinct groups in connection with the isldan - the original cast aka the "Lostaways" or "Losties"; the "Tailies" from the back section of the plane; and the "Others" - the jury's still out on exactly who they are.
But there's a fourth group in the cast of characters; a subset I call the Flashbackees. These are people in the lives of the Losties and the Tailies who are seen only in their flashbacks.
Some of them - as well as the Losties themselves - have crossed over to appear in the flashbacks of other characters.
These include:
Dr. Christian Shephard - Jack's Dad (Flashbacks for Jack, Sawyer, and Ana Lucia)
Randy - boss from hell (Flashbacks for Locke and Hurley)
Richard Malkin - the psychic (Flashbacks for Claire and Mr. Eko)
Sgt. Sam Austen - Kate's Dad (Flashbacks for Kate and Sayid)
Diane - Kate's Mom (Flashbacks for Kate and Sawyer)
Nadia - Sayid's former Iraqi love (Flashbacks for Sayid and Locke)
Mary Jo - the Lotto Girl (Flashbacks for Hurley and Sawyer)
Chrissie - Oceanic ticket agent (Flashbacks for Jack, Sun, and Ana Lucia)
We even had a mysterious car that's appeared in the flashbacks for Locke and Michael.
And it looks like Clancy Brown's operative, Ingram, from one of Sayid's flashbacks, will figure in Desmond's big flashback for the finale.... but under a different name we've already heard.....
Dr. Christian Shephard seems to be playing a role similar to that of Noah Cross ("Chinatown") in David Thomson's book "Suspects", in that he's touching on the lives of more and more of the Lostaways as the flashbacks continue.
Some of these Flashbackees seem quite specific to the Lostaways in whose flashbacks they appear:
Margo Shephard - Jack's Mom
Sarah - Jack's wife
Helen - Locke's girlfriend
Johnny - Hurley's former co-worker
Carmen Reyes - Hurley's Mom
Jae Lee - Sun's former boyfriend/English teacher
Liam Pace - Charlie's brother (as well as the other bandmates)
Hibbs
& - Sawyer's two con game partners
Gordy
I would have included Locke's father in this group, except that a popular rumor on the Internet has it that he is the true Sawyer, the con man whom James Ford (the "Sawyer" among the Lostaways) has vowed to kill.
Perhaps we may yet see some of these Flashbackees in some other flashbacks.
Here are a few suggestions:
Charlie and Liam consider the artwork of Claire's ex-boyfriend Thomas for the cover art on a Driveshaft album.
Michael's lawyer for the custody case might also represent Jack in his divorce proceedings against Sarah.
Sarah might have sex with Sawyer and end up getting fleeced by him.
Helen, the phone sex operator, might be standing by to help Hurley find a little "relief" during the night.
Some of the Flashbackees have died in their respective flashbacks. But as we've seen with Christian Shephard, that's no deterrent to appearing in the flashbacks of others.
Maybe Claire can stop by Frank Duckett's shrimp wagon on a whim to satisfy one of her pregnancy cravings. While going there, she could pass by Sawyer while he's casing out the owner (whom he mistakenly believed to be the real Sawyer).
Susan Lloyd, Walt's Mom, could have worked for the law firm that tried to broker the adoption of Claire's baby.
Kate's old boyfriend, Dr. Tom Brennan, might have gone to med school with Jack.
Kate's abusive step-dad turned out to be her biological father. Wayne might be the reason Libby ended up in the psyche ward in the first place.
There there are those Flashbackees who were specific to the flashbacks of Losties no longer with us - why should they no longer be seen just because their main sources of remembrance have passed away?
For instance:
Sabrina Carlyle Rutherford - the Martha Stewart of wedding planners, Boone's mother and the stepmother of Shannon.
L.A. Police Captain Teresa Cortez - Ana Lucia's mother
&
Danny, Ana Lucia's former boyfriend (whom we never saw anyway).
Working in Hawaii has to be a great gig. It seems a shame some of these actors have to lose that opportunity just because the flashbacks in which they appear are no longer being generated.....
I have more thoughts about the evolving nature of the flashbacks themselves, as we've been seeing this past season. But I'll save those for a later time....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
(Appearing in more nightmares than flashbacks)
But there's a fourth group in the cast of characters; a subset I call the Flashbackees. These are people in the lives of the Losties and the Tailies who are seen only in their flashbacks.
Some of them - as well as the Losties themselves - have crossed over to appear in the flashbacks of other characters.
These include:
Dr. Christian Shephard - Jack's Dad (Flashbacks for Jack, Sawyer, and Ana Lucia)
Randy - boss from hell (Flashbacks for Locke and Hurley)
Richard Malkin - the psychic (Flashbacks for Claire and Mr. Eko)
Sgt. Sam Austen - Kate's Dad (Flashbacks for Kate and Sayid)
Diane - Kate's Mom (Flashbacks for Kate and Sawyer)
Nadia - Sayid's former Iraqi love (Flashbacks for Sayid and Locke)
Mary Jo - the Lotto Girl (Flashbacks for Hurley and Sawyer)
Chrissie - Oceanic ticket agent (Flashbacks for Jack, Sun, and Ana Lucia)
We even had a mysterious car that's appeared in the flashbacks for Locke and Michael.
And it looks like Clancy Brown's operative, Ingram, from one of Sayid's flashbacks, will figure in Desmond's big flashback for the finale.... but under a different name we've already heard.....
Dr. Christian Shephard seems to be playing a role similar to that of Noah Cross ("Chinatown") in David Thomson's book "Suspects", in that he's touching on the lives of more and more of the Lostaways as the flashbacks continue.
Some of these Flashbackees seem quite specific to the Lostaways in whose flashbacks they appear:
Margo Shephard - Jack's Mom
Sarah - Jack's wife
Helen - Locke's girlfriend
Johnny - Hurley's former co-worker
Carmen Reyes - Hurley's Mom
Jae Lee - Sun's former boyfriend/English teacher
Liam Pace - Charlie's brother (as well as the other bandmates)
Hibbs
& - Sawyer's two con game partners
Gordy
I would have included Locke's father in this group, except that a popular rumor on the Internet has it that he is the true Sawyer, the con man whom James Ford (the "Sawyer" among the Lostaways) has vowed to kill.
Perhaps we may yet see some of these Flashbackees in some other flashbacks.
Here are a few suggestions:
Charlie and Liam consider the artwork of Claire's ex-boyfriend Thomas for the cover art on a Driveshaft album.
Michael's lawyer for the custody case might also represent Jack in his divorce proceedings against Sarah.
Sarah might have sex with Sawyer and end up getting fleeced by him.
Helen, the phone sex operator, might be standing by to help Hurley find a little "relief" during the night.
Some of the Flashbackees have died in their respective flashbacks. But as we've seen with Christian Shephard, that's no deterrent to appearing in the flashbacks of others.
Maybe Claire can stop by Frank Duckett's shrimp wagon on a whim to satisfy one of her pregnancy cravings. While going there, she could pass by Sawyer while he's casing out the owner (whom he mistakenly believed to be the real Sawyer).
Susan Lloyd, Walt's Mom, could have worked for the law firm that tried to broker the adoption of Claire's baby.
Kate's old boyfriend, Dr. Tom Brennan, might have gone to med school with Jack.
Kate's abusive step-dad turned out to be her biological father. Wayne might be the reason Libby ended up in the psyche ward in the first place.
There there are those Flashbackees who were specific to the flashbacks of Losties no longer with us - why should they no longer be seen just because their main sources of remembrance have passed away?
For instance:
Sabrina Carlyle Rutherford - the Martha Stewart of wedding planners, Boone's mother and the stepmother of Shannon.
L.A. Police Captain Teresa Cortez - Ana Lucia's mother
&
Danny, Ana Lucia's former boyfriend (whom we never saw anyway).
Working in Hawaii has to be a great gig. It seems a shame some of these actors have to lose that opportunity just because the flashbacks in which they appear are no longer being generated.....
I have more thoughts about the evolving nature of the flashbacks themselves, as we've been seeing this past season. But I'll save those for a later time....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
(Appearing in more nightmares than flashbacks)
Saturday, May 13, 2006
AN IVY LEAGUE GUEST SPOT
Alan Sepinwall, TV critic and columnist for the "Star-Ledger" in New Jersey, had this to say about last week's episode of 'The West Wing':
"The Will subplot didn't do a lot for me. I never warmed to the character, since Aaron didn't get a chance to really define him before he got pushed out the door, and since Wells never knew what to do with him. (His stint as Bingo Bob's lackey was particularly hatable.) And I care even less about Kate. Might've been nice to give the B-story slot to Charlie, who's been around much longer and who's been badly neglected by the writers for far too long. I'm hoping there'll be some kind of tear-inducing scene with him and Jed next week."
This sparked the following exchange between me and Ivy, one of my bestest friends and, like me, an Iddiot:
TOBY:
Yeah - that was a lost opportunity to give Charlie his due. He'd been around for seven years and we've only seen him twice (barely - as a pall bearer and re: the many job offers for CJ) in the last three months!!!!
[ed. note: With this past episode, it was three times.]
IVY:
I agree. Will's character never seemed developed to me either. He's a bland cipher. And Kate/Will's relationship is equally bland. Would rather have seen a story with Charlie, or more Josh/Donna.
TOBY:
Ugh. I'm so sick of Josh. I understand that leading up to the election there had to be so much of him. But he was a mistake-making jerk for too long and he's such a constipated tight-ass.
He got his shiksa nookie; his story should be considered complete.
I would rather have seen Charlie take a job instead as former President Bartlet's aide in getting the library under way and even going on to become his son-in-law.
IVY:
Ooh, I like that idea, except for the son-in-law part. That relationship with Zoey expired many seasons ago. Kinda hard to dredge it up again.
TOBY:
For all we know, it got revived once she was rescued; we just never got to see it, which is a Toobworld staple.
IVY:
Ah. Yes, but for the non-Toobworld viewing audience, this would be really outta left field.
At that point, I cut her out of my will......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"The Will subplot didn't do a lot for me. I never warmed to the character, since Aaron didn't get a chance to really define him before he got pushed out the door, and since Wells never knew what to do with him. (His stint as Bingo Bob's lackey was particularly hatable.) And I care even less about Kate. Might've been nice to give the B-story slot to Charlie, who's been around much longer and who's been badly neglected by the writers for far too long. I'm hoping there'll be some kind of tear-inducing scene with him and Jed next week."
This sparked the following exchange between me and Ivy, one of my bestest friends and, like me, an Iddiot:
TOBY:
Yeah - that was a lost opportunity to give Charlie his due. He'd been around for seven years and we've only seen him twice (barely - as a pall bearer and re: the many job offers for CJ) in the last three months!!!!
[ed. note: With this past episode, it was three times.]
IVY:
I agree. Will's character never seemed developed to me either. He's a bland cipher. And Kate/Will's relationship is equally bland. Would rather have seen a story with Charlie, or more Josh/Donna.
TOBY:
Ugh. I'm so sick of Josh. I understand that leading up to the election there had to be so much of him. But he was a mistake-making jerk for too long and he's such a constipated tight-ass.
He got his shiksa nookie; his story should be considered complete.
I would rather have seen Charlie take a job instead as former President Bartlet's aide in getting the library under way and even going on to become his son-in-law.
IVY:
Ooh, I like that idea, except for the son-in-law part. That relationship with Zoey expired many seasons ago. Kinda hard to dredge it up again.
TOBY:
For all we know, it got revived once she was rescued; we just never got to see it, which is a Toobworld staple.
IVY:
Ah. Yes, but for the non-Toobworld viewing audience, this would be really outta left field.
At that point, I cut her out of my will......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
BATZONK!
On last week's episode of 'The Sopranos' ("Road Trip"?), Christopher Moltisante and his new bride Kelly went home-shopping and he fell in love with the first house they were shown.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," he said in awe as he gazed at the house. "Stately Wayne Manor!"
This was how Bruce Wayne's residence was described by the narrator of 'Batman' back in the mid-1960s. But I don't see a Zonk! in Christuphuh's use of the term.
The Wayne mansion was an architectural marvel, even if the general public didn't know about the Bat-pole which led to the Batcave below.
As such, the home shared by Bruce and his ward Dick Grayson more than likely appeared in several Toobworld-based architectural digests and magazines. And in the captions for the many pictures taken of the property at large, I would think "Stately Wayne Manor" would be a natural description of the property.
So it's possible that the phrase stuck in Chris' mind while his ex-fiancee, Adriana, forced him to look through those magazine in hopes of finding the type of home they should one day live in.
If she only knew......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"Now that's what I'm talking about," he said in awe as he gazed at the house. "Stately Wayne Manor!"
This was how Bruce Wayne's residence was described by the narrator of 'Batman' back in the mid-1960s. But I don't see a Zonk! in Christuphuh's use of the term.
The Wayne mansion was an architectural marvel, even if the general public didn't know about the Bat-pole which led to the Batcave below.
As such, the home shared by Bruce and his ward Dick Grayson more than likely appeared in several Toobworld-based architectural digests and magazines. And in the captions for the many pictures taken of the property at large, I would think "Stately Wayne Manor" would be a natural description of the property.
So it's possible that the phrase stuck in Chris' mind while his ex-fiancee, Adriana, forced him to look through those magazine in hopes of finding the type of home they should one day live in.
If she only knew......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
THE HAT SQUAD: SUSAN BROWNING
When I was in college, 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' was required viewing every single weekday. Luckily for me, as a drama department student I was able to adjust my schedule to watch it. (VCR? What's that? Video recorders were practically fantasy toys of the rich, as seen in the 'Columbo' episode, "Fade In To Murder".)
I've got the first four episodes plus the "chicken soup death" episode on a bootleg DVD, but if it came out on official boxed sets, I'd spring for all of the hundreds of episodes.
By the time I moved to NYC, the show was known as 'Forever Fernwood' and even without the participation of Louise Lasser, I was still a fervent fan. But then, WNYW-5 yanked it from their schedule where it was playing at 11 pm to replace it with 'Hogan's Heroes'.
'Hogan's Heroes'!!!!
I knew the show only had about two weeks tops to run anyway, but the MetroMedia station just couldn't wait to dump it. So I never saw it reached its natural end; the last image I saw was of Bob Truss about to inject my beloved Penny Major in the neck with some kind of syringe.
Someday I'll track down those final episodes of 'Forever Fernwood'.....
I bring all that up to show what a fan I was of the show. I used to follow the careers of any actors who appeared on it.
So it was a big shock as I rode the subway to work last night when I opened the collector's edition copy of the latest "Entertainment Weekly" (containing four covers of three cast members each from 'Lost'), to find a quick little blurb about the death of Susan Browning. She died of cancer at the age of 65.
On 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', Ms. Browning played nurse Pat Gimble, abused wife of Garth Gimble who used to beat her horribly. Follow this link to see a picture of her in the role, taking that staple of soap opera characters to the brink of caricature.
I liked the character. A lot. There was just something so cute in Susan Browning's performance which I could see beyond the pathetic treatment Mrs. Gimble was receiving at the hands of her husband.
But she wasn't on the show for more than a year, quickly leaving the town of Fernwood, Ohio, after her husband Garth died. Drunk as usual, Garth stumbled backward into the hall closet where he was impaled on the fake Christmas tree that was stored in there. It was the second most memorable death scene on the show. (The first was of Coach Leroy Fedders drowning in a bowl of chicken soup, as mentioned above.)
Like I said, I was so into the show that I would explore the careers of the actors involved. And so I found out that Susan Browning was on the soundtrack album for 'Company', a Stephen Sondheim musical of which I would work on a summerstock production in 1977.
Looking through her TV credits (as seen below) and her movie credits as well, I've seen a lot of her performances since the days of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'. But Time moves on, I found new characters and actors of interest, and never even noticed that she had been in all these roles which I had been watching.
But that 'MH, MH' moment is caught forever in the amber of my memory, and it was with great sadness to learn that she passed away.
Rest in peace, Ms. Browning. You'll live forever in Toobworld.
TV SERIES
"One Life to Live" (1968) TV Series .... Sister Amelia (1989-1990)
"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (1976) TV Series .... Pat Gimble (1976-1977)
"Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (1967) TV Series .... Nancy Garrison (1968-1969)
TV MOVIES
The Quinns (1977) (TV) .... Elizabeth Quinn
TELE-HISTORY
First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington (1975) (TV) .... Martha Washington
TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Law & Order"
- The Secret Sharers (1991) TV Episode .... Jury Forewoman
"The Monkees"
- Monkees on the Line (1967) TV Episode .... Ellen Farnsby
"The Girl from U.N.C.L.E."
- The Furnace Flats Affair (1967) TV Episode .... Ladybug Byrd
"Felony Squad"
- A Penny Game, a Two-Bit Murder (1966) TV Episode .... Mary Corso
"Occasional Wife"
- Marriage Counselor (1966) TV Episode .... Evie Finger
"The Iron Horse"
- No Wedding Bells for Tony (1966) TV Episode .... Laura Farrow
"The Wild Wild West"
- The Night of the Druid's Blood (1966) TV Episode .... Nurse
Toobworld possibilities:
The Nurse from 'The Wild, Wild West' could have been reincarnated as Pat Gimble in 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' as they shared the same passion in their chosen profession.
Since the Jury Forewoman in the 'Law & Order' episode was not named, she could have been any of the modern day characters Ms. Browning played in the other shows. Most likely it would be Evie Finger, the character she played in that episode of Manhattan-set 'Occasional Wife'. But she also could be Pat Gimble, who might have moved to NYC after the death of Garth Gimble to start a new life.
BCnU....
Tele-Toby
I've got the first four episodes plus the "chicken soup death" episode on a bootleg DVD, but if it came out on official boxed sets, I'd spring for all of the hundreds of episodes.
By the time I moved to NYC, the show was known as 'Forever Fernwood' and even without the participation of Louise Lasser, I was still a fervent fan. But then, WNYW-5 yanked it from their schedule where it was playing at 11 pm to replace it with 'Hogan's Heroes'.
'Hogan's Heroes'!!!!
I knew the show only had about two weeks tops to run anyway, but the MetroMedia station just couldn't wait to dump it. So I never saw it reached its natural end; the last image I saw was of Bob Truss about to inject my beloved Penny Major in the neck with some kind of syringe.
Someday I'll track down those final episodes of 'Forever Fernwood'.....
I bring all that up to show what a fan I was of the show. I used to follow the careers of any actors who appeared on it.
So it was a big shock as I rode the subway to work last night when I opened the collector's edition copy of the latest "Entertainment Weekly" (containing four covers of three cast members each from 'Lost'), to find a quick little blurb about the death of Susan Browning. She died of cancer at the age of 65.
On 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', Ms. Browning played nurse Pat Gimble, abused wife of Garth Gimble who used to beat her horribly. Follow this link to see a picture of her in the role, taking that staple of soap opera characters to the brink of caricature.
I liked the character. A lot. There was just something so cute in Susan Browning's performance which I could see beyond the pathetic treatment Mrs. Gimble was receiving at the hands of her husband.
But she wasn't on the show for more than a year, quickly leaving the town of Fernwood, Ohio, after her husband Garth died. Drunk as usual, Garth stumbled backward into the hall closet where he was impaled on the fake Christmas tree that was stored in there. It was the second most memorable death scene on the show. (The first was of Coach Leroy Fedders drowning in a bowl of chicken soup, as mentioned above.)
Like I said, I was so into the show that I would explore the careers of the actors involved. And so I found out that Susan Browning was on the soundtrack album for 'Company', a Stephen Sondheim musical of which I would work on a summerstock production in 1977.
Looking through her TV credits (as seen below) and her movie credits as well, I've seen a lot of her performances since the days of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'. But Time moves on, I found new characters and actors of interest, and never even noticed that she had been in all these roles which I had been watching.
But that 'MH, MH' moment is caught forever in the amber of my memory, and it was with great sadness to learn that she passed away.
Rest in peace, Ms. Browning. You'll live forever in Toobworld.
TV SERIES
"One Life to Live" (1968) TV Series .... Sister Amelia (1989-1990)
"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (1976) TV Series .... Pat Gimble (1976-1977)
"Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (1967) TV Series .... Nancy Garrison (1968-1969)
TV MOVIES
The Quinns (1977) (TV) .... Elizabeth Quinn
TELE-HISTORY
First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington (1975) (TV) .... Martha Washington
TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Law & Order"
- The Secret Sharers (1991) TV Episode .... Jury Forewoman
"The Monkees"
- Monkees on the Line (1967) TV Episode .... Ellen Farnsby
"The Girl from U.N.C.L.E."
- The Furnace Flats Affair (1967) TV Episode .... Ladybug Byrd
"Felony Squad"
- A Penny Game, a Two-Bit Murder (1966) TV Episode .... Mary Corso
"Occasional Wife"
- Marriage Counselor (1966) TV Episode .... Evie Finger
"The Iron Horse"
- No Wedding Bells for Tony (1966) TV Episode .... Laura Farrow
"The Wild Wild West"
- The Night of the Druid's Blood (1966) TV Episode .... Nurse
Toobworld possibilities:
The Nurse from 'The Wild, Wild West' could have been reincarnated as Pat Gimble in 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' as they shared the same passion in their chosen profession.
Since the Jury Forewoman in the 'Law & Order' episode was not named, she could have been any of the modern day characters Ms. Browning played in the other shows. Most likely it would be Evie Finger, the character she played in that episode of Manhattan-set 'Occasional Wife'. But she also could be Pat Gimble, who might have moved to NYC after the death of Garth Gimble to start a new life.
BCnU....
Tele-Toby
Friday, May 12, 2006
"SNL" & THE "SEINFELD" CURSE
If rumors are true, and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss really does have a biiiiiiig mouth, 'Seinfeld' fans will want to tune in tomorrow night when she hosts 'Saturday Night Live'.
Apparently she told a radio interviewer that she and three former amigos got together to tape a bit for the show, dealing with "The Curse".
Being 'Saturday Night Live', a show that once got Mary Tyler Moore to say the word "penis", I'd make sure somebody in that quartet finally uttered the word "masturbation". After all, they never said it during "The Contest"; time for them to finally say it loud and say it proud!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Apparently she told a radio interviewer that she and three former amigos got together to tape a bit for the show, dealing with "The Curse".
Being 'Saturday Night Live', a show that once got Mary Tyler Moore to say the word "penis", I'd make sure somebody in that quartet finally uttered the word "masturbation". After all, they never said it during "The Contest"; time for them to finally say it loud and say it proud!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
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