Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune is a big fan of 'The Wire', and so are many of her readers, judging by the number of comments she gets when she writes about that show.
Here's one of Toobworldian interest:
Bunk? Any 'Homicide' fan knows that "Junior" Bunk (Mekhi Phifer) was the cousin of Luther Mahoney who shot up the squad room. There's got to be a story there.
Interesting in-joke: Phifer's Dr. Pratt on 'ER' was continually called "Junior" by desk manager Frank, until Pratt one day told him in no uncertain terms to never use that name near him again.
Posted by: Tom Sep 6, 2006 2:59:44 PM
I believe Tom is referring to Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland on 'The Wire', played by Wendell Pierce. "Bunk" for both men was a nickname, perhaps stemming from them both having the talent to spin a real bull-bleep story. Nothing about having a common nickname would suggest to me that they had to be related.
On the other hand, I think the 'ER' in-joke is relevant. Frank must have known that Dr. Pratt had an identical cousin down in Baltimore. (Just because Dr. Pratt practices in Chicago, does not mean that he comes from there.)
And as Junior Bunk Mahoney was not quite the sort of family member anyone would want to be associated with, I'm sure Dr. Pratt tolerated Frank's jibes for only so long before he told him to shut up.
Just another chance to fill in the blanks here at Toobworld Central!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
THE "PATH" OF LEAST INSISTENCE FOR THE TRUTH
Initial reports for Sunday night's airing of part one for "The Path To 9/11" had it coming in second in the ratings to "the Brothers Bowl" football game on NBC. But in truth, it came in third after FOX whose football game ran overlong and then led into a more palatable lineup of animated shows (especially an episode of 'The Simpsons' which featured the voices of a few actors from 'The Sopranos'.)
Going in to the program, a lot of pundits figured that the controversy over the film's scrambling of the facts with fiction would gain it even more viewers. If that was so, it would have done even worse in the ratings than it did.
But even so, it still probably would have trounced the third go-round of the CBS documentary about that tragic day. I don't have much faith in the viewing audience and I know they'll always go for the fiction rather than the fact - more entertainment value that way. (It still only beat CBS by 3 millions viewers, not that many in the grand scheme of things.)
ABC claimed that they did a lot of editing due to the complaints they got about the film's veracity from powerful voices - like former President Bill Clinton. But according to reports after Sunday night's broadcast, most of those changes seemed superficial......
~~~~~
After initially promoting the film as being based on the official report of the Sept. 11 Commission, ABC changed that promotion last week to say the film was based on a number of sources. And it added a disclaimer that ran at least three times during the broadcast on Sunday. The disclaimer noted that “for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, as well as time compression.”
ABC subsequently cut a scene in the film where the White House terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke indicates that President Bill Clinton would not be willing to go after Mr. bin Laden because of the impeachment fight over his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Another scene removed from the broadcast version, The Associated Press reported, showed Samuel R. Berger. a national security adviser to President Clinton, hanging up on George Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, as the CIA was seeking permission to attack Mr. bin Laden.
~~~~~
"Having now seen the first night of this fiction, it is clear that the edits made to the film did not address the factual errors that we brought to your attention.
"The final product was fraught with error and contained contrived scenes that are directly contradicted by the findings of the 9/11 Commission Report. The film has undoubtedly cemented in millions of viewers' minds a false impression of critical historical events."
- Bruce Lindsey, the former President's personal attorney and head of the Clinton Foundation, wrote in an open letter to Disney chief Robert Iger.
"As someone who was directly involved in almost every event depicted in the fictionalized docudrama The Path to 9/11, I believe it is an egregious distortion that does a deep disservice both to history and to those in both the Clinton and Bush administrations who are depicted.
"Although I am not one to easily believe in conspiracy theories and have spent a great deal of time debunking them, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the errors in this screenplay are more than the result of dramatization and time compression [as ABC initially implied]."
- Richard Clarke, who served under both Clinton and George W. Bush and now works for ABC News.
I like the fact that Clarke had no trouble speaking up, even though his employers were the ones broadcasting the movie.
As for Bill Clinton?
"He made the choice that most Americans made," Clinton Foundation spokesman Jay Carson told the Associated Press. "Of a fictionalized drama version of Sept. 11 or the Manning brothers playing football against one another, he chose the latter."
An FBI agent who was hired to be a technical advisor on the film quit because he was rebuffed by the producers after he pointed out the inaccuracies.
“There were some of the scenes that were total fiction. I told them unless they were changing this, I could not have my name associated with it.”
- FBI Agent Thomas Nicoletti
Chief among Mr. Nicoletti’s concerns were scenes that put people at places they weren't or plotted the narrative action out of chronological order.
Toobworld has never had a problem with the concept of fictionalizing historical events for dramatic purposes. Composite characters, timeline compression, representational dialogue - these are all par for the course in an historical drama.
But there just seems something wrong when you create totally fictional events and then try to pass it off as being based on historical fact. I understand that this has been done in the TV Universe in the past as well, but usually couched in a larger story the audience would automatically know never occurred - the events in the TV series 'Dark Skies', for example.
When presented as the main thrust of the narrative, with nothing else to measure it against, the audience more than likely will take it as fact.
ABC claimed it covered its bases by broadcasting that disclaimer three times during Sunday night's installment, but disclaimers were also broadcast during the radio presentation of Orson Welles' production of 'War Of The Worlds', and that seems to have slipped by a few people.....
This was the first full-scale production which dramatized the 9/11 tragedy for the TV Universe, and as such the errors become the Truth in Toobworld. I know there are differences between Toobworld and the Trueniverse, that Nancy Reagan never met Arnold Drummond in the Real World; but this doesn't feel right at all.
Claiming that Mac Taylor's wife ('CSI: NY') and Tommy Gavin's cousin Jimmy Keefe ('Rescue Me') died in the collapse of the Towers is one thing. Claiming that Sandy Berger set in motion the chain of events by doing something that never happened in the Real World is quite another. Or by showing Bush leaping into action upon hearing the news about the attack when Michael Moore's documentary showed him sitting in stunned inertia for over five minutes is just wrong.
Not that the writer and director seemed to care; reports are that they had a strong anti-Clinton, pro-Bush bias. And Real Life events certainly worked in their favor - do the Clinton bashing in the first night when more people were likely to watch. Then if they did bother to point some (if any) blame at Bush, do it during the second night when most of the people who sampled the first night would probably choose not to come back.
It was kismet for them that Bush himself interrupted the movie, which probably caused even more people to wander off before their perceptions could be changed.
Personally, I'll be more than willing to toss this movie over into the evil mirror universe where the allegations about the deeds done by Berger, Clarke and Madeleine Albright would be understandable. But for now, this has to stand as the Toobworld version of Real World events.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Going in to the program, a lot of pundits figured that the controversy over the film's scrambling of the facts with fiction would gain it even more viewers. If that was so, it would have done even worse in the ratings than it did.
But even so, it still probably would have trounced the third go-round of the CBS documentary about that tragic day. I don't have much faith in the viewing audience and I know they'll always go for the fiction rather than the fact - more entertainment value that way. (It still only beat CBS by 3 millions viewers, not that many in the grand scheme of things.)
ABC claimed that they did a lot of editing due to the complaints they got about the film's veracity from powerful voices - like former President Bill Clinton. But according to reports after Sunday night's broadcast, most of those changes seemed superficial......
~~~~~
After initially promoting the film as being based on the official report of the Sept. 11 Commission, ABC changed that promotion last week to say the film was based on a number of sources. And it added a disclaimer that ran at least three times during the broadcast on Sunday. The disclaimer noted that “for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, as well as time compression.”
ABC subsequently cut a scene in the film where the White House terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke indicates that President Bill Clinton would not be willing to go after Mr. bin Laden because of the impeachment fight over his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Another scene removed from the broadcast version, The Associated Press reported, showed Samuel R. Berger. a national security adviser to President Clinton, hanging up on George Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, as the CIA was seeking permission to attack Mr. bin Laden.
~~~~~
"Having now seen the first night of this fiction, it is clear that the edits made to the film did not address the factual errors that we brought to your attention.
"The final product was fraught with error and contained contrived scenes that are directly contradicted by the findings of the 9/11 Commission Report. The film has undoubtedly cemented in millions of viewers' minds a false impression of critical historical events."
- Bruce Lindsey, the former President's personal attorney and head of the Clinton Foundation, wrote in an open letter to Disney chief Robert Iger.
"As someone who was directly involved in almost every event depicted in the fictionalized docudrama The Path to 9/11, I believe it is an egregious distortion that does a deep disservice both to history and to those in both the Clinton and Bush administrations who are depicted.
"Although I am not one to easily believe in conspiracy theories and have spent a great deal of time debunking them, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the errors in this screenplay are more than the result of dramatization and time compression [as ABC initially implied]."
- Richard Clarke, who served under both Clinton and George W. Bush and now works for ABC News.
I like the fact that Clarke had no trouble speaking up, even though his employers were the ones broadcasting the movie.
As for Bill Clinton?
"He made the choice that most Americans made," Clinton Foundation spokesman Jay Carson told the Associated Press. "Of a fictionalized drama version of Sept. 11 or the Manning brothers playing football against one another, he chose the latter."
An FBI agent who was hired to be a technical advisor on the film quit because he was rebuffed by the producers after he pointed out the inaccuracies.
“There were some of the scenes that were total fiction. I told them unless they were changing this, I could not have my name associated with it.”
- FBI Agent Thomas Nicoletti
Chief among Mr. Nicoletti’s concerns were scenes that put people at places they weren't or plotted the narrative action out of chronological order.
Toobworld has never had a problem with the concept of fictionalizing historical events for dramatic purposes. Composite characters, timeline compression, representational dialogue - these are all par for the course in an historical drama.
But there just seems something wrong when you create totally fictional events and then try to pass it off as being based on historical fact. I understand that this has been done in the TV Universe in the past as well, but usually couched in a larger story the audience would automatically know never occurred - the events in the TV series 'Dark Skies', for example.
When presented as the main thrust of the narrative, with nothing else to measure it against, the audience more than likely will take it as fact.
ABC claimed it covered its bases by broadcasting that disclaimer three times during Sunday night's installment, but disclaimers were also broadcast during the radio presentation of Orson Welles' production of 'War Of The Worlds', and that seems to have slipped by a few people.....
This was the first full-scale production which dramatized the 9/11 tragedy for the TV Universe, and as such the errors become the Truth in Toobworld. I know there are differences between Toobworld and the Trueniverse, that Nancy Reagan never met Arnold Drummond in the Real World; but this doesn't feel right at all.
Claiming that Mac Taylor's wife ('CSI: NY') and Tommy Gavin's cousin Jimmy Keefe ('Rescue Me') died in the collapse of the Towers is one thing. Claiming that Sandy Berger set in motion the chain of events by doing something that never happened in the Real World is quite another. Or by showing Bush leaping into action upon hearing the news about the attack when Michael Moore's documentary showed him sitting in stunned inertia for over five minutes is just wrong.
Not that the writer and director seemed to care; reports are that they had a strong anti-Clinton, pro-Bush bias. And Real Life events certainly worked in their favor - do the Clinton bashing in the first night when more people were likely to watch. Then if they did bother to point some (if any) blame at Bush, do it during the second night when most of the people who sampled the first night would probably choose not to come back.
It was kismet for them that Bush himself interrupted the movie, which probably caused even more people to wander off before their perceptions could be changed.
Personally, I'll be more than willing to toss this movie over into the evil mirror universe where the allegations about the deeds done by Berger, Clarke and Madeleine Albright would be understandable. But for now, this has to stand as the Toobworld version of Real World events.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"Nothing is typically more accurate than a made-for-television movie."
Jon Stewart
'The Daily Show'
Jon Stewart
'The Daily Show'
Monday, September 11, 2006
2007: THE SUMMER OF THE "MAD MEN"
AMC has given the green-light to a TV series created by Matthew Weiner. who worked on 'The Sopranos',.'Becker', 'The Naked Truth', and 'Andy Richter Controls The Universe'. 'Mad Men' is about the lives of New York advertising executives, both at home and at work, around 1960.
I get this image of the type of white collar workers found in 'The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit' and 'Executive Suite'. But these men in their white shirts and ties a la 'Twelve Angry Men' will probably have more in common with 'nip/tuck' than with Darrin Stephens at McMann & Tate in 'Bewitched'.
The series will star Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser and Christina Hendricks, with John Slattery slated as guest star. Hamm's character is Don Draper, who's an up-and-coming creative director with a lot of secrets. (That description of him gave me the 'nip/tuck' vibe.)
As is usual with TV series from cable networks, like 'The Closer' and 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia', 'Mad Men' won't debut until next summer. But it sounds just different enough for me to check it out and welcome it into the Toobworld universe.
What especially excites me, in regards to TV series set in the past, is the possibility to find new links to those shows set in their "future". For instance, the mention of a name of a product or a company (which seems likely in a show about a Madison Avenue ad agency) which can then be theorized to be the foundation of some other product or business found in a show set during the present day.
And because history is already set in stone (at least history in the Real World), I'd like to see this show's viewpoint on the current events of that day - the new Kennedy administration, for example.
So I'm thinking 'Mad Men' will prove especially fertile for Toobworld, even if their line of work will more than likely create plenty of Zonks with mentions of actual TV shows AS TV shows.
I'll worry about that once 'Made Men' premieres......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
I get this image of the type of white collar workers found in 'The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit' and 'Executive Suite'. But these men in their white shirts and ties a la 'Twelve Angry Men' will probably have more in common with 'nip/tuck' than with Darrin Stephens at McMann & Tate in 'Bewitched'.
The series will star Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser and Christina Hendricks, with John Slattery slated as guest star. Hamm's character is Don Draper, who's an up-and-coming creative director with a lot of secrets. (That description of him gave me the 'nip/tuck' vibe.)
As is usual with TV series from cable networks, like 'The Closer' and 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia', 'Mad Men' won't debut until next summer. But it sounds just different enough for me to check it out and welcome it into the Toobworld universe.
What especially excites me, in regards to TV series set in the past, is the possibility to find new links to those shows set in their "future". For instance, the mention of a name of a product or a company (which seems likely in a show about a Madison Avenue ad agency) which can then be theorized to be the foundation of some other product or business found in a show set during the present day.
And because history is already set in stone (at least history in the Real World), I'd like to see this show's viewpoint on the current events of that day - the new Kennedy administration, for example.
So I'm thinking 'Mad Men' will prove especially fertile for Toobworld, even if their line of work will more than likely create plenty of Zonks with mentions of actual TV shows AS TV shows.
I'll worry about that once 'Made Men' premieres......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
FAT MOMMA GROUSE
It's a couple of weeks since the finale of 'Who Wants To Be A Superhero?" and I'm still peeved by it.
First off, that I actually watched it. I gave up on the "reality" show genre after the first season of 'Survivor'. (I refuse to write "reality" show without those quotation marks.) But because the grand prize was going to be a TV movie based on the winning character, and thus a legit addition to Toobworld, I figured I'd give it a shot.
I could tell right away it was so faked, and they made no effort to hide that from the audience. But that wasn't important to me. At the beginning I was pretty much focused on Lemuria's assets.
Talk about the Golden Globes!
But right from the beginning I told a few friends at work who were watching the series that I could see Fat Momma going all the way to the championship.
Well, I came pretty close.
I still find it hard to believe that Stan Lee chose Feedback over Fat Momma. Besides looking like the generic superhero with run-of-the-mill powers, he's basically the distaff version of the Disco Dazzler.
Back in the Sixties, Stan the Man came up with great, enduring ideas - the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, and of course, Spidey. (Of course, these were abetted by the work of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.) But somewhere along the line, I think the creative juices started to dry up. Or maybe the industry kept evolving beyond the limits of Stan's imagination.
This is most evident during the run of 'Who Wants To Be A Superhero?' when he brings up the reasons why people are eliminated. Superheroes don't kill? What about Wolverine? The Punisher? And there's no place for a sense of humor? Spiderman slings wisecracks as much as he does webs. Stan's image of the superhero is still stuck in 1964.
And his later characters illustrate this dearth of ideas - along with the Dazzler, there's also She-Hulk, and Stripperella. Feedback will fit right in with that crew. And even after the TV movie, no matter who plays the role, he'll just fade into obscurity.
But consider how it might have been with Fat Momma! She's unique in powers and image. Imagine if they got someone like Mo'nique to play the role! Maybe Stan just couldn't figure out a way to write the character, whereas he's done Feedback-style comic books in the past and can always fall back on those stale storylines.
Exelsior, Fat Momma! I wish it was your costumed avenger who'll be joining the roster of Toobworld superheros.
Up, up, and BCnU!
Tele-Toby
First off, that I actually watched it. I gave up on the "reality" show genre after the first season of 'Survivor'. (I refuse to write "reality" show without those quotation marks.) But because the grand prize was going to be a TV movie based on the winning character, and thus a legit addition to Toobworld, I figured I'd give it a shot.
I could tell right away it was so faked, and they made no effort to hide that from the audience. But that wasn't important to me. At the beginning I was pretty much focused on Lemuria's assets.
Talk about the Golden Globes!
But right from the beginning I told a few friends at work who were watching the series that I could see Fat Momma going all the way to the championship.
Well, I came pretty close.
I still find it hard to believe that Stan Lee chose Feedback over Fat Momma. Besides looking like the generic superhero with run-of-the-mill powers, he's basically the distaff version of the Disco Dazzler.
Back in the Sixties, Stan the Man came up with great, enduring ideas - the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, and of course, Spidey. (Of course, these were abetted by the work of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.) But somewhere along the line, I think the creative juices started to dry up. Or maybe the industry kept evolving beyond the limits of Stan's imagination.
This is most evident during the run of 'Who Wants To Be A Superhero?' when he brings up the reasons why people are eliminated. Superheroes don't kill? What about Wolverine? The Punisher? And there's no place for a sense of humor? Spiderman slings wisecracks as much as he does webs. Stan's image of the superhero is still stuck in 1964.
And his later characters illustrate this dearth of ideas - along with the Dazzler, there's also She-Hulk, and Stripperella. Feedback will fit right in with that crew. And even after the TV movie, no matter who plays the role, he'll just fade into obscurity.
But consider how it might have been with Fat Momma! She's unique in powers and image. Imagine if they got someone like Mo'nique to play the role! Maybe Stan just couldn't figure out a way to write the character, whereas he's done Feedback-style comic books in the past and can always fall back on those stale storylines.
Exelsior, Fat Momma! I wish it was your costumed avenger who'll be joining the roster of Toobworld superheros.
Up, up, and BCnU!
Tele-Toby
FANTASY CROSSOVER: "LOST GALACTICA"
Thanks to Maureen Ryan, the Chicago Tribune TV columnist pointed out this fantasy crossover:
Check out Dwight Schrute’s “Schrute-Space” at “The Office’s” Web site for his musings on what would happen if the “Battlestar Galactica” crew crash-landed on the “Lost” island. An excerpt: "Adama would want to imprison the 'Lost' cast in the old cave with the creek in it, but President Roslin would want to reason with them and have both casts mate in order to create more surviving humans."
Dwight's blog can be found in my list of links to the left, as well as Maureen's column.
Of course, it also contains a Zonk, as Dwight is a fictional TV character in 'The Office'. And despite the wildly different types of TV shows represented by 'The Office' and 'Lost', they would exist in the same TV universe. (And that's not taking into account the hilarious sketch with Conan O'Brien during the opening of the Emmys, which took place in the sketch-world.)
But as for 'Battlestar Galactica', that is set in an alternate TV dimension (with 'Firefly' and the upcoming 'Caprica'). The original 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Galactica 1980' are the shows that are housed in Earth Prime-Time.
Am I sounding like a broken record to the party faithful when it comes to 'BG' and its place in Toobworld?
Sorry about that, Chief.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Check out Dwight Schrute’s “Schrute-Space” at “The Office’s” Web site for his musings on what would happen if the “Battlestar Galactica” crew crash-landed on the “Lost” island. An excerpt: "Adama would want to imprison the 'Lost' cast in the old cave with the creek in it, but President Roslin would want to reason with them and have both casts mate in order to create more surviving humans."
Dwight's blog can be found in my list of links to the left, as well as Maureen's column.
Of course, it also contains a Zonk, as Dwight is a fictional TV character in 'The Office'. And despite the wildly different types of TV shows represented by 'The Office' and 'Lost', they would exist in the same TV universe. (And that's not taking into account the hilarious sketch with Conan O'Brien during the opening of the Emmys, which took place in the sketch-world.)
But as for 'Battlestar Galactica', that is set in an alternate TV dimension (with 'Firefly' and the upcoming 'Caprica'). The original 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Galactica 1980' are the shows that are housed in Earth Prime-Time.
Am I sounding like a broken record to the party faithful when it comes to 'BG' and its place in Toobworld?
Sorry about that, Chief.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Saturday, September 9, 2006
THE HAT SQUAD: JAN SVOCHAK
The website Cartoon Brew had this announcement from J.J. Sedelmaier:
I just wanted to let you and others know that Jan Svochak passed away yesterday afternoon. He was 80 years old. Most people know Jan's work from the years he put in on the Hawaiian Punch campaign. He was the head animator from the 60's up to the early 90's. His hand also steered the design consistency.
Jan Svochak was born in Czechoslovakia, moved to the U.S. in the 30's and then returned to Europe to fight in WWII (he was in the tank corps that liberated Dachau).
After the war, he worked at Famous Studios in NYC and assisted Marty Taras on series like Baby Huey, Little Audrey, and Herman & Katnip. He also freelanced for Pelican Films, Byron Rabbitt, Zanders, Perpetual Motion Pictures, Buzzco, Ink Tank, Jumbo, and here at JJSP.
While at Perpetual Motion Pictures, Jan, Candy Kugel, (i think Vinnie Caffarelli) and Russel Calabrese did the "Mr. Hipp" series of cartoons for NBC's Saturday evening "Weekend" program in the early 1970's, a precursor to SNL. He, his wife Cheryl and their two sons had recently moved to Florida. He'll be terribly missed. . .
This was followed by a remembrance by Buzz Potemkin:
"Mr. Hipp" grew out of a joke from Reuven Frank at NBC News. He was brought to life by Hal Silvermintz’s design and direction – and also by Jan’s ready identification with the character. For nearly 5 years, and 26 or so shorts, Jan breathed life into the character – true animation (“bringing to life”).
Hal and I may have written them (with help from Reuven), and David Morris, Vinnie Caf, or others may have had input, but I always knew that Jan would straighten it out and make it work for "Mr. Hipp".
According to the IMDb.com, Mr. Svochak also worked on the following projects:
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City (1981) (TV) (animator)
The Mad Magazine TV Special (1974) (TV) (animator)
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
I just wanted to let you and others know that Jan Svochak passed away yesterday afternoon. He was 80 years old. Most people know Jan's work from the years he put in on the Hawaiian Punch campaign. He was the head animator from the 60's up to the early 90's. His hand also steered the design consistency.
Jan Svochak was born in Czechoslovakia, moved to the U.S. in the 30's and then returned to Europe to fight in WWII (he was in the tank corps that liberated Dachau).
After the war, he worked at Famous Studios in NYC and assisted Marty Taras on series like Baby Huey, Little Audrey, and Herman & Katnip. He also freelanced for Pelican Films, Byron Rabbitt, Zanders, Perpetual Motion Pictures, Buzzco, Ink Tank, Jumbo, and here at JJSP.
While at Perpetual Motion Pictures, Jan, Candy Kugel, (i think Vinnie Caffarelli) and Russel Calabrese did the "Mr. Hipp" series of cartoons for NBC's Saturday evening "Weekend" program in the early 1970's, a precursor to SNL. He, his wife Cheryl and their two sons had recently moved to Florida. He'll be terribly missed. . .
This was followed by a remembrance by Buzz Potemkin:
"Mr. Hipp" grew out of a joke from Reuven Frank at NBC News. He was brought to life by Hal Silvermintz’s design and direction – and also by Jan’s ready identification with the character. For nearly 5 years, and 26 or so shorts, Jan breathed life into the character – true animation (“bringing to life”).
Hal and I may have written them (with help from Reuven), and David Morris, Vinnie Caf, or others may have had input, but I always knew that Jan would straighten it out and make it work for "Mr. Hipp".
According to the IMDb.com, Mr. Svochak also worked on the following projects:
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City (1981) (TV) (animator)
The Mad Magazine TV Special (1974) (TV) (animator)
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
2006 TV CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME UPDATE
At the end of the year, I think I may run the entire list of the membership in the Hall since I began it back in 1999.
But in the meantime, here are the inductees so far in 2006:
January - Lennie Briscoe
February - Anita Van Buren
March - Donald Cragen
April - Mike Logan
May - Jamie Ross
June - Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
B'day Honors - Faith Yokas
July - Rey Curtis
August - Ed Green
September - Dick Wolf
But in the meantime, here are the inductees so far in 2006:
January - Lennie Briscoe
February - Anita Van Buren
March - Donald Cragen
April - Mike Logan
May - Jamie Ross
June - Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
B'day Honors - Faith Yokas
July - Rey Curtis
August - Ed Green
September - Dick Wolf
TV CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME - SEPTEMBER, 2006
In September, we've been celebrating the creators behind the scenes who have made the cohesion of the TV Universe possible. In the past we've saluted Hanna & Barbera, Wm. T. Orr, and Gene Roddenberry (whose creation of 'Star Trek' celebrated its fortieth birthday yesterday).
Since we're running a year-long salute to 'Law & Order' in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, it's only fitting we tip our hats to Dick Wolf.
Richard A. ("Dick") Wolf is one of American television's most respected drama series creators and is an Emmy Award-winning producer, specializing in crime dramas.
He would soon became a television writer and finally a "show runner" and executive producer of 'Law & Order' (which he created), the most successful television franchise in the history of the industry. The show has been nominated for the most consecutive Emmy Awards of any primetime drama series.
He has also received awards for providing opportunities to minority actors in his television series.
Wolf serves as creator and executive producer of the four Law & Order drama series from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television – Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury, as well as connected series 'Deadline' and 'Conviction'. (The last three were cancelled after their first seasons.)
His corner of the TV Universe has spread beyond the shows he produces for NBC. He also produced 'New York Undercover' for FOX and his recurring character of Dr. Elizabeth Olivet crossed networks to appear in an episode of that show.
And thanks to his friendship with producer/writer Tom Fontana, Wolf made several crossovers between the flagship of his franchise and 'Homicide: Life On The Street'. And in the greatest of all possible crossovers, Detective John Munch left Baltimore when that series ended and joined the 'Special Victims Unit' in NYC.
One of the trivial links for all of his shows has been the NY Ledger newspaper, and that even got its own short-lived series with 'Deadline'. Had he slapped a 'Law & Order:' at the beginning of that title, it may have succeeded. (Although it didn't prove to help the cause for 'Trial By Jury'.)
Here is a list of shows and TV movies that directly connect to his corner of the TV Universe:
'Conviction'
'Law & Order: Trial by Jury'
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'
'Deadline'
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
"Exiled: A Law & Order Movie"
'New York Undercover'
'Law & Order'
"Homicide: The Movie"
'Homicide: Life On The Street'
And of course, from there, the links to the TV Universe are vast since there have been several connections made to 'St. Elsewhere'.
I'm not a big fan of his attitude towards the cases prosecuted on his show - that if they get that far, they're obviously guilty (although they might still get exonerated by the jury). But I do admire the way he's built up such a large piece of Toobworld Real Estate.
So for September, 2006, Dick Wolf is inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, the Creators Wing.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Since we're running a year-long salute to 'Law & Order' in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, it's only fitting we tip our hats to Dick Wolf.
Richard A. ("Dick") Wolf is one of American television's most respected drama series creators and is an Emmy Award-winning producer, specializing in crime dramas.
He would soon became a television writer and finally a "show runner" and executive producer of 'Law & Order' (which he created), the most successful television franchise in the history of the industry. The show has been nominated for the most consecutive Emmy Awards of any primetime drama series.
He has also received awards for providing opportunities to minority actors in his television series.
Wolf serves as creator and executive producer of the four Law & Order drama series from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television – Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury, as well as connected series 'Deadline' and 'Conviction'. (The last three were cancelled after their first seasons.)
His corner of the TV Universe has spread beyond the shows he produces for NBC. He also produced 'New York Undercover' for FOX and his recurring character of Dr. Elizabeth Olivet crossed networks to appear in an episode of that show.
And thanks to his friendship with producer/writer Tom Fontana, Wolf made several crossovers between the flagship of his franchise and 'Homicide: Life On The Street'. And in the greatest of all possible crossovers, Detective John Munch left Baltimore when that series ended and joined the 'Special Victims Unit' in NYC.
One of the trivial links for all of his shows has been the NY Ledger newspaper, and that even got its own short-lived series with 'Deadline'. Had he slapped a 'Law & Order:' at the beginning of that title, it may have succeeded. (Although it didn't prove to help the cause for 'Trial By Jury'.)
Here is a list of shows and TV movies that directly connect to his corner of the TV Universe:
'Conviction'
'Law & Order: Trial by Jury'
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'
'Deadline'
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
"Exiled: A Law & Order Movie"
'New York Undercover'
'Law & Order'
"Homicide: The Movie"
'Homicide: Life On The Street'
And of course, from there, the links to the TV Universe are vast since there have been several connections made to 'St. Elsewhere'.
I'm not a big fan of his attitude towards the cases prosecuted on his show - that if they get that far, they're obviously guilty (although they might still get exonerated by the jury). But I do admire the way he's built up such a large piece of Toobworld Real Estate.
So for September, 2006, Dick Wolf is inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, the Creators Wing.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"Well, television has become an unforgiving environment
And you don't get to make mistakes."
Dick Wolf
And you don't get to make mistakes."
Dick Wolf
TAKING A MOMENT
Some of you may have noticed that I haven't run the Crossover Of The Week for at least a month, maybe more.
My heart was no longer in it. Even when a legitimate crossover cropped up, such as last night's episode of 'Stargate: Atlantis', which featured a guest appearance by Amanda Tapping as her 'Stargate SG-1' character Sam Carter, would have felt forced had I wrote it up.
Ennui, I suppose. Pre-vacation blues.
But there is something I want to try to do each Saturday - "The Toobworld Moment of the Week". This would be more in keeping with the general concept of "Inner Toob", in which I would pick that something that showed just how much the TV Universe rocks.
So for this week? We go to 'The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman' which has been airing on IFC every Friday night.
Jackie ended up stoned out of her gourd on peyote and other weird drugs while on a trip out into the desert. And in one of her visions, she ended up at a little cafe where her mother was waiting for her at a table.
Only thing was.... her mother was a tortoise.
And Tortoise-Mom's voice was provided by Mary Kay Place.
Visions of her in her nightie on 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' and having singalongs with Archie Bunker filled my mind as I grooved along with the hallucination.
So that, for me, was a Toobworld moment, as I'm fairly certain it's not going to happen here in the Trueniverse.
I just don't have the right combination of drugs.....
What did you see on TV this week that really highlighted the difference between our world and Toobworld?
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
My heart was no longer in it. Even when a legitimate crossover cropped up, such as last night's episode of 'Stargate: Atlantis', which featured a guest appearance by Amanda Tapping as her 'Stargate SG-1' character Sam Carter, would have felt forced had I wrote it up.
Ennui, I suppose. Pre-vacation blues.
But there is something I want to try to do each Saturday - "The Toobworld Moment of the Week". This would be more in keeping with the general concept of "Inner Toob", in which I would pick that something that showed just how much the TV Universe rocks.
So for this week? We go to 'The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman' which has been airing on IFC every Friday night.
Jackie ended up stoned out of her gourd on peyote and other weird drugs while on a trip out into the desert. And in one of her visions, she ended up at a little cafe where her mother was waiting for her at a table.
Only thing was.... her mother was a tortoise.
And Tortoise-Mom's voice was provided by Mary Kay Place.
Visions of her in her nightie on 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' and having singalongs with Archie Bunker filled my mind as I grooved along with the hallucination.
So that, for me, was a Toobworld moment, as I'm fairly certain it's not going to happen here in the Trueniverse.
I just don't have the right combination of drugs.....
What did you see on TV this week that really highlighted the difference between our world and Toobworld?
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Friday, September 8, 2006
BEAMING UP A BIRTHDAY SALUTE
Just wanted to add my voice to those wishing 'Star Trek' a happy 40th birthday. My only regret is that De Kelley and the Great Bird Of The Galaxy are no longer with us to celebrate the milestone. (It still seems wrong that they didn't live long enough to see the 21st Century ushered in.)
So much of the TV Universe owes its existence to 'Star Trek', especially the concept of alternate dimensions.
Here's hoping that someday it will return to the airwaves with a new variation, not just with a new movie.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
So much of the TV Universe owes its existence to 'Star Trek', especially the concept of alternate dimensions.
Here's hoping that someday it will return to the airwaves with a new variation, not just with a new movie.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
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