PASSAGES: E. HOWARD HUNT

"This fellow Hunt... he knows too much."
President Richard M. Nixon
June, 1972

E. Howard Hunt was in charge of the disasterous Watergate break-in which led to the downfall of Nixon and his administration.

In the Television Universe, Hunt looked like an actor in the Real World named James Greene and like an actor named FJ O'Neil. Since the Howard Hunt that looked like Greene was first seen in 1978, he is the one from Earth Prime-Time. Earth Prime-Time/Remake can claim the Watergate burglar who looked like O'Neil, as he first appeared in in 1982.

James Greene (I) (E. Howard Hunt)
. . . "Blind Ambition" (1979) (mini) TV Series

F.J. O'Neil (Howard Hunt)
. . . Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (1982) (TV)

E. Howard Hunt died Tuesday in Miami at the age of 88.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

BOOK BEAT

For Gary Russell's new book ("Doctor Who: The Inside Story"), the show's producer Russell T. Davies has provided the afterword. In it, he stated that the long-running sci-fi series is perhaps the most documented program in the history of Television.

Hello? 'Star Trek', anyone?

There should be a "Thunderdome" grudge match to settle the matter!

I'll bet 400 quatloos on 'Trek' as the winner. With the caveat that I establish the current monetary exchange rate for quatloos into dollars.....


BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MISSING LINKS: DRESDEN & KOLCHAK

'The Dresden Files' is like that guy you knew back in school who was amiable enough, fun to hang out with, but you knew he was never really going to amount to much. Still and all, there are worse ways to spend an hour on a Sunday night, and luckily it repeats later in the evening so that you don't have to miss watching 'Rome'. (Or if you MUST - 'Desperate Housewives'. ugh.)

I gave up on reading urban fantasy some years ago, but I used to devour whole series in the genre. My favorites in the field were Simon Hawke and Esther Friesner, and the all-time best will be Charles deLint. But I must have dropped out of the game before the Dresden series by Jim Butcher came along, so I can't say how well the show will hold up in comparison, nor do I know what to expect. (Which is probably a good thing - I gave up reading the Harry Potter books because they were ruining my experience at the movies. I'll probably go back and read them after the movies run their course, to fill in the blanks and enrich the experience.)

As Rob pointed out in his blog "The Medium Is Not Enough" (link to the left): "the magical rules of 'The Dresden Files' universe are relatively new and interesting." Yet at the same time, nothing contradicts the rules of magic that were laid down in shows like 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', 'Charmed', and even 'Bewitched', which is of importance in Toobworld. (At least so far - I've only had the debut episode to build on.)

Readers of this blog know that my criteria for watching a TV show are different than from most other "televisiologists". I'm more interested in how a show melds with the overall TV Universe, Earth Prime-Time, than with artistic merit. So shows like '24' or the updated version of 'Battlestar Galactica' aren't all that interesting to me, even though they are admittedly gripping and well-done, because they both had to be placed in alternate dimension foster homes.

On the other hand, I'll tune in to a shoddy sitcom in hopes of finding that link that will make it an official component of the main Toobworld. (If I'm lucky - as was the case with 'In Case Of Emergency' - it's one and out.)

So even if I found 'The Dresden Files' to be real schlock, still I would continue to watch it in hopes to get that one tidbit of TV trivia or possible in-joke that could be construed as an actual crossover to some other show.
And considering the location for this series, that might prove easier than expected, considering the show is about a private eye/wizard for hire in the modern world.

Chicago is proving to be quite promising for the world of urban fantasy. I can't say for certain that there are no earlier examples, but I think it all kicks off with the original 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' series. (The first TV movie, based on the book, was set in Las Vegas - 'CSI' tie-in if ever there was one! - and the second movie was based in Seattle, where I'm sure many of the victims ended up in the morgue at Seattle Grace of 'Grey's Anatomy'!)

But there is also 'Cupid' (although the series didn't last long enough for us to find out whether Jeremy Piven's character really was the Greek god of Love or just some nutjob), and 'Special Unit 2', a show that could be considered the forerunner to 'Torchwood'. (Now there's a fantasy crossover devoutly to be wished!)

Here's one theoretical link I've already forged for 'The Dresden Files', with Darren McGavin's old TV show.....

When 'The Night Stalker' was remade as a new series two years ago, with Stuart Townsend now assaying the role of the crusading reporter who investigates the supernatural, I had no choice but to plop it into the dimension of TV remakes. Maybe I could have done some theoretical song and dance (with a little seltzer down my pants) in order to keep both versions in the same universe in much the same way as I did for the two televersions of Lt. Columbo, both Bert Freed's original portrayal in "Enough Rope" and the better known classic of Peter Falk's.

One way to go for Kolchak would have been the son carrying on the work of the father, perhaps. Except that the new version also recast the role of Tony Vicenzo. Having two characters with the same names as those from the original series stretched credulity, even in a TV show about vampires, headless bikers, werewolves, and moss monsters.

But in that first episode of the remake, there is this really interesting cameo by Darren McGavin as the original Carl Kolchak. As Townsend's version walks into the newspaper office, we see McGavin in the foreground in his trademark seersucker suit, just getting such a rush out of the fact that he's there at all.

What we're actually seeing, however, is a digitally inserted McGavin as Kolchak; the image was lifted from some scene to be found in the original series (perhaps even from the original TV movies).

Until 'The Dresden Files' came along, I had nothing to bolster this theory, but here's my splainin now:

Carl Kochak - the original played by McGavin - was magically teleported into the dimension where the new Kolchak resided. In essence, he had become a "Slider". But instead of sliding through the dimensional vortex with Science, Magic was used for the transport.

For all I know, he's there still, making himself a new life. That would splain why we don't see him around anymore in the main Toobworld. And the fact that it's because his portrayer, Darren McGavin, passed away last year doesn't enter into it. When he was seen in that cameo, Kolchak didn't show any signs that he had significantly aged since the last time we saw him (because the clip was from the show 25 years or so earlier).

It could be that Kolchak stumbled across a story about the fountain of youth, or he was blessed/cursed by some demi-god with immortality. That's an unrecorded adventure for some fanfic writer. I just like to think that Kolchak - as played by Darren McGavin - not only outlived his portrayer, but that he will always be around, somewhere in the overall TV Universe.

And thanks to Harry Dresden, he got the chance to see how his dimensional doppelganger lived.
That's my splainin, and I'm sticking to it!

As for 'The Dresden Files', since they've already infested the Windy City with wizards, skin-walkers, and ravens who can take on human form, here's hoping that one day we'll see Harry Dresden encounter a gnome. That would be sweet if I could then link that character to Carl the gnome from 'Special Unit 2'. (Could it be that Carl took that human name as an alias instead of his true magical name in honor of a certain reporter from the INS?)

As Mushrat would say in 'Deputy Dawg', it's pozz'ble. It's pozz'ble.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"I've got all this useless information at the tip of my fingers."

Flynn Carson

"The Librarian"

MISSING IN ACTION: HOLLY ELLENBOGEN

TV news reporter Holly Ellenbogen has been excised from 'The Class' roster. No longer on the show, she's missing from the opening credits where the little kids morph into their adult versions.

Not that she was in much of the sitcom by the end of her run; there really wasn't much the writers could probably do with her while she was saddled with that effeminate heterosexual caricature of a husband.

And it's not like she'd have to be part of the others' lives forever, just because she reconnected at a third-grade reunion party and maybe had her ex-boyfriend (now gay) over for Thanksgiving dinner. People easily drift away and never come back into the lives of others with much stronger bonds than these people shared.

It's just that it feels somewhat orwellian about the way her character just disappeared; wiped clean from even the publicity pictures that once contained her image in the group.

What's especially disturbing is that if the show's creators don't address the issue of her absence, disturbed people like me will be left to fill in the blanks. And considering how we last saw her - being threatened by Richie's crazy, violent wife, - it's not hard to imagine that Holly Ellenbogen has gone from being a news reporter to becoming a news story. She's probably providing the nutrients in some pastoral piece of Pennsylvania countryside by now.......

Just sayin', is all.

By the way, she may not have been that interesting a character and everything about her was TOO sitcom/cartoonish, but at least Holly Ellenbogen had one of the best names to come along in Toobworld for some time.

Nothing I hate more than those boring TV names like Tim Taylor, Bob McKay, even the names for otherwise classic TV characters like Andy Taylor and Mary Richards! The last name of "Ellenbogen" just made it more of a challenge to do one of those theories of "relateeveety" for Holly......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE AQUAMAN ADDENDUM

No, it's not a Robert Ludlum title.....

Medium Rob writes one of my favorite blog discoveries from last year, "The Medium Is Not Enough", which looks at both English and American television. And for me, a great clearing house for links about 'Doctor Who'. (Check it out! You'll find the link, as always, to the left.)

So Medium Rob wrote in yesterday to set me straight on the Aquaman issue:

It was Alan Ritchson in both Aqua and Justice, so that's only two incarnations of AC to deal with.

Later he added:

My hazy memory recalled last night that the Mercy Reef pilot originally called for Will Toale to play AC and Justin Hartley took over from him. I don't think they'd actually filmed anything with Toale, so I don't know what kind of meta-universe he lives in as AC.

This splains why I remembered three actors in connection to the role, but the IMDb.com only listed two for the three appearances linked to 'Smallville'. It's a good reason why I shouldn't pay any heed to news items about upcoming projects until they're actually about to be broadcast.

Let's just take Will Toale out of the mix straight off. He's a What-Iffer we don't have to give any consideration.

The 'Smallville' episode which first introduced Arthur "AC" Curry as Aquaman ("Aqua") was a back-door pilot for a possible spin-off. But when it came time to film an actual pilot for a series, the producers decided to start fresh - not only with a new actor to play "AC", but also with a concept that would sever ties with 'Smallville'.

However, the pilot - "Mercy Reef" - was never broadcast. It would have wound up in that limbo dimension with all the other unaired pilots never to be seen had it not been for its release on the web at video outlets like YouTube (and available on iTunes as well, although I coujld be wrong about that.)

Ten years ago, I would have said that only shows that were broadcast on TV could become a part of Toobworld, but the concept of Television has been evolving, so that internet access should probably be accepted as well.

At any rate, Alan Richson returned as "AC" in this latest episdoe of 'Smallville', while Justin Hartley (now the Green Arrow in 'Smallville') was "AC" in "Mercy Reef", which had no connection to 'Smallville'.

So it's easy enough just to discount the "Mercy Reef" pilot as being in some other dimension of Toobworld. By the Trident of Poseidon! It could be submerged in the oceans of the main Toobworld itself, me hearties!

Suddenly I want to sing about pineapples under the sea......

And Alan Richson can rightfully reclaim his Life Aquatic to be the one, the only Grou- er, Aquaman.

For that dimension, at least......

And now I'll wash my hands of it all......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

LOOK SHARP! FEEL SHARP! BE SHARP! ZOE SHARP!

Here's something offbeat for the League of Themselves:

In the real world, Zoe Sharp is a mystery novelist with a successful line of mysteries to her credit which feature her character Charlie Fox.

Here's an edited version of her bio from her website:

In 1988, on the strength of one accepted article, Zoe Sharp gave up her regular job to become a freelance photo-journalist, and has been making a living writing and photographing ever since, mainly for the motoring press.

Her professional writing career took off in 2001 with the publication of the first Charlie Fox book - Killer Instinct. This was followed by Riot Act (2002) and Hard Knocks (2003). In 2004, Charlie Fox found herself in Florida in the breakneck thriller First Drop, published by Piatkus in the UK (2004) and by her new American publishers, St Martin's Press, in September 2005.

Zoë lives in Cumbria, and is married, but says she would rather have a motorbike than children. Her hobbies are sailing, fast cars, (and faster motorbikes), target shooting, travel, films, music, and reading just about anything she can get her hands on. She and her husband, Andy, who is a non-fiction author, have just finished self-building their own house.

But in Toobworld, the televersion of Zoe Sharp had an altogether different destiny. And I used the past tense for a reason......

Here's an excerpt from the description of Friday night's episode of 'Psych':

Henry reminds Connors about an old case of a woman named Zoe Sharp, who was killed by a mountain lion, but Connors always thought it was murder.

Henry tells [Shawn] that Zoe Sharp was Crocker's assistant and there was a rumor that they were having an affair. There wasn't any proof and Connors was always upset they couldn't nail Crocker for her death.

So, in the TV Universe, Zoe Sharp must have moved from England to Santa Barbara, California, and instead of becoming a mystery writer, she worked for the owner of a chain of family-oriented restaurants.

Zoe Sharp's onscreen life certainly didn't measure up to that of her real life, which is not how it usually goes in Toobworld. And getting killed as well o'bviously made it worse - especially when your corpse is eaten by a mountain lion.

The blame can be traced to her friend and fellow author, Lee Goldberg, who was a driving force behind 'Diagnosis Murder' and has written episodes of 'Monk'.

Turnabout is fair play, so maybe a character named "Lee Goldberg" should suffer an equally gruesome demise in the next Charlie Fox mystery!

Just sayin', is all....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY TV CHARACTERS

The Comics Continuum contacted Al Gough, the executive producer of 'Smallville', and asked if there would be a spin-off featuring the superheroes who appeared in the recent episode "Justice".

"No plans for the moment for a Green Arrow spin-off. Sorry," Gough said in response. "No plans to bring the entire Justice League back this season, but you may see several members toward the end of the season!"

So as it stands now in that alternate dimension (shared by 'Smallville' and 'The West Wing'), Green Arrow, Cyborg, Aquaman, and Impulse (who should be called Flash, I'm sorry!) are off on their quest to shut down Luthorcorp.'s secret project known as "33.1".

One thing that wasn't addressed in the episode was that Aquaman had undergone a change in his physical appearance. If I'm not mistaken, this was the third alteration. (Although his second "regeneration" was in the unaired pilot - but which was available for viewing online. That actor is now playing the Green Arrow in the show! Such headaches for the televisiologist!)

In the real world, of course, the reason is due to recasting. But for that alternate dimension of Toobworld, Aquaman aka "AC" may have been exposed to the equivalent of the theoretical meteor that altered the appearance of Ginger Grant of 'Gilligan's Island' in the main Toobworld.

If that dimension's version of the island also sank beneath the waves, that meteor might have poisoned the ocean's waters and continued to affect human physiology once Aquaman got too close to it.

Just an idea for now, and as it's all part of a different dimension from the main Toobworld, it's not really a high priority at this time.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

GAY BLADE

Singer-songwriter John Mayer has come up with his own solution/punishment for Isaiah Washington in regards to his use of a homophobic slur towards his co-star TR Knight:

Make Washington's character, Dr. Burke, gay.

"What better way for an actor to get to the roots of his discrimination than by portraying the very the subject of his own ire for the remainder of his contract? That'll learn ya!"

And have him come out on Frasier Crane's radio show!

Sorry, I'm so selfish.

Does this suggestion by Mayer remind anybody else of the "Twilight Zone" movie? I'm thinking of the story with Vic Morrow, as the bigot who ends up as the various ethnic types he used to belittle.

Of course, in the real world, Vic Morrow (one of my favorite actors, thanks to 'Combat!') lost his life filming that movie when a helicopter fell on him and two small girls during a scene.

You can't have that kind of resolution if ABC and Shonda Rhimes decide to get rid of his character permanently - 'ER' might have something to say about plagiarism.

Dropping a helicopter on a doctor? Been there, done that.

But maybe they should drop him into some kind of high-speed rotary blade that cuts him up into itty-bitty bite-sized chunks.

Know what you'd have then?

Burke Slaw.

Thank you! I'll be here all week!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE (SITCOM) LIFE OF BRIAN

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams couldn't have been too pleased with how he was portrayed on this past Thursday's '30 Rock' - as a drunken, lecherous satyr with an obsession over his rival Katie Couric which manifested itself in graffiti.

Kenneth the page had wiped most of it away, but we did see scrawled on his dressing room wall:

KAT
COU
SUC

Williams himself was never seen, but he didn't have to be. The state of disarray in his dressing room pretty much summed up the man as a fictional being. Still, that's all it takes to add to the presence of his tele-version in Toobworld - some kind of reference to his or her existence.in a fictional series. Appearances on talk shows and comedy shows like 'Saturday Night Live' and 'The Daily Show' don't do much to fill out his "resume".

But this "appearance" on '30 Rock' is the step in the right direction, even if it pissed him off.

After all, he doesn't want it getting around that Katie Couric got into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame and he didn't, does he? (Katie already has three appearances as her herself, the minimum requirement for membership - 'Murphy Brown', 'Cheers', and 'Will & Grace'.)

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

AN EXHULTATION OF "HEROES"

This week's Entertainment Weekly has a great story about the return of 'Heroes' to the NBC sked on Monday (1/22) at 9 pm. Based on that, this Inner Toob essay does contain a spoiler....



With the introduction on Monday of Christopher Eccleston's "Invisible Man", there will be a "large element of mythology" revealed. According to Tim Kring, the show's creator, we're about to learn "that there was a whole previous generation of heroes and they had adventures of their own".

This being a blog about the TV Universe in general, its' my contention that we've seen some of these previous heroes before in other TV series.

Here are a few others who should be included:

MUTANT X TEAM - As the powers might be regarded as the result of some kind of mutation, the team of heroes from 'Mutant X' are all likely candidates for consideration.

JIMBO COBB - Something of a drifter, Jimbo Cobb would be the "Prime Mover" (if they used code names) as he had the power of telekinesis. Like many of the current roster of heroes, he found himself in Las Vegas, where he saw how his powers to move objects could corrupt even his best friend. Since that time in the early sixties, Jimbo kept his abilities to himself, using them only in an emergency, like saving people in a car crash.

If he's still alive in the TV Universe, Jimbo Cobb would be in his mid nineties. (The man who portrayed him, Buddy Ebsen, passed away just a few years ago.) ('The Twilight Zone' - "The Prime Movier")

BEN RICHARDS - Because of rare antibodies in his O-negative blood, race car driver Ben Richards was basically immortal. This made him a target of billionaire Arthur Maitland, whose family had been obsessed wiht the aging process since back in the days of 'The Wild, Wild West' ("The Night Of The Sedgewick Curse").

It's more than likely that Ben and his brother Jason were killed years ago by those desperate enough to do anything to gain control of the Richards brothers' blood platelets. ('The Immortal')

ROB ROBERTS - Not all of these mutations result in powers. Some, like Rob Roberts, find themselves born as hideous monsters. And like Sylar, Rob Roberts had a craving for human brains. (Although we still don't know if Sylar eats them, Rob Roberts was always "Hungry" for brains.)

Rob Roberts was eventually gunned down by two FBI agents who worekd in the Bureau's 'X-Files' department.

Rob Roberts may not have even been human. He might have been some off-shoot of humanity raised as a human; perhaps a denizen of one of the many underground empires in Toobworld.

This phenomena is not limited to Earth Prime-Time. The dimension in which 'Smallville' takes place has shown that Lex Luthor is already committed his financial resources in studying the enhancement of "people with capabilities".

Well, those are just a few suggestions as to who else might be considered similar to the current crop of 'Heroes'. Whom might you suggest as a member of Homo Superior?

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"You're like a X-Man or something!"

Crab Man

'My Name Is Earl'