GAME OF THE NAME: VICKERS IS THE VICTOR

'Burke's Law' has provided yet another example of a character's name being different in the credits than it was in the actual TV Universe.

In "Who Killed The Eleventh Best-Dressed Woman In The World", Josephine Hutchinson was credited onscreen as "Madeline Victors". But her name - and that of her niece Gloria - is clearly heard as "Vickers".

And it's not like the others swallowed up that "T" sound - at one point Solange Kelly, owner of the Nirvana Health Club Farm enunciates the word "victim" and the "T" can be plainly heard.

This is just another example of why the credits should never be considered as part of the TV Universe.

By the way, Madeline Vickers once lived just outside of Brewster, NY. Perhaps she knew the Marie family - Lew, Helen, and their daughter Ann...... (from 'That Girl')

BCnU!
Toby OB

BORN TO RERUN: SUZIE QUEUE

Everybody knows in a second life,
we all come back sooner or later.

As anything from a pussycat
to a man eating alligator.
Paul Hampton
('My Mother The Car')

As those lyrics indicate, it's time once again to delve into a theory of reincarnation in Toobworld - that two TV characters share the same soul.

In the past, I've made the case for Emperor Claudius & Dr. Bob Hartley and Ross and Demelza Poldark & Greg and Dharma Montgomery.

Today's theory begins in 1138 Shrewsbury and ends up in the Cardiff of 2009.

In the 'Cadfael' episode "The Sanctuary Sparrow", the case being investigated by Brother Cadfael and Undersheriff Beringar concerned who attacked the head of the Aurifaber household. A young minstrel was blamed, but he sought sanctuary within the church, which afforded Cadfael time to discover the true culprit.

The eldest daughter of the Aurifaber Family was Susanna, heavy with child and angry with her eventual dismissal as mistress of the house now that her brother had married. By the end of the episode, she was responsible for at least one death and was fleeing to Wales when she was killed.

Nearly nine hundred years later, her soul finally made it into Wales, but it still had not found the peace it sought.

I believe Susanna Aurifaber was reborn as Suzie Costello, seen in several episodes of 'Torchwood'.

Although portrayed by different actresses, there is a slight similarity in appearance between them both - not that it's a requirement in reincarnation.

But both Susanna and Suzie shared other qualities that could have been pre-determined by them both sharing the same soul.

They were both ambitious.

Both had father issues.

They drove themselves hard.

They caused harm to those close to them.

They were responsible for the deaths of others.

They railed against the unfairness of their situations, even if their circumstances were of their own making.

And both Susanna and Suzie came to tragic ends. (For Suzy, several times over.)

As usual, my theories of reincarnation - like so many of my Toobworld theories - can't be proven. But if you viewed Suzie like I viewed Suzie (Sorry about that, Chief!), you can see echoes of her future self in Susanna Aurifaber.

BCnU!
Toby OB

TIDDLYWINKYDINKS: TEILO IN TRIPLICATE

In the latest 'Torchwood' episode ("To The Last Man"), much of the action centers around St. Teilo's Hospital, both in 2010 as well as in 1918 - both time periods beginning to merge with the hospital as the nexus.

St. Teilo is a Welsh saint who seems to be more notable for what occurred after he died than for what happened during his life. One of the most celebrated legends about him tells how, on his death at Llandeilo, three churches claimed his body: Penally (his birthplace), Llandeilo Fawr (his chief church), and Llandaff. The clergy of the three churches prayed, then left the body in the church. In the morning, the body was found to have been miraculously triplicated, so that each church could have an authentic body to bury!

Here's an ancient text on the subject:

On the night of his decease, there arose a great dispute between the clergy of three of his churches, each asserting its authorities and privileges for obtaining his body; one, of which was Pennalun, and which claimed because it was there his ancestors had been buried, and therefore, the proper place by hereditary right; the second church, which was situated on the banks of the Towy, claimed it because it was the place of his residence, where he lived retired, and because he there gloriously ended his life; the third was Llandaff, and urged its claim on account of its having been his episcopal see, of its privileges and dignities, its consecrations and obedience, and of the unanimous voice of all the diocese, and especially because of its former state, and the appointment of St. Dubricius, and other fathers.

But at length, attending to the advice of discreet men, they had recourse to fasting and prayer, that Christ, the great judge, who is the true authority, and privilege of holy persons, should declare by some manifest sign, to which of them he would be pleased to commit the holy body of the Saint. And in the morning, a certain elder, looking towards the place where the body was, spoke with a loud voice, saying, “Our prayer, brethren, has been heard by the Lord, who deprives no one of his reward: Arise, and behold what things have been done by Christ the Mediator between God and man, that our dispute might be settled; and as in the life, so in the death of the holy confessor Teilo, miracles should be performed”

For, ho! they saw there three bodies, to which there was the same dimensions of body, the same beauty of countenance, (what more?) they had the lineaments of the whole frame, without any difference. So peace being restored, each with their own corpse returned homewards, and they buried the different bodies in those several places with the greatest reverence.

A Toobworld splainin? Time travelers of course. More specifically, the Doctor.

The body was stolen away after burial at the first site and after the burial at the second site. Those two corpses were taken away out of their time-streams to be brought back and laid beside each other along with the original body - thus creating a time loop. The tombs were then left empty at all but the third burial site and no one the wiser.

I don't know why this needed to be done; I'll leave that to the Lives of the Saints fanficcers, of which I'm sure there are SO many!

BCnU!

Toby OB

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

Something a bit different was delivered to Toobworld Central's door today - strike swag!

Doing a little bit to help out during the strike, I ordered official merchandise through the link at United Hollywood's site:

1] WGA grey Tee with the red logo for the strike

2] WGA WEst black Tee with strike-relevant emblem

3] United Hollywood adjustable black cap

Just doing my part.... (I'd volunteer to walk the picket lines, but I can't go four hours without a porto-san on hand!)

BCnU!
Toby OB

MANNING THE S.I. CURSE

It's Super Bowl 42 tomorrow - one of the 'Lost' numbers, and aside from the total of 108 it's probably the most powerful one (especially as it represents Life, the Universe, and Everything!)

I'm supporting the Patriots. I may live in NYC, but I'll always be a New Englander at heart.

So I don't want to take any chance with tomorrow.

To that end, here's a little juju......
BCnU!
Toby OB

TIDDYLWINKYDINKS: STEPHEN, KING

The major historical figure to have a televersion in the 'Cadfael' mysteries was King Stephen, seen in the first episode only - "One Corpse Too Many". As a TV character, Stephen also appears in a 1978 production about Henry II called 'The Devil's Crown'. As played by Frederick Treves (the actor, not the Elephant Man doctor), he appeared in the episode "If All The World Was Mine".

Here's the opening mini-biography of King Stephen from Wikipedia:

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), was the last Norman King of England. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet Kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne by marriage.

There were three principal contenders for the succession of Henry I and one 'fancied outsider'. The least popular of these being Empress Matilda, not only because she was a woman, but also because her husband Geoffrey Count Of Anjou was an enemy of the Normans. The other contenders were two men of royal birth, Robert Earl of Gloucester and Stephen himself. The 'outsider' was the elder brother of Stephen, Theobald, Count of Blois. However, Theobald did not want the kingdom, at least not badly enough to contend for it.

Before the death of King Henry I of England in 1135, the majority of the barons of England swore to support Henry's daughter Empress Matilda, (granddaughter of William the Conqueror), and her claim to the throne. However, upon the King's death, Stephen—also a grandchild of The Conqueror—laid claim to the throne, stating that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II and the first few years of his reign were peaceful.

The rest of it can be found here.

BCnU!
Toby OB

"TORCHWOOD" TIME

Toshiko Sato was working in a London hospital when a pig-like "alien" was brought in during March of 2006 ('Doctor Who' - "Aliens Of London"). According to the 'Torchwood' episode "To The Last Man", Tosh has been with the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute for four years.

That makes the current crop of episodes as taking place in 2010.

In "To The Last Man", Captain Jack made a point of adjusting his desk "calendar" so that it read "Friday 20".

There is only one option for a Friday the 20th in 2010 - August.

BCnU!
Toby OB

TVXOHOF 02/2008: SHADY GRADY!

For February, traditionally Black History Month, we're honoring a TV character who might be considered all that's wrong with the portrayal of blacks in Toobworld......

GRADY WILSON
"Sanford and Son" (1972)
"Grady" (1975)
"Sanford Arms, The" (1977)

Grady could have been seen as a replay of the "Lightin'" type of characters portrayed by Stepin Fetchit and others in the first half of the Twentieth Century.

But Norman Lear and his writers turned the image upside down and did a pretty good job at removing the offensive quality to the character. (And a lot of that credit must also be given to Whitman Mayo, who played the role.)

The audience could tell that it was mostly an act with Grady, that he was putting on a show so that people wouldn't catch on to what he was really like. And that way they would dismiss him from consideration and relax their gaurd around him.

Lt. Columbo and Casca were much the same way.

Here's what they wrote at Wikipedia about Grady Wilson:

Grady Wilson is the name of a fictional recurring character on the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son played by the late Whitman Mayo.

Grady is the scatterbrained best friend of Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), the proprietor of "Sanford and Son", a junk and antique business in Watts. Grady is portrayed as an elderly, feeble man, known for his stooped appearance and his grey hair and beard. He is most commonly seen wearing an oversized, pale-blue sport coat and walks with a slow shuffle. He often stops by Fred's house to drink and play cards, and he regularly accompanies Fred in his various schemes, much to the chagrin of Fred's son Lamont.

He is sometimes referred to by Fred as "Shady Grady".

Grady is extremely absent-minded and regularly forgets the names of people he knows—- especially Lamont. When Grady asks him his name, Lamont often responds by sarcastically giving him a similar name (such as "Lucas" or "Lawrence"), which Grady then acknowledges. (Ironically, Grady is actually named after Demond Wilson, the actor who played Lamont on the series. His full name is Grady Demond Wilson. He frequently confuses certain words, upon hearing them, for anything similar-sounding (such as referring to the "munchies" as "Munchkins").

Grady often refers to his old age, or his impending death, or the deaths of his and Fred's friends. He also frequently inadvertently insults Fred's sister-in-law Esther, by telling her something Fred has said about her. He is often easily alarmed or surprised, and when excited, he is known to exclaim his catch phrases, "Good goobily goop!" or "Great googly moogly!"

For a time during the series run, Fred was "out of town" (due to a salary dispute between Foxx and NBC), leaving Grady in charge of Fred's business, effectively making Grady the main character on the show. During Fred's absence, Grady moved into Fred's house, and also took over the role of Lamont's comic foil.

Grady appeared on Sanford and Son from 1973 until 1977. During this time, Mayo also starred in a TV series about the character, Grady. In this series, Grady moves out of Watts to live with his daughter. The show was short-lived, and he eventually returned to Sanford and Son. Mayo reprised the role of Grady again in the show's short-lived spin-off The Sanford Arms, in which Grady is married to his former girlfriend, Dolly.
The blog "Having A Wonderful Time" inducted Grady into their own TV Hall of Fame last year and provided this memory of the character:

"I remember an episode where Grady was fighting with Fred over a certain TV that Mr. Sanford had purchased for fifty bucks at a local bar. The TV was the same one that was stolen out of Grady's house a few days prior (He had recognized it by the scratches on the side of the paneling). If you haven't seen the episode and are concerned about the two friends fighting, don't fret. When Lamont called the poe-lease which of course were played by two dumb white dudes, they find that the TV was stolen from someone else before Grady bought it."

So from all of me here at Toobworld Central, I would now like to present Mr. Grady Wilson as the TV Crossover Hall of Fame inductee for February 2008.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Bubba Bexley:
The characters on that show are a lot like you.
There's the mean grouchy old father.
Fred G. Sanford:
Wait a minute...
Bubba Bexley:
The Dumb son.
Lamont Sanford:
Hey Bubba?
Bubba Bexley:
The Ugly Sister-in-Law.
Aunt Esther Anderson:
Watch it sucka!
Bubba Bexley:
And the stupid, bungling friend. [Looks at Grady]
Grady Wilson:
You're too hard on yourself, Bubba!
'Sanford And Son'

TIDDLYWINKYDINKS: SHOT AT DAWN

"To The Last Man", the latest episode of 'Torchwood', touched on a sensitive topic that was still timely even ninety plus years later.

In 2006, the British government pardoned about 306 men who were hauled before firing squads in World War I for desertion or cowardice after summary trails. (At least 23 of them were from Canada.) Britain is now formally acknowledging that many of the men suffered shell-shock from the horrors of trench warfare and relentless roar of artillery.

Particularly since the 1960s there has been some controversy concerning 346 British and Imperial troops — including 25 Canadian, 22 Irish and 5 New Zealand troops — who were shot for desertion, murder, cowardice and other offences during the War, some of whom are now thought to have been suffering from combat stress reaction or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or "shell-shock" as it was then known). This led to organisations, such as the Shot at Dawn Campaign which were set up in later years to try and uncover just why these soldiers were executed.

In 1993, Britain's then prime minister, John Major, ruled out such pardons saying, "we cannot rewrite history by substituting our latter-day judgment for that of contemporaries."

This time, the British parliament was swayed and the recent campaigns have already drawn more visitors to the graves of those executed. Some leave little crosses on the graves, decorated with poppies and bearing handwritten messages. "Justice at last. God bless you," reads one anonymous note.

"It is better to acknowledge that injustices were clearly done in some cases," said British Defense Secretary Des Browne. "All these men were victims of war."

"I hope that pardoning these men will finally remove the stigma with which their families have lived for years."

The great-niece of one of those men executed doesn't think the pardon is enough however, because a pardon does not equal an exoneration. Jill Turner said, "Underneath, some shame is still there."

BCnU!
Toby OB

CRYO-LINKS

In this week's episode of 'Torchwood' ("To The Last Man"), Team Torchwood claimed that their organization developed cryogenic technology before 1918. I think it's more likely that they stole it - or rather, "appropriated" it - for the security of the Empire, just as they did with the mind probe used in last week's episode "Sleeper".

So who had cryogenic technology back in the Edwardian Age? The Face, archenemy of Adam Adamant as seen in "Adam Adamant Lives!"

The Face left Adamant in suspended animation, and then subjected himself to the same treatment so that he could bedevil his foe in the Future.

After a run of 29 episodes, Adam Adamant disappeared from notice in Toobworld. It could be that he was recruited into the London branch of Torchwood.

BCnU!
Toby OB