NUMBERS OF YEARS

"The Numbers" of 'Lost' popped up this week in the Toobworld timeline.

Last night on 'New Amsterdam', we learned that a young Dutch soldier was nearly killed on the island of Manhattan when he tried to prevent another soldier from killing a Native American woman. Even though he was run through with a sword, she and her fellow shamanesses were able to bring him back. They also blessed/cursed him with immortality until he finally meets his true love.
This happened in 1642.... "16", & "42".....

BCnU!
Toby OB

TV QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Toby may be a lot of things,
Some of them not very attractive,
But he is not a killer."
Peter Hardwicke
'New Amsterdam'

Can you blame me for choosing it?

BCnU!

Toby OB

A TIDDLYWINKYDINKS HAT SQUAD: GARY GYGAX

Gary Gygax, co-creator of the first role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, has died at the age of 69.

Gygax, who developed the game in 1974 with Dave Arneson, had been suffering from health problems for several years.

Dungeons & Dragons inspired another game in Toobworld: "Mazes & Monsters", in 1982.
In the Tooniverse, Gygax was a member of the Vice Presidential Action Rangers in an imagined scenario of how Fry's life might have played out. Vice President Al Gore was i charge of the Action Rangers, and his other team members were Nichele Nichol who played Uhura on 'Star Trek', Professor Stephen Hawking, and the Deep Blue computer. The Vice Presidential Action Rangers failed in their mission and were instead sucked into a parallel dimension with no discernible connection to whatever was left of the Tooniverse.

As I said, this was merely a "What-If" scenario thanks to a machine created by Professor Hugo Farnsworth. But he must have existed in pen and ink form in order for the machine to draw upon the original for inspiration.

Gygax voiced his own role in the 'Futurama' episode "Anthology of Interest I".

Gygax's wedding ring is cleary visible in the episode. He left behind a wife and six children, so it's O'Bvious that he didn't spend ALL of his time playing D&D.

Unlike many of those who were fans of his game......Right, Paul?

BCnU.....
Toby OB

"Hey Langly, the guys are all up in my room
for a round of Dungeons and Dragons,
in honour of Jimmy."
Timothy Landau
'The X-Files'

TODAY'S TWD: CASTING FOR VELVET

In an interview with Steve Lewis, mystery writer Edward D. Hoch - who passed away back in January - discussed ideas as to who might play his most popular character: Nick Velvet, the thief who would only steal items that had very little value, preferably no value at all, yet still do so for a very hefty fee.

Here's what Hoch had to say about the possible casting:

"More than twenty years ago when a Broadway producer held the Nick Velvet option, she suggested Ben Gazzara for the part. It was a good idea at the time, but I wouldn't want to suggest anyone to play Nick or my other characters now. The television business is such that casting is dependent upon things like the budget and the age bracket at which the show is aimed. If Nick ever makes it on the air I certainly won't mind if he's young and handsome, even if that's not how I picture him."

Having now read the collection of Nick Velvet stories "The Velvet Touch" (which lacked the story that first introduced me to the character, about the theft of a used teabag), I have an actor in mind for playing the role should we ever be lucky enough to see a series made from the material.

Steven Weber

I think he has the right combination of Everyman qualities for the role of Nick Velvet. Based on his past roles, I think he can easily handle the dramatic as well as the comedic aspects in Nick's life, and be able to deftly switch from one to the other.

At the age of 47, Weber is at the right stage in life to play someone who had been operating on the shadowy side of life and who now could afford to accept only those jobs that he feels could net him the most profit with the least amount of danger and imprisonment. (Of course, as fans of the short stories know, this doesn't always quite work out.)

Capitalizing on his skills in both light and heavy fare, Weber looks like the kind of guy who could be a laid-back rogue in a suit and yet still be able to call upon the skills necessary for any action/adventure needed.

So there's my suggestion as to who should play Nick Velvet in Toobworld.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: "JOURNEY OF THE SORCEROR"

My Little Buddy contacted me from Taiwan the other day, insisting I accept a file he wanted to send me. "It's the Eagles," said Sean. "You'll like it."

Well, I'm a take-or-leave-it kind of guy when it comes to the Eagles music, but I figured I'd amuse the kid and so I accepted the file. As it was downloading, he IM'd that the name of the song was "Journey Of The Sorceror". Sounded more like a Rick Wakeman number to my mind.

When the file finished, I played it. And the smile stretched from ear to ear.

I don't mind if someone knows something about TV before me, so long as I get clued in as well. And this was the first time I ever found out that the theme music for the radio and TV versions of 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' was in fact, a song by the Eagles!

Here's what I found out in a FAQ about Douglas Adams:

The title music (the Eagles' Journey of the Sorceror)

The theme music to the radio series is the opening to a song called "Journey of the Sorceror", written by Bernie Leadon, and originally performed by the Eagles on their album "One Of These Nights". When Original Records re-recorded the show for the LP release, they used a new version arranged and performed by Tim Souster, in order to avoid paying the Eagles significant wodges of cash. The TV series also used a Tim Souster arrangement, which was released as a 7" single by Original Records, backed with "Only the End of the World Again" (a section of The Book narration) and Max Quordlepleen warblng. This is a very rare record.

Here are notes from Simon Brett, original producer of the Hitchhiker's radio series, as recorded in footnotes at the end of episode 1 ("Fit the First") in The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts:

Simon remembers that right from the start Douglas knew exactly what he wanted. For instance, he spent some time looking for a signature tune which had to be electronic but which also had a banjo in it. Quite why he was so keen on a banjo is a bit of a mystery (he says he thought it would help give an "on the road, hitch-hiking feel" to the whole thing), but there is no doubt that the choice "Journey of the Sorcerer" from the Eagles album "One of These Nights" was inspired.

Interestingly, many of the people who wrote in asking what it was were surprised to find that they already had it. It just seemed to be one of those album tracks that nobody had noticed until it was taken out of context.

If you want to hear this song, try this link for a YouTube "video" hosted by CrocMusic.

(As much as I love its use in the theme music, I'm really enjoying how "Journey Of The Sorceror" wraps up, beginning at about the 5:30 mark in the song. Them's good walkin'-about music, as I used to call the songs I'd have in my old Walkman.)

Thanks, Shoe Hand!

BCnU!
Toby OB

UPDATE: MARTHA BY THE NUMBERS

I'm an idiot.

Well, now that we've got that out of the way.

So excited was I at finding the number "23" in Martha Jones' ID code for UNIT, that I never considered adding up the entire sequence of numbers.

001
23
14
01
2
1
---------
42

"42" - one of the numbers from 'Lost' and as we know from 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy', the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything!

That CAN'T be a coincidence!

Could it.....?

BCnU!
Toby OB

NEW UNIT IN OUR FUTURE?

I've been sharing this theory with a few of my favorite TV blogs, those that enjoy 'Torchwood' as much as I do......

I think Russell T. Davies may be setting us up for yet another spin-off from 'Doctor Who'.

As mentioned in the previous post, Dr. Martha Jones is currently appearing on 'Torchwood', and in the time between her arrival and when she left the Doctor in last season's finale of 'Doctor Who', she's been recruited into UNIT to serve as one of their medical officers.

I think we may be getting primed as an audience for a TV show about UNIT starring Freema Agyeman as Martha.

The traditional method is in place for the preparations. Martha left the original series, only to show up on one of the spin-offs. ('The Sarah Jane Adventures' is the other spin-off and Martha would be perfect for a guest spot. After all, Sarah Jane has worked closely with UNIT herself back in the day and still has her contacts there.)

On 'Torchwood', her character's backstory has been embellished so that now she has her degree, she's working with UNIT, and has a boyfriend who once saved her life. (I'm figuring that's Tom and he could be part of UNIT now as well.) So she's now more than just a former Companion, one who could stand alone from the Doctor to support her own show like Jack and Sarah Jane.

It's already been reported that she'll be back for the big season finale of the next 'Doctor Who' run, in a story teaming her up with Sarah Jane, Rose Tyler, and Donna Noble. After that? Could it be she could leave the show once again and this time go right into her own series where she's working with UNIT?

UNIT also has its own backstory and a rich history from which they could draw stories - recurring villains and aliens, guest stars from past 'Doctor Who' stories, and UNIT members we'd all love to see again. Although the Brigadier is retired, he could come back on a recurring basis as a consultant. There's Sgt. Benten (surely at least a Captain by now?) and perhaps even Captain Yates - reformed or not, depending on how they'd want to go with his character.

And those guest stars? How about crossovers with 'Torchwood', 'The Sarah Jane Adventures', and of course the mothership of the franchise. (Not sure the TARDIS, being a living creature, would appreciate being called a mothuh, Brothuh.....) Plus how about Jo Grant or Dr. Liz Shaw?

And at the center of it all would be Dr. Martha Jones, teamed up with this mysterious boyfriend she mentioned in "Reset".......

Not sure if the fan interest is high enough to support the series, but I'd certainly like to see it happen!

Make it so!

Oops.... wrong show.... Sorry about that, Chief.

BCnU!
Toby OB

PS:
Joe at "I Am A TV Junkie" (link to the left for the main site) was nice enough to trumpet my idea in a post at his blog. Check it out for some cool videos about UNIT as well as a Martha Jones music video! Good stuff!

MARTHA BY THE NUMBERS

Martha Jones has crossed over from 'Doctor Who' to 'Torchwood', making her one of the few 'Doctor Who' characters to appear on other shows. (Captain Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, The Brigadier, K9, Toshiko Sato, and the TARDIS would be in that group as well. Maybe there are a few others....)

And she's been a busy girl since she left the Doctor's side - she's now a medical officer assigned to UNIT.
We got to see her UNIT ID badge in "Reset", the episode which introduced her to Team Torchwood in Cardiff, and her serial number is "001 23 14 01 2 1".

"23" is part of the numerical sequence from 'Lost'. "01" & "14" would equal another in the sequence, "15". And the last three numbers add up to "4", which leads off "The Numbers".

Definitely a stretch, but we've seen far more trivial theories in Toobworld.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

ECHOES: STORM WARNINGS

"A storm's approaching."

The Doctor

'Doctor Who'

"There's a storm coming."

Charlie

'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'

TODAY'S TWD: CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD

TOOBWORLD: Christopher Isherwood came up with the phrase "I am a camera", which he said to Jack Harkness while they cruised the boy prostitute area of Berlin back in 1929.
REAL WORLD: Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist.In 1928-29 Isherwood studied medicine in London, but gave it up after a few months to join WH Auden for a few weeks in Berlin.

Rejecting his upper-class background and attracted to males, he remained in Berlin, the capital of the young Weimar Republic, drawn by its deserved reputation for sexual freedom. There, he "fully indulged his taste for pretty youths. He went to Berlin in search of boys and found one called Heinz, who became his first great love."

Isherwood commented on the Berlin sex underground, and his own participation in it, in a note to the American publisher of John Henry Mackay's "Der Puppenjunge" (The Hustler), "a classic boy-love novel set in the contemporary milieu of boy prostitutes in Berlin." "It gives a picture of the Berlin sexual underworld early in this century," wrote Isherwood, "which I know, from my own experience, to be authentic."

In 1931 he met Jean Ross, the inspiration of his fictional character Sally Bowles; he also met Gerald Hamilton the inspiration for the fictional Mr. Norris.

He worked as a private tutor in Berlin and elsewhere while writing the novel "Mr Norris Changes Trains" (1935) and a series of short stories collected under the title "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939). These provided the inspiration for the play "I Am a Camera", the subsequent musical "Cabaret" and the film of the same name.

A memorial plaque to Isherwood has been erected on the house in Schöneberg, Berlin, where he lived.
[from Wikipedia]

In the 'Torchwood' episode "Reset", Captain Jack Harkness mentioned his relationship with Isherwood when Martha exclaimed "I am a camera!" after putting in her spy contact lenses. Captain Jack also mentioned that Isherwood said to him that it would always be easier getting in than it was in getting out.....

It's not like I'm going to do a lot of research into the life of Isherwood; televisiology never calls for more than a cursory examination of any subject. But could it be that this boy love of his, Heinz, was in fact Jack Harkness (at least in the TV Universe)?

In the website "Baby Names", the name "Heinz" is considered a variant of "Hans", which is related to "John", all referring back to the Hebrew for "The Lord is gracious". And a derivative for "John" is "Jack".
It's something to consider. On the other hand, Jack was probably too old to be the subject of Isherwood's interest; instead it's more likely he may have been a traveling companion through the district.

BCnU!
Toby OB