AS SEEN ON TV: ANANIAS DARE

Recently I recorded the Sci-Fi movie "Wraiths Of Roanoke" (but broadcast on the Chiller network) so that's why today's "As Seen On TV" is Roanoke settler Ananias Dare, as played by Adrian Paul: I think in most general history books, Ananias Dare comes off as nothing more than the father of Virginia Dare, the first child of European parents to be born in the New World (08/18/1587), and the son-in-law of Roanoke Governor White. He probably comes across as the most irrelevant father in history since Joseph.

But for Toobworld, he's a tragic hero, sacrificing himself to not only save his daughter, but to make the New World safe for future colonists.

THE DARE FAMILY

Ananias, Elizabeth, and daughter Virginia

BCnU!
Toby O'B

TVXOHOF, 03/2009-B: JOHN PAUL II

Since we're in the middle of the Lenten season, I thought the historical figure that we should induct into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame for March should be Pope John Paul II. And the best part is that if we only concentrate on just the televersion of John Paul as played by Gene Greytak, we have one of the most important "linkers" ever to enter the Hall.

Just check out this list of credits:

'Alf' (a dream sequence of the 'Tonight' show)
'Ally McBeal'
'Golden Girls'
'Picket Fences'
'The Wayans Brothers'
'Night Court'
'Just The Ten Of Us'
'Murphy Brown'
'Cybil'
'Everybody Loves Raymond'
'The Father Dowling Mysteries'
(Although I'm not sure he appeared in the actual show, or else just a promo blipvert for it. But either way, such promos are considered part of Toobworld, or at the very least one of its alternate versions.)

Gene Greytak is also Pope John Paul II in Skitlandia, uniting such shows as:

'Geraldo'
'Tonight'
'The Arsinio Hall Show'
'In Living Color'
'The Phil Donahue Show'
'Comic Relief'
'Philly After Midnight'

And although Mr. Greytak played the part in several movies, the most important one would be "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult", which was a continuation of 'Police Squad'

He can also be seen in commecials for:

American Savings Bank
Arec Athletic Training Equipment Co.
Swedish Coffee

With a resume like that, you can see why Gene Greytak as the Pope deserves the honor. He will also serve as the official portrait of the Pope for Toobworld.

And this list would not have been possible without the help of fellow Crossoverite RAF, and from Hugh......

Thanks guys!

BCnU!
Toby O'B

AS SEEN ON TV: KING JOHN

For the last entry in our "As Seen On TV" mini-theme of historical characters from the 'Time Tunnel' episode "The Revenge Of Robin Hood", we have King John:
As I suggested with the casting of Donald Harron as the Earl of Huntington, perhaps John Crawford was cast based on his slight resemblance to the look sported by Claude Rains in the movie "The Adventures Of Robin Hood". (Maybe they were planning on using stock footage from that for far-away shots?)

I went into great detail yesterday about the various versions of the Robin Hood legend on TV, but there are a few I want to mention in connection with this portrayal.

First off, with the official version of Robin Hood being the 1950's series starring Richard Greene, there were three actors who played John, the most famous being Donald Pleasance. (I don't have access to my copy of his picture as John at the moment, I'll have to add it in later....) So far, I haven't found pictures of the other two actors in the role, but it's likely that two - if not all three! - were imposters, perhaps quantum leapers assuming the glamour of Prince/King John. Saying it was all three certainly removes the need to splain away the differences in appearance with any other portrayal.

The events at Runnymeade in 1215 were also depicted in "Time Out For Martin", an episode of 'My Favorite Martian'. Unfortunately I only have that episode on videotape, and AOL Video no longer offers the series - at least not free. I should have it in a few days though via Netflix. So I can't offer a splainin just yet. (I may be learning my lesson about splainin blind!)

I haven't seen the Fifth Doctor's story of "The King's Demons" from 'Doctor Who', but the Doctor Who Reference Guide offers a very detailed summary of what happened in that story. It also takes place in 1215 around the same time, but far from Runnymeade, and yet King John shows up in it.

Actually it's not King John but an android named Kamelion who can assume the shape of others. So we can splain away this recastaway by saying that Kamelion didn't capture the exact likeness of King John.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

MILLER'S SON'S TALE

John Harmon was one of those character actors you saw all the time and probably never knew his name. In "The Storm Riders", an episode of 'Cheyenne', he played Miller the shopkeeper:
Miller was a weaselly little snit who couldn't wait to tell Storm's hired gun Swallow that Cheyenne was riding into town and looking for him. And later,even though he claimed that he had nothing personal against Cheyenne, he was the second loudest voice calling for the cowboy to be lynched (after Mr. Storm, that is).

As it is with a lot of supporting TV characters in one-shot appearances, we didn't learn anything of Miller's background, whether or not he had a family, for example. But I'm thinking that he did have a wife and at least one child, a son. And if so, then it's my contention that Miller's son grew up and moved back East to New York, where he fell on hard times when the Great Depression hit (as seen in the 'Star Trek' episode "City On The Edge Of Forever").
And as he scrabbled for his existence in Manhattan, Miller Junior was known by the other down-and-outers as "Rodent" - probably the personality quirks of the weaselly father rubbed off on the son.

For Toobworld, "Rodent Miller" is a fascinating character when it comes to the chronology for Earth Prime-Time. In the original 'Star Trek' timeline, "Rodent" stole a phaser and tried it out, which caused his disintegration. Behind the scenes, this was eliminated from the restored and enhanced version which can be seen in syndication today. Those in charge of the restoration realized that such an action would only cause problems with the timeline if Rodent's future actions were erased.

(Within the "reality" of Toobworld, the enhanced series of 'Star Trek' is due to Nick Cutter, who somehow changed the entire history of Earth Prime-Time while in the 'Primeval' past.)

Like all my theories of "Relateeveety", the father-son relationship between Miller and "Rodent" can't be proven. But like I always say, it can't be disproved either.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

UPDATE ON "CHEYENNE: A LUST STORY"

In the blog post "Cheyenne: A Lust Story", I wrote the following:

In the 'Cheyenne' episode of "War Party", Cheyenne Bodie found himself attracted to the wife of a man he had shot in self-defense. Her name was Jeannie, and she felt the pull as well, offering herself to him willingly.

Cheyenne backed off at the last moment; however, he admitted that he wasn't strong enough (morally) to do so. It was just the thought that her husband, Morgan, was lying in the next room, a man he shot, that kept him from taking her.

Earlier on Sunday I watched the 'Cheyenne' episode "The Storm Riders", in which Mrs. Sheila Denbrow tried to give herself to Cheyenne, but he wouldn't have anything to do with her.

Mrs. Denbrow:
"What are you, a saint?"
Cheyenne Bodie:
"Far from it."

It was just that in this case, there was just something patently offensive about Mrs. Denbrow, which her husband couldn't see. But it still could be inferred from Cheyenne's response that he wasn't above enjoying the favors offered by lonely wives across the frontier. And if so, there's a good chance a lot of TV characters farther down the TV timeline could claim Cheyenne Bodie as an ancestor - if only it was acknowledged by the family.... And under the circumstances, that's not very likely.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

CAPTION KLUTZ

Toobworlder Andy was watching the fourth episode of 'Lie To Me' and noticed that the caption onscreen made the same mistake that an episode of 'Chuck' made earlier in the season:
As I stated earlier regarding that opening title card for "Wraiths Of Roanoke", onscreen captions - for the most part - have no effect on what happens in Toobworld. So the country of Colombia is still spelled that way, despite what the illiterate captioneers would have you believe....

Thanks for catching that, Andy!

BCnU!
Toby O'B

THAT BILKO BEAT

With the passing of Charlie Chaplin's son, Sydney Chaplin, I thought it might be interesting to spotlight an appearance he made as himself in Toobworld. On January 23, 1959, CBS broadcast "Keep In Step", a special which can be considered a musical episode of 'You'll Never Get Rich' (AKA 'The Phil Silvers Show', AKA 'Bilko').

Sgt. Bilko found out that Chaplin was in military service and it gave him an idea on how to make some money. He persuaded Chaplin to write up Bilko's life story, with the intention of getting Cary Grant to play the lead. (Schyeah, Bilko and Grant could pass for twins....) However, another actor is available for the role - some comic schlub named Phil Silvers!

Another member of the League of Themselves who appeared in the special was the British sex siren Diana Dors, during an audition scene in Hollywood.

So this extended 'Bilko' episode can join a select club in which TV characters actually met the actors who portrayed them. Others in that group would include episodes of 'Mork & Mindy', 'Moesha', and 'Here's Lucy'.

I looked around for some video or screen capture of Chaplin with Bilko, or of Bilko with Silvers, but all I found was an extended clip from the beginning of the episode as the motor squad rehearses while Bilko faces the music from the Colonel.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

ROANOKE: A MOVING EXPERIENCE

The geography of Toobworld is pretty screwed up in comparison to that of the real world. For a good example, think of all those vest-pocket kingdoms that have to be squeezed into the map of Europe, thanks to shows like 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.'. What the Toobworld map doesn't need then is a mangling of previously established locations which we have in the real world. But luckily these problems occur in onscreen graphics which are not visible to the citizenry of Toobworld. (For the most part - the graphics in that VW commercial are not only visible, but they break apart when the car drives through them.)

This season saw the country of Colombia identified as "Columbia" in two different series. And now a TV movie, "Wraiths Of Roanoke", wants to move the island of Roanoke away from its location off the coast of North Carolina:
Online graphics like that could be seen as the voice of some serlinguistic deity, some cosmic power from Toobworld, addressing the audience viewing at home in the Trueniverse. But if so, he's certainly not infallible.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

THE NEWS: BLACK & WHITE & RED-NOSED ALL OVER

In the United Kingdom, the charity fund-raiser Comic Relief began in 1988 and every year seems to culminate with Red Nose Day. And the BBC has put out this press release for a special TV crossover in connection with the event, coming up on Friday, March 13:

In a first for BBC Three, the cast of 'Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps' are joined by the casts of 'Coming Of Age' and 'Grown Ups' in a special episode for Comic Relief.

Tim, the bartender of The Archer, arranges Timothy Claypole's Comic Relief Night Of Fun – a pub quiz with a twist.

Split into three teams, the guys and girls battle it out in three categories, starting with the "bitch off", which literally ends in tears as Gaz takes it too far and DK takes it personally. Next is the "drink off" in which Grant, Donna and Matt head for the bar to see who can down a pint of lager the fastest.

The final category is the "flirt off" and Gaz is in his element. Jas joins Michelle and Janet (both played by Sheridan Smith), who do their best to seduce Gaz into giving them the highest score for their flirting abilities. As Michelle and Janet try their best lines, Jas shows that, where Gaz is concerned, the direct approach works best.

As a special treat for Comic Relief the episode ends with a song – Stop Thinking, Start Drinking – featuring an unmissable rapping duet from DK and Gaz.

This Comic Relief special is co-written by Susan Nickson ('Two Pints Of Lager' and 'Grown Ups') and Tim Dawson ('Coming Of Age').

I'm not sure how this is going to be played out. When there was a crossover between 'Doctor Who' and 'EastEnders' ('Dimenstions in Time'), I felt comfortable with including that in Toobworld proper. But this could turn out to be the representation of all these established characters in the dimension of Skitlandia.

That's going to be a pretty neat trick seeing Sheridan Smith playing both Janet and Michelle; it'll be reminiscent of Lisa Kudrow playing Phoebe on 'Friends' and Ursula on 'Mad About You' and their occasional meetings on 'Friends'.

Hopefully video of this will surface on YouTube, or at the very least there will be news photos of this 3-way coming over the wire. Somehow I'll find a way to grab something to share with the visitors to Toobworld.

And for this bit o' news, which may turn out to be the Crossover of the Year, Toobworld Central is giving really big thanks to Andrew Brook for letting me know about it.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

AS SEEN ON TV: FRIAR TUCK AND LITTLE JOHN

I think I mentioned yesterday that I was going to deal with King John today, "As Seen On TV" in that 'Time Tunnel' episode of "Revenge Of Robin Hood". But I still have some more research to do on that so I'll put it off until tomorrow.

Instead, we have two other characters from that episode, figures more closely associated with legend than history: Little John and Friar Tuck. Since they made contact with Doug and Tony, who also interacted with King John - and we know he actually existed - then these two "Merry Men" must also be accredited as being historically real.

Even more so than Robin Hood, the physical differences between various portrayals of Tuck and Little John are harder to splain away. At least Friar Tuck has a look from which there is usually little deviation. We can always attribute facial differences to degrees of hardship from living in Sherwood Forest. It's more difficult with the recastaways of Little John and would have to be dealt with on a case by case basis.

But we can cut away some of the many televersions of these two Merry Men by packing them off to alternate dimensions.

First off, any TV movies or mini-series of the Robin Hood legend - like "Robin of Locksley", "Young Ivanhoe", and "The Zany Adventures Of Robin Hood" - can be automatically dispatched; portrayals as seen in episodes of TV shows in which they interact with established TV characters should always have precedence.

'When Things Were Rotten' - Mel Brooks' first treatment of the tale should be relegated to that TV dimension in which we'd also find 'That's My Bush!' and 'The Secret Files Of Desmond Pfeiffer'.

The latest version of 'Robin Hood' has a black Friar Tuck, so perhaps that series should find refuge in the TV dimension in which other established characters were also black - like the black version of 'The Odd Couple'.

With 'Voyagers!', since they're deliberately altering the timeline, it's the Toobworld contention that Phineas and Jeffrey are always visiting alternate dimensions, so recastaways are never a problem. Meanwhile, the 1975 mini-series has a gravitas that makes it feel perfect for 'The West Wing' dimension.

The only series that would cause a problem for these televersions of Friar Tuck and Little John would be the official series of Earth Prime-Time, 'The Adventures Of Robin Hood'. And those are the two who are also seen in this post........

A possible Toobworld splainin? The Little John from that 1950's series is the father of the one who tagged along with the Earl of Huntington in that episode of 'The Time Tunnel'. And Friar Tuck was a younger man in that original series, having aged by the time Doug and Tony met him.

Works for me.

BCnU!
Toby O'B