AS SEEN ON TV: DANIEL BOONE

Remembering Fess Parker, who passed away at the age of 85.....

AS SEEN IN:
'Daniel Boone'

AS PLAYED BY:
Fess Parker

From Wikipedia:
Daniel Boone (October 22, 1734 – September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. Despite resistance from American Indians, for whom Kentucky was a traditional hunting ground, in 1778 Boone blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky. There he founded Boonesborough, one of the first English-speaking settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Before the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 people entered Kentucky by following the route marked by Boone.
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DAVY CROCKETT, KING OF THE FINAL FRONTIER

"The only real question is whether you believe in the legend of Davey Crockett or not. If you do, then there should be no doubt in your mind that he died a hero's death. If you do not believe in the legend, then he was just a man, and it does not matter how he died."

- Worf

The legend of Davy Crockett at the Alamo informed several episodes of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'.....

From the Memory Alpha wiki:

In 2374, a holosuite program recreating the battle was designed by Miles O'Brien and Julian Bashir aboard Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night") O'Brien was to play the role of Crockett; Bashir the role of Travis. Because Garak, who was contracted for making their clothes, was busy decoding messages for Starfleet Intelligence, Bashir offered the role of Crockett to Garak as incentive to hurry up on their costumes. O'Brien was not amused with the offer. (DS9: "Afterimage")

After experiencing the battle, they later had a heated discussion on the subject in Quark's. O'Brien believed that Santa Anna executed Crockett at the battle, supporting his position with the fact that Santa Anna didn't care about the "rules of war," and therefore would have considered the execution a point of pride.

Bashir, however, felt that Crockett was quite old for his time, and that his best days were behind him and that he was surviving on nothing but reputation. He believed that due to these factors, he would not be a man who would fight to his last breath in a clearly hopeless battle. He believed Crockett ultimately surrendered, to which O'Brien neither agreed nor disagreed with, noting that either way, there was no proof.

Worf, however believed that they were both wrong and that the only question is whether of not they believe in the legend of Crockett. If they did believe, then there would be no doubt in their minds that Crockett died the death of a hero. If they did not believe, then Crockett was just a man, and it did not matter how he died. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")

The Federation starship USS Crockett was presumably named after Davy Crockett. (DS9: "Paradise")

Memory Alpha is a great source for Trek info. You'll find the link to the left....

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"DAVY CROCKETT": THE SHOW

From Wikipedia:
By the late 19th century, Crockett was largely forgotten. His legend was reborn in a 1950s TV show by Walt Disney, which also introduced his legendary coonskin cap. In 1948, Disney told columnist Hedda Hopper that it was "time to get acquainted, or renew acquaintance with, the robust, cheerful, energetic and representative folk heroes". As part of a deal that allowed him to build a theme park, Disneyland, Disney would produce weekly one-hour television programs for ABC. Disney wished to highlight historical figures and his company developed three episodes on Crockett—"Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter", "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress", and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo"— starring Fess Parker as Crockett. According to historians Randy Roberts and James Olson, "by the end of the three shows, Fess Parker would be very well known, the power of television would be fully recognized, and Davy Crockett would be the most famous frontiersman in American history." The shows sparked heated debate, with many questioning whether Crockett was really deserving of the amount of attention he was now receiving. Letter writers also questioned the series' historical accuracy.

Nevertheless, the shows proved very popular. They were combined into a feature-length movie in the summer of 1955, and Parker and his co-star Buddy Ebsen toured the United States, Europe, and Japan. By the end of 1955, Americans had purchased over $300 million worth of Davy Crockett merchandise ($2 billion by 2001). The television series also introduced a new song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". Four different versions of the song hit the Billboard Best Sellers pop chart in 1955. The versions by Bill Hayes, TV series star Fess Parker, and Tennessee Ernie Ford charted in the Top 10 simultaneously, with Hayes' version hitting #1.

The shows were repeated on NBC in the 1960s after Disney had moved his program to that network. The 1960 repeats marked the first time that the programs had actually been shown in color on TV. Davy Crockett made a return with Disney in two further adventures: "Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race" and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates". In these two episodes Crockett faced off against Mike Fink, another early American legend. A three-episode 1988-89 revival was made entitled "The New Adventures of Davy Crockett", in which Tim Dunigan took over Fess Parker's famous role. Johnny Cash played an older Davy in a few scenes set before he went to Texas.

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DAVY CROCKETT'S COONSKIN CAP CRAZE

From Wikipedia:
In the 20th century, the iconic association [of the coonskin cap] was in large part due to Disney's television program 'Disneyland' and the first three "Davy Crockett" episodes starring Fess Parker. In the episodes, which once again made Crockett into one of the most popular men in the country, the frontier hero was portrayed wearing a coonskin cap. The show spawned several 'Disneyland' Davy Crockett sequels as well as other similar shows and movies, with many of them featuring Parker as the lead actor. Parker went on to star in a 'Daniel Boone' television series (1964-1970), again wearing a coonskin cap.

Crockett's new popularity initiated a fad among boys all over the United States as well as a Davy Crockett craze in the United Kingdom. The look of the cap that was marketed to young boys was typically simplified; it was usually a faux fur lined skull cap with a raccoon tail attached. A variation was marketed to young girls as the Polly Crockett hat. It was similar in style to the boys' cap, including the long tail, but was made of all-white fur (faux or possibly rabbit). At the peak of the fad, coonskin caps sold at a rate of 5,000 caps a day.

By the end of the 1950s, Crockett's popularity waned and the fad slowly died out.
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AS SEEN ON TV: DAVY CROCKETT AT THE ALAMO

In memory of Fess Parker....

DAVY CROCKETT

AS SEEN IN:
'Disneyland'

AS PLAYED BY:
Fess Parker

From Wikipedia:
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician; referred to in popular culture as Davy Crockett and often by the epithet “King of the Wild Frontier.” He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

The siege ended on March 6, when the Mexican army attacked just before dawn while the defenders were sleeping. The daily bombardment by artillery had been suspended, perhaps a ploy to encourage the natural human reaction to a cessation of constant strain. But, the garrison awakened, the final fight began.

Meanwhile, most of the noncombatants gathered in the church sacristy for safety. According to Susana Dickinson, before running to his post, Crockett paused briefly in the chapel to pray. When the Mexican soldiers breached the north outer walls of the Alamo complex, most of the Texians fell back to the barracks and the chapel, as previously planned. Crockett and his men were too far from the barracks to be able to take shelter. and were the last remaining group within the mission to be in the open. The men defended the low wall in front of the church, using their rifles as clubs and relying on knives, as action became too furious to allow reloading their weapons. After a volley of fire and a charge with bayonets, Mexican soldiers pushed the few remaining Texians back toward the church.

The Battle of the Alamo lasted almost 90 minutes.

Once all of the defenders were dead, Santa Anna ordered his men to take the bodies of the Texans to a nearby stand of trees where they were stacked together and wood piled on top of them. That evening, a fire was lit, and the bodies of the defenders were burned to ashes.



Fess Parker died 12 days after the anniversary of Davy Crockett's death.....

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FESS PARKER AS DAVY CROCKETT: A GALLERY

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THE HAT SQUAD: A DREAM COME-A TRUER

In remembrance of Fess Parker, here's the 1965 version of the credits and theme song for 'Daniel Boone'.....



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THE HAT SQUAD: FESS PARKER

A League Of Themselves remembrance of Fess Parker.....



Rest in peace, Fess Parker. Good night and may God bless.

BCnU....

"JUSTIFIED"

I watched the 'Justified' pilot Wednesday morning. Really liked it. Who knew you'd have to come back East to get a good Western?

I'm not sure how committed I'll be to the show, however, once 'White Collar' comes back for its second season. But since both shows are on cable networks, there'll be a later opportunity that same night to record one or the other if they overlap.

I watch TV differently than most folks, always with the mind working the various Toobworld angles. And that can affect my enjoyment of even a great series. For example, a show could lose interest for me quickly if it has to be considered in its own TV dimension with no hope of being linked to the rest of the TV Universe. There has to be a major draw to keep me coming back to those shows - like the excellent writing and acting of 'The West Wing', for example.

I don't see anything about 'Justified' that's going to banish it to some other TV dimension. The setting of Harlan, Kentucky, is real; I'm sure the President is Obama, just as he is for all of the main Toobworld.

About the only thing that fired up my Toobworld brain cells was the opening scene in Miami, when Raylan Givens gave "Tommy Bucks" the opportunity to surrender. Seeing him in action made me wonder why Givens hadn't crossed paths with Michael Weston of 'Burn Notice' yet. And now that I'm thinking of it, did 'Dexter' come in after the shootout to analyze the blood spatter on the patio?

At least Crockett and Tubbs must be retired by now....

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HOLMES AND WIMSEY

In "The Nine Tailors", Lord Peter Wimsey complimented Hilary Thorpe by saying "As Sherlock Holmes would say, a colleague after my own heart."

There is no mention of the quote coming from the canon, and even if there were, we would have claimed that the stories were written by Dr. John Waton and that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was his literary agent. How, indeed, could I not take such a position?

Instead, we're claiming that Wimsey quoted Sherlock Holmes from the source, having heard the Great Detective utter the line himself. In fact, Holmes probably directed it to Lord Wimsey upon the completion of some case which they both worked on.

And I also subscribe to the theory that Holmes would be hale and hearty still in the mid-1930's, thanks to the attributes to be found in a diet of queen bee royal jelly. This is a traditional belief among those who dabble in "Sherlockiana" or "Holmesiana". (Based on my calculations, "The Nine Tailors" occurred in 1935. The bulk of the story takes place about twenty years after a jewel theft in 1918, and the main mystery seems to kick off on the night of December 29th, a Sunday. 1935 is the only year that would fit that criteria.)

In fact, this is a situation in which the Toobworld concept can mesh slightly with that of our friends who are devotees of Philip Jose Farmer's brilliant idea of the Wold Newton Universe. According to published treatises on the subject, both Holmes and Wimsey share a common ancestry among those affected by the Wold Newton meteor crash.

So Lord Peter Wimsey probably received that compliment from his own cousin.....

BCnU!