AS SEEN ON TV: KIM JONG IL

Perfect timing for a "Two For Tuesday!"

KIM JONG IL



AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'

AS PLAYED BY:
Amy Poehler

TV DIMENSION:
Skitlandia

AS SEEN IN:
'30 Rock'

AS PLAYED BY:
Margaret Cho

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time(?)

From The Los Angeles Times:
REPORTING FROM SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the mercurial strongman extolled at home as the “Dear Leader” and reviled abroad as a tyrant, has died at 69, North Korean media reported Monday.

Kim’s death was announced by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. No cause of death was reported, but Kim was believed to have suffered in recent years from diabetes and heart disease.

The diminutive leader was believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but nonetheless appeared in numerous photos released by state media as he toured state facilities and in recent months embarked on rare trips outside North Korea -– to China and Russia.
-- Barbara Demick and John M. Glionna

Interesting how both of these portrayals were by women.  Just sayin', is all......

BCnU!

MARKED "FRAJEELEE"

On average, when a TV show does its Christmas-themed episode, they usually do a variation on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" or Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life". Okay, sometimes there's a spoof of the Dr. Seuss character of the Grinch, and 'Dream On' even pulled off the birth in a manger story.

The 'Warehouse 13' Christmas episode this year fell into the "Wonderful Life" category where a character sees what the world would have been like had he never been born. This time, Warehouse agent Pete Lattimer came into contact with a artifact that once belonged to Philip Van Doren Stern. (Stern's story "The Greatest Gift" was the basis for the plotline of "It's A Wonderful Life".)

What was great about the revised timeline for the Warehouse was the shout-out to the rich inventory previously seen in the series - like the bloodstone from the pilot or DeMille's riding crop. Plus there were mentions of other characters like Hugo, Dr. Vanessa Calder, H.G. Wells, Claudia's brother and Artie's father. Best of all, Pete's new timeline brought James MacPherson back from the dead, played by guest star Roger Rees.

At the Warehouse, all of the Christmas-themed artifacts were kept in their own aisle. I would imagine the snow globe from the Christmas episode of 'Haven' will eventually end up there (especially since most of the other Syfy shows, like 'Eureka' and 'Alphas' have made connections to 'Warehouse 13'.) The snow globe would join other artifacts like that brush and a skein of red yarn (properties unknown).

But the best Christmas artifact in that particular section of the Warehouse was the leg lamp from the movie "A Christmas Story". Unfortunately, we never learned its special properties - unlike Stern's brush, there was no problem with Pete making contact with it.

In the TV Universe, the movie "A Christmas Story" is a movie as well - characters from 'One Tree Hill' compared their situation to the movie once, and lots of characters have quoted the classic line: "You'll shoot your eye out, Kid."

But did you know "A Christmas Story", at least within the TV Universe, was based on a "true" story? Back in 1976, we saw the "real" life of Ralphie Parker as a teenager in the PBS production "The Phantom Of The Open Hearth". The basic plotline had Ralphie maneuvering the minefield of prom dates in the late 1940's.

"A Christmas Story" was based on Ralphie's life as a child earlier in that decade. (I figured it to be 1940 or '41, due to the presence of characters from the 1939 movie "The Wizard Of Oz" in the town's Christmas parade.)

The incident with the leg lamp (a major award!), which occurred later in Ralphie's teen years, was appropriated for inclusion in the movie.

The leg lamp we see at the Warehouse is not the "real" lamp from Ralphie Parker's home - that was of a different design. This lamp is one of the standby props used for the movie. (The main lamp was eventually broken in the movie.)

I'm wondering what special property is held by this movie prop now that it's become an artifact.

My guess?

It only activates on Christmas Eve, when it can make you relive the same two hours of your life over and over again for 24 hours - just like TBS reruns "A Christmas Story" for a full day.

BCnU!
(And be sure to drink your Ovaltine......)



AS SEEN ON TV: APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHER

APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHER

AS SEEN IN:
'Ancient Rome: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire'

AS PLAYED BY:
David Warner

From Wikipedia:
Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC.

Son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher (who was consul in 177), he was appointed consul in 143 BC, and, to obtain a pretext for a triumph, attacked the Salassi, an Alpine tribe. He was at first defeated, but afterwards, following the directions of the Sibylline Books, gained a victory.

On his return the celebration of the triumph was refused; but he triumphed at his own expense, and when one of the tribunes attempted to drag him from his car, his daughter Claudia, one of the Vestal Virgins, walked by his side up to the capital.

Next year he was an unsuccessful candidate for the censorship, though he afterwards held that office with Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, probably in 136 BC. He allied with Tiberius Gracchus who married his daughter Claudia. Appius backed Tiberius' land reform bill and in 133 BC with Tiberius and Tiberius' brother, Gaius Gracchus, was chosen commissioner for the division of the lands. Their post allowed them to survey the ager publicus, publicly owned land that Tiberius wanted to distribute among veterans of the Punic War.

Another faction in the Senate opposed them and Tiberius was assassinated in 132 BC. Appius lived at enmity with Publius Scipio Aemilianus. He died shortly after Tiberius Gracchus, probably in 130 BC.

He was one of the Salii, an augur, and princeps senatus. Cicero, says that his style of speaking was fluent and vehement. He married Antistia.

BCnU!

CHRISTMAS WITH THE NELSONS

Sorry, Kelly....  Different Nelsons......

On January 11th of this year, David Nelson passed away at the age of 74. Along with his parents, Ozzie & Harriet, and his brother Ricky, the Nelson family shared their televersions' lives with the Trueniverse audience for more than 14 years on the air. And in that time they had quite a few Christmas episodes.

For our Advent Sunday Christmas episode here at Inner Toob, I'd like to share three of those episodes with you....

BCnU!

HANGIN' WITH MASTER COOPER: A CINEVERSE CHRISTMAS

Well, this star-studded museum piece full of past members of the League of Themselves belongs in the Cineverse.  But since Jackie Cooper passed away earlier this year and he was such a major contributor to Toobworld both in front of and behind the camera, and besides.... 'tis the season......

Good Night and may God bless.....

CHRISTMAS PRO BONO

Since the Christmas season wouldn't be complete without its ghosts of Christmas Past, here's one from the past of recent 'Dancing With The Stars' contestant Chaz Bono, featuring one of my childhood icons - TV Crossover Hall Of Fame member Captain Kangaroo........

BCnU!

OHHHHH, KAY!

In order to dilute the connection being forged with the holiday season in our national sub-conscience, here are two "modifications" to a recent Kay's commercial.

I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one to find that guy creepy.....

BCnU!

"GAME OF THRONES" IN PRODUCTION

Not sure if I shared this one yet, but I'm cleaning out my files and figured I'd better use it now and then toss it.

ASOTV RERUN: DREW PETERSON

We've already featured Drew Peterson back in September for the "As Seen On TV" showcase, but here's a sneak preview for the upcoming Lifetime movie....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CONDOLEEZA RICE

CONDOLEEZA RICE

AS SEEN ON:
'Switch Reloaded'

AS PLAYED BY:
Unknown*

TV DIMENSION:
Skitlandia

From Wikipedia:
Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first female African-American secretary of state, as well as the second African American (after Colin Powell), and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman to serve in that position. Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999. Rice also served on the National Security Council as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor to President George H.W. Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.

Following her confirmation as Secretary of State, Rice pioneered the policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the Greater Middle East. Her emphasis on supporting democratically elected governments faced challenges as Hamas captured a popular majority in Palestinian elections, and influential countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt maintained authoritarian systems with U.S. support. While Secretary of State, she chaired the Millennium Challenge Corporation's board of directors.

In March 2009, Rice returned to Stanford University as a political science professor and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. In September 2010, Rice became a faculty member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a director of its Global Center for Business and the Economy.

BCnU!

* If anybody out there is familiar with this actress from the German comedy series, can you clue me in as to who she is? I get the feeling this is blackface (a la Bernhard Hoecker as Bruce Darnell), but who knows?