NUMBERS RUNNING - THE NEXT DOCTOR

When Peter Capaldi was announced to be the next actor to portray the Time Lord in 'Doctor Who', the date was 8/4 - two of the numerals in the Valenzetti Sequence.

This has no effect in Earth Prime-Time.  However, in that TV dimension in which all of the TV movies documenting the behind the scenes productions of various TV shows exist, this could be a factor......

See you in another life, Brutha!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - GUY LOMBARDO

Happy New Year, Everybody!

I hope I'm here to celebrate with you..... (I'm posting this back on January 7!)

One last League of Themselves for today, to make this a true "Two For Tuesday"!

GUY LOMBARDO

AS SEEN IN:

'The Adventures Of Ellery Queen'

["The Adventure Of The Auld Lang Syne"]

TV STATUS:

Playing himself from thirty+ years earlier

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.

Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven." The Lombardos are believed to have sold between 100 and 300 million phonograph records during their lifetimes.

Guy Lombardo is best known for almost a half-century of New Year's Eve broadcasts, first on radio, and then on television. Lombardo's orchestra played at the "Roosevelt Grill" in the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from 1929 to 1959, and their New Year's Eve performances (which continued with Lombardo until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria). Broadcasts (and later telecasts) of their performances were a major part of New Year's celebrations across North America; millions of people watched the show with friends at house parties.

The band's first New Year's Eve radio broadcast was in 1928; within a few years, they would be heard on the CBS Radio Network before 12 Midnight Eastern time, then on the NBC Radio Network after 12 Midnight EST.

On December 31, 1956, the Lombardo band did their first New Year's TV special on CBS; the program (and Lombardo's 20 subsequent New Year's Eve TV shows) would include a live segment from Times Square (long the focal point of America's New Year's Eve celebrations) showcasing the arrival of the New Year. During the early years, pioneer broadcast journalist Robert Trout reported from Times Square; in later years, another longtime newsman, Ben Grauer, reported from Times Square.

YAWN! (Up past his bedtime.....)

While CBS carried most of the Lombardo New Year's specials, there were a few years in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the special was syndicated live to individual TV stations instead of being broadcast on a network.

By the middle 1970's, the Lombardo TV show was facing competition, especially for younger viewers, from "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve", but Lombardo remained popular among viewers, especially older ones.

Even after Lombardo's death, the band's New Year's specials continued for two more years on CBS. The Royal Canadians were noted for playing the traditional song "Auld Lang Syne" as part of the celebrations. Their recording of the song still plays as the first song of the new year in Times Square.

O'BSERVATIONS:

As of the time I write this, the League of Themselves daily showcase has had only one other example in which someone played himself but younger - Jerry Colonna.  Back in the sixties he appeared as himself in an episode of 'McHale's Navy' which was set about twenty years earlier.  this was closer to thirty years earlier!

All the best in 2014!

BLIPVERTS - CAROL CHANNING

And now for something completely different for our penultimate League of Themselves showcase for the year, leading into the "Who's On First" marathon.....

CAROL CHANNING

AS SEEN IN:

General Foods commercial for Jell-O and Dream Whip

(with the cast of 'Hogan's Heroes')

TV DIMENSION:

I don't know where the bleep this should go!

But I'm going with:

"The Blended Time Dimension"

From Wikipedia:

Carol Elaine Channing (born January 31, 1921) is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Channing is best remembered for originating, on Broadway, the musical-comedy roles of bombshell Lorelei Lee in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", and matchmaking widow Dolly Gallagher Levi in "Hello, Dolly!"

I wrote about this quandary in the past:

Might have to do a McCarthy-style witch hunt and look through the League of Themselves rolls to see if anybody else playing themselves on TV could actually be an alien.

I'm looking at you, Carol Channing. How else can it be splained that she showed up in Stalag 13 with 'Hogan's Heroes' looking exactly the same age as she was back in the mid to late 1960's (as seen in a Jell-O commercial)?

Perhaps it might be a good idea to place this in the TV dimension that was created in 'Doctor Who' when River Song didn't shoot the Doctor in "The Wedding Of River Song". Because she altered a Fixed Point in Time, all of History blended into happening all at once.

So that's when a Carol Channing from the 1960's could have met some Prisoners of War in a 1940's German Stalag......

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - PAT BRADY

PAT BRADY

AS SEEN IN:

'The Roy Rogers Show'

O'BSERVATION:

Tomorrow marks the 99th anniversary of the birth of Roy Rogers' comical sidekick.

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ADAM SANDLER

ADAM SANDLER

AS SEEN IN:
'Jessie'
"Punch Dumped Love"

O'BSERVATIONS:
Kevin James made the punch in his own bathtub (with his feet).

Sandler will be linking this series to 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' after the Super Bowl when he appears in a special episode of that freshman sitcom.

I'm dedicating this to my nephew, who - much to the chagrin of his parents - is a big fan of the show.  

BCnU!

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - SIR PATRICK MOORE

SIR PATRICK MOORE

AS SEEN IN:
'Doctor Who'
"The Eleventh Hour"

As we've said goodbye to Matt Smith as the Doctor on Christmas Day, and since we are getting close to the annual "Who's On First" blogAthon, I thought today's showcase would be a good time to remember Sir Patrick Moore, who appeared as himself in Matt Smith's first full episode.......

He got a Hat Squad tribute here in December of 2012.

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - CLAY AIKEN, ASHANTI, & TAYLOR HICKS

CLAY AIKEN, ASHANTI, & TAYLOR HICKS

AS SEEN IN:
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
"Dissonant Voices"

They appeared as judges on 'American Diva', a fictionalized version of 'Amercian Idol', 'The X-Factor', etc.....

BCnU!

2013 TVXOHOF - YEAR END REVIEW

Since it's Boxing Day, I've made up a tidy little box for all of you - all of this year's inductees into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame:

Here's a rundown of our new members with the required three TV shows that made them eligible.  (Some had plenty more!)

KBEX-TV

• 'Barnaby Jones'
• 'Brady Bunch'
• 'Columbo'

STU BAILEY

• '77 Sunset Strip'
• 'Conflict'
• 'Hawaiian Eye'

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

• 'Lost'
• 'Modern Family'
• 'The Jeffersons'

BUDDY HACKETT

• 'Lateline'
• 'The Joey Bishop Show'
• 'Just Shoot Me'

BIG BIRD

• 'Sesame Street'
• 'Between The Lions'
• 'Mr. Rogers Neighborhood'

RHODA MORGANSTERN

• 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
• 'Rhoda'
• "Mary & Rhoda"

THEODORE "BEAVER"/"POP" CLEAVER

• 'Leave It To Beaver'
• 'Still The Beaver'
• 'Batman'

MAUDE FRICKERT
Commercials for:

• Hefty's
• Cheetos
• Wendy's

SHAWN SPENSER & BURTON "GUS" GUSTER
Promos combining 'Psych' &

• 'Monk'
• 'Royal Pains'
• 'The Dead Zone'

"BUZZ" ALDRIN

• 'The Simpsons'
• '30 Rock'
• 'The Fall Guy'

STAN LEE

• 'The Big Bang Theory'
• 'My Life As Liz'
• 'Entourage'

JOHN WAYNE

• 'Maude'
• 'I Love Lucy'
• 'The Beverly Hillbillies'

STEVE LAWRENCE & EYDIE GORME

• 'The Nanny'
• 'Here's Lucy'
• 'Sanford And Son'

ALEX TREBEK

• 'The Larry Sanders Show'
• 'How I Met Your Mother'
• 'Mad About You'

KANG

• 'Star Trek'
• 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'
• 'Star Trek: Voyager'

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

• 'The Winds Of War'
• 'Voyagers!'
• 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch'

ED KOCH

• 'C.P.W.'
• 'Picket Fences'
• 'Double Rush'

MR. FREEZE

• 'The Batman/Superman Hour'
• 'The New Batman Adventures'
• 'Batman Beyond'

Next year will be the fifteenth anniversary of the ol' TVXOHOF.  And we're going back to a format used once before - when I celebrated a milestone birthday.  That is, "What I say, goes!"  So it should be off-beat and hopefully entertaining.  So stay tuned to this blog!

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN

From Wikipedia:Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953). The final running mate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Truman succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when Roosevelt died after months of declining health. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded World War II; in the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of theCold War.

Truman was born in Missouri, and spent most of his youth on his family's farm. During World War I, Truman served in combat in France as an artillery officer in his National Guard unit. After the war, he briefly owned a haberdashery and joined the Democratic Party political machine of Tom Pendergast in Kansas City, Missouri. He was first elected to public office as a county official, and in 1934 became U.S. senator. He gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud, and corruption in wartime contracts.

While Germany surrendered a few weeks after Truman assumed the Presidency, the war with Japan was expected to last another year or more. Truman's decision to use atomic weapons against Japan led to a speedy end of the war but remains controversial. His presidency was a turning point in foreign affairs, as the nation supported an internationalist foreign policy in conjunction with European allies. 

Working closely with Congress, Truman assisted in the founding of the United Nations, issued the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, and passed the $13 billion Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, including the Axis Powers of both World Wars, whereas the wartime Ally Soviet Union became the peacetime enemy, and the Cold War began. He oversaw the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and the creation of NATO in 1949. 

When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he immediately sent in U.S. troops and gained UN approval for the Korean War. After initial success, the UN forces were thrown back by Chinese intervention and the conflict was stalemated through the final years of Truman's presidency.

Corruption in Truman's administration, which was linked to certain members in the cabinet and senior White House staff, was a central issue in the 1952 presidential campaign which Adlai Stevenson, Truman's successor as Democratic nominee, lost to Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. Popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency were initially negative, but eventually became more positive after his retirement from politics. Truman's 1948 election upset for his full term as president is routinely invoked by underdog candidates.

AS SEEN IN:

'The Jack Benny Program'

"The Harry Truman Show"

SYNOPSIS:

In the main sketch, Benny does a benefit concert in Kansas City, and Truman invites him on a tour of the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. Harry asks Jack to tell his real age in front of a portrait of George Washington. Jack's thrilled that the presidential seal if made of solid gold. At the close, Truman's secretary cracks his office door to eavesdrop and hears a piano and squeaky violin playing. (TV.com)

O'BSERVATION:

Today marks the 41st anniversary of Truman's passing.

BCnU!

THE 2013 TOOBITS AWARDS 5 - MISCELLANIA

BEST NEW SERIES TITLE
'Dracula'
What more needed to be said?

WORST NEW SERIES TITLE
'The Bridge'
Yes, I know there is more to it than just the actual location of the original crime scene; and that the same could be said about 'Dracula'.  At least 'Dracula' has panache and delivers on its promise.

Also it is just the literal translation of the original Swedish series title.  But it just sits there.  At least last year's worst series title ('The River') flowed.

Sorry about that, Chief.

RUNNER-UP
'Marvel Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'
Too busy.  Like the old Napoleon Solo show, too many periods to type.  And the use of Marvel just reminds everybody it's a comic book world.  Which would be fine, IF IT HAD MORE OF A COMIC BOOK FEEL!

'Agents of SHIELD'  would have sufficed.

BEST EPISODE TITLE
"On Her Majesty's Secret Cervix" ('The Daily Show')
The umbrella title for their coverage of the Royal Birth on July 22
 
BEST ADVANCEMENT FOR TOOBWORLD
The revamp of History with the real fate of Gallifrey in "The Day Of The Doctor"

BEST SERIES MARATHON ON DVD/ONLINE
'inspector Morse'
 
BEST CLASH BETWEEN TOOBWORLD & THE REAL WORLD
Just in time for Christmas!
The Klingon version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"
 
WORST CLASH BETWEEN TOOBWORLD & THE REAL WORLD
From Nora Lee Mandel:
The new HAWAII 5 - 0 is one of my guilty pleasures I half-watch while on the computer, despite its escalating violence this season -- but it got very confusing last night when the plot was about 2 missing girls who had been kidnapped and locked up for years (by Henry Rollins?) and the news kept interrupting with the same story, but real in Ohio, whew, with a less fatal outcome.
From David Hinckley
New York Daily News
05/07/13

In an eerie coincidence, Monday night's episode of the CBS cop drama "Hawaii Five-O" centered on the case of a young girl who had been kidnapped 10 years earlier.

The CBS story had a less happy ending, however. The 17-year-old girl was killed — shot in the back when she saw an opening and tried to run for it.

Hawaii Five-0’s story involved kidnappers who held a girl for a year.
The storyline had the police team trying to track down Amanda Morris's kidnapper, who had already taken his next young victim.

The kidnapper in the show did not primarily seek to sexually abuse his victim, but he had kept her in leg shackles.

Television dramas are filmed weeks ahead of their airdate. Still, the timing of this episode, through no design of anyone's, was startling. The "Hawaii Five-O" conclusion led right into the real-life Cleveland kidnapping story at the top of the 11 p.m. news.

WORST TV EXPERIENCE
The Boston Marathon
 
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A SHOW
'Marvel Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'
 
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN A NETWORK
TIE:
ABC - Not only banishing 'Happy Endings' to the Friday graveyard, but dumping it there two episodes at a time
NBC - Not giving the proper support to 'The New Normal'
 
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE GENERAL AUDIENCE
Those ESPN viewers who complained about the network covering the Boston Marathon bombing.......

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN MYSELF
As much as I like Jeremy Piven and the time period, I just couldn't get into 'Mr. Selfridge'.
And, as always, I have to ask - was it me?
 
WORST PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Prius in 'Warehouse 13' - "Runaway"
 
BEST CRITIQUE BY AN ONLINE COMMENTER
PROFESSIONAL
Charlie Jane Anders
i09.com
Once again, the presence of Jenny, Madame Vastra and Strax sort of makes it impossible for us to believe in the Victorian setting too fervently — they're hilarious and awesome and mostly lovely, but they're also living proof that the Victorian era was apparently tolerant and open-minded and easy-going and even sort of blase. I mean, maybe we're supposed to think the Victorians are so repressed that they don't even have the wherewithal to comment on the strange creatures in their midst — but people just seem to accept a Sontaran and a Silurian bonking around London and the North, making pretty much no attempt to conceal their features, and acting totally ridiculous. (Random thought: What does Torchwood think of Vastra and Strax being in London? Remember Torchwood? They were at their height of power and fervency in the late 19th century, weren't they?)

Obviously, Victorian Britain was a cute and cuddly place when monsters could be themselves and people fell comfortably into comedy archetypes like the jovial, slightly rough-tongued coroner. And people came out with "penny dreadful" phrases like "The Crimson Horror" with a certain amount of relish. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making the Victorian era campy — but then don't turn around and try to comment on Victorian values, because it probably won't work all that well.

 AMATEUR
Rich Shapiro, Facebook (05/0613)
If only they could get that damn Piers guy off the screen without putting that Wolf guy up.

WORST ANALYSIS BY AN ONLINE COMMENTER
Joshua Oborn:
 I remeber a lot of people saying (before DotD) that when a timelord kills another he gains the remaining regens of the fallen. That's why ( some fans said ) the Master was so determined to kill the Doctor for revenge. (for what I'm not sure) the theory continues to say that when the Doctor burned Gallifrey he gained the regens of every timelord there... (this has been disbanded by DotD obviously) it was a neat theory I think.

Confused with 'Highlander', aren't we?
 
BEST TELEVISIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
CommericalThomas Holbrook
That "Toaster Strudel" kid in those ads fills me with fright, horror, rage... someone has to lock him up. He's dangerous. Some sort of escapee from Hitler's master race program out to somehow bring the rest of us down with prefabricated strudel. You have all been warned, yah?

Series
Steve Maher
It would be great if they did an episode about how Stan Lee's multiple cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are actually the same character throughout and made him the MCU's equivalent of Uatu The Watcher!!!!!!

They could lead into the story about a man with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who keeps witnessing these events but it is later revealed through the episode that he is in fact The Watcher. 

Cut to scene where he is in the interrogation room one minute the next scene he has mysteriously vanished.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
"You know nothing, Jon Snow." - Ygritte, 'Game of Thrones'
The Great Intelligence, 'Doctor Who'
"A Storm Of Swords" - Season 3 of 'Game Of Thrones'
(Which will also be the basis for Season 4 as well.)

TH-TH-TH-THAT'S ALL, FOLKS!
THANKS FOR TUNING IN!