INNER TOOB

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

TWO FOR TUESDAY TRIBUTE (2) - CAROLE SHELLEY

With this second memorial, we're honoring an actress who holds a very special place in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame....

From Playbill:

Carole Shelley, known for her Broadway performances in the original companies of "Wicked and "The Elephant Man", died August 31 at the age of 79 at her home in Manhattan.

Her death from cancer was confirmed to Playbill by Ms. Shelley's close friend Barrie Kreinik.

Ms. Shelley made her Broadway debut as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the original Broadway cast of "The Odd Couple" in 1965, a role she would reprise in both the feature film and TV series adaptations of the Neil Simon play. Shelley shares the distinction of being one of only two actors (along with Monica Evans, who co-starred as her sister Cecily) to appear in all three major adaptations of "The Odd Couple" as the same characters.

It was for that reason that Ms. Shelley and Ms. Evans were inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as multiversal characters back in 2002, the Year of Duos. For my quatloos, that's the role that should be listed up top as the role she is known for!

As for soap opera roles.....

On 'All My Children', she played June Hagan. (I have no other information about the character.)

Ms. Shelley was Barbara "Babs" Bartlett from 1991-92 on 'One Live To Live'. (For being on the soap opera for almost a year, I would have thought there would be information about her somewhere online. But I didn't find anything of merit.)

She was only a temporary replacement as Iris Cory Carrington Delaney Bancroft Wheeler on 'Another World', making her a recastaway. (Just trying to remember that name would have been too much for actresses of lesser mettle.)

I could only find information about Iris from a website dedicated to the two actresses mostly associated with the character. Appropriately enough, the site is called "Irises".

As Iris in the 1970s, Beverlee McKinsey created the mold for "rich bitch" soap opera characters (the writers of 'Dynasty' even stole one of Iris' many last names when they created Joan Collins' more well-known but far less complex version of the archetype, Alexis Carrington) and served as the dramatic catalyst in the almost decade-long Iris/Mac/Rachel triangle, the only major love triangle in soap opera history in which one of the "couples" was not romantically involved (Iris and Mac were, of course, father and daughter). Iris proved so popular that a spin-off, 'Texas', was created centering around her - too bad the powers that be apparently thought they needed to make Iris nice in order for her to be effective as the main protagonist, and the show ended up being canceled after only two years.

It turned out, Carmen Duncan could, if not replace Beverlee - for that implies one or both actresses were so one-note that they could be interchangeable - at least create her own vision of the character that was marvelous in its own right. A new Iris blew back into Bay City after nearly a decade away, having evidently traded in her halo from the 'Texas' days for a fabulous wardrobe and willing to go to nearly any lengths to maintain her place in the Cory family. Sadly, Carmen did not get the top billing that Beverlee had; she was mostly pigeonholed as a supporting player. Even when she had little to work with on the page, however, Carmen still brought such pathos to the role that for me Iris was often more compelling just talking to "Daddy's" portrait than much of the rest of the show.

As a final indignity for one of the most pivotal characters in 'Another World''s history, Iris was eventually written out and shipped off to jail after she managed to accidentally shoot and critically injure Carl in a series of plot developments too ludicrous to recall or describe, while her family, who had by that point realized she was innocent, all but forgot about her. The powers that be had such little respect for history that the character who had set her up was soon turned into some kind of a romantic hero - while living in (a dark, dreary, redecorated version of) Iris' gorgeous apartment, no less! - until one of many new writers/producers wrote him off as well. As far as viewers know, Iris was never released from prison, and in fact she was mentioned on-screen no more than a handful of times in the five years that the show remained on the air after she left. On top of all that, due to a stupid preemption for the OJ Simpson trial, I did not even get to see her final episode (although I still recall Iris being dragged out of the courtroom, begging Carl and Rachel to believe her, in Carmen's penultimate episode).

So there's a recastaway to be dealt with here.

The author mentions that Iris didn't return to Bay City until about a decade later (after the cancellation of 'Texas'.) So any number of splainins can be found as to why she looked different - I would suggest plastic surgery as being the most logical, considering we're talking about a soap opera.

But how do we splain away Carole Shelley's appearance in the role in 1980 (probably somewhere between Episode 1.3949 and Episode 1.4052)?

I think we may need to turn to the 'Quantum Leap' splainin.

At some point in the future beyond Dr. Sam Beckett's experiments with the time-traveling device he created, others were leaping into the bodies of people in the past. And I believe that eventually it became a profitable enterprise for people wealthy enough to pay for the chance to relive certain periods in Time.

Many of these would be academics, subsidized by the institutions which hired them, in order to study some particular nub in History. Of course there would also be those who were unscrupulous and wishing to use the technology to enrich themselves or to rid themselves of political opponents for example. (But of course the Timecops would be monitoring that situation.)

To prevent wide-spread contamination from the Future, quantum leapers would be limited to visiting only certain areas which had been designated "time preserves". Among the areas selected would be cities and towns like Llanview, Port Charles, Genoa City, Corinth, Monticello, Salem, and in this case, Bay City. (This is the splainin I came up with the rampant recastaway problem in soap operas.)

Whoever that woman was who impersonated Iris Cory Carrington Delaney Bancroft Wheeler in 1980, I think she was one of those researchers, learning about the society of that time in light of the political events happening at that time. She may have been there to gauge people's reaction to President Carter's actions against Russia because of their invasion of Afghanistan, including the cultural impact of the "Miracle on Ice" when the US hockey team beat the Russians at the Olympics held in Lake George.

There would also be the grain embargo imposed by Carter and she might have investigated if that had impact on any farmers in the Bay City region. And of course there would have been the little things she would have learned about - like the first use of the word "yuppie" in an issue of Chicago magazine.

None of this they could garner from the historical archives of the Future, by the way. Most of those were destroyed in the Eugenics Wars on orders of Colonel Green.

This historian masquerading as Iris Cory Carrington Delaney Bancroft Wheeler was hoping to stay long enough to interview the younger people of Bay City after President Carter imposed a draft on 18 to 25 year olds because of that Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Unfortunately two events forced her "leap" back to the Future - first, while she was visiting nearby Lake Forest for reseach, a bomb devised by Ted Kaczynski seriously injured the president of United Airlines. "Mrs. Wheeler" happened to be in the same building at the time.

And then there was the intense heat wave from June 23 to September 6, which would ultimately claim the lives of 1700 Americans. Her superiors back in the Future did not want to add her to the casualty list and so she was brought back against her wishes.

And that's my splainin for the presence of the late Carole Shelley in 'Another World'.

I'll have another look at Ms. Shelley in Toobworld after the September showcase of soap operas has run its course.

Good night and may God bless Carole Shelley......

SHOWS CITED:

'Another World'

'Texas'

'Quantum Leap'

'Star Trek'

'Timecop'

'Dynasty'

TWO FOR TUESDAY TRIBUTE (1) - SUSAN BROWN

As the September salute to soap operas kicked off this past weekend, we got word about the deaths of two actresses who had daytime drama credentials. This being Tuesday, we'll have Two for Tuesday Tribute.

With this first post, we'll take a look at the sad news sent to me by Michael Trupia......

From Deadline:

Susan Brown, who is best known for her role as Dr. Gail Adamson Baldwin on 'General Hospital', died Friday after battling Alzheimer’s disease. She was 86.

'General Hospital' showrunner Frank Valentini took to Twitter to confirm her death saying, “It’s a very sad day in Port Charles as the wonderful Susan Brown (“Gail Baldwin”) passed away today. My sincerest condolences to her family and to all who knew this amazing woman.”

[Ms. Brown] stepped into the role of Dr. Gail Adamson Baldwin in 1977. The character was Monica Webber’s foster mother who married Peter Hansen’s Lee Baldwin. It would only take two years before Brown would receive a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She ended up leaving the soap on Dec. 12, 1985, but it wouldn’t be her last appearance on 'Port Charles'. She would pop in from 1989-1990 and made a comeback in 1992 when she was a recurring character.

She would also appear as the character of Victoria Lane’s mother, Janet, on 'Santa Barbara', as businesswoman Adelaide Fitzgibbons on 'As the World Turns' and in 'The Young and the Restless'. She scrubbed once more as Dr. Balwin in the General Hospital spin-off 'Port Charles'. She stayed on the soap until 2004.

She also played first First Lady Pat Nixon in the TV movie "The Final Days" as well as Nancy Reagan in "Without Warning: The James Brady Story".

Let's take a look at the essential biography for Dr. Gail Adamson Baldwin in Port Charles....

From the 'General Hospital' wiki:
Dr. Gail Adamson Baldwin came to Port Charles in 1977 as a psychiatrist. While in town, it was revealed that she was Monica Bard's former foster mother. Gail had known Monica since she was just a little girl living in the orphanage and she took Monica in and became her foster mother. Gail later met Lee Baldwin and discovered that they were both mourning the loss of their spouses. This bonded them as they grieved together. Lee's late wife Caroline Chandler Baldwin, had been lost at sea with her son and in order to help him move past his grief, Gail contacted Lee's son, Scott Baldwin. Scott came to town, got a job as a clerk at General Hospital and eventually fell in love with Laura Webber.

In the meantime, Gail counseled Monica about her tumultuous love life. Monica was torn between two lovers, Alan Quartermaine and Rick Webber and Gail was there to give her daughter much needed advice and guidance. Gail was shocked, saddened and appalled when she found out that her late husband Greg, had taken advantage of Monica and raped her when she was younger, but with the hard truth finally out, Monica and Gail were able to reconcile. Later when Monica gave birth to her son Alan Quartermaine Jr. during a snow storm, Gail was there and helped deliver her grandson.

In 1980, Gail and Lee married and became very involved in Scotty and Laura's love life, even to the extent that when Laura tried to divorce Scott, Lee burned up the divorce papers. In 1983, Lee ran against Luke Spencer for mayor of Port Charles. Lee hired Scott as his campaign manager and Scott played dirty, going after Luke, (the man who was responsible for destroying his marriage to Laura) hard. Scott planned on digging up and exposing lots of dirt on Luke, and he even planned to use Luke's sister Bobbie Spencer in his quest to bring Luke down. When Lee heard of his son's dirty tactics, he fired him as his campaign manager. Luke won the race, but resigned shortly thereafter and Lee became the mayor and Gail became the First Lady of Port Charles. A few years later, Lee and Gail left town.

In 1994, Gail and Lee were shocked to discover that young Karen Wexler was their granddaughter. She was conceived after Scott had an affair with his secretary Rhonda Wexler. In 1997, Scott returned to Port Charles with his young daughter named Serena Baldwin. Serena is Scott's daughter with the late Dominique Stanton and she was carried by surrogate Lucy Coe, who adopted her after Dominique's death. Gail and Lee were overjoyed to see Scott and their granddaughter Serena again.

A year later, when Dr. Julie Devlin was accused of being a serial killer who was attacking patients at General Hospital, Lee worked as her attorney and got her acquitted by placing the blame on Dr. Eve Lambert. However, a tape was discovered revealing that Julie really was the killer and when Julie was caught, Lee became her guardian. While under their care, Gail tried everything she could to get Julie committed to Ferncliffe, to get the help she so desperately needed.

In 1999, Lee suffered from a Pulminary Embolism, devastating Gail and many others, but due to the care and support of his loved ones, he made a full recovery. Also in 1999, Gail and Lee were overjoyed to gain another granddaughter when Scott and his then-wife, Lucy, adopted a baby girl. Gail was further honored when the baby was named, Christina Gail Baldwin at her christening. In 2003, Gail and Lee were devastated when Karen was killed after being struck by a speeding car. Gail comforted a grieving Scott, and helped him make the decision to donate Karen's blood to help save Lucy's life. The following year, when Lila Quartermaine passed away in her sleep, Gail and Lee attended the funeral and paid their respects. Following Lila's funeral, Gail quietly faded into the background and was written off the canvas.

She was widowed when Lee died in July 2017.

I found it interesting that she played First Ladies in two Republican administrations, Pat Nixon and Nancy Reagan. As those were TV movies featuring historical actors who would be played by other actors in regular TV series. To avoid recastaway problems, I usually send those productions off to any one of the other TV dimensions. And in this case, since there were no overlap historical characters, it amuses me to have both "The Final Days" and "Without Warning: The James Brady Story" exist in the same TV dimension. And if this Pat Nixon and this Nancy Reagan ever met face to face....?

Good night and may God bless, Susan Brown....

Monday, September 3, 2018

TVXOHOF FOR LABOR DAY - DANIELLE STEEL

Not that it’s been a theme, but every so often I’ve been presenting posts that are “summery”. For instance, there were a couple of videos shared which were TV adaptations of movies since the sumer is when a lot of people go to the movies.

So on Labor Day weekend, for the latest induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, I want to celebrate another summer past-time – trashy books you take to the beach.

And so one of the queens of that genre of literature is being inducted into the hall….

What sets her apart from most of her peers is that she actually played herself in Toobworld – in an adaptation of one of her own books.

"CHANGES" (TV Movie)
Herself - Presenter (uncredited)

Beautiful and successful television news anchor Melanie Adams falls in love with renowned heart transplant surgeon Peter Hallam. After a whirlwind courtship, they marry. Each has children from previous marriages. The strain of a new marriage and attempts to blend a family jeopardize their happiness.

The next qualification for her inclusion is the recognition that she exists in Toobworld by having her picture taken with an established fictional TV character… although we didn’t get to see it.

‘NASH BRIDGES’
“CUDA GRACE”

The team had been working in drag to catch a killer and at one point during a drag beauty contest, Lt Gomez was photographed in his costume standing next to Danielle Steel. The picture was later published on the society page of a San Francisco paper (probably the Dispatch or the Chronicle.)

We have other references to Ms. Steel in other shows, confirming that she is also a citizen of Toobworld and the author of those steamy novels.

'FRIENDS'
"THE ONE WITH THE DOZEN LASAGNAS"

From the IMDb:
Rachel and Paolo's relationship comes to a halt after he gropes Phoebe's bum.

Rachel Greene:

"We are way past a "fling."
I'm feeling things I've read about
in Danielle Steel books."

'PSYCH'
"LIGHTS! CAMERA! HOMICIDIO!"

From the IMDb:
Shawn and Gus investigate a murder on the set of a popular Spanish soap opera.

Lance Rothstein:

It's like Hemingway,
like Ellroy, Steinbeck, Danielle Steel.

'GIRLS'
"HOME BIRTH"

From the IMDb:
Hannah, Adam and Jessa try to convince Caroline and Laird to forgo their planned home birth.

Shoshanna Shapiro:

What, does that... does that not make sense?

Hermie:

It makes sense like a Danielle Steel novel
makes sense to a woman with emphysema.

'LAW & ORDER'
"FAMILY BUSINESS"

From the IMDb:
Two feuding daughters of a department store owner are suspects in a murder investigation. Both have motive and connections to the murder weapon, but getting a conviction on either daughter could prove to be difficult.

Detective Rey Curtis:

Kate Bergreen-Spiegel has two secretaries.

One for work, and another one for her appointments
at her apartment.

You ever hear of that?

Detective Lennie Briscoe:

In Danielle Steele novels.

We could have had a few more, but I couldn’t find transcripts or videos for episodes from ‘Miss Match’ and ‘The Bill Engvall Show’. Even so, we have plenty to show that her existence links those shows together.

Welcome to the Hall, Danielle Steel!

BCnU!

Sunday, September 2, 2018

VIDEO SUNDAY - "AS THE WORLD TURNS"

From Wikipedia:
'As the World Turns' (often referred to as ATWT) is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created 'As the World Turns' as a sister show to her other soap opera 'Guiding Light'. Running for 54 years, 'As the World Turns' holds the third-longest continuous run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by 'General Hospital' and 'Guiding Light'. 'As the World Turns' was produced for the first 43 years in Manhattan and in Brooklyn from 2000 until 2010.

Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on April 2, 1956, at 1:30 pm EST. Prior to that date, all serials had been 15 minutes in length. 'As the World Turns' and 'The Edge of Night', which premiered on the same day at 4:30 pm EST, were the first two to be 30 minutes in length from their premiere.

At first, viewers were indifferent to the new half-hour serial, but ratings picked up in its second year, eventually reaching the top spot in the daytime Nielsen ratings by fall 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that was not interrupted for over 12 years. The show switched to color on August 21, 1967, and expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1, 1975, when 'The Edge of Night' moved to ABC. In the year-to-date ratings, 'As the World Turns' was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with ten million viewers tuning in each day.

At its height, core actors such as Helen Wagner, Don MacLaughlin, Don Hastings, and Eileen Fulton became nationally known. Three of these actors – Wagner, Hastings, and Fulton – are also the three longest serving actors in the history of American soap operas.

The show passed its 10,000th episode on May 12, 1995, and celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2006. On September 18, 2009, As the World Turns became the last remaining Procter & Gamble-produced soap opera for CBS after 'Guiding Light' aired its final episode on the network.

On December 8, 2009, CBS announced that it was canceling 'As the World Turns' due to low ratings. The show taped its final scenes on June 23, 2010, and with a dramatic story-line finale, its final episode on the network aired on September 17, 2010. On October 18, 2010, CBS replaced 'As the World Turns' with a newly debuted talk show 'The Talk'.

Until next time....

Saturday, September 1, 2018

TVXOHOF, SEPTEMBER 2018 - THE QUEEN OF SOAPS

Unlike the TV Western showcase that lasted all last month, or the annual January 1st blogathon dedicated to 'Doctor Who' all day long, this month's theme saluting soap operas will be intermittent. All of the Friday Hall of Famers will be from soap operas and we'll have a look at some of the major crossovers. And there will be a few Super Six Lists as well.

So we'll kick it off with our monthly induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. Traditionally September is the month during which we salute the creators behind the scenes who have done much of the work to expand the TV Universe.

And this year, we turn our attention to the Queen of Soaps, Irna Phillips.

From Wikipedia:
Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 – December 23, 1973) was an American scriptwriter, screenwriter, casting agent and actress. Known by several publications as the "Queen of the Soaps", she is best known for creating, producing and writing several of the first American daytime radio and television soap operas. As a result of creating some of the best known series in the genre, including 'Guiding Light', 'As the World Turns', and 'Another World', Phillips is credited with creating and innovating a daytime serial format with programming geared specifically toward women. She was also a mentor to several other pioneers of the daytime soap opera, including Agnes Nixon and William J. Bell.

From Entertainment Weekly:
Daytime’s first crossover came in 1966, when Irna Phillips, head writer of 'The Guiding Light' on CBS, picked up lawyer Mike Bauer and his preteen daughter, Hope, and sent them to 'Another World' on NBC, where Phillips also happened to be the head writer. Widower Mike spent an entire year in Bay City, during which time he managed to romance both Pat and her stepdaughter, Lee, all while working for Pat’s (paralyzed) husband, John. (In 1999, when AW was cancelled, a handful of character migrated to another Phillips-created show, 'As the World Turns'. When ATWT itself was cancelled in 2010, they made a reference to Bay City.)

Back to Wikipedia:
Phillips co-created 'Another World' with William J. Bell in 1964, originally planned as a sister show to 'As the World Turns'. Although Procter & Gamble owned both series, CBS had no room for the program and it was brought to rival network NBC.

Phillips fired veteran actor John Beal from 'Another World' after only one episode, and actress Fran Sharon after two weeks. Actress Kay Campbell stated, "I'll never forget once on 'As the World Turns', Rosemary Prinz did a scene, and when we were only off the air five minutes, Irna was on the phone and tore her to pieces. I don't think Irna liked actors." Phillips and Bell later gave 'Another World' over to James Lipton, who passed it onto Agnes Nixon.

In 1965, Phillips was a story editor for 'Days of Our Lives' and was a story consultant on 'Peyton Place' before co-creating 'Our Private World', the first prime-time series to be spun off from a daytime serial. The series featured the 'As the World Turns' character Lisa Miller; the series ran during the spring, summer and early fall of 1965, before being cancelled. She left 'Love is a Many-Splendored Thing' when CBS censors refused to fully tell a love story involving an Amerasian woman (born out of the love affair in the original film) and a white man. CBS and Twentieth Century-Fox Television were co- producers of the show. All 1,430 episodes of 'Love Is a Many Splendored Thing' were recorded on videotape at CBS Broadcast Center Studio 41 in New York.

Phillips was the unofficial story editor for 'A World Apart', an ABC soap opera that was created by her daughter, Katherine. One of the main characters was a soap opera writer who lived in Chicago and was in charge of a soap opera in New York. Soon after, 'As the World Turns' asked her to come back and write for them.

Phillips introduced a number of characters to the show and integrated them with the core Hughes family. Her new story, and the show's new heroine, Kimberly Sullivan (Kathryn Hays), became involved with longtime hero, Bob Hughes (Don Hastings). Bob was married to Kim's sister Jennifer, but Phillips had Kim seduce Bob. She became pregnant. P&G fired Phillips in early 1973; it was to be her last writing gig.

On January 25, 2007, in an episode celebrating the 70th Anniversary of 'Guiding Light', the current cast portrayed actors and behind-the-scenes personnel from the early years of the series (both radio and TV). Beth Ehlers played Phillips, and several incidents in her life were fictionalized in the series.

Phillips was a fiercely independent entrepreneur who retained ownership rights to all her series, producing through Carl Wester and Company and allowing agencies, sponsors, and networks little control over her soap opera empire.

And that's how it all began, all thanks to Irna Phillips.

She even appeared in Toobworld, on 'To Tell The Truth' - a panel quiz show which had a televersion as well as the show seen here in the Trueniverse.

And we have that for you now, making this a Video Saturday.

And finally, we have first person tales about the experience of working with Ms. Phillips.

Welcome to the Hall, Ms. Phillips.....

Friday, August 31, 2018

FRIDAY HALL OF FAMER (LAST WESTERN ENTRY FOR 2018)

In 2009, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame celebrated its 10^th anniversary by inducting four new members each month rather than just the one. Each week of the month would be a different category: “As Seen On TV” (real people played by actors), “The League Of Themselves” (real people playing their fictional televersions); “Toons” (cartoon characters from the Tooniverse); and “Locations” (places visited by TV characters from lots of different shows.)

So for that year, the Locations inductees were:

St. Eligius Hospital
Montecito Hotel & Casion
Fernwood
Hooterville
The Playboy Mansion
Mayberry
Paradise, California
The OK Corral
Mammoth Studios
1313 Mockingbird Lane
The White House
The North Pole

The Locations category on the surface looks to be any easy one. And it shouldn’t be. Mostly they should be fictional, found only in Toobworld for the most part. (The North Pole of course would be multi-versal.) But as you can see, there are some from the real world – the OK Corral, the White House, the Playboy Mansion.

All three of them are not that easy to get to for everybody. TV characters would have to go out of their way to visit them. And this is why New York City won’t ever be inducted. That would mean the 8 million plus stories of that naked city automatically qualify it. Think of all the shows which are set in Manhattan alone, never mind the four other boroughs! And the same goes for Miami, Chicago, and especially Los Angeles. The one exception was Las Vegas, which was inducted last year as my own small memorial to the victims in that mass shooting. Yes, there are a lot of people who actually live there and at least three TV series which were situated there. But it’s a destination for so many other TV characters in one-shot visits. The gamblers’ version of Disneyworld.

So all that serves as the preamble for this last special Friday Hall of Famer for August, to cap off our celebration of the TV Western. This is a location which doesn’t exactly exist in the real world in the same way as it does on TV.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…..

THE VASQUEZ ROCKS!

From Wikipedia:
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is a 932-acre (377-hectare) park located in the Sierra Pelona Mountains in northern Los Angeles County, California. It is located in the town of Agua Dulce, between the suburbs of Santa Clarita and Palmdale. The area is also visible from the Antelope Valley Freeway (State Route 14).

The prominent rock formation has been nicknamed "Kirk's Rock" due to being featured in several 'Star Trek' episodes, each time representing a different planet.

The rock formation has served in the background for plenty of TV series of a variety of genres, and not all of those locations were to be found on Tooworld itself. As in the Real World, it can be found where it was naturally formed in California, and where it also serves as a filming location for the fictional versions of ‘Star Trek’ (which is not exactly the same as in the Real World.) We know this because the nerdlings of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ specifically went there to have their picture taken as the characters from ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’. But it also can be found in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, plus Libya, Afghanistan, and even on Fantasy Island!

Tarok from the "Voyager" episode "Initiations"
&
The "Shore Leave" planet
&
Vulcan from "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"

And that’s just Earth Prime-Time. It could also be found on plenty of other planets in the TV Universe, especially in the ‘Star Trek’ franchise. By my count, there would be eight other planets with that same formation, and even then, not all of them are in the Alpha Quadrant. The rocks can be found in other dimensions ("Land of the Lost") and even another TV universe ("Futurama".)

Here’s my splainin for it all:

The planet-building society of Magrathea built plenty of planets to the specifications of their clients. Among these was Earth Prime-Time, the second “Earth” in the Sol system which was based on a design submitted by a super-computer known as “Deep Thought”. (The first Earth, known by its inhabitants as Mondas, was created by God. See? I cover all bases!)

But the Magratheans also wanted to make a profit, and so cost-cutting measures were taken. Among these alterations were the re-use of certain architectural designs like the Vasquez Rocks. So when we see the Vasquez Rocks on other planets, then we can assume those planets were designed and built by the Magratheans.

Here’s a list of those eight planets from the ‘Star Trek’ franchise which must have been built by the Magratheans:

‘STAR TREK’
“Shore Leave”
Amusement Park Planet
(where Kirk gets beaten up by Finnegan)

“Arena”
Metron Asteroid
(that the Metrons have set up for Kirk to fight against the Gorn)

“The Alternative Factor”
Lazarus's Planet
(site of the rift between the universes)

“Friday’s Child”
Capella IV
(where Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the pregnant woman seek refuge)

THE MOVIES
“Star Trek IV”
Vulcan
(the peak to which Spock retreats to meditate)

‘STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION’
“Who Watches The Watchers”
Mintaka III
(site of the "duck blind")

‘STAR TREK: VOYAGER’
“Initiations”
Tarok
(Kazon training ground)

‘ENTERPRISE’
“The Unexpected”
Xyrillian homeworld
(holo-simulation)

That list was compiled by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider, to whom Toobworld Central gives thanks.

They also included the 2009 “Star Trek” movie, which I do not. Until Spock actually went into that black hole, the movie was depicting the events of the future (based on the files given to Gene Roddenberry by a certain Time traveler who wanted to make sure the world would be ready for such a future with a TV show based on the actual future events – which they would think were fictional.) For Toobworld, which had absorbed all the movies which preceded it, only the first part is part of Toobworld lore. We believe Spock died going into that black hole. From that point on, it's speculation on the part of the film-makers. So this scene from the movie is fiction:

Because the Vasquez Rocks actually do exist in Toobworld, and I want to salute all of their manifestations in Toobworld, I’m going to label their entry in the TVXOHOF as The Vasquez Rocks Replicas. That should cover them all.

So here are some examples of the Vasquez Rocks as seen in Toobworld.

1950s