By now you should all know that in Toobworld, the lives of characters continue in their universe, despite the cancellation of the shows which featured them. Every so often those characters are called back to duty ("Rescue From Gilligan's Island", "Mary And Rhoda", the return of Anthony Fremont and his mother on 'The New Twilight Zone', etc.), and obviously they weren't held in stasis all that time waiting to be recalled.
But now we have an interesting twist on that premise. 'Reunion' was a year-by-year flashback spanning twenty years in the lives of six friends from high school. In the present day, one of those six had been murdered and during the course of the investigation each episode featured a flashback to a specific year.
As the show progressed, we eventually learned that the murder victim was Samantha, but as the show was cancelled while it was only up to the early 1990s chronologically, we never found out who the killer was.
So in this case, these characters had lives already played out and which were vital to the outcome of the plot's resolution, but it's never going to be filled in for us. And that's mostly because the creators of the show were winging it as they went along.
Fox President Peter Liguori announced who was supposed to be Sam's killer. "The best guess at that particular time was that it [the killer] was going to be Sam's daughter [Amy]," he said. With the show cut off so early in its run, there was no way that possibility could be wrapped up in any kind of quick finale resolution, as Amy was just a little kid by the last aired episode.
But Kristen of E! Online said, "I have it on high authority that at the last minute, right before the show was canceled, they were planning to change the killer to someone else."
Here's how Zap2It reported the story:
When FOX lowered the boom on "Reunion" in late November, the show's creator says there was no way to resolve the show short of a full season because of how "intricately plotted" it was. It was so intricately plotted, in fact, that the question of who committed the murder at the show's center was still up in the air.
That, at least, is the word from FOX Entertainment president Peter Ligouri, who on Tuesday (Jan. 17) addressed the show's early demise with reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour.
"'Reunion' was particularly cumbersome in terms of trying to provide an ending for the audience," Ligouri says of the show, in which each episode represented a year in the life of six friends, one of whom ends up dead. "How [creator Jon Harmon Feldman] was laying out the show to gap those additional 14, 15, 16 years was an incredibly complex path. There were a number of options, and he didn't make a definitive! decision on which option he was going to go with as to who the killer was, and there was just no way to accelerate that time."
Feldman himself hinted at that in a statement following the show's cancellation, saying that solving the mystery of who killed Samantha was "partially reliant on characters we haven't yet met -- and events we haven't seen."
Ligouri says the network and the show's team talked about several ways to go with the killer's identity, but "the best guess was at that particular time that it was going to be Sam's daughter," whom she gave up for adoption early in the series. The why of the murder remains a mystery.
In Lee Goldberg's view, and I agree with him, this is "why the series didn't work. If the show's writers didn't even know whodunit or why, then what were they writing about? If the clues led nowhere, how did they expect the story to actually payoff in the end? Is it any surprise viewers didn't get hooked by the mystery since it, um, actually didn't exist?"
But those missing years need to be filled in, not just for those few fans of 'Reunion' but also for the sake of Toobworld. An event happened - Samantha was murdered. It didn't happen in a vacuum; there had to be a reason. No matter whodunnit, there should be some kind of resolution to complete the storylline.
And that brings me back to an idea I suggested right after the first news of the show's cancellation. Jon Harmon Feldman should sit down and write out the missing gap of the 'Reunion' story in novel form. And it should be published and sold as part of a DVD package of all of the episodes that were broadcast as well as those that never saw the light of day.
I think it's a unique strategy that might solve the problem in making boxed DVD sets of TV series with no definite conclusion marketable. Shows like 'Coronet Blue', and 'Nowhere Man', and the second version of 'The Fugitive' had their fans who would love the chance to see those storylines at long last resolved.
And presenting these resolutions in novel form gives the show's creator the time to cover everything, rather than trying to cram it all into one last tie-up episode, as the creators of ABC's 'Push, Nevada' were forced to do. (Two minutes after the show ended, the interactive puzzle of the show was solved by a viewer who won the big jackpot offered by the show. Within the next 24 hours, over 10,000 other viewers also called in, hoping to win.)
So that's my idea, and I'm throwing it out there one more time. If not for 'Reunion' than who knows, maybe Glen Gordon Caron can use it for 'Now & Again'.......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Saturday, January 28, 2006
"LOST" IN THOUGHT: CLAIRE AND HER PRESENT DANGER
As I mentioned in regards to that story about UPN and The WB combining to become The CW, there are certain TV news stories that are too rooted in the Real World to be of interest for Toobworld.
But every so often there are exceptions......
According to the "Hollywood Reporter", Touchstone Television has offered substantial salary hikes to the original ensemble of 'Lost' in exchange for the actors extending their current contracts to include an additional year of island-living. The studio is offering to pay the actors nearly $80,000 an episode starting with the show's third season, which is double, and in some cases quadruple, what they are currently earning. All surviving original cast members have been offered the same deal and are expected to take it.
That sounds fine, but in most of the stories about this report, all of those original survivors were mentioned.... except for Emilie de Ravin, who plays Claire Littleton.
I've got a bad feeling about this. Claire is one of my favorites on the show, a real bright spot among the sturm and drang of the other characters, even though she's had some dark moments herself.
And to tell the truth, I'm frankly quite surprised she's made it this far. But with the psychic warning her against anybody else raising her baby, and now that she's been baptized by Eko so that one day she and her baby Aaron might be reunited in Heaven should anything go wrong, I have this fear that her doom is sealed.....
But like I've often said about this show, I trust the creators of this series and I'm in it for the ride, come what may.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
But every so often there are exceptions......
According to the "Hollywood Reporter", Touchstone Television has offered substantial salary hikes to the original ensemble of 'Lost' in exchange for the actors extending their current contracts to include an additional year of island-living. The studio is offering to pay the actors nearly $80,000 an episode starting with the show's third season, which is double, and in some cases quadruple, what they are currently earning. All surviving original cast members have been offered the same deal and are expected to take it.
That sounds fine, but in most of the stories about this report, all of those original survivors were mentioned.... except for Emilie de Ravin, who plays Claire Littleton.
I've got a bad feeling about this. Claire is one of my favorites on the show, a real bright spot among the sturm and drang of the other characters, even though she's had some dark moments herself.
And to tell the truth, I'm frankly quite surprised she's made it this far. But with the psychic warning her against anybody else raising her baby, and now that she's been baptized by Eko so that one day she and her baby Aaron might be reunited in Heaven should anything go wrong, I have this fear that her doom is sealed.....
But like I've often said about this show, I trust the creators of this series and I'm in it for the ride, come what may.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"WHO" NEWS(?): BOOB TOOB II
Cleaning out my "to-post" files.....
This story appeared online in various British entertainment news sites just after Christmas. I don't know if there's any truth to the rumour or not. And quite frankly, I never even heard of the woman before....
But apparently, there's a "super"-model by the name of Jordan who wants to play a villain in 'Doctor Who'
And it appears that she doesn't want to stretch too far beyond what she already knows - she wants to play "a killer model who kills people with her [breasts]."
According to the Sun she said: "'Dr Who' would be an ideal starting ground for me, acting-wise. I could be a baddie who doesn't speak but kills with my ample charms."
This might have worked... if the Doctor was played by Benny Hill, but it's a little late for that to happen.....
Still and all, if she's determined to give it a try, I'm more than willing to help her rehearse for such a role.
Smother's little helper, that's me!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
This story appeared online in various British entertainment news sites just after Christmas. I don't know if there's any truth to the rumour or not. And quite frankly, I never even heard of the woman before....
But apparently, there's a "super"-model by the name of Jordan who wants to play a villain in 'Doctor Who'
And it appears that she doesn't want to stretch too far beyond what she already knows - she wants to play "a killer model who kills people with her [breasts]."
According to the Sun she said: "'Dr Who' would be an ideal starting ground for me, acting-wise. I could be a baddie who doesn't speak but kills with my ample charms."
This might have worked... if the Doctor was played by Benny Hill, but it's a little late for that to happen.....
Still and all, if she's determined to give it a try, I'm more than willing to help her rehearse for such a role.
Smother's little helper, that's me!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
MISSING LINK: THE "ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT" OF "VERONICA MARS"
Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat, who play cousins George Michael and Maeby on 'Arrested Development', will guest star as 19-year-old college freshmen on 'Veronica Mars'.
The creator of 'Veronica Mars', Rob Thomas, said, "They do not play cousins. It was one of things I said to them. I said, 'Do you mind being in the same episode together?' And they said no, they just didn't want to play those characters."
This is tentatively scheduled to air on March 1st, and the episode title is "The Rapes Of Graff".
Of course, the storyline would have had to change a bit in order for them to play George Michael and Maeby. I don't know what grade they're supposed to be in on the show, but at sixteen years of age, I think they're a little too young to actually be college age on their own show.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
The creator of 'Veronica Mars', Rob Thomas, said, "They do not play cousins. It was one of things I said to them. I said, 'Do you mind being in the same episode together?' And they said no, they just didn't want to play those characters."
This is tentatively scheduled to air on March 1st, and the episode title is "The Rapes Of Graff".
Of course, the storyline would have had to change a bit in order for them to play George Michael and Maeby. I don't know what grade they're supposed to be in on the show, but at sixteen years of age, I think they're a little too young to actually be college age on their own show.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
AGENTS 86'D
THE CANCELLATION OF 'THRESHOLD'
'Threshold' was another misstep, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tessler said, adding that CBS is unlikely to air the remaining episodes. "The show never reached its creative potential," she said, adding, "so we just said bye-bye."
Of the three alien invasion series that premiered this fall, I expected 'Threshold' to make it to the seasonal finish line in May.
I thought 'Surface' would prove too confined in its premise - even with the Seven Seas as their playground. And I'm not a fan of Lake Bell. I was glad to see her vacate 'Boston Legal' and had no interest in diving into this latest project with her.
As for 'Invasion', on paper it was the show I was most excited about, even if it's setting would have been more restricted than that in 'Surface'. I'm always willing to give the shows created by Shaun Cassidy a chance, ever since 'American Gothic'; although it hasn't always proven to be worth the time.
As it turned out, I was bored out of my mind with 'Invasion' before fifteen minutes were up, and everything about the show was making my skin crawl with distaste. I tried several times to go back to watching it, but was hit by that same revulsion each time.
I'm told the show has finally found its footing and the story is at last riveting, but it's too late for me. It took far too long to snare its audience. With 'Surface', I hear they also have begun to pick up steam in their plotlines, but I'll trust TV critic David Bianculli on this one - he says it's not worth the bother and that's good enough for me.
But as for 'Threshold'.... I'll admit that it had quickly fallen into a rut; each episode just a variation on the same plot - alien hybrid humans come up with a way to spread the "contagion", and the Threshold team stops it. Nevertheless, it was the dynamic of the cast and their interplay that I enjoyed the most.
For Toobworld purposes, there is a way for me to keep the show alive. It's true that a basic rule of Toobworld is that a series continues its "life" even after it's canceled; we just don't get to watch it unfold. But this time I mean there is a way to continue seeing 'Threshold' in action on the screen.
'The X-Files' is one of the most influential TV series of the last fifteen years - conspiracy theories, alien visitations, genetic mutations, black ops, paranormal activities and good old-fashioned paranoia..... And leading the investigations - a couple of FBI agents.
So many shows have come along since then that were obviously influenced by it - 'Strange World', 'The Burning Zone', 'The Visitor', 'Strange Luck', and 'The X-Files' own spinoff, 'The Lone Gunmen'. And one thing that they had in common - sooner or later, FBI agents got involved.
Whenever the Threshold team arrived on the scene of a possible alien contagion, they didn't want to alarm the general public by stating who they really were. So they had a variety of IDs at the ready for all possible contingencies: health inspectors, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue, ATF agents, DEA agents... and FBI agents.
So that's how I can keep 'Threshold' alive for Toobworld. There will be TV series about aliens among us for the foreseeable future. And there will be FBI agents called in to investigate.
But will they really be FBI agents? Couldn't some of those quietly working in the background really be agents of the Threshold Project?
For all I know, there have been FBI agents called in during several episodes of both 'Invasion' and 'Surface'. And if so, maybe a few of them were actually working for Threshold.
Toobworld - always alive and ever expanding.....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
'Threshold' was another misstep, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tessler said, adding that CBS is unlikely to air the remaining episodes. "The show never reached its creative potential," she said, adding, "so we just said bye-bye."
Of the three alien invasion series that premiered this fall, I expected 'Threshold' to make it to the seasonal finish line in May.
I thought 'Surface' would prove too confined in its premise - even with the Seven Seas as their playground. And I'm not a fan of Lake Bell. I was glad to see her vacate 'Boston Legal' and had no interest in diving into this latest project with her.
As for 'Invasion', on paper it was the show I was most excited about, even if it's setting would have been more restricted than that in 'Surface'. I'm always willing to give the shows created by Shaun Cassidy a chance, ever since 'American Gothic'; although it hasn't always proven to be worth the time.
As it turned out, I was bored out of my mind with 'Invasion' before fifteen minutes were up, and everything about the show was making my skin crawl with distaste. I tried several times to go back to watching it, but was hit by that same revulsion each time.
I'm told the show has finally found its footing and the story is at last riveting, but it's too late for me. It took far too long to snare its audience. With 'Surface', I hear they also have begun to pick up steam in their plotlines, but I'll trust TV critic David Bianculli on this one - he says it's not worth the bother and that's good enough for me.
But as for 'Threshold'.... I'll admit that it had quickly fallen into a rut; each episode just a variation on the same plot - alien hybrid humans come up with a way to spread the "contagion", and the Threshold team stops it. Nevertheless, it was the dynamic of the cast and their interplay that I enjoyed the most.
For Toobworld purposes, there is a way for me to keep the show alive. It's true that a basic rule of Toobworld is that a series continues its "life" even after it's canceled; we just don't get to watch it unfold. But this time I mean there is a way to continue seeing 'Threshold' in action on the screen.
'The X-Files' is one of the most influential TV series of the last fifteen years - conspiracy theories, alien visitations, genetic mutations, black ops, paranormal activities and good old-fashioned paranoia..... And leading the investigations - a couple of FBI agents.
So many shows have come along since then that were obviously influenced by it - 'Strange World', 'The Burning Zone', 'The Visitor', 'Strange Luck', and 'The X-Files' own spinoff, 'The Lone Gunmen'. And one thing that they had in common - sooner or later, FBI agents got involved.
Whenever the Threshold team arrived on the scene of a possible alien contagion, they didn't want to alarm the general public by stating who they really were. So they had a variety of IDs at the ready for all possible contingencies: health inspectors, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue, ATF agents, DEA agents... and FBI agents.
So that's how I can keep 'Threshold' alive for Toobworld. There will be TV series about aliens among us for the foreseeable future. And there will be FBI agents called in to investigate.
But will they really be FBI agents? Couldn't some of those quietly working in the background really be agents of the Threshold Project?
For all I know, there have been FBI agents called in during several episodes of both 'Invasion' and 'Surface'. And if so, maybe a few of them were actually working for Threshold.
Toobworld - always alive and ever expanding.....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Friday, January 27, 2006
McCAIN DOES A HITCHCOCK
Senator John McCain got a moment in the spotlight recently when he filmed a cameo for '24'. It'll be a real "blink and you miss him" moment - Audrey asks for a file and McCain hands it to her.
Only seconds onscreen, but it has an interesting ramification for Toobworld. It means that in the alternate dimension where '24' takes place (different from Earth Prime-Time because it has had 3 different Presidents in a world where Bush wasn't the Commander-In-Chief), John McCain pursued a different path in Life. Instead of going into politics and becoming the senator from Arizona, McCain entered government service and joined the Counter Terrorism Unit.
It's a small ripple in the pond, but think of how other real life personalities might have had their lives altered in that alternate universe. Anna Nichole Smith might become a nun; Donald Trump could have been a grocery store bagboy; and how about Pauly Shore as a congressional representative from New York?
No wonder '24' is such a thriller. That dimension is a scary place!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Only seconds onscreen, but it has an interesting ramification for Toobworld. It means that in the alternate dimension where '24' takes place (different from Earth Prime-Time because it has had 3 different Presidents in a world where Bush wasn't the Commander-In-Chief), John McCain pursued a different path in Life. Instead of going into politics and becoming the senator from Arizona, McCain entered government service and joined the Counter Terrorism Unit.
It's a small ripple in the pond, but think of how other real life personalities might have had their lives altered in that alternate universe. Anna Nichole Smith might become a nun; Donald Trump could have been a grocery store bagboy; and how about Pauly Shore as a congressional representative from New York?
No wonder '24' is such a thriller. That dimension is a scary place!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
LANE MEMORIES
I didn't know about this until I read Brent McKee's blog today, and he didn't know until he read Marc Evanier's blog.
No matter, so long as the word goes out.
Yesterday actor Charles Lane celebrated his 101st birthday. If his name doesn't bring about recognition, google his image. It's hard to believe that there was ever a time when he wasn't the wizened, lemon-sucking, miser type of character which he perfected as Homer Bedlow in 'Petticoat Junction' and as a variety of McMann-Tate clients in 'Bewitched'.
Last year, in honor of his 100th birthday, Mr. Lane appeared at the TV Land Awards show. And he let the TV world know that he was still available for work. The title of an 'L.A. Law' episode says it all regarding his spirit: "Leave It To Geezer"!
God bless him and I can only hope it will be still some time before I publish a "Hat's Squad" post in this blog.....
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
No matter, so long as the word goes out.
Yesterday actor Charles Lane celebrated his 101st birthday. If his name doesn't bring about recognition, google his image. It's hard to believe that there was ever a time when he wasn't the wizened, lemon-sucking, miser type of character which he perfected as Homer Bedlow in 'Petticoat Junction' and as a variety of McMann-Tate clients in 'Bewitched'.
Last year, in honor of his 100th birthday, Mr. Lane appeared at the TV Land Awards show. And he let the TV world know that he was still available for work. The title of an 'L.A. Law' episode says it all regarding his spirit: "Leave It To Geezer"!
God bless him and I can only hope it will be still some time before I publish a "Hat's Squad" post in this blog.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLES LANE!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
FANFICCIN' AROUND
I'm one of those people who give aid and comfort to fanfic writers. I don't write it myself, and don't like most of what I've read of it, but it doesn't give me the agita that seems to plague others. (Especially a certain writer-producer, but he's busy in NYC working on a tele-play, so maybe this will slip his notice....)
My favorite suggestion is to use pictures from old movies to highlight TV fanfic; pictures of those same actors in situations their TV roles might not otherwise find themselves. Even better is when they share the picture with actors from other TV shows, and that way you can cobble together a great crossover story using the picture as inspiration.
My favorite example of this is Ray Collins and William Conrad in "The Racket". Sure, they were playing a corrupt judge and a corrupt cop, but why can't it be said that it was also a picture of them as Lt. Tragg of 'Perry Mason' and Frank 'Cannon', respectively?
So anyway, I got an email this morning from fellow Iddiot Ray Brizzi:
"Hey, I saw another variation on your concept the other day… One of the last scenes in 'Days of Wine and Roses' has Jack Lemmon having the DT’s with Jack Klugman consoling him. The old Felix and the new Oscar in one scene!!!!"
To be more specific, the movie Felix and the TV Oscar (and the first one at that).
There are many different universes based on the creative output of Mankind - based on movies, TV shows, song lyrics, probably even based on greeting card poems and dirty limericks.
L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt wrote about a universe of legends and myth in their "Incompleat Enchanter" stories; Marvin Kaye dealt with Victorian literature in "The Magic Umbrella"; and Craig Stanley Gardner dealt with B-movies in his "Cineverse" novels.
My particular purview is the TV Universe - TV Land, Toobworld, Cathodia. But sometimes there are encroachments into some of those other universes.
But to have the movie version of Felix Unger meeting the televersion of Oscar Madison - that's a seismic mix-up of cosmic proportions.
So that just means it would make for a great sci-fi story!
By "tripping the rift" between their respective universes, characters could end up meeting themselves or characters similar to the ones they knew back in their own worlds. So Jack Klugman's Oscar and Jack Lemmon's Felix, based on that particular frame grab, would have to work together to find their way back to their homeworlds.
It could all be due to a faulty Stargate, and the SG-1 teams from both the movies and the TV series have to team up to get it working properly again. James Caan's Detective Sikes and Eric Pierpoint's George Francisco have to become partners to maintain some semblance of law and order. And everybody eventually ends up in Mel's Diner in Phoenix, where both Mels look exactly the same and the movie Flo looks exactly like the TV Belle.
I'm just sayin' is all. Just tossing the idea out there. Whether anybody wants to run with it, that's up to them.
That's right, fanfic haters. I'm a stinker.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
My favorite suggestion is to use pictures from old movies to highlight TV fanfic; pictures of those same actors in situations their TV roles might not otherwise find themselves. Even better is when they share the picture with actors from other TV shows, and that way you can cobble together a great crossover story using the picture as inspiration.
My favorite example of this is Ray Collins and William Conrad in "The Racket". Sure, they were playing a corrupt judge and a corrupt cop, but why can't it be said that it was also a picture of them as Lt. Tragg of 'Perry Mason' and Frank 'Cannon', respectively?
So anyway, I got an email this morning from fellow Iddiot Ray Brizzi:
"Hey, I saw another variation on your concept the other day… One of the last scenes in 'Days of Wine and Roses' has Jack Lemmon having the DT’s with Jack Klugman consoling him. The old Felix and the new Oscar in one scene!!!!"
To be more specific, the movie Felix and the TV Oscar (and the first one at that).
There are many different universes based on the creative output of Mankind - based on movies, TV shows, song lyrics, probably even based on greeting card poems and dirty limericks.
L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt wrote about a universe of legends and myth in their "Incompleat Enchanter" stories; Marvin Kaye dealt with Victorian literature in "The Magic Umbrella"; and Craig Stanley Gardner dealt with B-movies in his "Cineverse" novels.
My particular purview is the TV Universe - TV Land, Toobworld, Cathodia. But sometimes there are encroachments into some of those other universes.
But to have the movie version of Felix Unger meeting the televersion of Oscar Madison - that's a seismic mix-up of cosmic proportions.
So that just means it would make for a great sci-fi story!
By "tripping the rift" between their respective universes, characters could end up meeting themselves or characters similar to the ones they knew back in their own worlds. So Jack Klugman's Oscar and Jack Lemmon's Felix, based on that particular frame grab, would have to work together to find their way back to their homeworlds.
It could all be due to a faulty Stargate, and the SG-1 teams from both the movies and the TV series have to team up to get it working properly again. James Caan's Detective Sikes and Eric Pierpoint's George Francisco have to become partners to maintain some semblance of law and order. And everybody eventually ends up in Mel's Diner in Phoenix, where both Mels look exactly the same and the movie Flo looks exactly like the TV Belle.
I'm just sayin' is all. Just tossing the idea out there. Whether anybody wants to run with it, that's up to them.
That's right, fanfic haters. I'm a stinker.
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL
Here's some of the latest loot garnered for the Toobworld Central DVD library:
"The Night Stalker"/"The Night Strangler" - two movies, one disk, the first two appearances by Darrin McGavin as Carl Kolchak. After the bad aftertaste from the new version, I needed to get back to the main reason why Kolchak was one of the great characters of Toobworld.
'Maverick' - three episodes of the classic series with James Garner and Jack Kelly. "Shady Deal At Sunny Acres" is my second favorite episode of the series. "Pappy" is fun, but I never bought Garner playing the role of his Pappy. After seeing Joseph Cotton guest star in an episode of 'The Rockford Files', I would have liked to have seen him take on the role instead. Oh well, nearly fifty years down the line, it's too much a what might have been. But I never understood why "Gun-Shy" was all that popular - it's just a lame spoof of 'Gunsmoke' and really doesn't stand the test of time.
The episode I would have included, my all-time favorite? It's one of Jack Kelly's - "Hadley's Hunters". How could I not love it? It was a crossover dream with appearances by the stars of all the other WB Westerns like Clint Walker, Ty Hardin, John Russell, and Will Hutchins, with a nod to Steve McQueen's CBS Western to boot.
'NewsRadio' - the first and second season. I like to think that someday the network execs at NBC will look back at this show and be sorry for the shoddy way they treated it.
And I got a few boots:
'Thriller' - two episodes of the Boris Karloff series, one of which guest starred Mary Tyler Moore!
"The Questor Tapes" - probably the best non-'Star Trek' project Gene Roddenberry ever did.
"The People" - a TV movie starring Kim Darby and William Shatner that I always wanted to see. And an early piece of work by Francis Ford Coppola.
'Spitting Image' - four episodes of the version of this caustic puppet show which aired on NBC back in the mid-eighties. Pretty watered-down stuff and a bit NBCentric. A little goes a long way......
I GOT MINE!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
"The Night Stalker"/"The Night Strangler" - two movies, one disk, the first two appearances by Darrin McGavin as Carl Kolchak. After the bad aftertaste from the new version, I needed to get back to the main reason why Kolchak was one of the great characters of Toobworld.
'Maverick' - three episodes of the classic series with James Garner and Jack Kelly. "Shady Deal At Sunny Acres" is my second favorite episode of the series. "Pappy" is fun, but I never bought Garner playing the role of his Pappy. After seeing Joseph Cotton guest star in an episode of 'The Rockford Files', I would have liked to have seen him take on the role instead. Oh well, nearly fifty years down the line, it's too much a what might have been. But I never understood why "Gun-Shy" was all that popular - it's just a lame spoof of 'Gunsmoke' and really doesn't stand the test of time.
The episode I would have included, my all-time favorite? It's one of Jack Kelly's - "Hadley's Hunters". How could I not love it? It was a crossover dream with appearances by the stars of all the other WB Westerns like Clint Walker, Ty Hardin, John Russell, and Will Hutchins, with a nod to Steve McQueen's CBS Western to boot.
'NewsRadio' - the first and second season. I like to think that someday the network execs at NBC will look back at this show and be sorry for the shoddy way they treated it.
And I got a few boots:
'Thriller' - two episodes of the Boris Karloff series, one of which guest starred Mary Tyler Moore!
"The Questor Tapes" - probably the best non-'Star Trek' project Gene Roddenberry ever did.
"The People" - a TV movie starring Kim Darby and William Shatner that I always wanted to see. And an early piece of work by Francis Ford Coppola.
'Spitting Image' - four episodes of the version of this caustic puppet show which aired on NBC back in the mid-eighties. Pretty watered-down stuff and a bit NBCentric. A little goes a long way......
I GOT MINE!
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Thursday, January 26, 2006
THE HAT SQUAD: DON STEWART
Don Stewart was 70 years of age when he died, and is best known for having played Michael Bauer on 'Guiding Light' for 16 years, beginning in 1968.
TV SERIES
"The Young and the Restless" (1973) TV Series .... Eric Appleton (1998)
"Santa Barbara" (1984) TV Series .... Lionel Lockridge (1985) (temporary replacement)
"The Guiding Light" (1952) TV Series .... Michael 'Mike' Bauer #6 (1968-1984, 1997)
TV MINI-SERIES
"War and Remembrance" (1988) (mini) TV Series (as Donald Stewart) .... Halsey's Lieutenant Commander
TV RECURRING ROLES
"Knots Landing" playing "Matt Callaway"
in episode: "The Lady or the Tiger" (episode # 12.10) 6 December 1990
in episode: "Do Not Attempt to Remove" (episode # 12.7) 8 November 1990
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Carl Goldman"
in episode: "The Candy Store Robberies" (episode # 1.8) 9 March 1967
in episode: "The Hammer" (episode # 1.7) 2 March 1967
TV BIOGRAPHIES
The Betty Ford Story (1987) (TV) .... Nelson
TV PILOTS
Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV)
TV MOVIES
Valley of Mystery (1967) (TV) .... Jim Walker
The Doomsday Flight (1966) (TV) .... Charlie
TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"JAG" playing "Adm. Danico" in episode: "Mixed Messages" (episode # 7.5) 23 October 2001
"Profiler" playing "Coffin Woodrick" in episode: "Crisis" (episode # 1.17) 22 March 1997
"Two" playing "Suit #3" in episode: "Armies of the Night" (episode # 1.8) 31 October 1996
"The X Files" playing "The Businessman" in episode: "Teliko" (episode # 4.3) 18 October 1996
"Beverly Hills, 90210" playing "Judge Hanlon" in episode: "The Big Hurt" (episode # 6.28) 1 May 1996
"Life Goes On" playing "Dalrymple" in episode: "The Buddy" (episode # 2.11) 9 December 1990
"Hardball" in episode: "A Death in the Family" (episode # 1.13) 11 May 1990
"Highway to Heaven" playing "Peter Bergstrom" in episode: "The Reunion" (episode # 5.5) 2 June 1989
"L.A. Law" playing "Mitchell Nelson" in episode: "The Son Also Rises" (episode # 3.2) 10 November 1988
"Our House" in episode: "See You in Court" (episode # 1.6) 12 October 1986
"Knots Landing" playing "Operative" in episode: "Vulnerable" (episode # 6.29) 16 May 1985
"Remington Steele" playing "Mitchell" in episode: "Steele of Approval" (episode # 3.22) 14 May 1985
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Elinson" in episode: "Narcotics - DR-21" (episode # 3.16) 30 January 1969
"Adam-12" playing "Second Man" in episode: "Log 111: The Boa Constrictor" (episode # 1.11) 7 December 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Ross Landa" in episode: "Training - DR-18" (episode # 3.9) 21 November 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "First Patrolman" in episode: "Robbery - DR-15" (episode # 3.7) 7 November 1968
"Adam-12" playing "Officer One" in episode: "Log 1: The Impossible Mission" (episode # 1.1) 21 September 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Harry Lanham" in episode: "The Investigation" (episode # 2.26) 14 March 1968
"The Virginian" playing "Urban Scott" in episode: "The Girl on the Pinto" (episode # 5.27) 29 March 1967
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Art McAndrews" in episode: "The Jade Story" (episode # 1.10) 23 March 1967
"The Virginian" playing "Kip Lathrop" in episode: "Letter of the Law" (episode # 4.14) 22 December 1965
"Laredo" playing "Aaron Jamison" in episode: "Rendezvous at Arillo" (episode # 1.4) 7 October 1965
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" playing "Gabe Greely" in episode: "Night Fever" (episode # 3.28) 3 May 1965
There should be an interesting theory as to why Sgt. Joe Friday never noticed why so many other police officers looked like Officer Carl Goldman......
BCnU...
Tele-Toby
TV SERIES
"The Young and the Restless" (1973) TV Series .... Eric Appleton (1998)
"Santa Barbara" (1984) TV Series .... Lionel Lockridge (1985) (temporary replacement)
"The Guiding Light" (1952) TV Series .... Michael 'Mike' Bauer #6 (1968-1984, 1997)
TV MINI-SERIES
"War and Remembrance" (1988) (mini) TV Series (as Donald Stewart) .... Halsey's Lieutenant Commander
TV RECURRING ROLES
"Knots Landing" playing "Matt Callaway"
in episode: "The Lady or the Tiger" (episode # 12.10) 6 December 1990
in episode: "Do Not Attempt to Remove" (episode # 12.7) 8 November 1990
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Carl Goldman"
in episode: "The Candy Store Robberies" (episode # 1.8) 9 March 1967
in episode: "The Hammer" (episode # 1.7) 2 March 1967
TV BIOGRAPHIES
The Betty Ford Story (1987) (TV) .... Nelson
TV PILOTS
Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV)
TV MOVIES
Valley of Mystery (1967) (TV) .... Jim Walker
The Doomsday Flight (1966) (TV) .... Charlie
TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"JAG" playing "Adm. Danico" in episode: "Mixed Messages" (episode # 7.5) 23 October 2001
"Profiler" playing "Coffin Woodrick" in episode: "Crisis" (episode # 1.17) 22 March 1997
"Two" playing "Suit #3" in episode: "Armies of the Night" (episode # 1.8) 31 October 1996
"The X Files" playing "The Businessman" in episode: "Teliko" (episode # 4.3) 18 October 1996
"Beverly Hills, 90210" playing "Judge Hanlon" in episode: "The Big Hurt" (episode # 6.28) 1 May 1996
"Life Goes On" playing "Dalrymple" in episode: "The Buddy" (episode # 2.11) 9 December 1990
"Hardball" in episode: "A Death in the Family" (episode # 1.13) 11 May 1990
"Highway to Heaven" playing "Peter Bergstrom" in episode: "The Reunion" (episode # 5.5) 2 June 1989
"L.A. Law" playing "Mitchell Nelson" in episode: "The Son Also Rises" (episode # 3.2) 10 November 1988
"Our House" in episode: "See You in Court" (episode # 1.6) 12 October 1986
"Knots Landing" playing "Operative" in episode: "Vulnerable" (episode # 6.29) 16 May 1985
"Remington Steele" playing "Mitchell" in episode: "Steele of Approval" (episode # 3.22) 14 May 1985
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Elinson" in episode: "Narcotics - DR-21" (episode # 3.16) 30 January 1969
"Adam-12" playing "Second Man" in episode: "Log 111: The Boa Constrictor" (episode # 1.11) 7 December 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Ross Landa" in episode: "Training - DR-18" (episode # 3.9) 21 November 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "First Patrolman" in episode: "Robbery - DR-15" (episode # 3.7) 7 November 1968
"Adam-12" playing "Officer One" in episode: "Log 1: The Impossible Mission" (episode # 1.1) 21 September 1968
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Harry Lanham" in episode: "The Investigation" (episode # 2.26) 14 March 1968
"The Virginian" playing "Urban Scott" in episode: "The Girl on the Pinto" (episode # 5.27) 29 March 1967
"Dragnet 1967" playing "Officer Art McAndrews" in episode: "The Jade Story" (episode # 1.10) 23 March 1967
"The Virginian" playing "Kip Lathrop" in episode: "Letter of the Law" (episode # 4.14) 22 December 1965
"Laredo" playing "Aaron Jamison" in episode: "Rendezvous at Arillo" (episode # 1.4) 7 October 1965
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" playing "Gabe Greely" in episode: "Night Fever" (episode # 3.28) 3 May 1965
There should be an interesting theory as to why Sgt. Joe Friday never noticed why so many other police officers looked like Officer Carl Goldman......
BCnU...
Tele-Toby
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