A SKED QUERY: "ODYSSEY 5"

'Odyssey 5' wasn't on this past Friday night, so I'm putting this question out to my legions - er, those few of you who travel through Toobworld.....

Has Sci-Fi decided to drop the series' rerun due to ratings? I checked their website and the show is still listed among their offerings. And the main page still lists it as being shown at 8 pm on Fridays. But maybe they haven't updated the page lately.

I looked through the directory on my DVR and didn't see it listed anywhere for the next several days, so I don't think it was a matter of being rescheduled.

So, what do you think is the deal? Should I start thinking about picking up the series via Netflix if I want to see it through?

BCnU!
Toby OB

TIME-WASTER

Having nothing else to do just now, I took AOL's In2TV quiz.......
The only question I got wrong was about 'Veronica's Closet'. The only one I guessed at was about the three-headed monster of the "Godzilla" movies. I don't think I've ever seen one straight through, but I'm fairly familiar with the various beasties.

(The answer was "Ghidrah".)

BCnU!
Toby OB

"He's very very smart, and funny and charming and -#

Aaaaargh-b'beloo!

No, I can't do it.

Toby is the worst."

Michael Scott

'The Office'

PSYCHIC SCENT OF PINEAPPLE

By the time 'Psych' was reaching the half-way hiatus point in its second season this past summer, I finally was clued in that the show was pulling a Hitchcock-styled move. Instead of the director or creator of the show making a cameo appearance in each episode, most of the episodes featured a pineapple in some way. (This is why Shawn and Gus are often seen holding pineapples in the USA network promos.)

It all began during the filming of the pilot. While visiting Gus to cajole him into helping out on his first case, Shawn grabbed his friend's car keys. In an impromptu move, actor James Roday also picked up a pineapple from the same shelf and suggested that they slice it up for the road trip.

The crew found the ad-lib to be hysterical and the scene was left in the final version of the show. Since then, many of the episodes have featured a mention of pineapples in one form or another.

I watched the pilot episode again for research on this article, but I did so before I got Artemus, my new computer. Otherwise I would have done a frame grab of the scene to illustrate it.

Someday I'll get the episode again via Netflix, but in the meantime, here are the pineapple references I found for the first season of 'Psych'. Now, there are some episodes which didn't have any mentions of pineapples and they are so listed. But keep in mind, that's only based on my viewing of the episode. For all I know, pineapples may have appeared in those episodes and I failed to spot them.

If you have any knowledge of references I might have missed, please let me know. (Keep in mind that this is only the first season, and I'll post the second season once it's completed. But feel free to point out references from those episodes just in case I might have missed them.)

THE 'PSYCH' PINEAPPLE REFERENCES
(SEASON ONE)

1. 1- 1 7 Jul 06 Pilot

Sean found a pineapple while looking for the keys to Gus' car and wanted to take it along with them.

2. 1- 2 14 Jul 06 Spellingg Bee

None found; but it may have been on his shopping list. The only items mentioned were banana, onion, and Mitchum deodorant.
3. 1- 3 21 Jul 06 Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece

Sliced pineapple on a fruit platter in the bridal suite.

4. 1- 4 28 Jul 06 Woman Seeking Dead Husband - Smokers Okay, No Pets

Officer Buzz McNab brought a pineapple smoothie for Shawn.

5. 1- 5 4 Aug 06 9 Lives

Shawn brought a gift pineapple to the Stress Hot line.

6. 1- 6 11 Aug 06 Weekend Warrior

No Pineapple reference found.

7. 1- 7 Aug 06 Who Ya Gonna Call?

No Pineapple reference found.

8. 1- 8 25 Aug 06 Shawn vs. The Red Phantom
No Pineapple reference found.
9. 1- 9 19 Jan 07 Forget Me Not

Coffee shop "Coffee With Attitude" serves a fantastic double chocolate-mango-pineapple scone baked fresh daily.

10. 1-10 26 Jan 07 From the Earth to Starbucks

No Pineapple reference found.
11. 1-11 2 Feb 07 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead
In deleted scenes, Shawn is drinking from a pineapple juice box.
12. 1-12 9 Feb 07 Cloudy...Chance of Murder
Shawn is seen snacking from a Tupperware container of pineapple chunks.

13. 1-13 16 Feb 07 Game Set… Muuurder?
No Pineapple reference found.

14. 1-14 23 Feb 07 Poker? I Barely Know Her
No Pineapple reference found... officially. But Shawn and Gus do pass a couple of slot machines which probably used the pineapple as one of their symbols.

15. 1-15 2 Mar 07 Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast

Shawn offered a pineapple as an introductory gift to the main suspect in the case, Alice Bundy. He also may have been drinking pineapple juice in another scene.

When I've finally seen all of the episodes for Season Two of 'Psych', we'll be doing this type of list again for those shows.

BCnU!
Toby OB

FROM BOSTON TO MAYBERRY

I had taken 'Boston Legal' off my "must divver" list of TV shows a few weeks ago, but decided to record it this week because Chuck McCann was going to be returning as Judge Fudd. In doing so, I happened upon a Zonk that's easily neutralized.

In the small town of Middletown, two of the attorneys from Crane, Poole, and Schmidt were being led into the town's jail cells so that they could visit with their client. Jerry Espenson remarked that the place reminded him of 'Mayberry RFD', and his associate, a young British lawyer new to the firm named Katie Lloyd, responded, "Where's that?"

As a TV reference joke, we know Jerry was referring to the sequel to 'The Andy Griffith Show'. But that doesn't work when it comes to establishing Toobworld as a fantasy universe in which all TV shows should co-exist as being "real".

So no, we have to look at the scene differently. Jerry was reminded of Mayberry, RFD, because it's an actual location in North Carolina which he visited for some reason, perhaps professionally as a lawyer. He might even have grown up in the area, perhaps in Mt. Pilot! And since Katie Lloyd was from the United Kingdom, she would not have known where Mayberry was.

Within the framework of Toobworld, it's likely that no matter who was with Jerry down in those jail cells, they probably wouldn't know where Mayberry was either.

If the writers intended this to be a pure TV reference in-joke, they should have gone with 'The Andy Grififith Show' since that's where the old jail cells came into play more, thanks to Otis Campbell the town drunk. But then they would not have been able to follow it through with the punchline from Katie. This way, we get a joke for our benefit, and proof that 'Boston Legal' and the world of Mayberry co-exist in the same universe.

Motion for a Zonk denied. Dismissed.

BCnU!
Toby OB

ACROSS THE TOONIVERSE

There have been plenty of examples of characters from the Tooniverse crossing over into Toobworld throughout the history of Television.

A few examples:

Superman visiting the live-action Metropolis with Jerry Seinfeld in the Amex commercials

Daffy Duck going for a job interview at Winfred-Louder Department Store on 'The Drew Carey Show'

Brian and Stewie Griffin opening the Emmy Awards ceremony this year

The Caped Crusader of 'Batman Beyond' showing up at the Camden house looking for Lucy in a promo for the WB

Here's one that hasn't happened yet, and probably never will, but I'd be keen to see it happen!

BCnU!
Toby OB

REGISTERING McCALLISTER

After the Republican Presidential debate on 'Brothers & Sisters' this past Sunday, Kitty Walker brought in the newspapers of importance which gave Senator Robert McCallister glowing reviews of his performance. The three newspapers she mentioned were the Register, the Times and the Post.

Now, the Times would be the New York Times, I have to imagine. And the Post would be the Washington Post. But how about the Register? Is there a national paper with as much clout as the Times and the Post in the real world?

Even if there is, I'd like to think that particular "paper of record" could be the San Francisco Register, which has been getting plenty of coverage in both NBC's 'Journeyman', and in 'Women's Murder Club' on ABC.

Nothing says it can't be so... so far.......

BCnU!
Toby OB

STANFORD YET AGAIN!

Once again, Stanford has been mentioned in a TV episode from this fall season......

On 'Journeyman', Dan Vasser found out that Stephen Kowalchuk had dropped out from Stanford where he was going for his degree in mathematics. It turned out that Stephen turned into a Ted Kasczynski styled anarchist, and it was going to be Dan's job to journey back in time to not only stop him, but to set him on the right road to recovery.

The episode title was "Keepers".

This can now be added to the other shows that are getting linked to Stanford (for good or ill) this season:

'Boston Legal'
'Reaper'
'Moonlight'
'Chuck'

BCnU!
Toby OB

TURNING BLUE

I don't have high definition TV yet, so I can't read the fine print in letters, on background posters, or on boxes in a particular scene. And I'm not exactly one to be familiar with home pregnancy tests and the designs of the product from the various companies.

So I have no idea which brand of home pregnancy test Kitty Walker picked up last Sunday on 'Brothers & Sisters'. Considering the stranglehold product placement has in TV production nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if it was an established brand.

But what if it was from a fictional company?

Why can't we assume that it was the same kind of pregnancy test product used by Sun on 'Lost', one that was manufactured by Widmore Labs?

Like Mushrat would say, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble......

BCnU!
Toby OB

TRIVIAL TRIALS OF O'BRIEN

I thought I might have an easy and VERY trivial link to make from the "N-Word" episode of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', when Larry David picked up the wrong prescription from the pharmacy.

The name on his estrogen pills was "Alicia O'Brien". A simple enough name, I thought, one that was sure to have been used before in some TV show for a guest character..

But no dice. Of all the shows churned out over the decades, and so many situated in the Los Angeles area, not one Alicia O'Brien. I would have loved to have been able to link 'CYE' to let's say, 'Cannon' or 'Barnaby Jones', or 'Mannix' with that one!

Oh well, it's never the end of the world, Toob or otherwise, when these things fall through.

At least I have a new member of Clan O'Brien to welcome into the fold!

BCnU!
Toby OB

ALL APOLOGIES

I should have posted this yesterday: I was wrong that the 'CSI'-'Without A Trace' was supposed to air last night on CBS. Instead the two-parter will be on next Thursday night.

My thanks to "Big Red Rabbit McChesney" for sending along the correction in that post's comments. I just took too long in passing the word along.

BCnU!
Toby OB