ON THE NEXT "INNER TOOB".....

While on vacation, and mostly while I was camping up near Tamworth, New Hampshire, I hunkered down and wrote yet another essay for my eventual collection of "Toobworld splainins". (What the bleep, I didn't have access to my computer or to TV out in the woods; I had to do something to keep me occupied. Nature? Phah!)

Having already "documented" the creation of the TV Universe, with this essay I zeroed in on how the Earth came into existence - as a scientific evolution formed from cosmic debris over billions of years... or in a flash as God's Creation?

Would you believe.... both?

The essay should be posted at some point after midnight - just in time for later use in Sunday school!

BCnU!

MULTIPLE MAIGRETS

In that post about the way HBO will be farming out 'In Treatment' to other countries, I mentioned how certain characters have been recast over and over again for TV productions.
Here's how many TV dimensions you'd need just for Inspector Maigret. (Although I'm sure many of these, like the one played by Richard Harris, are from the movie universe.....)

BCnU!

GLOBAL TREATMENT

The concept of Toobworld isn't limited to just American shows; not even to shows from just English speaking countries. It should encompass the TV output from all over the globe, and we try to bring some of it to your attention. Of course when it has sexy Thai stewardesses in a cat-fight, that always helps!

A lot of the time, you'll probably never see those shows produced in foreign countries; you probably don't know so many of them exist. But they have every right to get a shot at being part of the Earth Prime-Time dimension... even if their creators couldn't give a daggit's ass one way or the other.

But if this is so, what are we to do with shows from one country being exported so that new versions can be developed for new audiences. Can the same dimension contain the different versions?

In some cases, no. When a specific character is reproduced in its entirety right down to the name, then of course we have to shunt them off to new TV dimensions. Good examples of this would be Inspector Maigret, Hercule Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes. Not that it's limited to detectives, of course, but they prove to be the most popular characters, perhaps due to their literary origins.

But if it's the basic premise that's being copied, in which the characters may have similar traits but who are still different individuals, then Toobworld doesn't have a problem with that speading across the globe.

The O'Bvious example is, of course, 'The Office'. The same premise exists, and the same situations, following the blueprint of the British original - at least for the first dozen episodes. But David Brent can only be found in England. America has Michael Scott, and Germany and France and Peru (?) have different characters at their paper companies. Other shows that have "echoes" in other lands include 'Desperate Housewives', 'Law & Order', and 'Ugly Betty' - which started in another country and also is an exemption to that idea that if the doppelgangers all have the same name, they have to be sent off to another dimension. (I'm fairly certain Betty's last name is different in each country.) And now it's happening again; this time with HBO's 'In Treatment'. It's a remake as well, of an Israeli show called 'Bi'Tipul'. And now HBO is planning to take this strip-format show about a psychiatrist and his patients and translate it for a Romanian audience. Should that prove successful, they have plans to bring adaptations to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

"We want to make the series feel local," Linda Jensen said. (She/s the chief executive at HBO CEntral Europe.) "I think it is a great format, and it gives us a lot of flexibility to work with." As an example, she said that the Romanian producers of the series will decide how closely this version will adhere to the 'In Treatment' format. Certain characters, such as the military pilot, may have to be adapted to local circumstances.

Which, of course, is perfect for Toobworld's purposes.

BCnU!

WHICH BEATLE?

This has been rattling about in the Toobworld Central files for a while now. Since I'm cleaning out my hard drive as much as possible, I figured I should finally get around to it.

This is an exchange of dialogue from 'Sanctuary'.....

Will: Okay, favorite album.
Ashley: Nevermind
Will: What, is it that personal?
Ashley (laughing): No … "Nevermind", Nirvana.
Will: Oh …
Ashley: You?
Will: "Joshua Tree", obviously.
Helen: "Sgt. Pepper" and "Rhapsody In Blue".
Will: That's two.
Helen: Over the course of two lifetimes. Gershwin played it for me while he was writing it.
Will: And no doubt you've watched the sun come up with the Beatles.
Helen: Just one of them.

Well, that's intriguing. Which Beatle? For some reason, I'm thinking it was George. I think of them all, Dr. Magnus might have been more in tune with his explorations into his spiritual growth.

Of course in the long run, it doesn't matter. 'Sanctuary' was banished to an alternate TV dimension because of its radical takes on the characters of Jack The Ripper, Dr. James Watson, and Dr.Tesla. I'm sure there must be something odd about their version of the Beatles as well, evne more so than by Toobworld standards.

And I can't figure out why "Joshua Tree" would be an obvious choice for Will. Anybody familiar with the album and the show who could enlighten me?

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DR. O'MEARA

BARRY O'MEARA

AS SEEN IN:
"Eagle In A Cage"

AS PLAYED BY:
Michael Williams

Barry Edward O'Meara (1786-1836) was an Irish surgeon and founding member of the Reform Club, who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena and became his physician, having been surgeon on board the Bellerophon when the emperor surrendered himself. He is remembered as the author of "Napoleon in Exile, or A Voice From St. Helena" (1822) a book which charged Sir Hudson Lowe with mistreating the former emperor and created no small sensation on its appearance.

(from Wikipedia)

BCnU!

FEATS OF CLAY: ADRIC

In that TV dimension in which claymation characters rule (where there's even a Clay Jesus!), 'Doctor Who' is represented alongside characters like 'Gumby' and 'Moral Orel'.

The lives of the Doctor probably played out exactly as seen in the live-action dimensions, but apparently there are additional scenes not available from Earth Prime-Time.

Here's an example:



BCnU!

WISH-CRAFT: PAGING ELLEN PAGE TO THE BRIDGE!

TVSquad wrote about the casting rumor floating about of Jack Black beaming on board the next 'Star Trek' movie as con man Harry Mudd (a role twice assayed by Roger C. Carmel.)

Here's my response:

I just hope they don't turn to doing a 'Space Seed' Khan reboot; 'The Wrath Of Khan' was the perfect coda to that story, even if it is set in another reality now.

I'd like to see them revisit the story of "Charlie X". But maybe go the 'BSG'/Starbuck route and have young Charlie be a girl this time.

And for the casting rumor mill: Ellen Page!

For those who don't remember that 'Star Trek' episode, Charles Evans was a 17 year old who spent most of his life alone on the planet Thasus until he was rescued by the space freighter crew of the Antares. Once handed over to the Enterprise, Charlie began to exhibit dangerous mental powers similar to those of Anthony Fremont in the 'Twilight Zone' episode "It's A Good Life".

Finally, the disembodied Thasians arrive to take Charlie back to their planet where they can keep an eye on him. They gave him the powers in order for him to survive on Thasus, but now those same powers make him too dangerous to live among others.

Charlie has one of the most haunting exits you'll ever see in any TV show.

And I think Ellen Page would knock this role into the Delta Quadrant!

Just sayin' is all......

BCnU!

"THE DEEP END" OF STANFORD

'Reaper'
'Chuck'
'Knight Rider' (the pilot movie for the remake)
'Boston Legal'
'The Big Bang Theory'
'Journeyman'
'Moonlight'
'CSI'
'One Man's Family'
'Grey's Anatomy'
'Supernatural'
'Party Of Five'
'One Tree Hill'
'Too Close For Comfort'

What ties all those shows together in Toobworld? A real world school, Stanford University, was the alma mater for characters in some of those shows; it was a school option for others; and it was the scene for some of the action in the rest. (With 'Too Close For Comfort', it was just that Henry Rush once wore its sweatshirt.....)

Stanford will come into play again this fall when 'The Deep End' premieres on ABC. The series is a drama about four of the best and brightest among the recent law school graduates who now have to swim among the sharks at the law firm which hired them.

BCnU!

(Thanks to "Child Of Television" Brent - link to the left! - for the info.)

AS SEEN ON TV: SIR HUDSON LOWE

SIR HUDSON LOWE

AS SEEN IN:
"Eagle In A Cage"

AS PLAYED BY:
Sir Ralph Richardson

Sir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG (28 July 1769 - 10 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish military commander, best known as the Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.

During this period the island was strongly garrisoned by the regular British regimental troops, local St Helena Regiment troops and naval shipping circling the island. Agreement was reached that St Helena would remain in the East India Company’s possession, the British government meeting additional costs arising from guarding Napoleon and the East India Company. Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe (1816–1821), was appointed by, and directly reported to, the Lord Bathurst, Secretary for War and the Colonies in London.

The 1817 census recorded 821 white inhabitants, a garrison of 820 men, 618 Chinese indentured labourers, 500 free blacks and 1,540 slaves. In 1818, whilst admitting that nowhere in the world did slavery exist in a milder form than on St Helena, Lowe initiated the first step in emancipating the slaves by persuading slave owners to give all slave children born after Christmas of that year their freedom once they had reached their late teens.

The Duke of Wellington later said that he was "a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew nothing at all of the world, and like all men who knew nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous."

BCnU!

AS ARCHIE BUNKER WOULD SAY: GOOD NIGHT, NURSE!

According to the Daily News, the New York State Nurses Association wants a disclaimer added to the credits at the end of 'Nurse Jackie'; that the show is an aberration from how nurses really are. But actress Edie Falco, who plays Jackie Peyton in the show, had it right:

"We're not saying this is a show about nurses. This is a show about a nurse."

"That's not who I am," said Barbara Crane, president of the National Federation of Nurses. "That's not what I do."

That's right. Because you're not Jackie Peyton!

"I almost fell out of my chair when I saw 'Nurse Jackie.'," she continued. "What are my patients going to think when they see that [show]?"

You know, maybe if your patients can't make the distinction between a TV show and reality, maybe you should be more concerned about them than 'Nurse Jackie'!

I don't think my mother, who was a nurse, would have had a problem with the show; in fact, I'm pretty sure she would have loved it. I told my sister-in-law and an Iddiot friend to watch it - they're both nurses, and I thought they'd like it as well. Haven't heard yet from MJ, but Lydia was upset that she'd probably have to get Showtime now to see more of it.

"We are confident the viewing public will understand that [it is a show of fiction] and can differentiate between a work of fiction and a documentary, which this clearly is not." said Stuart Zakim, vice president of corporate communications at Showtime.

Who'd-a thunk I'd ever agree with a network suit?

They should still be nibbled to death by ducks......

BCnU!