MORE MAYOR MIKE

While doing research on this month's inductee into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, I discovered that a former November member had appeared in an episode of 'All My Children'. So that bumps up Mayor Mike Bloomberg's Hall credits, but unfortunately I couldn't find a video of that appearance.

But I do have one of him with the cast of 'All My Children' while on 'The View', as well as his televersion showing up in one of the best episodes of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' from this past season....

The newest member of the Hall of Fame will be inducted on Monday.

BCnU!

CHUCKING SOME OUT-TAKES

Apropos of nothing except that it's damned funny, here's some blipvert silliness with Chuck McCann and Tony Randall.....

BCnU!

MUSICAL "WHO"

With each Video Weekend, I like to toss in some 'Doctor Who' content, so these two musical numbers fill the bill nicely.....

By the way, I get kind of choked up when that last video reaches this point.....

BCnU!

A HALLOWEEN CROSSOVER

There was a crossover on Halloween night, but I'm not sure how many people may have seen it in the tri-state area - what with Halloween festivities and the power being knocked out for thousands of homes by that freak October snowstorm.......

I don't know why, but TV wrestling is apparently pretty popular, so I'm sure the rest of the country more than made up the difference in ratings numbers.

BCnU!

My thanks to Ivan Ronald Schablotski and the rest of the gang in the TVCU Crossovers forum for this info.....

AS SEEN ON TV: OLIVER CROMWELL

OLIVER CROMWELL

AS SEEN IN:
'The Devil's Whore'

AS PLAYED BY:
Dominic West

From Wikipedia:
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Cromwell was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in the English Civil War. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Cromwell dominated the short-lived Commonwealth of England, conquered Ireland and Scotland, and ruled as Lord Protector from 1653 until he died in 1658.

Cromwell was born into the ranks of the middle gentry, and remained relatively obscure for the first 40 years of his life. Along with his brother, Henry, he kept a small holding of chickens and sheep, selling eggs and wool to support himself. His lifestyle resembled that of a yeoman farmer until he received an inheritance from his uncle. After undergoing a religious conversion during the same decade, Cromwell made an independent style of puritanism an essential part of his life. As a ruler he executed an aggressive and effective foreign policy and did as much as any English leader to shape the future of the land he governed. But his Commonwealth collapsed after his death and the royal family was restored in 1660. An intensely religious man—a self-styled Puritan Moses—he fervently believed God was guiding his victories. He was never identified with any one sect or position, however, and strongly favoured religious tolerance for all the various Protestant groups.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628 and for Cambridge in the Short (1640) and Long (1640–49) Parliaments. He entered the English Civil War on the side of the "Roundheads" or Parliamentarians and became a key military leader. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides", he was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to command of the entire army. In 1649 he was one of the signatories of Charles I's death warrant and was a member of the Rump Parliament (1649–1653), which selected him to take command of the English campaign in Ireland during 1649–50. He led a campaign against the Scottish army between 1650 and 1651. On 20 April 1653 he dismissed the Rump Parliament by force, setting up a short-lived nominated assembly known as the Barebones Parliament, before being made Lord Protector of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland on 16 December 1653. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. After the Royalists returned to power, they had his corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded.

Cromwell has been one of the most controversial figures in the history of the British Isles—considered a regicidal dictator by some historians such as David Hume and Christopher Hill as quoted by David Sharp, he was considered a hero of liberty by others such as Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Rawson Gardiner. In a 2002 BBC poll in Britain, Cromwell was elected as one of the Top 10 Britons of all time. His measures against Catholics in Scotland and Ireland have been characterised as genocidal or near-genocidal. In Ireland his record is harshly criticised.

He convinced the English soldiers that the Irish had six-inch tails, which made it easier to slaughter them, once they were dehumanized.

I spit on his memory.

But, since this is Video Weekend, I do have some video to illustrate this showcase....

BCnU!

WOKE UP THIS MORNING, GOT MYSELF A ZONK

“What happened?” – Beckett

“That’s it, that’s when all the camera signals cut out at once.” – Lulu

“And what could explain the picture suddenly going out like that?” – Beckett

“I don’t know. This has never happened before.” – Lulu

“Well, there was that last episode of 'The 'Sopranos'.” – Castle

'Castle'

The same situation as mentioned in yesterday's post about 'Castle' and the TV doctors applies here - 'Castle' takes place in an alternate dimension for the time being so there's no problem with them having a TV show about a mob family that exists in the main TV dimension.

However, the day will hopefully come when 'Castle' can be absorbed back into Earth Prime-Time, so there should be a splainin ready should this snippet of dialogue survives the transition. (Like we'll actually see that happen.....)

'The Sopranos' was a TV series whose pop culture resonance had such magnitude (Pop! Pop!) that other TV shows were referring to it almost immediately. And because certain characters like Tony Soprano and his daughter Meadow were mentioned specifically, we can't pass off the 'Castle' mention as being about a reality series that centered around singers.

Here's a list of most of those shows in the main Toobworld which mentioned 'The Sopranos':

'Beverly Hills, 90210'

'The Ellen Show'

'Gilmore Girls'

'Huff'

'Peep Show'

'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

'The IT Crowd'

'Gilmore Girls'

'Weeds'

'The Knight Of Prosperity'

'Sons Of Anarchy'

'Hustle'

'Nip/Tuck'

'Carpoolers'

'As The World Turns'

'Entourage'

'10 Things I Hate About You'

'Party Down'

'State Of Georgia'

('Dead Set' and 'Smallville' take place in alternate TV dimensions - the 'West Wing' universe and the Zombie Universe, respectively* - and so their mentions of 'The Sopranos' can be eliminated from consideration along with mentions from the Tooniverse, in game shows and talk shows.)

So O'Bviously, the world at large is aware of Tony Soprano and his crew and his family. (Three of those Zonks were in British shows - 'Hustle', 'Peep Show', and 'The IT Crowd'.) And they know of his sessions with Dr. Melfi, despite doctor/patient privileges.

The TV producers somehow found out what happened to Adrianna as well, because her name got used as a verb in 'Sons Of Anarchy'. So in Toobworld, that must have happened at the end of the Trueniverse series' timeline - probably once the Feds looked into the evidence left behind by the comatose Silvio and the dead "Christuphuh".

Most of those mentions can be attributed to a TV show made about that New Jersey crime family in Toobworld that is probably slightly different in tone from that found in the Trueniverse. But it definitely was shown on HBO, mentioned by several of these other TV shows, like 'Nip/Tuck' and 'State Of Georgia'.

Actually, I'd prefer to think that it was a one-shot TV movie, or at best (because some of the dialogue feels like 'The Sopranos' was an ongoing venture), it was a mini-series.

But no matter what kind of TV production came about, it still means that the secret life of the Soprano crime "family" was busted after we were no longer able to see them on our own TV screens. The TV version within Toobword had to be based on public records after Tony Soprano and his crew were busted, or after he was finally killed by some mob rival.

Because of mentions made when Jamie Lynn Sigler appeared on 'Entourage' as herself, we know that she was hired to play Meadow. So that means any escape clause regarding "reality" shows have to be discounted. "Surprisingly", Meadow and Jamie Lynn look exactly alike!

And that TV series has already gone to DVD, because that topic was brought up in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.

'State of Georgia' was the only other show that mentioned the infamous finale to the series, which consisted of an abrupt blackout. (I was so caught off-guard by what happened that I jumped up and tried to re-adjust my cable box!) It was deliberate in the real world, but what if it was caused by a disruption in the signal from HBO over in Toobworld?

It's a sadly accepted fact that many of the TV shows that make up the foundation of Toobworld also have fictional versions in the TV Universe. Making references to other TV shows has become a crutch to TV script-writers to get an easy punchline rather than work up something original. So we have no choice but to accept that these shows Zonk the bleep out of 'The Sopranos'.

If and when 'Castle' gets reassigned to the main Toobworld, at least this particular Zonk has been disabled.

I'm sure you'll sleep better at night, knowing that.

BCnU!

* Those two series must be kept separate, despite my Little Buddy Sean's desire to see 'The West Wing' invaded by Zombies.

 

AS SEEN ON TV: GEORGIA TANN

GEORGIA TANN

AS SEEN IN:
"Stolen Babies"

AS PLAYED BY:
Mary Tyler Moore

From Wikipedia:
Georgia Tann, born Beulah George Tann (1891 - September 1950), operated the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an adoption agency in Memphis, Tennessee. Tann used the unlicensed home as a front for her black market baby adoption scheme from the 1920s until a state investigation closed the institution in 1950. Tann died of cancer before the investigation made its findings public.

Tann used pressure tactics, threats of legal action and other methods to take children from their birth parents—mostly poor single mothers—and sell them to wealthy patrons. Tann also arranged for the taking of children born to inmates at Tennessee mental institutions and those born to wards of the state through her connections.

Tann also arranged for what her victims (now adult) refer to as kidnapping. In some cases, single parents would drop their children off at nursery schools, only to be told that welfare agents had taken the children. In others, children would be temporarily placed with the society because a family was experiencing illness or unemployment, only to find out later that the Society had either adopted them out, or had no record of the children ever being placed. Tann was also documented as taking children born to unwed mothers at birth, claiming that the newborns required medical care. When the mothers asked about the children, Tann told them that the babies had died, when they were actually placed in foster homes or adopted.

Tann's crimes were accomplished with the aid of Memphis Family Court Judge Camille Kelley, who used her position of authority to sanction Tann's tactics and activities. Tann would identify children as being from homes which could not provide for their care, and Kelley would push the matter through her dockets. Kelley also severed custody of divorced mothers, placing the children with Tann, who then arranged for adoption of the children into "homes better able to provide for the children's care". However, many of the children were placed into homes where they were used as child labor on farms, or with abusive families.

When an adoptive parent discovered that the information on the child was incorrect, such as in cases of falsified medical histories, Tann often threatened the adoptive parents with possible legal action that would force a surrender of their children (ordered by Judge Kelley) by demonstrating that they were unfit parents.

Tann destroyed records of the children that were processed through the Society, and conducted minimal background checks on the adoptive homes. Many of the files of the children were fictionalized before being presented to the adoptive parents, which covered up the child's circumstances prior to being placed with the society. As a result, the Child Welfare League of America dropped the Society from its list of qualifying institutions in 1941.

The Georgia Tann/Tennessee Children's Home Society scandal resulted in adoption reform laws in Tennessee in 1951.

BCnU.....

DIAGNOSIS: ZONK

In the latest episode of 'Castle' ("Cops And Robbers"), the classic TV trope of the main character trapped in a bank heist found Richard Castle and his mother Martha Rodgers among the hostages. The four bank robbers, all mercenaries, were disguised in hospital scrubs and wearing surgical masks.

And their code names for each other were TV doctor names.

The black bank robber was "Dr. Huxtable". ('The Cosby Show')

The young guy was "Dr. Howser" ('Doogie Howser, M.D.')

The woman was "Dr. Quinn" ('Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman')

And their "ringleader" was "Trapper John" - a double whammy with that one! ('M*A*S*H' & 'Trapper John, M.D.')

Even though it's a Zonk, I have to admit it was a clever and humorous idea.

However, it's still a Zonk, yet not one I really had any concern over splainin away. That's because 'Castle' takes place in an alternate TV dimension, and will remain so until either the man holding the position of Mayor becomes the same man who holds the position in the real world and the main Toobworld, or the show is cancelled.

At that point, we can claim that the show was part of the universal reboot caused by Nick Cutter and his estranged wife in 'Primeval', bringing it back into line by removing all the Zonks which kept it out. (We did the same thing with 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' which had a President McNeill during the time of Nixon and Ford. But now - even though we can't see the new and improved version, McNeill's presidency never existed and it would be the true presidents who would interact with the crew of the Seaview.)

Once 'Castle' can be considered part of the Earth Prime-Time dimension*, the code names of those bank robbers would have to be addressed.

One option would be that they gave themselves new code names in that new timeline - TV doctors from the fictional TV shows within the TV Universe.

A few examples:

Dr. Drake Ramoray - the character played by Joey Tribbiani on the Toobworld version of 'Days Of Our Lives' ('Friends')

Dr. Brad Fairmont - the character played by Dick Preston in the fake soap opera 'Those Who Care' ('The New Dick Van Dyke Show')

You could even throw in Dr. John A. Zoidberg from the animated series 'Futurama', since most citizens of Toobworld erroneously think that the Tooniverse is not real. Even Dr. Bob, seen in the running sketch "Veterinarian's Hospital" at the Muppet theater, could be a candidate......

As for the woman, a femme fatale would make an excellent 'Dr. Danger', from some "Trash TV" seen in 'Diagnosis Murder'.

But if the timeline does hold fast to the names they chose in that alternate dimension, most of them could be splained away:

"Dr. Quinn" - Michaela Quinn was an historical figure of the Wild, Wild West and it would be logical to assume that there were books, movies and even a TV show about her.

"Dr. Howser" - There doesn't have to be a TV show about Doogie! As a 12 year old wunderkind who was a licensed, practicing doctor, he would have made headlines back in his day. And he'd definitely be a candidate for the biographical TV-movie.

"Trapper John" - Dr. McIntyre's career during the Korean War could have become the basis for a best-selling memoir by Trap after his second series ended.

"Dr. Huxtable" - This might be more difficult to explain; nothing about Cliff really was that remarkable - just a decent family man with a simple practice in one of the NYC boroughs. However, after the series ended for us as the viewers, maybe he starred in his own public access TV show about family medicine which led to a broader national spotlight as is currently given to those real-life medicos seen in 'The Doctors'. Or he could have ended up as an on-air commentator at a TV show like 'F.Y.I.' (from 'Murphy Brown') in much the same way Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at CNN.

Even though it would also have been a Zonk, you know what I would have liked to see? One of the characters referred to as "Dr. Bombay"......

As I mentioned earlier, 'Castle' is still in an alternate dimension, so that was more effort expended on those Zonks than was currently needed.

BCnU!

* I like to think that 'Castle' is part of the 'West Wing' dimension. But I'm not sure if Obama was ever mentioned as being the POTUS during one of the episodes......

AS SEEN ON TV: LORD CHARLES BERESFORD

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Gareth Thomas

From Wikipedia:
Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament.

Beresford was the second son of John Beresford, 4th Marquess of Waterford, thus despite his honorary title as second son was still eligible to enter the House of Commons. He combined the two careers of the navy and a member of parliament, making a reputation as a hero in battle and champion of the navy in the House of Commons. He was a well-known and popular figure who courted publicity, widely known to the British public as "Charlie B".

In 1874, Beresford was one of thirty-two aides chosen to accompany the Prince of Wales on a tour of India. Victoria objected, on the grounds of his bad reputation, but he remained at the Prince's insistence. The tour was a lively mixture of social engagements and animal hunts. The Prince insisted on dressing for dinner, even in the jungle, but allowed the concession of cutting off the tails of their evening coats, creating the dinner jacket. He was aide-de-camp to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, from 1875 until 1876.

During his service under Edward VII, he became involved in an affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (i.e., Frances Brooke), with whom Edward VII was also involved romantically. The affair strained his friendship with Edward VII, even though Edward himself was married to Alexandra of Denmark.

BCnU!

THE ADAMS CHRONICLE

Spoilers ahead in this follow-up post to the Patricia Breslin tribute.....

Speaking of "Crooked Road", that episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' in which Patricia Breslin co-starred, she wasn't the only character who was using an alias.....

Richard Kiley played Harry Adams, the lead investigator in that case, but he wasn't married to Ms. Breslin's character. And his name wasn't "Harry Adams" either.....

Quite a scandal was engendered once the town of Robertsville was busted for their illegal schemes.  (The justice of the peace, the police department, and at least the local mechanic plotted to fill the town's coffers from outsiders driving through.)  The case made national headlines, which brought fame and attention to Kiley's character and plenty of job offers in law enforcement from all over the country. He was able to pick and choose his destiny and he eventually decided on accepting the offer to become the police commissioner in Los Angeles.

How the mighty eventually fall, because it's the contention of Toobworld Central that the true identity of "Mr. Adams" was that of Mark Halperin, one of the murderers investigated in a case that would be known as "A Friend In Deed".

Once out in Los Angeles, Halperin soaked in the social circuit where he eventually met and married a millionairess named Margaret. (Maiden name unknown) The love in that marriage soon faded yet neither one of them wanted a divorce. For Margaret, it was probably out of pride and concern for her standing among her friends. But for Mark, it was because he had become desirous of her money.

So when the opportunity presented itself, he murdered her and tried to make it look like a notorious burglar had committed the deed.

What he didn't count on was that the homicide detective running the investigation was a lieutenant by the name of 'Columbo'......

The same argument could be made for Richard Kiley as was made for Ms. Breslin - any one of his "present day" guest star roles that occurred between these two appearances could have been Mark Halperin, still working undercover and using an alias.

But after the 'Columbo'?  I think his dance card was full......

BCnU!