2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART THREE)

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

THE BEST CHARACTERS OF 2015

BEST RECASTAWAY

OVERALLJason Gideon, 'Criminal Minds'

FEMALE

'Jessica Jones'

The casting agents for this show went all out to make the 13 year old Jessica look just like her adult self.  And kudos to Elizabeth Cappucino for making us believe she was Jessica after Kristen Ritter had indelibly made the role her own.

MALE

IMPORT:
Ross Poldark, 'Poldark'
Robin Ellis will always be Poldark for me, but Aidan Turner certainly brought um... certain qualities to garner modern appreciations for his interpretation.

DOMESTIC:
Matt Murdock, 'Daredevil'
Anything would have been better than the Daredevil who met the Hulk back in the Eighties (Being TV fixated, I don't have to render a verdict on Ben Affleck's version.), but Charlie Cox neatly differentiated the blind lawyer from his avenging do-gooder.

WORST RECASTAWAY
Pop Pop Goldberg, 'The Goldbergs'

BEST HISTORICAL RECASTAWAY
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Arthur & George'

WORST HISTORICAL RECASTAWAY

Mark Twain, 'The Murdoch Mysteries'

BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Brian Finch, 'Limitless'

COMEDY
Senator Gil John Biggs, ;Alpha House'

BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Jessica Jones, 'AKA Jessica Jones'

COMEDY
Kimmy Schmidt, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

IMPORT
Dicte Svendsen, 'Dicte'

SPECIAL CATEGORY 
Gigi Rotblum, 'Gigi Does It'

WORST NEW CHARACTER
Robyn, 'Jessica Jones'
I wasn't crazy about her twin brother Reuben either, but at least he got killed off early on by Kilgrave.  I don't want to say it was Colby Minifie's acting that made this character so annoying, because I was not a very good actor myself back in the day.  (I'd have to see Minifie in something else to be sure.)  It's more likely Robyn was ill-served by the dialogue and plot actions given to her.  I'm afraid we'll see more of her in season two, as I got the feeling they were setting her up to be a girlfriend for Malcolm Ducasse......

BEST NEW MALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER

DRAMA
"The Gentleman", 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell'

COMEDY
Titus Andromedan, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

BEST NEW SUPPORTING FEMALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Tricia "Patsy" Walker, 'Jessica Jones'

COMEDY

Lillian, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

BEST NEW RECURRING MALE CHARACTER

Karl Weathers, 'Fargo'

BEST NEW RECURRING FEMALE CHARACTER

Eve Rothlow, 'How To Get Away With Murder'

BEST NEW CHARACTER ADAPTED FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Killgrave the Purple Man, 'AKA Jessica Jones'

BEST CROSSOVER CHARACTER FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Senator Edward Morra, 'Limitless'

BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE

IMPORT
'Fortitude'

DOMESTIC
'Fargo' - Season Two

COMEDY
'Alpha House'

BEST ADDITION TO AN EXISTING CAST

MALE

DRAMA
The High Sparrow, 'Game Of Thrones'

COMEDY (MORE OR LESS)
Ray Spiewak

FEMALE

Jocelyn Knight, 'Broadchurch'

BEST NEW GUEST APPEARANCE

FEMALE
Karsi, 'Game Of Thrones'

MALE
Stick, 'Daredevil'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Kublai Khan, 'Marco Polo'

WORST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Mark Twain, 'The Murdoch Mysteries'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER REVISION

Ariq Böke, 'Marco Polo'

BEST NEW ALIEN CHARACTER

Karellan, 'Childhood's End'

And by "new", I mean new to television; the book has been around for decades.  For thirty-five years, my imagination's rendering of the Overlords was based on Wayne Barlowe's depiction in his "Guide to Extraterrestrials".  But even if the overall design suggests Tim Curry in "Legend" (which is another universe anyway), Charles Dance's acting overcomes the make-up and prosthetics to make Karellan believable.

BEST NEW ALIEN RACE
The Overlords, 'Childhood's End'
See the remark above regarding Karellan.

BEST NEW PUPPET CHARACTER
Julia, 'Sesame Street'

CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO BECOME A REGULAR/
CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO GET THEIR OWN SPIN-OFF

Lady Me, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW COMMERCIAL CHARACTER

Hannah's Horse, 'DirecTV'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE

DRAMA

Bob Schieffer & Madeleine Albright, 'Madam Secretary'

COMEDY

Adam Nimoy, 'The Big Bang Theory'
Cindy Crawford, 'Cougar Town'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN A COMMERCIAL

Lenny Kravitz & James Franco, Guitar Hero

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN SKITLANDIA
Biff Henderson, 'Late Night With Jimmy Kimmel'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN THE TOONIVERSE

Conan O'Brien, 'Archer'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE ONLINE
Jim Morris, 'Alpha House'

BEST TELEVERSION
(SKITLANDIA)
Senator Bernie Sanders, 'Saturday Night Live'

(TOOBWORLD)
Governor Ronald Reagan, 'Fargo'

SPECIAL CATEGORY
Rin Tin Tin, 'Drunk History'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN

Drama:

Riggsy, 'Doctor Who'
Osgood, 'Doctor Who'

Sitcom:

Former Senator Vernon Smith, 'Alpha House'

Skitlandia:
Ed Grimley, 'Saturday Night Live'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN IN A CROSSOVER
MALE
John Constantine, 'Arrow'

FEMALE
Claire Temple, 'Jessica Jones'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN ONLINE

Mary Ann Summers, "She's Still On That Freaking Island"

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES RETURN

All of the "reporters" (plus Craig Kilborn, former host!), 'The Daily Show'

BEST ALIEN RETURN

The Zygons, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW MALE VILLAIN

Kilgrave ("The Purple Man"), 'AKA Jessica Jones'

Close runner-up:
Wilson Fisk ("The Kingpin"), 'Daredevil'

BEST HISTORICAL VILLAIN

Jia Sidao, 'Marco Polo'

BEST NEW FEMALE VILLAIN
Madame Gao, 'Daredevil'

BEST NEW SERLINGUIST
The Prince and the Unicorn, "Potty Pooper" commercial

BEST THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY
OVERALL
Tag & Dutch Spence, 'The Middle'
Who better to play brothers than two actual brothers?  Jerry Van Dyke is a recurring character on the show and Dick Van Dyke showed up as his brother.

SKITLANDIA
'The Soup' finale
Joel & his "grandmother"

BEST RELATEEVEETY CASTING
'Better Call Saul'
Jimmy and Chuck McGill

BEST THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY BETWEEN DIFFERENT MEDIUM
Prince Kuragin, 'Downton Abbey'
(Linking him to Prince Kuragin of "War And Peace")

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART TWO)

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

THE BEST CROSSOVERS OF 2015

BEST CROSSOVER

"Jessie"

"Girl Meets World"

"I Didn't Do It"

"KC Undercover"

"Best Friends Whenever"

"Austin and Ally"

"Liv and Maddie"

All of them crossed over at a Central Park Halloween party in New York City.

BEST CROSSOVER PLOTLINE

'Cucumber' & 'Banana'
These shows must be seen in tandem as each episode overlaps and is interwoven with the other series.  There are no stunt plotlines, just slices of life.

BEST TOOBWORLD/CINEVERSE COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER

BEST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER

Batlet Plaza in 'Minority Report' is allegedly named after President Josiah Bartlet from 'The West Wing', placing that futuristic continuation of the movie in the same dimension as Aaron Sorkin's classic politico drama.

WORST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
Judah Friedlander's wardrobe - 
'The Jim Gaffigan Show' & 'The Daily Show with Trevor Noah'
Why is it the worst?  It just shows that I pay way too much attention to the Glass Furnace.

BEST MULTIVERSAL CROSSOVER

'Limitless' & "Limitless"

BEST MULTIVERSAL TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
From Martin Ross: "You probably got this one, but on tonight's Flash, Joe West's ex announced she has MacGregor's Disease -- same fictional disease Mr. Freeze's wife and Alfred contracted in Batman and Robin."

BEST INTER-DIMENSIONAL CROSSOVER
'Saturday Night Live': 'Sesame Street' & 'Empire'

FIRST THEORETICAL CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR

'The Librarians' & 'The Murdoch Mysteries'
Dealing with Nicola Tesla's "death ray"

Forget that circled entry.  To its left and down two is "Tesla's Death Ray".  That was seen in the episode "The Tesla Effect" from 'The Murdoch Mysteries'

BEST THEORETICAL CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR

'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries' & 'Lost'
In the episode "Death & Hysteria", one of the suspects was Dr. Wilbur Littleton.  Since the series is set in 1929 Australia, I'm staking a theory of relateeveety - Dr. Littleton is the great grandfather of Claire Littleton.  Of course this means Dr. Littleton has a son whom we never met, or his daughter Jemima had a child out of wedlock and gave him the family name.

BEST COMMERCIAL CROSSOVER

State Farm with the Coneheads
There were several options, but this brought the Coneheads into Earth Prime-Time

BEST COMMERCIAL/SERIES CROSSOVER

EARTH PRIME-TIME

'Smirnoff' - 'Silicon Valley'
"What Kind Of Night Is It?"

SKITLANDIA

State Farm with the Coneheads

THE TOONIVERSE
Geico with Dora the Explorer

STOP-MOTION WORLD (NEEDS A COOL NAME!!!!!
AT&T AND "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

THEORETICAL
'Orbit Gum' - 'New Girl'

With Damon Wayans, Jr. having left 'New Girl' as Coach, who's to say this isn't Coach being the playa we knew he is?

BEST CROSSOVER WITH A DIFFERENT MEDIUM

'The Librarians' & "Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension""Next order of business... motion to allow lupin membership for both the Guild of Fictional Entities and the World Crime League on a provisional basis."

BEST THEORETICAL CROSSOVER WITH A DIFFERENT MEDIUM

'The Librarians' & "The Hobbit"
According to the show, Tolkienesque dragons still existed in Europe.

BEST REALITY PROGRAMMING CROSSOVER

Bill Murray, 'The Late Show with David Letterman' & 'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'

After appearing on the last show with Letterman, Bill walked over to the MSNBC studios, sort of drunk after doing shots on Letterman's show.....

BEST TOONIVERSE CROSSOVER

The 'Rick & Morty' couch gag for the season finale of 'The Simpsons'

BEST ONLINE SPIN-OFF

'Schitt's Creek' webisodes

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART ONE)

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

BEST NEW TV SHOW

IMPORT

'Dicte'

DOMESTIC

'Jessica Jones' & 'Daredevil'
I see them as parts of a whole....

WORST NEW TV SHOW

'Man Seeking Woman'

BEST TV MOVIE
"The Ridiculous Six"

WORST TV MOVIE

"Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!"

BEST MINI-SERIES

'Arthur And George'

BEST ONLINE TV

'Marco Polo'

BEST COMMERCIAL
"Amish Buggy" - Slim Jim

BEST EPISODE, ANY GENRE

"LCD Sound System" - 'You're The Worst'

BEST TWO-PART EPISODE

"The Zygon Invasion" & "The Zygon Inversion" - 'Doctor Who'

BEST SERIES RETURN

Drama:
'Longmire' on Netflix

WORST SERIES RETURN
Comedy:
'Community' on Yahoo!

BEST SEASON FINALE

'How To Get Away With Murder'

BEST SERIES FINALE

A major tie!
'The Late Show with David Letterman'
'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'
'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'
'The Colbert Report'
'The Soup'

'Mad Men' never could catch a break.  It would have won had it not been for this massive exodus by reality/tallk shows.

BEST CLIFF-HANGER

'How To Get Away With Murder'

WORST CLIFF-HANGER

'Galavant'

THERE SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN A CLIFF-HANGER!!!!

BEST SPIN-OFF

'Agent Carter'

WORST SPIN-OFF

'Fear The Walking Dead'

BEST SEQUEL

'The Muppets'

BEST REMAKE

'Poldark'

BEST PILOT
'Dark Matter'
I fell out of the series after a few episodes, but the important thing was that the first episode gripped me enough to continue with it for awhile.  

WORST PILOT

'The Wheel Of Time'

BEST ONE SEASON WONDER
'A To Z'

BEST EPISODE TITLE

"Superdick" - 'Sirens'

BEST HISTORICAL RECREATION

'Marco Polo'
Even the death of Kublai Khan's brother by Kublai (which never happened) didn't diminish the historical feel.  A close runner-up was 'Arthur And George' about a real life mystery investigated by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

BEST SENSE OF ONE'S OWN HISTORY

'Grimm'
A Wesen real estate agent named Suzanne Acker helped provide information to Nick that led to where her brother was holding Monroe. In the next week's episode, Suzanne Acker's name was seen on a "For Sale" sign at the site of a Wesen murder case.

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD HISTORY

'New Tricks'

"London Underground"

The history of London's Fleet River and its environs (including an anecdote from the life of Thomas Hardy) provided the backdrop of a 40 year murder mystery.

BEST BLEND OF TOOBWORLD AND REAL WORLD CELEBRITY
'Alpha House'
All of the politicians and newscasters who played themselves keep 'Alpha House' locked into Earth Prime-Time.

BEST EXAMPLE OF LIFE DURING PRIME-TIME

"Dream Weekend" - the 2016 Subaru Impreza
I dare anyone to be unmoved by this story of a man taking a final road trip with his 14 year old dog, all to the song "My Buddy" by Willie Nelson

BEST TIE-IN

Sonic Sunglasses - Peter Capaldi has stated that he wanted 'Doctor Who' to be more accessible for kids when it came to acquiring props connected to the show.  (They can be pricey.)  So what could be cheaper than ordinary sunglasses?  Any pair, any style would work.

BEST CLASSIC TV EXPERIENCE
IMPORT
Tie: 'Campion' & 'Jonathan Creek'

DOMESTIC
'The Love Boat' - "Who Killed Maxwell Thorn?"

TVXOHOF - CHRISTMAS/DECEMBER, 2015: EBENEZER SCROOGE

Christmas is a time of tradition and it is no different for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Usually for this month there are two inductions - one for Christmas, the other a multiversal.  This December there have been a couple of inductions already announced, Bette Midler and John "Steed", but neither one really fits the tradition.  

And so, with today's induction on Christmas Eve, we combine both categories with a TV character who embodies both traditions.

EBENEZER SCROOGE

Scrooge began life in BookWorld, of course, courtesy of fellow TVOXOHOF member Charles Dickens.  And there have been incarnations of the old miser in the Cineverse and Theater World since then,  The Audioverse and the world of comic strips would also have their versions of the old skinflint.

I may be wrong, but I think it is in the world of television where there have been the most incarnations of Ebenezer Scrooge.  And in this list of portrayals, I didn't even include those to be found in the blipverts......

For example.....

 

The many incarnations of Scrooge included in the membership does not include TV characters who dressed up as Scrooge (like Quincy Magoo and Ed Norton), nor as seen in dream sequences (like the one suffered by Oscar Madison), nor any of those based on the former partner of Jacob Marley, like Ebony Scrooge, Ebenita Scrooge, Elizabeth "Ebbie" Scrooge, Daniel Grudge, Benedict Slade, Cyrus Flint, Ebenezer Blackadder, and of course, Scrooge McDuck and the Grinch.

So here's a list of the Scrooge televersions who share this one berth in the Hall of Fame.  (They'll probably all have to be ensconced in their own wing!)  They run the gamut of alternate TV worlds from various pocket dimensions of Skitlandia and the Tooniverse, so many Toobworlds in which other cultures hold sway, And there are a few alternate Scrooges who had exact counterparts who showed up in more than one Toobworld.  For example, those played by Basil Rathbone and Fredric March in two separate productions each.  (And Rathbone played one of those in an anthology series hosted by March!)

"Dickensian" (2015)
Played by Ned Dennehy

"Saturday Night Live" (2013) 
Played byTaran Killam / Jimmy Fallon

A Christmas Carol: The Concert (2013) 
Played by Michael Aaron Lindner (as Scrooge) / Michael Aaron Linder (as Scrooge)

"Epic Rap Battles of History" 
    - Donald Trump vs. Ebenezer Scrooge (2013) 
Played by Zach Sherwin

"Robot Chicken" 
    - Born Again Virgin Christmas Special (2013) 
Played by Drew Massey

"SMBC Theater" 
    - Scrooge (2012) 
Played by Zach Weiner (as Scrooge)

"Mad" 
    - Fantastic Four Christmases/Red & White Collar (2012) 
Played by Kevin Shinick

"The Charles Dickens Show" 
    - Christmas (2012) 
Played by Louise Brealey (as Scrooge)

"Cartoonito Tales" 
    - Christmas Carol
Played by Edward French(as Ebeneezer)

"Ask Grim" 
    - Episode #1.4 (2010) 
Played by David Beeler

The Carol Project (2006) 
Played by Bill Bourne

Chasing Christmas (2005)
Played by Meshach Peters (as Scrooge)

"The Late Late Show" 
    - Episode dated 2 December 2005 
Played by David McSavage (as Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) 
Played by Kelsey Grammer / Joshua Wilmott (as Scrooge) / Steven Miller (as Young Scrooge) 

Scrooge and Marley (2001) 
Played by Dean Jones

R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2001) 
Played by Barry Kite (as Scrooge)

Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) 
Played by Simon Callow (as Scrooge)
[I've included this because of Simon Callow's participation.  His portrayal of Dickens is the official televersion for Toobworld.]

A Christmas Carol (1999)
Played by Josh Maguire (as Boy Scrooge) / Kenny Doughty (as Young Scrooge) / Patrick Stewart (as Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge)

Ebenezer (1998) 
Played by Jack Palance / Aaron Pearl (as Ebenezer age 17) / Kyle Collings (as Ebenezer age 8, 12)
[This may be the version to be found in the Litless Toobworld of 'Sleepy Hollow' & 'Elementary', but in a world without Dickens, Scrooge's parents may have migrated to the American Old West.]

A Christmas Carol (1994)
Played by Jeremy Kerridge

"The Real Ghostbusters" 
    - Xmas Marks the Spot (1986) 
Played by Peter Renaday

"George Burns Comedy Week" 
    - Christmas Carol II the Sequel (1985) 
Played byJames Whitmore

Christmas Carol (1984) 
Played by Michel Bouquet / Manuel Bonnet (as Young Scrooge)

Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas (1984) 
Played by Jack Elam (as Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol (1984) 
Played by George C. Scott / Mark Strickson (as Young Scrooge)

The Gospel According to Scrooge (1983)
Played by Robert Buchanan / Eric Worre (as Young Adult Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol (1982/I)
Played by Richard Hilger /Stephen D'Ambrose (as Young Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol (1981) 
Played by William Paterson /Casey Peterson (as Boy Scrooge) / Thomas Harrison (as Young Scrooge)

George Burns' Early, Early, Early Christmas Special (1981)
Played by Hans Conried 

"3-2-1" 
    - Dickens (1979) 
Played by Wilfrid Brambell (as Ebeneezer Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre (1979) 
Played by Ronald Bishop / Thomas Dillon (as Young Scrooge) / Steve O'Connor (as Youngest Scrooge)

The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) 
Played by Walter Matthau/ Robert Morse (as Young Scrooge)

Scrooge (1978) 
Played by Warren Graves / Colin Graves (as Young Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol (1977) 
Played by Michael Hordern (as Scrooge) / John Salthouse (as Scrooge as a Young Man) / Dorian Healy (as Scrooge as a Schoolboy)

Canción de Navidad (1974) 
Played by Antonio Passy (as Scrooge) / Mario Humberto Jiménez Pons (as Scrooge)

The Charles Dickens Show (1974) 
Played by Edward Thorpe (as Scrooge)

A Christmas Carol (1971)
Played by Alastair Sim

Carry on Christmas (1969)
Played by Sidney James

A Christmas Carol (1969) 
Played by Ron Haddrick

"Novela" 
    - Leyenda de Navidad (1966) 
Played by Luis Prendes (as Scrooge)

Karácsonyi ének (1964)
Played by Sándor Pécsi / István Sztankay (as Young Scrooge)

Mr. Scrooge (1964) 
Played by Cyril Ritchard / Don Francks(as Young Scrooge)

Ein Weihnachtslied in Prosa oder Eine Geistergeschichte zum Christfest (1960) 
Played by Carl Wery / Elmar Wepper (as Ebenezer Scrooge als Lehrling) / Mario Münster (as Ebenezer Scrooge als Schuljunge) 

"Fredric March Presents Tales from Dickens" 
    - A Christmas Carol (1958) 
Played by Basil Rathbone / Kaplan Kaye (as Scrooge as a boy) / Howard Williams(as Scrooge as a young man)

"General Electric Theater"  
    - The Trail to Christmas (1957) 
Played by John McIntire (as Ebeneezer Scrooge)

"The Alcoa Hour" 
    - The Stingiest Man in Town (1956) 
Played by Basil Rathbone / Vic Damone (as Young Scrooge)

"Shower of Stars" 
    - A Christmas Carol III (1956) 
Played by Fredric March
    - A Christmas Carol (1954) 
Played by Fredric March/ Craig Hill (as Young Scrooge)

Story of the Christmas Carol (1955) 
Played by Norman Gottschalk / George Greer (as Young Scrooge)

The Merry Christmas (1955)
Played by Hugh Griffith (as Scrooge) / Peter Reeves (as Young Scrooge)

Ein Weihnachtslied in Prosa (1955) 
Played by Harald Mannl

"Ponds Theater"  
    - A Christmas Carol (1953) 
Played by Noel Leslie

"Kraft Theatre" 
    - A Christmas Carol (1952) 
Played by Malcolm Keen

"Fireside Theatre" 
    - A Christmas Carol (1951) 
Played by Ralph Richardson

"All Star Revue" 
    - Episode #2.16 (1951) 
Played by Walter Slezak

A Christmas Carol (1950) 
Played by Bransby Williams /Sean Lynch (as Boy Scrooge) / John Bentley (as Young Scrooge) 

The Christmas Carol (1949) 
Played by Joe Battista (as Boy Scrooge) / Taylor Holmes (as Ebeneezer Scrooge)

"The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse" 
    - A Christmas Carol (1948)
Played by Dennis King

A Christmas Carol (1947)
Played by John Carradine

A Christmas Carol (1943)
Played by William Podmore

So who should be the official televersion of Ebenezer Scrooge?  I think we should honor a largely ignored Toobworld tenet that the first portrayal/adaptation should always be held as the official version.  With that in mind, I think William Podmore in an experimental TV production in 1943 is the Ebenezer Scrooge of Toobworld.  Sadly, not even publicity stills from that telecast survive as far as I can tell.  According to the IMDb, the ability to save recordings from TV broadcasts wasn't available back then.  (Apparently the world had more important things to think about back in the 1940s.....)

So this photo of Podmore is the best I could find.  It shows him as a doctor in the 1951 telecast of 'City Hospital'.  But in his surgical whites, it could just as easily look like Scrooge's nightgown.

Otherwise, I am partial to several more modern versions like those played by George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart.  And then there's the animated Scrooge voiced by Alastair Sim, who played my all-time favorite Scrooge in a 1950s movie.  

If the Toobworld Dynamic could just absorb any movie indiscriminately, then yeah - Sim would be THE Scrooge of Toobworld.  But alas, I've been... scrooged out of that option by my own rules.

At any rate, welcome aboard, Mr. Scrooge!  (Even if you would probably think the TVXOHOF is nothing more than a load of humbug......)

BCnU!