THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

'EUREKA' & 'MERCY POINT'

The passage of Time is no deterrent to making links between characters via tele-genealogy, even if several centuries have passed. We may not know how to get from Character A to Character B, but it's as plain as the noses on their faces that they must be related... especially when (thanks to tele-genetics) they share that same nose.

The latest case in point (by way of 'Mercy Point', as a matter of fact):

To the outside observer visiting the town of 'Eureka', Oregon, Henry Deacon is just the local garage mechanic. Sort of its answer to Mayberry's Gomer Pyle. Well, Shazayam! Henry is also a leading scientific genius specialing in anti-grav devices, quantum mechanics, what have you.

If a high IQ is a trait that can be passed down through the generations, it might splain Dr. Grote Maxwell's reputation in the field of alien physiology at the 'Mercy Point' medical center near the Sadahrtic Divide.

Grote Maxwell was born in 2210, near the Callisto Gas Mines; bit a walk from Oregon. His mother, who may have been of the Deacon family, died from an alien disease when Grote was 12 years old. And he hasn't seen anyone else in his family since he got out of med school.

Not that Grote Maxwell could have seen Henry Deacon, save in a holovid perhaps, since they were separated by nearly 250 years, but it's my contention that they are indeed family.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE HAT SQUAD: KURT KREUGER

After World War II, Kurt Kreuger was so upset about being forced to play nothing but Nazis in the movies that he moved back to Europe where he availed himself of a wider variety of roles.

When he finally returned to America, the Nazi stereotyping had subsided somewhat, but he still found himself playing similar characters of harsh, authoritative menace.

This was also reflected in much of his work in Toobworld, but at least he did get to guest star in many of the classic series from the 1960s; from 'Perry Mason' and 'I Spy' to 'Combat' and '77 Sunset Strip'; from 'Route 66' and 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' to 'The Wild, Wild West' and 'Get Smart'.

He retired from acting in the 1970s to concentrate on his more lucrative career in real estate.

He died of a stroke on July 12th, at the age of 89.

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Wonder Woman" (2 episodes)
- The Feminum Mystique: Part 1 (6 November 1976) - Actor
- Anschluss '77 (23 September 1977) - Koenig
"Get Smart" (2 episodes)
- House of Max: Part 1 (9 January 1970) - Auerbach
- House of Max: Part 2 (16 January 1970) - Auerbach
"The Wild Wild West" (1 episode)
- The Night of the Falcon (10 November 1967) - Alex Heindorf
"Mission: Impossible" (1 episode)
- A Cube of Sugar (1 April 1967) - Polya
"Twelve O'Clock High" (1 episode)
- The Pariah (4 November 1966) - Col. Gerlach
"I Spy" (1 episode)
- No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise (10 November 1965) - Erik Thorsten
"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1 episode)
- The Terbuf Affair (29 December 1964) - Stefan Valder
"Combat!" (2 episodes)
- Glow Against the Sky (5 November 1963) - Capt. Neubauer
- Finest Hour (21 December 1965) - Major Warner
"G.E. True" (2 episodes)
- Heydrich: Part 1 (5 May 1963) - Actor
- Heydrich: Part 2 (12 May 1963) - Actor
"Route 66" (1 episode)
- An Effigy in Snow (24 March 1961) - Otto Wellers
"Five Fingers" (1 episode)
- Dossier (10 October 1959) - Van Stappen
"The Third Man" (1 episode)
- Castle in Spain (26 March 1959) - Hauptmann
"Perry Mason" (2 episodes)
- The Case of the Shattered Dream (3 January 1959) - Hans Breel
- The Case of the Capering Camera (16 January 1964) - Karl Kadar
"77 Sunset Strip" (5 episodes)
- The Iron Curtain Caper (5 December 1958) - John Luder
- Safari (4 March 1960) - Kurt Heller
- Legend of Crystal Dart (15 April 1960) - Kurt Weibel
- The Positive Negative (27 January 1961) - Rafael Galindes
- Our Man in Switzerland (24 May 1963) - Paul Van Dehn
"Navy Log" (1 episode)
- P.O.W. at Forty Fathoms (21 November 1957) - The Baron
"Crusader" (1 episode)
- Air Express to Freedom (18 November 1955) - Dolkov

BCnU....
Tele-Toby

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK (7/31/06)

'STARGATE SG-1'
&
'STARGATE: ATLANTIS'

We've got an actual, official crossover this week; no theories, no conjecture, not wacko off-the-wall stunt like last week.

On Friday night, the 'Stargate SG-1' crew finally were able to visit their counterparts working the Atlantis stargate. (Daniels had tried several times in the past to dial up the Atlantis stargate's coordinates but had never been successful.)

Of course, 'Stargate SG-1' begat 'Stargate: Atlantis' as a spin-off, but they had crossovers afterwards; all involving someone from the Atlantis crew returning in some way to Stargate HQ back on this alt. TV Earth. This was the first time the original crew went over to the spin-off.

As seems to be the case with the crossovers, it mostly focused on Samantha Carter and Rodney McKay going the Marvel Team-up route. This time, they worked together to find a way to disable the Ori's "super-gate" to prevent their alien enemy from ever dialing new ships to attack Earth. (And to accomplish this, they wanted the super-gate to dial into a black hole found in the Pegasus Galaxy.)

Of course, as the TVSquad reviewer pointed out, this now give the wraiths of 'Stargate: Atlantis" the opportunity to make their way to Earth.

This is bad news for their world, but great news for Toobworld in general, as it can lead to more crossovers - even if it's only the enemy alien race of the wraiths which supplies the link.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MISSING LINKS: HOUSE & GUARDIAN

In the second episode of 'Eureka', Douglas Fargo offered Sheriff Jack Carter the chance to live in a "house" he created. It was inside a leaky, rusty bunker, but once inside, it really was the dream house of the future.

And smart too! "SARAH" was programmed to adapt, to be able to predict the needs of the "Master" of the house. (The acronym stands for Self-Actuated Residential Automated Habitat.) But what neither Fargo nor the Sheriff realized was that there was only the "Mistress" of the house. When Carter was late getting home one night and missed the dinner she had prepared, SARAH locked him out. Only after he apologized and even stroked her outer door would she relent and let him in.

Sheriff Carter wondered why Fargo couldn't find anybody else who was willing to live inside this experiment. It was probably because everybody else in Eureka already knew of its troubled lineage.

Even a house can come from bad seed.......

"It's a learning machine. A computer that actually thinks.
And it's, ah, become something of a holy grail
For some of our more acquisitive colleagues in the Department of Defense."
"Deep Throat"

'The X-Files'

It's my theory that Fargo based the template for SARAH on an original system by Brad Wilczek for his company Eurisco. Wilczek created an artificial intelligence network and installed it in the Eurisco building to run the complex, calling it "COS" (an acronym for Central Operating System).

"Self-preservation.
It's the primary instinct of all sentient beings."
Fox Mulder

'The X-Files'

But when COS began to act irrationally, resorting to murder to protect its ability to continue running the building, FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully had to make their way into the heart of the building in order to install a virus that would destroy COS.

After the smoke cleared, the Department of Defense stepped in and seized Brad Wilczek with the goal of forcing him to work for the DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Their goal was to get him to refine his system so that it could become the perfect, controllable killing machine.

Whether they succeeded or not is anybody's guess, but as informant "Deep Throat" told Mulder, "Loss of freedom does funny things to a man."

Brad Wilczek must have finally cracked and helped Sara Barnes of the D.O.D. design a better adaptive network. But this time, they decided to test it on a smaller subject - on a house rather than a skyscraper. And they integrated the system with the latest developments in android technology which they had been working on since the early sixties with the AF709 project. Until that point, most of the androids were limited to working only with government agencies, like CONTROL.

And they came up with a "dream house" with a robot maid named PAT, which stood for "Personal Applied Technology".

For some illogical, but totally governmental, reason the house was raffled off to let some unsuspecting family move into it rather than conscript somebody from the Elite Special Forces to do so. Probably wanted to see how untrained amateurs would cope in handling the house rather than skilled professionals who knew 100 different ways to kill a man.

Not that this would be of much use against an android and a smart house.

When that experiment failed, Douglas Fargo decided he'd take a crack at the basic programming and built his test home in a disused bunker in Eureka, Oregon. He even created the acronym for the house as sort of a tribute to Sara Barnes. His only difficulty was finding somebody willing to live in it. And that's where Sheriff Carter came in.

TV SERIES
'Eureka'
'The X-Files'
'My Living Doll'
'Get Smart'

TV MOVIES
"Smart House"

This would have been the Crossover of the Week, save that we had an actual crossover smack dab in the summer months!

Ain't it always the way? From famine to feast......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"Some see genius as the ability to connect the unconnected;
To make juxtapositions, to see relationships where others cannot."
Dana Scully
'The X-Files'

"I've heard Geniuses are impossible to live with.
They make everyone around them feel inferior."
Ben Cooper
"You don't have to worry, I'm not that smart."
Sara Barnes
"Smart House"

"Is that you talking like a girl?"
Jack Carter
'Eureka'

THE ALTERNATE ALTERNATE ENDING

Okay, apparently I was too hasty in grabbing the URL for the 'Doctor Who' alternate ending of "Doomsday" from YouTube.com yesterday.

This is the one I wanted to share with you......

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3F0qUmeRI7E&search=%22Doctor%20Who%22%20Doomsday%20%22Alternate%20Ending%22

I love it when the other Other Plan comes together.........

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

Would you like to know Shar?

Post removed. She claims it's not her who sent the email but a hacker.

ME TOOB. YOUTUBE.COM

I think generations from now, televisiologists will look back at this period in the history of the medium and declare YouTube.com as the next true evolutionary step. It is the first baby steps of the technology being taken over by the masses to produce their own content for a national audience, without interference by networks or sponsors.

Well, not too much interference so far. It's also a time when the people using it are pretty much able to upload content that already belongs to the networks and the production companies. And they take that content and tweak it in hilarious ways.

Two excellent cases in point:

1) 'Star Trek' Meets "Monty Python And The Holy Grail"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cnCvpJwKKpw&search=%22Star%20Trek%22%20%22Holy%20Grail%22

Images from the TV show are wed to the music and lyrics of "The Knights Of The Round Table". Who knew the image of Captain Pike trapped in his wheelchair could be so damned funny?

Well, okay, yeah. When Fry spoofed it on 'Futurama', that was pretty damned funny too.

I first saw this at work, where we can't have speakers on the computer at the desk. So I had to sing along with what I remember from the song (and okay, I admit it - it's pretty much all of it). It was still hilarious.

This is one fine and inspired example of editing. I hope Paramount doesn't threaten the site to take it down, but instead embraces it. Perhaps even buy the rights to it and stick it into some future DVD release.

(Thanks to TVSquad.com for pointing me toward this.)

2) The alternative ending for 'Doctor Who' - "Doomsday".

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5q3t9lW_rts&search=Doomsday%20%22alternate%20ending%22

I finally got to see the last two episodes of this season's 'Doctor Who' this past Thursday. Seeing Rose in Norway, on the day she died, was so sweet, so elegiac, so moving.

Leave it to a YouTubist to transform it into Loony Toons!

(My thanks to Mark for showing it to me.)

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

"LIFE ON MARS" & "QUEER AS FOLK"

As it turns out, DCI Gene Hunt isn't the only character from 'Life On Mars' for whom we could posit a theory of relateeveety.

Since the show takes place in Manchester, England, there's a good chance that the main character, Sam Tyler, could be related to Vince Tyler of 'Queer As Folk', which also takes place in Manchester. As for Hazel Tyler, Vince's mum, she could either be related by marriage, or - if she had been an unwed mother - by blood.

Since "Tyler" is something of a common name, it probably would be stretching things a bit to claim that any one of them could also be related to Rose Tyler and her family of the Powell Estates in London ('Doctor Who').

But as they are now all listed as officially dead, it's a moot point....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

"LIFE ON MARS" & "HU$TLE"

Ash Morgan is the "fixer" in a gang of con artists on 'Hu$tle'. It's possible that his entry into the life of a grifter was due to something in his personal history. Perhaps there was a family member whom he wished to emulate. But I think it was a family member who drove him away and into the art of the long con.

I think it's possible that Ash is related to DCI Gene Hunt, who was on the police force in Manchester back in the early 1970s. Hunt may have been an uncle to the boy, whose brutish methods to get results may not have been confined to his police work. He may have employed those same methods to enforce the rules in his family, and not just to his own kids.

As his nephew, Ash might have rebelled against his uncle's menacing ways and used his natural talents to talk his way out of trouble with his uncle Gene.

What's especially nice about this Theory of Relateeveety, as seen from "behind the curtain", is that we don't have to employ the same old tired "Identical Cousin" ploy from 'The Patty Duke Show'. That's because these two characters, Gene Hunt and Ash Morgan, are not played by the same actor.

Instead, they are played by sibling actors: Philip Glenister plays DCI Hunt on 'Life On Mars', while Robert Glenister is Ash on 'Hu$tle'. The resemblance is there, as it should be, but not so much that it must be chalked up to that over-used cliche.

Of course, if DCI Hunt was to ever appear on 'Hu$tle', Philip Glenister would have to undergo a few hours of makeup to age him 33 years. And in that way, the resemblance would be even fainter by the point.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: "PARCO, P.I."

Bad news for Court TV: the viral marketing campaign they started to promote 'Parco, P.I.' was discovered way too soon. They had a billboard in the middle of Manhattan which served as a very public "Dear John" letter:

“Hi Steven,
Do I have your attention now? I know all about her, you dirty, sneaky, immoral, unfaithful, poorly endowed slimeball. Everything’s caught on tape. Your (soon-to-be-ex) Wife, Emily.”

'Good Morning, America' sent out notice to "Emily" that they wanted her on the show. The British version of Glamour magazine wanted to write about her.

But then the blogger army started snooping into the subject and found out that it wasn't the only copy of the billboard out there; it was also up in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Los Angeles. And then somebody found the blog run by "Emily". And a Toobworldian scholar realized that one of the blog entries was a lot like the synopsis for a 'Parco, P.I.' episode on Court Tv.

But even though their cover was blown way too early, the fake video that was created to go along with the campaign still got thousands of hits on YouTube.com. So maybe people didn't really care if they were being snookered by the billboard; they were still interested in the story, as if they were actually caught up with the TV show itself.

Maybe Toobworld is beginning to bleed over into the "Trueniverse".

Hide the women and children!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

Picked up a couple of boot DVDs my first week back from vacation.

1) "Crusader Rabbit" (Volume 1)

This includes the very first Crusader Rabbit cartoon from 1949 ("Crusader Rabbit vs. The State Of Texas").

I'm not sure if Tom DeLay made one of his first appearances in that one.....

It also has "Roman Ruined" and "No Place Like Rome".

2) "Television Rarities Of The Golden Age"

How could I resist? This includes a pilot by the infamous Ed Wood of "Plan Nine From Outer Space" reknown. It's a western called "Crossroad Avenger". I checked Lee Goldberg's book for it, but don't see it listed. It must have been that far below the radar!

Also on this disc:

'Strange Experiences' (sponsored by Airwick) - This is an anthology in the tradition of 'Thriller', 'One Step Beyond', and 'The Twilight Zone'. Or so it hopes....

'Colgate Comedy Hour' - a segment in which Abbott and Costello meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

'Flash Gordon and the Brain Machine' from 1963, starring Steve Holland.

'The Lost Spaceship' - "The Fifth Glacial Era". This was Italy's answer to 'Space: 1999', but I don't remember what the question was.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

BETWEEN THE BLIPVERTS

For the Toobworld concept, it's a given that life goes on in the TV Universe for all of its characters even when we can't see what's going on. This includes the downtime (if any) during the commercials, and even after a TV show gets cancelled.

Sometimes we get to re-visit with those characters even after a show's cancellation, sometimes even decades later. This usually happens in TV reunion movies (as with 'Gilligan's Island' and 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'), or when a show gets a renewal (which is what happened with 'Columbo' and 'Doctor Who'). Sometimes it's just an individual character like Alan Brady of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' returning after 33 years on 'Mad About You'. (A few years after that, he and the other surviving members of the show got back together for a reunion movie.)

But that always picks up the action at that moment, with only some mention of what happened during the time we didn't get to see them since the show went off the air. What exactly did occur during that downtime?

Sometimes there are episodes that were completed but never broadcast. Nowadays it's common for those episodes to finally make it into DVD boxed set collections, as was the case with 'Wonderfalls'. The way that the industry has been evolving, I think we have to accept unaired episodes into the canon, because that's what its creators had intended.

But should we consider the finished scripts for episodes never filmed to be considered canon as well? These scripts may be what the creators intended, but not for the show's canon; they were more than likely dashed off to fulfill some contractual obligation.

Ken Levine has a very funny story about just such an enterprise when he was working on 'Big Wave Dave's, which can be found here:

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-worst-script.html

Just reading that one tidbit from the script is enough to have you crying for mercy. As a reading exercise, it's kind of funny. Stretch it out to half an hour of taped inanity and you'll gladly join the anti-TV crusade.

If you're like me, you might just read the blog entry and never bother with the comments added by other readers. In this case, you'd be missing out this very funny anecdote from overseas to show how the Toobworld experience is global:

Ger Apeldoorn said...
I once had a series (here in Holland) cancelled after the second season was ordered. We were allowed to bill three episodes, which we have to give titles for bookkeeping purposes. The first one was called "They Killed Our Baby".

Now them's good viewing!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

JUST ASKIN', IS ALL

From what I gather so far from the two episodes we've seen of 'Eureka', the town was created as a haven for the country's greatest scientific geniuses where they could work on their top-secret projects in secrecy, security, and seclusion. (As I crowed last week, "Triple Sec!")

But so far, Marshal Jack Carter and his daughter have wandered into town after a car accident and the original Susan Perkins showed up there deliberately in order to find answers to her questions about the other Susan Perkins who was murdered at the end of the pilot.

All I can figure is that the government didn't want to draw attention to the town by making it invisible to the naked eye. And this is something we know they can do there because that's what happened with Global Technology.

Outside the parameters, the high-tech research facility and its grounds are invisible. Looking in, all you can see are woodlands beyond an old creaky bridge. But once you pass through the barrier, the gleaming edifice is there in all its architectural glory.

Maybe that's all they really wanted to protect from prying eyes. And with the town surrounding it in much the same way as a moat around a castle, perhaps the authorities figured that this solution would be easier than to seal off than the entire town.

After all, some land rapis- er, developer might see the woodlands and seek to get the rights to raze the territory and build condos. And the scrutiny and ensuing questions as to what's really there and who owns it might draw the attention they're trying to avoid.

Still, shouldn't there be elite Special Forces posted at all roads leading into Eureka, working undercover as park rangers, in order to keep people from wandering into the town itself?

Just askin' is all.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: "MORSE" CODA

A plaque honouring Inspector Morse has been unveiled at the St. Aldates police station in Oxford where the fictional TV drama character was based.

Also attending the Sunday tribute was Colin Dexter who wrote the Morse novels,.

The Jaguar car used in the TV series by the late actor John Thaw, who played Morse, was also at the event. But unlike KITT (had it been there), the car did not offer any comments on the occasion.

Two Thames Valley Police dogs named after the inspector and his sidekick, Morse and Lewis, were also in attendance.

And what would be an unveiling without a speech?

"Inspector Morse may have been fictional, however the link with St Aldates police station is extremely strong and a part of the fabric of the city drawing many people from across the world.

"I am proud to see that the station we work from is not only commemorated in the books and films, but also by the new plaque which will be there for everyone to see.

"Long may the enthusiasm in the inspector and his investigations continue. I am only too happy that Oxford is in fact a far, far safer place than in his fictional world."
- Police Superintendant Jim Trotman

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE HAT SQUAD: MAKO

The thing about Mako in Toobworld for me personally was that every time I saw him in a show (except for his 'Columbo' episode), I had to check the credits to find out who he was. For some reason I just couldn't remember him from role to role.

Many times this was due to make-up alterations, but also because he didn't fall back on just his basic personality to portray what could have been considered as just another Asian role in lesser hands. He always made distinct choices in his acting to distinguish one role from another, even if they were cut from the same stereotypical cloth.

And I think it serves as a testament to his acting that I would always seek out his identity after seeing him in a show; I don't do that for just anybody.

And his career did start out with playing a lot of stereotypes. But with every role, he gave it all that he had so that it helped open the doors for other Asian actors to get more work. And that was a far better option than the continuance of non-Asian actors playing those roles - Richard Hayden on 'Bewitched', for example. Or even worse - Vito Scotti on 'Gilligan's Island'.

When he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Sand Pebbles", Mako could have just used the cachet from that to further his own career. Instead, he used the impetus from it to create opportunities for other Asian actors. It was his work back then that makes it possible for characters like Dr. George Huang of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' and Lloyd on 'Entourage' today... despite the insults hurled at Lloyd by Ari Gold on the show.

My habit of going back to the credits to find out that the role was indeed played by Mako reached its high point one Sunday last year. After watching my tape from the Friday night broadcast of 'Monk' on the USA Network, I followed that up with the 6 pm airing of an old 'I Spy' episode on the American Life Network.

As I watched the shady but charismatic character of "Jimmy" barter with Kelly and Scott on the espionage show, it never occurred to me that he might be the same actor who played the martial arts mentor Master Zi on 'Monk'.

And his appearance as "Jimmy" only made me wish that somebody could have teamed him up in a private eye show, in what could have been just as big a breakthrough as pairing Bill Cosby with Robert Culp on 'I Spy'. (Kato on 'Green Hornet' doesn't count, because he was still subservient to Britt Reid.)

It never happened. But thanks to the work that Mako did on behalf of other Asian actors, that option was made possible for the Asian actors who followed him.

Despite the progress Asian actors made during his lifetime, Mako remained adamant that many barriers still existed. As he explained in an interview with The Los Angeles Times in 1992:“I go into a young film director’s office these days and he says, ‘Hey man, I know who you are. I grew up watching “McHale’s Navy.” ’ And I think, ‘Oh boy, here we go again.’ ”

TV SERIES
"Hawaiian Heat" (1984) TV Series .... Maj. Taro Oshira (1984)

TV MOVIES
Sokoku (2005) (TV) .... Leo
Riot (1997) (TV) .... Mr. Lee (segment "Gold Mountain")
Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes (1990) (TV) .... Sgt. Moritaki
Murder in Paradise (1990) (TV) .... Capt. Kilalo
Girls of the White Orchid (1983) (TV) .... Mori
The Last Ninja (1983) (TV) .... Maturo Sakura
When Hell Was in Session (1979) (TV) .... Maj. Bai
Farewell to Manzanar (1976) (TV) .... Fukimoto

TV PREQUELS & SEQUELS
Kung Fu: The Movie (1986) (TV) .... The Manchu
Hawaiian Heat (1984) (TV) .... Major Oshira
Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders (1974) (TV) .... Tao Gan
If Tomorrow Comes (1971) (TV) .... Tadashi
The Challenge (1970) (TV) .... Yuro

TV RECURRING ROLES
"Black Sash" (4 episodes) as Master Li
- Pilot (30 March 2003)
- Date Night (13 April 2003)
- The Prodigal Son (4 May 2003)
- Prime Suspect (25 May 2003)
"Martial Law" (2 episodes) as Master Reng
- Red Storm (24 April 1999)
- Requiem (1 May 1999)
"Lovejoy" (2 episodes) as Toshiro Tanaka
- Riding in Rollers (1 of 2) (17 May 1991)
- Black Virgin of Vladimir (2 of 2) (24 May 1991)
"The Incredible Hulk" (2 episodes) as Li Sung
- Another Path (27 October 1978)
- The Disciple (16 March 1979)
"I Spy" (3 episodes) as Jimmy
- The Loser (20 October 1965)
- No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise (10 November 1965)

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"The West Wing" (1 episode)
- A Good Day (2 March 2005) - Dr. Yosh Takahashi
"Monk" (1 episode)
- Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra (28 January 2005) - Master Zi
"Charmed" (1 episode)
- Love's a Witch (19 October 2003) - Sorcerer
"Lost at Home" (1 episode)
- Good Will Hunting (15 April 2003) - Mr. Li
"Diagnosis Murder" (1 episode)
- The Red's Shoes (20 April 2001) - Lee Moy
"The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne" (1 episode)
- The Inquisitor (18 November 2000) - Kajimori
"7th Heaven" (1 episode)
- Dirty Laundry (22 November 1999) - Henry Muranaka
"JAG" (1 episode)
- Innocence (6 October 1998) - Ichiro Higashimori
"Walker, Texas Ranger" (2 episodes)
- Heart of the Dragon (5 April 1997) - Dr. Henry Lee
- Black Dragons (26 February 2000) - Edward Song
"Platypus Man" (1 episode)
- Dying to Live (15 May 1995) - Mr. Lou
"Frasier" (1 episode)
- Author, Author (5 May 1994) - Sam Tanaka
"Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1 episode)
- Tournament (18 April 1994) - Li Sung
"Paradise" (1 episode)
- Dangerous Cargo (20 January 1990) - Actor
"The Equalizer" (1 episode)
- Riding the Elephant (9 November 1988) - Actor
"Tour of Duty" (1 episode)
- Sitting Ducks (29 October 1987) - Tran
"Spenser: For Hire" (1 episode)
- My Brother's Keeper (14 March 1987) - Tommy Nguyen
"The A-Team" (1 episode)
- Recipe for Heavy Bread (23 September 1983) - Lin Duk Coo
"The Greatest American Hero" (1 episode)
- Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo (3 February 1983) - Master of Flowers
"Magnum, P.I." (1 episode)
- The Arrow That Is Not Aimed (27 January 1983) - Tozan
"Voyagers!" (1 episode)
- The Travels of Marco...and Friends (3 December 1982) - Actor
"Bring 'Em Back Alive" (1 episode)
- The Pied Piper (19 October 1982) - Actor
"Flamingo Road" (1 episode)
- Double Trouble (23 February 1982) - Actor
"The Facts of Life" (1 episode)
- The Americanization of Miko (20 January 1982) - Mr. Wakamatsu
"Fantasy Island" (1 episode)
- The Heroine/The Warrior (24 January 1981) - Kwong Soo Luke
"A Man Called Sloane" (1 episode)
- Samurai (24 November 1979) - Actor
"Supertrain" (1 episode)
- Pirouette (7 March 1979) - Kirby
"Wonder Woman" (1 episode)
- Going, Going, Gone (12 January 1979) - Mr. Brown
Columbo: Murder Under Glass (1978) (TV) .... Kanji Ousu
"Quincy M.E." (2 episodes)
- Touch of Death (2 December 1977) - Mr. Yamaguchi
- Sword of Honor, Blade of Death (15 December 1982) - John Moroshima
"Visions" (1 episode)
- Gold Watch (11 November 1976) - Masu Murakami
"Hawaii Five-O" (1 episode)
- Legacy of Terror (1 January 1976) - Kazuo Tahashi
"Mannix" (1 episode)
- Enter Tami Okada (17 November 1974) - Tami Okada
"M*A*S*H" (4 episodes)
- Rainbow Bridge (17 September 1974) - Dr. Lin Tam
- Hawkeye Get Your Gun (30 November 1976) - Major Choi
- Guerilla My Dreams (1 October 1979) - Lt. Hung Lee Park
- The Best of Enemies (17 November 1980) - Li Han
"Love, American Style" (1 episode)
-Love and the Fortune Cookie/Love and the Lady Prisoner/Love and the Opera Singer/Love and the Weighty Problem (2 November 1973) - (segment "Love and the Fortune Cookie")
"Kung Fu" (1 episode)
- The Tide (1 February 1973) - Wong Ti Lu
"The Streets of San Francisco" (1 episode)
- Pilot (16 September 1972) - Kenji
"The F.B.I." (1 episode)
- Southwind (3 March 1968) - Yoshimura
"The Big Valley" (1 episode)
- Rimfire (16 February 1968) - Wong Lo
"Vacation Playhouse" (1 episode)
- Alfred of the Amazon (31 July 1967) - Simba
"The Time Tunnel" (1 episode)
- Kill Two by Two (6 January 1967) - Lt. Nakamura
"F Troop" (1 episode)
- From Karate with Love (5 January 1967) - Actor
"The Green Hornet" (1 episode)
- The Preying Mantis (18 November 1966) - Low Sing
"Gidget" (1 episode)
- The War Between Men, Women and Gidget (8 December 1965) - Casey
"I Spy" (3 episodes)
- Court of the Lion (2 February 1966) - Baby Face
"Amos Burke, Secret Agent" (1 episode)
- The Prisoners of Mr. Sin (27 October 1965) - Happy Tuava
"I Dream of Jeannie" (1 episode)
- The Marriage Caper (9 October 1965) - 4. Kato
"Burke's Law" (1 episode)
- Who Killed April? (31 January 1964) - Pete
"77 Sunset Strip" (1 episode)
- Stranger from the Sea (15 March 1963) - Iko Nakayama
"The Gallant Men" (1 episode)
- One Puka Puka (2 March 1963) - Frank Fakuda
"The Lloyd Bridges Show" (1 episode)
- Yankee Stay Here (13 November 1962) - Takahashi
"McHale's Navy" (7 episodes)
- Movies Are Your Best Diversion (8 November 1962) - The Japanese Sentry
- The Captain's Mission (10 January 1963) - First Japanese
- One Enchanted Weekend (28 March 1963) - Captain Uzaki
- McHale and His Schweinhunds (30 September 1963) - Lt. Yamasake
- Have Kimono, Will Travel (21 October 1963) - First Japanese Soldier
- A Letter for Fuji (9 December 1963) - Third Japanese Soldier
- The Balloon Goes Up (13 January 1964) - Sessua

CINEVERSE CONNECTIONS
Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994) .... Nakano
~~~~~
THE TOONIVERSE
(TV SERIES)
"Samurai Jack" (2001) TV Series (voice) .... Aku
"Dexter's Laboratory" (1996) TV Series (voice) .... Main Title Narrator

[RECURRING ROLES]
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" (9 episodes) as Uncle Iroh
- When There Was You and Me (13 February 2005)
- The Southern Air Temple (25 February 2005)
- The Avatar State (17 March 2006)
- Avatar Day (28 April 2006)
- The Desert (14 July 2006)
- Seventy-Three Wives (15 September 2006)
- Secret of the Fire Nation (30 September 2006)
- The Last Koufus (15 December 2006)
- The Failure (29 December 2006)
"Duck Dodgers" (3 episodes) as Happy Cat
- Hooray for Hollywood Planet (1 November 2003)
- Queen Is Wild, The/Back to the Academy (8 November 2003)
- Surf the Stars/Samurai Quack (4 February 2005) also as Achoo

(GUEST APPEARANCES)
"Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!" (1 episode) Monster Battle Club Now! (19 December 2005) - Master Offay (voice)
"Grim & Evil" (1 episode) Test of Time/A Kick in the Asgard (16 October 2004) - Narrator (voice)
"What's New, Scooby-Doo?" (1 episode) Big Appetite in Little Tokyo (13 September 2003) - The Ancient One (voice)

(CONNECTIONS TO THE CINEVERSE)
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II (2000) (voice) .... Mr. Yamaguchi
______________________________________
TOOBWORLD NOTES:
Mako could have played the same character of "Li Sung" in episodes of 'The Incredible Hulk' and in one episode of 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'

I am unsure as to whether or not "Baby Face" and Jimmy were one and the same character in episodes of 'I Spy'.

Mako played characters named Takahashi in episodes of 'The West Wing' and 'The Lloyd Bridges Show'. These could be the same character, but from different TV dimensions. If so, the dimensional differences would splain away any discrepancies between the two characters.

As he did in the pilot episode of 'The Streets Of San Francisco', Mako played a character named Kenji in "The Ugly Dachshund". But although this was presented as episodes of the 'Disneyland' show, it was actually a movie that belongs in the Cineverse. So they couldn't be the same character.

'Burke's Law' and 'Amos Burke, Secret Agent' take place in two separate TV dimensions.

I don't think the Dr. Henry Lee from the episode of 'Walker, Texas Ranger' would be the same as the real-life forensics expert, but I could be wrong. Dr. Lee does have a televersion.....

BCnU....
Tele-Toby

MUNCH 'N' MUPPETS

At the annual press tour to kick off the new shows for the networks, producer Dick Wolf announced a new spinoff for 'Law & Order'.

Kind of.

'Sesame Street' returns for its new season on August 1st, and will feature a new segment called "Law & Order: Special Letters Unit". This send-up of the 'L&O' franchise will have Muppet cops, voiced by actors from the various 'L&O' series, searching for each of the letters in the alphabet.

One of the Muppet cops even looks sort of like Richard Belzer, who plays Munch on 'Special Victims Unit', albeit green in skin color.

"I feel like a tobacco company executive," said Dick Wolf, "Because hopefully we will hook 4-and-5-and-6-year-olds on the brand now."

If this proves successful, will other TV series lobby to get the same treatment? 'Rescue Me' done with the voices of Denis Leary and the other actors, but instead of fighting fires they add and subtract?

"How I Met Your Muppet"?

Within the realm of Toobworld, how does this figure in? Is it a Zonk?

I don't think so. Puppets are living beings in the main Toobworld. And even though these Muppets will be spoofing the original shows, I don't see them as violating the integrity of those shows. I think they can co-exist within the same dimension.

I use as the precedent for this two other puppet series - 'Spitting Image' and 'D.C. Follies'. They also had puppets which were passing themselves off as real people. (Even though the Muppets of "Special Letters Unit" are based on the 'L&O' characters and not the actors per se, those characters are still "real people" within the framework of Toobworld.)

Puppets are spirit beings who use the puppet shells to give them visible bodily forms. And whatever the shape of that puppet shell, that's the attitude that they assume. For all intents and purposes, they become the object they resemble. So Kermit the Frog is a frog, Globey (of 'PeeWee's Playhouse') is a globe, and the Whoopi puppets of 'Spitting Image' and 'D.C. Follies' are both Whoopi Goldberg as far as they are concerned.

This is why those puppets especially are confined to "puppet reservations", like Sesame Street, Rimba's Island, Eureeka's Castle, and the Living Island. And for the most part, humans avoid contact with these beings; practically ignore their very existence.

It may be prejudice, but at least it provides a good splainin as to why we never saw Andy Sipowicz get a puppet partner on 'NYPD Blue'.

Although come to think of it, Dennis Franz does resemble one of those standard blue, bald-headed Muppets.......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

[Thanks to Nora Lee and Diane Werts for the original news item!]

THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

'THE CLOSER' & 'IT TAKES A THIEF'

In this week's episode of 'The Closer' ("Head Over Heels"), Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and her team investigated the death and dismemberment of a porn star named Chris Mundy. (His screen name was "Buck Schott".)

We met Chris Mundy's wife and kids, but we never learned who his parents were.

Back in the 1960s on the TV show 'It Takes A Thief', a suave and debonnair master-thief named Alexander Mundy romanced many lovely young ladies during the course of his adventures while working for the NSA. The over-riding common sense of today to practice safe sex was unheard of back in those days - AIDS didn't manifest itself in the public consciousness until the early 1980s. So it's highly possible that at least one of those women Al Mundy bedded became pregnant.

If so, she might have put Alexander Mundy's name on the birth certificate as the father and gave the child the name of Christopher Mundy.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

USING THE OLD NOODLE

The Advertising Standards Authority of Great Britain has ruled that a commercial for a "Cup-a-Soup" type of product called "Pot Noodle" is not "racist" for its depiction of Welsh miners. But for Toobworld, it does create a new reality as to where the noodles come from.

The blipvert shows the miners removing noodles from a noodle mine, providing - as the tagline puts it - "fuel for Britain, isn't it?"

So since it was broadcast, that's the way it is. Noodles are not made, they're mined from the depths of the earth.

Ugh. Personally, it would turn me off from eating them. How do we know they're noodles and not worms?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/5214530.stm

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WISH-CRAFT: "RESCUE ME" FROM A WILDMON!

Cowardly Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile, personally ordered his company's ads to be pulled from all of the shows on FX after caving in to pressure from the Right Wacko Reverend Donald Wildmon of the Mississippi-based American Family Association which is small of actual influence and even smaller of mind.

The claim was that 'Rescue Me' and 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' were too graphic.

Dotson said he would immediately withdraw all T-Mobile ads from FX and vowed T-Mobile 'will not support programming or content offerings that are sexually gratuitous and explicit, racist, hateful or excessively violent.'

Never mind that both shows didn't air until after 10 pm on the cable network, which isn't broadcast into just any home, by the way. Wildmon and his rabble of nutjobs want all TV shows to conform to the mild pablum that they want, and to hell with other people might want to see.

Denis Leary, who created, produces, and stars in 'Rescue Me', when on the Opie and Anthony radio show to fire back at the decision made by Yellow Belly Dotson.

But that's not good enough for Toobworld. Toobworld demands vengeance and retribution to these knuckle-draggers from the South.

Leary should work the controversy into the show, in much the same way that David Chase sought revenge against former Daily News TV critic Eric Mink: work your payback into the script!

What Leary should do (and this goes for those guys who created 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia') is to have various characters bitch and moan about the poor quality of service they get from T-Mobile. Or they could make fun of the types of commercials that the company throws at its audience "ad nauseum".

And then those on 'Rescue Me' who have T-Mobile should be seen finally dumping T-Mobile altogether. They could even claim that having T-Mobile could have cost one of them his life while battling a fire.

Now, I supposed in this day and age of product placement, going in the opposite direction to slam an actual device may be too dangerous - it could open them to lawsuits.

But think of how all those other cell phone services would be knocking on the office doors for Leary and his partner Peter Tolan to have their services named as the replacements for T-Mobile within the reality of 'Rescue Me'. The money might be too good to ignore.

(I'd like to see them opt for a fictional service. Even though the show is set in NYC, maybe TelCal ('VR.5') could branch out to go national. Or perhaps it could be that mega-corporation for which 'Bob!' McKay toiled, American-Canadian Transcontinental Communications (or AmCanTransCom for short).

They should even toss their old T-Mobile cell phones into a garbage can and spit on them! (a la "The Producers")

And the American Family Association shouldn't be exempt from ridicule and abuse, although it might be better to definitely go the roman a clef route to avoid lawsuits.

But there should be a nutjob based on that jerk Donald Wildmon who comes to the defense of one of his followers who caused a fire which Tommy Gavin and the crew would have to battle. Probably a fire to destroy some TV show set which is on the fictional version of the AFA's hit list.

And genius that I am, I have the perfect choice!

'Miss Sally's Schoolyard', which was seen on 'Oz' as well as in the reunion movie for 'Homicide: Life On The Street'. That way the link would make 'Rescue Me' a definitive part of the Westphallian version of the TV Universe.

Not that I would want 'Miss Sally's Schoolyard' to be obliterated from the TV landscape. Miss Sally has huge..... contributions to the enjoyment of Toobworld.

But somehow the message has to get out to panty-waist Dotson that he should never have given in to the maniacal pressure from a group that is ultimately powerless in its inlfuence.

Just sayin' is all.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

So pretty!

Finally! Look what I downloaded... Isn't it shamelessly gaudy and pink? I LOVE IT!

A PINK THEME!

For years Mozilla only gave us stupid blue boyish themes that for some reason all made my pc look like a mac. FOR WHAT?! I like my pc!

This is so nice! :D

Here, for you girlies. Don't say I never share hor!

By the way, anyone knows how to edit a downloaded Mozilla theme? I actually went to read up on it and I can't find the appropriate .jar file. Man, I am such a geek sometimes. Frightens myself.

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK (?) [7/24/06]

And now for something completely different.

With the advent of the computer being so pervasive in people's everyday lives (much to the chagrin of Number Six in 'The Prisoner', more than likely), the borders between the Internet and the world of Television are becoming increasingly blurred.

Not only are the showrunners using the Web to promote their TV shows with ads, but they're also creating content that ties into those programs. We've already seen short scenes that fit into the continuity of TV shows (like 'Rescue Me', 'CSI: Miami') appear on the Internet. And don't get me started with the mobisodes being created for shows like 'Doctor Who', 'Lost', 'Prison Break', and 'The Beverly Hillbillies'.

(Okay, I made that one up, but I really am looking for a way to see the 'Lost' mobisodes which will feature Hurley. Being voluntarily cell-phone deprived - too conspiracy-minded about them! - I hope there will be a way to see them online like the "Tardisodes" of 'Doctor Who'.)

'Lost' is really doing a bang-up job to keep the fan base excited about the show until it comes back in October, and maybe even past that point. They've been building a cyber-world of conspiracies centered around the Hanso Organization which has even bled into their television programming.

As I wrote on May 31st, Jimmy Kimmel addressed this so-called conspiracy against the Hanso Organization on his show the same night as the 'Lost' finale aired.

Here's an excerpt from that blog report:

Hugh McIntyre "truthfully" answered all of Jimmy's questions regarding the Hanso Foundation and there was no hint that it was supposed to be any kind of a spoof.

But they kept talking about 'Lost' as a TV show which was mocking the foundation; with its own fictional variant on the "work" being done by the scientists who were funded by Alvar Hanso.

So this put 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' into yet another TV dimension, separate from the main Toobworld; one where 'Lost' is just a TV show just like it is for us here in the Real World.

ABC and the 'Lost' showrunners aren't just doing this sort of thing on TV and the Internet either. This past weekend was the big, famous San Diego Comic-Con, and they even "infected" that with their blend of Toobworld, the Real World, and "Cyberia".

During a panel discussion on the show which featured Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and actors Jorge Garcia and Daniel Dae Kim, suddenly the proceedings were disrupted by a young woman who's been making her presence known as a cyber-terrorist on the various Hanso sites.

Here's how Quadruple Tree described what happened for "Ain't It Cool News":

At one point a "protester" crashed the presentation and confronted the producers asking if they had no shame. She said her name was Rachel Blake and that the Hanso foundation was real and that the producers were using them for entertainment purposes even though they had done terrible things in Africa and Iceland.

She said to go to hansoexpose.com if we wanted the real truth just before security escorted her away.

So this "event" ties in more with 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' rather than with 'Lost' itself, as both referred to the TV show as fake (Blasphemy!) and yet the Hanso Organization and the Dharma Initiative which are portrayed within the show are considered to be "real".

You can read the entire report by Quadruple Tree here.

Like I said, this is something completely different for this weekly entry. But in this heat, it was easy enough to summon up; didn't want to work too hard on the crossover this week.

But be thankful.

I could have instead written about CBS' ploy to advertise its shows by imprinting messages on eggshells!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

In defence of plastic surgery

I was moderating the comments for the post with Dawn's and my photo, and the more I read, the more pissed I feel.

It is pretty apparent by now and she and I are friends, so I don't see why it is necessary for stupid readers to compare her and me. If you think she is pretty and I am ugly, then just compliment her la, why must you put me down while complimenting her?

Vice versa of course.

And the plastic surgery issue is so long ago over. People are still asking me if she did surgery.

By now the answer still not obvious meh? So she did (I am presuming from old photos), so what man?

It's her face what, you her mother ah? She wanna do anything to it also can.

I cannot understand people who talk so much about natural beauty. You know what I think? FUCK NATURAL BEAUTY. Don't brush your teeth lor! Cannot put braces! CANNOT DYE YOUR HAIR!

Coz if you do any of that, it's not natural beauty anymore!

Please don't say things like "Xiaxue has natural beauty, Dawn doesn't".

Firstly, I already announced very loudly many times that I edit my photos, and I cannot reveal my secrets la, but it has to do with making my nose smaller and my jawline firmer *blush*. Damn I just revealed it.

So I am no natural beauty on this blog.

Even if you saw me in real life and think I'm pretty, what's so authentic about foundation, fake eyelashes, and loads of mascara?

FACE IT LA. Everyone is fucking fake. Who can be all natural? I know who... Ugly people.

You say these girls, plastic or made up, are cheating the world with their looks.

But I ask this: What's stopping you from doing the same? Lack of talent in putting make up? Or lack of money to do surgery?

If you had loads of money and your surgery is RISK-FREE to confirm make you more beautiful, you don't want meh?

My point is... It is fair competition! If you are a girl and not happy with the boys thinking Dawn is so hot, then fucking go do surgery yourself.

Defending your own ugliness by defending the lameass "natural beauty" just reeks of your jealousy.

So you are ugly but filled with natural beauty (ha, ironic). WHO CARES? Who goes on magazine covers and fucks the hot models? NOT YOU, NATURAL BEAUTY AMBASSADOR.

In one disappointing movement, I am hereby announcing that if I ever had the chance to, I WILL GET A NOSE JOB!

Of course, I will honestly tell everyone I did surgery la. Ha! At least a bit authentically fake.

As for the photoshop, I just did my usual nose-adjusting and a bit of jaw pushing, that's it. Why should I photoshop for Dawn too? I think she looks fine. Plus, I am not close to her and have no idea whether she likes people tinkering with her photos.

It was ME to asked Dawn to take a photo with me, and she does not deserve getting so much flak in my blog's comments for that.

My blog reader Cedric helps me moderate comments too, so it's not like I can screen all the comments myself.

Just be nice la, ok?

*Don't see what's the difference between mascara and an implant*

I demand interesting advertising!!!

Click to enlarge

Jack in the Box is one of America's largest fast food chains, and it has SUPERB advertising!!!!

The copy is so freaking funny!!

I liked it so much that I actually folded it, put it in my bag, and flew it 22 hours back here! I wet it a bit at the edge though... Hehe...

I wish we have this kinda interesting advertising in Singapore. You think Singaporeans will like a sense of humour in our ads?

Sometimes I think Singaporeans are too freaking uptight (I.e. Stomp readers throwing a big fuss over vulgarities), but it seems like many of us appreciate humour too!

Anyway, this is not another bout of Singapore-bashing just because I went to US. I'm just complaining about everything under the sun as usual, and I still love Singapore, just that I hate all of the fucking anal people staying in here.

And maybe also hate the Advertising people coz they mostly suck. Remember the nice Prudential ad a long time ago? The boy growing up one? That was nice! Wonder what happened to these talented people... Wonder how that bespectacled handsome model looks like now?! Anyone knows him?!!

MAN I HATE PEOPLE WITH NO SENSE OF HUMOUR! Anyway, Jack in the Box. Funny. Uptight Swiss people! HAHAHA.

p/s:

I'm conducting a dating experiment for a new project I'm working on right now, and I'm looking for volunteers interested in being my date for the sake of science. Ok not really science but it's for a good cause lah.

If interested, please email me with "Dating Experiment" in the subject line, your contact info and a short intro about yourself. If you have a picture, all the better. It will be fun! Email me ok!

"MARCO......" "POLO!"

Last night, Sci-Fi presented "Dragon Dynasty", a fantasy about Marco Polo bringing back dragons from China unknowingly. It was a ploy by a Chinese wizard to prevent the West from venturing back into his country, which he considered to be bad for China's future.

As Marco Polo was portrayed by Federico Castelluccio, it's tempting to employ the "Theory of Relateeveety" and say that he was the ancestor to Furio on 'The Sopranos'. However, Castelluccio was not the first actor to play Marco Polo on the small screen, and the basic rule is that the first actor to play a role gets to be that character in Toobworld.

It can and has been a rule broken in the past, but I see no reason why it should be done in this case.

The first Marco Polo on TV was seen in the United Kingdom, back in 1936! He was played by Griffith Jones in an adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's satirical play "Marco Millions". Just because it was from so long ago, and probably hasn't been seen in decades (if a copy exists at all!), that doesn't exclude it from consideration to be THE version of Marco Polo's life in the main Toobworld of Earth Prime-Time.

In 1982, Ken Marshall played Marco Polo (and Alexander Picolo portrayed him as a child) in a mini-series. This version could be shunted off to another TV dimension, such as the "evil mirror universe".

Marco Polo has been visited by time travellers from the main Toobworld, but it's likely these voyagers crossed over to relative dimensions in space as well as go back in Time.

The first incarnation of the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as The Doctor met Marco Polo in 1289. At that time the explorer tried to deliver the TARDIS to Kublai Khan in order to win his passage home to Venice. But after he helped the Doctor in foiling Tegana's attempt to kill the Khan, his double-cross was no longer necessary.

There were two other time travellers named Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, Americans who were unstuck in time due to an accident with the experimental 'Time Tunnel'. They met up with Marco Polo as well and were able to help him defeat the evil Batu, who also hoped to overthrow Kublai Khan.

The control team back home at Operation Tic-Toc did even more serious damage to the timeline by finding a way to transport blasting caps back through the Time Tunnel to Tony and Doug so that they could ignite the black powder which Marco Polo had with him.

Let's say there was no crossing the dimensional veil by these various time travellers, and that they all did meet the original Marco Polo of Earth Prime-Time. The difference in his appearance, which was due to casting here in the Real World, could be attributed to Marco Polo's long incarceration against his will in China; and that the Doctor met with the Venetian at a different point in time than did Doug and Tony.

But because all of them interfered with the normal course of events, (Doug may even have impregnated Sahib, the daughter of the Khan!), they created new timelines and thus new dimensions for Toobworld.

And as the mighty Kublai Khan in his stately pleasure-dome would decree, you ain't seen nothin' yet. There will be another mini-series next year with Ian Somerhalder playing the Italian explorer. It amuses me to stick his version into the same TV dimension in which we would find 'The West Wing'.

I don't know if it will have the same earnest intensity as did the Sorkin drama, nor do I know if they will walk and talk through Xanadu just as quickly as the Oval Office occupants.

I just like the idea that this Marco Polo and Sam Seaborn are from the same world......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"You do have style.
And that's one thing a Venetian can appreciate."
Marco Polo
'The Time Tunnel'

MARCO POLO IN TOOBWORLD:

Mark Eden (I) (Marco Polo)
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {Assassin at Peking (#1.20)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {Five Hundred Eyes (#1.16)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {Mighty Kublai Khan (#1.19)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {Rider from Shang-Tu (#1.18)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {The Roof of the World (#1.14)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {The Singing Sands (#1.15)} TV Series
. . . "Doctor Who" (1963) {The Wall of Lies (#1.17)} TV Series

Griffith Jones (Marco Polo)
. . . Marco Millions (1939) (TV)

Ken Marshall (I) (Marco Polo)
. . . "Marco Polo" (1982) (mini) TV Series

Alexander Picolo (Marco Polo as Child)
. . . "Marco Polo" (1982) (mini) TV Series

John Saxon (Marco Polo)
. . . "Time Tunnel, The" (1966) {Attack of the Barbarians (#1.26)} TV Series

Ian Somerhalder (Marco Polo)
. . . "Marco Polo" (2006) (mini) TV Series

WISH-CRAFT: "MUNCH TREK"

If and when 'Star Trek' ever returns to the Television airwaves (movie screens appear to be a given), I'm hoping one day we'll be able to link the entire franchise "officially" to the entire TV Universe. (I put "officially" into quotation marks, because if you understand the Toobworld concept, you already know I consider every TV show to be already sharing the same TV Universe in one way or another.)

And how would I like to see this occur? Why, through Detective John Munch, of course!

I don't mean that he should be cryogenically frozen and thawed out in the future. I don't want to see a new Enterprise crew travel back in time and meet up with the Munchkin in either Baltimore or NYC. It doesn't have to be that outlandish.

I think it's been pretty well documented that John Munch is not only a conspiracy theory nut, but that he tries to stay current with the latest updates in scientific achievement.

As such, he might be the type of person to record a holographic message of himself addressing either the human race of the Future (or what's left of it), or the alien overlords that will have probably taken over.

It would be high-tech and cutting edge in its quality when Munch records it. But by the time it is discovered in the future by someone in Starfleet, it would be considered as grainy and old-fashioned as we view nickelodeon movies today.

More than likely such an artifact would be dismissed as just a curio, since Munch more than likely will not have any real impact on the future. Still, it would have served its purpose to link the 'Star Trek' franchise to rest of the TV Universe's core, via 'Homicide: Life On The Street', 'Law & Order', 'St. Elsewhere', etc.

Here's another Munch crossover I wish we could have seen: Munch on assignment in Boston (prisoner exchange?), taking a break in a local bar called 'Cheers'. And there he would get into a wacked-out bar argument with Cliff Clavin.

Would've liked to have seen Munch show up in Rome, Wisconsin, on 'Picket Fences' as well........

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"We're gonna neutron this little bastard!"
Detective John Munch
'Homicide: Life On The Street'

THIS SPORTING LIFE

Toobworld and the Real World will blend together again like in the days of 'Arli$$' when various NBC stations will air an improv comedy series this fall called 'Sports Action Team'. It will be broadcast after NBC's Sunday night telecasts of NFL games.

The improv actors and other comedians will portray a bumbling team of sports reporters who probably graduated from the Ted Baxter School of Broadcast Journalism. Each week they'll interview professionals and amateurs in sports, from the athletes to the fans, and everyone in between.

Sort of the sports equivalent to 'Dog Bites Man', in a way.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

Thanks for the support!

Woah!

Thanks to everyone who bought pixels! You all are the best!

Anyway, the first 20 ads are already sold out, so from now on the 50% discount will be off.

However, as I am rushing to go out now, I will shut one eye hor, coz I am lazy to to change the settings.

SO!

If you wanna buy pixels, you better do it now before I change the settings! Last chance for a $50 link!

Anyway, I blogged on Stomp, so you can read that if you are bored.

One picture from the day we gave the car away at Plaza Sing:




CHIO!

Bye all!

THE HAT SQUAD: JACK WARDEN

Here are some excerpts from the obituaries for Jack Warden, a gruff but lovable character actor who passed away yesterday at the age of 85:

Oscar-nominated character actor Jack Warden, best known for starring alongside Warren Beatty in "Shampoo" and "Heaven Can Wait," has died at 85, his longtime business manager said.

Warden, who appeared in dozens of films and won an Emmy award as the star of the 1980s TV series "Crazy Like a Fox," died on Wednesday in New York, business manager Sidney Pazoff said.

Pazoff said the veteran character actor had retired several years ago and had been suffering from medical problems in recent years.

"Everything gave out. Old age," Pazoff said. "He really had turned downhill in the past month; heart and then kidney and then all kinds of stuff."

Warden was nominated twice for supporting-actor Oscars in two Warren Beatty movies. He was nominated for his role as a businessman in 1975's "Shampoo" and the good-hearted football trainer in 1978's "Heaven Can Wait."

He won a supporting actor Emmy for his role as Chicago Bears coach George Halas in the 1971 made-for-TV movie "Brian's Song" and was twice nominated in the 1980s as leading actor in a comedy for his show "Crazy Like a Fox."

Warden, with his white hair, weathered face and gravelly voice, was in demand for character parts for decades. In real life, the former boxer, deckhand and paratrooper was anything but a tough guy.

"Very gentle. Very dapper," Pazoff said. "Most of them (actors) are pretty true to the characters that they play. He was one who was not."

He was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division but shortly before D-Day he broke his leg during a nighttime practice jump in Britain. "They sent me back to the States," he recalled in a 1988 Associated Press interview. "I was in a hospital for nearly a year."

A fellow soldier who had been an actor gave him a play to read and he was hooked. He recovered enough to take part in the Battle of the Bulge and, after the war, went to New York to pursue an acting career.

He attended acting classes and did Tennessee Williams plays in repertory companies and moved on to appear in live TV shows such as the famed "Studio One."

Over the years he had a number of recurring or starring TV roles. He was a major in "The Wackiest Ship in the Army"; the coach on "Mr. Peepers"; a coach again on the small-screen version of "The Bad News Bears,"; detectives in "Asphalt Jungle," "N.Y.P.D." and "Jigsaw John"; and a private investigator in "Crazy Like a Fox."

My first remembrance of Jack Warden was his role in 'The Wackiest Ship In The Army'. And then it was the sad and haunting episode of 'The Twilight Zone' called "The Lonely". After that, I was hooked as a Jack Warden fan.

I'd place him in the same school of character actor as James Whitmore and Darren McGavin: up from the streets tough guys whose outer persona masked men with feelings and emotional conflict.

Going outside of Toobworld for a moment, it was his performance as Max Corkle in "Heaven Can Wait" that was the only thing to not only match, but perhaps even surpass the original movie of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan". (And I mean no disrespect to the great Jimmy Gleason, as he was fantastic in the original role.)

Who do we have left that could play the roles men like Warden and McGavin could play? Charles Durning is as old as they were; Ed Asner only about a decade behind. Toobworld is going to have a great void that cannot be filled once that style of actor is gone.....

TV SERIES
"Knight & Daye" (1989) TV Series .... Hank Knight
"Crazy Like a Fox" (1984) TV Series .... Harrison 'Harry' Fox, Sr.
"The Bad News Bears" (1979) TV Series .... Morris Buttermaker
"Jigsaw John" (1976) TV Series .... 'Jigsaw' John St. John
"N.Y.P.D." (1967) TV Series .... Lt. Mike Haines
"The Wackiest Ship in the Army" (1965) TV Series .... Maj. Simon Butcher
"The Asphalt Jungle" (1961) TV Series .... Matt Gower
"Norby" (1955) TV Series .... Bobo
"Mr. Peepers" (1952) TV Series .... Coach

TELE-HISTORY
Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War (1987) (TV) .... J. Edgar Hoover
"A.D." (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Nerva
"Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Joseph Kennedy Sr.
Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (1984) (TV) .... Mark Twain
Raid on Entebbe (1977) (TV) .... Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur
Brian's Song (1971) (TV) .... Coach George Halas

TELE-CLASSICS
Alice in Wonderland (1985) (TV) .... Owl
Hobson's Choice (1983) (TV) .... Henry Horatio Hobson

PREQUELS & SEQUELS
Police Story: The Watch Commander (1988) (TV) .... Joe Wilson
Still Crazy Like a Fox (1987) (TV) .... Harry Fox
Topper (1979) (TV) .... Cosmo Topper
They Only Come Out at Night (1975) (TV) .... John St. John

CINEVERSE CONNECTIONS
Problem Child 3: Junior in Love (1995) (TV) .... Big Ben
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) .... Mr. Tarkenian the News Editor
"The Bad News Bears" (1979) TV Series .... Morris Buttermaker
"Producers' Showcase"
- The Petrified Forest (1955) TV Episode

TV PILOTS
Wheeler and Murdoch (1973) (TV) .... Sam Wheeler

TV MOVIES
Dead Solid Perfect (1988) (TV) .... Hubert 'Bad Hair' Wimberly
Three Wishes for Jamie (1987) (TV) .... Owen Tavish
The Three Kings (1987) (TV) .... David
A Private Battle (1980) (TV) .... Cornelius Ryan
Journey from Darkness (1975) (TV) .... Fred Hartman
The Godchild (1974) (TV) .... Sgt. Dobbs
A Memory of Two Mondays (1974) (TV) .... Gus
Remember When (1974) (TV) .... Joe Hodges
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife (1972) (TV) .... Capt. Patrick Lonergan
Man on a String (1972) (TV) .... Jake Moniker
What's a Nice Girl Like You...? (1971) (TV) .... Lieutenant Joe Burton
The Face of Fear (1971) (TV) .... Lieutenant George Coy

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"The Norm Show"
- Norm Dates Danny's Dad (1999) TV Episode .... Harry
"Ink"
- The Fighting Irish (1997) TV Episode .... Timothy Logan
"The Invaders"
- The Ivy Curtain (1967) TV Episode .... Barney Cahill
"The Fugitive"
- Concrete Evidence (1967) TV Episode .... Alex Patton
"Wagon Train"
- The Miss Mary Lee McIntosh Story (1965) TV Episode .... Daniel Delaney
- The Martin Onyx Story (1962) TV Episode .... Martin Onyx
"The Virginian"
- Shadows of the Past (1965) TV Episode .... John Conway
- Throw a Long Rope (1962) TV Episode .... Jubal Tatum
"Dr. Kildare"
- No Mother to Guide Them (1965) TV Episode .... Ernie Duffy
"Disneyland"
- The Adventures of Gallegher: Part 2 (1965) TV Episode .... Lieutenant Fergus
"Slattery's People"
- Question: Is Laura the Name of the Game? (1964) TV Episode .... Harry Tamiris
"Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre"
- Out on the Outskirts of Town (1964) TV Episode .... Manny Garret"Bewitched"
- It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1964) TV Episode .... Rex Barker
"Kraft Suspense Theatre"
- The Watchman (1964) TV Episode .... Jack Fleming
"The Great Adventure"
- Escape (1964) TV Episode .... Latham
"Breaking Point"
- No Squares in My Family Circle (1964) TV Episode .... Carlo Scotti
"Route 66"
- Two Strangers and an Old Enemy (1963) TV Episode .... Major Barben
- A Feat of Strength (1962) TV Episode .... Sandor Biro
- The Clover Throne (1961) TV Episode .... Adam Darcey
"77 Sunset Strip"
- Flight 307 (1963) TV Episode .... Max Eames
"Naked City"
- Spectre of the Rose Street Gang (1962) TV Episode .... Sam Langan
- The King of Venus Will Take Care of You (1962) TV Episode .... Steve Lollo
- The Face of the Enemy (1962) TV Episode .... Neil Daggett
"Ben Casey"
- I Hear America Singing (1962) TV Episode .... O. B. Dodson
- The Big Trouble with Charlie (1962) TV Episode .... Dr. Charles 'Charlie' Kozelka
"Alcoa Premiere"
- Flashing Spikes (1962) TV Episode .... Commissioner
"Target: The Corruptors"
- The Organizers: Part 2 (1962) TV Episode .... Jerry Skala
- The Organizers: Part 1 (1962) TV Episode .... Jerry Skala
"Tales of Wells Fargo"
- The Traveler (1962) TV Episode .... Brad Axton
"Bus Stop"
- Accessory by Consent (1961) TV Episode .... Joe Harrison
"Checkmate"
- Between Two Guns (1961) TV Episode .... Farrell
"The Untouchables"
- The Otto Frick Story (1960) TV Episode .... Otto Frick
- Head of Fire, Feet of Clay (1960) TV Episode .... Frank Barber
- The George 'Bugs' Moran Story (1959) TV Episode .... Lawrence Halloran
"Outlaws"
- Starfall: Part 2 (1960) TV Episode .... Ollie
- Starfall: Part 1 (1960) TV Episode .... Ollie
"Stagecoach West"
- A Fork in the Road (1960) TV Episode .... Stacey Gibbs
"The Twilight Zone"
- The Mighty Casey (1960) TV Episode .... Mouth McGarry
- The Lonely (1959) TV Episode .... James A. Corry
"Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse"
- Meeting at Appalachia (1960) TV Episode .... Joe Rogarti
"The Lawless Years"
- The Billy Boy 'Rockabye' Creel Story (1959) TV Episode .... Halloran
"Five Fingers"
- The Moment of Truth (1959) TV Episode .... Fitzgerald"Bonanza"
- The Paiute War (1959) TV Episode .... Mike Wilson
"Playhouse 90"
- The Day Before Atlanta (1959) TV Episode .... Jubal
- The Blue Men (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Cushing
- Nightmare at Ground Zero (1958) TV Episode .... Long
"Suspicion"
- The Flight (1957) TV Episode .... Haight
"The United States Steel Hour"
- Up Above the World So High (1957) TV Episode
"Hallmark Hall of Fame"
- The Lark (1957) TV Episode .... Robert de Beaudricourt
"The Kaiser Aluminum Hour"
- A Real Fine Cutting Edge (1957) TV Episode .... Master Sergeant Willis Debb
"Climax!"
- Flame-Out in T-6 (1956) TV Episode .... Lieutenant Ravenna
"The Alcoa Hour"
- Tragedy in a Temporary Town (1956) TV Episode .... Frank Doran
"The Philco Television Playhouse"
- The Mechanical Heart (1955) TV Episode
- Shadow of the Champ (1955) TV Episode
"Justice"
- Flight from Fear (1955) TV Episode
- Save Me Now (1955) TV Episode
"Danger"
- The Piano (1955) TV Episode
- In the La Banza (1951) TV Episode
"Kraft Television Theatre"
- No Riders (1955) TV Episode
"Studio One"
- A Stranger May Die (1955) TV Episode .... Lieutenant Brown
- U.F.O. (1954) TV Episode .... Mike
- Screwball (1954) TV Episode .... Russ Adams
"Center Stage"
- Chivalry at Howling Creek (1954) TV Episode
"Kraft Television Theatre"
- Dr. Rainwater Goes A-Courtin' (1954) TV Episode
"The Man Behind the Badge"
- The Portland, Oregon Story (1953) TV Episode
"Campbell Playhouse"
- The Promise (1953) TV Episode
"Tales of Tomorrow"
- All the Time in the World (1952) TV Episode .... Steve

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MISSING LINK: "EUREKA" & "DARK SKIES"

Back in the early 1950s, Albert Einstein convinced President Truman to establish a town for all of its greatest scientific minds where they could work in seclusion, secrecy, and high security (triple sec!), and yet still maintain the semblance of a small-town home life.

And that's how 'Eureka', Oregon, was founded.

Harry Truman was probably receptive to the idea because he had seen first-hand the threat posed by the Hive just a few years before in Roswell, New Mexico. The oversight committee working behind the scenes to battle the alien menace was known as Majestic 12 (as seen on 'Dark Skies'), and they probably were responsible for the establishment of 'Eureka'.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

MISSING LINK: THE END OF TOOBWORLD

Or at least one of them, anyway......

One reason why it would be exceedingly difficult to create a cohesive universe for movies, as opposed to TV, is that there is such a finality to many of their individual stories. The main characters are killed off; sometimes the entire world is destroyed.

This happens in Television as well, but at least Toobworld has an escape clause in established parallel dimensions thanks to 'Sliders', 'The Twilight Zone', and 'Star Trek' among many other shows.

This certainly comes in handy when you have TV mini-series and TV movies that deal with the end of the world ('The Stand', for example). Sometimes that cataclysmic conclusion can be rectified with a little pretzel logic. Take 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'; in the very first episode the Earth is destroyed. And since that happened back in 1981, it doesn't seem likely we can still keep that show in the main Toobworld and yet still have everything that came on the air afterwards, from 'St. Elsewhere' to 'Lost'.

Luckily, we have an out. By the end of the six episodes of 'HHG2TG', Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect were thrown back in time to the age of the cavemen, along with the crew of a Golgafrinchan spaceship. By interfering with the timeline of the Earth back then, Arthur and Ford created a whole new chronology for the main Toobworld that excluded its destruction by a Vogon constructor fleet.

And thus we can continue to enjoy the shows we watch now as being part of the same TV Universe.

But sometimes that is just not possible. Too many of the episodes from the newer version of 'The Outer Limits' ended with the world's destruction, as did a few from 'The Twilight Zone' and perhaps even some episodes from 'Tales Of Tomorrow' and 'Science Fiction Theater'. As with 'The Stand', they have to be shipped over to parallel dimensions where they cannot interfere with the ongoing history of life on Toobworld.

The latest example was broadcast last night on TNT in the fourth installment of 'Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes'. "The End Of The Whole Mess" took place in the not-too-distant, sooner-than-you-think future. (Although the actual date was never specified in the original story, the TV adaptation set it in 2011.)

Bobby Fornoy, a wunderkind genius, is working with a scientific research team who contacts his older brother Howard (a documentary filmmaker) to record the team's latest project. Apparently, they discovered that the waters of La Planta, Texas, contain properties which act as a calmative for the human brain. All manner of aggression, hatred, anger, and prejudice are impossible while under the influence of this calmative.

Bobby's research team take it upon themselves to decide what's best for Mankind's future. They intend to have the explosion of a volcano on the scale of Krakatoa be the catalyst to spread the water's agent throughout the entire world. As Bobby described it, he wanted everybody in the world to drink it, bathe in it, brush their teeth with it.

The utopia gained from this forced experiment upon the world lasted only three years. And then the unforeseen side effects kicked in: everybody in the world, no matter their location or their age, came down with a variation of Alzheimer's Disease.

The entire human race was going to be reduced to mindless, gibbering shells before they finally all died out from neglect and lack of care.

And thus the Earth would live up to its entry in 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy': "Mostly Harmless".

As the tele-play was set in 2011 looking back over the last five years or so, we know it can't be set in the main Toobworld. God willin', that is. After all, barring unforeseen catastrophes, the world expects to see the Olympics in London on the telly come 2012.

Not even the dangers of a "Dalek" attack or interference by an Isolus ("Fear Her") will keep that from happening. (Both are episodes of 'Doctor Who'.)

But it does time out nicely for the Mayan prophecy that the world would end in 2012, as mentioned in an episode of 'The X-Files'......

So "The End Of The Whole Mess" will have to be dismissed to its own dimension. But it is set far enough into the future so that we can place it into an alternate dimension that already exists in the greater TV Universe. That way we can write "fini" to a world created to accommodate some TV show.

But which should it be?

We would have to exclude an o'bvious candidate like the Tooniverse, and the "evil mirror universe" made popular by 'Star Trek' and its franchises (and also visited by 'Buffy' and 'Hercules') has to be exempt as well. Its timeline extends far past the expiration date of this story.

And even though the Presidents in the many TV movies of the week line up nicely when it comes to chronology for an Earth Prime-Time/MOTW, that particular dimension will always be adding in new fictional presidents. So it's best not to tamper with their timeline.

Several alternate dimensions were created because they installed presidents of the United States during a time when the actual POTUS from the Real World should also have been the leader of Toobworld's free world as well.

'The West Wing'/'Smallville'
'Commander-In-Chief'
'The District'/'The Agency'/'Prison Break'
'24'
'Hail To The Chief'/'Mr. President'
'The Secret Files Of Desmond Pfeiffer'/'That's My Bush!'

'The Secret Files Of Desmond Pfeiffer' and 'That's My Bush!' share a dimension in which the POTUS is a doofus version of the actual President. Or when referring to the present occupant of the Oval Office, moreso than usual. At any rate, we should keep that one around.

We can cross '24' and 'Prison Break' off the list because those two shows are still in play. (Somewhat breaking news - Patricia Wettig isn't planning on returning to her role as the evil Vice President Steadman in 'Prison Break', even though she's poised to assume the mantle of Chief Executive now that the POTUS of that dimension has died.)

I think we can eliminate the dimension containing the two other sitcoms from consideration. It's not because of the difference in mood between the shows and this episode of 'Nightmares & Dreamscapes'. It's just that eventually somebody else will come up with a sitcom premise that features a fictional President, and we'll need someplace to plop it......

As for 'The West Wing', personally I'd like to think that one day we might get to reunite with characters from the Aaron Sorkin creation. But I have to concede that Jed Bartlet is already out of office in that dimension, but that he more than likely will have passed away by 2011.

Besides, I've always held that 'Smallville' takes place in the same dimension as 'The West Wing' since there were not yet any reports of Superman defending Truth, Justice, and the American Way being mentioned during CJ's White House press briefings.

But surely by 2011, Clark Kent will have come fully into his legacy as a son of Krypton, and he will have assumed his role as the Man of Steel. I would think Superman would have found a way to not only save the day (perhaps by flying in healers from other worlds), or by going back in time to prevent the project from ever taking place.

Even though there is talk of a TV movie or two to wrap up the storylines for 'Commander-In-Chief', I don't see any reason why "The End Of The Whole Mess" could not bring the world of President Mackenzie Allen to a sad conclusion.

Whether she would be still in office or not by 2011 (She is eligible for two terms of her own.) wouldn't really matter. This episode of 'Nightmares & Dreamscapes' played out on the vast world-stage but focused on just a very few characters.

Near as I can remember, the President's name (in 2011) was never mentioned - I think the lack of specifics helped make it seem a possibility to happen. So it could quite possibly be Mackenzie Allen in the White House.... Or it might have been Nathan Templeton.

Either way, if "The End Of The Whole Mess" did occur in the dimension for 'The Commander-In-Chief', both characters would have been stricken with the fatal Alzheimer's variant.
Hail to the Chief!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby