Blame Mike

I know I have not been blogging for a long time, and you guys are moving away to younger, more hard-working, and prettier bloggers, but sorry la, blame the angmoh, coz when he is here I feel very bad to leave him alone and go blogging...

But just to compensate, here's like a deluge of photos... May not be very substantial but I think at least quite interesting and got a few eye candies :D

Very random!




With Rozz









With Rozz again! This time with the fabulous food we had in Secret Garden. Yummy! Just got my hair dyed at Kimage too! Ash blonde. Love it!






Mike, staying at my place this time. :D






Rozz and boyfriend Joey brought the angmoh to eat at JB!

So nice right the food? The drunken prawns was especially fabulous lor! It's at some god-forsaken kelong though, super far in and damn scary.


Chio! Cropped Mike away so I get all the attention.



Made this myself! Been playing a lot of mahjong so I better start keeping track who I lose my money to!

And I know I drew the bird very ugly lar ok, it's supposedly beside the fa and the jiu shuo, which are also pretty unrecognisable. Bah!


Hehe this is how yi shuo should look like!

I bought it to hang on my emergency pouch coz it is my lucky 3-time 13 yao winning card! I love puffs, I put them everywhere! Fluffy and soft....


And inside the pouch!

Pantyliner wrapping a tampon and tied in a pink ribbon, eyelashes holder, Blink eyedrops, perfume, and also a rubber band for tying hair! I love my pouch! :)



Bought this at Taka! Isn't it cute? Can put whatever photo you want inside, and got diamond somemore! Only $6.90.


Why do people keep asking me what the B is for? Not obvious meh, BOMBSHELL LAR!


Mike is amazed by Sakae Sushi's conveyor belt thingy.


He likes Mos too!

Brought him to Sentosa!


Underwater World touchpool


With fishies


Sea Angels!

They are really stupid, keep getting tumbled and blown around the tank by some wind at the bottom! Hahaha! But they are really cute, they flap their fins like wings!


Hello, this is a damn skinny crab lor!


Waiting for the Dolphin show to begin...


I can see myself in the sunnies!

The baby eating Ramen at Ajisen...







Yummy!

Mont Blanc 100th Anniversary Party

Rozz invited me to this, and it is the most glam party I have ever been to! Look who was there!








With Rozz


Tanya Chua!


May and Choy, with Eliza and Rozz!
I don't know who is the girl in white actually...


Pulled poor Mike into the picture...


With Janice - model! Damn these tall people! My fake Juicy bag from JB! Super fluffy and cute. :D


Howie


Debbie and Shan

Party was at Civic Plaza, and Mont Blanc booked two huge tents and a stage!


Show's starting...



FIREWORKS! They really generous ah, these Mont Blanc people... Confirm super expensive party...

Plus they had like loads of Mediacorp artistes who came to attend the party, and what I heard is that these artistes don't come to any party unless you pay them a fee!


Fashion show, which is utterly useless for their pens and watches... I think.


Took a photo with the very pretty Michelle Chia...

And most exciting of all....

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Stefanie Sun!

I was asking her manager if I could take a photo with her, and when she saw me, she said, "Hey, you are that blogger right?"

Oh MY GOD STEFANIE SUN READS MY BLOG! Or at least heard of it lar! I am SO FAMOUS LAR! Think I will die happy now. :D

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

While waiting around after work this morning before a scheduled appointment at 10:30 am, I picked up a new DVD for the library of Toobworld Central....

The Best Of 'Not The 9 O'Clock News'

This was one of the bright spots in the 1980s Britcom wave. Mel Smith, Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys-Jones, and Pamela Stephenson before they went off to fame on their own. And it was probably the impetus for an American version, 'Not Necessarily The News' on HBO.

Now THERE's a fake news show I wish would be packaged in a Best Of DVD set!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

BUG'S LIFE: A THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

'GIDEON'S CROSSING' & 'CROSSING JORDAN'

Dr.Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy works for the Massachusetts State Coroner's office. He is known to his friends and colleagues as "Bug". This probably stems from the fact that he is a forensic entomologist, but more than likely it was because nobody wanted to pronounce "Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy".

Bug has always felt guilty over the death of his brother, who was killed after being struck by a car. Their parents had left Bug in charge, but his brother got out of the house while Bug was babysitting.

But what if his brother didn't die? What if the paramedics who rushed him to the hospital were able to revive him before they reached the emergency room?

And what if one of those paramedics was of sub-continent descent, and was married to a woman who couldn't have children of her own, yet always wanted so badly to raise a child.

Maybe this paramedic wanted to please his wife so much that he became somewhat unbalanced upon seeing this child that could pass for his own son.

A plan born of desperation might come to that paramedic - to steal Bug's brother so that his wife could raise it as her very own.

First off, he'd have to kill his partner; he couldn't have any witnesses. Then he would have to sneak into the morgue to steal the corpse of a boy of a similar age to Bug's brother. Afterwards, he drives the ambulance out into the woods, planning to claim that he was taking a shortcut, and there he crashes it so that it burns both bodies and makes it look like he was thrown clear of the crash.

Meanwhile, he's contacted his wife to come to the location and he gives the still unconscious boy into her care to take home with her. When he regained consciousness, they would have told him that it was his family who died and that only he survived. And that they would be his new family now.

Reinforcing this information into him over and over and soon Bug's brother would have totally believed it to be true.

Sound implausible? Hey, soap opera writers like James Reilly cut their teeth on plots like that and then come up with stuff even more unbelievable.

It's Toobworld, baby!

The paramedic and his wife have the last name of Shandar, and they name the boy "Siddhartha", after the prince who became the Buddha. And just to make sure that no questions are asked, they suddenly just pack up and move out to a new location where nobody knows them at all. And that's how it would have stood for a few decades.....

But every so often you hear these strange stories about the coincidences that surround twins or siblings who are raised apart from each other. And the same must have happened with Bug and "Sid" Shandar.

Despite the trauma of his early years, Siddhartha grew up well-rounded and very assured of himself and his abilities. He became a physician and found himself drawn to Boston, where he worked at General Hospital which was the more prestigious of the teaching hospitals in the Boston area (St. Eligius being the other, of course).

And so there it stands, two medicos in Beantown who have no idea that they are related to each other as brothers. It seems hard to believe that somebody who knows Bug hasn't yet run into Sid and noticed the striking resemblance between the two men, but Boston's a big town with many hospitals in the area. Still, it's only a matter of time......

This entry was made possible by the fact that Ravi Kapoor played both roles. And it seems almost fated - look at the titles! 'Gideon's Crossing'! 'Crossing Jordan'! It's kismet!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

(Many thanks to Jerome Holst and his TV Acres website for the info used in this piece.)

Happy birthday Singapore!

Just watched the National day parade with my mom's family, and lost $2.50 in mahjong to my grandpa.

God, Ah gong is seriously old! He is 88!!!!! GOOD GRACIOUS ME. He can still pee on his own and play mahjong, though he doesn't know how to play with tais.

He managed to win money from Momo, my auntie (if you remember, the one who calls her bunny "girl-girl" although the bunny is male. My cousin added in, "Yeah lor, the kuku bird very big somemore!") and me!

How the hell he did it I don't know, especially when he xiao xiang gong-ed twice. -_-

I teared a bit when they showed the late president guy who wrote the pledge. He looks so kindly and nice!! I think I am a bit too emotional for my own good lor, I don't even know who he was until he died and yet I can manage to cry over a few sentences.

Nair mind! I saw Lao Lee also got tear a bit, I think he is happy to see Singapore from lousy cheap fireworks can become like today, all laser and dunno what sai.

I know I should blog more, but I am realllllly not kidding when I say I am very busy lor! I really am! I especially came home early from Ah gong's house to chat in Stomp, and tomorrow got to wake up early for work at 9am.

Joyous of joyous occasion though!

MIKE IS COMING TOMORROW!!!!!!

:D

For 17 days only but I am so happy. He shaved off all his blonde hair too, so now he looks like a cute army boy. Oh, joy!

I waxed off all my leg hair yesterday. I am rubbing it now as I type, and man does it look and feel good with my new glorious tan! MUAHAHA

Now if you excuse me, I am gonna sleep one last lonely night, and tomorrow I am gonna be filled with endorphines, if you know what I mean, ah huh ah huh...

Pretty photo:



Yeah I know, the tee says "Top Model". Ironic isn't it? Yes precisely. Coz I can never be a top model.

I promise to blog more. Promise! I'll try!

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES: JESSE McCARTNEY

19 year old pop singer Jesse McCartney used to play JR Chandler on 'All My Children' until 2001. Now he's come back to Pine Valley... but not as JR. JR Chandler never left town; instead he was not only recast but also subjected to a malady dubbed by TV Guide blogger Daniel R. Coleridge as SORAS: Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome, so now he's 27 years old!

So there's no chance that Jesse will feel like he's looking in a mirror should he meet JR on Sept. 12th. (He already appeared on the show yesterday.) That's the type of situation faced by the tele-versions of Brandy Norwood, Lucille Ball, Art Carney, Robin Williams, and Jackie Gleason (among others) when they met the characters they played.

This situation on 'AMC' is more like that of Larry Miller, the comic actor who appeared as himself in an episode of 'Law & Order' after two memorable appearances as a nightclub owner who murdered both of his wives.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE SELL-OUT CROWD: "KYLE XY" & "MONK"

I love 'Kyle XY'; it's my favorite new show of the season (although 'Eureka' is a close second). But they're really pushing this product placement for Sour Patch Kids, their main sponsor, to the point where it's beginning to annoy me.

Don't annoy me. You wouldn't like me if I was annoyed.....

This past Monday, Kyle sat down to a hearty breakfast of Sour Patch Kids in milk. Blecch!

Bt they're not the only ones guilty of being so blatant about product placement. In the latest episode of 'Monk', Sharon Lawrence guest-starred as a real estate agent who leased a new car every year.

After she extolled the special features on her new Buick Lucerne which was the impetus for her hiring Adrian Monk as a private investigator, the show went into a commercial break. And what was the first blipvert out of the box? You guessed it!

I think that if 'Columbo' ever remade "Fade In To Murder" in which the killer was an actor who played "Inspector Lucerne" on TV, then the name of "Buick" would probably be invoked every ten minutes.

They'd probably even force Columbo to start driving one!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK! (8/8)

Warning: there are spoilers within for the second season of 'Doctor Who'........

All I came up with this week were crossovers from promos and commercials, stuff that I can slip into the mix any time. As for what happened last week, I was hoping to make a connection between the finale of 'Hex' and the pilot for 'Fallen' (coming as a mini-series next year), but I've yet to watch the ABC Family TV movie about Teen Nephilim. I promise I'll have that for next week.

In the meantime, I think I'll turn the reins of "The Crossover Of The Week" over to the guy who actually discovered a link in a recent episode of 'Eureka', Mark T....

Mark wrote to me two weeks ago:

"possible cross (don't know if it's too random) - in the second episode of Eureka, when Jack is entering the (control complex? section 5?) with Allison (the place where her husband heads), the loudspeaker announces something about the trajectory of 'satelite 5'. If you have it tivo'd, please reconfirm.
Mark"

Before I could go to the videotape, Mark responded with his own answer:

"ran thru Eureka again - it's definitely Satellite 5. The exact phrase (over the loudspeaker twice) is "Local dynamics - satellite 5 online in three - Local dynamics - satellite 5 online in three"

Mark's a good lad; a well-intentioned disciple of his Toobworld master. But he has made one small error - I believe the loudspeaker is saying "Global Dynamics", the name of the company hidden on the mountain behind the town, - rather than "local dynamics".

Still, his heart was in the right place, so the thrashing will be commuted to thirteen hours of Toobworld community service.

And that is punishment indeed, as Mark so looks forward to the thrashings.....

Mark continues:

"Satellite 5 was the 'media ship' as well as the battleground for last seasons finale."

Mark's referring to several episodes of 'Doctor Who' from last season, in which the show was revived with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth incarnation of the Gallifreyan Time Lord.

In "The Long Game", the Doctor, Rose, and Adam visited Satellite 5 where they found that the development of the human race had been stunted by the manipulation of their incessant news broadcasts. The human face behind this plot was a villainous fellow known as "The Editor"; but the true nasty was a sentient carbuncle on the ass of humanity known as the Mighty Jagrafess.

In short order, the Mighty Jagrafess was dispatched, thanks to an ambitious newswoman named Cathica and a living dead undercover agent known as Sookie.

The Doctor and Rose revisited the space station about one hundred years later in "Bad Wolf" (Part One of the season finale), only to find that Satellite 5 had been rechristened "The Gamestation". Now it telecast nothing but reality show competitions and game shows non-stop to the human populace below.

Again the purpose of the satellite was being twisted to serve a different agenda - the true Masters behind the scheme were the Daleks, newly reborn from the ashes of the Time War with the Gallifreyans. The Doctor thought they had all been destroyed along with his own people at the end of that war; after all, he had initiated the cataclysm. But the Dalek Emperor had survived, falling through a temporal wormhole to regroup and rebuild a new army of Daleks made from the pulp of humanity's waste.

Only by Rose's sacrifice when she looked into the heart of the temporal vortex - which no one is meant to do, - were the Daleks destroyed once again. But the power she had absorbed was killing her, so the Doctor took that energy upon himself to save her. This heroic act ended up "killing" him however, and he soon regenerated into the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, played by David Tennant.

And that's how the first season of the renewal ended, by trumpeting its new beginning for Season Two.

So that space station, the scene of so much conflict with alien races nearly 500,000 years into the future of Toobworld's present day, could thus trace its humble beginnings to a small, unassuming town in Oregon by the name of 'Eureka'.

There in Section 5 of Global Dynamics, secret tests were being conducted on one of the components of Satellite 5, which would go on to mutate through add-ons and rebuilds until it would finally become the multi-level residence and broadcasting complex revered and reviled many centuries into the future.

So there's this week's crossover:

'EUReKA'
&
'DOCTOR WHO'

It's a pity though that by the time we revisit Satellite 5 in the future, it more than likely is the dimensional doppelganger from an alternate TV dimension. That's because I've finally come to the realization that the Gallifreyan we know as The Doctor has either fled to this alternate dimension via "sliding" after the Time War, or he's always been a resident of this world rather than the main Toobworld, Earth Prime-Time.

That's not to say that 'Doctor Who' never took place in the main Toobworld; I believe the entire run of the original series and the FOX TV movie to boot were all presented as though they occurred on Earth Prime-Time.

But once we were reunited with the Doctor in the form of Christopher Eccleston, we were now in a different dimension - one in which Tony Blair gets murdered by an alien family named Slitheen; in which Big Ben is demolished by a stunt space-ship; and in which Harriet Jones, MP of Flydale North, becomes the new Prime Minister.

Last year I bent over backwards with splainins on how the Doctor and Rose ended up in an alternate dimension for the episodes "Aliens Of London" and "World War Three", and how Blon Slitheen (aka Margaret Blaine) rode an interdimensional surfboard out of that dimension in order to bring her storyline back to the main Toobworld in time for the episode "Boom Town".

But with this new season, it was as if Russell T. Davies was intent on making sure all of my theories would be forever bolluxed - not that I'm a paranoid fellow.....

With "The Chrismas Invasion", Harriet Jones was now installed as the Prime Minister, which goes against the setup in Toobworld proper; and then we were re-introduced to former companion Sarah Jane Smith (::sigh::) who knew about that holiday attack by the Sycorax.

I would have been happy with doing the pretzel logic routine of coming up with splainins as to how they kept bouncing back and forth between dimensions: how the Sycorax invasion happened in both dimensions (easy enough to do since there was no mention of Prime Minister Jones in "School Reunion"); and noting that most of the episodes were set in the future or the past where there was no need to bring up the alternate government of Great Britain.

But with the two-parter "The Rise Of Steel" and "The Age Of The Cybermen", RTD slit me up a treat. The Doctor pronounced that sliding between dimensions was no longer possible without the other Gallifreyans being alive to power that ability with their very existence. (My opinion? The Gallifreyans were always full of themselves.)

So this couldn't be the Doctor of the main Toobworld, bouncing back and forth between dimensions in his TARDIS (as it should be able to, since it's acronym stands for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space"!) Unless he was purposefully lying to Rose to spare her feelings and to keep her safe with her reconstituted family, there was no way the Doctor could ever go vortex-hopping again without sundering the wall between dimensions.

Even then, I could have worked with that theory - that he was lying to her, - if it weren't for my feeling of certainty that we have not seen the last of Prime Minister Harriet Jones in connecton not only to the Doctor, but to the Torchwood Institute in the coming spin-off series as well. (During Part One of this year's finale, the Doctor and Yvonne Hartman discussed Harriet Jones and Torchwood's role in the destruction of the Sycorax.)

So I think I should abandon even the hope that this is still the original Doctor who was able to "slide" through the vortex to the alternate dimension of Rose Tyler's before the mass death of the Gallifreyan population caused the dimensional barriers to be sealed forever. (There's a mouthful, and no mistake!)

I think he always belonged to that dimension.

That's not to say I'm giving up on the Doctor ever having lived in the main Toobworld. I will still contend that the adventures we know of Doctors One through Eight took place in the TV universe of Earth Prime-Time. But thanks to 'The Simpsons', which is set in the Tooniverse, we know that the Doctor has counterparts in other dimensions. And these other Doctors shared the same adventures as did the original Doctor, right up until the terrible and deadly Time War.

That's why the Tenth Doctor knew the Sarah Jane Smith and K9 of Rose Tyler's dimension: his adventures with her were a common thread for all of his dimensional counterparts.

As for the Time Lord of the main Toobworld, I like to think he's out there, but we just haven't met him yet. And that he has gone through his ninth and tenth regenerations so that he did once resemble Christopher Eccleston and now resembles David Tennant. For all I know, he also teamed up with the Rose Tyler of Earth Prime-Time.....

It's just that if they did do battle against the Family Slitheen, Tony Blair never got killed and Harriet Jones never became the Prime Minister. This would then alter certain elements of other stories told so far ("The Christmas Invasion", "Army Of Ghosts") to bring them in line with the political "reality" of the main Toobworld.

Can we ever hope to see that version of the Doctor, rather than the one of Earth Prime-Time/Rose (which could also be the same dimension for 'Prison Break', 'The Agency' and 'The District')?

It's pozzble, it's pozzble, as Mushrat would say to 'Deputy Dawg'. But if so, I think it will have to wait until the RTD regime has relinquished the reins, and new producers can realign the British government to reflect that to be found here in the real world of Earth Prime.

One nice thing about this theory is that you can't be too sad for Rose Tyler, now trapped in yet another dimension (one which I think can be linked to 'The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne') with the new, blended version of her family. Perhaps it's true that she will never see the version of the Doctor that she knows again. (But then again, this is sci-fi; anything can happen!)

But that doesn't mean her dimension lacks its own version of the Doctor. After all, as she told him at their final parting of the ways, she was now working for Torchwood. As the Doctor then dubbed her, she was now "Rose Tyler, Defender Of The Earth".

Well, Torchwood only came into existence because of the Doctor's actions in the episode "Tooth And Claw". The Doctor of the Cybus dimension probably participated in that adventure just as he did in Rose's dimension, perhaps even as he did in the main Toobworld. But in Rose's new dimension, the Doctor saved Queen Victoria from that alien lycanthrope without Rose as a companion, since she never existed in that dimension before.

Ow. My head hurts. I can just imagine how you must feel........

So where was I? Oh yeah. The Crossover of the Week. This is a blog post about the Crossover of the Week.

All of that doggerel I just unleashed upon you doesn't negate the crossover. Satellite 5's origins lie in the secret laboratories of Global Dynamics in Eureka, Oregon, and one day it will be transformed into a symbol of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. And this will be true in almost all of the dimensions of Toobworld.

Oh, and here's another little nugget of a possible crossover connected to all of this.....

Remember my wish-craft last week about wanting Jackson Roykirk of 'Star Trek' fame and infamy to show up in 'Eureka'? I think this Satellite 5 project would be the perfect place to find Roykirk working, now that the launch of Nomad is about four years behind him!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

PS
Thanks again to Mark T for alerting me to the mention of Satellite 5 on 'Eureka'. And thanks to Mark and the other Brokeback Buddy, Michael C, for making it possible for me to see 'Doctor Who' long before the rest of America finally got to see it on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Thanks to them, I don't have to be stuck with the rest of those losers......

WISH-CRAFT: "TWELVE ANGRY MEN" #3

Besides the two TV versions and the film adaptation, 'Twelve Angry Men' was finally produced on Broadway back in 2004. Do a Google image search and you'll see that there have been plenty of college and community theater productions of it as well.

So I thought it might be nice to have a little Toobworld fun with our own staging of the play. To truly make it a Toobworld enterprise, all of the characters come from TV shows set in New York City.

I wanted a cross-section of all types of characters from NYC TV shows, and figured on that also meaning that I would have characters from not only sitcoms but from dramas as well - medical programs, cop shows, and lawyer/private eye series.

But then I remembered a late-night special that aired on ABC back in the mid-1970s. Back then, ABC presented original specials on Friday nights - some of them taped mysteries; others musical variety shows. And there was one in which Stanley Kramer asked three of his stars from "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" to perform dramatic monologues.

Sid Caeser played Captain Queeg from "The Caine Mutiny", doing the "strawberries" speech. Jonathan Winters was Willie Loman of "Death Of A Salesman", in a scene where he confronts his boss. And Buddy Hackett assayed "Cyrano de Bergerac" in a tuxedo rather than in swashbuckling costume. As for the legendary proboscis, he let his own rather distinctive blob of a schnozz play the scene as is.

Kramer's point in the special was that comedy was already difficult and that skilled comic actors were more than capable of handling dramatic roles. So I decided to follow that theme and looked for just characters from NYC-based sitcoms to populate the jury room.

I could have claimed that characters in Toobworld could still be alive even though the actors who played them were dead. But this is an exercise which I'd like to actually think could be seen on TV one night during Sweeps, 9 pm Eastern, 8 pm Central. Therefore, I only picked TV sitcom characters whose actors are still with us here in the Real World.

Besides, it would have been too easy to pick Archie Bunker for Juror #10......

And although I did add in some racial and ethnic diversity, I held true to the title of the piece and considered only male characters. Otherwise I would have loved to have added Brenda Morgenstern of 'Rhoda' to be Juror #2.

Best part of all is that none of these characters are actually named in the play (unlike in the movie), so that we could get away with this casting and those who owned the original rights to the characters couldn't say boo. Not my fault you can recognize who the character is by who is playing the role!

Let's take it clockwise round the table.......

JURY FOREMAN - Martin Tupper, 'Dream On'
Brian Benben is adept at displaying an easily flustered management style. He's better at romantic slapstick, but he's not going to get much action in the jury room. This would be the first rewrite of a juror's occupation (The foreman is a high school coach; Martin is a book editor.), but it won't be the last. There's just not much call for high school coaches in sitcoms. Jack Warden is dead, and besides, his coach from 'Mr. Peepers' lived in the Midwest. 'The Waverly Wonders' took place in Wisconsin, and Chet Kinkaid worked out in California.

After all the hassles from trying to manage this jury, Martin Tupper would probably be glad to get back to his editor's office... even if he would find Toby Pedalbee lying in wait for him.

JUROR # 2 - Jody Davis, 'Family Affair'
There wasn't much call for bank tellers in sitcoms. Alan Young was a possibility, despite his age. But I don't know where the single sitcom year of his TV show was supposed to take place. (The show was a sketch comedy the other years.)

So I decided to create a bank teller; not from whole cloth, but by taking a sitcom child of the past and imagining his future laid out in banking. You'd be surprised by how many of these tabula rasa-farians there are in Toobworld - sitcom children of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s who are now grown up and open to whatever destiny a writer wished to impose on them. (There I go, enabling fanfic again!)

The reason I chose Jody Davis over other sitcom kids from the NYC area like Adam Stephens, Joey Stivic, and Ricky Ricardo, Jr. is due to Johnny Whitaker. He had - and still has - such a unique look that you would know him as Jody Davis. Since we wouldn't be identifying these jurors by name, every little bit helps to make the connection in the audience's mind.

JUROR # 3 - George Jefferson, 'The Jeffersons'/'All In The Family'
This is the juror who holds out against a "not guilty" verdict until the very end. Blustery, obnoxious, not afraid to force his opinion on the others. And as he had problems with his own son, it's easy enough to imagine that George would be remembering his own past relationship with Lionel when trying to force through a guilty verdict.

JUROR # 4 - Jimmy James, 'NewsRadio'
I almost chose George Costanza of 'Seinfeld' for this, mostly because he has a look that's very reminiscent of EG Marshall. But Juror #4 must be cool under pressure and George wouldn't be able to cope. Besides, as a convicted felon, maybe he can't serve on a jury. (At the very least, I think both sides would be wary about choosing him.)

Jimmy James, like Juror #4, is a successful businessman who wears glasses (a key point for the character in the movie version, and that's the script I'd be using). And even though he sometimes seemed off the wall in his own show, he would be methodical in laying out the points of the case as he sees him.

It's because I picked Jimmy James for Juror #4 that I had to abandon the idea of using Dave Nelson from 'NewsRadio' to be the foreman of the jury. Didn't want more than one character from a sitcom.

JUROR # 5 - Willis Drummond, 'Diff'rent Strokes'
Juror #10: He was born in a slum. Slums are breeding grounds for criminals. I know it and so do you. It's no secret, children from slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society. Now, I think...
Juror #3: Brother, you can say that again. The kids who crawl out of these places are real trash. I don't want any part of them, I'm telling you.
Juror #5: Listen, I've lived in a slum all my life.
Juror #3: Now, wait a minute...
Juror #5: Please, I've played in backyards which were filled with garbage. I mean, maybe you can still smell it on me.

Whatchoo talkin' about, Willis?

When this fantasy production reaches this point, those statements will have added resonance for the audience, and their meaning will have been altered from the original context just by the casting of Todd Bridges as Juror #5. The audience will know that Willis may have started out life in a slum, but once he and his brother Arnold were adopted by Philip Drummond, they were set for life.

And memories of Bridges' troubled personal life will certainly make it believable that he knows how to handle a switchblade!

JUROR # 6 - Richard Karinsky, 'Caroline In The City'
This juror is supposed to be a painter; more than likely he's supposed to be a house-painter, a simple working man. But why not tweak it a bit and instead make him the colorist for a comic strip who was at heart a frustrated painter?

I also think that there should be one juror who at least suggests the possibility that he might be gay. (On the show, Richard pined for Caroline and eventually dated her, but I think he was in denial.) However, there's no way I'd ever let "Just Jack" of 'Will & Grace' loose in that jury room. Even Juror #8 would vote guilty in seconds flat just to avoid being trapped in a room with that man-eater. ("Oh! I thought it was 'Twelve Hungry Men'!")

JUROR # 7 - Jackie Fisher, 'Chicken Soup'
Here I'd be asking for a re-write as to what kind of salesman Juror #7 was. In this day and age, marmalade seems just too antiquated. It should be something frivolous however, to show how good a salesman he was. So why not pajamas, which is what Jackie Fisher did until he gave it up in 1989 to volunteer at a community center. It could be that he returned to his former profession after the series was cancelled. After all, how much money could he have saved up just by selling pajamas?

JUROR # 8 - Ted Mosby, 'How I Met Your Mother'
In both the 'Studio One' presentation and the movie version, Juror #8, who stands alone at the beginning against a unanimous vote of "guilty", is said to be an architect. The most famous TV architect would have been Mike Brady and Robert Reed might have been good in the role, but he's dead in real life and Mike Brady lives (lived?) in California. There might have been another good choice from 'For Your Love' if the sitcom wasn't set in Chicago.

Ted Mosby would be the only sitcom character from a show currently on the air, which is why CBS should have first dibs on this concept. Ted's also a NY-based architect and he appears to have the chops to find the inner strength to stand alone against the majority as an everyman hero. His best friend on the show, Barney, has stated in the past that Ted thinks too much and this is a quality that Juror #8 actually does display during their deliberations.

And Barney would be so proud to see Ted finally "suit up"!

JUROR # 9 - Robert Petrie, 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'
It's hard to envisioin Rob Petrie without seeing him in the mind's eye as a human Slinky of youthful energy. But Time marches on in Toobworld and he'd be probably turning 81 this year just like his portrayer. Even then, he's still full of rubber-band vitality, but there's nothing that says Juror #9 has to be feeble and infirm.

And as we learned from the reunion movie from a few years back, Rob and Laura have moved to a large condo apartment in Manhattan. It's their son Richie who now lives in the house back in New Rochelle.

JUROR # 10 - Louie dePalma, 'Taxi'
Belligerent, loud, obnoxious, and somewhat revolting in his prejudices, who better than Louie dePalma to rail against "them"? Small as he is, Louie can easily fill the room with his pompous tirade and collapse in defeat with resonation.

JUROR # 11 - Jawaharlal Choudhoury, 'Head Of The Class'
Juror #11 is a foreigner, usually played as someone who came over from an East European country. But to add a bit more ethnic diversity to the cast, I'd enscript "Jawa". Fifteen years before, he was a transfer student from India, and an honors student at Fillmore High School. (Crossover alert - that was Edith Bunker's high school!)

"Jawa" is another juror who should have his occupation updated. Instead of a watchmaker, I'd make him a software designer to reflect his high IQ.

JUROR # 12 - Chandler Bing, 'Friends'
The role calls for a junior ad exec who could be easily swayed to change his alliances several times over, and this description is tailor-made for Chandler. Before the series ended, he had changed careers and started working in advertising, and it's not hard to picture him vacillating between one camp to the other.

Now, he and Monica had moved to the suburbs by series end, but perhaps he took an apartment in the City to have a place to crash after a long bull session for a client's product. And that's how he mistakenly gets on the rolls to be called for jury duty. (Perhaps he then decides not to contest it in order to get out of something unpleasant at work - like maybe an unwanted encounter with a client? Janice's husband, perhaps?)

And maybe he works for McMann & Tate!

COURT OFFICER - Bull Shannon or Roz Russell, 'Night Court'
A no-brainer, and thus the perfect role for Bull......

But okay, here's where I throw a bone to the ladies. Choosing once more from the 'Night Court' bullpen, the court officer could also be Bull's co-worker, Roz Russell.

JUDGE (VOICE ONLY) - Matthew J. Sirota, 'Sirota's Court'
Judge Harry Stone of 'Night Court' might be the knee-jerk first choice, but Michael Constantine as Judge Sirota carries the vocal weight to appear in voice-over to instruct the jury in its duties.

I may have been having some fun with these descriptions of who I would cast in this new production of "Twelve Angry Men", but I just want to stress that they would all play it straight. There are a few humorous moments in the script and these pros would definitely find them. But I think every one of my choices is also skilled enough to delve deep for the passion and the drama of these men struggling to confront their own images while deliberating on the fate of a young man.

So which sitcom characters might you have picked to be seated on this jury? Let me know your suggestions.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

Sorry la!

Been very busy lately, with something that I think you all will like, but I cannot say now. :D

In any case hor, stomp is updated.

I'll put up some self-whoring photos soon too, muahahaha

HISTORY, CHANNELED: SIXTY-ONE YEARS AGO TODAY

Over Japan... At about 0930 hours, the first atomic bomb (nicknamed "Little Boy") is dropped on the city of Hiroshima by a specially equipped B-29 from the 509th Composite Group of the US 12th Air Force and piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets. The plane is named by Tibbets after his mother, Enola Gay.

The bomb is a uranium fission weapon and the yield is in the region of 20,000 tons on TNT. Sixty percent of the city is destroyed in the blast and the firestorm that follows. About 80,000 Japanese are killed. Many more are severely burned and others become ill later, from exposure to radiation.

It is not the most devastating bombing attack of the war but the economy of the effort involved in sending only one plane on a mission to destroy a city shows only too well the complete change in military and political thinking which has begun.
[from www.onwar.com]

Two TV movies chronicled aspects of this historic and horrific event which occurred 61 years ago today.

"ENOLA GAY: THE MEN, THE MISSION, THE ATOMIC BOMB"
Broadcast in 1980, this movie told about Colonel Tibbets and his crew as they prepped for the mission to fly to Japan and drop the bomb on HIroshima. Patrick Duffy portrayed Tibbets and his crew and fellow officers were played by Billy Crystal, Gregory Harrison, Gary Frank, Stephen Macht, and Walter Olkewicz.

Robert Walden appeared as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Ed Nelson was President Harry Truman. (Also in a small role was Leslie Moonves who went on to become the Grand Poobah of CBS and the CW.)

"MISSION OF THE SHARK: THE SAGA OF THE U.S.S. INDIANAPOLIS"
Until the release of the movie "Jaws", most Americans probably weren't aware of the tragic fate suffered by the crew of the USS Indianapolis, the ship which delivered the bomb to be used on Hiroshima. But once they heard the haunting remembrance by Captain Quint (Robert Shaw), they could hardly forget it.

After they delivered the atom bomb to its secret destination of Tinian in July of 1945, the Indianapolis headed to Okinawa. But on July 30th, - the 47th birthday of Captain Charles Butler McVay, his ship was struck by torpedoes and sank. Those who died in the explosion or the sinking may be considered the lucky ones of those who eventually died before any rescue came.

Because the mission had been so highly classified, there was no record of the Indianapolis' whereabouts. (This was the belief for a long time, but later it was revealed that the Navy had lied and that three SOS messages were received but three different commanders failed to act on them.)

By the time rescue arrived on August 2nd, many of the survivors had been eaten by sharks. It took until August 8th to rescue all of the survivors - out of a crew of 1,199, only 316 men survived.

Later, Captain McVay was made the scapegoat for the Navy and was court-martialed for his actions that led to the ship's sinking. It took nearly fifty years and the dogged determination of a 12 year old boy doing a school project to finally clear Captain McVay's name.

But by then, it was too late. Dogged by mental health problems after his life was ruined by the Navy, Captain McVay took his own life in Litchfield, Connecticut, in November of 1968.

Stacy Keach played Captain McVay and his father portrayed McVay's father. Carrie Snodgrass portrayed McVay's wife and among the actors who played crew members of the Indianapolis were Richard Thomas, Steve Landesburg, Bob Gunton, Tim Guinee, Gordon Clapp, Jeffrey Nordling, and David Caruso.

The movie aired in 1991.

BCnU.....
Tele-Toby

MUSEUM PIECE: "TWELVE ANGRY MEN"

In 1976, CBS donated the first half hour of "Twelve Angry Men" to the Museum of Television & Radio. As it was broadcast live back in 1954, there was no tape on standby to air, and the second half was feared to be lost.

But in 2003, a complete film copy of the telecast was discovered in the collection of Marjorie Liebowitz Finch. Apparently, her father - a famous lawyer and jurist, - had requested a copy of the program from a friend at the network; and luckily enough for us, that friend came through so that we could all now see the complete production.

"Twelve Angry Men" was presented on the 'Westinghouse Studio One' program on September 20th, 1954. It was written by Reginald Rose and directed by Franklin Schaffner, and among its actors were Robert Cummings, Edward Arnold, Franchot Tone, and Walter Abel; with Vincent Gardenia in an uncredited turn as the court officer.

Last week, Turner Classic Movies showed the film adaptation of "12 Angry Men". Whether it had long planned to do so, or was perhaps added in to the schedule as a salute to Jack Warden (Juror #7) who passed away on July 19th, I don't know. But I watched it again, as I always feel compelled to do, and promised myself to finally watch the original TV production at the MT&R.

I've always loved "Twelve Angry Men", ever since 6th Grade when we did a classroom reading of the piece. I got to be one of the jurors, but after all these years I can't remember which one. I think it may have been Juror #4 the precise businessman best known to audiences as played by EG Marshall in the film version. The trained actor in me hasn't been completely extinguished yet, so I'd like to try my hand some day at the role of the bigoted Juror #10 (Ed Begley in the film) to see if I could understand how he could feel that way. Besides, that's a really juicy monologue he has!

Had we done the staged version at the old Meat & Potatoes Theater Company, I'd more than likely get Juror #2, the mild-mannered bank clerk. But that would be okay too, since every role in this play has depth and weight.

I won't bore you with a synopsis of the plot; you can always check out the movie yourself. Or visit this site. Suffice to say, twelve jurors must decide the fate of a young man accused of murdering his father. Only one juror is a holdout with his vote of "not guilty". One by one, he must persuade the others to come around to his way of thinking.

The original production was an hour-long episode of 'Studio One', including the commercials featuring Betty Furness for Westinghouse. The movie was expanded with additional material to make it about 90 minutes.

Reginald Rose adapted his own teleplay and it's those revisions that make the movie the stronger version. But the original script was powerful in its own right and went on to win the Emmy Award for Best Written Dramatic Material (Reginald Rose), Best Direction (Franklin Schaffner), and Best Actor in a Single Performance (Robert Cummings in the role later played by Henry Fonda in the film.)

Certain bits of business and speeches were re-assigned between the two versions; the most significant being the discovery about the woman's eyeglasses. As with all of the revisions, it plays stronger in the movie version as it becomes more personal and instrumental in swaying Juror #4 into changing his vote.

In the original, it's #6 who notices that #2 can't see without his glasses. (Sounds like an episode of 'The Prisoner'!) In the TV version, the woman wore her glasses during her testimony; in the movie it plays out in discovery like a mystery, what with all the business about the impression of the "red dots".

Of course, by rewriting this scene to give it to Numbers 4 and 9, Jurors #2 and #6 are robbed of that moment in the movie. But Ed Binns as #6 does get a good scene with Fonda as recompense. John Fielder, meanwhile, still nails the role of #2 with each line, especially when he calls Lee J. Cobb (as #3) a loudmouth. It's almost as if he was laying the groundwork for his future role as Mr. Peterson, the "hostile mouse" on 'The Bob Newhart Show'.

Another revision gave the movie version a timeless quality betrayed only by the costumes, lack of A/C, and the introduction of the second switch blade. Instead of tickets to a ball game - as was the case in the movie, - Juror #7 has tickets to see "The Seven Year Itch". I'll bet quite a few people today don't even know it was a play, let alone that a movie was made of it.

That #7 was a marmalade salesman is probably the only revision for the movie that doesn't work and I'm surprised they kept that in for the 1997 version on Showtime.

One last difference between the original TV version and the movie adaptation, and it's a major one. In the movie, we actually see how much Juror #3 has invested of his memories of his own son into the case so that it becomes extremely personal. This is missing from the original; although we know that his relationsip with his son has always been rocky and that he hasn't even seen him for two years.

But in the movie, his grief over this loss overwhelms him and he tears his son's picture into pieces. In the TV version, however, Franchot Tone finally just waves away his last bit of resistance to the will of the others and it looks like he'll vote "not guilty" just to be done with them all.

Still, Lee J. Cobb (and I would imagine George C. Scott in the Showtime remake) barges through the role like a bull elephant as he tries to force all of the others to his viewpoint. Franchot Tone is more subdued in comparison.

But I will say this about Tone's performance - his version of Juror #3 is the more dangerous one, like a coiled rattler ready to strike. And this image is brought home by the ending. Remember in the movie, Jurors #3 and 8 are the last to leave the jury room, and #8 helps #3, overcome with defeat, into his jacket.

In the teleplay, Franchot Tone picks up the second switchblade and flicks it open, holding it as though he would really use it this time. And there was that interminable second, even though I knew better, where it looked as though he really would do so.

Okay, so here's a few notes that are of a more Toobworld oriented aspect about the 1954 production of "Twelve Angry Men".

Norman Fell played the jury foreman, but in the credits he's listed as Norman Feld.

Unlike the coda to the 1957 movie, none of the Jurors have names at all revealed to us. Therefore, they could be anybody in the TV Universe who happened to be living in Manhattan at that time.

For instance, I mentioned Vincent Gardenia as the court officer..... What if he turned out to be McNab, Archie's old neighbor on 'All In The Family, who sold his home to the Jeffersons? Then, after he retired from the court system and moved away from Queens, he wound up in Santa Barbara, California, where his grandson "Buzz" would develop a working friendship with Shawn and Gus of the 'Psych' Detective Agency.

Since this was a live production, mistakes were bound to crop up. But I'm not sure it was a mistake when Robert Cummings stumbled over one of his first major speeches as Juror #8. Instead, it felt real to me, as if he was tripping over what he had to say as he slowly gained the confidence to continue.

But there was one doozy of a mistake! At one point, one of the cameras eases into view on the right hand of the screen. All of the actors ignore it, but the audience certainly can't! Eventually word must have been relayed to the cameraman and he pulls back.

So how do we splain this away for Toobworld?

It was invisible to the naked eye of the jurors, but was actually there in the courtroom to monitor them. Perhaps it was sent from the future; part of the equipment used by the time-traveling news team of 'See It Now', or by the quantum leaping researchers who work with Dr. Sam Beckett. Or they could be the monitor devices used by aliens back in the 1950s to study human behavior.

Like I said, the camera was invisible to the jurors and thus can be ignored by us as well since it never comes into play to mean anything.

At the very beginning of the play, we see all the jurors in the jury box as they listen to the instructions put forth by the judge in their case. We hear those same instructions again at the very end, but this time we are looking at an empty jury box.

I can't say for certain, as there was no credit given for this, but I could swear that the voice of the judge was supplied by Will Geer. Is there anybody out there who could verify this for me?

With the film cast, only one actor remains alive - Jack Klugman, who played Juror #5, the young possibly Jewish man who grew up in a slum. As of November, 2004, according to an article by Harry Haun, only one actor remained alive from the original TV broadcast: Will West, who played Juror #12. (His SAG name for the movies was Larkin Ford.)

Two of the actors from the original production went on to recreate their roles for the movie version - Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovec. Usually it's the other way around, like Richard Widmark as 'Madigan', Yul Brynner as the King of Siam, and Gary Burghoff as Radar O'Reilly in 'M*A*S*H'.

The title drawing for this production was reminiscent of Picasso and was painted by Howard Mandel. I don't know if he was (or is) any relation to Howie Mandel of 'St. Elsewhere' and 'Deal Or No Deal' fame. But I do know this - that painting would fit right in at the 'Night Gallery'!

We never see or hear the prosecutor of this case. But in my Toobworldly heart, I'd like to think it was an up and coming ADA in the Manhattan court system who probably thought this was going to be a slam dunk case; an easy conviction.

I'd like to think that young prosecutor was able to rise above this setback on his eventual journey to become the Manhattan District Attorney until just a few years ago - Adam Schiff of 'Law & Order'......

The defense attorney is thought to be ill-equipped to handle the case, perhaps not even very good. So it definitely can't be the Prestons of 'The Defenders', another creation of Reginald Rose. But it could be Daniel J. O'Brien of 'The Trials Of O'Brien'.

Not that I want to besmirch the abilities of a family member, even if he is fictional......

You may have noticed that I hardly mentioned the Showtime version of the play. That's because I've yet to see it. I'll have to check Netflix and see if it's available to add to my queue. Afterwards, I'll share my thoughts on that in connection to this version. But definitely I'd have to say that the 1997 version must be relegated to Earth Prime-Time Delayed, while the 1954 original is to be found in the main Toobworld.

Several TV shows have used this play as a template for episodes featuring their main characters. Among them would be 'The Dead Zone', 'Monk', '7th Heaven', and 'All In The Family'. If you can think of any others, let me know........

Finally, here is a list of the jurors and the actors who played them. In brackets you'll find the actors who played them in the movie version in order to help you visualize their characters better.

JURY FOREMAN - Norman Fell (Martin Balsam)
JUROR #2 - John Beal (John Fielder)
JUROR #3 - Franchot Tone (Lee J. Cobb)
JUROR #4 - Walter Abel (EG Marshall)
JUROR #5 - Lee Phillips (Jack Klugman)
JUROR #6 - Bart Burns (Ed Binns)
JUROR #7 - Paul Hartman (Jack Warden)
JUROR #8 - Robert Cummings (Henry Fonda)
JUROR #9 - Joseph Sweeney (both)
JUROR #10 - Edward Arnold (Ed Begley)
JUROR #11 - George Voskovec (both)
JUROR #12 - Will West (Robert Webber)

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES: "JACKIE WOODMAN"

The plotline for the premiere episode of 'The Minor Accomplishments Of Jackie Woodman' on IFC hinged on bumping into (literally) Sally Kellerman. As a follower of the Step-Up cult, Ms. Kellerman was spacey, self-centered, and by the end, scarily evil.

It was probably the most destructive depiction of one's self in a sitcom since Lloyd Bridges portrayed himself on 'Ned & Stacey' as a kleptomaniac neo-Nazi cross-dresser.

Also appearing as themselves in the episode were Merrill Markoe and 'Simpsons' producer Sam Simon. And both of them were the epitome of Hollywood's two-faced denizens.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

TIME "LOST"

At the recent Comic-Con in San Diego, 'Lost' producer Damon Lindelof was asked about the fact that each season only seems to cover just a few weeks of time.

"You're making a basic assumption that they've been there as long as [the characters] think they've been there," replied Lindelof. He hinted that perception may be changed in season 3.

This information seems to back up by a spoiler provided by a 'Lost' fanatic who calls himself "The Misfit". On his blog ("TheMisfitIsHere"), he claims that "The interrelationship between the outside world and the island will be something that will be a part of Season 3."

If so, such a discrepancy between the time spent on the island and the "real time" of the outside world will help the producers avoid dealing with a real-life event that surely must have some kind of impact even in the fictional realm of Toobworld: the tsunami that wiped out thousands of lives right after Christmas of 2004.

As is the case with the World Trade Center destruction on 9/11 and the current war in Iraq, any TV show that would have some connection to such a devastating event should address it and not ignore it. Otherwise I think it would be not only an insult to the intelligence and maturity of the viewer, but also an indignity to the memory of those thousands who perished in the onslaught of Nature that day.

And since the island of 'Lost' is in that general vicinity, and Oceanic Flight 815 crashed near the end of September of 2004, eventually the show would have to address the tragedy of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Up until the statement made by Lindelof, there was a generally accepted timeline for the events on the island. The first season was roughly just over 40 days in length; and based on the statements made by Desmond upon his return to the island, he was only gone for about two weeks on his boat, trying to escape. So the entire second season must have been squeezed into that fourteen day time frame.

That would put the timeline for 'Lost' at about the middle of November, nearly. A month later and the tsunami would wreak havoc on the mainland, and perhaps on the island itself. Within the "reality" of 'Lost', perhaps the creation of the tsunami could be linked to the ultimate destruction of the Hatch in the season finale; an event that might have shifted the tectonic plates in the region and ultimately cause the earthquake which created the tsunami.

But now, if it's true that time is passing slower in the outside world than it is in the perception of the castaways, then the producers of 'Lost' can avoid any mention of that cataclysm for probably as long as they want. They could even get through the projected five seasons of the series without ever having to worry about it.

Had they left the timeline for the island to run naturally, then eventually they would have to address it, because the Boxing Day Tsunami is going to become part of the fictional reality of Toobworld officially. Filming has begun in Phuket (which was mentioned on 'Lost') and Khao Lak in Thailand for a mini-series co-produced by HBO and the BBC.

Tim Roth and Toni Collette are starring in the production, along with Sophie Okonedo, Hugh Bonneville and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Other actors involved include Gina McKee, Kate Ashfield, Samarit MacHielsen and Grirggiat Punpiputt.

As you can imagine, a lot of the local populaton weren't too pleased with the idea of a TV movie swooping in to - as they saw it - capitalize on their personal tragedies in the aftermath of the disaster.

Had the timeline been allowed to play out naturally, who knows when it may have occurred in the show. Third season? Fifth? This new bit of sci-fi technobabble will now help the producers from ever having to address it at all.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

I went into FYE today with only one purchase in mind - the recently released DVD box set of the single season 'The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.'......

It's recommended price was $99.97. FYE lopped off another ten. With my Backstage Pass discount.....

It was still too much. I'll take my chances with Amazon.com.

So instead, I picked up these three beauties for less than the price I would have paid for just Brisco's box.

Now had it been Dixie Cousins' box......Giggety giggety giggety!

1) "The Point" by Harry Nilsson and narrated by Ringo Starr
I remember seeing this on ABC in those BC years (before cable). Back then, I KNOW it was narrated by Dustin Hoffman.

I wonder if, when I was a teenager, I would ever consider the concept of a Beatle as a replacement to be something of a let-down....

2) 'Hazel' - The complete first season
I used to love this show, but it lost something for me when Don DeFore and Whitney Blake were written out of the show to be replaced by other actors. Shirley Booth is fantastic however and her sheer force of will as this maid kept me from abandong the sitcom after the changeover.

This set is all 35 episodes from the first season on two discs.

3) 'Make Room For Daddy' - the complete fifth season
I didn't see the first four seasons offered there, so I wondered if they're even available. This could be a case like with 'The Joey Bishop Show' which began with the second season for its release of boxed sets.

The set also includes the episode which launched 'The Andy Griffith Show', footage of Danny performing with some of the Rat Pack, and for pure schmaltz, Danny's story about his relationship with St. Jude.

I have a feeling it will also include info on how to donate.

"Me and my dinero......"

Sorry, Schmilsson.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WISH-CRAFT: "EUReKA" & "STAR TREK"

'Eureka', Oregon, may be a small town, but there still must be plenty of people working and living there so that we'll always have new faces to meet. (It can't ALWAYS be Henry Deacon who helps Sheriff Jack Carter out in emergencies, can it?)

With that in mind, I'd like to suggest one scientist I'd like to see as not only living in Eureka, but also working in Section 5 up in the Global Dynamics facility.

Jackson Roykirk.

Roykirk grew up in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, where he unknowingly encountered three Vulcans who had become stranded there. ('Enterprise' - "Carbon Creek")

When he grew up, he designed an interstellar probe that was originally programmed to seek out new life. The probe was launched in August of 2002.

Its name was "Nomad"..... ('Star Trek' - "The Changeling")

Roykirk doesn't have to figure in any major plot point; it would be nice just to have him introduced to Sheriff Carter, at the Cafe Diem, perhaps.

He should resemble the photo that was displayed of him in that episode of 'Star Trek'. Roykirk was portrayed by 'Star Trek' director Marc Daniels in that photo. So the actor chosen to play him on 'Eureka' must be burly and bearded as well.

And it's not as if Roykirk was going to be onscreen long enough to make that deep an impression; just a quick in and out, meet and greet would suffice. (Of course, with frame grabs and high def resolution, inevitably someone would have the comparison photos up online within minutes after the episode was broadcast!)

It's a simple request: get the minor character of Jackson Roykirk from 'Star Trek' to appear on 'Eureka' and thus make the connection between the two series.

Here's hoping somebody makes it so.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

BAUER HOUR

When 'Boston Legal' ended its second season in May, I was afraid we had seen the last of Denise Bauer at the law firm.

After all, she had just been told by Shirley Schmidt that she had no future at Crane Poole & Schmidt. And as she headed dejectedly back to her office, perhaps for the last time, there waiting for her was Daniel Post... with a marriage proposal.

So it would have been a bittersweet parting; at least she'd be happy, right? Ultra-rich guy - who was probably at death's door and who might leave her his entire fortune.

But she had been such a fun character to watch over the season. And who doesn't enjoy watching Julie Bowen?

But it looks as though we may get a reprieve. We may get to keep Bauer in Beantown a little while longer.

Thanks to SpoilerFix.com, here's a preview of the first two episodes for the third season:

Episode 3.01 - Can't We All Get a Lung? [Airing September 26]: Denise is engaged to Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox), but she questions her choice when he is accused of buying a lung from a man dying of cancer, Tom Raulston. Tom's daughter, Megan, wants her father to keep fighting and testifies against them that Daniel agreed to pay for her college education in exchange for the lung.

Episode 3.02 - Pro Ana No Bono: Denise and Brad act awkward around each other.

Of course, that second episode, things don't look too good for Daniel no matter how the lung story turns out.

And whether or not Denise stays around beyond that?

We shall have to wait and view.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES: TONY BENNETT

Earlier today I mentioned how Lenny Bruce would have turned 80 this year had he not died forty years ago today.

Well, today happens to be the 80th birthday of another performer, the legendary crooner Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett has made many appearances on TV talk shows and variety shows and in plenty of TV specials over the years, and he had his own variety show back in 1956. He's appeared with everybody from Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra to Jackie Gleason, Hugh Hefner, and even Howard Stern.

If I'm not mistaken he also appeared on '60 Minutes' to discuss his sideline as a painter.

Tony Bennett has contributed a few characters to the roster of Toobworld. These include a fellow named Maximillian in five episodes of '77 Sunset Strip', a visitor to 'Evening Shade', Arkansas, by the name of Tony Lombardi, and Danny Williams' Lebanese cousin Stephen from Toledo who wanted to be a singer and not a haberdasher. (I wonder if he knew Max Klinger back in Toledo?)

But he made plenty of appearances as himself in fictional settings, mostly in sitcoms. So the birthday boy is eligible for induction into the Crossover Hall of Fame as an honored member of the League of Themselves.

"The Simpsons"
- Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade (2002) TV Episode (voice)
- Dancin' Homer (1990) TV Episode (voice)
"Cosby"
- The First Gentleman (1998) TV Episode
"Space Ghost Coast to Coast"
- Joshua (1998) TV Episode
"Muppets Tonight"
- Episode #1.6 (1996) TV Episode
"Suddenly Susan"
- A Kiss Before Dying... on Stage (1997) TV Episode
"Cybill"
- Zing! (1995) TV Episode
"SCTV Network 90"
- The Great White North Palace (1982) TV Episode
"King" (1978) (mini) TV Series

As you can see, Tony Bennett does have a toon version of himself in the Tooniverse. And his appearance in the mini-series about Martin Luther King, Jr. might mean that he has a counterpart in an alternate dimension, in much the same way Mel Torme had in an episode of 'Sliders'. (As for working with Muppets, which he also did in "Elmopalooza!", that's definitely to be found in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld.)

At any rate, Tony Bennett is still going strong and here's hoping he gets the chance to appear in a few more TV shows as himself.

Maybe crooning one of Charlie Harper's jingles on 'Two And A Half Men'!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bennett!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

WISH-CRAFT: "LAW & ORDER" & "THE CLOSER"

Since Toobworld Central is celebrating 'Law & Order' all year in the Toobworld Crossover Hall of Fame, I've been giving a lot of thought to possible expansions for the franchise - not in actual spin-offs, but rather in crossovers. And I think I have one that just might work......

'Law & Order' has been particularly beneficial for TNT. The joke is that you can turn on TNT at any point during the day and you'll land on an episode of 'Law & Order'. (For me, it's usually the episode about the defective pacemakers.)

As such, the deal with TNT has been quite lucrative for Wolf Films, and I would think it's in the best interests of both parties to make sure the arrangement continues. And I think they should also find a way to make their collaboration grow.

One way would be through an original crossover, from one network to the other; a crossover that involved 'Law & Order' on NBC and TNT's own 'The Closer' starring Kyra Sedgwick.

'Law & Order' has been on the air for a long time, and there's been quite a revolving door when it comes to the cast members over the years. Because of this, I think the best solution to overcoming any production stumbling blocks between the two production companies would be to make this a one episode crossover which would be part of the scheduled lineup for 'The Closer' and featuring characters from 'Law & Order' who are no longer part of the regular cast.

This solution would eliminate any contrived shuttling of characters back and forth between Los Angeles and New York City which has hobbled crossovers between 'Las Vegas' and 'Crossing Jordan' in the past. The case would be in LA's jurisdiction, and any characters from 'Law & Order' who are involved would already be out there, perhaps having retired from practicing law in Manhattan or serving as a detective there.

But if they're out in Los Angeles for nonprofessional reasons, then how can they become involved with an official police investigation into a high-priority murder by Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson's team?

That's easy enough - make the 'Law & Order' character the initial suspect.

I'm not a fanfic writer; I'm just a fanfic enabler. So here's my idea of how to do the storyline so that it could work......

'Law & Order' did a three-part story back in its seventh season which had the characters shuttling back and forth between the Big Apple and the City of Angels. They were investigating the murder of a film studio executive, whose dismembered body had been fished out of the river. (They traced her identity through her breast implants. It has nothing to do with my idea, but I wanted to mention that because I have the mind of a 14 year old Catholic school boy and it makes me giggle.)

At first they suspected the exec's personal trainer and when he fled back to LA, they followed right after. Once out there, however, the investigation took a new turn and they focused instead on a movie director who was the ex-husband of the victim.

During all of this, Detective Rey Curtis began a flirtatious friendship with another executive at the studio, Lisa Lundquist. Previously, Curtis had apparently had an extramarital fling and when his wife found out, she tossed him out.

But even though Lisa was not only receptive to the idea of romancing the NY cop, but actively pursuing it by kissing him, Curtis retreated from spending the night with her. Still, she kept up the pressure on him, following him to New York (although on official company business) and inviting him out on her yacht when he had to return to LA. There she dangled before him not only the chance to have a relationship with her, but also a cushy job in security which would include trips around the world and the chance to rub elbows with some of Tinseltown's brightest and biggest stars.

But Rey Curtis still had hopes of making things right with his wife and reuniting with her and their daughters, so he not only turned down the job but also broke off things with Lisa before they even had a real chance to get started.

It didn't help much as his relationship with her was dragged into the trial and twisted during testimony to look worse than it really was. And when Lisa called Rey at home while he was trying to reconcile with his wife, it nearly caused a permanent rift in his marriage.

But all worked out well for the Curtis family, with only his wife's MS ailment still casting a shadow over their home life. It finally progressed to the point where he had to take a leave of absence from the force to care for her and raise his daughters.

And that's how it stands for the status of Detective Rey Curtis and 'Law & Order'. Benjamin Bratt, who played Curtis, returned to NBC last year with 'E-Ring'; but since that series failed, perhaps he might be receptive to the idea of bringing back Rey Curtis for a one-shot on 'The Closer'.

To make him a possible suspect in a murder case to be investigated by Chief Johnson's team, I think the most obvious choice for victim should be Lisa Lundquist. The main reason, from a real-world standpoint, is that the role had been played by Lauren Graham, who at this time is pretty much occupied with 'Gilmore Girls' over on the new CW. Since 'The Closer' begins after the fact of the murder, we wouldn't need her participation at all. (If she was found suspiciously drowned near her abandoned yacht, the effects of submersion in the ocean would pretty much demand the use of a dummy to mimic the decay of the body.)

Motive could certainly be supplied - perhaps after all these years, maybe Rey did once again pick up on the opportunity to have an affair with her; and accepted the security position as well. (And so as not to make a former hero on 'Law & Order' look like a sleazeball, let's assume his wife has passed away from the MS. So his relationship with Lisa could be seen as acceptable.)

But when he finally decided to end the affair, maybe she threatened his job which he needed to support his daughters. So on the surface, Rey Curtis would look like a good candidate for a suspect.

There could be a small scene perhaps where Chief Johnson calls back to the 27th Precinct in New York and talks to Lt. Anita Van Buren; getting details on Rey Curtis as a cop and as a person. That would then solidify the crossover aspects with 'Law & Order'. Or failing that, perhaps Lt. Van Buren could make mention of the case in passing during a later episode of her own show.

Eventually, Rey Curtis should be eliminated as a suspect. (God forbid I should ever suggest he turns out to be the actual murderer! Besides, Chris Noth beat me to that idea with the tele-movie "Exiled"......)

Perhaps in his capacity as a security officer at the studio, he could offer his services and expertise to Brenda's team; eventually helping them collar the real killer. This could lead to the type of scene where Brenda Leigh offers Rey the chance to join her high priority team. But since he has to put his daughters first, he'll stick with the security job. "More pay, less hours" type of reasoning.

One thing they would have to do to keep the reality of the crossover intact - make sure that Rey Curtis never shares a scene with JK Simmons as Chief William Pope. Otherwise the audience viewing at home would wonder why Curtis doesn't mistake him for Dr. Emil Szoda!

It's just an idea, yet another Toobworld Wish-craft, that I'm throwing out for consideration.

Thank yew. Thank yew ever so much......

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? OR JUST PLAIN "LOST"?

When it comes to the cutting edge of technology, I'm still a rather dull blade. For example, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to getting online; a "dialupagus". And I still use a VCR rather than TiVo or other DVR system.

So I've basically been sitting out the whole online 'Lost' experience, preferring just to read about the stuff that people find through the various web links and whatnot. At best, I have seen the Rachel Blake outburst at Comic-Con, thanks to YouTube.com.

Perhaps it will all end up in a DVD boxed set, perhaps not.

But I was curious if any of my small coterie of email Lostaway friends (mostly Iddiots from the Idiot's Delight Digest group) were playing along.

So I asked them:

What are your feelings about all the little Lost extras popping up on the web, on your cell phone, in your bookstore? If you are a Lost fan, do youfind them as addicting as the show itself, or do you mostly just ignore them?

And Brian-El replied:

I take it you haven't been playing the game. So far, people are reallyannoyed because all we've found out is that McIntyre ("makes family values a priority") is having an affair, another dude didn't go to the school listed on his resume, contracts (like with Jeep) have been canceled due to some unknown event, and Hanso himself hasn't been seen in public for over four years.

But, of course, the game has just begun.

I started to do all the various stuff, looking for hints when I got stuck, etc. But it seemed to be yielding very little in terms of helpful show-connected information, so when I got busy with work & vacation planning, I stopped doing it. However, with this new link you provided--

http://www.dharmasecrets.com/forum/index.php/topic,5033.0.html

I may just try and catch up with it to see what's going on.

So a partial answer to your question is: clearly I don't find it as addicting as the show itself. And I'm upset that ABC has stopped showing reruns (are reruns of "George Lopez" really more lucrative??), 'cause now that I have TiVo, I had been taping all the episodes and was going to watch them in order (starting with the Season 1 DVD) a couple of weeks before the new season started. Now I'll have to wait for the Season 2 DVD to come out.

Brian L.

How about the rest of you? Anybody out there want to share their experiences with the online 'Lost' stuff?

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"I AM THE F#%$@ING GAME, PAL!"

It isn't just the sci-fi shows that give you the great little extras to seek out online.

Here's a chance to check out the acting resume for "Johnny Drama" Chase.....

THE HAT SQUAD: REMEMBERING LENNY

Forty years ago today, revolutionary comic Lenny Bruce died of a drug overdose. Had he lived, he would have been 80 years old this year.

As himself, Lenny Bruce appeared on 'Playboy After Dark', and his work can be seen in archival footage for several documentaries.

But he does have televersions; actors playing him in a TV movie and in a TV series. It would be nice to keep both performances in the same TV dimension; making the claim that the difference in appearance could be attributed to his abuse of drugs, perhaps.

The Weasel King Pauly Shore played Bruce in "Hefner: Unauthorized", which was broadcast in 1999. As it beat the other contender to the airwaves by 3 years, this should be given the right to be installed as THE televersion of Lenny Bruce.

However, Hugh Hefner has built up a steady list of credits over the years to bolster his standings in the League of Themselves, and that would toss the TV movie into a parallel dimension.

As for Rich Vos' appearance as the original shock-meister on an episode of 'American Dreams', I'm still conflicted about what exactly should be the fate of that series in the overall scheme for Toobworld. It's not so much the use of the TV show 'American Bandstand' as an anchor around which the stories revolve; I don't even have a problem with all of the musical stars who did cameos on the program as the televersions for their counterparts back in that era.

My hesitation stems from an appearance by Paris Hilton as Barbara Eden as she looked in her harem outfit while she filmed 'I Dream Of Jeannie' - a TV sitcom that should exist within the same dimension as 'American Dreams'.

Oh, and the fact that it was Paris Hilton playing the role. She turned the lovely and effervescent Ms. Eden into a lobotomized zombie.

Somebody should blink Paris Hilton into the cornfield......

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Lenny Bruce......

Perhaps someday a TV movie will be made about the life of Lenny Bruce; one which will be the definitive portrayal of the comic and the turbulent times in which he lived. But it may prove to be a daunting task when the "Cineverse" has already provided Bob Fosse's version starring Dustin Hoffman.

In the meantime, there is the archival footage and documentaries, the record albums, and a great cartoon short that brought one of his routines to life:

"Thank You, Masked Man".

BCnU.....
Tele-Toby

"Life's a series of bad jokes,
And Death tops them all."
Dinner Guest
'The Saint'

"GILMARS": THE NON-CROSSOVER

Snapple-lovin' Michael Ausiello of the TV Guide scooped:

Brace yourselves — the 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Veronica Mars' universes are about to collide! I just got a smokin' hot tip that 'Gilmore' guy Matt Czuchry will cross over to 'Veronica Mars' on Oct. 24 — but not as Logan Huntzberger. It's better: He's playing Charlie Stone, half brother to none other than Logan Echolls! Can you believe it? Logan is playing Logan's brother! I love it!

I don't. This isn't a crossover. It's just stunt casting. And their so-called "universes" (they share the same one!) aren't colliding. A "collision" would have occurred had Czuchry appeared on 'Veronica Mars' as Logan Huntzberger.

This might even play hob with any possible, actual crossovers between the two shows during the next season on the fledgling CW. If a true crossover was to occur between the two series after this episode airs, Logan Huntzberger couldn't be involved.

Otherwise people would want to know why Veronica doesn't recognize Logan Huntsberger as Charlie Stone.

'The Single Guy' faced a similar problem when David Schwimmer guest starred as his 'Friends' character of Ross. One of the regulars on 'The Single Guy' was played by Jessica Hecht, who also showed up now and again on 'Friends' as a different character; and one whom Ross knew well.... Susan, the lesbian lover of his ex-wife!

So to avoid having Ross meet her as Janeane and not exclaim out loud - "Hey! You're the bitch who stole my wife away from me!", she was conveniently kept in the kitchen during the one scene where they might have met.

That's the sort of thing that would have to happen should there be any kind of "Gilmars" crossover. There are plenty of other townsfolk to encounter should Veronica Mars ever go to Stars Hollow, Connecticut. And Rory Gilmore could always leave her Logan behind at school should she ever go out to Neptune, California.

But calling Matt Czuchry's appearance on 'Veronica Mars' a crossover? Pulleaze!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

PS
I always thought that Susan and Carol (Ross' ex-wife) should have been added to some other sitcom as regular supporting players. And Jessica Hecht and Jane Sibbett still could be included in some future cast as those two characters. It'd be a nice way to keep the 'Friends' magic going without making the mistake of focusing the whole show around them a la 'Joey'.......

Just sayin' is all......