HAIL RUKOVIA!

With its penultimate episode (of a much too short life of five episodes before cancellation), 'CHAOS' gave Toobworld a parting gift: the nation of Rukovia was added to the atlas.

Rukovia appears to be Eastern European, slowly and painfully throwing off the chains of tyranny with free elections. It may have once been under Soviet domination and can probably be counted among the satellite nations in the UCR.

It was never stated as to what "UCR" stood for in "The Play", an episode of 'Mission: Impossible', but it could have been "United Communist Republics", a small off-shoot of the USSR.

Here are a few other nations that could have been part of such a confederation:

Argonia ('The Adventures Of Superman')

Boldavia ('Night Court')

Boravia ('Danger Man')

Drublegratz ('The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.')

Povia ('Mission: Impossible')

Tavilia ('The Amazing Spiderman')

Zemenia ('Monk')

Adding Zemenia as one of the possibilities is like waving a red cape at a charging bull. I have a reader who is incensed by the whole idea of the fictional country of Zemenia as seen on TV. Somehow she (at least I think the commenter is female) sees that episode of 'Monk' as an insult to her own people.....

I'm glad I can keep Toobworld separate from the real world.

Well, I have to go now. I need to clean out the tray in my talking toaster-oven.....

BCnU!

SUPER-SIX LIST: "COLUMBO" EPISODES

I'm sending this out to a fellow crossover enthusiast named Gordon. He's seen several of the ABC TV movies about 'Columbo', but he apparently is too young to have seen the original run of the series from NBC. So to help him get started (Netflix online, Gordon!), here is a Super-Six list of my favorite episodes from the series as a whole.

1] "IDENTITY CRISIS"
My all-time favorite TV series is 'The Prisoner', so just for the opportunity to see Patrick McGoohan as the guest star would have been enough. But the episode (directed by McGoohan) is full of allusions to 'The Prisoner' - visual imagery referring to "#1", the design of McGoohan's windbreaker, the phrase "Be Seeing You".... Plus McGoohan's line readings are brilliantly off-kilter - just the way he says "I know!" is a pleasure.

2] "TRY AND CATCH ME"
This mostly has to do with Ruth Gordon as a sweet but crafty Agatha Christie type. But it also has an ingenious solution to the murder, worthy of the grande dame of mysteries.

3] "DAGGER OF THE MIND"
This is the first - and best - of several episodes that played with the show's formula - Columbo in London! (There would also be Columbo on a cruise and Columbo in Mexico.) Now he was in Christie country, complete with a country manor setting, a wax museum, pubs, theatre in the West End, and a gentlemen's club which I've decided was the famed Diogenes Club from the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Peter Falk did some location shooting in London, but most of the episode was shot in California with excellent British ex-pats providing support for Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman as the hammy Shakespearean murderers - Bernard Fox, John Williams, Ronald Long, Arthur Malet, and Wilfred Hyde-White.

(Having now seen John Fraser in an episode of 'The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes', I'll have to watch "Dagger Of The Mind" again to spot him. He's prominently listed in the end credits, but I just don't remember him in the episode.)

4] "ANY OLD PORT IN A STORM"
The relationship that grows between Columbo and the murderer, Adrian Carsini, culminating in that last visit to the winery is probably the best in the series. And Donald Pleasance as Adrian is so... well, endearing, that it took me many viewings to realize just how ruthless his crime was.

5] "BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT"
Again, an episode with Patrick McGoohan as the muderer, and the first of his four appearances. The great thing about his murderers is that each of them looked so different from each other. A problem I always had with the repeat performances by Robert Culp and Jack Cassidy, among others, is that - great as the actors were - how come Columbo never noticed their similarities? Also, this was a nice spin on the formula in which the murderer was undone by that for which he committed the crime. In this case, it was the traditions of the school and subsequent infractions.....

6] "COLUMBO CRIED WOLF"
I'd say this was absolutely brilliant, but one thing mars it - that awful title.

This had the best capper of a revelation at the end since early episodes like "Short Fuse" and "Suitable For Framing". But best of all was the shout-out to the past - a mention of Chief Superintendent Inspector Dirk of Scotland Yard from "Dagger Of The Mind", and an uncredited appearance by Bruce Kirby. He was probably appearing as Sgt. Kramer, now promoted.

This is the only episode of the ABC run to make the list and it mostly had to do with the very inventive script by William Read Woodfield.

'Columbo' is in my top five TV series of all time*, so it was tough to limit this list to my self-proscribed "Super Six". But here's a Top Ten list of runners-up:

"Requiem For A Falling Star"
"Forgotten Lady"
"Uneasy Lies The Crown"
"Prescription: Murder"
"Negative Reaction"
"Etude In Black"
"A Stitch In Crime"
"Candidate For Crime"
"Mind Over Mayhem"
"Lovely But Lethal"

Just one more thing......

I'd watch any 'Columbo' episode over and over again, but I will admit some of them are not that strong. These would be at the bottom of the collection:

"Undercover"
"Dead Weight"
"An Old-Fashioned Murder"
"Make Me A Perfect Murder"
"Lady In Waiting"
"Ransom For A Dead Man"
"No Time To Die"
"Columbo And The Murder Of A Rock Star"
"Murder In Malibu"
"Columbo Likes The Night Life"

Sadly, that was Columbo's swan song.

BCnU.......
 
* Okay, just in case you were interested in my Top Five TV series:
'The Prisoner'
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
'The Dick Van Dyke Show'
'Columbo'
'Doctor Who'

CHAOTIC MUSINGS

The other day I pointed out that the most recent episode of 'Community' demonstrated how life during prime-time goes on, even though we don't see it happening on our TV screens.

In a way, the third and final episode of the CBS CIA comedic adventure series 'CHAOS' did the same thing.

At the end of the episode, we got to see scenes from the fourth episode ("Two Percent"), in which the ODS team would have gone to Hong Kong on an extraction mission that involved the former partner and lover of a team member.

But after the airing of that third episode, CBS cancelled the series.

That doesn't mean those characters no longer exist; that's not how Toobworld works. We have the documented proof that they went through all of that Hong Kong phooey, and there would still be plenty more missions down the line. We just won't be able to see them.

There are four episodes only listed in most episode guides to be found around the internets:

"Pilot"
"Song Of The North"
"Love And Rockets"
"Two Percent"

Yet I keep finding pictures with references to an episode entitled "Eaten By Wolves". The main picture shows Rick, Michael, Billy, and Casey walking down a seedy alley in a "red light district"..... Maybe it could be part of the Hong Kong episode and "Eaten By Wolves" was the original title. Or maybe we have a fifth mission for the Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services team. (CAOS - hence the show's name)

With only three episodes actually broadcast, I doubt there'll be a call for fanfic about 'CHAOS', but hey, you never know. (I just hope we won't be seeing any slash-fic about it!) Not that it's fanfic per se, but I suppose somewhere down the line we'll have to consider the pozz'bility that one of the team members gets killed in the line of duty.

At any rate, since there were only three episodes aired, 'CHAOS' didn't have much of a chance to lay down any major Zonks which could have prevented them from remaining in Earth Prime-Time. As a separate division of the CIA, the team wouldn't clash with any other established TV characters working for the intelligence organization (as could be found in shows like 'Chuck' or 'Covert Affairs'. I'm not counting 'The Agency' because that took place in an alternate universe, which also included 'The District' and maybe 'Prison Break' and 'The Breakout Kings' as well.)

Even Director H.J. Higgins can co-exist with those in charge at the CIA in other shows. In the last episode aired, he did mention that he had "superiors" in the Agency. So more than likely his title of "Director" dealt only with the ODS department.

It wasn't a great show, but it made enjoyable TV viewing for me on a Saturday morning once I got home from work. And it featured a cast who were a pleasure to hang out with (especially Carmen Ejogo and Christina Cole!) but also James Murray, a favorite from 'Primeval'.

I'm sorry to see it go, but at least my Toobian faith reassures me that those characters live on...... LOL

BCnU!

"AMC" & "OLTL": THEIR TELEVERSIONS

Even though they were all supposed to share the same TV dimension, many TV shows would reference either 'One Life To Live' or 'All My Children', the two ABC soap operas which will be going off the air - as announced at the end of last week.

So Toobworld Central had to accept that TV shows were made about the lives of these "real" people in the towns of Llanview and Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, with actors who bore remarkable resemblances to them.

The IMDb had two such Zonks listed for 'One Life To Live':

'Friends'
"The One with Joey's Award" (#7.18)" (2001)
- The show is mentioned at the Soapie Awards.

'Castle'
"Nanny McDead" (#1.2)" (2009)
- Castle says his first novel was inspired by the daytime soap.

I think mostly because of the influence from Susan Lucci's portrayal of Erica Kane, there were a lot more references to 'All My Children':

'Mystery Science Theater 3000'
1]  "Master Ninja II (#4.24)" (1992)
- Servo: "I'm missing 'All My Children.'"
2]  "Alien from L.A. (#6.16)" (1993)
- Mike: "Guys, it's Ted from 'All My Children'!"
3]  "Angels' Revenge (#7.22)" (1995)
- Crow: "They can get 'All My Children'."
4]  "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" (1996)
- Crow: "Quiet everyone, 'All My Children' is on."

Sometimes it was just mentioned by name:

'Seinfeld' - "The Stand-In"
'The Nanny' - "A Fine Friendship" & "Once a Secretary, Always a Secretary"
'Mad About You' - "Just My Dog"
(Jamie also mentions Susan Lucci.)
"Ugly Betty' - "Petra-Gate"
(Henry says that he used to watch 'All My Children' with his mom.)

There was no getting around that 'All My Children' was a TV show in Toobworld as well, not when there were references made to its actual production:

'Friends'
1]  "The One Where Eddie Won't Go"
- Gunther says he is a former soap-opera actor: "I used to be Bryce on ll My Children'.
2]  "The One with the Race Car Bed"
- Joey mentions he has an audition for a part in this show.
3]  "The One with Joey's Award"
- The show is mentioned at the Soapie Awards.

'Just Shoot Me!'
"Hostess to Murder"
- Larry mentions that the script for the murder party is written by some of the writers for this show.

'Twice in a Lifetime'
"Healing Touch"
- Two nurses discuss Susan Lucci not winning an Emmy.

'The Knights of Prosperity'
"Operation: Oswald Montecristo"
- Rockefeller mentions Mark Consuelos's character Mateo from 'All My Children'.

And because of Victoria Chase's background as an actress on soap operas, and especially because she had a long-running feud with Susan Lucci (that "conniving little teacup poodle"), 'All My Children' ended up playing an important role in 'Hot In Cleveland':

1]  "Pilot"
- Elka mentions she likes the show with Susan Lucci
2]  "Sisterhood of the Travelling SPANX"
- Melanie Moretti gets offered a role on this show
3]  "I Love Lucci: Part One"
- Victoria appears on a version of this show
4]  "I Love Lucci: Part Two"
- Victoria and Susan film a scene together on the set of this show

We got to see scenes from the televersion of the soap opera in the 'Desperate Housewives' episode "Not While I'm Around" (a clip of Jeff Martin kissing Erica Kane from 'All My Children' was shown on the television during a scene at the prison) and in the 'Modern Family' episode "Chirp".

And it turns out that an entire episode of 'All My Children' as seen in the Trueniverse was really the broadcast of the show from Toobworld, thanks to the participation of Victoria Chase.

Even in the Tooniverse, 'All My Children' had a presence as a soap opera:

'King of the Hill'
"Hanky Panky: Part 1"
- The show is mentioned by name.

I would not be surprised if other TV shows continue to mention at least 'All My Children' long after it's off the air in the Trueniverse. You KNOW that Victoria Chase will be gloating over Lucci's loss of a job!

Finally, 'All My Children' contributed to the expansion of Toobworld with two other soap operas. First there was 'Loving' in 1983 and then 'The City' picked up where 'Loving' ended in 1995 and ran for another two years.

BCnU!

COLUMBO: THE SHOW-MAN

TV SHOWS IN WHICH COLUMBO COULD BE CONSIDERED A REAL PERSON

'Big Wolf On Campus'

'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'

'Entourage'

'The Office' (UK)

'Blue Murder'

'Brothers & Sisters'

TV SHOWS IN WHICH "COLUMBO" WAS A TV SHOW

'Mystery Science Theater 3000'

'Saxondale'

'Are You Being Served?'

'NCIS'

TV SHOWS THAT COULD GO EITHER WAY RE: COLUMBO

'Life On Mars' (UK)

'Sanford & Son'

'Peep Show'

'Monk'

BCnU!

BURKE'S LINKAGE

I'm watching the boxed set of the first season of 'Burke's Law' and I'm finding it rich in theoretical pozz'bilities for Toobworld connections. Yesterday was the theory of relateeveety between Captain Burke's chauffeur Henry and Kato, the chauffeur/sidekick of the Green Hornet. I've done a few blog posts in the last few years about the TV show and it's connections to other shows, past and present, and thought you'd like to revisit them as well (if I got you into the 'Burke's Law' frame of mind.....)

It looks like Henry not only worked for the Green Hornet before Captain Burke, but also for Charlie Chan.......
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/09/burkes-link.html

A theory of relateeveety to the soap opera 'Santa Barbara'.......
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/02/warren-piece.html

A theory of "relateeveety" between a guest character and 'M*A*S*H'.....
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/02/iron-guts-solange-kelly.html

A possible romantic liaison linking to 'Lou Grant' via the L.A. Tribune......
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/tribunal.html

A reference to a 'Ben Casey' character as though they shared the same universe....
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/zonking-zorba.html

A cartography connection to 'Get Smart'. (The 'Sherlock Holmes' series cited here no longer is considered part of the main Toobworld......)
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/03/king-without-country.html

I totally forgot about this splainin as to why 'Amos Burke, Secret Agent' is not about the main character in 'Burke's Law', and yet can still remain in Earth Prime-Time.......
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/burkes-flaw.html

A character study for a Hercule Poirot clone......
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/profiles-in-cathode-bascule-doirot.html

I hope you enjoy!

BCnU!

HOLIDAY TELEFLUVIA

After seeing "The Addams Family" on Broadway, I posted this to Facebook:

It may seem unthinkable now, but the day will come, a couple of generations from now, when theatre playbills will no longer include biographies containing 'Law & Order' credits.....
~
It occurred to me at work that I had forgotten a category in the Crossovers section of the 2010 Toobits Awards. It was for the Best Crossover between a TV show and a music video. And I had a specific candidate in mind for it.

Damned if I can remember what it was now, though....

Okay, now I got it! It was the link between 'Cougar Town' and the "Dancing In The Dark" video by Bruce Springsteen. It's not a category I think will recur......

But I've written it up and will post it in about twenty minutes.
~
So David Tennant and his girl-friend Georgia Moffatt are not only getting married, but she's pregnant with their child. For the baby's sake, I hope she's bigger on the inside. (I love trying out my lines on Facebook!)

So this kid is going to be the child of a Time Lord as well as the grand-child of a Time Lord, since Georgia's father is Peter Davison. This kid is going to rule the schoolyard!

And if it's a girl, there'll be some boy out there in the future who is going to cash in on certain bragging rights, if you know what I mean - nudge nudge wink wink.

That should give David Tennant some sleepless nights.......
~
Because of 'Downton Abbey', I've got a little list - "Bad O'Briens".

So far I have four entries from the following sources:

"1984" - played by Lorne Greene in the 1953 'Studio One' adaptation; by Andre Morell a year later in the BBC adaptation. Since it was broadcast first, the 'Studio One' televersion is part of Earth Prime Time.

"Odd Man Out" - a woman who sends two Irish fugitives to their deaths

"Doctor Who" (Thanks to my brother Andrew for reminding me of Lady Cassandra, the flesh trampoline)

and

'Downton Abbey' - one of the maids in service to the Family of Downton, she proved she was evil when she kicked the cane away which His Lordship's manservant used for support, causing him to fall flat on his face.

So far, that's three out of four Bad O'Briens who are women.....

BCnU!

THE 2010 TOOBITS AWARDS PART ONE

2010 TOOBITS

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

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

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2010 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2010. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

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

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

BEST NEW TV SERIES
COMEDY:
'The Ricky Gervais Show'
DRAMA:
'Rubicon'

BEST TV MOVIE
'Sherlock' - "The Great Game"

It is technically part of a series, but as each episode runs 90 minutes, I consider each one to be a TV movie.

BEST MINI-SERIES
'The Pacific'

BEST IMPORT
Comedy:
'The In-Betweeners'
Drama:
'Sherlock' & 'Luther'

BEST EPISODE, ANY GENRE
"Eleventh Hour" - 'Doctor Who'

An exciting introduction to not only the new Doctor, but also to Amy and Rory, new aliens, and a new TARDIS interior.....

BEST TWO-PART EPISODE
"Death of the Doctor" - 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'
(with the Doctor and Jo Grant)

This will prove to be very important to the overall mythos of the Doctor - at least in Television - not only for the return of the Doctor and a re-introduction to Jo Grant, but also for the revelation about the Doctor's ability to regenerate.

BEST SERIES RETURN
'Futurama'

BEST SEASON FINALE
'Doctor Who'

It had everything - humor, pathos, adventure, romance, death, rebirth, sacrifice, and fezzes. It was silly and sad, a roller coaster of a fairy tale!

BEST SERIES FINALE
'Lost' & 'Ashes To Ashes'

Best of all is that they shared a common theme about Limbo, which can unite them - along with the A2A prequel, the original 'Life On Mars' and the old Richard Widmark series based on his movie, 'Madigan'.......

BEST CLIFF-HANGER
'White Collar'
I'll just say that it happens right after this shot. It's just a shame that the promos for the new season give it all away......

WORST SERIES CONCLUSION
'Happy Town' & 'Persons Unknown'

As the audience numbers failed to support these shows, they had to limp to their finales online. And neither one gave a decent send-off, as if they both thought they had any chance of renewal. ('Rubicon' was guilty of the same thing, but there was some hope of renewal at first.)

BEST SPIN-OFF
'Law & Order: Los Angeles'

I didn't personally care very much for the Left Coast continuation, but it does help expand Toobworld....

BEST SEQUEL
"New Man In Charge" - 'Lost'

It's the way of the future - DVDs will play a significant role in expanding the TV Universe.

BEST REMAKE
'Sherlock'

It was brilliant of Moffat and Gatiss to modernize the canon and yet everything about the basic dynamic - characters, methods of detection, storylines - felt true to the original. Yes, it's a massive Zonk, but we'll deal with that before the awards presentations are over......

BEST PILOT
'Human Target'

BEST REVIVED SERIES
'Dollhouse'

Unfortunately, like 'Enterprise' before it, this was a case of too little, too late......

BEST CROSSOVER
'Warehouse 13' - 'Eureka' Even if they weren't on the same network, this would have been a natural. And that's due more to the characters than the story, which is why we also have this category:

BEST CROSSOVER PLOTLINE
'Life Unexpected' - 'One Tree Hill'

Even though the shows were across the country from each other, there was a logical reason for 1TH characters to show up on 'Life Unexpected' - to play at a concert sponsored by the radio station where an LU character worked.

BEST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
A tech manual used by Abed in 'Community' had "SUNNYDALE" written on its spine.

WORST TRIVIAL CROSSOVER
Characters on 'Cougar Town' get their coffee fix from Coffee Bucks - just like the characters from 'Scrubs'. One problem: in the episode "Stop Dragging My Heart Around", the characters were watching 'Scrubs' as well.....

BEST INTER-DIMENSIONAL CROSSOVER
'Family Guy' - 'Real Time with Bill Maher'

FIRST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
'Doctor Who' - "The End Of Time (Part Two)" with 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' and 'Torchwood'

FIRST THEORETICAL CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
'Better Off Ted' with 'Doctor Who'
There was a dead Dalek in the background in the Veridian Dynamics basement. It's probably the same one that would be later sold to Henry Van Statton, seen in the 'Doctor Who' episode "Dalek"......

BEST THEORETICAL CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR
'The Walking Dead' with 'Dead Set'

Welcome to the Zombie TV dimension!

BEST CHRISTMAS-THEMED EPISODE OF THE YEAR
DRAMA:
'Doctor Who' - "A Christmas Carol" COMEDY
'Community' - "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"
(My only complaint on that one was the episode title. To keep it close to the general theme of school-related titles, I would have called it "Christmas Break". That would also tie in to Abed's break from reality.....)

WORST CHRISTMAS-THEMED EPISODE OF THE YEAR
'Psych' - "The Polarizing Express"


Blerg.

THE 2010 HAT SQUAD LINKS COLLECTION

Today Inner Toob is running its annual Hat Squad list of those who died during the year who made some impact on Toobworld - actors, personalities, writers, directors, composers, producers, even network executives. (None of whom were nibbled to death by ducks.) Sadly, there were so many I had to run five different posts to get them all in.....

I want to make sure you get the chance to see them all, so here are the links to each 2010 Hat Squad post, gathered together........

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-hat-squad-part-one.html

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-hat-squad-part-two.html

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-hat-squad-part-three.html

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-hat-squad-part-four.html

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-hat-squad-part-five.html

http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/observations-hat-squad-connections.html

BCnU!

TOBY'S TIP TOP TOOB

As 'Lost' neared its finale after six seasons, I wondered if it would "stick the landing" - that is, if it would provide a powerful and satisfying conclusion that would at least answer the major questions.

In my opinion, it did. But I can understand why so many people were unhappy with it. For me, the Big Reveal at the end which splained away the structure of the sixth season provided a strong argument to link 'Lost' to at least four other series.

Happy as I was with the overall series, it just missed cracking my Top Five shows of all Time, which had been set in stone for thirty years:

1) 'The Prisoner'

2) 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'

3) 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'

4) 'Columbo'

5) 'Maverick'

However, upon reflection, I realized that the Top Five needed to be revised anyway, and 'Maverick' fell two slots to #7.

That's because I realized there's another show which deserves to be in that Top Five. It is a show which will always have me watching the repeats, no matter how often they crop up; I'm left eagerly awaiting the next new episode even as soon as the last one has finished airing. And the best test of all as to its greatness: if I stumble across an episode on TV, I'll watch it, complete with commercials - even if I already own it on DVD.

And that show - as if you couldn't tell from today's overall theme - is 'Doctor Who'.

So here's my line-up of my Top Ten Favorite TV Series:

1) 'The Prisoner'

2) 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'

3) 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'

4) 'Columbo'

5) 'Doctor Who'

6) 'Lost'

7) 'Maverick'

8) 'Star Trek' (umbrella title for the franchise)

9) 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'

10) 'The Wild, Wild West'

BCnU!

THE FLOTSAM AND JETSAM OF MAUDIE PRICKETT

Here's a list from the IMDb of other shows and TV movies in which Maudie Prickett was involved, but which I didn't have anything to contribute.....

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
– The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton: Part 2 (1974) … Mrs. Hundley
– The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton: Part 1 (1974) … Mrs. Hundley
– Michael O'Hara the Fourth: Part 2 (1972) … Nosy Neighbor
– Michael O'Hara the Fourth: Part 1 (1972) … Nosy Neighbor

Love, American Style
– Love and the Artful Codger/Love and the Neglected Wife/Love and the Traveling Salesman (1971) … Gladys Norton (segment "Love and the Artful Codger")

The Further Adventures of Gallegher: The Daily Press vs. City Hall (1965) … Ellen, the Maid

The Good Guys
- Deep Are the Roots (1970) … Lotus Plimpton

Wonder Woman: Who's Afraid of Diana Prince? - Mother (uncredited)

The Tammy Grimes Show
- Officer's Mess (1966) … Mrs. Ratchett

My Mother the Car
- Absorba the Greek (1966) … Agnes Heckendorn

The Best of the Post
– The Marriage That Couldn't Succeed (1960)

The Millionaire
- The Terrence Costigan Story (1959) … Rose

Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre
– The Doctor Was a Lady (1958) … Mrs. Forbish

G.E. True Theater
– With Malice Toward One (1957) … Mrs. Simms

The 20th Century-Fox Hour
– End of a Gun (1957) … Mrs. Pennyfeather
– The Miracle on 34th Street (1955) … Miss Prossy

Cavalcade of America
– Danger at Clover Ridge (1956) … Ruth Thompson

Front Row Center
– Johnny Belinda (1955) … Maggie McDonald

The Star and the Story
- Her Crowning Glory (1955) … Saleslady

TV Reader's Digest
– I'll Pick More Daisies (1955)

Captain Midnight
– Touchdown Terror (1955)

Four Star Playhouse
– Welcome Home (1952) … Mrs. White

The Doctor
– The White Medallion (1952)

BCnU!

MAUDIE LANG SYNE

Maudie Prickett played many roles in TV Westerns. Some of these frontier women could have been the same woman under different names; perhaps some of them were twin sisters or mother and daughter combinations.

Dirty Sally
– Wimmen's Rights (1974) … Mabel

Gunsmoke
– The River: Part 2 (1972) … Aunt Ida
– P.S. Murry Christmas (1971) … Mrs. Pretch
– By Line (1966) … Mrs. Preeker

Bonanza
– The Pure Truth (1964) … Middle-aged Woman in Bank
– The Tax Collector (1961) … Mrs. Ellery
[It's likely these two women are the same, but it hasn't been verified.]

Wagon Train
– The Duke Shannon Story (1961) … Ethel

Lawman
– The Hoax (1959) … Laura Tate

The Texan
– Private Account (1959) … Maud Avery
[Hrmmm... Maud Avery... in a show called 'The Texan'.... Perhaps a fictional relation to Tex Avery?]

26 Men
– Brief Glory (1958)

Zane Grey Theater
– Legacy of a Legend (1958) … Miss Howland

The Adventures of Kit Carson
– Bad Men of Marysville (1953) … Peggy Aldrich

Hopalong Cassidy
– The Trap (1952) … Maudie

Those were all set in the nebulous time period for the Old West, which could stretch over decades from around the time of the Civil War all the way to the turn of the century.

But she played a character from even farther back as well, and more to the east......

Daniel Boone
– The Sisters O'Hannrahan (1964) … Flavia Tillridge
[I LOVE that name!]

BCnU!

TOOBWORLD'S NEXT TOP MODEL

Reality shows fly under my radar; I don't even consider them for Toobworld unless they somehow work themselves into another show's plotline. (Like 'Big Brother' [USA] on 'Yes, Dear'. 'Big Brother' [UK] would work because of 'Dead Set', but that goes into the Zombie TV dimension.)

So when DCI Ian Reed said he was going home to watch 'America's Next Top Model' during the second episode of 'Luther', I remembered that 'The Big Bang Theory' had a plotline in which Howard and Raj tracked down the house where the show's models lived.

It made me wonder how many other shows acknowledge 'America's Next Top Model' as being a TV show in Toobworld. And I was surprised by how many.....

"Six Feet Under: The Dare (#4.7)" (2004)
- Edie says she's been watching too much America's Next Top Model.

"Gilmore Girls: Super Cool Party People (#6.20)" (2006)
- Sookie tells Lorelai, that she wanted to film an audition video for the show.

"Veronica Mars: Welcome Wagon (#3.1)" (2006)
- Parker and Mac are gonna watch "top model"

"Heroes: Chapter Twelve 'Godsend' (#1.12)" (2007/II)
- Zach asks Claire if she's auditioning for America's Next Top Model when she asks him to videotape her by the bridge.

"Shark: Starlet Fever (#1.14)" (2007)
- Julie gets asked to try out for America's Next Top Model.

"Family Guy: No Meals on Wheels (#5.14)" (2007)
- The Griffins watch it on TV

"The King of Queens: China Syndrome, Parts 1 and 2 (#9.12)" (2007)
- Deacon and Danny discuss this show

"Psych: And Down the Stretch Comes Murder (#2.5)" (2007)
- "You forget to Tivo 'America's Net Top Model?'"

"Californication: Pilot (#1.1)" (2007)
- mentioned by Hank

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest (#4.3)" (2008)
- Mentioned by the gang throughout the episode

"The Big Bang Theory: The Panty Piñata Polarization (#2.7)" (2008)
- Penny turns Leonard, Raj and Howard on to it, causing Howard to try to find the house the models stay in

"Smallville: Turbulence (#8.16)" (2009)
- Mentioned by Chloe

"True Blood: Scratches (#2.3)" (2009)
- Arlene tells Sam that Lisa gave Coby a nose piercing after watching America's Next Top Model.

"Nurse Jackie: Health Care and Cinema (#1.12)" (2009)
- mentioned in dialogue

"Gilmore Girls: Go, Bulldogs! (#7.6)" (2006)
- When Luke comes back from date with Susan, April and Lane are watching ANTM on tv.

Of course, 'Family Guy' belongs in the Tooniverse, so there has to be animated versions of Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker, and all the contestants. 'Smallville' takes place in the 'West Wing' TV dimension; and since the "Godsend" episode of 'Heroes' takes place after the show created its own TV dimension timeline with the "Collision" episode, it also has its own version of the modeling show.

I didn't realize there were that many shows, and I saw most of them. I guess with ANTM being a reality competition show, my mind just blocked it out......

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES: BACON BITS

When Kevin Bacon expressed interest in playing Ray Hueston's comic book superhero "Super Ray" on screen, he brought the show 'Bored To Death' "officially" into Earth Prime-Time - at least by Toobworld Central standards.

Toobworld accepts appearances by members of the League of Themselves. Because they are appearing as fictionalized versions of their real selves, they are just as much TV characters as Joe Friday or Roseanne Roseannadanna.

And the TV Kevin Bacon is (hopefully) different from his real world version. In Toobworld, Kevin Bacon has had the regular kind of chlamydia (not the "oral chlamydia of the mouth), and apparently would have been open to having sex with Ray as part of his artistic process. He could also relate to the fact that Super Ray has a huge plonker, (as 'Only Fools And Horses' puts it.)

That should make the televersion of his wife, Kyra Sedgwick happy, but she probably wasn't too happy about the chlamydia. And she won't be pleased if she ever finds out he probably got lucky in that Brooklyn bar with Ray's crazy ex-girlfriend.

With Bacon's collection of appearances as his own televersion, 'Bored To Death' has tapped into the heart of the Great Link, the tele-mosaic - the heart of the TV Universe. That's because one of the other appearances by Kevin Bacon was in an episode of 'Mad About You' which has official connections to 'Seinfeld' and several other NBC sitcoms.

Here's Kevin Bacon's tally so far:

'Bored To Death'

'The Magic 7' (TV movie)

'Will & Grace'

'Mad About You'

And in the Tooniverse:
'God, The Devil, and Bob'

I think it's O'Bvious that Kevin Bacon is a candidate for membership in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame!

BCnU!

DEAD DROP

The website Mania has a morbid list of the 20 most unexpected deaths of TV characters over the years. Check it out......

Personally, I would have found room on that list to include Rosalind Shays' trip down the elevator shaft on 'L.A. Law'.

[Thanks to Bill Crider for pointing this out!]

BCnU!

SKED ALERT! BIG ABC CROSSOVERS COMING IN JULY

Here's some news from Tele-Buddy's Tinseltown Tales:

After July 4, ABC will be showing webisodes on their website which will be based on their soap operas 'All My Children', 'One Life To Live', and 'General Hospital'. The kicker is that each webisode will team up two or more characters from different shows. (Pictured below are Tony Geary - who plays "Luke Spencer" on 'General Hospital' - and Erika Slezak, known as "Victoria Lord Buchanan whatever her last name is now" on 'One Life To Live'. This is not from their upcoming webisode, however.)

Tele-Buddy claims that it won't be part of the continuity, but we shall see what we shall view....

Tele-Buddy was nice enough to provide the list of crossovers:

• "All My Children's" Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and "General Hospital's" Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard)


• "General Hospital's" Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and "One Life to Live's" Viki Banks (Erika Slezak)

• "All My Children's" Ryan Lavery (Cameron Mathison) and "General Hospital's" Carly Jacks (Laura Wright)

• "All My Children's" Greenlee Smythe (Rebecca Budig) and "General Hospital's" Jason Morgan (Steve Burton)

• "One Life to Live's" John McBain (Michael Easton) and "General Hospital's" Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco)

• "One Life to Live's" Todd Manning (Trevor St. John) and "General Hospital's" Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson)

• "All My Children's" Angie and Jesse Hubbard (Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams) and "One Life to Live's" Starr Manning (Kristen Alderson)

• "One Life to Live's" Blair Cramer (Kassie DePaiva) and "All My Children's" Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight)

• "One Life to Live's" Tess (Bree Williamson) and "General Hospital's" Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna)

• "General Hospital's" Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and "One Life to Live's" Rex Balsom (John- Paul Lavoisier)

Definitely there are a few final steps necessary for inclusion in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.

This should be especially fun for my friend Mayr and my former sister-in-law MJ!

BCnU!

30 ROCK BUZZ

When Liz Lemon found out that her Mom had given up on her true love, Buzz Aldrin, she was compelled to go talk to the former astronaut and hear his version of what happened.

Appearing as himself, the former astronaut and second man on the Moon provided the League of Themselves link between '30 Rock' and the following shows and TV movies:

'The Fall Guy'

'The Boy In The Plastic Bubble'

'Numb3rs'
'Da Ali G Show'

'Recess'

'Space Ghost: Coast To Coast'

'Head Of The Class'

'Punky Brewster'

and

'Sesame Street'

His appearance on 'The Simpsons' took place in the Tooniverse, of course, and there is no connection - unlike the 'Space Ghost: Coast To Coast' episode where he was getting beamed into the Tooniverse from back on Earth Prime-Time.

I'm such a geek......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DAPHNE DU MAURIER

From Wikipedia:
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE (13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English author and playwright. Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels "Rebecca", which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1941, "Jamaica Inn", and her short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

DAPHNE DU MAURIER

AS SEEN IN:
"Daphne"

AS PLAYED BY:
Geraldine Somerville

Press release:
Based on personal letters and biographies, the film charts the story of Ms. Du Maurier’s unrequited passion for the beautiful and glamorous American heiress, Ellen Doubleday and how the play she wrote about this forbidden desire, led her to a life-changing love affair with the irreverent, fun-loving actress Gertrude Lawrence after an introduction by Noel Coward in New York.

[with Elizabeth McGovern as Ellen Doubleday]

Many of Ms. Du Maurier's works have been adapted for television, with enough versions of "Rebecca" to populate 9 alternate TV dimensions.

These are the TV adaptations of her novels and short stories:

Frenchman's Creek (1998)

Rebecca (1997)

L'auberge de la Jamaïque (1995)

The Lifeforce Experiment (1994)
(story "The Breakthrough")

The Birds II: Land's End (1994)

Jamaica Inn (1983)

"My Cousin Rachel"

Rebecca (1979)

Une seconde d'éternité (1977)

Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love (1974)
(segment "Kiss Me Again Stranger")

Rebecca (1969)

"Mi amor por ti" (1969)

Rebecca (1962)

"Pursuit" (1958)
- Kiss Me Again, Stranger

"Suspicion"
- Fraction of a Second (1958)

"Playhouse 90"
- The Violent Heart (1958)

"Matinee Theatre"
- September Tide (1956)

"The Ford Television Theatre"
- Panic (1956)

"Danger"
- The Birds (1955)

"Lux Video Theatre"
- September Tide (1954)

"BBC Sunday-Night Theatre"
- Rebecca (1954)

"ABC Album"
- The Split Second (1953)

"Suspense"
- Kiss Me Again Stranger (1953)

"Broadway Television Theatre"
- Rebecca (1952)

"Kraft Television Theatre"
- September Tide (1952)
- September Tide (1950)

"Robert Montgomery Presents"
- Rebecca (1950)

"The Philco Television Playhouse"
- Rebecca (1948)

Rebecca (1947)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV/HAT SQUAD: BABY JUNE

June Havoc passed away on Sunday; she was 97. Part of her life was immortalized in the musical "Gypsy" (Her sister was Gypsy Rose Lee.), which had a Toobworld treatment back in 1993.

JUNE HAVOC
"BABY JUNE"

AS SEEN IN:
"Gypsy"

AS PLAYED BY:
Lacey Chavert

She had her own syndicated talk show, 'The June Havoc Show' back in 1964 which was also known as 'More Havoc'. Among the series in which she had regular roles were the soap operas 'General Hospital' and 'Search For Tomorrow'.

She contributed characters to the population of Toobworld in 'The Paper Chase', 'McMillan & Wife', 'Burke's Law', and 'The Outer Limits', as well as in many of the anthology series of the 1950's. She also appeared in two episodes of 'Murder, She Wrote', but the one to check out is "The Grand Old Lady". (This could be a reference either to the luxury liner on which it takes place or to Ms. Havoc's character, 1940's mystery author Lady Abigail Austin who was somewhat pattered after Agatha Christie.

Although the series didn't last long, her greatest contribution to the "Tele-Folks Directory" of Earth Prime-Time was her starring role in 'Willy'. Willa Dodger graduated from law school in the mid-1950's and established a law practice in her hometown of Renfrew, New Hampshire. But when business proved to be too slow, she packed her bags and left for New York, where she got a job as the legal representation for a burlesque vaudeville organization.

It's amazing to think that June Havoc began her theatrical career in 1918 and it lasted into the 21st Century!

Good night and may God bless.

BCnU......

AS SEEN ON TV: NOEL COWARD

"Why", asked Coward, "am I always expected to wear a dressing-gown, smoke cigarettes in a long holder and say 'Darling, how wonderful'?"

NOEL COWARD

AS SEEN IN:
"Agatha Christie Marple: 4.50 From Paddington"
(also in "Ian Fleming: Bondmaker")

AS PLAYED BY:
Pip Torrens

From Wikipedia:
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama, In Which We Serve, and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride" and "I Went to a Marvellous Party".

His plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. Coward did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.

This televersion of Noel Coward would have to be from an alternate TV dimension as Miss Jane Marple was played by Geraldine McEwan and not by the official Miss Marple of Toobworld, Joan Hickson. This works out perfectly as there was another TV production about the life of Ian Fleming, "Goldeneye", with its own televersions not only of Coward but also of Fleming.

But I think the Noel Coward of Earth Prime-Time may be portrayed by David Benson in six episodes of the time-traveling rom-com 'Goodnight, Sweetheart'.

Here are the televersions of Noel Coward:

Daphne (2007) Played by Malcolm Sinclair

Ian Fleming: Bondmaker (2005)

Agatha Christie Marple: 4.50 from Paddington (2004) Played by Pip Torrens

"Goodnight Sweetheart" (1998-99) Played by David Benson

Dieppe (1993) Played by John Mezon

"Red Dwarf" (1991) Played by Roger Blake

"You Rang, M'Lord?" (1990) Played by Guy Siner

Goldeneye (1989) Played by Julian Fellowes

"Ike" (1979) Played by Francis Matthews

"BBC2 Play of the Week"
- Exiles (1977) Played by Ned Sherrin

BCnU!