THE ANNUAL TOOBWORLD SALUTE TO TV WESTERNS - AN INTRODUCTION

As we have done since 1999, Toobworld Central is celebrating that classic TV genre, the Western, during the month of August. At one time, there was at least one Western on the air each night of the week, usually more. Nowadays, that pre-eminence is held by the police procedurals, but the Western hasn't completely died out. Attempts have been made to bring the genre back over the last two decades - 'Trinity', 'Ponderosa', 'Peacemakers', 'Legend', and HBO's under-rated 'Deadwood'. Long-form mini-series and TV movies like 'Lonesome Dove' and "Broken Trail" have proven to be well-received by both the critics and audiences alike. And this Fall, AMC - which has been mostly successful with TV series (I'm not counting you, 'The Killing'!) - will be adding 'Hell On Wheels' to the mix.

The TV Western is so beloved that producers of modern TV series try to invoke a Western motif into their shows on occasion. Examples would include 'The Brady Bunch', 'Psych', 'The Prisoner', 'One Life To Live', 'Doctor Who', 'Star Trek', and 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. 'McCloud' was about a cowboy cop in New York City, and 'Firefly' has been described as a Western in outer space.

In 1999, we launched this Western showcase with a specific theme - 'The Lone Ranger'. In later years we had other themes like 'The Wild Wild West' (mostly with a focus on my all-time favorite TV character, Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless), 'Alias Smith And Jones', and last year I got fourteen posts out of just two episodes of 'Maverick' to cover my vacation!

This year is no different. All month long, we'll be taking episodes of 'The Rifleman' and running posts on them - some long, most of them short takes. And there was so much to work with, we didn't even get to the end of the third season (out of five). Even with skipping a few that just didn't pique our interest, there was more than enough material to fill out the month.

Tuesdays will have two thematically connected posts as our "Two For Tuesday" feature. (That will take the pressure off the "As Seen On TV" gallery, which gets harder to do in August as we're running low on historical TV Western characters. Sundays will be the extra-long essays, including out theory that 'The Rifleman' can be connected to 'Doctor Who'... theoretically, that is.

And it would be remiss of me if I didn't point this out - these Inner Toob posts would not have been possible without the fantastic fansite dedicated to 'The Rifleman' - "The Rifleman Episode Guide List".

I've been watching the series in its Saturday morning marathons on AMC (speaking of which!), but this site has great synopses in the form of reminiscences by Lucas and Mark McCain - with links to pictures of the actors playing each character and a catalogue of the flubs from each episode. This salute would have been poorer without them.

So if you're a fan of 'The Rifleman' or TV Westerns in general, or of my theories of "relateeveety", "born to re-run" suggestions and other toobish ravings from Yours Truly, I hope you'll keep checking in all month long!

BCnU!

FELICITY KENDAL: TWO TRIBUTES

Princess Vicky was saved for last in this two-week tribute to historical figures in 'Edward The King' because Felicity Kendal, who played the Princess Royal, is one of my all-time favorite actresses.  She captures my heart with 'The Good Neighbours' and I've since looked for anything she might have appeared in.....

Here are two tribute videos to this lovely and gracious (yet mischievous) lady....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV ADDENDUM: LILLIE LANGTRY

We celebrated Lillie Langtry here at Inner Toob two years ago, but there's no harm in sharing a YouTube video about her in the midst of our salute to characters from 'Edward The King'.....
Here's a song about Lillie Langtry

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE EARL OF DERBY

THE EARL OF DERBY

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Bryan Coleman

From Wikipedia:
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869) was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley. His record was unusual, since he is one of only four British Prime Ministers to have three or more separate periods in office. However his ministries all lasted less than two years, and he held the post for a total of just over four years, less than many other Prime Ministers.

SIR THOMAS WENHAM

AS SEEN IN:
'The Adventures Of Sir Francis Drake'

AS PLAYED BY:
Bryan Coleman

Although I have found a Sir Thomas Wenham for the relevant time period in the life of Sir Francis Drake, I'm not sure if he served as an ambassador to Spain from England. The list of I found of English ambassadors to Spain during the reign of Philip II begins just after the time period depicted in the episode "Visit To Spain".

But then, the series did play fast and loose with the timeline established in the Trueniverse, so Toobworld Central will chalk it up to a Toobworld variation.

It's not like time travelers journeyed from the Future to interact with him, as usually happens with the historical figures of Earth Prime-Time......

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

JOAN RIVERS & LOUIS CK

With Joan Rivers' appearance on tonight's episode of 'Louis', the sitcom starring Louis CK as a televersion of himself can be considered an official member of Toobworld. Joan Rivers is a 2011 member of the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, League of Themselves division.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: ANTHONY HOPKINS

SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS

AS SEEN IN:

'Star Stories'

AS PLAYED BY:
Oliver Maltman

From Wikipedia:
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937), best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a British actor of film, stage and television. Considered to be one of the greatest living actors, Hopkins is perhaps best known for his portrayal of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor), its sequel Hannibal, and its prequel Red Dragon. Other prominent film credits include The Lion in Winter, Magic, The Elephant Man, 84 Charing Cross Road, Dracula, Legends of the Fall, The Remains of the Day, Amistad, Nixon, and Fracture. Hopkins was born and brought up in Wales. Retaining his British citizenship, he became a U.S. citizen on 12 April 2000. Hopkins' films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. As well as his Academy Award, Hopkins has also won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys, a Golden Globe and a Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Hopkins was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2008.

Again, as with Clooney, this has to be from another TV dimension. No matter the acting style, this guy doesn't even come close to looking like Hopkins.

I'm thinking 'Star Stories' would fit right into the "doofus" TV dimension which also houses 'That's My Bush!' and 'The Secret Files Of Desmond Pfeiffer'......

BCnU!

KIBBLES AND TOOBITS - A LOOK AT "WILFRED"

FX has a new sitcom based on an Australian show by the same name - 'Wilfred'. The premise is certainly... different - a guy named Ryan befriends a dog belonging to his sexy neighbor; but whereas everybody else sees Wilfred as the dog he should be, Ryan sees him as a rough, bong-toking Australian in a dog suit.

I have a feeling that, like 'Lost' and other shows with a strange, mysterious premise, I'll have to wait until the show finally ends its run before I can make sense of what it all means and how it can fit into the mosaic of Toobworld.

Normally, I'd just say that the American 'Wilfred' was just a remake and so had to be put down - er, dumped into the Land of Remakes. (Somebody! Help me with a name for that TV dimension!) But since the co-creator of the original series is playing 'Wilfred', just as he did in the Australian original, we could say that they both belong in Earth Prime-Time. Wilfred's the same man-dog (or whatever he is) but know living in America. Just tormenting somebody new.

Like I said, we probably won't know until the series' end, if then. But we could make a few guesses as to who - or what - Wilfred is.

1] WILFRED IS A DELUSION FOR BOTH ADAM AND RYAN
That he should look the same to both men on separate continents? Maybe they both drew inspiration from a picture book for kids or a TV-within-TV show aimed at kids with an international audience.

Do you think it strange that grown men would talk to a dog and follow its advice? Tell that to David Berkowitz....

2] WILFRED IS A DEMON
To the rest of the world, he looks to be a dog, but to the souls he torments he's a humanoid canine. Maybe he's only tormenting Ryan because he already drove Adam to suicide Down Under. When we first meet Ryan, he's making the attempt to kill himself, and that may have drawn the demon to him.

And speaking of souls.....


3] WILFRED HAS BEEN REINCARNATED AS A DOG
It's the natural transition in Toobworld - when a human dies, and they have unfinished business, they come back as a dog. (But don't tell the Minbari that!) If so, he probably died again while hanging out with Adam, only he didn't advance to the next level but instead he came back as a dog again. (We even have precedence for that, with Buck Bundy dying and being sent back from Animal Heaven as Lucky Bundy on 'Married... With Children'.)

Usually when we as the Trueniverse audience see a reincarnated dog, they look like a dog but we can hear their voice and/or thoughts - Cleo of 'The People's Choice' and 'Poochinsky', for instance. But in this case we see the human embodiment of Wilfred's soul blended with the trappings of fur.

Fur trappings. Heh heh. Heh heh.....

And the reason Ryan can see this is because he had been so near to death himself when he tried to kill himself.

4] WILFRED IS A QUANTUM LEAPER FROM THE FUTURE
There was an episode of 'Quantum Leap' where Dr. Sam Beckett leapt into the life of a chimpanzee. The same situation may have happened here, where a leaper from Sam's future, when they can specifically target a "leapee". (Why he would choose a dog on both occasions is unknown, but must be instrumental to his research project.)

Now, supposedly only children, animals, and people with "special needs" can see a leaper. So maybe there's been some damage to Ryan's brain after his suicide attempt......

5] WILFRED IS FROM THE PLANET PARENTHIA
Parenthia is a planet in the Sirius system, which is probably why Sirius is known as the Dog Star. Two of their astronauts, Alpha and Orvis, were brought to Earth by Aunt Clara's magic in an episode of 'Bewitched'. The humanoid canines were mentioned in an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and they were present at the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe in 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'.

Wilfred could be observing human life on Earth in preparation for an invasion by his homeworld. His presence is masked by either a glamour device or by a magical spell cast by another practitioner of the dark arts. First he checked out life in Australia and is now living large near Venice Beach in California.

His dedication to the operation may be compromised because he's revealed his true identity to Adam and Ryan.

I've just read that last one back. It made a lot more sense when I was popping Puppy Uppers with my neighbor's dog.....

BCnU!

FORD FIESTA

In remembrance of the late Betty Ford (as well as for just the pure enjoyment of seeing these classic scenes), here are Mrs. Ford's two forays into Toobworld as herself.

First up, the first and the best -

Lou Grant and Mary Richards have gone to Washington, D.C., on a press junket for the weekend. And after two days of waiting for Lou's old contacts to reach out and invite them to parties, Mary finally bails on him to have dinner with a Congressman (played by Dabney Coleman). This is what happens when she gets back from her evening out.....

About six years later, Mrs. Ford is in Denver with her husband, former President Gerald Ford, to attend the famous Carousel Ball (which actually does exist, so it has its own televersion too!) And there they run into oil tycoon Blake Carrington.....

So her presence is what ties 'Dynasty' to 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', and the two of them serve as the linking steps between 'Batman' and 'Phyllis', 'Rhoda', and 'Lou Grant'. (Later, nearly all of the Carringtons are wounded at the Royal wedding in Moldavia, the homeland of some antique stamps which were stolen by the Riddler. And of course, Phyllis, Rhoda, and Lou are all friends of Mayr's.)

Because it turned out that Betty Ford really had visited Lou in his hotel room, then it stands to reason that all of his visitors were actually there. Even though we didn't see them, their life during prime time must be accepted just as would be the case for whatever happened during commercial breaks, between episodes, and after cancellation.

So these are the other people who attended, and what TV shows they can link to 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show':

John Glenn - 'Frasier', and yes, even 'Name That Tune'!

Eric Sevareid - 'Taxi' and 'Call To Glory', which has a Toobworld tweak: Sevareid somehow looked the same in 1963 as he did twenty years later....

Ethel Kennedy - 'Cheers'

Hubert Humphrey - His links are all to variety shows (hosted by Dean Martin, Red Skelton, and Pat Paulsen.) But those hosts can make connections to other shows in which they appeared as themselves. For example, Dean Martin guest starred in 'Half Nelson', 'Vega$', 'The Lucy Show', and 'Make Room For Daddy', and all of them could now be added to this link.

As for 'Dynasty'? There's always 'The Colbys'.......

If only Betty Ford appeared on 'The Hollywood Squares', sitting in the seat that used to belong to Paul Lynde and Whoopi Goldberg.

Then we would have had the Betty Ford Center Square.....

BCnU!

ON THE PHONE WITH BETTY FORD

With her appearance on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' as herself, the late First Lady Betty Ford engaged in one of the oldest TV and movie cliches ever.....

I don't know of anybody who's done this in real life. Well, I've done it on occasion - when somebody's told me something incredulous and it made me think of the cliche. But then I go and ruin the effect by telling the person on the other end of the call what I've just done.

It does seem like an outdated cliche now in the age of the cell phone......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BETTY FORD

In memory of a First Lady who may have done more for the country than her husband the President did.....

BETTY FORD

AS SEEN IN:
"The Betty Ford Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Gena Rowlands

From The New York Times:
Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 93.

Few first ladies have been as popular as Betty Ford, and it was her frankness and lack of pretense that made her so. Unlike many other wives of presidents, Mrs. Ford rarely hesitated to make public her views on touchy subjects. She spoke often in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, endorsed legalized abortion, discussed premarital sex and revealed that she intended to share a bed with her husband in the White House.

On Sept. 28, 1974, Mrs. Ford had a radical mastectomy after doctors discovered cancer in her right breast. Within days, 10,000 letters, more than 500 telephone calls, more than 200 telegrams and scores of floral arrangements poured into the White House and into her suite at Bethesda Naval Hospital. In the months that followed, tens of thousands of American women, inspired by Mrs. Ford’s forthrightness and courage in facing her illness, crowded into doctors’ offices and clinics for breast-cancer examinations.

Breast cancer was only one of the medical battles Mrs. Ford won. Her dependency on pills began in 1964 with a medical prescription to relieve constant pain from a neck injury and a pinched nerve. Her drinking, which became troublesome as she was faced with her husband’s frequent absences on political business, grew increasingly serious as Mr. Ford’s Congressional career advanced.

In 1978, the year after leaving the White House, her husband, children, doctors and several friends confronted her about her drinking and her abuse of pills. She refused to acknowledge that a problem existed, calling her family “a bunch of monsters,” but she eventually entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital in California for treatment.

The Betty Ford Center, dedicated on Oct. 3, 1982, was a direct result of Mrs. Ford’s victory over her alcoholism and addiction. Set on 14 acres on the campus of the Eisenhower Medical Center 11 miles southeast of Palm Springs, the center was a nonprofit venture spearheaded by Mrs. Ford and Leonard K. Firestone, an industrialist and former ambassador to Belgium who raised a major part of the money.

“It’s hard to make anyone understand what it’s like to have your name on something, to be given credit for things you haven’t done,” Mrs. Ford wrote. “I’ve been at meetings where someone turned and thanked me, and I hugged the person and said, ‘Don’t thank me, thank yourself, you’re the one who did it, with God’s help.’ From the beginning, we have wanted every patient at the center to feel, ‘I’m important here, I have some dignity.’ ”
- Enid Nemy

Betty Ford is one of the few people of the real world, like Orson Welles and Johnny Carson, who have not only been portrayed by a televersion, but have also appeared as a member of the League of Themselves in fictionalized settings. She made a phone call to Mary Richards when "Mayr" visited Washington with Lou Grant in an episode of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'. (When Mrs. Ford identified herself as Betty Ford, Mary gave her name as Mary... Queen of Scots.)

Here's a behind-the-scenes publicity photo of Mrs. Ford filming her cameo for 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'. She and Ms. Moore didn't share the scene except by phone call, so "Mayr" might have been there to help feed her the lines to set up her dialogue.

President and Mrs. Ford, along with Henry Kissinger, attended the Carousel Ball in Denver years later, where they met members of the oil-rich Carrington Family of 'Dynasty'.

She was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, along with her late husband President Gerald Ford, in November, 2007.
 
Good night, and may God Bless.

BCnU.....

THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN JACK

At the American press screening for 'Torchwood: Miracle Day', former 'Doctor Who' producer Russell T. Davies declared to reporters that there's absolutely no chance that you'll see the Doctor show up within the contest of a 'Torchwood' story. And it's not because he's no longer the man in charge of the TARDIS.

"The Doctor's never gone into Torchwood; it's always been the other way around. Torchwood's gone into 'Doctor Who,' which I think is correct because there's a big child audience for 'Doctor Who,' and I think that would demand if we took The Doctor into Torchwood, it would be a clash of styles."

Steven Moffat is now in charge of 'Doctor Who' and hasn't used anything from the previous run of the series that he didn't create himself - like the Weeping Angels. So Captain Jack might still return to his roots, since Moffat wrote his first stories, "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". And I think he'd be right in grabbing the former Time Agent for a guest appearance, since RTD had no problem in using the Eleventh Incarnation of the Doctor for a two-part story on 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'. Fair's fair......

BCnU!

OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT: CASEY ANTHONY

My Iddiette friend Kristin McCracken shared this on Facebook, regarding today's top story:

Best. Tweet. Ever?

RT @drnik46: Look out, Casey Anthony. Dexter lives in Florida...

Me? I'm not going to pass judgement until I see the Lifetime movie.....

BCnU!

A LEVERAGED FATHER'S DAY.....

I think this will remain my favorite in-joke for the entire year. It's definitely the sweetest.....

In "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job", the 'Leverage' episode that aired over the Fourth of July weekend, everybody had to dress up as a "fictional" detective.

Sophie was Irene Adler from "A Scandal In Bohemia", a Sherlock Holmes story.

Parker was Nancy Drew.

Harrison was one of the Hardy Boys.  (Update: Originally I had him listed as Encyclopedia Brown, because that's who he thought he was.  But I've just watched that scene again and Sophie corrects him over the comm-link: he's one of the Hardy Boys.  The big "H" on his sweater should have been a give-away.)

Elliott was real-life Pinkerton agent Charlie Siringo.

But best of all?

Nate Ford (played by Timothy Hutton) was Ellery Queen.....

Timothy Hutton's father, the late Jim Hutton, played Ellery Queen in a 1970's series by the creators of 'Columbo' and 'Murder, She Wrote'.

And seeing Nate Ford in that floppy hat, the tweedy jacket, and the red sweater, it was like seeing Jim Hutton in the role once more.

So when Nate declared Ellery Queen as the greatest detective ever, I think there was more than one voice speaking......

I'll have more on these disguises later in the week....

BCnU!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

It's a day to celebrate, but also to mourn the loss of Clarence Clemons last month.....

"DOCTOR WHO" ON JULY 4TH? PARRISH THE THOUGHT!

Happy Fourth of July! Happy Independence Day!

Or as they might say elsewhere in the world, Happy Monday!

As a Toobworld contribution to the Fourth of July theme, I'd like to offer this painting by my favorite artist, Maxfield Parrish:

"With Trumpet and Drum"

With big tin trumpet and

little red drum,

Marching like soldiers,

the children come!

The piece is entitled "With Trumpet And Drum" and it is dated from 1904. It was one of eight plates by Parrish to illustrate "Poems of Childhood" by the late Eugene Field. (He died nearly a decade earlier at the age of 45.)

As you can see in the picture, there was a clear influence for the main character in the painting:

The Gallifreyan Time Lord has met famous painters in the past, most notably Vincent Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci, but also Michaelangelo and Gainesborough. So why not Maxfield Parrish?

I'm not offering up any splainins as to the circumstance leading to the meeting between Parrish and the Doctor. There are not enough "facts" available to make concrete connections within the reality of Toobworld.

This is more along the lines of fanficcer territory. So as a fanfic enabler, I will make a few suggestions... if you feel inspired to write about this encounter between the Doctor and Maxfield Parrish.

1]  Their adventure should take place in 1903, giving Parrish enough time to use the Eleventh Incarnation of the Doctor as the inspiration for the little drummer boy. And it should be something that might have borne a resemblance to the finished painting - only with a little boy rather than the boyish "young" Doctor.

2]  Parrish lived in New Hampshire, so the action should take place there. As with a lot of the wild areas in New England, the mountainous terrain and back country forests of New Hampshire are home to many myths, legends, and tall tales. Large lumbering giants and small devilish imp-folk can be found in the stories there. With either group, it should be easy to come up with an alien origin for their kind.

3]  Look into the actual history for New Hampshire at the turn of the 20th Century. There might be something that happened that could be given a 'Doctor Who' twist, which has always been a staple of the show.

4]  Was the event something that only the children of the area could deal with, because the adults had all been entranced by the alien adversary?

5]  And whether you use Amy Pond as his Companion, or some other young loverly who tagged along during that hiatus for the Amy & the Doctor team between "The Big Bang" and "The Impossible Astronaut", at some point in the story she should emulate at least one of the poses in other famous paintings by Maxfield Parrish.

Me, I'm partial to "Ecstasy" myself, but "Reverie" and "Hope" might also fit the bill.

If you do end up writing some 'Doctor Who' fanfic to go with this patriotic painting, please send a copy along to me. I'd love to read it!

Again, Happy Fourth of July!

BCnU!

COLLECTEEVEE SOUL

The Sunday commercial break......

While watching the AMC marathon of 'The Rifleman' off my DVR yesterday, I saw this commercial:

That song in the background was bothering me; that I knew it and remembered hearing it often, but I just couldn't place it.

Took me five minutes to find the answer online, and that was mostly taken up with just logging in!

Long ago I lost any sense of amazement at what I could find on the internet. That's been replaced by the shock at the things I can't find. (Like a picture of Joel Grey in the NBC production of "George M.!" back in the early 70's......)

BCnU!

"MERCURY MEN"

I know little else about this new series than what has been shown in these two trailers. I don't even know when it will premiere.  But as a big fan of that retro sci-fi look, I'm in!  (Once I find it, that is.....)

They're even supplying a commercial within a commercial for the show:

BCnU!

SHERLOCK HOLMES: PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes
On the left: his first appearance in "A Scandal in Bohemia"
On the right: in his last episode "The Cardboard Box"

The brilliance of Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, the official version of the role for Toobworld, could blind a viewer to the deterioration of his physical health as the various series progressed.

From Wikipedia, here's the story of what was happening outside the box:
After the death of Joan Wilson, Brett struggled with filming the third Granada series, 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes' in late 1985. On the set it was noticed that his manic episodes, his excessive changes of mood, were getting worse and eventually grief and workload became too much; he had a breakdown, was hospitalised and diagnosed manic-depressive.

Brett was given lithium tablets to fight his manic depression. He knew that he would never be cured; he had to live with his condition, look for the signs of his disorder and then deal with it. He wanted to go back to work, to play Holmes again. The first episode to be produced after his discharge was a two-hour adaptation of "The Sign of the Four". From then on the difference in Brett's appearance slowly became more noticeable as the series developed. One of the side effects of the lithium tablets was fluid retention. Brett began to look and act differently. The drugs were slowing him down; he was putting on weight and retaining water. Brett also had heart troubles. His heart was twice the normal size, he would have difficulties breathing and would need an oxygen mask on the set. "But, darlings, the show must go on", was his only comment.

During the last decade of his life, Brett was treated in hospital several times for his mental illness, and his health and appearance visibly deteriorated by the time he completed the later episodes of the Sherlock Holmes series. During his later years, he discussed the illness candidly, encouraging people to recognise its symptoms and seek help.

That certainly answers the questions about Jeremy Brett. But within the reality of Toobworld, what was happening to the state of Holmes' health?

My intent is not to make light of the situation; instead I wish to provide a splainin for the changes to Holmes' appearance by thinking inside the box. Hopefully this would also be in keeping with the "Canon", since he is the televisual embodiment of the original stories.

Although we didn't see it happen on screen, Holmes had begun conducting his experiments into the longevity benefits from the royal jelly of bees long before his retirement to Sussex.

Many Sherlockians believe he was ultimately successful and was able to extend his own life-span (to the point where some claim that Holmes is still alive today!) As with any scientific experiment, there would be many trials and errors during research. And heedless of his own physical well-being (which we know he was wont to do with the use of cocaine and morphine when bored), Holmes would have had no qualms about using himself as the test subject in his royal jelly experiments. He may have been convinced that his physical stamina (as demonstrated in "The Speckled Band") was enough to withstand any detrimental effects caused by his experimental serums.

But each new test caused physical alterations to his body - the bloating, the softening of his once finely honed features.....

Based on what we saw in those last episodes, Holmes never gave a splainin, and Dr. Watson was probably too polite to enquire. And then again, it may have happened in a scene were not privy to.

For Jeremy Brett, that physical deterioration was permanent and he died not long after completing his final story as Holmes. But for Sherlock himself, life continued after the series finale. Eventually he hit upon the right combination of the serum and probably returned to his old self again... with the guarantee of a longer life to boot.

BCnU......

AS SEEN ON TV: GEORGE SAND

Today we celebrate the 207th birthday of a "Notorious Woman" from France.....

GEORGE SAND

AS SEEN IN:
'Notorious Woman'

AS PLAYED BY:
Rosemary Harris

From Wikipedia:
Amantine (also "Amandine") Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness (French: baronne) Dudevant (Paris, 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pseudonym George Sand, was a French novelist and memoirist.

A liaison with the writer Jules Sandeau heralded her literary debut. They published a few stories in collaboration, signing them "Jules Sand." Her first published novel, "Rose et Blanche" (1831), was written in collaboration with Sandeau. She subsequently adopted, for her first independent novel, "Indiana" (1832), the pen name that made her famous – George Sand.

Drawing from her childhood experiences of the countryside, she wrote the rural novels "La Mare au Diable" (1846), "François le Champi" (1847–1848), "La Petite Fadette" (1849), and "Les Beaux Messieurs Bois-Doré" (1857). "A Winter in Majorca" described the period that she and Chopin spent on that island in 1838-9.

Her other novels include "Indiana" (1832), "Lélia" (1833), "Mauprat" (1837), "Le Compagnon du Tour de France" (1840), "Consuelo" (1842–1843), and "Le Meunier d'Angibault" (1845).

Further theatre pieces and autobiographical pieces include "Histoire de ma vie" (1855), "Elle et Lui" (1859) (about her affair with Musset), "Journal Intime" (posthumously published in 1926), and "Correspondence". Sand often performed her theatrical works in her small private theatre at the Nohant estate.

Sand's reputation came into question when she began sporting men's clothing in public — which she justified by the clothes being far sturdier and less expensive than the typical dress of a noblewoman at the time. In addition to being comfortable, Sand's male dress enabled her to circulate more freely in Paris than most of her female contemporaries, and gave her increased access to venues from which women were often barred — even women of her social standing.

Also scandalous was Sand's smoking tobacco in public; neither peerage nor gentry had yet sanctioned the free indulgence of women in such a habit, especially in public (though Franz Liszt's paramour Marie d'Agoult affected this as well, smoking large cigars). These and other behaviors were exceptional for a woman of the early and mid-19th century, when social codes—especially in the upper classes—were of the utmost importance.

As a consequence of many unorthodox aspects of her lifestyle, Sand was obliged to relinquish some of the privileges appertaining to a baroness — though, interestingly, the mores of the period did permit upper-class wives to live physically separated from their husbands, without losing face, provided the estranged couple exhibited no blatant irregularity to the outside world.

Toobworld Note: When RTD was in charge of 'Doctor Who', the 9th and 10th incarnations of the Doctor met several writers from Great Britain - Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Dame Agatha Christie.  So far, the 11th incarnation of the Doctor has crossed the Channel and entered the life of French artiste supreme Vincent Van Gogh.

Maybe he should revisit France and this time get caught up in some kind of adventure with George Sand.  She certainly is quite radical for her times and would have no problem in keeping up with the strange things that occur with the Doctor.......

Here's a suggestion....  He should give her the suit worn by the 8th incarnation of the Doctor as a parting gift......

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: ALICE PLAYTEN

Actress Alice Playten passed away last Saturday from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 63.

She was mostly known for her work in the theatre - "Gypsy", "Henry, Sweet Henry", "Caroline, Or Change", "National Lampoon's Lemmings", among many others. Buried under heavy prosthetic makeup, she played the demon Blix, an underling to Tim Curry's Devil in the movie "Legend". And she had a Toobworld presence with roles in 'The Lost Saucer' and the HBO presentation of National Lampoon's "Disco Beavers From Outer Space".

But it's for a sweet, small role in a TV commercial for which she'll be best remembered in Toobworld. For an Alka-Seltzer blipvert back in the advertising heyday of the early 1970's called "Groom's First Meal", Ms. Playten played a young newlywed eager to try out some recipes on her new husband - among them, poached oysters and my favorite, marshmallow meatloaf. (That's Terry Kiser of "Weekend At Bernie's" fame in the background as her loving test subject......)

Sadly, of all those famous commercials from that time period for Alka Seltzer, "Groom's First Meal" doesn't seem to be available for viewing on the internet. But thanks to my copy of "Mighty Minutes" (and a technical assist from my co-worker Tony Ebadi), I'm able to present to you this still from the commercial:

Good night, Alice Playten, and may God bless.

BCnU......