AS SEEN ON TV: AUGUSTO PINOCHET

AUGUSTO PINOCHET

AS SEEN IN:
"Pinochet In Suburbia"

AS PLAYED BY:
Sir Derek Jacobi

From Wikipedia:
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973. Among his titles, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean army from 1973 to 1998, president of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1974 and President of the Republic from 1974 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990.

After peacefully stepping down in 1990, Pinochet continued to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 10 March 1998, when he retired and became a senator-for-life in accordance with the 1980 Constitution. In 2004, Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia ruled that Pinochet was medically fit to stand trial and placed him under house arrest. By the time of his death on 10 December 2006, about 300 criminal charges were still pending against him in Chile for numerous human rights violations, tax evasion and embezzlement during his 17-year rule and afterwards. Pinochet was accused of having corruptly amassed a wealth of US$28 million or more.

Some authors have speculated that Argentina might have won the war had the military felt able to employ the elite VIth and VIIIth Mountain Brigades which remained sitting in the Andes guarding against possible Chilean incursions. Pinochet subsequently visited Margaret Thatcher for tea on more than one occasion. Pinochet's controversial relationship with Thatcher led Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair to mock Thatcher's Conservatives as "the party of Pinochet" in 1999.The case was a watershed event in judicial history, as it was the first time that a former government head was arrested on the principle of universal jurisdiction.

After having been placed under house arrest in Britain and initiating a judicial and public relations battle, the latter run by Thatcherite political operative Patrick Robertson, he was eventually released in March 2000 on medical grounds by the Home Secretary Jack Straw without facing trial.

Pinochet returned to Chile on 3 March 2000. His first act when landing in Santiago's airport was to triumphantly get up from his wheelchair to the acclaim of his supporters. He was first greeted by his successor as head of the Chilean armed forces, General Ricardo Izurieta. President Ricardo Lagos, who had just been sworn in on 11 March, said the retired general's televised arrival had damaged the image of Chile, while thousands demonstrated against him.

In March 2000, the Congress approved a constitutional amendment creating the status of "ex-president," which granted its owner immunity from prosecution and guaranteed him a financial allowance. In exchange, it required him to resign from his seat of senator-for-life. Of the legislators, 111 voted for, and 29 (mostly, if not all, from the Left) against.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Juan Guzmán's request on August 2000, and Pinochet was indicted on 1 December 2000 for the "kidnapping" of 75 opponents in the Caravan of Death case. Guzmán advanced the charge of "kidnapping" as the 75 were officially "disappeared": even though they were all most likely dead, the absence of their corpses made any charge of "homicide" difficult.

However, in July 2002, the Supreme Court dismissed Pinochet's indictment in the various human rights abuse cases, for medical reasons (vascular dementia). The debate concerned Pinochet's mental faculties, his legal team claiming that he was senile and could not remember, while others (including several physicians) claimed that he was only physically affected but retained all control of his faculties.

On 25 November 2006, Pinochet marked his 91st birthday by having his wife read a statement written by him, and read to his admirers present for his birthday: "I assume the political responsibility of all that has been done." Two days later, he was again ordered to house arrest for the kidnapping and murder of two bodyguards of Salvador Allende who were arrested the day of the 1973 coup and executed by a firing squad during the Caravan of Death episode.

However, Pinochet died a few days later, on 10 December 2006, without having been convicted of any of the many serious crimes of which he was accused.

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!

AS SEEN ON TV: MARGARET THATCHER

Today's ASOTV Showcase is in memory of the actress Anna Massey, who passed away on July 2nd at age 73. I just recently saw her in a murder mystery solved by 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' - "The Clocks".......

 

PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER

AS SEEN IN:
"Pinochet In Suburbia"

AS PLAYED BY:
Anna Massey

By Jill Lawless, Published: July 4
Washington Post
Anna Massey, who as a young actress was killed off in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Frenzy” (1972) and later became a stalwart of British period dramas, often cast as a waspish spinster or maiden aunt, died July 2 in London. She was 73 and had cancer.

The actress was born in 1937 into a performing family — her father was Canadian actor Raymond Massey [who abandoned the family when she was two], and her mother was British actress Adrianne Allen. Her brother, Daniel Massey, also became an actor, and her godfather was director John Ford.

Ms. Massey worked most frequently in television period dramas. She appeared in TV adaptations of Anthony Trollope’s “The Pallisers,” Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles,” Charles Dickens’ ”Oliver Twist” and many others.

Ms. Massey won Britain’s top acting award for her role in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner’s novel “Hotel du Lac.”

In 2006, Ms. Massey played former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the TV drama “Pinochet in Suburbia.”

From Alan Corr of RTE:
Massey was outstanding in a TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's "Hotel de Lac" in 1986, made partially from her own money, and more recently savoured the chance to play Margaret Thatcher in the 2006 TV drama "Pinochet in Suburbia". "I adored doing that," she said earnestly. "One of the reviews said I went over the top but I promise you I was under the top compared to what she was doing. She was mad. She had that waxen mad look. The poor thing now is so ill, she doesn't know where she is or if Denis is around. It's rather tragic. Do you think power does that to people? Reagan was the same wasn't he?"

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!

"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!

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......

PAINTING SPLAININ

AMSTERDAM [AP] -- The Van Gogh Museum said its experts now believe one of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings previously thought to be a self-portrait from 1887 actually depicts his brother, Theo.

Though the brothers resembled each other physically, scholars determined the painting represents Theo by a number of factors.

Head researcher Louis van Tilborgh compared two paintings from 1887 with similar-looking men in suits set against a blue background.

The portrait of Theo [seen on the left] shows he had rounder ears than Vincent. The other portrait shows Vincent with long, angular ears, consistent with other artists’ paintings of Vincent. That’s before he famously self-mutilated one of his ears in December 1888.

In addition, Theo’s goatee is more yellow-brown than Vincent’s dark red beard, and Theo has shaven cheeks, consistent with photographs of him from the same period, while Vincent painted himself sporting mutton-chop sideburns.

In Toobworld, however, Van Gogh presented the painting as a portrait of himself to the Doctor and Amy. There was no mention of Theo.

There are two ways this can be splained away.......

ONE - It is not Theo.

Toobworld is NOT the real world. There are so many differences - aliens, androids, and talking animals living among us; the moon has been secretly colonized for decades; countries that don't exist in the Trueniverse crowd the map; historical figures took part in adventures which never even happened here.

So maybe over in Toobworld Van Gogh always intended the painting to be of himself. And if the televersions of those art critics still tried to make the assertion that it was Theo Van Gogh, they'd just be wrong.

TWO - It is Theo.

Van Gogh was testing the Doctor and Amy; if they were such big fans of his work as they appeared, they would surely recognize it was not a self-portrait. But even though they didn't, Van Gogh seems to have let the matter drop.

Either way, both sides of the issue are covered.

BCnU!

A FLASH IN THE PUN

In writing about Boilerplate, the latest fictional character whom I'd like to see get a televersion, I mentioned a previous candidate - Harry Flashman. Flashman was the school bully in "Ton Brown's School Days", a Victorian novel by Thomas Hughes. The book has been filmed several times, and twice for television, so Harry Flashman has had his day in the cathode sun, but there was more to his life than his school days.

Not only because it was the first production broadcast, but also because its episodic form as a TV series provided the opportunity to add as much detail from the novel as possible, the 1971 TV version is the one established in Earth Prime-Time. (The later version from 2005 does boast the presence of Stephen Fry as Dr. Thomas Arnold, though. Tempting as that is, that version has to remain in the Land of Remakes.) 

Harry Flashman attacks Tom Brown

In 1969, George MacDonald Fraser published "Flashman", an historical novel purportedly based on the recently discovered papers of Harry Flashman. Over the course of twelve novels, Fraser recounted Flashman's exploits from his early twenties to advanced old age. And along the way, Flashman had adventures in which he crossed paths with many historical figures.

(As a side note, I highly recommend these books, especially if you enjoy salacious depictions of Victorian ribaldry - a lot of "rogering" goes on, which was an excellent source of... shall we say, "inspiration" to a lad in his teens. That is, so I've heard.....)

So far, none of the "Flashman" novels have been adapted for television, although the second novel, "Royal Flash", does have a home in the Cineverse as a movie starring Malcolm McDowall as Harry, with Alan Bates and Oliver Reed in support.

I think the Fraser series of novels about Harry Flashman would make for a great TV series on HBO or Showtime or even Starz, especially with the freedom provided by a premium channel to portray prurient content. (Ah, alliteration!) With the success of 'Game Of Thrones' on HBO and 'The Borgias' and 'The Tudors' on Showtime, perhaps its time to give old Flash a shot.....

I'd like to think that, even without a television series or made for TV movie already established, Harry Flashman's life in Toobworld at least follows the basic guidelines set down by Fraser for a thoroughly debauched life led by Flashman. After all, even though we might not see it take place on our TV screens, Harry Flashman's life did continue after the events of the "Tom Brown's School Days" TV series had ended. 

Harry Flashman
with Tom Brown & Scud East

So let's assume that the Rugby School bully grew up to become a lecherous, immoral coward at least similar to, if not exactly like, the Flashman depicted by Fraser. This TV Flashman would end up rogering his way through the ladies of his times, perhaps even with fictional females from other TV series. (Let's say a parlor maid or two in the Bellamy household a decade or two before we met them on screen?)

Being a bounder and a cad, Flashman would not have been morally constrained from any dalliances with married women; and he would have no qualms in leading a young lady on with false promises of betrothal, in order to bed her and rob her of her virtue. And in the course of such a pursuit, he might have proferred a false identity in order to elude being sued for breach of promise. 

From the movie "Royal Flash"
But the Toobworld Flashman would find himself in a similar situation

Let's say he did pluck a young lovely's virginity and with such skill that she acquiesced without even learning his name. But as Flashman made ready to flee the following morning, suddenly the deflowered miss might have inquired as to who he was. Caught off-guard, he may have concocted a fake name on the spot.

But what name might he have used?

The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot was faced with such a situation while investigating a murder aboard a particular train.

"'I claim no credit this time. It was not a guess. Countess Andrenyi practically told me.'

'Comment? Surely not?'

'You remember I asked her about her governess or companion? I had already decided in my mind that if Mary Debenham were mixed up in the matter, she must have figured in the household in some such capacity.'

'Yes, but the Countess Andrenyi described a totally different person.'

'Exactly. A tall, middle-aged woman with red hair - in fact, the exact opposite in every respect of Miss Debenham, so much so as to be quite remarkable. But then she had to invent a name quickly, and there it was that the unconscious association of ideas gave her away. She said Miss Freebody, you remember.'

'Yes?'

'Eh bien, you may not know it, but there is a shop in London that was called, until recently, Debenham & Freebody. With the name Debenham running in her head, the Countess clutches at another name quickly, and the first that comes is Freebody. Naturally I understood immediately.'"

Oftentimes, false identities are similar enough to the original to make them easier to remember. (This is probably why almost everybody in the Albuquerque WITSEC program usually keeps their first names - unless it's something strange and/or Amish like Yonni - and gets a last name with the same initial as their original last name.)

A similar situation may have arisen for Harry Flashman when pressed by a romantic conquest to reveal his identity.

There are two ways in which he may have gone with his reasoning to choose the name I have in mind.

ONE - thinking of other uses for his particular variation on his name, he might have thought of the phrase "Flash of lightning".

TWO - This coital quandary may have taken place after his return from the Crimean War. (Again, only if Harry Flashman's TV existence followed the same pattern as that established in the literary universe.) Thinking back on his alleged involvement in the most infamous battle, which took place in late October of 1854, Flashman might have drawn inspiration from the regiment immortalized in the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

So whether it was "lightning" or the "Light Brigade", Flashman might have combined the key word with the last part of his own name right there on the spot and convinced her that his name was Lightman. 

An older Harry Flashman

And off he would have absconded, assured that he would never see her again.

But he may have left a little something to remember him by....

Again, this is all speculation, so why stop now?

What if some woman he rogered found herself pregnant, by this fellow named "Lightman"? O'Bviously she was never going to track him down to do right by her. But she might still have given the child the last name of its father, never knowing how false it was.

And so the family tree of Dr. Carl Lightman might have been established.........

SHOWS CITED:
'Tom Brown's School Days'
'Lie To Me'
'Agatha Christie's Poirot'
'Upstairs, Downstairs'
'In Plain Sight'

OTHER SOURCES:
"Murder On The Orient Express"
"Tom Brown's School Days"
"Flashman"
"Royal Flash"
"Flashman At The Charge"

BCnU!

SUMMER READS

My goal is to read more on my summer vacations rather than watch a lot of DVDs. (Although I do plan on bringing 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' to share with my seven year old nephew.)

During the two blocks of two week vacations, I'm already planning on finishing "All-Consuming Fire" which teamed up Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with the Seventh Incarnation of the Doctor from 'Doctor Who'. And then there's "Mirkwood" a novel about J.R.R. Tolkien.

This may make a nice companion piece to the latter.....

BCnU!

WNU-TOOB: PEERING INTO ANOTHER UNIVERSE.....

This past Tuesday, Titan Books went to street with its new edition of a Philip Jose Farmer classic, "The Peerless Peer". The tale is one of the foundations for the concept of the Wold Newton Universe, with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meeting the Lord of the Apes, Tarzan.

I still have my paperback from the mid-70's, back when I devoured anything I could find about Holmes. I always had a fondness for the pastiches, since that was how I first got into Sherlockiana, via Nicholas Meyers' "The Seven Per Cent Solution". And after reading the omnibus collection of Conan Doyle's works, I think "The Peerless Peer" was next on the list.

This all followed on the heels of my reading the "Incompleat Enchanter" series of stories by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague deCamp, and the combination of the two were the guiding forces into my own foray into shared universes with the Toobworld Dynamic.

Having made frequent visits to the Wold Newton site run by Mr. Farmer's worthy acolyte Win Scott Eckert, and having read several of Win's books on the subject, I feel it's time to read "The Peerless Peer" once more. Although it was a "cracking read" the first time round, I'm sure there were plenty of references to other sources that went right over my head back then. Now I'll be able to more fully enjoy the experience.

And I plan to order this edition to do so, for two reasons. One is that I'm not sure my battered old paperback from thirty plus years back should be subjected to any further wear and tear - much safer to leave it tucked away in the crate full of other books on Sherlock Holmes.

The second reason is that I want to do my part in showing support for this new line from Titan Books. See, on the back cover the novel is trumpeted as being a "Wold Newton Universe Novel". And should Titan Books see that there is interest in such a line, other books may follow. And fans of the Wold Newton concept can only benefit from that.

Of course, from the Toobworld perspective it doesn't work, unfortunately. The adventure takes place as the stage is set for World War I, and while the TV Sherlock Holmes would be present during that time period, the tele-Tarzan was to be found in the late 1960's. Still, that's all for the best, I think. The differences between the two shared universes might spark interest in them both from each concept's fans.

If "The Peerless Peer" sounds like something you might be interested in as well, check out these links:

The Peerless Peer by Philip José Farmer - Direct from Titan Books - Afterword by Win Scott Eckert

* Amazon

* BN

* BN NOOKbook (eBook)

BCnU!

"VEENA SUD," SAID VEENA SUD.....

Near the end of my Toobworld novel, a race of elves are created after the "Big Hiatus". Along with the puppet trees, they are a tip of my hat to the influence which J.R.R. Tolkien has had on me.

I've even suggested a language for these elves (whom I think now will probably resemble the Targaryens from 'Game Of Thrones' as their TV influence), which I may as well call toobish. It was created from the names of people involved in the production of TV back home in the real world, and a few examples are given - "mirren" means twin, "tennant" means decade, "pertwee" is a child, "wendt" would be all the permutations of "to go", and "zmed" would be something you don't want to step in.....

Thanks to the season finale of 'The Killing' (which for me is now the series finale as well), I have a complete phrase to be used by the elves, these kendal (for want of a better collective name in toobish for them) - "veena sud".

Veena Sud is the producer who adapted a well-received international murder mystery TV show and reduced it, maligned it, ruined it, with this sluggish, dull, drawn-out affair peopled with paper-thin cyphers for characters. And then as the final thumb in the eye (a turn of phrase from Alan Sepinwall) for the audience, she denied them the opportunity to learn who the murderer was at the end of the season, instead holding off until next season for that revelation... if then. She claims that it was never stated that the answer would be revealed by season's end, but it was implied with the way the show was advertised ("Who killed Rosie Larsen?").

Veena Sud took a promising property and trampled it all into a steaming pile of zmed.

So "veena sud" is a phrase that basically means what Veena Sud has told an audience who put good faith into sticking through the whole sad/sorry series, waiting for an answer.

"Veena sud" - "Bleep you."


BCnU!

"DOCTOR WHO" - SUPER NINTENDO STYLE

Well, we've probably ruined 'Game Of Thrones' with the game console music, why not continue the trend and massacre any love you might have the theme of 'Doctor Who'?

BCnU!

THE "GAME OF THRONES" THEME MUSIC - 8 BITS' WORTH

If you feel like you just can't wait until tonight's season finale of 'Game Of Thrones', maybe this will curb your appetite......

I'm just afraid it will put you off the show for good!

BCnU!

"SPIDERMONSTER: THE MUSICAL"

The musical "Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark" opened this week (finally!) to rather tepid reviews, which I guess had to be expected.

Mark the birthday boy pointed out this video on his Facebook page, saying that it had him laughing until he fell out of his chair.

Mark is easily amused. (He'd have to be, to spend all that time with his boyfriend Michael......)

But I did find it funny myself that even 'Sesame Street' took notice of the musical's troubles.....

 
There is something creepy, though, about that blue "beard" of Grover's, sticking out from his Spidey costume....
 
BCnU!

O'BSERVATIONS: WHO ALUMNI

Along with John Fraser as Dixon Druce in the "Madame Sara" episode of 'The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes' were two major players in the 'Doctor Who' cast of characters.

Caroline Johns played the doomed Edith Dallas. She was probably the Doctor's most capable and efficient Companions during the course of the series, working with the Third Incarnation of the Gallifreyan Time Lord.

As Edith's much older half-brother, Roger Delgado may have had no choice but to exude that air of villainy. He was the first - and best! - incarnation of the Doctor's arch-nemesis, the Master. But by first, I mean he was the first that we met, but he was the last incarnation from the natural regenerations granted to a Time Lord (at that time). There should have been twelve more incarnations before him.

Funny thing was, Delgado's performance never made me think of the Master. However, because he was in a wheelchair, Davros came to mind....

BCnU!

"FLYING BLIND" - IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE......

I've been watching my DVD collection of 'Flying Blind' (Shhhh!), a FOX sitcom from 1992-93 which starred Corey Parker and the delicious Tea Leoni, and it reintroduced me to a great song by David Byrne which was used as the show's theme song - "A Million Miles Away".

I went looking for those opening credits on YouTube to share them with you, but while the video has been left up, the audio track was stripped away with the following message:

"This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by WMG. The audio has been disabled."

No problem. I'll just post that video with a video for David Byrne's song immediately following and then you can play them together. It won't perfectly match up, but you'll at least get a sense of how it played out during the broadcast.

Someday I hope you get a chance to enjoy this quirky, Woody-Allenesque sitcom......

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD: REMEMBERING ANDREW GOLD

Singer/songwriter Andrew Gold has passed away at the age of 59 from a heart attack.  He's best known for his 1977 hit "Lonely Boy", but for Toobworld purposes, perhaps his biggest achievement was penning this classic theme song:

But the case could also be made for this theme song as well:

Here's Andrew Gold on 'The Midnight Special' performing "Lonely Boy".  I always loved the repeated hook in this sad song......

Finally, as a member of the Idiot's Delight Digest, an online group celebrating deejay Vin Scelsa and free-form radio, for the last sixteen years at least, I've been introduced to a lot of music I might not otherwise have heard.

And I can thank Steve Cohen, of the lofty Cohen brothers for first turning me on (dead man) to this song, in which Andrew Gold and friends reveled in their love of the psychedelic era:

Rest in peace, Andrew Gold.  Good night and may God bless.......

MY BIRTHDAY RANT

BBC-America made a big mistake in bumping 'Doctor Who' on Memorial Day Weekend. The core fan base would have watched no matter where they were or what plans they had. DVR recordings are factored in nowadays.

So now I'm sure their ratings for the last two episodes of this first half of the season will probably dip because eager fans sought other outlets to catch those episodes as quickly as possible.

This was probably true with the mid-season cliffhanger finale, when many such fans were probably watching "A Good Man Goes To War" hours before "The Almost People" aired on BBC-America!

Not that I know of such things......

Birthday rant over.

TVXOHOF, 06/2011: THE HOTEL EDISON

In the fifth season opener for 'Sex And The City', Carrie met a woman named Joan in a coffee shop. That scene was filmed in the Cafe Edison of the Hotel Edison and adds to the location connections for the hotel's televersion.

Also in that circle of friends:

'Seinfeld' (George was handcuffed to a bed.)

'Becker' (Becker trashed one of the hotel rooms.)

'The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show' (Jack Benny mentioned that George and Gracie stayed there for three years when they were first married. Gracie couldn't remember its name because George checked them in.)

'Naked City' (Detective Adam Flint made out with his girlfriend in front of the building.)

'CBS Sunday Morning' (Aaron Sorkin walked by.)

'CBS' The Early Show' (The Hotel Edison was featured in a report on hotel security. Of the hotels shown in the story, only the Edison passed the reporter's test by not allowing two women with a hidden camera to get in.)

'The Incredible Hulk' (The Hulk ran past just before smashing the newspaper stand on the corner of W 47th & Broadway.)

'McCloud' (McCloud may have rode his horse through the lobby - not yet verified.)

Over in the movie universe, it's also famous for the hallway up which Luca Brasi walks in "The Godfather", and down which Jack Warden and John Cusack walk in "Bullets Over Broadway".

There's another very important connection for the building: the 2005 TV Crossover Hall Of Fame inductee (Birthday Honors List) works there.

By extension, these appearances would also be connections to 'Late Night with David Letterman', 'The Hap Richards Show', 'The Ranger Andy Show', 'Cosby', 'Everybody Loves Raymond', 'The King Of Queens', 'The Nanny', 'Mad About You', 'Friends', 'Caroline In The City', 'Frasier', 'Hope & Gloria', 'Cheers'.....

(If the 'McCloud' connection eventually pays off, then there would also be connections to the original 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Galactica 1980' which would lead to links with 'America 2Night', 'Fernwood 2Night', and 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'.)

And that's why the Hotel Edison is being honored with induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame itself.....

Thanks to Brian-El for help in compiling this entry.....

BCnU!