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!

"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!

"TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY" - COMING SOON!

Now that we're in July, it's time to start hyping the new 'Torchwood' mini-series, "Miracle Day". I was a little worried about the project at first, especially coming off the great "Children Of Earth" from two years ago. And because they changed it up with American production values (courtesy of Starz!) and a ton of American actors.

But I'm reassured by the fact that Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-.

Here's the simple premise: what if suddenly no one on Earth died?

BCnU!

DRESS-UP DOCTOR WHO: FEZZES & MOPS

In the season finale for Matt Smith's first year playing the Doctor, he was sporting not only a Fez and he popped up in the distant past, but also a mop.

The Doctor made the look rock. After all, fezzes - and probably mops as well - are cool.

But he apparently already knew that, as he tried them both out back in his seventh incarnation......

BCnU!

GLASTONBURY

The Glastonbury music festival was held last weekend, and the big news out of it was that a friend of the Prime Minister was found dead in one of the port-O-potties. He may have committed suicide.

In the Tooniverse, this is what probably happened instead:

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!

QUANTUM WEEP

What keeps a televisiologist from getting a good night's sleep?

What would happen if a Weeping Angel touched Dr. Sam Beckett while he was living the life of a "leapee"? Would he be sent back further in Time or would that happen to the leapee? What if the Angel touched him as he was leaping out?

SHOWS CITED:
'Doctor Who'
'Quantum Leap'

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!

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!

LI'L DOCTOR

Haven't we all wanted to play the Doctor at some point?  This kid's off to a good start....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: DICK FULD... ONCE MORE

DICK FULD

AS SEEN IN:
"The Last Days Of Lehman Brothers"

AS PLAYED BY:
Corey Johnson

TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time

Click here to read about Dick Fuld from an earlier ASOTV showcase.

He looks just like another rich bleeper in Toobworld, who's currently living in an underground bunker in Utah. At some point next year, the Gallifreyan Time Lord will meet Henry Van Statten.....

BCnU!

TUESDAY MORNING WITH THE DOCTOR

Thanks, Pat Coleman!

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!

COMING THIS FALL TO "DOCTOR WHO"

The first half of the season has ended for 'Doctor Who', and I just figured that there would be a break in the coming attractions videos for the show until Autumn. But the good folks at the BBC have presented us with a bit of a teaser to whet our appetites. (As if the episode title for the return wasn't enough - "Let's Kill Hitler"!)

When it comes to stirring up the fanbase, ya gotta hand it to 'em!

Ba dum dum!

Alons-y!

AS SEEN ON TV: STAN LAUREL

Today, "Bloomsday" in the literary universe, is my brother Andrew's birthday here in the Trueniverse. I would happily embarrass him by proclaiming how old he is, were it not for the fact that I am twelve years his senior.

So in honor of my youngest brother, today's ASOTV Showcase features one of the greatest celebrities to share his birthday.....

STAN LAUREL

AS SEEN IN:
"Stan"

AS PLAYED BY:
Jim Norton

The one-hour teleplay, based on a radio drama, was about Stan's visit to "Babe" one last time after he suffered a massive stroke, with flashbacks to their past together.  (Not mentioned was the involvement of a certain Time Lord in one of their movies.)

From Wikipedia:
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson (16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965), better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film The Music Box (1932). In 1961, Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and canceled the tour [of Europe]. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, 'Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables', based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956.  Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.

On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life.

In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California.

Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story: When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home.

Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly giving up when he was about seventy years of age. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, several days after suffering a heart attack. Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly.

"If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."

Stan Laurel

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!

SKED ALERT - "GAME OF THRONES" (THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE)

I didn't get any notice this week from the PR people of HBO about clips and stills from Episode 9 of 'Game Of Thrones' which airs tonight on the premium network. I hope I didn't insult them in any way with my previous posts on the show. 'Game Of Thrones' is easily my favorite series of 2011 and it will figure heavily in the Toobits Awards at the end of the year.

It could be that my theories of how the land of Westeros called the planet Mondas home had something to do with that. Or more likely, the series is doing so well by now that they don't need to have bloggers like me trumpet its arrival.

No matter. HBO does have the preview video up on YouTube:





The episode is called "Baelor".......

Episode 9 of 'Game of Thrones' premieres tonight on HBO at 9 PM, EDT.

And if the show follows the HBO tradition, the first season finale will be pre-empted next week.....

BCnU!

TARDIS-BIRDS ARE GO!

You're free to watch the entire video if you'd like; 'The Thunderbirds' are still fun after all these years. But I want to direct your attention to a certain piece of equipment that takes center stage two minutes and ten seconds into the video....

Although there are living puppets on Earth Prime-Time, with many of them tucked away Yazoo, the Living Island - the puppets' reservation, in a way - I also think there may be an alternate TV dimension in which the dominant life form is represented in puppetry. This would be the world of Supermarionation, where most of the characters from Gerry Anderson's TV series could be found.

And if so, I don't know if the Professor could be the puppet version of the Doctor, but he's more than likely some Gallifreyan Time Lord, perhaps even the puppet Master......

Sorry about that, Chief.

"It's only a model....."

What do you think?  Let me know!

(My thanks to Team Toobworld member, Hugh Davis, for bringing this to my attention.....)

BCnU!

SKED ALERT! "DOCTOR WHO" MID-SEASON FINALE!

Tonight is the mid-season finale of 'Doctor Who' - "A Good Man Goes To War".

At least here in the "Magnited States Of America". The Brits have already seen it. (And yes, so have I.....)

So, my fellow Yanks, here's a little something to whet your appetites:

I will say this and no more - a good case could be made for a new spin-off, just from this episode alone......

BCnU!

MISSING LINKS: THE MIRROR OF PORTUGAL

Horace Dorrington was considered one of 'The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes' in Toobworld, whose exploits were first chronicled in a series of stories by Arthur Morrison. As a private investigator, he was corrupt, amoral, and on at least one occasion, a murderer. He could be relied upon to solve his cases, if only that, but always as a means to lining his pockets with more than his established fee with the client.

Wold Newton scholar Rick Lai considers Dorrington to have been the third most dangerous man in London, after Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran from the Sherlock Holmes canon.

In one of his cases (set in 1895 as per the TV series, if not the original stories), Dorrington was hired to retrieve the fabled Mirror of Portugal, a diamond thought lost since the French Revolution. Until recently it was passed down through the generations of his client but it was stolen from around his neck. Dorrington tracked down the thief to be a Mr. Hamer, who shared an office with the client.

Dorrington forced Hamer and his wife to take him to where the diamond was kept, but it turned out Mrs. Hamer had it on her all the time. And when they reached the Thames, she threw the legendary stone into the river - if she couldn't have it, then no one would. After first insuring that he had collected his fee from his client, he then told the man and his brother where it could be found... which is all that he had been contracted to do.

And so the Mirror of Portugal lay at the bottom of the Thames, slowly sinking into the mire of the sediment, for over one hundred years. But then in 2006, a strange occurrence happened - the Thames River suddenly drained off, near to where the diamond lay in the muck.

In order to save the Earth from the resurgence of the Racnoss spider empire, the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as the Doctor opened a floodgate that caused the surging waters to cascade down into the center of the Earth where the clutch of spider eggs were just hatching after being dormant since the formation of the planet.

It wasn't just water that flowed down into that shaftway, but the muck and the mire and all the detritus to be found in the Thames. And that included the Mirror of Portugal.....

BCnU!