TVXOHOF REMEMBERS - DR. MONICA QUARTERMAINE

Something new which I hope won’t be utilized very often over the coming year in the Inner Toob blog – posts to mark the passing of the members of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

And unfortunately, with 2025 barely underway, we already have news to share.

From ABC News:
The "General Hospital" family has lost one of their own.

Leslie Charleson, who played Monica Quartermaine on the iconic soap opera for nearly five decades, from 1977 to 2023, died recently at the age of 79.

Frank Valentini, executive producer of "General Hospital," shared a statement about Charleson's death to the show's official Instagram account on Jan. 12.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson," Valentini wrote. "Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew."

Dr. Monica Quartermaine was inducted in September of 2018 for the following appearances:

GENERAL HOSPITAL
2079 Episodes
(1977-2023)

PORT CHARLES
27 Episodes
(1997-2001)

GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT
2 Episodes
(2008)

DIAGNOSIS MURDER
PHYSICIAN, MURDER THYSELF
(1997)

In all but that last entry, Ms. Charleson portrayed Monica Quartermaine.  But for that ‘Diagnosis Murder’ episode, she was credited only as “New Doctor”.  So why couldn’t she have shown up at Community General as Dr. Quartermaine?

Even if some Crossover Powers That Be struck that off her credentials, she more than covers the basics to qualify with the other three series.  Three series is the minimum needed to be worthy of the “honor”.  But not many in the Hall now can lay claim to having played the role 2,108 times!

As Red Skelton would say, good night and may God bless, Ms. Charleson.  Thank you for sharing Monica with us all these years.

A TOOBITS AWARD WINNER!

Every year in the Inner Toob blog, I do an awards presentation for "Best Of" categories for the year just ending... just like every other media site.  'Doctor Who' gets plenty of attention since it returned in 2005, mostly for historical revisions, guest characters, and of course, for "Recastaways" when it happens every few years.

This year, it's for Best Crossover Character between two different media.  (Mediums?)

On Christmas Day, as BBC and Disney+ launched the 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special ("Joy To The World"), Mashable published a story by Kristy Puchko about a minor - but intriguing! - member of the guest characters:

'Doctor Who' has returned with the tender yet tear-jerking holiday special "Joy to the World." And amid a rollicking adventure across time involving dinosaurs, holograms, game night hangouts, and villainous capitalism, returning writer Steven Moffat also dropped some exciting new lore into the canon: James Bond and Doctor Who exist in the same world.

The link between these epic British heroes (and their franchises) is a bombshell named Sylvia Trench. In an interview with Mashable, Doctor Who executive producer and "Joy to the World" writer Steven Moffat revealed the details of her Whoniverse appearance and what it means.

Sylvia Trench was the first Bond girl. The late British actress Eunice Gayson played the sultry spy's love interest in 1962's "Dr. No" and 1963's "From Russia with Love". Notably, it's in 1962 that this stylish character crosses paths with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa).

In "Joy to the World," the two-hearted time traveler zips through several Time Hotel doors, popping into 1940 Manchester, 1953 Everest, and 1962 Italy. The last of these is where he meets a beguiling brunette in a coral-colored skirt suit, cradling a copy of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" — along with a handwritten love letter.

The woman never reveals her name, but the episode's end credits identify her as Sylvia Trench (played here by Niamh Marie Smith, who teased the appearance on Instagram on Oct. 4). This detail connects our lovely traveler to James Bond, and gives greater context to her scenes in the episode, as well as her life beyond Bond.

In our interview, Moffat confirmed this Sylvia Trench is intended to be the same chic stunner from "Dr. No" with a simple "Yes, yes."

Moffat felt Sylvia deserved better than she's gotten from pop culture. "Sylvia Trench remains James Bond's girlfriend for the first two films. He has a regular girlfriend back home in the first two films!" Moffat emphasized, "But while she was doing all that, she was also having an affair with the woman and traveling on the Orient Express. I thought, 'That's inevitable.' I felt I was doing her justice, you know? Because she's the most cheated-on woman in the history of fiction, right? Because she made the mistake to go out with James Bond."

In "Joy to the World," Moffat gives her a surprising new spin. When the Doctor comes back to Sylvia during the climax, he takes a look at the love letter she carries and scoffs, "You are better off without him. His sentence structure is appalling."

O'Bservation: But she wrote the letter.

The Doctor tries to recover with a smile and by saying, "Great letter! You should send it to him." To which she retorts tartly, "To her!" And as fast as the Doctor skedaddles out of her train compartment, Moffatt has re-imagined Sylvia Trench.

No longer is she a tragic Bond girl left waiting for her globe-trekking spy boy to come back. She's off on her own adventure, racing across Italy in the Orient Express, penning a letter (however poorly structured) to her Sapphic lover.

Thank you, Ms. Puchko, for that article.  When my brother and I watched the episode, we knew there had to be something about her.  Because it was 1962, we knew it couldn't have been a recasting of Agatha Christie - she was too young!

Sylvia Trench is my 2024 Toobits Award winner for Best Crossover between Toobworld and the Cineverse.  (Unfortunately, the character did not appear in any of the Ian Fleming novels.  That would have been a fantastic triple crossover!)

WHO GOTTA BE KITTEN ME!*

 

Or....

* Regarding the title of this post....

TVXOHOF, JANUARY 2023 - FRANK CANNON

Welcome to a new year for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame!

As has been tradition for the last several years, the January induction into the Hall is considered a crossover icon of the Classic TV era….

FRANK CANNON

From Wikipedia:
'Cannon' is an American detective television series produced by Quinn Martin that aired from 1971 to 1976 on CBS. William Conrad played the title character, private detective Frank Cannon. The series was the first Quinn Martin production to run on a network other than ABC.

In total, there were 122 episodes, plus the series' two-hour pilot and a 1980 "revival" television film, "The Return of Frank Cannon".

Cannon was portrayed in the series as a veteran of the Korean War and a former member of the Los Angeles Police Department. He was street smart but also appeared to have an unusually high level of education outside the law enforcement field. Besides his familiarity with several languages, he showed extensive knowledge of such diverse subjects as science, art and history. Cannon was a widower, having lost his wife and son in a bomb attack while he was on the police force, as revealed in the two-hour pilot.

Conrad was an overweight actor, and the series, especially in its early episodes, made frequent mention of Cannon's weight. Other characters would often remark critically about it, while he himself would joke self-deprecatingly about his girth and great love of food. In fact, Cannon was a gourmet cook who enjoyed preparing food for his friends. Despite his large size, he was a man of action. While he preferred to use his wits to escape a difficult situation, he could engage successfully in fistfights and shoot-outs with bad guys.

The plots, as in other detective series, revolved around Cannon solving crimes for a variety of clients. In a number of early episodes, he was hired by insurance companies to investigate losses. Other episodes involved him working for former police colleagues or other people from his past. In some cases, he was forced into action to clear himself of falsified charges. Many episode plot lines involved Cannon traveling and having to deal with various and sundry incompetent and/or corrupt law enforcement agencies and officials.

Cannon debuted in a two-hour movie on March 26, 1971 that served as the pilot. In the movie, Cannon returns from an extensive overseas assignment and investigates the murder of a close friend. A later episode would reveal that his wife and child were killed in a car bomb meant for him, prompting him to resign from the Los Angeles police force and become a private detective.

For those visiting the TV Crossover Hall of Fame for the first time, a candidate for membership must have three distinctly separate appearances in order to qualify.

Here are the appearances made by Frank Cannon which qualified him for membership in the TVXOHOF (Most of the synopses and comments are from the IMDb.)

1971

CANNON (THE TV MOVIE)
Cannon investigates the murder of a war-buddy to clear the man's wife of suspicion in his death.

1971-1976

CANNON (TV SERIES)
Frank Cannon, a husky ex-cop and culinary enthusiast, solves tough cases as a private investigator.
120 episodes 

1973

BARNABY JONES
REQUIEM FOR A SON

Barnaby Jones comes out of retirement to find the man who murdered his son in cold blood. Teaming up with Barnaby is another private investigator by the name of Frank Cannon, an old friend of his late son Hal.

1975

CANNON
THE DEADLY CONSPIRACY PART ONE
Frank Cannon and Barnaby Jones investigate the rape and murder of a young woman who was about to blow the whistle on the company she was involved. But they are investigating for different clients and from totally different angles.

Two versions of the ending were filmed:
1) Murray Hamilton's character, Bud, is killed and serves as the setup for The Deadly Conspiracy: Part 2 (1975).
2) Murray Hamilton's character, Bud, survives and agrees to testify against his brother, Gordon. This was filmed so that the episode would stand alone in syndication.

O’Bservations:
The alterations to the ‘Cannon’ contribution to the “Deadly Conspiracy” crossover with ‘Barnaby Jones’ makes that episode – the DVD version only – part of an undetermined alternate Toobworld.

1975

BARNABY JONES
THE DEADLY CONSPIRACY PART TWO
Barnaby Jones and Frank Cannon continue to work together to unravel a deadly conspiracy to cover-up corporate wrong doing and several related murders. Meanwhile, Betty goes undercover to help them crack the case despite the dangers.

This episode is a continuation of a ‘Cannon’ episode. The ‘Barnaby Jones’ DVD box set includes both parts 1 & 2 as originally aired whereas the ‘Cannon’ DVD box set includes only part 1 with an alternate ending that brings the episode to a conclusion.

1980 (TV MOVIE)

THE RETURN OF FRANK CANNON
Private detective Frank Cannon comes out of retirement to investigate the murder of an ex-girlfriend's husband.

ALTERNATE TOOBWORLDS

Frank Cannon is a multidimensional.  He has also appeared in Skitlandia, the Toobworld of comedy sketches....

1976
THE BENNY HILL SHOW
SHOW #27

Cannon was played by the show's star in the "Murder On The Oregon Express" sketch.

O'Bservation....
It doesn't affect the tally in any way, but there are pictures from the Cineverse which could be of Frank Cannon from his earlier career with the Los Angeles Police Department.  I'm thinking specifically of screencaps from "The Racket".  Best of all, we could make the case that he is seen in those pictures with Lt. Arthur Tragg of 'Perry Mason'.

That type of photographic fanfic only applies to pictures from any other media, but NOT from TV shows.  Those should be locked in as their original source which should be sharing the same universe as 'Cannon'.

So this would be a picture of William Conrad as Cannon with Wesley Lau as Sgt. Harry Lawton in the 'Cannon' episode "Valley Of The Damned" and NOT as his character of Lt. Andy Anderson as seen in 'Perry Mason'.

Welcome to the Hall, Frank!

CROSSOVER TIME - THE SYCORAX IN VEGAS

It was only last week, on Christmas Eve, when I discovered this unintentional crossover with ‘Doctor Who’.  It has been out there since December, 2006, and it’s possible somebody else out there has already discovered it.  If so, I tip my hat to them.

This crossover occurs on the Toobworld timeline in December of 2006, but it began on the Real World timeline in December of 2005.  That’s when “The Christmas Invasion” – the first of the annual Christmas specials in the return of ‘Doctor Who’ – was broadcast.  While it was first seen on Christmas Day, 2005, the events depicted took place from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day the following year.  

In the episode, the Sycorax attempted to take over the Earth while the Doctor was basically in a coma after regenerating from his previous incarnation.  (That incarnation was considered the Ninth, but that was before we learned of the existence of the “War Doctor” and were later reminded of the Doctor’s previous incarnations first suggested in the adventure “The Brain of Morbius” with the continuing storyline about the Doctor as “The Timeless Child”.)

The Doctor was revived in time to challenge the Sycorax leader to a one-on-one duel to determine the fate of the big blue marble.  And while he did lose his hand in the battle, he was still the Time Lord Victorious.  The Sycorax honored the results and made ready to depart Earth’s Orbit.  But once the Doctor and Rose returned to Earth, Prime Minister Harriet Jones ordered Torchwood to blast the retreating Sycorax spaceship once it was in space and out of Earth’s atmosphere.

A few hours later, the shrapnel from that explosion re-entered the atmosphere, where it burned to ash.  As it rained down on the world below, it resembled snow to those living in the northern hemisphere.  (In the southern hemisphere, where they were in the summer season, it was probably looked upon as the ash that it was.)

ROSE:

Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?
DOCTOR:
It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash.
ROSE:
Okay, not so beautiful.

And this is where the crossover comes in….

One year later, the American TV series ‘Las Vegas’ aired its Christmas episode on December 15, 2006.  However, the storyline began over a week later, two days before Christmas, when the temperature was recorded at 95°.  And even with those highs, the Montecito Casino/Hotel was going all out with their celebration of the more commercial aspects of Christmas… which included hot swimsuit models romping in the artificial snow wearing bikinis and Santa caps.

But by Christmas Eve, the temperature had dipped precipitously, where it actually got cold.  In the afternoon on Christmas Day, it actually started snowing and all of the show’s main characters gathered to enjoy the wonder of it.

Only… in this TV dimension of Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, ‘Las Vegas’ and ‘Doctor Who’ co-exist.  What the residents of Las Vegas were experiencing was the ash-fall from the burned-up remains of the Sycorax spaceship.  If any one of them tried to catch a snowflake on their tongue, they were actually tasting the cremated remains of the Sycorax aliens.

Only later, they would learn on the evening news what had really happened to cause that freak "snowfall".

“The Christmas Invasion” already had a crossover within it.  After the Doctor had beaten the Sycorax leader, Rose helped him into his borrowed bathrobe since he was only wearing “jim-jams”.

DOCTOR:

Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams.
(Rose helps him on with the dressing gown.)
DOCTOR:
Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man.

That observation suggests that he actually knew Arthur Dent, the unlikely protagonist of ‘The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ in all its various media incarnations.  This connection was already established in the original run of the series, with the Fourth Incarnation reading a book by Oolong Colluphid (a copy of which was later found in the stacks of the library planet visited by the Tenth Incarnation.)

So ‘Doctor Who’ serves as the crossover conduit between ‘Las Vegas’ and ‘The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’.

CROSSING OVER - THE DOCTOR & THE CAPTAIN

 
Here's another meme by Matthew Sawyer. 

As a "Crossoverist", this speaks to me.

RIVER DRAGONS

Among these quotes by River Song, there is story potential in that final panel.  And it also has potential for theoretical crossovers with other TV series.  I’m thinking specifically of ‘The Librarians’ in which dragons took human form.

Of course, the two series which probably come to mind for others will be ‘Game of Thrones’ and its prequel, ‘The House of the Dragon.’  I’ve already incorporated the World of Westeros into Earth Prime-Time – theoretically, of course! – by claiming that it is the ancient version of Mondas, which was first seen in ‘The Tenth Planet’.  (Its existence is also theoretically hinted at in the ‘Twilight Zone’ episode “Probe 7 – Over and Out”.)  River Song probably got her dragon eggs from Mondas and brought them to the Earth at some point in the distant past.  Somehow the dragons evolved like the Wesen of ‘Grimm’ into animal/human shapeshifters.  (The Maiar of Middle-Earth, now officially part of Earth Prime-Time thanks to ‘The Rings of Power’, may have had a hand in that.)

TVXOHOF, NOVEMBER 2022 - DOROTHY ZBORNAK

Dorothy Zbornak:

How do you do. I'm Dorothy Zbornak.

Laverne Todd:

Geriatrics is two doors down on the left.

“Empty Nest”

Continuing the Television Crossover Hall of Fame’s tribute to ‘The Golden Girls’ over this past year (with Rose Nylund and Sophia Petrillo already inducted), we’re O’Bserving the tradition of November being the month in which characters with political connections are inducted.

And of those “Golden Girls,” the one who came closest to that was….

DOROTHY ZBORNAK

From Wikipedia:
Dorothy Zbornak is a character from the sitcom television series 'The Golden Girls', portrayed by Bea Arthur. Sarcastic, introspective, compassionate, and fiercely protective of those she considers family, she is introduced as a substitute teacher, and mother. At the time, Dorothy was recently divorced from her ex-husband Stanley. She, her mother Sophia Petrillo (played by Estelle Getty), and housemate Rose Nylund (Betty White) all rent rooms in the Miami house of their friend Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan).

Dorothy often acted as den mother and voice of reason among the quartet, "the great leveler" according to Bea Arthur, though at times she also acted foolishly or negatively and would need her friends and family to help ground her again. Arthur also considered her the "great balloon pricker," someone who openly defied and called out hypocrisy, injustice, cruelty, delusion, short-sighted remarks, and behavior she simply found dull, ill-considered, rude, or unreasonable.

Bea Arthur portrayed Dorothy in every episode of 'The Golden Girls'. Arthur also portrayed Dorothy's maternal grandmother Eleanor Grisanti in flashback in the episode "Mother's Day". In the same episode and others that involve flashbacks, a younger version of Dorothy was portrayed by Lynnie Green. In the season 5 episode "Clinton Avenue Memoirs" (1990), Jandi Swanson portrayed Dorothy as a child in flashback.

Bea Arthur's departure from the show in the season 7 two-part finale "One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest" marked the end of the series as well. Outside of the series, Arthur also appeared as Dorothy in an episode of 'Empty Nest' (a spin-off series), in the episode "Dumped", and in a two-episode story "Seems Like Old Times" in ‘The Golden Palace’ (a sequel series to 'The Golden Girls'). In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Dorothy Zbornak-Hollingsworth was selected as the Grandma for "The Perfect TV Family".

Okay.  O'Bviously photoshopped.

During the run of the show, Dorothy repeatedly expresses liberal views but never declares her party affiliation, though she does have a Michael Dukakis bumper sticker (covering a Walter Mondale bumper sticker) on her car. When then-President George H. W. Bush visits Miami, Dorothy intends to angrily confront him regarding education, only to be rendered mute at the shock of actually meeting him. Dorothy shared many of Bea Arthur's political views, who in a 2005 interview remarked "that's what makes Maude and Dorothy so believable: we have the same viewpoints on how our country should be handled."

Maude Findley would be a perfect candidate for membership in the Hall in November… if only she had appeared in more than just ‘All In The Family’ and her own eponymous sitcom.  (Wikipedia says that Maude was never mentioned in the series ‘Good Times’.  And the characters’ backstories were revamped.)

Here are the appearances by Dorothy Zbornak which qualified her for membership in the TVXOHOF:

THE GOLDEN GIRLS (1985-1992)

177 episodes
…. Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak

EMPTY NEST

- Dumped (1989)
.... Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak

Barbara gets lessons from Carol about life as a "dumpee" after Dorothy Zbornak's nephew breaks up with her.

THE EARTH DAY SPECIAL (1990)

…. Dorothy Zbornak

THE GOLDEN PALACE

.... Dorothy Zbornak Hollingsworth

- Seems Like Old Times: Part 1 (1992)

Dorothy visits her ex-roommates at the Golden Palace, hoping to convince Sophia to come and live with her and her husband in Atlanta.

Dorothy visits her friends. The next day, Chuy does not show up for work so the girls need to replace him and Dorothy helps as a waitress. She is concerned that Sophia looks tired and has to carry heavy trays. She calls her husband and tells him she decided her mother should move in with them. Dorothy gathers her friends and tells them about her plans about Sophia. Blanche and Rose want to keep Sophia with them. Sophia says she wants to decide herself where to live and goes up to her room. When Blanche goes to see her and find out about her decision, she finds a note saying Sophia does not want to choose between her friends and daughter and that she is running away.

- Seems Like Old Times: Part 2 (1992)

Sophia runs away to her old rest home. When the other girls try to get her, they find that it is no longer anywhere near as bad as she said it was.

Now that Sophia is away, the girls need to work more to replace her. Dorothy actively searches her mother and blames the girls for her disappearance. A cab driver brings back Sophia's handbag and reveals that he has driven her to Shady Pines. They call her but she says that she does not want them to pick her up. Dorothy is afraid she will be miserable there since she remembers the place was awful. Actually, it turns out Shady Pines is a great place where Sophia gets massages and tennis lessons. Also, she does not want the girls to fight over her. Dorothy apologizes to the girls for not trusting them more and decides to let her mother work in the Golden Palace.

All summaries are from the IMDb....

Welcome to the Hall, Dorothy!

As mentioned earlier, Rose and Sophia are already in there and Blanche will be joining you next month for some cheesecake.