Television Crossover Universe

  I recently learned that the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia is no longer available for purchase anywhere. The publishing rights reverted back to me six years ago, and I just made arrangements for Wild Hunt Press to republish the original version. I'm still working on Sci-Fi Multiverse, the sort of sequel to HCE. It wasn't working the way I was doing it, so I'm making some tweaks after taking some time to rethink the project.

 I've got almost a year's worth of posts planned.  So here we go with the Golden Girls.   The Golden Girls had a series of spin-offs, and two big crossover night event.   1985 - 1992 -- The Golden Girls--Four elderly roommates live, laugh and love.  I want to point out that I was recently re-watching the show, and Bea Arthur says she's 50 in the first season.  I'm 52.  I refuse to acknowledge that I am the same age as the Golden Girls.   Circa 1985 onward--A Prairie Home Companion--"New from Lake Wobegon"--Lake Wobegon is said to be near St. Olaf, Minnesota, the hometown of Rose.   1988 - 1995--Empty Nest--Harry, a widow, lives with his two daughters next door to the Golden Girls.  Sophia would stop by often, and became a regular on the show in the final season.   November 1988--MICKEY'S 60TH BIRTHDAY--Mickey goes missing after he once again misuses the sorcerer's hat. Crossovers include: FANTASIA (SORCERE...

 I said in the TVCU reboot I would do some different things.  Today I'm doing an essay, or more of a rant, about something that really bugs me.  The internet is ruining movies. Two main reasons. First, streaming.  I love the movie theater experience.  I love seeing a movie on a big screen.  I love not staring at my phone for two hours.   But since COVID especially, people got used to streaming.  They don't want to leave home.  They don't want to go watch a movie as an experience.   Don't get me wrong.  I love streaming.  I like to watch very specific things.  My lists, like 70s movies or super hero tv shows.  I can find almost anything on streaming.   But this doesn't replace the theater experience for a new movie.   And the less people go to theaters, the less movies make it to theaters.  So many go direct to streaming now.  Especially comedies.  The comedy film genre is d...

 When I was a kid I got in trouble for calling my mother a sucker.  I heard Esther say it.   Anyways, Sanford and Son is a show I recently rewatched a sampling of.  It's not crossover heavy, but has a ton of spin-offs.  It does have one unusual crossover that I almost thought I made up in a dream. Well, let's go, ya big dummy. This show is actually based on a british sitcom called Steptoe and Son, believe it or not.   1972 - 1978--Sanford and Son--Fred Sanford runs a junkyard with his son Lamont.  They love each other very much but also drive each other crazy.  Hilarity ensues.   1975 - 1976--Grady--Fred's best friend Grady moves out of Watts and in with his daughter in a more upscale and racially diverse neighborhood.   September 1976--Sandford and Son--"The Hawaiian Connection"--In this two parter, Fred and Lamont are lured to Hawaii as Fred is duped into being a mule for jewel thieves.  This episode crosses ov...

 I'm running out of crossovers.  I used to have a rule.  Only series that had three crossovers get covered.  But I'm running out of ideas.  So now I'm also going to cover series that had a franchise, meaning they spun off movies or such from the original concept.  (In doing my due dilligence, I found that this series actually does have the crossovers to make it following my three crossover rule.) So today we're going to talk about Gilligan's Island.  With Gilligan, the skipper too.  The Millionaire and his wife.  The movie star, and the rest... okay, fine, the professor and Mary Ann.   William Gilligan was a mighty sailor man, or so the story goes.  However, he seemed on the island to be dimwitted at best. CPT Jonahs Grumy was the skipper.  He was brave and sure.  If not for the courage of the fearless two, the S.S. Minnow would be lost.   Thurston Howell III is a former multi-billionaire until after the sto...

 This post is not about the Washington Generals but rather than famous nemesis, the Harlem Globetrotters. 1926 to 1954--Go Man Go--The Story of Abe Saperstein and the creation of the Harlem Globetrotters.   1951--The Harlem Globetrotters--A student drops out of college to chase fame and fortune with the Harlem Globetrotters. 1956 to 2024 -- Gameshows and Talkshows--The Globetrotters have made many appearances.  Since they are "real" I'm not going to talk about every time they appear with other "real" people, but only mention when they appear with fictional characters as fictional versions of themselves.   September 12, 1970 to October 16, 1971--HARLEM GLOBE TROTTERS--"The New Scooby-Doo Movies" aka "Scooby-Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters" was a Hanna-Barbera show that featured the animated Harlem Globetrotters September 9, 1972 - October 27, 1973 --THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES (ANIMATED SERIES)--Mystery, Inc. continues to solve mysteries, but...

I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about this Christmas. But then I remembered I had written the following for Television Crossover Universe: Worlds and Mythology Volume II, a book that I started but then ran out of steam. The book is likely never to be published, but I put a lot of work into this essay which is complete so why not publish it here? THE TELEVISION CROSSOVER UNIVERSE TAKES A HOLIDAY: THE SANTA CLAUS MYTHOS Originally Presented in Ho Ho Ho! The Santa Blog and Easter Comes Late...The Bunny in the TVCU and inspired by Gordon Long’s Of Flying Reindeer, Talking Snowmen, and the World's Greatest Toymaker: The Rankin-Bass Universe Timeline "HO HO HO! Now, my friends, I will show you the way the real Santa Claus should look. Please! As if there was such a person as Santa Claus, which is of course absolutely ridiculous in a people's democracy!" Chairman Georgi Koz 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' When children believe that Santa Claus is real, he IS ...