Post by sepiatone on Apr 2, 2023 16:52:40 GMT
This has not much to do with "classic" TV, although there may have been such references made in some classic shows from bygone days.
What I'm about is references made that relate to past times but still somehow connected to the present. Maybe a couple examples might help....
1. "3rd Rock From the Sun"--The show's premise was the arrival of aliens from another planet coming to Earth with the mission of "blending in" and learning what they can about the people and life on the planet. John Lithgow is the "supreme commander" of the mission, and their leader is known as "The Big Giant Head". When this "Giant Head" comes to Earth to check up on them he at first lands in the wrong place and takes a plane to the Ohio city the aliens are staying so they go to the airport to pick him up. It turns out the "Big Giant Head" is played by actor William Shatner. When asked how his flight was the "giant head" says it was horrible. Saying, "I kept seeing this man running around on the wing of the plane." To which the supreme commander(John Lithgow) replies, "That's funny, the same thing once happened to me!" It was clear that both Shatner and Lithgow were referencing their both doing the same role(Shatner in a Twilight Zone episode, and Lithgow his doing the same role in "Twilight zone: The Movie". It did provide a good laugh for those who caught on to the reference.
2. On the show "Picket Fences" actor Ray Walston played the recurring role of a judge. In one episode he was overseeing a case about a group of UFO hunters causing havoc in the town. One who was making a complaint about the hunters complained the citizens shouldn't have to deal with the antics of, "a bunch of people looking for Martians." to which one of the hunters said, "We don't believe in Martians." and to which the judge(Walston) said, "Neither do I!" and ruled against the hunters. An obvious reference by Walston to his role as a Martian in the '60's show "My Favorite Martian" which, it's understood, remained a thorn in Walston's side for the rest of his life.
3. On the 2009-20018 show "The Middle" actor Jerry Van Dyke played the Father of the show's Mother character Frankie Heck(Patricia Heaton) who's uncle "Dutch" was coming for a visit. This uncle is her Father's(Jerry Van Dyke, remember) brother. And her Dad always likes to make that his brother is more of a doddering old man than he is. Now let me inform that Jerry's real life brother Dick will be playing the role of Uncle "Dutch". And Jerry is instructing his daughter and her family on how to "senior-proof" their home. Telling them to remove any throw rugs placed over carpeting as a safety hazard and such. Then he points to an old ottoman saying, "Get that ottoman out of here. He'll trip over that for sure."
Clearly a reference to the opening scene of the '60's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in which Van Dyke does trip over an ottoman upon entering his house before several episodes. What struck me funny also about that scene was that the ottoman in "The Middle" did look a lot like the one from Dick Van Dyke's old TV show! 
Any of that kind of stuff any of you might have noticed will be welcome here.
Sepiatone
What I'm about is references made that relate to past times but still somehow connected to the present. Maybe a couple examples might help....
1. "3rd Rock From the Sun"--The show's premise was the arrival of aliens from another planet coming to Earth with the mission of "blending in" and learning what they can about the people and life on the planet. John Lithgow is the "supreme commander" of the mission, and their leader is known as "The Big Giant Head". When this "Giant Head" comes to Earth to check up on them he at first lands in the wrong place and takes a plane to the Ohio city the aliens are staying so they go to the airport to pick him up. It turns out the "Big Giant Head" is played by actor William Shatner. When asked how his flight was the "giant head" says it was horrible. Saying, "I kept seeing this man running around on the wing of the plane." To which the supreme commander(John Lithgow) replies, "That's funny, the same thing once happened to me!" It was clear that both Shatner and Lithgow were referencing their both doing the same role(Shatner in a Twilight Zone episode, and Lithgow his doing the same role in "Twilight zone: The Movie". It did provide a good laugh for those who caught on to the reference.
2. On the show "Picket Fences" actor Ray Walston played the recurring role of a judge. In one episode he was overseeing a case about a group of UFO hunters causing havoc in the town. One who was making a complaint about the hunters complained the citizens shouldn't have to deal with the antics of, "a bunch of people looking for Martians." to which one of the hunters said, "We don't believe in Martians." and to which the judge(Walston) said, "Neither do I!" and ruled against the hunters. An obvious reference by Walston to his role as a Martian in the '60's show "My Favorite Martian" which, it's understood, remained a thorn in Walston's side for the rest of his life.
3. On the 2009-20018 show "The Middle" actor Jerry Van Dyke played the Father of the show's Mother character Frankie Heck(Patricia Heaton) who's uncle "Dutch" was coming for a visit. This uncle is her Father's(Jerry Van Dyke, remember) brother. And her Dad always likes to make that his brother is more of a doddering old man than he is. Now let me inform that Jerry's real life brother Dick will be playing the role of Uncle "Dutch". And Jerry is instructing his daughter and her family on how to "senior-proof" their home. Telling them to remove any throw rugs placed over carpeting as a safety hazard and such. Then he points to an old ottoman saying, "Get that ottoman out of here. He'll trip over that for sure."
Clearly a reference to the opening scene of the '60's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in which Van Dyke does trip over an ottoman upon entering his house before several episodes. What struck me funny also about that scene was that the ottoman in "The Middle" did look a lot like the one from Dick Van Dyke's old TV show! 
Any of that kind of stuff any of you might have noticed will be welcome here.
Sepiatone
