Top Dog

I can never play that game.

The one where you are watching tv and one person says "Oh my god, is that...what's his name? What is his NAME. He was in that Tom Cruise movie, you know the one with, argh, not Rebecca Demourney but the 80s one, with the pilots. Oh god he's in everything. Remember? Picket Fences? He was the sheriff??"

I'm awful. I don't watch enough movies, didn't have a tv for a bunch of years, just can't place people.

Until tonight.
Tonight I was masterful.
I was genius.

I was sitting on the floor, thinking about blogging, tired, with access to the remote.

I put on Bewitched, Darrin Goes Ape, the episode where Samantha's evil cousin Serena turns that prick Dick Sargent into an ape. (Also the one where her 2 year old tv son is seen riding shotgun, unbelted in her Chevy convertable.)

Of course Mrs. Kravitz calls the cops, the cops come out, I squint and the thinner cop looks like the guy from Adam 12, the cops call the guys from Jimmie's Ape Emporium, resplendent in full safari gear and the guys come out, catch Darren, and comedic mayhem ensues.

And as I'm listening I think to myself "My god. That voice. That voice. The guy catching the ape sounds exactly like Officer Dibble."

From Top Cat.

A 30 episode Hanna Barbara cartoon circa 1961.

So, being the adventurous sort, I rewind the DVR, record the episode title, google the Bewitched episode guide, find the cast list, look UP the police officers, google their names, read several interesting and entertaining IMDB articles, a few wikipedia entries, peruse a few blogs, marvel at the fact that someone named Paul Yeager has recorded every car shown throughout the Bewitched series and ultimately, triumphantly, cross reference Allen Jenkins as the voice of both.

I don't know much, my friends, but I suspect somewhere in TVland is a little gold trophy with my name on it.

Deb = The Shit
March 2009