Sunday, December 13, 2009


From Wikipedia:
On 13 December 1795 a meteorite crashed on the outskirts of the village. As a monument to this event there is a brick column bearing the inscription:

Here on this spot, December 13, 1795 fell from the atmosphere an extraordinary stone. In breadth twenty-eight inches, in length thirty-six inches and whose weight was fifty-six pounds. This column in memory of it was erected by Edward Topham, 1799.

The American science fiction author Philip José Farmer posited that this event caused genetic mutation in some people who were passing by at the time. Their enhanced genes led to the extraordinary abilities of their descendants, who include: Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, Nero Wolfe, James Bond, Lord Peter Wimsey, Professor Moriarty, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Kinsey Millhone, Richard Hannay, Charlie Chan, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and John Shaft.

Farmer's extended family of superheros and villains are now known as the Wold Newton family, and the concept has been elaborated upon by many other writers.

Here's a good splainin for the Wold Newton Family concept, but I'd be remiss not to point you in the direction of Win Scott Eckert's excellent Wold Newton website, which you'll find listed to the left, dear readers.

Many of the characters connected to the Wold Newton Family can be found in Toobworld. Here's just a VERY partial list:

Dr. Miguelito Loveless (my all-time favorite TV character)

Charlie Chan
Fu Manchu
Sherlock Holmes
Professor Moriarty
James Bond
Nero Wolfe
Philip Marlow
John Shaft
Secret Agent X-9
Lord Peter Wimsey
Phileas Fogg
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Alan Quatermain
Nayland Smith
Bulldog Drummond
Richard Hannay
Lew Archer
Travis McGee

Sally Lockhart
(Not exactly sure on her inclusion, but her enemy Ah Ling may have been related to Fu Manchu....)

And that's just for starters.

Someone who should be considered for entry, if the family bloodline could be mapped out, would be Detective William Murdoch of 'The Murdoch Mysteries'. But that's just my opinion......

Not all of their televersions adhere to the original depictions, which means that Toobworld can not be considered part of the actual Wold Newton Universe. Let's just say that they are dimensional counterparts sharing similar themes.

And ye olde Caretaker of Toobworld considers Win Scott Eckert and his comrades who toil in the Wold Newton fields to be allies.

So, Happy Wold Newton Day!

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