Really, ‘ Avengers’? The ‘ most ambitious’ crossover?
Movies have been blending franchises since Abbott & Costello, but TV made it an art form
Clever Twitter jokes and memes and parody posters aside, “Avengers: Infinity War” probably is, as advertised, the most ambitious crossover event in movie history.
What can we counter with? “Alien vs. Predator”? “Freddy vs. Jason”? “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein?”
OK, the pairing of a legendary comedy duo with Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr.’ s Wolf Man and Glenn Strange’s Frankenstein’s monster was pure genius — but with the exception of a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” here and a “Lego Movie” there ( and of course recent superhero films), most crossover movies have the tired, desperate air of a heavyweight bout featuring a former champion who is a dozen years past his prime. ( Come on, Godzilla. You’re gonna take on Mothra? Retire with dignity!)
In “Avengers: Infinity War,” the likes of Robert Downey Jr.’ s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow ( to name just a few) team up with Guardians of the Galaxy Star-Lord ( Chris Pratt), Rocket ( Bradley Cooper) and Gamora ( Zoe Saldana) to take on the evil Thanos ( Josh Brolin), a serious collector of Infinity Stones who wants to, you know, gain control of the universe and impose his will on every living thing.
That’s some serious crossover star power right there.
It stands to reason television
is a medium far more conducive to crossover experiments than the movies. For one thing, compared to combining one or more movie franchises for an expensive, lengthy shoot, it’s not nearly as risky ( financially or creatively) to have Batman and Robin square off against the Green Hornet and Kato on a TV lot in the 1960s, or even to attempt something as ambitious as NBC’s “Blackout Thursday” stunt in 1994, when the characters on “Mad About You,” “Friends” and “Madman of the People” were all affected by a power outage in New York City.
( By ’ 94, “Seinfeld” was such a juggernaut they could refuse to participate in the gimmick, and they exercised that option by showing a self- contained episode.)
The logistics of having the doctors from “St. Elsewhere” stop in at the bar from “Cheers,” or even Olivia Pope from “Scandal” crossing worlds with Annalise Keating from “How to Get Away With Murder” are relatively easy to navigate. And even if the combo platter episode is a dud, everyone can go back to their respective soundstages without sustaining any lasting damage to the franchise.
So, it’s harmless fun when Fran Drescher’s Fran on “The Nanny” goes to her high school reunion, and it turns out she was classmates with Ray Romano’s Ray Barone from “Everybody Loves Raymond.” ( Drescher and Romano actually were high school classmates.) Or when Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher from “Murder, She Wrote,” goes on vaca- tion in Hawaii and winds up having to prove Tom Selleck’s “Magnum P. I.” hasn’t committed murder.
On the bizarre end of the scale, there’s the “Cops”/“X- Files” crossover, and the “Blossom”/“Fresh Prince” episode — and strangest of all, that time on “Batman” in 1966 when the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder are doing their climb- a- building- and- encounter-a- celebrity bit, and they run into Werner Klemperer’s Colonel Klink character from “Hogan’s Heroes.”
Says Adam West’s Batman: “Colonel, what are you doing here in Gotham City?”
“I am looking for an underground agent,” replies Klink.
“Be careful not to get picked up,” says Batman. “Chief O’Hara can be very tough with aliens.”
“Say hello to Colonel Hogan for us,” chimes in Robin.
I know: we’re talking about idiotic sitcoms. But given Col. Klink ran a POW camp in World War II, wouldn’t Batman and Robin be inclined to apprehend him as a war criminal? Just saying.