By now, you've seen this commercial in heavy rotation, one of at least three for DirecTV.
Over the last couple of weeks, WWE and its broadcast partners have finalized plans for the company's three primetime programs.
Monday Night Raw will finish its 2nd tour of duty on USA Network in December, not September, as the deal with Netflix doesn't kick in until January, which would've left the flagship of WWE-TV in limbo for three months. Realizing this, NBC-Universal-Comcast, USA's parent company, and TKO Holdings, WWE's parent, agreed to leave Raw where it is until the end of the year, meaning the earliest it'll debut on Netflix would be January 6.
NXT will leave USA following the September 24 episode---we think---to transition to the CW. CW President Mark Schwartz, who had Smackdown on his roster from 2006-10, said the bookend shows would have taken the network over budget. Since NXT originates from one venue only, in suburban Orlando, it saves money for both WWE & the CW. Remember, too, that CW is now owned by Nexstar Media, which owns some stations, including WTEN in the 518, and has a lower operating budget than Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery, the previous co-owners of the network.
Smackdown shifts back to USA, where it aired on Tuesdays from 2016-9, on September 13, and will stay on Friday nights. Fox will fill the void on Fridays with college football, giving them back-to-back nights of NCAA action, and, the shift from Fox to USA also means Smackdown will no longer have to be bumped to a cable channel when the World Series or a college bowl game takes place.
Moving Raw to Netflix was the riskiest part of this deal, but as long as WWE wants to try to revisit the Attitude Era (1998-2002), this would be the best place to make the flagship more adult in content. However, I would suspect that if there are fans who don't have access to Netflix, WWE would be wise to angle for repurposing rights with either Peacock or another streamer......!
Besides, Raw traditionally gets killed in the ratings in the final 3-4 months of the year due to Monday Night Football and other factors, so that's eliminated with the move to Netflix.
To clear room for NXT, the CW is moving Superman & Lois, entering its 4th & final season, to Thursdays for a 10 episode run (October-December---we think). Well, at least I'll have two reasons to watch CW.....
The Daily Gazette, the #2 daily newspaper in the 518, is in the process of changing ownership.
Founded by the Hume-Lind family in 1894, the Schenectady daily is set to be sold to publisher John DeAugustine, ending an effort dating back to 2012 by the family to find a buyer for the paper. DeAugustine has been with the Gazette for 11 years. Under his leadership, the Gazette added the Nippertown website, founded by the late Blotto frontman, Greg "Sarge Blotto" Haymes and his wife, singer-songwriter Sara Ayers, and the Amsterdam Recorder, with both sites accessible on the Gazette's webpage.
The Hume-Lind family had previously announced last month they were planning on selling their Schenectady headquarters, with CDTA a potential buyer. The building is still up for sale, but we'll see where that leads.
As Donald Trump is on trial for falsifying campaign records to cover a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, a number of prominent GOPers, and Trump's dimwitted eldest sons, Dumb Donald II & Stupid-E, have shown up at trial proceedings in New York, and have spoken on behalf of the defendant, railing against the fact that ol' Orange Narcissus is being "persecuted", when he clearly is not.
So far, the GOPers who've made the trip have included:
Senators Rick Scott (Florida), Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), & JD Vance (Ohio).
House Speaker Mike Johnson (Louisiana).
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgam.
Burgam aside, these lawmakers are playing hooky from their responsibilities to their constituents in order to support the former president, and, on his behalf, trashing Judge Juan Merchan and his daughter, as well as DA Alvin Bragg, and Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, who was on the witness stand the last two days.
So where do the real-life Beavis & Butt-Head (Don, Jr. & Eric) fit into the picture?
Stupid-E, for one, violated court protocols by whipping out his cell phone on Monday to trash Cohen, and Dumb Donald II went whining to Fox No News. In effect, circumventing the gag order Merchan issued against their father.
As Farron Cousins explains, that could put the Archduke of Affluenza even further in trouble.
Maniac Mansion, based on a 1987 video game developed by LucasArts, was adapted for television three years later, airing in Canada on YTV, and here in the US on the Family Channel (now Freeform). The series ran for 3 seasons, usually airing on a weeknight with a rerun on Saturday mornings.
The series also had a decided Second City bent to it, with members of the troupe's Toronto branch making up much of the cast, led by Joe Flaherty. Eugene Levy not only was an executive producer and writer, but was credited with composing some of the music as well.
The satirical premise was what if a man named Edison had invented weirder things than Thomas Edison had. Two experiments led to Fred Edison (Flaherty) giving his toddler son an adult body, but with the child's mind intact, and tramsmuted Harry, giving him the body of a fly, poking fun at a movie franchise that had been revived four years earlier. In fact, Harry, the fly (John Hemphill, a later member of Second City), is the focus of an episode. Here's a sample clip.
You know summer's around the corner when the City of Albany announces the annual Alive at 5 concert series, set to launch June 6. 8 shows over a 9 weeks period (no show on July 4 since the action will be at the Empire State Plaza).
This year's lineup:
June 6: Pride night, headlined by Let's Sing Taylor, a Taylor Swift party band making their 2nd appearance in the 518 already this year. They were at the Troy Music Hall in March.
June 13: Classic Rock night with Dokken & special guest Hark.
June 20: Latin night with Tito Puente, Jr. & special guest Bronte Roman.
June 27: Pop night with Vanessa Carlton & special guest Canella.
July 18: Reggae night with Third World & special guest Upstate Reggae Posse.
July 25: Rock night with The Record Company and local favorites Sirsy.
August 1: Funk night with Galactic, featuring Jelly Joseph with Hilltop.
The Three Stooges are back in the plumbing business, however reluctantly, in 1949's "Vagabond Loafers", a remake of the classic "A Plumbing We Will Go". Dudley Dickerson appeared in both films, and would make this his last film, although stock footage would be used in subsequent shorts.
The Shirelles' 3 biggest hits of the 60's----"Soldier Boy", "Dedicated to The One I Love", & "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"----are in regular rotation on oldies channels. One here in the 518 also plays the Mamas & The Papas' cover of "Dedicated" on a consistent basis, too.
But, the original "Tomorrow", with Shirley Alston Reeves on vocals, is an all-time classic.
CBS programmers seemed to have velcro walls for their schedule in 1990. They couldn't find a suitable lead-in to Dallas, for example, on Fridays, after 2 comedy-dramas had bombed in the first three months of the year.
Wednesdays weren't much better.
2nd generation rocker Dweezil Zappa, who'd seen his brother, Ahmet, bomb with a Saturday afternoon show a year and a half earlier (2 Hip 4 TV), teamed with producers Brad Grey & Bernie Brillstein to develop a series based on his life, and that of his family.
Normal Life got 13 weeks, and Zappa, who also composed the show's theme music, fronted an ensemble cast that included his sister, 1-hit wonder Moon Unit, and veterans Cindy Williams (ex-Laverne & Shirley), Jim Staahl (ex-Mork & Mindy, Laugh Trax), and Max Gail (ex-Barney Miller, Whiz Kids). One must assume Gail was meant to be an analogue for Frank Zappa.
Dweezil looks like a natural here. In this sampler, his band is hoping for its big break, and auditions to open for Van Halen. College, it seems, has to wait......
My brother tipped me to this next item.
Movie legend Gary Cooper made his first guest appearance on television on The Jack Benny Program in September 1958, and, right off the bat, Cooper shocks everyone when he announces he wants to sing.
Jack calls for the Sportsmen, his vocal quartet, who bring a guitar, leading to a hilarious cover of the Everly Brothers' "Bird Dog". Something to behold. Cooper was promoting his film, "Man of The West", so, of course, the main event was a Western skit.
Scope!
40 years ago, American audiences were introduced to the Transformers, as Hasbro acquired the rights to produce the fabled toys here after they were originally introduced in Japan.
Today, Hasbro & Image Comics are developing a shared universe that also includes G. I. Joe and Robert Kirkman's latest, Void Rivals.
Transformers leads off the Energon Universe 2024 Special, written by Daniel Warren Johnson & illustrated by Ryan Ottley. Unlike the average, creator owned Image title, there's no coarse language, largely because Hasbro won't allow it, since it's being marketed not just to teenagers, but pre-teens as well. Older fans can probably picture Optimus Prime still with the voice of actor Peter Cullen, who's still going strong 40 years after that first Transformers cartoon here in the US.
Your actual mileage may vary.
Void Rivals gets just a measly 6 pages by comparison, and this is the new kid on the block, by comparison. I don't have high hopes for the Energon line to survive, but Kirkman's books do tend to have a long shelf life (i.e.The Walking Dead, Invincible), so this could outlive its initial directives.
Over in G. I. Joe, one of Cobra's long time lieutenants, the Baroness, is being recruited to join the Joes. Joshua Williamson's excerpt gets 8 pages. I think I know how this is going to go. Can you say, "Trojan horse"?
Overall rating: B-.
Hellboy is back, but a story written, but not drawn, by series creator Mike Mignola, hits different. Mark Laszlo's cleaner style aspires to have a Silver Age vibe, but falls short. I'm not a fan of Stranger Things, which acts as the backup feature here. I haven't seen Jonathan Case's work (related to Richard Case,perhaps?), but it, too, tries for that Silver Age vibe.
Overall rating: B.
Disney Junior is no longer available on Spectrum Cable, and you'd have to have Disney+ just to access any of their shows. That said, the 2nd annual Spidey & His Amazing Friends entry presents a seemingly reformed Rhino as a supporting character. A character change waaaaaaaaaaaay overdue, in this writer's opinion. Seeing Rhino & Hulk play home run derby is one of the highlights.
Rating: A.
I don't recommend Plants vs. Zombies, though.
Overall rating: B--.
Speaking of Star Wars, Marvel's core title continues the company's tradition, dating back to the original series in the 70's & 80's, with the franchise, and the ads are inviting new readers to check out as much of the line as their hearts & wallets desire.
Rating: B.
To close this edition, John Patrick Green's InvestiGators are back with a preview of Class Action, a graphic novel due from First Second Press in September. Delightful fun for the kiddo's. I'm just surprised no one's tried to adapt this into a cartoon for streaming. Yeah, Netflix, I'm looking at you.
Rating: A.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is safe for the moment.
The GOP representative from Louisiana survived a motion to vacate brought against him by Georgia Misrepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Wednesday, and, in the words of Keith Olbermann, Greene's motion was beaten like a rented goalie, as Democrats & Republicans united to vote down the measure.
While the measure could be brought back at a later date, there's no point. Greene's upset that Johnson worked with Democrats on funding for Ukraine, among other things, and, depending on what media sources you read, her #1 patron, a certain defendant in New York, appears to have soured on her as well, perhaps jealous that her need for the spotlight has become just as addictive as his own.
We sought to get a statement from Empty-G's press secretary, and got this:
The message being sent to Greene and other "extreme" members of the GOP is that the time for posturing for the cameras is over, and the real work in the House needs to be done, preferably yesterday. Johnson, in his defense, is trying to steer the GOP back toward traditional governing, if only he could convince the nuttier members of his party to stop trying to win points with the oldest bloviator in the country.......!
Kellogg's doesn't make concord grape flavored Pop Tarts anymore, contrary to the following ad, but when the product was introduced 60 years ago, there was more of a market for grape flavored items, such as soft drinks, than there is today.
Character actor Olan Soule (The Andy Griffith Show) is the narrator.
Before John Cena entered the WWE in 2002, he made his television debut on a short-lived reality series for UPN, Manhunt, which lasted just a month on the air before being cancelled.
Almost unrecognizable with bleached blond hair, which he had in Ohio Valley Wrestling around that time, Cena is "Big Tim", the "host" of the show. Check out this sample clip.
In the 70's, Canada Dry experimented with expanding its line of soft drinks beyond ginger ale.
Sport, with actor-comedian Wally Cox doing commercials, disappeared around the time of Cox's passing in 1973. However, there was more, a full line of flavored sodas, as demonstrated in this 1972 spot with Jackie Earle Haley, two years before he began a brief career in cartoons, and four years before the original "Bad News Bears".
Before Win, Lose, or Draw was even an idea, before Pictionary could be adapted for television even the first time, WNEW (now WNYW) tried to syndicate a game show built around simple drawings for adults.
Fast Draw, however, lasted just 1 season, and never made it to the 518 that I know of.
Veteran announcer Johnny Gilbert (no relation to ye scribe), who'd emceed the occasional show in the 50's & early 60's, was given the MC's job here. Johnny's still going strong well into his 90's, as the announcer of the Jeopardy! family of series for ABC and in syndication.
This sample episode features Anita Gillette & Robert Alda.
Everyone knows that the Yankees vs. the Red Sox is one of baseball's oldest rivalries. The Patriots vs. either the Giants or Jests doesn't even come close, despite all three teams now struggling to achieve relevancy on a consistent basis.
But what about the Knicks vs. the Celtics? Or the Rangers vs. the Bruins?
All four of those teams are on course to meet in their respective leagues' Eastern Conference finals, contingent on advancing past the division semi-finals.
Tonight, the Knicks, the #2 seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference, open a series vs. old nemesis Indiana.
Dolan also owns the Rangers, and has never been one to meddle in the team's affairs unlike with the Knicks. It has been 30 years since the Rangers last won the Stanley Cup, with Mark Messier and company hoisting the Cup and ascending into NYC sports lore.
On Sunday, the Rangers began their 2nd round series by beating Carolina, 4-3. Momentum is on their side. The Boston Bruins open with Toronto tonight. If they knock the Maple Leafs out, and New York dismisses Carolina, they're going to go bananas in New York & Boston for sure.
Back to the Knicks. Indiana won 2 of 3 during the regular season. New York can change that with a win at home tonight, to set the tempo. Boston begins their 2nd round series with Cleveland tomorrow night. The same scenario is there. Knicks-Celtics and Rangers-Bruins in the post-season? MSG & TD Garden will be sold out for the conference finals if it happens.
If it happens that this is TNT's final NBA season, with rumors that NBC wants back in, they couldn't ask for a better scenario. I'm not sure if they'll have a share of the NHL conference finals, but it'd be a bonus.
The real winners, though, will be the fans in New York and Boston and their respective states. Twin playoff series in May could blow Yankees-Red Sox out of the water. Be prepared.
To paraphrase Lionel Richie & The Commodores, Jim "Fibber" Jordan is once, twice, three times a fool.
After having been told to pound sand for trying to interfere with investigations into Donald Trump in New York & Atlanta, Jordan, attempting a hat trick of futility, is trying again, this time targeting prosecutor Matthew Coangelo, one of the lead prosecutors in the current hush money trial in New York. The result is going to be the same.
Farron Cousins explains:
Let's start with some new releases over the last few weeks.
Marvel has revived its MAX imprint, now known as MAX Comics, with the release of Get Fury, a miniseries that is focused more on a pre-Punisher Frank Castle, who is finally depicted as a Marine.
Set in Vietnam in the 60's, Nick Fury has been captured by the Viet Cong, and Castle and his unit have been sent to not so much extract him, but kill him if he is forced to give up important secrets. The MAX line allows Marvel to go R-rated (listed as explicit content), which is right in the wheelhouse for writer Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher, etc.). Artist Jacen Burrows uses a mix of styles, somewhere between Darick Robertson and the late Darwyn Cooke, and paints a clean picture for the reader.
Get past the F-bombs being used on virtually every page, and you'll be fine.
Cover artist Dave Johnson paid homage to Castle's 1st ever cover as Punisher (Amazing Spider-Man back in the 70's) with the 1st issue cover.
Rating: A-.
It is said that Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould meant for his hero to be a satire of standard crime drama conventions, but readers ate it up just the same.
Former Archie Comics writer/editor Alex Segura saw an opportunity to bring some realism to Tracy. Paired with co-author Michael Moreci, Segura accomplished his mission with Tracy making his Mad Cave Studios debut that explores just how Tracy built himself into legend status, and, as well, his infamous rogues gallery, set in an unnamed city circa 1947. I can't say enough about artist Geraldo Borges, really, that would do him justice.
Segura was in town yesterday for Free Comic Book Day, and I was kicking myself for not bringing my copy of the 1st issue for an autograph. I did give him a tip on a certain shop across the river that I frequent.....!
Anyway, whatever your reservations, this is a good read, since the Tracy strip is no longer available locally in the newspapers, and can be found online. (MSN.com would be a good start).
Rating: A.
Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, the flagship of [adult swim] in its early years, turns 30 this year. Space Ghost as a franchise turns 60 in 2 years. 20 years after DC had Joe Kelly & Yanick Paquette create an origin for the Phantom of The Spaceways, Dynamite, the current license holder, had David Pepose & Jonathan Lau create a more definitive origin, specifically how Space Ghost met his young wards, Jan & Jace.
In any case, this is the Space Ghost most of us grew up with via reruns in the 70's (I was but a toddler when the series first aired in 1966). Local artist John Hebert contributed what is touted as a retailer exclusive that he's likely showcasing at the Philadelphia Comic-Con this weekend. An excerpt of this issue can be found in a Dynamite entry for Free Comic Book Day, which we'll talk about shortly.
Pepsi had Michael Jackson & Madonna, but they never did a commercial together.
Diet Coke did them one better, and paired up Paula Abdul and Elton John.
We've long established that NY Misrepresentative Elise Stefanik of Schuylerville boarded the Trump Train to advance her career. Rumors are that she is in the running to be the GOP VP candidate, running alongside the Archduke of Affluenza come this summer's convention.
Well, she is at it again, trying to save the Orange Brat from prosecution, although, technically, the horse left the barn long ago, as Farron Cousins explains.
The American Cancer Society, in collaboration with Paramount Television, produced this half hour PSA about smoking, Let's Call it Quits. Partially filmed on the set of The Brady Bunch, which had ended production, Quits is headlined by Tom Bosley & Marion Ross (Happy Days), joined by Vic Perrin (ex-The Outer Limits), Tracy Reed (ex-Barefoot in The Park, Love, American Style), Normann Burton (later of Wonder Woman), Brad Savage (ex-Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice), & "Cousin Oliver" himself, Robbie Rist.
50 years later, the message is still relevant.
No rating. Just a public service.
Today, hitchhiking is frowned upon, due to the inherent dangers that go with it.
When Vanity Fare released "Hitchin' A Ride", the story was about a young man who took to hitchhiking because of a lack of funds. It peaked at #5 on the Hot 100.
I remember seeing "Working Girl", with Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Joan Cusack, in the theatre with my then-girlfriend in 1988. Nearly 2 years later, the movie becomes a sitcom for NBC as a spring replacement------and bombed.
It's easy to assume too much time had passed between the movie, a subsequent video release, and the show, which top-lined Sandra Bullock in Griffith's role as Tess McGill. Nana Visitor, later of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was given Weaver's part as Bryn Newhouse. Carly Simon's award winning theme, "Let The River Run", was used, but with another artist covering the track. Said artist was not given screen credit, and it's definitely not Carly. One possibility might've been voice actress-singer BJ Ward, who had a recurring role as Tess' mom, I believe it was, a rare gig in front of the camera for Ward.
Unfortunately, NBC gave up on Working Girl, airing just 8 episodes. The series was originally developed with Nancy McKeon (ex-The Facts of Life) in mind, but it'd be a few more years before McKeon found an adult role that worked for her (The Division).
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was one of the episodes that didn't air, but became available recently on YouTube:
British actress-singer-songwriter Charlie Dore had a 1 hit wonder here in the US in the winter of 1979-80 with "Pilot of The Airwaves", which peaked in the top 20 on the Hot 100, and hit #4 on the adult contemporary chart.
Thanks to correspondent Mike Doran for the tip on this next item.
You might recall Carl Reiner's failed 1976 sitcom, Good Heavens, an anthology sitcom about an angel granting wishes to average folks. A couple of years earlier, Reiner directed a pilot for the series under a different title.
Everything Money Can't Buy was the pilot in question, with Jose Ferrer as Mr. Angel, and the concept was a little more serious, which might explain why it didn't sell for some odd reason. It was one of the last projects under the familiar Screen Gems banner before the studio was rechristened Columbia Pictures Television in May 1974. Bernard Slade's Thornhill Productions was attached, with writer-creator Slade also acting as executive producer. Slade had flopped at NBC with The Girl With Something Extra, which paired Sally Field with John Davidson.
Money's ensemble cast included Brenda Vaccaro, Bert Convy (The Snoop Sisters, Tattletales), and two supporting players from The Bob Newhart Show, Peter Bonerz & Jack Riley.
2 1/2 weeks ago, there was a solar eclipse. To mark the occasion, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon teamed with Heart to cover Bonnie Tyler's 1983 smash, "Total Eclipse of The Heart":
This is the price Donald Trump is paying for waking up in the middle of the night, or staying up all night, take your pick, and whining on Truthless Social.
Four times now, since the current trial began in New York, Trump, who will be 78 in June, was caught napping in the courtroom, and has had to be awakened by attorney Todd Blanche. Most men in Trump's age group usually go to bed at a decent hour, somewhere between 7 & 10 pm, but we've read reports of Trump posting on his site anywhere between midnight and 4 am.
Farron Cousins fills us in.
Marcy Carsey & Tom Werner's television empire was rolling as we moved into the 90's. With 2 hit series on NBC, the couple were asked to develop a 3rd sitcom for the network.
Grand began as a mid-season replacement in January 1990, lasting the customary 13 weeks, then getting renewed for a 2nd season, which was also 13 weeks, save for 1 episode that never aired here in the US.
Perhaps the biggest name in the ensemble was Michael McKean (ex-Laverne & Shirley), who had moved on to dual careers in movies and music, the latter as part of Spinal Tap. However, due to other commitments, McKean left the show after the 1st season. Co-star Bonnie Hunt would move on to better things, including her own self-titled sitcom.
Check this sample episode:
The Zach Wilson era is over for the NY Jets.
Sources are reporting this afternoon that Wilson, after 3 seasons, is heading to Denver for a 6th round pick in this weekend's draft.
For Wilson, it's a chance at a fresh start after coach Sean Payton ran another Wilson---Russell---out of town after last season. Russell Wilson is now in Pittsburgh. Jests GM Joe Douglas fumbled the ball. He had a chance to rid the team of the right wing drama that is Aaron Rodgers and his conspiracy theories, and opted instead to send the underachieving Zach Wilson, a BYU grad, packing.
Following the success of Taxi, its producers sold another series to ABC in 1979, another ensemble sitcom, but without the same results.
The Associates was another workplace comedy, this time in a law firm. Oh, the prospect was there for a crossover with Taxi, but, insofar as I know, it didn't happen. What did happen, however, since the series came from the pen of John Jay Osborn, Jr., author of The Paper Chase. John Houseman reprised as Professor Charles Kingsfield for a 1-shot.
As for the cast, most of them went on to other things after the series ended.
Wilfred Hyde-White joined the cast of Buck Rogers in The 25th Century in season 2.
Martin Short (ex-SCTV) moved on to I'm a Big Girl Now the very next year before embarking on a modest movie career and appearing on Saturday Night Live. He currently stars in Only Murders in The Building with Steve Martin and Selena Gomez.
Tim Thomerson (ex-Quark) would later return to television in Sirens & Land's End after he, too, made some movies.
Joe Regalbuto took the guest star route, including a villainous role on Mork & Mindy in season 4 before landing the role of his career on Murphy Brown.
BB King performed the title song for the show. Right now, here's a sample episode.
Entering today's game at Dodger Stadium vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets sit 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the National League East. Both the Braves & Mets have won 6 straight entering play today. 2nd place Philadelphia almost has to win to keep pace, and hold on to their position, with the Mets 1/2 game behind the Phillies.
The Kansas City Royals, 2 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central entering play today, won 2 of 3 from division rival Chicago after leaving Citi Field last week. However, barring a late rally, they could lose 2 of 3 to Baltimore. You can argue the Mets cooled them off, taking 2 of 3 last weekend.
The Pittsburgh Pirates came to New York Monday in 1st place in the NL Central. Today, they're in 4th place, and in danger of getting swept again, this time at home against Boston. Yep, the Mets cooled off the Pirates.
The Dodgers have dropped three straight after losing the first two games of this series vs. the Mets. Struggling Tyler Glasnow gets the call today after getting strafed by Washington in his last start, while the Mets counter with Adrian Houser. New York has kept Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and company in the ballpark, though there's no guarantee that'll still be the case today, to be fair.
And, here's the scary part. Former Dodger JD Martinez is getting ready to be called to Flushing, to give Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, DJ Stewart, et al some backup. Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is on the IL with a torn thumb ligament, prompting the return of fan favorite Tomas Nido.
After today, the Mets go to San Francisco, where the opportunity exists to abuse Blake Snell yet again. No wonder Mets fans on Reddit are giddy. But, then, they're also fickle, and as soon as things go south, they'll go back to whining.
Enjoy the ride, kids. It's a long way to October, after all.
After CBS acquired Step by Step & Family Matters from ABC for the purpose of creating their own Friday comedy block, the producers added a new series that borrowed concepts from three other shows.
Meego, however, ran into trouble almost from the beginning. Bronson Pinchot (ex-Perfect Strangers) had the lead as a shape-changing alien who takes on the job of acting as a babysitter/housekeeper for a single dad (Ed Begley, Jr., ex-St. Elsewhere) and his three children.
The familiar factors?
1. Alien crashes his spaceship in the backyard of a common Earth family, and moves in (think ALF).
2. The domestic job (similar to another Miller-Boyett bomb, Out of The Blue, which the producers developed for Paramount & ABC 18 years earlier, though the lead there was an angel).
3. Miller-Boyett tried to duplicate the success of Mork & Mindy, but they did not give Meego a love interest. Robin Williams would've known what to do with the character of Meego. We think.
Erik von Detten ("Toy Story") appears in the pilot, but was replaced by Will Estes in the next episode. Not sure why. Michelle Trachtenberg (ex-The Adventures of Pete & Pete) & Jonathan Lipnicki are the other children. Family Matters co-star Jaleel White made a pair of uncredited cameos early on, not as Steve Urkel, but as other characters. It was almost as if the producers were reluctant to add Meego to the same shared universe as Matters & Perfect Strangers.
Check the opener:
ABC did its level best to keep its Friday TGIF block relevant from top to bottom in the mid-90's, but not everything that made the lineup clicked.
Take, for example, Home Free, a spring replacement series in 1993. An ensemble comedy built around the staff of a newspaper.
Matthew Perry, about a year and a half away from Friends, top-lined. The ensemble also included veteran Marian Mercer, Alan Oppenheimer, who hadn't had a live-action series gig since season 1 of The Six Million Dollar Man, where he was replaced by Martin E. Brooks, and spent the 80's and early 90's as a voice actor, Brooke Theiss (ex-Just The Ten of Us), and Dan Schneider (ex-Head of The Class). I think part of the reason Oppenheimer stopped getting live action gigs might've been because casting directors kept confusing him with Gavin MacLeod, but that's just me.
Following is a sample episode:
One Day at a Time had ended its CBS run in 1984. Two years later, Pat Harrington brought back his character from the show, building superintendent Dwayne Schneider, to do a commercial for Trak Auto, filmed in Maryland. Check it.
Bruce Springsteen was in town the other night, and one can imagine this track was on his playlist.
"My Hometown" was released as a single to promote "The Boss"' live package covering the period between 1975-85, and is a tender ballad with a softer than usual beat, in that Clarence Clemons swapped out his saxophone for a tambourine. Bruce's future wife, Patti, also plays the tambourine, with Nils Lofgren subbing for Steven Van Zandt on guitar.
Thanks to fellow blogger Chuck Miller for the tip.
All Elite Wrestling held its first event in Oklahoma back in January. During the taping for Ring of Honor's weekly program on Honor Club, former AEW women's champion Nyla Rose won a squash match. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Not as far as the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission's concerned, unfortunately.
So the OSAC sent a letter to AEW's Tony Khan warning him about using Rose the next time AEW/ROH hits Sooner Country, which, in their small minded point of view, will lead to fines against the promotion.
I call BS. The OSAC is all about pushing their political agenda, discriminating against trans athletes such as Rose. AEW also has openly gay wrestlers such as Anthony Bowens of the Acclaimed, and current women's champ Toni Storm, while married to currently injured Juice Robinson, is bi-sexual.
To politicians up & down the Bible Belt, a transgender man or woman is an abomination. AEW, like most of the country, is inclusive in every way imaginable, and will sign anyone regardless of preferences.
That having been said, the OSAC gets a box of Weasel ears for their bigotry and attempting to bully Khan and his troupe. I would recommend that the OSAC gets a total overhaul before AEW/ROH or even WWE returns to Oklahoma.
The news was shocking, but not surprising, on Monday.
Long time Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling announced his retirement, to take effect immediately, after his 2nd stint with the team, which began in 1989. Sterling had previously hosted a radio pre-game show with Hall of Famer Mel Allen for WMCA in the 70's. Sterling did not accompany the team to Cleveland or Toronto for their road trip, making the announcement on radio in New York.
Upon the launch of the YES network in 2002, Sterling was brought back to television to host the team's answer to Biography, Yankeeography, and hosted the annual Old Timers Day event at Yankee Stadium. In more recent times, however, Sterling's age was catching up to him, as his vision, one would suspect, began to betray him. He would assume a home run, only to correct himself when the fly ball was caught by an opposing outfielder.
NY Daily News media columnist Bob Raissman, noting the homerism in radio broadcasts with Sterling and analyst Suzyn Waldman, dubbed the team as "Ma & Pa Pinstripe", a play on the "Ma & Pa Kettle" movie series in the 40's. Sterling will be honored at Yankee Stadium Saturday for his years of service. I'm guessing that Ryan Ruocco, fresh off calling the NCAA women's basketball tournament for ESPN/ABC, is filling in for Sterling until a full-time successor can be found.
Sterling had signed a new deal several months back allowing for a reduced work schedule, similar to what the Mets' Howie Rose signed, but, realistically, Sterling should've seen the writing on the wall well before that. Hindsight, and all that. For now, an era in baseball broadcasting in NY is over, and the Yankees would be hard pressed to find someone that can carry the mail for years to come.
Congratulations, John. You've earned it.
You can't say I didn't warn you.
Looking at Sunday's Michigan-Houston game, the first half of a UFL doubleheader on ABC, there was no effort made in Detroit to disguise the fact that there were SO many empty seats. In the nightcap in San Antonio, the use of the lighting in certain areas of the Alamodome made sure those empty seats were hidden from view.
According to today's Albany Times-Union, someone is posing as an elections official in Saratoga County, going door-to-door to question Democratic voters about signing a petition for Democratic county treasurer candidate Michelle Madigan.
Commissioner Cassandra Bagramian has put the word out to remind everyone that impersonating a licensed election official is a crime. Bagramian alerted her GOP counterparts, and, as of now, there is cooperation on both sides.
It's easy to assume that this scammer is a GOP operative, but we don't know that for sure. A similar scam was run in Warren & Washington counties last year. Madigan is running against Joann Kupferman in the general election in November.
Fictional baseball teams don't seem to succeed on television for some reason.
For example, Paramount took a chance on turning the original "Bad News Bears" into a sitcom for CBS in 1979. They were better served mounting this as a children's show. Four years later, NBC tried a drama, Bay City Blues, from the producers of Hill Street Blues. Lasted a month.
In 1994, during the baseball strike, Fox tried Hardball, which was clearly a case of trying to pick up the audience that had seen the "Major League" movies. Hardball marked the return to primetime of sitcom legend Rose Marie (ex-The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Doris Day Show, Hollywood Squares), leading an ensemble of players, some of whom would find greater success, including:
Dann Florek (later of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).
Phill Lewis (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody).
Joe Rogan (NewsRadio, Fear Factor), now a podcaster and UFC commentator, better known now for his warped political views.
Bruce Greenwood (ex-St. Elsewhere, later of Nowhere Man).
Check the opener, introduced by Terry Bradshaw & Howie Long.
Pablo Cruise's final top 40 hit was "Cool Love", the 1st single off 1981's "Reflector". I remember going to a Record Town knock-off, Record City, to buy the vinyl single right before graduating from high school. The following clip came two years later, when the band appeared on Solid Gold:
The story was that Rachel Gunn, RN was originally meant to be a vehicle for country singer KT Oslin, but Oslin dropped out because she felt the title character was too mean.
It was also meant to air on CBS, but ended up going to Fox instead, as a spring-summer replacement series. Unfortunately, Gunn ended up lasting just the one season, though for two cast members, it might've been a godsend, after all.
Christine Ebersole (ex-Saturday Night Live) was cast as Gunn after Oslin dropped out. As a bonus, Ebersole also recorded a solo cover of Huey Lewis & The News' "Workin' For a Livin'", which came out 10 years earlier. One can only imagine "Workin'" with a Nashville beat if Oslin had recorded it. It wasn't long after Gunn ended that Kevin Conroy (Dr. Dunkel) moved right into another series for Fox, one that would define his career------Batman: The Animated Series launched just a few days after Gunn's last episode. Megan Mullally would later co-star on Will & Grace. Dan Tullis, Jr. was already on Columbia's payroll, having appeared in a recurring role on Married...With Children.
In this sampler, Gunn falls for a rodeo star. Vlade Divac, then with the Los Angeles Lakers, appears briefly in an unlikely role.
The 2024 baseball season isn't even a month old, counting the 2 game series between San Diego & the Los Angeles Dodgers in South Korea, but 1st year Mets executive David (Bear) Stearns is showing already that he has no patience for underachievement.
Last week, the Mets signed former Atlanta pitcher Julio Teheran, who'd been cut by Baltimore in pre-season, and put him on the mound against his original club Monday night at Truist Park. Teheran couldn't get out of the 3rd inning, as the Braves took an early 4-0 lead. However, the Mets won the game, 8-7, thanks to a pair of homers from Brandon Nimmo and a game winner from DJ Stewart.
It's almost as if Stearns is channeling the spirit of the late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, while Steinbrenner's son, Hal, runs the Bombers with a more patient hand. Weird, isn't it?
Wrestlemania is in the books, the first without former WWE CEO/Chairman Vince McMahon, who is continuing to sell off his stock shares.
Son-in-law Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, ran the show this year, and, in the eyes of many, hit a home run right off the bat. By the time they signed off around 10 pm (ET) on Sunday, WWE was ready to write some new stories.
Sunday's highlights:
McMahon's daughter, Stephanie, who turned up at the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, opened Sunday's show. You could see there was a sense of relief, knowing her father wasn't there, but, as she admitted, she'd been to every Wrestlemania, either as a performer, creative team member, or just as part of the McMahon family, since the first one in 1985 at Madison Square Garden. The Philly crowd loved her.
4 years after winning the WWE title during the COVID pandemic, Scotland's Drew McIntyre dethroned Seth Rollins, only for Judgment Day's Damian Priest to cash in the Money in The Bank briefcase, and claim the title himself. Online commentators speculated that McIntyre could challenge for the title in his native Scotland at Clash at The Castle in June.
After her Damage CTRL teammates fell in defeat on Saturday, Japan's Iyo Sky (formerly known as Io Shirai) dropped the WWE women's title to Bayley, which will have supporters of the faction fuming about how the team has failed again at the big dance.
Finally, and most importantly, Cody Rhodes "finished his story" by overcoming the Bloodline Rules, with help from John Cena and the Undertaker, to dethrone Roman Reigns.
This morning, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson moved back onto WWE's alumni page, as he will be off making or promoting movies for the next 3-4 months. When he does return, will he still be the "Final Boss", his new heel persona, or does he revert back to being the beloved icon he was before? We'd have to find out.
Meanwhile, job 1 for Levesque and WWE is to heed the advice of Bob Seger and "Turn The Page":
It was the story in Major League Baseball to begin the 1974 season. No, not the Oakland A's quest for a 3-peat in the World Series, though that would happen six months later.
When the season began in April, Atlanta's Hank Aaron was pursuing history, taking aim at Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs. He tied the record, as memory serves, against Cincinnati. On April 8, on NBC's Monday Night Baseball, Aaron and the Braves faced the Los Angeles Dodgers. I remember sitting at home----well, actually, I was on the carpet----with my folks, watching the game 'til bedtime.
The video, posted by MLB's YouTube channel, is from the NBC broadcast. However, the audio is the Dodgers' radio broadcast, with venerable Vin Scully on the call. I am not sure if there's any video with Curt Gowdy's original call for NBC available online at present.
The theme surrounding tonight's WWE Universal title rematch between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania has been about Rhodes "finishing the story" after getting screwed last year by the Bloodline. Reigns (Joe Anoia) has lost all credibility as a heel champion because he can't win any title defense without help from his family. He thinks he has the ultimate trump card now with his cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as a member of the TKO Holdings Board of Directors.
As ESPN's Lee Corso would say, "not so fast, my friends, not so fast".
Reigns' 3 1/2 year run has been pockmarked with tainted title defenses, but his biggest patron, disgraced former chairman Vince McMahon, isn't there anymore, having been forced out a few months back. For Nick Khan, Ari Emanuel, & Paul "Triple H" Levesque, tonight is about letting Cody finish his story, so WWE can, in the words of Bob Seger, "turn the page", and move on.
We've already seen a heel champion succeed without cheating this weekend.
Roxanne Perez turned heel on NXT women's champ Lyra Valkyria a few weeks back, and, in subsequent promos, the "Prodigy" has edited out the fact that she competed and lost her bid to regain the title last year at Stand & Deliver. Saturday, in Philadelphia, at the same event, Perez, 22, finished her story, now one of not so much redemption, but fraught with resentment over perceived slights in her year-long quest to get back to the top.
In submitting Valkyria, Perez got it done the right way, not needing any unnecessary outside help. Tatum Paxley, whose story arc with Valkyria recalls a classic story arc between Trish Stratus & Mickie James, both now Hall of Famers, back in 2005-6, tried to help, but Perez dispatched her as well en route to becoming a 2-time champion.
To further illustrate the theme, we must shift over to women's college basketball, and what most thought would be the final chapter of "Caitlinmania", as Iowa's Caitlin Clark and the Lady Hawkeyes vied for the NCAA women's title against South Carolina, which had a story of its own to finish, one of a perfect season, something that hasn't happened in women's basketball since UConn did it 8 years ago.
Cody, now it's your turn.
"Dumb Donald is really dumb!"---Gene Rayburn, Match Game, 1973-84.
Donald Trump is SO desperate to avoid accountability, he has had his ambulance chasers try to have a subpoena issued against NBC-Universal-Comcast. claiming collusion in relation to a documentary on adult film actress Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford), whose case against Trump goes to court on April 15.
The more Trump leads with his mouth, the more he gets in trouble. And that's entirely his fault.
This morning's earthquake didn't have much of an effect in the hometown, but it was felt in New York City and New Jersey.
And, because she feels she needs a headline per day, Georgia Misrepresentative Empty-G (Marjorie Taylor Greene) took a page from the late Pat Robertson's playbook, and claimed the earthquake was an act of God, and, in her twisted mind, so is the solar eclipse set for Monday.
Greene, like Robertson before her, believes that God is responsible because He wants Americans to repent for their sins. Apparently, Congress' Dumb Dora failed science class in high school and/or college, as several commenters on Yahoo! and social media roasted Greene, and schooled her on why earthquakes happen in the first place.
It's kind of weird for Greene to invoke God, but, then again, she and other Republicans try to wrap themselves around their pseudo-Christian beliefs to keep their evangelical supporters snowed.
As a Christian myself, I'm insulted by people like Greene.
Listen Up! is actually 2 shows in one.
The titular sports talk show is a knock-off of ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, whose co-host, Tony Kornheiser, was the inspiration for the sitcom, with his fictional counterpart played by Jason Alexander (ex-Seinfeld), who doubled as a producer. The series is set in Philadelphia instead of Washington, DC, where Interruption has been based since its inception. Malcolm Jamal-Warner (ex-The Cosby Show) co-stars.
Away from the talk show set, it's just another domestic sitcom. While the real Kornheiser is a humorist when writing his columns, Alexander, seeking to shed the image of his Seinfeld persona as George, is just another sitcom dad.
Let's take a look at a sample episode with guest stars Julia Duffy & Peter Scolari, reunited from their days on Newhart:
