Wild West Wednesdays: The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970)

 It was meant to be a TV-movie, presumably for NBC. However, Universal thought they could score a box office hit with "The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County", a raucous Western comedy about a blacksmith looking to hook up with a mail order bride.

Dan Blocker (Bonanza) has the lead, joined by Jim Backus (ex-Gilligan's Island, Blondie), Mickey Rooney, Jack Cassidy (ex-He & She), Wally Cox (The Hollywood Squares), Nanette Fabray, Henry Jones (ex-Channing), Jack Elam, Noah Beery, Jr., Iron Eyes Cody, Don "Red" Berry, and Stubby Kaye (ex-Shenanigans).

Listen carefully to when Wally Cox speaks. Not exactly the meek milquetoast of Mister Peepers, but more along the heroic timbre of Underdog. Go figure.

No rating. Just a public service.

In 2 weeks: More with The Lone Ranger.

Sports this 'n' that

 By the end of business on Sunday, we will know how this year's NFL playoffs will break down.

Having already been eliminated from the postseason picture, the Atlanta Falcons played spoiler on Monday, defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 27-24, which sets up the top two teams in the NFC West, San Francisco & Seattle, for a division title showdown Saturday (ABC, ESPN, 8 pm). The Rams already have a wild card in hand, but were eliminated from division title contention after the Niners & Seahawks both won on Sunday.

Over in the AFC, the New England Patriots clinched their first AFC East title in 6 years after blowing out the Jests, then watching Philadelphia beat Buffalo. Denver can clinch the West, depending on what happens next weekend, as they still have the Los Angeles Chargers hard on their collective heels.

Nine days after defeating YouTube clout chaser Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua was in an auto accident in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two friends. Joshua is in the hospital as we write, and we are sending prayers his way.

In stark contrast, UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell must've overdosed on stupid pills, because in an interview he gave, he claimed that Joshua should've let Paul win the fight.

Yeah, right, and pigs will fly.

File photo courtesy Yahoo!.

Mitchell also said what some might think is the quiet part out loud, that Jake & Logan Paul have fixed their fights. With Logan now in WWE, as an arrogant jackass, he hasn't laced on the gloves in a while, but we have to wonder if Mitchell is on crack or something to say stupid things like this. He himself has not had a fight since the summer, so he's looking for attention.

Classic TV: Make That Spare (1960)

 In all the years I spent bowling in leagues, one paramount truism was that making spares was just as important as throwing strikes.

In 1960, ABC decided to try it out in primetime with a 15 minute, weekly program, Make That Spare.

The rules were rather simple. 5 frames, instead of the traditional 10, due to the 15 minute (or less) format, predicated by the live boxing card that served as a lead-in on Saturday nights (and later, Fridays). The series lasted four seasons (1960-4), and is commonly considered a forerunner to the Pro Bowlers Tour, which became a Saturday staple in the daytime in 1962.

Nightclub entertainer-turned-sportscaster Johnny Johnston describes the action in this sampler from July 1964, as the series was nearing its end.

Speaking of the Pro Bowlers Tour, in 1988, ABC decided to try to revive Make That Spare after 24 years away, with Chris Schenkel & Nelson Burton, Jr. at the mic's, but the daytime pilot failed to score (pun intended).

Rating: A.

When conservatives bring the stupid

 Chuck Redd cancelled his annual Christmas Eve show at the Kennedy Center last week. Now, the center's sycophantic president, Richard Grennell, is demanding a million dollars from Redd for cancelling the show.

Take a good look at this facade. You won't see it for long.

Grennell, doing the bidding of self-appointed Center chairman Donnie Diapers, claims Redd's cancellation was a political stunt. It was anything but, but Grennell is too stupid to realize this. Redd was well within his rights to cancel in protest of President Pampers putting his name on the Center, ahead of former President John F. Kennedy, for whom the Center was rechristened during the Lyndon Johnson administration in 1964. Donnie Diapers has filled the board of directors of the center with sycophants and loyalists to him alone, including Second Lady Usha Vance, and Fox No News airheads Laura Inkblot and Maria Bartiromo, who continues to make the Ramones ever regret writing a song about her years ago.

Apologies to the Colorado Rockies for co-opting their home run call for the above caption. Too good to resist.

Rapper Nicki Minaj hasn't had a hit record in a while, so, in order to stay relevant, she cast her lot with Team Pampers.

Bad career move, Nicki. Now, you've got people calling for you to be deported to Trinidad & Tobago. Donnie Diapers wouldn't know you anyway.

Should it surprise anyone that the real reason President Pampers is whining about CBS again isn't so much the usual complaints about 60 Minutes, but, rather, the fact that this year's Kennedy Center Honors broadcast tanked in the ratings?

Gee, you don't suppose we know the reason for that, do we? Of course, we do. While Mango Machismo claims his perceived enemies (i.e. the late Rob Reiner) have Trump Derangement Syndrome as if it's a deadly disease, the truth is, people are developing Trump Fatigue. As in, they're tired of this perpetually miserable narcissist and his constant lying.

Like, does anyone really believe he'll negotiate peace between Russia & Ukraine? Hmmmmmmm, welllllllll, of course not!

And, now, it's coming out that nearly two weeks ago, Donnie Diapers sent an envoy to the UK to demand that British markets carry American-produced chlorinated beef & chicken. How 'bout this, Dumb Donald? Stop meddling in things that don't concern you. You're not the center of the universe!!!!!

Bellevue will be waiting.

Dunce Cap Award: Pete Hegseth

 What's wrong with windmills?

We know that President Pampers (Donald Trump) hates them for no apparent reason, and, now, his so-called Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has decided that windmills are a threat to national security.

Farron Cousins explains.

Is Hegseth trying to save his job, as Farron suggests? Probably. Not that it would do him any good.

However, this is the latest indication of how incompetent Team Trump 2.0 really is. You know what Hegseth has coming as a result of this farce:

Windmills pose no threat to anyone's security, other than a thin-skinned toddler who never grew up.

Insight Sundays: Somewhere Before (1975)

 Our final Insight Sundays for 2025 takes us back 50 years to the episode, "Somewhere Before", starring Ron Howard (Happy Days), Robert Hogan, Mariette Hartley, Pamela Franklin, & Cindy Williams, who plays an expectant mother unsure of her future.

Cindy had joined the cast of Happy Days a few months earlier, leading to, of course, Laverne & Shirley. I can well understand if fans are disappointed that she didn't get to do any scenes in this episode with Ron, as they had co-starred in "American Graffiti" two years earlier, right before Happy Days.

President Onions needs to stop hate watching TV. Yesterday

 It's time they cut the cord, and moved the televisions in the White House out.

Do that, and maybe, just maybe, Donald Trump stops whining & complaining about the press' negative coverage of him. Do I have to say this again? Dude, it comes with the territory. Every President, since the introduction of printed media, has taken criticism, both positive & negative. You just can't handle it, and, at 79, you're lashing out like a baby every time you see something you don't like.

Farron Cousins fills us in.

The press? Enemies of the state? Only in your tiny brain, Orange Narcissus. You're telling us what we already know. You want to be treated like your heroes, Kim Jong Un & Vladimir Putin, by an adoring press. This, bub, is what's really happening....

"WAAHHHHH! Take them off the air!! WAAAAHHHHH!"

That's never going to happen. That's because it's an easy way for even your supporters to turn on you, because if you take, say, for example, CBS, off the air, just because of their coverage of you, your supporters, who could be fans of, say for example, Fire Country, Matlock, FBI, or The Price is Right, are going to be upset with you. You have no understanding about the tenets of journalism. History has already decided you're the worst president in this country's history. That ain't changing any time soon. In order to change that perception, you need to find it within yourself to follow the advice of George H. W. Bush, and, in paraphrasing him, be a kinder, gentler president.

Yeah, I know. Good luck with that.

What Might've Been: Free Country (1978)

 After leaving All in The Family, Rob Reiner wanted to develop something for himself. Mindful of the fact that his father, Carl, had flopped two years earlier with Good Heavens, in which Rob had appeared in one episode, Reiner signed with ABC, and the same studio that produced Heavens, Columbia Pictures Television, helped Reiner get Free Country on the air as a summer series in 1978.

Reiner had hoped to get the standard 13 weeks, but ABC pulled the plug after 5. Reiner plays a Lithuanian immigrant in two phases of his life. The retiree is the narrator, flashing back to his younger days.

So why did Country fail? I don't really know, but if I could venture a guess, I'd think viewers thought Reiner was channeling All in The Family's Carroll O'Connor in his role as Joseph Bresner. Judge for yourselves.

As we know, Reiner found his greatest success behind the camera as a director. Free Country, which Reiner co-created, was ahead of its time.

A bus stop in one direction? CDTA's latest wrinkle addresses a rider issue in Menands

 At my day job, I catch the #22 bus going home at the corner of Broadway & Wards Lane, in front of the U-Haul parking lot. That corner has had a notorious history of Menands' Department of Public Works being lax in clearing the sidewalk after a major snowstorm, for example.

Used to be that the bus would come straight up Broadway from downtown Albany. That was until nearly a month ago, when CDTA implemented some new service changes. One of those changes affects the buses heading north from Albany to Troy.

Instead of staying straight, the northbound buses are now required to stop at a newly installed bus shelter at Mid City Plaza, home to Dollar Tree, a pickleball court, Northern Lights cannabis dispensary, etc., but there is no corresponding shelter for southbound buses.

The simple explanation for this is that there really isn't any room for a southbound bus shelter without taking away parking lot space next to the pickleball court, across from the laundromat. As for the reason for the new shelter? From what I've been told, some riders have complained about having to cross Broadway during afternoon rush, due to not having a signal device that can control the traffic lights, like the ones on each corner at Wards Lane. Sure, there's a traffic light in front of the plaza, but when you're dealing with seniors and/or disabled workers wary of the prospect of reckless drivers coming from Albany (or headed in the opposite direction), well.............!

Given that we have snow in the forecast through Monday, that bus shelter is looking really good right now, but inevitably, there'll be calls to add the southbound one down the line if there's enough interest.

Stay tuned.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with the Lone Ranger (1956)

 Here's a holiday episode from The Lone Ranger, from the color era. We'll see you guys on Friday.

On The Shelf: Archie Comics works a deal with another publisher......

 Archie Comics readers will not suffer with those 5 page short stories with hurried plots too much longer.

Recently, it was announced that Archie will join forces with Oni Press and its parent, Lion Forge Publishing, to reboot the classic comics, starting in the fall of 2026. Oni is already making with teasers such as this one.....

Buoyed by the success of their revival of the EC Comics imprint, Oni pairing up with Archie sounds like a healthy risk. Remember, while all this is going on, there is a live-action adaptation of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's delay-plagued Afterlife With Archie, being developed by Greg Berlanti for Disney+.

According to reports, Archie gets his own series again, beginning in September, followed by Sabrina in October, and a 2nd Archie book, the horror-themed Archie in Hell, which recasts Veronica Lodge, for starters, as a zombie, in November.

10 years ago, Archie Comics tried to break away from the traditional house style by bringing in creators like Mark Waid (now back at DC), Fiona Staples (Saga), Derek Charm, Veronica Fish, and Chip Zdarsky (currently freelancing, splitting his time between DC, Marvel, and other publishers). However, the company's internal issues cut "New Riverdale" short. Plans call for the rest of the gang, Josie & The Pussycats included, to be back on the shelves, under the Oni umbrella, probably in 2027.

Archie had recently raised its cover price for its 1-shots & miniseries to $5 per issue, which is about the going rate for most indies these days, while DC & Marvel continue to produce titles with price tags of $3 or $4 each.

We'll know by this time next year if this is worth the wait.

Baby be unhinged: President Pampers still wants Greenland, but he ain't getting it

 President Pampers' idea of negotiating is to behave like a bully who won't stop until he gets what he wants.

Unfortunately, he's also incapable of understanding that you can't always get what you want.

New reporting has come out that the Annoying Orange has appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland, which Pampers has said he wants to annex. Responding to an inquiry from the BBC, Mango Machismo claims the US needs Greenland for "national protection" and that "we have to have it", despite reports coming out that his claims cover up the fact that he covets some valuable minerals in the Arctic nation.

"We want to make Greenland safe! We don't want their minerals!"

Don't think we don't know the truth, Dumb Donald, because we do. National security? Yeah, right, and pigs will fly. Orange Greedius wants to further enrich himself, and annexing Greenland from Denmark, he thinks, will do that for him. He still hasn't figured out yet that Denmark is telling him to pound sand, and go away.

But, of course, he won't. He claims, without much in the way of evidence (naturally), that Chinese & Russian ships pose a threat. Do they? Only in Orange Greedius' tiny mind. He's behaving like a little brat. He has 0 respect for Denmark, and covets something he can't have.

Bellevue will be waiting for him in 2029.

Musical Interlude: Driving Home For Christmas (1988)

 Nearly 10 years after he charted with "Fool If You Think It's Over", Chris Rea returned with "Driving Home For Christmas".

Earlier tonight, we learned that Chris has passed away at 74. Rest in peace.

Countdown to Christmas: Red Christmas (Medic, 1954)

 From season 1 of Medic:

A young woman's vision is endangered after an accident involving a drunk driver. Future stars Robert Bray (later of Lassie) and Stafford Repp (later of General Hospital & Batman) are the guest stars, as Richard Boone narrates.

Series creator James Moser wrote "Red Christmas":

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with Maude (1975)

 From season 4 of Maude:

Walter (Bill Macy) has invited his office mates to a Christmas party at the Findlay house. Unfortunately, a friend of Maude's is a feminist (Neva Patterson), whose attitude could be a damper.

Conrad Bain (Arthur) is our announcer at the end of the show.

Elise Stefanik gives up her chase for the governor's mansion, so a moron takes over

 In a surprise, Schuylerville Misrepresentative Elise Stefanik announced earlier this week that 1) she would not seek re-election in 2026, after serving out her current term, and 2) she was suspending her campaign for governor.

Recent polls showed that Stefanik was down by double digits against Governor Kathy Hochul. Stefanik decided she wanted to spend more time with her family, and made the decision to walk away. Her decision came days after Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, like Stefanik an ally of president Trump, had announced his intentions to run.

File photo courtesy MSN. com.

Blakeman, you might recall, is the cementhead who decided that schools in his county would not abide by the state's mandate to replace Native American sports team nicknames & imagery, and, back in June, signed into law a ban on transgender women competing in sports, citing speculation passed off as facts. Unsurprisingly, Orange Pinocchio endorsed Blakeman on Saturday.

If history has shown us anything, however, Blakeman has a very rough road to hoe to get to Albany. Hochul defeated another downstate politico, Lee Zeldin, in 2022. Buffalo-based Marc Molinaro and Tom Golisano had tried & failed vs. Andrew Cuomo.

In other words, Blakeman has two chances vs. Hochul, and slim has one foot out the door. Blakeman's bigoted policies won't work in Albany, and I'm surprised Hochul hasn't already overruled him on the transgender ban, which she should.

Funeral services will be held for Blakeman's political career in November.

Venezuela should say no to Trump and his true agenda

 Donnie Diapers' threats of war against Venezuela aren't really over drugs. That's never really been the issue, especially since Trump has pardoned other drug kingpins recently.

At the beginning of Reign of Error 2, Trump coveted Greenland. Why? Turns out it's not for security reasons, as Orange Pinocchio claims. There are valuable minerals in both Venezuela & Greenland that Trump actually covets. So Daffy Duck of him, don't ya think?

Farron Cousins explains.

All Trump wants to do in the White House is enrich himself, however he can, regardless of rules, protocols, regulations, and common sense. He doesn't care who he hurts. He is worse than George W. Bush in this regard. Way worse. At least Bush tried to present himself as a competent statesman, something Trump can't do. Trump can't help offending anyone & everyone. As Farron points out, Trump has already had one oil tanker seized from Venezuela on false pretenses, as a means of blackmailing the Venezuelan government into giving him what he desires.

Venezuela's answer should be obvious. A very, very hard "no". And if Trump has a problem with it, they can tell him to pound sand. Wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that the abuses of authority ICE has committed are tied to this, too.

Bellevue will be waiting for Trump in 2029, if not sooner.

Countdown to Christmas: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (2025)

 Today's generation at Troy High isn't content with just going to class, oh, no!

Prior to the start of the first period earlier this week, the choir and select orchestra gathered in the lobby of the old barn to do "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town". Check it!

This was two weeks after the annual winter concert. I'll bet these kids are also bringing Christmas cheer across the city during off-hours. If not, that's next on the agenda.

Didn't have this back in the day when I was a student there, but, like, I think the older generations can appreciate it.

Countdown to Christmas: Bob Hope as Santa Claus (1967)

 Santa Claus busted on a traffic violation? If it's Bob Hope, yep.

The centerpiece of Hope's 1967 Christmas show was Santa (Hope) getting pinched at a traffic stop, though Phil Silvers seems out of place as a motorcycle cop. Also on the bill: Don Adams (Get Smart), Paul Lynde (Bewitched), Ernest Borgnine & Billy Sands (ex-McHale's Navy), Joyce Jameson, Wally Cox (Hollywood Squares), and the International Children's Choir:

Well, you knew Hope had to get "Silver Bells" in..........

What Might've Been: Let's Bowl (2001)

 Comedy Central's Let's Bowl was generously described as a mashup of Bowling For Dollars and The People's Court, subbing a bowling alley for a courtroom to settle minor issues.

CC placed the show on Wednesdays as a lead-in to South Park. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after a year on the air (2001-2). Something tells me this should've been on a different day of the week......!

Check the opener:

You know, I kinda get the concept. That puts me in the minority.

Rating: B.

Bounties for ordinary citizens? Pam Bondi has lost her mind

 The phrase, "thought crime", first entered the public consciousness in George Orwell's legendary 1984. US Attorney General Pam Bondi, with rumors that she could be gone soon, is trying to save her job by issuing bounties on ordinary citizens just because they have views that go against the Trump administration.

That's all she's doing. Trying to score brownie points with the oldest baby in America by arresting average schlubs like you & me for speaking out against the administration's misguided policies.

While Farron Cousins doesn't invoke Orwell, if you pay attention to this video, you'll get the idea.

Bellevue has a room reserved for Trump come 2029. For Bondi, maybe she should re-read 1984 from start to finish, then read it to Trump, because this may be the template for Project 2025, and all the nutty ideas that have sprung from it, and Trump reportedly doesn't like to read.

Countdown to Christmas: All I Want For Christmas (The Jeffersons, 1980)

 From season 7 of The Jeffersons:

George (Sherman Hemsley) is playing Santa, and gets a wish from an orphan (Meeno Peluce, ex-The Bad News Bears) who wants parents.......! Kaleena Kiff, later of Love, Sidney, also guests.

Notes from around town

 Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello confirmed today that HBO's The Gilded Age will return to Troy to film season 4 in the coming weeks. The filming of the first three seasons has brought some revenue into the city's businesses, so it makes sense to do it for one more season.

A popular downtown business has reopened in a new location.

Slidin' Dirty, which closed their 1st Street location a ways back, has moved into the former food court at the Hedley Building on River Street. Something tells me a promotion involving the Tri-City Valleycats might return in 2026. We're digging.

With a week to go before Christmas, one of the elementary schools in town is having a little bit of fun on the school district's YouTube channel.

Seems Jack Frost paid a visit.......

Methinks the theatre arts department at Troy High had something to do with this. Pretty heady, funny stuff.

Three more pass on

 'Tis the season to be jolly, with 8 days to Christmas, but it also 'tis the season to be mourning.

Lost amidst the media coverage of the death of actor-filmmaker Rob Reiner, singer Carl Carlton had passed away on Sunday as well. Carlton's biggest hit was 1974's "Everlasting Love", but after "She's a Bad Mama Jamma", Carlton disappeared from the charts. He passed away on Sunday at 72.

Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely was a regular guest on PBS' Austin City Limits, such as this 1979 performance:

Ely, 78, had collaborated with a diverse number of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, the Clash, & Jimmie Dale Gilmore. He passed after suffering from Lewy's Body disease.

Finally, Gil Gerard, 82, who brought Buck Rogers to life in 1979 for a 2 season run, died Tuesday due to complications from cancer. His 3rd wife, Janet, posted a message on social media. In addition to Buck Rogers, Gerard's resume includes a stint on the daytime soap, The Doctors, and guest appearances on shows such as Hawaii Five-0, Days of Our Lives, Brotherly Love, and Pacific Blue. His last starring series was 1986's Sidekicks.

Rest in peace.

Countdown to Christmas: Where Are You Christmas? (2025)

 25 years ago, Taylor Momsen played Cindy Lou Who opposite Jim Carrey in the live-action adaptation of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". "Where Are You Christmas?" was recorded for the movie by Faith Hill, co-written by Mariah Carey, who'd actually recorded it herself, but couldn't release it due to legal issues surrounding ex-husband Tommy Mottola of Sony.

Momsen (ex-Gossip Girl) revisits her "Grinch" days, as her band, The Pretty Reckless, covers "Where Are You Christmas?", which merited an appearance last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but this is the official video.

Weasel of The Week: Care to take a guess?

 To follow up from yesterday, police have charged Nick Reiner, 32, son of Rob & Michelle Reiner, with their murders on Sunday. The formal charges were filed late Monday afternoon.

Unfortunately, president Trump doubled down on his disgusting disrespect for the 2nd generation auteur, showing a total lack of empathy. His Truthless Social post Monday morning made it clear he wanted to spin it to make it about him because of Reiner's criticism of him over the course of nearly a decade. The man has no shame.

For the 2nd straight day, the panel on The View directed their venom at Orange Narcissus.

Moderator Whoopi Goldberg, we should note, had worked with Reiner on "Ghosts of Mississippi" in 1990, the same year she had appeared in "Ghost".

Not only did Dumb Donald double down, but he also tried to pin the blame on the shootings at Brown University on Saturday on the school administration, deflecting blame away from FBI director Kash Patel, whose office had a person of interest, or so they thought, then, as reported yesterday, released him. Patel acted too rashly, too quickly, to try to solve the case, the better to win brownie points from his boss. The fictional versions of the agency, dating back to Quinn Martin's seminal procedural from the 60's, seem more competent than Patel's unit.

We're 9 days away from Christmas, and our gift to Trump is one he should be very familiar with. A set of Weasel ears. He's got plenty of those to pass around.......

Three days of tragedy

 The body count continues to rise in Australia, where a mass shooting took place over the weekend with an antisemitic bent. More than 15 people have died, including one of the shooters. The other is in custody.

Back at home, Brown University was rocked with a shooting on Saturday where three people were killed. A person of interest in the case was brought in, then released. No motive yet on this one.

On Sunday, actor-filmmaker Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michelle, 68, a producer and photographer, were killed, allegedly by Reiner's son, Nick, 32, who is in custody, with bail set at $4 million.

Reiner was a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and that led to him and cast member Leigh French appearing on Gomer Pyle, USMC, during that series' final season. While on All in The Family, Reiner also took time to write episodes of ABC's short-lived sitcom, The Super, starring Richard Castellano. In 1976, Reiner, with then-wife Penny Marshall (Laverne & Shirley), appeared on his father Carl's short-lived series, Good Heavens, also for ABC.

Reiner's greatest success was in front of the camera as a director, helming films as diverse as "This is Spinal Tap", "Stand by Me", "When Harry Met Sally", and "A Few Good Men". More recently, he'd returned to acting in front of the camera in Hulu's The Bear, and in the recent "Spinal Tap" sequel.

The panel on The View reflect on Reiner and the other tragedies. Ana Navarro sounds off on a certain narcissist who mocked Reiner......

But, that's not all, folks.

Word came across the wires in the last hour that daytime icon Anthony Geary, 78, had passed away in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he'd relocated after retiring from television a few years ago.

Geary made his television debut on Room 222, and would later appear with Reiner on All in The Family, then transitioned to daytime in Bright Promise, and The Young & The Restless before reuniting with Promise head writer Gloria Monty, who created the character of Luke Spencer for Geary in 1979 on General Hospital. Geary would remain with the show, taking lengthy periods off, until retiring in 2017. Geary's appearance on Family was included on an LP compilation of material from the show, released by Atlantic Records, and, likely, out of print.

Rest in peace.

Football this 'n' that

 Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy balloting on Saturday night behind Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. Pavia didn't take it too well, dissing the Heisman voters with an f-bomb on social media, then apologizing on Sunday.

The difference between the two quarterbacks is simply that Indiana is undefeated, won the Big 10 title, and has a berth in the playoffs which begin Saturday. Vanderbilt gets a bowl game, and that's it. If Pavia is thinking about the NFL draft in the spring, I think he's not going to get picked in the first round, because his comments will still be fresh in the minds of NFL owners.

Stay tuned.

An era ended Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from the AFC playoffs after getting swept by the Los Angeles Chargers. Worse, QB Patrick Mahomes was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Thus, either the Chargers or Denver will claim the division.

And, then, there's talk of tight end Travis Kelce hanging it up after the season to be with his lady love, singer Taylor Swift. After 7 straight division titles, a change in the division was due, after all.

Meanwhile, Green Bay may have lost Micah Parsons for the season if in fact he, too, tore his ACL.

The Packers sit a game behind Chicago in the NFC North with 3 games to play, but losing Parsons could be what ultimately costs Green Bay a post-season berth.

YouTube Theatre: Christmas with Bob Hope (1969)

 In January 1969, NBC broadcast a belated Christmas special that chronicled Bob Hope's tour of Asia a few weeks earlier. Guests include Ann-Margret and Rosey Grier (Daniel Boone).

Sports this 'n' that

 An era ended in WWE Saturday night, as John Cena, after 23 years on the main roster, retired following a loss to former World & Intercontinental Champion Gunther (Walter Stark). Fans were upset because it appeared as though Cena had smiled a little before tapping out.

Earlier in the night, a jealous Miz disrupted the proceedings, upset that he wasn't scheduled to appear on Saturday Night's Main Event, so he hijacked the show for a few minutes. Ignorant of the fact his main event win over Cena 14 years ago was tainted, Miz demanded respect.

R-Truth and a special guest had other ideas......

Yeah, Miz acts like Daffy Duck, who also never got a standing ovation. At least we know who Joe Hendry, newly signed with WWE, will feud with once he's officially on the main roster around the Royal Rumble......!

Across the Potomac in Baltimore, site of this year's Army-Navy game, president Trump was brought out for the ceremonial coin toss. Suffice to say, it didn't go well........

One reporter opined that Trump looked like a space alien who didn't know what he was doing. Reminds me of this guy.......

Flipping a coin ain't the same as tossing an egg, but, well, Mork was the first one I thought of.

Trump's poor attempt at a coin flip was, ultimately, the kiss of death for Army, as Navy escaped with a 17-16 victory, achieving back-to-back 10 win seasons.

In New York, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the 1st Hoosier to win the prestigious award. ESPN moved the ceremony up to 7 pm (ET), in addition to being simulcast on ABC.

Mets fans are even saltier this weekend after first baseman and 2-time Home Run Derby champ Pete Alonso signed with Baltimore. 5 years, $155 million, absent the commission for his parasitic leech, Scott Boras Badenov. Just days after closer Edwin Diaz fled west to the Dodgers, another piece of the Mets' 2024 NLCS team has been removed. Signing infielder Jorge Polanco (Seattle) ain't going to salve the wounds right away, but it does indicate that the team plans to move Mark Vientos across the diamond to play first base to replace Alonso. Many fans on reddit have turned on owner Steve Cohen and GM David Stearns for letting Diaz, Alonso, & Brandon Nimmo leave in the last month. Boras represents Nimmo & Alonso, while Diaz is repped by another, lesser known agency.

The Rangers celebrated their 100th anniversary Saturday at Madison Square Garden, honoring some 2 dozen former players in a pre-game ceremony hosted by former announcer Sam Rosen. Then, the current team rallied from a 3 goal deficit in the first period to beat Montreal in overtime, 5-4. Current color analyst Dave Maloney was on the ice for the ceremony, then called the game with Kenny Albert. For Ranger fans, Christmas came early.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with Carol Burnett (1968)

 From season 2:

Opera singers Eileen Farrell & Marilyn Horne are the showcase guests, performing in musical skits with Carol. Also, Carol plays a mousy reporter interviewing a Hugh Hefner parody (Lyle Waggoner), who suddenly morphs into.......well, that would be telling!

To explain away Bernie Kopell (Get Smart, That Girl) appearing during the show-closing Christmas medley, he'd taped a skit that was edited out of the show for time constraints, and was used two months later, but he was part of the chorus at the end of the night.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas Time is (Coming Around Again)(2018)

 The Mavericks released the holiday CD, "Hey! Merry Christmas!" in 2018. From this album, we present the bouncy "Christmas Time Is (Coming Around Again)".

In memory of singer-guitarist Raul Malo, who passed away on Monday due to cancer complications. Rest in peace.

Musical Interlude: All My Love (2024)

Tomorrow, Dick Van Dyke turns 100.

A year ago, Van Dyke made his first music video, appearing with Coldplay on "All My Love", which includes archived footage from The Dick Van Dyke Show and some of his movies (i.e. "Mary Poppins").

Happy birthday, Dick.

This week in GOP stupidity

 When is President Pampers finally going to get the message?

For the 2nd time in as many weeks, a grand jury in Virginia refused to re-indict NY Attorney General Letitia James after the initial indictments illegally brought by telegenic airhead Lindsey Halligan were tossed out two weeks ago. The statute of limitations has run out on indictments against former FBI Director James Comey, but Dumb Bondi and the Dept. of Injustice seem to think they can try again.

Uh, about that. Do us all a favor, and pound sand where you can find it.

Kristi Gnoem and the Dept. of Homeland Insecurity are having a herd of cows because a judge ordered them to release Kilmar Albrego-Garcia on Thursday. Look. You jobronies illegally detained him to start with without due process of the law, just because Donnie Diapers' consigliere, Stephen Miller, wants people like Albrego-Garcia gone on his say-so. That's not his call to make.

And, the sooner enough people come to that realization, the sooner Miller is brought before Congress to explain his xenophobic obsessions.

In Indiana on Thursday, the Hoosier state's government chose not to pander to Orange Narcissus' demand for redistricting, which led to predictable backlash from Dumb Donald II, Just Dumb Vance, and others. 

Brian Tyler Cohen explains:

I swear, if he could get away with it, Donnie Diapers would ban Alec Baldwin's "Boss Baby" movies from ever being seen again because they offend him so much. Deal with it.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the president's personal airhead, Karolame Leavitt, is trying to advance the false notion that inflation is going down, when it is just the opposite, and everyone can see right through the lies. She claims Donnie understands. No, he doesn't. He has affluenza, and wouldn't have clue one about low-to-middle class families who are legitimately struggling.

Oh, I know. Karolame wouldn't know how to spell affluenza even if you spotted her the a.

The ideal press secretary for a narcissist.

And, then, there is the small matter of the US, at the command of Donnie Diapers, seizing oil tankers from Venezuela, as a means of bullying Nicholas Maduro into stepping down. Like, I thought Maduro would be the kind of leader Mango Machismo would want to admire, but I guess they don't get along after all.

Yo, Melania. There's still time to board Air Force Done.......

Countdown to Christmas: The Stockings Were Hung (The Shadow, 1939)

 Here's a holiday episode of The Shadow from 1939, and, yeah, it's been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since we checked in on radio's Dark Avenger.

Orson Welles stars in "The Stockings Were Hung". Disregard the fact that the thumbnail the YouTuber chose represents The Jack Benny Program.

Sports this 'n' that

 Is there a changing of the guard in the NFL?

Last season's Super Bowl teams, Kansas City & Philadelphia, are reeling.

The Chiefs' loss to Houston Sunday night ensures there'll be a new division champion in the AFC West, as Kansas City slips back below .500 at 6-7 with the loss on national television.

Philadelphia, the defending champions, have lost three straight, as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated them in overtime on Monday. Even though Dallas lost on Thursday, they're the only team with a realistic chance of catching the Eagles in the NFC East.

In the AFC East, Mike Vrabel has succeeded where former teammate Jerod Mayo failed last year, bringing the New England Patriots back into a position to win the division title.

Assuming Denver wins the West, everything old will be new again in the AFC. Cycles, you know?

"Narco", Edwin Diaz's theme, won't be blaring out of the loudspeakers at Citi Field anymore.

Diaz signed a 3 year deal with the World champion Los Angeles Dodgers earlier today at the winter meetings after an on-again, off-again run in New York. 

File photo courtesy Yahoo!.

This makes the signing of Devin Williams away from the crosstown Yankees last week even more daunting. Williams was even more erratic than Diaz last season, so the Mets will need bullpen insurance in case he gets off to a bad start as he did in the Bronx.

As for Diaz, Mets fans have turned on him on reddit already. The fickle ones always do. You'd think that after being a lights out closer during the post-season, Roki Sasaki would've been set as the Dodger closer next season, but team management still sees him as a starter. I don't need to watch MLB Network or ESPN to learn that. As more & more fans resent the Dodgers because of their ability to sign Japanese players (i.e. Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani), and the deep pockets of team management, it's easy to assume that the Dodgers could be in position to three-peat.

But, there's a caveat emptor with Diaz. He's blown his share of games during tenures in Seattle & New York. Devin Williams is not the answer for the Mets. He's just a band-aid 'til David Stearns can find someone else to complement Williams.

Moron TV: Almost Heaven (1978)

We've documented in the past how sitcoms with a religious or supernatural bent had short shelf-lives in the post-Bewitched era.

Around the time of Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait", Paramount mounted a pilot, Almost Heaven, which postulated a crisis center in Heaven which mortals can only access through their subconscious. It was meant as a comeback vehicle for Eva Gabor (ex-Green Acres), co-starring with Robert Hays & Jay Leno. As hokey as it sounds.

Of course, Hays would rebound a few months later with Angie, and Paramount thought enough of him to cast him in "Airplane!". It would take a few more years before Leno would raise his profile with his stand-up act, and we know the rest of his story.

Rating: C.

The president needs a time out

 We've previously speculated that President Pampers watches television so he can have something to complain about. Rage watching is not good for anyone's health.

Unfortunately, Donnie Diapers doesn't listen to sound advice from anyone.

After Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared on 60 Minutes Sunday to spill tea on her fellow Republicans, as the kids say today, President Pampers reiterated an earlier tirade against Greene, calling her "Marjorie Traitor Brown".

Photo courtesy MSN.com.

The Big Orange Onion can't handle criticism of any kind, even though it comes with the territory of his job. The problem is that he was never taught how to handle anything with dignity. His pitbull attitude is as phony as the rest of his facade. As more Republicans are making plans to leave office next year, Trump won't have the cushy safety net of the House of Representatives too much longer.

Of course, he had to whine about 60 Minutes, and lashed out yet again at CBS and new owner Paramount-Skydance, run by his friend, Larry Ellison.

This would explain why Ellison is mounting a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, to keep it away from Netflix. Ellison is figuring he has to get back in the good graces of President Pampers, so he'll do what he can. However, that figures to die stillborn.

It's not helping, either, that right wing gasbag Benny Johnson falsely claimed over the weekend that former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, who've produced documentaries for Netflix, have a vested interest in the streamer acquiring WBD. As usual with these charlatans, Johnson has no evidence to support his claims.

And this latest bit of news won't help Trump's mood, either, with news that embattled ambulance chaser Alina Habba has resigned her illegally obtained post as US Attorney for New Jersey, in favor of becoming a senior adviser to AG Pam Bondi. Imagine if Beavis & Butt-Head actually had sisters, or if Mike Judge's Texas Twits were originally meant to be girls. Yeah, there you go. One idiot advising another? In the words of 80's icon Gordon Shumway, "utter chaos". South Park would have a field day.

Finally, despite singer-actress Sabrina Carpenter asking the White House to delete a video using one of her songs to promote ICE, whomever is in charge of social media basically told her, bite me. Expect a lawsuit to follow, since Team Pampers refuses to pay royalties to any artist whose music they choose to use at any given time, and they likely owe a ton of money to artists like Carpenter, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, and the estate of Isaac Hayes, to name a few.

And a lawsuit might actually force Team Pampers to finally face the music.

Countdown to Christmas: I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas (1953)

 Gayla Peevey was just 10 when she released "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", which landed her on The Ed Sullivan Show..........

72 years later, it still gets played every December.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas 2025 (Insight, 1977)

 Science fiction? On Insight? Yep.

This week's Insight Sundays entry is a warped vision of what was then the future, as envisioned by writer John McGreevey in 1977. Producer John Meredyth Lucas is no stranger to science fiction, having written several episodes of Star Trek during its run (1966-9).

McGreevey's script is inspired by the works of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and the movie, "Network", which came out a year earlier. Starring Elinor Donohue (ex-Father Knows Best, The Andy Griffith Show), Sam Groom (Another World, Police Surgeon), James Cromwell, Allan Lurie, & Sparky Marcus, in one of his first roles.

Insight Sundays returns after Christmas.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with Judy Garland & family (1963)

 Judy Garland invited viewers into her home in December 1963 for her Christmas show. Judy is joined by her three children, daughters Liza Minelli (17 at the time) & Lorna Luft, and son Joe Luft. Jack Jones & Mel Torme are among the guests.

Sports this 'n' that

 Some people don't deserve to be flattered. Ever.

Donald Trump is one of those people.

The most immature president in the history of ever was awarded a fabricated peace prize by FIFA during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center Friday to announce the draw for the 2026 World Cup.

President Packrat then went so far as to sound off on the NFL, thinking they need to change their name and the name of the sport, since in Europe, soccer, as we know it, is known as football.

Photo courtesy MSN.com

You'll recall that Donnie Diapers stole some trophies at FIFA events earlier this year, believing he's entitled to them, so FIFA suits are pandering to him by flattering him with hollow praise and fake gifts.

I'm told Trump actually played football in school, but I have a hard time believing that, considering he comes across as a wannabe who was assigned as a waterboy......

Orange Narcissus just has to meddle in everything where he doesn't belong. Bellevue will be waiting for him....

Meghan Trainor, please call your service. Your career is over.

If you've seen her State Farm commercial with Patrick Mahomes, you know why.

As former WWE champion and Honda pitchman John Cena winds down his in-ring career, an old nemesis is being presented as being jealous that one of today's stars has the honor of being Cena's last opponent on Saturday Night's Main Event, streaming next week on Peacock.

Former World & Intercontinental Champion Gunther has the honor, and Miz (Michael Mizanin) wants to use the fact that he defeated Cena at Wrestlemania 14 years ago to justify his getting the shot. Uh, no. Today, Miz is Daffy Duck to Cena's Bugs Bunny, while the Austrian-born Gunther would be happy with the honor.

After NXT/Evolve's Brooks Jensen (Ben Buchanan) complained about not being included in the Last Time is Now tournament, NXT Creative included him in a storyline in TNA, where he, along with two other 2nd generation wrestlers, Lexis King (Brian Pillman, Jr.) & Charlie Dempsey (Bailey Matthews), and others are disrupting TNA events, but there is no continuity between TNA & NXT for whatever reason. While Jensen is getting some shine time, NXT frontman Shawn Michaels is not following through on Tuesdays, when the object, in this writer's opinion, is to get people watching both NXT & TNA programming.

In case you wonder, Dempsey is the son of William Regal (Darren Matthews).

Seems the NFL is grooming Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson as their next crossover star.

Hutchinson is appearing with Patrick Mahomes in ads for State Farm, and with ex-Pittsburgh Steeler & Head & Shoulders pitchman Troy Polamalu for the shampoo. At least Hutchinson has personality, which is more than we can say for the not-quite-wooden Eli Manning......!

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas Story (The Danny Thomas Show, 1963)

 From season 11 of The Danny Thomas Show, formerly Make Room For Daddy:

Danny is concerned that his family has forgotten what Christmas really means, so he sets out to remind them in this tune-filled half hour. Bernard Fox is the lone guest star.

A gathering of icons: The Danny Thomas Show (NBC, 1965)

 Danny Thomas had ended his self-titled sitcom in 1964. A year later, he was at NBC, producing specials on a frequent basis, as a second iteration of The Danny Thomas Show. After the first such special presented a reunion of his sitcom cast, Thomas opted for a standard variety show format this time around, loaded (and I do mean loaded) with guest stars, including Andy Griffith, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks (doing their 2000 Year Old Man routine), Mary Tyler Moore, and cameos by Dick Van Dyke, Walter Brennan, Bill Dana, & George Burns. 

Highlights: 

Andy performs some musical numbers, including a bluegrass jam of "Mountain Dew" with the Stoneman Family. Andy, Danny, & Mary use a cloth for some "impersonations", including Van Dyke, Brennan, Dana, & Don Knotts. If you think Danny's actually mimicking Groucho Marx, think again. It's actually Rich Little, who appears during the closing number. 

Danny & Mary recount Mary's audition for The Dick Van Dyke Show in a fictionalized skit, but then, Mary also leads a chorus line of Charlie Chaplin impersonators (also including Danny).

Enough spoiling. On with the show!:

Rating: A.

This week in presidential stupidity

 Donald Trump, after having the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dismantle the Institute of Peace earlier this year, now wants the agency rechristened after himself.

Trump's sycophants, like Secretary of State Marco "Polo" Rubio, will claim this honors "the greatest dealmaker in history", who has a record of having declared bankruptcy several times when his casinos were tanking. The truth is, Donnie Diapers wants to leave his mark in Washington any way he can, and screw the consequences. 

The next Democratic president, and there will be one, trust me, will reverse this, especially after Orange Narcissus is consigned to the trash heap of history

Then, Trump went on a bonkers rant, claiming "affordability" is a scam, just a month after he'd declared himself the "affordability president". Farron Cousins explains:

Also, Trump painted Somalis with an extra wide brush, claiming---without evidence, of course----that Somalis are "garbage". Sounds to me like head troll Stephen Miller wrote his press briefing.

The panel on The View weighs in.

Finally, Donnie whined and cried about Colorado Governor Jared Polis being unwilling to release former election worker Tina Peters, serving a 9 year sentence for fraud. As usual, Donnie lied about the Democrats, deflecting the truth away from himself and his allies for the zillionth time. Well, too bad for you, bub. That's really on you for refusing to publicly admit you got your butt whupped 7 ways to Sunday 5 years ago, and you're holding a grudge against the Democrats because you can't let go of 2020.

Bellevue will be waiting in 2029.

Countdown to Christmas: A Christmas Story (Bonanza, 1966)

 Wayne Newton returns to Bonanza for his 2nd & final appearance as Andy, a former ranch hand who left with dreams of being a singer. Film star Jack Oakie plays Andy's uncle. Mary Wickes (ex-Dennis The Menace) & Dabbs Greer also guest in "A Christmas Story":

You can look for this to appear on Me-TV later this month.

Sports this 'n' that

 This season, Jersey Mike's subs hired former Giants QB Eli Manning to do a series of commercials with their primary pitchman, Danny DeVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), where the paranoid DeVito thinks Eli's been hired to take his job. Shouldn't worry, though, as Eli has the personality of dead wood, which is why Toyota dumped him and his X-Men wannabe ad campaign a few years back.

While the ads are getting sillier and sillier, and DeVito is channeling his Taxi character of Louie DiPalma, DeVito was invited to join Eli and brother Peyton on ESPN2 last night during Monday Night Football, as the Giants took another loss, this time to New England. Now, we'll see if either Manning shows up on Sunny at some point.

TNA Wrestling is leaving corporate sibling AXS TV (both owned by Anthem) in January, and moving to, of all places, AMC.

The change takes effect January 15 with a live show in Dallas that will also stream on AMC+. One clout chasing "reporter" falsely claimed that the shift in networks also spells the end of the talent sharing with WWE's NXT division, but TNA president Carlos Silva said that's not true.

Appearing on Busted Open Radio earlier today, Silva affirmed that the WWE-TNA agreement remains in place into 2026. They initiated a new invasion storyline last month at Bound For Glory and on Impact the night prior, and there's no way that arc dies stillborn.

First, it was Juan Soto & Clay Holmes. Now, it's Devin Williams.

Williams, the erratic closer, left the Yankees after 1 season, like Soto, and signed a 3 year deal with the Mets on Monday. Reports say Williams is open to being a set-up man, assuming the Mets can convince Edwin Diaz to stay in Flushing, after another erratic reliever, Ryan Helsley, signed with Baltimore over the weekend.

Stay tuned.

Medical Mondays: One For My Baby (Trapper John, MD, 1979)

 From season 1:

Trapper (Pernell Roberts) has not one, but two issues, as he treats a widow with stomach cancer, unaware that her son (Patrick Lab(y)orteaux, Little House on The Prairie) has taken to drinking to deal with the stress.

Here's "One For My Baby":

The Labyorteaux brothers added the 'y' in later roles, such as Patrick appearing on JAG, NCIS, & a guest shot on Yes, Dear.

In two weeks: A Christmas episode, if we can find one......

And another one bites the dust........

 A Federal appeals court ruled earlier today that another of President Pampers' pet ambulance chasers, Alina Habba, is disqualified from her role as US Attorney for New Jersey due to lack of qualifications.

Being telegenic isn't enough.

Donald Trump refuses to hire attorneys who'd talk back to him. He wants less experienced barristers such as Habba and Lindsey Halligan because they're telegenic, and Trump wants to see them on TV, while his inner child is wishing they were his babysitters growing up. The appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that slapped Habba with a DQ due to Trump and Pam Bondi refusing to follow protocols in the president's insane obsession with prosecuting perceived political enemies. Habba was a traffic court attorney in Florida defending clients who had parking tickets when Trump found her. Halligan was DQ'd in Virginia late last week, though that case may be pending an appeal that would be a waste of time.

What Trump wants is an attorney who will do what he wants without question, regardless of experience or lack of evidence. What he needs and deserves is a reality check.

Insight Sundays: All Out (1975)

 This was previously posted a while ago at Saturday Morning Archives, but we're taking a fresh look at this 1975 episode of Insight.

"All Out" is a morality play about greed. Philip Abbott (ex-The F. B. I.) and Bob Hastings (All in The Family, ex-Dealer's Choice, McHale's Navy) are among the stars. 

Countdown to Christmas: The Christmas Story (Daniel Boone, 1965)

 From season 2 of Daniel Boone:

Daniel (Fess Parker) takes in a Native American couple expecting the birth of their first child. As Mingo (Ed Ames) points out, the couple also helped end a dispute between their warring tribes. 

Jay Silverheels (ex-The Lone Ranger) appears as a representative of one of the tribes sent to retrieve the mother-to-be. In the midst of a blizzard.

Watch for the climax, which suggests some divine intervention........

Keep an eye open for this one come Christmas Eve.....!

Rating: A.

Notes from around town

 A few months back, we reported that 420 Bliss, a cannabis dispensary at Brunswick Plaza, had changed its name to Just a Little Higher. That didn't last.

As much as a month or two ago, 420 Bliss reverted to that name, likely due to a falling out with the Higher chain owners in New York.

As long as cannabis remains big business in the 518, 420 Bliss will gain more competition. Stay tuned.

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Seems someone doesn't like the city government and their signs suggesting that "It's OK to say no to panhandlers".

Riding a bus to Walmart this morning, I noticed that such a sign at the Collar City Bridge had been wiped in white spray paint, and some genius scribbled an f-bomb in black ink over the white paint. While people have the option to give these folks a buck or two, there has to be the understanding that not all panhandlers are legitimately poor or homeless. That's all there is, and if there's some jobroni that doesn't like it, well, suffice to say, absent a likely visit from the police, their opportunities could be fewer & further between going forward. Just sayin'.

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One issue CDTA hasn't addressed that has been around for years is the fact that some drivers have friends and/or family members that will ride along------and stand in front of the yellow line, which is still federally prohibited.

I had friends who drove for CDTA in the past. I saw two options. One, stand behind the line close enough to the driver to conduct a conversation. Two, sit in a front seat across the aisle. I used option 2 more often than not.

Today, one driver had her friend not only staying in front of the yellow line the entire trip from Walmart to downtown, but said friend did a solid by helping passengers when needed, particularly a couple who needed help getting a baby stroller on & off the bus. Maybe the driver should petition to get her friend a job application......!

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Black Friday was a weird day at WROW.

Morning co-host Jaime Roberts had the day off, leaving co-host Ben Patten to go solo. Evening host Bill Williams handled traffic and Patten's mid-day shift, so, you figure, weekend host "Brother" Lou Roberts, who usually has the gig on such days, would fill Williams' shift. Nope. Jaime was called in to cover for Williams. Sunday evening host/promotions director Candace Curby apparently wasn't available.

Something to watch for next month, come the day after Christmas, when this could happen again.

Different, but not the same: Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

 The Fantastic Four made their Marvel Comics debut in 1961. Next year marks the franchise's 65th anniversary, and Marvel finally released a movie based on it that actually worked.

In "First Steps", we get a capsulized recap of the team's earliest adventures, plus the reformation of their first foe, the Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), whose civilian name is given here as Harvey Elder, a homage to EC legends Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder. Flash forward to the period of the movie, somewhere around 1965 or so (Wikipedia says 1964, but take that with a can of salt). Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) and his wife, Sue (Vanessa Kirby), are expecting their first child. Problem is, this attracts the attention of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who eats planets for a living. Galactus desires the child, and sends the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) to convey his request.

Yes, the Surfer is female this time. The writers flipped the traditional Surfer story, as it is Shalla-Bal who becomes Galactus' herald, instead of Norrin Radd. Predictably, Johnny (Joseph Quinn) finds her attractive, and decides he needs to convince her to call off Galactus' feast.

There are Easter eggs, including some you haven't heard about, including casting the 4 leads in Roger Corman's unreleased FF film in 1994, and a left-handed tribute to the FF's early animation history. The writers decided to skip past the oft-told origin of the FF.

Check the trailer:

Fittingly, Disney makes use of its acquisition of ABC to make it the network of choice for all things FF, a nod to the fact that the first cartoon aired on the network (1967-70). All that was missing from the space coverage was AI renditions of Jules Bergman and Frank Reynolds, and, ahhhhhhhhh, skip it!

Yes, it's cheesy at first, but it picks up the pace of drama, building to a powerful final act.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with Jackie Gleason & The Honeymooners (1966)

 Jackie Gleason's 1966 Christmas show features a show-length Honeymooners episode, in which Ralph (Gleason) & Ed Norton (Art Carney) take up gigs as a sidewalk Santa and his Helper to make some extra money, but run afoul of a shady type (Robert Strauss) taking advantage of them.....

The open & close were edited off this print, so we won't hear from announcer Johnny Olson.

Aside from a stint on Bewitched, Strauss seemed to be typecast as gangster-types, something he didn't deserve.

No rating. Just a public service.

Countdown to Christmas: Gabrielle (Bonanza, 1961)

 Yes, it's Thanksgiving Day, but today, we're also starting our annual Countdown to Christmas.

First up is a holiday entry from Bonanza, circa 1961. Hoss & Little Joe (Dan Blocker & Michael Landon) find a blind orphan (Diane Mountford) alone in the wilderness after her parents' deaths. She wants to find her grandfather, and that becomes a problem.........

Here's "Gabrielle":

Kevin Hagen would reunite with Michael Landon years later with a recurring role on Little House on The Prairie as the town doctor. In between, Hagen also recurred on Land of The Giants.

Happy Thanksgiving. We'll see you tomorrow.

Old Time Radio: The Aldrich Family (1939)

 The Aldrich Family, a radio sitcom built around teenager Henry Aldrich, began as a summer replacement for The Jack Benny Program, and proved popular enough to stand on its own for the next 14 years.

The series actually began as a series of sketches on Rudy Vallee's program, after it'd been adapted from a Broadway play. Ezra Stone, better known for his later work as a director (i.e. The Munsters and the TV version of Aldrich) had played Henry on Broadway, and had two tours of duty in the role on radio.

Stone left the show in 1942 to serve in World War II, and thus began a revolving door in casting the lead. Stone returned after the war for another 7 year run.

Following is a Thanksgiving episode.

We'll look at the TV Aldrich another time. No rating. Just a public service.

Musical Interlude: I Can See Clearly Now (1993)

 Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff contributed to the soundtrack of the 1993 film, "Cool Runnings", with a cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now", more than 20 years after Nash had climbed the charts.

In memory of Jimmy Cliff, 81, who passed away over the weekend. Rest in peace.

Back to the drawing board: Indictments against Letitia James & James Comey dismissed. For now

 First, it was Alina Habba in New Jersey, then some jobroni in California. Now, in Virginia, another inexperienced ambulance chaser, because Donnie Diapers won't hire competent lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, had her cases against former FBI director James Comey and NY Attorney General Letitia James dismissed, albeit without prejudice, because, in particular, Donald Trump and US Attorney General Pam "Dumb" Bondi refused to follow protocols in order to hasten Trump's obsession with prosecuting his perceived political enemies (i.e. Comey & James) into existence.

We're reading that there is a statute of limitations on prosecuting Comey, and that's soon to expire, so it's unlikely, barring another attempt at an end-around from Team Pampers, that they'll try Comey again. Letitia James? Not so much, but here's the thing. Prosecuting James alone would open up another can of worms for Trump, as there would be cries of not only political motivation, but also racism, coming from James and her supporters. Trump's child-like understanding of the law is, in this case, a detriment, whether he realizes it or not, and it's doubtful that he does.

CNN offers more:

Trump doesn't want to remember that the carefully created image of him built decades ago was reduced to dust during his first term.

But, that ain't all.

Now comes word that Trump has directed his so-called Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to basically conscript Arizona Senator Mark Kelly back into service for the sole purpose of having him court-martialed, just because he was one of a small handful who contributed to a video over the weekend reminding today's troops that they can legally decline orders that go against the Constitution and the law. Trump, along with Just Dumb Vance, is claiming the former military personnel in the video, led by Kelly, are wrong. Guess what, pumpkin face? They're not. You are. Deal with it.

I doubt very seriously that President Onions would pardon a turkey come Thanksgiving, but if we do hear that he did, it'd be a miracle. Just sayin'.

Notes from around town

 What is Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello so afraid of?

As she reaches the halfway point of her first term (assuming she gets re-elected in 2027), Madame Mayor vetoed legislation that would allow for council members and/or citizens to take part in council meetings remotely, something that hasn't happened since the COVID pandemic 5 years ago. She says reopening the remote streams would open the door to abuses of power.

File photo courtesy Albany Times-Union.

But what if you are sick, and can't attend a meeting, Madame Mayor? Then what?

In another attack of idiocy, the mayor's office announced that the annual city tree lighting, which usually closes out the Victorian Stroll, will take place ahead of the Stroll, on Wednesday, December 3. The Stroll is 4 days later, December 7. The graphics department fumbled, though, misspelling December on the announcement. 

Dyslexia, anyone?

One would think people coming to town for the Stroll would stick around for the full six hours (11 am-5 pm) so they can see the tree lighting.

All she's doing is giving people more reasons not to re-elect her in 2 years. Just sayin'.

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There is ongoing road work along Sage Avenue, near RPI, prompting CDTA to reroute a couple of their buses. However, as I was returning from a shopping trip the other day, I could see that there really hasn't been any progress, and crews aren't working on the weekends, with the holidays right around the corner. You'd think they'd want to get this done before RPI students leave town for Thanksgiving break on Wednesday, but we'll see.

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Albany dining icon Jack's Oyster House will reopen next month for a few weeks, then close for full renovations, to reopen for good (we think) sometime in mid-to-late 2026. You know how slow some of these projects can be. The new owners have good intentions, so, again, we'll see.

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More from Mayor Mantello: Madame Mayor took time to appear on Albany Broadcasting's Albany Street Sunday in a phone interview recorded earlier in the week with host Bill Williams, to promote Thursday's Turkey Trot. Mostly nothing burgers.

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Normally, you wouldn't see it happen, but happen it will.

The Troy Foundry Theatre brings back David Girard's one-man production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, opening December 5 at the Waiting Room on 3rd Street. Two nights prior, the Theatre Institute at Russell Sage College will present a musical version of "Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief", which runs through December 12. Both productions offer matinees during the Victorian Stroll on the 7th. Tickets start at $15 for both. Hmmmmmmm.