Coming Attractions: ESPN gets in on the Jeopardy! party

 It wasn't so long ago that Sony had expanded the Jeopardy! franchise, creating a Pop Culture version with Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost as host.

Tomorrow, that expansion will include ESPN.

ESPN Jeopardy! drops on Disney+ & Hulu, with Monday Night Football play-by-play man Joe Buck at the controls, coming off his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Buck dropped by Good Morning, America to talk about it.

Seems Disney suits see Buck as the 2nd coming of original Jeopardy! moderator Art Fleming. A mixture of celebrities (i.e. Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key), ex-athletes, and current ESPN talents will play for charities. Having already seen the list of contestants, resident court jesters Stephen A. Smith & Pat McAfee are sitting out for now.

This will be a trip.

Musical Interlude: Close to You (1990)

 As the 90's began, there was a need for fresh voices on the radio. Maxi Priest broke out of the gate with "Close to You":

Dunce Cap Award: Rand Paul

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, now long retired, was called before Congress this morning.

Waste of time.

Fauci invoked the 5th Amendment more than 100 times, knowing that the committee fronted by Kentucky quack Rand Paul, was looking for something with which they could prosecute him.

Paul is claiming without evidence that Fauci lied to Congress about COVID. On the advice of his lawyers, Fauci invoked the 5th, showing the cowardly GOPers that two can play this game. Paul should've known that, but all he's doing is trying to win brownie points with the White House.

In the end, it was just a stack of nothing burgers, typical of the GOP.

As a result, Paul gets a Dunce Cap for insulting our intelligence yet again.

Another WWE wrestler dealing with stalker issues. Will this madness never end?

 The wrestler in question is one of the youngest women on the roster, Roxanne Perez, whose life, and that of her off-screen boyfriend, are being threatened by a delusional "fan". You know the type. The kind that thinks the object of their affection is "meant to be" with them.

On television, Roxanne is a heel, or, villain, as a member of the Judgment Day faction. The current women's world champ, stablemate Liv Morgan, can relate to Perez's problems, since she's also been stalked. Her stalker was arrested. Perez's stalker is, as of this morning, still at large.

The stalker in this case, whom we won't name, wanted to encourage Perez's beau to beat her up so she could see his point. Like, that's really going to happen. NOT! As WWE went to bat for Morgan, they'll do the same for Perez.

As for the stalker, well, dare I say it? His future is likely in a rubber room.

Classic TV: Dinah! (1974)

 Dinah Shore had her NBC daytime show, Dinah's Place, cancelled after 4 years because incoming programming boss Lin Bolen wanted to skew younger. Yeah, sure, and Dinah gets replaced with a revival of Name That Tune. That landed like a wet fart, because the following fall, Shore hooked up with 20th Century Fox to distribute a 60-or-90 minute talk show to compete with the likes of Mike Douglas & Merv Griffin.

Dinah! ran for 6 seasons (1974-80), with the title change to Dinah! & Friends in the final season.

From season 4, Dinah goes on location in Utah for a show with the Osmonds.

Rating: A.

Doubling down on dumb: Liberty Mutual introduces a puppet named.......Liberty Biberty

 To think it all started with a struggling actor (Tanner Novlan, The Bold & The Beautiful) who couldn't remember a simple line.

Seven years later, "Liberty Biberty" has been given life in the form of a fuzzy yellow puppet with a crown on its head.

The puppet debuted earlier this month, and even shared an ad with the struggling actor.

In my day job, I work for a local insurance agency that represents Liberty Mutual, in addition to several other companies. Someone on reddit mentioned that the struggling actor spots, plus the comedy team of Limu Emu & Doug, are meant to annoy viewers. That's not how you generate business, folks.

I can recall when Liberty Mutual sponsored outdoors shows back in the day. I'd just as soon find some of those vintage spots, since the current mascots grate on my nerves. Liberty Mutual figures that their newest mascot might appeal to, well, you know, kids.

Yeah, that'll make a great Christmas gift. NOT!

Cinema Saturdays: Li'l Abner (1959)

 Al Capp's seminal comic strip, Li'l Abner, had previously been adapted for the big screen in 1940, with Jeff York in the title role, and Buster Keaton in a supporting role.

19 years and a Broadway run later, Abner and the denizens of Dogpatch USA are back, this time in a musical spun of the Broadway show. Peter Palmer has the title role this time, with a supporting cast that includes Leslie Parrish, Julie Newmar, Stubby Kaye, and Billie Hayes as Mammy Yokum.

Within the next decade, some, like Palmer (Custer, 1967), Kaye (the game show Shenanigans, 1964), Hayes (HR Pufnstuf, 1969), and Newmar (My Living Doll, 1964, and as Catwoman on Batman, 1966-7) gravitated to television, with varying results. As previously documented, there was a TV adaptation that didn't sell around 1967.