Wartime Mondays: The series premiere of The Wackiest Ship in The Army (1965)

 Harry Ackerman, head honcho of comedy at Screen Gems, must've thought he found something in Jack Warden when he guest starred on Bewitched during the 1st season.

Warden landed his first lead role the next year in The Wackiest Ship in The Army, an hour-long comedy-drama set in World War II. Unfortunately, it lasted just the one season, but not for lack of trying. Gary Collins, Mark Slade, & Rudy Solari co-star, with Karen Steele as a prospective love interest for Warden.

Jack Soo, fresh from Valentine's Day, guest stars in the opener.

When you realize the president is too stupid to understand he invited a near disaster to take place

 "Dumb Donald is really dumb!"---Gene Rayburn, Match Game, 1973-84.

When president Trump announced he was attending this year White House Correspondents' Dinner, he was, in effect, issuing an invitation to any of his detractors, the ones with malice on their minds, to show up in Washington to take a shot at him.

On Saturday night, someone did take him up on the "invitation", but never made it to the ballroom.

Cole Thomas Allen of California, a teacher & mechanical engineer by trade, showed up armed with a handgun, shotgun, and knives, and, per a manifesto released after his arrest on Saturday, had intended to go after the president and most of his cabinet, the lone exception being embattled FBI director "Counterfeit" Kash Patel. While Allen managed to avoid building security, the Secret Service did their job, and captured him before he could reach the ballroom, which was being evacuated.

Unfortunately, there are those on both sides who believe the event was staged as a distraction from Trump's many problems, including the war he started against Iran, and, of course, the ongoing demand for more transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Well, when you've cried wolf as much as Trump has, skepticism is bound to accompany something like this.

Catering to his obsessive-compulsive need for attention, Trump hastily scheduled an interview with 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday. Norah O'Donnell pressed Trump on whether or not the incident was staged, as people have claimed, and he denied it.

He also did what he does best, whining about O'Donnell's line of questioning. Yo, you asked for the interview on short notice, Mango Judas.

Trump's idea is to spin it to gain sympathy for the need to build his own ballroom at the White House, replacing the East Wing destroyed by Trump last year. There's no guarantee that would be any safer, Dumb Donald! Worse, this oblivious moron wants the dinner rescheduled for next month. That would mean another open invitation for a copycat to try his luck. Trump has bravery confused with stupidity. Nothing new there, though reportedly, he wanted to see what was going on when he should've complied with the Secret Service's effort to remove him from the room. Only a child would linger around out of curiosity. Then again.......!

The first thing Dumb Donald should do is show gratitude to the Secret Service for doing their jobs, maybe offering a raise. But, of course, he won't.

Sports this 'n' that

 We're in the final week of April, and there's already been a manager firing in Major League Baseball.

No, it's not Carlos Mendoza. Yet.

Instead, Boston's Alex Cora, whose Red Sox are, like the Mets, struggling, was cut even after Boston blew away Baltimore, 17-1, on Saturday afternoon. Chad Tracy, who had been managing Boston's top farm club in Worcester, was promoted as interim manager ahead of today's matinee in Baltimore.

Mendoza's Mets have dropped 14 of their last 16, including the first game of today's doubleheader at home against Colorado. The annual Citi Field injury plague has contributed to the team's offensive funk, with Francisco Lindor going on the IL earlier this week, just as Juan Soto had been activated the same day.

I just don't think Mendoza will last too much longer.

Sports fans in Boston are grateful that the Bruins & Celtics are still playing, given the Red Sox's poor start, but it doesn't overshadow the latest scandal involving the New England Patriots.

Two months after the Patriots were blown out in the Super Bowl, coach Mike Vrabel has taken a leave of absence during the draft after it came out that he'd been having an affair with NFL insider Diana Russini, who is also married, and that this allegedly has been going on since Vrabel was coaching Tennessee a few years ago.

Owner Robert Kraft's political influence within the league ensured that Vrabel would not be investigated. The last thing Kraft wants to have happen is change coaches yet again, after Vrabel took the Pats to the "Big Game" following Jerod Mayo's one year flop.

I've a feeling a change will come anyway.

ESPN's bloviator general, Stephen A. Smith, landed his first endorsement deal since his 2 year stint for Oberto beef jerky a few years back.

CarShield may want a refund.

It's one thing when players past & present are doing ads for CarShield, which sponsors baseball across the majors, including Eric Byrnes and his Hulk Hogan wannabe act. But a marble-brained goof like Smith, who talks like he knows about sports other than basketball, but is often exposed as a poser.

I mean, would you want to buy a car from Smith, or from Ice-T?

Insight Sundays: Ride a Turquoise Pony (1972)

 A Vista volunteer and a Vietnam veteran are reunited in the US in the episode, "Ride a Turquoise Pony", with John Larch, Peter Duryea (Dan's son), and Jan Clayton (ex-Lassie):

Insight Sundays will be on hiatus for the next four months, returning in September.

What else could she do? (The Danny Kaye Show, 1964)

 "She" being ventriloquist Shari Lewis, who appeared with Howard Morris (ex-Your Show of Shows, The Andy Griffith Show) in an episode of The Danny Kaye Show.

We've seen Shari sing and perform magic in addition to her work as a puppeteer. Now, she steps into a new role as a dancer in this show-stopping number. 

I'd say she could've given Ann-Margret a run for her money, don't you think?

The season of the turk comes to WWE

 It's been a week since Wrestlemania, and all the attendant drama in and out of the ring. On Friday, WWE had its annual spring cleaning, and a lot of fans are displeased over some of the cuts:

Nikki Cross=3 time tag team champion, former women's champion.

Zoey Stark=had recently been activated from the disabled list, but instead of going back to NXT to prep for a return to the main roster, she gets cut. Not a good look, but WWE has cut wrestlers while injured before.

Alba Fyre=With tag partner Piper Niven on the DL (neck), Kay Lee Ray, the former NXT UK women's champ, was left as a bodyguard for Chelsea Green, wasting her talent.

Joe Gacy=Being part of the Wyatt Sicks saved his career, and he won a tag title, something he couldn't do in NXT.

Bo Dallas=The Wyatt Sicks was his way of honoring his late brother, Bray Wyatt, but getting injured hurt even more than he knew. Also, the Wyatt Sicks' feud with the MFT's was sabotaged politically.

Andre Chase=I believe he'd also been a coach at NXT, especially after Chase U was dissolved for the final time. Mostly a JTTS without the faction. Won a tag title in NXT.

Erick Rowan=Former tag team champion (with the late Luke Harper) was brought back, only to be cut a 2nd time.

Dexter Lumis=Won a tag title as a member of the Wyatt Sicks, but if WWE needs a graphic artist, maybe they'll bring him back.

Dante Chen=Got a modest push in NXT, only to have that stopped, and had last been in Evolve.

Kairi Sane=This hurts the fans more than anything. 2-time tag team champ as 1/2 of the Kabuki Warriors (w/Asuka), and was in the middle of a story arc that would break up the team if allowed to continue. Judging from reddit, Kairi has a lot of fans, and why not? 2nd time in 5 years she's been cut.

Aleister Black & Zelina=A year ago, Black returned from AEW to reunite with his wife, but instead of being pointed toward the US or Undisputed titles, where he would've had some stellar matches, uncreative kept ignoring him after losing a feud with Damian Priest.

Motor City Machine Guns=Former tag team champs with WWE & TNA, Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin will resurface soon, either in TNA, AEW, or Major League Wrestling.

Apollo Crews=One of the longest tenured of the talents cut, former US champion, mostly used as jobber fodder of late.

Santos Escobar=Former cruiserweight champ in NXT, had just returned, but sidelined again (biceps) while with AAA.

Luca Crusifino=The breakup of NXT's D'Angelo Family faction saw Crusifino move to Evolve. Never fully resolved his issue with current NXT champ Tony D'Angelo.

Malik Blade=Had moved to Evolve after tag partner Edris Enofe left a while back. Largely treading water.

Trill London

Sirena Linton

Tyra Mae Steele=Was the 1st season women's champ on LFG, had a couple of matches in NXT, then moved to Evolve, and disappeared.

Chris Island

Tyriek Igwe

Tyson Dupont=The High Ryze (Dupont & Igwe) seemed to disappear after Wes Lee (Dezmond Xavier) left for TNA, then AEW.

Trill London, Sirena Linton, & Chris Island were all WWE ID signees in the Peformance Center, and never got TV time on NXT.

Chief Creative Officer Paul Levesque (Triple H) has to share the blame with his corporate overlords at TKO Holdings, as some of the above were in active storylines or regularly featured. After New Japan star EVIL (Takako Watanabe) signed earlier this week, the cuts were made to move some money around. Many of the above talent will resurface in due course, but this wave of cuts gave fans more reason to hate on WWE/TKO, as if they didn't already have enough reason.

Meanwhile, Smackdown is reloading after taking some of the hits. The Fatal Influence faction arrived last night, with Blake Monroe (FKA Mariah May in AEW) and Ricky Saints (Starks) due soon. Rumors have Watanabe heading to either NXT or the main roster.

And after several wrestlers talked about being hassled by overzealous fans last weekend, well, the ones cut won't have to worry about that for a while. Maybe.

"Family" Fridays: The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1976)

 If you've seen the first two "Joshua Cabe" movies on Wild West Wednesdays, you have an idea about what to expect in the conclusion of Aaron Spelling's trilogy.

John McIntire (ex-Wagon Train) becomes the 3rd actor to essay the role of Cabe, after Buddy Ebsen & Dan Dailey. Jack Elam returns as Bitterroot, but we again have three new ladies as the "daughters", including Renne Jarrett, who appeared in quite a few primetime shows in guest roles in the 70's, and Louise "Liberty" Williams, who'd previously appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Chico & The Man, & Adam-12 in the previous three years.

The plot: As the film begins, Cabe is an acting sheriff, but trouble arises when a failed business deal leads to trouble. Joel Fabiani (ex-Department S) and Larry Hovis (ex-Hogan's Heroes) turn up, as does Randall Carver, later of Taxi, who'd previously appeared in the last "Cabe" film.

What Spelling was hoping for was to turn this into a regular series, but Westerns as a genre were moving toward Boot Hill.

Next week on Wild West Wednesdays: Law of The Plainsman, with Michael Ansara, and on Family Fridays, it's father & son crime drama on The Defenders, with EG Marshall & Robert Reed.