There are lines you can't cross. In Ohio, those lines have been crossed

 The race to succeed outgoing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has fallen into the toxic mud pit of dirty pool.

Failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, endorsed by DeWine, is facing a stiffer than expected challenge from former state medical director Dr. Amy Acton. Ramaswamy has also been endorsed by president Trump, and we all know a Trump endorsement doesn't guarantee success.

So the other day, someone affiliated with Ramaswamy's campaign posted a campaign ad on social media featuring Dr. Acton's estranged mother, who has not spoken to her daughter in nearly 50 years, but went in front of a camera, and claimed Dr. Acton, like the president, is a liar.

Ramaswamy's campaign claims the mom isn't being compensated. If you believe that, well.......!

Republicans, including Governor DeWine, and Democrats alike have blasted the ad, which will be set to air on television locally in Ohio as part of a $4 million campaign. Unfortunately, Ohio native and current vice president, Just Dumb Vance, did a rally the other day, where he rebuked voters for "whining" about the ad. Keep in mind that two years ago, Trump & Vance were running a misinformation campaign in the Buckeye State, falsely claiming Haitian emigres were eating their neighbors' pets. So far, Ramaswamy has taken responsibility for the ad, but won't hand up the staffer who set it up.

The next 12 days will tell us a lot about the reality of Ohio voters. The only reason this ad was even produced in the first place is because Ramaswamy is trailing in current polling, and that makes the GOP nervous. When they resort to stunts like this, their desperation is showing out.

And, on November 3, Vivek will fail again.

Wild West/Weird Wednesdays: Witches Trail (Dusty's Trail, 1974)

 Sherwood Schwartz was obviously obsessed with reviving his 1964-7 sitcom, Gilligan's Island, such that in 1973, he transplanted his concept to the Old West with the syndicated Dusty's Trail, a one year flop.

The only other link was series star Bob Denver, three years removed from The Good Guys, who had the title role as Dusty, every bit the bumbler that Gilligan was. 

In "Witches Trail", Dusty and wagon master Callahan (Forrest Tucker, ex-F-Troop) befriend a young woman on the road, but when things start going screwy, there are suspicions that the lass is a witch.

Country singer Mel Street performed the theme song.

Tucker, of course, would run into more supernatural doings on Ghost Busters during the 1975-6 season.

Sports this 'n' that

 To follow up on something we wrote about last week, wrestler-rapper Max Caster announced on social media he is stepping away from wrestling after the backlash surrounding a pre-match rap 9 days ago. We wish him all the best as he gets his life together.

The Mets gave up on Freddy Peralta at the trading deadline, and shipped him off to Tampa Bay for prospects.

Today, Peralta and the Rays are preparing for the World Series after eliminating Cleveland in 6 games with a 7-3 win Monday. Peralta was named ALCS MVP.

Check the highlights, and see if you agree.

On Friday, the Rays will play Milwaukee, for whom Peralta pitched last year. Hmmmmmmmm. That story writes itself, doesn't it? Of course.

Peralta. though, will be a free agent after the Series. I'd think the Rays have the inside track on retaining, don't you think?

The Los Angeles Rams were supposed to be the favorites to win the Super Bowl after acquiring Myles Garrett, and luring Aaron Donald out of retirement.

The reality? The Rams are chasing undefeated San Francisco, and will be without receiver Davante Adams for up to 10 weeks due to injury. Garrett's been hurt, too, which complicates things even more. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has to get along without quarterback Jalen Hurts for the rest of the regular season, at least, as he recovers from blood clots in his lungs. Yoiks. Washington may have lost receiver Terry McLaurin for the season after he suffered a knee injury Monday vs. San Francisco. As of press time, we don't know the extent of it, but we can guess, at least, that it might be a torn ACL. The last thing the Commanders needed.

For all the blathering about how bad the Dallas Cowboys have played, the root cause of their problems starts right at the top of the food chain with owner/GM Jerry Jones. Jones selfishly is making all the decisions as far as the roster is concerned, and he shouldn't be doing that. The Cowboys will be short on draft picks the next couple of years unless they can trade to get some of those picks back, and that's on Jones' misguided deals. A younger executive is needed to be the GM, but Jones, stubbornly, won't cede power. He thinks he's the 2nd coming of Al Davis, all of a sudden. Until he finally gets a clue, Jones will end up keeping the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

When Icons Meet: Elvira on The Fall Guy (1984)

 From season 4 of The Fall Guy:

Not only does Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) turn up, but so does the Carradine family and Orson Bean (ex-To Tell The Truth), playing an oblivious director on a movie that Elvira and Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) are working on.

And since when does Elvira have powers?

The last time the Carradines had acted together had been about a decade earlier on David's series, Kung Fu.

What Might've Been: Serpico (1976)

 "Those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat it."---George Santayana.

Hollywood wanted to take advantage of a period in NYPD history in the 70's. The feature film, "The Super Cops", was one thing. Fictionalizing the exploits of real life cops was another.

After ABC & Universal had flopped with Toma, NBC & Paramount decided they wanted a piece of the NYPD action. After Paramount had scored with a biography of Frank Serpico, with Al Pacino in the title role, the studio sold NBC a series, with David Birney (ex-Bridget Loves Bernie) as Serpico.

Unfortunately, viewers weren't interested. Serpico was at the bottom of a powerful Friday lineup, but lost viewers from The Rockford Files. Quincy was spun from the Sunday Mystery Movie wheel in January to take over the slot.

The series hasn't been seen since a late 90's run on TV Land. Following is the episode, "Prime Evil":

Insight Sundays: Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark (1970)

 In 1970, the year 1986 was still far into the future. In "Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark", it's speculated that Earth will be overcome with pollution by 1986. It didn't really happen, of course.

Our cast includes Jane Wyatt (ex-Father Knows Best), Ivor Francis (who would recur on Room 222), William Windom (fresh from My World...And Welcome To It), Hayden Rorke (fresh from I Dream of Jeannie), Chris Connolly (ex-Peyton Place), Heather Young (fresh from Land Of The Giants), and Nicholas Georgiade and Paul Picerni (ex-The Untouchables).

Fantasy Fridays: Masquerade (Thriller, 1961)

 A family of cannibals lures in a couple lost on the road, but there are some unexpected twists and surprises in this season 2 entry from Thriller, hosted, of course, by Boris Karloff. Elizabeth Montgomery, three years before Bewitched, and Tom Poston, long associated with Steve Allen before becoming a panelist on To Tell The Truth, are the "endangered" couple. John Carradine co-stars.

I think there was a similar plot on radio in one of those Magic Castle specials 20 years later that I'm trying to find.