Countdown to Christmas: O Tannerbaum (ALF, 1986)

 From season 1 of ALF:

ALF (voice of Paul Fusco) is in the Tanner doghouse for cutting down the family Christmas tree for firewood, and that's just for starters.......

Silly fun.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: The Santa Claus Boogie (1995)

 We start our annual Countdown to Christmas with the Tractors and 1995's "Santa Claus Boogie":

Musical Interlude: Human (2016)

 The folks behind those ads that tell us, "Jesus gets us" found this next song to use in their latest ad, which is in heavy rotation.

Now, meet the man behind the song. Rag'n'Bone Man released "Human" back in 2016, as he reminds that we are "only human after all".

Happy Thanksgiving.

What Might've Been: Baby Talk (1991)

 Filmmaker Amy Heckerling had a huge hit with "Look Who's Talking" in theatres, such that she wanted to adapt the film for television with a few tweaks.

However, to say that Baby Talk was a troubled production would actually be overstating the case.

Connie Sellecca (ex-Hotel) was originally tabbed for the lead as Maggie, a single mom. However, she wasn't satisfied with her performance, and left the project. Julia Duffy (ex-Newhart) stepped in, but left after the first season, moving to Designing Women, resulting in Mary Page Keller taking her place.

Amidst it all, Tony Danza (ex-Who's The Boss, Taxi) voiced baby Mickey, in much the same way Bruce Willis had done in "Talking". George Clooney (ex-The Facts of Life) was a recurring player in the first season, but left, along with Duffy, taking producer Ed. Weinberger (Amen) with them. Saul Turtletaub & Bernie Orenstein were tabbed by Columbia to take over as showrunners in season 2. Turtletaub & Orenstein had little success outside of What's Happening!, and their entree proved to be a jump the shark moment.

Scott Baio (ex-Charles in Charge, Happy Days) joined the show in season 2, but the ratings began sliding, and the show was cancelled more than a year after its debut.

Following is a sample episode.

Edit, 12/19/24: Had to change the video. 

Rating: B--.

Old Time Radio: Jack Benny on location for the troops (1944)

 The Jack Benny Program, aka The Lucky Strike Program, hits the road for a show at Corona Naval Hospital. Dennis Day had left by this point, succeeded by Larry Stevens.

This episode is built around an argument between Jack and announcer Don Wilson over famous statements.

Rating: A-.

Donald Trump wants to impose tariffs on Mexico & Canada. We're the ones who will feel the impact

 Dumb Donald is at it again.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he plans on signing an executive order on his first day back in the White House to impose tariffs on Mexico & Canada. He also used the screed on Truthless Social to continue the exaggerated narrative about "criminals" crossing the border from Mexico into the US, devoid, as usual, of evidence to back up his claims.

But what we're concerned with is the tariffs. Trump ran on the voter frustration over inflation when he won three weeks ago, but he doesn't realize that these tariffs won't hurt Mexico or Canada, not in the slightest bit. They hurt American consumers, instead, because this leads to further inflation.

Brian Tyler Cohen explains:

Trump is pandering to friends like Elon Musk, more than the base that elected him. If that doesn't make voters feel like they've been stabbed in the back, what does?

On The Air: Person, Place, or Thing (2023)

 It's a variation on the traditional game of 20 questions, now in its 2nd season, while its host is adding to her workload.

Said host is actress Melissa Peterman, and the game is Person, Place, or Thing, which, on the surface, looks like an easy game to play, but in front of cameras and overhead lights, not so much.

Peterman (ex-Reba, Bet on Your Baby, Young Sheldon) is back in primetime this season in NBC's Happy's Place, which reunites her with Reba McEntire. I'm willing to bet that if Happy's, which just picked up a full-season order from NBC, is renewed for a 2nd season, Person might not make it to a 3rd.

Here's a promo for the 1st season:

Last season, the local affiliate aired a full hour of this show, then scaled it down to 1 episode per night to make room for Jaleel White's Flip Side (previously reviewed). If that ain't an ominous sign, I don't know what is.

Rating: B-.