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":