Again, this week was mostly about getting ready for October. Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch:
Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)
Once again, Rene was mistaken for dead. He even attended his own funeral, while disguised as Officer Crabtree. Crabtree, of course, retired to Madame Fanny’s old bedroom, which led to all sorts of chaos when Fanny showed up. It was, needless to say, a crazy time in Nouvion.
The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)
Hometown dates! Who cares? Meatball’s not on the show anymore. Gabby appears to be heading for another heartbreak while Rachel just can’t catch a break. First, hardly any of the men wanted to date her. Then, Tino’s family decided that they all hated her. This is a messy season and it’s hard not to feel that it’s not going to end well for either one of the Bachelorettes. Next week’s Men Tell All should be interesting and hopefully, Meatball will make a case for why he should be be the next Bachelor.
Big Brother (Everyday, CBS and Paramount+)
I’ve been writing about this season over at the Big Brother Blog! This season was going well until production came up with one of the worst twists in the history of the show. Jasmine and Joseph are both gone. Jasmine lost her fake limp and her fake accent when she was evicted. For all the excitement over the Leftovers building a strong and positive alliance, it now appears that the show could very well be won by yet another unlikable showmance. Do these words make sense to anyone who doesn’t watch Big Brother?
The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)
Bye, Leo. I’m still predicting a Tyson victory.
Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)
The first of Sunday’s episodes found DJ requesting that she finally be given a room of her own, which was a totally justifiable request considering how much older she was than her sisters and that Michelle, for some reason, had an entire room to herself while DJ was expected to share with Stephanie. While DJ prepared to move and Stephanie dealt with feeling rejected, Becky and Jesse went to childbirth class, which was being held in the living room for some reason. Becky got mad at Jesse because Jesse was being insensitive and talking about Elvis. I assume they resolved the issue. The second episode featured Danny freaking out because DJ was growing up and getting interested in boys and asking him to respect her privacy. They worked it out.
Inspector Lewis (YouTube)
On the episode that I watched on Tuesday, David Soul played the murder victim. Hathaway solved the mystery while Lewis dealt with a toothache.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Hulu)
On Wednesday, I watched “Conscience,” an episode from season 6 of NBC’s long-running legal show. Kyle MacLachlan gave an intense performance as a man on trial for shooting and killing the 13 year-old who had previously murdered his son. It was a good episode, thought-provoking and well-written. It was an example of what the Law & Order franchise used to be like.
On Saturday, I watched a second episode from season 6. In “Doubt,” Benson and Stabler found themselves dealing with a case in which a woman accused her teacher of raping her. The teacher insisted it was consensual rough sex. The episode ended before the verdict was read, leaving it to the audience to try to decide who was telling the truth.
Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)
This week’s episode started with Butt-Head getting prescribed a new, grape-flavored medication that caused him to become so nice that Beavis freaked out. Perhaps the funniest part of this segment was Butt-Head asking Mr. Van Driessen to lunch and then listening attentively while Van Driessen talk about the teacher’s union. The second part of the episode featured the return of Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head, who provided us with a look at a universe where Beavis and Butt-Head were middle-aged. Butt-Head was obese and could barely walk. Beavis was an alcoholic with broken teeth. It was realistic and kind of depressing. However, it’s always nice to Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head. “Very droll, yes.”
Night Flight (NightFlight+)
This was apparently an old 80s TV show that used to run on the USA network and which took a look at entertainment news. I watched two episodes on Friday, largely as historical research. The first episode dealt with the 1986 Academy Awards and featured a lot clips from the nominees. The second episode was from 1984 and it dealt with music videos that had been deemed too violent to be aired on MTV. The second episode was fun because it claimed to be a serious look at music video violence but instead, that was just an excuse to show the videos. Cecil B. DeMille would be proud.
The Office (Weekday Nights, FaveTV)
I discovered two things this week. Number one, I discovered that there’s a station called FaveTV. Number two, I discovered that they air The Office late at night and early in the morning. I watched two episodes on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The first featured Michael and Dwight hanging out with Ryan in New York City. Ryan attempted to talk to them about his drug use. Michael started talking about how he couldn’t understand The Wire. Dwight sang an Amish lullaby. The second was the classic episode in which Stanley demanded to know, “Did I stutter!?” This is one of my favorite episodes, both because of the final conversation between Stanley and Michael and for the B-plot of Pam forgetting her contacts. I could relate. Even though I can watch these episodes anytime I want on Peacock and I own the entire series on DVD, it was still kind of fun to watch it on an ordinary channel. It made me feel nostalgic for the day before instant gratification.
Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)
Arkwright continued to cheat his customers while Granville wondered if there was anything more to life beyond being an indentured servant.