Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Fridays, I will be reviewing One World, which ran on NBC from 1998 to 2001.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

The Cast of One World

This is the place where our dream live forever!

Episode 2.10 “Tough Love”

(Directed by Mary Lou Belli, originally aired on November 20th, 1999)

Cray finally gets an episode of his very own and, unfortunately, it’s also the show’s token anti-marijuana episode,

When Meagan (Amanda Fuller, years before playing the eldest daughter on Last Man Standing) invites Cray to a party, Cray agrees.  When Meagan offers Cray a joint, Cray initially refuses but then finally agrees to take a hit.  Since this is a TNBC show, Cray automatically ends up paranoid and hungry.  He goes home.  He demands food from St. Neal and Jane.  He tells them to stop watching him.  Neal and Jane immediately figure out that he’s been messing with the weed with roots in Hell.

“When you’re high, you’re not in control!” St. Neal tells Cray, “Look at you!  Just one night and you’re already a paranoid, munchy-head fool!”

“And whatever you do,” Jane adds, “don’t watch the new Love Boat!”

“Because I smoked pot and could totally freak out?” Cray bizarrely replies.

“No, it’s just a really lame show.”

So, already, the show has revealed that it knows very little about the realities of smoking weed.  Very few people get stoned the first time that they smoke.  Even those who do don’t end up acting like Cray.  As I listened to him list all of the people who he felt were plotting against him, I found myself wondering what Meagan’s weed was laced with.

Later, Meagan asks Cray to be her boyfriend.  Cray says yes but is shocked to discover that Meagan is still smoking weed!  When the police catch Cray holding Meagan’s joint, he gets stuck with both community service and anti-drug classes.  After the rest of the Blake family decides that “Meagan has a problem,” Cray tells Meagan’s parents.  Meagan get sent to rehab.  Yes, that’s right.  Meagan’s parents find out that she smokes weed and they send her to DRUG REHAB!

Before leaving for rehab, Meagan tells Cray that she hates him.  Jane, however, assures Cray that, someday, Meagan will appreciate what he did for her.  Don’t count on it, Cray.

Meanwhile, Marci accidentally put the house for sale online.  An English couple tried to buy but, in the end, the Blakes decided that they couldn’t move.  I’m glad that worked out!

Anyway, every TNBC show had to do at least one episode where someone smoked weed and then decided never to do it again.  One World gets some credit for having both St. Neal and Jane admit to having smoked in the past as well.  (Seriously, I never bought that Zach Morris had never seen a joint until Johnny Dakota came to Bayside.)  But, ultimately, this episode was too preachy and unrealistic to work.  One gets the feeling that the writers were probably stoned and amusing themselves when they wrote it.

Let’s move on.

Episode 2.11 “Band on the Run”

(Directed by Mary Lou Belli, originally aired on November 27th, 1999)

Because this episode features a guest appearance and two songs from the Norweigian pop duo, M2M, this is one of the episodes of One World that is not available on Tubi.  However, it is available on YouTube, though the scenes with M2M singing have been muted.  Who is M2M?  Remember that annoying Don’t Say You Love Me Song?  They’re the ones who did that.

Anyway, in this episode, Ben gets fired from his singing gig at Miami’s “hottest under-21 club,” The Warehouse.  He’s replaced by M2M.  (Huh?  Why would a then-hot Norwegian band end up playing at The Warehouse in Miami?)  Humiliated, Ben gets a job delivering chicken (and yes, he has to wear a big chicken suit) and trying to reinvent himself as a rapper.  Eventually, Ben starts singing boring songs about his feelings and he gets his gig back.  Yay, I guess.  As for M2M, they’re last seen going on a date with Cray, who I assume has kicked his marijuana addiction.

In the B-plot, Sui thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her and this somehow leads to Jane joining the football team.  It’s dumb and I don’t want to talk about it.  Sui’s the coolest character on the show and it bugs me that it’s been a few episodes since she had a decent storyline.  Hopefully, that’ll change next week!