I devoted most of this week to movies so I didn’t really watch a lot of television.  But here’s some thoughts on what I did watch!

All You Need Is Love (Nightflight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched the 2nd episode of this 70s docuseries about the history of rock and roll music.  For the most part, the episode took place in Africa and featured interviews with African musicians who discussed how their traditional music was later transformed into both the blues and rock and roll.  It was an interesting documentary.  Needless to say, there was a lot of good music.

The Ashley Madison Affair (Hulu)

I watched this enjoyably tawdry docuseries on Monday morning.  It was a bit too heavy on the talking heads.  I mean, I’m not sure that I really needed to hear every single thought Sunny Hostin ever had on the Ashley Madison hack.  But the visuals were often so over-the-top and literal-minded that it was impossible not to smile at how overwrought it all was.

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

Diff’rent Strokes (YouTube)

Early Sunday morning, I watched a special episode of this 80s sitcom on YouTube.  Arnold and his adopted sister Kimberly were kidnapped by a weirdo who tied-up Arnold and threatened to kill Kimberly.  That was pretty creepy but what really made it bad was that this was a sitcom so there was a laugh track that just felt totally wrong for the episode.  It reminded me a bit of David Lynch’s Rabbits.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

Fantasy Island has been removed from Tubi!  Fortunately, quite a few episodes are available on YouTube but it still bothers me that I’m probably not going to be able to review every single episode for Retro Television Reviews now.  Read my thoughts here!

Geraldo (YouTube)

I came across an episode of this 90s talk show on Saturday.  In 1993, Geraldo Rivera interviewed “Girls In Hate Groups.”  The girls were dating skinheads and Klansmen.  The audience was full of people wearing Klan robes and National Socialist uniforms.  It was thoroughly icky.  Geraldo, I got the feeling, was more concerned with bringing in ratings than actually battling the forces of hate.

Gimme A Break (YouTube)

After he read this week’s review of Hang Time, my friend Mark suggested that I watch an episode of this 80s sitcom.  The episode was called “Joey’s Hero” and it featured a 10 year-old Joey Lawrence discovering that his hero — a television host named Captain Jerk (played by Paul Williams) — was not only a real-life jerk but an outright racist as well!  It was very 80s but I did smile at the fact that all of the co-stars of the Captain Jerk Show still wore their television costumes even when they went to visit Captain Jerk in the hospital.

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

On this 90s talk show, Jenny Jones gave polygraph tests to self-declared playas.

Lifestories: Families in Crisis

I watched an episode of the 90s HBO anthology show on Thursday.  A young Ben Affleck played a high school football player who get hooked on steroids and went crazy.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

Read my thoughts on The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

Night Flight (NightFlight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 90s musical anthology show on Friday.  Host Tom Juarez took a look at “eclectic female singers.”  I was happy because they showed a video from Souixsie and the Banshees.

Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu)

I watched this two-part docuseries on Sunday.  The first part, which focused on the young Brooke Shields as a symbol and explored how the culture sexually objectifies women while also expecting us to remain chaste and innocent, was far more interesting than the second part, which got bogged down in people insisting that Shields was a better actress than she actually seems to be.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back, Kotter here!