Daily Archives: January 6, 2024

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Check It Out! 1.13 “Love Is A Many Splendored Alf”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, my favorite character returns!

Episode 1.13 “Love Is A Many Splendored Alf”

(Dir by John Bell, originally aired on January 8th, 1986)

Viker’s back!

Played by Gordon Clapp, Viker is the store’s electrician.  He’s only appeared in a handful of episodes this season, though Wikipedia says that he’ll become a regular during season 2.  Viker is one of the best characters on the show.  Technically, he’s the goofy dumb guy but what makes Viker special is that, while he’s definitely goofy, he’s not really that dumb.  Viker can put his thoughts together, it’s just that he put them together differently than everyone around him.  Viker lives in a world of his own, one that has its own peculiar set of rules.  Alone amongst all the characters on the show, Viker is always honest and tries to directly answer every question that he’s asked.  For instance, when Howard asks him if he has an idea as to what is making the store’s light flicker on and off, Viker replies, “Yes,” and leaves it at that.  Howard, after all, didn’t ask him what the idea is.

Viker is at the store because Cobb’s is having electrical problems.  The lights are flickering on and off.  (It takes Viker a few minutes to notice because, as he explains, his blinking his synchronized with the flickering.)  The cash registers are humming.  The refrigerator in the break room has broken down.  The store’s freezer also breaks down, leading 800 pounds of melted ice cream and a bunch of TV dinner rotting in an alley.  Can Viker figure out what the problem is?

No, of course, he can’t.  Fortunately, Alf the Security Guard can.  When Alf gives the broken refrigerator a good slap, the refrigerator comes back to life and the lights stop flickering.  So, I guess it was all the refrigerator’s fault!  To be honest, I don’t know much about how things are wired in most stores but …. well, let’s just go with it.

Alf …. poor Alf!  Alf has a tough week in this episode.  Edna sets Alf up on a date with her friend Helen (Nonnie Griffith).  Helen likes that Alf is a plain-spoken, blue collar guy.  Helen is less impressed when Alf gets drunk on their date and tries to crack open his escargot.  She is especially not happy when he pours a pitcher of water on the flambé.  After the disastrous date, Alf is convinced that he’ll never see Helen again.  Fortunately, for Alf, Helen just happens to be in the store when he gets the refrigerator working and basically saves everyone’s job.  Helen is impressed enough to give Alf a second chance.  Awwwww!

(In other words, it’s a good thing Viker couldn’t figure out what the problem was!)

As far as this episode goes, I never really believed that Helen would have been attracted to Alf in the first place so that story kind of fell flat.  And seriously, if you’re dating a guy because you like how direct and blue collar he is, what are you thinking serving him escargot and flambé?  But I was happy to see Viker again and I appreciated that this was an episode where everyone in the store acted as eccentrically as possible.  Check It Out! works best when it leans into absurdism.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/31/23 — 1/6/24

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy 2024!

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out! (Tubi)

My review of this week’s episode will be dropping soon.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

I watched way too much Dr. Phil this week.  Most of them were episodes that I had already seen before and, as I sit here writing this up just 30 minutes before deadline, I’m struggling to remember much about any of them.  I do remember that I rewatched the Truthfully Tricia episode.  That was a wild one.  As obnoxious as Tricia was, I do feel that Phil went out of his way to goad her into having a meltdown on his stage.  I mean, he really wanted her to do the dramatic walk-off.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Forgive or Forget (YouTube)

“I can forgive but I will not forget!”

Uhmm, it sounds like someone needs to look at the name of the show that they’re on.  Pick one or the other!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

I’m so glad Ryan got a black jacket!  I know that Chef Ramsay said that he saw a lot of improvement in Jason and maybe he did and it was just edited out.  Just from watching the show, it’s easy to get the feeling they kept Jason around for as long as they did because they needed a good villain.  But, at the same time, Chef Ramsay isn’t really one to throw around false praise, either.  His brand is being critical and angry so, when he’s not, that usually means something.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Miami Vice (Tubi)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, I watched an episode that was all about songs from the 80s that were about working out and the human body.  I followed this with an episode about the best indie music videos of 2023.  Some of the videos were really good!

Password (Weekday afternoons, BUZZR)

I watched two episodes of this extremely frustrating old game show on Tuesday.  Like seriously, how hard was it to guess some of those passwords that they used on that show?

Tattletales (Weekday Mornings, BUZZR)

I watched two episodes of this old game show on Tuesday.  William Shatner and his then-wife were on one episode.  They didn’t do very well.

Turn-On (YouTube)

I wrote about Turn-On here.  I thought I was done with Turn-On but a friend in Australia informs me that it turns out that the unaired second episode is also on YouTube.  And, as we all know, I am a completist….

Twilight Zone (Monday, SyFy and H&I)

The New Year’s Twilight Zone marathon finished up on Monday.  What a great show!  I think The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street is one of the most perfect 30 minute programs ever aired.  I also love the episode where Dennis Weaver keeps having the same dream over and over again.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

 

 

Retro Television Reviews: Welcome Back Kotter 3.4 “The Visitors”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Welcome Back Kotter, which ran on ABC  from 1975 to 1979.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, Julie and the twins return home!

Episode 3.4 “The Visitors”

(Dir by Bob Claver, originally aired on September 22nd, 1977)

Julie and the twins are home!

Soon after arriving at the apartment, Julie and Gabe start to argue over what to name the babies.  Gabe suggests that they name them This One and That One.  Gabe also suggests that they name them Ethel and Lucy.  Julie, not being a fan of television or comedy in general (which makes it a bit odd that she ended up married to Gabe), suggests that they name the babies after their grandmothers, Rachel and Robin.

Speaking of grandparents, Julie’s mother and father show up unannounced.  Mr. Hansen (Jack Dodson) and his wife (Alice Backes) are from Nebraska and they don’t know much about city folks or Sweathogs or apartment buildings.  The Hansens actually appear to be extremely nice and polite but Gabe also immediately starts to complain about them staying at the apartment.  Yeah, Gabe …. I guess it’s not fun when visitors show up at random and then just decide to hang out.

Speaking of which, the Sweathogs also show up at the apartment.  Unfortunately, because Barbarino is stuck in the 10th Grade until he can pass a makeup exam, they are without their leader.  Watching this episode made me realize just how important Barbarino was to the Sweathogs.  Though John Travolta does appear in this episode, he doesn’t share any scenes with the other Sweathogs and without Travolta’s likeable screen presence to ground them, the other Sweathogs are just too weird to believably function as a group.  It was halfway through this episode that I found myself wondering if Epstein and Washington would actually hang out with Horshack if Vinnie wasn’t around to tell them to do so.

With Gabe gone, the responsibility for teaching his class falls to Mr. Woodman.  The students are bored with Woodman as a teacher but Woodman doesn’t care.  Woodman doesn’t care about much of anything, which makes it all the more heart-warming when he shows up at the Kotter apartment and proves himself to be a natural when it comes to taking care of babies.  Woodman was usually such an bitter character that it’s impossible not to smile when you see how much he seems to sincerely like talking to one of the Kotter twins.

Woodman proves himself to be not such a bad guy but telling Kotter than he’ll give Barbarino a makeup exam and allow him to join the 11th Grade if he passes.  “But if he fails by one point,” Woodman says, “he stays in the 10th Grade.”

“Did I ever tell you about my uncle who was in the 10th Grade for three years?” Gabe replies.

Woodman says that he’s willing to bring gifts to the babies and give Vinnie a makeup exam but “I will not listen to one of your uncle stories.”

And that’s it for this episode!  This episode was pretty slight, with characters randomly coming in and out of the Kotter apartment and getting on Julie’s nerves.  I’m going to assume that Barbarino’s absence from much of the episode was due to Travolta’s burgeoning film career as opposed to Barbarino being held back a grade.  (Barbarino better pass that exam.  The Sweathogs need their leader!)  That said, the bit at the end with Woodman was funny and full of heart so I’ll give this episode a solid B.

Next week: Gabe and Barbarino buy a lottery ticket!

Godzilla Minus One (dir. by Takashi Yamazaki)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Although I’ve watched a number of Godzilla movies growing up, I’ve only gone to the movies for two. There was Roland Emmerich’s 1998 Godzilla, which was fun for the effects and cringe worthy for the acting. There was also Gareth Edwards 2014 Godzilla, that focused so heavily on the humans, it dodged fighting sequences until the last 30 minutes. Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One is an amazing piece of work that gives the audience a small group of humans to focus on versus a beast that’s a true terror to behold. I laughed, cheered, and gasped at times with this one.

Godzilla Minus One takes place over the course of a few years. When Kamikaze fighter pilot Koiji Shikishima lands on a secret refueling island, the soldiers there discover he’s been trying to dodge his responsibilities. Before anyone can react, however, a large beast arrives, laying waste to the entire base and only leaving Shikishima and head mechanic Tashibana alive.

A year later, Shikishima returns to his home villiage, which is damaged from the war. He happens upon a young woman, Noriko (Minami Hamabe, Shin Kamen Rider) and a little girl named Akiko. He takes them in and gives them shelter, but is haunted by nightmares of the beast. Can Shikishima confront his fears? Can Godzilla be stopped?

The script is one of Godzilla Minus One‘s best strengths. It does borrow from a number of different films, true. There are homages to Jaws, King Kong and even Dunkirk, but at the heart of it all are characters to cheer for (Doc was the stand out for me). Granted, there’s only so many storylines you can come up with when it comes to Kaiju stampeding through a city. Godzilla Minus One keeps things simple enough to make one wonder why their story angle wasn’t tried in any of the recent American adaptations. While I won’t say that American filmmakers don’t know how to handle Godzilla – Godzilla: King of the Monsters was enjoyable as well as Godzilla vs. Kong to a degree – Japan knows how to get the best of their creation, and it shows here.

Working off of a budget of about $15 Million (with some speculation that it’s less than that), Takashi Yamazaki also spearheaded the visual effects, along with Kiyoko Shibuya. The effects are used sparingly, and there are moments where you could think that maybe you’re looking at a guy in a suit. Still, the effects run that line between appearing practical and fully CGI. Some of it gets to be a little wild in the film’s 3rd act, but there’s so much fun involved that you might not notice any inconsistancies with the plot (“He’s just gonna stand there for all this?”, my cousin quipped as I relayed the movie to her scene by scene). From a sound and music standpoint, the film keeps all the classic Godzilla themes you know and love while varying things up a bit. The Godzilla screams are all there, as well. No real surprise there, of course.

Overall, Godzilla Minus One is a fun watch, raising the bar for what Godzilla films could be and puts Takashi Yamazaki’s name on the radar for future projects.

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Live Tweet Alert: Watch The Believers With #ScarySocial!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting 1987’s The Believers, starring Martin Sheen!

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  The film is available on Prime and Tubi!.  I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

 

Music Video of the Day: White Line by James Apollo (2014, dir by Jason Affolder)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I just recently discovered this video, despite the fact that it’s been around for a while.  I like the song, I like the music, and I love the fact that watching the video reminds me of my favorite (and sadly, now closed) restaurant/bar in Denton.  Sweetwater had a wonderful outdoor patio, where my friends and I would spend many a night having the most wonderful conversations ever.

This place also reminds me of a few of the clubs in Deep Ellum where I would attempt to flirt my way past the doorman go whenever I snuck out of my house I happened to be in the neighborhood.

Enjoy!