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 T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990.  The show can be found on Tubi!

This week, the final season of T and T begins with some changes!

Episode 3.1 “Cracked”

(Dir by Don McCutcheon, originally aired on January 6th, 1990)

The first episode of the third season begins with all new opening credits.  We no longer hear about T.S. Turner’s backstory.  I guess it no longer matters that Turner was framed for a murder that he didn’t commit and that crusading lawyer Amy Taler got him out and put him in a suit and tie to work as a private investigator.

That’s not all though.  Amy herself is no longer listed in the opening credits.  Instead, there’s a new T in T & T.  Kristina Nicoll joins the cast as “Terri Taler.”  Judging by her last name, it’s easy to guess that she is meant to be Amy’s sister.  Of course, if the credits didn’t specifically tell you that Terri’s last name is Taler, you wouldn’t have the slightest idea who she was.  This episode begins with Terri already well-established as a neighborhood activist and as Turner’s partner.  Amy is not even mentioned.  It’s as if she just vanished and suddenly, there was Terri.

I have to admit that really bothered me.  It’s true that Amy didn’t get to do much during the second season and I can understand why Alex Amini might have wanted to do other things than just stand in the background while Mr. T growled.  But Amy was still technically the co-lead and it just feel wrong to not even have someone say, “Hey, what happened to Amy?”

(Joe Casper is also gone without explanation but Joe was never that important of a character to begin with.)

As for the episode itself, the neighborhood is sick of being home to a crack house.  While Terri encourages everyone to protest in front of the house and to take pictures of anyone going inside (which sounds like a good way to get some people killed, to be honest), T.S. tracks down the owner of the house and demands that he work with the police to get the crack dealers out of there.  T.S even goes undercover as a drug dealer so that he can get into the house himself….

Seriously, in what world, could Mr. T ever go undercover?  I mean, even in-universe, it’s established that T.S. is one of the people protesting the crack house.  How are the dealers not going to recognize T.S. Turner?  And before anyone says it’s because they’re smoking crack, let me just say that I have some doubts as to whether or not they actually were using that house as a crack house.  Seriously, it was the neatest and cleanest crack house that I’ve ever seen.

(Not that I’ve seen many crack houses, mind you.  I once lived across the street from someone who stole copper wiring for a living and his house was a mess so I assume a crack house would be even worse.)

Eh.  The third and final season is not off to a great start, you all.  Hopefully, next week, we’ll get an explanation as to why there’s now a different T in T and T.