Here’s my thoughts on what I watched this week.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Abbott‘s back.  Jeanine and Gregory are dating and they’re a cute couple.  That said, I can’t help but remember how The Office kind of started to become less interesting once Pam and Jim officially became a couple.  Single, neurotic people are always funnier than stable people in love.

It’ll be interesting to see how this season goes.  Last season, I got annoyed with Jeanine working for the district and the show itself occasionally got a bit heavy-handed in a way that it hadn’t during the previous seasons.  At the time, I choose to believe that season’s weaker moments were due to the season being shortened by all the strikes that were going on.  I’m hoping this new season will prove me correct.

Ava continues to be the best character on the show.

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

After an incredibly uneven first season, Fox’s crime anthology show is back for a second season.  The first episode featured a psychic accused and on trial.  Felicity Huffman (who hasn’t really been seen much ever since she was implicated in the so-called Varsity Blues scandal) and William H. Macy provided some star power but the overall results were still pretty dull. I’m not a huge fan of anthology shows in general.  They always seem to be trying a bit too hard.

American Sports Story: Aaron Herndanez (Tuesday, FX)

This week, Aaron started to find fame as a pro football player with the New England Patriots, while continuing to deal with stress by hanging out with lowlifes and criminals.  While struggling to maintain the squeaky clean image that the NFL demanded from its players, Hernandez also beat up his abusive stepfather.  Much as with last week, this episode was well-done but it still feels as if the show is dragging out the story a bit too much.  This episode was about 20 minutes worth of story stretched out over 50 minutes.  Needless to say, it did start to feel a bit repetitive after a bit.  The attempt to use Aaron Hernandez’s stupidity as a way to comment on American society continues to feel a bit half-baked.

Dr. Phil (Pluto TV)

“Shut up!” Kaye yelled, when confronted about her Nigerian boyfriend, who she has never actually met despite selling her house and sending him the money.  I know Kaye was embarrassed but yelling shut up isn’t going to get her money back.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

One chef left the show to go to the hospital.  Another hurt his back and voluntarily withdrew from the competition.  The Blue Team had a terrible dinner service and a Chef Ramsay sent another chef home.  The Red Team is getting pretty cocky, which I’m going to assume means that they’re going to fall apart next episode.  Getting cocky is always the worst thing that any chef can do on Hell’s Kitchen.  Hell’s Kitchen remains one of the few reality shows to remain as entertaining today as when it first aired.  The show has been smart enough to stick to its formula and not change things up just to satisfy whatever the current cultural trend may be.

Homicide: Life On The Streets (Peacock)

I wrote about Homicide here!

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week’s episode saw SVU‘s Mariska Hargitay making a guest appearance on Law & Order and it really does show just how much things have changed as far as this franchise is concerned.  At one time, SVU was kind of like Law & Order‘s sordid and little-acknowledged bastard cousin and it was a big deal if anyone from L&O lowered themselves to make an appearance on SVU.  Now, things are reversed.  Law & Order is still struggling to find its voice in  the 2020s and it’s SVU that’s providing some star power to its struggling cousin.

On another note, I’m surprised that there’s any tech gurus left in New York as they seem to be the number one victim of choice on Law & Order.  If they’re not getting murdered, they’re going to jail.

I continue to miss Jack McCoy.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Miami Vice (Amazon Prime)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday, I watched an episode from 1988.  The first half of the episode featured music videos, including X’s Devil Doll.  The second half took a look at “upcoming” films, including one in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi teamed up to fight crime.  No, it wasn’t The Principal.

One Step Beyond (YouTube)

This week, I have continued to watch and share episodes of this old anthology show.  I’ve been having a lot of fun watching this show.