Monthly Archives: April 2025

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 3.7 “Happy To Be Here”

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 Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC!  It  can be viewed on Peacock.

This week, Bayliss loses it!

Episode 3.7 “Happy To Be Here”

(Dir by Lee Bonner, originally aired on November 18th, 1994)

This week’s episode was depressing even by Homicide standards.

Felton’s wife is still missing.  Felton confronts both Kay and Megan, convinced that they know something about it.  Does it ever occur to Felton that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have so much trouble in his marriage if he wasn’t always stumbling around like hulking dunk, sweating through his shirt and smoking up a storm?  Be the change, Felton.  Be the change.

Sam Thorne, the journalist played by Joe Morton, is assassinated by a Colombian cartel.  It turns out that his assassin was a teenager who agreed to do it in return for a new bike.  Giardello is shaken by the death of his friend and there’s a wonderfully acted scene in which Giardello visits Sam’s daughter (Maggie Rush).  This storyline served to remind the viewer that Yaphet Kotto, even if he spends most of the show in his office, really is the glue that holds this show together.  He’s the heart and the moral soul of Homicide.

Meanwhile, Bayliss has gone from being the clean-cut rookie to being someone who appears to be on the verge of having a complete and total breakdown.  He’s still seeing Emma Zoole and Lewis is still angry with him about it.  Emma likes to make love in a coffin.  Bayliss can accept that.  Emma wants Bayliss to hit her and that pushes Bayliss over the edge.  When he stops by a convenience store to pick up a six-pack of beer, he discovers that he’s a few pennies short.  The clerk says it doesn’t matter.  He can’t sell Bayliss the beer.  Bayliss responds by drawing his gun and robbing the place!  When the police arrive, Bayliss is sitting in his car and drinking a beer.

So, I guess Bayliss is going to prison now, right?  No, not in Baltimore.  Instead, Bayliss shows off his badge.  When that doesn’t work, he calls Pembleton.  Pembleton comes down to the store and gets the clerk to drop the charges in exchange for Bayliss serving as an unpaid security guard.  At the end of the episode, Bayliss is sitting in front of that store and hopefully thinking about how close he came to being sent to prison.

This was a good episode, one that looked at the pressure that goes along with being exposed to the worst that humanity has to offer.  Bayliss holding that store was a scene that probably should not have worked but it did, due to the performance of Kyle Secor.  In a manner of minutes, Secor took Bayliss from being tired but friendly to being so angry that I was worried he was actually going to shoot the clerk.  Not only did we see Bayliss’s dark side but we also saw Pembleton’s good side as he went out of his way to keep his partner from going to prison.

How much darker can things get in Baltimore?  We’ll find out next week!

Song of the Day: Rumble by Link Wray

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day is the only instrumental tune to be banned from being played on the radio.  Back in 1958, when Link Wray first released this song, it was felt that the title and the sound would promote juvenile delinquency and that the song had to be banned for the mental well-being of the nation’s youth.  The radio stations must have made the right decision because we all know how peaceful the 60s turned out to be.

Scenes That I Love: The Wheelchair Race From Days Of Thunder

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the great character actor, Michael Rooker.

For today’s scene that I love, we’ve got a fairly silly scene from a fairly silly movie.  Micahael Rooker and Tom Cruise play racing rivals in 1990’s Days Of Thunder.  In this scene, we see just how dedicated they are to always trying to be the first to make it to the finish line.

The Covers Of Breezy Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Enoch Bolles

Breezy Stories Magazine was first published in 1915 and had a run of over 300 issues.  That’s a huge amount for a pulp magazine.  Judging from the covers, the magazine promised a mix of stories and pin-ups.  Here’s just a small sampling of the covers of Breezy Stories!

by Archie Gunn

by Enoch Bolles

by Enoch Bolles

by Enoch Bolles

by Enoch Bolles

by Frederick Manning

by Frederick Manning

by Wanley Johnson

by Wanley Johnson

by Enoch Bolles

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Check it Out! 3.12 “Howard Hemingway”

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 and Peacock!

This week’s episode makes even less sense than usual.

Episode 3.12 “Howard Hemingway”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on November 22nd, 1987)

Weird episode.

Howard Bannister notices how many of the store’s customers are also buying trashy romance paperbacks.  He also notices how much Marlene and Edna enjoy reading them.  Howard decides that he should write a book of his own and become a millionaire!

(Heh heh …. go tell any working writer about the idea of becoming a millionaire off of one book and see how they react.)

Howard struggles.  He sits in his office and tries to write a book about a safari.  Because this episode aired in the 80s, he uses a typewriter.  Because I’ve worked as an administrative assistant, I immediately noticed that Howard was a terrible typist.  Soon, the floor of his office is covered in crumpled papers.  He just can’t find the right hook for his story.  Edna points out that he’s never been on safari.  All Howard knows about is running a grocery store.

And so Passion Aisle is born!

Howard writes a book based on Cobb’s and the people that he works with.  Since he only appears to work with five other people, I’m a little bit surprised that the book appeared to be as long as it was.  Somehow, Howard is able to talk a publisher into publishing his book.  Howard doesn’t even have an agent so I’m curious how he pulled that off but anyway….

No one wants to buy the book!  Howard finally ends up giving copies away at the store.  Some of the customers read it and immediately figure out that the trampy cashier “Arlene” is based on Marlene.  The employees at Cobb’s decide that, since the book is based on them, they deserve some of the money that Howard is making off of it.  Howard agrees even though there’s absolutely no reason for Howard to have done so.  Howard wrote the thing.  The employees really didn’t do anything.  Still, they get a 50/50 split….

Seriously, I don’t want to overanalyze this but it really bothers me that Howard finally managed to accomplish something on his own and his employees, rather than accepting that, immediately demanded that they be rewarded for his hard work.  Just because you inspired someone to write a book or paint of picture or do anything else doesn’t mean that your entitled to financial compensation.  Not even Canada has gone that communist yet.  Howard should have stood his ground.

But, he didn’t.  Everyone got a little bit of money and I assume that Howard is never going to write another book.  That’s kind of sad.  Howard’s been looking for an escape from Cobb’s since the show began.  He finally got one and was immediately punished for his initiative.  Poor Howard!

The Rangers Win Their Third Series Of The Season!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

I don’t want to jinx anything and the season is not even a month old but right now, my rangers are 7-2 and I’m feeling pretty good.  Yesterday, they beat the Rays 5-2 and today, they beat them 6-4.  I just hope the Rangers can keep winning like this for the entire season because there is a long way to go!

Here are the highlights of yesterday’s game against the Rays!

Roger Corman directed MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958), Charles Bronson’s first starring role!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’ve always appreciated the legendary Roger Corman, who was born on this day in 1926, because he gave Charles Bronson his first starring role in MACHINE GUN KELLY. I’ve heard Quentin Tarantino himself say that It’s the best movie that Corman ever directed. It was such an important movie for Bronson because it directly led to a HUGE break 10 years later when Alain Delon wanted him for his co-star in FAREWELL, FRIEND (1968). Delon wanted Bronson because he admired his performance as George Kelly.

Happy Birthday in heaven, Mr. Corman! Thanks for giving Charles Bronson, and so many greats, the break of a lifetime!

Love On The Shattered Lens: At First Sight (dir by Irwin Winkler)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

1999’s At First Sight tells the story of Amy (Mira Sorvino) and her boyfriend, Virgil (Val Kilmer).

Virgil seems to be just about perfect.  He’s intelligent.  He’s sensitive.  He knows just what to say when Amy’s crying.  He’s a masseuse and who doesn’t want to come home to a nice massage?  He loves hockey.  He’s a great guy to go for a walk with and he’s someone who always has his own individual way of interpreting the world.  However, Virgil is blind.  He’s been blind since he was three years old.  When Amy comes across an article about a doctor named Charles Aaron (Bruce Davison), who has developed an operation that could restore Virgil’s sight, Amy pushes Virgil to get operation.  In fact, Amy pushes him maybe just a bit too much.  Virgil regains his sight but struggles to adjust to being able to see the world around him.

For instance, he has no idea how to read Amy’s facial expressions.  He struggles with his depth perception and, at one point, even walks into a glass door.  He’s seeing the world for the first time and a lot of the things that amaze him are things that Amy takes for granted.  Virgil getting back his sight totally changes the dynamic of his relationship with Amy and soon, despite their best efforts, the two of them find themselves drifting apart.  Amy is even tempted by her ex (Steven Weber).  Meanwhile, Dr. Aaron suggests that Virgil talk to a therapist who can help him adjust to his new life.  Seize every experience, Phil Webster (Nathan Lane) suggests.  Really?  That’s the great advice?  I could have come up with that!

However, Virgil has a secret that he has been keeping from Amy.  There were no guarantees when it came to the operation and now, Virgil’s sight is starting to grow dim.  He’s just gained the ability to see the world but now, he’s about to lose it again.  Will he make it to one final hockey game before he loses his eyesight?  Will he finally discover what “fluffy” thing he was looking at before he went blind at the age of three?  And will Amy ever realize that it was kind of wrong for her to push him into getting an experimental operation that he didn’t even want?

At First Sight has its flaws, as you may have guessed.  The plot is often predictable.  The message of “seizing the day” and “enjoying every moment” has been delivered by countless other films.  (The movie seems to think we won’t notice the message is a cliche as long as it’s delivered by Nathan Lane.)  As directed by Irwin Winkler (who was better-known as a producer than as a director), the film moves at a slow pace and the two-hour plus running time feels excessive.  But it almost doesn’t matter when you’ve got stars as attractive and charismatic as Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino.  Whatever other flaws the film may have, it doesn’t lack chemistry between the two leads and I actually found myself very much caring about these characters and their relationship.  When it comes to romance, good chemistry can make up for a lot!

It was hard not to feel a bit sad while watching the film’s stars act opposite each other.  After the film was released, Mira Sorvino was blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein and her career has yet to really recover.  With his health struggles and his own reputation for being eccentric, Val Kilmer struggled to get good roles during the latter half of his career.  It was nice, though, to see them in At First Sight, looking young and happy and hopeful.  That’s one wonderful thing about the movies.  They save the moment.