Daily Archives: February 6, 2026

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.1 “Dream Come True”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

This week, we begin the second season!  Welcome back to Springwood!

Season 2.1 “Dream Come True”

(Dir by George Kaczender, originally aired on October 8th, 1989)

The second season of Freddy’s Nightmares features Freddy getting involved in the action.

The first story features Freddy haunting the nightmares of teenager Randy Jennings (David Kaufman), who has only recently moved to Springwood with his mother, Cathy (Linda Miller).  Randy is having nightmares about Freddy so his mother buys tickets to attend a talk show hosted by Stan Brooks (Jay Thomas).  Stan’s guest is therapist Dr. Brandon Kefler (Scott Marlowe), who has written a book about nightmares.  Cathy begs Brandon to see Randy and, after being pressured by Stan, Brandon agrees.  Stan arranges for cameraman Garry Heath (Gerard Prendergrast) to film the session.

At the Jennings home, Brandon talks to Randy about his nightmares.  Brandon’s therapy seems to work as, afterwards, Randy is able to sleep peacefully and without having any nightmares.  However, it turns out that Freddy just jumped from Randy’s mind to Brandon’s!  (Hey, didn’t almost the same thing happen in a movie, something about an exorcism….)  Soon, Brandon is the one who is having nightmares and being driven mad by visions….

As for the second story, it deals with Garry the cameraman and his belief that Freddy Kruger is real.  One reason why Garry believes that Freddy is real is because Freddy keeps showing up in footage that he’s filmed.  Unfortunately, no one else can see Freddy, certainly not Garry’s boss (Charles Cyphers).  Even more unfortunately, the body of Garry’s girlfriend is found in a dumpster and the police aren’t buying Garry’s story that Freddy did it….

This episode actually wasn’t that bad, especially compared to some of the episodes that aired during the show’s first season.  Perhaps it’s because this episode was the first of the season and the production budget hadn’t gone dry yet but Dream Come True actually features some adequate production values.  The house looks like a real house.  The television studio looks like a place where something would actually be filmed.  The abandoned warehouse with Garry tries to confront Freddy is actually an atmospheric location and the episode even manages to generate a little suspense, even if neither plot is particularly original.  Both Scott Marlowe and Gerard Pendergrast give decent performances in their stories and, as always, Robert Englund is a properly evil Freddy.

(That said, the show did manage to misspell Charles Cyphers’s name in the opening credits, despite the fact that he was this episode’s big guest star.  I did a double take when I saw “Charles Syphers,” on my screen.  Seriously, the man was Sherriff Brackett!)

Despite getting Charles Cypher’s name wrong, this was still a good start to the final season.  It’ll be interesting to see if the remaining episodes live up to it.

The Society of Composers and Lyricists Honors Sinners

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Society of Composers and Lyricists has announced its picks for the best of 2025.  The winners are listed in bold.

Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON – Sinners
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT – Frankenstein
JONNY GREENWOOD – One Battle After Another
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ & JOHN POWELL – Wicked: For Good
MAX RICHTER – Hamnet
JERSKIN FENDRIX – Bugonia

Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film
DARA TAYLOR – Straw
BRYCE DESSNER – Train Dreams
DAVID FLEMING – Eternity
FABRIZIO MANCINELLI – Out of the Nest
JÓNSI & ALEX SOMMERS – Rental Family

SARA BARONE & FOREST CHRISTENSON – To Kill a Wolf

Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production
DIANE WARREN – “Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless
ALICE SMITH, MILES CATON & LUDWIG GÖRANSSON – “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” from Sinners
RAPHAEL SAADIQ & LUDWIG GÖRANSSON – “I Lied to You” from Sinners
SARA BAREILLES – “Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from Come See Me in the Good Light
NIKHIL KOPARKAR & RAMMY PARK – “The Hills of Tanchico” from The Wheel of Time
ED SHEERAN, BLAKE SLATKIN & JOHN MAYER – “Drive” from F1

Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production
EJAE & MARK SONNENBLICK – “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ – “No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ – “The Girl in the Bubble” from Wicked: For Good
JACK BLACK & JARED HESS – “Steve’s Lava Chicken” from A Minecraft Movie
MARK RONSON, ANDREW WYATT & JACK BLACK – “I Feel Alive” from A Minecraft Movie
BLAKE SLATKIN, SHAKIRA & ED SHEERAN – “Zoo” from Zootopia 2

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 3.8 “Sweet Dreams”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Daily Motion.

I miss when this show on Hulu and available to rent on Prime.  The Daily Motion uploads are not the best (especially where sound quality is concerned) but, for now at least, that’s what I’m having to go with.

Episode 3.8 “Sweet Dreams”

(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on November 14th, 1984)

This week’s episode was all about sleep and the dreams that might come with sleep.

Westphall, as usual, gets the most depressing storyline.  He can’t sleep.  He has insomnia.  Of course, he does.  Anything depressing that doesn’t happen to Dr. Morrison will inevitably happen to Dr. Westphall instead.

Dr. Craig tries to figure out why one of his patients died in his sleep with a terrified look on his face.  Can a nightmare cause someone to have a heart attack?

Dr. Cavanero diagnoses a man with sleep apnea.

Meanwhile, we get a peek at the dreams of three members of the St. Elsewhere staff.

Luther dreams of being kicked out of the hospital by two security guards.  Fortunately, ZZ Top is standing outside of the hospital and they order three women to kidnap Luther in a big red car and turn him into a sharp-dressed man.  Luther and his new friends invade the hospital, toss out the security guards, and invite Warren Coolidge to come hang out with them.  ZZ Top performs Legs, which seems odd since the song is about a woman who has legs and knows how to use them but Luther is the one getting the makeover.  Well, whatever.  It’s a cute dream and a nice break from Dr. Westphall looking depressed.

Both Victor and Jack agree to take part in a sleep study.  Victor is yanked out of the study by Dr. Craig but, before that happens, we do get to see Victor’s dream of washing up on an island that is ruled by Amazons.

As for Jack Morrison’s recurring dream, it’s just about as dark as you would expect when it comes to the only character who has suffered more heartache than Dr. Westphall.  In Morrison’s dream, he finds himself wandering around the deserted hospital.  He hears someone playing Led Zeppelin in the morgue.  He goes down there and discovers Peter White waiting for him.

Morrison and White speak.  Even in death, White is whiny and defensive.  Morrison repeatedly asks whether or not White was the ski mask rapist and, every time, White refuses to give a direct answer.  However, when Morrison is about to leave the morgue, White is suddenly wearing a blue ski mask.  Morrison wakes up from each dream with a jolt, terrified to face the truth about the man who he defended against his better judgment.

(I have to admit that, if I was a nurse or a doctor at St. Eligius, I would have mixed feelings about Morrison.  Yes, he seems to be well-meaning and he’s suffered his share of tragedy.  But the fact that he continued to be a friend — albeit with a certain ambivalence — to Dr. White would make me very uncomfortable.  I know that Morrison would probably point out that Dr. White was acquitted but everyone at the hospital knew he was guilty.  Everyone but Morrison, apparently.)

This was a good episode and a bit of a reset after all the drama of the Peter White storyline.  Well-directed, well-acted, and very atmospheric, this was St. Elsewhere at its best.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Francois Truffaut Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, on what would have been his 94th birthday, TSL pays tribute to the great Francois Truffaut.  No one captured the act of falling in love in life, people, and cinema with the skill, sensitivity, and humor of Francois Truffaut.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Francois Truffaut Films

Shoot the Piano Player (1960, dir by Francois Truffaut, DP: Raoul Coutard)

Fahrenheit 451 (1966, dir by François Truffaut, DP: Nicolas Roeg)

Day For Night (1973, dir by François Truffaut, DP: Pierre-William Glenn)

The Story of Adele H. (1975, dir by Francois Truffaut, DP: Nestor Almendros)

Song of the Day: My, My, My (by Johnny Gill)

Posted on by Arleigh

When “My, My, My” first floated across the airwaves in 1990, it felt like smooth perfection — the kind of song that made time slow down just a little. Johnny Gill’s voice carried that deep, unmistakable mix of confidence and tenderness that defined R&B at its best. It was the slow jam every prom DJ had queued up, waiting for the lights to dim and for couples to drift onto the floor. For anyone in high school back then, this was the dance moment — the one you replayed in your head for days afterward.

But what made it special was how it lived beyond those prom nights. This was one of those early-’90s R&B staples that found its way onto countless mixtapes — the kind carefully labeled and slipped into someone’s hand with a hopeful grin. It was the soundtrack of summer romances, of those shy exchanges that felt like the beginning of forever. With Gill’s velvet delivery and that lush Babyface-L.A. Reid production, even teenage crushes suddenly felt legendary.

And honestly, let’s be real — you don’t even need to take my word for it. Just one listen to Johnny’s sweet, dulcet tones and you know this was the kind of track that did more than inspire slow dancing. It’s baby-making music, through and through — smooth, soulful, and absolutely irresistible.

My, My, My

Yeah
Mmmh, mmh, mmmh, so good

My, My, My (you look so sweet)
Listen
Put on your red dress
And slip on your high heels
And some of that sweet perfume
It sure smells good on you

Slide on your lipstick and
Let all your hair down
Cause Baby when you get through
I’m going to show you

Tonight will be a special night
No matter where we go
And I’m so proud to be with you
I just wanna let you know

You got my saying
My, My, My
My, My, My
You sure look good tonight
And you’re so damn fine
I wanna say
My, My, My
My, My, My

You sure look good tonight

After all this time
Slip on your nightgown
Step in our bedroom
First I wanna take sometime

I just wanna look at you
Girl you are so fine
I can’t believe you’re mine
And all that I wanna do

I wanna make love to you
Tonight will be a special night
Of many more to come

And I’m so proud to be with you
So proud to share you’re love

My, My, My
My, My, My (You sure look good tonight)
I wanna say, My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My

Make love all night long
Make love ’til the break of dawn

Come on
Come on
Sweet little thing yes you do

Yes you do, yes you do, you do, do, do

And I’m so proud to be with you
So proud to share you’re love
My, My, My
My, My, My
You sure look good tonight

I wanna love you, in every way, every way
Let me
Let me
Show you how sweet it’s gonna be
I wanna show you things that you

Never, ever, ever seen before
Put your nightgown on
Let your hair hang low
Step into our room
I’m in the mood to love you all night long

You got me saying My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My

Say My, My, My
See all you gotta do
All you gotta do
Is say that you’ll be mine all mine, My, My, My
My, My, My (You’ll be all mine tonight baby)
You sure look good tonight
Let me, let me, show you how sweet it’s gonna be

Oh, My, My, My
My, My, My (You sure look good tonight) My, My, My
My, My, My
My, My, My (You sure look good tonight) My, My, My
My, My, My (You sure look good tonight) My, My, My

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Cherry 2000!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, 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, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  The movie?  1988’s Cherry 2000

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find Cherry 2000 on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

Scenes That I Love: Ronald Reagan in Kings Row

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love features future President Ronald Reagan, giving what he considered to be his best performance in 1942’s Kings Row.  He liked one of the lines in this scene so much that he used it as the title for autobiography.

On what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 115th birthday, here is today’s scene that I love.  38 years after this scene, Reagan would be elected to his first term, saving the country from the twin scourge of the incompetent Jimmy Carter and the pompous John Anderson.  Ronald Reagan would go on to save the world from communism, at least temporarily.  Not bad for a self-described “B-actor!”

 

Music Video of the Day: Can I Go Now? by Jennifer Love Hewitt (2003, dir by Liz Friedlander)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Don’t mess with Jennifer Love Hewitt!

I’ve always liked Jennifer Love Hewitt, largely because we’re both Texas girls, we both have what others seem to consider to be an unusual sense of humor, and I imagine that we both share the same struggle when it comes to having to remind men that our eyes are up here.  Of course, for all that we have in common, a huge difference between the two of us is that Jennifer Love Hewitt can actually sing whereas I can barely carry a tune.

Can I Go Now? was the second single to be released from her 2003 album, BareNaked.  In the video, Jennifer fights with her boyfriend, she leaves her boyfriend, she returns to her boyfriend, she leaves her boyfriend …. it’s a never-ending cycle of coming and going so I guess the answer to the question is that you can really never leave.  At one point, she joins her boyfriend in the shower and he kind of gets weird about it.  I’m not really sure what to make of this guy.  I would definitely leave and not return until he found a place that had a wall between the kitchen and the living room.

Enjoy!