Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 2.6 “Blind Dates”

Posted on June 13, 2026 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 Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, Mr. Belding is desperately trying to find someone to date his niece. Meanwhile, Zack is trying to avoid being suspended….

Episode 2.6 “Blind Dates”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 13th, 1990)

Mr. Belding needs someone to go on a blind date with his niece Penny but every guy at the school screams in horror at the idea. However, Zack has just received his tenth detention and is facing the prospect of being suspended for a week. Belding makes Zack an offer that he can’t refuse. If Zack goes on a date with Penny, he won’t be suspended. This sounds like the type of thing that could get Belding fired but instead, Zack agrees to go on the date….

Except Zack already has plans for that night! Kelly is having her birthday party at the Max!

Zack’s solution? Put a blonde wig on Screech and have him take Penny on the date.

I notice that Zack’s solutions always seem to involve Screech pretending to be someone other than Screech. Penny (Jodi Peterson) turns out to be a totally normal girl and she has a great time with Screech when they go to …. Kelly’s birthday party! Of course, Penny thinks Screech is Zack and that Zack is Screech and just writing all of this is making my head hurt. When Kelly finds out that Penny is planning on going home with “Zack,” Kelly calls her “an un-nice person,” which is a pretty neat turn of phrase. But then Kelly learns the truth and, to Slater’s chagrin, Kelly falls even more in love with Zack.

Meanwhile, Jessie freaks out because her blind date, Brett (Timothy Williams), is several inches shorter than her. I have to say that Jessie’s recurring insecurity about being tall was one of the few things that Saved By The Bell consistently handled well. (It certainly handled it better than her later caffeine pill addiction.) Brett was adorable and it was kind of sweet that he eventually won Jessie over just by being a really cool guy.

Jessie’s storyline aside, this is the type of Saved By The Bell episode that drives me crazy. Most of the conflict — actually, all of the conflict — could have been avoided by everyone just not being an idiot. It’s hard to believe that Zack couldn’t come up with a solution to his problems that didn’t involve putting a blonde wig on Screech. I get that Belding was desperate to find a date for Penny but the idea that he would turn to Zack, even under the most extreme of circumstances, seemed like a reach.

Probably the funniest moment in this episode was when Zack learned he had received his tenth detention and everyone in the studio audience groaned. Don’t worry, folks. Zack will be okay!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/7/26 — 6/13/26

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Election Coverage

I was hoping that the Democrats of Maine would show a little decency and reject Graham Platner but it didn’t happen. Two years from now, everyone will claim they were against Platner from the start.

George Gently (YouTube)

George Gently and Inspector Bachus investigated a murder in 1968. The killer turned out to be a smug child. It was a pretty depressing episode.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

Jeff and I watched three more episodes of this Japanese series on Saturday morning. The space witch is still trying to conquer the planet. Fortunately, there’s always a giant robot around to stop her.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

Jeff and I watched a handful of episodes of this old 90s show over the week. Garry Shandling played a neurotic talk show host. Rip Torn was his producer. Jeffrey Tambor was the sidekick and Bob Odenkirk was the agent. The show made me laugh a lot more than I expected I would. Rip Torn could make any line funny. One scene, with Jeffrey Tambor singing Spinning Wheel, will stay in my memory forever.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

I finally watched season 3 this week. I’m amazed that Beavis and Butthead are still alive. Tom Anderson’s War Stories are so wholesome.

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

On Friday, we watched an episode about how bands were using animation in their music videos. The episode was from the early 80s so the animation really wasn’t that impressive.

The Simpsons (Disney+)

After watching Glengarry Glen Ross on Friday, I watched an episode featuring Old Gil (who was clearly based on Jack Lemmon) overstaying his welcome at the Simpsons home. “Eggs a la Harold Stassen …. because they’re always running!”

Twisted Yoga (Apple TV+)

This was yet another docuseries about a cult. This ran into the same problem that a lot of cult documentaries run into. It’s hard to have much sympathy for anyone stupid enough to get brainwashed in the first place.

Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (Netflix)

On Sunday and Monday, I watched the second season of this reality show about what happens when prisoners are allowed more freedom than usual. Prisoners just aren’t that interesting. There’s only so many times you can listen to someone say, “Treat me like a man,” before you get bored with it.

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 2.7 “Sandcastles”

Posted on June 13, 2026 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 Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001. The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.

This week, it’s Eddie vs Hector the Collector!

Episode 2.7 “Sandcastles”

(Dir by Monte Markham, originally aired on October 28th, 1991)

Eddie is freaking out because there’s too many homeless people on the beach. As he explains it to Shauni, he’s always feared that he could end up homeless. When Shauni suggests that maybe the homeless could live on a deserted army base, Eddie says that people like that are never willing to accept help. Eddie is really not a fan of the homeless!

Of course, in Eddie’s defense, he does get stabbed in the shoulder by a homeless man at the start of this episode. Hector the Collector (Ron Howard George) not only breaks into Eddie’s lifeguard tower but he also tries to steal a framed photograph of Shauni. When Eddie tries to stop him, Hector plunges a shard of glass into Eddie’s shoulder!

Hobie, meanwhile, is having a far better experience with the homeless. He meets Charlie (played by a young Nikki Cox), who is living in an abandoned power plant with her mother (Wendy Robie, who played the one-eyed Nadine on Twin Peaks). When Charlie’s mother disappears, Hobie helps Charlie look for her. When Hector the Collector steals Charlie’s journal, the entire Baywatch crew is there to help her get it back. Fortunately, Mitch is also there to save Charlie when she gets shoved into the ocean by Hector.

WOW! What is Hector’s problem!?

“Mine! Mine!” Hector hisses whenever anyone tries to take back any of the stuff that he’s stolen.

Calm down, Hector!

Meanwhile, Harvey needs a new place to live. Harvey? Oh yeah, he’s the new goofy lifeguard. He can’t sleep in his tower. He can’t live with Mitch. However, Harvey finds a big house with a pool and immediately imagines hundreds of swimsuit-clad women beckoning him to swim with him. This episode has two musical montages, one involving the homeless and one involving Harvey and a bunch of imaginary women. I’m getting the feeling that Baywatch really wasn’t that concerned with the problem of homelessness in Los Angeles.

Baywatch was (and, since it’s been revived for the upcoming television season, is) a very odd show. This episode deals with a very real social problem and David Hasselhoff is so earnest in the scenes that he shares with Nikki Cox that you can’t help but feel that maybe the Hoff’s heart was in the right place. But the show itself always seems more concerned with getting to the next beach shot. Watching this episode, you can hear the producers whispering, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to spend too much time with these homeless people….”

Anyway, the important thing is that everything works out for the best. Harvey moves in with some flight attendants. Charlie is reunited with her mother. And Hector the Collector gets the help he needs. Don’t you worry, Baywatch will be always there.

Live Tweet Alert: Join #ScarySocial For Truth or Dare!

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on Twitter and Mastodon. 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, at 10 pm et, #ScarySocial presents 2017’s Truth or Dare!

If you want to join us this Saturday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

Truth or Dare is available on Prime! See you there!

Song of the Day: Title Music From A Clockwork Orange by Wendy Carlos

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Seeing as how today is Malcolm McDowell’s birthday, it only seems right that today’s song of the day should be one that was used in his best-known film.

The Title Music For A Clockwork Orange was, of course, adapted from Music For The Funeral of Queen Mary, composed by Henry Purcell.

Scene of the Day: Malcolm McDowell in O Lucky Man!

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this scene from 1973’s O Lucky Man, Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) comes to the end of his very long journey and finds himself auditioning for a role in a Lindsay Anderson film.

Anderson, of course, was also the director of O Lucky Man! and it’s obvious that the film that Mick is auditioning for is meant to be Anderson’s previous film, If.

McDowell, of course, actually did star in If. In fact, he played a character named Mick Travis.

After all of his surreal adventures, can Mick still smile enough to get the part?

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Malcolm McDowell Edition

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Malcolm McDowell! It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Malcolm McDowell Films