Beware!
Enjoy!
(And be sure to check out what Gary Loggins had to say about this song!)
Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman
Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 3.6 “Bad Penny”
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 Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The entire series can be found on YouTube!
This week …. hey, it’s a good episode!
Episode 3.6 “Bad Penny”
(Dir by William Fruet, originally aired October 30th, 1989)
The Coin of Ziocles returns! Last seen being used by a cult to raise the dead, the Coin is recovered from a construction site at the start of this episode. This turned out to be the best episode of the third season so far. Here’s a few reasons why:
- First off, with this episode, Friday the 13th finally showed that it still remembered its own history. The last time Jack, Micki, and Ryan sought the coin, Micki was actually killed and remained dead until Ryan and Jack figured out how to use the coin to bring her back to life. With this episode, we discover that Micki has some serious PTSD as a result of the experience which actually makes a lot of sense. In the past, I’ve always felt this show tended to gloss over just how traumatizing it would be to deal with cursed antiques on a daily basis. With this episode, we see that Micki can’t even look at the site where she was killed without starting to shake. It was realistic and Robey did a great job portraying Micki’s emotions.
- In yet another nod to continuity, Johnny stole the coin and used it to bring back his dead father. In the past, I’ve felt like Johnny was a bit too quick to accept the idea of the antiques being cursed. With this episode, we saw that the inexperienced Johnny doesn’t quite understand that danger of the cured antiques. Ryan, Micki, and Jack would never have made the mistake of using the antique or trusting anything that had once been owned by Uncle Lewis but Johnny is still learning.
- Steve Monarque and Sean McCann both did excellent work as Johnny and his father. Needless to say, Johnny’s father is confused when he’s brought back from the dead. His struggle to understand what was happening brought tears to my eyes. It’s been less than a year since I lost my Dad. I’d probably do the same thing Johnny did. In the end, Johnny sent his father back into the afterlife. It was so sad!
- Micki writes a letter to Ryan. It’s probably one that she won’t ever send but it’s good to see that the show at least acknowledged how difficult it would have been for her to say goodbye to Ryan.
- By mentioning Ryan so much, this show actually made it easier for me to accept Johnny as his replacement. Over the past few episodes, I kind of resented how quickly Johnny seemed to be stepping into replace him. This episode showed me that Ryan is still loved.
- The villains — a corrupt cop and his zombified partner — were a bit over-the-top but still entertaining. For once, this episode focused on our heroes and I was glad it did.
This was an excellent episode of Friday the 13th! I hope it’s a sign of things to come for the rest of the third season.
Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 1.16 “Monday, Tuesday, Sven Day”
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 Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!
It’s another day in Boston.
Episode 1.16 “Monday, Tuesday, Sven Day”
(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on March 1st, 1983)
It’s a busy day at St. Eligius. Here’s a breakdown:
- The racial conflict is continuing. Putting a young white man and a young black man in the same hospital room leads to an all-out brawl. Some poor guy walking down the hall on a broken leg gets trampled in the melee. Agck!
- A man in a crude astronaut’s uniform shows up at the ER. He doesn’t get any lines but his name tag identifies him as “J. Masius,” which is a reference to one of the show’s writers.
- Oh, hey, it turns out that kid who claimed he was jumped by a bunch of black guys actually wasn’t jumped by a bunch of black guys. Instead, his father (Dick O’Neill) beat him up. Dr. Westphall threatens to beat up the kid’s dad. They may be old but they both grew up on the streets of Boston! What is it with old men from Boston and they’re need to threaten each other with fisticuffs?
- Dr, Chandler hears another doctor make a racist remake and gets angry. “I keep forgetting he’s black,’ the doctor says.
- Dr. Morrison apologizes on behalf of the racist doctor. Chandler tells Morrison that he’ll never understand what it’s like to be black. Morrison agrees but then points out that he only lives two blocks away from Chandler so he does understand what it’s like to live in a poor neighborhood. Uhmm….see, this is why I was kind of dreading watching this show try to deal with racism. St. Elsewhere has been a good show so far but well-intentioned TV writer liberalism is usually the cringiest liberalism there is.
- Peter’s wife is pregnant. Peter is not the father. Peter asks a nurse for a loan so that he can pay his wife’s abortion.
- By the way, Peter is sleeping with the nurse who unknowingly paid for his wife’s abortion.
- There’s no way any of this is going to end well.
- A sex worker comes in to get her appendix removed. “I love my job,” Fiscus says after telling her to undress. Ugh, what a pig. I get that guys say stuff like that when they’re talking to each other and that’s fine but you don’t say that to someone when they’re in terrible pain and in the emergency room.
- Finally, the show’s best storyline featured Ehrlich going to party at Dr. Craig’s house for a visiting Scandinavian doctor named Sven. Ehrlich brings Shirley Daniels as his date and proceeds to have way too much to drink. This storyline was fun because it highlight William Daniels’s wonderfully sardonic portrayal of the abrasive Dr. Craig. I love that Ehrlich is both terrified of and desperate to impress him. Drunk Ed Begley, Jr. was definitely this episode’s highlight.
This was an okay episode. It wasn’t the most memorable that I’ve seen but I did enjoy that terrible party at Dr. Craig’s house. Terrible parties are always so much more fun to watch than good ones.
Song of the Day: A Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer
Sharing that Michael Caine scene reminded me of how much I loved the soundtrack of the entire Dark Knight trilogy. Here, from the end of the Dark Knight, is a bit of Hans Zimmer’s iconic score.
Scenes That I Love: Michael Caine says, “I Won’t Bury You” in The Dark Knight Rises
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 92nd birthday to Sir Michael Caine.
With 177 acting credits listed on the imdb, Michael Caine started his regular acting career in 1956 and only recently retired. (He actually made his acting debut, at the age of 10, in a made-for-TV movie in 1946.) There are many great Michael Caine performances and scenes to choose from but, for today, I decided to go for a scene from 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Caine was 79 when he played Alfred in this film and he showed that, after decades of work, he hadn’t lost a step as a performer. As well, he also showed his ability to take a character who could have been ridiculous — the loyal butler of a superhero — and instead make him surprisingly poignant. With this scene, Caine proved himself to be the heart of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Happy birthday to one of the greatest actors of our age or any age for that matter.
4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wolfgang Petersen Collection
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, the Shattered Lens celebrates German director Wolfgang Petersen. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Wolfgang Petersen Films
Das Boot (1981, dir by Wolfgang Petersen, DP: Jost Vocano)
The NeverEnding Story (1984, dir by Wolfgang Petersen, DP: Jost Vocano)
In The Line of Fire (1993, dir by Wolfgang Petersen, DP: John Bailey)
The Perfect Storm (2000, dir by Wolfgang Petersen, DP: John Seale)
Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix For Get Shorty!
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, #FridayNightFlix presents the original 1995’s Get Shorty!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
Get Shorty is available on Prime and Tubi! See you there!
Music Video of the Day: Leave by Jessica Simpson (2025, dir by ????)
Today’s music video of the day is the latest from Jessica Simpson. Jessica Simpson actually went to my high school, though she was a student long before I got there. She was often held up as an example of what we, as students, could achieve even though she dropped out without graduating.
In other words, don’t worry too much about that diploma.
Enjoy!
Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.16 “A Song of Songs”
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, not even the presence of the great James Earl Jones can save Highway to Heaven.
Episode 3.16 “A Song of Songs”
(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on January 21st, 1987)
Mark and Jonathan are driving out in the middle of nowhere, waiting for their next assignment. Mark is annoyed. He says he’s been driving for ten hours. Personally, I think Mark has every right to be annoyed. I’ve noticed that Jonathan never drives. Are angels not allowed to drive? Did he never learn how? It seems a bit self-centered to make Mark do all the driving.
Eventually, Jonathan and Mark stop off at a roadhouse. Mark order a huge amount of ribs. Jonathan smiles, even though Mark is going to give himself a heart attack if he’s not careful. By an amazing coincidence, an old friend of Mark’s is also at the roadhouse. Gabe (James Earl Jones) is a blind jazz pianist. He’s also this week’s assignment.
Jonathan and Mark are hired to work at a storefront church that is led by Eleanor (Rosalind Cash). Eleanor is strict and demanding and when her daughter (Akosua Busia) wants to go off on her own and perform her own type of music, Eleanor accuses her of only caring about “the devil’s music.” It turns out that Eleanor is also Gabe’s ex-girlfriend! Eleanor was not always so strict. Can Jonathan and Mark bring these two back together and also repair the relationship between Eleanor and her daughter?
Eh, this episode didn’t do much for me. I hate to say that because James Earl Jones was one of our best actors and he’s definitely the strongest thing about this episode but overall, the plot was a bit too predictable and both Rosalind Cash and Akosua Busia gave such over-the-top performances that it was hard to take their storyline seriously. This was Highway to Heaven at its most predictable and the episode didn’t even benefit from Michael Landon’s trademark earnestness. It just fell flat.
Oh well, there’s always next week. Maybe Mark will finally get a break from always having to do the driving! I wouldn’t count on it, though.
Song of the Day: Fargo, North Dakota by Carter Burwell
Since it’s William H. Macy’s birthday, it only makes sense that today’s song of the day should come from a film that is not only one of Macy’s best but which also features one of the best score ever recorded. From Carter Burwell, here is Fargo, North Dakota.
Through the Shattered Lens