Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Tom Hanks Edition

Posted on 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 Tom Hanks!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Tom Hanks Films

Big (1988, dir by Tom Hanks, DP: Barry Sonnenfeld)

Apollo 13 (1995, dir by Ron Howard, DP: Dean Cundey)

Cast Away (2000, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Don Burgess)

Captain Phillips (2013, dir by Paul Greengrass, DP: Barry Ackroyd)

 

 

Thoughts On The Culture — 7/9/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

F*ck Off, Graham

Last night, Graham Platner announced that he is “suspending” his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

I don’t live in Maine, and I absolutely hate it when out-of-staters start talking about Texas politics. So I’ve kept my feelings to myself, but what the hell — I might as well say it now. None of the stuff that has come out about Graham Platner has taken me by surprise. I felt like I pretty much knew who he was as soon as I saw him in his underwear, drunk and making someone else’s wedding reception all about him. Every woman has known a Graham Platner. He’s the guy who has a big personality, who says all the right stuff, and who seems to be just troubled enough to fool you into thinking you can save him. He’s the guy who always has to be the center of attention, the guy who always thinks he’s right, and the guy who has a thousand sob stories to make you feel guilty for ever doubting him. No one has any right to claim to have been shocked to discover who Graham Platner actually was.

He’s a forgotten figure today, but this whole Platner thing reminds me of Aaron Coleman, the 20-year-old DSA kid who, in 2020, narrowly defeated an incumbent in a primary for the Kansas House. The Intercept promoted him as a future leader of America.

After he won the primary, it turned out that Coleman had a history of abusing his girlfriends and was once arrested for threatening to shoot up his school. Like Platner, he blamed the whole thing on PTSD and basically had a dramatic sob story for every accusation. He was asked to withdraw, but unlike Platner, he refused.

Coleman won because he was running in a blue district and no Republican had bothered to file for the general election. He did a lot of bragging when he won the election, but he was such a toxic figure that no one was willing to work with him, and his district was basically left without effective representation for two years. He served one totally disastrous term and then received only 13% of the vote when he ran for reelection.

Platner has suspended his campaign, though he has yet to file the paperwork to make his withdrawal official. He released an 11-minute video last night. Sitting through the entire thing is not easy. Platner rants that the accusations against him are false and says he’s been set up by “the system” and “the political establishment.” If that’s the case, why drop out? If your entire movement is about fighting the system, why would you surrender the minute the system fights back?

Democrats are going to hold a convention to pick a new nominee. Here’s my unpopular opinion: I don’t think they should be allowed to pick a new nominee. 73% of the Democratic primary voters cast their ballots for a man who had a Nazi tattoo for several years and who was credibly accused of abuse even before the primary. My feeling is that if you’re dumb enough to vote for a Graham Platner or a Roy Moore, then you should deal with the consequences of your stupidity. You don’t get a do-over. Sorry.

Watching Platner’s video, I noticed how angry he was. If there’s any self-reflection going on, it wasn’t evident. Platner seems like one of those guys who is going to end up becoming a perennial third-party candidate. Everyone who made excuses for him in 2026 and who claimed that his scandals were actually evidence of his “authenticity” will pretend they never supported him.

Senator Patrick Dempsey?

One of the stranger moments during the whole Platner mess was when it was revealed that some Democrats were trying to recruit actor Patrick Dempsey to run for the now-open nomination. Dempsey declined, even though it’s not as if he’s got much else going on right now. (McDreamy died over 11 years ago.)

It’s not uncommon to see actors mentioned as political candidates. I’m always a little disappointed when they don’t take the plunge.

John Travolta also lives in Maine. Just saying.

Big Brother Is Back

Big Brother premieres tonight, and after a lot of thought, I’ve decided I’m going to try to watch this season. I don’t know if I’m going to write about it yet. If I do write about it, you’ll be able to find my thoughts at the Reality TV Chat Blog.

That’s It for Now

There’ll be less politics in my thoughts next week, I promise!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.7 “Saturday, Bloody Saturday”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, Lawrence Taylor shows up!

Episode 4.7 “Saturday, Bloody Saturday”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on November 16th, 1988)

Ever since I started reviewing this show, my friend Mark has been telling me to keep an eye out for Lawrence Taylor.  Taylor is an actual football player who has gone on to have a sporadic acting career.  (He also did Dancing With The Stars.)  This week, after months of searching, I finally spotted Lawrence Taylor’s name in the credits.

Taylor plays Tombstone Packer, an opposing player who goes on television and announces that he’s going to destroy the Bulls to get revenge on Dr. Death for crippling one of Tombstone’s teammates.  Usually, I joke about how the worst actors on shows like this are always the professional athletes.  But I have to admit that Lawrence Taylor is not that bad in this episode.  Of course, he spends most of the episode yelling at and threatening people and I imagine that would come naturally to most football players.  Still, that’s more than most of the basketball players who appeared on Hang Time were capable of pulling off.

There’s a lot of drama in this episode, even beyond Tombstone Packer’s search for vengeance.  For instance, Billy Cooper is shocked to discover that his newest girlfriend, Sybil (Samantha Eggar, seriously slumming), is the wife of Dodds Corporation executive Robert Nelson (Derek Patridge).  Making things even worse is that Sybil dies of a drug overdose and Billy is worried that he and the players might be blamed and even criminally charged.  Billy shouldn’t have worried, though.  It turns out that Sybil had a long history of sleeping with athletes and Robert was okay with it.  He’s not even that upset to hear that his wife has died.

Meanwhile, TD Parker (OJ Simpson) meets Gillian (Michael Michele).  The newly-divorced TD flirts with Gillian at a supermarket and learns that she’s a soccer player.  TD decides that it’s time for the Bulls to make history by signing Gillian as their backup field goal kicker!  Over the objections of Coach Denardo, Gillian becomes the first woman to play professional football.  Of course, Tombstone tackles her as soon as she makes her first kick and she’s carted off the field with a bruised leg.  The show ends with TD welcoming Gillian to the team but, according to imdb, this was Gillian’s only appearance on the show.  Hopefully, she didn’t make TD angry.

(I should also say that, on Tubi, this episode’s sound was extremely muddy and the close captioning was running way behind so the show ended before the captions even reached TD’s postgame talk with Gillian.  Their conversation was not always easy to hear.  That said, Gillian looked really happy so I’m assuming that TD welcomed her to the team.)

As I watched this episode, I remembered that, a few years ago, a woman actually did try out to be a kicker in the NFL.  She received a lot of media hype in the days leading up to the try-out.  Everyone was really excited until she actually kicked the football and sent it skidding over to the sidelines.  I also thought about how Degrassi spent an entire season building up Jane as being a totally badass football player, just to abandon the idea after a few episodes.  I guess my point is that I guess it would be great if a woman played in the NFL and totally dominated all of the 300-pound men who play in that league but I just don’t think it’s going to happen in my lifetime.

Oh well!  At least I can now say that I’ve spotted Lawrence Taylor on 1st & Ten.

 

 

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 7.27 “Best Ex-Friends/All the Congressman’s Women/Three Faces of Love”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986!  The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

This week, season 7 comes to an end,

Episode 7.27 “Best Ex-Friends/All the Congressman’s Women/Three Faces of Love”

(Dir by Ted Lange, originally aired on May 12th, 1984)

This week, on The Love Boat, Gopher fires Isaac!

You read that right.  Gopher told Isaac, “You’re fired,” and it was one of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen on The Love Boat.  Some of that was because Gopher and Isaac were best friends.  Most of it was because I had no idea that Gopher could fire people.

Why does Gopher fire Isaac?  Because Isaac refuses to fire Tina Burnell (Eugenia Wright), the new barmaid that Isaac is currently dating.  In Gopher’s defense, Tina is terrible at her job.  Also, in Gopher’s defense, it really doesn’t seem ethical for Isaac to hire someone just because he wants to sleep with her.  In fact, that seems kind of icky by today’s standards.  Then again, this episode aired in 1984.  Times were apparently different back then.

The next morning, Gopher rehires Isaac and the two of them forgive each other.  But then Gopher puts in for a transfer to another ship because he feels that he’s too close to everyone on the boat to do a good job.  (Gopher is probably correct about this.)  Isaac finally admits that Tina is not a good enough barmaid and he gently fires her.  He assures her that, with her looks and personality, she’ll be able to find a new boss who wants to sleep with her and she’ll get a new job in no time.  Isaac chooses friendship over meaningless sex.  Awwwww!

I’m being snarky but this story actually worked far better than it had any right to.  Ted Lange and Fred Grandy always made for a good team.  Their friendship always feels real and, all other issues aside, it’s hard not be happy that they’re still friends at the end of this episode.

As for the other stories, Sal Viscuso plays a movie makeup artist who fears that his girlfriend (Heidi Bohay) is going to cheat on him.  He disguises himself as both Burt Reynolds and Doc Bricker in order to test her loyalty.  Amazingly, she’s touched by his devotion.

And finally, 11 year-old Tori Spelling plays a sociopathic little brat who doesn’t want her Congressman father (Sam Goom) to run for governor or marry his campaign manager (Phyllis Davis).  So, Tori starts cutting up newspapers and magazines and using the headlines to create threatening letters.  Somehow, no one has figured out that Tori is the culprit and the Congressman is traveling with a bodyguard.  (Hopefully, the Congressman is paying for the bodyguard himself and not charging the taxpayers.)  Eventually, Tori comes clean but only after she’s caught with a scissors, glue, and cut up magazine.  Personally, I think Tori should have been tossed overboard but instead, she accepts her father’s ambition and her new stepmother’s love.

This was the final episode of Season 7 and it wasn’t a bad one to go out on.  Tori Spelling was a terrible actress even at the age of eleven but the Gopher/Isaac storyline was touching.  Sadly, this was Lauren Tewes’s final episode and she did not get a grand send-off.  Instead, she was fired after this season because, as Tewes has admitted in several interviews, she was struggling with a serious cocaine addiction.  Tewes didn’t get to do much during Season 7 and, when you consider how important Julie was during the early seasons of The Love Boat, that’s a shame.

Out of respect for Lauren’s final episode, we’re retiring the HOW COKED UP WAS JULIE scale.  What’s important is that Lauren herself got clean and went on to appear in Twin Peaks: The Return.  Good for her!

Song of the Day: Andy Warhol from David Bowie

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes from David Bowie and it’s about Bowie’s fascination with Andy Warhol.  Warhol himself apparently didn’t care for this song but Bowie meant it as a tribute.

This song came out in 1971.  25 years later, Bowie would play Andy Warhol in Basquiat.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Kevin Bacon 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 is the birthday of everyone’s favorite, hard-working character actor, Kevin Bacon!  And that means that it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Films

Friday the 13th (1980, dir by Sean S. Cunningham)

Quicksilver (1986, dir by Thomas Michael Donnelly)

JFK (1991, dir by Oliver Stone)

X-Men: First Class (2011, dir by Matthew Vaughn)

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 4.9 “Cutting Edge”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

This week, TC goes surfing!

Episode 4.9 “Cutting Edge”

(Dir by Terence H. Winkless, originally aired on October 18th, 1998)

When an up-and-coming surfer named Kenny Slaughter (Reed Ferichs) is pressured by a corrupt surf board salesman named Rip Cutter (Matt Battaglia), TC befriends Kenny.  He and Kenny go surfing.  They discuss the philosophy of catching a great wave.  “Are you sure you’re a cop?” Kenny asks.

Uhmm, Kenny …. are you kidding?  TC is the most uptight guy on the beach.  Everything about him screams “cop.”

This episode is an example of something that happened quite frequently with Pacific Blue.  One of the bike cops would befriend someone and the viewer would be left to wonder how that could have possibly happened.  Friendship usually requires a modicum of likability and that’s something that no one on this show seems to have.  Whether it’s Chris saying, “Just doing my job,” after nearly running someone down with her bicycle or Cory rolling her eyes every time that she has to deal with anyone younger than her, there are literally no likable bike cops.  Even this episode features Cory complaining about the attitude that Kenny gave her when she arrested him while he and Rip were having a fight on the beach.  It’s hard not to notice that almost every episode features Cory complaining about someone’s attitude.  It’s a bit of a cliche but it’s true.  If everyone you meet is a jerk, that means that you’re the jerk.

TC assigns Monica to work undercover in Rip’s surf shop.  This means that Monica has to frequently come over to TC’s apartment to give him updates.  Because TC can’t tell anyone that Monica is working undercover, Chris gets suspicious about why Monica is always coming over.  Chris and Cory being paranoid about Monica has been going on for nine episodes now and I think that, narratively, it might be a good idea to just move on from it.  It wasn’t that interesting to begin with and, at this point, Chris and Cory are just coming across as being overage mean girls.

Anyway, this episode actually felt like an abandoned Baywatch storyline.  TC’s no surfer.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.8 “Rachel’s Choice”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2o00.  The show is currently on Prime.

This week, Rachel’s boyfriend returns.

Episode 2.8 “Rachel’s Choice”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 1st, 1994)

Oh, Hell, we’re back at the country club.

Rachel and Brian are now dating but Rachel still hasn’t told her long-distance boyfriend, football star David Conrad (Kevin Bell).  In this episode, it’s mentioned that Rachel has been dating David for two years (so why was she going on out on a date with Scott during season one?) and that David is the “local boy made good.”  Mr. Belding acts as if David is the only good football player that Bayside ever had, which is definitely A.C. Slater erasure.

(It’s weird how Bayside went from being the most exclusive school in Los Angeles during the first series to apparently just some throw-away slum school in the New Class.)

David told Rachel that he would be spending the summer in Europe but — surprise! — he comes home early for Rachel’s birthday.  (David immediately recognizes Screech as someone he went to school with so David is at least 20.  Rachel appeared in the first 4 seasons of The New Class and, when she left, it was because she transferred to another school.  So, Rachel is around 14 or 15 here and has been dating David for two years, which means that David should probably be in jail.)  Rachel has to make a choice between David and Brian.  Now, that could make for some serious drama if both Brian and David were portrayed as being two nice guys who both liked Rachel.  Instead, David is portrayed as being such a soulless snob that there’s absolutely no doubt who Rachel will eventually pick.  Indeed, the whole episode makes Rachel seem shallow and stupid for going out with David in the first place.

Meanwhile, Mr. Belding is concerned that some of the members are joining a different country clubs.  Why does Belding care?  This is just a summer job for him.  Belding assigns Screech to make a video about the club.  Shouldn’t Belding have run that past the actual owner of the club?

These country club episodes are stupid.  By running them concurrently with the high school episodes, NBC created a situation where one episode would feature Brian and Rachel as a couple and the next episode would feature Brian still trying to work up the courage to ask her out.  It’s as if no one at NBC cared.  That’s a shame because the late Christian Oliver was a likable actor and Brian and Rachel were a cute couple.  (In real life, when this episode aired, 22 year-old Christian Oliver was about 8 years older than Sarah Lancaster but let’s try not to think about that.)

Anyway, the country club sucks.  I hope everyone gets a better job next summer.

 

Song of the Day: One Headlight by The Wallflowers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

We can drive it home with one headlight….

Some songs just get stuck in your head and I think this is definitely one of them.  This is also a song that always used to play in the background at one of my favorite used bookstores.  I associate One Headlight with searching through old books and learning about history.