Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life on the Street 4.22 “Work Related”

Posted on February 15, 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 Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC! It can be viewed on Peacock.

Oh my God, this episode….

Episode 4.22 “Work Related”

(Dir by Jean de Segonzac, originally aired on May 17th, 1996)

At first, the fourth season finale of Homicide: Life On The Street feels like a typical episode of Homicide.

Lewis, having just returned from his honeymoon, obsesses on a case in which a man was killed by a bowling ball dropped from an overpass. Kellerman doesn’t feel that the case can be solved. The murder was just too random. Lewis, however, refuses to let it go. As Kellerman soon deduces, Lewis doesn’t want to go home because he and his new wife are already fighting.

Meanwhile, Bayliss is frustrated by Pembleton’s refusal to act like a sentimental new father. While Bayliss talks about the wonder of life, Pembleton coldly talks about how expensive it’s going to be to raise a child. It’s the typical Bayliss/Pembleton dynamic. Bayliss wants his partner to open up. Pembleton wants to keep things strictly business. Bayliss wants to find the deeper meaning of every event. Pembleton wants to remain rational and focused on doing his job. They’re both spiritual men, in their way. It’s just that Bayliss is a seeker whereas Pembleton is a man on a mission.

Bayliss and Pembleton investigate a shooting at a fast food restaurant. It doesn’t take much of an investigation to realize that the shooter was a recently fired employee and that his accomplice was a friend who still worked there. When Pembleton and Bayliss get the friend into the box, it seems like it’s going to be an easy investigation.

That’s until Pembleton suddenly yells out, grabs his head, and has a violent seizure. He collapses into the lap of a venal defense attorney who quickly shoves Pembleton away. Pembleton is rushed to the hospital. He’s had a stroke. The rest of the Homicide squad sees a comatose Pembleton lying in bed. But the viewer has seen the inside of Pembleton’s mind, where Pembleton is currently lying in a coffin and screaming to be released.

Agck!

I knew this episode was coming. Ever since I started reviewing Homicide, people have told me about the stroke episode. That said, it still took me by surprise when Pembleton collapsed. Pembleton has always been the strongest character on the show, the one who never lost control and whose mind could unravel any alibi and solve any mystery. Pembleton crashing to the ground, helpless and unable to speak, was not easy to witness. Andre Braugher was a great actor and he proved it in this episode.

That was how the fourth season ended, with Pembleton lying in a hospital bed and Giardello trying to keep the squad focused on doing their job while Bayliss — poor Bayliss! — found himself once again trying to understand the cruelty of fate. It was powerful, it was disturbing, it was sad, and I think it was the type of thing that only a show as good as Homicide could have pulled off.

Next week, we begin season 5. I’m almost scared to see what happens.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.12 “The Mamas and the Papas”

Posted on February 14, 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 Prime and Tubi!

This episode, a select few are getting married.

Episode 1.12 “The Mamas and the Papas”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 11th, 1989)

For a class project, the students are all spending a week seeing what it’s like to be married. What’s odd is that there are only three couples despite the fact that there are a bunch of other students in the class. Basically, six people are taking part in the project and the rest of the class is just there to watch. That sounds like an incredibly boring week for the rest of the class but whatever.

Zack has been paired up with Kelly. Slater has been paired up Jessie. Lisa has been paired up with Screech. When Lisa complains about having to be Screech’s wife, Mr. Belding says that the couples were selected alphabetically. However, if that were true, Screech Powers would be married to Jessie Spano and A.C. Slater would be married to Lisa Turtle. Seriously, Mr. Belding’s a liar. How much did Screech pay him?

Lisa starts to twitch violently whenever Screech is near. When Screech announce that he’s moving into her bedroom, she nearly has a seizure and, quite frankly, I don’t blame her. This is a terrible class project. Because the project is putting Lisa’s health at risk, she is allowed to annul her marriage to Screech. Yay! Instead, she is reassigned to be Slater and Jessie’s daughter while Screech becomes Zack and Kelly’s son. When Kelly sees how negatively Zack reacts to being Screech’s father, she wonders if he’s the man to whom she wants to be fake married.

The stuff with Kelly and Zack and Lisa and Screech is pretty dumb. Slater and Jessie is where the action’s at. This is the first episode to really establish that Slater is a sexist pig and the Jessie is a straw feminist. Jessie wants to keep her maiden name. Jessie wants to have a job outside of the home. Jessie feels that she should be an equal partner in the marriage. What’s funny is that I agree with Jessie on all of these matters and yet I still laughed whenever Slater said, “Oink oink, baby.” That’s largely due to the fact that Jessie was written to be so strident and shrill that her feminism and her politics often felt rather performative. Slater may have been a chauvinist but at least he was honest about it and he was loyal to his friends. Plus, he was cute. (It’s high school, folks. People are shallow in high school.)

This episode ends with Jessie apologizing to Mr. Belding for not being able to make her marriage to Slater work. Belding says that sometimes, two people just aren’t meant to be together and there’s no shame in that. (As a child of divorced parents, I always appreciated the fact that this episode was honest about the fact that not every marriage can be saved.) Zack and Kelly’s marriage survives, at least until the project ends.

This episode …. actually, it really wasn’t that bad. By the standards of Saved By The Bell, it was actually one of their better episodes. As a general rule, the more time that is spent with Jessie and Slater fighting, the better the episode. Still, forcing Lisa to marry Screech …. that’s just mean.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/8/26 — 2/14/26

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Winter Olympics (All week, Peacock and NBC)

I wrote about Korey and Cory this week. On Tuesday, I watched as they won the Silver Medal in a match with Sweden and I have to admit that I was depressed for the rest of the day. That’s nothing against the Swedish team. They did a good job and they earned the win. It’s just that I had gotten so invested in Korey and Cory that it was hard for me to accept that 1) it was over and 2) it ended with them coming in second.

I’ve watched the Olympics off-and-on since then but I have to admit none of the other athletes have really captured my attention the way that Korey and Cory did. I do like our hockey teams, because they’re all blue collar and they don’t talk badly about my country. Our skiers appear to be a bunch of spoiled rich kids.

I’ll definitely rewatch the figure skating.

Also watched and reviewed:

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 1.13 “Home Cort”

Posted on February 14, 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, we meet John D. Cort.

Episode 1.13 “Home Cort”

(Dir by Paul Schneider, originally aired on January 12th, 1990)

There’s a new lifeguard on the beach!

His name is John D. Cort (John Allen Nelson) and he’s a former Navy SEAL with a dark and mysterious past. He drives a motorcycle. He wears a cowboy hat. He has a quick smile. He’s dangerous and he’s now a member of the cast. I’m going to guess that he was added to bring some mystery to the show. Originally, Eddie Kramer was supposed to be the dangerous lifeguard with the mysterious past but Billy Warlock was just too earnest and young to really pull that off. John D. Cort, on the other hand, is at least 40.

Now, I said that Cort was the “new lifeguard on the beach.” That’s not quite true. It turns out that he’s actually an old lifeguard who was a friend of Mitch’s and Craig’s. In fact, it’s insinuated that their friendship is legendary amongst the lifeguards. Of course, no one’s ever mentioned Cort before but whatever. Baywatch was never exactly known for its continuity.

Cort says that he’s returned to the beach so that he can work as a lifeguard for ten days and keep his eligibility. Actually, he’s been hired to retrieve a mysterious package that’s at the bottom of the ocean. He recruits his old friend, Sam (Bruce Fairbairn), to take him out into the ocean so that he can retrieve the package. However, an explosion costs Sam his life and forces Cort to deal with the fact that someone wants him dead. Who wants Cort dead? Some guy named Jack Burton (Drew Snyder). Why does he want Cort dead? Who cares? I got bored with the whole thing so I missed his motive. I could go back and find out but, as far as I’m concerned, if the answer was worth knowing, I wouldn’t have gotten bored the first time around. The story is really just an excuse to introduce Cort. At the end of the episode, he inherits Sam’s surf shop and makes peace with being a regular member of the cast for at least the rest of the season.

As for the B-plot, Shauni and and Jill go into business selling sandwiches on the beach! They take a lot of business away from crooked sandwich hustler Buddy Semple (played by George Clooney’s future production partner, Grant Heslov). Buddy reacts by hiring two women in bikinis to hand out his sandwiches. That’s the entire plot.

Oh, this episode. I’ll be so happy when the first season of Baywatch is over with and the show fully and cheerfully embraces the stupidity of its concept. Until then …. welcome to the beach, John Cort!

A Scene That I Love: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

I’ve seen Charlie Brown suffer through a lot of holidays but I’ve always felt especially bad for him when it comes to Valentine’s Day. In this scene from Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, he’s waiting at the mailbox for a Valentine from a “little red-headed girl.” He’s never even talked to her. He doesn’t know her name and she probably doesn’t know his. She certainly doesn’t know his address. How is she going to send him a Valentine? Lucy could have been nicer in the way she put it but she’s right. He’ll need a lot of luck.

Luckily, his loyal dog is there to shoot cupid’s arrows at him.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.2 “Heartbreak Hotel”

Posted on February 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 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, two more people fall victim to Springwood, Ohio.

Episode 2.2 “Heartbreak Hotel”

(Dir by William Malone, originally aired on October 15th, 1989)

“Learn to use the proper pronouns …. OR DIE!” Freddy shouts at us this week and he has a point.

When tabloid reporter Roger Dittano (John Stinson) is sent to Springwood to write a story about an Elvis sighting at a local hotel, he discovers that everything he writes comes true. He writes about a woman having a demon child and, a few minutes later, a pregnant maid goes into labor and gives birth to a deformed stillborn baby. Roger writes about a man being electrocuted in a bathtub and, shortly afterwards, he’s nearly electrocuted while taking a bath.

When Roger discovers that a newspaper publisher (played by Stacy Keach, Sr., father of the better-known Stacy Keach) is staying at the hotel, he comes up with the following story. “Newspaper publisher leaves empire to reporter after he drinks poison.” Hey, Roger — who drank the poison!? The reporter or the newspaper publisher? As you can guess, Roger’s vague wording leading to him drinking arsenic and dying as the publisher laughs and says, “Oh, and I’m leaving my empire to you!”

That was actually a pretty clever story. For once, the show actually did the work to set up the twist. Roger spends the entire episode being told that he’s a sloppy writer. In the end, that sloppiness kills him.

The second story also has a twist but it’s nowhere near as interesting. An amnesiac named Jerry (Richard Cox) wakes up in a hospital after a car accident. A woman (Anne Lockhart) claims to be the Jerry’s wife. A teenage girl (Tammy Ames) claims to be Jerry’s daughter. Jerry goes home with both of them and is soon haunted by nightmares in which he sees himself killing a man. You can probably guess that Jerry is not married and he does not have a daughter. This story had a lot of noir atmosphere — right down to a saxophone wailing away on the soundtrack — but it was also pretty predictable.

That said, this episode was still an improvement on just about season one episode. Two good episodes of Freddy’s Nightmares in a row? I’m as stunned as anyone.

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 3.9 “Up On The Roof”

Posted on February 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 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.

This week, an arrest is made.

Episode 3.9 “Up On The Roof”

(Dir by Eric Laneuville, originally aired on November 21st, 1984)

It’s another busy day at St. Eligius.

The last of the firemen (Stephen Elliott) is finally sent home. At first, he’s bitter about all of the skin grafts and all the other work that Dr. Caldwell did on him. But then his grandkids come in the hospital and room and shout, “Grandpa!” And then he steps outside and is greeted by all the other firemen. He leaves in a fire truck and Dr. Caldwell — the only angst-free doctor at St. Eligius — smiles and waves. Finally, someone on this show gets a happy ending.
Ms. Hufnagel continues to get on everyone’s nerves with her constant complaints. Dr. Fiscus dumps her on Dr. Axelrod. While the show seems to want us to be as annoyed with Ms. Hufnagel as everyone else, I have to admit that I feel sorry for her. Does she complain a lot? Yes, she does. But being in a hospital can really be scary. I complained a lot whenever I was rushed to the ER because of my asthma. I complained a lot when my mom was in the hospital. I complained a lot when my dad was in the hospital. I complained a lot when my aunt was in the hospital. Sometimes, complaining is the only comfort you have.
Dr. Morrison is upset when a friend (John Schuck) is told that his daughter cannot be treated with an experimental dialysis machine.
Nurse Rosenthal continues to have an affair with Richard Clarendon, the labor negotiator.
Dr. Christine Holz (Caroline McWilliams) comes to the hospital to perform a bone marrow transplant. Dr. Annie Cavanero invites Dr. Holz to come to her place for dinner. Cavanero is shocked when Dr. Holz reveals that she’s a lesbian and the viewer is once again reminded that this show aired in the mid-80s.
According to what I’ve read online, the original plan was for Dr. Holz to become Cavanero’s romantic partner but Cynthia Sikes refused to kiss another woman onscreen. This led to the storyline being hastily rewritten and it apparently also led to Sikes being fired from the show at the end of the third season.
Kathy Martin is still in the psych ward. When Detective Alex MacGallen (Charles Lanyer) attempts to question her about where she was when Peter White was shot, he is informed by Kathy’s doctor that Kathy has an alibi. Later, Shirley comes to the psych ward and slips Kathy a letter.
Shirley has been hiding the gun that she used to shoot Peter all over the hospital. However, when the detective finally confronts her and reveals that he knows that she killed Peter, Shirley pulls the gun on him and then run up to the rooftop.
On the roof, Dr. Westphall and Jack take their turns trying to convince Shirley to surrender to the police. After Shirley confesses and then demands to know why Jack didn’t make more of an effort to stop Peter, Shirley drops her gun and is taken into custody.

This was a depressing episode, even by the standards of St. Elsewhere. Shirley has always been one of my favorite characters and I hate the idea that she’s now going to go to prison for killing Dr. White. From a narrative point of view, someone had to shoot Peter. That was really the only way his story could end. Personally, I think it would have made more sense for Dr. Cavanero to be the shooter that Shirley. I mean, if Cavanero was going to be written off the show anyway, killing Dr. White would have given her a decent exit.

Next week, I’m sure something else depressing will happen. We’ll see!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 5.7 “The Squeaky Wheel”

Posted on February 12, 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 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, Jonathan and Mark help out a vet.

Episode 5.7 “The Squeaky Wheel”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on June 16th, 1989)

Jonathan and Mark attempt to turn Wayne Secret (Robert David Hall) into a disability activist. Having lost his legs in Vietnam, Wayne wants to live a quiet life with his wife (Deborah Benson) but, while staying at a recently renovated hotel, he is woken up by a fire alarm. With the the elevators not working and no ramps, Wayne is forced to depend on the kindness of a stranger who carries him down a flight of stairs. The fire turns out to be a false alarm but the experience leads to Wayne protesting the fact that the hotel is not wheelchair accessible.

The owner of the hotel not only agrees to make changes to the building but he also offers Wayne a job. Things are looking up for Wayne! But, when a gang of young men harass him and his wife at a drive-in movie, Wayne snaps. He buys an Uzi and then heads down to their clubhouse to take them out. Luckily, Jonathan appears and talks Wayne out of becoming a mass murderer. Wayne goes on to receive a “man of the year” award while Jonathan beats up the leader of the gang.

This episode felt very familiar. In the past, this episode would have featured Mark’s brother-in-law, Scotty. Instead, it features Wayne, who is not a particularly compelling character. I think that this episode would have worked if it had just focused on Wayne advocating for wheelchair accessible buildings. I also think it would have worked if it had just focused on Wayne’s anger to the gang and his struggle to let go of his bitterness over his war experiences. Unfortunately, trying to cram both those storylines into one 45-minute show led to the whole thing feeling half-baked.

There was one poignant scene in this episode. It opened with Mark and Jonathan visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mark got excited when he came across Michael Landon’s star. “Never heard of him,” Jonathan shrugged. “I forget you’ve been dead for forty years,” Mark replies. It captured Jonathan and Mark’s friendship, which was always been one of the more underrated aspects of Highway to Heaven. That said, it was also a bit of a sad scene as the episode itself aired a day after the death of Victor French and Landon himself would pass away nearly two years later.

Retro Television Review: Decoy 1.20 “Across the World”

Posted on February 12, 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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958. The show can be viewed on Tubi!

This week, Casey gets involved with gun smugglers!

Episode 1.20 “Across the World”

(Dir by Teddy Sills, originally aired on February 24th, 1958)

Andrew Garcia (Frank Silvera), Herbert Carson (Arthur Batanides), and Carl Walton (Nicholas Colasanto) are using an import/export business to smuggle guns to the communists. (Booo!) When the owner of the company finds out, they murder her in a hit-and-run. Because of the suspicious nature of the woman’s death, Casey is sent undercover to investigate. She shows up at the company, claiming to be the woman’s only heir. Her cover is blown early, leading to her getting knocked around by the bad guys. Fortunately, for her, the bad guys end up turning on each other and eventually, the rest of the police force arrives and puts an end to the smuggling once and for all.

This episode didn’t feature much of Beverly Garland. Instead, the majority of it focused on the three smugglers arguing amongst themselves and then plotting various double crosses. Unfortunately, the smugglers weren’t particularly interesting. Sometimes, bad guys can be compelling to watch but these dopes were obviously doomed from the minute that they first appeared. Though it’s never specifically said to whom they were smuggling the weapons, I’m going to assume that it was probably Castro and his forces. In 1958, there were a lot of Americans who actually thought that Castro would be more willing to work with America than Batista was. Needless to say, they turned out to be incorrect. Casey could have warned them if anyone had bothered to listen!

This was a lesser episode of Decoy but the episode did feature some location shots of New York City. The actors where shivering so I can only assume it was very cold when they filmed this episode.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 3.3 “A Loaded Gun”

Posted on February 11, 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 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, OJ Simpson argues with his wife.

Episode 3.3 “A Loaded Gun”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on August 19th, 1987)

With Yinessa continuing to hold out for more money, Teddy thinks that he’s come up with a solution. He tells Yinessa that he will personally take out an insurance policy on him so that Yinessa can work out with the team, despite not having a contract. Yinessa agrees. TD Parker tells all of the defenders not to touch Yinessa because they cannot risk him getting hurt.

“Anyone who touches Yinessa is going to wind up in Buffalo!” Parker tells them.

Unfortunately, John Manzak has been taken too many steroids. As a result, the first thing he does is sack Yinessa. Yinessa is injured. As he’s rushed to the hospital, Diane tells Teddy, “Thank God you got that insurance policy.” Teddy looks worried — uh oh, it looks like someone didn’t get that insurance policy!

At the hospital, a doctor tells Diane that Yinessa has a detached retina and he’ll probably never play football again.

Meanwhile, TD is having trouble in his marriage. He forgets his wife’s birthday but TD’s secretary (Leah Ayres) sends flowers and buys a gift. Unfortunately, TD’s wife sees through the entire ruse. She and TD argue. And because TD Parker is played by OJ Simpson, it’s hard not to worry whenever anyone argues with him.

Hey, that’s a good point, OJ! Let’s move on!

Also, in this episode, Bubba goes to therapy because he hasn’t been able to make love to his wife since she gave birth. Jethro goes with him and pretends to have a shoe fetish. This led to another patient hiding his shoes. 1st and Ten is a comedy that rarely makes me laugh but I have to admit that I did chuckle when Jethro started talking about how much he loved shoes.

Other than the therapy scene, this was a pretty serious episode. Yinessa might never play again. John Manzak is going crazy due to the steroid abuse. (Is he going to be sent to Buffalo? I don’t know how he’s going to handle that!) The kicker is still looking for a wife so he won’t get deported. And Diane has no idea what’s going on with her team.

How will the Bulls ever make it to the championship game!?

I guess I’ll have to keep watching to find out.