Category Archives: TV Review

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/14/24 — 1/20/24

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I am typing this post on a new laptop.  Woo hoo!

Here’s a few thoughts on what I watched this week:

American Nightmare (Netflix)

This was a disturbing, 3-part docuseries about a woman who was kidnapped and raped and then put on trial by the police and the media, all of whom seemed to be determined to prove that she was a real life “gone girl.”  This series was just infuriating to watch and everyone who nearly allowed Matthew Muller to get away with his crimes should be ashamed of themselves.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out (Tubi)

I need to write a review about this week’s episode so I guess I better get on that.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Couples Court With The Cutlers (YouTube)

On Friday, I watched an episode in which a man was concerned that his much younger girlfriend was cheating on him with another woman.  She confessed, while being interrogated by a former military interrogator, that he was correct.  The Cutlers were there to help this couple through the drama.

On Saturday, I discovered an entire YouTube channel dedicated to Couples Court so I probably won’t get anything accomplished for the first half of 2024.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

On Monday morning, as I shivered in the living room, I got caught up on Hell’s Kitchen and watched the first Black Jacket Service.  What a disaster that turned out to be!  I felt bad for Jonathan, who did not react well to Chef Ramsay taunting him about how much he drank before dinner service.  Jonathan had a point, in that Ramsay really was kind of making it personal.  At this point, I think the final two will be Ryan and Sammi.  I’m Team Ryan all the way!

On Thursday, I cheered as Ryan and Sammi made it to the final three.  I probably would have kept Carmen and sent Jonathan home but I can understand Ramsay’s logic.  Jonathan had more experience than Carmen and Carmen did struggle early on in the season.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Miami Vice (Tubi)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Maury (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched an episode with DNA results.  All of the episodes of Maury to blend together, which I guess is the appeal of them.  They demand very little on the part of the viewers.

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

I was actually bored enough on Wednesday to watch the first four episodes of this show’s second season.  While the ensemble seems to be gelling a bit better than they did during the first season, Night Court just isn’t that funny.  Every joke sounds like it’s been sitting in some writer’s idea drawer since 2005.

Poochinski (YouTube)

I wrote about Poochinski here!

Steve Wilkos Show (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched an episode in which Steve talked to a pregnant 17 year-old.  She thought her boyfriend was 25.  It turned out he was 38!  Needless to say, Steve kicked him off the stage while the audience chanted Steve’s name.

On Thursday, I watched an episode about threesomes that led to pregnancies.  The audience loved it but Steve seemed to be disappointed by everyone on his stage.

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

Retro Television Reviews: Welcome Back, Kotter 3.6 “Just Testing”

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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Welcome Back Kotter, which ran on ABC  from 1975 to 1979.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

It’s time for Barbarino to finally take his makeup exam!

Episode 3.6 “Just Testing”

(Dir by Bob Claver, originally aired on October 6th, 1977)

With Julie busy with the babies, Gabe resorts to telling Mr. Woodman about his Uncle Rodney who was mugged by an elephant.  Mr. Woodman laughs so much that Gabe gets nervous.

Actually, Gabe has a lot to be nervous about.  Julie is so busy with the babies that their tiny apartment is now a mess.  Gabe finds the coffee percolator in the bathroom and his favorite tie in a diaper pail.  (“It was my favorite tie,” Gabe says.)  On top of all that, it’s nearly time for Barbarino to take his make-up exam but, in typical Barbarino fashion, he hasn’t been studying.  Instead, as he explains to Gabe, he’s been waiting for Gabe to tutor him.  Frustrated by Barbarino’s refusal to take responsibility for his own future, Gabe refuses to help Barbarino study.  Not even Barbarino and the other Sweathogs coming to the apartment can change Gabe’s mind.

Fortunately, Julie can.  Julie has gone from hating the Sweathogs to appreciating their loyalty to each other.  She tells Gabe that she thinks that he’s making a mistake by refusing to help Barbarino.  Gabe realizes that she’s right but, at the same time, Julie needs help around the apartment.

Don’t worry, Gabe!  Freddie, Epstein, and Horshack are more than willing to clean up the apartment!  While Gabe meets with Barbarino and Julie sleeps on the couch, the Sweathogs stuff all of the trash into a closet.  It’s a funny gag and it’s certainly true to the character of the Sweathogs.  But, as a self-confessed neat freak, I have to say that I cringed as soon as Gabe opened that closet door and all of that trash came tumbling out.  It was like someone filmed my greatest nightmare.

As far as the tutoring goes, it’s not easy to teach Barbarino.  Barbarino is an idiot and he’s lucky that he looks like a young John Travolta.  Still, Gabe is able to get Barbarino to understand how cell division works.  Barbarino may not know how to read or count but he does understand mitosis.

And that’s good because there’s a question about mitosis on the makeup exam!  To Woodman’s apparent chagrin, Barbarino passes the exam by one point.  (“Who knew he would know what mitosis is!” Woodman says.)  While Barbarino and the Sweathogs go off to celebrate, Gabe takes a look at the exam and sees that Woodman put together a very easy exam.  Apparently, Woodman’s not so mean!  Awwwwww!  That said, even with Gabe’s tutoring, Barbarino still barely passed an easy exam.  Maybe he should stay in the 10th Grade….

Back at the apartment, Gabe tells Julie about his two uncles who lived in Alabama.  For once, Julie seems to be in a good mood.  Alabama does that to people.

This episode worked, largely due to the charm of John Travolta.  Barbarino may not be smart but he sure has a cute smile.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Friday the 13th 1.15 “Vanity’s Mirror”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show can be found on YouTube!

This week’s episode is a classic of teen angst, vanity, and murder!

Episode 1.15 “Vanity’s Mirror”

(Dir by William Fruet, originally aired on February 29th, 1988)

Poor Helen Mackie (played by Ingrid Veninger)!

A student at Hamilton High, the shy and physically awkward Helen is as unpopular as her older and far more attractive sister, Joanne (Gwendoline Pacey), is popular.  Helen has a crush on Scott Thomas (David Orth), who is Joanne’s boyfriend but little does she suspect that Scott is only nice to her because he’s trying to impress her sister.  Scott’s friends, including Russell (who is played by Simon Reynolds, who also played Murray the bagboy on Check It Out!), all make fun of Helen and the fact that no one has asked her to prom.

However, things are about to change for Helen because she has gotten her hands on a gold compact.  All she has to do is open the compact and shine the mirror in a boy’s direction  and the boy will automatically fall in love with her.  It happens with Russell.  It happens with Greg (Zack Ward).  And Helen hopes that it will happen with Scott as well.  Of course, as with all the cursed antiques, there is a catch.  Helen is driven to murder anyone who is in love with her.

Needless to say, Jack, Micki, and Ryan all show up and try to get the compact from Helen before she can use it to score a prom date.  But this episode truly is Helen’s story and it is dominated by Ingrid Veninger’s performance as Helen.  At first, it’s impossible not to feel sorry for Helen.  Everyone at school is so cruel to her that you’re on her side.  But once Helen actually starts using the mirror and killing her boyfriends, she becomes far less sympathetic.  She gets way too much enjoyment out of killing people and the viewer is left to wonder if it was the cursed antique that corrupted Helen or if perhaps Helen is only now showing her true self.  Has Helen always been evil or is she simply lashing out at a world that has always treated her like an outsider?  It’s a fair question and not one that is easily answered.

In the end, having finally stolen her sister’s boyfriend and gotten the prom date that she always wanted, Helen climbs to the roof of her high school and then plunges to her death, taking Scott with her.  Micki, Jack, and Ryan can only watch helplessly and then, to top it all off, the compact disappears once again.  Someone (we don’t see their face) spots it on the ground and grabs it.  Considering that the episode opened with Ryan and Jack finally rather cocky about their recent successes, this episode ends with a reminder that good does not always triumph.

In other words, this is a very dark episode but also a very effective one.  If nothing else, it’s an episode that shows us why it’s so important to track down and take possession of the cursed antiques.  There are a lot of Helen Mackies in the world.

Retro Television Reviews: T and T 2.13 “Hunted”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990.  The show can be found on Tubi!

This week, someone takes a contract out on T.S. Turner’s life!

Episode 2.13 “Hunted”

(Dir by Richard Oleksiak, originally aired on February 6th, 1989)

Someone has hired a hitman to take out T.S. Turner!

Fortunately, Hickson (Timothy Webber) is not a very good hitman and he somehow fails to shoot Turner despite having a high-powered rifle and, during the initial attempt on Turner’s life, the advantage of surprise.  (Technically, he misses because T.S. moved to get a parking ticket off of his car’s windshield at the exact moment that Hickson fires his rile but still, it’s not like T.S. is a small target.  The hitman just isn’t that good at his job.)

Despite the fact that someone has just tried to kill him, Turner doesn’t want to go to the police.  This actually makes sense when you consider that Turner spent years in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit.  He has every reason to distrust the police.  He has personally experienced how they can screw up a case.  That said, Amy decides to go to the police on her own.  This leads to Detective Deakin (Matt Birmin) being assigned to keep Turner from leaving Decker’s Gym.

Turner is not happy about this and actually, it turns out that Turner’s instincts are correct.  Deakin is the man who hired the hitman!  It turns out that Deakin’s younger sister was an innocent bystander who was injured during a high-speed chase involving Turner and a bunch of criminals.  Turner may have caught the criminals but Deakin’s sister slipped into a coma and died.  Deakin has spent years obsessing on Turner and he is determined to get his revenge.

What’s interesting that, when Turner finds all of this out, he actually feel very guilty about what happened to Deakin’s sister, to the extent that he doesn’t blame Deakin for wanting him dead.  One thing about action shows like this is that there are always innocent bystanders who witness every car chase or shoot-out but it’s rare that we ever hear about how they were effected by suddenly being exposed to so much violence.  How does the person who witnesses a bad guy being shot just a few feet away from them react?  How does it effect their lives?  Myself, I would totally be freaked out and I would probably have trouble sleeping afterwards.  Often times, shows like this concentrate so much on the action that they ignore the human aspect of it all.  T and T deserves some credit for at least acknowledging that Turner’s actions, even when he’s fighting on the side of the law, have consequences.

That said, Deakin is still technically the bad guy and, when he and Hickson corner Turner in a water treatment plant, Turner points out that, as soon as Hickson shoots Turner, Deakin is going to shoot Hickson to cover up his involvement.  This leads to Hickson turning on Deakin and the two of them end up shooting each other.  Turner survives and hopefully, he’ll be a better drive from now on.

This was a surprisingly good episode.  Matt Birmin gave a good performance as Deakin and the water treatment plant was a properly atmospheric location for a final stand-off.  The second season of T and T has been hit-and-miss but this episode definitely worked.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Highway to Heaven 1.17 “As Difficult As ABC”

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 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 fight drug dealers and promote literacy!

Episode 1.17 “As Difficult As ABC”

(Dir by Victor French, originally aired on January 30th, 1985)

Brian Baldwin (Glenn-Michael Jones) appears to have a great future ahead of him.

Growing up in a poor neighborhood, Brian was tempted to get involved in the gang life, like so many of his friends did.  However, Brian turned out to be a great basketball player and was given a full scholarship to a major university.  As long as he played basketball and led the team to victory after victory, Brian wouldn’t even have to worry about going to class.  As he points out, he got an A in his French class even though he never stepped into the classroom.

However, one day, Brian has chest pains and passes out.  When Brian goes to the doctor, he is told that he has a heart condition but that it can be managed.  However, Brian will never be able to play basketball again.  His coach stops returning Brian’s calls and, when Brian confronts him in the gym, the coach explains that he only cares about winning and Brian can no longer help him do that.  The coach complains about wasting a scholarship on Brian.

Brian drops out of school and returns to his old neighborhood.  It’s there that he tells his mom (played by Beah Richards) the secret that he’s been hiding.  Brian is illiterate!   Because he was such a good basketball player, the school system never worried about teaching him anything.  Now, Brian has lost his scholarship and, it would appear, his future.

Fortunately, Jonathan and Mark roll into town.  Mark gets a job working as a janitor at an adult literacy school.  Jonathan gets a job working at the community center.  Jonathan encourages Brian to both learn how to read and to date his teacher, Julie Reynolds (Deborah Lacey).  (Fear not, they’re the same age.)  Brian also gets a job as a neighborhood basketball coach and tries to keep all of his players from getting hooked on drugs.

Luckily, Jonathan and Victor are able to help with the drug situation.  They go undercover and, in a rather weird scene that features Jonathan in a leather jacket and Terminator-style shades, they offer to pay the local drug dealer two million dollars in return for cocaine.  The dealer agrees to meet with them at the school, where he and his associates steal the briefcase with the money and make a run for it.  However, they are grabbed by the cops and suddenly, all of the money in the briefcase turns into cocaine!  Off the dealers go to prison.  With the dealers gone and Brian reading, it’s time for Jonathan and Mark to move on.

This was one of those well-intentioned episodes that attempted to do a bit too much.  Not only did the episode feature Brian learning that he could still be an important member of his community even if he couldn’t play basketball but it also featured him learning to read and trying to clean up the neighborhood.  Instead of focusing on one story, this episode focuses on three and, as a result, each story feels a bit rushed and simplistic.  Brian is reading in no time and the drug dealers turn out to be pretty easy to fool.  This episode is optimistic but rather unconvincing.

Retro Television Reviews: Poochinski 1.1 “Pilot”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Poochinski, which aired on NBC in 1990.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week, we take a look at another one-episode wonder, Poochinski!

Episode 1.1 “Pilot”

(Dir by Will Mackenzie, originally aired on July 9th, 1990)

Detective Stanley Poochinski (Peter Boyle) is a veteran of the mean streets of Chicago.  He’s rude and crude but he’s also a good cop, one who is mentioned as having once caught a mad bomber.  I mean, I guess you have to be good at your job to capture someone who not only knows how to make bombs but who is also mad about it.

Poochinski shows his softer side when he comes across a bunch of teenagers taunting a stray English bulldog.  Poochinski pulls his gun and threatens to kill a 12 year-old.  That may sound extreme but it works!  (The 12 year-old, I should mention, was also holding a switchblade.)  Poochinski adopts the dog and starts to bring it to work with him, much to the consternation of Poochinski’s uptight and ambitious partner, Detective Robert McKay (George Newbern, a talented actor who somehow always seemed to turn up in stuff like this).  McKay dislikes the fact that the dog is flatulent and so is Poochinski.

However, Detective Poochinski is run down by two thieves during a pursuit.  As Poochinski dies, the dog runs over to him.  They stare into each other’s eyes.

Cut to Poochinski’s funeral.  Detective McKay attends with the dog.  After everyone else leaves, the dog starts to talk to McKay in Poochinski’s voice!

That’s right …. Poochinski has been reincarnated as a dog!  Except, of course, the dog was already alive when Poochinski died so I guess it’s not reincarnation.  I guess Poochinski’s soul just entered the dog’s body.  But what about the dog’s soul?  These are the unanswered questions that haunt me.

Probably because this was only a 21-minute episode and didn’t really have much time to spare, McKay quickly accepts that his partner is inhabiting the body of a dog.  McKay adopts the dog and names it Poochinski.  While McKay helps Poochinski come to terms with the fact that he’s now a dog, Poochinski gives McKay advice on how to flirt with the neighbor (Amy Yasbeck).  Working together, they also set out to catch the criminals responsible for Poochinski’s “death.”

Probably the creepiest thing about Poochisnki is that, half the time, the dog is played by a real dog.  But whenever Poochisnki starts talking, the real dog is replace by a terrifying rubber puppet that doesn’t even look like the original dog.  Watching the rubber dog talk, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that scene in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam when the neighbor’s dog enters David Berkowitz’s house and orders him to “KILL!” while happily wagging its tail.

There was only one episode of Poochinski.  The pilot was not picked up for a series but it was still aired on NBC during the dog days of summer.  It’s easy to see why the pilot did not lead to more shows.  Poochinski says that he only wants to do two things: catch a criminal and lick himself.  He does both in the pilot so there really wasn’t much left for this devil dog to do, other than turn evil and taunt McKay into transforming into the Son of Poochinski.

(That said, I did smile at the fact that the police sergeant’s name was Sgt. Shriver.  But that’s just because I’m a history nerd who has spent way too much time reading about the Kennedy family.)

Some TV shows only need one episode and Poochinski was definitely one of them.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Monsters 1.6 “Their Divided Self”

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 Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire show is streaming on Tubi.

This week, it’s the worst episode of Monsters yet!

Episode 1.16 “Their Divided Self”

(Dir by Frank De Palma, originally aired on February 25th, 1989)

Bleh.

James (David L. Lander) and Robert Self (Keith MacKechnie) are conjoined twins who found fame as a stand-up comedy team but who now spend all of their time isolated in their mansion and arguing with each other.  They hate one another but they’re literally stuck with each other.  And, since they share the same lungs and heart, they can’t really fight with each other.

James’s girlfriend (Karen Harber) hires Dr. Blackman (Rich Hall) to help the twins but even Dr. Blackman’s years of psychiatric experience can’t seem to convince the twins to stop bickering.  However, when Dr. Blackman says that he wants to write a book about the twins, the twins announce that they resent being exploited and they kill the doctor.  It’s a murder that brings them together as siblings.

The end.

This was a dumb and pointless episode and I’m not going to waste too much time on it.  Making conjoined twins into the episode’s “monster,” just feels wrong on so many levels.  What feels even more wrong is not really doing anything interesting with them.  If you’re villain is going to be borderline offensive, at least find a way to make the character interesting.  There’s probably an interesting story to be found in the idea of two conjoined twins hating but needing each other but this episode is not served well by either its script or its performances.  (Some really shoddy FX doesn’t help either.  From the minute they appear, their big, boxy suit makes it obvious that the two actors are just standing next to each other.)

Hopefully, next week’s episode will be better.

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 3.26 “Vicki’s First Love/The High Cost of Living/Accident Prone”

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!

The Love Boat promises something for everyone!

Episode 3.26 “Vicki’s First Love/The High Cost of Loving/Accident Prone”

(Dir by George Tyne, originally aired on April 5th, 1980)

It’s not easy growing up on a cruise ship.  That was one of the main takeaways that I took from this week’s episode of The Love Boat.  Vicki is really excited when singer Mark Redding (Rex Smith) boards the ship.  She has a huge crush on him and she even gets to give him a tour of the boat.

Of course, despite his teen idol status, Mark is an adult and famous and being pursued by almost every woman on the ship.  Vicki feels insecure compared to the other women who are pursuing Mark.  (Of course, those women are all in their 20s while Vicki is 12.)  Eventually, Captain Stubing has one of his fatherly conversations with her and Vicki realizes that she doesn’t have to grow up quickly.  It’s a simple storyline but it’s nicely performed by both Jill Whelan and Gavin MacLeod and, speaking as someone who wanted to be an adult when she was 12, I could relate to Vicki’s feelings.  I was also glad that Mark turned out to be not a sleazy rock star, even if he was a bit superficial.  The Love Boat is a place for romance, not debauchery.

As for the other two storylines, one featured Steve Kanaly as Mr. Massey, a wealthy man who is paying a former lover palimony.  At his lawyer’s insistence, he boards the boat with a series of contracts.  Before he get involved with any woman, he is supposed to get her to sign an agreement not to sue him for palimony.  Needless to say, this does not make Massey’s romantic life easy.  Finally, he decides to forget about the contract, just for his shipboard hook-up to present him with a contract of her own.  Apparently, everyone’s scared of getting sued!

Speaking of getting sued, Tom Barry (Alan Feinstein) boards the boat with a broken leg and is shocked to discover that the bad driver responsible for the accident that injured him is on the boat as well!  Karen (Britt Ekland) is a bit accident-prone but, despite the awkwardness of their first meeting, Tom and Karen fall in love.  Tom even agrees to not sue her.  Yay!  I love a happy ending.

This was an enjoyable episode of The Love Boat.  With the exception of Tom and Karen’ story, there really wasn’t much romance.  There was just Vicki feeling insecure but coming to realize that she was just fine the way she was and then there was Mr. Massey trying to balance getting laid with remaining legally safe.  But the Vicki storyline was sensitive and intelligent while the Mr. Massey storyline featured some nice comedic desperation from Steve Kanaly.  Even Alan Feinstein and Britt Ekland had a really likable chemistry.  All in all, this was a pleasant cruise.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Baywatch Nights 1.10 “Kind of a Drag”

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 Baywatch Nights, an detective show that ran in Syndication from 1995 to 1997.  The entire show is currently streaming on Youtube!

Episode 1.10 “Kind of a Drag”

(Dir by Bernard L. Kowalski, originally aired on December 2nd, 1995)

Someone is putting on a dress and a rubber Richard Nixon mask and attacking drag performers!  After one performer is pulled out of the ocean (“It’s a wig!” a lifeguard shouts after pulling off the performer’s blonde hair), Mitch, Garner, and Ryan are hired to discover what’s going on.

They suspect that the attacker could be Duncan Valentine (Stuart Fratkin), the son of a former sitcom star who is trying to put together a movie about her life.  (His mother’s catchphrase was, “Wait until your father comes home!”)  Needless to say, someone is going to have to go undercover as a drag performer to catch the killer.  Which means that it’s time for Ryan to give Mitch a makeover!

Garner also goes undercover as Whoopi Goldberg but we don’t really get to see much of him in his red dress and wig.

While Mitch is performing a song, the assailant in the Richard Nixon mask shoots him!  No worries.  Mitch is wearing a bullet-proof vest.  What does worry me is that the assailant then heads to the dressing room but no one bothers to call the police or follow him down there.  Are they trying to catch this guy or not?  Instead, everyone gathers around Mitch to make sure that he’s okay.  Eventually, Ryan does say, “Call 911,” but I’m not sure why you would wait so long to do that when there’s a gun-toting maniac in the same building as you.

Anyway, it turns out that Duncan is innocent.  Instead, the assailant is revealed to be a drag performer who is upset that he wasn’t cast as Duncan’s mother in the biopic.

This episode was …. actually, considering that it’s from the 90s, it could have been worse.  Yes, a good deal of the show is taken up with scenes of David Hasselhoff struggling to walk in heels and revealing that no one has ever taught him the right way to sit down while wearing a short skirt.  (Ryan really should have given him some advice as far as that’s concerned.)  And yes, Mitch’s girlfriend did happen walk in on Mitch while he was wearing a dress.  (Fortunately, she’s thrilled to discover that Mitch is getting in touch with his feminine side.)  And yes, the villain did turn out to be a deranged drag performer who apparently believed that he actually was Duncan Valentine’s mother.  However, for the most part, the show did treat the other drag performers with respect and it didn’t attempt to play the attacks on them for laughs.  Mitch, Garner, and Ryan treat them like they would any other clients.  In 1995, that was probably the best anyone could expect.

Next week, the show undergoes the first of many format changes!

Retro Television Reviews: Fantasy Island 4.9 “Sanctuary/My Late Lover”

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 the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.  Almost the entire show is currently streaming is on Youtube, Daily Motion, and a few other sites.

Smiles, everyone, smiles!

Episode 4.9 “Sanctuary/My Late Lover”

(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on January 3rd, 1981)

This week brings us two fantasies, neither one of which quite works.

Thomas Henshaw (Bobby Sherman) is a man who does not initially appear to be too happy to be on Fantasy Island.  That’s because someone has poisoned him and he only has a day or two to live.  His fantasy is to go the Sanctuary, an exclusive resort for killers, and track down his assassin.  Henshaw has got one clue, a strand of hair that he found on his clothing.  All has to do is find someone who has the same hair.  This would make perfect sense in a world where only one person had light brown hair.  It make less sense in the real world or, for that matter, even on Fantasy Island.

Mr. Roarke gives Thomas Henshaw a serum that will prolong his life for a few days.  Henshaw goes to the Sanctuary, where he immediately finds himself being menaced by Sid Haig!  Sid plays the bad guy’s henchman.  There’s a scene where Thomas attempts to grab a strand of Sid’s hair and instead pulls off his wig.  Sid does not look particularly amused by the whole thing.

Thomas meets and falls for Tessa (Morgan Brittany), who is basically owned by one of the assassins.  Thomas changes his fantasy, telling Mr. Roarke that he just wants Tessa to be free, even if that means that he loses his chance to track down the killer.  Mr. Roarke agrees to the change but no worries.  Thomas still manages to track down his assassin and learn the name of the poison.  (He also snatches a strand of hair off of the bad guy’s head and declares, “It’s the same!”  DNA testing used to be so simple!)  Mr. Roarke and the Fantasy Island cops show up and arrest the killer and also provide an antidote to Thomas.  Thomas lives and leaves the Island with Tessa.

The main problem with this fantasy is that Bobby Sherman was extremely miscast, giving a performance that was so mild that you never once believed he could be at the center of a murder-for-hire scheme.  Michael Cole, who plays one of the assassins, perhaps would have been believable as Thomas Henshaw.  For that matter, if the show’s producers and writers had really been willing to think outside the box, it would have been interesting to see Sid Haig play a sympathetic role on Fantasy Island.  But Bobby Sherman is just too bland for this type of story.

The other fantasy is also, sad to say, a bit bland.  Anastasia Decker (Eva Gabor) is a wealthy widow who is trying to choose between three suitors.  Complicating matters is the ghost of Anastasia’s husband, the charming Dex (Gene Barry).  Dex keeps popping up and pointing out all of the flaws in the men who want to replace him.  Anastasia cannot emotionally move on.  Finally, Anastasia decides she wants to be with Dex so she tries to drive her car over a cliff!  Luckily, Ghost Dex is able to magically stop the car in mid-air and return it to the road.  Anastasia realizes that, of her suitors, nerdy-but-nice Walter (Craig Stevens) is the one who truly loves her and that’s who she leaves the Island with.  Dex returns to the afterlife, happy in the knowledge that Anastasia will be able to move on.

I like it when Fantasy Island deals with the supernatural but this particular fantasy was so bland that not even a tap-dancing ghost could liven things up.  Eva Gabor tried her best but this fantasy was the type of story that the show had already done several times in the past.  Despite effective performances from Gabor, Barry, and Stevens, it was just a bit too familiar to be effective.

Well, this was a disappointing trip to the Island.  Hopefully, the plane will bring something more interesting next week!