Horror On TV: The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer (dir by Lela Swift)

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s televised horror is The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer. Peter Haskell stars as Clifford Swimmer, an angry jerk who is unhappy with his marriage. He’s come up with a plan, though. He’s going to have himself cloned and then, after leaving his clone with his family, he’ll be free to live his life. However, Swimmer discovers that things never work that simply when it comes to creating a clone. This is a clever story with a great twist at the end.

It originally aired on November 1st, 1974 as a part of ABC’s The Wide World of Mystery.

Brad revisits ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS – S1, E20: “And So Died Riabouchinska,” starring Claude Rains & Charles Bronson!

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Bradley Crain

I love Alfred Hitchcock. And I really love Charles Bronson. When you consider that Bronson was featured three times in ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, you know I’m all in. Bronson first appeared in the season 1 episode, “And So Died Riabouchinska” which starred the Invisible Man himself, Claude Rains! Now seemed like a good time for a rewatch!

When a juggler named Ockman is found dead in the basement of a vaudeville theater, Detective Krovitch (Charles Bronson), is on the case. The prime suspect is John Fabian (Claude Rains), a ventriloquist whose act revolves around his beautiful female dummy, Riabouchinska, who we find out is modeled after a long, lost love. As Krovitch interrogates Fabian and many others, including his embittered wife Alyce (Wynne Miller), and her lover, the shady manager Douglas, it becomes clear that the ventriloquist has a dark past. We discover a Fabian who is lost in a world of obsession, self delusion and perversion, a world that the victim was threatening to expose. Without giving too much away, this episode blends psychological horror with police procedural and spits out quite the freaky story.

Adapted by Mel Dinelli from Ray Bradbury’s short story, “And So Died Riabouchinska” is an exceptional entry in Season 1 of the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS TV series. Claude Rains is incredible as Fabian. It’s a thespian tour-de-force, with Rains creating a role that’s creepy, pathetic, and oddly relatable all at the same time. I haven’t seen many of Rains’ most notable works, but based on his performance here, I need to. Charles Bronson, whose strong screen presence was obvious from the beginning of his career, goes toe to toe with Rains (and Riabouchinska) and helps ground the episode in something resembling the real world. It’s not a showy role for the icon, but he conveys the toughness and authority that would go on to define his career. But what sets this episode truly apart is a storyline that explores the human psyche in a way that seems daring for 1956 television. There are parts of this episode that will definitely make you uncomfortable.

Overall, in my opinion, “And So Died Riabouchinska” is an essential episode of the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS series. It’s a lot of fun seeing Hitchcock introduce the show at the beginning and wrap it up at the end, but the best part is the fact that the story that takes place in-between is creepy, clever, and very re-watchable.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.22 “To Cheat Or Not To Cheat”

Posted on October 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 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, the Gang learns a pointless lesson about cheating.

Episode 2.22 “To Cheat Or Not To Cheat”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on December 3rd, 1994)

When I was in high school, my best subjects were always things like History, English, Drama, and Creative Writing. I excelled at classes that involved creativity, writing, and research. I absolutely sucked at any class the involved numbers.

In fact, during my senior year, I nearly flunked Algebra II. It just wasn’t my thing. I could usually get the right answer. Indeed, a lot of the time, I would look at a equation and solve it in my head within seconds. The problem was that I had to “show my work” and my work was always sloppy. Whenever I had to actually write out the numbers and the steps, I would end up either making a careless mistake or I would double guess myself.

Fortunately, Erin has taken Algebra II the year before me and she had saved all of her tests. An exam day, I would just wear a short skirt and write all the answers on my inner thigh before going to class. That was how I passed Algebra II. If I hadn’t done that, I would have flunked Algebra II and I would have graduated with a normal diploma instead of my neat advanced diploma.

In short, I cheated and I’ve never really regretted or felt bad about it. I did what I had to do so that I could enjoy the classes that I liked as opposed to spending all year stressing about the one that I struggled with.

This episode of Saved By The Bell: The New Class also deals with cheating though I’m not sure that what happens in the episode actually counts. A school dance is approaching and Brian wants to take Rachel. But unless Rachel gets a B on her History midterm, she’s not going to be allowed to go. When Brian happens to come across a copy of the midterm, he tells Rachel what she should study. Rachel does so and scores an A.

The show calls this cheating but is it? Brain doesn’t tell Rachel the answers. Instead, he simply tells her what to study. Rachel studies and she passes the exam. To me, the important thing is that Rachel studied. To be honest, I don’t see what the big deal is.

The show argues that, since Rachel didn’t know that Brian had seen the exam and didn’t realize that she had “cheated” (instead, she just assumed that Brian had good instincts), Rachel will now think that all she has to do is cram the night before a test and she’ll do well. But again, so what? That’s what most people do. That’s what I did and I had a great time in college. Seriously, when you’re in school, you shouldn’t be worried about grades. You should be worried about having the fun that you’re no longer going to be allowed to have after you graduate.

In the end, a guilt-stricken Brian confesses to Mr. Belding and he gets suspended for two days. As for Rachel, she’s told that she can take a makeup exam. But why should Rachel be punished when she actually did study the first time and she didn’t know that Brian had seen the test?

This is a dumb episode. I haven’t even talked about Screech asking Tommy, Bobby, and Lindsay to fake school emergencies so that Screech can “solve” them and hopefully get a good evaluation from Mr. Belding. (Screech is cheating too! But the show seems to think it’s only bad when Rachel gets an A.) If you’re in high school and you’re reading this, go ahead and cheat. Your teachers are too burned out to care and won’t even remember you were in their class after the school year ends. Enjoy your life.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 6.12 “Hot Date”

Posted on October 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, Ponch meets David Caruso.

Episode 6.12 “Hot Date”

(Dir by John Florea, originally aired on January 9th, 1983)

Ponch, whose fiancée was tragically killed just four episodes ago, is super-excited because his new girlfriend is going to be in town for the weekend. Lori (Catherine Hickland) is a flight attendant and, from the dialogue, it sounds like she and Ponch have been an item for a while. So, was Ponch seeing her while he was engaged? What a jerk!

Unfortunately, Jake (Brendan Burns) and Charlie (David Caruso) are also in town. Jake was busted and sent to prison by Ponch and Bobby. (That’s kind of weird since Bobby is still in his probationary period and hasn’t even been with the Highway Patrol for more than a year. Maybe it was a short prison sentence.) Now that Jake’s out, he wants revenge. He and Charlie take Ponch, Lori, and the annoying housekeeper (Ivy Bethune) hostage in Ponch’s apartment.

Meanwhile, at headquarters, Bobby and Kathy (Tina Gayle), talk two runaways (Brad Savage and Michelle Riskas) into returning home. Kathy also receives flowers from a unknown man. (The first set of flowers is delivered by someone wearing a gorilla suit.) Kathy’s unknown admirer turns up at the station. It turns out to be an old widower (Phil Silvers) to whom Kathy was once polite.

While all of this is going on, Getraer tires to impress the captain (John Ericson) during the station’s annual inspection. I guess he manages to do that, despite Grossman having an expired driver’s license and Officer Webster (Clarence Gildyard, Jr.) getting mud on his car while chasing a criminal. (Was Webster just supposed to let the criminal escape so the car would stay clean?) The whole inspection plot just kind of disappears.

The majority of this episode deals with Ponch being held hostage and it’s pretty dreary. As I’ve explained many times in the past, I absolutely hate episodes that feature people being held hostage because it’s always the same thing. Ponch tries to negotiate. Jake yells a lot. Charlie is dumb but loyal. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done a hundred times in the past. It’s boring. Eventually, Bobby calls the apartment and Ponch is able to tip him off that something’s happening. Bobby, Getraer, and Bruce show up to take down the bad guys.

For whatever reason, everyone overacts in this episode. In the role of Ponch’s houseskeeper, Ivy Bethune is almost unbearable. David Caruso also goes more than a little overboard as Charlie. Unfortunately, none of it does anything to liven up a fairly dull episode.

Horror On TV: Fear Itself 1.12 “Echoes” (dir by Rupert Wainwright)

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For our final episode of Fear Itself, we have Echoes. In this episode, a man discover that he was a killer in a previous life. Director Rupert Wainwright also directed the remake of The Fog. Does anyone remember that remake?

Though this episode was meant to air in 2008, the show went on hiatus and was then cancelled before it could air. It was finally released in 2009, as a part of the Fear Itself box set.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 2.2 “Blast From The Past”

Posted on October 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing Crime Story, which ran on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The entire show can be found on Tubi!

This week, Julie returns.

Episode 2.2 “Blast From The Past”

(Dir by Eugene Corr, originally aired on September 29th, 1987)

Torello’s ex-wife, Julie (Darlanne Fluegel), is in Las Vegas with her new husband, Dr. John Newhouse (David Soul). While Julie waits outside, John steps into a bank to withdraw some money. He ends up walking straight into a bank robbery. When one of the four robbers is shot and wounded by a security guard, Newhouse tries to stanch the young criminal’s bleeding. Newhouse explains that he’s a doctor. The leader of the gang, Smilin’ Jack (James Remar), took a bullet to the hand during the robbery, so he abducts Newhouse so that he can take care of both his hand and the other robber.

Newhouse is held prisoner in a trailer park in the middle of the desert. Needing to launder the stolen money, Smilin’ Jack calls his old friend, Frank Holman. Holman, who has moved on from his singing career and now wants to shoot stag films, comes out to the trailer park. He brings his movie camera. Soon, the trailer park is full of aspiring actresses.

Meanwhile, Julie goes to Torello and asks for his help. Torello puts the investigation into Las Vegas organized crime on hold so that he can find Dr. Newhouse. The other members of the Task Force have no problem with this because they all worship the ground that Torello walks on. And, of course, Torello ends up sleeping with Julie before eventually tracking down Smilin’ Jack and rescuing Dr. Newhouse.

This episode was pretty boring. Holman trying to become a filmmaker provided some amusing moments, but otherwise this was a fairly standard crime melodrama. James Remar brought a certain demented energy to the character of Smilin’ Jack, but the character was still obviously just a one-off villain from the minute he first appeared.

This was the second episode to not feature Luca and Pauli, both of whom are presumed dead despite the fact that Tony Denison and John Santucci are still listed in the opening credits. Crime Story’s narrative momentum really slows down when it’s just Torello’s story. He needs a worthy adversary and, without Luca around, he doesn’t have one.

Hopefully, next week’s episode will be a bit more interesting.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.14 “Accidents Will Happen: Part One”

Posted on October 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 Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2015! The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, Degrassi goes there!

Episode 3.14 “Accidents Will Happen: Part One”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on January 26th, 2004)

Jimmy, Spinner, and JT are planning on going to Buffalo so that they can see DJ Mad Bullets. Toby wants to come as well but Jimmy’s no longer talking to Toby. The official reason is because Toby’s stepsister, Ashley, broke Jimmy’s heart. Another reason is that Toby keeps saying things like, “What up, dawg?” whenever he sees Jimmy.

When Toby overhears Jimmy saying that he won’t get to go to the concert if he doesn’t pass his Algebra midterm, Toby offers to hack into the school’s system and change Jimmy’s grade. Jimmy says that he would be willing to take Toby to the concert in return. Toby attempts to hack the system from his laptop but he accidentally gives Jimmy a grade of 8,888 instead of 88. Toby’s laptop then dies. Jimmy insists that Toby try again from the computer lab’s main console. Of course, Mr. Raditch just happens to step into the lab and sees what Toby is doing. Jimmy and Toby both get Saturday detention. Jimmy tells Toby that, “You’re a fake rap fan. You’re a fake computer hacker. You’re just a fake.” OUCH! Painful …. but probably deserved.

Meanwhile, several students are sick with the stomach flu but that’s not why Manny runs from Ms. Kwan’s classroom so that she can throw up in the girls restroom. Manny has also been in training for an upcoming gymnastics meet but that’s not why her period is several weeks late. Manny asks Paige how she would know if someone used a condom. I’ll admit that I always yell, “OH MY GOD!” whenever I hear Manny ask that question but look at it from Manny’s point of view. She was raised in an extremely traditional household. She was apparently very sheltered. It’s totally believable that no one in her family ever talked to her about sex. Craig was her first and, when Manny eventually asks him point blank if he used a condom, Craig says that he assumed she was on the pill. OH MY GOD! I just yelled it again.

After talking to Spike about what it was like when Spike got pregnant as a teenager, Manny finally takes a pregnancy test and gets a positive result. Manny is scared. Craig is overjoyed. The guy who can’t even handle putting on a condom just can’t wait to be a father!

More than anything, this episode is about the importance of sex education. Both Manny and Craig are about to deal with something that neither knows nothing about. Ironically enough, this episode did not air in America until 2006, a full two years after it aired in Canada. It was considered to be too controversial for America. In America, the people who actually needed to see this episode were not allowed to.

This is a two-parter. We’ll deal with the second part next week!

Horror on TV: Fear Itself 1.11 “The Spirit Box” (dir by Rob Schmidt)

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this episode of Fear Itself, a dead teenage girl wants her friends to help her get vengeance on her murderer. This episode may be called “The Spirit Box” but it’s better known as “The One With Anna Kendrick.”

This episode was meant to air in 2008 but Fear Itself went on hiatus and was cancelled before it happened. The Spirit Box was later included when Fear Itself was released on DVD.

Great Moments In Television History #44: Nightmare At 20,000 Feet

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

It was 63 years ago today that America watched as William Shatner played a nervous man on an airplane who looked out the window and saw something on the wing!

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was the fifth episode of the fifth season of The Twilight Zone. Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Richard Donner, it starred William Shatner as Robert Wilson, a man who had just been released from sanitarium and who was taking a flight with his wife (Christine White). When he spotted a gremlin (Nick Cravat) on the wing, he couldn’t get anyone to believe him until, finally, he was forced to take an extreme action to save all of the other passengers. I remember the first time I saw this, as a kid, I was actually relieved when Rod Serling told me that, even though everyone on the plane thought Robert was crazy, they would eventually find evidence that there had been a gremlin. That’s how good a job Matheson, Donner, and Shatner did with this show. If Robert hadn’t been exonerated, viewers would never have never recovered.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was one of television’s best scary programs and it aired 63 years ago tonight, on October 11th, 1963.

Previous Moments In Television History:

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.7 “Saigon Rose”

Posted on October 11, 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.

This week, Pembleton, Lewis, Bayliss, and (ugh) Flasone investigate a shooting at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Episode 6.7 “Saigon Rose”

(Dir by Nick Gomez, originally aired on November 21st, 1997)

There’s an incredibly dumb moment in this week’s episode of Homicide. In an otherwise deserted hallway, Flasone confronts Kellerman with his suspicion that Kellerman executed Luther Mahoney and now, as a result, innocent people have been killed due to Georgia Rae Mahoney’s vendetta. (As if Georgia Rae wouldn’t have launched a vendetta if the killing hadn’t been an execution….) Kellerman and Falsone have a scuffle in the hallway and they both end up pulling their guns and having a brief, John Woo-style stand-off. When another cop comes walking down the hallway, they reholster their weapons.

It’s an idiotic moment that should have had no place on Homicide. It also gets at what is so annoying about Falsone. Why is Falsone investigating this? No one has asked him to investigate it. No one else seems to care about whether or not Kellerman murdered Luther. Most would probably say that Luther got what he deserved. But Falsone is on a crusade and the show seems to think that it makes him a hero, as opposed to a rat.

While Kellerman and Falsone are threatening to kill each other, Pembleton, Lewis, and Bayliss are investigating a shooting at a Vietnamese restaurant. Almost everyone who worked at the restaurant — including an off-duty cop — is found dead. The only survivors are two teenagers who hid in the kitchen. When interrogated by Pembleton and Lewis, they reveal that one of the shooters was a local cop named Toinette Perry (Camille McCurty Ali).

Toinette was hired as a cop despite having a history of mental instability. Her father had a friend at city hall and pulled some strings. Her father subsequently disappeared. Pembleton and Lewis think that Toinette recruited her cousin, Curtis (Dion Graham), to commit the robbery with her. Bayliss and Falsone are sent to arrest Curtis, which just proves that you can’t get away from Falsone on this show. He has to be involved in everything.

This episode wasn’t particularly complex. The mystery was easily solved and, while the episode did hint that the off-duty cop resented Toinette for being a “diversity hire,” it didn’t really pursue that angle with any real depth. That’s not necessarily a complaint. Homicide is at its best when its just about the detectives doing their jobs. Camille McCurty Ali gave a chilling performance as the sociopathic Toinette.

Meanwhile, Laura Ballard was rushed to the hospital after a night eating crabs with Gharty. (My boyfriend assures me that this is a Baltimore thing.) It turns out that Laura has an allergy to shellfish. Gharty is horrified at the thought of living in Baltimore and not being able to eat crabs. It was a cute storyline, largely due to Peter Gerety’s performance as Gharty.

This was not a bad episode but Falsone needs to leave Kellerman alone!

Seriously.