Category Archives: TV Review

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/29/24 — 1/4/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s a new year but there’s still much to watch.  Here’s some thoughts on what I viewed during the first week of 2025!

CHiPs (Prime)

Freevee may be dead but CHiPs continues on Prime.  My reviews of the show will return on Monday.

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

I watched the 2nd part of the final season of Cobra Kai on Friday.  I know the regular complaint about Cobra Kai is that every season is pretty much the same and there’s actually some validity to that comment.  But I don’t care.  It’s a fun show and William Zabka is a joy to watch.  From the start, I know this latest set of episodes would end with yet another huge brawl but, at this point, I’d be disappointed if they didn’t.  The showrunners know exactly why people watch this show.

Dark (Netflix)

Case and I have been watching this atmospheric German show on Netflix.  This week, we finished up the first three episodes.  Case has watched the show before.  He said it would appeal to my “analytical mind” and so far, he’s very much correct about that!  I’m enjoying uncovering the mysteries of this macabre mystery.

Days of Our Lives (Peacock)

On Saturday, I got caught up with Days of Our Lives on Peacock.  One thing that I like about this show is that you can go for six months without watching and still feel like you can jump right back into the storylines when you come back!  I enjoyed watching all of the citizens of Salem celebrate Christmas and New Year’s.  And I’m glad to see that Patch is still with us.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (Tuesday Night/Wednesday Morning, ABC)

Jeff and I spent New Year’s Eve at my BFF Evelyn’s annual “Screw The Year That Was” party.  The big annual countdown was playing on the television in one of the rooms at Evelyn’s place and I glanced in on the show occasionally.  I’ve never really gotten into any of the televised New Year’s Eve celebrations.  I don’t really have the attention span for them.  I just find it interesting that it’s still Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, even though Mr. Clark passed away quite some time ago.  It’s like Ryan Seacrest is a medium or something, letting us hear from Dick Clark from beyond the grave.

Going Dutch (Thursday Night, Fox)

After getting barraged by commercials for this show on an almost nonstop basis, I felt as if I had to watch the premiere.  Denis Leary plays an army officer sent to enforce discipline on a base in the Netherlands.  The base’s former commander?  His daughter!  I was glad that this show didn’t use the tired mockumentary format that is so popular nowadays but, overall, it still didn’t do too much for me.  The mix of family drama and goofy humor just didn’t work,

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

Hell’s Kitchen returned this week, with both Joe and Anne-Marie being eliminated from the competition.  Like Chef Ramsay, I was surprised that Joe didn’t last long enough to receive a black jacket.  As for Anne-Marie, she probably should have been eliminated weeks ago.  She’s just too scatterbrained to be the head chef.  (For the record, she would still do a better job in the position than I ever would!)

King of the Hill (Hulu)

On Sunday, after the news broke about the death of Jimmy Carter, my sister Megan and I watched the episode of King of the Hill in which Carter attempted to broker peace between Hank and his father.  It turned out to be too big a job for even Jimmy.  This was a classic episode and it featured one of my favorite King of the Hill lines.  Upon meeting Carter, Hank says, “You ran our country …. (voice filled with reverence) America.”

Miami Vice (Prime)

I got back to watching Miami Vice this week.  Watch for my review on Monday!

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

I wasn’t feeling well on Sunday night so Megan and I watched a few episodes from the Ms. Bliss era.  We both agreed that Ms. Bliss was kind of a bitch.

The Twilight Zone (SyFy, Tuesday and Wednesday)

I caught a few episodes of the annual New Year’s marathon.  This is a classic show and I always try to find times to catch my favorites, like The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, Eye Of The Beholder, Shadowplay, and that one with the nurse saying, “Room for one more, honey!”

Retro Television Review: Welcome Back Kotter 4.12 “A Little Fright Music”

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 can be purchased on Prime.

Welcome back to Brooklyn.

Episode 4.12 “A Little Fright Music”

(Dir by Norman Abbott, originally aired on December 2nd, 1978)

Sick and tired of Mr. Woodman insisting on ending the monthly “Parents’ night” meeting by singing the old and outdated school song, Freddie takes it upon himself to rewrite the school song.  He keeps the original melody but updates the lyrics to make it clear that Buchanan High is a “groovy alma mater.”  When recording star J. Bubba-Hampton (Sip Culler) overhears Freddie singing the song, he decides he wants to buy it and release a disco version on his next album,

The only problem is that Woodman wrote the original song and, since Freddie kept the melody, Freddie has to get Woodman to sign off on selling the new version of the song.  At first, Woodman refuses but then he realizes that he could make a lot of money off the deal.  Woodman agrees and puts on a scarf and sunglasses.  He’s a star now, after all.

For some reason, J. Bubba-Hampton agrees to bring the contracts over to the Kotter apartment so that Woodman and Freddie can sign.  However, when Bubba-Hampton mentions that Woodman actually plagiarized the song from a 1930s tune written by Irvine Russell, Woodman is stunned.  It turns out that Woodman had no idea that he did that. Woodman feels that it would be unethical to sell the song.  Freddie agrees.  J. Bubba-Hampton says, “I’ll just have to find another song for my album,” and leaves the apartment.  Julie suggests that maybe the school could have two songs.  Everyone ignores her.  Gabe then says that maybe the school could have two songs and everyone agrees.  The look of absolute hatred that Julie directed towards Gabe was one of the funniest things about this episode.

For a fourth season episode of this show, A Little Fright Music was not that bad.  For one thing, it featured Mr. Kotter from beginning to end and, watching this episode, I realized that, even if he wasn’t exactly the greatest actor in the world, Gabe Kaplan’s presence really was one of the keys to the show’s earlier success.  Kaplan was naturally funny whereas Marcia Strassman, who filled the role that Kaplan normally would have filled for many of the fourth season episodes, was not.  This episode also gave John Sylvester White and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs a chance to take center stage.  John Sylvester White’s unhinged Woodman has always been one of the best things about this show.

Horshack is not present in this episode and he’s not missed.  Unfortunately, Barbarino is also not present.  Seriously, this would have been a perfect episode for Barbarino.  Julie is also present, which means we get another chance to watch Gabe Kaplan and Marcia Strassman struggle to pretend to like each other.  Julie’s new short haircut always makes it appear as if Kotter has divorced his wife and is now sharing his apartment with a teenage boy.

Gabe gets to tell a joke at the end of this episode.  His Uncle Seymour dug up Schubert to see if he could find the Lost Symphony.  Shubert said, “Go away.  Can’t you see I’m decomposing?”

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday The 13th 2.22 “Wedding Bell Blues”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The entire series can be found on YouTube!

This week, we meet Johnny Ventura!

Episode 2.22 “Wedding Bell Blues”

(Dir by Jorge Montesi, originally aired on May 15th, 1989)

With Ryan and Jack out of town, it falls to Micki to retrieve a cursed pool cue stick.  Helping her out, despite all of her attempts to convince him to get lost, is Johnny Ventura (Steve Monarque), a friend of Ryan’s who Ryan hired to help search for the cue stick.  Even after Johnny finds out that the item has been cursed by Satan and Micki’s entire life currently revolves around supernatural violence, Johnny wants to not only help out but to also stick around, just because he likes Micki.  Micki might want to tell him about all of her previous boyfriends who have all died as a result of getting involved in the search for cursed antiques.

I understand that Johnny is going to eventually replace Ryan on the show, starting with the third season.  This episode isn’t particularly subtle about setting Johnny up as a Ryan substitute, though Johnny’s crush on Micki is a bit less cringey than Ryan’s.  (Ryan is Micki’s cousin, which is something that the show often seems to overlook.)  Johnny is established as being a cocky guy who is willing to break the rules.  In other words, he’s just like every other guy who has ever been a lead character on a show like this.  One of the stranger things about Johnny is that everyone keeps referring to him as being a “kid,” even though he looks like he’s older than just about everyone else on the show.

As for the cursed pool cue, it belongs to Jennifer (Elizabeth Maclellan), a waitress at a seedy bar.  She wants to marry Danny (Louis Ferreira), a self-centered pool player who treats her terribly.  Jennifer is convinced that Danny is just worried about winning the upcoming pool tournament so she impales people with the cursed pool cue.  Each time Jennifer kills someone, the next game that Danny plays is his best ever.  Jennifer is slightly sympathetic because she’s convinced that Danny will marry her right after he wins the tournament and she’s too insecure to see what a cad he is.  (She’s also pregnant, though Danny doesn’t know it.)  When Jennifer’s sister (played, in a very early role, by Lolita Davidovich) says that Danny is never going to marry her, Jennifer refuses to believe it.  When Jennifer discovers that her sister is sleeping with Danny, Jennifer has found her next victim.

It’s really not that interesting of a curse but then again, this episode is more concerned with introducing the character of Johnny Ventura than with anything else.  Unfortunately, at least in this episode, Johnny really isn’t that compelling of a character.  This was a bit of a disappointing episode but who knows?  Maybe Johnny Ventura will grow on me.

Next week, Micki and Ryan go to the ballet!  Yay!

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 1.6 “Legionnaires: Part One”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Hulu!

This week, Peter White continues to disappoint everyone.

Episode 1.6 “Legionnaires: Part One”

(Dir by Thomas Carter, originally aired on December 7th, 1982)

Dr. Peter White (Terence Knox) is perhaps the most incompetent doctor at St. Eligius.  Over the course of the first few episodes, we have watched as he’s taken advantage of his fellow residents, been rude to patients, misdiagnosed obvious medical conditions, and complained nonstop about how difficult his life is.  Dr. White is struggling to balance the punishing schedule of being a resident with also being a husband and the father to a young girl and a newborn.  He’s in over his head.

What’s interesting is that, despite all of his problems, he’s not a particularly sympathetic character and I don’t think he’s meant to be.  He’s never going to be a good doctor and he doesn’t have the courage to admit it.  Instead of finding a career for which he’s suited, he insists on being a doctor and risking the life of anyone unlucky enough to be his patient.  What makes Dr. White an especially disturbing character is that there are probably a lot of doctors in the real world who are just like him.  They’re overwhelmed and they make stupid mistakes.  I get overwhelmed sometimes too, as does everyone.  And, like everyone, I occasionally make mistakes.  However, my mistakes usually amount to something like missing a cringey typo that causes me to feel embarrassment until I get a chance to fix it.  A doctor’s mistake can lead to people dying.

This week, Dr. White attempts to give penicillin to a patient who is allergic.  Fortunately, Dr. Westphall is able to stop White from putting his patient into a coma.  Dr. White also manages to lose his hospital-issued pager and, when he’s told that it will cost him $300 to get a new one, he freaks out.  A chance meeting with a lawyer in the hospital cafeteria leads White to offer to sell out the hospital by recommending the lawyer to anyone willing to sue because they ended up with a doctor like Peter White.  White finally raises the money by donating his sperm.  The nurse at the sperm bank says that it’s really generous for a doctor to donate.  Not this doctor!

While Peter is screwing up his life, Dr. Westphall is dealing with what appears to be an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease in one of the wards.  Westphall wants to immediately shut down the ward.  Dr. Auschlander and board member H.J. Cummings (Christopher Guest — yes, that Christopher Guest) disagree.  However, after another young woman dies of what appears to be Legionnaire’s, Westphall orders the ward to be closed and the patients to be relocated.

Meanwhile, Kathy Martin broke up with Fiscus because she felt their fling was turning into a relationship and Dr. Cavanero dealt with a nurse who disliked her.  Neither one of those subplots did much for me, though Kathy is emerging as one of my favorite characters on this show.  Before breaking up with Fiscus, she goes to a funeral of a stranger just so he won’t be buried without someone there to mourn him.  She wears white to the funeral.  One doctor comments that she’s never seen Kathy wear white before.  Kathy’s a great character and deserves better than just being Fiscus’s girlfriend.

This episode was an improvement over the last episode I watched.  According to the title, it’s also only “Part One” so I imagine there will be some fallout over closing that ward next week.  We’ll see what happens.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.6 “Love at Second Sight”

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 Freevee and several other services!

Let’s get back on the highway!

Episode 3.6 “Love At Second Sight”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on November 5th, 1986)

Jonathan and Mark are working as recreation directors at a retirement community and….

Again?

Actually, I can’t really remember if Jonathan and Mark have worked as a recreation director at a retirement community before but I do know that this is not the first time that they’ve been assigned to work at such a place.  And, if I remember correctly, both Mark and Jonathan have been assigned to work as a coach at other places.  In other words, Jonathan and Mark have a specific set of skills and they seem to center around athletics and the elderly.

Mark thinks that this assignment is going to be easy but then again, Mark thinks that about every assignment.  He might have a point here as he and Jonathan are only supposed to be helping out another angel named Ted (John McLiam).  Ted’s assignment is to help Roy (Harvey Vernon) and Laura (Martha Scott) fall in love and find happiness in their twilight years.  The complication is that Laura is Ted’s widow!  Ted doesn’t want to help his widow fall in love with another man so, instead, he goes out of his way to sabotage Roy and Laura’s relationship.  In fact, Ted starts to romance Laura himself and even proposes marriage to her.

Jonathan confronts Ted and tells him that “the Boss” isn’t going to let this happen.  Jonathan then takes Ted into the future, where he discovers that Laura has died of a broken heart and that their daughter, Margaret (Nana Visitor), is now heading in the same direction.  Realizing that he was being selfish and that he has a responsibility to help Laura move on, Ted returns to the present and pretends to be a jerk and a conman so that Laura will fall out of love with him and instead fall in love with Roy.  Ted even gets Roy to punch him so that Laura will be impressed with him.  Back to the Future, anyone?

That’s the power of love!

I have two issues with this episode.  The lesser of the two is that Ted pretending to suddenly be a jerk seems like the sort of thing that would make Laura even more hesitant about trusting another man as opposed to something that would automatically make her fall in love with Roy.  However, my main issue with this episode is that it all felt very familiar.  Last season, Jonathan was assigned to help his widow move on and he had mixed feelings about it.  (As I would think any angel would.)  This season, God gives the same assignment to another angel and again, it nearly backfires on everyone.  It actually seems a bit mean-spirited on the part of the Boss to continually give this assignment to the very people that it would most hurt, though I understand that the idea is that Ted and Jonathan both needed to move on as well.  That said, at no point does Jonathan say, “Hey, the exact same thing happened to me!”  (This was a rare episode that Landon didn’t write so it’s always possible that the actual writer wasn’t aware that he was repeating a storyline from the show’s past.)  This episode felt like a missed opportunity.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 1.22 “Mom’s Gift”

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 Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Well, I guess it’s time to get back to reviewing this show….

Episode 1.22 “Mom’s Gift”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on April 25th, 1999)

After using the money that their Dad gave them to buy themselves a Nintendo, Jason and Scott realize that they’ve forgotten to get a birthday gift for their mom.  They panic, though I’m not sure why.  Their mother is living in Saudi Arabia, with her new husband and his family.  It’s time for Jason and Scott to admit that she no longer cares about them.  And even if she is expecting a gift, it takes a while to ship something from California to Saudi Arabia.  It’s not like she’s going to somehow know that they waited until the last minute.  Stupid Jason!  Stupid Scott!

Jason and Scott decide to make their mom a video tape of their lives in Malibu.  (Yeah, guys, that’s a lot better than jewelry.)  They invite Sam and Stads to share their favorite Scott and Jason memories and then both Murray and Traycee decide to get in on it as well and….

Yep, it’s a clip show.

Oh, clip shows!  Every show, good or bad, has them.  They’re cheap.  They’re easy to produce.  And they certainly are boring to watch.  That’s especially true when the clips come from a show, like Malibu CA, that still hasn’t figured out what type of story it’s trying to tell.  Hey, remember when Dennis Haskins ran for mayor of Malibu?  Remember when Stads and Jason were briefly a couple?  Remember when Scott and Sam were even more briefly a couple?  This show was all over the place and the clips in this episode mostly serve to remind us that Malibu CA never really settled on a consistent tone.

Probably the most interesting thing about the clips was that they revealed that Sam and Stads used to actually have personalities beyond just being killjoys.  When this show started, Stads actually had a sense of humor and Sam actually …. well, Sam never really had much of a personality but still, at least she used to do more than just sit in the background and comment on Murray’s weekly shenanigans.  The clips also reminded us me that Jason and Scott used to both be sociopathic.  Now, at least, Scott is vaguely responsible and level-headed.  Jason, meanwhile, remains a douchebag.

Happy birthday, mom!

Oh well.  What can you really say about a clip show?  It’s so rare to see a good one.  Even the clip show they did for The Office sucked.  I guess I should be happy that this was the first episode of Malibu CA that I reviewed for 2025.  The clips reminded me of why I was so happy to have an excuse to take a break from reviewing this stupid show but still, a clip show of Malibu CA is still less painful to review than an episode where you actually have to pay attention to the plot.

Happy New Year!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.3 “Bug House”

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 series is streaming on YouTube.

It’s time to return to Monsters!

Episode 3.3 “Bug House”

(Dir by Kenny Myers, originally aired on October 14th, 1990)

Ellen (Karen Sillas) visits her sister, May (Juliette Kirth) and is shocked by what she discovers.  May is living in a cabin that was once owned by their father and she’s allowed the place to become infested with roaches and other bugs!  May is pregnant and appears to be mentally unstable.  She lives with her boyfriend, the handsome but creepy Peter (Robert Kerbeck).

What’s interesting is that, even though Ellen is disgusted by how May is living, one gets the feeling that Ellen is also secretly happy to see that her sister is struggling.  It’s obvious that there are a lot of complicated feelings between the two of them.  Their conversation at the start of the episode is a masterclass in passive aggressive communication.  And even though Ellen claims not to trust Peter, it’s easy to guess what’s going to happen between them.

Unfortunately, Peter’s not just some creepy guy with a condescending attitude.  He’s actually an insectoid creature who just happens to be wearing a human mask.  And when May gives birth, she gives birth to a giant roach.  While Peter gazes adoring at the roach, May is devoured by maggots.  As terrifying as that is, the episode ends with Ellen pregnant….

AGCK!

This was an episode of Monsters that actually lived up to its name.  Peter was a horrifying creation and the scenes with the bugs were among some of the most effective that I’ve seen on this show.  With this episode, Monsters moved beyond the deliberate campiness of the majority of its episodes and instead embraced Cronenbergian body horror.  The atmosphere was full of dread and the cabin was an effectively macabre location.  (What made the cabin especially disturbing was that it was obvious that it had once been quite nice before Peter moved in.  Bugs ruin everything!)  Everything from the dilapidated set design to the dark lighting to the ominous music came together to make this episode feel like a filmed nightmare.  Speaking for myself, there’s nothing more terrifying than a giant roach.  Seriously, I hate those things!  Even the name — Roach — sounds like something that would kill you if it got a chance.

But what truly made this episode work were the performances of Karen Sillas and Juliette Kirth as the two sisters.  They not only captured the bond that all sisters share but they also captured how that bond can sometimes lead to competition.  The sisters love each other but there’s also a lot of resentment behind almost everything that they say to each other, which brings a whole extra layer of meaning to this episode’s story.

This was an excellent episode and a great way to return to Monsters!

A Blast From The Past: Dragnet 1970 4.22 “D.H.Q.: Night School” (dir by Jack Webb)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Dragnet began as a radio program in 1949 before making it’s way over to television in 1951. Each episode starred (and the majority were directed by) Jack Webb, who played a no-nonsense cop named Joe Friday. Friday narrated every episode, dropping trivia about the history of Los Angeles while also showing viewers how the cops went about catching criminals. Despite what is commonly believed, Joe Friday never said, “Just the facts, ma’m,” but he did investigate each case with the cool determination of a professional who kept his emotions under control. The majority of Dragnet’s episodes were based on actual cases that were worked by the LAPD, hence the opening declaration of, “The story you are about to see is true.”

On television, Dragnet originally ran from 1951 to 1959, during which time Dragnet also became the first television series to be adapted into a feature film. Jack Webb decided to relaunch Dragnet in 1966 and he produced a made-for-television movie that followed Friday and his latest partner, the far more talkative Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan), as they worked multiple cases over the course of one long weekend.  That made-for-television movie led to a series that ran from 1967 to 1970.

The second television series is the best-remembered version of Dragnet, beloved for its scenes of Friday and Gannon debating the issues with a motely collection of hippies, campus radicals, and pipe-smoking academics.  Jack Webb viewed Friday as being the voice of the common American, who supported the troops, supported the president, and who wanted to spend the weekend grilling in peace.  Friday was the middle-aged suburbanite who wanted to the kids to stay off the grass, whether it was on his front lawn or being sold on a college campus.  These episodes were often campy.  It’s hard not to smile while listening to Friday and Gannon deadpan their way through conversations with flakey long-haired hippies.  It was often obvious that the writers of Dragnet had never actually had any experiences with the hippies, beyond what they saw on the evening news.  And yet, as silly as things often were, the show is an interesting time capsule of the era in which it was made.  If nothing else, it’s a chance to see the turbulent 60s through the eyes of the other side.

Last year, I shared my favorite episode of Dragnet.  For the new year, I’m sharing my second favorite, an episode that originally aired on March 19th, 1970.  In Night School, Joe Friday is attending a night class where he and his classmates sit in a circle and just “rap” about the issues of the day.  No one knows that Joe is a cop but Joe feels that he is still on duty and when he sees that the guy sitting across from him has a baggie of weed in his notebook, Friday makes an arrest.  The professor, who says “There’s nothing wrong with marijuana, I smoke it myself!,” attempts to kick Sgt. Friday out of his class.  “Would you rather be known as good ol’ friendly Joe, the class narc?” the professor asks.  Joe fights for his right to get an education and a man with an eyepatch emerges as an unlikely voice of reason.

Why do I like this episode?  There’s something undeniably entertaining about seeing straight-laced, deadpan Joe Friday attending a class with at least three hippies.  It always amuses me that, on this show, Joe Friday loosening up just means that Joe trades his suit for a sweater.  Also entertaining is Leonard Stone’s over-the-top performance as the villainous professor.  And how can you not smile at Bill Gannon’s weary claim of “I just knew there was no way you could get a B sitting around talking?”  Or Jack Webb’s delivery of the line, “That’s my thing, keeping the faith, baby?”  Or Jack Curtiss’s hyperactive performance as campus drug pusher Jerry Morgan?  “Hey, that’s just oregano!”  Whatever you say, Jerry.

Today’s blast from the past certainly does feel like a trip in a time machine.  Step on in and take a look at California in 1970!

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 5.11 “He’s My Brother/Zeke and Zelda/Teach Me Tonight”

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 is back for a new year of reviews!

Episode 5.11 “He’s My Brother/Zeke and Zelda/Teach Me Tonight”

(Dir by Bruce Bilson, originally aired on December 5th, 1981)

This week, Doc Bricker’s brother boards the Love Boat and boy, does he turn out to be a jerk!  Fred Bricker (Jack Bannon) is bitter because their father paid for Doc to go to medical school while Fred had to stay behind on the farm.  Now, Fred is married to Nancy (Elaine Joyce) and worried about how he’s going to afford to send his own son to college.  Convinced that Doc is rich, Fred thinks that Doc should pay for his nephew’s college tuition.  Doc agrees.  Fred still acts like an ungrateful jackass but, when he learns that Doc has actually taken out a loan to pay the tuition, Fred realizes that Doc may not be rich but he is a good man.

The weird thing about this storyline is that Fred didn’t have enough money to send his kid to college but apparently, he did have enough money to take an expensive cruise on a luxury liner.  The other strange thing is that Fred didn’t know that Doc worked on the ship until he saw him in the lobby.  Fred just happened to buy a ticket for the same ship that his brother worked on.  Every episode of The Love Boat featured its share of implausible coincidences but this episode really pushes suspension of disbelief to its breaking point.  On a positive note, this story did allow us to see another side of Doc.  Bernie Kopell is always more believable when he gets to play Doc as being a nice guy as opposed to playing him as being an irredeemable lech.

Speaking of money, two old vaudevillians (played by Milton Berle and Martha Raye) haven’t had much of it ever since their style of performing went out of fashion.  Berle and Raye stowaway on the ship and then attempt to freeload their way through the cruise by pretending to be another set of passengers, Zeke and Zelda Van Buren (played by Herb Edelman and Elinor Donahue).  The captain is not amused when he finds out that someone is breaking the law on his boat but then Milton and Martha sing a duet of For Me And My Gal and all is forgiven.  The Captain arranges for them to get a job as entertainers on another ship.  I’ve noticed that the Captain never really seems to punish any of the many stowaways who have taken a trip on The Love Boat.  And you know what?  Good for him!  There’s a place for mercy in this cold world of ours.

Finally, romance novelist Michael Scott (Daryl Anderson) has a one night stand with teacher Emily Parker (Susan Richardson).  Michael — and yes, it’s impossible not to think of The Office whenever anyone mentions the character’s name — is stunned when Emily gets emotional after their night together.  “You’re acting like you’ve never done this before….” Michael says and, of course, it turns out that she hasn’t.  This was a pretty bleh storyline but it did lead to a funny scene where Michael attempts to have a conversation with Emily while two old ladies eavesdrop and freak out every time they hear the word “virgin.”

I enjoyed this cruise, mostly because it gave Bernie Kopell a chance to actually do some real acting for once.  I always like it when Doc turns out to be a nice guy.  Milton Berle and Martha Raye are, to put it lightly, an acquired taste but both of them give good performances in this episode and even manage to pull off their duet without making it too cringey.  As for the third storyline, it was defeated by the lack of chemistry between Daryl Anderson and Susan Richardson.  Still, two out of three is not bad.

SHANE (The TV Series) – Episode 1: The Distant Bell (aired September 10th, 1966)

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’ve been called “Charles Bronson’s biggest fan” on multiple occasions and by people I greatly respect. It’s possible that’s close to being true, but I chose to buy the entire TV series of SHANE on DVD because I wanted to watch Bronson’s wife, Jill Ireland, in a role that doesn’t include her more famous husband. I also wanted to see a young David Carradine as Shane. It doesn’t hurt that the 1953 film starring Alan Ladd is one of my absolute favorite movies. 

The very first episode of SHANE starts off with Mr. Starett (Tom Tully) and the new schoolmarm (Diane Ladd) riding into town. They immediately run into Mr. Ryker (Bert Freed) and his henchman Harve (Lawrence Mann), who tells them in no uncertain terms that there will never be a school in this town. Enter Shane (David Carradine), who works for Mr. Starett. He tells Harve to get out of the way, and Mr. Starett, the school teacher and Shane head out to their ranch.

The new school is going to be in Ed Howell’s (Karl Lukas) barn. Mr. Howell is concerned about the school and his own personal safety since he’s heard of Ryker’s threats. Mr. Starett reassures him that everything will be okay so they head to Grafton’s general store to purchase supplies. Mr. Ryker shows up there and tries some more intimidation. When they leave the store, they notice a fire off in the distance. It’s Ed Howell’s barn. Appalled by all of this violence, the schoolteacher catches the next stage out of town. 

Marian Starett (Jill Ireland), old man Starett’s daughter, decides she will teach the school. She knows her son Joey (Christopher Shea) needs to be educated along with the other children in the area. Since the barn was burned down, Marian asks Mr. Grafton if they can use the saloon to hold their classes since men don’t come to drink until 4:00 or later. Of course, now Mr. Ryker decides to come early and start drinking. They break bottles and glasses on the floor while the kids try to do their multiplication tables. Scared for the children, Marian takes the kids out and the future of the school appears to be in doubt again. 

Shane decides he’s had enough of this crap. He begins building a school out in the country and tells Marian that school will start there tomorrow. He’s prepared to defend the school against Ryker, Harve and anyone else who gets in the way. The next morning, Shane tells Marian & Mr. Starett to listen for the school bell. If they hear it, come on. If they don’t, there will be no school. Harve confronts Shane at the new school building. If Shane is defeated, the idea for the school and the education of the kids in the valley will be dead with him…

I enjoyed this first episode. The main cast does a fine job. David Carradine is a solid Shane. He has the confidence of a man who knows his true value is his ability with a gun. He doesn’t lead with the gun, but he’ll go there when it’s required. Jill Ireland is also good as Marian Starett. There’s a nice bit of sexual tension between her and Shane, and she’s also good as the doting mother to Joey. It is nice to see her in a role that doesn’t involve Charles Bronson, and she’s good in this first episode. Tom Tully is good as old man Starett, Marian’s father-in-law. His character is necessary as a guy who provides some needed relief between Shane and Marian. Finally, Joey is played by Christopher Shea. I’ll have to see how he grows on me as the series progresses. He’s fine in the first episode. Interestingly, he voiced Linus in the classics, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” so I’m willing to give him some space to grow! 

I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes. It’s a total of 17 episodes so it won’t take too long to get there!