Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 2.20 “How Soon Is Now?”


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 2.20 “How Soon Is Now?”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on February 9th, 2003)

After intensive therapy with the school’s counselor, Ms. Sauve (Jennifer Podemski), Paige convinces herself that she’s emotionally recovered from being raped by Dean.  Paige says she doesn’t need any more therapy and she just wants to get on her with her life.  However, when she discovers that Dean’s school will be coming to Degrassi for a basketball game, she starts to spiral.

Paige’s rape was one of Degrassi’s first “mature” storylines, in that it dealt with a controversial issue and it did so in  a realistic way.  Instead of simply wrapping things up after an episode or two, Degrassi stretched this storyline over several seasons and let it play out with an honesty that is rarely seen on television..  Instead of having Paige magically go back to being who she was before she was raped, Degrassi portrayed how Paige changed as a result of both the rape and her struggle to get justice.  That the show did so realistically is a credit to both Degrassi and Lauren Collins’s portrayal of Paige.

One of the things that makes this episode difficult to watch is that Paige largely suffers alone.  Only a few people know about the rape.  A bitter Spinner still thinks that the encounter between Paige and Dean was consensual.  When Dean does show up at Degrassi, it’s obvious that he feels no guilt about what happened and, soon, he’s even hitting on Manny.  When Paige tries to warn Manny, Manny replies that Dean told her all about how crazy Paige is.  It’s only when Paige tells JT about what happened that someone finally stands up for her.  JT may just be the mascot but he doesn’t hold back when he attacks Dean on the court.  Of course, JT is still JT so it’s not like he really does that much physical damage to Dean but it’s still gratifying to see.  In fact, this is the first episode in which JT actually reveals himself to be something other than just the annoying class clown.

At the end of the episode, Paige tells Ms. Suave that she wants to press charges against Dean.  Ms. Suave warns her that, with the amount of time that has passed, it’s going to be Paige’s word against his.  Paige says she understands.  I always want to applaud at the end of this episode, even though I know how things are going to develop.

As for the B-plot, Marco’s being a jerk.  He and Ellie are working on a class project.  They have to create an ad campaign for a fake cologne.  Marco wants to do a “Bollywood thing.”  Ellie wants to turn Marco into a sex symbol.  Marco gets annoyed because Ellie hasn’t fully accepted that he’s gay and not romantically attracted to her.  Hey, Marco — you’re the one who asked her to pretend to be your girlfriend so that you could stay in the closet so instead of getting mad at her, maybe think about what you’re putting her through!

Seriously, I get that Marco was a ground-breaking character at the time and I respect that, just as with Paige’s storyline, the show attempted to be realistic in its portrayal of Marco slowly finding the confidence to be his true self.  That said, Marco could be really self-righteous.

But no matter.  Even with Marco acting like Marco, this was an important episode.  Degrassi went there.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.13 “Have A Conscience”


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.

Luther Mahoney returns.

Episode 5.13 “Have A Conscience”

(Dir by Uli Edel, originally aired on January 17th, 1997)

Mike Kellerman is back on the job but he’s still angry.  He’s angry that the U.S. Attorney didn’t officially announce that he had been cleared.  He’s angry because he feels that his fellow detectives failed to support him when he was at his lowest.  He’s angry because people like Roger Gaffney continue to assume that he’s guilty.

Given how angry Kellerman is, the last thing he needs to get stuck with another case involving the arrogant and apparently untouchable Luther Mahoney.  However, that is exactly what Kellerman gets when an Asian shopkeeper is gunned down after trying to chase one of Mahoney’s crews off the corner.  Everyone knows that Mahoney is behind the murder but, as always, there’s not enough evidence to take him down.  Witnesses won’t talk.  No one can connect Mahoney directly to the murder.  While the smug Mahoney heads off to a fund raiser, a bitter Kellerman goes to his boat and considers suicide.

Fortunately, Lewis barges onto the boat and keeps Kellerman from shooting himself.  This episode reveals a lot about Homicide’s less heralded pair of detectives.  Kellerman is desperate for his father’s approval and he has a huge chip on his shoulder.  Just the fact that anyone would even consider the idea that Kellerman would ever take a bribe is enough to set Kellerman off and Kellerman does not easily forgivce.  Lewis, meanwhile, is still haunted by the death Crosetti.

The majority of this episode is just Lewis talking to Kellerman and Kellerman talking to Lewis.  It’s not the most exciting episode of Homicide but it is wonderfully acted by both Clark Johnson and Reed Diamond.  While Pembleton and Bayliss appear to be growing apart (with Bayliss spending most of this episode politely ignoring Pembleton while Pembleton solved one of his cold cases), Lewis and Kellerman are now even closer than they were before.

That’s a good thing.  Luther Mahoney is still out there and, for whatever reason, Lewis and Kellerman seem to be the two detectives who always end up investigating Mahoney’s crimes.  That’s a little hard to believe.  With the number of people that Mahoney kills and the size of the Homicide division, you would think at least one Mahoney-directed murder would be investigated by either Munch or Pembleton.  Regardless, Luther Mahoney is a great villain and I look forward to seeing where Kellerman’s obsession with taking him down is heading.

Finally, I hope this Pembleton/Bayliss estrangement won’t go on for too long.  We just got Pembleton back and Pembleton was finally starting to accept that he could actually handle working with a partner.  I get that Bayliss is upset but breaking up Pembleton and Bayliss just doesn’t feel right.  They’re just meant to work together.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 2.6 “Blind Dates”


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 Tubi!

This week, Mr. Belding is desperately trying to find someone to date his niece. Meanwhile, Zack is trying to avoid being suspended….

Episode 2.6 “Blind Dates”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 13th, 1990)

Mr. Belding needs someone to go on a blind date with his niece Penny but every guy at the school screams in horror at the idea. However, Zack has just received his tenth detention and is facing the prospect of being suspended for a week. Belding makes Zack an offer that he can’t refuse. If Zack goes on a date with Penny, he won’t be suspended. This sounds like the type of thing that could get Belding fired but instead, Zack agrees to go on the date….

Except Zack already has plans for that night! Kelly is having her birthday party at the Max!

Zack’s solution? Put a blonde wig on Screech and have him take Penny on the date.

I notice that Zack’s solutions always seem to involve Screech pretending to be someone other than Screech. Penny (Jodi Peterson) turns out to be a totally normal girl and she has a great time with Screech when they go to …. Kelly’s birthday party! Of course, Penny thinks Screech is Zack and that Zack is Screech and just writing all of this is making my head hurt. When Kelly finds out that Penny is planning on going home with “Zack,” Kelly calls her “an un-nice person,” which is a pretty neat turn of phrase. But then Kelly learns the truth and, to Slater’s chagrin, Kelly falls even more in love with Zack.

Meanwhile, Jessie freaks out because her blind date, Brett (Timothy Williams), is several inches shorter than her. I have to say that Jessie’s recurring insecurity about being tall was one of the few things that Saved By The Bell consistently handled well. (It certainly handled it better than her later caffeine pill addiction.) Brett was adorable and it was kind of sweet that he eventually won Jessie over just by being a really cool guy.

Jessie’s storyline aside, this is the type of Saved By The Bell episode that drives me crazy. Most of the conflict — actually, all of the conflict — could have been avoided by everyone just not being an idiot. It’s hard to believe that Zack couldn’t come up with a solution to his problems that didn’t involve putting a blonde wig on Screech. I get that Belding was desperate to find a date for Penny but the idea that he would turn to Zack, even under the most extreme of circumstances, seemed like a reach.

Probably the funniest moment in this episode was when Zack learned he had received his tenth detention and everyone in the studio audience groaned. Don’t worry, folks. Zack will be okay!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/7/26 — 6/13/26


Election Coverage

I was hoping that the Democrats of Maine would show a little decency and reject Graham Platner but it didn’t happen.  Two years from now, everyone will claim they were against Platner from the start.

George Gently (YouTube)

George Gently and Inspector Bachus investigated a murder in 1968.  The killer turned out to be a smug child.  It was a pretty depressing episode.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

Jeff and I watched three more episodes of this Japanese series on Saturday morning.  The space witch is still trying to conquer the planet.  Fortunately, there’s always a giant robot around to stop her.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

Jeff and I watched a handful of episodes of this old 90s show over the week.  Garry Shandling played a neurotic talk show host.  Rip Torn was his producer.  Jeffrey Tambor was the sidekick and Bob Odenkirk was the agent.  The show made me laugh a lot more than I expected I would.  Rip Torn could make any line funny.  One scene, with Jeffrey Tambor singing Spinning Wheel, will stay in my memory forever.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

I finally watched season 3 this week.  I’m amazed that Beavis and Butthead are still alive.  Tom Anderson’s War Stories are so wholesome.

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

On Friday, we watched an episode about how bands were using animation in their music videos.  The episode was from the early 80s so the animation really wasn’t that impressive.

The Simpsons (Disney+)

After watching Glengarry Glen Ross on Friday, I watched an episode featuring Old Gil  (who was clearly based on Jack Lemmon) overstaying his welcome at the Simpsons home.  “Eggs a la Harold Stassen …. because they’re always running!”

Twisted Yoga (Apple TV+)

This was yet another docuseries about a cult.  This ran into the same problem that a lot of cult documentaries run into.  It’s hard to have much sympathy for anyone stupid enough to get brainwashed in the first place.

Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (Netflix)

On Sunday and Monday, I watched the second season of this reality show about what happens when prisoners are allowed more freedom than usual.  Prisoners just aren’t that interesting.  There’s only so many times you can listen to someone say, “Treat me like a man,” before you get bored with it.

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 2.7 “Sandcastles”


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, it’s Eddie vs Hector the Collector!

Episode 2.7 “Sandcastles”

(Dir by Monte Markham, originally aired on October 28th, 1991)

Eddie is freaking out because there’s too many homeless people on the beach. As he explains it to Shauni, he’s always feared that he could end up homeless. When Shauni suggests that maybe the homeless could live on a deserted army base, Eddie says that people like that are never willing to accept help. Eddie is really not a fan of the homeless!

Of course, in Eddie’s defense, he does get stabbed in the shoulder by a homeless man at the start of this episode. Hector the Collector (Ron Howard George) not only breaks into Eddie’s lifeguard tower but he also tries to steal a framed photograph of Shauni. When Eddie tries to stop him, Hector plunges a shard of glass into Eddie’s shoulder!

Hobie, meanwhile, is having a far better experience with the homeless. He meets Charlie (played by a young Nikki Cox), who is living in an abandoned power plant with her mother (Wendy Robie, who played the one-eyed Nadine on Twin Peaks). When Charlie’s mother disappears, Hobie helps Charlie look for her. When Hector the Collector steals Charlie’s journal, the entire Baywatch crew is there to help her get it back. Fortunately, Mitch is also there to save Charlie when she gets shoved into the ocean by Hector.

WOW! What is Hector’s problem!?

“Mine! Mine!” Hector hisses whenever anyone tries to take back any of the stuff that he’s stolen.

Calm down, Hector!

Meanwhile, Harvey needs a new place to live. Harvey? Oh yeah, he’s the new goofy lifeguard. He can’t sleep in his tower. He can’t live with Mitch. However, Harvey finds a big house with a pool and immediately imagines hundreds of swimsuit-clad women beckoning him to swim with him. This episode has two musical montages, one involving the homeless and one involving Harvey and a bunch of imaginary women. I’m getting the feeling that Baywatch really wasn’t that concerned with the problem of homelessness in Los Angeles.

Baywatch was (and, since it’s been revived for the upcoming television season, is) a very odd show. This episode deals with a very real social problem and David Hasselhoff is so earnest in the scenes that he shares with Nikki Cox that you can’t help but feel that maybe the Hoff’s heart was in the right place. But the show itself always seems more concerned with getting to the next beach shot. Watching this episode, you can hear the producers whispering, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to spend too much time with these homeless people….”

Anyway, the important thing is that everything works out for the best. Harvey moves in with some flight attendants. Charlie is reunited with her mother. And Hector the Collector gets the help he needs. Don’t you worry, Baywatch will be always there.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.16 “Interior Loft”


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, a husband and a wife live in a loft and obsess on sex and death.

Episode 2.16 “Interior Loft”

(Dir by Ken Wiederhorn, originally aired on January 28th, 1990)

Kim Lewis (Elizabeth Keifer) has quit her job so that she can work on her novel.  Her husband, David (Kip Gilman), is a lazy grad student who doesn’t bring in much money to the household.  David suggests that Kim could record a message for a sex line.  Kim agrees but, when a serial killer becomes obsessed with the message, she finds herself being stalked.  Fortunately, the killer dies before he can harm Kim.  But Kim is so traumatized and mentally shaken by her stalker’s bloody death that David comes to worry that she might be plotting to become a killer herself.  And, of course, she is.

There was nothing supernatural about this episode, other than Freddy popping up for the host segments.  Apparently, even in his Hellish afterlife, Freddy tries to keep up with all the latest novels.  This episode was instead an attempt at neo-noir and director Ken Weiderhorn manages to create an appropriately ominous atmosphere.  Elizabeth Keifer gives a strong performance as Kim so it’s unfortunate that the rest of the cast isn’t as memorable.  This was not a bad episode but it was hard not to feel that it could have been even better.

In the end, I appreciated the fact that this episode actually did have something on its mind.  David fears that Kim is a potential killer because of the book that she writes.  That’s something to which any creative person in the horror field can relate.  Audiences often seem to assume that a morbid imagination is linked to a morbid personality whereas the opposite is often the case.  I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few horror people.  They’re nice!

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 3.23 “Bang The Eardrum Slowly”


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, everyone’s thinking about death.

Episode 3.23 “Bang the Eardrum Slowly”

(Dir by David Anspaugh, originally aired on March 20th, 1985)

Every by the standards of St. Elsewhere, this was a depressing episode.

Auschlander buys his morning newspaper and discovers that his old friend Dr. Wyler was murdered by revolutionaries in Africa. The terminally ill Auschlander finds himself thinking about his own death and how he’ll be remembered. Will he also only rate a small mention in the local newspaper? Will anyone care or will they just shrug off his death and go on with their lives? The only thing that kept this storyline from being unbearably depressing was the knowledge that, in real life, Norman Lloyd would live to be 106.

Elliot has been entrusted with Mrs. Hufnagle’s ashes. He spends most of the episode carrying them around in a cigarette box and thinking about how someone’s entire life can be reduced to just a small amount of ashes. After an unpleasant meeting with Hufnagle’s estranged son (Boyd Bodwell), Elliot and Fiscus spread Hufnagle’s ashes at sea. Alone amongst the doctors at St. Eligius, Elliot feels bad that Hufnagle checked into the hospital and died due to her doctors and nurses getting tired of dealing with her. Elliot has a point. Hufnagle’s son really should be suing the Hell out of that place.

Westphall …. oh Hell, you already know that Westphall spent this episode depressed. Westphall is depressed in every episode. He’s perhaps the most glum character that I’ve ever come across. Even when something good happens, Westphall finds an excuse to get upset about it. This week, he’s depressed that he’s moving out of his house. He’s also depressed that his son Tommy would rather watch cartoons than talk to him. Seriously, Westphall can be difficult to deal with. I’ve been in a bit of melancholy mood myself and watching Westphall does not help.

Dr, Craig is not so much depressed as he’s annoyed by the news that his son, Stephen, is engaged. Craig has never forgiven Stephen for getting hooked on drugs and dropping out of medical school. Ellen says that, as Stephen’s parents, they have to be supportive and happy for him. Good luck convincing your husband of that, Ellen.

Finally, Luther is deafened by a boiler room explosion. His hearing eventually returns but Luther finds himself haunted by how close he came to dying. I would be haunted by the idea of getting seriously injured at a hospital that appears to be as much of a death trap as St. Eligius.

What a dark episode! This was a difficult one for me to get through, though that’s not necessarily a criticism. It’s just an acknowledgement of the fact that St. Elsewhere didn’t hesitate or offer false hope when it came to issues of mortality. Next week, season 3 comes to a close. Let’s hope for the best!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.8 “Dead or Alive”


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 Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, there’s somebody else shooting criminals in L.A.

Episode 1.8 “Dead or Alive”

(Dir by Guy Magar, originally aired on November 30th, 1984)

Jimmy Joe Walker (Wings Hauser) is a cowboy bounty hunter who wears black and carries a wide array of weapons. He hunts for criminals who are wanted “dead or alive.” He specializes in brining them in dead because …. well, he just like shooting people. Hunter and McCall try to capture the escaped bank robber Panhandle Pete (Jimmie F. Skaggs) before Jimmy Joe puts a bullet in him.

This was a pretty average episode of Hunter, one that was mostly distinguished by the cheerfully unhinged presence of Wings Hauser. With his Southern accent and his country clothes, Hauser largely gives the same performance here that he gave in Vice Squad. The only difference is that he’s playing a bounty hunter and not a pimp here. He still finds time to beat up McCall. I can’t help but notice that McCall is constantly getting either shot or punched on this show. I think the idea is to show that McCall is just as tough as Hunter and I do like the fact that, no matter how serve the injuries, McCall never stops fighting back. That said, it would be nice to see someone else get a black eye for once.

(This is also yet another episode that finds McCall working undercover as a prostitute. She spends the first half of the episode wearing a blue top with feathers attached to the sleeves. I kept expecting someone to mention the feathers but not even Wings Hauser said a word about them. You would expect Wings to be all over that.)

The plot of this one felt a bit silly. A bank robber named Panhandle Pete? Really? I get the feeling that this episode was done in order to protect the show from charges that it glorified the idea of gunning down criminals. We’re supposed to look at Hunter and Jimmy Joe and say, “Hunter shoots a lot of people but at least he doesn’t laugh about it.” This was Hunter’s version of Magnum Force.

Again, this was an average episode but it’s worth watching just for Wings Hauser.

Retro Television Review: Decoy 1.34 “Shadow of Van Gogh”


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 investigates a case of art forgery!

Episode 1.34 “Shadow of Van Gogh”

(Dir by Michael Gordon, originally aired on June 2nd, 1958)

Casey investigates art forgery!

Someone has produced and sold a forged recreation of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Casey’s investigation leads her to Jack Wilson (Ray Reinhardt), a struggling artist who is obsessed with Van Gogh.  Apparently, Jack once even pretended to cut off his ear.  Casey discovers that Wilson did paint the forgery but that he was manipulated by a crooked art dealer named Cors1 (Edgar Stehli).  When Casey confronts Corsi, he threatens to shoot her.  Casey responds by threatening to take a dagger to the real Starry Night.  And then Wilson shows up and grabs Corsi’s gun.  With Corsi off to jail, Casey looks at the camera and encourages everyone to go to their local museum and see a real Van Gogh.

Oh, how I wanted to love this episode!  I really did.  I majored in Art History.  I love Van Gogh.  This episode should have been right up my alley.  And there were some parts of the episode that I really did appreciate.  During her investigation, Casey goes to Greenwich Village and we get some on-location footage of a 1950s art fair.  We get to see some real-life beatniks!  I enjoyed that.

Unfortunately, the rest of the episode doesn’t really live up to its promise.  It’s not a particularly well-acted episode.  Edgar Stehli plays Corsi as being obviously sinister from the start and Ray Reinhardt seems to be mildly channeling every single crazed artist cliche that has ever existed.  If you’re going to make one of your characters a struggling artist obsessed with Van Gogh, you can either portray him as a realistic, undiscovered painter or you can go totally over-the-top and have him actually cut off his ear.  This episode tries to go for the middle ground and, as such, it’s never as interesting as it should have been.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.4 “Down and Out in Bulls Stadium”


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.

Episode 4.4 “Down and Out In Bulls Stadium”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 26th, 1988)

The first game of the year is approaching and the Bulls, now owned by the Dobbs Corporation, have got a lot to deal with.

Mad Dog has to explain to an aspiring cheerleader (Christie Claridge) that he no longer has the power to make her a Bullette, despite the fact that he promised that he would do so when he was trying to get her to sleep with him.

New quarterback Doug Clayton (Scott Geyer) has to prove that he can lead the team, despite having a reputation for being an intellectual. Doug gave up a Rhodes scholarship so that he could play professional football. That doesn’t sound that smart, to be honest. I mean, will Oxford still be willing to give Doug a chance after he’s suffered twenty concussions?

TD Parker (OJ Simpson) must now work for the Dobbs Corporation, despite previously criticizing the corporation for not promoting enough minorities. TD explains to the press that he and the new owners came to an agreement. He also mentions that the corporation agreed to pay him a lot of money. So, I guess TD’s days as a radical labor leader have been slashed short.

Finally, after Bubba and Jethro spot him living in a parking lot and wiping windshields for a living, they convince TD to hire Joe Hearns (Harold Sylvester) as a defensive coach. Hearns was once a linebacker, which I guess is a defensive position. His career came to an end when he crippled a wide receiver. As a defensive coach, Hearns is a wash. At one point, he nearly runs out onto the field to tackle an opposing player. To me, that would indicate that Hearns has some mental issues and poor impulse control. To Coach Denardo, it means that Joe should be playing instead of coaching. Hearns returns to the lineup and promptly starts to have nightmares about the player he crippled.

Here’s the important thing, though. Doug leads the Bulls to victory in their first game and he makes it a point to praise defensive players like Mad Dog and Dr. Death. Tim Yinessa? Who needs him! Team Doug all the way!

This episode …. actually, it wasn’t that bad. I will admit that I laughed when Hearns had a vision of a wheelchair-bound football player rolling straight at him but that’s just because it was such an absurd image. Harold Sylvester actually gave a pretty good performance as the emotionally damaged, guilt-ridden Joe Hearns. I’m interested in seeing what the show is going to do with the Hearns character and Doug is far more interesting quarterback than the somewhat whiny Yinessa.

This season might be okay!