Category Archives: Lisa’s Week In Television

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/28/25 — 1/3/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Bar Rescue (Fave TV, weeknights and weekends)

I watched two episodes on Friday night.  One took place at a champagne bar in Philadelphia.  The other was at a Detroit jazz club.  I’m never surprised to learn that most of these places ended up closing, even after Jon Taffer’s makeover.  Would you want to eat or drink at a place that was featured as being incredibly dirty and vermin-infested on television?

On Saturday, I watched an episode in which Jon Taffer helped out a surly sports bar owner.  Why are the owners of sports bars always so surly?  I then watched another episode featuring a bar that was home to a wild racoon.  After that episode, I then discovered that Fave TV was doing a Bar Rescue marathon and I ended up watching several episodes that followed.  As I watched, I was reminded that I would be both a terrible bartender and a terrible waitress.  It’s a good thing that I decided to spend my life watching movies instead.

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team (Fave TV, weeknights)

After Erin and I finished watching one of the Perry Mason movies on Friday, we watched an episode of this reality show on Fave TV.  Everyone was very smiley.  I was just happy because it was filmed in Dallas so I could spend the whole show going, “Hey, I was right outside that building earlier today!”

The Danny Thomas Show (MeTV+, Weekend Afternoons)

I watched an episode of this show on Saturday, largely because I was trying out the new remote control for the TV in my home office.  Danny Thomas was about to go on tour in Europe so comedian Jack Carter agreed to cover Danny’s nightclub show in the states.  Danny got jealous when he saw how much the audience loved Jack.  It made me laugh.

Dirty Pair Flash (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, I watched an episode of this often baffling anime.  The episode was about the pair playing beach volleyball.  I’m not sure why.  There was a lot of yelling involved.

Murder, She Wrote (Start TV, Weekend Mornings)

I woke up on Saturday and watched two episodes of this old show.  The first episode featured Elliott Gould arresting the wrong person and Angela Lansbury setting him straight.  The second episode featured Angela Lansbury speaking straight to the camera and telling us about some other detective, who was played by Ken Howard and who solved a murder involving a former football player.

New Year’s Eve Celebrations (Everywhere, Wednesday Night)

At my BFF Evelyn’s New Year’s Eve party, we flipped through and past many different televised celebrations.  We stopped to watch Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper get drunk on CNN.  For the most part, though, we didn’t stick with anything for very long.  We had celebrating of our own to do!

Rose Bowl Parade (NBC, Thursday Morning)

I watched a bit of the Rose Bowl parade.  Watching a parade on television is never as much fun as watching it in person.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

Seriously, this show is perfect for my insomnia.  It lulls me to sleep.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/21/25 — 12/27/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Apple TV+)

It wasn’t such a bad little tree.  You can read Erin’s thoughts on this classic here.

Equal Justice With Judge Eboni K. Williams (Tubi)

I watched an episode on Sunday.  A woman was suing her former friend for smelling like marijuana when they got pulled over for failing to use their turn signal in Texas.  The patrolman searched their car, found even more weed, and issued both of them citations.  The woman felt that the friend should pay her ticket because the patrolman wouldn’t have searched the car if she hadn’t smelled like weed.  The friend pointed out that the patrolman wouldn’t have stopped the car in the first place if the woman has used her turn signal.  Personally, I didn’t think the woman really had a case because it was her car and she knew the marijuana was there even before she was pulled over.  Judge Williams partially agreed, ruling that the friend should only have to pay half of the woman’s ticket as opposed to the entire ticket.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

This continues to be my go-to cure for insomnia.

The Simpsons (Disney+)

I watched two Christmas episodes.  In one, Bart got caught shoplifting.  That one made me cry.  The second one featured Gil moving in with The Simpsons.  “Eggs a la Harold Stassen, because they’re always running.”  That made me laugh.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/14/25 — 12/20/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Flight of the Conchords (HBOMax)

Murray books Bret and Jermaine for a concert at “Central Park,” but he insists that they tour first to prepare for it.  Bret continually causes havoc that Murray blames on Jermaine.  In the end, it turns out that the concert is at a central park not The Central Park.  Jeff and I watched that classic episode on Wednesday.  It made me cry a little.

Frasier (Prime)

Jeff and I watched three episodes of the original 90s version of Frasier on Tuesday.  The first episode featured Frasier getting into a war of words with a columnist who wrote a column about why hated Frasier’s radio show.  It almost led to an actual physical fight before the police intervened on the behest of Martin Crane.  (John Mahoney was a treasure!)

The second episode was “The Candidate,” in which Frasier endorses Phil Patterson for Congress, just to discover that Phil Patterson is convinced that he was abducted by aliens and taken into outer space.  The scene where a stunned Frasier attempted to record a commercial for Patteson (“the sane choice”) made me laugh so much that I almost fell off the couch.

Finally, we ended with a Christmas episode!  Frasier wants to get his young son a Christmas gift that will make him think.  Martin argues that Frasier should get him a gift that he’ll have fun with.  Frasier and Niles have to go to a mall.  The closing scene, with Martin revealing that he had purchased the gift that Frasier’s son actually wanted, made me cry.

What a great cast this show had!  Watching these three episodes, I was reminded why the revival didn’t work.  As good as a job as Kelsey Grammer did in the revival, no one wants to think of Frasier moving back to Boston and no longer having anything to do with his family in Seattle.

The Office (Peacock)

On Tuesday, Jeff and I watched several classic episodes of The Office.  We started with season 2’s Christmas Party.  Then, we watched Season 4’s Did I Stutter, followed by Season 6’s Scott’s Tots, and we followed it all up with Season 3’s The Convict and A Benihana Christmas.  I know I’ve been pretty critical of the direction that The Office eventually ended up going.  But the first three seasons were about as good as any sitcom that has ever aired and seasons 4-6, while uneven overall, still produced some classic episodes.  I will always enjoy the Christmas episodes, no matter how much that annoying actress from A Benihana Christmas whines about it.

Saved By The Bell: The Next Class (Prime)

Saved By The Bell: The Next Class continues to be my preferred background noise for when I’m struggling to get some sleep.

Seinfeld (Netflix)

On Tuesday, Jeff and I watched two Christmas episodes of this classic 90s sitcom.  We started with the episode where Elain was dating a communist and Kramer got fired from his department store Santa job because he was spreading propaganda.  Meanwhile, Jerry’s high school rival resurfaced and demanded a rematch on a race that Jerry won after getting a head start.  I loved this episode!  Everything from Jerry and George pretending to randomly run into each other at the coffee shop to the race at the end to the little kid yelling, “Hey, this guy’s a commie!”

We followed that episode with the Festivus episode.  I love the scene where Jerry Stiller (as George’s father) casually talks about seeing someone else grab the doll that he was planning to buy for his dolls.  “As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be a better way!”  Also, I totally would have wanted to be Submarine Captain too.  Free sub?  Give me my ticket!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/30/25 — 12/6/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Frosty the Snowman (Thursday, NBC)

This holiday special makes me cry.  Everytime.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Thursday, NBC)

Oh, I love this one!  Seriously, Boris Karloff and Christmas are a great combination!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Friday, NBC)

Why is Santa Claus so mean in this one?  This special has always been my least favorite of the classic Christmas specials because it makes the North Pole look like a terrible place to work.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

I’ve been struggling with insomnia this week but I discovered that, if I put SBTB: The New Class on as background noise, it actually eases me into sleep.  This week, I slept through seasons 6 and 7.  I had totally forgotten that, after Richard Lee Jackson left, they brought in yet another blonde transfer student from Valley to step into the Zack role.  As I said last week, this show was the version of Saved By The Bell that I grew up with and I have a certain nostalgia for it.  It’s not good but it’s oddly comforting in its terrible way.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix)

I watched this docuseries on Friday and Saturday.  It’s always so weird to me how people just kind of shrug off rap feuds turning violent, as if all the death is just a part of the entertainment.  As for the series itself, it obviously had an agenda but that doesn’t make Sean Combs any less sleazy.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/23/25 — 11/29/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this on Tuesday.  It’s one of our traditions!  I swear, though, Peppermint Patty is so mean in this one.  And yet, after all that he’s had to put up with, Charlie Brown still invites everyone to come to his grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.  What a guy!  You can read Erin’s thoughts here.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

Finally!  The version of Saved By The Bell that I grew up with is available on Prime!  I watched a few episodes on Friday and …. well, they weren’t very good.  But maybe I just need to adjust my expectations.  I look forward to watching all seven seasons!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/26/25 — 11/1/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week was all about horror movies but here’s a few thoughts on what little of episodic television that I watched this week.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Why would they take the kids camping?  This episode made no sense to me.  I’m a little tired of hearing about Gregory’s “goofballs.”

Dragnet (YouTube)

I watched the “Night School” episode and the “Talk Show” episode.  They both made me smile.  I’ve seen them so many times that watching them automatically relaxes me.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, F0x)

Will the Blue Team ever get it together?  I assume they will eventually.  The men always seem to start out weak before becoming unbeatable towards the end of the season.  Still, right now, I wouldn’t want any of these people making me anything to eat.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

For the second week in a row, Maroun did not appear.  I don’t really have a problem with that, as Maroun was (is?) kind of an annoying character but it’s hard not to notice that now, neither Reid Scott nor Hugh Dancy are working with a partner.  I also noticed this week that Reid Scott, Hugh Dancy, and Tony Goldwyn all look way too similar.  Suddenly, Law & Order is dominated by sickly-looking white guys.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/19/25 — 10/25/25

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Abbott Elementary (ABC, Wednesday Night)

Gregory throws a terrible party at his apartment.  Mr. Johnson, Barbara, Melissa, and Ava go to the DMV to get their Real IDs.  It’s been a while since I’ve laughed at hard at any show as I did while watching this week’s episode of Abbott.  Even the things that I was previously getting tired of — like Gregory being socially awkward — once again made me laugh.  Abbott Elementary occasionally gets a bit preachy for my tastes but when it work, it’s truly special.

By the way, in Texas, they just give you a Real ID when you renew your driver’s license.  It’s pretty simple.  I don’t know why the states up north decided to make it complicated for everyone.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

Poor Bradley.  Chef Ramsay even gave him a pep talk and it still didn’t make him a better chef.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Apple TV)

On Thursday night, Erin and I did our annual viewing of this classic holiday special.  You can read Erin’s thoughts here.  Poor Charlie Brown.  “I got a rock!”

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, a murderer claimed diplomatic immunity.  The White House demanded that the DA drop the charges because it had a weapons deal with the UAE.  Maroun was not present and was not missed.  Price and Baxter spent the entire episode giving each other strained looks of sympathy.  Both Price and Baxter are such boring characters that I sometimes struggled to remember which is which.  Hugh Dancy and Tony Goldwyn are both totally wasted by this show.

Night Flight (Night Flight+)

On Friday, I watched a “video profile” of musician Annie Lennox.  The music was great.

Rogue’s Gallery (Night Flight+)

On Friday night, I watched a documentary on Al Capone.  Now that’s crime with style!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, FOX)

Much as with last week, I found myself wondering why anyone not in the Army would put up with being yelled at for 24 hours a day.  I would have walked off the set after an hour.

Toy Story of Terror (Disney+)

Erin wrote about Toy Story of Terror here!

The Vanishing Shadow (NightFlight+)

This old timey serial about the battle for possession of an invisibility ray continued.  It was fun in a 1930s sort of way!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/12/25 — 10/18/25

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Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

The Abbott teachers go to a baseball game!  As our readers may have noticed, my sister loves baseball so I made sure to have her watch this episode with me.  She enjoyed it, which made me happy.  Myself, I found myself wondering why so many shows — like Abbott with Philadelphia or Dick Wolf’s Chicago shows — take place in cities that most American hate.  Like, if I was ever told that I had to pick between Philadelphia or prison, I’d probably pick prison because at least there wouldn’t be as many people yelling.  Yet, Abbott is often a rather charming show and I usually love It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.  It’s just weird how these things work.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

Ugh, this episode made me physically ill.  I don’t think I could ever be a professional chef, not if it means having to clean every inch of a fishing boat.  (I cleaned my kitchen before watching this episode and my back was killing me by the time I was finished.)  As for this episode and this season, it doesn’t seem like a single chef should be trusted to cook food for anyone.  Chef Ramsay is doing a lot of yelling and I agree with him.

Law and Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, yet another millionaire was murdered in New York City and there was yet another crazy defense that, for whatever reason, Maroun seemed to have sympathy for.  As much as I usually like the “Law” half of these shows, the “Order” part often verges on self-parody.  Between Nolan Price’s wimpy summations and Maroun’s eagerness to protect the criminals, I’m surprised they ever get a conviction.

Night Flight (NightFlight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched a video profile of KISS, a band that I really didn’t know much about.  I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the fearsome makeup and their not-at-all fearsome music.

Snub TV (NightFlight Plus)

On Friday night. Jeff and I watched an episode of this 80s music show with our friends, Patrick and Dani.  It was good music.  You could dance to it.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, Fox)

This show is just not that interesting without Jussie Smollett crying about how nobody will accept that “I just want to move on” from filing a false police report.  If it was really the world’s toughest test, I don’t think a bunch of out-of-shape reality show participants would be doing as well as they are.

Twilight Zone (Prime)

This week, I watched a few classic episodes — To Serve Man, The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, Twenty-Two (“Room for one more, honey!”), Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up, Nick of Time, and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.  If the Twilight Zone is not a part of your October viewing, you’re doing Halloween wrong!

The Vanishing Ray (NightFlight Plus)

I checked in with this 1930s serial on Friday night.  The bad guys were still after the vanishing ray and the good guys were still trying to protect it.  As always, this chapter ended with a cliffhanger and an invitation to return to theater next week for the next installment.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/5/25 — 10/11/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Eh.  I’m not really interested in Melissa’s adventures as a sixth grade teacher.  As well, Tariq really hasn’t been amusing since the end of the first season.  I worry this show is reaching the “treading water” phase of its existence.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday, Fox)

After a week of commercials that implied the police would be showing up at Hell’s Kitchen to arrest one of the chefs, this week’s episode featured the cops showing up at Hell’s Kitchen so the chefs could make them breakfast.  I wasn’t really surprised.  Hell’s Kitchen has always been shameless about doing stuff like that.  That’s actually a part of the show’s appeal.  As for this week’s episode, everyone appears to be remarkably incompetent.  I wouldn’t accept a meal from any of these people.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

Another week, another murder.  Once again, Maroun was upset over having to do her job.  The law half of this show is usually pretty good but the order half is awful.  Nolan is such a wimp.  Maroun should have been fired the first time she ever suggested allowing a criminal to go free.

Ozark Law (Hulu)

I guess this show ran on A&E earlier this year.  I watched the first episode on Hulu.  It was a reality show about cops in small town Missouri.  They had to deal with a bunch of people hanging out at the lake for the Fourth of July weekend.  It was the usual stuff.  The cops arrested a woman for having an expired license.  A man’s house was burglarized.  The male cops were all heavily tattooed and bearded.  The female cops all looked like the hyper-religious girl from high school who would judge you for wearing a short skirt.  All the cops had that terse cop way of speaking.

The Prisoner (Nightflight Plus)

Jeff and I watched the final episode of this 60s show on Friday night.  I’ll miss Rover.

Special Force: World’s Toughest Test (Fox, Thursday Night)

Jussie Smollett has left the show so what even is the point now?

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/28/25 — 10/4/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the most part, I’ve spent this week watching horror movies and reviewing them.  That said, I did get caught up with a handful of shows.  Here are a few thoughts:

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I got pretty bored with Abbott last season but I still caught the season five premiere this week.  I laughed quite a bit so I guess I’m going to give the latest season a chance.  The show got a bit heavy-handed last season and I got bored with all of the golf course nonsense.  Hopefully, this season will put the focus back on teaching.

Big Brother 27 (Sunday Night, CBS)

Big Brother ended on Sunday and I’ve already forgotten all about it.  That’s the way things should be.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

I got caught up with the latest two episodes of Hell’s Kitchen.  The men seem to be especially incompetent this season.  I know that every season seems to start out with the men weak and the women strong before reversing things later on but seriously, this season, I wouldn’t want any of these people cooking for me.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

I decided to give Law & Order another try this season.  (Last season, I stopped watching about halfway through.)  Of course, when I watched the first two episodes of the current season, the first thing I saw was Price on the verge of tears.  Is there ever a time when Nolan Price isn’t on the verge of tears?  Just as with the previous season, I preferred the Law to the Order part of the show.  If Maroun and Price are always miserable about having to do this jobs, why are they even working for the District Attorney’s office to begin with?  Ever since this show was revived, we’ve had a steady stream of new detectives and yet Price and Maroun are still the same colorless characters that they were when they first appeared.

The Prisoner (Night Flight Plus)

I watched two episodes of this cult classic on Friday.  My favorite character is Rover.

Seinfeld (Netflix)

Kramer starts a talk show in his living room.  It made me laugh!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, Fox)

Yet another group of celebrities have gathered to see if they can pass Special Forces training.  I watched the first two episodes this week.  I laughed when one of the instructors yelled, “How badly do you want this!?”  They probably just want their paycheck.  I also laughed at Jussie Smollett, trying to make a comeback as one of the celebs.  What if Smollett wins this season and is sent to Afghanistan with orders to take down the Taliban?  That would be a hell of a redemption arc!

The Young and the Restless (Weekday Morning, CBS)

I watched an episode on Monday, largely to see if Victor was still around.  He was.