I was bored. I watched a few episodes this week. Dr. Phil put bad parents and bratty children in their place. One episode featured a guy who refused to take a drug test. Finally, he did take the test and he tested negative. I respected him for trying to stay true to his beliefs even when it would have been easier just to give in.
He’s a British policeman and he’s not that gentle! I watched an episode on Tuesday.
Git It On (PBS)
This was a 70s dance show. I watched an episode on Friday night.
Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)
I watched the latest episode of this sensationalized but undeniably addictive show on Wednesday. It was all about child actor and how their adult lives often seem to go off the rails. Sometimes, I feel bad for all the child actors who went on to live non-tragic, non-scandalous lives. Nobody ever takes the time to congratulate them on not self-destructing.
Intervention (Tubi)
I specifically tracked down the Ken Seeley episodes because Ken’s interventions always seemed to descend into chaos.
Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)
On Friday, I watched three episodes of this Japanese show about teenagers who carried the fighting spirits of various dinosaurs. The saber-tooth tiger is so cool!
During the Korean War, Navy Commander Dan Collier (Sterling Hayden) reminisces about World War II. In 1944, he was newly assigned to the USS Princeton and dealing with a collection of hotshot pilots who had no idea about the realities of war. His executive officer, Joe Rogers (Richard Carlson), was everyone’s friend. Collier, however, had to be their commander. At first, everyone in that ship resented Collier and his emphasis on discipline. But eventually, the men came to learn that war wasn’t a game.
There’s little about the plot of Flat Top that will take anyone by surprise. Of course, the stern and by-the-book Dan Collier is proven to be correct when it comes to the proper way to fight a war. This film was made during the Korean War so there was no way it was going to suggest that the Navy could be incorrect about anything. The film was produced by tiny Monogram Pictures, who actually found enough money to film in Cinecolor. Monogram also got permission to shoot on an actual carrier, which brought some authenticity to the proceedings. The film makes heavy use of stock footage. A lot of the footage will be familiar from the countless number of World War II documentaries that have been put together over the years but it’s still seamlessly combined with the footage of the actors sitting in the cockpits of their planes. It’s probably not a coincidence that the movie features the characters fighting in support of Douglas MacArthur’s return to the Philippines. When this film went into production, Truman had just ended his hopes for reelection by removing MacArthur from command in Korea.
The cast is uniformly good and it’s full of familiar faces. William Schallert, Todd Karnes, James Best, and Phyllis Coates all appear in supporting roles. Sterling Hayden is believably gruff and no-nonsense as Dan Collier. Thanks to them and the actual combat footage, Flat Top is watchable albeit predictable.
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, we start season 2 of Baywatch. Canceled by NBC, Baywatch found a new home in syndication. The show was re-launched with a special two-hour premiere. (For subsequent re-airings, the premiere was split into two episodes.)
Episode 2.1 and 2.2 “Nightmare Cove”
(Dir by Gregory J. Bonnan, originally aired on September 23rd, 1991)
On the one hand, the basic idea is the same. David Hasselhoff plays Mitch Buchanan, a divorced father who loves nothing more than being a lifeguard. Eddie (Billy Warlock) and Shauni (Erika Eleniak) are two young lifeguards who are in love (though their engagement from the previous season is not mentioned). Don Thorpe (Monte Markham) is Mitch’s no-nonsense boss. The sunsets are still beautiful. The beaches are still inviting.
And yet, there are a few differences:
Craig, Cort, Gina, Garner, and Trevor are nowhere to be seen. (Craig, Cort, and Garner will all eventually return. Gina and Trevor will never be mentioned again.)
Hobie, Mitch’s son, is now played by Jeremy Jackson.
Richard Jaeckel, who played doomed life guard Al Edwards in the pilot film, is now playing Ben Edwards, who apparently is meant to be the same character as Al. (Mitch specifically mentions that Ben broke his leg when the pier collapsed, retconning Al’s heroic death into a mere injury.)
Cort may be gone but there’s a new money-hungry lifeguard named Harvey (Tim McTigue).
The second season premiere features even more musical montages than appeared in the first season.
The second season premiere features a lot of random shots of women in skimpy bikinis.
The red Baywatch one-piece swimsuits are back but now, they’re considerably tighter and more high-cut.
The new Baywatch was airing in syndication.
I get the feeling that the Baywatch cameraman probably got together and all chanted, “Syndication, baby!” before running out onto the beach. Even though the second season premiere is still far from what Baywatch would eventually become, one can already see the development of the aesthetic that led to it becoming the number one show for 90s frat boys and dads suffering from a midlife crisis.
As for this episode, there are rumors of an underwater monster and everyone wants in on the action. Mitch saves an underwater photographer and falls in love for an episode. Hasslehoff’s then-wife, Pamela Bach, plays a reporter whose editor wants sensationalized stories about the “beast of the bay.” Of course, the beast of the bay is actually just the creation of an offshore oil company who wants to drill and ruin the environment because why not? Luckily, one of the lifeguard, Devon (Andrea Thompson), is also an environmental activist. Of course, Andrea Thompson is not listed in the opening credits so I imagine we’ll never see Devon again.
While Mitch is investigating the monster, Shauni rescues a little girl from drowning and then gets involved in the family’s life. The family is black and the little girl’s brother is being recruited by a street gang so the very white Shauni arranges from him to join the junior lifeguards instead. Shauni’s critical father (Albert Stratton) is impressed but I have to admit that I found the storyline to be a bit condescending. Like a lot of 90s shows, Baywatch was at its weakest when it tried to deal with real-life issues. It’s hard not to notice that whenever a guest actor who wasn’t white showed up on episode of Baywatch, they were always either being tempted or pressured to join a gang or they were trying to get out of the gang lifestyle.
In this episode, there’s an odd moment when Hobie decides to go into a storm drain and pretend to be the monster, which leads to a panic on the beach and monster hunters showing up with guns. Mitch shows up and ends the situation before it gets too out-of-hand but you really do have to wonder if maybe Hobie would be better off with his mother. I mean, seriously, Mitch — what are you doing here? Your son is apparently an idiot who never learned anything from the dozen or so times his life was put in danger during the first season.
Finally, Thorpe gets promoted and he wants Mitch to take his place as chief. Mitch argues that the new chief should be Ben Edwards. Since apparently Ben has the power to come back from the dead, I can see Mitch’s logic. In the end, Thorpe agrees.
And that’s it for this episode. It’s definitely Baywatch but it’s still not quite as fun as the show would eventually become once it fully embraced just how ludicrous things could get in syndication. This episode — and I imagine the rest of this season — feels like a show that is still making the transition from network television to anything-goes syndication. Eventually, the show will get David Charvet, Pamela Anderson, and David “The Bulge” Chokachi. During season 2, it was still just Billy Warlock and Erika Eleniak.
If you’ve never really sat down with All Along the Watchtower, you’re missing out on one of those songs that just grabs you from the first few seconds. It’s got this tense, almost mysterious vibe right away, like something big is about to go down. And yeah, quick heads-up—this is actually a cover of a Bob Dylan song, but Hendrix completely transforms it into something way more electric, intense, and, honestly, iconic.
What really separates Hendrix’s version is how much more dynamic it feels compared to Dylan’s original. Dylan keeps it more stripped-down and acoustically grounded, which gives it that raw, almost haunting quality. Hendrix, on the other hand, builds this layered, immersive soundscape that feels bigger and more urgent. Even their vocal styles reflect that difference—both are rooted in blues, but Dylan leans into a delivery that feels closer to Robert Johnson, kind of dry and narrative-driven, while Hendrix brings a smoother, more fluid presence that echoes someone like Muddy Waters.
And then you hit the guitar work, which is really the heart of the whole thing. Hendrix doesn’t just give you one standout solo—he drops two. The first kicks in around the 0:55 mark, and it’s sharp, punchy, and sets the tone with that signature bite. Then he comes back again around 1:45 with another lead that feels even more expressive and fluid, like he’s pushing things further emotionally. Both solos feel purposeful, not just thrown in to show off—they actually drive All Along the Watchtower forward.
By the time the song wraps up, it leaves you with that “wait, play that again” feeling. It’s short, tight, and insanely replayable. Even if you’re not usually into older rock, this is one of those tracks that cuts through all that—it just sounds cool. Definitely worth throwing on with headphones and really soaking it in.
All Along the Watchtower
“There must be some kind of way out of here” Said the joker to the thief “There’s too much confusion I can’t get no relief Businessmen they drink my wine Plowmen dig my earth None will level on the line Nobody offered his word” Hey!
(Guitar Solo 1 @0:55)
“No reason to get excited” The thief, he kindly spoke “There are many here among us Who feel that life is but a joke But, uh, but you and I, we’ve been through that And this is not our fate So let us stop talkin’ falsely now The hour’s getting late Hey!
(Guitar Solo 2 @1:45)
Hey!
All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went Barefoot servants too Well, uh, outside in the cold distance A wildcat did growl Two riders were approaching And the wind began to howl Hey!
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial! The movie? The Amityville Horror!
If you want to join us this Saturday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
Today would have been the 62nd birthday of actor Mark Gregory, who will always be remembered for playing Trash in 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape From The Bronx.
In this scene from 1990: The Bronx Warriors, we’re reminded that everyone loves Trash.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, TSL wishes a happy birthday to Danish director Lone Scherfig! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Lone Scherfig Films
An Education (2009, dir by Lone Scherfig, DP: John de Borman)
One Day (2011, dir by Lone Scherfig, DP: Benoît Delhomme)
The Riot Club (2014, dir by Lone Scherfig, DP: Sebastian Blenkov)
Their Finest (2016, dir by Lone Scherfig, DP: Sebastian Blenkov)
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, Springwood Confidential struggles to keep a host.
Episode 2.11 “Dreams That Kill”
(Dir by Tom DeSimone, originally aired on December 17th, 1989)
In this follow-up to Dream Come True, Dick Gautier plays Charlies Nickels, the new host of Springwood Confidential. When he announced that his next show will be a discussion about whether or not a nightmare can kill you, he soon finds that his dreams are being haunted by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund, hamming it up and apparently enjoying the opportunity to do more than just host for once). Freddy is worried that the show will cause people to stop sleeping. I’m not really sure that I follow Freddy’s logic — sleep is unavoidable, no matter how much you want to stay up for days at a time — but whatever. Eventually, Freddy torments Charlie to the point that Charlie ends up in a coma, where Freddy can torture him 24/7.
At the hospital, a doctor (Nicholas Cascone) removes some of Charlie’s brain fluid and injects it into a comatose teenager named Mark Lindstrom (Christian Borcher). Mark comes out of his coma but now he has Charlie’s personality and he desperately wants to be the next host of Springwood Confidential. Mark gets the job but soon, he’s having nightmares involving Freddy.
“This is supposed to be Charlie Nickels’s dream!” Freddy says, spying Mark. “Two for the price of one!”
As you probably already guessed, this episode ends with a vengeful Mark injecting his brain fluid into the doctor. So now, it’s three for the price of one….
I kind of liked the idea of Freddy being passed from one victim to another. And Robert Englund was entertaining as Freddy. That said, this episode basically felt like the same story told twice. Freddy haunted Charlie. Freddy haunts Mark in the exact same way. It was better than anything the first season had to offer but this episode still ultimately felt a bit redundant.
Through the Shattered Lens 