Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

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.  Almost the entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, Jason’s smoking!  And Dick Butkus shows up.

Episode 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 12th, 2000)

Okay, can we just agree that Lisa is the absolute worst?

No, not me!  I’m talking about the show’s Lisa, the premed student played by Marquita Terry.  In this episode, she somehow gets a job writing theater reviews for the local newspaper.  When Traycee puts on her own version of Romeo and Juliet (an “urban” version that she calls Rom-e-yo and Juliet), Lisa has to review it.  Lisa doesn’t like the play so she writes a negative review in which she says that Traycee is a terrible actress.  Traycee reads the review and gets offended.  Lisa says that she didn’t have a choice.  She had to be honest.

Actually, Lisa did have a choice and it wouldn’t have been involved any sort of dishonesty.  Lisa could have simply said, “I can’t review this show because I have a conflict of interest.”  The show was adapted, directed, and produced by Lisa’s roommate!  That’s all Lisa had to say to get out of writing the review.   The newspaper could have sent someone else to write the review and Lisa would have been off the hook.  Instead, Lisa went to the show, trashed her roommate in the newspaper, and then acted like somehow she was the one being inconvenienced.

Seriously, Lisa is the worst and it doesn’t help that Marquita Terry’s performance on this show was so incredibly bad that she made the cast of One World look Emmy-worthy.  Seriously, you have to be really bad to make Cray from One World look good by comparison.

That was the B-plot.  The A-plot found Dick Butkus returning as Uncle Charlie, just in time for Jason to start smoking …. just like his favorite uncle!  Peter freaks out.  His son is smoking!  Hey, Peter …. your son is 19 years old and legally an adult.  If he wants to smoke, he can smoke.  He’s a musician in Malibu so you should really be thankful that smoking cigarettes is all he’s doing.

Uncle Charlie is a smoker too.  He and Jason try to quit together but, after one hour without a cigarette, they’re both ready to kill someone.  Uhmmm …. okay.  I don’t smoke but I know plenty of smokers and most of them can last for more than an hour without a cigarette.  Anyway, Uncle Charlie gets lung cancer because this is a Peter Engel sitcom and, therefore, every point has to be made with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

This episode felt familiar, mostly because every single Peter Engel sitcom had at least one insane anti-smoking episode.  Having Dick Butkus show up just reminded me of how much better Hang Time handled smoking.  This episode annoyed me beyond all belief.

Thank God it’s the final season.

4 Shots From 4 Beautiful Black-and-White Films

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

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!

Here are four shots in beautiful black-and-white!

4 Shots From 4 Beautiful Black-and-White Films

Rebecca (1940, Dir by Alfred Hitchcock)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940, Dir by John Ford)

The Southerner (1945, Dir by Jean Renoir)

Sunset Boulevard (1950, Dir by Billy Wilder)

Brad’s Song of the Day – “A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams, Jr.

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’ve often mentioned on here that I grew up in Central Arkansas in the unincorporated community of Toad Suck. In other words, I’m a country boy. I grew up working with my dad to cut, stack and haul firewood for our family, as well as others in our community. I grew up cutting the grass at our house and our neighbors. I grew up working in my dad’s garden, a garden that fed our family and was shared with people all over Perry County. Dad still produces a big garden every year. As a matter of fact, I’ll be eating cabbage and squash from my dad’s garden tonight! Almost every Saturday, dad would take me and my brother fishing on the Arkansas River, which runs right through Toad Suck. I can filet a fish like nobody’s business. I’ve never cared much for hunting, but I’ve been around guns my whole life, and I know how to use them. I have them in my home for the sole purpose of protection.

I’ve also always loved Hank Williams, Jr. His songs “Family Tradition” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” are classics, but my personal favorite has always been “A Country Boy Can Survive.” And even though this song is somewhat dated here in 2025, it still takes me back to the early 80’s when my dad was teaching me how to work and fish. Today, it’s my song of the day. Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Lines & Circles by O-Town (2016, Dir. by ????)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Do you remember O-Town?  They were the boy band that was formed for a reality television series.  Back in the day, Lisa and I watched every episode and we still thought the name stood for Orgasm Town until we realized the band was from Orlando.  Even thought they could actually sing, O-Town was still the boy band that made other boy bands seem tough.

O-Town may have been featured on Making The Band but they had nothing to do with Diddy.  (O-Town was the first season, before Diddy was a part of the program.)  The mastermind behind O-Town was Lou Pearlman, which isn’t much better but I don’t think Pearlman’s ever been accused of putting a hit out on anyone.

This music video was from O-Town’s 2016 comeback.  Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.21 “Talk Nice To Me”

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.

This week, someone won’t stop calling!

Episode 3.21 “Talk Nice To Me”

(Dir by Ernest Farino, originally aired on February 17th, 1991)

A sexist newspaper columnist named Martin (Ed Marinaro) starts receiving phone calls from a woman (Tina Louise) with a sultry voice.  She continually calls him, leaving message after message.  She refuses to reveal her name or how she got Martin’s unlisted “private” number.  (This episode aired during the landline era, before you could block numbers.)  Martin tries everything to get her to stop calling.  He disconnects his phone for two days but, as soon as he reconnects, she calls again.  Martin can’t work.  He can’t write.  When he invites Linda (Teri Ann Lind) over to his apartment, his paranoia prove to be a real turn-off.  He becomes convinced that the stalker has somehow entered his apartment.  The truth is even more twisted….

This episode had potential but it was let down by a rather cartoonish performance by Ed Marinaro.  I could buy Marinaro as a misogynist.  I could even buy Marinaro as a womanizer.  I couldn’t buy him as a successful newspaper columnist and, as a result, the whole “you’re going to lose your column!” subplot fell flat for me.  That said, Martin’s apartment was an appropriately claustrophobic location and the idea of the nonstop caller was suitably creepy.  This was not necessarily bad episode.  It’s just an episode that could have been better than it was.

Only three more episode to go and we will have finished up with Monsters.  Though uneven, the third season has still been a marked improvement over the first two.  Even the third season episodes that don’t work quite as well as they should, like this one, are watchable.

Brad’s Song of the Day – “Ballad of Paladin” from HAVE GUN – WILL TRAVEL!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Actor Richard Boone was born on this day, June 18th, in 1917. While he was in some great movies in his day, he’ll probably always be remembered for the iconic role of Paladin in HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL. The first time I ever heard this song was when the boys were walking down that train track and singing it in the movie STAND BY ME (1984). Since then I’ve seen many episodes, and I can certainly understand how Paladin became an icon.

Happy Birthday in cinema heaven, Richard Boone! Enjoy the “Ballad of Paladin!”

Brad reviews 10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983), starring Charles Bronson!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson is Leo Kessler, a veteran detective who’s seen it all and has grown sick of a system of justice that he thinks favors criminals over their victims. When girls start getting murdered, he immediately suspects the arrogant Warren Stacy, played by Gene Davis in the best role of his career. When Kessler and his partner Paul McCann (Andrew Stevens) start putting the pressure on Stacy, the killer responds by going after Kessler’s daughter Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher). Needless to say, our hero will do anything to stop the madman, ANYTHING!

10 TO MIDNIGHT is a special movie in my house because it’s my wife’s favorite Charles Bronson film, even when she didn’t have any overall appreciation for Bronson as an actor. Luckily for her, she had me to introduce her to the rest of the iconic actor’s voluminous catalog of movies. I saw 10 TO MIDNIGHT myself when I was pretty young, probably 13 or so. I remember being scared that first night after I watched the movie when I was trying to go to sleep. My wife and I watched it today on my old VHS tape that I’ve owned going back to the late 1980’s. 

There are several elements that elevate 10 TO MIDNIGHT above the average cop / slasher thrillers of the 1980’s. First, it’s Charles Bronson in the lead role. Bronson has such a strong presence on screen that his presence alone elevates almost any material. He looks great in the film, and the role gives him some good opportunities, as both a mentor to the young cop, and even more importantly, as a dad who wants to do better for his daughter. It’s a solid role that seems to fit Bronson like a glove. Second, we know from the very beginning of the movie that Warren Stacy is in fact the killer. We also know that the law seems to be working in his favor. And because of that, we’re on Kessler’s side as he goes to extreme lengths to stop his reign of terror. Finally, the script and director J. Lee Thompson go all in on the sex and violence. Examples include Stacy killing his often naked victims while he himself is in the nude. There is much talk in the film about items of a sexual nature and Stacy even has a sexual release device that almost has to be seen to be believed. It definitely adds a decadent and voyeuristic feel to the proceedings. And I haven’t even mentioned yet that it has one of the very best endings of any Bronson film, second only to THE MECHANIC, in my humble opinion.

I highly recommend 10 TO MIDNIGHT!

For a more detailed review of 10 TO MIDNIGHT, check out Lisa’s review from a couple of years back below:

Film Review: 10 to Midnight (dir by J. Lee Thompson)

So, I Watched Mickey (2004, Dir. by Hugh Wilson)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Tripp Spence (Harry Connick, Jr.) is a lawyer who cheated on his taxes.  He goes on the run with his 13 year-old son, Derrick (Shawn Salinas).  They settle in Las Vegas with new identities.  Tripp now goes by Glenn Ryan and Derrick’s new name is Mickey.  Because Derrick was given the identity of someone who was a year young than him, he is still eligible to play one more season of Little League baseball.  Mickey leads his team to victory after victory and that’s no surprise.  He’s a year older and a head taller than all the other players.  Eventually, Mickey takes his team to the Little League World Series, where he plays a team from Cuba.  Glenn knows that, with all of the publicity, the IRS is going to catch him but all that matters is that his son get to play in the big game.

I love baseball and I can get pretty sentimental when it comes to watching a Little League game.  I tear up at both version of The Bad News Bears.  I also like Harry Connick, Jr.  What I don’t like is cheating and it bothered me that this whole movie was built around a father encouraging his son to cheat.  There wasn’t any reason why Mikey had to be thirteen.  It wouldn’t have changed the plot that much if he had actually been twelve and still eligible to play.  It’s one thing when major leaguers cheat by corking their bat or wiping something on their pitches.  They’re adults and everyone knows that it’s a part of the game.  But to encourage your son to cheat at Little League?  That’s low.

Mickey was written by John Grisham, who loves baseball but who still should have known better.

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (1992, directed by Charles Braverman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Hank Gathers is one of the most intriguing “what if?” stories of modern basketball.  Growing up in the Raymond Rosen Projects of Philadelphia, Hank stayed out of trouble by playing basketball.  An outstanding high school player, he went first to USC before transferring to Loyola Marymount.  Along with his friend Bo Kimble, he was a stand-out player at Loyola.  However, on March 4th, 1990, the 23 year-old Gathers collapsed during a game with Portland and died on the court, the victim of an abnormal heartbeat.  His last recorded words were, “I don’t want to lay down!”  Gathers set records in college.  Would he have done the same in the NBA?  Sadly, we’ll never know but he definitely had the talent and the ability to be one of the best.

Final Shot is a by-the-numbers biopic of Hank Gathers, focusing on his life in the projects and his friendship with Bo Kimble.  Victor Love plays Gathers while Kimble is played by Duane Davis and they both give good performances.  Their friendship feels real and when Hank helps Bo recover from a broken leg and when Bo worries about Hank’s recently diagnosed heart condition, the scenes are sincere in a way that lifts the film above the normal biopic clichés.  Nell Carter and George Kennedy both have good roles as well, Carter as Hank’s mother and Kennedy as Hank’s high school coach and mentor.  This is the type of role that Kennedy could have played in his sleep so I appreciated that he actually gave a believable performance.

Final Shot is a made-for-TV movie so it doesn’t dig too deeply into Gathers’s life outside of basketball, the way that college treat their athletes, or the systems that made playing basketball Hank’s only way of escaping the projects.  For what it is, though, it’s a fitting tribute.