Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.8 “Injustice For All”

Posted on July 15, 2026 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 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

Oh my, this epiosde.

Episode 4.8 “Injustice For All”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on November 23rd, 1988)

The Bulls narrowly win a game against Texas’s team when Coach Denardo decides to give the ball not to usual running back but instead to Bubba Kincaid. Bubba is pronounced the hero of the game, which makes Jethro jealous. During the next game, when Denardo tries to pull off the same play, Bubba insists that the ball should be given to Jethro. Jethro fumbles the ball and Bubba falls on it, scoring once again for the Bulls. Afterwards, Bubba assures the press that Jethro was supposed to fumble and that Jethro is actually the hero of the game. That’s nice!

Less nice is what happens when the press talks to Coach Denardo. When asked whether or not he thought Texas lost because they had a black quarterback, he shrugs and says, “Maybe. Blacks have excelled at every other position in the game. Eventually, they’ll excel as quarterbacks.” Denardo is branded a racist. He insists that his words were taken out of context.

Personally …. I don’t know, it all sounds pretty racist to me. The question was definitely racist. Denardo wasn’t asked if he felt Texas lost because their quarterback didn’t play well. Instead, he was specifically asked if Texas lost because their quarterback was black. Then, Denardo’s answer is that apparently blacks are not good quarterbacks right now but they will be someday. How is that not racist? Denardo (and the reporter) are taking an individual player, considering nothing about him beyond his race, and then saying that’s why his team lost. All Denardo had to say was that the quarterback struggled, just as many white quarterbacks have struggled. Denardo could have just said, “Race doesn’t have anything to do with it.” Instead …. well, you get the idea.

The Dobbs Corporation, which now owns the Bulls, has recently had to settle a lawsuit about their discriminatory employment practices. Executive Michal Westwood (Paul Tuerpe) wants Denardo fired and really, Denardo probably should be fired. But TD Parker (OJ Simpson) tries to play peacemaker. He tells Denardo that it would help if he apologized.

“TD,” Denardo says, “I’ve got white friends and I’ve got black friends. But if you don’t drop this, I might have one less black friend.”

And then, presumably, Denardo complimented TD for being articulate.

Meanwhile, Dr. Death’s attempt to have a one night stand with a biker chick (Beth Broderick …. wait a minute, Aunt Zelda!?) comes to an end when he meets her son and discovers that the kid is being abused by his mother’s other boyfriend. Dr. Death takes the kid under his wing and then beats up the abuser. Yay! Seriously, this whole episode should have just been Dr. Death beating up that guy.

And Denardo really should have been fired.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.6 “The Dark Side”

Posted on June 24, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, who cares about a concussion?

Episode 4.6 “The Dark Side”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on November 9th, 1988)

Going into the half, the Bulls are in danger of losing their first game of the season. Dodds Company executive Michael Westwood (Paul Tuerpe) has suspended Bubba and Jethro for refusing to sell their bar. “They draw a criminal element,” Michael said. “They’re just football players!” TD Parker (OJ Simpson) snaps back. Because Bubba and Jethro aren’t there to protect him, quarterback Doug Clayton (Scott Geyer) has been sacked and is now playing with a concussion.

During the coach’s locker room talk, Doug suddenly imagines that he’s in a Vietnam war film and that he and the team are soldiers on a mission to rescue Bubba and Jethro from a POW camp. OJ Simpson dresses up like Rambo and leads the assault. OJ kills a lot of people in this episode!

His fantasy over, the still dazed Doug heads back out to play the second half, this time with Bubba and Jethro once again blocking for him.

So, to make clear, Doug is playing with a severe concussion. That’s really the entire plot of this episode. The Vietnam stuff is occasionally amusing if overly broad. Bubba and Jethro recreate The Deer Hunter’s Russian Roulette scene. OJ Simpson still comes across as being oddly mild-mannered, even while firing a machine gun. That said, it’s hard not to feel that Doug, who gave up a Rhodes scholarship to play professional football, is basically sacrificing his life for one game.

Oh well. The Bulls win. That’s the important thing.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 3.11 “Land of the Free (Agent)”

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The playoffs continue!

Episode 3.11 “Land of the Free (Agent)”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on December 2nd, 1987)

The Bulls are in the playoffs but they need a new running back. Jill decides to sign Brian Bozworth (Brian Bosworth), a player who was drafted by Arizona but who refused to sign his contract because he felt he wasn’t being offered enough money. TD Parker (OJ Simpson) tells Jill that it would be highly irregular for the Bulls to sign Bozworth because, technically, he still “belongs” to Arizona. Jill tells TD to take a knife to the rules and sign Bozworth.

And it’s a good thing that she did because, after some opening jitters, Bozworth plays a key role in getting the Bulls a win over Arizona in the playoffs. Recognizing what the Arizona defense is going to do, he gives Yinessa a heads up. Yinesa throws Bozworth the ball, Bozworth gets the Bulls into good field position, and Zagreb kicks the game-winning field goal.

Zagreb is only able to make that kick because Mad Dog lied to him and told him that Anna had called and agreed to marry him. The next day, at the wedding ceremony, Anna is a no-show. Or, at least, she is until Mad Dog breaks into her house, forces her to put on a wedding gown, and then carries her to the ceremony. She arrives just in time to hear Zagreb giving a speech about how much he loves her. Anna and Zagreb marry.

Finally, Jethro is upset when Bubba is offered a commercial contract with Squelch Sports Drink. Squelch doesn’t want Jethro in its commercials. But when Bubba can’t find the strength to lift a drum of Squelch and pour it over Coach Grier’s head, his contact is canceled.

This was a weird episode. A lot of stuff was going on but none of it really added up too much. At first, Bozworth seemed like a bad player and then, suddenly, he was a good player. Jethro and Bubba were arguing and then suddenly they weren’t. Zagreb got married and good for him. Zagreb is perhaps the most cartoonish character on the show but then again, 1st & Ten is rather cartoonish in general.

Anyway, the Bulls are one step closer to the Championship Game. We’ll see if they make it next week.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 3.7 “Mutiny on the Bull Team”

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Things aren’t looking too good for the Bulls!

Episode 3.7 “A Mutiny on the Bull Team”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 7th, 1987)

After a terrible start to the season (back-to-back losses!), TD tells Coach Grier that he needs to do something to get the team back into championship shape. Coach Grier launches an intensive training regimen and he posts a list of rules in the locker room — no beer in the locker room, players must shave for game day, and a bunch of other things. The players rebel and, during the next game, they stop running the plays that Grier wants. TD confronts Grier and demands to know what’s going on. Grier says that he just did what TD told him to do. TD says that he didn’t tell Grier to become a dictator even though that is kind of what TD told him to do.

Really, “reign of terror?” Coach Grier is like in his 60s and he’s fat and out of shape. The football players are …. well, football players. What exactly is TD Parker saying? It’s hard to say. OJ Simpson delivers all of his lines in the same amiable and bland manner that he used when he said he would devote his life to searching for the real killers. It’s hard to know what TD is thinking.

Anyway, Grier realizes the errors of his ways and the Bulls win the game! So, TD doesn’t have to cut anyone from the team. He can put away his knife for now. Everyone in the locker room should be breathing a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Yinessa and new owner Jill Schrader struggle with their feelings for each other. In the end, Yinessa kisses Jill in the stadium parking lot so I guess they decided to forget about the whole “We have to maintain a professional separation” thing.

One final note: Last week’s episode featured Delta Burke swearing that she was going to reclaim ownership of the Bulls. But, with this episode, Burke is no longer listed in the opening credits so I guess that storyline is over with. Jill is now the owner. Good! Maybe the Bulls will finally win a championship.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 3.3 “A Loaded Gun”

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, OJ Simpson argues with his wife.

Episode 3.3 “A Loaded Gun”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on August 19th, 1987)

With Yinessa continuing to hold out for more money, Teddy thinks that he’s come up with a solution. He tells Yinessa that he will personally take out an insurance policy on him so that Yinessa can work out with the team, despite not having a contract. Yinessa agrees. TD Parker tells all of the defenders not to touch Yinessa because they cannot risk him getting hurt.

“Anyone who touches Yinessa is going to wind up in Buffalo!” Parker tells them.

Unfortunately, John Manzak has been taken too many steroids. As a result, the first thing he does is sack Yinessa. Yinessa is injured. As he’s rushed to the hospital, Diane tells Teddy, “Thank God you got that insurance policy.” Teddy looks worried — uh oh, it looks like someone didn’t get that insurance policy!

At the hospital, a doctor tells Diane that Yinessa has a detached retina and he’ll probably never play football again.

Meanwhile, TD is having trouble in his marriage. He forgets his wife’s birthday but TD’s secretary (Leah Ayres) sends flowers and buys a gift. Unfortunately, TD’s wife sees through the entire ruse. She and TD argue. And because TD Parker is played by OJ Simpson, it’s hard not to worry whenever anyone argues with him.

Hey, that’s a good point, OJ! Let’s move on!

Also, in this episode, Bubba goes to therapy because he hasn’t been able to make love to his wife since she gave birth. Jethro goes with him and pretends to have a shoe fetish. This led to another patient hiding his shoes. 1st and Ten is a comedy that rarely makes me laugh but I have to admit that I did chuckle when Jethro started talking about how much he loved shoes.

Other than the therapy scene, this was a pretty serious episode. Yinessa might never play again. John Manzak is going crazy due to the steroid abuse. (Is he going to be sent to Buffalo? I don’t know how he’s going to handle that!) The kicker is still looking for a wife so he won’t get deported. And Diane has no idea what’s going on with her team.

How will the Bulls ever make it to the championship game!?

I guess I’ll have to keep watching to find out.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & 10 3.2 “A Second Chance Once Removed”)

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, OJ Simpson makes things awkward.

Episode 3.2 “A Second Chance Once Removed”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on August 12th, 1987)

With Coach Denardo no longer around, Diana has kept her promise and promoted Fred Grier to head coach. However, Diana’s boyfriend and the new co-owner of the Bulls, Teddy, wants to hire T.D.’s old college coach, Red Macklin (John Robinson). Though T.D. isn’t comfortable with the idea of betraying Fred or doing anything behind Diana’s back, he does agree that Macklin would be a better coach. After an argument with his wife, T.D. flies out to his old college.

T.D. doesn’t do a very good job of selling the team to Macklin. Macklin finally says, “You don’t want to be the head coach of the Bulls, do you?” T.D. says that he does but the position has already been given to Fred and T.D. doesn’t believe in doing things without being upfront with everyone because …. well, I’ll let T.D. explain it….

This episode is a good example of what happens when one of a show’s main characters is played by someone who is now best-known for somehow getting acquitted of stabbing his ex-wife and a waiter to death. Even the most innocuous of lines seem to take on an entirely different meaning. I have to admit that I cringed every time T.D.’s wife called and said that he was working too hard and spending too much time with the team. No, I wanted to yell, don’t make him mad….

As for the rest of the episode, it largely dealt with training camp. Veteran defensive player John Manzak (John Matuszak) fears that he won’t make the team. There’s a young rookie who seems to have more energy and strength than him. However, Manzak has a secret weapon …. steroids! I cannot imagine that this is going to end well.

Meanwhile, the government wants to deport the Bulgarian kicker, Zagreb (John Kassir). Zagreb applies for political asylum but it turns out that his father is some sort of official in the Bulgarian government and, as such, Zagreb would not be in any danger if he was sent back home. (I don’t really follow that logic, to be honest. Communist dictators, like Zagreb’s father, are notoriously unsentimental when it comes to their children. Fidel Castro had children all over the world and he didn’t leave Cuba to a single one of them. Instead, Justin had to settle for Canada.) Diana has a solution, though. They have to find Zagreb a wife. Again, I cannot imagine that this is going to end well.

Meanwhile, Yinessa is still holding out for money, Bubba is still arguing with his wife, and I’m still not sure what Jethro does on the team.

This episode of 1st & Ten …. actually, it wasn’t that bad. I could actually follow the story for once and it didn’t feel like it had been cut to ribbons for syndication. John Matuszak actually gave a very touching performance as a player who might be past his prime. Hopefully, things will work out for him. We’ll find out next week!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 2.9 “A Family Affair”

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the playoffs continue.

Episode 2.9 “A Family Affair”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on January 13th, 1987)

A playoff game against Denver is approaching. Denver is coached by a former protegee of Denardo’s and Denardo is obsessed with winning. He’s so obsessed that he alienates the players and Coach Grier (Stan Kamber). Grier is tempted to take a job as Houston’s head coach. Denardo says he doesn’t care until Diane reveals that Grier has turned down several other jobs out of loyalty to Denardo.

As for the other assistant coach, T.D. Parker (OJ Simpson) has problems of his own. His youngest son is acting out and the only thing that’s kept him out of juvenile detention is the fact that the cops are all fans of T.D. and the Bulls. T.D. tells his son that he’s not allowed to leave the house. When T.D.’s wife says that she thinks T.D. is being too strict, T.D. tells her to back off. T.D. gets really mad in this episode but none of it is convincing because OJ Simpson was too amiable an actor to really come across as being threatening. That’s something that would prove helpful to OJ in the years to come.

Meanwhile, the players all invest in the stock market. The stock doesn’t do well. The player who recommended the stock is chased out onto the field before the start of the big game against Denver. Ha ha, those players are all broke now. Good luck dealing with life after the game.

This show, I never know what to make of it. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Why is it so oddly edited? How many scenes were cut for syndication? Why do storylines start and then just disappear? For that matter, why do characters suddenly vanish? Dr. Death was a huge part of the show during the first half of the second season but I haven’t seen him during the second half. Did he get traded? Did he get injured? Seriously, what’s going on with this show?

I have no idea. Football’s a confusing sport.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 2.8 “Easy Come Easy Go”

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Time to get back to 1st & Ten. To be honest, with all the excitement of the holiday season, I totally forgot that I was reviewing this show.

Episode 2.8 “Easy Come, Easy Go”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on January 6th, 1987)

This is yet another episode of 1st & Ten that felt as if it was put together almost at random.

Mad Dog (Tony Longo) has a one night stand with a lawyer named Molly (June Chadwick) and he ends up becoming obsessed with her. He shows up at a fancy cocktail party being hosted by Molly’s law firm. “This man is stalking me!” Molly yells. All of the men at the party are like, “Mad Dog! You’re my favorite player!” Now, I will say that this is a realistic portrayal of how most men act whenever they see a professional athlete but it still felt a bit icky to watch.

Jethro takes a blood test and discovers that little Tommy is not his son. But he still wants to be a part of the kid’s life.

Yinessa sees a tabloid newspaper headline about his “nude pictures” and starts yelling at a supermarket manager for selling the paper.

Waldren is in financial trouble because he’s been tossing money around. A group of gamblers approach him and offer to pay to shave points. OJ Simpson (in the role of offensive coordinator T.D. Parker) tells Waldren, “I’m keeping my eye on you.” Oh no! LOOK OUT, WALDREN!

However, Waldren does not shave points. Instead, he catches the ball that seals the Bulls victory in their first playoff game. Woo hoo! Go, Waldren!

A lot happened but, in typical 1st & Ten fashion, none of it added up to much. It could be because the streaming episodes were edited for syndication but this is just a weird show. Every episode feels as if their huge chunks of plot missing.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 2.7 “Yinessa’s Interview”

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Bulls are in the playoffs!

Episode 2.7 “Yinessa’s Interview”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on December 30th, 1986)

Last week, training camp finally ended.

This week, the Bulls are in the playoffs!

Wow, we skipped the entire regular season. Well, that’s okay. It was obvious from the start that the Bulls were going to make it to the playoffs so why hold off on the inevitable? Tom Yinessa has led the Bulls to a spot in the Wildcard and woo hoo!

The only problem is that Yinessa hasn’t had time to get laid. When he does try to make time for Christy (Betsy Russell) — who I guess is his new girlfriend because she wasn’t his girlfriend an episode ago — they are interrupted by reporter Donna Starkey (Brianne Leary), who needs to finish up her interview with Yinessa. Christy leaves angry but then she returns to make up for Yinessa, just to discover him on the verge of fooling around with Donna.

While all of this is going, the other team tries to fool the Bulls by sending them a fake playbook. Coach Denardo thinks that it’s genuine but T.D. Parker is like, “I’ll kill you if you use that playbook! I’ve done it before!” Also a woman tells Jethro that he’s the father of her son. Jethro is skeptical but he agrees to get a paternity test.

Donna writes an article about how Yinessa is an unimpressive quarterback. But the Bulls still win their playoff game by relying on defense. Mad Dog Smears angrily notes that reporters never want to interview anyone defense …. wait a minute, where’s Dr. Death? Seeing as how the defense wins the game, this seems like a weird episode not to feature Dr. Death.

The Bulls win their game but Yinessa no longer has a girlfriend. Womp womp.

This episode was weirdly unsubstantial. It may be because of how the episodes have been edited for syndication to remove all of the nudity and cursing but 1st & Ten never seems to be able to develop any sort of narrative momentum. Instead of each episode building towards something, it’s usually just 20 minutes of random events that never seem to really be tied together. One could say the same thing of life in general, I suppose.

This is my final 1st & Ten review of 2025. Retro Television Reviews is taken a break for the holidays but this feature will return in January. My next 1st & Ten review will be on January 7th, 2026.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 2.1 “The Rookies”

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the 2nd season begins!

Episode 2.1 “The Rookies”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on August 25th, 1986)

It’s time for another season of Bulls football and …. hey, where did everyone go?

As soon as the opening credits for the first episode of the second season started, I noticed that there were quite a few people missing. Delta Burke, Reid Shelton, Prince Hughes, and Cliff Frazier were all listed. However, not listed were Geoffrey Scott, Sam Scarber, Clayton Landey, Ruta Lee, Marshall R. Teague, Michael V. Gazzo, and Robert Miranda. That’s the majority of the cast!

Instead of Geoffrey Scott’s veteran quarterback Bob Dorsey, we now have Jason Beghe as rookie quarterback Tom Yinessa. We now have Stan Kamber as assistant coach Fred Griner. We now have Marcus Allen as rookie running back Rick Lambert. And, as the veteran running back T.D. Parker, we have …. O.J. SIMPSON!

Oh yeah, this isn’t going to be awkward.

O.J, only appears for a few minutes in this episode. As T.D. Parker, he talks to his wife about how much he loves playing football and how he feels that he has one more season left in him as the Bulls’s starting running back. Uhmm …. I thought Carl Witherspoon was the Bulls’s running back. All last season, Carl was the Bulls’s running back. What the Hell is T.D. Parker talking about? Is he delusional? Maybe he’s a crazed fan who just thinks that he was the running back last year. All of that said, T.D. does come across as being a very nice guy and definitely someone who you can trust to slash his way through all of the ego and hype surrounding professional football.

(Probably not coincidentally, the other Bulls assistant coach is played by A.C. Cowlings, who was a friend of O.J.’s. Remember A.C?)

Anyway, this episode deals with rookie training camp. While the veterans get a week off, rookies like Tom Yinessa try out for the Bulls. Yinessa played football in the Army and the only reason he’s being given a tryout is because “Captain Pete” is a friend of Denardo’s. Denardo is shocked to discover that Yinessa is a good quarterback but he’s already got two veteran quarterbacks and Diana has signed a deal to bring in a third. Denardo is forced to cut Yinessa. Yinessa smashes the mirror in Denardo’s office and says that he’s done Denardo a favor because now Denardo won’t have to face what’s he done. Okay, weirdo….

Yinessa returns to his job at the auto yard and Bulls football continues! While hotshot rookie Rick Lambert continues to ask for more money before he’ll even show up at training camp, Diana is informed that the players are threating to strike if the League institutes mandatory drug testing. Diana says a strike will bankrupt the team. Why are the Bulls always on the verge of going bankrupt? Diana needs to hire better people to look after the books.

Here’s my prediction for the rest of the season! Yinessa will be back because he’s in the opening credits. And, whatever problems may come up, O.J. Simpson will always cut right to the heart of the matter.

As for this particular episode, it got the job done. It re-introduced us to the team and, even more importantly, it seemed to signal that all of the nonsense from the first season — the Mafia, Diana’s ex-husband and all the rest of it — was over with. The show is ready to move on so let’s give it more of a chance than Coach Denardo gave Tom Yinessa.