2022 In Review: 10 Good Things That I Saw On Television

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Continuing my long-delayed look back at 2022, here are ten good things that I saw on television during the previous year!

(Also be sure to check out my picks for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011!)

The Dropout

Hulu’s miniseries about Theranos was a disturbing look at how Elizabeth Holmes managed to defraud her investors, provide false hope for the ill, and become a celebrity despite not actually knowing anything about which she was speaking. Amanda Seyfried’s performance as Holmes was brilliant and she was well-supported by an amazingly strong supporting cast. The Dropout pretty much is the last word that needs to be said about Theranos.

2. Barry

Whether it was the Kaboom app or that amazing motorcycle chase, the latest season of HBO’s Barry was full of amazing moments. The saga of the hitman-turned-actor-turned-hitman continues to fascinate. As likable as Bill Hader can be, he never lets us forget that Barry is, at heart, a bit of a monster.

3. The Better Call Saul Finale

Finales are a tricky business and a bad one can ruin a show’s legacy. Fortunately, the final season of Better Call Saul delivered everything that the audience could possibly hope for.

4. Pistol

Danny Boyle’s miniseries may have provided a romanticized history of 70s punk rock but it was compulsively watchable nonetheless. Sidney Chandler stole the entire series as Chrissy Hynde. Anson Boon brought some unexpected shadings to the role of Johnny Rotten. That the real-life Johnny didn’t care much for it is, at this point, to be expected,

5. The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race returned with two new seasons. The first season was one that was filmed during the COVID lockdowns and it suffered due to the fact that some of the strongest teams had to drop out of the race because of the long delay in shooting, Still, you had to respect the show for not giving up and just canceling the season altogether. The second season was a return to form for The Amazing Race, with Derek and Claire providing themselves to be two of the most likable winners that the show has had in a while. For those of us who feel that Derek and Claire got screwed over during their season of Big Brother, their Amazing Race victory was especially nice to see.

6. Abbott Elementary

One of the best sitcoms to come along in a while, Abbott Elementary is both poignant and hilarious as it details the day-to-day life of the teachers at Abbott Elementary. Though Sheryl Lee Ralph has deservedly won the majority of the awards, the entire cast is wonderful. Janelle James, as Principal Ava Coleman, will hopefully get some Emmy recognition later this year.

7. Ghosts

What a sweet show about dead people!

8. Yellowjackets

Not sine Lost have I been so intrigued by a drama. Succession is a show that thinks it’s clever. Yellowjackets actually is clever.

9. The Offer

It was a guilty pleasure but a pleasure nonetheless.

10. I Want You Back

The best made-for-TV movie of 2022. Jenny Slate singing Suddenly Seymour was a classic moment.

Lisa Marie’s 2022 In Review:

Here Are The AFI’s Top Ten Films of 2022!

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today. The American Film Institute announced their picks for the top ten films and television shows of 2022. Over the past few years, the AFI has been one of the most reliable of the award precursors.

Usually, there’s just one or two films on the AFI list that doesn’t make it into the Best Picture lineup. This year, I would expect Nope to be replaced by The Banshees of Inisherin. (Banshees, being an Irish film, was not eligible for the AFI list but it did receive a special award.) I’m also not totally sold on The Woman King as a best picture contender, though I’m a bit less sure about which film replace it. Glass Onion, maybe? Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio?

Being included on the list is definitely good news for She Said, which was in danger of being forgotten after its disastrous box office performance.

Here are the lists:

AFI Movies of the Year
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios)
“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
“The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)
“Nope” (Universal Pictures)
“She Said” (Universal Pictures)
“Tár” (Focus Features)
“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)
“The Woman King” (Sony Pictures)
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)

AFI Television Programs of the Year
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“The Bear” (FX)
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“Mo” (Netflix)
“Pachinko” (Apple TV+)
“Reservation Dogs” (FX)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
“The White Lotus” (HBO)

AFI Special Award
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/14/22 — 8/20/22

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I came home on Monday and I ended up spending most of the week making plans for our annual October horrorthon. So, I have not watched much. (Well, I have watched a lot of the Big Brother Live Feeds, I will admit to that.) Here’s a few thoughts on what little I did watch this week:

The Bachelorette (ABC, Monday Night)

Eh. Everyone went to Amsterdam and learned about sadomasochism. Considering that they’re voluntarily on a reality show, it would seem that should be something that they all should already know about. Logan was kicked off the show because he failed his COVID test. Gabby not only has better men than Rachel but she also gets to go on more interesting group dates. It’s just not the same without Meatball.

Better Call Saul (AMC, Monday Night)

Better Call Saul came to a close last night with one of the best finales that I’ve ever seen. As someone who spent this entire final season convinced that there was no way that Jimmy/Saul/Gene was going to still be alive at the end of the show, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when it turned out that everyone in prison knew who he was and loved him. It was a great wrap-up and here’s hoping that Bob Odernkirk finally gets his Saul Emmy.

Big Brother (CBS and Paramount+, All The Time)

Well, so much for the Leftovers! They were a fun alliance while it lasted but Kyle would rather get laid than actually win the game. What’s funny is that there’s no way Alyssa is going to be as interested in Kyle once they’re no longer locked in the House together and she actually has other options. This relationship is going to be almost as short as their sex sessions. (“I’m not very good at sex,” Kyle told her, after lasting 45 seconds. KYLE, YOU’RE ON THE LIVE FEEDS, SWEETHEART! YOUR MOM IS PROBABLY WATCHING!)

Thursday’s episode was two hours long and it turned out to be a disaster. I’m assuming that they were originally planning on doing a double eviction on Thursday but, for whatever reasons, they changed their minds at the last minute and basically had use every piece of filler they could find to fill out the time slot. Either way, most Big Brother viewers felt a bit betrayed by production this week.

I’m still writing about the show over at the Big Brother Blog.

The Challenge (CBS, Wednesday Night)

Well, so much for Kyland. With Kyland’s elimination, that means that all of the former members of the Cookout are not out of the Challenge and Alyssa is the last member standing of the Big Brother 23 cast. Myself, I’m hoping that Tyson wins. Why not? He represents an entertaining era of Survivor that I fear may be over now that the show seems to be determined to be “the nice reality show.” Go Tyson!

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

On Tuesday, I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis. YouTube warned me that this episode was “age-restricted,” which was not a warning that I had ever seen on this show before. Anyway, it turned out that the age-restriction was because Lewis and Hathaway found themselves investigating a series of BSDM-style murders. It was a bit of a sad episode, to be honest. Oxford is a dangerous place.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)

Oh, poor Beavis! He really does deserve a better best friend. This week’s episode found Beavis actually making a new friend but, unfortunately, the guy turned out to be even more obnoxious (if a bit more articulate) than Butt-Head. Beavis’s frantic efforts to get away from his new friend were hilarious. For that matter, I also laughed when Beavis and Butt-Head ended up getting stuck in a giant glue trap that they had set up to try to catch the racoons that were breaking into their kitchen. How are those two still alive?

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/7/22 — 8/13/22

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Being up at the lake this week, I haven’t watched a lot but here’s a few thoughts nonetheless.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Allo Allo was a bit weird this week and I think it’s because Sunday’s episode was the first episode of the show’s final season. Watching it, it was pretty obvious that the show’s writers and directors had run out of new ways to hide the painting and, for the first time, the show felt like it was kind of going through the motions. Apparently, the show’s star, Gorden Kaye, was in a very serious car accident before the 9th series was filmed and, when the episode started with Rene’s traditional recap, I couldn’t help but notice the very prominent scar on his forehead.

As for the episode, everyone in Nouvion knows that the Allies will be invading at any minute. The Resistance is awaiting liberation. The Germans are making plans to flee. (And, because Richard Gibson declined to return to the role, Herr Flick has had plastic surgery.) Officer Crabtree still cannot speak French. And Rene has been abducted by the communist resistance.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

The dates in Bruges were wonderfully romantic and I loved the fireworks display that ended Aven and Rachel’s date. But then it was time for the Rose Ceremony and …. Boooooo! Meatball did not get a rose. I’m over this season.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

This week, Bob Odenkirk and Carol Burnett proved themselves to be dramatic powerhouses. With Kim telling Jimmy to turn himself in and Howard’s wife now having the true details of Howard’s downfall, it’s slightly frightening to think of where this is all going to end up leading. There’s only one episode left and I’ve pretty much given up on Jimmy/Saul/Gene getting a happy ending out of this.

Big Brother (All Week, CBS and Paramount+)

Seeing Daniel, one of the most annoying houseguests in the history of the show, get voted out really made my week. For those of us who are still angry over the way the show catered to bullies like Paul during season 19 and Jackson during season 21, this latest season of Big Brother has been cathartic. I’ve actually been enjoying writing about it over at the Big Brother Blog.

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Derek X. became the latest cast member of Big Brother 23 to get eliminated from the show. For all the talk about how strong the cast of Big Brother 23 was, they kind of suck at The Challenge.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

The first episode featured Michelle graduating from preschool. Jesse took it upon himself to turn Michelle and her classmates into a band called …. I am not kidding — Jesse’s Little Rippers. They performed a horrific rendition of Twist and Shout. Could no one tell Jesse that not everything was about him and his lameass band? The second episode featured Aunt Becky discovering she was pregnant and worrying that this might make it difficult for Jesse to go on tour with the Rippers and …. well, I’m not going to repeat myself. Seriously, everyone deserved better.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

A gossip website led to multiple murders in Oxford. Lewis was stunned to discover the Internet could be such a dangerous place. Hathaway towered over everyone else on the show.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

Beavis and Butthead nearly died twice in the latest episode of their show. First, they got trapped on a roof. Then they got trapped on a piece of wood that sailed out to sea. Actually, they were still stranded when the show ended so they might be dead now. That’d be a shame. They really don’t seem to mean as much harm as they cause.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

Granville painted something silly on the window of the shop so Arkwright beat him up in the stockroom. Then the milk delivery came by and Nurse Gladys Emmanuel pulled up in a hearse or something. I don’t know, it was a weird episode.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/31/22 — 8/6/22

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, I watched a lot of old TV shows this week. I was doing some work around the office and the retro channels always seem to keep me focused.

Here are this week’s thoughts on what I saw!

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Fortunately, the attempted execution of Rene and Edith failed and they were safely returned to Nouvion. Unfortunately, before they got back to their café, the Resistance attempted to run the business and thoroughly screwed things up. Meanwhile, realizing that the war not going particularly well for them, the German occupiers made plans to leave France and perhaps relocate some place with a warmer climate. While all of this went on, Officer Crabtree continued to wish everyone a “Good Moaning,” because Officer Crabtree was a professional.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

This week’s episode was extremely awkward to watch, with Rachel feeling insecure when compared to Gabby and the bachelors themselves not being particularly sensitive about the situation, but at least Meatball was given a second chance. Seriously, this entire franchise will be redeemed if Rachel ends up getting engaged, even if it’s just temporarily, to Meatball.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

I am so worried about what’s going to happen to Jimmy/Saul/Gene! During this week’s episode, we flashed back to Saul first meeting Walt and Jesse and then we flash forwarded to Gene treating Buddy and Jeff in much the same way that Walt used to treat Jesse. Especially after Gene’s phone call to Kim, I’m starting to worry that Gene is becoming just as self-destructive as Walt was at the end of Breaking Bad. Considering that there’s only a few episodes left before this show ends, that’s not a good development for those of us who are hoping that Jimmy/Saul/Gene gets some sort of a happy ending.

Big Brother 24 (Everyday, CBS and Paramount+)

I’m writing about the latest, surprisingly entertaining season of Big Brother at the Big Brother Blog! This week, Nicole was voted out and proved to be as delusional on her way out and she was on her way in. Even after Julie Chen explained to her why she had been targeted and voted out, Nicole still didn’t get it.

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

This week, yet another former member of Big Brother 23‘s Cookout was eliminated. Azah is out of the game, leaving Kyland as the last member of the Cookout standing. Considering what happened when Kyland was voted out of the Big Brother House, it somehow seems cosmically appropriate that he’s managed to survive the Challenge while the other members of his former alliance have been eliminated. That said, I hope Derek X. wins the show.

CHiPs (Weekday Afternoons, Charge TV)

I watched two episodes of this 70s motorcycle cop show on Monday. Both episodes were pretty much the same. There was a big accident on the freeway. There was a lot of motorcycle cop action. There was some pretty California scenery. The bass-driven theme song is the main thing that I remember about the two episodes. The show was bland but the music was great.

Diff’Rent Strokes (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

Diff’Rent Strokes is one of those old sitcoms that I’ve heard a lot about but I’ve never really watched, just because everything I’ve ever heard about it just made it sound like a pretty stupid viewing experience. That said, I did need some background noise on Monday so, when I saw that the show was now on Rewind TV, I decided to catch two episodes.

In the first episode, old Mr. Drummond attempted to go camping with his new stepson but things got complicated when his stepson’s biological father also decided to tag along. In the second episode, Mr. Drummond decided to do the Undercover Boss thing by working in one of his factories. He discovered that he wasn’t popular with his workers and that he needed to pay them more. Surprisingly, no one saw through his disguise, despite the fact that it only consisted of a fake mustache that didn’t even match his hair color. It was all pretty dumb. For a rich man, Mr. Drummond lived in a really boring penthouse. Like seriously, if you’re that rich, update your décor.

Family Ties (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

I used two episodes of this very 80s sitcom for background noise on Monday. On the first episode, Elyse (the mother of the family at the center of the show) was struggling with her conscience about whether or not she should fire a recently divorced but extremely annoying employee. It was kind of obvious that Elyse needed to fire her but Elysa was a former hippie and, as a result, had no idea how to wield authority. On the second episode, an impossibly young Michael J. Fox had to babysit his bratty younger sister. He took her to a poker game. She got annoyed with being treated like an afterthought and wandered off. Luckily, everything worked out in the end and lessons were learned all around.

Fantasy Island (Monday Morning, GetTV)

I watched two episodes of the original Fantasy Island on Monday morning but I have to admit that I was half-asleep during both of them.

The first episode featured two fantasies. In the serious fantasy, a jazz trumpeter went back in time to New Orleans so that he could play with his idols. In the comedic fantasy, a woman and the two men who were in love with her got stranded on an island in the Bermuda Triangle. The goofier of the two men was played by football player Joe Namath. His performance here was better than his performance in C.C. and Company but not by much.

In the second episode, the main fantasy dealt with a private detective who wanted to solve a case with Humphrey Bogart. The guy playing Bogart did a passable imitation. The other fantasy featured Michelle Phillips as a woman who wanted to be “the most famous equestrian in history.” She thought this would mean that she would be famous but instead, the Island took her words literally and she was transformed into Lady Godiva. First off, why did the island take her words literally when it didn’t do that for anyone else? And secondly, is Lady Godiva really the most famous equestrian in history? Oh well, the important thing is that everyone learned a lesson.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

I watched two episodes of this show on Sunday and I’m sure I lost at least two brain cells as a result. The first episode featured Uncle Joey auditioning to be the voice of a cartoon chipmunk or something like that. Frankie Avalon was the episode’s special guest star. Remember Frankie’s cameo in Casino? “I have 8 children. It was my pleasure.” This was followed by an episode in which Aunt Becky told Danny that DJ was sneaking out of the house to hook up with her boyfriend. DJ got mad and said, “I thought you were my friend!” Poor DJ. I don’t blame her for wanting to escape the Full House.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Mornings, Start TV)

I watched an episode on Monday. Melinda was (understandably) concerned that Aiden was now seeing and talking to ghosts. When the ghost of a girl who had recently died of Leukemia insisted on taking Aiden on a journey through town, Melinda had to track them down and find out what the girl wanted. Fortunately, since this was Ghost Whisperer and not Medium, things worked themselves out.

Hart to Hart (Monday Morning, GetTV)

In this very 80s detective show, a fabulously rich married couple (played by Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers) traveled the world, spent a lot of money, and occasionally solved mysteries. Their loyal chauffer was Max, played by the gravelly voiced Lionel Stander.

I watched two episodes of Monday morning. In the first episode, the Harts were taking part in a car race in Greece. A Greek tycoon wanted to kill off Jonathan Hart so that he could take over Jonathan Hart Industries. Fortunately, he didn’t succeed. If he had, I imagine they would have had to change the title of the show. The second episode featured a mysterious woman who claimed to Jennifer Hart’s half-sister. Needless to say, Jonathan did some investigating and it turned out that there was more to the story.

Anyway, the two episodes that I saw were kind of dull plotwise but I did enjoy the show’s shameless celebration of money and glamour. It was all very 80s.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched an episode with my TV Mysteries friends on Tuesday night. A buried body was discovered. Hathaway and Lewis investigated. Lewis was in a notably cranky mood in this episode and even dismissively referred to one woman as being “Miss Marple.” My theory is that Lewis had a drinking problem. Usually, Hathaway was able to cover for him but this week, Lewis just lost control.

King of the Hill (Hubi)

Early Friday morning, I watched the episode in which Hank and his undefeated softball team took an exhibition game against the Ace of Diamonds and His Jewels just a bit too seriously. “Believe to achieve.”

Kojak (Monday Morning, GetTV)

Kojak is a show from the 70s, about a bald homicide detective who calls people baby and who sucks on lollipops. Kojak was played by Telly Savalas, who was also Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the Devil in Lisa and the Devil.

The episode that I watched on Monday morning was the first episode that I had ever actually seen of this show, though I had read about it in the past. In this episode, Ruth Gordon played a psychic who had been having dreams in which she saw women being murdered. Luckily, Kojak was there to eventually capture the killer. Neither Gordon nor Savalas were particularly subtle performers and, in this episode, they both seemed to enjoy competing to see who could best steal every scene that they shared. Add to that, the killer was played by Andy Robinson, who also played Scorpio in Dirty Harry. It was kind of entertaining to watch.

Magnum P.I. (Weekday Mornings, Charge TV)

On Monday, I watched an episode of the original 80s Magnum, P.I. Magnum’s friend T.C. was in a coma. Magnum had to figure out why T.C.’s helicopter crashed. Luckily, the mystery was solved and everyone survived. The Hawaiian scenery was lovely.

Medium (Weekday Morning, Start TV)

On Monday’s episode, Allison had a dream about a courtroom shooting and also discovered that she wasn’t the only psychic offering up her abilities to the legal system.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)

I watched the first two episodes of this show on Thursday night, immediately after the Nicole eviction on Big Brother. I laughed and I cringed. Beavis and Butt-Head don’t look like they use deodorant so that worries me. You can read Jeff’s review of the show here!

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

It’s been a few months since I last watched Open All Hours. I checked it out this week. Arkwright was cheating his customers and Granville was consumed with resentment.

Traffik (DVD)

I watched Traffik on Wednesday and Thursday and I wrote about it here.

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To In August

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi there! Welcome to the wonderful month of August!

August is traditionally one of my favorite months. August is when I plan out my final vacations of the year. Usually, at some point in August, I spend a few days up at the lake. August is hot but it’s usually not as hot as July and, perhaps most importantly, each passing day in August is another day closer to the holiday season! I imagine that I will be spending the majority of August getting ready for the holidays and especially for TSL’s annual Horrorthon! In order to try to give our readers the most reviews ever, I’ve started writing and scheduling my Horrorthon posts in July. I can’t wait for you to see them in October!

Here are a few things that I’m looking forward to in August:

1. A Thousand Years of Longing — Idris Elba! Tilda Swinton! George Miller, making his first film since Mad Max: Fury Road! Critical reviews that have run the gamut from hostile to reverent! How couldn’t I be looking forward to this?

2. Prey — It’s a new Predator film! For some reason, though, it’s called Prey. I guess the idea is that we’ll care more about the people being hunted than we’ll care about the creature hunting them. That really doesn’t sound like the Predator fans I know. Just about everyone that I know is Team Predator. Well, anyway, we’ll see how this one goes.

3. Spin Me Round — This film is due to be released on August 19th. It really hasn’t gotten much promotion but it’s directed by Jeff Baena and it stars Alison Brie and I really liked Horse Girl so I’m looking forward to seeing what their next collaboration will be like. Plus, my girl crush Aubrey Plaza is in it!

4. The Tenebrae Blu-ray Restoration — Synapse is celebrating the 40th anniversary of one of Dario Argento’s greatest films with three-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray 6,000 piece Limited Edition boxed set! Invest in physical media, especially when it comes to the work of an artist like Argento because you just know that the latest group of moral scolds are going to come for him eventually.

5. The Better Call Saul Finale — Be careful, Jimmy/Saul/Gene! Seriously, I’m so nervous about how it’s all going to end.

6. Watching Lots and Lots of Horror Movies — October’s coming up, you know! It’s never too early to start getting ready!

7. Writing About Lots and Lots of Horror Movies — Again, it’s never too soon to start! In my perfect world, I would write all of my reviews for October, November, and December in August and September and then I would spend the last three months of the year on an island somewhere. But, that may not be a realistic goal. Still, I can’t wait to share this year’s Horrorthon with all of you!

8. I Am Groot — I Am Groot is set to premiere on Disney+ on August 10th. Oh, c’mon, Groot’s adorable!

What are you looking forward to in August?

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/24/22 — 7/30/22

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It was a good week. I got my car inspected, I watched a lot of Big Brother, and I worried about very little.

Here’s a few thought on my week in television:

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Once again, Rene and Edith found themselves in front of a firing squad. This seemed to happen fairly frequently in Nouvion. Of course, they were only being executed because the Communist Resistance thought they were actually Hitler and Goering. No, it didn’t make any sense but that’s the charm of this show.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

Things got a bit awkward this week when it was announced that the remaining bachelors would have to decide whether or not they were there for Rachel or Gabby. With everyone flocking to Gabby, Rachel found herself struggling to find anyone willing to take her rose. Let’s just hope that she agrees to let Meatball come back. Of course, even if Rachel doesn’t give Meatball a second chance to accept her rose, I imagine we’ll see him again on every future season of Bachelor in Paradise….

I can only imagine how weird those sentences read to anyone who doesn’t watch the show.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul was brilliant this week, giving us a look at what Jimmy’s life is like now that he is “Gene” and he’s a Cinnabon manager. On the one hand, it was nice to see that Jimmy hasn’t lost his edge. He’s still the smartest guy in the room and he’s knows it. On the other hand, even in triumph, Jimmy was a bit of a pathetic character. He may have won but he couldn’t celebrate his victory.

There’s only a few episodes left. Will they all be in black-and-white? Will we learn Jimmy’s ultimate fate? Actually, do we want to know Jimmy’s fate? As clever as he is, it’s hard to imagine this story ending well for him.

Big Brother 24 (Everyday, CBS and Paramount Plus)

Wow, this was actually a good week of Big Brother! Finally, Taylor has an alliance! Finally, we got a true blindside! Finally, the show is no longer hiding the truly over-the-top bullying that’s been going on inside the House! For once, the feeds are actually worth paying for and the Casuals actually got to see how terribly some of the people in the House have behaved. (Looking at you, Daniel.)

Of course, this won’t mean anything to you if you don’t watch or like or know about Big Brother. And that’s okay. It’s not a show for everyone and I’m sure that CBS will find a way to screw up all the fun because that’s kind of what they do. But for now, this season is actually entertaining and I’m actually enjoying writing about it over at the Big Brother Blog!

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

For those of us who remember what happened during Big Brother 23, this was an interesting episode to watch. On Big Brother, Xavier engineered Kyland’s eviction and the two of them nearly came to blows before Kyland left the House. It was seriously one of the most awkward eviction episodes either. (Kyland went as far as to say that Xavier’s nephew would be ashamed of the example he was setting.) On The Challenge, Kyland (along with Alyssa) was pretty much responsible for sending Xavier (and Shan) to the challenge that resulted in Xavier being eliminated from the game. You have to wonder what will happen when the two of them inevitably end up getting selected for the next all-star season of Big Brother.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

On the first episode, Stephanie was pressure to throw the little league game. In the second episode, Michelle kept calling Tokyo on the family’s landline and presumably costing Danny a fortune. (I doubt Joey, Jesse, or even Becky ever bothered to help pay the bills around the Full House.) No one really got upset about Michelle being a brat because, as far as I can tell, they were all totally terrified of Michelle.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on Tuesday. Someone was using LSD and arsenic to commit murders in Oxford. One of the unfortunate victims was named Elmo. Among me and my friends, many Sesame Street jokes were made.

Saved By The Bell (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

The first episode I watched featured the Bayside High Class of ’92 finally graduating! Screech stepped aside so that Jessie could be valedictorian. The gang ruined the school’s ballet so that Zack could earn the last credit that he needed to graduate. To top it all off, Zack got to give the graduation speech because Jessie announced that Screech was actually valedictorian and then Screech announced that no one wanted to hear from him as long as Zack was in the auditorium. Screech was probably right but still….

This was followed by an episode set in the “future,” in which the Class of ’02 watched a videotape featuring the Class of ’92. It was a clip episode and lazy even by the standards of the original Saved By The Bell.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/17/22 — 7/23/22

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This was a relax and get healthy sort of week for me. I didn’t watch much but I enjoyed what I watched.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

I finally got a chance to check back in with Allo Allo this week, having missed the last few episodes due to my focus on the potential Emmy nominees. To my shock, I discovered that both the Italians and the British airmen had left Nouvion. The war continued however, with both the communist Resistance and the other Resistance trying to capture Lt. Gruber and Col. Von Strom under the impression that they were actually Hitler and Goering. It was all a bit complicated, to be honest. Michelle has become my favorite character because “I shall repeat this only once” is just a badass way to start a conversation.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

As long as the “meatball enthusiast” makes it to the end, this will be a successful season. I don’t know, I think I liked this franchise more before everyone started talking about “Bachelor Nation” and all that nonsense. Now that everyone’s in on the joke, it’s just not as much fun.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Kim left Jimmy and Jimmy finally appears to have completed his transformation into Saul Goodman. To be honest, this is how I always figured the final episode of Better Call Saul would go. However, there’s still four episodes left in the series. Now, it wouldn’t surprise me if the final episode deal with Jimmy’s life after fleeing New Mexico but what’s going to happen in the other three?

Big Brother (All week, CBS and Paramount Plus)

What a week for Big Brother fans! Due to the Congressional hearings (which have been a bit hit on Twitter but apparently nowhere else), Thursday’s live eviction show was preempted. At first, CBS said that Big Brother would instead air on Friday. Then, for some reason, they decided to just do a two-hour special on Sunday. CBS also initially announced that the feeds would be down for four days, from Thursday until after Sunday’s show. After the people who actually pay money to have those feeds complained, CBS relented and the feeds come back on Thursday night …. which, of course, now means that everyone knows what is going to happen on Sunday. It’s just another example of what a disorganized mess this season has been so far.

So, we all know that Pooch (yes, that was his name) was voted out of the house and that Turner (yes, that’s his name) is the new HoH. And we know that Michael and Brittany are on the block and the plan is to backdoor Taylor. Hey, I don’t have to watch the show on Sunday now!

Anyway, I wrote about all of this at the Big Brother Blog. I was kind of looking forward to having four days off, to be honest with you….

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Go, Tyson, go! Sorry, I’m still struggling to get into this show but Tyson’s a Survivor so I’ll cheer for him.

City Homicide (Weekday Nights, DigiTV)

This is an Australian show that I discovered on Thursday, when I came across it on DigiTV. Basically, it’s CSI, just with Australians instead of Americans. The episode that I watched dealt with a murder at a public school.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Having married Aunt Becky, Jesse attempted to move out of the Full House. Michelle demanded that Jesse return so, of course, that’s what Jesse did and Becky cheerfully agreed to spend the rest of her life living in the attic and helping Danny raise his daughters. This was followed by an episode where Michelle gave her pet goldfish a bath and KILLED it! I’m sorry, Michelle was a little demon child.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Afternoons, Start TV)

I watched an episode of Ghost Whisperer on Monday. It had been a while since I last watched this show. As much as I love Ghost Whisperer, I was a little bit disappointed to discover that Monday’s episode was from that really weird story arc where Jim died but then possessed someone else’s body. This particular episode ended with Jim coming back to life but I have to admit that, for the rest of the series, I was always confused as to whether or not everyone knew he was Jim or if they thought he was Sam. That said, I still enjoyed watching the episode because it was Ghost Whisperer.

Medium (Weekday Afternoons, Start TV)

On Monday, after watching Ghost Whisperer, I watched an episode of Medium, which was basically the super serious version of Ghost Whisperer. The medium (played by Patricia Arquette) found out that her brother had psychic powers as well! Medium was never quite as much fun as Ghost Whisperer but Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber were an adorable couple.

The MLB All-Star Game (Tuesday Night, AMC)

I watched this very long baseball game with my sister, mostly as a way of making up for making her watch a film called Blood Game two weeks ago. Her team won so I was happy for her, even though I wish both teams could have won. Everyone should be a winner!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/10/22 — 7/16/22

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week watching movies. The Emmy nomination period is over with and, as a result, so is a lot of my interest in television. I am still watching Big Brother, of course. How could I ever stop watching that? That’s the power of addiction.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

There’s two Bachelorettes, which is only right considering what a mess the last season of The Bachelor was. We’ll see how this plays out. To be honest, I’m suffering a bit of fatigue with this franchise. It was more fun to watch before everyone decided that they were also in on the joke. Jesse Palmer seems like he’ll be a better host than Kaitlyn and Tayshia. So, we’ll see! (Can you tell that I didn’t really pay much attention to the first episode?)

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul returned with a bang this week. For those who thought Lalo would be around for a while longer, nope. I still feel bad for Howard, who will apparently now forever be branded a drug addict. I’m also increasingly concerned about what’s going to happen to Kim because pretty soon, Walter White and his sidekick are going to show up and Kim was never seen or spoken of in Breaking Bad.

Big Brother 24 (All week, CBS and Paramount+)

My thoughts on this latest season of Big Brother can be found over at the Big Brother Blog. This big news this week was that Paloma, who was obviously a favorite of production’s, self-evicted after having what appeared to be a hypomanic episode in the House. Julie Chen Moonves made a big deal about saying that production wished the best for Paloma and that they were only concerned with her mental health but rumor has it that production actually asked Paloma to stay in the game, even after it became obvious that she was struggling. Anyway, that’s Big Brother for you! (That’s also why I would never go on that show.)

Boy Meets World (Disney Plus)

On Thursday, I was bored enough to watch an episode of this late 90s sitcom. Shawn joined a cult. Mr. Turner got into a motorcycle accident. As with most episodes of Boy Meets World, it was 50% cringey and 50% effective. This episode featured a good performance from Rider Strong but it also featured Ben Savage going totally over the top as he shouted, “This is a hug, Shawn! THIS IS A HUG!”

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Survivor alumni faced off against Big Brother alumni and Love Island alumni and some Bachelor alumni. To be honest, I may have had the television on but The Challenge really has yet to capture my attention.

Hawkeye (Disney Plus)

I’m still mad that Natasha sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame so Clint could be reunited with his family. That said, this series was enjoyable when taken on its town terms. It may be because my last name is Bowman but I’ve always liked archers. Vincent D’Onofrio seemed to be having fun as a crime lord and Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfield were believable as father and daughter.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on Tuesday. I watched it with a group of friends on twitter and I have to admit that the tweets were so lively that I actually didn’t may attention to the episode. Sitting here and typing this up on Saturday, I have no idea what happened but I do remember that Hathaway seemed troubled.

Loki (Disney Plus)

My God, could Tom Hiddleston be any more adorable? The plot of this show was typical Marvel nonsense but Hiddleston’s devilish performance made it fun and worth watching.

Stranger Things (Netflix)

I watched the latest season and, as you can tell from my personal Emmy nominations, I liked it. I’m going to hold off on saying anything more because I’m planning on reviewing each episode individually at some point in the near future. By the time I get around to reviewing it, everyone will probably have moved on but oh well. That’s one of the benefits of having your own site and being your own boss. You can set your own schedule.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/22/22 — 5/28/22

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

We’ve been up in Arkansas for most of this week so I haven’t watched much television. Interestingly enough, I have watched quite a few films and written quite a few reviews. I guess there’s probably a lesson to be learned there.

I have to be honest. As much as I want to get caught up on all of the miniseries and shows that I didn’t get a chance to see over the past few months, it’s difficult to get started. It doesn’t help that even the miniseries that sound interesting are still way too long. I saw a show that I was interested in watching on Netflix but then I checked and I discovered that it’s 10 episodes long, each episode is over 60 minutes, and the first episode deals with the main character’s grandparents. It’s hard for me to justify spending 11 to 12 hours on a show that doesn’t even start with the main storyline. During the pandemic, streaming services could get away with that sort of thing because there were no other options. Today, there are other options, assuming you don’t live in one of those crazy lockdown states up north.

Anyway, here are a few thoughts on what I did watch this week:

1883 (Paramount Plus)

This western miniseries serves as a prequel to Yellowstone, a very popular show that I have yet to really watch. Sam Elliott plays Shea Brennan, an aging and suicidal cowboy who helps to lead a group of German settlers across the frontier. Along for the ride are the Duttons (played by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) and their teenage daughter, Elsa (Isabel May). It’s a long journey, full of tragedy and violence. Many people die, some from gunshot and some just from accidentally run over by a wagon. Elsa narrates. Shea finds something to live for. The Duttons eventually settle in the land that will serve as the setting of Yellowstone.

Each episode of 1883 was sponsored by a store that sells tractor supplies and that pretty much tells you who the target audience was for the show. For all the graphic violence, sex, and precision F-bombs, 1883 is a fairly old-fashioned western. That said, it was all very well-done and well-acted. Isabel May was the cast standout while Sam Elliott showed that, regardless of how you may feel about his Power of the Dog opinions, he’s still one of the most authentic western actors around. 1883 was long but, even over 10 episodes, there weren’t any slow spots and even potentially distracting cameos from Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Hanks didn’t take away from the show’s narrative momentum.

On a personal note, I liked 1883‘s portrayal of Fort Worth as being the most lawless town in Texas.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Having stowed away on the airplane that was meant to pick up the British airmen, Edith and Rene found themselves in the UK! They also discovered that Captain Geering (last seen 3 seasons ago) was now working for the British. Edith and Rene received medals for Chuchhill and then, to Rene’s consternation, they were promptly sent back to France. They arrived just in time to keep Momma and LeClerc from performing their new cabaret number.

By Allo Allo standards, this episode was actually fairly coherent.

American Idol (Monday Night, ABC)

Though I kind of lost interest in this season after Hollywood week, I did tune in to see Noah Thompson win the season on Monday. To be honest, Noah seems like he’s destined to be one of the forgotten winners of American Idol but I was still happy to see that he beat the annoyingly quirky Leah Marlene and the annoyingly monikered Huntergirl.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

While this week’s episode didn’t feature anything quite as brilliant as last week’s customer service conversation, it was still a very good episode. Gene’s dinner with Joe Mantegna was cringe comedy at its best. Meanwhile, Sally’s show was canceled despite its RT score. At first, I was a bit worried she would take Barry back but fortunately, Barry ruined the moment and she get kicked him out again.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Poor Howard! I’ve seen enough of this show and Breaking Bad to know that Howard was probably going to die at some point but I was still upset to see it happen. Patrick Fabian was terrific in the role. Hopefully, the Emmy voters will remember Fabian this year. If nothing else, he’s come a long way since he played Prof. Lasky on Saved By The Bell: The College Years.

Creepshow (Shudder)

On Friday, I watched the third episode of season 3. A tech billionaire destroyed the wrong painting. A prisoner took revenge after his pet spider was killed. It was all enjoyably macabre. Those killer spiders were especially creepy! Agck!

Dynasty (Friday Night, The CW)

All the scheming and the plotting and the melodramatic dialogue continued this week. To be honest, I was a bit out of it on Friday because I had strained my back earlier in the day so I’ll probably have to rewatch Friday’s episode. I just know I’m going to miss Dynasty when it’s gone.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Maryanne won. I was happy that Maryanne won. I know some people are saying that she only won because she was likable but Maryanne did engineer the Omar blindside so I think she earned her right to claim victory. That said, I am getting a little bit tired of people riding their immunity idols all the way to the end of the game. The show needs to put a time limit on those idols. Anyway, I wrote about the finale for the Reality TV Chat Blog!

We Own This City (Monday Night, HBO)

This week’s episode was a bit heavy-handed but that’s what most of us have to come to expect from David Simon’s recent work. We Own This City works when it’s dealing with the corrupt cops but it comes to a halt whenever the focus shifts to the DOJ investigators. Treat Williams’s cameo as a reform-minded police academy instructor was embarrassingly over-written and felt out-of-place. That said, the good still outweighs the bad when it comes to this show. It may be uneven but, at its best, it’s still a thought-provoking look at the warrior cop mentality and how systemic corruption can destroy a city.