Forever Knight – S1:E4 – “Last Act”

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

“He was brought across in 1228. Prayed on humans for their blood.
Now, he wants to be mortal again.To repay society for his sins.
To emerge from his World of Darkness. From his endless Forever Night.”

The Prologue has a young doctor named Marilyn (Gillian Vanderburgh, The Stupids)who fails to save a patient. Troubled by guilt, she’s reassured by Dr. Cole (who rubs her shoulders) that it just comes with the job. This puts her at ease. As she takes a shower, someone pulls back the drapes. She smiles, saying “You’re crazy, you know that?” only to find her hands grabbed by gloves. With her arms pinned above her, the doctor’s wrists are slashed, her eyes go wide as she screams in terror.

A young woman walks the streets of Toronto, late at night. Heading to a nearby pier, she takes a seat on a park bench, admiring the view of the city. Pulling a hood over her head, she watches the sunrise, smoke billowing from her clothes. Within moments, her body is engulfed in flames, leaving behind her clothing on the bench.

Nick Knight is struggling with his workload. With 8 other cold cases in his backlog, he’s becoming jaded with it all. He’s also grown a bit snappy with the Captain. Before he can apologize, Schanke calls out to him from another room. They have to roll, there’s a body to identify. At the crime scene, a bystander mentions someone was talking about “spontaneous human combustion” to Schanke. In the clothing, Nick discovers a ring that’s familiar to him. We’re given a flashback of Nick on a theatre stage, fencing with the young woman, who he easily defeats. After a round of applause, the cast all bow. Backstage, among an array of lit candles, the woman approaches Nick…”You, sir, are very skilled with your sword. Do you wish to run me through again?” He scoops her up in a kiss and they talk about leaving for Gloucester. She tells him there’s no rush. They’ve all the time in the world. Running her fingers through her hair, Nick kisses the woman briefly before baring his fangs, taking a bite.

“Suicide.” Schanke says, pulling Nick back to the present. “Yes.” he mutters, his focus on the ring. Schanke asks him if he’s okay, since he’s referring to a suicide at the hospital. At the Hospital, Schanke explains how he’d approach his own suicide, which would involve a full meal, fabulous lovemaking and nitroglycerin. Nick interviews Dr. Cole (Laura Press, The Pit), who explains that the shower was still running when she found her, the water scalding. Dr. Cole explains the doctor was on duty for 20 hours and that she’s seen doctors snap like that before, with all the pressures the role demands. The three catch sight of Carl Janns (Robert Bockstael, North of 60), a med student at the university and the victim’s fiancé. Schanke pull Janns aside to take him home.

At the Morgue, Natalie states the incisions are perfect and quick. When asked why, Natalie responds that only the victim really knows, and that unfortunately, there are no fast rules for suicide. Nick again reflects on the ring, and we return to the past. Erica (Torri Higginson, Stargate: Atlantis & Stargate SG-1), now a vampire, tells Nick what she saw in his memories of him in the Crusades. Nick is concerned that her memories show an obsession with death and dying, something he’s surprised to find. She tells him that there’ll come a time where her lust for life will wane, something Nick can’t believe. Erica believes that once that happens, once she can’t give back to the world, it would be best to leave and not be a burden. If this were a Vampire: The Masquerade tale, she’d make an interesting Giovanni, or an even better Cappodocian. “Are you going to take on the investigation?” Natalie asks, pulling Nick’s attention. “Yeah. If I can fit the case in.”

Knight returns home, thinking about Erica. He hears her ask whether he feels he’s a burden. This causes him raise one of the shutters and dab a pinky finger into the sunlight, listening to the sounds of sizzling flesh. Could Nick be pondering the unimaginable?

Going over his evidence in his apartment, he again hears Erica’s voice. He even sees her this time in a beautiful white dress. “Maybe it’s time to join me.”, she says. “Why did you do it? You had so much life.”, he asks. Her response was that she was a burden, and that she wasn’t giving anything back. She asks him to join her in the light, taking a few steps away before disappearing from view. Even Knight seems a bit frightened.

Back at the hospital, Nick speaks with some of the nurses, who have nothing but wonderful things to say about Marilyn (the deceased). They add that they feel something more was going on, that perhaps she was murdered, but the conversation is interrupted by Dr. Cole. The Doctor asks if there’s other things they could be doing other than spreading rumors. Nick steps in an apologizes for the nurses, and that he was interviewing them. He asks one last question on if there was anyone else to speak to. They point him to Dean (Mackenzie Gray, Man of Steel). Dean works as a clown, cheering up the sick kids in the pediatric ward. He’s also a patient undergoing chemotherapy, living in the hospital. When asked about Marilyn, Dean becomes defensive, angry at someone who would throw away their life so carelessly when he is valuing every second of the 2 to 3 months he has left. Knight accepts Dean’s photos, and leaves, wishing him well.

On the drive back to the precinct, Erica appears beside him, commenting on the beauty of rainy nights. She adds the crowded world is noise and makes her feel out of step with the times. Erica asks Knight if he feels the same way. Nick doesn’t respond, and just keeps driving.

At the precinct, Captain Stonetree tells Knight he’s going to pass some of his cases along to another Detective. Nick snaps at the Captain, but Stonetree remains cool as always. He informs Knight that he’s not happy the administrator of the hospital is leaving messages with him saying an apparent suicide isn’t being considered as such. Knight argues that there’s more to Marilyn’s demise, but Stonetree adds that he can’t afford to care why she ended her life. All the evidence says it’s what happened, but he gives Nick 24 hours to close the case or he’ll close it for him.

Knight heads to Janette’s nightclub, showing her Erica’s ring. “So, she finally did it.” Janette says. Nick asks Janette about why Erica didn’t come to him for help. Janette’s response is that she didn’t want to ‘infect’ him with her ‘disease’. Together, Nick and Janette head to Erica’s place, which appears in disarray. Dead flower, a typewriter and covered furniture decorate the place. Janette asks Nick what he expects to find here..”The passionate tomboy with the fiery spirit? Well, she grew old, Nicholas, she couldn’t keep up.” Picking up a doll, Nick has a flashback where Erica confesses that mortals can revitalize their lives with each new generation. “Their children are their mortality.” All she has are her plays. A teenager enters the apartment, looking for Erica. She mentions that Erica had a new play she was going to premiere called “The Last Act” and that she was excited about.

Nicholas arrives home to find Natalie waiting for him as she closes the shudders from the morning rays. “Cutting it a little close, are we?” Nick explains Erica’s theory on contributions, he reopens one of the shutters and reaches for Erica’s doll. As his hand begins to smoke, Natalie pushes him away from the sunlight and they argue over Nick’s desire to see the sun. She offers a new clue into Marilyn’s death in that the doctor was pregnant. The new information comes just in time, as Schanke knocks on Knight’s door. They let him in and they discuss Marilyn’s pregnancy. Schanke bemoans Knight’s lack of food in the fridge, but decides to help interview Carl Janns during the day.

Karl tells Schanke that Marilyn was depressed and distant, though Schanke notes that her coworkers said she was bright and energetic. Karl becomes defensive, causing Schanke to both back down and mention the baby. This throws Karl for a loop, though he says she didn’t seem to want to have a baby. Schanke, Stonetree, Natalie and Nick go over the details, though Stonetree still isn’t particularly convinced. Knight, however, seems inspired. Getting up to follow another lead, Stonetree looks on with pride with a smile…”Let him go. I like him like this. Thinking again, on the case. Cop doing his job with some passion.”

Knight sits in the audience, watching Erica’s play. An old woman and a young girl dance, with the woman asking the girl to squeeze every breathing moment out of life, to enjoy it. The girl asks the woman to stay, to teach her. The old woman tells her to simply live her life and that she’ll always be there, living on through the girl’s accomplishments. A pensive Knight watches along. At the same time the play is going on, someone goes into Dean’s room at the hospital and overdoses him with a needle full of morphine.

Knight and Schanke return to the hospital, where Doctor Cole informs them about Dean. He’s not dead, but the doctors are able to stabilize him. The detectives manage to speak with Dean and discover that Marilyn’s baby was indeed his, done for him to “live on” in a way. They set up a trap, telling Karl about Dean and the baby and that he’s still alive. Additionally, Knight takes Dean’s place in his room to wait for the murderer to strike again.

Laying down in Dean’s bed, Erica comes to visit him. She asks him to follow her, but Nick refuses. “I still find life exciting and I think I’ve got more to give.” he says. Erica admires this in him, but scoffs at the idea of becoming mortal. If he dies, he says, it won’t be by his hand. Erica steps out of the door, but tells him she’ll be waiting. A nurse then enters the room and stabs Knight, who pulls the knife free. They struggle and in pulling off the wig, we find it’s Karl, who breaks through the fight and runs off, knocking Schanke off balance and darting into another room. Knight easily catches up to him and flings him around the room before holding him out a window, baring his fangs. Karl freaks out, begging not to be let go while Schanke steps into the room behind Nick, his gun at the ready but not able to see Nick’s face. He reminds Knight of the added paperwork if he lets the fellow go. Pulling Karl inside, Knight flings him to the floor, with Schanke making the arrest.

The episode wraps with our heroes at the theatre. Erica’s play isn’t a success, but Natalie and Nick enjoyed it. Schanke admits he fell asleep through it. The girl form the play thanks Nick for attending. Nick gives the girl the ring, telling her Erica wanted the girl to have it. The girl mentions that Erica had an old soul. “Not as I knew her.”, Knight responds with a smile. Natalie, Schanke and Knight leave, his spirit a bit renewed.

Forever Knight – S1:E3 – “For I Have Sinned”

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

The Prologue opens in the back of an electronic store, where a couple is making out. The woman pushes her Security Guard lover away playfully and states she has to go, fastening a cross around her neck before leaving. Inside her car, the woman puts on a wedding ring. Before she can leave, a figure grabs her from the back seat, ripping the cross from her neck and whispering “You don’t deserve this.” as she screams. It’s time for another case!

Nick arrives at Janette’s nightclub, greeting each other with a small dance before Nick relays the recent murders in the city. “Two women, one decapitated, one disembowled.” Janette wonders why he came to her. She doesn’t care about mortals and reminds Nick that he’s “not people”, by dipping her finger in her blood filled glass, offering a taste. Schanke arrives in the club, getting a little close to one of the vampire patrons when Nick escorts him out. “It’s dangerous in there, Schanke.”, to which Schanke argues that his entire lineage are filled with ladies men who fooled around. They don’t have much time to go into details as he tells Nick about the latest crime scene.

With the chalk outline and blood splatter, Nick is quickly able to discern the crime as a crucifixion and has the cops on the scene bring in the guard as a suspect. One thing is certain, there is a an incredible about of blood loss. Could another vampire be doing this? At the morgue, Natalie’s analysis supports Nick’s theory. Death by a coronary. As she removes the victim’s cross, she sees Nick flinch and says “These things really make you uncomfortable, don’t they?” His response is that they make him sick. Natalie apologizes, noting he’ll have to keep the cross as evidence, with the other two woman all having had crosses with them and were all Catholic.

In a church, a priest listens to a confession. The voice in the other room explains that he’s not a sinner, that he holds the keys of perdition and of death. Father Pierre Rochefort (Michael McManus, TV’s Lexx) tries to dissuade the individual, but only receives a warning that more sinners will face his wrath. The priest hears footsteps scamper away, visibly shaken.

At his apartment, Nick tries some garlic pills that send him into a short fit. As he recovers, he examines the cross Natalie gave him that causes him to remember being in a chapel in the Dark Ages. He recalls Joan(Christine Cox, who ironically played a cop in her own vampire show, Blood Ties) who tells him he’s cursed because his salvation has him living in fear of death. As he raises his hand to the nearby cross in the flashback, his hand catches fire. At the same time, he drops the evidence cross into his palm, which burns a small imprint. “Well, the garlic pills are definitely an improvement.”, he whispers.

The next day, Father Pierre approaches another priest and asks his advice about going to the police. The elder price reminds him that what’s said in the confessional stays there, and has to be protected. This leaves Father Pierre a bit troubled. That night, Schanke makes a visit to Janette’s nightclub, where he catches the attention of Alma (Tracey Cook). She dazzles him with her vampire eyes and leads him into the back of the club, away from the others. Janette breaks up Alma and Schanke before she can have a drink. Janette warns Schanke to stay away from the club, else he might find himself a permanent member of the night shift. Schanke quickly runs out of the room and the club.

At a Naughty phone line service desk, a woman named Magda receives a call from the villain. He tells her he knows her name and that she “profanes the church by feeding the fires of lust”, threatening to burn her alive. Playing the call for her manager, she’s sent home. The poor girl can’t even make it out of the building before she’s caught by the masked killer. Nick, who happens to just be driving in the vicinity, hears her screams and pulls over his car, taking flight. He arrives in the building from the room and pulls his firearm on the villain. The villain pushes the girl into Nick’s arm and reveals a revolver of his own, shooting Nick at point blank range before darting down the stairs. Nick makes the girl call an ambulance, using the moment to change the villain out into the alleyway. He stops the masked individual who turns out to be Father Pierre. Nick’s seen a lot over the years, but even he seems shocked at the revelation.

In the Interrogation Room, Father Pierre says that he’s not protecting the killer, but the rules and beliefs of his religion. Nick scoffs at this, but the Captain (who’s also in the room) kicks Knight out after his outburst. Father Pierre poses a question: “Faith is the cornerstone of the church…I believe in it. Is there nothing you believe in that strongly?” We see another flashback, with Nick talking to Joan, who is due to be burned at the stake. He offers to make her a vampire, but she refuses. It’s something Nick can’t understand. She gives him her cross to remind him that “the faith you’ve lost is always there to regain.”

At the Precinct, Magda finds Nick, asking him if he’s okay. He shrugs off the shooting as just a grazing and that he’ll be fine. Magda suggests setting herself up as bait, but Knight refuses, sending her away. She then turns to Father Pierre, who comes into the hallway from the interrogation room, but he sends her away as well. The Captain has Nick find someone to put Magda in a hotel until everything’s safe.

Back at Nick’s apartment, Natalie discovers the old wooden cross and Nick tells her it belonged to Joan of Arc. Natalie is amazed by this, gently caressing the cross while listening as Nick talk about Joan. “You know, she had this incredible strength, this courage…” he smiles, reminiscing. “Faith.” Natalie smiles, still admiring the cross. Nick asks Natalie to bring the cross closer to him. When she does, he flinches, but fights against it. To Nat’s question of why he fears it, he says it’s because it’s “the One True Light and we’re creatures of the Dark.” Nick tells Natalie that he has to spend the day in the church in case the villain returns.

Dawn. We find Nick staring at the front of Father Pierre’s church. He has a quick conversation with Schanke, letting him know he doesn’t need any extra backup as it might tip the villain off. In the church, Knight moves through the pews, pausing at a row of candles. He remembers watching Joan, burning at the cross. He tries to run out the door, but with the sun already out, he’s trapped. Instead, he hides himself inside Father Pierre’s confessional box. Schanke, still feeling some guilt over his antics at Janette’s, steps into the church and into the other area of the confessional. Knight hears Schanke out, having some fun at the poor guy’s expense.

As the evening starts, the police are ready to close the stakeout when Schanke catches sight of Magda. She snuck out of the hotel and made her way into the church. Schanke gets knocked out in his car, and Magda is kidnapped by the villain and is taken behind the church to a hilltop where a large cross awaits. The villain ties Magda to the cross, preparing to start a bonfire. Knight arrives (via flight) and tackles the villain, eventually knocking him out. The villain’s torch lands in the kindling, starting the bonfire. Remembering Joans words about Faith being ready to be reclaimed, he leaps over the fire onto the platform and unties Magda. He covers her head with his jacket and jumps away from the bonfire saving them both. “How….” she breathes, “How did you do that?!” to which Knight replies…”A little bit of adrenaline…and a lot of faith.”

With the day (or night) saved, everyone’s at the precinct. Magda thanks Father Pierre and Nick as well, giving him her cross. He refuses at first, but she places it in his hand and closes it, smiling. Nick makes his way to the recovering Schanke and Natalie. Natalie notices the cross in Knight’s hand, amazed he’s able to hold it. “It still burns, but not as much.”, he says. Natalie suggests that he’s perhaps one step closer to redemption. Schanke offers to get them all food, but Nick states he can’t, putting on his sunglasses in a move that would make CSI’s Horatio Caine proud…”..the sun is coming up.” are his final words.

Forever Knight – S1:E2 – “Dark Knight, Part II”

Posted on October 5, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

When we last left Nick Knight, Vampire Detective (Geraint Wyn Davies), he was driving through the streets of Toronto, Canada. On the radio was the voice of the Nightcrawler, a.k.a. LaCroix (Nigel Bennett), As Nick’s maker, LaCroix hates the quest for mortality that Nick’s put himself on. Following him along in dark, smoky alleyways, Nick and LaCroix make their way to a local warehouse. Despite their supernatural senses, neither of them notice Alyce trailing behind Nick in the distance.

LaCroix admits to stealing the jade cup from the museum and to the killing of the guard. The other deaths, however, are not his. When Nick accuses him of lying, LaCroix snaps. “Why would I lie?”, he says. “Give me a reason. I’ve never been afraid of killing.” LaCroix goads Nick into a fight, but easily takes him down since Nick’s been avoiding blood. Alyce arrives on the scene just in time in the rafters above to see Nick’s vampire face, causing her to scream. LaCroix quickly catches her and forces Nick to choose between the cup and Alyce. In the space it takes for the cup to fall, Nick reaches LaCroix and subdues him. LaCroix chuckles and notes, “Either way, I won.” They both watch the cup shatter into pieces on the floor a second later. Alyce heads out the door and down the building’s fire escape, with dawn quickly approaching. Nick and LaCroix get into a scuffle, which end ups with LaCroix impaled on a metal pole. We’re given a short flashback with Nick in the Dark Ages wanting to be human again, with LaCroix assuring him that the life he’s given him is a blessing. “I shall repay you.” Nick responds with contempt. Leaving LaCroix’s body, Nick runs outside into the morning sun. Smoke flows from his clothes as he makes it to his Caddy and locks himself in the trunk.

The next morning, Captain Stonetree (Gary Farmer), Nat (Catherine Disher) and Schanke (John Kapelos) are trying to figure out what happened to Nick. Schanke believes the Bloodbank has something to do the case. A call comes in, notifying the Captain that Nick’s Caddy was found and is being brought in. Schanke picks up the car and decides to ‘tool around’ in Knight’s Caddy for a while.

The “Bloodmobile” Winnebago arrives at a local hospital, and we watch a cart with blood bags make its way to the front desk. The nurse goes to accept the delivery when the phone rings. When she mentions the police (who are on the line as they are visiting), we see Dr. Fenner (Graham McPherson) brought in the blood. The fellow seems nervous at the sound of the police.

With Schanke at the front desk asking for the blood doner records, the nurse lets him know it’s confidential info. Fenner walks over to Schanke (as Schanke donated blood in the previous episode) and despite the Doctor vouching for him (and joking over the mileage of the Caddy), Schanke still can’t the nurse to hand over the records. He waves her away and promises to return with a warrant. At the same time Schanke has this conversation, Nick climbs out the Cadillac, sneaks into Fenner’s office and uses his computer. A quick call to Natalie and Nick mentions that Schanke’s hunches were correct and all of the victims were indeed blood donors.

Dr. Fenner makes a visit to the Caddy, causing Nick (in the truck again) to wonder what’s up. Schanke gets back into the car, cranks up some Polka music and backs out of the car lot, leaving behind a puddle of break fluid. On the road, he discovers he can’t slow down and panics.

Alyce tries to contact Nick via the phone, but can’t reach him. She looks up his address in the phone book, remembering their initial conversation and how Nick mentioned the numbers in the stones matched his alarm code. She writes this down on a pad and heads to Nick’s place.

At the Garage shop, Schanke and a mechanic are going over the damage to Nick’s Caddy. Before Schanke can leave, Nick comes out of hiding and confronts him. Schanke pleads for his life, describing the events of the crash, and Nick points out that not were the brake lines cut but that he was right on his hunch. Nick still wants to kill Schanke about the car, but apologizes to him for his work on the case. Schanke came through big.

“Hey, you look like death warmed over.” Schanke tells Nick, who responds that he hasn’t had anything to eat, but will get to “bite into something”. They head back to the Hospital to continue the investigation. Alyce, meanwhile heads to Nick’s place and find an injured Jeannie (Nicole De Boer). While tending to her, she calls for a doctor, asking for them to just ring the buzzer. Alyce tells Jeannie about the ambulance coming, but Jeannie freaks out. “He’ll be there! No!!” she cries out.

At the hospital, the truth comes to light. Dr. Fenner was the one who visited, his motive for the crimes being the death of his mother after a Type O blood transfusion lead to her having hepatitis. He blamed the homeless as the source of the problem. Nick quickly calls in an APB on the Doctor from the Hospital and then calls home to check his messages. Alyce picks up and tells him that Jeannie’s there, with the Ambulance on the way. Leaving the receiver open, Nick overhears Alyce’s scream and Doctor Fenner stuggling with her. Nick jumps into action, yelling to Schanke to send back up to his warehouse while leaping out of a window (outside of Schanke’s view, of course), soaring over Toronto’s busy streets.

Nick crashes through the window of his Warehouse, his apartment partially in flames. He moves to bite the Doctor, but his willpower is strong enough to keep from doing so. The doctor makes a run for it across the room, but is quickly dispatched by LaCroix, who drains him to a husk. LaCroix taunts Nick, who is too weak from not having fed. Alyce offers herself to him (a notion that LaCroix is in total support of), but Nick refuses. He instead picks up a burning piece of wood and tries to take out LaCroix, but is no real match for him. Alyce tries to run, but LaCroix catches up to her. Before he can bite her, though, Nick leaps back into action, finally impaling him with the piece of wood. LaCroix seemingly bursts into flames, leaving Nick with the unconscious Alyce as the sound of police sirens grow louder.

In the Epilogue, Natalie and Nick are back at the museum. “She wanted to live forever.” Nick says, saying that Alyce and LaCroix were the lucky ones in death. Vampirism for Nick is a life without love, but Natalie has hopes for him. “Do you really think you could bring me back over?”, he asks. “All we can do is keep trying.” she responds. As they leave the museum, Schanke makes fun over Nick’s blood transfusion (which is his). In a change from the TV film, as the trio depart the museum, we notice someone watching them from a high window. Nat and Schanke walk away, but Nick looks up briefly to find Alyce – a vampire herself now – smiling back at him before she takes flight into the night.

Forever Knight – S1:E1 – “Dark Knight, Part I”

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

“He was brought across in 1228. Prayed on humans for their blood.
Now, he wants to be mortal again. To repay society for his sins.
To emerge from his World of Darkness. From his endless Forever Night.”

I stumbled onto Forever Knight late one early pre-dawn Sunday Morning, which would show up on a special “Crimetime After Primetime”. Although the cast was different (save for John Kapelos, still playing Don Schanke), it still had the flavor of the 1989 TV Film. It also ended up trading the streets of Los Angeles for Toronto, Canada, which meant that the production also had to include Canadian talent. The two part pilot, which aired in May of 1992, was just a beat for beat revamp of the TV film’s story. I’ll try to find a way to not make these so long as this progresses.

In the prologue, we open in Paris in the year 1288. A young woman welcomes a man to the rest of his unlife, letting him know that while he’s now as eternal as the city, he must kill. This trio of vampires are our hero, Nicholas (Geraint Wyn Davies, Airwolf), his maker LaCroix (Nigel Bennett, HBO’s Gotti), and Janette (Deborah Duchene, TV’s Street Legal). Moving to the present day, the night watchman of a museum is murdered, and a jade cup stolen.

At the crime scene, Schanke is still going wild with the camera, assisting the forensic crew. He and Nick have a few words before Nick interviews the assistant curator, Dr. Alyce Hunter (Christine Reeves) about the missing cup. Alyce seems somewhat fascinated about Knight’s knowledge of the history and the use of the jade cup in blood drinking rituals. There’s a moment of quiet between them as they consider what that could mean.

Heading over to the morgue, we’re introduced to Natalie (Catherine Disher, who voiced Jean Grey in Fox’s X-Men and Val Cooper in Disney Plus’ X-Men ’97). She offers Nick some tea that he can’t quite stomach, but he’s making some progress in staying away from blood. The victim from the museum is one of three, all with large blood loss and some tell-tale puncture marks on their necks. “Nick, Is this something I should worry about?” she asks. Nick doesn’t have an answer. Back at the Precinct, the Captain (Gary Farmer, Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight) is nervous about these murders and wants some results. A food order comes in, giving Nick three hamburgers that the Captain snarks over. “Skinny guy. Eats like a pig.” The Captain pairs Knight with Schanke, to Don’s delight and Nick’s aggravation.

The 2 elderly hobos from the film are now 3 people. Dr. Dave (George Buza, the voice of Beast in both Fox’s X-Men and in X-Men ’97), Topper (Zack Ward, Transformers) and Jeannie (Deep Space Nine’s Nicole De Boer). Nick warns the three to spend their nights inside with the murders going around. Jeannie lets Nick know they’ll be careful.

Nick heads home for the day, turning on the window shutters for the coming dawn. His fridge is stocked with bottles of the good stuff. He pours himself two glasses full of blood and drinks heartily. It’s been a long night, indeed.

Knight regroups with Schanke the following night. Schanke asks about Nick’s Cadillac and Nick explains that it has some incredible trunk space (for daytime sleeping, though he doesn’t share that tidbit). While on patrol, Nick hears some commotion in a building and detours the car. When they arrive at a nearby building, a woman informs Nick in Mandarin that her daughter’s inside and someone has an Uzi. Running inside, Nick and Schanke stack up on the door to the perp’s room, kicking the door open. The response is a blaze of gunfire. Thankfully, Knight’s vision clearly picks up the enemy with the hostage and has Schanke hold in place while he heads around to the back. Nick floats up to the window and pulls the gunman through it, quickly dispatching him outside of Schanke’s view.

Relaxing in a dark alley, Topper and Jeannie are arguing over what to do for the evening. Topper suggests that they could go to Nick’s Garage, where it’s much warmer, but Jeannie won’t want to have to owe him anything. Dr. Dave is no where to be found, but someone approaches the pair from the dark, attacking Topper causing Jeannie to scream.

Nick takes flight, paying Alyce a late night visit. Just before he shows up, however, Alyce finds a picture of Nick in an old book on archeology. Unlike the film, this doesn’t bring any kind of questioning or curiosity about why he was in the picture. What we do get is a nice flirtatious moment between Nick and Alyce. She loves the dark, and he’s all about the dark. Nick gets a little too close with a kiss, nearly losing control of himself. He pulls away and leaves Alyce be, just in time for a guard to show up. The romance will have to wait for another night. At the same time, Schanke debriefs the Captain, relaying that the captured perp claimed a vampire attacked him. The Captain relays a legend about how burning scorpions attaches other ones from miles around, which spooks Schanke. The Captain reminds him it’s just a legend, like vampires, and he should focus on the real world.

With Nick failing to check in the following morning, Natalie borrows his Caddy from the precinct and visits him at home. She finds him in a blood drunken self pitying stupor. With no fear of who or what she is, she lays into him for falling off the wagon. “You don’t want help, hey, I’m a dot on the horizon.”, she says. Their argument is interrupted by Alyce’s voice message, asking Nick to “talk about last night.” Nat, a little shaken by this, inquires what happened. Nick confesses that he kissed Alyce and then nearly killed her. Nat softens and asks him about the other vampires. Nick shares that the jade cup is part of a pair that could possibly cure vampirism. LaCroix has been keeping Nick away from both cup to ensure he stays immortal. Could he be the source of the current killings?

The next day, Topper’s body is discovered in a barrel. According to Nat, he was hit by a blunt object and then had the neck incision done. Nick becomes livid that he lost Topper on his watch and that Jeannie is missing, though we get a major clue in that there was a blood mobile that recently visited the area. Nick snaps at Schanke and pays a visit to Jeanette to find LaCroix. She’s adjusted to modern times pretty well, owning her own vampire nightclub. They share a quick discussion in French, with Jeanette informing Nick that LaCroix is indeed very much around and is keeping his eyes on him. As he leaves the nightclub and drives away, we find Alyce trailing behind him.

We end the episode with Nick turning on the car radio, hearing the voice of the Nightcrawler (LaCroix) who laments being in town and not having heard from his friend. The music station is still Metal, and yet the show still decides to play something different, this time a violin. “I am waiting.” LaCroix says to the microphone.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 2.26 “Coven of Darkness”

Posted on January 31, 2025 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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The entire series can be found on YouTube!

This week, the second season comes to an end.

Episode 2.26 “Coven of Darkness”

(Dir by George Bloomfield, originally aired on June 12th, 1989)

Jack and Ryan have recovered a “witch’s ladder,” and they’ve put it in the vault. However, Lysa Redding (Maria Ricossa) is a witch who wants the ladder back. Lysa (and I do always enjoy hearing my name, even if it is misspelled) is the head of a coven that was connected to evil old Uncle Lewis. Lysa performs a ceremony that causes Ryan to become possessed so Micki has to become a white witch so that she can battle the dark witches.

Now, I should mention that Micki has never had magical powers before. In the past, she’s usually been the down-to-Earth skeptic of the group so Jack suddenly announcing that Micki is actually a powerful witch took me by surprise. But anyway, Micki is able to use her powers to break Lysa’s spell. It’s such a grueling experience that Jack says its possible that she’s used up all of her magic powers. What? Really? I guess …. okay, I don’t know what to say about that. They suddenly gave Micki magic powers and then took them away.

This was a weird episode. Based on this episode and Prisoner, I’m going to guess the production was nearly out of money at the end of season two. Coven of Darkness takes place over three different locations and it’s mostly just continual jump cuts between Lysa spellcasting and Ryan freaking out and Micki looking intense. It all feels very cheap and basic and not at all like a typical episode of Friday the 13th. Instead of using their wits to defeat evil, Chris and Micki use magic. It just doesn’t feel right.

I’m going to guess, though, that this was an attempt to reboot the show for the third season. I’ve seen enough of the third season to know that the reboot didn’t stick around but I can kind of see what they were going for. With John D. LeMay not planning on being a part of the third season, it perhaps seemed like it would be a good idea to turn the show into the Micki Witchcraft Hour. And it probably would have been interesting but it definitely wouldn’t have had the same feel as classic Friday the 13th.

This brings season two to an end. It was, overall, a good season, though I think the show lost its way a little towards the end. The introduction of Johnny Ventura was rather clumsily handled and a few too many episodes seemed to forget that the show was supposed to center on finding Lewis’s cursed antiques. The highlight of the show was the chemistry between the three leads. I’m curious to see how the upcoming season will play without Ryan.

We’ll find out starting next week!

October True Crime: An Officer and a Murderer (dir by Norma Bailey)

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Gary Cole is an interesting actor.

He’s handsome in a distinguished way, even if he’s played some roles that have required him to play down his looks. (Think about his perm in The Brady Bunch Movie or the glasses that he wore in Office Space.) He’s not exactly movie star handsome but he’s definitely good-looking enough to be the star of his own detective series. He’s got the authoritative voice of someone who you instinctively trust. You look at Gary Cole and you see someone who knows what’s going on and who you would probably trust in a crisis.

At the same time, with just about every character that Cole has played, there’s always been a sign of something lurking behind the friendly smile and perfect haircut. At the very least, there’s usually a hint of a threat concealed behind his polite manner. Gary Cole is the ideal actor to play a character who has secrets to hide, whether he’s playing Mike Brady as someone who cheerfully offers up nonsensical advice or telling one of his employees that he’s going to need to come in over the weekend. It’s hard to trust a character played by Gary Cole. Cole has appeared in a wide variety of films and shows. As anyone who has seen Veep can tell you, Gary Cole can be a very funny actor. But where Gary Cole really shines is when he plays the bad guy who no one suspects is a bad guy.

In 2012’a An Officer and A Murderer, Gary Cole plays a very bad guy indeed, Russell Williams. Williams is a colonel in the Canadian Air Force. He’s such a highly respected figure that he was given the job of flying with the Queen of England when she last visited Ontario. Williams has a big house in the suburbs. He has a beautiful wife (played by Nahanni Johnstone). His neighbors love him and they all say hi whenever he’s out for his morning run. Williams had just been appointed the new commander of the local Canadian Air Force base. He’s a respected and beloved figure who raises money for charity, mentors younger pilots, and seems like the ideal gentleman.

But at night, Russell Williams sneaks out of his house and breaks into the homes and apartments of single women. He starts out as an underwear thief, obsessively cataloging all of the bras and the panties that he steals from each house. Unknown to his wife, he has two suitcases filled with stolen underwear. Occasionally, he even wears them himself. The two detectives (played by Laura Harris and Rossif Sutherland) who investigate the break-ins theorize that the perpetrator is going to start to escalate his activities and Williams soon does just that. Williams assaults a young mother, blindfolding her and then filming her while he poses with her. He breaks into another house and removes his clothes while he stares at the homeowner showering just a few feet away. Eventually, two women are murdered. The detectives suspect Russ but can they get him to slip up and give them the evidence that they need to arrest him?

An Officer and A Murderer is based on a true story, which makes it all the more disturbing to watch as Williams breaks into his neighbor’s homes and even tries to frame an innocent man for his crimes. Watching this movie, I found myself wondering about all of the neighbors that I’ve had over the years. Part of living in neighborhood is trusting the people around you but how well do we know the people who are living just a few houses or a few apartment away from us? An Officer and a Murderer tells a sordid story and occasionally, it lingers over the details of Williams’s crimes to such an extent that you worry that Williams’s real-life victims are being exploited all over again. That’s always an issue with films about real-life crimes. That said, Gary Cole gave a genuinely frightening performance as Russell Williams and, if nothing else, the film reminded me to make sure that all of my doors and windows are locked tonight.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 1.21 “Double Exposure”

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show can be found on YouTube!

This week, a reporter uses a cursed camera to make the news!

Episode 1.21 “Double Exposure”

(Dir by Neill Fearnley, originally aired on May 16th, 1988)

As you may remember, at the end of the previous episode, Ryan reluctantly left the Pentite Community and returned to Toronto so that he could continue to help Micki and Jack track down the cursed antiques. When he left, he promised Laura that he would always love her.

Well, that didn’t last long. This episode opens with a Ryan in a photobooth, taking pictures of himself and his new girlfriend, Cathy! RYAN, YOU CAD! Now, in Ryan’s defense, Cathy is played by Catherine Disher (who previously played the supercool Sophie in the first season of T and T) and she seems like a much better match for Ryan than the somewhat dour Laura. Cathy and Ryan actually have fun together! Of course, this is Friday the 13th and that means that all fun is temporary.

There’s a serial killer stalking Toronto and Ryan just happens to witness him murdering his latest victim in an alley. To Ryan’s shock, the killer appears to Winston Knight (Gary Frank), a television news anchorman who is currently getting huge rating because of his reporting on the killings. But how can that be? When Ryan witnesses the murder, Winston is live on the air, delivering the news. Winston even gets a phone call from someone claiming to be the murderer.

Winston speculates that the killer might be an obsessed fan who is wearing a Winston Knight mask. Of course, the truth of the matter is that Winston is using a cursed camera to take a picture of himself. The picture then turns into a doppelganger of Winston. The Doppelganger commits a murder, Winston reports on the tragedy, and then, after five hours, Winston sets the negative on fire and the Doppelganger is destroyed. If Winston doesn’t destroy the negative after five hours, Winston will be the one who is destroyed and the Doppelganger will become human. It all sounds a bit complicated, to be honest. You have to wonder how Winston managed to figure all of this out.

Anyway, the important thing is that Winston is eventually exposed as the murderer. While trying to kill Ryan at the antique store, the Doppelganger is stabbed by Ryan. It doesn’t hurt the Doppelganger until Winston fails to burn the negative and vanishes from existence. The Doppelganger becomes human and then promptly drops dead of his wound. Ryan conquers another cursed antique but, unfortunately, not before the Doppelganger murders Cathy. The episode ends not on a note of triumph but instead with Ryan looking at a picture of Cathy and tearing up.

Wow, what a dark episode! Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that, on this show, Ryan is basically a very naive and very earnest teenager. He falls in love easily, he always believes that things will turn out for the best, and his heart is broken nearly every time he has to retrieve an antique. Jack is used to the pain and Micki is a bit of a cynic but Ryan is still trying to balance happiness with the psychological damage that comes from seeing the worst things possible on a weekly basis. John D. LeMay and Catherine Disher were adorable together and it was hard not to get a bit upset when Cathy fell victim to the Doppelganger. This episode was sad but undeniably effective.

Poor Ryan!

Retro Television Reviews: T and T 1.23 “Working It Out” and 1.24 “Now You See It”

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show can be found on Tubi!

This week, season one of T and T comes to a close!

Episode 1.23 “Working It Out”

(Dir by Don McCutcheon, originally aired on June 23rd, 1988)

“In this episode,” Mr. T tells us, “push turns to shove and shove turns to ugly as a battle of sexes rages at Decker’s gym.”

Of all of the supporting characters who have been featured during the first season of T and T, Decker (played by David Nerman) has been the most prominent. That makes sense when you consider that each first season episode features at least a few minutes of T.S. Turner throwing jabs in a boxing ring or hitting the punching bag in Decker’s Gym. Decker is T.S.’s best friend. He may not be smart but he is loyal.

This episode finds Decker in a bit of quandary because Jessie (Allison Mang) wants to join the gym but, when she brings in the membership fee, Decker is shocked to discover that Jessie can also be a girl’s name! Decker’s gym is full of men who like to walk around in towels and say stuff like, “Where do you think you’re going, little girl?” Decker says the gym is men only.

(Myself, I don’t know why anyone would want to join Decker’s shabby little gym, which looks like it reeks of sweat.)

Amy decides to sue for her right to use the gym and she hires Amy Taler. Amy sends T.S. Turner down to Decker’s gym to talk to him about letting Jessie join. Decker explains he has no problem with Jessie joining but gym bully Madigan (Kevin Lund) doesn’t want to any girls to join. How much of a bully is Madigan? His nickname is Mad Dog and he even accuses T.S. of “getting soft!”

Meanwhile, Amy informs Jessie that the gym is a public business and therefore anyone can join. She also points out that there are other gyms in Canada, some of which are co-ed and women only. Jessie says that Decker’s sweaty, shabby gym — which, I would add, has been the scene of several major crimes since this season began — is the closest to her house. Personally, I would happily add a few minutes to my trip so that I could join a gym that doesn’t look like the set of a bad 70s porno but what do I know?

“She’s effeminate, isn’t she?” Sophie asks Amy about Jessie.

“You mean a feminist?” Amy replies.

“Yeah,” Sophie nods.

Amy rolls her eyes without answering Sophie’s question. Personally, I’m wondering how Sophie went from being a computer expert in one episode to not knowing what a feminist is in this episode.

Back at the gym, Decker tries to talk Madigan into accepting Jessie as a member of the gym. Decker tells Madigan that the men of the gym will just have to stop walking around without any clothes on. “We’re working out and sweating!” Madigan replies, “It makes sense to walk around without any clothes on!” And maybe Madigan would have a point if he was living in ancient Sparta but this is Toronto!

Decker goes to the law office, to talk to Amy. Decker is worried that Madigan will kill Jessie. Amy suggests turning his gym into a private club so that he can bar women from joining and offers to draw up the papers for him. Whose side are you on, Amy!?

The next day, when Jessie shows up at the gym, Madigan and every guy in the gym walks out. Only T.S. Turner stays to support Decker and Jessie. When the guys fail to return the next day, Turner says, “Who cares? I’m here. Jessie’s here. Amy’s here.”

Decker points out that everyone who left is going to want a refund on their membership fees and he’s not going to have the money to keep the gym open. Decker will soon lose his business but at least Jessie didn’t have to spend an extra 5 or 10 minutes driving to a gym that doesn’t have a history of people being murdered in the locker rooms.

Later, when Jessie is out jogging, she’s approached by Madigan who explains that Turner has set up a “fitness test” at the gym to prove that Jessie has what it takes to be a member. Jessie hasn’t heard anything about this and — oh no! Is Madigan trying to trick Jessie into returning to the gym so that he and his evil friends can attack her!? No, actually, it turns out that Turner actually did set up the fitness test but no one bothered to tell Jessie, which would seem to defeat the purpose of the whole thing.

(Amy says that Jessie left the gym before giving Turner a chance to explain his plan to her but why couldn’t he just call her and tell her? I mean, I know this show is set in Canada but surely Jessie has a phone. It’s not like they’re in Manitoba.)

Later, Amy takes Jessie to the gym, where Turner is waiting. “Oh, Amy!” Turner says, “That’s a nice dress you have on. You got plans?”

“Dinner date,” Amy says.

“Don’t stay out too late,” Turner growls.

Anyway, the fitness test ends in a tie, which means that Jessie didn’t beat Madigan. This is a problem because, as Madigan points out, Turner specifically said that Jessie would have to win to join the gym. Jessie admits that “Mad Dog” Madigan is right. Decker suggests letting the membership vote. (Why didn’t you just do that to begin with, Decker!?) Madigan says he wants to fight Turner without gloves.

“Now I see why they call you Mad Dog,” Turner replies before removing his jacket in slow motion and then flattening Madigan with one punch.

So, Jessie gets to join the gym, all because one man knocked out another.

“You know, Jessie,” Amy says, “I think you may have started a revolution.”

Anyway, this was a silly episode. Jessie absolutely should have been allowed to join the gym, if she really wanted to spend her time at that ugly, foul-smelling hub of crime. But the episode’s main message appeared to be that you can accomplish anything as long as Mr. T is around to beat up anyone standing in your way.

Episode 1.24 “Now You See It”

(Dir by Patrick Loubert, originally aired on June 20th, 1988)

Amy — and not T.S. — provides the introduction for the finale episode of season one. “In this episode,” she tells us, “a psychic sees through a violent drug rip-off but no one is willing to listen.”

Despite not doing the intro for this episode, T.S. is still present. At the courthouse, after Amy wins an acquittal for a shoplifter named Billy (Simon Reynolds, the stockboy from one of the other Canadian shows that I’m reviewing for Retro Television Reviews, Check It Out.). T.S. tells Billy, “Look here, little brother, if you want to change your life, meet me at Decker’s Gym.” Is he going to try to set Billy up with Jessie? T.S. leaves to buy the Billy a sandwich, which means that Amy is alone when she meets Emma (Gwynneth Walsh), a psychic who wants to sue the the police for firing her because they didn’t like her vision of what happened when a heroin dealer was murdered in a warehouse.

Amy agrees to sue the police — specifically Detective Thompson (A.C. Peterson) — for being rude to the psychic. As she later tells T.S., it may seem like a small thing but it’s important to her. “Sometimes,” T.S. replies, “it’s the small things that matter.”

Thompson agrees to apologize to Emma. After he does so, Amy snaps, “You can stop playing the nice guy! You’re off the hook!” And, of course, Thompson isn’t a nice guy. He’s the one killing the drug dealers! T.S. figures this out when Billy tells him that he doesn’t want to deal drugs anymore because “the streets are dry” and T.S. has a series of black-and-white flashbacks to Thompson talking about the dead drug dealers.

Anyway, Thompson is captured and season one ends with an episode that attempted to cram 60 minutes worth of plot into just 30 minutes. Overstuffed episodes were a frequent issue when it came to T and T‘s first season.

The first season can best be described as being uneven. The show was at its best when it took advantage of Mr. T’s unique screen presence. Though he definitely didn’t have the greatest range as an actor, Mr. T did show some comedic timing. The show struggled whenever it didn’t focus on T.S. Turner and oddly, that happened in more than a few episodes, as if Mr. T wasn’t the main reason why anyone would be watching this show to begin with. As a character, there was nothing particularly consistent about Amy, who was sometimes brilliant and sometimes woefully naïve. The supporting cast was frequently underused, though Catherine Disher had a few funny moments as Sophie. Seen today, the show is a time capsule of Canada in the late 80s and that is perhaps the main reason to watch it.

Next week: season 2 begins!

Retro Television Reviews: T and T 1.21 “Private Eyes”

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, T.S. Turner searches for a missing teenage boy and finds Vernon Wells instead.

Episode 1.21 “Private Eyes”

(Dir by Stan Olsen, originally aired on May 30th, 1989)

“On tonight’s episode,” Mr. T informs us during the pre-credits, “the mob hunts for a young kid to prevent his father from testifying in court.”

Now, I understand that it’s tempting to roll your eyes at the mention of the mob, seeing as how this is a Canadian show. But what many Americans don’t know is that the Mafia is actually very active in Canada and they have been since the days of Prohibition. All that liquor that Al Capone was selling on the streets of Chicago? It came from Canada!

Tonight’s episode opens with Frank (Angelo Pedari), who has an impressive flat top, walking and then driving down the snowy streets of Canada. He’s on a mission to prevent a married couple from testifying in court. As the local mob boss puts it, the couple will be less likely to testify if their son is missing. Interestingly, these two important witnesses do not have any police assigned their house so Mr. Flaptop and his criminal associate are able to walk right in and announce that they’re taking young Steve (Noam Zylberman) hostage. In his bedroom, Steve overhears and slips out the window. The mobsters decide to chase after Steve as opposed to kidnapping (or doing something even worse) to his parents. I mean, if their goal is to keep the parents from testifying and Canada won’t even send a patrol car to check on the house, I’m not sure why the mob is wasting their time on some teenager.

At the courthouse, Officer Jones (Ken James) gives Amanda a picture of Steve and then asks if T.S. Turner can hit the streets and look for him. (So, why not just give the picture to Turner?) Turner agrees to look for the kid, even though he and Amy agree that they’re obviously only getting half the story.

Turner heads to down to the local pool hall, where the local pool hustler says that someone already came into the place looking for the kid. “He talked like that Alligator guy in the movie.”

“Australian!?” Turner asks, as if this is the first time that an Australian has ever been spotted in Toronto.

Now fully aware that there is an Australian searching for the kid, Turner reminds everyone in the pool hall to “call me” and not the Australian.

Who is the Australian? Why, it’s veteran screen tough guy, Vernon Wells! (Wells played played Wez in The Road Warrior.) In this episode, Vernon is playing Nigel and he is determined to find that kid. When T.S. stumbles across Nigel at the local Canadian high school, showing the students picture of Steven, Turner demands to know what’s going on.

“I’m not talking to you, mate!” Nigel replies.

“Yes, you are.” T.S. replies.

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

Okay, guys, come on now….

Eventually, the police are called and Nigel and T.S. are both dragged down to the police station.

“When I get out of these cuffs, my friend!” Nigel says to T.S.

“You ain’t my friend, brother!” T.S. replies.

Detective Jones tells them to stop both yelling at each other. He explains that Nigel has been hired by Steven’s parents to find their son. He suggests that T.S. and Nigel work together.

“I work alone,” Nigel says before storming out of the police station. However, Nigel changes his mind, returns, and says that maybe he and T.S. should work together.

“No hard feelings, mate?” Nigel asks.

“I guess not,” T.S. replies, “I can always beat on your later.”

“That won’t be a easy from a hospital bed, mate.”

“I ain’t your mate, brother.”

Guys, come on now. The machismo is getting almost overwhelming.

At the gym, T.S. and Nigel meet a taxi driver who gave Steve a ride to the hotel where he is currently hiding out. T.S. and Nigel decide to head over to the hotel but the mob has already learned where Steve is hiding out. (Somehow, Steve’s disguise of a trench coat and dark glasses has failed to fool anyone.)

While T.S. and Steve head over to the gym, Amy confronts Detective Jones about the fact that there was supposed to be a police car in front of Steven’s parents house on the day that Steven disappeared. Someone called off the car. Jones admits that there is a mafia informant in the police department and that’s why he had to hire T.S. to look for the kid. Jones demands to know where Amy got her information. Amy says that she never reveals her sources. Then Sophie (Catherine Disher) wanders into the office and reveals that she got the information from a guy in fingerprinting that she’s dating. Go Sophie!

Meanwhile, at the hotel, T.S. and Nigel discover that Steve is not in his room. Nigel suggests that maybe one of them should wait outside in case Steve returns.

“That’s a good idea, brother!” T.S. says.

“I’m not your brother,” Nigel replies.

Okay, guys, come on, everyone is supposed to be working together here….

Anyway, the kid and the mob show up at the same time so Nigel and Turner get to beat some people up and save the kid. Yay!

Steven’s parents testify against the mob and then enter Witness Protection, which I guess means moving from Toronto to North York. At the courthouse, Nigel and T.S. finally find something that they can agree on, American football.

“Greatest football team ever made!” T.S. announces.

“The Redskins!” Nigel agrees.

Uh-oh. Guys, you might want to stop bonding….

Anyway, this episode was actually kind of fun, due to the bickering between Mr. T and Vernon Wells. They made for a fun team. Once again, it doesn’t really do anyone any good to try to tell an hour’s worth of story in only 30 minutes but Vernon Wells made me smile. That’s the important thing!

Vernon Wells, in Commando

Retro Television Reviews: T and T 1.19 “Special Delivery” and 1.20 “Pros and Cons”

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, T.S. and Amy continue to keep Canada safe.

Episode 1.19 “Special Delivery”

(Dir by Vic Sarin, originally aired on May 15th, 1988)

“In this episode,” Mr. T tells us during the pre-credits preview, “a young boy’s on the run with only his fears and a mysterious package for company.”

Bruce Johnson (Robert McClure) is an old friend of T.S. Turner’s who is now working as an executive for the Canadian space program. He records a tape in which he tells T.S. that he suspects that someone is trying to sabotage Canada’s latest space rocket and that his life in danger. “If anything happens to me,” Bruce asks, “take care of David and Brenda.” Bruce leaves his office with a package of evidence. He finds his 12 year-old son, David (Jamie Dick) skateboarding in front of a school. He gives the package to David and tells him to deliver it to Decker’s gym. David wears his baseball cap backwards so we all know he’s a rebel. Bruce is nabbed by the police as soon as he gives David the package but, fortunately, David is able to roll away on his skateboard.

With her husband and son both missing, Brenda Johnson (Karen Woolridge) calls T.S. Turner at Amy’s law office. Turner is out but the spacey administrative assistant, Sophie (Catherine Disher), takes the message and then runs down to the courthouse to give it to Amy. As someone who has worked as an administrative assistant, Sophie’s unprofessionalism made me cringe. How can Amy run her law office if the office is so disorganized? I’m surprised T.S. puts up with it.

Amy heads down to the police station, where she discovers that Brenda is being held as a witness in a federal investigation that’s being headed up by Detective Williams (William Finlay), who is a part of the Canadian Bureau of Investigation. Williams asks Amy where Bruce and David are and Amy tells him that Brenda has “civil rights.”

“Civil rights are superseded in matters of treason,” William replies.

Amy threatens to call a press conference so Williams agrees to let Brenda go free. Wow, that was easy!

10 minutes into this episode, T.S. finally shows up. He and Amy get a hot dog on a city street. “Thanks, brother,” T.S. tells the hot dog vendor. Amy fills T.S. in on what’s happening. T.S. suggests that Amy head to the gym while T.S. searches the city. Meanwhile, mysterious men in gray suits watch their every move.

Meanwhile, David continue to ride his skateboard through the city. He gets chased by the cops at one point and has to run through an office building to escape. Seriously, how big is this city? The kid just had to go to the gym!

Finally, 15 minutes into this 23-minute episode, David reaches the gym. However, he can’t go into the gym because the feds are staking it out! So, he just stands around outside with his hands in his pockets. T.S. shows up at the gym and announces, “The Kid’s not going to show up here with federal agents outside!”

After putting on camouflage gear, T.S. grabs Decker and heads back to the office. (Amy stays at the gym.) While Sophie flirts with Decker, T.S. calls the gym and tells Amy that David is at the office. T.S. knows the lines are bugged so this is his clever plan to throw off the feds. And it works! As Amy and Agent Williams head to the law office, Decker and T.S. head back to the gym.

And yes! David is now in the gym. He gives T.S. the package.

“Hey, little brother,” T.S. says, “everything’s going to be alright.”

Suddenly, a random bad guy shows up in the gym, holding a gun. He demands the package and promises no one will get hurt.

“Someone sticks a gun in my face, that don’t exactly inspire confidence!” T.S. explains.

T.S. then punches the guy out. One scene later, a news reporter informs us that Bruce Johnson has been found alive so I guess that’s the end of that.

This was a weird episode. For all the talk of international intrigue and Canada’s space program, the majority of it was just filler footage of the kid rolling around on his skateboard. T.S. was barely in it, leading me to suspect that maybe Mr. T had some vacation time and wanted to leave early. Either way, at least Canada’s space program was saved.

Episode 1.20 “Pros and Cons”

(Dir by Don McCutcheon, originally aired on May 23rd, 1988)

“In this episode,” Mr. T says, “some high-rolling crooks make a very big mistake when they pick on my Aunt Martha.”

Two con artists — Harry (Booth Savage) and Louise (Janet-Laine Green) — pretend to be members of law enforcement and trick T.S.’s Aunt Martha into withdrawing a good deal of money from the bank. Martha thinks that she’s helping them catch a criminal but actually, she’s just given up her hard-earned money. T.S. isn’t going to stand for that! However, Martha doesn’t want to tell T.S., even though T.S.’s nice, Renee (Rachael Crawford) thinks that she should.

So, Renee decides to investigate on her own. After rather easily stealing a book of mugshots from the police station, Renee shows it to Aunt Martha, who immediately identifies Harry and Louise. By running a fake credit check on Louise, Renee and Aunt Martha are able to track them down to a ritzy hotel. Renee dresses up like a maid and Aunt Martha dresses up like a rich guest and they infiltrate the hotel.

Meanwhile, T.S. is shocked to discover that a check that he wrote to fix his car has bounced.

“Why would it do that!?” T.S. demands.

T.S. and Amy go to Aunt Martha’s and find all of Renee and Martha’s notes. Realizing that the two of them are confronting the con artists at the hotel, T.S. and Amy arrive just in time to see Harry and Louise trying to run from the hotel. T.S. blocks Harry’s escape. Harry grabs a mop and points it at T.S.

“Ain’t no way, brother,” T.S. replies.

T.S. subdues Harry by tossing him over a railing (don’t worry, Harry lands on a table) and Aunt Jackie punches out Louise.

The problem here is pretty obvious. The name of the show is T and T, not Renee and Jackie. The fun thing about this show is listening to T.S. growl at the criminals. This episode pushed both Amy and T.S. to the side and, as such, it just wasn’t that much fun. Sorry, Aunt Jackie!