Clinton Derricks-Carroll | Through the Shattered Lens

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, Lisa will be reviewing The American Short Story, which ran semi-regularly on PBS in 1974 to 1981. The entire show can be purchased on Prime and found on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, we have an adaptation of a 1963 short story.

Episode #15: The Sky Is Gray

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired in 1980)

This adaptation of an Ernest Gaines short story takes place in Louisiana during the 1940s. James (James Bond III) is a young black child who lives on a farm. His father is overseas, serving in the Army during World War II. His mother (Olivia Cole) is a stern but loving woman who is trying to raise the sensitive James in a world where one often has to depend on their inner strength to survive. When James comes down with a toothache, he and his mother travel to a nearby town so he can see the dentist. From having to stand in the back of the bus to listening to a debate between a priest and a militant in the dentist’s office, it’s an eye-opening journey for James. When the white receptionist at the dentist’s office arbitrarily cancels James’s appointment and tells him and his mother to come back tomorrow, the two of them seek shelter. James discovers how strong his mother is when they’re harassed by a pimp (Reuben Collins). He also learns that there is unexpected kindness in the world when a white store owner invites him and his mother inside to give them shelter from the cold and windy day. During one trip to the dentist, James learns that the world is far more complicated than he originally knew.

This was an okay adaptation of Gaines’s acclaimed short story. Young James Bond III gave a good performance as James and the episode was full of scenes that visually captured the feel of being an outsider. That said, as was often the case with this series, the adaptation was so straight-forward that it didn’t really capture the nuance of Gaines’s writing. In the short story, Gaines put the reader right into James’s head. The adaptation doesn’t really do that. A heavy-handed musical score doesn’t help matters but, with all that in mind, this was still an effective coming-of-age tale.

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Jonathan and Mark fight drug dealers and promote literacy!

Episode 1.17 “As Difficult As ABC”

(Dir by Victor French, originally aired on January 30th, 1985)

Brian Baldwin (Glenn-Michael Jones) appears to have a great future ahead of him.

Growing up in a poor neighborhood, Brian was tempted to get involved in the gang life, like so many of his friends did. However, Brian turned out to be a great basketball player and was given a full scholarship to a major university. As long as he played basketball and led the team to victory after victory, Brian wouldn’t even have to worry about going to class. As he points out, he got an A in his French class even though he never stepped into the classroom.

However, one day, Brian has chest pains and passes out. When Brian goes to the doctor, he is told that he has a heart condition but that it can be managed. However, Brian will never be able to play basketball again. His coach stops returning Brian’s calls and, when Brian confronts him in the gym, the coach explains that he only cares about winning and Brian can no longer help him do that. The coach complains about wasting a scholarship on Brian.

Brian drops out of school and returns to his old neighborhood. It’s there that he tells his mom (played by Beah Richards) the secret that he’s been hiding. Brian is illiterate! Because he was such a good basketball player, the school system never worried about teaching him anything. Now, Brian has lost his scholarship and, it would appear, his future.

Fortunately, Jonathan and Mark roll into town. Mark gets a job working as a janitor at an adult literacy school. Jonathan gets a job working at the community center. Jonathan encourages Brian to both learn how to read and to date his teacher, Julie Reynolds (Deborah Lacey). (Fear not, they’re the same age.) Brian also gets a job as a neighborhood basketball coach and tries to keep all of his players from getting hooked on drugs.

Luckily, Jonathan and Victor are able to help with the drug situation. They go undercover and, in a rather weird scene that features Jonathan in a leather jacket and Terminator-style shades, they offer to pay the local drug dealer two million dollars in return for cocaine. The dealer agrees to meet with them at the school, where he and his associates steal the briefcase with the money and make a run for it. However, they are grabbed by the cops and suddenly, all of the money in the briefcase turns into cocaine! Off the dealers go to prison. With the dealers gone and Brian reading, it’s time for Jonathan and Mark to move on.

This was one of those well-intentioned episodes that attempted to do a bit too much. Not only did the episode feature Brian learning that he could still be an important member of his community even if he couldn’t play basketball but it also featured him learning to read and trying to clean up the neighborhood. Instead of focusing on one story, this episode focuses on three and, as a result, each story feels a bit rushed and simplistic. Brian is reading in no time and the drug dealers turn out to be pretty easy to fool. This episode is optimistic but rather unconvincing.