Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.16 “The Kingdom of Money”

Posted on August 24, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing Crime Story, which ran on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The entire show can be found on Tubi!

This week, the show changes locations. We’re going to Vegas and we’re getting new opening credits!

Episode 1.16 “The Kingdom of Money”

(Dir by James A. Contner, originally aired on January 30th, 1987)

Welcome to Las Vegas!

Ray Luca is very happy to be in Vegas. Along with Max Goldman, Pauli, and Steve Kordo (Jay O. Sanders), Ray has taken over a casino and is pushing his way into the local rackets. He gives a speech to the casino’s employees, telling them that from now on everything in the casino will be run honestly and that anyone who steals any money will be fired. He then has a meeting with Max in which they discuss all the ways to skim the profits.

Luca’s wife, Cori (Johann Carlo), isn’t happy about the move. She misses Chicago, so instead of hanging out around the house, Luca goes out and hires a prostitute named Jackie (Debra Feuer). Luca tells Jackie that she will be working exclusively for him from now on. Jackie points out that she already has a “manager.” Luca smirks.

The only problem for Luca is that Mike Torello is in Vegas, and now he’s working for the Justice Department. Luca and his team are headquartered in a small Vegas motel. When David Abrams sees that someone has brought a bowl of Justice Department matchbooks into the motel, he tells Torello’s men to throw them out. “We’re not a recruiting station,” Abrams says.

Torello decides that the best way to get Luca is to go after one of Luca’s Vegas associates, a loan shark named Al (Mike Starr). They visit a diner owner (Graham Beckel) who owes Al money. They convince him to call Al and say that he has Al’s money. When Al comes to collect, Torello will arrest him. Sound like a good plan, right?

Unfortunately, someone is dumb enough to leave behind the bowl of Justice Department matchbooks in the diner. Additionally, it doesn’t occur to Torello to have someone watching the diner 24/7. When Al shows up early and discovers the matchbooks, he guns down not only the owner of the diner but also his wife and 5-year-old son.

Torello’s angry. Well, Torello should be angry. He should also be feeling guilty, seeing as how he and his men basically got the diner owner killed through their own incompetence. Torello decides to go undercover as someone who needs a loan. He and his men even set up a fake strip club where Torello and Al can meet to discuss the terms of the loan. Torello’s attempt to arrest Al falls apart when one of Al’s men pulls a gun and starts firing. Danny takes a bullet in the arm before killing the gunman. As for Al, he runs through the streets of Vegas before Torello guns him down.

Abrams looks down at Al’s body and says that he doesn’t think Al is going to be testifying.

This was a good episode. If the previous Chicago-based episodes emphasized the professionalism of Torello and the impulsivity of Luca, the roles are reversed in Vegas. Luca is in his element, and Torello and his men are the ones who are now having to adjust to a new city. If the previous Chicago-based episodes tended to be cold and gray, this Vegas episode is visually defined by neon and excess. The sallow, grim-faced Torello looks out of place here. This is Luca’s world.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of season one plays out.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/16/26 — 6/22/26

Posted on August 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, and Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate over at Reality TV Chat Blog.

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

Last week was the last big primary night of 2026. I mostly watched the results from Florida. The defeat of Alex Vindman in Florida should be all the proof that one needs that the Resistance era is over.

Darke of the Night (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop in September.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)

I binged several episodes of Homicide this week and wrote and scheduled reviews of each one.

Juvenile Court (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop next week.

Law & Order (Hulu)

I watched an episode of Law & Order that served as a crossover with Homicide. My review of both episodes will drop at some point in September.

Radio 1990 (Nightflight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video show on Friday night.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

This week’s review will drop shortly.

Sylvan in Paradise (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Warden Duffy of San Quentin (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Watched and Reviewed:

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.15 “Torello on Trial”

Posted on August 17, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Luca prepares for Vegas.

Episode 1.15 “Torello On Trial”

(Dir by Gary Sinise, originally aired on January 16th, 1987)

Buh-bye, Chicago!

Seriously, this is a huge episode.

It doesn’t start out as a huge episode. It starts out as just another courtroom drama. Mike Torello has been called by Ray Luca’s defense attorney to testify about the accusations that Frank Homan made against him. By defending himself against Homan’s false claim that Torello was on the take, Torello will also be destroying the credibility of the state’s case against Luca, Phil Bartoli, and Paulie. Torello’s not happy about it. He’s even less happy when U.S. Attorney Brietel’s aggressive cross-examination reveals that Torello actually does have several acquaintances who are connected to the mob. Of course, most of those acquaintances have been killed over the past few episodes. As Brietel puts it, violence tends to follow Torello around.

Fortunately, the next day, David Abrams requests to be allowed to cross-examine Torello. David reveals that Torello was a decorated soldier in Korea. He reveals the Torello has been given regular commendations by the Chicago Police Department. David makes Torello look like a saint.

As a result, the jury decides that Homan is not a credible witness. Luca, Paulie, and Bartoli are all acquitted. Brietel is told that the Justice Department has decided to drop the indictment against Torello. Torello tells Brietel that the blood of anyone killed by Luca will be on his hands. Brietel is not having a good day.

The first 35 minutes or so of this episode were solid but still felt like a standard and slightly predictable episode of Crime Story. It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes or so that this episode really took off.

At a conference held immediately after Luca and company are acquitted, Manny Weisbrod convinces Chicago gangster Dom Tranchita (Joseph Ragno) to agree to invest ten million dollars in Luca’s plan to take over Las Vegas. In return for the money, Manny agrees to allow Dom to continue to deal drugs in Chicago. Luca and Paulie make plans to immediately head to Las Vegas to start their new lives.

The night, before leaving town, Luca drops in on Tranchita and shoots him dead. Then, Luca goes over to Bartoli’s house and kills him as well. We’re reminded that Luca is someone who can kill without hesitation. It doesn’t matter that he and Bartoli worked together. Luca is cleaning up all of the loose ends before he leaves Chicago.

Meanwhile, Torello is invited to a meeting in a hotel. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Patrick Hallahan (Jann Wenner) tells him that the Justice Department is setting up a national task force to take down Luca and that it’s going to be headquartered in Chicago and Las Vegas. He asks Torello to be in charge of it. Torello says that he has no interest in working with the same Justice Department that tried to throw him in prison. Hallahan reveals that Brietel has been “reassigned to Anchorage” and that David Abrams will be working with Torello. The members of the Major Crimes Unit will be reassigned to the strike force.

There’s only one condition. As much as Torello wants to take Luca down, he’s going to have to wait until he has enough evidence to take down the entire organization with him.

Torello nods. He’s going to Vegas!

It makes sense really. Torello has nothing left in Chicago. He’s divorced, he has no real friends outside of the other members of the Major Crimes Unit. Torello’s only purpose in life is to stop Ray Luca. What choice does Torello have but to follow him to Vegas? Torello is obsessed and, if he had to stay in Chicago while Luca went to Vegas, he would have been miserable. It’s good for the government and good for the show that Torello agreed to take charge of the task force. But, as the episode ends, it’s hard not to feel that it won’t be good for Torello’s mental health.

This turned out to be a great episode, To be honest, I was starting to get a little bit bored with Crime Story. But now, with the story heading in a new direction, I can’t wait to see what happens!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/9/26 — 8/15/26

Posted on August 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (YouTube)

I watched an episode featuring Leonard Cohen. It was a bit too low-key for me but I did appreciate Cohen’s sense of style.

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate at the Reality Tv Chat Blog.

Election Coverage

The Wisconsin primary will go down in history. As much as I disagree with Frances Hong on the issues, I felt a bit sorry for her. There was a time when it was very trendy to claim to be mentally ill on social media. I think a lot of people are going to run into the same problem that she ran into when they try to run for office.

Kitchen Nightmares (Disney Plus)

I watched the two latest episodes. I am amazed that anyone would allow their business to appear on this show. Personally, I am never going to eat again.

Survivor 50 (Wednesday Night, CBS)

That 90-minute run time is going to be the death of Survivor. Every episode feels so dragged out now.

Top of the Pops (YouTube)

I watched two episodes from the 80s on Saturday morning It featured some of the least danceable music that I’ve ever heard.

Watched and Reviewed:

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Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.14 “Fatal Crossroads”

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, guess who screws up?

Episode 1.14 “Fatal Crossroads”

(Dir by Gary Sinise, originally aired on January 9th, 1987)

As much as I want to like David Abrams — and I did like him for the first few episodes — he’s just dumb. Offended by the fact that Luca is using his legal advice to try to beat his indictment, David starts this episode out by approaching Luca in public and announcing that he’s not only quit the public defenders office but that he’s also decided to join the D.A.’s office, specifically so he can take guys like Luca down. Then, later on in the episode, David approaches Luca again and, this time, he brings along his father (Nathan Davis). David’s father, a former low-level gangster, brags about how smart David is and how he’s going to take Luca down.

So, of course, Luca has someone put a bomb underneath David’s car.

And, of course, it’s David’s father who decides to borrow the car to go to the store and who ends up getting blown up.

And yes, it’s a terrible thing that David’s father got blown up. BUT WHAT DID DAVID THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!? He knows who Luca is! He knows that Luca will kill people without a second thought. So why the Hell is David walking up to Luca and basically daring him to try to kill him? I mean, David’s father was in the rackets! David should have known better and, for that matter, David’s father should have known better.

I’m sorry but David Abrams is a moron.

For some reason, Luca also tries to take a hit out on Torello, despite the fact that Luca’s entire legal strategy depends on Torello denying Homan’s claims that Torello is crooked. Fortunately, Torello is somehow brilliant enough to realize that Luca is going to take a hit out on him and the members of the Crime Squad are smart enough to take a look at a building and somehow figure out exactly which room a sniper would be hiding in. If only David Abrams was as smart!

This episode featured a few too many coincidences and a bit too much of David Abrams suddenly acting like an idiot. It was directed by Gary Sinise, who is one of my favorite people. Sinise does a good job of capturing the drizzly gangster movie atmosphere but the script could have used a bit more work.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/2/26 — 8/8/26

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

America 2100 (YouTube)

I reviewed America 2100 here,

Baywatch (Tubi)

You can read my review here!

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

You can read my ongoing review of Big Brother here.

Cheaters (Tubi)

Cheaters is on Tubi! I watched a few episodes on Saturday. This show is a guilty pleasure for me because 1) it was filmed in Dallas and 2) Joey Greco is just so judgmental!

CHiPs (Prime)

You can read my review of CHiPs here.

Crime Story (Tubi)

You can read my review of Crime Story here.

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

After buying their father a birthday present, Arnold and Kimberly decided to hitchhike home. They were picked up by a man who locked Arnold in a room and then threatened to rape Kimberly. This was pretty disturbing for a sitcom! I watched this two-part episode on Thursday and I was relieved when the police finally showed up to rescue them.

Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)

I wrote about the series finale here!

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

I was pretty depressed going into this week’s primary elections but I have to admit that watching the results in Michigan cheered me up, Even though the latest DSA flavor-of-the month, Abdul El-Sayed, won his primary, it was only by one percentage point as opposed to the election being the blow-out that so many predicted. Not everyone is on board with extremism and I take some hope from that.

On Thursday, I watched as the election results rolled in from Tennessee. Other than that one congressman that lost his primary, the Tennessee results weren’t quite as exciting as the Michigan results. I did find myself amused as I remembered how, way back in 2018, some pundits were convinced that Taylor Swift coming out as a Democrat would somehow turn the state blue.

1st & Ten (Prime)

You can read my review here.

Flight of the Conchords (HBOMax)

I watched one episode from the first season (Todd joined the band and things quickly fell apart, despite his skill with the bongos) and one episode from the second season. (Bret and Jermaine met Murray’s best friend, Jim.) Both episodes made me laugh. This is definitely a show that I miss, even if it does seem like Bret and Jermaine probably did everything they could with the concept during the first two seasons.

Hunter (Tubi)

You can read my review here.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

You can read my review here.

Mad TV (Tubi)

Mad TV’s on Tubi now! I watched two episodes on Thursday and, unfortunately, they were even worse than I remembered.

The Office (Peacock TV)

“THIS WAS THE BEST DUNDIES EVER! WHOOOOO!” As much as I complain about the show’s final two seasons, the first three seasons are about as good as anything that has ever aired on television. On Friday, I watched The Dundies.

Pacific Blue (Tubi)

You can read my review of Pacific Blue here.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

My review will be dropping shortly.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

You can read my review here!

St. Elsewhere (YouTube)

You can read my review of St. Elsewhere here!

60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday Night)

I caught the last 30 minutes of 60 Minutes on Sunday night. It’s funny that, for all the acclaim that this show has received and all the current controversy surrounding it, the only time that I have ever watched it has been when I’ve been waiting for something else to start. It seems like I always end up turning on the show whenever Anderson Cooper is doing one of his “look at my exploring the wilderness!” type of stories.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

As I watched this week’s rerun of Survivor 50, it occurred to me that the all of the Survivor icons are starting to get really, really old. A better name for Survivor 50 would have been Survivor: Seniors’ Retreat.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Homan sings.

Episode 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

(Dir by Francis Delia, originally aired on December 26th, 1986)

Homan is in federal custody and he’s telling Breitel all that he knows about Luca and Bartoli. He’s also making up a story about Torello taking a bribe. Even though Homan’s Torello story is pretty shaky, Breitel is looking forward to taking down a crooked cop and launching his political career off of of the publicity.

Bartoli is not amused when he learns that he’s being indicted. However, Luca is able to convince Manny Weisbord to provide him with a top-level defense attorney. Manny also makes it clear that Luca no longer works for Phil. Instead, Luca works with Phil. Lucas has another reason to be happy. When he runs into David Abrams at a bar, he gets some free legal advice. Luca explains that Homan is lying about Torello. Abrams tells Luca that, if they can prove that Homan is lying about Torello, it will be easier to convince a jury that Homan is lying about Luca and Bartoli as well.

Torello, meanwhile, responds to his upcoming indictment by going to Las Vegas and playing some golf. He’s in a great mood until he sees that his indictment is one the front page of the newspaper.

Not much really happened in this episode of Crime Story. That’s not really a complaint. If anything, it was a bit of a nice change-of-pace. We got to watch the characters just be themselves. Luca, who rarely shows emotion, actually smiles when he hears that Torello is about to be indicted along with “his favorite people.” Luca actually has a sense of humor and an appreciation for irony. Who would have guessed? Meanwhile, Torello continues to be just a bit too intense for his own good. Even on vacation, he seems like he’s just one frustration away from snapping.

Will Torello snap next week? We’ll find out!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/26/26 — 8/1/26

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (PBS)

I watched an episode of this show on Saturday morning. My musical tastes pretty much start and end with EDM. Sorry, Austin.

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been sharing my thoughts on the show that I love to hate over at the RealityTVChat Blog. Feel free to leave a comment over there because, right now, the blog is not quite living up to the chat part of the name.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

It’s a funny show and it helps to ease my anxiety. I’ve watched quite a few episodes this week.

Rogue’s Gallery (NightFlight+)

I watched an episode about John Dillinger on Friday. Now there was a handsome bank robber!

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Running Zack! I’ll be posting a review of this week’s episode in a bit.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

CBS has been re-airing Survivor 50 after episodes of Big Brother. I missed Survivor 50 when it first aired and I’m still struggling to get into it right now. I prefered Survivor when it was only an hour long. I have ADHD so asking me to concentrate for 90 minutes is a bit much.

Watched And Reviewed:

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.12 “Hide and Go Thief”

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Torello finally tracks down Homan.

Episode 1.12 “Hide and Go Thief”

(Dir by Francis Delia, originally aired on December 12th, 1986)

In Chicago, an unnamed gunman (Paul Guilfoyle) has taken a woman (Lorraine Bracco) hostage and has barricaded himself in a hotel room. He wants to get on television and he figures that holding a hostage and firing a machine gun out the window is the best way to do it. The members of the Major Crimes Unit are in the street, ducking behind squad cars whenever the gunman starts firing on them.

It’s definitely a major situation but Torello is more interested in going to Gary, Indiana than exchanging gunfire in Chicago. Frank Homan (Ted Levine), a former member of Luca’s crew, has been discovered working as a cook in a Gary diner. Everyone in Gary knows Frank as “Mike Torello.” The real Torello is determined to arrest Frank and hopefully use him to take down Luca. Torello abandons the hostage situation, drives down to Gary, and captures Homan at work.

Finally, some good news for the real Mike Torello, right? Well, not quite. After Homan is arrested, U.S. Attorney Harry Brietel (Ray Sharkey) takes custody of him. Brietel has political ambitions and taking down gangster Manny Weisbord would be a good way for him to make a name for himself. When Homan is interrogated by Brietel, Homan lies. He says that he’s never heard of Manny Weisbord. But, Homan says, he has information that will take down Luca, Phil Bartoli, and a crooked cop. In exchange for a light sentence and entry into the witness protection program, Homan is willing to testify that Mike Torello is on the take. Brietel is intrigued. Fighting police corruption is guaranteed to generate even better press than taking down an actual mobster.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Torello rejoins the MCU at the hostage situation. (Apparently, the gunman has been awake and firing out of his hotel window for two and a half days straight. One gets the feeling that perhaps it’s wise not to give too much thought to the logistics of this episode’s timeline.) In a well-shot, slow-motion scene, Torello and his men storm the hotel room and shoot the gunman dead. The hostage survives.

Significantly, neither the gunman nor the hostage are given names in this episode. Indeed, Paul Guilfoyle is credited as playing “Deranged Gunman.” That’s because the gunman and the hostage are really only there to show just how obsessed Torello has become with Luca. When it comes to destroying Luca and his fledgling criminal empire, all else can wait, even saving an innocent woman from an armed lunatic.

I usually don’t enjoy watching anything that involves a hostage situation because it always seems to lead to the same predictable narrative beats. Fortunately, this episode avoided most of the usual cliches by making the gunman a total nutcase who never stopped firing his weapon. The scene where Torello and his men storm the hotel room was stylish enough to verge on being surreal. As for the Homan plotline, both Ted Levine and Ray Sharkey provided strong performances and I’m looking forward to seeing how Luca and Torello react to being betrayed by the same guy.

All in all, this was a good episode.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/19/26 — 7/25/26

Posted on July 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been sharing my thoughts on Big Brother here.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)

My review will drop tomorrow.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

Rip Torn could make any line funny.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

My review will drop in an hour.

Survivor (CBS, Wednesday Night)

CBS is reshowing Survivor 50 this season. I missed it when it originally aired but I’m having trouble getting into the reruns. The 90-minute runtime is a problem for me. Survivor is the perfect 60-minute show. At 90 minutes, there’s way too much filler.

TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders (Tubi)

TMZ takes a shallow look at the murders Rob and Michele Reiner. This special offered up no new insights but it did serve as a reminder of what a loser Nick Reiner was (and is).

Watched and Reviews: