Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, it’s hard to win a game when you’re star players are in jail.

Episode 1.10 “Wine Time”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on January 27th, 1985)

When the Bulls are cheated by a fake vineyard owner named Jacques St. George (Peter Elbling), Bubba and Jethro (Cliff Frazier) end up in prison for attacking him.  Jethro is surprised to discover that their cellmate is an old friend of his named Mike (Eddie Bell).  Mike wears a long blonde wig and a dress.  Jethro doesn’t know what to make of it.  Mike explains that he likes “dressing like this” and says it’s no different from how much Jethro enjoys playing football.

Meanwhile, Diane is desperate to get Bubba and Jethro out of jail in time for their next game.  She even goes to Arcola Brothers for help but, in the end, she decides that she can’t compromise her morals by accepting favors from gangsters.  The team plays with Jethro and Bubba.  The team loses.

Meanwhile, Dr. Death (Donald Gibb) and Otis (Tiny Lister), two defensive backs, go to the hospital and threaten to toss Jacques out of a window until he agrees to drop the charges.

This episode actually had a few amusing moments, mostly due to the performances of Gibb and Lister.  I appreciated the fact that the team lost the game as opposed to pulling off some sort of last minute miracle.  Diane refused to compromise her principles and that’s a good thing.  But her solution was still basically to allow Dr. Death and Otis to threaten to kill a guy.  This episode sent some very mixed messages.

I will say this.  Michael V. Gazzo’s performance as Sal Arcola is one of the few things that I consistently enjoy about this show.  A playwright, Gazzo had a pretty good side career going as a movie and television mobster.  He’ll always be best remembered for playing Frankie in The Godfather, Part II.  1st & Ten is no Godfather but Gazzo is always entertaining.