Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/26/26 — 5/2/26

Posted on May 2, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I didn’t watch a hell of a lot this week. Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch.

Baywatch (Tubi)

Dr. Phil (Pluto TV)

I was bored. I watched a few episodes this week. Dr. Phil put bad parents and bratty children in their place. One episode featured a guy who refused to take a drug test. Finally, he did take the test and he tested negative. I respected him for trying to stay true to his beliefs even when it would have been easier just to give in.

Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)

You can read my review here.

George Gently (YouTube)

He’s a British policeman and he’s not that gentle! I watched an episode on Tuesday.

Git It On (PBS)

This was a 70s dance show. I watched an episode on Friday night.

Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)

I watched the latest episode of this sensationalized but undeniably addictive show on Wednesday. It was all about child actor and how their adult lives often seem to go off the rails. Sometimes, I feel bad for all the child actors who went on to live non-tragic, non-scandalous lives. Nobody ever takes the time to congratulate them on not self-destructing.

Intervention (Tubi)

I specifically tracked down the Ken Seeley episodes because Ken’s interventions always seemed to descend into chaos.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

On Friday, I watched three episodes of this Japanese show about teenagers who carried the fighting spirits of various dinosaurs. The saber-tooth tiger is so cool!

St. Elsewhere (Daily Motion)

You can read my review here.

Who’s The Boss (Prime)

I played this at night whenever I had insomnia. The theme song always put me right to sleep.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.11 “Dreams that Kill”

Posted on May 1, 2026 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 Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

This week, Springwood Confidential struggles to keep a host.

Episode 2.11 “Dreams That Kill”

(Dir by Tom DeSimone, originally aired on December 17th, 1989)

In this follow-up to Dream Come True, Dick Gautier plays Charlies Nickels, the new host of Springwood Confidential. When he announced that his next show will be a discussion about whether or not a nightmare can kill you, he soon finds that his dreams are being haunted by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund, hamming it up and apparently enjoying the opportunity to do more than just host for once). Freddy is worried that the show will cause people to stop sleeping. I’m not really sure that I follow Freddy’s logic — sleep is unavoidable, no matter how much you want to stay up for days at a time — but whatever. Eventually, Freddy torments Charlie to the point that Charlie ends up in a coma, where Freddy can torture him 24/7.

At the hospital, a doctor (Nicholas Cascone) removes some of Charlie’s brain fluid and injects it into a comatose teenager named Mark Lindstrom (Christian Borcher). Mark comes out of his coma but now he has Charlie’s personality and he desperately wants to be the next host of Springwood Confidential. Mark gets the job but soon, he’s having nightmares involving Freddy.

“This is supposed to be Charlie Nickels’s dream!” Freddy says, spying Mark. “Two for the price of one!”

As you probably already guessed, this episode ends with a vengeful Mark injecting his brain fluid into the doctor. So now, it’s three for the price of one….

I kind of liked the idea of Freddy being passed from one victim to another. And Robert Englund was entertaining as Freddy. That said, this episode basically felt like the same story told twice. Freddy haunted Charlie. Freddy haunts Mark in the exact same way. It was better than anything the first season had to offer but this episode still ultimately felt a bit redundant.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/19/26 — 4/25/26

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Boy Band Confidential (HBOMax)

Another week, another special about boy bands. I watched this 3-hour, two-part documentary on Wednesday and Thursday. Joey Fatone was one of the producers so it’s not a surprise that a major theme of the documentary was that Joey Fatone was a pretty cool guy. This show hit all the usual points — hey, there’s Lou Pealman! — without adding much new insight.

Crime Story (Tubi)

My review will drop this upcoming Monday.

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

My review will drop tomorrow night.

Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)

I watched two episodes. The first one was about Stephen Collins (yikes!). The second was about Jerry Springer. Now that Jerry is dead and his show is definitely never coming back, all of his producers are trying to cash in by letting you know that they were anti-Jerry the whole time. It all feels a bit self-serving.

Homicide: Life on the Street (Peacock)

My review will drop tomorrow.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Along with this week’s review episode (which will be dropping shortly), I also watched three Patrick Muldoon episodes on Friday. RIP.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.10 “Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?”

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we get a sequel to a previous episode.

Episode 2.10 “Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?”

(Dir by Bill Froehlich, originally aired on December 10th, 1989)

In this sequel to Bloodlines, an episode that I didn’t particularly care for, Patty Burton (Courtney Gebhart) is still locked up in the basement of the Burton home. When college student Lisa Wax (Suzanne Tara) comes over to babysit little Will Burton (Christopher Finefrok), she is not happy to learn that there is apparently a crazy woman in the basement. Lisa keeps falling asleep and having nightmares about being dragged into the basement. Then, she actually is dragged into the basement and Patty, who now looks like Lisa, escapes. By an amazing coincidence, Patty ends up at Lisa’s house, where Lisa’s mom (Sharon Farrell) assumes that Patty is Lisa. When the real Lisa manages to escape from the basement, she shows up at home and is shot and killed by her own mother. Patty then returns to her home and exiles her parents (Chris Nash and Jeannine Lewis) to the basement. The episode ends with Patty approaching Will.

Yikes!

This was a dark episode. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was scary. The scenes where Lisa (hey, that’s my name!) hears Patty in the basement are so overdone that they inspired more laughter than chills. But the idea of someone stealing your identity and then getting your own mother to shoot you because she doesn’t recognize you? That’s definitely creepy!

As for the ending …. I never liked the Burtons. I didn’t like them in Bloodlines and I didn’t like them here. I feel bad for Will but the parents? They got what they deserved.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/12/26 — 4/18/26

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Growing Pains (Tubi)

Matthew Perry played the boyfriend of Kirk Cameron’s sister. He drank too much, he crashed his car, and he died. This is one of those very special episodes that one might roll their eyes at, if not for the fact that it guest starred Perry. Because it did guest star Perry, it was very sad to watch.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

A review for this episode will be dropping tomorrow.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

In this show, from Japan, a group of teenagers used the power of the dinosaurs to defeat a witch. I watched three episodes on Saturday. The stop-motion dinosaurs and tigers were cute.

The Right Time (YouTube)

This was a 90s music show that was hosted by singer Tom Jones. I watched two episodes on Friday. The first one was called “Pop Music” and I enjoyed it. The second one was called “Gospel Music” and it was a little dull.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

A review for this episode will be dropping later tonight.

Who’s The Boss (Prime)

On Friday, after Jeff and I finished up The Trip, Amazon took us straight into this Tony Danza-starring sitcom. We watched the first episode, which was pretty forgettable. (Danza is a former baseball player turned housekeeper and no one can believe it.) The theme song kind of got stuck in my head though.

WKRP In Cincinnati (DVD)

Jeff and I watched several episodes of this 70s sitcom over the week. Even if the humor was a bit dated, it was a funny show. Herb Tarlek’s suits were amazing.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.9 “Monkey Dreams”

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Freddy has a message!

Episode 2.9 “Monkey Dreams”

(Dir by Robert Englund, originally aired on December 3rd, 1989)

At a college science lab, Joe (Joseph Cali) tries to communicate with aliens. Next door, Jeannie (Sharon Mahoney) tries to teach her monkey to speak. When Joe starts getting strange messages on his computer, he thinks that it’s an alien code. Then it turns out that it’s actually just the monkey trying to type out its name on its own computer. Joe is then murdered by his bookie.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lynch (Sherman Howard) is using the monkey for some experiments to see how much pain a living creature can take. Dr. Lynch seems to change his mind when he hears the monkey speak. But it turns out that we were just seeing the monkey’s dream.

“Think about it!” Freddy tells us.

Freddy Krueger, animal rights activist? I guess it makes sense when you consider that Robert Englund directed this episode. The episode’s message was heartfelt but it seemed a bit out-of-place on a show about a undead child molester. Whatever message you want to deliver, Freddy Krueger probably isn’t the best one to do it.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/5/26 — 4/11/26

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

It wasn’t by choice! On Wednesday, I watched a movie on Tubi and then Tubi sent me to an episode of Diff’rent Strokes before I could stop it. Mr. Drummond’s friend, Larry (McClean Stevenson), visited from Oregon. Drummond got Larry a chance to audition for his own talk show. Larry’s daughter (Kim Richards) didn’t want to move and, for some reason, she blamed the whole thing on Gary Coleman.

Fridays (Prime)

This was a comedy sketch show from the early 80s. I watched the premiere episode on Saturday morning. There were a lot of familiar faces in the cast, including a dark-haired Larry David. Unfortunately, none of the skits were really that funny.

The Greatest Event In Television History (Prime)

In this Adult Swim series, Adam Scott recreated the opening credits of classic television shows and destroyed his life in the process. Jeff Probst hosted. Jon Hamm guest-starred and “died” shortly after filming his scenes. (Don’t worry, his ghost later appeared.) Paul Rudd slept with Adam’s wife. Host Jeff Probst said, “Adam’s life is now ruined.” Billy Joel played piano. I watched all four episodes on Tuesday and it was funnier than it had any right to be.

Jesus of Nazareth (Tubi)

On Easter, I binged this seven hour miniseries from 1977. Written by Anthony Burgess and directed by Franco Zeffirelli, this gorgeously produced production took the idea of having an all-star cast quite literally. Even the minor roles were played by familiar faces, everyone from Donald Pleasence to Rod Steiger to Ernest Borgnine to James Earl Jones, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Stacy Keach, Christopher Plummer, and Michael York. Olivia Hussey played the Virgin Mary. Anne Bancroft played the Magdalene. It was very well-done and surprisingly moving.

The Masters (Prime and Paramount+)

I watched a bit of the Masters this week. On Saturday, when it was storming outside and I had just returned from attending a memorial service for an old friend of my father’s, it provided a nice distraction.

Nero Wolfe (A&E)

I watched the final two episodes of Nero Wolfe on Tuesday. It was a truly entertaining show, featuring great work from Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton. It’s a shame that it was canceled after only two seasons.

Sledgehammer (Prime)

This was an 80s sitcom, featuring David Rasche as an out-of-control cop. I watched two episodes on Friday and it was actually pretty funny. Rasche talked to his gun and made fun of liberals. I enjoyed it.

I also watched and reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Reviev: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.8 “Bloodlines”

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Leave the pets alone.

Episode 2.8 “Bloodlines”

(Dir by James Quinn, originally aired on November 26th, 1989)

Woody Burton (Marc Alaimo) breaks out of prison and heads home to try to retrieve some money he stole. The house is occupied by his bitter son, Jack (Chris Nash) and his delusional wife, Joyce (Sheree North). Woody tries to bury his son alive but fortunately, Jack has his gun with him and shoots his father dead.

The episode then jumps forward in time. Jack is now married to Maggie (Ruth de Sosa). Maggie and Jack have “adopted” a daughter named Patty (Irina Cashen). Because Jack had a criminal record, they couldn’t legally adopt so Jack paid a baby broker. Now, Maggie worries that Patty might be possessed by the devil. About 10 minutes into the second story, the family’s cat was killed for a cheap shock and I stopped watching.

From what I saw, this was a pretty crappy episode. The first half was thoroughly unpleasant and didn’t even have any supernatural elements. The second half was a dull Omen rip-off that killed a defenseless house pet.

Yes, I stopped watching when the cat died. I had seen enough.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/29/26 — 4/4/26

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Baywatch (Tubi)

I reviewed Baywatch here.

Decoy (Tubi)

I reviewed Decoy here.

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

My review of Degrassi will drop tomorrow.

Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)

I reviewed Freddy’s Nightmares here.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I reviewed Highway to Heaven here.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

My review of Homicide will drop tomorrow.

It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Apple TV)

Watching this charming animated special is an Easter tradition that I share with Erin Nicole. You can read her thoughts here.

The Love Boat (Parmaount+)

I reviewed The Love Boat here.

Nero Wolfe (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this classic detective series on Tuesday. Maury Chaykin was a great Wolfe and Timothy Hutton was a wonderful Archie Goodwin. The late James Tolkan also appeared in the episode, wearing an eyepatch.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

My review of Saved By The Bell will drop in 30 minutes.

Show Me A Hero (HBO Max)

“….and I’ll show you a tragedy.” I rewatched this 2015 HBO miniseries on Wednesday. The miniseries dealt with the fight over low-income housing in Yonkers, New York and it starred Oscar Isaac as Nick Wasicsko, who went from being elected mayor at the age of 28 to committing suicide 6 years later. Supporting roles were played Catherine Keener, James Beluhsi, Peter Riegert, Jon Bernthal, Winona Ryder, Alfred Molina, and Carla Quevado. The show was written by David Simon and each episode was directed by Paul Haggis. Not surprisingly, several actors from The Wire popped up in small roles.

Show Me A Hero really impressed me when it originally aired. Rewatching it, it still held my attention but I could see that the miniseries was a bit more heavy-handed than I remembered and that Simon and Haggis were clearly more interested in the political storyline than they were in the stories of the people who eventually moved into the new housing developments. Some of the performances were better than other. Catherine Keener and Winona Ryder both overacted while, cast as the show’s three mayors, Belushi, Isaac, and Molina all gave strong performances. Carla Quevado was exceptionally good as Isaac’s wife.

In the end, Show Me A Hero works best as a portrait of an ambitious politician who peaked too young, suffered due to things out of his control, and then spent the rest of his life trying to regain his lost promise. Some people feel that Nick Wasicsko was a hero. This miniseries ultimately focuses on the tragedy.

St. Elsewhere (Daily Motion)

I reviewed St. Elsewhere here.

TV 2000 (NightFlight Plus)

Jeff and I watched an episode of this old 80s music program on Friday night. John Kassir, who played the kicker on 1st and Ten and who would later voice the Crypt Keeper on Tales From the Crypt, was one of the hosts. He was a bit hyperactive.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/22/26 — 3/28/26

Posted on March 28, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1st & Ten (Tubi)

I reviewed 1st & Ten here!

The Addams Family (YouTube)

Cousin Itt came to visit! I watched an episode of this classic sitcom on Wednesday with my friend Dani. She was celebrating John Astin’s birthday.

Baywatch (Tubi)

I reviewed Baywatch here!

CHiPs (Prime)

I reviewed CHiPs here!

Dance International Magazine (NightFlight+)

Everyone on the program was dancing and I danced while watching.

Decoy (Tubi)

I reviewed Decoy here!

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

Look for my Degrassi review tomorrow!

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

Tubi showed me a random episode on Thursday. Arnold and his stupid friend Dudley took up smoking. Dudley’s father went to the hospital to have a lung removed. I think there was a message in there somewhere.

Freddy’s Nightmare (Tubi)

I reviewed Freddy’s Nightmares here!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I reviewed Highway to Heaven here!

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

Look for my Homicide review tomorrow!

Lonesome Dove (Tubi)

I binged Lonesome Dove on Wednesday, as a tribute to both Texas and the late Robert Duvall. It was a great adaptation of a great book.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I reviewed The Love Boat here!

Miami Vice (Prime)

I reviewed Miami Vice here.

Nero Wolfe (YouTube)

I watched two episodes of Nero Wolfe on Tuesday. These episodes featured Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin. Seymour Cassel was in one of the episodes. I enjoyed the episodes, even if I did have a hard time following the twists and turns of the mysteries.

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

On Saturday, I watched an episode of this old music video program. It was a countdown of the top music videos of 1983. I like the music of the 80s. It was very energetic.

Pacific Blue (Tubi)

I reviewed Pacific Blue here!

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

This week’s review will drop in 90 minutes.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

I reviewed this week’s episode here!

St. Elsewhere (Daily Motion)

I reviewed St. Elsewhere here!