Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.23 “The Houseguest”

Posted on July 24, 2025 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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999. Almost the entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, it’s competition to see who can be the worst character.

Episode 2.23 “The Houseguest”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on April 29th, 2000)

A recurring theme for these reviews is that Lisa (the character, not me) is the worst. Amazingly, in this episode, she’s only the third worse.

The second worse is Jason. When Murray announces that he’s going to be spending the week at a convention for surfers, he leaves the key to his apartment with Lisa at the Surf Shack so that Lisa can give the key to the house sitter. Jason and Scott, wondering why they’ve never been invited to Murray’s apartment, steal both the key and the note that Murray left. Along with Lisa, they go to his apartment and break in. It turns out that Murray, who is the son of a multi-millionaire, has a really nice apartment that has a hot tub in the living room! In other words, he’s a rich guy with a rich apartment.

Now, there’s a few things to consider, when it comes to deciding who is the worst of these three. First off, all three of them are breaking into Murray’s apartment despite the fact that he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want them there. Secondly, thanks to Jason and Scott, Murray’s house sitter is now out of a job because they didn’t get the key or the note telling them where the apartment was located. Third, Jason decides to move into the apartment and pretend that he owns it because he has a crush on the lingerie model living next door.

When Murray comes back unexpectedly, Jason tells Murray that Peter’s aunt just died and Peter would appreciate it if Murray spent a week living at the Collins house. Jason then tells Peter and Scott that Murray’s aunt died and that he needs a place to stay for a week. This is the dumbest freaking thing I have ever seen. Why would Jason come up with two lies that would definitely fall apart as soon as Murray or Peter or Scott, for that matter, had any sort of casual conversation?

Regardless of his logic (or lack of it), it’s all enough to position Jason as being worse than both Scott and even Lisa.

And yet, of all the character in this particular episode, Jason is only the second worse. Alex (Suzanne Davis) is even more terrible than Jason in this episode. When soap opera star Traycee says that she needs to hire an assistant, Alex volunteers for the job. At first, Traycee tells Alex to fill in for Lisa at the Surf Shack so Traycee can take Lisa to the new Matt Damon movie. (I hope they enjoyed The Talented Mr. Ripley.) Then Tracyee orders Alex to “detail” Peter’s car. That all made me laugh but then Alex insisted on helping Traycee out on the show. Traycee lets Alex read the latest script for her show. Alex gets offended by the script, telling Traycee that, since she’s playing a doctor, she needs to stand up for herself and tell the producer that she’s not going to wear a bikini in all of her scenes. Even though Traycee doesn’t want to, she tells the producer exactly what Alex told her to say. And Traycee gets fired.

Why is Alex the worse? Alex is correct that the soap opera is exploitive and sexist and not a realistic portrayal of life in hospital. However, Alex is not the one on the show. Traycee is one on the show and she’s happy with her job and she’s certainly making more money as an actress on a soap opera than Alex is making as lifeguard or Lisa is making as a waitress. It’s not Alex’s place to tell Traycee to refuse to do a scene, especially when Traycee herself doesn’t have any objection to anything in the script. Traycee does get her job back, on the condition that she fire Alex. “Okay,” Traycee said, “you’re fired.” YAY, TRAYCEE!

(To be honest, there’s something a little hypocritical about Malibu CA criticizing a show for featuring women in bikinis when every episode of Malibu CA might as well have been shot with ogle cam.)

This was a bad episode but, to give credit where credit is due, Brandon Brooks and Priscilla Inga Taylor once again showed that they were the only two consistently good things about Malibu CA. Even though they were playing caricatures, both Brooks and Taylor brought a lot of energy and sincerity to their performances. It made Murray and Traycee the only likable characters on both this particular episode and the series overall.

Only three more episodes to go! My nightmare will soon be over.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.22 “Doctor Freeze”

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, everyone on the show continues to be absolutely terrible. Every day, I am thankful that there are only a handful of episodes left.

Episode 2.22 “Doctor Freeze”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on April 22nd, 2000)

This week’s episode of Malibu, CA was perhaps the worst 22 minutes of television that I have ever watched. Not surprisingly, the episode focused on Lisa (the character, not me).

Lisa wants to be a doctor. She’s just received an ER internship. But when Scott cuts his finger, she sees the blood and faints. When she shows up at the ER, she gets overwhelmed by all the patients and runs around in a panic saying things like, “You could have flesh-eating bacteria!” The ER doctor tells Lisa that she has no business in the medical field.

And he’s absolutely right. If you can’t handle the sight of blood, you shouldn’t be a doctor. If you can’t check someone into the ER without telling them that they might have flesh-eating bacteria, you shouldn’t be a doctor. That’s just common sense. Being a doctor is an important job. You don’t get a second chance to not kill someone.

And yet we’re supposed to feel bad for Lisa as she worries about never becoming a doctor, even though it’s her own fault for telling a patient with sunburn that he has flesh-eating bacteria. Lisa’s reaction to what appears to be a rather small cut on Scott’s finger is so over-the-top that it should automatically be disqualifying as far as becoming a doctor is concerned. Being a woman means dealing with blood on a regular basis and I’m talking about a lot more blood then you’re going to get from cutting a finger. Lisa (the character, not me) is an unforgivable wimp.

And yet she is given a second chance, after someone injures themselves while surfing and Lisa tells everyone not to move his head. The doctor at the ER theorizes that Lisa only freaked out about the blood because of how much she loves Scott. “That why most doctors don’t treat their own family members!” he explains. Lisa was so worried about freaking out over the blood that she got overwhelmed during her first night at the ER and …. LISTEN, I DON’T WANT A DOCTOR WHO GETS OVERWHELMED! I don’t care what the excuse is. I don’t want an incompetent doctor!

Let’s move on. The B-plot was yet another plot where something good happens to Traycee and her stupid friends ruin it for her. Traycee runs into a record promoter on the beach and he automatically gives her a recording contract. She sings one of Jason’s songs. The music video is filmed overnight but, when Jason, Tracyee, and Alex watch the video, Jason and Alex realize that another singer has been dubbed over Traycee’s vocals.

Jason is offended. It’s goes against his …. his what? Up until now, Jason has been portrayed as a compulsive liar who only cares about money. Now, suddenly, he cares about integrity? Anyway, after Jason tells her, Traycee is also offended and she refuses to continue working with the promoter. I assume that means Traycee will now be sued for several million dollars. Way to go, Jason!

God, I hate this show.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.21 “Parent Trap”

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

Soon, I will be finished with this show. I’m just trying to keep my spirits up.

Episode 2.21 “Parent Trap”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on April 15th, 2000)

Peter is having a midlife crisis so Scott, Jason, and Traycee introduce him to Traycee’s mom, Candee (Wendi Winburn). Peter falls for Candee and decides to ask her to marry him. Traycee warns Scott and Jason that Candee has been proposed to by a lot of men — including Donald Trump! — and she always turns them down. But, for some reason, Candee accepts Peter’s proposal. But then, at the celebration dinner, Candee mentions that she wants to travel and Peter mentions that he wants to stay in Malibu and manage his restaurant (even though he tried to retire just a few episodes ago) and Candee and Peter decide not to get married. They both share a laugh over the whole thing which struck me as odd.

Meanwhile, Lisa gets upset when Murray paints a naked picture of her. She goes to Murray’s art showing and attempts to paint clothes on her body and seriously, I just wanted the police to arrest her and drag her away. What a stupid storyline. Lisa (the character, not me) is the worst.

This episode …. hey, it fit the running time and stuff happened. Apparently, by this point in the second season, that’s all anyone was demanding from Malibu CA. There’s an odd lack of conflict in this episode. Candee wants to go on safari. Peter doesn’t. They laugh and call the whole thing off. Uhmm, okay. Most engagements end on a bit more of a dramatic (or, at the very least, an emotional) note. When I was 18, I was briefly engaged until I found out that my fiancé’s family didn’t actually own all of those oil wells in South Texas, despite the fact that he claimed otherwise. That was not a happy breakup. Everyone in this episode is so agreeable that it’s boring. For someone who was totally in love, Peter certainly seem to be cheerful about never seeing Candee again. Seriously, he picked his tacky restaurant over the supposed love of his life. What an idiot.

Oh well, at least this show is nearly over.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.17 “The New York Girl”

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, it’s guest star time!

Episode 2.17 “The New York Girl”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 26th, 2000)

There are only two likable characters on Malibu CA.

One of them is Murray, played by Brandon Brooks. Usually, I hate overly eccentric sidekicks but Brooks played the role with such sincerity that he won me over. The other is Traycee, played by Priscilla Inga Taylor. Traycee is likable because she’s supposed to be an airhead but, because everyone around her is so terrible, it’s hard not to appreciate her kind and nonjudgmental attitude.

As for our other characters, Scott (Trevor Merszei) is not as bad as he was during the first season but he’s still basically a shallow frat boy. Jason (Jason Hayes) is a sociopath and, deep into the second season, Hayes still had a bad habit of looking directly at the camera before delivering his lines. Peter (Ed Blatchford) was likable but it’s hard to respect his decision to continually leave his restaurant in the hands of idiot sons. Lifeguard Alex (Suzanne Davis) is boring. Scott’s girlfriend, Lisa (Marquita Terry), is a judgmental killjoy who needs to change her name. (If her name was Lisa Marie, I’d probably have to abandon this show.)

My point is that there’s really no one to root for on Malibu CA. Murray and Traycee are mostly just supporting characters and all of the main characters suck. Given that no one was going to watch this show for the main cast, it’s perhaps not a surprise that, in the 2nd season, Malibu, CA started bringing in guest stars from other Peter Engel shows. Earlier, Hang Time’s Dick Butkus showed up as Uncle Charlie. This week, City Guy’s Marissa Dyan shows up as Maggie, an old friend from New York. Maggie used to be awkward and had braces and Jason pretended to be sick to get out of going to prom with her.

(Why was Jason going to prom in New York when, last season, he was a junior at Malibu High?)

When Maggie shows up in Malibu, Jason is shocked to discover that she now looks like Cassidy from City Guys. Jason is eager to date her now because Jason is an extremely shallow person. When Maggie finds out that Jason faked being sick to get out of prom, she gives him a chance to come clean. “Were you really sick?” she asks. Jason, being the worst person ever in the history of television, swears that he was. He also asks her to bid on him in a bachelor auction that Lisa and Alex have put together for charity.

Ha ha, Jason, joke’s on you! Maggie not only doesn’t bid on him but she allows Jason to be “won” by Kitty (Missy Dotty), who is slightly overweight. The audience gasps, stunned at the idea of Jason having to spend time with someone who isn’t blonde. And it bears repeating that Malibu CA is, without a doubt, the worst freaking thing I have ever watched for Retro Television Reviews. Anyway, Jason apologizes to Maggie before she goes to New York.

Meanwhile, Peter and Scott had a stupid bet going over which one of them could raise the most money for charity at the bachelor auction. Does no one find it weird that the auction is basically just Peter and his sons? Peter’s a wimp and his sons probably aren’t going to survive the #MeToo era. Are Lisa and Alex actually trying to raise money for charity or is this all a cruel joke?

I hate this show.

Retro Television Review: Malibu, CA 2.16 “Movin’ On Out”

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, guess who is the worst?

Episode 2.16 “Movin’ On Out’

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 19th, 2000)

This episode revisits a familiar theme. Lisa — this is, the show’s Lisa as opposed to your intrepid, red-headed reviewer — is the absolute worse. This week, Lisa is annoyed with Traycee because Traycee doesn’t always give Lisa her messages and Traycee sent the plumber home before he could fix the sink. (Traycee thought Lisa was trying to set her up on a date with the plumber.) Lisa says, “I can’t live like this” and proceeds to write up a long list of rules that Traycee will have to follow if she wants to continue living in the apartment.

(If I remember correctly, Traycee’s name is on the lease so how exactly Lisa is going to kick her out, I have no idea.)

It’s a really long list. Traycee decides to move in with the Collins brothers. The Collins brothers are excited because Traycee is planning on throwing a lingerie party with all of her friend. (Jason and Scott assume they’ll be invited.) Lisa tell Jason and Scott that they will regret letting Traycee move in but actually, Jason and Scott love living with her.

Meanwhile, Lisa gets a new roommate, who turns out to be a psychotic wrestling fan. And really, that’s where this episode should have ended. Lisa spent this episode acting like a spoiled snob, going so far as to tell other people — like the Collins brothers — not to let Traycee live with them. Hey, Lisa — IT WAS TRAYCEE’S APARTMENT IN THE FIRST GODDAMN PLACE! And didn’t we already do this stupid story at the start of the season? Yes, we did! This episode should have ended with Lisa realizing her new roommate was crazy. Instead, it ended with Lisa giving Traycee a not terribly convincing apology.

Anyway, Traycee does move back in with Lisa. She was tired of the Collins boys always wanting her to throw another party. Lisa kicks out her new roommate. Has Lisa ever considered that she might be impossible to live with?

Fortunately, the B-plot was kind of cute. After witnessing him saving the life of a sea lion, Alex develops a crush on Murray. Murray likes Alex but he worries she’s too beautiful to ever stick with a guy like him. Jason advices Murray to act like an obnoxious jackass because women love that. (Excuse me while I dramatically roll my eyes.) Murray takes Jason’s advice, even though Jason hasn’t had a girlfriend since Stads abandoned him for Europe.

(Seriously, Stads dumped Jason for a continent. Ha ha, sucks to be you, Jason.)

This B-plot may have been dumb but you know what? Brandon Brooks was adorable as the emotionally vulnerable Murray. Brooks is often the only reason to watch this show. He manages to play the goofy best friend without turning the character into a Screech-style caricature and that makes him unique amongst the goofy best friends who populated the sitcoms that Peter Engel produced in the 90s and early aughts. When I watched the pilot, I never would have guessed that Murray would eventually become my favorite character but that is what has happened. On a show where everyone else is either self-absorbed, bitchy, or just a jackass, Murray’s good vibes are often Malibu CA’s saving grace.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, Jason’s smoking! And Dick Butkus shows up.

Episode 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 12th, 2000)

Okay, can we just agree that Lisa is the absolute worst?

No, not me! I’m talking about the show’s Lisa, the premed student played by Marquita Terry. In this episode, she somehow gets a job writing theater reviews for the local newspaper. When Traycee puts on her own version of Romeo and Juliet (an “urban” version that she calls Rom-e-yo and Juliet), Lisa has to review it. Lisa doesn’t like the play so she writes a negative review in which she says that Traycee is a terrible actress. Traycee reads the review and gets offended. Lisa says that she didn’t have a choice. She had to be honest.

Actually, Lisa did have a choice and it wouldn’t have been involved any sort of dishonesty. Lisa could have simply said, “I can’t review this show because I have a conflict of interest.” The show was adapted, directed, and produced by Lisa’s roommate! That’s all Lisa had to say to get out of writing the review. The newspaper could have sent someone else to write the review and Lisa would have been off the hook. Instead, Lisa went to the show, trashed her roommate in the newspaper, and then acted like somehow she was the one being inconvenienced.

Seriously, Lisa is the worst and it doesn’t help that Marquita Terry’s performance on this show was so incredibly bad that she made the cast of One World look Emmy-worthy. Seriously, you have to be really bad to make Cray from One World look good by comparison.

That was the B-plot. The A-plot found Dick Butkus returning as Uncle Charlie, just in time for Jason to start smoking …. just like his favorite uncle! Peter freaks out. His son is smoking! Hey, Peter …. your son is 19 years old and legally an adult. If he wants to smoke, he can smoke. He’s a musician in Malibu so you should really be thankful that smoking cigarettes is all he’s doing.

Uncle Charlie is a smoker too. He and Jason try to quit together but, after one hour without a cigarette, they’re both ready to kill someone. Uhmmm …. okay. I don’t smoke but I know plenty of smokers and most of them can last for more than an hour without a cigarette. Anyway, Uncle Charlie gets lung cancer because this is a Peter Engel sitcom and, therefore, every point has to be made with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

This episode felt familiar, mostly because every single Peter Engel sitcom had at least one insane anti-smoking episode. Having Dick Butkus show up just reminded me of how much better Hang Time handled smoking. This episode annoyed me beyond all belief.

Thank God it’s the final season.

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.14 “Retiring Dad”

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, Peter tries to enjoy retirement but his dumbass sons screw it all up.

Episode 2.14 “Retiring Dad”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 5th, 2000)

This may be the worst episode of Malibu CA that I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something as every episode of this show that I watch is the worst until I watch the next one. Most bad shows will still occasionally have a good episode. Somehow, Malibu CA continues to get worse and worse. I say this despite the fact that Edward Blatchford, Brandon Brooks and Priscilla Inga Taylor have consistently managed to give performance that are far better than the material. I say this despite the fact that Trevor Merszie, in the role of Scott, is nowhere near as annoying during the second season than he was during the first. Despite those improvements, the show continues to decline with each passing week.

It all comes down to the writing, which is uninspired even by the standards of the typical 90s teen sitcom. Peter Engel’s shows were never known for their strong scripts but California Dreams (especially during its final season) showed that it was possible to make a good show while remaining true to Engel’s “vision” of what a teen sitcom should be. The writing on Malibu CA just feels lazy and, for whatever reason, storylines seem to consistently focus on the two weakest members of the cast, Jason Hayes and Marquita Terry.

(I should say that, in fairness to Terry, her character usually got stuck with the worst lines in each episode and the writers never came up with much of a personality beyond, “Girl Who Complains Nonstop.” As for Jason Hayes, he was still looking straight at the camera halfway through the second season.)

As for this episode, it features Peter finally retiring from running The Lighthouse so that he can fish and travel. He leaves his two idiot sons in charge. In this episode, we learn that Scott is apparently in college while Jason is still pursuing his — *snicker* — music career. Why Peter would leave his sons in charge (especially when you consider that, whenever he’s done so in the past, it’s always led to disaster) is a question that show never really explains. Seriously, is there no one else that works at the restaurant? It’s a big restaurant. Surely, there is someone else who is capable of running the restaurant. Considering the amount of time that Marquita Terry’s Lisa spends complaining about every little decision that Peter makes, maybe she should have been put in charge. She certainly seems more emotionally invested in the place than either Jason or Scott.

Jason and Scott’s attempt to turn the restaurant into a nightclub leads to a brawl between two customers who proceed to totally trash the place. Again, the restaurant gets trashed in every other episode so you would think Jason and Scott would be used to this. (You would also think that the restaurant would have gone out of business a long time ago as I can’t imagine it’s cost efficient to have to rebuild the damn place twice a month.) Peter ends his retirement because both of his sons are idiots. I’d feel bad for Peter but he was stupid for trusting them in the first place.

Meanwhile, Murray’s cousin — Alecia — is visiting from Alabama. Murray is overprotective but then, at the end of the episode, Alecia sings a song and everything is magically fixed. Alecia was played by Alecia Elliott, who was a cast member of another Peter Engel-produced sitcom, All About Us. Elliott had just released her first country album when she appeared on Malibu CA. I have to admit that I did laugh out loud when, from out of nowhere, she suddenly started singing. Of course, her song took up the last four minutes of the show, which spared us from having to deal with anymore scenes involving the restaurant. That was a good thing.

There’s only a handful of episodes left. Soon, I will never have to write or think about this show again.

Retro Television Review: Malibu, CA 2.13 “Lisa’s Ex”

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

I was a lot happier before I remembered this show existed.

Episode 2.13 “Lisa’s Ex”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on January 29th, 2000)

No, not my ex! This episode is about Lisa, the fictional character’s, ex….

You know, it’s really frustrating that this show’s most annoying character happens to have the same name as me. I want to complain about her but, at the same time, I feel an instant bond to anyone named Lisa, including fictional characters on terrible sitcoms.

That said, Lisa — the show’s Lisa — really is the worst. In this episode, her ex-boyfriend, a basketball played named Troy Douglas — just happens to stop by the restaurant and see her. Troy, we’re told, is an amazing NBA player, despite the fact that he appears to be about 5’8 and not particularly athletic. Then again, the show also told us that Scott could be an Olympic-class swimmer despite having never trained and that Jason could get a record deal despite having no talent so I guess it all makes sense.

Anyway, Lisa hangs out with Troy and ends up kissing him on the beach. Scott breaks up with her when he finds out and then acts all mopey about it. “She could have been the one!” Scott says while the audience goes, “Awwww!” Seriously, Lisa — the show’s Lisa — could have been the one? This would be the same character who talks down to everyone, complains nonstop, and who has only been dating Scott for like a week. She’s the one?

Fortunately (?), Lisa tells Troy to get lost. Troy seems like a perfectly nice guy but we’re only supposed to care about Scott’s heartbreak. Lisa apologizes to Scott. Scott kisses Lisa. “Whoooo!” says the audience.

Every episode of every Peter Engel-produced sitcom had an episode like this. I have to admit that none of those other episodes annoyed quite as much as this episode of Malibu CA did. I think it’s because 1) Lisa is a terrible character, 2) Marquita Terry gives a terrible performance in the role, 3) there’s zero chemistry between Marquita Terry and Trevor Merszei (who played Scott), and 4) even Scott deserves better than the treatment he got during this episode. Lisa apologized for kissing Troy and that’s fine but she didn’t really say anything that would suggests that she’s not going to dump Scott every time one of her ex-boyfriends shows up. This relationship is doomed.

Speaking of doomed, Peter, Jason, Murray, Traycee, and Alex all went camping. After hearing that a killer had escaped from a nearby mental asylum, they freaked out when a stranger approached their camp sight. First, they tied the guy in a net. Then Peter hit him on the head with a frying pan …. oh wait, he’s not the killer! He’s just some innocent guy who was trying to be helpful.

“Please don’t sue,” Peter says.

Peter, I hope he sues your ass for everything you’ve got.

Retro Television Review: Malibu, CA 2.12 “Jason’s Deal”

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

Jason humiliates himself again.

Episode 2.12 “Jason’s Deal”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on January 22nd, 1990)

I guess Jason’s supposed to be a rock star now. His CD has been released and he’s given a $20,000 advance by a guy (Christian Zimmerman) from the record company. He proceeds to rent out an apartment of his own and spends a ton of money decorating it. Will success spoil Jason Collins!?

Actually, failure spoils Jason Collins. His CD only sells 70 copies and he’s dropped by the label. He has to move back home. Scott, Murray, and Alex are all angry because of the way he treated them when he thought he was a star. He even lied so that he throw an industry party rather than hang out with his brother and their dorky friends. Of course, the party was attended by Jason’s record company boss so maybe some understanding is in order here. Scott, Murray, and Alex forgive him but only after reading, in the paper, that Jason has been dropped by the record company. Would an obscure, generic singer getting dropped by a record company really be front page news?

(Speaking of which, maybe Jason’s CD would have sold if he and the record company had actually done something to …. oh, I don’t know, PROMOTE IT!? Jason doesn’t go on the radio. He doesn’t go on tour. He doesn’t go on TRL. Seriously, Jason, what did you think was going to happen?)

Meanwhile, Lisa (the character, not me) acts like a total bitch because her friends is dating Traycee. Believe me, I don’t like tossing that word around (especially as an insult) but there’s really no other way to describe Lisa’s behavior. Lisa’s friend, Curtis (James Castle Stevens), really likes Traycee and Lisa’s reaction is to act like a stuck-up snob. Curtis is an environmentalist and Traycee is keeping him from saving the rain forest! Or maybe Curtis is just realizing that there’s nothing one person can do to save the rain forest and, since he’s kind of a wimpy nerdy guy, he should enjoy life while he’s still young. Either way, it’s really none of Lisa’s business.

Oh, this storyline annoyed me! It’s a little bit difficult to fairly judge anyone’s performance on Malibu CA. That said, Brandon Brooks, Priscilla Inga Taylor, and Edward Blatchford all manage to give decent performance despite the bad dialogue and dumb plotting. Trevor Merszei (who played Scott) is giving a considerably better performance during the second season than he did during the first. Meanwhile, Marquita Terry (who plays Lisa) is consistently terrible in a way that’s noticeable even by the standards of a Peter Engel-produced sitcom.

Eventually, Tracyee encourages her friend to go to the rain forest and Jason moves back home. So, Jason will not be a rock star and Scott will not be going to the Olympics. Instead, they’re destined to forever be busboys in their father’s restaurant. It couldn’t happen to a group of more deserving people.

Retro Television Review: Malibu, CA 2.11 “The Best Man”

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

Where was I when the new Pope was revealed? I was watching this stupid show.

Episode 2.11 “The Best Man”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on January 15th, 2000)

Finally, after weeks of posting apologetic notes and an imdb summaries, I have reached a second season episode of Malibu, CA that has actually been uploaded to YouTube. In fact, it appears that most of the rest of season 2 has been uploaded so I’ll be able to do real reviews now as opposed to just snarky speculation.

Normally, I’d celebrate but this is Malibu, CA. It is, by far, the worst show that I’ve reviewed here at the Shattered Lens. This week’s episode was especially stupid and the only thing that’s keeping me from really getting mad about having wasted 30 minutes of my life on it is the fact that we have a new Pope and he’s American!

The plot of this week’s episode is dumber than dumb. Murray’s best friend is marrying Lisa’s friend. How Lisa (the character, not me!) has any friends, I’m not really sure. She just moved to California at the start of the season, she acts like a condescending bitch to just about everyone she meets, and she’s continually talking about how better she is then everyone. Regardless, Scott has a crush on her …. then again, Scott also treats everyone he knows like crap so maybe that explains it. Anyway, Murray is the best man and Lisa is the maid of honor and Traycee says that means they’re destined to fall in love. Murray decides that Lisa is his girlfriend and, for some reason, neither Scott nor Lisa can find the courage to tell Murray the truth.

Meanwhile, Jason, his father, and new lifeguard Alex (Suzanne Davis) go into the piemaking business together. They’re using Alex’s grandmother’s recipe and everyone loves the pie! It’s so popular that they even set up a conveyer belt in the kitchen to make boxing the pies up go quicker. But then Jason gets distracted, the conveyer starts moving too quickly, and — hey, there’s pie everywhere!

(Hmmm…. this seems familiar….)

Uh-oh! There’s a lawyer in the restaurant and he’s threatening to sue. It turns out that Alex’s grandmother got her recipe from the pies that were being made by a professional bakery. And now, Jason and his Dad are getting sued, unless they stop making and selling the pies….

Wait a minute! SCREECH’S SPAGHETTI SAUCE! This whole thing is just a remake of an episode of Saved By The Bell! They didn’t even bother to come up with new ending!

Seriously, screw these lazy writers! I don’t ask for much, especially when the show is produced by Peter Engel. I’m certainly not expecting or demanding a hard-hitting drama or a ground-breaking comedy. But come on — DON’T JUST PLAGAIRZINE YOURSELF, YOU MORONS! MAKE SOME SORT OF FREAKING EFFORT!

Ugh, this show!

I didn’t care much for this episode.