Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/26/25 — 11/1/25

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week was all about horror movies but here’s a few thoughts on what little of episodic television that I watched this week.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Why would they take the kids camping? This episode made no sense to me. I’m a little tired of hearing about Gregory’s “goofballs.”

Dragnet (YouTube)

I watched the “Night School” episode and the “Talk Show” episode. They both made me smile. I’ve seen them so many times that watching them automatically relaxes me.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, F0x)

Will the Blue Team ever get it together? I assume they will eventually. The men always seem to start out weak before becoming unbeatable towards the end of the season. Still, right now, I wouldn’t want any of these people making me anything to eat.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

For the second week in a row, Maroun did not appear. I don’t really have a problem with that, as Maroun was (is?) kind of an annoying character but it’s hard not to notice that now, neither Reid Scott nor Hugh Dancy are working with a partner. I also noticed this week that Reid Scott, Hugh Dancy, and Tony Goldwyn all look way too similar. Suddenly, Law & Order is dominated by sickly-looking white guys.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/19/25 — 10/25/25

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (ABC, Wednesday Night)

Gregory throws a terrible party at his apartment. Mr. Johnson, Barbara, Melissa, and Ava go to the DMV to get their Real IDs. It’s been a while since I’ve laughed at hard at any show as I did while watching this week’s episode of Abbott. Even the things that I was previously getting tired of — like Gregory being socially awkward — once again made me laugh. Abbott Elementary occasionally gets a bit preachy for my tastes but when it work, it’s truly special.

By the way, in Texas, they just give you a Real ID when you renew your driver’s license. It’s pretty simple. I don’t know why the states up north decided to make it complicated for everyone.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

Poor Bradley. Chef Ramsay even gave him a pep talk and it still didn’t make him a better chef.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Apple TV)

On Thursday night, Erin and I did our annual viewing of this classic holiday special. You can read Erin’s thoughts here. Poor Charlie Brown. “I got a rock!”

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, a murderer claimed diplomatic immunity. The White House demanded that the DA drop the charges because it had a weapons deal with the UAE. Maroun was not present and was not missed. Price and Baxter spent the entire episode giving each other strained looks of sympathy. Both Price and Baxter are such boring characters that I sometimes struggled to remember which is which. Hugh Dancy and Tony Goldwyn are both totally wasted by this show.

Night Flight (Night Flight+)

On Friday, I watched a “video profile” of musician Annie Lennox. The music was great.

Rogue’s Gallery (Night Flight+)

On Friday night, I watched a documentary on Al Capone. Now that’s crime with style!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, FOX)

Much as with last week, I found myself wondering why anyone not in the Army would put up with being yelled at for 24 hours a day. I would have walked off the set after an hour.

Toy Story of Terror (Disney+)

Erin wrote about Toy Story of Terror here!

The Vanishing Shadow (NightFlight+)

This old timey serial about the battle for possession of an invisibility ray continued. It was fun in a 1930s sort of way!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/12/25 — 10/18/25

Posted on October 18, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

The Abbott teachers go to a baseball game! As our readers may have noticed, my sister loves baseball so I made sure to have her watch this episode with me. She enjoyed it, which made me happy. Myself, I found myself wondering why so many shows — like Abbott with Philadelphia or Dick Wolf’s Chicago shows — take place in cities that most American hate. Like, if I was ever told that I had to pick between Philadelphia or prison, I’d probably pick prison because at least there wouldn’t be as many people yelling. Yet, Abbott is often a rather charming show and I usually love It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It’s just weird how these things work.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

Ugh, this episode made me physically ill. I don’t think I could ever be a professional chef, not if it means having to clean every inch of a fishing boat. (I cleaned my kitchen before watching this episode and my back was killing me by the time I was finished.) As for this episode and this season, it doesn’t seem like a single chef should be trusted to cook food for anyone. Chef Ramsay is doing a lot of yelling and I agree with him.

Law and Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, yet another millionaire was murdered in New York City and there was yet another crazy defense that, for whatever reason, Maroun seemed to have sympathy for. As much as I usually like the “Law” half of these shows, the “Order” part often verges on self-parody. Between Nolan Price’s wimpy summations and Maroun’s eagerness to protect the criminals, I’m surprised they ever get a conviction.

Night Flight (NightFlight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched a video profile of KISS, a band that I really didn’t know much about. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the fearsome makeup and their not-at-all fearsome music.

Snub TV (NightFlight Plus)

On Friday night. Jeff and I watched an episode of this 80s music show with our friends, Patrick and Dani. It was good music. You could dance to it.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, Fox)

This show is just not that interesting without Jussie Smollett crying about how nobody will accept that “I just want to move on” from filing a false police report. If it was really the world’s toughest test, I don’t think a bunch of out-of-shape reality show participants would be doing as well as they are.

Twilight Zone (Prime)

This week, I watched a few classic episodes — To Serve Man, The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, Twenty-Two (“Room for one more, honey!”), Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up, Nick of Time, and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. If the Twilight Zone is not a part of your October viewing, you’re doing Halloween wrong!

The Vanishing Ray (NightFlight Plus)

I checked in with this 1930s serial on Friday night. The bad guys were still after the vanishing ray and the good guys were still trying to protect it. As always, this chapter ended with a cliffhanger and an invitation to return to theater next week for the next installment.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/5/25 — 10/11/25

Posted on October 11, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Eh. I’m not really interested in Melissa’s adventures as a sixth grade teacher. As well, Tariq really hasn’t been amusing since the end of the first season. I worry this show is reaching the “treading water” phase of its existence.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday, Fox)

After a week of commercials that implied the police would be showing up at Hell’s Kitchen to arrest one of the chefs, this week’s episode featured the cops showing up at Hell’s Kitchen so the chefs could make them breakfast. I wasn’t really surprised. Hell’s Kitchen has always been shameless about doing stuff like that. That’s actually a part of the show’s appeal. As for this week’s episode, everyone appears to be remarkably incompetent. I wouldn’t accept a meal from any of these people.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

Another week, another murder. Once again, Maroun was upset over having to do her job. The law half of this show is usually pretty good but the order half is awful. Nolan is such a wimp. Maroun should have been fired the first time she ever suggested allowing a criminal to go free.

Ozark Law (Hulu)

I guess this show ran on A&E earlier this year. I watched the first episode on Hulu. It was a reality show about cops in small town Missouri. They had to deal with a bunch of people hanging out at the lake for the Fourth of July weekend. It was the usual stuff. The cops arrested a woman for having an expired license. A man’s house was burglarized. The male cops were all heavily tattooed and bearded. The female cops all looked like the hyper-religious girl from high school who would judge you for wearing a short skirt. All the cops had that terse cop way of speaking.

The Prisoner (Nightflight Plus)

Jeff and I watched the final episode of this 60s show on Friday night. I’ll miss Rover.

Special Force: World’s Toughest Test (Fox, Thursday Night)

Jussie Smollett has left the show so what even is the point now?

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/28/25 — 10/4/25

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the most part, I’ve spent this week watching horror movies and reviewing them. That said, I did get caught up with a handful of shows. Here are a few thoughts:

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I got pretty bored with Abbott last season but I still caught the season five premiere this week. I laughed quite a bit so I guess I’m going to give the latest season a chance. The show got a bit heavy-handed last season and I got bored with all of the golf course nonsense. Hopefully, this season will put the focus back on teaching.

Big Brother 27 (Sunday Night, CBS)

Big Brother ended on Sunday and I’ve already forgotten all about it. That’s the way things should be.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

I got caught up with the latest two episodes of Hell’s Kitchen. The men seem to be especially incompetent this season. I know that every season seems to start out with the men weak and the women strong before reversing things later on but seriously, this season, I wouldn’t want any of these people cooking for me.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

I decided to give Law & Order another try this season. (Last season, I stopped watching about halfway through.) Of course, when I watched the first two episodes of the current season, the first thing I saw was Price on the verge of tears. Is there ever a time when Nolan Price isn’t on the verge of tears? Just as with the previous season, I preferred the Law to the Order part of the show. If Maroun and Price are always miserable about having to do this jobs, why are they even working for the District Attorney’s office to begin with? Ever since this show was revived, we’ve had a steady stream of new detectives and yet Price and Maroun are still the same colorless characters that they were when they first appeared.

The Prisoner (Night Flight Plus)

I watched two episodes of this cult classic on Friday. My favorite character is Rover.

Seinfeld (Netflix)

Kramer starts a talk show in his living room. It made me laugh!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, Fox)

Yet another group of celebrities have gathered to see if they can pass Special Forces training. I watched the first two episodes this week. I laughed when one of the instructors yelled, “How badly do you want this!?” They probably just want their paycheck. I also laughed at Jussie Smollett, trying to make a comeback as one of the celebs. What if Smollett wins this season and is sent to Afghanistan with orders to take down the Taliban? That would be a hell of a redemption arc!

The Young and the Restless (Weekday Morning, CBS)

I watched an episode on Monday, largely to see if Victor was still around. He was.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/2/25 — 2/8/25

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s a few thoughts on what I watched this week.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I’m one episode behind as far as Abbott goes. This week, I watched the golf course episode but I still need to watch the science fair episode. I’ll do it tomorrow before the Super Bowl. As always, the episode made me laugh. The show has done marginally better with the gentrification subplot than it did with the charter school storyline a few seasons ago.

Dark (Netflix)

Case and I continuing to watch this creepy German show. This is the only show I’ve ever seen that’s actually held my attention while the characters discuss physics.

Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, Thursday Night)

And we have a winner! Kyle’s door open and he is the latest chef to win a season of Hell’s Kitchen. I did like Kyle but I have to admit that I lost interest in this season after both Brandon and Egypt were eliminated. I still can’t see Kyle as a head chef. Brandon had a bad night and Egypt lost an arbitrary contest but I still feel like either one of them would have been a better winner. That said, anyone who has ever tasted my cooking knows that I wouldn’t have even made it past the first 10 minutes of the first episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Congratulations to Kyle on his victory and on proving people like me, who were pretty dismissive of his chances at first, wrong.

King of the Hill (Hulu)

I watched the episode where Bill’s touchdown record was broken and, with Hank’s encouragement, Bill rejoined the high school team in an effort to win it back. “You the man, Bill …. don’t look down at your leg.”

Kitchen Nightmares (Fox, Tuesday Night)

Chef Ramsay was, again, in New Orleans this week. The New Orleans shows have been kind of boring. None of the restaurants have really been that appealing, either before or after their makeover. You have to wonder how many times Chef Ramsay is going to have to invite an ex-football player to come and convince people to do their job. It’s kind of funny how the only thing many of these restaurants really need is for a former member of the Saints to show up for five minutes.

After being bored with the trip to New Orleans, I hopped on Tubi and revisited the Amy’s Baking Company episodes from seasons 6 and 7. Now that was classic Ramsay chaos! I like it when Chef Ramsay is nice to the chefs on Hell’s Kitchen but, when it comes to Kitchen Nightmares, I just want him to rip the place apart!

Scamanda (Hulu)

On Wednesday, I watched the first episode of this NBC docuseries about a woman who pretended to have cancer and who swindled a lot of people out of a lot of money. It was an interesting episode. People pretending to be sick to get money from people is hardly a new phenomena but it was interesting to see not only how far Amanda took it but also how gullible people really were. (They really wanted to believe.) The film did have a few regrettable reenactments, including a truly risible one of a bunch of churchgoers literally throwing money at Amanda’s feet. Still, it’s an interesting story.

Watched and reviewed:

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/26/25 — 2/1/25

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

My sinuses were really bothering me this week so I didn’t watch much, other than the shows that I review for this site. I mean, it was literally a struggle for me to look at a screen, whether it my phone, a laptop, or a television for more than a few minutes without getting a headache.

I did watch two more episodes of Dark with Case. This intriguing German show gets more and more creepy with each episode.

On Sunday, Jeff and I watched a football game. It was Taylor Swift’s team vs someone else. Taylor Swift won.

I watched Kitchen Nightmares. This week’s restaurant was boring. I’m hoping for another Amy’s Baking Company style fiasco.

And I watched Hell’s Kitchen. Really? They eliminated Egypt? First Brandon and then Egypt? Weakest final two ever!

Finally, I watched and reviewed Miami Vice, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Pacific Blue, The Love Boat, Monsters, Malibu CA, Highway to Heaven, St. Elsewhere, Friday the 13th, Welcome Back Kotter, and Check It Out!

And that’s it, thanks to my sinuses. Bleh!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/19/25 — 1/25/25

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are just a few (admittedly, very few) thoughts on what I watched this week!

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Unlike the characters in Abbott Elementary, I’m not a fan of the American Labor Movement but I still enjoyed this week’s episode about a bus strike. The remote learning stuff was definitely the highlight of the episodes.

Dark (Netflix)

Case and I are continuing to watch this German show on Netflix. It’s a very intriguing saga of time travel and murder.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

Without Brandon in the competition, who cares? It seems kind of obvious that Egypt’s going to win.

Kitchen Nightmares (Tuesday Night, Fox)

Chef Ramsay saved another restaurant in New Orleans. That’s good and all but I still wouldn’t want to eat anywhere that’s been featured on Kitchen Nightmares. Once a mess, always a mess. At least, that’s the way that I view things as far as food preparation is concerned.

The Oscar Nominations (Thursday Morning, Hulu)

The nominations didn’t do much for me this year. Honestly, I have to wonder how long it’s going to be until ABC dumps the Oscars and the ceremony is reduced to just streaming on Hulu. It’s going to happen sooner or later.

The Presidential Inauguration (Monday, C-Span)

I’m thankful for C-Span. I was able to watch the whole thing without any commentary for either side.

I also watched and reviewed:

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/12/25 — 1/18/25

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Brandon, you are not ready to be my head chef.”

Oh my God, did Chef Ramsay really just say that!? I’ve watched a lot of episodes of Hell’s Kitchen but I don’t think any elimination has taken me as much by surprise as the elimination of Brandon this week. Brandon is who I expected to win this season and I know that I’m not alone in that. That said, Brandon did struggle at service. Of all the chefs to receive black jackets, Brandon struggled the most and, even more importantly, Brandon was really the only one to struggle. Ramsay didn’t have much of a choice but I have a feeling Brandon will return in a future season.

Speaking of Chef Ramsay, I also caught the second part of the Kitchen Nightmares premiere. I’m glad that Ramsay apparently thinks that he’s fixed that restaurant but I can promise that there is no way I would ever voluntarily eat at any establishment featured on this show. I don’t care if it’s clean now. Once a rat trap, always a rat trap.

This week’s episode of Abbott Elementary surfaced in comparison to last week’s but that’s to be expected considering the brilliance of last week’s show. I still laughed at Ava trying to figure out what it’s like to “date the poors.”

On Peacock, I watched the three episode documentary Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story and yes, that was certainly disgusting and disturbing, It was even worse than Hulu’s Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, which I also watched. I guess I felt like catching up on some sordid history this week!

Speaking of sordid, Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire is on YouTube. I watched it and I have to admit that I laughed when the “millionaire” came lurching out and started speaking in a voice that sounded exactly like Bill Hader’s. Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire was a one-time, two-hour special that aired in 2000. The man behind this fiasco (the marriage was annulled, the millionaire was not a millionaire but just a guy who was the subject of multiple restraining orders) went on to create The Bachelor.

Also on YouTube, I found all six episodes of The Starlet, a reality competition show where aspiring actresses competed for a walk-on role on One Tree Hill. Stop laughing, it was a real show. I vaguely remember watching it when it first aired. I watched it a second time on Monday because I was bored. One of the judges was Faye Dunaway. Faye was surprisingly nice. The mean judge was Vivica A. Fox.

Case and I are continuing to watch Dark, on Netflix. What a fascinating and macabre show! I recommend it to anyone reading.

I watched the latest episodes of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test but I don’t remember a damn thing about them, other than it amused me how everyone pretended to be taking everything so seriously.

And, as always, I watched the shows that I review on a weekly basis. I’m not going to sit here and list them all because I’m tired. But you can find all my reviews on this site. Yay!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/5/25 — 1/11/25

Posted on January 11, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s some thoughts on what I watched this week as I waited for the snow to arrive.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

The idea of the dark and cynical It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossing over with the earnest Abbott Elementary sounds like something that shouldn’t work but, instead, it worked brilliantly. Dee becoming Janine’s best friend and then trying to steal away Gregory was brilliant. I was so proud of Charlie, learning how to read at a kindergarten level. Barbara is a wonderful teacher.

Check It Out (Tubi)

Look for my review later tonight.

Dark (Netflix)

As the snow fell in Texas, Case and I watched two more episodes of Dark. We’ll have to get around to reviewing this intriguing German show soon.

Degrassi High (Tubi)

Look for my review tomorrow!

Doc (Tuesday Night, Fox)

This is a new show about a doctor who has amnesia. I feel like this show is going to be limited by the fact that she’s going to have to get her memory back at some point. I watched the premiere but I don’t remember much about it. Maybe I’ve got amnesia!

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

You can read my review here!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

You can read my review here!

Going Dutch (Thursday Night, Fox)

The second episode of Going Dutch, much like the pilot, didn’t do much for me. I doubt I’ll be watching the third episode.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

It’s black jacket time! I felt sorry for Amanda, who I would have kept over the eternally aggrieved Whit. That said, it’s pretty obvious that Brandon’s going to win.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

You can read my review here!

Kitchen Nightmares (Tuesday Night, Fox)

Kitchen Nightmares has returned for another season. Chef Ramsay is in New Orleans, helping terrible restaurants prepare for the Super Bowl. This week featured part one of the two-part season premiere. I think that the restaurant that Ramsay is trying to help is a lost cause but we’ll see what happens next week. Nothing kills my appetite quicker than a cockroach-filled episode of Kitchen Nightmares.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

You can read my review here!

Monsters (YouTube)

You can read my review here!

Pacific Blue (Tubi)

I started reviewing Pacific Blue this week. I have a feeling I’m going to regret this decision.

Shifting Gears (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Tim Allen will always be Buzz Lightyear to me and I like Kat Dennings but the first episode of their new sitcom didn’t do much for me. They really should just call it Last Auto Mechanic Standing.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, Fox)

A bunch of middle-aged celebs are put through special forces training and are ridiculed when they drop out. Telling 50-somethings Stephen Baldwin and Denise Richards that they failed themselves by not completing the training feels a bit silly. Baldwin dropped out because he didn’t want to get hurt because it would cost him an acting job he had lined up. (As far as I can tell, that’s a totally understandable concern.) Richards was accused of being a princess because she didn’t want to drown. Unless the goal is to actually put together a unit of out-of-shape commandos, how about giving it a rest with the whole, “The Corp doesn’t want quitters!” routine?

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

You can read my review here!

Welcome Back, Kotter (Prime)

You can read my review here!