Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.6 “Love at Second Sight”

Posted on January 2, 2025 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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Freevee and several other services!

Let’s get back on the highway!

Episode 3.6 “Love At Second Sight”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on November 5th, 1986)

Jonathan and Mark are working as recreation directors at a retirement community and….

Again?

Actually, I can’t really remember if Jonathan and Mark have worked as a recreation director at a retirement community before but I do know that this is not the first time that they’ve been assigned to work at such a place. And, if I remember correctly, both Mark and Jonathan have been assigned to work as a coach at other places. In other words, Jonathan and Mark have a specific set of skills and they seem to center around athletics and the elderly.

Mark thinks that this assignment is going to be easy but then again, Mark thinks that about every assignment. He might have a point here as he and Jonathan are only supposed to be helping out another angel named Ted (John McLiam). Ted’s assignment is to help Roy (Harvey Vernon) and Laura (Martha Scott) fall in love and find happiness in their twilight years. The complication is that Laura is Ted’s widow! Ted doesn’t want to help his widow fall in love with another man so, instead, he goes out of his way to sabotage Roy and Laura’s relationship. In fact, Ted starts to romance Laura himself and even proposes marriage to her.

Jonathan confronts Ted and tells him that “the Boss” isn’t going to let this happen. Jonathan then takes Ted into the future, where he discovers that Laura has died of a broken heart and that their daughter, Margaret (Nana Visitor), is now heading in the same direction. Realizing that he was being selfish and that he has a responsibility to help Laura move on, Ted returns to the present and pretends to be a jerk and a conman so that Laura will fall out of love with him and instead fall in love with Roy. Ted even gets Roy to punch him so that Laura will be impressed with him. Back to the Future, anyone?

That’s the power of love!

I have two issues with this episode. The lesser of the two is that Ted pretending to suddenly be a jerk seems like the sort of thing that would make Laura even more hesitant about trusting another man as opposed to something that would automatically make her fall in love with Roy. However, my main issue with this episode is that it all felt very familiar. Last season, Jonathan was assigned to help his widow move on and he had mixed feelings about it. (As I would think any angel would.) This season, God gives the same assignment to another angel and again, it nearly backfires on everyone. It actually seems a bit mean-spirited on the part of the Boss to continually give this assignment to the very people that it would most hurt, though I understand that the idea is that Ted and Jonathan both needed to move on as well. That said, at no point does Jonathan say, “Hey, the exact same thing happened to me!” (This was a rare episode that Landon didn’t write so it’s always possible that the actual writer wasn’t aware that he was repeating a storyline from the show’s past.) This episode felt like a missed opportunity.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/22/24 — 12/28/24

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are a few thoughts about what I watched during the final week of 2024.

Check It Out (Tubi)

Look for my review of this show next Saturday.

Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

I’ve had a cold since the day after Christmas so I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed and rewatching the Degrassi franchise.

Dragnet (YouTube)

Joe Friday and Bill Gannon kept the streets safe in the episodes that I watched on Friday as I tried to get over my cold. Good for them!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

In order to get a head start on 2o25, I watched an episode of Friday the 13th this week. Look for my review next Friday!

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

I watched this classic special with Erin on Thursday. Someone needs to check on Charlie Brown. He’s sleeping in the snow! He’ll never finish War and Peace if he gets pneuomonia!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I returned to Highway to Heaven this week. Look for my review next week!

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

Look for my review next week!

King of the Hill (Hulu)

Hank rented a truck for the holidays! “You mean …. a convoy!?” Absolutely one of my favorite episodes of this classic show and I was happy to watch it on Monday.

I went on to binge a few more episodes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I’ve had a cold and this show has definitely kept me entertained as I’ve tried to will myself into good health.

The Love Boat (Paramount+)

I watched an episode of The Love Boat this week. Look for my review next week!

Malibu, CA (YouTube)

I forced myself to watch two episodes of this show on Sunday. Look for my reviews in 2025!

Monsters (YouTube)

I returned to Monsters this week. Look for my review next week!

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Sunday Night, ABC)

I watched this holiday classic with my sisters on Sunday night. It made me smile, as it always does. I love the holidays!

Seinfeld (Netflix)

I watched the Festivus episode on Monday (which, appropriately enough, was Festivus!). I always enjoy it when Bryan Cranston shows up as the decadent dentist.

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

Look for my reviews to return next week!

TV 2000 (Night Flight+)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video program on Friday night. They were really wild about Bruce Springsteen. I’ve never really gotten his appeal but then again, I’m not from New Jersey.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Prime)

I’m continuing my way through the fourth and final season. My reviews will return in 2025.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.5 “That’s Our Dad”

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jonathan and Mark are in Hollywood …. again!

Episode 3.5 “That’s Our Dad”

(Dir by Victor French, originally aired on October 29th, 1986)

Two orphans, Sarah (Kelley Parker) and Joey (R.J. Williams), are upset because they’re about to be split up. A family wants to adopt Sarah but they don’t feel like bringing along her best friend, Joey. Joey and Sarah wish that they could live with Bill Cassidy (Ned Beatty), the star of America’s favorite sitcom, That’s My Dad!

Sarah and Joey run away from the orphanage and end up at the studio at the exact same time that Bill is holding auditions to find a new co-star for That’s My Dad. Sarah and Joey tell Bill about their tragic backgrounds and how they each lost their parents. Bill, thinking that the kids are doing audition pieces, is so impressed that he tells his producer that he wants the kids to be hired immediately. The kids think that this mean they’re being adopted! Yay!

Unfortunately, Bill is a bitter man who, in private, doesn’t behave like the perfect father that he plays on television. Adopt two kids? Why would Bill want to do that!? Fortunately, Jonathan and Mark just happen to be installing a new security system at Bill’s home. Jonathan helps Bill to see that, even though he’s bitter, he could still redeem himself by adopting two random children. The end result is an episode that pretty much epitome of Highway To Heaven, shamelessly sentimental but heartfelt enough to be effective.

This was not Ned Beatty’s first appearance on Highway to Heaven. During the first season, he played two roles in The Banker and the Bum. Beatty does a pretty good job in this episode, playing Bill Cassidy as someone who can be unpleasant but not so unpleasant that his later change of heart doesn’t feel credible. From the first minute we meet Bill, we know he’s going to turn out to be not such a bad guy, if just because that’s what always happens on Highway to Heaven. On this show, even the most unlikable of characters usually achieve some sort of redemption. The main theme is the no one is bad as they originally seem. That’s actually a pretty sweet message when you think about it.

Highway to Heaven did quite a few shows about show business. I’ve read that Michael Landon was something of a workaholic and, as a result, he later felt that he missed out on spending time with his children. Certainly, that would explain why almost every Hollywood episode of Highway to Heaven seems to feature an actor or director who needs to learn to make time for the people in their lives.

Speaking of making time for the people in your life, it’s the holidays. This is going to be my final Highway to Heaven review for 2024. These reviews will return on January 2nd!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.4 “Another Kind of War, Another Kind of Peace”

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jonathan and Mark bring together a family.

Episode 3.4 “Another Kind of War, Another Kind of Peace”

(Dir by Dan Gordon, originally aired on October 15th, 1986)

Clancy (Eugene Roche) is an old man who has never gotten over the death of his son in Vietnam. He lives alone in an apartment in Los Angeles. His only friend is Guido Liggio (Ernest Borgnine), an Italian taxi driver who lives next door. Guido, who came to this country as a refugee during World War II, is the type of salt-of-the-Earth character who says stuff like, “Clancy, how come you no be a-nice to the people?” And Clancy is the type of bitter old man who says stuff like, “Don’t ask me for money, ya bum!”

Jonathan and Mark show up at Clancy’s apartment and inform him that they work for an agency that brings refugees to the United States. They explain that Clancy’s son had a child in Vietnam. Now, both Clancy’s grandchild and the grandchild’s mother are in the United States and they need somewhere to stay. Clancy is angered by the news, claiming that the mother is lying and just trying to get into the country. But eventually, he agrees to allow Lan Nguyen (Haunani Minn) and Michael Nguyen (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) to stay in his apartment. He even agrees to give Michael lunch money so that Michael won’t starve at school. Otherwise, Clancy says that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with either of them.

Guido, on the other hand, is more than willing to host Lan and Michael. He’s a refugee himself and, even more importantly, he’s everyone’s favorite character actor, Ernest Borgnine! But Jonathan and Mark understand that their assignment is to bring together Clancy and his grandson. Guido is a nice guy but he’s not Michael’s grandfather.

At school, a bully (Adam Gifford) is stealing Michael’s lunch money. When Michael says that he needs the money for food, the bully threatens to hurt Clancy. What a jerk! Seriously, check out this totally 80s bully:

When the principal tells Mark and Jonathan that Michael has been spending his lunchtime searching for food in the school dumpsters, Jonathan tells Clancy. Clancy, angered that his money is being wasted, heads down to the school and confronts the bully. Jonathan briefly gives Clancy and Michael “the stuff,” which allows them to beat up the bully and his entire gang. This experience brings grandson and grandfather together. So, I guess the message here is that violence is the answer. Forget about that turning the other cheek stuff. Instead, just throw your bully through a car window.

This episode was pretty much what most people picture when they think of a typical Highway to Heaven episode. It was unabashedly sentimental and a bit simplistic in its approach. It was earnest enough to be likable though a bit too heavy-handed for its own good. Any show that features Ernest Borgnine as a special guest star is not exactly going to deliver anything resembling a subtle story. While this episode was never quite as good as I wanted it to be, I was still glad that Michael and his mother found a home.

Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.3 “For The Love Of Larry”

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This episode features a very good boy.

Episode 3.3 “For the Love of Larry”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on October 8th, 1986)

At the start of this episode, we find Jonathan and Mark on a dangerous assignment. They’re in the city and apparently, they’re working as undercover cops and trying to catch a local drug dealer. At least, I assume that the people working with Jonathan and Mark were supposed to be cops. None of them were in uniform so I guess they have just as easily been a neighborhood vigilante group. As Jonathan and Mark prepare to confront the dealer, Jonathan says that the scourge of drugs is the greatest threat that American will ever face.

It’s a heavy assignment but it doesn’t really seem like a Highway to Heaven sort of assignment. Usually, Mark and Jonathan are specifically assigned to help someone. This time, though, it appears that they’ve just been assigned to help the cops do their job. Jonathan and Mark don’t really do anything that any other cop couldn’t have done. Mark gets excited when the dealer tries to shoot him because he’s convinced that God is causing the bullets to miss him. Only after the dealer is captured does Jonathan reveal that God didn’t do Mark any favors. Mark just got lucky.

Mark’s earned a break! He and Jonathan drive off to another one of those small towns that always seem to show up on this show. They rent a cabin for a few days. However, Mark’s attempts at relaxation are continually interrupted by a dog. First, the dog runs in front of the car. Then, the dog somehow shows up at the cabin. Even though Mark took the dog to a shelter, the dog somehow managed to get out and track Mark down.

Eventually, Mark and Jonathan figure out that they need to follow the dog. The dog leads off the main road, to an overturned car that is hidden away in the woods. A father and a son, both badly injured but still alive, are in the car. Jonathan and Mark are able to rescue them but then they notice that the dog is in the back seat and was apparently killed in the crash.

The camera pans up to the sky and gets lost in the clouds. Suddenly, the dog’s ghostly form appears and seems to actually wink at the audience, letting us know that the dog may have died but his spirit stayed on Earth long enough to rescue his owners. (The Larry of the title is the son of the dog’s owner.)

Did this episode make me cry? You better believe this episode made me cry! I’m not even a dog person and I was still sobbing at the end of this episode. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s an earnest sincerity at the heart of this show that makes it effective even when it should be silly. Having the dog appear in the clouds is the type of thing that a lot of shows probably would have screwed up. In lesser hands, it would have been too heavy-handed and overly sentimental to work. But, on this show, it does work. It helps that the dog was cute.

This was a simple episode but sometimes, it’s the simple episodes that work the best.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/10/24 — 11/16/24

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I got caught up with a few shows this week. Here’s my thoughts on what I watched.

Accused (Tuesday Night, Fox)

I watched the three most recent episodes of Accused this week. The road rage episode had its good moments and it kept my guessing, though I would have appreciated a bit more of a twist at the end. The episode with Nick Cannon was so bad that it felt like a parody of woke programming. (It’s kind of funny how everyone apparently just agreed to forget about Cannon’s history of making anti-Semitic statements.) The episode with Michael Chiklis as the wrestling coach was much better, though I kept expecting the coach to reveal that he was actually the wrestler’s father. That would have been a neat twist.

Accused is an uneven show but it’s pretty interesting when it works. And when it doesn’t work, it’s interesting in an entirely different way.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez (Tuesday Night, FX)

As I’ve said before, this miniseries started out strong but, as so often happens with these Ryan Murphy-produced true crime things, it went downhill quickly. The final episode was perhaps the worst of the series, if just because it tried to turn Hernandez into some sort of victim. I have no doubt CTE played some role in his actions but so what? In the end, at least one man is dead because of Aaron Hernandez. Ask Odin Lloyd’s family if they care about Aaron Hernandez’s struggle to adjust to living in prison. I don’t care if he felt uncomfortable with his sexuality. I don’t care if he was put under tremendous pressure by his coaches. I don’t care if he was molested when he was a child. Aaron Hernandez made his decisions and he suffered the consequences and the last thing he deserves is sympathy.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I reviewed Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out! (Tubi)

My review of Check It Out! will be posting shortly.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I reviewed CHiPs here. I had a bit of panic when I read the Freevee was shutting down, as I’ve still got many episodes of CHiPs to review and watch. I’ve been told, however, the shows on Freevee will also be “free” on Prime. We’ll see! I’m nor sure that I would want to pay money just for the chance to watch Erik Estrada.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

You can read my latest review of Friday the 13th here!

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

My heart broke for Anthony this week! I took some comfort that Chef Ramsay seemed to be just as said as I was to watch Anthony go. I was glad Anthony was allowed to keep his jacket.

Highway to Heaven (Hulu)

I reviewed Highway to Heaven here!

Inmate To Roommate (Hulu)

Earlier this year, I enjoyed what I saw of the second season of this A&E show. (When my Dad had his accident, I stopped watching Inmate to Roommate because taking care of my Dad took priority over any television show.) This week, I decided to watch the first season of the show on Hulu. The first season felt a bit more staged than the second season. If the second season had a raw authenticity to it, the first season was marred by too many scenes that were obviously just done for the cameras. Still, I appreciate any show that encourages people to give ex-convicts a chance to prove themselves.

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson (Netflix)

I watched a little of this with Jeff on Friday night. I was pretty bored with it but at least it was filmed in Texas. That said, due to my obligations as the hostess of #FridayNightFlix, I stopped watching before either Jake or Tyson left their dressing rooms. Jeff wrote about the fight here and here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I reviewed The Love Boat here1

Malibu CA (YouTube)

For my sins, I reviewed Malibu, CA here!

Miami Vice (Prime)

I reviewed Miami Vice here!

Monsters (YouTube)

I reviewed Monsters here!

Rockin’ Ronny (Night Flight Plus)

This special originally aired in 1986. It featured a collection of clips from Ronald Reagan’s movies, mixed in with footage of him as president. Obviously, the show was meant to poke fun at and be critical of Reagan but it didn’t really work. Rather than coming across as being any of the bad things that this special seemed to be trying to suggest that he was, Ronald Reagan just came across as being a likable old man. Certainly, he seemed more presidential than any of the folks we’ve recently elected here.

Say Nothing (Hulu)

I am about halfway through this new miniseries about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. So far, it’s been a powerful few hours. I’ll share more of my thoughts after I’ve watched the remaining episodes.

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

I reviewed St. Elsewhere here!

Welcome Back, Kotter (Prime)

I can’t believe I’m paying money for this show. You can read my latest review here!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.1 and 3.2 “A Special Love”

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we start season 3 of Highway to Heaven!

Episodes 3.1 and 3.2 “A Special Love”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on September 24th and October 1st, 1986)

The third season of Highway to Heaven opens with a two-parter.

A Special Love is centered around Jonathan and Mark working at the Special Olympics and meeting a developmentally disabled child named Todd Bryant (played by a 15 year-old Paul Walker …. yes, that Paul Walker). Given up by his parents (who only did so when told by their doctors that they would never be able to give Todd the care that he needed), Todd lives in a group home and desperately wants to be a part of a family. Can Mark and Jonathan help Todd find the confidence to compete in the Special Olympics? Can they reunite Todd with his older brother (played by none other than Josh Brolin), who just happens to be a coach with the Special Olympics? And can they make his dream of being adopted come true? You already know the answers. This is Highway to Heaven, after all.

This is also a Scotty episode. Scotty (played by James Troesh) is a paraplegic attorney who is married to Mark’s cousin, Diane (Margie Impert). Scotty and Diane appeared in several episodes during the first three seasons of Highway to Heaven. Every Scotty episode follows the same basic pattern. Mark and Jonathan drop in on Scotty and Diane. Scotty is feeling happy and optimistic about his future. Then, something happens that derails whatever Scotty’s latest plan is. Scotty gets upset and tells everyone to leave him alone. Diane says that she can’t deal with him anymore. While Mark comforts Diane, Jonathan tells Scotty to stop feeling for himself. Scotty eventually apologizes. Everything works out in the end.

Though the Scotty episodes were always predictable, I do think that Highway to Heaven deserved some credit for never turning Scotty into a saint. Too many films and television shows tend to use disabled characters as idealized props who exists only to impress everyone with their upbeat attitude and homespun wisdom. They show up. They say a few words of wisdom that serve to inspire the lead character. And then they’re never seen again. They often exist only to help the star and their lives are never explored beyond how the lead character relates to them. Scotty, on the other hand, was frequently angry about being a paraplegic. Even when his life was going well, Scotty would get understandably frustrated. Scotty was not always perfect. He made mistakes, just like anyone else would have. What’s important is that, in the end, he always tried to do the right thing. James Troesch, a real-life paraplegic, was not the best actor in the world but, as was so often the case with Highway to Heaven, he played the role with such sincerity that it didn’t matter that he often sounded stiff while delivering his lines. He brought a lot of humanity to the role.

In this episode, Scotty is upset because he has just learned that he and Diane will never be able to have children. When both Jonathan and Diane suggest adopting Todd, Scotty bitterly refuses. Scotty claims that, due to his disability, he wouldn’t be able to properly take care of Todd. However, when Todd announces that he’s going to win a race at the Special Olympics to prove that he’s worthy of being adopted, Scotty realizes that he’s just using his disability as an excuse to not face up to his own fears. Scotty and Diane decide to adopt Todd. Unfortunately, Todd’s parents suddenly decide that they don’t want another family to adopt Todd. They want Todd to say in the group home where he is currently living. It leads to a teary-eyed courtroom showdown. It also leads to a happy ending. Again, was there ever any doubt?

The story may have been melodramatic but this was still a touching episode and a good example of how Highway to Heaven‘s earnest sincerity helped the show overcome plot twists that could have been mawkish in the wrong hangs. The first hour is especially touching, as it’s largely a tribute to the Special Olympics and the athletes involved. There’s a lot of negative things that can be said about the Kennedy family and their impact on American political culture but Eunice Kennedy Shriver deserves all of the credit and praise in the world for founding the Special Olympics. This episode did make me cry and it earned every tear.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/3/24 — 11/9/24

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

2024 U.S. Presidential Election Coverage (Tuesday and Wednesday)

On Tuesday, I swore to myself that I was going to vote and then we were going to go up to the lake and my plan was to basically stay off the grid until Friday. I wasn’t even going to think about the election. That did not last. As much as I tried to avoid the news, I still saw a few updates on twitter and soon, I was switching back and forth from Fox to CNN to MSNBC and then to all the other news stations.

To be honest, I kind of suspected Donald Trump was going to win after Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz for her vice president. The week leading up the election, however, I started to think that Harris was probably going to win. I started remembering how 2022 seemed like it was going to be a big year for Republicans, just for the Red Wave to fizzle on election night. I thought about how polls have never accurately reflected either Trump’s support or how Dobbs turned a lot of people into one-issue voters. I thought Harris would sweep Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin and win the election. It turns out that I was wrong about most of that!

This was the third presidential election in a row where I swore to myself that I wouldn’t think about it after I voted, just to later find myself then obsessively watching as the results came in.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez (FX, Tuesday Night)

The ninth episode focused on how the women who knew Aaron Hernandez dealt with him being arrest for murder. And to that, I can only say, “Who cares?” After nine hours of this show, the only lesson that I’ve learned is that Aaron Hernandez was a tremendous dumbass and the same can be said of the majority of the people around him.

I was super-excited because I thought this week’s episode was the series’ finale. It turns out that there’s one more episode to go. Next week, this show will finally wrap up and I won’t have to complain about it anymore.

Bar Rescue (Paramount, Weekday Mornings)

On Tuesday, I watched an episode in which Jon Taffer turned a failing Irish bar into a failing western saloon. It wasn’t as much fun as the Pirate Bar episode.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check it Out! (Tubi)

My review of this week’s episode of Check It Out! will be posted in about 30 minutes.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here!

Dragnet (YouTube)

On Tuesday, I took a break from the election coverage and rewatched my two favorite episodes of Dragnet, the talk show episode and the night school episode.

Fantasy Island (DVR)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

You can read my review here!

Good Times (Get TV, Weekday Afternoons)

I watched two episodes of this 70s sitcom on Monday afternoon. Carl, a grumpy old man, discovered that he had cancer and he left Chicago for Arizona so that he could deal with it. The most memorable moment of the two episodes came when Carl told Florida that he felt they should break up. “Oh my God!” someone in the studio audience shouted.

Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, Thursday Night)

Just as happened last week, the Blue Team triumphed and the Red Team crashed and burned. I’m enjoying this season. I like the fact that they’re all strong chefs. At this point, I feel like anyone could win.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

Homicide: Life on the Street (Peacock)

I wrote about Homicide here!

King of the Hill (FXX, Weekday Morning)

Before I left to vote on Tuesday, I watched four episodes of King of the Hill. What a great show, that was. To be honest, the fact that King of the Hill was canceled but Family Guy is still in production is all the evidence you need about the decline of American culture. As for the episodes I watched, my favorite was the one where Luanne became a boxer and George Foreman appeared as himself. “Novelty grill!?”

The Love Boat (Paramount+)

I watched The Love Boat on Tuesday night, while sitting outside on the deck of my family’s lakehouse. That’s the best way to watch anything! I wrote about The Love Boat here.

Malibu, CA (YouTube)

I wrote about Malibu, CA here!

The Megyn Kelly Show (YouTube)

On Friday, I watched the post-election episode of the Megyn Kelly Show. Whether you love her, hate her, or if you’re indifferent to her (as I often am), it was hard not to agree with her post-mortem on the election and the Harris campaign.

Miami Vice (Prime)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Monsters (YouTube)

I wrote about Monsters here!

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

You can read my review here!

TV 2000 (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode of this old 80s music video program on Friday night. The music was good.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I can’t believe I paid money to watch this episode. You can read my review here.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.24 “Friends”

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, season 2 comes to an end!

Episode 2.24 “Friends”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on May 7th, 1986)

Jonathan and Mark have a new assignment. They’re going to be working as substitute teachers.

“I don’t want to be a teacher!” Mark says.

It’s actually kind of interesting that Mark is never happy with any of the assignments that he and Jonathan are given. It seems like almost every assignment involves making him do something that he doesn’t want to do and also humiliating him in the process. In this episode, Mark not only has to be a teacher but he ends up teaching Sex Education. We don’t actually see Mark teaching the class. In fact, Mark is actually barely in this episode. But we certainly do hear Mark complaining about having to do it.

This episode finds Jonathan reaching out to two troubled students. Jack Mason (Darren Dalton) is only going to school because he likes playing on the baseball team and he’d like to win the state championship before his senior year ends. Otherwise, Jack doesn’t care about his grades or even graduating. He tells Jonathan that his father dropped out of school and he’s doing just fine. Jack even suggests that he personally might drop out as soon as baseball season ends.

(Jack is apparently a good baseball player but he never mentions any desire to play professionally. That would truly make him unique amongst high school jocks. It would also suggest that Jack is realistic enough to realize how difficult it is to make it as a professional athlete. Jonathan gives Jack a hard time about his attitude but Jack might be smarter than he seems.)

Because Jack is failing Algebra, Jonathan arranges for Jack to have a tutor. Jonathan selects Jenny Bates (Judy Carmen) for the job. Jenny is a lonely girl who is good at Algebra and insecure about being overweight. She desperately just wants to have a friend but hardly anyone at the school is willing to talk to her. Will she be able to help Jack improve his grades? Will Jack finally realize that his father is struggling due to his lack of a high school diploma? Will Jack’s bitchy girlfriend (Alexandra Powers) invite Judy to a party just so she can trick Judy into putting on a bathing suit so that she can be humiliated in front of everyone? Will the episode end with Jack on the way to graduating and Judy finally having made a friend? This is Highway to Heaven so I think you know the answer to all those questions.

“If I can pass Algebra,” Jack tells Judy, ‘you can lose weight!”

Now, that’s definitely not something that you would hear on a network television program today. Not in today’s age of body positivity. That said, let’s be honest. Being overweight is not necessarily healthy and, just as no one should be ridiculed for being on the heavy side, no one should be shamed for trying to lose weight if that’s what they want (or need) to do.

This episode was a bit on the predictable side, but that’s actually one of the things that people tend to like about shows like Highway to Heaven. Judy Carmen gave a poignant performance as Jenny. Darren Dalton played Jack as being a bit of an arrogant knucklehead and that made all of the scenes in which Jonathan yelled at him feel extremely satisfying. (I should note that I recently rewatched the original Red Dawn so I spent this entire episode thinking about how Dalton betrayed The Wolverines to the Russians.) This episode featured Jonathan at his most stern and it was an interesting change-of-pace from the gentle technique that Jonathan usually uses during his missions.

With this episode, the second season ends. It was a good season, overall. The show can be corny and a bit mawkish but it’s all so earnest and sincere that it’s often impossible not to be somewhat moved by it. Next week, we start season three!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.23 “Children’s Children”

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jonathan and Mark find themselves in a Douglas Sirk-style melodrama.

Episode 2.23 “Children’s Children”

(Dir by Victor French, originally aired on April 30th, 1986)

When I watched this episode, I saw that the script was credited to David Thoreau and I immediately assumed that it had to be a pseudonym for the actual writer. Fortunately, for once, I actually did some research and I discovered that the writer’s name actually was David Thoreau. He wrote a few scripts that were produced in the 80s and 90s and, in fact, this was the first of seven scripts that he wrote for Highway to Heaven. He’s also credited as writing the screenplay for the classic beach volleyball film, Side Out.

As for this episode, it finds Mark and Jonathan working at a home for unwed mothers. Just the term “home for unwed mothers” brings to mind the 50s melodramas of Douglas Sirk and I found myself thinking about just how old-fashioned Highway to Heaven must have seemed even in the 80s. I did a google search and I discovered that homes from unwed mothers do still exist, though they’re now called “maternity homes.”

The manager of the home for unwed mothers is Joyce Blair (Bibi Besch), who finds herself being hounded by a reporter named Dan Rivers (Robert Lipton). Dan is determined to take Joyce down and, to do so, he brings up a past incident in which Joyce was arrested. Dan twists the facts to make Joyce look like a criminal and soon, Joyce finds that she might not be able to keep the home open. Why is Dan doing this? Like most reporters on Highway to Heaven, he’s just plain evil. But when one of the girls at the home suggests that Dan might be the father of her child, Dan learns what it’s like to be falsely accused.

Meanwhile, evil businessman Jack Brent (James T. Callahan) hopes for a chance to foreclose on the home so that he can bulldoze it and replace it with condominiums. (Bad guys in the 80s always wanted to build condos.) But how will he react when he discovers that his teenage son (Scott Coffey) is going to be a father and that the girl he impregnated in currently living at the home?

This episode is the type of episode that most people think of when they dismiss Highway to Heaven as just being an old-fashioned and slightly preachy melodrama. There’s not a single subtle moment or particularly nuanced moment to be found in this particular episode. It’s note quite as heavy-handed as that episode where Mark begged the President to talk to the Russians and reduce amount of nuclear missiles but it’s close.