Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 3.14 “Repitition”

Posted on May 23, 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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The entire series can be found on YouTube!

This week …. hey, where is everyone?

Episode 3.14 “Repetition”

(Dir by William Fruet, originally aired on February 5th, 1990)

After newspaper columnist Walter Cromwell (David Ferry) accidentally hits and kills a girl with his car, he finds himself consumed with guilt. He also start to hear the girl’s voice in his head, demanding that he bring her back to life. Walter just happens to have a cursed amulet, one that allows the owner to bring someone else back to life as long as he kills someone who is wearing the amulet. Walter’s first victim is his dying mother. But after he kills her, he starts to hear her voice demanding to be brought back to life. So, Walter commits another murder, one after the other, trying to bring back to life every one who he kills.

This was an interesting episode because neither Johnny nor Jack were anywhere to be seen. Instead, it was just Micki and she only appeared at the start and the end of the episode. The entire episode focused on Walter and his descent into madness and, it must be said, that worked just fine. This show’s strength has always been its collection of cursed antiques and this episode allowed us to see how one of them actually works. We saw how the amulet manipulated Walter and how Walter himself became more and more hooked on using the amulet’s power. I’ve always viewed the antiques as being a bit like drugs and their users being addicts and this episode certainly played into that theory.

This was an intense episode, featuring moody visuals and a strong script from David Lynch’s daughter, the future director Jennifer Lynch. After last week’s odd episode, it was nice to see an episode this week that actually got to the heart of what this series was always supposed to be about.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.19 “A Face For Radio”

Posted on May 21, 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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on YouTube.

This week, it’s terror on the radio!

Episode 3.19 “A Face For Radio”

(Dir by Bruce Feirstein, originally aired on February 3rd, 1991)

Late night radio talk show host Ray Bright (Morton Downey, Jr.) is sleazy guy who describes his own show as being “hate radio.” Over the course of one program, he tries to humiliate two female guests. The first is a psychic (Julie Wilson) who says that she’s had visions of Ray trapped in a dark room. The second is Amada Smith-Jones (Laura Branigan), who claims that she was once abducted by aliens. She carries with her a cage that she says contains the alien. Ray takes one look at the ugly and snarling little creature inside the cage and dismisses it as a puppet. Amanda says that the alien is real and that it eats “bad” people, but only if they give their permission first. Will Ray be stupid enough to give his permission?

You probably already guessed the answer to that question. Though predictable in the way that anthology shows often are, this was still an effective episode. Downey, who I understand was an actual talk show host, was very believable as the incredibly sleazy (and incredibly stupid) Ray and Laura Branigan was just as effective as the enigmatic Amanda. As for the alien in the cage, it was actually one of the more effective monsters to appear on Monsters. I had to laugh when Ray dismissed at as being a puppet because, after so many episodes featuring creatures that obviously were puppets, this episode featured a creature that looked very much alive.

The episode ended on a bit of a foul note, largely due to the fact that a new character showed up and started speaking with one of the fakest Texas accents that I’ve ever heard. Otherwise, though, this was a well-done 21 minutes.

Live Tweet Alert: Join #ScarySocial for When A Stranger Calls Back!

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial! The movie? 1993‘s When A Stranger Calls Back!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! I’ll be there tweeting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

When A Stranger Calls Back is available on Prime!

See you there!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 3.13 “Midnight Riders”

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the show attempts a change of pace!

Episode 3.13 “Midnight Riders”

(Dir by Allan Eastman, originally aired on January 29th, 1990)

An odd episode, this one.

Jack, Micki, and Johnny head out to a small town so that Jack can look up into the night sky and see a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of the stars. However, possibly as a result of the convergence (it’s never really made clear), a bunch of dead motorcycle riders are resurrected and they rumble into town, seeking vengeance on everyone who took part in the death of their leader. If the bikers can kill every one of them, their leader will be resurrected. Finally, the ghost of Jack’s father (Dennis Thatcher) shows up and works with Jack to stop the bikers. It turns out that Jack and his father had a difficult relationship. Ryan had a difficult relationship with his father. Johnny was falsely accused of murdering his father. We’ve never met Micki’s father but he’s probably a jerk too.

The weird thing about this episode is that it didn’t feature a cursed antique. Instead, Jack and the crew went to a small town and supernatural stuff started happening shortly after they arrived. That’s okay, I guess. In theory, there’s nothing wrong with trying something new. But, at the same time, the cursed antiques were what set this show apart from all of the other supernaturally-themed television series out there. Personally, even when the antique’s curse makes no sense, I still enjoy seeing what the show comes up with.

This episode had a lot of atmosphere and a typically good performance from Chris Wiggins. The ghost bikers were never quite as intimidating as they should have been, despite all of the murders. If anything, they reminded me a bit too much of Sometime They Come Back. This episode was a change of pace and, as if often the case with things like this, it didn’t quite work. Here’s hoping next week will have a cursed antique!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.18 “Desirable Alien”

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, an immigrant wants to stay in America.

Episode 3.18 “Desirable Alien”

(Dir by Bette Gordon, originally aired on January 27th, 1991)

Hercules (Tony Spiridakis) is a Greek immigrant who claims that he cannot return to his home country because of a mysterious birth defect. Hercules wants to be an American citizen but, for some reason, he is hesitant to take the physical exam necessary for citizenship and he always finds a way to put it off. As he waits to become a citizen, Hercules works in a restaurant with his friend, Luis (Luis Guzman). Hercules has had several case workers, all of whom have mysteriously stopped working for the Immigration agency after meeting with Hercules. It turns out that almost every woman that Hercules meets ends up becoming one of his lovers. Luis is impressed. Hercules says that he can’t help it. And, as caseworker Maggie (Wendy Makkena) discovers, he’s not lying. It turns out that Hercules is actually a satyr. Debbie Harry, of Blondie fame, has a brief cameo as a doctor who shows up to give Hercules his physical and who quickly becomes one of his lovers.

This episode was well-acted but it didn’t really add up to much. It’s tempting to try to connect the episode’s story to modern politics and the current debate about immigration but …. nah. That would be giving this episode a bit too much credit. As much as I complain about programs that are too long for the often simple stories that they tell, this episode is a case where I wouldn’t have minded a bit more time to explore the story. With a 21-minute runtime, this episode felt rushed and rather incomplete.

Scenes I Love: Norman Bates Talks About His Mother In Psycho

Posted on May 11, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Norman Bates, now there’s someone who probably made a big deal out of every Mother’s Day. Today’s scene that I love comes from 1960’s Psycho and features Hitchcock, Janet Leigh, and Anthony Perkins at their absolute best,

Live Tweet Alert: Watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre With #ScarySocial!

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Daniel Pearl)

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 3.12 “Epitaph For A Lonely Heart”

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s just Jack and Micki!

Episode 3.12 “Epitaph For A Lonely Heart”

(Dir by Allan Kroeker, originally aired on January 22nd, 1990)

Eli Leonard (Neil Munro) is a mortician who uses a cursed embalming needle to bring the dead back to life. Of course, he has to kill someone for the needle to work. Eli has fallen in love with the corpse of a young woman and …. EEK!

The dead woman’s fiancé is Steve Wells (Barclay Hope), a friend of Micki’s who let’s her know that he thinks something strange is happening at the funeral home before he himself is killed by Eli. Micki and Jack investigate! It all ends with a big and convenient fire, which not only kills Eli but also the two women who he has recently brought back to life.

Johnny Ventura was not in this episode and, as much as I’ve complained about the character, he actually is missed. Having Micki just working solely with Jack threw off the show’s balance a little. Jack is so much older than Micki that, in this episode, it felt as if Micki was Jack’s apprentice as opposed to being an equal partner in the search for the cursed items. As a character, Micki works best when she has an impulsive guy like Ryan or Johnny to play off of. Both she and Jack tend be cautious so this episode just felt a bit off.

(That said, there was an enjoyable scene of Jack and Micki having to host a gathering of all the other local antique dealers, none of whom knew that Jack and Micki spend all of their time fighting the Devil.)

The mortician was one of the least sympathetic villains that this show has ever featured. He was lonely but he also an obsessive creeper with no people skills. Friday the 13th has often featured villains who were tragically misguided or seduced by the cursed antique. The mortician was just a creep. Neil Munro did a good job playing him, making him into a villain who you couldn’t wait to see meet his fate.

In the end, though, this episode just felt off. I guess this show really does need Johnny screwing up and accidentally giving away the cursed antiques. Who would have guessed?

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.17 “Leavings”

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Monsters makes even less sense than usual.

Episode 3.17 “Leavings”

(Dir by John Tillinger, originally aired on January 20th, 19991)

Two cops (played by Tony Shalhoub and John Christopher Jones) are concerned about something that they’ve noticed on the streets. Homeless people who are missing limbs are showing up. The cops know that the homeless people had all their limbs just a few days ago but now, they’re gone. There’s no sign of surgery or any sort of trauma. The limbs are just disappearing apparently. Meanwhile, there’s some new homeless guy wandering around who appears to be made out of limbs that don’t really seem to go together.

They go to their boss (Clifton James) with this concerns. Their boss tells them not to worry about it. However, the cops continue to worry about it. This leads to their boss revealing the truth of what’s happening. It turns out that their boss has been stealing body parts and building new people for years. He’s trying to create a policeman who will be loyal and who won’t ask questions. (We only see one of these constructed cops in the show. He wears a jacket that identifies him as being Officer S. Partz.) The boss then kills the two cops because they’ve seen too much.

This was a weird episode. How exactly did their boss learn how to remove body parts without leaving any sort of obvious signs of trauma? How did he learn how to bring his constructed people to life? How did …. well, it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s true that a 30-minuet anthology show doesn’t necessarily have to make perfect sense but this episode really does stretch things a bit too far. The three actors all give good performances but, otherwise, this episode just falls a bit flat.