4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Let’s celebrate cats!
4 Shots From 4 Films
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, dir by Jack Arnold)
Sleepwalkers (1992, dir by Mick Garris)
Team America: World Police (2004, dir by Trey Parker)
Captain Marvel (2019, dir by Anna Bolden and Ryan Fleck)
Welcome to 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 the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!
It’s love! Welcome aboard, it’s love!
Episode 8.7 “And One to Grow On/Seems Like Old Times/I’ll Never Forget What’s Her Name”
(Dir by Jack Arnold, originally aired on October 27th, 1984)
Ruth Justin (Morgan Brittany) boards the ship with her ex-fiancée, Arthur (Richard Kline). Arthur has been suffering from amnesia ever since Ruth ended their engagement and Ruth hopes that she can help cure his condition by taking a cruise with him. But what if Arthur is just faking his condition because he wants to get back together with Ruth?
Private detective Johnny Bonilla (Alex Rocco) boards the ship with his client, Deborah Marshall (Joan Van Ark). Deborah hired Johnny to help her tack down Larry Peters (Robert Reed), a man who she once had a crush on. But what if Larry is just an overage playboy and Johnny is the one who truly loves Deborah?
Those two stories, while handled competently, were pretty much just standard Love Boat plotlines. The story that one truly remembers from this episode belongs to Vicki and Captain Stubing. Vicki is finally turning 18 and the Captain throws her a big surprise party on the boat. Vicki is happy and the Captain is proud …. or, at least, he is until he catches Vicki with a bottle of champagne. The Captain ends up yelling at Vicki. Vicki runs off, with tears in her eyes. Doc Bricker suggests that it’s time that the Captain tell Vicki the truth about his alcoholism.
Captain Stubing is scared to do so. He fears that, if he tells Vicki that he was an angry drunk who once nearly hit a kid while driving while intoxicated, she’ll lose all respect for him. But, in a wonderfully-acted scene, Stubing does tell her. And, once the shock wears off, Vicki comes to see her father as being more of a hero than ever. She now understands why the Captain doesn’t drink and, importantly, the Captain himself understands why he overreacted to seeing Vicki tipsy.
In the past, I’ve always wondered about whether or not Vicki had a life outside of the ship and, to be honest, I still wonder that. Even when she celebrates her 18th birthday, there’s no one her own age around. Instead, she celebrates with the much older crew and a bunch of elderly passengers. That doesn’t seem quite fair to Vicki. Because The Love Boat is …. well, the Love Boat, it’s easy to ignore the fact that Vicki pretty much gave up her childhood to work on a cruise ship.
That said, Captain Stubing and Vicki’s father-daughter relationship has always, somewhat surprisingly, been one of the strongest elements of The Love Boat and that’s almost entirely due to the performances of Gavin MacLeod and Jill Whelan. One sees that in this episode. Gavin MacLeod was a recovering alcoholic in real life and his performance the scene in which he talks to Vicki about his struggles has an authenticity to it that keeps it from getting mawkish or preachy.
(I cried as I watched. I’m missing my dad today.)
This was a good cruise, even if Ace was strangely not on the boat this week. Where were you Ace?
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
The aliens are here …. or are they?
4 Shots From 4 Alien Invasion Films
It Came From Outer Space (1953, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: Clifford Stine)
It Conquered The World (1956, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Fred E. West)
Starman (1984, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Donald M. Morgan)
Predator (1987, directed by John McTiernan, DP: Donald McAlpine)
Welcome to 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 the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!
This week, Vicki is accused of corrupting a passenger!
Episode 6.23 “Vicki’s Dilemma/Discount Romance/Loser & Still Champ”
(Dir by Jack Arnold, originally aired on March 5th, 1983)
Poor Vicki! Finally, someone her own age — Mark Hammond (Glenn Scarpelli) — boards the boat and he turns out to be a speed freak! In fact, he steals some amphetamines from Doc’s cabin. (For some reason, Doc didn’t lock the medicine cabinet. Y’know, people get fired for stuff like that….) When the speeding Mark collapses on deck, Vicki is the first to help him. And how does Mark thank her? By slipping the stolen pills into Vicki’s pocket!
Mark’s mom (Elinor Donahue) accuses Vicki of getting her son hooked on speed. Luckily, Mark has an attack of conscience and admits the truth. (“I was going to let you take the fall but….” Mark says.) Vicki and the Captain are surprisingly forgiving of Mark and his mom. If I was in Vicki’s shoes, I can’t say I’d be quite so gracious about it. Then again, I’ve been taking speed for ADD for most of my life so I would at least have an excuse for having the medicine.
Meanwhile, Gopher’s uncle (Red Buttons) boards the boat and starts selling watches out of his cabin. He’s such a good salesman that he almost puts the boat’s gift shop out of business! The owner of the gift shop is played by June Allyson and she’s not amused. She and Red Button still end up falling in love though.
(I thought Juliet Mills was in charge of the gift shop. When did June Allyson arrive?)
Finally, passenger Tom Joseph (Patrick Wayne) feels threatened because he’s got a crush on another passenger (Ann Turkel) who is a tennis star and much more athletic to him. Every Love Boat has at least one boring story and this week, it was Tom’s story.
This was an okay episode. Red Buttons and June Allyson were a cute old couple. I appreciated the Vicki storyline, if just because it was one of the few times that I’ve seen this show acknowledge that Vicki really doesn’t get to spend much time with people her own age. Captain Stubing confessed to worrying about whether or not life at sea was fair to Vicki and Gavin MacLeod delivered the lines with such sincerity that, for a few brief moments, The Love Boat became a serious drama.
This was a good cruise.
Today’s horror scene that I love comes from one of my favorite films, 1953’s Creature From The Black Lagoon. In this scene, Julia Adams goes for a swim. Little does she realize that, under the water, the Creature is following her every move. Wonderfully directed by Jack Arnold, this creepy yet oddly lovely scene is one of the best of the 50s.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
The aliens are here …. or are they?
4 Shots From 4 Alien Invasion Films
It Came From Outer Space (1953, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: Clifford Stine)
It Conquered The World (1956, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Fred E. West)
Starman (1984, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Donald M. Morgan)
Predator (1987, directed by John McTiernan, DP: Donald McAlpine)
Welcome to 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 the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!
The Love Boat promises something for everyone!
Episode 5.7 “The Lady from Laramie/Vicki Swings/Phantom Bride”
(Dir by Jack Arnold, originally aired on November 14th, 1981)
As I did with this week’s episodes of Miami Vice, CHiPs, and Fantasy Island, I’m going to save time by doing this one bullet point style.
Next week — The Love Boat goes on a Thanksgiving cruise! (If only I had started reviewing The Love Boat a week earlier than I did, the timing would have been perfect.) ‘Til then, set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance….
Today’s horror scene that I love comes from one of my favorite films, 1953’s Creature From The Black Lagoon. In this scene, Julia Adams goes for a swim. Little does she realize that, under the water, the Creature is following her every move. Wonderfully directed by Jack Arnold, this creepy yet oddly lovely scene is one of the best of the 50s.
(By the way, I’m happy to say that I will be viewing this wonderful movie on the big screen this weekend! I can’t wait!)
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we honor the one and only Jack Arnold, who was responsible for some of the best sci-fi/horror films of the 1950s.
4 Shots From 4 Jack Arnold Films
It Came From Outer Space (1953, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: Clifford Stine)
The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: William E. Snyder)
Tarantula (1955, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: George Robinson)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: Ellis W. Carter)
Welcome to 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 the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!
This week’s cruise proves that you never knew who you would see on The Love Boat as both Jill St. John and Ron “Horshack” Pallilo set sail for adventure.
Episode 4.17 “Lose One, Win One/The $10,000 Lover/Mind My Wife”
(Dir by Jack Arnold, originally aired on January 31st, 1981)
I have often said that the least believable thing about The Love Boat has been its portrayal of Doc Bricker (played, in likable but mild-mannered fashion, by Bernie Kopell) as being a legendary seducer. This week’s episode, however, features something that is even less believable. Ron Pallilo (yes, Horshack from Welcome Back, Kotter) plays Casper Martin, the world’s most successful lover.
Yes, seriously.
Now, in the show’s defense, everyone points out that Casper is a bit on the …. nerdy side. Gopher even calls him a nerd and if there’s anything that Gopher knows about, it’s being a nerd. But apparently, women are supposed to find Casper to be irresistible. (Speaking for myself …. uhmm, no.) Though Casper himself doesn’t know it, he boards the ship just five sexual encounters away from setting the world record. On the first day of the cruise, he takes it down to just being two encounters away. (SERIOUSLY — WHO TAKES A CRUISE AND HAS SEX WITH HORSHACK!?) Casper’s friend, Tony Streeter (James Darren), works for The Encyclopedia of World Records and is keeping track.
But then Casper meets the equally quirky Norma Kittredge (Gina Hecht) and falls in love and decides that he’s ready to settle down. Will the record never be broken!?
Meanwhile, another passenger — Nick Rondo (Steve Marachuk) — is convinced that rich Priscilla Hensley (Dorian Lopinto) is actually Penny, a girl that he went to high school with. It turns out that he’s right but Priscilla is lying about her background so that she can marry a rich snob named Buckstone Cooper (Sam Chew, Jr.). Who will Penny pick? Blue collar Nick or snobbish Buckstone? Do you really have to ask?
Finally, Doc is excited because his old friend, Dr. Charlie Wilson (James MacKrell) has booked a cruise with his wife, Sandy (Jill St. John). Unfortunately, Dr. Wilson has to back out of the cruise to perform surgery so Sandy sails alone. Charlie asks Doc to look after his wife and Doc agrees. However, Doc soon comes to fear that Sandy is interested in more than just friendship. (Yes, this is the cruise where Horshack gets laid while Doc — for the first time ever — tries to resist temptation.) No worries, Doc! Sandy is more interested in Captain Stubing than her husband’s best friend.
This episode was a bit on the dull side. Perhaps if Barbarino or even Epstein has taken the cruise instead of Horshack, things would have been a bit more entertaining but, as it was, this cruise didn’t make much of an impression. Even the usually reliable Jill St. John seemed to be a bit bored by the whole thing. Hopefully, next week’s episode will have something for everyone.
Through the Shattered Lens 