Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990.  The show can be found on Tubi!

This week, the second-to-last episode of T and T is all about the Czar of Canadian Surf Guitar!

Episode 3.20 “Wild Willie and the Waves”

(Dir by Don McCutcheon, originally aired on May 19th, 1990)

A fat bald man named Willie (Gordon Masten) walks into Decker’s gym and tells Turner that he needs helps getting into shape.  Turner looks at Willie and says, “That’s a lot to take off, brother.”  Willie explains that he’s planning on making a comeback.  “A come back from what?”  Turner growls.  Willy reveals that he’s actually Wild Willy, the Czar of Canadian surf guitar!

T.S. Turner has never heard of Wild Willy but Decker is a huge fan.  He’s even written a song called Surf Cincinnati, in tribute to his hero.  However, Decker points out that Wild Willy died years ago in a plane crash in Brazil.  Willy says that his manager convinced him to fake his own death as a way to push up record sales.  Willy says that he’s spent the past two years lost in the Brazilian jungle.  (So how did he get so fat?)  Decker believes him but Turner is skeptical.

But, after Wild Willy tries to break into his old house to see his wife Francine (Terri Hawkes) and confront his manager, Big Steve (Nigel Bennett), Turner starts to change his mind.  Big Steve claims that this Wild Willy is an imposter but, after Willy is nearly killed by a miswired electric guitar, Turner does some digging and discovers that Big Steve is about to sign a record deal to release all of Wild Willy’s previously unreleased material.  “Willy is worth more dead than alive!” Terri exclaims.

Fear not.  It all works out.  Big Steve is defeated by Turner, Willy, and the power of rock and roll.  Wild Willy doesn’t lose any weight but he still makes a comeback.  He also steals Decker’s song and turns it into a hit.  Decker is heart-broken but Terri says, “That’s rock and roll!”  Hey, Terri — you’re a lawyer.  Maybe you could help Decker file a lawsuit as opposed to just making fun of the poor guy?  I mean, it seems like a good idea to me but what do I know?

This episode felt very familiar.  People were always wandering into Decker’s Gym and claiming to be someone famous.  The main problem with this particular episode is that Wild Willy was such an annoying and over-the-top character that it was hard to really care about whether or not he made his comeback or not.  Add to that, why is Decker writing songs about Cincinnati when it’s totally obvious that T and T takes place in Canada?

Next week …. it’s the final episode of T and T!  How will the saga end?