Retro Television Review: T and T 3.21 “The Little Prince”

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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, T and T comes to an end.

Episode 3.21 “The Little Prince”

(Dir by Ken Girotti, originally aired on May 26th, 1990)

The Sultan (Fareed Ahmed) of the tiny island nation of Domain has come to Canada or wherever the Hell this show is supposed to be taking place so that he can announce that he is bringing democracy to his nation. Yay! Democracy rules! However, the Sultan is also bringing along his bratty 12 year-old son, the Prince (Marlow Vella). Out of everyone that he could have hired, he selected Terri and T.S. Turner to look after the Prince.

Unfortunately, a gangster named Don Giovanni wants to kidnap the Prince. Fortunately, Don Giovanni has hired recurring crooks Fritz (Dominic Cuzzocrea) and Nobby (Avery Saltzman) to handle the abduction. Why any reputable gangster would hire Fritz and Nobby, I don’t know. Fritz and Nobby have appeared in several episodes of this show and they have never came close to pulling off any of their schemes. As usual, Turner is able to easily defeat Fritz and Nobby and, oddly, there doesn’t seem to be hard feelings. With all of the times that Turner has captured Fritz and Nobby, you do have to wonder why the two of them are never in jail.

This was the last episode of T and T. Not only did it end season 3 but it ended the show itself. The show ends without anyone ever asking what happened to Amy or any of the other supporting characters who came and went over the past three seasons. The continuity of this show was always a mess. That’s especially clear in this episode. Turner has to tell Terri who Fritz and Nobby are, despite the fact that Terri has met them at least twice before. I’m going to guess this episode was probably meant to air earlier in the season. Either that or the show’s writers just didn’t care.

For a show that started off as the story of streetwise guy who was unjustly imprisoned for murder, T and T certainly ended on a silly and rather inconsequential note. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s a Canadian detective show that starred Mr. T. Obviously, T and T was never meant to be taken seriously. The show didn’t need an epic finale but still, I always feel like the final episode of the show should at least wrap things up. The final episode is the equivalent of a final chapter. Its the show’s chance to leave the viewers with one final thought or to at least acknowledge everything that led up to the end. It’s always a bit sad when any show — even something like T and T — doesn’t get a chance to do that.

Now that it’s over, what can I say about T and T? There were a few entertaining episodes. Mr. T didn’t have much range an actor but he was still a big personality and his “don’t be a criminal” speeches were earnest delivered. The show worked better with Amy than Terri. The first season was the show’s strongest. Things went downhill afterwards. By the third season, Mr. T seemed bored with the whole thing.

Anyway, I’m done with T and T! To be honest, there were times when I felt like I would never finish this show. This is probably one of the most obscure pieces of entertainment that I’ve ever reviewed on the Shattered Lens but that’s what I’m here for. I like reviewing the shows and the movies that have been overlooked or otherwise forgotten.

Next week, I’ll be reviewing a new show in this time slot. What will that show be?

Uhmm …. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out myself!

Retro Television Review: T and T 3.18 “Suspect”

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we have yet another surprisingly serious episode of T and T.

Episode 3.18 “Suspect”

(Dir by Ken Girotti, originally aired on May 5th, 1990)

On trial for having physically abused his girlfriend, Giles (Tom Melissis) can only smirk when his girlfriend, Ally (Isabelle Mejias), takes the stand and says that she doesn’t remember who beat her. Far less amused is Ally’s lawyer, Terri (Kristina Nicoll).

After telling Ally that she needs to recant her testimony and testify against Giles, Terri starts to receive threatening letters. While Turner immediately suspects that Giles is the one behind the threats, it turns out that it’s actually Ally! Ally explains that she’s actually an ex-convict named Deborah, a former client of Terri’s who got sent to prison. This, of course, leads to a huge question — why didn’t Terri recognize Ally when she agreed to serve as her attorney? And how did Ally manage to fool everyone into thinking she was Ally when she’s actually Deborah? Ally doesn’t say anything about getting plastic surgery or anything like that. She also implies that her last encounter with Terri was only a year or two ago. (Seeing as how Terri wasn’t even on the show until the start of this season, it couldn’t have been that long ago.) Terri immediately recognizes the name Deborah but she didn’t recognize Deborah when she was standing right in front of her. Wow, Terry …. and I thought I was self-centered!

No worries, though! Despite all of the threats, Terri agrees to not turn Ally into the police as long as Ally testifies against Giles. I don’t know if I could so easily overlook a harassment campaign but whatever. The important thing is that Giles goes to jail and Ally is free to continue leading a double life.

This episode featured good performances from Isabelle Mejias and Tom Melissis and I appreciate any show or film that ends with an abuser getting sent to either prison or the graveyard. But the story itself felt really rushed. This is one of those episodes that would have benefitted from a longer running time because there was a lot to unpack in just 30 minutes. As well, it’s hard not to feel that Ally’s backstory would have had more impact if Amy was still on the show. Season 3 (and the show itself) are nearly over and I still don’t feel like I really know how Terri Taler is supposed to be. Amy was established, over the course of two seasons, as a whip-smart attorney who had a long history as a crusader. Terri, on the other hand, still feels like someone who just showed up nowhere.

Like last week, this was a surprisingly serious episode of T and T. The episode didn’t quite work but the show still deserves credit for trying.

Retro Television Review: T and T 3.5 “Decker’s Ex”

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Decker takes the ring.

Episode 3.5 “Decker’s Ex”

(Dir by Ken Girotti, originally aired on February 3rd, 1990)

One night, Beth Knightley (Wendy Lyon, who horror fans will immediately recognize from Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou) comes home to discover two masked men tearing up her house. They tell her that they are searching for a computer disk that was taken by her deceased husband. They give her 24 hours to find the disk. If she doesn’t comply, she dies. If she goes to the police, she dies. If she tries to leave town …. “you get the idea,” as the main bad guy says.

Having been ordered not to go to the police, Beth instead goes to her ex, who just happens to turn out to be gym owner Decker (David Nerman). Decker asks T.S. to help them out but, when the men show up at the gym, it turns out that Decker doesn’t need any help. Because Turner made the mistake of going to the police and ended up being interrogated by the FBI, it falls to Decker to beat up the bad guys. Decker does just that and he does it rather easily. The Canadian Mob is not sending their best.

(Actually, since this show obviously takes place in Canada, you have to wonder what the FBI was doing north of the border.)

The majority of this episode was taken up with Beth and Decker talking about why their marriage failed. Beth had plans while Decker just had dreams. It really wasn’t anything that I hadn’t heard in a hundred other shows and movies but David Nerman and Wendy Lyon had a likable chemistry and they were convincing as two people who would have once taken a chance on each other. David Nerman was the only member of T and T‘s supporting cast to stick with the series through all three seasons and it’s nice that he was given an episode where he got to be the hero.

(Still, it’s interesting that T.S. apparently didn’t know that Decker was once married, considering that the show previously established them as being lifelong friends.)

Speaking of the show’s supporting cast, this was the second episode of T and T to feature just one T. Again, Kristina Nicoll is featured in the opening credits but the character that she plays, Terri Taler, is neither seen nor mentioned during the show. Just as with last week’s episode, I have to wonder if this was shot before Nicoll was actually hired for the show.

This episode also features no mention of why exactly Amy is no longer working with T.S. The obvious reason for Amy’s absence is that Alex Amini didn’t return for the third season. But, in-universe, it just seems strange that T.S. never mentions her. I mean, T.S. would still be in prison if not for her. Show some appreciation, Turner!