Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.12 “Mitchell & Woods”

Posted on 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week …. hey, what is this!?

Episode 5.12 “Mitchell & Woods”

(Dir by Bernard L. Kowalski, originally aired on December 18th, 1981)

Paula Woods (Jayne Kennedy) and Melanie Mitchell (Cindy Morgan) may have once just been two members of the highway patrol who were trained by Ponch but they’ve now been promoted to working as plainclothes detectives in Ocean City!

“Look out Ocean City!” Jon Baker says.

When an old high school friend of Michell’s is murdered, Mitchell and Woods uncover a male prostitution ring.  Along with bringing the guilty to justice, they also help Chickee (Pamela Susan Shoop) find the courage to leave her abusive relationship….

No, there’s not much motorcycle action.  No, there’s no slow motion car crashes.  Yes, this is an episode of CHiPs.  Well, kind of.

It’s actually a backdoor pilot for a show about Mitchell and Woods.  Ponch and Baker show up at the start of the show to wish Mitchell and Woods luck.  Ponch and Baker return halfway through the show so that Ponch can tell Mitchell and Woods about an informant named Avrom (Tony Burton).  And, finally, Ponch and Baker return at the end of the episode and give our erstwhile detectives a parking ticket.

Backdoor pilots at the worst!  You’re all prepared to spend 40 minutes with people you know and suddenly, a bunch of new folks show up and start demanding your attention.  It doesn’t help that Mitchell & Woods is a terrible pilot and I’m not really surprised that it didn’t become an actual series.  Can Mitchell and Woods prove that woman can be good detectives?  Will they ever impress their new boss (Paul Gale)?  I don’t really know the characters so I don’t care.

I swear, they could have at least brought back Caitlyn Jenner for this episode.

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.18 “World of Trouble”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

This week, Al Lombard retuns.

Episode 5.18 “World of Trouble”

(Dir by Alan Myerson, originally aired on Jun 14th, 1989)

Way back in the first season, Dennis Farina appeared as an honorable gangster named Al Lombard who did not want his son, Sal, to follow him into the family business.  During his first appearance, Lombard considered ratting out his associates in return for an immunity deal but, in the end, he refused.  Al Lombard was old school.  He was not a rat.  That didn’t make much difference to his associates.  The episode ended with an ambiguous freeze frame and gunshot that suggested they had executed him.

In this episode, it is revealed that Al Lombard faked his death and has spent the last few years in Europe.  When a judge dismisses the years-old indictment against him, Al returns to Miami so he can visit his son, Sal (Timothy Patrick Quill).  Despite the fact that Lombard went back on his promise to testify against his associates, Crockett and Tubbs are still happy to see him.  Al is a likable guy!

Unfortunately, the whole thing is a set-up.  Rival gangster Federico Librizzi (Ned Eisenberg) arranged for the indictment to be dismissed in order to lure Al back to Miami.  Once in Miami, Al is upset to discover that Sal is now involved in the family business and that a gang war is about to break out over a new superweapon that Sal stole from the DEA.  When Librizzi’s hitmen try to take out Al, they hit Sal instead.

Sal is dead and Al wants revenge.  Al is smart enough to show up at a meeting between Librizzi and Burnett and Cooper (*sigh* the undercover thing again).  Librizzi shoots Al, forcing Crockett and Tubbs to shoot Librizzi.

This was one of the fifth season episodes that did not originally air during the show’s network run.  It was included in syndication as a “lost episode.”  Dennis Farina gives a charismatic performance as Al Lombard but that’s about all this episode really has going for it.  The other performances are nowhere close to being as good as Farina’s and the whole plot to bring Lombard back to Miami is ludicrously convoluted.  Seriously, there aren’t mob hitmen in Europe?

Song of the Day: The Theme From Trip With The Teacher by Igo Kantor

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day is the oddly cheery theme music of 1975’s Trip With The Teacher.  Composed by Igo Kantor, this music may be inappropriate for a film about a teacher and four students who are kidnapped by a sociopath with narcolepsy but I defy you to get it out of your head!

Scene that I Love: Yojimbo

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yojimbo (1961, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

The great filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, was born 116 years ago today, in Tokyo.  Kurosawa would go on to become one of the most influential directors of all time, making 30 films over a career that lasted 57 years.  Though Kurosawa is often cited as an influence on westerns (Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo inspired Serigo Leone to create The Man With No Name), Kurosawa’s influence goes for beyond just one genre.  He directed action films.  He directed gangster films.  He directed social problem films.  He directed historical epics.  Kurosawa taught an entire generation of future film film directors the language of cinema.

In honor of the anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s birth, here is a scene that we all love from his 1961 masterpiece, Yojimbo.  Playing the lead role of the lone swordsman is, of course, Kurosawa’s frequent star, Toshiro Mifune.

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Akira Kurosawa Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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, the Shattered Lens honors both the birth and the legacy of the great filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Akira Kurosawa Films

The Hidden Fortress (1958, dir. by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Kazuo Yamasaki)

Yojimbo (1961, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Kazuo Miyagawa)

Ran (1987, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Takao Saito)

Dreams (1990, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Takao Saito)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us for Slaughter in San Francisco!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be Slaughter in San Francisco!

If you want to join this watch party, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Slaughter in San Francisco on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know by Britney Spears (2001, dir by Herb Ritts)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s Britney on the beach!  This video was controversial when it was first released.  It seems rather tame now.

This video was directed by photographer Herb Ritts and Britney’s boyfriend was played by French model Brice Durand.  Supposedly, neither Justin Timberlake nor Lynne Spears were happy with this video.  Lynne felt it was too explicit and Justin apparently had an issue with Britney kissing another guy, even though Britney was just acting, it was just for the music video, and it’s not as if Justin wasn’t messing around behind Britney’s back.

Enjoy!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 3/16/26 — 3/22/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Rest in Peace, Chuck Norris.

Films I Watched:

  1. Color of Night (1994)
  2. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
  3. Evil Nanny (2016)
  4. Fear City (1984)
  5. Fire Maiden From Outer Space (1956)
  6. Firewalker (1986)
  7. Hard Ticket To Hawaii (1987)
  8. Mortal Thoughts (1991)
  9. Once Upon A Time In Venice (2017)
  10. Out of Death (2021)
  11. Resident Evil (2002)
  12. Setup (2011)
  13. The Siege (1998)
  14. 10 to Midnight (1983)
  15. Used Cars (1980)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. 1st & Ten
  2. CHiPs
  3. The Love Boat
  4. Miami Vice
  5. Pacific Blue
  6. Radio 1990
  7. Saved By The Bell: The New Class

Books I Read:

  1. Out of the Woods (2025) by Gregg Olsen

Live Tweets:

  1. Hard Ticket To Hawaii
  2. Evil Nanny
  3. Fear City
  4. Resident Evil

News From Last Week:

  1. Chuck Norris Dies At 86
  2. Art Critic Calvin Tomkins Dies At 100
  3. Nicholas Brendon Dies At 54
  4. Director Jamie Blanks Dies At 54
  5. Actor Matt Clark Dies At 89
  6. Oscars Ratings Hit 17.9 Million Viewers, Down 9% From Last Year and Lowest Since 2022
  7. The Latest Season Of The Bachelorette Has Been Canceled
  8. Champagne socialists in Cuba stage concert, stay in 5-star hotel as country plunges into nationwide blackout
  9. Afroman Wins Civil Trial Over Use of Police Raid Footage in His Music Videos
  10. Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ blasts off with $80.5 million, a best for Amazon MGM, and the year

Links From Last Week:

  1. Painting Chicago’s River Green – Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2026!
  2. Jenny Driver

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh reviewed Project Hail Mary, Made In Abyss, Interspecies Reviewers, and Dune Part One!  Arleigh reviewed episodes 4, 5, 6, and 7 of One Piece: Into The Grand Line!  He shared a song from Led Zeppelin!
  2. Brad wrote about Soldier and Chuck Norris!
  3. Erin reviewed Look Who’s Talking and The Whole Nine Yards!
  4. Erin shared Too Many Girls, St. Patrick Bishop of Ireland, Nurse On The Beach, Die Hard, Johnny Havoc, Invasion USA, and Amazing Stories!  She also wished all of you a happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  5. Jeff shared music videos from House of Pain, INXS, and INXS again.  He reviewed Blind Date and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America!
  6. I shared scene of the day featuring William Shatner, Gary Oldman, Wesley Snipes, Bruce Willis, Peter Graves, Kurt Russell, and Erik Estrada!
  7. I paid tribute to William Shatner, Russ Meyer, Chuck Norris, Hollywood, Bruce Willis, Luc Besson, Kurt Russell, and Bernardo Bertolucci!
  8. I shared songs from Angelo Badalamenti, The Dust Brothers, Badalamenti again, Bruce Willis,  The Who, and Alan Silvestri!
  9. I shared music videos from Tomoyasu Hotei, Laura Michelle, Afroman, and Tom Jones!
  10. I reviewed the Oscar ceremony!
  11. I congratulated you — yes, you! — for surviving Oscar Sunday!
  12. I shared my early Oscar predictions!

Click here to check out last week!

Scenes That I Love: William Shatner Interprets Rocket Man

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we wish a happy 96th birthday to the one and only William Shatner!

In this scene that I love, William Shatner performs Rocket Man at the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards (better known as the Saturn Awards).  This video has become a bit of tradition around here.  Only Shatner could make this work so brilliantly.