Retro Television: Fantasy Island 4.15 “Loving Strangers/Something Borrowed, Something Blue”

Posted on February 27, 2024 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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984. Almost the entire show is currently streaming on Daily Motion.

Sorry for running late with the review today. Are you prepared for some romance?

Episode 4.15 “Loving Strangers/Something Borrowed, Something Blue”

(Dir by Cliff Bole, originally aired on February 14th, 1981)

It’s a special Valentine’s Day episode of Fantasy Island!

Now, I have to admit that my first reaction to this was to think that I would be pretty depressed if I spent a Valentine’s Day at home, watching Fantasy Island. But then I realized that’s pretty much what happened to me this year. I had the excuse of a sprained ankle, though. Add to that, I was watching The Love Boat instead of Fantasy Island and Jeff and I still had a romantic time, even if I was stuck on the couch for most of the day.

(For the record, my ankle is doing much better. It only hurts with every 20th step now.)

Anyway, both of this episode’s fantasies are about falling in love.

Tom (Peter Marshall) and Margaret Wilkerson (Jane Powell) have been married for 25 years. It’s been a happy marriage but they’re both curious whether they would still fall in love if they met each other as the way they are now. Their fantasy is to meet again for the very first time. Mr. Roarke warns them that this might not be a good idea but Tom and Margaret still choose to walk through the Door of Forgetfulness and immediately forget that they know each other or that they’re married. Uh-oh — Tom’s flirting with a younger woman! And Margaret just met international man of mystery, Cesar Romero. Well, that marriage is doomed. Or is it?

No, of course, it’s not doomed. This is Fantasy Island and it’s Valentine’s Day. Still, you do have to wonder why Roarke grants fantasies that could so easily go terribly wrong. What if Tom and Margaret hadn’t eventually found each other again? How would that be explained to the members of their family in Indiana? Does Mr. Roarke ever worry about getting sued?

As for the other fantasy, Jack Foster (John Gavin) wants to marry Pamela Archer (Shelley Smith) on the Island. The wedding is being planned. Tattoo is calling people to order the cake and the plates and the silverware and it’s actually kind of neat to see Tattoo do something other than glare at Mr. Roarke. However, Pamela has not told Jack the truth about her trampy past and she fears that, if the truth comes out, it will destroy Jack’s campaign to be governor of Illinois. (I don’t know what she’s worried about. It’s not like Illinois has a reputation for being run by ruthless political machine or anything.) Pamela wants to marry Jack but …. OH NO, IT’S MARJOE GORTNER!

Marjoe plays Nick Corbin, who was apparently Pamela’s pimp in her previous life. He’s come to Fantasy Island to drag Pamela away from Jack and Pamela feels that she has to go with him in order to protect Jack. Jack reveals that he knows about her past and he doesn’t care. He then confronts Nick, who pulls a knife on him. OH NO! Fortunately, Mr. Roarke appears and literally tosses Nick 20 feet into the air. I’m not kidding, either. MARJOE GORTNER GOES FLYING!

With Nick taken care of, Jack and Pamela have an incredibly tacky wedding. Mr. Roarke walks Pamela down the aisle because apparently, Pamela has no family. That’s kind of sad.

But the important thing is that everything worked out. To be honest, neither fantasy was that interesting but I’m always happy to see Marjoe Gortner. No one glowered quite like Marjoe!

Song of the Day: Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I meant to share this yesterday for Johnny Cash’s birthday but I was pretty tired when we got home from the lake and I missed my chance to do so. But the voice of Johnny Cash was so strong that it can justify a song of the day even after his birthday.

So, with a belated happy birthday to the spirit of Johnny Cash, here is today’s song of the day!

Scenes That I Love: Elizabeth Taylor Enters Rome In Cleopatra

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been the 92nd birthday of one of the greatest film stars of all time, Elizabeth Taylor!

Today’s scene that I love comes from 1963’s Cleopatra. Cleopatra is often dismissed as the film that nearly bankrupted a studio but it’s enjoyable if you’re in the right mood and you’ve got four hours of free time. Elizabeth Taylor may not have been a historically accurate Cleopatra but who cares? It seems appropriate that the most glamorous woman of what was then the modern world played the most glamorous woman of the ancient world.

In this scene, Cleopatra arrives in Rome with all of the fanfare befitting the world’s most beautiful and powerful woman. Keep in mind that this scene was done in the days before CGI and — *shudder* — AI. Every costume was real. Every extra was real. Everything about this scene was real.

Music Video of the Day: Love On by Selena Gomez (2024, dir by Gregory Ohrel)

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s music video of the day, we have the latest from Texas’s own Selena Gomez!

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.16 “Vintage ’54”

Posted on February 26, 2024 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 Freevee!

This week, the key words on the highway of California are “team work!”

Episode 1.16 “Vintage ’54”

(Dir by Barry Crane, originally aired on January 26th, 1978)

It’s a three-day weekend and that means the California Highway Patrol even more mayhem to deal with than usual!

For instance, two car thieves are driving up and down the highway, searching for classic cars. One stolen car belongs to 85 year-old Margaret Downey (Marjorie Bennett), who proceeds to go down to the station and personally demand that Sgt. Getraer find her car. The thieves are eventually caught, thanks to the entire Highway Patrol working as a team and keeping an eye out for stolen cars. The emphasis here was on teamwork, which Ponch and Baker just doing their part as opposed to be singled out.

It’s also teamwork that reunites a baby with the family that accidentally left her behind at a rest stop. Ponch and Baker are the ones who take the baby to the station and they’re the ones who nickname the baby “Princess” and buy her toys but, in the end, it’s the entire Highway Patrol working together that eventually brings the baby back to her grateful parents.

Baker and Ponch do get a moment in the spotlight when a skydiver ends up getting tangled up and hanging from a highway overpass. Baker is the one who grabs hold of her legs to keep her from falling while Ponch is the one who recruits a crane to help rescue her. But again, Baker and Ponch are not working alone. Instead, there are other motorists who help out, some by holding onto Baker and another by allowing Ponch to use his crane.

My point is that this episode was all about people working together to make the world a better and a safer place. That’s not a bad message and the show delivers it with a good deal of sincerity. With the exception of the scenery-chewing Marjorie Bennett, everyone is on their best behavior with this episode, with even Erik Estrada toning down his usual overacting. And, of course, there’s two exciting motorcycle chases, both of which are very well-filmed. There was nothing particularly amazing about this episode. It was pretty much a typical hour of CHiPs but it was still very well-done.

Next week, Ponch and Baker have an important lesson to teach about hitchhiking!

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 2.4 “Out Where The Buses Don’t Run”

Posted on February 26, 2024 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 is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, we learn the cost of working Vice.

Episode 2.4 “Out Where The Buses Don’t Run”

(Dir by Jim Johnston, originally aired on October 18th, 1985)

This is it. This is the episode that is regularly cited as being one of the best, if not the best, episodes that Miami Vice ever aired. Out Where The Buses Don’t Run takes a look at the psychological costs of spending one’s life obsessing on crime and justice. What starts out as a comedy turns into the bleakest episode of the show so far.

Things get off to a great start, with Crockett and Tubbs pursuing a drug dealer on the beach. While The Who’s Baba O’Riley plays on the soundtrack, the dealer roller skates down a sidewalk and a preacher (played by Little Richard) sends his young congregation out to collect money. As Crockett and Tubbs wait for their chance to arrest the dealer, someone watches them from a nearby window and takes pictures. Crockett asks Tubbs if he ever gets the feeling that he’s being watched.

The man taking the pictures turns out to be Hank Weldon (Bruce McGill), a former Vice cop who quit the force six years prior when a case that he had spent three years making fell apart and a drug lord was set free on a technicality. The drug lord vanished after the case against him was thrown out and it’s assumed that he was murdered by his associates. Hank, however, insists that the drug lord is still alive and he’s returned to Miami. He wants Crockett and Tubbs to help him finally catch the criminal that evaded him all those years before.

A quick check with Weldon’s former partner, Marty Lang (David Strathairn), reveals that Weldon left the force after he had a nervous breakdown and he’s spent the past few years in a mental facility. The loud and flamboyant Weldon is obviously still unstable but Crockett and Tubbs cannot shake the feeling that he might know what he’s talking about.

And, as is revealed at this end of this episode, they’re right …. kind of. Weldon does know where the missing drug lord is. The drug lord is walled up in an abandoned building. He’s been there since 1979. At the end of episode, with Tubbs, Crockett, Castillo, and Lang watching, Weldon tears down the wall and reveals the decayed skeleton of the drug lord. Weldon announces that he murdered him and walled him up. Lang then reveals that he helped.

“He was my partner,” Lang says, “Understand?”

Crockett understands and the audience understands as well. When Weldon’s obsession drove him crazy, Lang was the only one to whom he could turn. And Lang, being his partner, was the only one who understood how he felt. Lang may have been a cop but his number one loyalty was to his partner, just as Crockett’s number one loyalty will always be to Tubbs.

As played by Bruce McGill, Hank Weldon goes from being a cheerful eccentric to a bitter and paranoid lunatic to, finally, a man who can no longer stand to hide what he’s done. It’s an excellent performance that keeps the audience guessing. He may be a murderer and he’s obviously still unstable but your heart can’t help but break for him. The combination of Jim Johnston’s moody direction, a perfect collection of songs on the soundtrack, and the performances of Bruce McGill and David Strathairn really do come together to make this an excellent episode. In the end, it’s hard not to feel that Crockett and Tubbs are both one step away from becoming Weldon and Lang themselves.

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join us for Busaba The Agent and Some Kind of Wonderful!

Posted on February 26, 2024 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 Busaba The Agent, selected and hosted by Sweet Emmy Cat!

Following #MondayActionMovie, Brad and Sierra will be hosting the #MondayMuggers live tweet. We will be watching Some Kind of Wonderful!

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in. If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Busaba The Agent on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag! Then, at 10 pm et, switch over to Twitter and Prime, start Some Kind of Wonderful, and use the #MondayMuggers hashtag! The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 2.8 “Sealed With A Kiss”

Posted on February 26, 2024 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 Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989! The series can be streamed on YouTube!

Sorry, I fell asleep last night before I could write up this week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High! Belatedly, here’s some thoughts on the episode to focus on the Farrell Twins.

Episode 2.8 “Sealed With A Kiss”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on February 22nd, 1988)

After spending much of the first two seasons of Degrassi Junior High in the background, the Farrell Twins — Heather and Erica — are at the center of this episode.

Heather (Maureen Deiseach) is the responsible twin who has never had a date and thinks that French kissing sounds gross. Erica (Angela Deiseach) is the twin who is older by about six minutes and who wants to date and have fun. Heather and Erica have always been close but, as this episode begins, they’re both a little annoyed with the other. That’s not just a twin thing, it’s a sibling thing and, as the youngest of four sisters, I could relate. My sisters and I have always been very close but, growing up, I think all of us always fought to establish our own individual identities outside of just being one of four Bowman girls. I specifically refused to try out for cheerleading in high school because two of my sisters had been cheerleaders and I wanted to find my own thing to do. Considering my long history of klutziness, that was probably for the best. Anyway….

When Degrassi holds a dance with another school, Erica meets Aaron (David Stratton). Aaron is kind of a dork (i.e., he’s in high school but he comes to a junior high dance) but he wears a leather jacket and drives his dad’s car. Heather is scandalized when she and Alexa comes across Erica making out with Aaron on a stairwell. Erica’s happiness over having a boyfriend is short-lived, as she soon comes down with a fever and a sore throat and fears that Aaron has given her mono.

(“At least he didn’t give you AIDS,” Alexa cheerfully says.)

While a miserable Erica rests in bed, Aaron stops by the Farrell house to see her. When Heather explains that Erica is sick, Aaron decides that one twin is as good as another and invites Heather to take a ride in his Dad’s car. Heather agrees and she ends up making out with Aaron as well. Oh no! MONO!

Well, don’t worry. It turns out that Erica just needs to have her tonsils taken out. No one has mono. She and Heather both agree that Aaron was a dork. Heather says that at least there’s a difference between them now. One has tonsils and the other doesn’t. Uhmm …. okay, Heather.

The Farrell Twins have never been my favorite characters on Degrassi Junior High. Erica is shallow and Heather is judgmental. That said, their showcase episode was not a bad one. Along with being able to relate to the sibling dynamic, I could also relate to Erica and Heather competing for the attention of a guy who, quite frankly, wasn’t worthy of either of them. And I had to laugh at Alexa’s cheerful vapidness as she managed to see the positive in everything that the twins were getting upset about. Even the show’s final twist was kind of a nice relief from Degrassi’s usually bleak view of teenage life. For once, no one was seriously ill. No one had an STD. No one was left sobbing as the end credits rolled. Instead, the show ended with a dumb joke about tonsils. It was a nice change-of-pace.

Next week …. Stephanie is suicidal!