Welcome to Late Night 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 Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

James Franco is in this episode!

Episode 3.8 “Matters of the Heart”

(Dir by Terence H. Winkless, originally aired on October 5th, 1997)

Cory goes undercover to bust a man who is selling babies to couples who can’t have children.  Cory pretends to be pregnant and meets the couple who want to buy her baby.  What Cory discovers is that the couple would be loving parents.  She realizes that she can’t bust them.  Palermo is not amused, pointing out that everyone involved is breaking the law.

Meanwhile, Cory has been caring for a baby who was originally meant to be sold to the same couple.  Chris is upset.  What if the baby cries and wakes her up?  Well, Chris, I guess you’ll get to whine about it like you are about everything else.  At the end of the episode, Cory arranges for the baby to be adopted by the couple who wanted to buy her in the first place.  Palermo, having suddenly changed his tune, says, “This is a wonderful thing you’re doing.”

Meanwhile, TC goes undercover too!  He’s busting a drug dealer who is selling amphetamines to extreme athletes, one of whom is played by James Franco!  Remember, during the early days of this site, when I had that huge crush on him?  I know a lot of people would say that I shouldn’t admit to that, considering the scandal that pretty much ended his career but …. eh, why deny it?  Who hasn’t had a crush on someone who later turned out to be kind of sleazy?  It’s a part of growing up.  Back in 2010, it all came down to two things: I was young and I found him to very, very appealing, in much the same way that I always used to fall for dysfunctional poets and long-haired guitar players in high school and college.  Anyway, what were we talking about?  Oh, right — Pacific Blue.  As far as the show goes, TC is successful despite the fact that he comes across as being a cop the entire time.

This episode …. actually, I’m surprised to say that this episode kind of worked.  Not the stuff involving TC obviously, all of that sucked.  In the role of TC, Jim Davidson was too expressionless and dull to be convincing as someone who could possibly pull of an undercover operation.  But Cory’s storyline worked, largely thanks to Paula Trickey’s performance.  (Trickey was one of the more talented members of the cast but Pacific Blue rarely seemed to understand that.)  I have to admit that I even teared up a little at the end as Cory said goodbye to the baby that she had spent weeks caring for.

Seriously, me tearing up while watching an episode of Pacific Blue!  What a strange world.  Maybe it’s the holiday spirit!

On that hopeful note, I finish up my final 2025 review of Pacific Blue.  Retro Television Reviews will be off for the holidays, so that I can concentrate on Awards Season and Christmas movies.  Pacific Blue will return on January 6th, 2026!