Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 2.10 “Return of the Turks”

Posted on September 2, 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!

After two months, I’m ready to get back on the California highways with Jon and Ponch!

Episode 2.10 “Return of the Turks”

(Dir by Barry Crane, aired on November 25th, 1978)

It’s always bad news whenever Ponch runs into any of his old friends.

In this episode, when he pulls over a van, he’s shocked to discover that it’s being driven by his old friend, Sid (Kaz Garas). After discovering that former wild man Ponch has now become a cop, Sid spirals into a midlife crisis that leads to him and his friend Rudy (Mark Thomas) playing bumper cars on the highway. Sid is freaked out by the entire experience but Rudy discovers that he loves intentionally bumping into other cars and forcing them off the road.

This episode featured a lot of car crashes and, as usual with CHiPs, they were well-filmed. But I have to admit that I found it almost too disturbing to watch. Usually, I enjoy a good car chase or a spectacularly-filmed car crash. I like fast cars and I’ve always been aware that, when a car crashes onscreen, it’s being driven by a stunt driver. But, back in May, was Dad was in a very serious car crash. He not only broke his shoulder but the crash aggravated his Parkinson’s and the subsequent stay in the hospital and in rehab left him so weak that he died two weeks ago. As a result, I’m not really in the mood for car crashes right now. That’s not the fault of this show, of course. And, under normal circumstances, I would probably be raving about how exciting Rudy’s highway mayhem was.

Ponch is not the only one who meets someone from his past. Baker runs into Pete (James Houghton), the brother of his former partner. Pete’s brother died when he crashed his motorcycle on duty. Pete now puts on his brother’s uniform and pretends to be a member of the Highway Patrol, writing tickets and directing traffic, Because he stole and copied a page from Ponch’s ticket book, Ponch gets the credit for all the tickets but — uh oh! — it turns out that a lot of the tickets are being contested in court. Pete is a bit overzealous. Can Baker and Ponch get Pete off the street before he pulls over the wrong person? And why is a story about the brother of Baker’s former partner mostly about Ponch?

This was a rather melancholy episode. It’s easy to laugh at any episode that features people talking about how Ponch used to be a delinquent because Erik Estrada’s goofy performance doesn’t exactly lend itself to that interpretation. But, in the end, Sid, Pete, and even Rudy were all suffering from a general sort of malaise. They all regretted the way that their lives had turned out and they were all using the California highways as a way to live out their dreams. Unfortunately, by doing so, they put other people’s lives at risk. Fortunately, Baker and Ponch were there to keep the highways safe …. though only after two spectacularly-filmed pile-ups.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.2 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part 2”

Posted on April 28, 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!

The tragedy of Wheels continues.

Episode 3.2 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part Two”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 28th, 1988)

What a sad episode!

Much as with the previous episode, several storylines play out over the course of this episode. For the most part, this episode is all about setting up the rest of the season. Among the things that happen:

Lucy starts to hang out with Paul (Michael Blake), a student at Borden High and she stops hanging out with her best friend, L.D.

Arthur, who has taken to wearing a white scarf to school, finally admits to Yick that his family is rich and that he has been buying and selling stock in a company called Repco. Yick responds by demanding that Arthur pay for their food when they go to the local diner.

Shane hears Spike talking to Liz about how much she misses having free time. As soon as Spike gets home from school, she has to look after baby Emma while Spike’s mother goes to work. Shane approaches Spike and says that he knows that she doesn’t want to talk to him but he’s still going to give her half of his allowance and get a part-time job to help her pay for a babysitter for Emma.

Nancy and Kathleen are still running for school president and getting aggressive in their campaigning. Kathleen confesses to Melanie that she’s scared she’s going to lose. Melanie points out that, even if she does come in second, Kathleen will still be Vice President. Kathleen replies that she doesn’t want to be the second-in-command. She wants it all.

(Kathleen is rarely portrayed sympathetically on this show but I totally related to how she felt.)

Scooter and Bartholomew Bond debate whether Superman is better than Spider-Man.

Even with all that going on, this episode is dominated by Wheels. Last week, Wheels was informed that his parents had been killed by a drunk driver. This week found him struggling with anger, depression, and survivor’s guilt. He was supposed to be with his parents when they were going to the movies and if had gone with them instead of sneaking out to Joey’s house, Wheels probably would have died with his parents. Wheels is haunted by a nightmare in which he wakes up to find his parents coming home from the movies.

“I thought you were dead!” Wheels says.

“We are,” his mother replies.

Wheels doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Wheels is only 14 so living on his own is not an option. His grandmother and grandfather live miles away so if Wheels goes to live with them, it’ll mean abandoning his entire life in Toronto but that might be better than having to enter the foster system.

When Wheels returns to school, no one knows how to talk to him. Not even Snake is willing to approach him. Only Joey tries to talk to Wheels. The first time, Joey hands Wheels the demo tape that they made for the Zit Remedy. Wheels breaks the tape. The next time that Joey approaches Wheels, Wheels beats him up in the school hallway. Joey — and this is why everyone loves him — doesn’t get angry at Wheels. When Wheels finally approaches him and apologizes, Joey tells Wheels that he can beat him up whenever he needs to.

“I’m scared,” Wheels says.

Joey hugs him as the end credits role.

Awwwwwww!

This episode was Degrassi at its best, offering a lot of heartfelt emotions but no easy solutions. Neil Hope (who had lost his own father right before shooting this episode) gives a heart-breaking performance as Wheels and Pat Mastroianni reminds us that, underneath Joey’s bluster, he’s a good person who truly cares about his friends. Just as with last week, this episode is even more tragic if you know what’s destined to happen to the characters later on in the series. For now, though, I’m just going to be happy that Wheels had a friend like Joey.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.1 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part One”

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the third season of Degrassi Junior High beings with tragedy!

Episode 3.1 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part One”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 28th, 1988)

This is one of the most important episodes in the history of the Degrassi franchise. Along with starting the show’s third season, this is the episode that sees the beginning on the long and tragic decline of Derek “Wheels” Wheeler. If you’re a fan of Degrassi: The Next Generation and you’ve always wondered how Wheels eventually ended up becoming a suicidal ex-con who is treated like a pariah by his former friend Snake, this episode is where it all began.

There’s actually a lot going on in this episode, though it’s the Wheels storyline that dominates. With the start of a new school year, everyone at Degrassi is eager to catch up after the summer break. Among the new developments:

Stephanie is no longer a Degrassi student and is instead going to private school. Her brother Arthur and his best friend Yick Yu both apparently hit a growth spurt over the summer. (Yick, in particular, is suddenly surprisingly tall for his age.) Yick notices that Arthur seems to be dressing better and that he’s also taken to reading the business section of the newspaper. Arthur insists that he’s not secretly rich, which is not something you say unless you actually are secretly rich.

Yick and Arthur also play a prank on new 7th grader, Bartholomew Bond (Trevor Cummings), first locking him in the janitor’s closet and then, after letting him out, directing the poor kid to the wrong homeroom. It’s the same joke that Joey played on Arthur, way back in the first episode. The only difference is that Yick and Arthur feel bad about it afterwards.

Having been held back, Joey is repeating the 8th Grade. “Hey,” he asks Snake, “what do you think about Caitlin?” Snake replies that Caitlin is not Joey’s type. Of course, fans of Degrassi: The Next Generation know that Joey and Caitlin are destined to spend the next 20 years falling in and out and back in love with each other.

Spike is back at school. This episode features the first appearance — albeit in polaroid form — of baby Emma. Shane tries to approach Spike, saying that he wants to meet his daughter. Spike tells him to stay away. (Apparently, Shane’s parents sent him to summer camp to keep him away from Spike and Emma.)

With Stephanie gone, both Kathleen Mead and Nancy Kramer (Arlene Lott) are running for president of the student council.

The 9th Graders are spending half the day at Degrassi Junior High and half at Borden High. Lucy notices a cute high school guy and smiles at him, even though the guy’s friend dismisses her as being a “minor niner.”

Ultimately, though, this episode is dominated by Wheels and his family. Wheels wants to hang out with Joey. His parents tells him that they think Joey is a bad influence. His parents don’t care that Joey, Wheels, and Snake have their own band and are working on a demo tape of their only song.

“Parents,” Snake says, “can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”

Wheels replies that he would be happy to live without them.

Well, Wheels is going to get his wish. When his parents go to the movies, Wheels sneaks out and goes to Joey’s house. He, Joey, and Snake record their demo tape. Wheels then heads home and is stunned to see a police car sitting outside of his house.

They called the cops? Wheels wonders.

No, they’re dead. The police have accompanied Wheels’s grandmother so that she can tell him that his parents were killed by a drunk driver who ran a red light. The end credits roll over a freeze frame of a stunned Wheels being hugged by his grandmother.

OH MY GOD! I mean, seriously, who would have guessed that Wheels’s parents would die right at the same time that Wheels was saying he was sick of dealing with them? As tragic as all that is, it’s even worse if you know what waits for Wheels in the future.

This episode of Degrassi Junior High did everything that a season premiere should. It reintroduced us to the characters and set up the season’s main storyline, the downfall of Wheels. This was classic Degrassi. Next week, things get even worse for Wheels. Poor Wheels.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 2.11 “Trust Me”

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s a Zit Remedy sleepover!

Episode 2.11 “Trust Me”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on March 14th, 1988)

Snake is super-excited! His parents are going out of town and he’s going to have the house to himself for a day and a night. Joey is excited because that means he and Wheels can crash over at Snake’s. Joey wants to talk about to them about his plans to take their band, the Zit Remedy, to superstardom. Joey gets even more excited when he sees that Snake’s parents’ left their car behind.

Here’s my question. Snake’s real name is Archie but he’s called Snake for reasons that I’ve never understood. Wheels’s real name is Derek Wheeler and his nickname obviously has to do with his last name. So, why is Joey Jeremiah just Joey? Why doesn’t he get a supercool nickname? Maybe Joey wouldn’t always feel the need to show off if he had a better nickname.

Joey, perhaps hoping to get a nickname like Drivey or Speedy, swears that he knows how to drive. At first, Snake sensibly says that no one is going to drive his parents’ car. But then everyone oversleeps and Wheels awakens with only 15 minutes to get to the eye doctor! (Wheels has already missed several appointments and is running the risk of getting grounded.) Joey offers to drive Wheels to the doctor’s office.

Amazingly enough, Joey manages to get Wheels to his appointment without crashing the car. But then, Joey insists that he and Snake should get breakfast. While Joey is ordering French fries at a local Toronto diner, a truck backs into the car and appears to break the taillight. Using the $85 that the band was going to spend on an amp, Joey and Snake get the taillight fixed. But then it turns out that the taillight had been broken for a week and, when Snake’s parents see that it has been fixed, they realize something happened while they were gone.

Phone calls are made. Snake and Wheels are grounded and ordered not to hang out with each other outside of school. And Joey’s parents decide to take away Joey’s keyboard. IS THIS THE END OF THE ZIT REMEDY!?

(Of course, anyone who has watched any of the various versions of Degrassi knows that the Zit Remedy is going to be around for a very long time, despite the fact that they only wrote and performed one song. Still, I appreciated the show’s attempt to build some suspense as to whether or not the band will ever actually get a chance to perform in public.)

Meanwhile, Spike is kicked out of school! Booo! The Farrell Twins, who have apparently decided they need more friends than just Stephanie, agree to bring her homework to her house so that Spike won’t get held back a year. Good for them.

This was a good episode, largely because it explored the dynamics of the Joey/Snake/Wheels friendship. Joey is the one who enthusiastically pursues every idea and who has limitless faith in himself and his friends. Snake is the pragmatist. Wheels is somewhere in between. Joey needs Snake to keep him grounded but Snake needs Joey to remind him that it’s okay to dream and have fun. Watching the three of them hanging out in this episode, it’s hard not to think about what the future holds for them. They’re not going to be rock stars but Joey is going to find success as a father and a car salesman. Snake is going to eventually be principal of Degrassi. And Wheels …. well, let’s deal with that when we have to. This is one of those episodes that’s more fun if you don’t know what’s going to happen to everyone in the future. If you do know, it’s actually rather sad to see everyone so hopeful and innocent.

Next week, the sleazy substitute returns to Degrassi!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 1.12 “Parents’ Night”

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Though not as dramatic as last week’s episode, this week’s episode is just as important to the future of Degrassi.

Episode 1.12 “Parents’ Night”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on April 5th, 1987)

When it comes to this week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High, it helps to know a little bit about franchise’s history. On the surface, this is a fairly standard episode, with Wheels, Joey, and Spike all getting a storyline. But if you know what waits for these characters in the future, then you know this is one of the most important shows of the franchise’s history. Much like last week’s It’s Late, this episode sets up the storylines that will play out over the next three decades.

Spike is still adjusting to being pregnant. As she tells the Farrell twins, she doesn’t want to have an abortion but she also know that, at the age of 14, she’s too young to be a mother. Shane, she says, has barely spoken to her since discovering that she’s pregnant. Spike is considering giving up the child for adoption. The Farrell twins suggest that Spike speak to Wheels, who is adopted himself. In a rather sweet scene that is well-played by both Amanda Stepto and Neil Hope, Wheels tells Spike that he’s never been angry over being adopted. He also says that he’s never been curious about his birth parents. Much like Spike and Shane, they were simply too young to raise a child.

Wheels has a lot going on in this episode. He’s the bass player in a band! Joey and Snake are also in the band. Joey wants to call the band Joey and the Joy Buzzers. Snake wants to call them Snake and the Charmers, which is actually pretty clever. Wheels says that he’s fine with whatever because Wheels, at this point in the show, is the most well-balanced kid in school. Sadly, this won’t last.

While leaving rehearsal for the upcoming Parents’ Night Talent Show, Wheels is approached by a man named Mike Nelson (Dave James). Mike introduces himself as Wheels’s father and he gives Wheels his number. With Joey’s encouragement, Wheels calls Mike and even meets with him at a local diner. It’s an awkward meeting but, when Wheels finds out that Mike is also in a band, he starts to feel a connection to his father.

However, Wheels also feels guilty because he hasn’t told his parents that he’s been talking to Dave. This eventually leads to him getting angry with Dave and yelling at Dave for trying to re-enter his life. Dave calls Wheels’s adoptive parents and apologizes. When Wheels’s parents tell him that it’s okay if he wants to talk to Dave, Wheels worries that they don’t really want him. Eventually, after giving it some thought, Wheels realizes that he can have a relationship with both his birth father and the people who raised him.

As for Joey’s storyline, he forges a letter from his parents, in which “they” tell Mr. Raditch that they will not be coming to Parents’ Night. Mr. Raditch sees right through him. Oh, Joey!

As I said, it’s a fairly simple episode but it works due to the wonderful and empathetic performance of Neil Hope. Unfortunately, the tragic details of Neil Hope’s life after Degrassi has often overshadowed just how good he truly was on the show. Indeed, it’s not always easy to watch him, bright and full-of-life in Degrassi Junior High, with the knowledge of what the future holds for both the actor and the character. Hope, whose own life provided the inspiration for a few of Wheels’s storylines, was such a good and natural actor that Wheels is compelling despite having the second worst nickname on the show. (Snake, of course, wins the prize for worst nickname. That said, the character was apparently nearly named Slim, which would have been even worse.)

So, why is this episode so important to the future of Degrassi? The reasons below are all technically spoilers but, if you’re a big enough Degrassi fan that you tracked down this review, I’m probably not telling you anything that you don’t already know.

First off, the band will eventually get a name and it won’t be Joey and the Joy Buzzers or Snake and the Charmers. It would be Zit Remedy and Joey’s attempts to become a star would not only be a major plotline through Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High but it would also frequently be mentioned in Degrassi: The Next Generation as Joey vicariously lived his rock dreams through his stepson, Craig Manning. Famously, Zit Remedy only wrote and performed one song but that song has had a very long life on the show. Everybody wants something, right?

(As well, Zit Remedy was the first of MANY bands to be formed at Degrassi. Hell Hath No Fury, Downtown Sasquatch, Studz, and Whisperhug would all follow but Zit Remedy was there first.)

Though this episode ends with Wheels at peace with both his birth father and his adopted parents, that peace wouldn’t last. One reason why it’s kind of sad to see Wheels happy in this episode is because Wheels would rarely be happy for the rest of the series. Musical “talent” is not the only thing that Wheels and Dave have in common. Dave is an alcoholic and Wheels is destined to end up in prison after killing a kid while driving drunk. (Following this seemingly innocuous episode, Wheels’s life got dark!)

As for Joey, he’ll never be a rock star but eventually, he will make peace with Mr. Raditch, to the extent that Raditch will even joke with him when Joey comes up to the school after Craig is caught skipping class.

And finally, Spike is not going to give up her baby for adoption. Instead, she’s going to keep her daughter and, in the future, Emma Nelson will be at the center of the Degrassi universe. (And Snake will even be her stepfather!)

Next week, season one comes to a close!