Retro Television Review: One World 1.5 “Community Service” and 1.6 “The 12 Steps to Ben”

Posted on September 16, 2022 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 One World, which ran on NBC from 1998 to 2001. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

The Cast of One World

When last we checked in with Miami’s favorite foster family, Jane was apologizing for trying to steal a watch for her foster father’s birthday. It was a sweet moment. Let’s see if the show continued to build on that momentum.

Because you know what? We’re living in one world….

Episode 1.5 “Community Service”

(directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on October 10th, 1998)

“This party blows!” Jane declares, “There’s no fights! Nothing’s been broken! No one’s fallen off the roof!”

Yes, the Blake children are throwing a party because their foster parents are out for the night. Unfortunately, the music gets too loud so the police come by and issue them a citation for disturbing the peace. The Blake parents convince the judge to give their children community service. “Community service is for punks!” Jane declares.

Marci, Jane, Neal, and Ben end up volunteering at the hospital, where they learn how to help the sick. Neal and Ben both fall in love with a doctor who, shockingly, doesn’t want much to do with teenagers who are doing court-mandated community service. Marci nearly kills a patient when she sells him a hot dog, nachos, and a cigar. Jane bonds with an initially hostile boy her age who is terminally ill. This episode would have been super depressing if not for the fact that the hospital set was obviously the same one that was used in Saved By The Bell when Zach had to have knee surgery.

Fortunately, the B-plot was more fun. Sui had to bake a cake for a class but, unfortunately, Mrs. Blake was stuck in bed with the flu. So, Mr. Blake had to help Sui with the baking and yes, it was a disaster. I laughed because I knew Sui’s struggle. Baking isn’t as easy as the commercials make it seem. Plus, Sui’s the coolest member of the family.

At the end of the show, Neal and Ben ended up delivering a baby in a stalled elevator and Jane takes the dying kid to the Warehouse so that he can experience “Miami’s hottest under 21 club.”

Episode 1.6 “The 12 Steps To Ben”

(directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on October 17th, 1998)

I guess Jane’s new boyfriend died after the end of the fifth episode because the sixth episode finds her in love with her new stepbrother, Ben. Unfortunately for Jane, Ben has a new girlfriend, Alex (Jordana Spiro). Unfortunately for Ben, Alex is an alcoholic. Unfortunately for Alex, Ben is a recovering alcoholic and he tricks her into going to an AA meeting. In other words, the Saturday night date is now assumed. That’s the first sign of a committed relationship. They’re as good as married now!

Every TNBC show always had at least a few episodes that centered around drinking. Unfortunately, they always made it looks like everyone was having too much fun whenever they were drunk so I imagine they probably inspired most of their viewers to think, “I can’t wait until I can try that!”

Since the main plot was pretty heavy, the B-plot featured Marci and Sui selling candy bars and …. getting arrested. These kids sure did get arrested a lot.

Wow, those two episodes were kind of heavy. Will One World ever lighten up? We’ll find out next week!

Retro Television Review: One World 1.3 “Marci’s Job” and 1.4 “The Gift”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Cast of One World

One world …. we’re living in one world….

Today, we rejoin Miami’s favorite foster family, the Blakes! How are they adjusting to Jane and, more importantly, how is Jane adjusting to them? Does she still consider them to be “The Brady Bunch?” Let’s find out!

Episode 1.3 “Marci’s Job”

(Directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on September 26th, 1998)

The Warehouse — which, you may remember from last week, is apparently Miami’s hottest under-21 club — needs a new manager! Marci applies for the job and is hired but then she hears rumors that she may have just been hired because she’s Cuban and the owner needed to fill a quota. Marci is outraged. “Did you hire me because I’m Cuban, Hispanic, Latina!?” she demands of the manager. “I don’t want a job because of my race!”

The audience applauds as Marci walks out.

Later, Ben asks Marci why she’s so upset. Marci replies, “He only gave me the job because of my race! That’s discrimination!”

Yes, this episode is definitely from 1998.

In the B-plot, Jane and Neal become convinced that Cray stole a pair of sneakers so they attempt to return them to the mall. Unfortunately, they get caught by mall security and end up getting tossed into the “mall jail.” Karen Blake — oh my God, her name is literally Karen — goes down to the mall to bail out her foster children. “I am a soccer mom!” she proudly declares as she demands to see the mall’s manager. The audience goes wild.

Again, this episode is definitely from 1998.

The important thing is that everything works out in the end. Cray explains that he didn’t steal the shoes. Instead, he just bought them from some weirdo on the school playground. Meanwhile, Marci goes back to the Warehouse and is told that she wasn’t hired because of her race. She was hired for her “spunk and attitude.”

The audience applauds. Everything works out when you’re living in one world.

Episode 1.4 “The Gift”

(Directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on October 3rd, 1998)

It’s Dave’s 45th birthday! While the other kids attempt to build him a home entertainment center, Jane decides to show her appreciation by stealing an expensive watch. When I was a teenager, I used to shoplift for birthdays as well but that just meant that my friends got used to receiving purple eyeshadow on their special day.

Anyway, Jane realizes that Dave wouldn’t want her to break the law so she writes him a letter explaining what happened. Dave says that the letter is the best birthday present he’s ever gotten. And you know what? It may sound silly but it’s actually kind of a sweet moment and it was well-acted by Aaroyn Lloyd and Michael Toland. As far as I’m concerned, that makes this episode a success.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/28/22 — 9/03/22

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week watching old TNBC shows from the 90s. That was my choice and stand by it.

Allo Allo (PBS, Sunday Night)

Michelle needed to send microfilm to London and the cafe needed to prepare for a parade. Meanwhile, with the outcome of the war now becoming obvious, the Germans made plans to assassinate Hitler and escape from France.

PBS is currently showing the final episodes of Allo Allo. There’s only two episodes left and, to be honest, it’s kind of obvious that the show itself was more than ready to be wrapped up by the time it started its 9th series. Watching this week’s episode, it was hard to shake the feeling that everyone appeared to have just been going through the motions. (I recently read that Gorden Kaye, who played Rene, was recovering from a serious car accident, which perhaps explains why he seems a bit more subdued than usual.) Still, Officer Crabtree’s “Good moaning” will always make me laugh, as will Michelle’s “I shall say this only once.”

The Bachelorette (ABC, Monday Night)

The men tell all!

They didn’t tell enough as far as I’m concerned. They should have just sent all the other men home and interviewed Meatball for two hours.

Big Brother (CBS and Paramount+, Everyday)

I’ve been writing about Big Brother at the Big Brother Blog! This week, Kyle was voted out after having his game exposed by Michael and Brittany. Because Kyle’s plan was to target all of the black players because he was convinced they were going to form their own Cookout-style alliance, Kyle was worried that he would be booed when he left the house. I’m not sure if the audience booed him or not. It actually sounded like production abruptly turned off the audience microphones as soon as Kyle stepped through the front door. Julie Chen Moonves got to pretend that she was a serious journalist during her seven-minute exit interview with Kyle. Then Julie cheerfully announced that Zingbot would be on Sunday’s show.

California Dreams (YouTube)

This week, I watched and reviewed 18 episodes of California Dreams. You can read the first of those reviews here!

The Challenge (CBS, Wednesday Night)

Tyson and Enzo survived another week, so I’m happy.

City Guys (Tubi)

I watched 19 episodes of City Guys this week and I wrote and scheduled reviews of all of them. You can read the first two by clicking here!

Full House (MeTV, Sunday Evening)

Uncle Jesse decided to skip the Tanner Family Reunion because he needed to work on a song. Michelle got mad and, as usual, everyone had to rearrange their lives to placate that demented little troll doll. “Uncle Jesse’s not nice nice anymore!” Michelle said. No, Uncle Jesse has a job because he’s a freaking adult. Considering that Jesse has spent the majority of the show either mooching off Danny or Becky, everyone should have been encouraging him to actually do some work on his own for once.

This was followed by a terrifying episode in which Joey auditioned for a children’s show with the help of a big chipmunk doll.

Hang Time (YouTube)

I have been watching episode of this show and scheduling reviews. Look for my review of the first two episodes on Monday! The main thing that I’ve learned from watching Hang Time is that I don’t know a thing about basketball.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

On Wednesday, I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis. Lewis and Hathaway were investigating a series of murders surrounding a fake medium. Hathaway spent most of the show wearing a neck brace and contemplating the mysteries of existence. Lewis, as usual, was much more pragmantic in his approach.

The Office (Weekday Evening, FaveTV)

I watched two episodes on Wednesday. First, I watched the second part of the episode in which Pam and Jim got married in Niagara. This was followed by the notoriously silly episode in which Michael became convinced that a pushy insurance agent was a member of the Mafia.

One World (Tubi)

I watched and reviewed 18 episodes of One World this week! You can read the first of those reviews by clicking here!

Open All Hours (PBS, Sunday Night)

Granville threatened to go back to school so Arkwright locked him in the cellar.

Retro Television Reviews: One World 1.1 “Hurricane Jane” and 1.2 “What’s In A Name?”

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Cast of One World

City Guys wasn’t the only “edgy” show that Peter Engel produced for TNBC. There was also …. ONE WORLD!

One World told the story of a Miami-based multicultural foster family. Dave Blake (Michael Toland) was former baseball player turned high school coach. His wife, Karen (Elizabeth Morehead), was an art teacher. They owned a nice big house and they adopted troubled teens as a hobby.

Among the members of their family:

Ben Blake (Bryan Kirkwood) was a recovering alcoholic who played in a band and dated a lot of girls.

Jane (Arroyn Lloyd) was the latest addition to the family. She wore a leather jacket, liked zombie movies, and had an extensive criminal record.

Neal Smith (Harvey Silver) was the former gang member turned honors student.

Marci Blake (Alicia Reyes) was obsessed with making money.

Sui Blake (Michelle Krusiec) was obsessed with boys and fashion.

Cray Blake (Brandon Baker) was the youngest of the family.

Together, they were living in One World!

Episode 1.1 “Hurricane Jane”

(Directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on September 12th, 1998)

The very first episode of One World opens with Sui bragging to her stepparents that she set a new record while running. “Were the cops chasing you again?” Stepdad asks, while the audience laughs. Hence, from the very first joke, it’s established that the Blakes aren’t very good foster parents. Indeed, it’s interesting how many future episodes will revolve around the Blake children getting arrested for doing something and then freaking out about the inevitable visit from a social worker. As Mrs. Blake puts it in this episode, “We didn’t want normal kids. We wanted the worst kids we could find!”

(That said, none of the kids really seem to be that bad, despite all of their talk about how they were once homeless criminals. This is a Peter Engel production, after all.)

New arrival Jane joins the household and immediately pegs them as being “The Brady Bunch. Jane announces that she’s not staying and tells her stepsiblings to drop dead. “Once you get to know me, you won’t want me around!” Jane declares, “No one ever has and no one ever will!” Jane is even more upset to learn that The Warehouse (“the most happening under-21 club in Miami,” as her stepbrother, Ben, puts it) doesn’t serve alcohol. Fortunately, a hurricane blows into town and Jane is forced to stick around and bond with her new family. In other words, the hurricane was God’s way of forcing Jane to stay with her new family and pursue her obvious crush on Ben.

The hurricane also allows Marci a chance to make some money off of other people’s suffering. She hoards supplies so that she can sell them after the disaster. That’s actually not a bad business plan but you really do have to wonder if the Blakes realize that they’re raising a family of sociopaths. That said, Marci does have a sudden change of hearts and ends up giving away everything that she’s hoarded.

As far as first episodes are concerned, this one wasn’t so bad. I liked Jane’s bad attitude and her anger, which brought a different energy to this episode from what you would typically expect from a Peter Engel production. And I related to Sui and her appreciation of the better things in life. That said, I don’t know if I would have willingly gone out in a hurricane to look for anyone who wasn’t a cat.

Episode 1.2 “What’s In A Name?”

(Directed by Chuck Vinson, originally aired on September 19th, 1998)

“The next kid we get is going to be kosher!” Dave Blake announces when he discovers that all of the bacon has been eaten before he gets a chance to have anyone.

Wow, Dave, way to only think about yourself!

In the second episode of One World, the Blakes formally adopt Neal but Neal has to decide whether to to change his last name from Smith to Blake. Neal decides that he’s happy to be a part of the Blake family but he still wants to hold onto his past by retaining his “Smith” name. This episode would have perhaps been more effective if Neal didn’t have the most common last name in the world.

In the show’s B-plot, Sui was dating a player on Dave’s baseball team. At first, Dave didn’t want Sui dating one of his players but then the player had a good game. “Now, I’m trying to figure out how you can date all of my players!” Dave says. Uhmm, okay, Dave. That’s not a creepy thing for a foster parent to say at all.

Will the Blakes be able to create he perfect family? Will Jane ever feel at home with the Brady Bunch? We shall find out next week …. maybe.