Peter Spence | Through the Shattered Lens

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 T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show can be found on Tubi!

It’s ninja time!

Episode 2.19 “Family Honour”

(Dir by Ryszard Bugajski, originally aired on May 15th, 1989)

First things first, I have to admit that I smiled when I saw the title “Family Honour” flash on the screen. T and T was a Canadian-produced show that always desperately tried to convince viewers that it was actually taking place in the United States. But that “Honour,” which no one on the production staff probably even gave a second thought to, totally gives the game away. It’s like when a Yankee trying to pretend to be from the South says that they’ve been waiting “in line” instead of “on line.”

(Of course, Texans like me also have little tells that give away our place of origin. Me, I drop the g’s on “ing” so casually that I don’t even realize that I’m doin’ it half the time.)

Anyway, this episode begins in medias res. Mrs. Shimada (Brenda Kamino) has invited Amy and T.S. to her home so that she can thank them by serving them tea. Apparently, Amy arranged for a centuries-old Samurai sword to be returned to the Shimada family. T.S., meanwhile, has been guarding the sword because of how valuable it is. Still, that doesn’t stop a ninja from breaking into the house and trying to kill Kim (Lisa Jai), the ten year-old to whom the sword has been gifted. Fortunately, Turner is there to run him off.

Mr. T vs. ninjas!? Hell yeah!

Unfortunately, there aren’t really many scenes of Mr. T fighting the ninjas. There’s one scene where he gets flipped onto his back by an apprentice ninja. And there’s another where T.S. grabs a sword out of a ninja’s hand and then knocks him out with one punch. That was pretty cool. But, considering the potential here, it’s hard to be disappointed by the fact that Mr. T himself never put on a ninja outfit or flew through the air.

Instead, T.S. confronts Kim’s uncle, Ikuta (Denis Akiyama). Having left Japan after bring shame onto the family, Ikuta relocated to Canada and opened up his own ninja training academy in Toronto. T.S. thinks that Ikuta wants the sword for himself and he also thinks that Ikuta is trying to kill his own niece so that he can be rewarded with special ninja powers. (Uhmm …. okay, then.) Ikuta says that’s ludicrous and it turns out that T.S. was too quick to judge Ikuta. It’s not Ikuta who is trying to steal the sword. It’s Ikuta’s main student, James (David Orth)! Ikuta proves his worth by defending Kim from James. Turner, more or less, just observes.

That seems to be a pattern with the last few episode of T and T. As of late, Turner hasn’t been as active a participant as in the past. Instead, it’s hard not to feel that he’s mostly just there so that the show can introduce new characters, all of whom could potentially be spun off into another series. This episode felt much like a backdoor pilot for a show that would have followed Ikuta as he regained his honour. That said, this was still a marked improvement over last week’s episode. You really can’t go wrong with ninjas.

This week, Mr. T whacks the attack!

Episode 2.7 “Fast Friends”

(Dir by Alan Simmonds, originally aired on November 14th, 1988)

On a rainy night in Toronto, Jonah (Leslie Toth) asks his friend Adam (Peter Spence) for permission to borrow Adam’s car. Jonah explains that he’ll only need the car for an hour and he just has to do some “business.” He promises Adam that this business has nothing to do with drugs. Adam hands over the keys.

So, from the start, this episode establishes that Adam is idiot.

I mean, seriously, once can just look at the sweaty and fidgety Jonah and tell that he needs the car to pick up some drugs. When someone who hasn’t taken a shower in a week tells you that he has to go out and do some “business,” it’s guaranteed that the business is going to involve drugs. And even if Jonah was being honest about not being involved in the Canadian drug trade, who lets anyone borrow their car? Even if it was a life-and-death situation, I would not give any of my friends the keys to my car. That’s right — I would rather that someone die than let them drive my car.

But Adam feels differently. He hands over his keys and, of course, Jonah drives to a warehouse and picks up several vials of crack cocaine. Jonah is in debt to some drug dealers so he needs to pick some crack to sell on the streets. But since Jonah is a no-good junkie, he smokes a little before he gets back in his friend’s car. While trying to return the car, Jonah attracts the attention of the police. Jonah abandons the car in an alley and runs for it.

When Adam finds out about what happened, he yells at Jonan and then, stupidly, heads down to the alley to get the car. Adam is shocked to find crack cocaine all over the front seat because, again, Adam is an idiot. Suddenly, the cops show up and arrest Adam!

Despite the best efforts of Detective Luntz (Alar Adema), Adam refuses to betray Jonah. He claims that he was at home all night and that someone stole his car and left it in the alley with the drugs. Detective Luntz continually points out that Adam’s story makes no sense because, if Adam’s car was stolen, how did Adam know where to find it?

It looks like Adam is doomed but, fortunately, his mother hires Amy Taler and T.S. Turner! While Amy talks to Luntz in the hallway, Turner talks to Adam and shows off his new, far less menacing mohawk.

Adam tells T.S. about Jonah. T.S. tracks down Jonah at a local drug den. When Jonah tries to run, T.S. grabs him and says, “I know who you are, I know what you’re doing, and I don’t like it …. Talk to me, brother!” That’s all it takes for Jonah to realize the error of his ways. After T.S. beats up the drug dealers, Adam is released from custody. However, Jonah still confesses to possessing the drugs because it’s the right thing to do.

And that’s the episode! This was another instance in which the show’s 30-minute running time led to the story feeling a bit rushed. T.S. tracked down Jonah with remarkable ease and he really didn’t seem to have any trouble convincing Jonah to turn on his dealers. That said, the scene in which T.S. walked through the crack house was well-directed and full of a lot of creepy visuals. Say what you will about Mr. T’s range of an actor, this episode featured him at his most sincere. One gets the feeling that beating up drug dealers was something that Mr. T did whenever he had a break from filming.

Next week on T and T …. oh, who knows? Toronto’s a wild city.