Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.8 “Vindication”

Posted on October 21, 2026 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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, some of the players get trapped in the woods.

Episode 5.8 “Vindication”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 6th, 1989)

It’s time for the Barbara Ann Awards.

The Barbara Ann Awards are a never-before mentioned annual tradition in which Dr. Death, Jethro, Bubba, and Zagreb go to a cabin in the woods with a bunch of women and the women compete to be the new Barbara Ann. Yep, it’s just as sleazy as it sounds. Fortunately, this year sees the players being stalked by two mask-wearing, chainsaw-carrying psychoes. While the women hide in the cabin, the players go out to battle their stalkers and, instead, they end up getting caught in a net. Oh no! Is this the end of the California Bulls? (Well, four of them, at least….)

Fortunately, no. It turns out that it was all a practical joke that was set up by the women. Yay! Put those men in their place! The players are so impressed that they give the title of Barbara Ann to the woman who came up with the joke. This whole thing was pretty silly but at least it felt appropriate for October viewing.

The episode’s other storyline featured Johnny Gunn being interviewed by reporter Susan McDermitt (Catherine MacNeal). With protestors constantly picketing the games and calling Johnny a murderer, TD Parker (OJ Simpson) figures that it’s time for some damage control. TD understands just how damaging it is to the reputation of the game to have a player who is routinely accused of being a murderer.

So, Susan and Johnny go to Johnny’s hometown in Pennsylvania. We learn about Johnny’s past as a foster kid and a high school football star. In a somewhat implausible scene, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend (Tally Chanel) admits on camera that she lied about what happened the night that Johnny killed a man. It turns out that Johnny was actually acting in self-defense.

“I’m glad that’s taken care of!” OJ says as he watches the news report.

This is another episode of 1st & Ten that’s impossible to watch without thinking about OJ Simpson’s later life. Every time OJ started to talk about how unfair it was that Johnny was being judged for being a murderer, I cringed just a little bit. The episode’s contention that one positive news story was all Johnny needed to get on with his life was almost charming in its naiveté.

Next week …. well, who knows? Hopefully, it won’t involve any more murders.

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 8.17 “Ace Takes the Test/The Counterfeit Couple/The Odd Triple”

Posted on October 21, 2026 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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

This week, it’s love and fraud all aroud.

Episode 8.17 “Ace Takes the Test/The Counterfeit Couple/The Odd Triple”

(Dir by Nell Cox, originally aired on January 12th, 1985)

Ace’s friend Donna (Teresa Ganzel) boards the ship with her macho husband, Gus (Christopher Mayer). Gus owns a moving company. The first thing he does is crush Ace’s hand while shaking it. Gus then beats Ace in an arm-wrestling contest. He then asks Ace to solve a riddle, requests that Ace read the bottom line on a menu, and he asks about Ace’s hearing. Is Gus jealous?

Actually, Gus is testing Ace because he and Donna want to have a baby but Gus appears to be shooting blanks. Gus explains that all of his brothers have at least six kids. Gus just wants to have one. Would Ace consider donating his sperm?

Ace does consider it but ultimately, he decides that he can’t. Fortunately, Donna later faints and, when Doc Bricker examines her, he discovers that she’s pregnant. Gus’s boys can swim after all!

Meanwhile, Susie Epshaw (Crystal Bernard) has a crush on Gopher but Gopher falls in love with Susie’s mom, Annette (Mary Ann Mobley). Susie is okay with it and good for her. Gopher was a little bit old for her. That said, Gopher falls in love several times a season so neither Susie nor her mother should get too excited.

Two strangers (Richard Gilliand and Erin Moran) both buy tickets from scalpers, just to find themselves booked in the Honeymoon Suite together. (Apparently, the couple that originally bought the tickets broke up before the marriage.) “Barbara” and “Lyle” pretend to be married and then they fall in love for real. They admit the truth to the crew and everyone is just fine with the fraud. As long as the tickets were paid for, the Captain doesn’t really care who stays in the Honeymoon Suite. That’s a good attitude. I was a little surprised to discover that the Honeymoon Suite was just a normal cabin.

This cruise was another example of the eighth season’s tendency to be, in general, pleasant but predictable. I laughed a few times at Ace being tested by Donna and Gus, just because of the contrast between super smooth Ted McGinley and the rough-hewn Christopher Mayer. Otherwise, this was a cruise that wasn’t bad but also wasn’t particularly memorable.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 5.2 “The Naked Truth”

Posted on October 20, 2026 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 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.

This week, everyone’s going undercover!

Episode 5.2 “The Naked Truth”

(Dir by Sara Rose, originally aired on July 25th, 1999)

When a wealthy sorority girl is found dead on the beach with her head caved in, it falls to the bicycle patrol to solve the case. Where are the Homicide detectives? We know that the Santa Monica PD has a homicide division because Chris keeps talking about transferring there. I know I bring this up every episode but it simply doesn’t make sense for the bike cops to be the ones investigating all of these crimes. I mean, essentially, they’re traffic cops. In the real world, they’re job would be to secure the crime scene and wait for the real detectives to show up.

Anyway, when Monica sees that the dead girl was wearing a sequined bikini, she immediately deduces that she was working as a stripper. (I’m not sure that logic would hold hope in court but whatever.) Why would a rich sorority girl be working at a strip club? Monica and Chris go undercover to find out. Chris is the new housemother at the sorority house. Monica is a new pledge. It turns out that working at the strip club started as a hazing ritual but now, all of the girls are being blackmailed (via email, we’re specifically told) into doing it.

Who is the blackmailer? That mystery is solved when Chris catches the local handyman going through her underwear. The handyman explains that he’s not a murderer, he’s just a pervert. He also says that all of the girls have expensive underwear except for one who owns “K-mart panties.” Because that girl is poor and a computer science major, Monica and Chris decide that she’s the blackmailer. (Again, I’m not sure that logic would hope up in court but whatever. I’m too tired to argue with this stupid show.) I guess the lesson here is to spend money on quality panties. Well, don’t worry, Pacific Blue! I buy and wear only the best!

As for the murderer, it turns out to be a cowboy with a country accent who is always hanging out at the strip club and requesting a private dance. It really wasn’t that much of a shock.

Pacific Blue always talks a big game about how women shouldn’t be objectified but then every episode opens with random bikini shots and this episode looked for every possible excuse to put Monica in a school girl outfit. I’d have more respect for Pacific Blue if it was just honest about what it is was doing as opposed to having the characters constantly spouting a lot of cliches about empowerment that the show itself doesn’t seem to take all that seriously.

The good thing about this episode is that it ends with Chris telling TC that they need some time apart. I agree! You can do better, Chris!

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.23 “The D Stands For Dropout”

Posted on October 20, 2026 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 Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2o00. The show is currently on Prime.

This week, the Gang learns a lesson about not dropping out of school.

Episode 2.23 “The D Stands For Dropout”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on December 10th, 1994)

Oh no! Tommy wants to drop out of high school and work full time as an auto mechanic!

Actually …. that might be for the best.

Since the very first episode, Saved By The Bell: The New Class has portrayed Tommy as being an amiable but dumb guy who just happens to have a savant-like ability for fixing cars. It’s been established, in several episodes, that there’s nothing Tommy can’t do with a car. Since Tommy apparently know everything that there is to know about cars and cars are literally the only thing that he cares about and he always seems to be flunking every class that he takes, why shouldn’t Tommy drop out? What’s he going to do in high school or college? He’s already learned everything that there is no to know about how to fix a car and a good auto mechanic will always be in demand. Plus, Tommy’s cute enough that, if he needs to, he can probably find a rich widow in Beverly Hills to pay his bills.

Drop out, Tommy! Drop out!

Still, Mr. Belding and everyone else insists that Tommy is making a mistake when he drops out of school. Belding tells Tommy’s father (Nick Angotti) that he needs to show some tough love so Tommy realizes how difficult it is in the real world. Tommy is kicked out of his house and has to move in with Screech. Tommy is no longer allowed to help his friends with their science project. Tommy has one of those Saved By The Bell fantasy sequences where Screech refuses to hire him because he doesn’t have a high school diploma….

And really, this is when Tommy should say, “But I’m actually already getting paid good money to do the only thing that I care about and the only thing that I’m actually good at so who cares?”

Instead, Tommy reenrolls in high school and helps the Gang win the science fair by building a remote control car. The competition must have been really weak that year.

Poor Tommy. When he’s an adult, he’s going to look and realize he should have just dropped out when he had the chance.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 6.13 “High Times”

Posted on October 19, 2026 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 Prime!

This week, Bruce goes to back to high school.

Episode 6.13 “High Times”

(Dir by Phil Bondelli, originally aired at January 16th, 1983)

The Highway Patrol is investigating a series of car thefts. At the scene of the latest theft, they discover several video games token that can only be used at an arcade that sits near a private school. The auto shop teacher at the school is John Casey (Jim Brown), a former car thief-gone-straight. Ponch and Bobby decide to have Bruce go undercover as a new student.

Not surprisingly, this makes no sense. First off, Bruce is just a cadet. He hasn’t graduated from the Police Academy yet. So, really, it’s debatable whether or not he would even be allowed to do undercover work. Secondly, it was established during his first appearance that Bruce is something of celebrity. He’s the national speedway champion. When he won the championship, his picture was on the front page of the paper, along with an announcement that he planned on becoming a cop. When Bruce shows up at the school, he’s riding his motorcycle and he does a bunch of tricks in the parking lot. It’s as if he wants his cover to be blown!

This was a weird episode. Danny Bonaduce shows up as a student but he doesn’t have anything to do with the car theft plot. (Apparently, he’s not playing the gang leader that he twice played during the previous seasons.) Instead, he just dances in the hallway and is elected king of the Grease Hop. (That’s a school dance where everyone dresses like a character from Grease.) The rest of the student body rolls around on roller skates. As for the thieves, they’re pretty easy to identify. Benny (Andrew J. Lederer) wears glasses and is in debt to some gamblers and is constantly dropping tokens all over the place. Matt (Jon Caliri) is the tough guy who doesn’t see why the tokens are so important to Benny. They’re working not for Mr. Casey but instead for Coach Hutton (Bruce Bauer).

This was a strangely insubstantial episode, even by the standards of CHiPs. So much time was spent on Bonaduce and his friends acting silly in the halls that one got the feeling that the production team was fantasizing about doing any show other than another episode of CHiPs.

Probably the most surprising thing about this episode is that Bruce went undercover as a high school student instead of Ponch.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 2.3 “Always A Blonde”

Posted on October 19, 2026 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 Crime Story, which ran on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The entire show can be found on Tubi!

This week, a member of the Taskforce has an issue.

Episode 2.3 “Always A Blonde”

(Dir by Robert Dalva, originally aired on October 20th, 1987)

Since they apparently have nothing better to do, Torello and the members of the Task Force are trying to bust the Vegas marijuana syndicate. This episode opened with Torello and the boys at a jazz club and, at first, I was worried that Abrams would show up with his saxophone and start playing like he used to do during the first season. (Those scenes were always a bit cringey.)

Instead, the attempted jazz-club sting falls apart because the youngest member of the Task Force, Joey (Billy Campbell), leaves his post when he spots his high-school girlfriend, Doreen (Britta Phillips), walking along the Vegas Strip. It turns out that Doreen is now a prostitute who is working for a notoriously sadistic pimp named Ray Keech (Tony Maggio).

Last week, the Task Force put their actual job on hold so that they could help out Torello’s ex-wife. This week, they do it to help out Joey. When Ray discovers that Doreen is planning on leaving him, he murders her. This leads to a chase through Vegas and a well-shot scene where Joey beats up Ray with the city’s neon glowing behind them.

One thing that I’ve noticed about Crime Story is that, other than Torello and Abrams, the other members of the Task Force often come across as ciphers. We really don’t know much about them, beyond the fact that Joey is young, Danny is Torello’s best friend, Walter is old, and Nate once had a gambling problem. We don’t know much about their families, other than the fact that all of them were able to move from Chicago to Las Vegas without it being too much of an issue. We do know that they’re all loyal to Torello, sometimes to an almost cult-like degree. With this episode, we learn a little about Joey, but it’s still not really enough to make this rather predictable story compelling. If anything, this episode made Joey look totally unprofessional and erratic. Should he even be on the Task Force if he can’t even take part in a simple stakeout?

The absence of Luca and Pauli continues to be felt. Is it really Crime Story if half of the story is missing?

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.15 “Accident Will Happen Part Two”

Posted on October 18, 2026 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: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2015! The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, we finish up the storyline that was started last week. In other words, Degrassi goes there!

Episode 3.15 “Accidents Will Happen Part Two”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on February 9th, 2004)

Manny is pregnant and frightened. Craig, however, is overjoyed and can’t wait to be a father at 15. During their lunch period, Craig shows up with a book of baby names. When Ashley sees and hears Craig and Manny debating what they should name the baby, she immediately figures out what has happened. She then proceeds to announce it to the entire cafeteria.

Craig is still enthusiastic about being a father, but Manny is having doubts. When Emma briefly leaves Manny and Craig alone with Baby Jack, Craig freaks out over having to change the baby’s diaper. Manny realizes that if Craig can’t handle that, he can’t handle being a father. She decides to get an abortion. Both Emma and Craig are upset by Manny’s decision. Emma, who knows that her mother considered getting an abortion when she was pregnant, feels that Manny should give the baby up for adoption. Craig still thinks that he and Manny can raise the child themselves. But Manny says that she can’t handle the idea of giving birth and that she’s too young to be a mom. In the end, Emma supports Manny’s right to make her own decision, even if she doesn’t agree with it.

As much as I complain about Emma as a character, Degrassi deserves a lot of credit for how this episode portrays her reaction to Manny’s decision to get an abortion. Emma’s opposition to abortion is treated respectfully, and the episode allows the viewers to make up their own minds about the issue while also making it clear that neither Manny nor Craig was mature enough to raise a child. It’s the type of thing that Degrassi did so well in its early seasons. (Unfortunately, later seasons would be a bit more heavy-handed when it came to dealing with issues like abortion.)

Unfortunately, this episode’s nuanced and intelligent take on abortion is matched with one of the worst B-plots in Degrassi history. After JT tells Liberty that he will never like her and that it’s time for her to get over her crush, Liberty shifts her attention over to Sean. When Sean and Liberty are assigned to work together on a class assignment, Liberty starts trying to act “tough” to win Sean’s interest. Of course, for Liberty, this means dressing up and talking like a minor character in Grease. Eventually, Sean says, “You’re as edgy as a butter knife,” and Liberty is crushed once again. However, it turns out that Sean’s friend, Towerz (Travis Donegan), likes smart girls. So, Liberty finally gets a boyfriend!

Oh, this was just embarrassing to watch. I felt bad for everyone involved. Not only was Liberty made to look like a crazed stalker, but the idea of her dating Towerz—who is a part of the crew that’s been stealing supplies from the school—made no sense at all. It didn’t help that all of this played out in between scenes of Cassie Steele and Miriam McDonald doing some of the best work that they ever did on Degrassi.

This episode was considered to be so controversial that it didn’t even air in the States until 2006, two years after it originally aired in Canada.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.8 “All is Bright”

Posted on October 18, 2026 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 Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC! It can be viewed on Peacock.

It’s Christmas in Baltimore.

Episode 6.8 “All Is Bright”

(Dir by Matt Reeves, originally aired on December 12th, 1997)

It’s the holidays! Falsone (ugh) is still talking about suing to get custody of his kids. (Seriously, Falsone — either do it or shut up about it. We already had to go through this crap with Felton a few seasons ago.) Lewis and Kellerman are worrying about whether or not Georgia Rae has footage of Kellerman executing Luther Mahoney. Bayliss is suddenly making out with Cox at the Christmas party. Well, why shouldn’t he? It’s impossible to go in a bar or even a shop in Baltimore without running into Dr. Cox.

Meanwhile, Gharty and Ballard are investigating the murder of man in a laundromat. Someone beat him to death and poured bleach down his throat. It turns out that the man was HIV+ and he infected a woman named Rita (the great Kathryne Erbe). Rita is now visibly sick and dying while the man who infected her wasn’t showing any signs of being sick at all. Rita’s guilt is never really in question. The issue is that Ballard feels sorry for Rita and understands her anger while the older and more-traditionally minded Gharty sees her as just being another murderer. It’s a pretty simple story but Callie Thorne and Peter Gerety sold it. The fact that Gharty is obviously in love with Ballard adds a whole other level of meaning to their scenes together.

Speaking of love, Munch’s ex-wife Gwen (Carol Kane) showed up at the bar and recruited Munch to help with her mother’s funeral. Only real-life author Peter Maas showed up for the ceremony. Munch, of course, asked Gwen about Lennie Briscoe. Belzer and Kane were a great team. I’m a bit disappointed that there was apparently never a Munch/Gwen spin-off.

Watching Gharty and Ballard provided a needed relief from all of the Falsone-centered episodes that I’ve had to sit through recently. This was a simple episode but a good one.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.10 “Wicked Stepbrother: Part One”

Posted on October 17, 2026 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

This week, we meet Jessie’s new stepbrother! I’m sure he’ll be around forever.

Episode 3.10 “Wicked Stepbrother: Part One”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 2nd, 1991)

Jessie’s mom has gotten married …. again!

Now, in this episode, we don’t actually meet Jessie’s mom. Nor do we meet her new stepfather. In fact, she says next to nothing about her new stepfather. Instead, this entire episode is all about Eric Tramer (Joshua Hoffman), her new stepbrother from New York!

That’s right. Jessie has a stepbrother and I’m sure that he’s going to be a major part of the show!

(Incidentally, I’m assuming that Eric Tramer was named after script consultant Bennett Tramer.)

Unfortunately, Eric is a little bit cocky. He’s got that New York attitude. When Zack pretends to be Jewish so he can skip school on Rosh Hashanah and go to a baseball game, Eric finds out and blackmails him into giving up his locker. When Jessie calls Slater a “curly Conan,” Eric records it and threatens to play it for the whole school. Jessie gives up her bedroom to Eric.

(Hey, remember how, during the first season, Zack and Jessie lived right next to each other and Zack would regularly climb in through Jessie’s window? Apparently, the show forgot about that.)

Eric has a weakness. He has a crush on Lisa but Lisa doesn’t want anything to do with him. Zack has a plan. Belding is away for the weekend and he’s given the keys to his red sportscar to Slater so that Slater can install a CD player. (Hello, 1990s!) Zack offers to give Lisa two tickets to the MC Hammer concert if she agrees to go out with Eric. Then, he and Slater allow Eric to borrow Belding’s car for his date. Their plan is to take a picture of Eric driving Belding’s car and then …. well, I’m not sure what the next step is. I guess they’re going to frame Eric for auto theft and send him to prison so that Zack can get his locker back.

Lisa goes out with Eric. They go to see Casablanca. Eric does a really bad Bogart impersonation. Lisa is charmed. Eric lets Lisa drive the car. Awwww! Zack pops up with his camera and takes a picture. The flash blinds Lisa and she crashes Belding’s car!

“We’re trouble,” Zack says to the audience.

Hey, Zack — your best friend Lisa just crashed a car! Maybe go check on her and make sure she’s not dead….

This is a two-part episode so we’ll take a look at the conclusion next week. As for the first part, this whole thing is a good example of people overreacting to nothing. Because Eric had Screech tape the baseball game, he has video evidence of Zack not being at school. Well, so what? Zack skips class all the time and, in this case, his absence was pre-approved. To get Zack in trouble, Eric would have to prove that Zack was lying about being Jewish and Zack being at a baseball game doesn’t do that. Then, Jessie gives up her room so people won’t know that she called Slater a “curly Conan.” Jessie does this to avoid being embarrassed but would it really be that embarrassing? Slater’s the most popular guy at school and he calls her “mama” in public. And finally, the biggest overreaction is Zack and Slater deciding to frame Eric for a crime as opposed to just ignoring him. It just seems like this whole thing could have been resolved by everyone going out dancing or something.

Can things get any dumber? We’ll find out next week!

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 3.1 and 3.2 “River of No Return”

Posted on October 17, 2026 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001. The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.

This week, we start the third season!

Episodes 3.1 and 3.2 “River of No Return”

(Dir by Douglas Schwartz, originally aired on September 14th, 1992)

The third season of Baywatch begins with Mitch learning of the death of his uncle, an eccentric old prospector who always claimed that he was going to find gold. Mitch and Hobie decide to head to Northern California to investigate, and Eddie and Shauni agree to join them. For Eddie, it’s a chance to have one last adventure with Mitch before he heads off to Australia as part of the lifeguard exchange program. For Shauni, it’s a chance to reveal to Eddie that he knocked her up. For the show, it’s a chance to introduce CJ Parker (Pamela Anderson), a river guide who plays the saxophone and who gives good relationship advice.

Yes, this episode was Pamela Anderson’s first appearance on Baywatch. It turns out that, before she was a sax-playing river guide, CJ was a lifeguard, and Mitch would love it if she would return to the beach. Oddly, even though everyone already knows CJ, no one has ever mentioned her before. Considering that she was apparently a legendary lifeguard, you would think that she would have been mentioned in the past.

However, before CJ can return to the beach, she has to help Mitch and the gang find the gold mine that Mitch’s uncle found shortly before he died. Unfortunately, Drew (Bill McKinney) and Lonny (Mickey Jones), two no-good rednecks, also want to find the mine.

Meanwhile, back at the beach, Summer Quinn (Nicole Eggert) and her mother, Jackie (Susan Anton), have moved to Los Angeles to get away from Jackie’s abusive ex, Jed (Geoffrey Scott). Jed follows them but, fortunately, he’s put in his place by Matt Brody (David Charvet), a rich kid who is hoping to become a lifeguard. Like all of the other prospective lifeguards, Matt Brody is curious about “Bobby Quinn,” who is new to California and who was apparently a champion swimmer back in Pennsylvania. At the lifeguard try-out, Summer tells Matt that Summer is just a nickname and her first name is actually Roberta.

This two-part episode largely exists to introduce Pamela Anderson, Nicole Eggert, and David Charvet as regulars. All three of them do pretty well for their first episode. They all seem like they actually want to be there, which is quite a contrast to Billy Warlock and Erika Eleniak, both of whom have subsequently been pretty vocal about not being happy with the direction the show took during the second season. Of course, as soon as Eggert and Charvet show up, it’s easy to see that there’s no longer going to be room for Warlock and Eleniak. So, it’s not a shock when this episode ends with Shauni and Eddie marrying and leaving Baywatch.

This was a good way to start the season. Yes, the whole gold mine thing was a bit silly, but it gave David Hasselhoff a chance to do the earnest action hero thing, and it also introduces Pamela Anderson, who—in this episode at least—comes across as being surprisingly natural and down-to-earth in the role of CJ.

Next week, Matt goes undercover and meets even more new characters!