Tag Archives: Retro Television Reviews

Retro Television Review: Decoy 1.7 “Deadly Corridor”

Posted on 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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958.  The show can be viewed on Tubi!

This week, Casey goes to prison!

Episode 1.7 “Deadly Corridor”

(Dir by Teddy Sills, originally aired on November 25th, 1957)

A murder has occurred in the medium security wing of a woman’s prison.  The Warden (Agnes Young) and the District Attorney (John Newton) asks Casey to go in undercover to discover who killed a prisoner.  Casey will pretend to be a prisoner and only the Warden will know that she’s actually a cop.  Casey won’t have her gun, her badge, or her usual backup.  It’s a dangerous assignment but the medium security wing will be shut down if there’s another incident.  The District Attorney starts to explain the importance of rehabilitation.  Casey replies, “I’m a police woman, not a sociologist.”  Casey accepts the assignment because that’s her job.

Casey’s in jail!  She has a really nice cell.  It comes with a dresser, a vanity mirror, a bed, a lamp, and a desk!  She’s even allowed to wear makeup in prison.  Sign me up!  Casey comes to suspect that the murder was committed by the butch Taffy (Colleen Dewhurst) but instead, it turns out the killer was the mentally-fragile Lois (Lois Nettleton).  Lois is a kleptomaniac and killed the other prisoner after she ratted Lois out to the warden and caused Lois’s sentence to be lengthened.  Lois subsequently attacks Casey because she’s worried that Casey is also “a fink” and Lois doesn’t want to end up spending any more time in prison.  She wants to be released in three months so she can finally visit the grave of her baby.  (Awwww!)  Unfortunately, by the end of this episode, it’s looking like Lois will be lucky to escape the electric chair.

This episode has all of the usual women-in-prison cliches but they were all handed in a way so as to not upset the 1950s television viewing audience.  For instance, the episode never came out and said that Taffy was a lesbian but the way she stared at Casey and ordered her to “come and see me,” didn’t really leave much doubt.  When Taffy beats up Casey, she’s establishing her dominance and reminding the viewer that no one can walk away from a fight in prison.  When Casey snitches to the warden, it’s because she wants to get Taffy out of the way for 24 hours so that Casey can investigate the murder.  Casey can get away with that because she’s a cop and she can always just go to the Warden and ask to be released from the prison.  If Casey were an actual prisoner, being labeled a snitch (or a “fink” as they apparently put it back then) would be a fatal error.

This episode had its campy moments but Lois Nettleton and Colleen Dewhurst both gave excellent performances and the final confrontation between Casey and Lois was actually pretty suspenseful.  To my surprise, this turned out to be a good episode.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 1.13 “Super Bull Sunday”

Posted on 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, season one comes to an end with the Championship Game!

Episode 1.13 “Super Bull Sunday”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on February 17th, 1985)

The Bulls make it to the Championship Game!

And lose!

In fact, they lose in spectacular fashion.  We don’t actually see much of the game but we do see the aftermath.  We learn that star running back Carl Witherspoon set a record for fumbles.  Star quarterback Bob Dorsey set a record for interceptions.  The offensive line set a record for letting their quarterback get sacked.  Coach Denardo blames himself but Diana announces to the press that the Bull will be back next year so …. “LOOK OUT!”

Admittedly, the big game only took up about 5 and a half minutes of screentime.  Most of this episode centered around a dumb plot to trick Diana into selling the Bulls to the Japanese so that her ex-husband (remember him?) could swoop in and buy back his team.  It was a pretty dumb plan that fell apart easily but, at the very least, it appears that it finally led to Diana firing her duplicitous general manager, Roger Barrow (Clayton Landey), something she should have done at the start of the season.

But let’s give the show some credit.  It would have been really easy to just have the Bulls pull off another last-minute victory.  Instead, season one ended with the agony of defeat and the actors actually did a really good job of playing up their depression.  It can’t be easy make it to the Championship Game and fail.

So, that’s it for season one.  It wasn’t really that good of a season but maybe I would feel differently if I was a football fan or if I was a dude.  This is very much a guy-centered show.  Next week, we’ll start season 2!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 6.21 “The Captain’s Crush/Out Of My Hair/Off-Course Romance”

Posted on 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!

Welcome aboard, it’s love!

Episode 6.21 “The Captain’s Crush/Out Of My Hair/Off-Course Romance”

(Dir by Ted Lange, originally aired on February 19th, 1983)

Kathy Costello (Stella Stevens) is looking forward to taking a cruise with her husband, Joe (Monte Markham).  However, at the last minute, Joe decides that he would rather go to a golf tournament than take a vacation with his wife.  The angry Kathy boards the boat and immediately runs into her ex-boyfriend, Ted Cole (Ron Ely).  Kathy enjoys spending time with Ted but then suddenly, Joe shows up on the cruise.  He’s not happy to discover his wife is spending time with her ex.  The main problem with this story is that there’s no one to root for.  Kathy is cheating but her husband is being a jerk.  It’s rare that I ever watch an episode of The Love Boat and say, “This should end with divorce,” but this episode inspired me.

Meanwhile, Lydia (Delta Burke) boards the boat with her wealthy fiancé (Jeffrey Tambor).  Lydia’s ex-boyfriend (Richard Gilliland) also boards the boat, hoping to break up their engagement.  This storyline felt oddly similar to the other storyline and it suffered from the same problem.  There was no one to root for.  None of these people deserved to get married.

Finally, movie star Janine Adams (Joan Collins) boarded the boat and ate dinner with the Captain.  The next day, the tabloid news wires are full of speculation that the Captain is going to become Jane’s tenth husband and the Captain starts to think that maybe he’d like to be Jane’s tenth husband.  Go for it, I say!  Seriously, Janine and the Captain are as close to a likable couple as this episode has so they might as well get married.  Of course, they don’t get married.  I guess that’s a good thing.  It’s hard to imagine The Love Boat without Captain Stubing at the helm.

This episode was directed by Ted Lange and, as usual, he gets good performances from the cast.  Unfortunately, this cruise is let down by two weakly-written stories.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 3.1 “Inside Straight”

Posted on 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.

Everyone’s book for another season of bicycles and law-breaking.

Episode 3.1 “Inside Straight”

(Dir by Michael Levine, originally aired on August 3rd, 19997)

One night, while on a date with Chris, TC spots a man holding a gun.  TC draws his own gun and yells at the man to drop his weapon.  The man turns around.  He fires so TC shoots and the man goes down.  It turns out that the man was an undercover narcotics detective with a spotless record.

TC is suspended and the bike patrol basically stops doing their job and instead proceed to harass the dead man’s wife and his partner until they discover that the wife and the partner were having an affair and, conveniently, the cop was actually shot by someone who happened to be standing behind TC.  It seems like simple forensic evidence (like the amount of bullets on the scene) should have proven that without the bike patrol even getting involved but I guess the cops in Malibu or wherever this show takes place are extremely incompetent.

Meanwhile, the poker game of mobster Joseph Tataglia (Joseph Campanella) gets held up,  The thief is a degenerate gambler who tries to frame TC’s older brother, Teddy (Andy Buckley — how, it’s David Wallace from The Office!).  The real thief is easily exposed and captured.  I’m not really sure what the point of this story was.  Tataglia last appeared during the first season but this episode acts as if he’s been a continual presence in the show for the past two seasons.  I imagine viewers were confused as to who he was or why he had so much pull with Palermo.

There’s a scene where TC is subjected to an intense interrogation from Internal Affairs and I have to admit that it made me laugh because TC and Palermo were wearing their dorky bicycle cop uniforms while being yelled at by someone in a suit.

Another scene features Victor and Cory telling Chris and TC that there’s a huge crowd waiting to see the movie that they want to see.  Victor says TC might have to flash his badge to get tickets.  Police arrogance is annoying in general but it’s even worse coming from people who ride bicycles.

It appears that nothing had changed with the start of a new season.

Retro Television Review: Fantasy Island 7.13 “Ladies Choice/Skin Deep”

Posted on 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 the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984.  The show is once again on Tubi!

Smiles, everyone, smiles!

Episode 7.13 “Ladies Choice/Skin Deep”

(Dir by Don Weis, originally aired on January 28th, 1984)

The highlight of this week’s episode is Mr. Roarke beating someone up.

The person on the other end of the beating is John McDowell (Lloyd Bochner), who owns a winery on the Island and who, for reasons that aren’t particularly clear, hates Mr. Roarke.  When McDowell discovers that Fancy Summerfield (Kim Lankford), who grew up at the winery when it was owned by her father, is in love with Mr. Roarke, McDowell decides to manipulate her to hurt Roarke.  Fancy, who is upset that Mr. Roarke doesn’t return her romantic feelings, allows herself to fall for McDowell but then realizes that McDowell is a jerk.

A party at McDowell’s mansion leads to a fist fight between Roarke and McDowell.  McDowell starts it but Roarke ends it.  He beats up McDowell with such ease that McDowell surrenders.  Fancy realizes that McDowell is not the man for her and she also realizes that Roarke does care about her, even if he’s not in love with her.  (This episode implies that Roarke does not allow himself to fall in love with mortal women.  It’s understandable when you consider what happened when he got married.)

And let’s give credit where credit is due.  Ricardo Montalban looked good beating up Lloyd Bochner.  Admittedly, it was obvious that the majority of the fight was filmed using stunt doubles but, in those rare occasions where we saw Roarke’s face as he threw a punch, Montalban looked like he knew what he doing.

(Lawrence, needless to say, did not come to Mr. Roarke’s aid during the fight.  In fact, Lawrence was barely in this episode.)

As for the other fantasy, it was pretty stupid.  Joe (Michael Lembeck) comes to the Island with his loudmouth buddy, Vinnie (Fred Travalena).  They are attending a sports expo.  Vinnie is all about hitting on the models but Joe falls for Paula Santino (Donna Pescow), who is pretty but definitely not glamorous.  The main problem with this fantasy was that both Joe and Paula were neurotic quip machines so listening to them have a conversation made me want to rupture my ear drums.  Vinnie, for his part, said some pretty bad things about Paula.  Roarke was too busy beating up John McDowell to do anything about it.

This episode was …. actually, not quite as bad as some of the other season seven episodes that I’ve recently watched.  The second fantasy got old pretty quickly but the first fantasy featured Roarke beating someone up and there’s something to be said for that.  The main problem with this episode is that none of the Island guests were particularly likable but I still appreciated that Roarke was willing to go to all of that trouble for them.

Then again, without Tattoo around, Roarke really doesn’t have any choice but to take on all the trouble himself.  What else is he going to do?  Depend on Lawrence?

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 4.16 “Karate”

Posted on 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, Ponch reveals even more hidden talents!

Episode 4.16 “Karate”

(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on March 8th, 1981)

Ponch and Baker have been assigned to patrol Ponch’s old neighborhood.  Ponch says that he feels as if he can see a ghost on every corner.  Baker laughs and says that at least they have an easy assignment.

Not so fast, Baker!

Andy Macedon (Lewis Van Bergen) is paying teenagers to steal dirt bikes for him.  Macedon went to school with Ponch.  Macedon was a few years ahead of him and he was always a bully.  Now, Macedon is setting up a crime ring.  He’s even got Donny Bonaduce working for him!

Ponch’s solution?  Ponch decides to encourage the neighborhood kids to come to the local youth center by having Bonnie teach gymnastics while Ponch teaches karate.  Are you surprised to discover that, on top of everything else, Ponch knows karate?  You shouldn’t be.  You’re watching….

Admittedly, it doesn’t start off well.  When Andy Macedon comes down to the Youth Center and personally challenges Ponch to a fight, Ponch backs off.  He does it because he doesn’t want to make trouble for the Youth Center but the kids view him as being a coward.  If Ponch is ever going to stop Andy Macedon and keep young Rivas (Mario Marcelino) from falling under Macedon’s evil spell, he’s going to have to beat Andy in a karate street fight with everyone watching.

And that’s exactly what Ponch does.  Why?  Because it’s the Ponch Show and there is nothing that Ponch cannot do!

This episode featured a combination of bass-heavy music and not just Erik Estrada but also Danny Bonaduce doing karate moves so you know it was a classic.  I related to Terri (Kari Michealson), the teenager who couldn’t decide if she wanted to be a gymnast or a criminal.  I went through the same thing when I was 16.  Ballet or crime?  Crime or ballet?  I compromised by shoplifting makeup after my dance classes.

There is nothing Ponch can’t do.  Never forget.

 

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.1 “Hostile Takeover”

Posted on 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 Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

This week, we start the fifth and final season of Miami Vice.

Episode 5.1 “Hostile Takeover”

(Dir by Don Johnson, originally aired on November 4th, 1988)

The fifth and final season of Miami Vice gets off to a good start with this episode.  After opening with some appropriately glitzy scenes of the drug-fueled Miami nightlife, the episode then shows us that Sonny Crockett is still convinced that he’s Sonny Burnett.  He has now returned to Miami and, along with Cliff King (Matt Frewer), he is one of the key advisors to drug lord Oscar Carrera (Joe Santos).

Carrera is at war with El Gato (Jon Polito), the brother of Sonny Burnett’s former employer, Miguel Manolo.  El Gato, who wears gold lamé, cries over the body of one of his henchmen, and flinches when forced to deal with direct sunlight, is a flamboyant figure.  In fact, he’s so flamboyant that it’s initially easy to overlook how determined he is to get revenge for the death of his brother.  That means taking down the Carreras family and Sonny Burnett as well.

The Vice Squad knows that Sonny is moving up in the drug underworld but Castillo is firm when asked what they should do about it.  Sonny has an active warrant out for murdering a corrupt cop.  “Sonny’s not Sonny anymore,” Tubbs says at one point and Castillo seems to agree.

Tubbs goes undercover, making contact with the Carreras cartel.  When Sonny meets Tubbs, Tubbs introduces himself as “Ricardo Cooper” and starts speaking in his terribly unconvincing Jamaican accent and that was when I said, “Miami Vice is back!”  Sonny doesn’t trust Cooper from the start.  “Maybe you’re a cop,” Sonny says.  “Not I, mon,” Tubbs replies.

People are dying and, while Sonny doesn’t have a problem with that, the show is also careful to show that Sonny only shoots in self-defense.  (It appears the most of the cold-blooded murders are farmed out to Cliff King.)  When Oscar Carreras dies, it’s because his poofy-haired son (Anthony Crivello) accidentally shot him when Oscar discovered him with his stepmother.  When the son dies, it’s because he was about to shoot Sonny after he caught Sonny with …. his stepmother, again.  The Carreras family is so dysfunctional that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sonny steps up to take it over.

After promising Castillo that he’ll take out Sonny if necessary, Tubbs meets up with Sonny at beach-side tower.  Tubbs looks at Sonny and suddenly says, “Sonny, it’s me, Rico.”  Sonny stare at Tubbs.  “Do you remember me?” Tubbs asks.

“Sure,” Sonny suddenly says, “You’re Tubbs.”

Three gunshots ring out as the episode ends.

OH MY GOD, DID SONNY KILLS TUBBS!?

We’ll find out next week.  For now, I’ll say that — after a disappointing fourth season — this was exactly how Miami Vice needed to start things off for Season 5.  Seriously, if you’re going to have Sonny get hit with amnesia, you might as well just go for it and take things to their logical extreme.

Next week …. is Tubbs dead?  I hope not, mon.

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 1.8 “Secrets & Lies”

Posted on 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, Ashley learns her father’s secret.

Episode 1.8 “Secrets & Lies”

(Dir by Bruce McDonald, originally aired on May 6th, 2002)

This is a landmark episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation for two reasons.

First off, it’s the first episode to establish that Liberty has a crush on J.T.  Liberty’s unrequited crush was one of the show’s early storyline and, to be honest, it was frequently one of the more annoying storylines.  Liberty was always a rather flat character and she and J.T. never really made much sense as a couple.  (Yes, they did eventually become a couple.)  Of course, watching this episode today, all I can think about is the fact that, in the far future, J.T. is going to die in Liberty’s arms after being stabbed in the back by a student from a rival high school.  Much as with Degrassi High, knowing what the future holds adds a layer of poignance to these early episodes that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

As for this episode, J.T. tries to get Liberty to leave him alone by pretending to be gay.  He gets this idea after Toby informs him that Ashley’s father, the dashing Robert Kerwin (Andrew Gillies), has come out of the closet.

The majority of this episode deals with Ashley struggling to accept that her father is gay.  Again, this is another storyline that becomes far more poignant if you already know that Robert is eventually going to marry his partner Christopher and Ashley’s boyfriend is going to have a mental breakdown at the wedding.

This episode actually did a very good job of realistically portraying Ashley’s initial reaction to learning that her father’s gay.  Ashley is confused and, as she was still hoping that her parents would eventually get back together, she feels betrayed.  It’s an honest reaction and probably not the sort of thing you would ever see on television today, where our idealized protagonists almost always have the right response from the start.  The fact that the show deals honestly with Ashley’s emotions makes her eventual acceptance of her father’s sexuality all the more poignant.

This episode deals very sensitively deals with Robert’s coming out and Andrew Gillies and Melissa McIntyre both deserve a lot of credit for their performances.  (Remember, this episode aired in 2002, at a time when gay characters were almost always portrayed as either being comedy relief or helpless victims.)  I do have to admit that there is one rather clunky line in this episode.  It comes when Ashley asks Robert if he has a boyfriend and Robert tells her about his partner, Christopher.  Ashley’s next line (and Melissa McIntyre’s overdramatic delivery of it) always makes me laugh despite myself:

Aside from that line and all of the cringey stuff involving J.T. and Liberty (and, admittedly, that is a lot to overlook), this was a sensitive and well-handled episode.

Retro Televison Review: Homicide: Life on The Street 4.9 “Sniper, Part Two”

Posted on 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.

This week, the sniper shootings continue.

Episode 4.9 “Sniper, Part Two”

(Dir by Darnell Martin, originally aired on January 12th, 1996)

Despite the suicide of William Mariner, people in Baltimore are still falling victim to a sniper who attacks every eight hours.  All of the detectives, many of whom have just returned home from spending several sleepless days and nights investigating the first sniper, are called back in.  At first, Pembleton and Bayliss suspect that Mariner must have had an accomplice.  However, when a strange young man named Alex Robey (David Eigenberg) just happens to be at the scene of two separate shootings, it becomes clear that the second sniper is just a copycat who is looking for attention.

It’s quite a contrast between William Mariner, who lived in an upper class neighborhood and who died without revealing his motivations, and Alex Robey, who lives in a rowhouse and who reveals that he was obsessed with Mariner’s crimes.  It’s a reminder that some murderers are easier to figure out than others.  The detectives will never know what caused Mariner to snap.  But Robey?  Robey’s just desperate for attention.

Recently demoted Megan Russert works with the Squad, despite Barnfather ordering Giardello to keep her away from the case.  (Wisely, Giardello ignores Barnfather.)  By pretending to be sympathetic to his resentment over being treated as a “nobody,” Russert plays a key role in Robey eventually confessing to being the sniper.  The episode makes it clear that Russert is going to become the latest member of the Homicide squad.  That’s fine but I do sometimes wish that this show could introduce a new detective without having them miraculously solve the big case.  This season started with Kellerman displaying detective skills that he has not displayed in any episode since.  This week, it was Russert’s turn to suddenly be the greatest detective this side of Frank Pembleton.  It makes me miss the relative realism of the earlier seasons, where even the best detectives sometimes struggled.  Bayliss failing to close the case of Adena Watson was one of the defining events of Homicide’s first season.  If Adena had died during the fourth season, there’s no way the Arraber would have gotten away with it.

With Alex Robey confessing to being the second sniper, it looks like maybe the people of Baltimore are actually going to break from being shot at people on rooftops.  Good for them, they deserve a break.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.12 “Clubs and Cliques”

Posted on 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 Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which ran on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 before then moving to NBC and being renamed Saved By The Bell.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, Miss Bliss takes over the school.

Episode 1.12 “Clubs and Cliques”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on March 11th, 1989)

Mr. Belding is teaching Miss Bliss’s class!

Why?

Well, the answer doesn’t make much sense but here it is.  The School Board has ordered Belding to name one of the teachers as an “assistant principal” who can be in charge whenever he’s out of the building.  Most schools just hire an assistant principal but whatever.  Maybe this is an Indiana thing.  Since there are only three teachers to choose from and one of them is the mad scientist who wanted to force Nikki to dissect a frog, Mr. Belding goes with Miss Bliss.  But, before Miss Bliss can officially have the job, she has to serve as a principal for a week.  Belding covers her class.

At first, Mr. Belding is nervous.  But, by the end of the class period, he’s thrilled.  He tells Miss Bliss that he thinks he did a wonderful job and that the kids really got something out of it.

“Mr. Belding,” Miss Bliss replies, “it’s only homeroom.”

Okay, I’m just going to say it …. WHAT A BITCH!  Seriously, how condescending can one person be?  This is who you want to make principal?  Is this how you motivate people?  Again, this is why I cannot stand Miss Bliss.  Seriously, if anyone ever said that to her — “It’s only homeroom,” — she would have rightly been offended.

(Then again, I have to wonder whether or not Mr. Belding’s ever taught a class before.  This episode seems to imply that he hasn’t.  Was that a common thing with principals back in the 80s?)

Miss Bliss has a lot to deal with because it’s pledge week.  Apparently, the coolest club at JFK Middle School is the Rigma club and Zach has been told by Rick (J. Trevor Edmond) and Trevor (Christopher Carter) that he can wear a Rigma jacket if he’s mean to all of his friends.  Zach calls Lisa’s parents and let them know that she wears makeup in school.  He throws ice cream at Nikki’s sweater.  He reveals that Mikey has a crush.  He calls Screech a “nothing.”  He loses all of his friends and then he finds out that he wasn’t even being considered for Rigma membership.  Instead, it was all a big joke on the part of Rick and Trevor.

Now, to give credit where credit is due, Mark-Paul Gosselaar did a pretty good job playing up Zach’s regret after he realized he had lost all of his friends for nothing.  The episode is interesting because it shows a side of Zach that would totally disappear over the course of Saved By The Bell.  In this episode, Zach is insecure and desperate to belong.  By the time Saved By The Bell really got going, it had been established that Zach had no insecurities and was automatically loved by everyone he met.  Insecure Zach is infinitely more compelling but a bit less fun than confident Zach.  Watching this episode, it’s hard to believe we’re watching the same Zach Morris who will eventually lie about a being a descendant of Chief Joseph.

Things work out in the end.  His friends forgive Zach.  Even more importantly, Miss Bliss gets in trouble for not calling and asking for permission from the Board of Education before giving everyone everything they wanted.  “She’s not perfect,” Belding chuckles.  You got that right, Mr. Belding!