Since yesterday was Bruce Campbell’s birthday, today’s song of the day comes from 1992’s Army of Darkness. Here is Danny Elfman’s March of the Dead!
Tag Archives: review
Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.24 “Ice Cream Man”
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, a cop-turned-criminal tries to prove that he’s gone straight. Will he able to convince Ponch?
Episode 5.24 “Ice Cream Man”
(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on April 18th, 1982)
Tom Corey (Robert Walker, Jr.) used to be a top member of the Highway Patrol until he was caught breaking the law himself. Tom Corey was a car thief, not because he needed the money but just because he needed the thrill. Tom was sent to prison. His wife (Karen Jennings) divorced him. His son (Noah Hathaway) was told that Tom had died shortly after he was born. Now, nearly six years later, Tom is out of prison and he’s working as an ice cream man. He insists that he’s gone straight and all he cares about now is keeping a distant eye on the son who doesn’t know who he is.
Baker is willing to give Tom the benefit of the doubt but not Ponch. When a rash of vehicle thefts break out, Ponch suspects that Tom is involved. To an extent, Ponch is right. The ringleader of the thieves is a businessman named Reno Hale (James Wainwright). Hale wants Tom to work for him. Tom sees an opportunity to redeem himself by taking Reno down.
This was an interesting episode, in that the focus was not on Ponch or Baker but instead on Tom and his efforts to prove that he had gone straight. In fact, this episode almost felt like a backdoor pilot for a series that would have focused on Tom’s life outside of prison. It’s easy to imagine Tom spending each week foiling criminals while trying not to violate the terms of his parole. Robert Walker, Jr. gave a strong performance as Tom and the scenes between him and the cops were filled with an energy that reminded me of the first two seasons of CHiPs, before the whole thing became the Ponch Show.
This was a good episode. Tom was an interesting character and there was one spectacular accident that actually made me jump a little. (It looked like Randi Oakes barely avoid getting seriously injured.) This was a nice throwback to what the show used to be.
Film Review: Can’t Stop The Music (dir by Nancy Walker)
1980’s Can’t Stop The Music opens with Jack Morrell (young Steve Guttenberg) working in a record store. However, he’s got bigger plans that just standing behind a cash register. He quits his job and then roller skates around New York with a big goofy grin on his face. Everyone he passes is charmed. And why not? New Yorkers are famous for their good-humor and polite manners.
Jack is a songwriter but he doesn’t have the voice necessary to sell his songs. His platonic roommate, former supermodel Sam Simpson (Valerie Perrine), decides that what Jack needs is a band to sing his lyrics. Luckily, Sam knows a singer named Felipe Rose. He spends all of his time dressed like an Indian brave. There’s no specific reason given for his costume choice, it’s just something that he does. Sam and Jack are also able to recruit a construction worker (David Hodo), a “leatherman” (Glenn Hughes), a cowboy (Randy Jones), a G.I. (Alex Briley), and a singing cop (Ray Simpson). The name of the band? The Village People!
Yes, Can’t Stop The Music is fictionalized story of how The Village People came together. It was directed by TV actress Nancy Walker. It was a major studio production, one that was expected to build on the popularity of disco and bring in a lot of money. Unfortunately, it was released at the same moment that disco stopped being trendy. Can’t Stop The Music has a reputation for being bad and campy. Both of those things are true but I should point out that it’s also a remarkably boring film. The movie is full of characters who are constantly coming and going. Sam has a large collection of friends and former co-workers, all of whom just tend to randomly pop up. Most of them don’t really add much to the overall plot and, indeed, it’s hard not to resent being expected to keep track of all of them when there’s really no reason for many of them to be in the film. A pre-transition Caitlyn Jenner plays Ron White, a lawyer who is mugged while delivering a cake and who ends up as Sam’s boyfriend. As much as I made fun of Jenner as a performer while reviewing CHiPs, Jenner is even worse in You Can’t Stop The Music. In fact, Jenner’s performance is one of the worst that I have ever seen. If Ron angry? Is Ron sad? Is Ron in love? Is Ron an alien from outer space? You never really can tell, largely because Caitlyn Jenner’s performance is so inept. It’s not so much that Jenner can’t show emotion and one gets the feeling that Jenner isn’t even sure what emotion is.
As for the Village People themselves …. well, this film leaves little doubt that none of them were professional actors. Felipe Rose probably comes the closest to giving a credible performance but, as individuals, the members of the Village People aren’t that interesting and it takes forever for them to actually become a group. Even after they become a group, they still can’t generate enough on-screen charisma to really hold our attention. Who knew the Village People were so boring?
The majority of the film plays coy as far as the subtext of the Village People’s song are concerned. Steve Guttenberg’s character is definitely gay-coded without the film actually coming out and saying so.. The construction worker gets a fantasy in which he imagines being lusted after by several female groupies. The first few performances of the Village People are rather bland and it’s almost as if the film is trying to avoid the fact that the Village People’s songs and the personas of the performers all paid tribute to gay culture in the 1970s. But then the film hits the YMCA production number and suddenly, the Village People are frolicking with half-naked, muscular men while joyfully singing about everything that’s available at the YMCA. For that brief moment, the film embraces the campiness of the Village People and this major studio production actually becomes a bit subversive. It’s also one of the few moments in the film in which anyone seems to be genuinely happy. The Village People seem to be having fun. Unfortunately, the YMCA sequence is the exception instead of the rule.
Can’t Stop The Music‘s sin isn’t that it’s boring as much as it’s just bland. It’s an incredibly blah film. No film about New York in the 70s has any right to be so forgettable.
Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.8 “Old Friends, Dead Ends”
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, Torello discovers some disturbing facts about an old friend.
Episode 1.8 “Old Friends, Dead Ends”
(Dir by Bobby Roth, originally aired on November 4h, 1986)
Luca has bought a controlling interest in a bottling company so that he can borrow from the pension fund and use that money to purchase casinos in Las Vegas. He’s brought a reluctant Bartoli in as his partner. The owner of the company is Ted Kehoe (Mark Hutter), who just happens to be an old friend of Mike Torello’s. When Kehoe’s business partner, Marilyn Stewart (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), becomes suspicious of Kehoe’s arrangement with Luca, Bartoli starts to wonder if it’s really worth it to keep Marilyn and Ted around.
This is especially the case after Bartoli’s attorney, Dee (a youngish Eric Bogosian), informs Bartoli that U.S. Attorney Harry Brietel (Ray Sharkey) is planning on indicting both him and Luca for money laundering. Looking to end Brietel’s case before it can even get started, Luca murders Marilyn Stewart. Marilyn’s body is later found by two teenagers and–
HEY, IT’S CHRISTIAN SLATER!
This episode does indeed feature an early performance from Christian Slater. He pays a teenager who is trying to convince his girlfriend to “do it” when they happen to spot Marilyn’s body floating in the river. Slater’s girlfriend is played by Kim Walker, who was later co-star with Slater in Heathers.
Torello is not happy. Well, that’s not a surprise. Torello is never happy. But this episode gives him even more reasons than usual to be in a foul mood. Because of his childhood friendship with Ted Kehoe, Brietel suspects that Torello might be corrupt. After Marilyn is murdered, Brietel seems more interested in trying to pin the murder on Torello than going after Luca.
As for Ted Kehoe, he tells Luca that he’s done working for him. Kehoe is going to tell the cops everything! And what is Luca going to do about it? This episode ends with Kehoe getting thrown out the window of his penthouse and falling several stories down to his death….
Piece of advice: If you’re going to turn on the mob, don’t tell them ahead of time.
This was a good episode! Torello’s friendship with Kehoe brought some real stakes the story and, once again, we got to see just how ruthless an adversary Ray Luca truly is. Luca, Bartoli, and the other mobsters can occasionally seem a bit buffoonish. This episode reminded us that, in Luca’s case, it’s always a mistake to underestimate him.
As for now, Kehoe is dead and Torello is under suspicion. I look forward to seeing what happens next week!
Lifetime Film Review: Murder In Music City (dir by Dave Thomas)
The music industry! It’s murder!
And if you have any doubt about whether or not that statement is true, just consider the recent Lifetime film, Murder In Music City.
Jimmy Stone (Ty Trumbo) is a handsome young singer/songwriter who is trying to make it big in Nashville. When we first see him, he’s taking a shower because this is a movie that knows what its audience wants. Jimmy then sits down and works on a song that he’s been writing about a woman named Stephanie. It sounds …. well, actually it sounds terrible. But it’s terrible in that way that gets stuck in your head, kind of like that “Take Me To Church” song by Hozier. Hey, Jimmy might have a hit on his hands! Unfortunately, Jimmy is then beaten death with a guitar.
Because Jimmy was a guest of country superstar Aiblene Tucker (Deena Dill), she is arrested for his murder. Abilene’s estranged daughter, Caroline (Madison Crawford), comes to Nashville to try to prove that her mother is innocent. Caroline’s investigation leads her to everyone from one of Abilene’s ex-husbands to the president of Abilene’s fan club. It turns out that Abilene always had a lot of people around her and they all had a motive for killing Jimmy. Working with Abilene is Jimmy’s brother, Kyle (Brigdon York). Abilene starts to fall for Kyle but it turns out that Kyle has some secrets of his own.
This film features an unusual twist on the typical Lifetime plot by having someone get arrested for the murder about halfway through the film. With the real murderer apparently in jail, Abilene is free to resume her life and prepare for her comeback special. However, Caroline comes to suspect that perhaps the wrong person was arrested and that the real murderer is still out there. It all leads to secrets being revealed and songs being sung. There’s a lot of songs sung in this film. Perhaps too many, to be absolutely honest.
Despite not being a country music fan, I have to say that I absolutely loved Murder In Music City. It was a film that cheerfully embraced the melodrama and celebrated all the excess that went along with it. It was the type of fun, “I don’t believe that just happened” film that used to dominate the Lifetime airwaves. This is one of those films where you don’t really worry too much about narrative logic or whether or not all of the clues really add up. Instead, you just enjoy the ride. And it is a very enjoyable ride. There’s nothing more fun that watching someone have to both solve a murder mystery and deal with an egocentric parent.
In the role of the self-absorbed Abilene, Deena Dill gives a wonderful performance. She’s not going to let a little thing like being accused of murder get in the way of her lavish lifestyle and her upcoming show. Deena Dill plays Abilene as a force of nature and she brings a lot of humor to the role. Also giving a good performance is Madison Crawford, who is very likable and relatable as Caroline. You can see how having a mother like Abilene has shaped her but you also see the inner strength that has allowed Caroline to build a life of her own.
A terrifically entertaining film, Murder In Music City is what Lifetime should be all about!
Catching Up With The Films Of 2025: Nuremberg (dir by James Vanderbilt)
Nuremberg opens the day before the official surrender of Nazi Germany. Hermann Goering (Russell Crowe), widely considered to have been the second-most powerful person in the Third Reich, surrenders to American soldiers in Austria. A war hero before he joined the Nazi Party and a long-revered figure in Germany, Goering is haughty even when surrendering. He is someone who is obviously used to being in charge and being treated with respect. In fact, he demands it.
Goering is one of the handful of high-ranking Nazis who have been captured after the fall of Germany. Many of the leaders of the Third Reich and the architects of the Holocaust, including Hitler himself, have committed suicide. Others have headed to South America or the Middle East, where they have assumed false identities and live in hiding. As for Goering and his fellow prisoners, they are going to be tried for War Crimes but no one is quite sure how to go about doing that. American Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) finds himself in charge of trying the Nazis. His solution is an international tribunal. Not only will men like Goering be put on trial but the world will also see the evidence of their crimes. The trial will take place at Nuremberg, Germany. Those on trial will face the prospect of execution, if convicted.
Lt. Col. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), a psychiatrist, is brought in to examine the Nuremberg defendants. Though he meets with and examines all of them, he finds himself fascinated by Goering, who turns out to be highly intelligent, highly charismatic, and highly manipulative. Goering even helps Kelley to win the trust of some of the other defendants. Kelley, who is originally only interested in writing a book about his experiences, finds himself falling for Goering’s claims of just being a patriot who didn’t truly know the full extent of Hitler’s crimes. However, once the trial begins, Kelley is confronted with not only the atrocities committed by the Nazis but also Goering’s role in them.
As a self-confessed history nerd, Nuremberg was a film that I was curious about. Director James Vanderbilt previously gave us Truth, a film that basically whitewashed the efforts of Dan Rather and Mary Mapes to push a verifiably false story about George W. Bush during the 2004 election. Since Truth was one of the most dishonest films that I’ve ever seen, I had my concerns with the idea of Vanderbilt directing Nuremberg. I’m happy to say that Nuremberg is a much better film than Truth. The film doesn’t shy away from documenting the crimes of the Nazis and it also makes clear that anti-Semitism was at the heart of the Third Reich. Considering that Holocaust denialism is on the rise and that, in America, anti-Semitism has been normalized to the extent that we have members of Congress and mayors of major cities who openly traffic in the type of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories that were previously exiled to the fringiest regions of the Internet, Nuremberg provides a history lesson that many would do well to learn.
(That said, some have no interest in learning. After he went on social media to accuse the Jews of controlling the weather, DC councilman Trayon White agreed to visit the Holocaust Museum but reportedly left after only a few minutes. He stayed long enough so he could claim to have been there but obviously had no interest in learning anything.)
That said, Nuremberg’s ambitions are occasionally beyond the scope of James Vanderbilt’s capabilities. Ending with a title card telling us that the Nuremberg tribunal later served as a model for the International Criminal Court would be more effective if the ICC itself hadn’t turned out to be such a joke. Visually, the film is well-crafted and has a good eye for historical detail but the it moves slowly and, at times, Vanderbilt seems to be more concerned with trying to craft Oscar moments than with holding the audience’s attention. The film’s strength lies with its cast, especially Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, and Leo Woodall. (Rami Malek sometimes seems to be miscast but he’s still convincingly disillusioned.) It’s not a great film but it is a good one and, ultimately, an important one.
Song of the Day: Theme From Jaws by John Williams
It’s not the summer without John Williams and the theme from Jaws!
Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 2.21 “Tears Are Not Enough: Part One”
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’ve got the first part of the second season finale!
Episode 2.21 “Tears Are Not Enough, Part One”
(Dir by Philip Earnshaw, originally aired on February 16th, 2003)
Another school year is coming to an end. It’s time for the final school dance! But first, JT needs to pass his final exams. Liberty agrees to tutor JT on the condition that he take her to the dance. JT accepts and, in the end, he resists the temptation to ask Paige to the dance because “Liberty’s my date.”
Well, that’s good. This episode allows us to see how the JT/Liberty romance started. Of course, we all know that JT will eventually get Liberty pregnant and then get hooked on pills. Fortunately, JT will survive the inevitable overdose. Unfortunately, two seasons after that overdose, JT will be murdered outside of Liberty’s birthday party.
Hmmm …. maybe JT should have asked Paige to the dance.
However, all of this is just the B-plot. The main plot of this episode features Craig’s father (Hugh Dillon) trying to reeneter his life. Craig’s father swears that he’s learned the error of his ways. He’s taken classes to learn how to control his temper. He wants Craig to come and live with him and, with Joey struggling with money, Craig is tempted. Or, at least, Craig is tempted until he shows up late for dinner with his father and his father responds by hitting Craig in the face and then speeding off in his car.
Craig returns home and tells Joey that he wants Joey to adopt him. Then the police show up. Craig thinks that his father called them but it turns out that they are there to let Joey know that Craig’s father died in an auto accident. Given how abusive Craig’s father was, you might think this is good news. However, those of us who have binged this show more than once know that this is going to lead to Craig having a breakdown in two seasons and a cocaine addiction in three.
Seriously, things got dark!
Despite the Liberty/JT subplot, I like this episode. To be honest, I like almost all of the Craig episodes. He was an interesting character and Jake Epstein was one of the better actors on the show. Even though I already know what waits in the future, I’m still looking forward to watching the second part of Tears Are Not Enough.
Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.14 “Diener”
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.
What happened to the diamond ring?
Episode 5.14 “Diener”
(Dir by Kyle Secor, originally aired on January 31st, 1997)
Still on the outs with Bayliss, Pembleton is forced, by order of Giardello, to work with Lewis. The last time that Pembleton and Lewis worked together, the result was chaos. Lewis didn’t have any patience for Pembleton’s arrogance and Pembleton obviously didn’t respect Lewis as a detective. This time, it goes a bit smoother. Pembleton, thanks to Bayliss, has learned how to work with others and Lewis, having lost Crosetti and seen Kellerman pushed to the edge of suicide, is a bit more sensitive than we’ve seen in the past.
The victim is a rich woman who liked to support struggling art students. Lewis suspects that the killer was one of the students. Pembleton suspects that it was the woman’s brother and his suspicions turn out to be correct. When the woman’s belongings are released by the ME’s office, the brother immediately notices that a diamond ring is missing. But how did the brother know that his sister was wearing the ring when she died?
As for the diamond ring, it was stolen by Jeff (Glenn Fitzgerald), who works in the morgue. It turns out that Jeff has been stealing from the dead for a while. Dr. Cox gets a big scene in which she fires him. He definitely deserved to be fired and I assume that he will also be going to jail. That said, the name of this show is Homicide. It’s not named “Medical Examiner.” I like Michelle Forbes’s performance as Dr. Cox but it’s still hard not to feel that, at least as far as the fifth season is concerned, the show is sometimes a bit too quick to try to force her into every story.
While Pembleton solved there case, his wife considered leaving him. Bayliss tried to warn Pembleton but Pembleton shrugged off Bayliss’s comment. In fact, Pembleton told Bayliss that he’s fine no longer working with him. I nearly screamed with frustration. Seriously, you two — work it out!
Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 2.7 “Rent-A-Pop”
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 is currently streaming on Tubi!
This week, we meet two new characters.
Episode 2.7 “Rent-A-Pop”
(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 20th, 1990)
Remember how, in Junior High, Zack’s parents were divorced and his father was played by Robert Pine, the captain from CHiPs? His father even dated Ms. Bliss at one point. The relationship didn’t last because Zack, as usual, ruined everything by being a trouble maker. Add to that, Ms. Bliss was her usual condescending self….
Well, forget about all that.
Zack lives in California now and his parents are still together. His father, Derek Morris (John Sanderford), is now a computer salesman who played a little baseball in college and who is always on his big mobile phone. When Zack tries to tell Derek about how he’s struggling in school, Derek waves him off so that he can take a business call.
Zack has a problem. He wants to go on the class ski trip. However, he’s failing all of his classes and Belding wants to see his father. Luckily, the Max’s new waiter, James (Mark Blankfield), just happens to be an unemployed actor who has nothing better to do than help out a bunch of teenagers who are about 30 years younger than him. Zack’s plan is for James to pretend to be Mr. Belding and to assure Zack’s father that Zack is doing well in school. Then, James will switch and pretend to be Zack’s father for the official meeting with Belding. Does all that sound way too complicated? Well, it is. Zack never came up with a plan that wasn’t ludicrously complicated. In this case, it involves faking a Chess Club poisoning so that Belding won’t be in his office when Derek arrives.
Meanwhile, there’s a school carnival going on in the gym. Oh no! Look over at the dunk tank! There’s the real Derek Morris getting ready to throw baseballs at the real Mr. Belding!
“Who is this jerk?” Derek asks after dunking Mr. Belding.
Mr. Belding introduces himself. Derek learns the truth. Zack is grounded but Derek learns an important lesson about spending too much time on the phone.
I have to admit that this episode is a favorite of mine. That’s largely due to the performances of Mark Blankfield and John Sanderford, both of whom are now deceased. (Sanderford passed in 2023 and Blankfield in 2024.) Both actors bring some much needed new energy to the show. Blankfield’s performance is broad but funny. Sanderford’s performance, quite appropriately, is a bit more grounded in reality. My favorite moment in this episode is when Derek Morris notices Mr. Belding’s computer and announces, “I sell these,” before then asking James a lot of questions about it. James’s confusion was perfectly played by Mark Blankfield and it was impossible not to smile about how enthusiastic Derek got about potentially making a sale. Even at a meeting to discuss his son’s academic record, Derek was always looking for an opportunity. That’s the sign of a great salesman and a potentially lousy father.
Both Derek Morris and James the Actor would return and why not? This episode provided them with a great introduction.
Through the Shattered Lens 