Tag Archives: review

Song of the Day: Overture (Lawrence of Arabia) by Maurice Jarre

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Lawrence of Arabia (dir. by David Lean)

Since today is David Lean’s birthday, it only seems appropriate that today’s song of the day should come from the film that is regularly acknowledged as being Lean’s masterpiece, 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia.  Composed by Maurice Jarre, here is one of the greatest film scores of all times.

Song of the Day: Main Title Theme From Bullitt by Lalo Schifrin

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In honor of the birthday of Steve McQueen, today’s song of the day comes from his 1968 film, Bullitt.  Composed Lala Schifrin later went on to do the score for another film about a California detective with his own way of doing things, Dirty Harry.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Check It Out! 3.11 “The Naked Truth”

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 the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and Peacock!

This week, Marlene gets an opportunity!

Episode 3.11 “The Naked Truth”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on November 21st, 1987)

Women Of The World magazine wants to do a story on Marlene’s life as a cashier.  All of her coworkers try to worm their way into the interview but Marlene succeeds in kicking them all out of the breakroom.  The reporter from the magazine informs Marlene that her life story is fascinating and now they’ll just need to take some naked pictures to go along with it.

Howard is stunned when Marlene says she’s going to pose nude.  Marlene points out that Howard keeps adult magazines in his desk drawer.  Howard denies it before then opening up his desk drawer and checking them out.  Howard fears that Marlene is going to make Cobb’s look bad.  Marlene, in the end, chooses not to get the pictures done because she doesn’t want her future daughter to be ashamed of her.  Personally, I would have preferred for Marlene to have said, “It’s my decision and I’ll make sure my daughter understands that she has to do what’s right for her instead of worrying about what everyone else says,” but whatever.  It’s just a silly sitcom.

Meanwhile, Viker’s wife is pregnant!  Awwww, Viker!  Gordon Clapp got to a do and say a lot in this episode, which I enjoyed.  Viker is one of the more consistently funny characters on this show.  Gordon Clapp played Viker’s stupidity with such an earnest sincerity that you just want someone to hug the guy.

This was not a bad episode.  Gordon Clapp and Kathleen Laskey were often this show’s strongest assets and this episode featured both of them.  Laskey did a great job portraying Marlene’s dilemma while Clapp made me laugh at even the silliest of jokes.  Nope, not a bad episode at all, even if I do think Marlene should have just told everyone that it was none of their business what she chose to do.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/16/25 — 3/22/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, I was super-excited to discover the original Unsolved Mysteries on Tubi!  I’ve been listening to Robert Stack as he talks about unsolved crimes and a paranormal mysteries and I have to say that Mr. Stack was truly an American treasure!  I like that most of these episodes have updates and it looks like they’re still being updates.  That said, I find the mysteries with no updates to be the most intriguing.

In other news, Case and I are nearly finished with Dark.  We’ll be watching the final episode next Tuesday.

I am now caught up on Kitchen Nightmares.  Chef Ramsay is saving restaurants that don’t really deserve to be saved.  I don’t care if Gordon showed them their aware of their ways.  There’s no way I’d eat in any of those places!

I watched a good deal of the news stations — BBC, FOX, C-SPAN, CNN, a little MSNBC, though that network is kind of annoying and whiny right now — this week.  I won’t go into too much detail but I think I’m starting to become a news junkie.

I went over to Pluto TV this weekend and I turned on Dr. Phil for background noise.  This poor woman was convinced that she was married to Tyler Perry.

King of the Hill on Hulu has definitely been my comfort show this week.  It’s a Texas show and I’m a Texas girl.

 

Retro Television Review: Welcome Back Kotter, 4.21 “Ooh Ooh, I Do: 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Welcome Back Kotter, which ran on ABC  from 1975 to 1979.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime.

Wedding bells are ringing!

Episode 4.21 “Ooh Ooh, I Do: Part Two”

(Dir by Norman Abbott, originally aired on May 25th, 1979)

Horshack’s getting married!

For some reason, the Sweathogs throw him a bachelor party in Barbarino’s trashy apartment.  Barbarino isn’t there.  I assume he’s at work or maybe he finally moved back in with his family after realizing just how ugly and depressing his apartment was.  Seriously, I will never understand why a show would try to get viewers invested in such an ugly location.

Anyway, the bachelor party is a bust.  Epstein dresses up in drag and dances for Horshack.  The Sweathogs love it.  Horshack loves it.  But then the Sweathogs make a joke about how Horshack and Mary Johnson are going to be so poor that Mary is going to have to get a job washing bricks to support them.  Horshack realizes that they’re right.  He’s getting married in high school and he has absolutely zero marketable skills.  In fact, he’s such a weirdo that most people go out of their way to avoid him.  How is he going to support Mary?

Horshask freaks out and runs away.  After Mary shows them the note that Horshack left, in which he said that he was running away to become the type of man who could support her, the Sweathogs search all over Brooklyn for him.  Epstein goes to a Marine recruiting station.  Washington and Beau …. eh, I watched this show like 20 minutes ago and I’ve already forgotten what they did.  That’s how well-written this episode was.  Mary, however, knows that Horshack’s favorite movie is Wuthering Heights so she finds him at the local move theater.

They get married!  The ceremony is small and pathetic.  I don’t think a single member of Horshack’s family showed up.  Gabe does show up and, when the Sweathogs realize that Horshack needs a ring to give Mary, Gabe gives up his own wedding ring.  Julie approves.  They’re probably going to get divorced as soon as the show ends.

Gabe, who is usually portrayed as being very concerned with the future of his students, is totally cool with Horshack getting married while still a high school student.  At no point does he suggest that Horshack might be rushing into things or that a stunted manchild who can’t get a job might not be a good husband.  This was one of Kaplan’s rare appearance during the final season of the show but he doesn’t act much like the Mr. Kotter that we got to know over the previous three seasons.  It’s kind of like when Steve Carell came back for The Office finale and only said one line.  It just doesn’t feel right.

Apparently, this episode was meant to a backdoor pilot for a series that would have focused on Horshack and Mary.  I can’t imagine that working, though I would say that Mary and Horshack do look cute together at the end of the episode.

Speaking of endings, there are only two more episodes left!  Will the Sweathogs finally graduate?  We’ll find out!