Beware!
Enjoy!
(And be sure to check out what Gary Loggins had to say about this song!)
Tag Archives: review
Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 3.6 “Bad Penny”
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The entire series can be found on YouTube!
This week …. hey, it’s a good episode!
Episode 3.6 “Bad Penny”
(Dir by William Fruet, originally aired October 30th, 1989)
The Coin of Ziocles returns! Last seen being used by a cult to raise the dead, the Coin is recovered from a construction site at the start of this episode. This turned out to be the best episode of the third season so far. Here’s a few reasons why:
- First off, with this episode, Friday the 13th finally showed that it still remembered its own history. The last time Jack, Micki, and Ryan sought the coin, Micki was actually killed and remained dead until Ryan and Jack figured out how to use the coin to bring her back to life. With this episode, we discover that Micki has some serious PTSD as a result of the experience which actually makes a lot of sense. In the past, I’ve always felt this show tended to gloss over just how traumatizing it would be to deal with cursed antiques on a daily basis. With this episode, we see that Micki can’t even look at the site where she was killed without starting to shake. It was realistic and Robey did a great job portraying Micki’s emotions.
- In yet another nod to continuity, Johnny stole the coin and used it to bring back his dead father. In the past, I’ve felt like Johnny was a bit too quick to accept the idea of the antiques being cursed. With this episode, we saw that the inexperienced Johnny doesn’t quite understand that danger of the cured antiques. Ryan, Micki, and Jack would never have made the mistake of using the antique or trusting anything that had once been owned by Uncle Lewis but Johnny is still learning.
- Steve Monarque and Sean McCann both did excellent work as Johnny and his father. Needless to say, Johnny’s father is confused when he’s brought back from the dead. His struggle to understand what was happening brought tears to my eyes. It’s been less than a year since I lost my Dad. I’d probably do the same thing Johnny did. In the end, Johnny sent his father back into the afterlife. It was so sad!
- Micki writes a letter to Ryan. It’s probably one that she won’t ever send but it’s good to see that the show at least acknowledged how difficult it would have been for her to say goodbye to Ryan.
- By mentioning Ryan so much, this show actually made it easier for me to accept Johnny as his replacement. Over the past few episodes, I kind of resented how quickly Johnny seemed to be stepping into replace him. This episode showed me that Ryan is still loved.
- The villains — a corrupt cop and his zombified partner — were a bit over-the-top but still entertaining. For once, this episode focused on our heroes and I was glad it did.
This was an excellent episode of Friday the 13th! I hope it’s a sign of things to come for the rest of the third season.
The underrated RED SUN (1971) – Charles Bronson & Toshiro Mifune in an East meets Western!
Every so often I’m going to throw out a movie that I don’t think gets enough love, and that just doesn’t set right with me. Today’s movie is RED SUN.
In RED SUN, two of the most macho actors in the history of world cinema team up in a western where train robber Link (Bronson) is forced to lead the honorable samurai Kuroda (Mifune) on a cross country trek to reclaim a stolen sword that was intended to be a gift from the Empire of Japan to the US President. If the two men can’t get the sword back in a week’s time, honor demands that the two men will lose their lives out of shame. Link isn’t really down with this plan, but he doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter due to the power and skill of Kuroda. Charles Bronson & Toshiro Mifune command the screen, with Charlie showing a likable sense of humor in his role as the bad / good cowboy. The two must find the evil Gauche (French superstar Alain Delon). Gauche is Bronson’s old train robbing partner who stole the sword and killed a samurai in the process, providing even more motivation for Kuroda. Add in Ursula Andress as a sexy woman who has a history with both Link and Gauche, and it doesn’t get much better than this!
RED SUN is not a perfect movie, but I couldn’t imagine anyone being disappointed by this enjoyable East meets Western that features true international superstars. In my book, it’s highly recommended!
Enjoy the trailer below:
Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 1.16 “Monday, Tuesday, Sven Day”
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988. The show can be found on Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!
It’s another day in Boston.
Episode 1.16 “Monday, Tuesday, Sven Day”
(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on March 1st, 1983)
It’s a busy day at St. Eligius. Here’s a breakdown:
- The racial conflict is continuing. Putting a young white man and a young black man in the same hospital room leads to an all-out brawl. Some poor guy walking down the hall on a broken leg gets trampled in the melee. Agck!
- A man in a crude astronaut’s uniform shows up at the ER. He doesn’t get any lines but his name tag identifies him as “J. Masius,” which is a reference to one of the show’s writers.
- Oh, hey, it turns out that kid who claimed he was jumped by a bunch of black guys actually wasn’t jumped by a bunch of black guys. Instead, his father (Dick O’Neill) beat him up. Dr. Westphall threatens to beat up the kid’s dad. They may be old but they both grew up on the streets of Boston! What is it with old men from Boston and they’re need to threaten each other with fisticuffs?
- Dr, Chandler hears another doctor make a racist remake and gets angry. “I keep forgetting he’s black,’ the doctor says.
- Dr. Morrison apologizes on behalf of the racist doctor. Chandler tells Morrison that he’ll never understand what it’s like to be black. Morrison agrees but then points out that he only lives two blocks away from Chandler so he does understand what it’s like to live in a poor neighborhood. Uhmm….see, this is why I was kind of dreading watching this show try to deal with racism. St. Elsewhere has been a good show so far but well-intentioned TV writer liberalism is usually the cringiest liberalism there is.
- Peter’s wife is pregnant. Peter is not the father. Peter asks a nurse for a loan so that he can pay his wife’s abortion.
- By the way, Peter is sleeping with the nurse who unknowingly paid for his wife’s abortion.
- There’s no way any of this is going to end well.
- A sex worker comes in to get her appendix removed. “I love my job,” Fiscus says after telling her to undress. Ugh, what a pig. I get that guys say stuff like that when they’re talking to each other and that’s fine but you don’t say that to someone when they’re in terrible pain and in the emergency room.
- Finally, the show’s best storyline featured Ehrlich going to party at Dr. Craig’s house for a visiting Scandinavian doctor named Sven. Ehrlich brings Shirley Daniels as his date and proceeds to have way too much to drink. This storyline was fun because it highlight William Daniels’s wonderfully sardonic portrayal of the abrasive Dr. Craig. I love that Ehrlich is both terrified of and desperate to impress him. Drunk Ed Begley, Jr. was definitely this episode’s highlight.
This was an okay episode. It wasn’t the most memorable that I’ve seen but I did enjoy that terrible party at Dr. Craig’s house. Terrible parties are always so much more fun to watch than good ones.
Song of the Day: A Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer
Sharing that Michael Caine scene reminded me of how much I loved the soundtrack of the entire Dark Knight trilogy. Here, from the end of the Dark Knight, is a bit of Hans Zimmer’s iconic score.
Music Video of the Day: Leave by Jessica Simpson (2025, dir by ????)
Today’s music video of the day is the latest from Jessica Simpson. Jessica Simpson actually went to my high school, though she was a student long before I got there. She was often held up as an example of what we, as students, could achieve even though she dropped out without graduating.
In other words, don’t worry too much about that diploma.
Enjoy!
Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.16 “A Song of Songs”
Welcome to Late Night 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 Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, not even the presence of the great James Earl Jones can save Highway to Heaven.
Episode 3.16 “A Song of Songs”
(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on January 21st, 1987)
Mark and Jonathan are driving out in the middle of nowhere, waiting for their next assignment. Mark is annoyed. He says he’s been driving for ten hours. Personally, I think Mark has every right to be annoyed. I’ve noticed that Jonathan never drives. Are angels not allowed to drive? Did he never learn how? It seems a bit self-centered to make Mark do all the driving.
Eventually, Jonathan and Mark stop off at a roadhouse. Mark order a huge amount of ribs. Jonathan smiles, even though Mark is going to give himself a heart attack if he’s not careful. By an amazing coincidence, an old friend of Mark’s is also at the roadhouse. Gabe (James Earl Jones) is a blind jazz pianist. He’s also this week’s assignment.
Jonathan and Mark are hired to work at a storefront church that is led by Eleanor (Rosalind Cash). Eleanor is strict and demanding and when her daughter (Akosua Busia) wants to go off on her own and perform her own type of music, Eleanor accuses her of only caring about “the devil’s music.” It turns out that Eleanor is also Gabe’s ex-girlfriend! Eleanor was not always so strict. Can Jonathan and Mark bring these two back together and also repair the relationship between Eleanor and her daughter?
Eh, this episode didn’t do much for me. I hate to say that because James Earl Jones was one of our best actors and he’s definitely the strongest thing about this episode but overall, the plot was a bit too predictable and both Rosalind Cash and Akosua Busia gave such over-the-top performances that it was hard to take their storyline seriously. This was Highway to Heaven at its most predictable and the episode didn’t even benefit from Michael Landon’s trademark earnestness. It just fell flat.
Oh well, there’s always next week. Maybe Mark will finally get a break from always having to do the driving! I wouldn’t count on it, though.
Song of the Day: Fargo, North Dakota by Carter Burwell
Since it’s William H. Macy’s birthday, it only makes sense that today’s song of the day should come from a film that is not only one of Macy’s best but which also features one of the best score ever recorded. From Carter Burwell, here is Fargo, North Dakota.
Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.5 “Off The Deep End”
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 Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999. The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!
Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.
This week …. well, we’ll get to it in a minute.
Episode 2.5 “Off the Deep End”
(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on November 6th, 1999)
Well, this is embarrassing. I sat down, ready to face my weekly chore of watching the next episode of Malibu CA, and I promptly discovered that the fifth episode of season two has never been upload to YouTube.
Now, to be honest, this isn’t exactly a tragedy. I don’t particularly like this show and it’s not like my reviews of an obscure sitcom from the 90s are responsible for much of this site’s daily traffic. It does bother me as a completist. If I ever find a free copy of this episode, I’ll review it. But, to be honest, I’m not going to spend that much time looking.
Here’s the plot summary, via the imdb:
Peter has been ignoring Scott’s swim meets and now only three are left before the Olympic trials. Fearing that he’s doing the same thing to Scott now that he did to him when he was younger, Peter now tries to get as involved as possible. He’s taking care of Scott’s diet, hiring a masseuse, and making Jason do all the chores.
It’s tempting to try to review this episode without even watching it. I’ve seen enough of these Peter Engel-produced teen sitcoms that I can imagine almost everything that probably happens in the episode, from Scott getting angry at Peter for being overbearing to Peter apologizing for not having been there for Scott in the past to Jason coming up with some crazy scheme to try to get Murray to do all the chores for him. I’m pretty sure all of this happened to someone on Saved By The Bell: The New Class as well.
But no, I have my ethics. I’ll wait until I can actually watch the episode and I say that with the full knowledge that I may never see the episode. And I’m kind of okay with that.
Music Video of the Day: Relationships by HAIM (2025, dir by Camille Summers Valli)
It’s always a good day when you can start off with something new from Haim.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 