Tag Archives: review

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 1.5 “Love Is On The Air”

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

This week, Scott takes over Bayside Radio.  Hey, Zack did that too!

Episode 1.5 “Love Is On The Air”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 9th, 1993)

The school board is threatening to close down Bayside’s radio station!

Really?  Didn’t we already do this story on the original Saved By The Bell?  For that matter, wasn’t this exact same plot used on California Dreams, City Guys, Malibu CA, and Hang Time?  Why was Peter Engel so obsessed with high school radio stations?

Scott, of course, talks Mr. Belding into letting him run the station.  Scott wants Lindsay to do an advice show but, right before the show starts, Lindsay has a fight with Tommy D and runs out of the studio.  While Scott is trying to get Lindsay to come back, Weasel goes on the air as “Dr, Love.”  Weasel’s gives relationship advice to anyone who calls in.  No one realizes that they’re actually talking to Weasel.  “Dr. Love” becomes extremely popular while Weasel remains unpopular, despite the fact that he was the most popular kid in school just two episodes ago.

This was a dumb episode.  It perhaps would have been worse if it had aired during the original run of Saved By The Bell, just because Screech would have been Dr. Love.  Isaac Lidsky, who is today a respected businessman, was a considerably better actor than Dustin Diamond and Weasel was easier to take than Screech.  That said, Scott’s sociopathic behavior in this episode was considerably less charming than Zack’s.  Every episode seems to feature Scott trying to break up Lindsay and Tommy D but Lindsay and Tommy seem pretty happy together.  Zack may have competed with Slater for Kelly’s attention but Kelly was single at the time and clearly interested in him.  Lindsay seems to be totally into Tommy.  Scott’s pathological obsession with breaking up a happy couple doesn’t make Scott a particularly likable protagonist

Go back to Valley, Scott!  Bayside doesn’t need you.

Music Video of the Day: Bayou Boy by Graham Barham (2024, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Mardi Gras to all!

What can I say about this video other than it’s definitely authentic?  There’s a lot of people who will be able to relate to every word of this song.  This guy actually reminds me of more than a few of my cousins.  The fact that the song features more than a little Cajun French only contributes to the authenticity.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.9 “Finders Keepers”

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 is just a mess.

Episode 5.9 “Finders Keepers”

(Dir by John Peyser, originally aired on November 29th, 1981)

Oh, it’s a Steve McLeish episode!

These episodes are fun because they were so obviously written and re-written to try to cover up the fact that Caitlyn Jenner was a terrible actor.  In this episode, we learn that Steve is into rare flowers and that he drives a pretty snazzy convertible.  And yet, despite these character details, Steve still doesn’t really have a personality beyond being kind of twitchy and always hesitating before delivering his lines.  Jenner seemed to be made out of charisma anti-matter and it’s bizarre to see a public figure with absolutely zero screen presence.

This episode is a mess.  Two teens steal a car and come into possession of some stolen money.  Steve searches for the stolen car.  An eccentric bounty hunter (Noble Willingham) drives from Texas to California in a pink Cadillac and gets in everyone’s way as he chases a fugitive.  Oscar nominee Amy Madigan appears as a country singer who would really like to get it on with Baker but Baker always ends up running late.  Ponch makes three brief appearances in this episode.  It’s explained that he’s preparing to testify in a huge trial and that’s why Baker and Steve are temporary partners.  None of the storylines really feel complete or connected.  One gets the feeling that three different scripts were just randomly crammed together.

This episode had two effective car crashes and it was somewhat amusing to watch as Baker always showed up just a minute or two after Amy Madigan stopped singing.  That said, this episode didn’t add up to much.  The only thing that really made it watchable was Jenner’s bizarre performance.

There’s a part of me that kind of hopes that Ponch never comes back!  Of course, if that happened, it would no longer be….

Song of the Day: If You’ll Hold The Ladder (I’ll Climb To The Top), performed by Robert Duvall

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Robert Duvall missed out on his chance to play Haven Hamilton in Robert Altman’s Nashville but 8 years later, he gave a performance as a country musician that would him his only Oscar.

This is from 1983’s Tender Mercies.

Robert Duvall, RIP

 

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.15 “Over The Line”

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, the Vice Squad learns that a man has to know his limitations.

Episode 5.15 “Over The Line”

(Dir by Russ Mayberry, originally aired on April 28th, 1989)

“All of our heroes are dead.”

That line was delivered in 1973’s Magnum Force, by a motorcycle cop-turned-vigilante who justified his murderous actions by claiming that he was a part of the first generation without heroes.  That line could have just as easily been delivered by the cops in this episode of Miami Vice.

Crockett and Tubbs are recruited by Walter Stevens (Thomas Arana), a cop-turned-vigilante who explains to them that, once they join his organization, they can never leave.  Of course, Crockett and Tubbs are only pretending to be vigilantes so that they can take down both the drug dealers and Walter’s organization.  They do this despite the fact that, in many ways, Crockett agrees with Walter.  But when Walter’s methods lead to three good cops getting killed, Crockett realizes that Walter has to be stopped.  Even worse, he discovers that Walter is funding his operation by selling the cocaine that he confiscates from the dealers.

When Crockett pulls his gun on Walter and tells him to surrender, Walter appears to be doing so.  Walter warns Crockett that there’s a lot more to the organization than Crockett realizes.  Suddenly, a police captain named Robert Highsmith (Robert Fields) pops up and shoots Walter.  Crockett says that Walter was surrendering.  Highsmith insists that he saved Crockett’s life.

With the drug dealers and the bad cops taken down, Highsmith takes all the credit.  Highsmith is not only a police captain but he’s also a candidate for Dade County Supervisor.  At a televised “meet-the-candidate” forum, Highsmith brags about how he personally is helping to clean up the city.  Crockett watches and says, “Whatever it takes, right?”

Agck!

Seriously, this episode is cynical even by the standards of Miami Vice.  Legitimate cops like Crockett and Tubbs can’t do their job because of budget cuts.  The vigilante cops are taking down the drug dealers but they’re also stealing and selling cocaine so they’re not actually doing anything to stop the flow of drugs into Miami.   Walter becomes the first Miami Vice bad guy to both show remorse and to willingly surrender but he’s still gunned down by Captain Highsmith who, at the end of the episode, appears poised to be elected to political office.  Miami Vice was often critical of the War on Drugs.  This episode showed why the war couldn’t be won, despite the best efforts of soldiers like Crockett, Tubbs, and Castillo.  Men like Highsmith had to appear to be winning the war so that they could accumulate more power but if they actually did win the war, they would no longer be given carte blanche to do whatever they wanted.

This was a dark but effective episode.  Crockett’s hair has never been longer and he’s never appeared more defeated.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life on the Street 4.22 “Work Related”

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.

Oh my God, this episode….

Episode 4.22 “Work Related”

(Dir by Jean de Segonzac, originally aired on May 17th, 1996)

At first, the fourth season finale of Homicide: Life On The Street feels like a typical episode of Homicide.

Lewis, having just returned from his honeymoon, obsesses on a case in which a man was killed by a bowling ball dropped from an overpass.  Kellerman doesn’t feel that the case can be solved.  The murder was just too random.  Lewis, however, refuses to let it go.  As Kellerman soon deduces, Lewis doesn’t want to go home because he and his new wife are already fighting.

Meanwhile, Bayliss is frustrated by Pembleton’s refusal to act like a sentimental new father.  While Bayliss talks about the wonder of life, Pembleton coldly talks about how expensive it’s going to be to raise a child.  It’s the typical Bayliss/Pembleton dynamic.  Bayliss wants his partner to open up.  Pembleton wants to keep things strictly business.  Bayliss wants to find the deeper meaning of every event.  Pembleton wants to remain rational and focused on doing his job.  They’re both spiritual men, in their way.  It’s just that Bayliss is a seeker whereas Pembleton is a man on a mission.

Bayliss and Pembleton investigate a shooting at a fast food restaurant.  It doesn’t take much of an investigation to realize that the shooter was a recently fired employee and that his accomplice was a friend who still worked there.  When Pembleton and Bayliss get the friend into the box, it seems like it’s going to be an easy investigation.

That’s until Pembleton suddenly yells out, grabs his head, and has a violent seizure.  He collapses into the lap of a venal defense attorney who quickly shoves Pembleton away.  Pembleton is rushed to the hospital.  He’s had a stroke.  The rest of the Homicide squad sees a comatose Pembleton lying in bed.  But the viewer has seen the inside of Pembleton’s mind, where Pembleton is currently lying in a coffin and screaming to be released.

Agck!

I knew this episode was coming.  Ever since I started reviewing Homicide, people have told me about the stroke episode.  That said, it still took me by surprise when Pembleton collapsed.  Pembleton has always been the strongest character on the show, the one who never lost control and whose mind could unravel any alibi and solve any mystery.  Pembleton crashing to the ground, helpless and unable to speak, was not easy to witness.  Andre Braugher was a great actor and he proved it in this episode.

That was how the fourth season ended, with Pembleton lying in a hospital bed and Giardello trying to keep the squad focused on doing their job while Bayliss — poor Bayliss! — found himself once again trying to understand the cruelty of fate.  It was powerful, it was disturbing, it was sad, and I think it was the type of thing that only a show as good as Homicide could have pulled off.

Next week, we begin season 5.  I’m almost scared to see what happens.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.12 “The Mamas and the Papas”

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 Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime and Tubi!

This episode, a select few are getting married.

Episode 1.12 “The Mamas and the Papas”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 11th, 1989)

For a class project, the students are all spending a week seeing what it’s like to be married.  What’s odd is that there are only three couples despite the fact that there are a bunch of other students in the class.  Basically, six people are taking part in the project and the rest of the class is just there to watch.  That sounds like an incredibly boring week for the rest of the class but whatever.

Zack has been paired up with Kelly.  Slater has been paired up Jessie.  Lisa has been paired up with Screech.  When Lisa complains about having to be Screech’s wife, Mr. Belding says that the couples were selected alphabetically.  However, if that were true, Screech Powers would be married to Jessie Spano and A.C. Slater would be married to Lisa Turtle.  Seriously, Mr. Belding’s a liar.  How much did Screech pay him?

Lisa starts to twitch violently whenever Screech is near.  When Screech announce that he’s moving into her bedroom, she nearly has a seizure and, quite frankly, I don’t blame her.  This is a terrible class project.  Because the project is putting Lisa’s health at risk, she is allowed to annul her marriage to Screech.  Yay!  Instead, she is reassigned to be Slater and Jessie’s daughter while Screech becomes Zack and Kelly’s son.  When Kelly sees how negatively Zack reacts to being Screech’s father, she wonders if he’s the man to whom she wants to be fake married.

The stuff with Kelly and Zack and Lisa and Screech is pretty dumb.  Slater and Jessie is where the action’s at.  This is the first episode to really establish that Slater is a sexist pig and the Jessie is a straw feminist.  Jessie wants to keep her maiden name.  Jessie wants to have a job outside of the home.  Jessie feels that she should be an equal partner in the marriage.  What’s funny is that I agree with Jessie on all of these matters and yet I still laughed whenever Slater said, “Oink oink, baby.”  That’s largely due to the fact that Jessie was written to be so strident and shrill that her feminism and her politics often felt rather performative.  Slater may have been a chauvinist but at least he was honest about it and he was loyal to his friends.  Plus, he was cute.  (It’s high school, folks.  People are shallow in high school.)

This episode ends with Jessie apologizing to Mr. Belding for not being able to make her marriage to Slater work.  Belding says that sometimes, two people just aren’t meant to be together and there’s no shame in that.  (As a child of divorced parents, I always appreciated the fact that this episode was honest about the fact that not every marriage can be saved.)  Zack and Kelly’s marriage survives, at least until the project ends.

This episode …. actually, it really wasn’t that bad.  By the standards of Saved By The Bell, it was actually one of their better episodes.  As a general rule, the more time that is spent with Jessie and Slater fighting, the better the episode.  Still, forcing Lisa to marry Screech …. that’s just mean.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/8/26 — 2/14/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Winter Olympics (All week, Peacock and NBC)

I wrote about Korey and Cory this week.  On Tuesday, I watched as they won the Silver Medal in a match with Sweden and I have to admit that I was depressed for the rest of the day.  That’s nothing against the Swedish team.  They did a good job and they earned the win.  It’s just that I had gotten so invested in Korey and Cory that it was hard for me to accept that 1) it was over and 2) it ended with them coming in second.

I’ve watched the Olympics off-and-on since then but I have to admit none of the other athletes have really captured my attention the way that Korey and Cory did.  I do like our hockey teams, because they’re all blue collar and they don’t talk badly about my country.  Our skiers appear to be a bunch of spoiled rich kids.

I’ll definitely rewatch the figure skating.

Also watched and reviewed:

  1. Baywatch (Tubi)
  2. CHiPs (Prime)
  3. Decoy (Tubi)
  4. Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)
  5. 1st & Ten (Tubi)
  6. Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)
  7. Highway to Heaven (Tubi)
  8. Homicide (Peacock)
  9. The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)
  10. Miami Vice (Prime)
  11. Pacific Blue (Tubi)
  12. Saved By The Bell (Tubi)
  13. Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)
  14. St. Elsewhere (Daily Motion)