Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 6.2 “Tight Fit”

Posted on August 3, 2026 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 becomes the Barcelona Man.

Episode 6.2 “Tight Fit”

(Dir by John Florea, originally aired on October 17th, 1982)

After Ponch and his new partner Bobby thwart an attempt to steal a lockbox of diamonds from a photo shoot, Ponch is invited to become a jeans model. In fact, he even gets to appear on a giant billboard and star in a commercial as the shirtless Barcelona Man.

Well, of course, he does. A lot of things may have changed last week but one thing remains the same. We all know what we’re watching.

These episodes featuring Ponch getting “discovered” are always a bit silly. Ponch always acts like he’s modest and kind of embarrassed to be at the center of attention but it’s never convincing because it’s obvious that Erik Estrada is loving it. All it takes is one look at that big grin to know that Estrada is more than happy to be the shirtless Barcelona Man.

Now, to make clear, Ponch and Bobby did solve some crimes. They caught a jewel thief who crashed his car in an attempt to hide his crimes. They also busted a fashion photographer (Michael Haynes) who was coercing his underage models to pose nude and attend wild sex parties. One of the models was played by Kim Richards. She gets a scene where she attempts to jump off a ledge. Can you guess which member of the Highway Patrol saves her? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not Bobby!

Much like last week, this episode highlighted the total lack of chemistry between Erik Estrada and his new partner, Tom Reilly. Reilly spent most of this episode looking somewhat dazed and confused. Unlike Larry Wilcox, who always came across as if he arrested people in his spare time, Tom Reilly was a very unconvincing cop. After two episodes, it appears that Reilly’s main contribution to the show is to make Estrada seem convincing by comparison.

Next week, the Ponch Show continues.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

Posted on August 3, 2026 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 Crime Story, which ran on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The entire show can be found on Tubi!

This week, Homan sings.

Episode 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

(Dir by Francis Delia, originally aired on December 26th, 1986)

Homan is in federal custody and he’s telling Breitel all that he knows about Luca and Bartoli. He’s also making up a story about Torello taking a bribe. Even though Homan’s Torello story is pretty shaky, Breitel is looking forward to taking down a crooked cop and launching his political career off of of the publicity.

Bartoli is not amused when he learns that he’s being indicted. However, Luca is able to convince Manny Weisbord to provide him with a top-level defense attorney. Manny also makes it clear that Luca no longer works for Phil. Instead, Luca works with Phil. Lucas has another reason to be happy. When he runs into David Abrams at a bar, he gets some free legal advice. Luca explains that Homan is lying about Torello. Abrams tells Luca that, if they can prove that Homan is lying about Torello, it will be easier to convince a jury that Homan is lying about Luca and Bartoli as well.

Torello, meanwhile, responds to his upcoming indictment by going to Las Vegas and playing some golf. He’s in a great mood until he sees that his indictment is one the front page of the newspaper.

Not much really happened in this episode of Crime Story. That’s not really a complaint. If anything, it was a bit of a nice change-of-pace. We got to watch the characters just be themselves. Luca, who rarely shows emotion, actually smiles when he hears that Torello is about to be indicted along with “his favorite people.” Luca actually has a sense of humor and an appreciation for irony. Who would have guessed? Meanwhile, Torello continues to be just a bit too intense for his own good. Even on vacation, he seems like he’s just one frustration away from snapping.

Will Torello snap next week? We’ll find out!

Song of the Day: Kashmir by Led Zeppelin

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m not even really a Led Zeppelin fan but I do like this song. Most Zeppelin songs go on too long for my ADHD brain but Kashmir always manages to hold my attention.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.19 “Deception”

Posted on August 2, 2026 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 Luther Mahoney saga comes to an end.

Episode 5.19 “Deception”

(Dir by Peter Medak, originally aired on April 25th, 1997)

A Nigerian drug courier is found dead in a hotel room and, of course, that means that Kellerman, Lewis, and Stivers are going to get another chance to go after Luther Mahoney. After covering up the death of the actual courier, the police send in an undercover officer who delivers a batch of “bad” drugs to Mahoney’s middleman, Antonio Brookdale (Christopher Mann). When the drugs hit the street, it leads to a revolt amongst Mahoney’s customers. No one is buying from Mahoney and that causes Mahoney to lose his temper. Luther Mahoney can handle almost anything but he can’t handle losing money.

Mahoney demands that Antonio meet him at a public park. What Mahoney doesn’t know is that the police — including Kellerman, Stivers, and Lewis — have got the park staked out. When Mahoney, in a fit of rage, shoots both Brookdale and an innocent mother with her kids, the police rush to the scene. A panicked Mahoney jumps in his vehicle and drives away, leaving his crew behind to get arrested.

Lewis tracks Mahoney down to his apartment, where Mahoney is desperately packing up his money. The sight of Mahoney causes Lewis to lose control. He starts hitting Mahoney, demanding to know why Mahoney had to kill so many people when he could have just been content to sell drugs. Mahoney manages to grab Lewis’s gun. Kellerman and Stivers burst into the apartment with their own guns drawn. Seeing them, Mahoney lowers his gun and says, “What are you going to do? Read me my rights?”

“You have the right to remain silent….” Kellerman says, before shooting and killing Mahoney.

OH MY GOD, KELLERMAN JUST EXECUTED LUTHER MAHONEY!

Technically, you could argue that, as Mahoney was still holding the gun, the shooting was justified. Mahoney lowered the gun but he never dropped it. Nor did Mahoney ever say that he was surrendering. Instead, he laughed and mocked the cops. If Mahoney had raised the gun quickly enough, he probably could have gotten at least one shot in before Stivers and Kellerman had time to take action. Then again, Kellerman also never ordered Mahoney to drop the gun. Instead, he just shot him. After Mahoney falls, Kellerman asks Lewis and Stivers if either has a problem with what happened. “Nope,” Lewis says. Stivers, however, doesn’t look convinced that the shooting was justified.

It’s a shocking moment but it’s also a moment that feels somewhat inevitable. Kellerman has spent this entire season with people accusing him of being crooked. Even though he was never charged, even his fellow detectives assumed that he must have been doing something to get in trouble in the first place. Meanwhile, Mahoney killed numerous people and smirked every time that he got away with it. Kellerman snapped and probably committed a crime.

If that’s not bad enough, Munch is contacted by Punchy DeLeon (Lewis Black), a small-time mobster who has just spent ten years in prison on a murder charge. Punchy tells Munch that he knows that a criminal associate of his, Jimmy Pugliese, was murdered and buried in section C of the parking lot at the Plimco race track. With Munch and Brodie in attendance, the parking lot is dug up and …. nothing is found. Munch does some further investigating and discovers that Pugliese had a girlfriend named Fallon (Deborah Hazlett). When he drives out to see her, he discovers that Pugliese (Brian Hemmingsen) is still alive. Pugliese orders to Much to get off his front porch. Much leaves, not realizing that he’s been followed by Punchy.

Back at the office, Sgt. Howard tells Munch not to worry about it because there hasn’t been an actual homicide. However, then Fallon shows up and says that Pugliese has disappeared. Munch drives out to Plimco, where he finds Punch waiting for him in Lot C. Punchy explains that he took the fall for a murder the Pugliese committed. Because Pugliese didn’t keep his promise to take care of Punchy’s wife while Punchy was in prison, Punchy used Munch to track down Pugliese. And now, Pugliese really is buried under the parking lot. (It helped that the parking lot itself was already ripped up due to Munch searching for the body the first time.) Munch tells Punchy that he’s going back to prison. Punchy replies that he did ten years for a murder he didn’t commit and suggests that should allow him to commit one murder without punishment. It doesn’t work that way, which is kind of sad because Punchy was a likable guy.

Finally, Bayliss and Pembleton decide to be partners again. Good news! But Bayliss is also buying groceries for the uncle who molested him. What the Hell, Bayliss!?

Seriously, this episode got dark!

Well, dark or not, this was one of the better episodes of season 5. This was Homicide at its most cynical. Luther Mahoney is dead but someone else will inevitably take his place and now Kellerman really has committed a crime. (For all the cheering the cops do as they listen to Mahoney incriminate himself on tape, it’s not going to be much comfort to children of the innocent woman that he shot in the park.) For once, Munch actually does his job well and the end result is a man getting murdered and Punchy going back to prison.

One final note: I will miss the magnificently evil performance of Erik Dellums, who played Luther Mahoney with the right mix of arrogance, hubris, and ruthlessness. A good villain is hard to find!

Brad reviews THE BADGE (2002), starring Billy Bob Thornton!

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Bradley Crain

Being an Arkansan, and living in the same county where SLING BLADE was filmed, I’ve always been a big fan of Billy Bob Thornton. One of the things I like about him is his ability to somehow make the most miserable human beings just a little bit sympathetic. So many of his characters seem like they have no redeeming characteristics on the surface, but way down deep, in places they may have forgotten about, there’s a decent man trying to get out. That’s certainly the case with his Sheriff Darl Hardwick in THE BADGE.

Darl is a small-town Louisiana sheriff who spends most of his time dealing with the drunks, unruly youth and other assorted troublemakers. He’s not a model law enforcement officer, either. He drinks too much, womanizes, has a short temper and seems to take his marching orders from the politically powerful and corrupt Judge (William Devane). When the dead body of a transgender woman is discovered, Darl initially treats the investigation like any other. But it soon becomes clear that certain powerful people in the community want the situation to quietly disappear. Things get more interesting when the deceased woman’s spouse Scarlett (Patricia Arquette) shows up from New Orleans, with Darl ultimately deciding to confront some ugly things about his past and the community he serves.

THE BADGE is a movie that’s not afraid to get dirty and uncomfortable. Everything here feels sweaty, rundown and a little bit rotten. And that’s whether we’re in the porn shops and strip clubs of New Orleans or a majestic mansion near Shreveport. On multiple occasions, Darl comments on the bad smells that are around him. When you consider the ever present political corruption that we witness throughout the movie, it seems clear that the filmmakers are pounding that stench into our heads. It’s a heavy handed approach, but it gives the movie an atmosphere that fits its story of small town power and prejudice versus the LGBTQ+ community.

As I mentioned earlier, Sheriff Darl Hardwick fits Billy Bob Thornton like a glove. He’s a deeply flawed man, but he still has a sense of right and wrong, and when he’s up against the wall, he decides to do what he thinks is right. The supporting cast is very good, with Patricia Arquette, William Devane, Ray McKinnon, Thomas Haden Church, and Sela Ward all giving strong performances. I thought Patricia Arquette is especially good as Scarlett, and she has one line that made me laugh out loud. If you know anything about Arquette’s politics, her line, “I can’t believe I’m depending on Republicans to save me,” can’t help but make you smile.

THE BADGE isn’t a perfect movie, and there are times when it sacrifices some reality in order to make its points. But thanks primarily to Thornton’s strong work, I did appreciate it as a dark crime drama about an extremely troubled man who finds enough decency to do the right thing and fight for justice when everyone else just wants him to go away.

Song of the Day: Now You’re All Alone by David Hess

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes from Wes Craven’s infamous Last House On The Left. Of course, many people might know it better from it’s use in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.

This haunting piece of music was composed by David Hess, who played the murderous Krug in Craven’s film.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 2.12 “Running Zack”

Posted on August 1, 2026 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 Tubi!

This episode, Zack does some research on his family tree. Things are about to get supercringey.

Episode 2.12 “Running Zack”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 24th, 1990)

Ms. Wentworth (Carol Lawrence), who is a slightly less sociopathic version of Ms. Bliss, has assigned everyone to do a report on their family tree. She hands out grades based on what people discover about their family’s past. I’m not sure if that’s really a good idea. What if someone comes from a family that doesn’t have any dark secrets? And really, if your family did have a dark secret, what business is it of Ms. Wentworth’s?

Lisa reveals that her family escaped slavery and then helped over slaves escape as well. “My family calls the Underground Railroad the original Soul Train,” she says.

Jessie discovers that her family was made up of slave traders. Jessie proceeds to have a breakdown, even though Lisa says that Jessie shouldn’t feel responsible for anything that her ancestors did. To a lot of people, that probably sounds like common sense but it’s also the type of sentiment that now gets you cancelled on Bluesky.

Screech reveals that he’s Italian and his ancestors were all great lovers. “What is mi grade?” Screech asks. “A!” Ms. Wentworth says with a dramatic flourish.

We never learn about Slater’s family tree, despite the fact that, along with Lisa, he’s one of the few characters who is obviously not a generic white person. However, we do learn about Zack’s family background. Looking through the family records, he finds one picture of an Indian. Zack promptly declares himself to be a Native American. However, when Zack can’t even answer a few basic questions about his family’s background, Ms. Wentworth threatens to flunk him. But if Zack flunks, how will he compete at the track meet!? Bayside has never beat Valley …. in track, at least.

Ms. Wentworth sends Zack to meet Chief Henry (Dehl Berti, who, unlike Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actually was of Native American ancestry), an American Indian who apparently lives in a cluttered shack. Chief Henry takes one look at the picture and is able to identify Zack’s ancestor by name. He also gives Zack the name “Running Zack.” He helps Zack to appreciate his Native heritage. And then Chief Henry promptly dies offscreen.

Zack isn’t sure that he can run in the track meet. He’s feeling pretty depressed about the death of the old man he met twice. Chief Henry’s ghost appears to Zack and tells him to run because beating Valley is obviously the most important thing. Zack agrees to go to the track meet and Henry vanishes. Zack’s Native American ancestry is never mentioned again.

This episode is the equivalent of those old DNA test commercials where an extremely white person would say that their DNA test revealed that they were 2% Native American and that it had changed their entire life. As I rewatched it for this review, I couldn’t help but think about Elizabeth Warren, whose claims of Native American ancestry were even flimsier than Zack’s. I found myself thinking about the fact that there’s actually a name — Pretendian — for generic white people who try to be more interesting by falsely claiming Native heritage. What’s funny is that Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s actual heritage — Dutch and Jewish on his father’s side, Indonesian on his mother’s side — is actually pretty interesting. But, in this episode, it’s revealed that Zack is Nez Perce. (Though the tribe isn’t named, Zack’s ancestor is described as being one of Chief Joseph’s main warriors.)

Gosselaar used to refer to this as being his favorite episode of Saved By The Bell. In 2016, he changed his tune and said that the episode actually was insensitive to Native Americans. Gosselaar’s correct about that. Even after Ms. Wentworth tells Zack that his original presentation was disrespectful to the memory of his ancestor, she still calls him “kimosabe.” At no point does Zack show any curiosity as to why he had never heard much about his Native ancestry to begin with. And, needless to say, it’s never mentioned again. Like, ever. Seriously, I had a friend who, in 2007, discovered that she was 98% European and 2% North African and she hasn’t shut up about it in nearly 20 years.

The main problem with this episode is that Chief Henry conveniently dies off-screen, despite there not being any indication that he was in any way unhealthy. We never learn what Henry died of. Instead, he shows up long enough to teach Zack a lesson and then he dies so that the show doesn’t have to worry about bringing him back in the future. Zack declares that he might not run the track meet. Ms. Wentworth sobs. Well, at least Ms. Wentworth actually knew Chief Henry. Zack really seems like he’s just being performative about it.

Myself, I’m Irish on my father’s side and Italian/Spanish on my mother’s side. I would have definitely gotten an A in Ms. Wentworth’s class.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/26/26 — 8/1/26

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (PBS)

I watched an episode of this show on Saturday morning. My musical tastes pretty much start and end with EDM. Sorry, Austin.

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been sharing my thoughts on the show that I love to hate over at the RealityTVChat Blog. Feel free to leave a comment over there because, right now, the blog is not quite living up to the chat part of the name.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

It’s a funny show and it helps to ease my anxiety. I’ve watched quite a few episodes this week.

Rogue’s Gallery (NightFlight+)

I watched an episode about John Dillinger on Friday. Now there was a handsome bank robber!

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Running Zack! I’ll be posting a review of this week’s episode in a bit.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

CBS has been re-airing Survivor 50 after episodes of Big Brother. I missed Survivor 50 when it first aired and I’m still struggling to get into it right now. I prefered Survivor when it was only an hour long. I have ADHD so asking me to concentrate for 90 minutes is a bit much.

Watched And Reviewed:

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 2.13 “Now Sit Right Back And You’ll Hear A Tale”

Posted on August 1, 2026 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 Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001. The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.

This week, Eddie suffers a serious injury.

A quick note, before we begin: this episode was actually the 16th episode to air during the second season but apparently, it was originally meant to be the 13th episode and, in reruns, it usually airs after the Reunion episode. I’ve decided to go with the production order for the purpose of these reviews. Of course, it really doesn’t matter because it’s not like Baywatch had any use for continuity to begin with.

Episode 2.13 “Now Sit Right Back and You’ll Hear a Tale”

(Dir by Douglas Schwartz, originally aired on February 24th, 1992)

After rescuing a jet skier who ran out of fuel in the middle of the ocean, Eddie and Shauni discover a previously unchartered island. (Or, at least, that’s what we’re told. The beach that Eddie and Shauni explore is obviously the same beach from last week’s Reunion episode.) On the beach, they find Gilligan (Bob Denver) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), who have been stranded on the island ever since the 60s. Eddie and Shauni take them back to civilization.

Captain Thorpe is so impressed with Gilligan and Mary Ann’s story that he decides that he’s going to start his own media company and produce a miniseries about their life on the Island. He also thinks that it would be a good idea to go back to the island and rescue the other castaways. (Gee, you think?) He arranges for a three-hour expedition to the island. Garner will serve as the skipper. Eddie will be the first mate. Harvey is coming along as a professor, for some reason. Shauni wants to star in the miniseries so she decides to dress up like a movie star and come on the tour as well.

Uh-oh, there’s a storm! Everyone ends up washed up on the island. Eddie finds himself torn between Mary Ann and Shauni but then he realizes that Gilligan is the one who truly loves Mary Ann….

No, I’m not making this up. Stop it, I swear I’m not.

Eventually, Eddie wakes up in Baywatch Headquarters. It turns out that he slipped and hit his head earlier and the entire episode has been a dream. (Shocker!) It sound like Eddie probably has a severe concussion but no one seems to be too concerned about that.

Hasselhoff appears for a few minutes at the start and the end of the episode. Apparently, he knew better than to board the boat.

Oh God, this episode. Well, actually, this episode makes sense once you learn that Douglas Schwartz (who both directed this week and also served as executive producer of the show) was the nephew of Sherwood Schwartz, the producer of Gilligan’s Island. It’s a silly episode but Baywatch is a silly show so that’s to be expected. The episode’s main mistake is that it opens with Eddie watching an episode of Gilligan’s Island and then it shows us Eddie slipping and hitting his head. As a result, we pretty much know the whole episode is a dream from the start and we spend the entire episode waiting for Eddie to wake up. It’s kind of boring.

Next week …. oh, who knows? I’m sure it’ll be something involving a lot of slow motion running on the beach.