Tag Archives: review

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/31/25 — 9/6/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother 27 (CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV, 24/7)

Only one more month of this crap left!  I’ve been writing about Big Brother, on an increasingly irregular basis, over at the Big Brother Blog.  I’ll be happy when Survivor and The Amazing Race return.

The Dark Side of Comedy (Hulu)

I watched a few episodes of this show because I was bored.  The Dustin Diamond episode was sad.  You know what wasn’t sad?  The Family Matters episode, in which the only two members of the cast willing to be interviewed complained endlessly about being overshadowed by Jaleel White.  I mean, admittedly, if my big chance at stardom was short-circuited by Urkel, I’d probably be bitter too but still, there comes a time when you have stop whining.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Hulu)

I finished up the latest season.  I have to admit that the trip to the dog track almost made me throw up, it got so (intentionally) disgusting.  But no matter!  Frank as the Golden Bachelor?  Brilliant!  Now, I want to see Dennis and Mac on The Amazing Race.  Or maybe Charlie and Frank on The Amazing Race.  Or Dee and …. well, she’d probably end up running alone.  It would still make me laugh, though.

The Paper (Peacock)

From the creators of The Office …. oh, I really wanted to like this.  And the show had its isolated funny moments but what it didn’t have were any characters who were, in any way, as interesting as the folks on The Office.  The Paper mixed the format of The Office with the earnestness of Parks and Rec and I was pretty bored by the sixth episode.  One thing that this show didn’t seem to get is that people could see themselves in The Office because everyone hates their job.  Everyone could relate to Jim’s frustrations and Pam’s boredom.  The Paper, on the other hand, is about people who love their job to an almost obnoxious extent and, as such, the characters just weren’t relatable.  If anything they were kind of annoying.  The show attempts to do a Jim-and-Pam thing with the characters played by Domhnall Gleeson and Chelsea Frei but it doesn’t work because 1) he’s her boss and 2) the two actors don’t really have much chemistry.  Their scenes together felt forced.  (I was happy to see Oscar Nunez again, if just because he brought so much needed cynicism to the show.)  I’m a big admirer of producer Greg Daniels and the King of the Hill reboot was brilliant but, in this case, I think he overestimated that amount of nostalgia that people have for newspapers.

The Serial Killer’s Apprentice (HBOMax)

This documentary took a look at the disturbing life and crimes of Texas serial killer Dean Corll and it featured an interview with Elmer Henley, the young man who went from being Corll’s accomplice to eventually being Corll’s killer.  Henley is still serving a life sentence.  This documentary featured an interview with him and it made the mistake of featuring an actor playing the older Henley as he spoke on the phone in the jail.  It’s an interesting story and I’m surprised that it hasn’t been turned into a cheap B-movie like so many other real-life serial killer tales have.  That said, this documentary was a bit on the shallow side.  Elmer Henley may have ultimately killed Corll but, before that, he helped Corll kill a lot of people.  Henley is right where belongs, in prison for the rest of his life.

Retro Television Review: The American Short Story #14: Rappaccini’s Daughter

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, Lisa will be reviewing The American Short Story, which ran semi-regularly on PBS in 1974 to 1981.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime and found on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, we have an anemic adaptation of a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story.

Episode #14: Rappaccini’s Daughter

(Dir by Deszo Magyar, originally aired in 1980)

This week’s episode is an adaptation of one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s more intriguing short stories.  Giovanni (Kristoffer Tabori) is a young scholar who, in 18th Century Italy, falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Beatrice (Kathleen Beller).  Beatrice has been raised in a garden that is full of poisonous plants that have been developed by her father, Dr. Rappaccini (Leonardo Cimino).  As a result, Beatrice is immune to the plants but she herself is poisonous.  Giovanni falls in love with her and is willing to become poisonous himself but it ultimately turns out that everything comes with a price.

Hawthorne’s short story was not only an early example of gothic literature but it was also a well-deserved parody of the nature-loving, self-righteous transcendentalists.  (The story came out at the same time as Henry David Thoreau’s Walden.)  Unfortunately, this particular adaptation really doesn’t do the story justice.  It moves extremely slowly and the performances are not particularly memorable.  Kristoffer Tabori and Kathleen Beller have very little chemistry and, in the end, the adaptation misses the satirical nature of the story altogether.  There’s a reason why Vincent Price made for an excellent Dr. Rappaccini in 1963’s Twice Told Tales.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 1.7 “Sister’s Keeper”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Plex!

This week, Freddy is out for revenge.

Episode 7.1 “Sister’s Keeper”

(Dir by Ken Wiederhorn, originally aired on November 20th, 1988)

Freddy’s Nightmares started with Freddy Krueger killing Deputy Blocker, the man who had led the vigilante mob that set him on fire.  This episode finds Freddy seeking revenge on Blocker’s twin teenager daughters, neurotic Merit (Hili Park) and the supercool, super awesome Lisa (Gry Park).  Merit is convinced hat Freddy is haunting her nightmares and, as a result, she’s a bit of an outcast at school.  Lisa, on the other hand, believes that Freddy is dead and buried.  Lisa is stable and popular at school and even has a jock boyfriend.

Needless to say, Merit is a bit jealous of Lisa.  For me, this was the most realistic part of this episode.  People are always jealous of girls named Lisa, especially when they’ve got it all together as this Lisa does.  (Trust me, I know!)  It’s a heavy burden to bear but it happens.  Lisa, being a saint, tries to help Merit out but Merit is pretty unappreciative.

Lisa even dresses up like Merit and pretends to be Merit so that she can experience what it’s like to be her sister.  Lisa discovers that her boyfriend is just as interesting in sleeping with Merit as in sleeping with her.  Booo!  What a creep!  Even worse, Lisa discovers that Freddy is real and that he’s after both her and Merit.

Like the pilot, this episode tells one story and most of the action centers around Freddy.  Freddy actually takes part in this week’s story and, even by his standards, he’s cruel.  “I’ll make it gentle,” he tells the terrified Merit, a reminder that Freddy was always a far more perverse killer than the seemingly asexual Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers.  This episode was a reminder of just how scary Freddy could be.  Robert Englund didn’t hold up.

Merit and Lisa learn how to dream “in sync” so that they can both face Freddy at the same time.  It’s a cool idea that does absolutely no good.  As Lisa puts it, “It doesn’t work, you can’t make him go away!”  Lisa ends up dead (boo!) while Merit is blamed for her murder.  And so the episode ends.

Wow, that’s not a happy ending.  Not only did Freddy triumph but supercool Lisa was killed, largely due to her sister’s incompetence.  Then again, there really aren’t that many happy endings to be found when it comes to Freddy Krueger.  The ending was depressing but effective and, even more importantly, it was really the only way the story could have ended.

This episode was pretty good.  It’s certainly the best that I’ve seen so far.  Merit and Lisa were real-played by the Park sisters and Robert Englund once again showed just how frightening he could be as Freddy Krueger.  Within the confines imposed by television syndication, this was a genuinely frightening episode.

 

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 2.14 “Drama Center”

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 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!

This week, things get depressing.

Episode 2.14 “Drama Center”

(Dir by David Anspaugh, originally aired on February 15th, 1984)

This week’s episode opens with a disturbing scene in which a woman, trying to get her car to start on a snowy night, is attacked and raped in the parking lot of St. Eligius.  The rapist is wearing a green jacket and a ski mask.

At first, I assumed that the rapist was a random lowlife, someone who would likely never be seen again.  But then Dr. Cavanero’s wealthy boyfriend tried to force himself on her and I was left wondering if maybe he would be revealed as the man in the ski mask.  However, towards the end of the episode, there was scene featuring Dr. Peter White.  Having been banned from working in the ER and from prescribing medicine, White is now working in the morgue and, needless to say, he spends this entire episode bitching about it.  As the episode ends, we see that Peter is holding a capsule in his hand, suggesting that he is once again abusing drugs.  However, I also noticed that Peter was wearing the same green jacket as the man in the ski mask!

This was a good episode, well-written and well-acted.  It was also pretty depressing.  Dr. Westphall brings his severely autistic, noncommunicative son Tommy (Chad Allen) to St. Eligius so that Dr. Ridley can examine him.  Dr. Ridley warns Westphall that Tommy is aggressive and that Westphall might not be able to continue to care for him at home, despite the fact that Westphall’s daughter (Dana Short) is planning on forgoing her dream college to stick around and help.  Westphall ends his day reading Tommy a book (“Your mom bought you this book.”) and breaking down into tears and it made me cry a little too.

Meanwhile, a TV crew followed around Dr. Craig for a documentary.  Needless to say, they got in the way and they got on Craig’s nerves.  The director was played by Michael Richards, who, of course, is best-known for playing Kramer on Seinfeld and then having a racist meltdown when he got heckled at a comedy club.   In an episode that was, emotionally, pretty dark, it was almost a relief to get some scenes of Dr. Craig losing his temper with the documentary crew.  As someone who knows William Daniels best as the kindly Mr. Feeney from countless Boy Meets World reruns, it’s been a real pleasure to Daniels as the prickly and arrogant Dr. Craig.  Dr. Craig wouldn’t have had much use for the Matthews clan and all of their drama.

This was an intense and sad episode.  It was St. Elsewhere at its most emotional.

20 Films For The Weekend (9/5/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Guilty Pleasure Weekend

Last night, while my sister and my boyfriend were watching the Cowboys lose to the Eagles, I took refuge from it all by watching Big Brother (Go Ava!) and then an episode of the Dark Side of Comedy.  The Dark Side of Comedy episode was about Dustin Diamond, the actor who will forever be known for playing Screech Powers on Saved By The Bell.

Watching the episode on Diamond reminded me of the fact that, in 2015, Lifetime turned his terrible, lie-filled memoir into a made-for-TV movie.  They didn’t actually credit Behind the Bell as being the source material for 2014’s the Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story but it was pretty clear that it was.  That said, The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story was entertainingly daft.  The actor who played Dustin Diamond bore a surprising resemblance to him.  The rest of the cast was not quite as well-selected.  Still, if you like cheesy and over-the-top behind-the-scene docudramas about mediocre TV shows, The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story is the gold standard.  It can be viewed on Prime.

The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story was such a hit that, in 2015, Lifetime gave us The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story, which featured a nice nod to continuity by casting the same actress as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen who played the role in the Saved By The Bell film.  Thanks to the Vanessa Parise’s direction, The 90210 film was surprisingly good and it also featured an excellent performance from Degrassi’s Samantha Munro as Shannen Doherty.  The film portrays Doherty as being a bit of a diva but it also makes a compelling argument that Doherty, as a veteran of the industry, understood that, in Hollywood, you could either fight for respect or you could be a victim.  It can be viewed on Prime.

Lifetime followed up their 90210 film with The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story, which was a bit of a disappointment when compared to the other two films.  (The main theme seems to be that everyone got along.)  It’s a film that I recommend only because I’m a completist.  It can be viewed on Prime.

Usually, I only recommend films that are streaming for free but, since we’re talking about the Lifetime Unauthorized series, I will mention that 2015’s The Unauthorized Full House Story is available for rent on Prime.  Unfortunately, most of the really interesting stories involving the cast of Full House (like Aunt Becky going to prison for a nothing crime) occurred after this film aired.  The most interesting thing about this film is how little any of the actors resemble their real-life counterparts.  Still, if you’re a completist and you don’t mind paying for it, it’s on Prime.

While I was rummaging around on Prime, I discovered that From Justin To Kelly (2003) is currently streaming!  I can’t help it.  As bad as this film is, I just love it.  Some of it is because Kelly and I are both from Texas.  (From what I understand, Kelly doesn’t like this movie.  While it is clear that neither she nor Justin Guarini were trained actors, they were both very liable.)  Some of it is because it’s just so unbelievably bad that it becomes oddly charming.  Justin and Kelly are cute together, even though they have zero romantic chemistry.  Apparently, American Idol was envisioned as including an annual film as well but they abandoned that idea after the commercial failure of From Justin To Kelly.  We were robbed of a Taylor Hicks/Katharine McPhee romantic comedy!  From Justin To Kelly is on Prime.

Remember Buford Pusser?

Two weeks ago, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation held a press conference about the legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser, whose life and death in the early 70s inspired the Walking Tall films.  A huge part of Pusser’s legend is that his wife was killed by the Dixie Mafia.  The TBI, however, is now of the opinion that Pusser murdered his wife, shot himself, and then made up a story about having been ambushed …. which, when you think about it, actually makes a lot more sense than anything portrayed in the Walking Tall films.

That said, the saying goes that you should always print the legend.  The original 1974 Walking Tall, starring Joe Don Baker, is streaming for free on one location.  Unfortunately, it’s a pretty suspect site and I’m not really comfortable linking to it.  However, the sequels — 1975’s Walking Tall Part 2 and 1977’s Walking Tall: Final Chapter — are both on YouTube.  Part 2 actually opens with Buford getting plastic surgery that makes him look like Bo Svenson.  (I don’t care how much plastic surgery someone gets, there’s no way someone could go from looking like Joe Don Baker to looking like Bo Svenson).  Part 2 features Buford going after the Dixie Mafia.  The Final Chapter is more of a family drama, with Buford losing reelection but discovering that Hollywood wants to make a movie about his life.  Part 2 and Final Chapter are both on YouTube.

Finally, 1978’s A Real American Hero is a made-for-TV movie that features Brian Dennehy as Buford Pusser.  Needless to say, it’s not easy to watch Brian Dennehy play a redneck sheriff without immediately assuming that he’s going to arrest John Rambo for wanting to get a cup of coffee.  A Real American Hero is on a lot of sites, including YouTube.

Speaking of Sylvester Stallone….

All of the Rocky films are currently available to stream on Prime.  I used to be very critical of the Rocky films but I’ve actually come to appreciate them over the past few years.  (A lot of that is due to Sylvester Stallone’s performance in Creed.)

For instance, I still occasionally roll my eyes at the first Rocky (1976) but I’ve come to appreciate Talia Shire’s performance as Adrian and Burt Young’s performance as Paulie.  The raw sincerity of Stallone’s performance eventually won me over (even if I do think Stallone was better in First Blood) and I actually now better appreciate the fact that Rocky lost the big fight but was still a winner.  Rocky II (1979) is a bit too slow for me.  One got the feeling that Stallone was trying too hard as both an actor and a director with this one.  But, on the plus side, at least Carl Weathers got his own redemption arc as Apollo.

Rocky III (1982) is where things really start to work for me.  With Rocky III, Stallone fully embraces the melodrama, stops worrying about the Academy, and he truly gives us a wonderfully over-the-top film that one can’t help but enjoy.  Mr. T’s Clubber Lang is a great villain.  For fans of Burt Young, the film features Paulie at his slovenly best.  And I dare anyone not to cheer as Rocky and Apollo jump up and down in the ocean.  Rocky IV (1985) features Rocky defeating the Russians and delivering a heart-felt plea for world peace.  Again, how can you not love that?  Apollo Creed died to teach us all to appreciate our nation.  Remember that during the 250th birthday celebrations next year.

Rocky V (1990) was supposed to be the final Rocky film and it featured Stallone giving a performance that was so bizarre that it simply has to be seen in all of its glory.  Everyone realized that Rocky V really wasn’t the ending that the franchise deserved and, many years later, Stallone tried again with Rocky Balboa (2006), an undeniably touching film about a 70 year-old risking his life in a boxing ring.  Somehow, Paulie outlived Adrian.

Finally, the first two Creed films are also available to stream on Prime.  Creed (2015) featured perhaps Sylvester Stallone’s best performance as Rocky Balboa.  Creed II (2018) allowed Rocky to forgive himself for Apollo’s death and, to its credit, also gave Drago a hint of redemption.  Creed III (2023) does not feature Rocky, which I was actually kind of happy about, if just because it indicated that maybe Rocky had finally found some sort of life outside of the ring.  Creed III does, however, feature excellent work from Michael B. Jordan and (yes, I’m going to say it) Johnathan Majors.  Creed and Creed II are available to stream on Prime.  Creed III, you’ll have to rent.

Odds and Ends

In The People Next Door (1970), Eli Wallach and Julie Harris play a suburban couple who discover that their kids have gotten involved with hippies and drugs!  This is the type of over-the-top melodrama that I love.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

If you really want to depress yourself, follow up The People Next Door with The Death of Richie (1977), a true story about a suburban father (Ben Gazzara) and his teenage son (Robby Benson).  Benson gives a surprisingly good performance as the out-of-control Richie.  Gazzara brings his trademark intensity to the role of the Dad.  Don’t watch this movie unless you’re ready to cry.  It can be viewed on a lot of streaming sites, including Tubi.

Finally, since James Nguyen’s celebrate a birthday earlier this week, I will just mention that his best film, Replica (2005) is currently available on YouTube.  Some films defy description and that’s certainly the case here.  Find it on YouTube.

Click here for my previous weekend film recommendations!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 4.12 “With Love, The Claus”

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 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!

Merry Christmas!

Episode 4.12 “With Love, The Claus”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on December 23rd, 1987)

Jonathan and Mark find themselves working for a lawyer named Paul Burke (John Calvin).  It’s the Christmas season and they help Paul out by taking his son to Newman’s Department Store.  The kid wants to talk to Santa.  What the kid doesn’t know is that there are several Santas at Newman’s.  They work in shifts and they’re pretty cynical.  However, the newest Santa (Bill Erwin) takes his job very seriously because …. he is Santa!

So, why is Santa working at a department store instead of getting things ready up at the North Pole?  This episode never really explains.  Instead, we get Santa taking offense when he’s asked to help the store sell it’s latest toy.

Santa says that there’s no way he’s going to push machine guns.  He’s about peace and love!  His boss, Mr. Grinchley (Robert Casper), threatens to fire him.  Santa doesn’t react well to that.

Santa ends up unemployed and with nowhere to live.  Jonathan arranges for Paul to represent Santa in a lawsuit that Santa has filed against Newman’s Department Store.  The lead counsel for Newman’s just happens to Paul’s ex-wife, Donna (Wendie Malick).

You can probably guess where all this is going, right?  Santa eventually ends up in jail after the chairman of Newman’s files a lawsuit against him.  Santa says that he can’t stay in jail because Christmas Eve is approaching.  Maybe Santa should have thought about that earlier.

This episode owed a lot to one of my favorite Christmas movies, Miracle on 34th Street.  Of course, Miracle on 34th Street featured Edmund Gwenn, who gave a delightful performance as Santa.  This episode features Bill Erwin, who basically plays Santa as being a half-crazed grump who won’t stop complaining.  Seriously, this episode may feature the most unlikable Santa Claus this side of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I don’t know why Michael Landon directed Erwin to play Santa as if Santa was plotting to kill all of his enemies but it definitely wasn’t the right approach.

Seriously, Santa is really self-righteous in this episode.

I hate to criticize a Christmas episode and, as always, I’m sure that Michael Landon had the best and the sincerest of intentions.  But this episode just didn’t work for me.  Santa was too much of a jerk.

Brad reviews THIRTEEN LIVES (2022), starring Viggo Mortensen!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

After reading the memoir THE BOYS, from Ron Howard and Clint Howard, I’ve taken a renewed interest in their careers. While scanning Ron’s IMDB listing, I noticed that he directed a film in 2022 called THIRTEEN LIVES. Movies had such strange release patterns in the post-Covid years, and somehow this film had flown completely under my radar. Seeing that the movie was very highly rated and that it was based on what seemed like an incredible true story, I became very interested. So much so, that I started the two and a half hour movie after midnight! 

THIRTEEN LIVES is based on a real life “flooded cave” rescue in Thailand in 2018 after 12 boys and their soccer coach become stranded deep inside a cave system when unexpectedly early monsoon rains hit the area. We watch as an international coalition of Thai Navy SEALS, British cave divers, including Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), and other expert volunteers take part in an extremely urgent and dangerous mission to save the thirteen lives. When it appears that all hope may be lost, the men come up with a risky, experimental plan requiring the expertise of anesthetist and cave diver Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton). As scary as the plan is, everyone agrees it’s the only chance they have…

I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons that THIRTEEN LIVES piqued my interest is the fact that it’s based on a true story. The real world has been full of heartbreaking tragedy this year, and this story seemed like something I really needed to see. On a personal note, 2018 was one of the most difficult years in my life. I don’t remember hearing about this real life drama out of Thailand, so I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen. I’ll give Director Ron Howard a lot of credit for how effectively he captures the seemingly hopeless and terrifying situation over the 18 day period from the time the team was first trapped to the time that the rescue attempt reaches its conclusion. His deliberate pacing doesn’t rush the story, and we can’t help but become invested in the emotions being experienced by the families and the rescue teams. I also enjoyed watching people from all over the world working together and not caring who gets the credit. There was tension at times of course, but the focus was never about ego. It was always about their mission to save those who were trapped. This movie is about regular people who became real heroes. The film captures the psychological cost of that transition as not every person will survive the 18 day journey. 

The incredible real-life story of THIRTEEN LIVES is complimented very well by an excellent cast. I’ve been a fan of Viggo Mortensen since he starred in the film THE INDIAN RUNNER in 1991, which happened to co-star my movie hero Charles Bronson. I’ve also been a fan of Colin Farrell since he emerged in what seemed like a concerted effort in the early 2000’s to make him a star. Both men bring their “A” games here in understated and powerful performances. Other actors that stood out to me include Joel Edgerton as the expert who holds the key to the rescue plan, Sahajek Boonthanakit as Governor Narongsak, the man who takes the ultimate responsibility for their mission, and Pattrakorn Tungsupakul, the distraught mother of one of the trapped boys. Howard assembled a great cast that brings the incredible story to life. 

I mentioned earlier that I started watching THIRTEEN LIVES after midnight. For a 51 year old man, the fact that I watched the entire film at that time of the night, without falling asleep, says a lot about the way this extraordinary story pulled me in. I highly recommend this powerful film to any person who enjoys movies based on true stories. 

Retro Television Review: Decoy 1.2 “The Red Clown”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958.  The show can be viewed on Tubi!

This episode, Casey searches for a man who has abandoned his daughter so he can pursue a career as a painter of clowns.

Episode 1.2 “The Red Clown”

(Dir by Teddy Sills, originally aired on October 21, 1957)

Mike Foley (John McLiam) has quit has job and left his New York home.  His wife (Barbara Barrie) suspects that Mike has returned to Greenwich Village so that he can pursue his dream of being a painter.  Normally, this wouldn’t be a police manner but Mike has also left behind his daughter, Bobby (Barbara Myers), and is facing charges of child abandonment unless he starts paying child support.  Policewoman Casey Jones (Beverly Garland) works undercover, pretending to be a bourgeois art collector who wants to buy one of Mike’s horrid clown paintings.

This episode featured some wonderful on-location footage of New York City in the 1950s.  The history nerd side of me loved that.  I have to admit, though, that I found myself wondering whether or not Casey is actually that good at her job.  Bobby managed to follow Casey all the way to Greenwich Village without Casey noticing.  When Casey did notice, she did the whole thing where she went to a phone booth and told Bobby, “Stay here while I make a call.”  Well, of course, Bobby didn’t stay there.  Bobby went running off to look for her father.

(Was Bobby’s mother not concerned that her daughter was basically wandering around the city?)

Of course, if Bobby hadn’t followed Casey to Greenwich Village, they never would have found Mike.  Mike, it turned out, was living in a shabby building and spending all of his time painting.  He was pursuing his dream.  When Bobby asked him to come home, Mike replied that he had no interest in his old life and that he didn’t want anything to do with his family.  Mike’s harsh words left Bobby in tears.  The episode ended with Bobby playing in a playground a few wees later, with Casey watching her and telling us, “I think she’ll be okay.”  Yeah, I don’t think so, Casey.

The episode was depressing!  But I have to give the show a lot of credit for not having Mike have a sudden change of heart.  The truth of the matter is that he left his family because he was self-centered.  He didn’t become any less self-centered when he was confronted by his daughter.  After listening to Mike’s self-serving crap, Bobby dropped the clown doll that she carried with her as she searched for Mike, saying that she didn’t like clowns anymore.  It’s a painful lesson and a sad one but at least Bobby now knows that truth about her father.  Other than that playground coda, this episode had the guts not to give into false hope.

Next week: Casey deals with an obscene phone caller!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & 10 1.8 “The Sins of the Quarterback”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, Bryce Smith finally takes the field!

Episode 1.8 “The Sins of the Quarterback”

(Dir by Bruce Seth Green, originally aired on January 13th, 1985)

During a game against the — oh come on! — Atlanta Confederates, Bob Dorsey is sacked and knocked unconscious.  Ultra-religious backup quarterback Bryce Smith (Jeff East) is sent in to replace him.  Bryce throws an amazing pass across the entire field that is somewhat caught for a touchdown.  The Bulls win!

The defensive players celebrate by grabbing Bryce forcing liquor down his throat.  Bryce is a Mormon and a graduate of BYU.  Bryce gets drunk easily.  After the rest of the players leave the locker room, a barely coherent Bryce is  approached by cheerleader Tammy Baker (Pamela Jean Bryant) who says that she is God’s gift to him.  The scene ends rather abruptly, I assume because this episode was heavily edited for syndication.

A week later, an excited Tammy approaches Bryce at a roast honoring the team.  She tells him that she’s pregnant!  She’s super-excited!  Bryce, however, is shaken and — after a fantasy sequence set in the Garden of Eden — Bryce announces that he is retiring from football and going to Tibet to become a monk.  Why would a Mormon go to Tibet to become a monk?

Well, I guess the team is screwed!  Bob Dorsey still isn’t ready to come back and the third-string quarterback can barely throw the ball.  However, Bryce’s wife comes to the rescue.  She forgives Bryce for cheating and she also invites Tammy to come live with them.  Bryce can continue to play football!

Denardo, however, doubts that Bryce is the one who impregnated Tammy.  He demands that every other player who had sex with Tammy raise their hand.  Nearly every hand in the locker room goes up.  Bryce worries that everyone is going to have to move in with him and his wife….

Okay, then!  It’s hard to review this episode because, again, it’s obvious that the racy, original episode (the one that aired on HBO) was heavily edited for syndication.  The version that I saw featured a lot of abrupt jump cuts.  The story itself was fairly dumb but that’s kind of a given when it comes to this show.  I’ll give some credit to Jeff East.  He was far better than the material he had to work with.

Myself, I’m just amazed that this show featured a team called the Atlanta Confederates.  I’m going to assume that team eventually changed their name.