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Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 2.10 “Showtime Part One”

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 Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1989 to 1991!  The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi

This week, tragedy comes to Degrassi.

Episode 2.10 “Showtime, Part One”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on January 21st, 1991)

When last we saw Claude Tanner, Caitlin was dumping him because he left her behind when the police showed up at the nuclear facility that they were vandalizing.  Claude then refused to go to court to support her, saying that his parents wouldn’t understand.  That was during the first season.

Other than appearing in the opening credits, Claude was not in the first nine episodes of the second season of Degrassi High.  When he did return in tonight’s episode, he made Degrassi history.

When we first see Claude, he’s wearing what appears to be a pirate shirt and he’s looking over a piece of paper.  His beard is a bit thicker.  His earing is a lot bigger.  When he sees Caitlin, he tries to talk to her.  Caitlin tells him to get lost and then asks Maya why Claude just can’t leave her alone.

Claude is auditioning for the school talent show.  He reads a monologue that he’s written, one about an ice queen who makes the entire world dark.  Lucy and Bronco tell him that his monologue is too depressing for the show.  Claude accuses all of the students of being sheep and storms out of the auditorium.

The next day, Claude gives Caitlin a flower, goes to his locker and retrieves a gun, and then shoots himself in the washroom.  His body is later discovered by Snake.

Over the course of Degrassi’s long history, many students would die.  Tragically, Claude would not be the only one to commit suicide.  One was shot while trying to shoot up the school.  The class clown was stabbed to death by a student from a rival high school.  Another died in a car accident.  However, Claude was the first.

And I have to say that I was really impressed with how Degrassi High handled Claude’s suicide.  Snake was traumatized.  Caitlin was left feeling numb.  Some students talked about how much Claude was hurting and also about their own struggles with depression.  Lucy and Spike both said that Claude’s actions were selfish and that he killed himself at school because he wanted to hurt all of the other students.  When it comes to Claude, I have to admit that I find myself agreeing with Lucy and Spike.  When Caitlin returns home from school, she finds a bouquet of flowers and a note from Claude waiting for her.  In the note, Claude says that he loved her and the words are obviously meant to make her feel responsible for his death.  The episodes ends with Caitlin throwing the flowers away.  Claude would probably say that proves that Caitlin doesn’t care about him.  I think it proves that Claude was a jerk who killed himself specifically to get back at Caitlin.

That doesn’t make Claude’s suicide any less tragic.  Any suicide is a tragedy, especially when the person in question hasn’t even reached adulthood.  As one of Claude’s friends says in this episode, Claude was sad and he didn’t feel he had anyone he could talk to.  That is a tragedy and sadly, even though this episode aired over 30 years ago, there’s a lot of people who still feel that way.  We live in a world where more and more people view life as being not a gift but instead a burden.  It’s sad.  Myself, I’m a strong believer in life and finding things to love.  I love my boyfriend.  I love my sisters.  I love writing.  I love movies.  I love cats.  I love knowing that, even when I’m at my lowest, happiness is in the future.  Most importantly, I love myself.  Never give up.

This episode was sensitive and thought-provoking and Degrassi as its best.  Next week, the fallout from Claude’s suicide continues.

Song of the Day: Raiders March by John Williams

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is the birthday of Harrison Ford, it seems only appropriate that today’s song of the day should come from John Williams’s score of one of Ford’s best films, Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Here is Raiders March, composed by John Williams.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 3.17 “The Old and the Dead”

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.

This week, Bolander and Howard return to Homicide.

Episode 3.16 “The Old and the Dead”

(Dir by Michael Fields, originally aired on March 3rd, 1995)

When Giardello discovers that Colonel Granger (Walt MacPherson) has been hiring his brother-in-law’s shady plumbing firm to do unnecessary repairs at the city’s police stations, he leaks the story to the press.  When the scandal forces Granger out, Captain Barnfather is promoted to replace him.  Giardello thinks that, with his years of experience, he’ll be the obvious replacement for Barnfather.  Instead, the captain position is offered to Russert.  As Barnfather explains it, the mayor is aware that the majority of the voters in Baltimore are women.  When Giardello mentions that even more of the voters are black, Barnfather explains that the mayor’s leadership team already has a black man, him.

Giradello is not happy and he doesn’t hold back from letting Russert know about his displeasure.  I have to say that I respected Giardello for not holding back.  Russert has less experience than Giardello and, from what we’ve seen of her, she doesn’t appear to be as good at her job as Giardello is.  I mean, let’s be honest.  Russert had an affair with Beau Felton, of all people!  It’s a little bit hard to respect her judgment.

While Giardello was once again failing in his efforts to move up, both Howard and Bolander returned to duty.  Howard, on light duty, still manages to solve a case.  Bolander, meanwhile, is now wearing a hat to cover up the surgery scars that crisscross his head.  Ned Beatty, as usual, gave a good performance as Bolander.  I like Ned Beatty.  For some reason, I’ve never really liked Stanley Bolander.  I think it might be because he’s always complaining about something.  Maybe it’s because I’m still annoyed by the amount of unnecessary time that the first season spent on Bolander’s love life.  Or maybe it’s because Munch is devoted to the guy and Bolander still treats him like crap every chance that he gets.  For whatever reason, Bolander has always just kind of annoyed me.  That was the case with this episode.  I’m not saying I felt good about it.  Bolander was shot in the head and nearly died!  He has every right to be grumpy.  But there is just a part of me that is like, “If you hate your job so much, just retire.  Otherwise, stop bitching about everything!”

Finally, Bayliss and Felton worked surprisingly well together as they investigated a skeleton found in someone’s backyard.  It turned out that two men has never reported the death of their father so that they could continue to collect his social security checks.

As much as I complain about Bolander, this was not a bad episode.  This was a good example of an episode where the mysteries and plotlines were less important than just watching everyone in the cast play off of each other.  As of this season, the ensemble has really come together as a tight unit and each character has really come to life as an individual.  That’s one reason why I enjoyed watching Bayliss and Felton work together.  It was interesting to see how they interreacted and to compare it to how Bayliss worked with Pembleton and Felton with Howard.

Finally, this episode featured a cute cameo from the late Tim Russert, who is introduced as being Megan’s cousin.  Felton says that he never misses Meet the Press.  For some reason, I doubt that.

Brad reviews REGARDING HENRY (1991), starring Harrison Ford!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I noticed that today is Harrison Ford’s 83rd birthday. Like most people born in the early 1970’s, I’m a big fan of Harrison Ford. My formative years included the Star Wars movies, the Indiana Jones movies, and many other great films like BLADE RUNNER (1982) and WITNESS (1984). He would go on to make more classics like THE FUGITIVE (1993) and AIR FORCE ONE (1997) as I got older and moved into adulthood, but one of my personal favorite films starring Harrison Ford is REGARDING HENRY (1991).

In REGARDING HENRY, Harrison Ford stars as Henry Turner, a ruthless bastard, who also happens to be a hugely successful and cutthroat attorney in New York City. This horrific approach to being a human being does seem to provide plenty of money for his wife Sarah (Annette Bening) and his daughter Rachel (Mikki Allen), but you don’t get the feeling there’s that much actual love being shared between the three. Then one night, after another successful day of sticking it to the masses, Henry’s world is turned upside down when he’s shot in the head at the corner convenience store by a guy sticking up the place (John Leguizamo). The bullet to the brain doesn’t kill Henry, but it does leave him with severe brain damage and extremely impaired motor skills. This turns out to be a nice turn of events for Henry, and his family, for several reasons. First, he meets Bradley (Bill Nunn), his physical therapist and all around nice guy, who really helps him get headed back in the right direction in health, and in life, again. Second, he begins to reconnect with his wife who likes this more thoughtful, caring and affectionate version of Henry that seems to be emerging. Finally, he starts to show his daughter some much needed love and attention, rather than just wanting to ship her off to boarding school as quickly as possible. Wouldn’t you know it though, just when things are going so perfect, the sweet, innocent Henry stumbles up some very uncomfortable truths about his former life. Will these revelations upend his new life, or will he be able to move forward with a fresh start and a household filled with love?!!

There are two main reasons that I love REGARDING HENRY. The first reason is undoubtedly the feel-good story at the heart of the film. This is J.J. Abrams second writing credit and his screenplay takes Henry from being an arrogant, selfish jerk who is only interested in his own glorification, to a sweet-natured man of integrity who elevates his wife and his daughter to the prominent positions they rightfully deserve. Is this transformation grounded in reality… no, but I love movies because I want to escape reality and live vicariously through the heroes on the screen. Henry may not be a hero in the same way as Superman, Charles Bronson, or Chow Yun-Fat, but he is someone that I can relate to. I want to be a better dad. I want to be a better husband. I want to be a man of principle and integrity in the workplace. I may not always be perfect, but watching Henry navigate his life and correct past wrongs is very satisfying and uplifting to see. I love the look in the eyes of his wife and daughter as they are so proud of him. I want my family to look at me in that same way. This movie just makes me feel good. When I want realism, I’ll go visit a shrink and watch documentaries about men and women dealing with traumatic brain injuries. 

The second reason I love REGARDING HENRY stems from the performances of several of the cast members. Harrison Ford is so good in the title role. His transformation from a cold hearted lawyer to a simple-minded family man is one of those things that could be really bad with the wrong actor, but I’ll gladly follow Ford through the process. He’s believable on both sides, and he has to be for the movie to work. Annette Bening is also great as his wife, Sarah. Her transformation isn’t a physical transformation, but an emotional transformation, and she’s just as convincing. The love she conveys toward Henry as he embraces his new life, followed by the way she plays the scenes when Henry uncovers some of the painful truths of their former life, are actually some of the strongest moments in the film. Finally, I want to give an extra shoutout to Bill Nunn as Bradley, possibly the greatest physical therapist on earth. If dictionaries had pictures, the word “likable” should have a picture of Bill Nunn from REGARDING HENRY. Nunn was a fine character actor, with many credits to his name, but I will never see him in a role that doesn’t take me back to his performance in this film. 

Overall, I highly recommend REGARDING HENRY to any person who enjoys a well-made and well-acted feel good story. It’s not the most realistic film in the world, but it’s one that I truly love. 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Check It Out! 3.22 “For The Book”

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!

We all knew this day would come.  It’s time for the final episode of Check It Out!

Episode 3.22 “For The Book”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on February 14th, 1988)

Cobbs is celebrating its 50th anniversary and its putting together a commemorative book of memories.  Howard calls the staff into his office and asks them what they think should be included in the book.

“Remember that time….” Christian starts and yes, it’s a clip show.

The final episode of Check It Out! is indeed a clip show.  Really, it’s not a terrible way for the show to go out.  For 30 minutes, the show relives what the writers believed were the best moments of season 3.  (There were a few clips from seasons one and two but, for the most part, this episode was dominated by recent clips.)  Some of the clips — like Howard doing a vaudeville routine — went on for way too long.  Some, like Marlene filling in as Howard’s secretary, did not go on long enough.  It was a typical clip show.

And so ends Check It Out!  What can I say about this show?  The first season was okay.  The second season was a trainwreck.  The third season was uneven but, overall, surprisingly good.  The show was built around Don Adams but it was the supporting characters — Aaron Schwartz, Jeff Pustil, Kathleen Laskey, Gordon Clapp — who got most of the laughs.  Looking back, I really can’t think of any episodes of Check It Out! that really stand-out in my mind.  The show was the epitome of pleasant but unmemorable entertainment.

Next week, we’ll have a new show here.  For now, let’s end things with the Check It Out! theme song.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/6/25 — 7/12/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Back by popular demand, here’s a few thoughts on what I watched this week.

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

Yep, Big Brother is back.  I skipped last season because my Dad was dying and I really wasn’t in the mood for reality television.  I back this season though and I’m covering things over at the Big Brother Blog!

Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service (Hulu)

I binged the latest Gordon Ramsay series on Tuesday.  I’m not really sure how Gordon Ramsay watching taped footage of a restaurant was all that different from what he usually does on Kitchen Nightmares but whatever.  We live in a conspiracy-crazed age and I guess Ramsay taking advantage of that.  This show killed my appetite.  I don’t care if Gordon helped out the owners, every restaurant featured on this show should be closed down and burned to the ground.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Wednesday Night, FX)

17 seasons!  That’s how long It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has been on the air.  It’s one of the most consistently funny shows on television and the cast is brilliant.  It’s one of the few shows that has ever made me laugh so hard that I actually fell of the couch.  (Actually, it managed to do twice but both times, it was because Frank injured himself.)  That said, the first two episodes of the new season didn’t do much for me but the problem was more with me than with the show.  The premiere, in which we saw the Gang’s side of their visit with Abbott Elementary, was a victim of my own sky high expectations.  The second episode, in which Frank slipped into a coma and Dee had to watch over him, brought back a lot of painful memories of sitting at my Dad’s beside when he went into hospice care.  Even when he slipped into his final coma, I still kept telling myself that he was going to wake up at any moment and just be fine.  It’s not the show’s fault.  These episodes just weren’t for me.

Planet Rock (Night Flight Plus)

This is an interview show that is now on Night Flight Plus.  I watched on episode on Friday night and the raw, unfiltered interview …. eh.  I have ADD, I can only listen to people talk for so long.

The Prisoner (Night Flight Plus)

Jeff and I have been watching this classic and enigmatic show with our friend Pat.  It stars Patrick McGoohan as a nameless man who might be a secret agent.  After he has an argument with his boss, he finds himself trapped in a mysterious village.  We watched the second episode on Saturday morning.  Jeff and Pat have seen the whole show before but this is a first time viewing for me.  I’m enjoying it so far.  Rover, the big balloon security thingee, is cute!  The second episode features Leo McKern chewing up the scenery.  It was very entertainign.

Snub (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode on Friday night.  This music show, from the 90s I believe, had a sort of underground feel to it that I appreciated.

 

10 Movies For The Week (7/12/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Who doesn’t love Tom Hanks?

Tom Hanks celebrated his birthday this week.  Here’s a few of his films that you can find online.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, Sully (2016) features Tom Hanks in the role airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger.  The film not only recreates Sullenberger’s famous landing in the Hudson but also the subsequent attempts by the government to scapegoat Sully for the incident.  This film features one of Hanks’s best performances, bringing humanity to a man who, on cultural level, was viewed as being almost a mythological hero.  Hanks is likable and, this being an Eastwood film, the government is portrayed as being both corrupt and incompetent.  What’s not to like?  Sully is on HBOMAX.

When it comes to Tom Hanks, it’s hard to pick his best performance.  I would probably go with Captain Phillips (2013), featuring Hanks as the captain of a boat that is taken prisoner by modern-day pirates.  Like Sully, this film is based on a true story and, as he did in Sully, Hanks brings to life a character based on a real-life person.  The final scene is devastating and features some of the best acting that I’ve ever seen from anyone.  Somehow, Hanks was not nominated for Best Actor for his performance here.  Captain Phillips can be viewed on Netflix.

Punchline (1988) is a bit of an oddity.  Sally Field is miscast as a housewife trying to make it as a stand-up.  That said, Tom Hanks gives a strong and dramatic performance as a self-centered and self-destructive comic.  Punchline can be viewed on Tubi.

It’s Summer!

It’s summer!  I just got back from my vacation.  (I took it a month early because I needed to be back here to start my summer job of covering Big Brother for the Big Brother Blog.)  If you can’t get to the beach this summer, you can at least watch both Beach Party (1963) and Bikni Beach (1964) on Tubi and discover how people used to celebrate the summer months.  Yes, both of these films are undeniably dated and a bit corny but who cares?  Sometimes, it’s fun to watch something from a more innocent era.  Beach Party and Bikini Beach are both on Tubi.

If you want a slightly racier beach party, The Beach Girls (1982) is a Crown International production that features all of the nudity (male and female), raunchy humor, and drug jokes that you could hope for.  That said, it also features a very likable and energetic cast.  It can be viewed over at the Internet Archive.

If you’re looking for a slightly more sinister vacation, Last Summer (1969) features Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, and Barbara Hershey as three rich kids and Catherine Burns as the insecure girl who tries to hang out with them.  Hershey and Burns both give outstanding performances and the end result is a creepy and disturbing coming-of-age story.  It can be viewed at the Internet Archive.

Odds and Ends

Enter The Ninja (1981) features my man, the one and only Franco Nero, as a ninja!  This is a film that represents everything that made Cannon great.  Plus, how can you resist Franco, literally winking at the camera?  Enter The Ninja is on Prime.

Skatetown USA (1979) is the greatest film that “ever rolled!”  Okay, maybe not the greatest but can you resist Patrick Swayze cracking a whip while rolling around on roller skates?  Skatetown USA can be viewed at the Internet Archive.

Finally, if you want to see just how strange fame can be, check out Ringmaster (1998), a film that “celebrates” Jerry Springer.  (Jerry appears as a version of himself.)  Bizarrely enough, this film does feature two truly good performances, from Jaime Pressly and Molly Hagan as a trailer park mother and daughter who appears on Jerry’s show.  Ringmaster is on Prime.

Click here for last week’s recommendations!

The Hong Kong Film Corner – THE MISSION (1999), directed by Johnnie To!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

(Bottom to Top) Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, Lam Suet, and Anthony Wong!

THE MISSION is the 1999 film that helped me fall back in love with Hong Kong cinema after many of its great actors and directors had left for Hollywood in the mid 90’s. With Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and John Woo no longer working in Hong Kong, there was a huge void, and Director Johnnie To stepped in and helped fill it with some of the best Hong Kong crime films ever made. Through his Milkyway Image production company, To directed THE LONGEST NITE (1998), EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED (1998), A HERO NEVER DIES (1998), RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999), ELECTION (2005), and MAD DETECTIVE (2007), to name a few, all of which are crime film masterpieces in my opinion, and feature some of the best actors still working in Hong Kong at that time. I put Johnnie To’s body of work up against the best directors working anywhere in the world in the last 40 years. The quality and volume of his movies are outstanding, and they’re prime to be discovered for the uninitiated!

THE MISSION has a relatively simple plot…five bodyguards are assembled to protect Hong Kong triad boss, Lung (Eddy Ko), after assassins try to take him out while he’s having dinner at the Super Bowl restaurant. Lung’s brother, Frank (Simon Yam), puts together quite the badass group: Curtis (Anthony Wong), a completely trusted former associate who’s now working as a hairdresser; James (Lam Suet), a firearms expert and nonstop eater of pistachios; Roy (Francis Ng), a super busy guy who seems to be rising in the ranks as a local criminal leader; Shin (Jackie Lui), Roy’s underling and the inexperienced, weak link of the team; and Mike (Roy Cheung), a guy who’s awesome with a gun and currently stuck in the pimp game. We follow this group as they protect their boss from repeated attempts on his life, and also try to help figure out who’s ordered the hits. Needless to say, their mission takes a few detours along the way, and the men will ultimately have to decide where their true loyalty lies! 

THE MISSION is a crime film masterpiece, and I give Johnnie To most of the credit. Clocking in at just 84 minutes, the film is so simple, and yet it creates such a distinctive vibe that you can’t take your eyes off of the screen. To seems most interested in building the relationships between his main characters during the boring downtimes of their mission. We see them go from not talking to each other, to begrudgingly acknowledging each other, to finally playing soccer with a paper ball as they wait for their boss to leave his office. Just as we’re really getting to know and like our characters, the film will spring an intense action sequence out of nowhere. The director’s signature restraint is on full display in these limited action scenes, which are built around our characters’ professional expertise and a rising spacial tension with the would-be assassins. The action is incredible without relying on the over the top action sequences expected of the genre. As a matter of fact, I rank the “mall shootout” from THE MISSION as one of the best action scenes that Hong Kong cinema has to offer.

The cool poster for THE MISSION (1999)

The writing is also top notch in THE MISSION, which is not a real surprise because Nai-Hoi Yau has written almost all of Johnnie To’s best films. Yau and To have quite the working relationship as the screenplay, like the movie, hints at way more than it says. The audience isn’t spoon fed everything that happens, but it’s easy to look back upon repeat viewings and see that the clues are there based on what we know of the characters. There are also some interesting surprises sprinkled throughout the film. For example, a character shown as a coward in the opening scene re-emerges later in the film and redeems himself in a completely unexpected way. These moments are fun and exciting even for a film that is often relatively still and quiet. One other technical credit I want to mention is the film’s musical score by Chi Wing Chung. I’m not the kind of reviewer to spend too much time on a score, but I haven’t been able to get THE MISSION’s theme out of my head from the first time I saw it. Like the rest of the film, it’s simple, but it is the perfect synthy, background music for men walking and looking cool. I absolutely love it. 

Last, but not least, I have to highlight the cast that Johnnie To assembled for THE MISSION. It’s full of Hong Kong film award winners, beginning with five time winner Anthony Wong, and then Francis Ng and Simon Yam, also single winners of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. Each of these guys are outstanding here, with Anthony Wong and Francis Ng as the standouts of the movie. Anthony Wong, known for so many over the top characterizations in the classic Hong Kong films of the 90’s, delivers a perfectly understated and subtle performance here, which makes him that much more powerful when he needs to be. Francis Ng has a lot more dialogue, but his underlying sense of frustration and boiling-over intensity is the perfect counterpoint to Wong’s patience and calm. Roy Cheung, Lam Suet, Eddy Ko, and Tian-Lin Wang (Wong Jing’s dad) are all perfectly cast and bring excellent characterizations to the table. My only complaint about the cast is the fact that Lau Ching-Wan isn’t in the film. He’s been the star of so many of To’s best films, that I wish there would have been a part for him here.

Overall, THE MISSION is an incredible crime drama with a simple plot that primarily focuses on loyalty and betrayal within the triad underworld, punctuated by intense and precise action sequences, and performed by many of the very best actors in the Hong Kong film industry. It gets my highest recommendation and is well worth searching out. 

I’ve included a trailer for THE MISSION below. I honestly don’t think it’s a great representation for the movie itself, but it appears to be the best we’ve got!