Tag Archives: show

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 3.8 “Matters of the Heart”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

James Franco is in this episode!

Episode 3.8 “Matters of the Heart”

(Dir by Terence H. Winkless, originally aired on October 5th, 1997)

Cory goes undercover to bust a man who is selling babies to couples who can’t have children.  Cory pretends to be pregnant and meets the couple who want to buy her baby.  What Cory discovers is that the couple would be loving parents.  She realizes that she can’t bust them.  Palermo is not amused, pointing out that everyone involved is breaking the law.

Meanwhile, Cory has been caring for a baby who was originally meant to be sold to the same couple.  Chris is upset.  What if the baby cries and wakes her up?  Well, Chris, I guess you’ll get to whine about it like you are about everything else.  At the end of the episode, Cory arranges for the baby to be adopted by the couple who wanted to buy her in the first place.  Palermo, having suddenly changed his tune, says, “This is a wonderful thing you’re doing.”

Meanwhile, TC goes undercover too!  He’s busting a drug dealer who is selling amphetamines to extreme athletes, one of whom is played by James Franco!  Remember, during the early days of this site, when I had that huge crush on him?  I know a lot of people would say that I shouldn’t admit to that, considering the scandal that pretty much ended his career but …. eh, why deny it?  Who hasn’t had a crush on someone who later turned out to be kind of sleazy?  It’s a part of growing up.  Back in 2010, it all came down to two things: I was young and I found him to very, very appealing, in much the same way that I always used to fall for dysfunctional poets and long-haired guitar players in high school and college.  Anyway, what were we talking about?  Oh, right — Pacific Blue.  As far as the show goes, TC is successful despite the fact that he comes across as being a cop the entire time.

This episode …. actually, I’m surprised to say that this episode kind of worked.  Not the stuff involving TC obviously, all of that sucked.  In the role of TC, Jim Davidson was too expressionless and dull to be convincing as someone who could possibly pull of an undercover operation.  But Cory’s storyline worked, largely thanks to Paula Trickey’s performance.  (Trickey was one of the more talented members of the cast but Pacific Blue rarely seemed to understand that.)  I have to admit that I even teared up a little at the end as Cory said goodbye to the baby that she had spent weeks caring for.

Seriously, me tearing up while watching an episode of Pacific Blue!  What a strange world.  Maybe it’s the holiday spirit!

On that hopeful note, I finish up my final 2025 review of Pacific Blue.  Retro Television Reviews will be off for the holidays, so that I can concentrate on Awards Season and Christmas movies.  Pacific Blue will return on January 6th, 2026!

Retro Television Review: Fantasy Island 7.20 “Don Juan’s Last Affair/Final Adieu”

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 the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984.  The show is once again on Tubi!

This week, a tramp and a wimp seek romantic advice.

Episode 7.20 “Don Juan’s Last Affair/Final Adieu”

(Dir by Philip Leacock, originally aired on April 14th, 1984)

Fashion marketer Whitney Clark (Phyllis Davis) is having an affair with her boss, Daniel Garman (David Hedison).  Whitney’s fantasy is to end the affair.  Myself, I have to wonder why she would have to come to Fantasy Island to end the affair.  Why can’t she just save the money and end the affair in New York or wherever it is that they’re from?  Better yet, why can’t she end the affair in New York and then come to Fantasy Island and actually have an enjoyable fantasy?

Daniel is on the Island, putting together a fashion show that he hopes will convince Roarke to commission a line of Fantasy Island fashions.  Whitney wants to end the affair but then she meets Daniel’s wife, Elizabeth (Marion Ross).  Elizabeth is in a wheelchair and, as she explains it, Daniel only stays with her out of guilt and a sense of responsibility.  When she offered Daniel a divorce, he turned it down.  Whitney comes to realize that Daniel loves both her and Elizabeth but that Daniel’s heart will always belong to Elizabeth.  “If you love me, let me go,” she tells Daniel.  She leaves Fantasy Island alone but looking forward to the future.  “I’ve come to admire your courage,” Lawrence tells her.  I’m not sure what courage he’s referring to.  She couldn’t even break up with her married lover without Mr. Roarke’s help.

Meanwhile, nerdy Alan Curtis (Michael Spound) is in love with his best friend, Pat Grayson (Geena Davis, in an early role).  Mr. Roarke arranges for Alan to go into the past to Madrid so that the legendary Don Juan (Fernando Rey) can give him advice but, due to a mix-up in the space-time continuum, Don Juan ends up in the present and on Fantasy Land.  Pat falls for Don Juan!  While Roarke fences with Don Juan, Alan finally tells Pat that he loves her.  At first, Pat is like, “But Don Juan….” but then Don Juan mentions that he’s had 14,000 lovers and Pat decides to give Alan a try.

*sigh*  The seventh season of Fantasy Island has been really depressing to review.  The first few seasons were fun but the seventh season has just been a drag.  This episode featured a lively performance from Geena Davis but that was pretty much it.  Everyone else seemed bored and unlikable.  Whitney and Alan were both wimps.

This was my final trip to the Island for 2025.  Retro Television Reviews will be going on break for the Holidays so that I can focus on both the Awards Season and Christmas movies!  Fantasy Island will return on January 6th, 2026.  There’s only two shows left and then something new will be appearing in this time slot.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.2 “Vagabonds”

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’s episode features a future Oscar nominee!

Episode 5.2 “Vagabonds”

(Dir by Bruce Kessler, originally aired on October 11th, 1981)

The saying goes that “everyone had to start somewhere,” and, for actor Ed Harris, somewhere included guest-starring on an episode of CHiPs.

The future Oscar nominee appears as Lonny Wilson, the scion of a family of a hillbilly con artists.  He and his brother, Daws (Jesse Vint), purposefully cause auto accidents and con their victims out of their money in return for not calling the police or the insurance company.  Lonny’s young son, Jamie (James Calvert), is looking forward to joining the family business until he actually is injured while taking part in one of the family’s cons.  Lonny reconsiders his way of life and, by the end of the episode, he’s cooperating with the highway patrol.

Does Ed Harris come across as being a future star in this episode?  Well, he definitely has charisma.  He has screen presence.  That said, this is also CHiPs, a show that was mostly about capturing potentially serious auto accidents in slow motion.  No one came across as being a future star on ChiPs and that was actually a part of the show’s appeal.  The stars on CHiPs were always the motorcycles, the cars flipping over on the freeway, and Ponch’s blinding smile.  That said, Ed Harris gives a good performance.  For that matter, so does Jesse Vint as his brother.  This is a well-acted episode of CHiPs.  Such things do exist.

In all fairness, I should also note that, when this episode aired, Harris had already starred in George Romero’s Knightriders so, while Harris may not have been a household name, it’s probably still debatable whether or not this was really at the start of his career.  Ultimately, the important thing is that, two years after appearing this episode, Ed Harris would play John Glenn in 1983’s The Right Stuff and firmly established himself as one of our best character actors.

As for this episode, it also features the Highway Patrol taking part in a “supercycle” race, which is a race featuring bicycles that you lie down on as you peddle.  I don’t know why anyone would want to do that but whatever.  Jon Baker wins.  Yay, Highway Patrol!

On that note of victory, Retro Television Reviews is going on a holiday break so that I can focus on the Oscar precursor awards and reviewing Christmas movies so this will be last CHiPs review of 2025!  CHiPs will return on January 5th, 2026!

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.8 “Hard Knocks”

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, Switek takes center stage!

Episode 5.8 “Hard Knocks”

(Dir by Vern Gillum, originally aired on January 20th, 1989)

Stan Switek has a gambling problem!

That’s right.  The lovable Stan Switek, played by Michael Talbott, finally gets to be the center of another episode and it’s a pretty dark one.  It’s not as dark as the one where Stan discovered that his partner and best friend had been given a heroin overdose but it’s still pretty depressing.

There are a lot of things that lead to Switek becoming both an alcoholic and a gambling addict.  The death of Larry Zito still haunts him.  The job haunts him.  The fact that he’s continually stuck in “the black box,” and doing surveillance on terrible people haunts him.  At the start of the episode, he learns that he’s been turned down for a promotion and it will be another two years before he can apply again.  Castillo says it’s about money.  The Miami PD doesn’t have the money to pay Switek a sergeant’s salary.  “You’re the best at what you do,” Castillo tells Switek.  That’s of little help.

Switek is best friends with Mac Mulhern (Jordan Clarke), the father of a hotshot college quarterback named Kevin Mulhern (Richard Joseph Paul).  When Switek’s former bookie (Ismael “East” Carlo) is murdered by Goodman (Richard Jenkins, who apparently always looked like he was in his late 50s, even 40 years ago), Goodman orders Switek to tell Kevin to throw his upcoming game.  In order to make sure that it happens, Goodman kidnaps Mac and threatens to kill him.

Switek snaps.  Switek sets out to get his own justice against Goodman and to rescue Mac.  Fortunately, Crockett and Tubbs realize what’s happening and they show up in time to help Switek out.  Once Goodman is dead and Mac is free, Kevin is able to win the game.

Later, Crockett confronts Switek.  He says that Switek’s name is all over Goodman’s books.  What’s Crockett going to do?  Given that Crockett spent months as Miami’s biggest drug lord, I’m not sure that Crockett is in a position to judge anyone.  Fortunately, Crockett seems to understand that as well.  Crockett hands the evidence over to Switek and promises to keep quiet.  Switek — who has spent almost the entire series as comedic relief — breaks down and starts to cry.

That’s one dark episode!  It’s also a very well-done episode.  Michael Talbott gave an excellent performance as Switek, revealing the character’s dark side while still remaining true to who Switek has been since the series began.  Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas didn’t do much in this episode but the final scene between Switek and Crockett was wonderfully acted by both Talbott and Johnson.

This was a good episode but I’m worried about Switek now.  I hope everything works out because there’s only a few episodes left!

Speaking of which, Retro Television Review will be going on break for the holidays at the end of this week. Miami Vice will return on January 5th!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.5 “Screech’s Woman”

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 week, Zach becomes Bambi and …. oh, you know the story.

Episode 1.5 “Screech’s Woman”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on September 16th, 1989)

Screech isn’t working on Zach’s science project because he’s depressed about not having a girlfriend.  Screech describes himself as being “snakespit.”  That’s …. that’s really sad, to be honest.  Zach attempts to teach Screech how to be cool.  He attempts to get Jessie to go out with him.  Finally, Zach….

Oh, you know what Zach does.  If you’re reading this review, you’ve undoubtedly seen Saved By The Bell in syndication and you know that this is one of those episodes that seemed to air constantly.  Zach calls up Screech and pretends to be Bambi.  When Screech demands to meet Bambi personally, Zach puts on one of Jessie’s dresses, a wig, sunglasses, and he shaves his legs.  Zach/Bambi shows up at the Max and tells Screech that, if they’re going to date, Screech is going to have to agree to no longer hang out with Zach.  A despondent Screech says that he can’t betray his best friend.

Here’s the thing:

Even with the wig and the dress and the whispery voice, Zach is in no way convincing as Bambi.  He’s obviously Zach, just wearing a wig and speaking in a slightly higher register.  The fact that Screech, Kelly, and Slater are all fooled (albeit only temporarily in Slater’s case) can only lead me to suspect that everyone on this show is an idiot.  Saved By The Bell always demands a certain suspension of disbelief but this episode really took it to the limit.  (Or pushed it to the Max, if you want to show respect to that tacky place.)

This episode really made me feel sorry for both Screech and Dustin Diamond and that’s saying something how annoying I found both Screech and the actor playing him to be.  Diamond was only 11 when he was cast on Good Morning Miss Bliss.  In this episode, he’s 12 and he looks and comes across as being even younger.  And yet, he’s acting opposite people who were a few years older and, by teen standards, considerably more mature.  (In teen years, there’s a huge gulf between 12 and 15.)  From the minute he shows up in this episode, Screech is out-of-place.  That may have worked for Screech’s character but it also probably explains why Diamond himself never really seemed to grow up and never seemed to get over feeling like an outsider on the set.

Wow, this episode was depressing.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/23/25 — 11/29/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this on Tuesday.  It’s one of our traditions!  I swear, though, Peppermint Patty is so mean in this one.  And yet, after all that he’s had to put up with, Charlie Brown still invites everyone to come to his grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.  What a guy!  You can read Erin’s thoughts here.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

Finally!  The version of Saved By The Bell that I grew up with is available on Prime!  I watched a few episodes on Friday and …. well, they weren’t very good.  But maybe I just need to adjust my expectations.  I look forward to watching all seven seasons!

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 1.6 “The Sky Is Falling”

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, 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, the ocean is full money!

Episode 1.6 “The Sky Is Falling”

(Dir by Kim Manners, originally aired on October 27th, 1989)

Baywatch was a show that was often known for being unintentionally funny.

Of course, it’s open for debate just how self-aware Baywatch may or may not have been.  Some of the show’s writers and directors have claimed that the show was meant to be campy.  At the same time, there are cast members who specifically left because they felt that there was no way to play some of the scenes they were expected to perform.  Professional surfer Kelly Ward left the cast after he read a script that involved him fighting an octopus that tried to steal his surf board.  Jason Momoa has said that appearing on Baywatch Hawaii early in his career made it difficult for him to convince other casting directors to give him a chance.  That said, David Hasselhoff reportedly continues to swear that Baywatch was a sincere tribute to lifeguards and that it was responsible for people learning how to perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver.  Once you’ve watched Hasselhoff tear up while talking about a girl who saved her little brother using a technique she saw on Baywatch, you’re left with little doubt that Hasselhoff took the show very seriously.

That said, I do think most of the humor on Baywatch was unintentional.  That’s especially true of the first season, which was about as earnest as a network television show can be.  With this week’s episode, Baywatch tried to be intentionally funny and the results were definitely mixed.

The humor came from Harv (James Sloyan) and Sylvia (Carol Siskind), two frumpy bank robbers who crashed their private plane in the ocean and subsequently lost a suitcase containing thousands of dollars.  Throughout the episode, there are shots of the suitcase floating in the ocean.  Finally, a boat collides with it and money goes flying everywhere.  Soon, everyone is running into the water and getting trapped in a riptide.  Lifeguards to the rescue!  As for Harv and Sylvia, they were meant to be funny but instead, their constant bickering just got annoying.  Watching them, I thought to myself, “If these two idiots can rob a bank, anyone can do it!”  That’s not a Hasselhoff-approved message.

Slightly more successful was a storyline about Captain Thorpe (Monte Markham) deciding that he needed to get back on the beach.  For Thorpe, this meant working a tower with Eddie and Shauni.  For Eddie and Shauni, that meant having to spend hour after hour listening to Thorpe’s long-winded stories.  Billy Warlock and Erika Eleniak actually did a pretty good job portraying the mind-numbing boredom of being stuck with Captain Thorpe.

As for the serious storyline, Gail has accepted a job in Ohio and wants to move there …. with Hobie!  However, when Mitch helps Gail pack, they both get sentimental and end up sleeping together, leading Hobie to believe that his parents are going to get back together.  Hey, divorced parents — DO NOT DO THIS!  Seriously, divorce is hard enough on a child without giving them false hope.  In the end, Gail decides to let Hobie stay in California after Hobie uses his junior lifeguard training to save the life of a drowned girl.  Hobie’s a hero and his big reward is that he doesn’t have to go to Ohio.  I’m going to say “Ouch!” on behalf of the Buckeye State.

In the end, this episode was pretty uneven.  The thieves weren’t ever a credible threat but I did laugh at everyone running into the ocean to try to grab the stolen money.  The important thing is that the show didn’t have to relocate to Ohio.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 1.17 “Love Stinks”

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 Tubi!

This week, dreams continue to come true in Springwood, Ohio.  Freddy continues to show up in very short host segments because I guess he doesn’t have anything better to do.  And I continue to find ways to pad out my reviews for a show that there’s really not much to be said about.  It happens.  Some shows are interesting and take chances and other shows just recycle the same thing over and over again.  Anyway, let’s get to it….

Episode 1.17 “Love Stinks”

(Dir by John Lafia, originally aired on February 26th, 1989)

Adam (John Washington) is a high school jock who has a chance to join the White Sox and who has a girlfriend named Laura (Tamara Glyn).  When his parents go out of town, Adam throws a house party.  The party goes wrong when he finds himself unable to say the words “I love you,” to Laura.  Laura leaves him and Adam has a one-night stand with Loni (Susanna Savee).  Soon, Adam finds himself drifting in-and-out of a dream state.  He sees Laura chopping him up with meat cleaver.  He sees his parents come home and he notices that his father is missing a finger.  Loni ruins his interview with the baseball scout.  It’s all because Adam can’t say “I love you,” but suddenly, Adam wakes up in bed and hears the party still going on downstairs and realizes it was all a dream.  He runs downstairs and grabs Laura and says, “I love you!”  Except, Laura now looks like Loni.  And when his parents show up and say they brought someone to meet him, it turns out to be Loni except Loni now looks like Laura.

Meanwhile, Adam’s slacker friend Max (Georg Olden) gets a job at Mr. Cheesy Pizza.  He’s working for his hated uncle, Ralph (Jeffery Combs).  When Max’s girlfriend disappears, Max is horrified to discover that she’s become a part of the special sauce that Ralph uses to make the pizza’s so memorable.  Don’t worry, it’s all just a dream.  Except, in the waking world, the pizza oven explodes and kills Ralph.  Max apparently decides to take a lesson from his dream and makes tasty use of Ralph’s remains.

By the admittedly low standards of Freddy’s Nightmares, this episode wasn’t that bad.  Though the first story was incoherent, it still captured the feeling of being scared of commitment.  The second story was predictable but at least it featured Jeffrey Combs doing his sociopathic nerd thing.  This episode held my interest.  That said, almost every episode pretty much has the exact same “It was just a dream” plot twist.  At this point, it’s no longer a shock when someone suddenly opens their eyes and breathes a sigh of relief.  Even Freddy seems kind of bored with it all.

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 3.2 “Playing God: Part Two”

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 Daily Motion.

This week, the hospital is a depressing place.

Episode 3.2 “Playing God: Part Two”

(Dir by Bruce Paltrow, originally aired on September 26th, 1984)

There was a lot going on in this episode.

Sister Domenica demanded that Sister Theresa be taken off of life support and she threatened to sue the hospital if it didn’t happen.  This led to Dr. Westphall telling another long and depressing story about his dead wife.  I don’t mean to be flippant about anyone’s tragedies but it’s hard not to notice that almost everything seems to lead to Westphall telling a depressing story.  Westphall is one of the most saddest television characters that I’ve ever come across.

The nurses are closer to striking.  A labor negotiator named Richard Clarendon (Herb Edelman) is brought in by the nurses and it’s hard not to notice that he looks a lot like Helen Rosenthal’s ex-husband.  I think I can already guess where this is heading.

A sick child was brought in by a woman (Tammy Grimes) who claimed to be his fairy godmother.  This gave Fiscus an excuse to get a consultation from Kathy Martin, who has abandoned the morgue for psychiatry and who is no longer dressing exclusively in black.

At home, Dr. Craig struggled with impotence.  At the hospital, Dr. Ehrlich gave an awkward lecture about whether or not one can have sex after heart surgery.

The firefighters are still recovering from their burns.

Clancy got an abortion, despite Morrison’s objections.

And yet, all that drama was overshadowed by the fact that the Dr. Peter White — the drug-addicted rapist who nearly killed more than a few patients due to his own incompetence — is once again walking the halls of St. Eligius.  White won his lawsuit.  I’m not really sure that I understand what the basis of his lawsuit was.  St. Eligius could only ask a select number of residents to return and, even if you overlook the fact that White was accused of rape, it’s not as if Dr. White was ever an especially competent doctor.  It would seem that just his struggle with drug addiction would be enough to justify not asking him to return.  And yet, somehow, Dr. Peter White is once again a resident at St. Eligius.  (The ruling was probably handed down by a Carter judge.)

“You just can’t admit that you were wrong about me!” White snaps at Westphall.

Westphall replies that White is a terrible human being and not worthy of being a doctor and that he will not be allowed to work with any patients at the hospital.  And, for once, I wanted to cheer Dr. Westphall.  He may be depressing but he understands exactly who and what Peter White is.

Whatever the future may hold for the hospital, I have a feeling that it’s not going to be happy.  Two episodes in and the third season has already settled into a pit of melancholy.  That said, melancholy is perhaps the right mood for a medical show.  When it comes to hospitals, there aren’t many happy endings.