Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/30/23 — 5/6/23

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Accused (Tuesday Night, Fox)

As frustratingly uneven as Accused can be, this week’s episode was enjoyably melodramatic and over the top. A teenage girl’s attempt to find her real father led to her discovering that he not only lived right next door but that she was also on the verge of dating her half-brother! In this case, the big crime was breaking into a sperm bank. In many ways, it was a silly episode but it was also undeniably enjoyable. Accused should do more weird episodes like this and give the politics a rest.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

Wow, what an unsettling episode this week! Cristobal is dead. NoHo Hank is back in the Chechen mob. Gene shot and probably killed his son. And, according to the time jump towards the end of the episode, Barry and Sally ended up living on a farm with a son named John. And, in the world of Barry, Sian Heder is following up CODA with the worst comic book movie since The Eternals. I’m looking forward to seeing where all of this goes but I have a feeling the show is building up to the most traumatic conclusion of all time. We’ll see if I’m right!

Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount Plus)

Beavis and Butt-Head fell in the sewer and thought they were in Hell. Then, after that, Beavis ended up in the hospital and nearly died due to Butt-Head continually punching him in the testicles. Guys are weird.

The Coronation of Charles III (Saturday Morning, Everywhere)

Supposedly, the British are indifferent to Charles III’s official coronation but it certainly has been a big deal here in the States. Honestly, maybe the entire Royal Family should just move over here and take over again. They would be greeted as liberators!

Forgive or Forget (YouTube)

It was raining on Wednesday afternoon so Jeff and I watched some old 90s talk shows on YouTube. In an episode of Forgive or Forget, delinquent daughters were giving their mothers trouble. The show’s host, Mother Love, yelled at everyone and forced them to go backstage and think about all of their sins before then choosing whether or not to come through the door of forgiveness. Towards the end of the show, the format changed a little as a former out-of-control teen asked her mother to forgive her, just to have her mother refuse to come through the door. What a terrible mother. Seriously, this was a weird show.

Geraldo (YouTube)

It was raining on Wednesday afternoon so Jeff and I watched some old 90s talk shows on YouTube. We watched a 1996 episode of Geraldo, featuring a young-looking but still overdramatic Geraldo Rivera talking to girls who were in gangs. The highlight of the epiosde was when the current gang girls were confronted by former gang girls who accuse them all of being bad mothers. “My babies are more important than my homies!” one former gang girl announced while the audience went crazy.

Half Nelson (YouTube)

I wrote about the finale of Half Nelson here!

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

It was raining on Wednesday afternoon so Jeff and I watched some old 90s talk shows on YouTube. On the Jenny Jones show, the permanently flustered host talked to mothers and daughters who teamed up to “play more than one guy.” The mothers and the daughters would come out on stage. The audience would boo. “Be an appreciator, not a hater!” one mother yelled back. Nothing was really resolved by the end of this episode. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what the point of it all was.

The second episode that we watched feature couples taking lie detector tests to determine whether or not they were cheating. The audience booed a lot. No cheating allowed! “WHY YOU STAYING WITH THAT MAN!?” some guy in the audience yelled. Jenny Jones looked really nervous.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, Cosgrove’s daughter became an important witness in Price’s case against the accused murderer. To me, it seems that, as soon as it became apparent that his daughter could be a part of the case, Cosgrove should have been taken off the investigation but Law & Order takes place in a world where “conflict of interest” is no big deal.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about this week’s episode of The Love Boat here!

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

Dan’s been appointed to a judgeship in Louisiana and is planning on leaving New York City without telling anyone. Dan is not the sentimental type. However, Abbi and Rand insist on throwing him a going away party. As usual, this show works best when it focus on John Larroquette and Melissa Rauch. I spent most of this episode marveling at just how tall Larroquette is. Especially standing next to Melissa Rauch, Larroquette appeared to be about 9 feet tall. (Of course, Melissa Rauch is only like 4’11 herself.) Anyway, Dan was about to leave for Louisiana when he got a call that Abbi was in jail and needed him to defend her. This led to the dreaded “To Be Continued” card.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

This week, I watched a compilation of three episodes from 1991. I learned about European Rock and guitar gods!

Radio 1990 (Night Flight Plus)

This was apparently an entertainment-related news show that aired on PBS in the 80s (despite the name). I watched an episode from 1983 on Saturday morning. My favorite part was “Radio 1990 on the movies.” The week the show aired, the number one movie was Sudden Impact and Scarface had just been released.

Sally Jessy Raphael (YouTube)

It was raining on Wednesday afternoon so Jeff and I watched some old 90s talk shows on YouTube. The episode that we watched of this show dealt with out-of-control teens. The teens were angry and bratty but then they all got sent to boot camp. Most studies have confirmed that the whole boot camp thing was usually counter-productive but audiences just loved to watch wannaba drill sergeants scream at a bunch of bratty kids.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about this week’s episode of Survivor here!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/23/23 — 4/29/23

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, I definitely watched more movies than television. Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch!

Accused (Tuesday Night, Fox)

This week’s episode was pretty good. Adam Bakri, who played Samir, played obsessed well. Accused is a fairly uneven show, which is to be expected considering that every episode has a different director, writer, and cast. But this week’s episode did a good job of holding my interest for the entire running time.

Are You Being Served? (Sunday Night, PBS)

This extremely broad British sitcom pops up on PBS occasionally. I’ve never been that impressed with it, despite the fact that it was made by the same people who made Allo Allo. To be honest, I kind of resent that my PBS station has replaced Allo Allo with this. Anyway, this week’s episode featured the tacky employees of a tacky department store trying to stay warm despite the cold weather and the store’s lack of heat. No one died during the episode so I guess they succeeded. I honestly didn’t pay much attention.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

Oh my God, it’s Guillermo del Toro! This was another great episode, though I did feel bad for everyone who got shot at the end of it. The assassins with the podcast were a good example of what this show does so well. I also loved the class’s reaction to Sally trying to use Gene’s methods to teach her class.

Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount Plus)

Okay, seriously, Old Beavis and Old Butt-Head freak me the fuq out! It’s always so jarring to see a story about them as adults paired up with a story about them as teenagers. To be honest, it’s kind of depressing. I mean, it’s not like it’s a shock that they’re going to grow up to be losers but still, Butt-Head is a heart attack waiting to happen and Beavis reminds me of this old guy who always tries to talk to me whenever I find myself near Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. Of course, the old guy only has one arm and even less teeth than Beavis but still, they have the same jawline.

Anyway, it was a funny episode this week. Teenage Beavis and Butt-Head’s utter stupidity and lack of physical ability while trying to egg the house made me laugh. It’s just sad to realize that they’re peaking in high school. Throwing an egg in a tree is as good as its ever going to get for the two of them.

Oh well. At least Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head are getting to enjoy the universe.

Beef (Netflix)

I finished watching Beef on Sunday. You can count me amongst those who suspect that the final episode was actually a dream. Anyway, it was an excellent show. I kind of hope that there aren’t any more seasons because I really can’t imagine anything topping what’s already been done.

Dirty Pair (YouTube)

Anime action! I watched another episode of Dirty Pair on Saturday morning. I had no idea what was going on but a lot of stuff blew up.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, Fox)

This show is definitely one of my favorite reality shows right now, even though that’s largely due to it providing an antidote for the ickiness of the previous season of The Bachelor. That said, I can’t help but notice that the show makes it look like farming is all rodeos and barn dances. I have farmers in my family and, believe it or not, they go to the movies, they liked to read, and sometimes they just like to stay at home and binge whatever’s on Netflix. Hopefully, the potential wives understand that not every night is going to involve a barn dance. Anyway, the farmers still do not have wives.

Half Nelson (YouTube)

You can check out my thoughts on this week’s episode by clicking here. Only one more episode to go and then I’ll be moving on to Freddy’s Nightmares.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

To be honest, I nearly turned off this week’s episode when it opened with a congresswoman talking about how she had to go to a “freedom caucus” meeting because the Law & Order reboot has always been at its worse whenever its tried to deal with politics. In general, anyone who is to the right of Bernie Sanders is usually portrayed as being pure evil on Law & Order and that was certainly what happened this week as the token Republican congresswoman repeatedly complained that her husband’s murder was bad for her career. That said, the case itself was actually an interesting one and, for once, the episode was willing to admit that people can genuinely disagree with each other without having nefarious motives for doing so. This week’s trial dilemma had no easy answers.

Price and Maroun continue to be two of the most inconsistently-written characters on television. When the reboot started, Maroun was unquestionably loyal to Price and her devotion actually came across as being a bit creepy. One got the feeling that she would murder someone if Price told her to. Over the last few episodes, though, Maroun has been disagreeing with Price on everything and essentially suggesting that he’s just not very good at his job. Personally, I prefer the perpetually annoyed Maroun to the meek Maroun of the past. Price, meanwhile, abruptly went from being a self-righteous liberal to being a self-righteous pragmatist.

This week’s episode deserves some credit for ending with Price having to cut a deal to get a conviction. Far too often, Law & Order has portrayed Price as being “Super Lawyer,” with his superpower being the ability to get a conviction despite having a ludicrous weak case. Infallible Price was almost as annoying as Meek Maroun. Talented but still flawed Price, on the other hand, has the potential to be a far more interesting character.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

*Yawn* From what I understand, this show is doing well in the ratings but I have to imagine that’s entirely due to Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette. Whenever an episode spends a good deal of time with any of the other characters, like this week’s did with Neil reuniting with his high school crush, it’s torturously dull. At this point, it’s pretty obvious that Abbi is going to break up with Rand at the end of the season and season 2 will find her newly single.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

The episode that I watched on Friday night was about African music of the 80s. It was an interesting history lesson.

The Old Guys (Sunday Night, PBS)

PBS is showing The Old Guys again. This week’s episode featured the old guys going out on what turned out to be a triple date. The jokes were obvious but the cast was likable.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I was sorry to see Kane voted out this week but I was even more sorry that apparently, not a single fake idol is going to be used this season! Seriously, this season had three fake immunity idols and now, they’re all out of the game without anyone trying to play even one of them! I know I seem to say this every week but I really miss old school Survivor, where Jeff Probst openly ridiculed the players and we didn’t learn anything about their lives back on the mainland. Now, everyone has a sob story and Probst is all “Up with people!” It just feels weird. You can read more of my thoughts on this week’s episode here!

Waco: The Aftermath (Sunday Night, Showtime)

This episode featured great work from Michael Shannon as the FBI agent who still feels guilty for his part in creating the monster that he’s now having to fight. Elohim City, by the way, is a real place and it still exists. This is an interesting series and one that deserves a bit more attention than it’s been getting.

Yellowjackets (Sunday Night, Showtime)

Last night, in the 90s, Misty killed the most annoying of the survivors. In the present, Taissa went to the home of the 2nd-most annoying of the survivors so, if nothing else, we know that Van’s going to be around for a while. Speaking of annoying, Callie finally figured out that her new boyfriend is cop so she lied and said that Shauna had been having an affair with Randy Walsh. You kind of have to wonder what Randy thinks about some of the things he’s been put through over the past few days.

Yes, Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

Oh well! Even if PBS is no longer showing Allo Allo, at least they brought back Yes, Minster. This week’s episode was the one in which Hacker’s daughter planned a protest to save a colony of badgers and Sir Humphrey had to make plans to save Hacker from embarrassment. This was also the episode in which Hacker decided that he was tired of the civil servants keeping secrets and tasks from him, just to then discover how much pointless minutia truly goes into being a member of the government. It was very British and it was very funny.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/16/23 — 4/22/23

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Barry’s back!

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

Barry returned last Sunday with the first two episodes of season 4.

The first episode updated the viewers on what happened after Barry was arrested. Barry went to jail, where he was reunited with Fuches. Fuches briefly became an FBI informant until Barry told him that he loved him, which led to Fuches not only stepping away from the FBI but also declaring that he was going to start his own prison gang. Sally went back to Joplin and promptly got into a fight with her mother over the television show and its portrayal of Sally’s abusive ex. Gene plotted to control how the story of his relationship with Barry would appear in the media. Cristobal and NoHo Hank plotted to start a semi-legitimate business, selling sand to construction sites. Directed, as all of this season will be, by Bill Hader, the first episode was full of surreal touches and it left me feeling rather unsettled. Sitting in prison and only showing emotion when Sally briefly came by to visit and demand to know whether he had killed their dog, Barry appeared to have finally snapped. He went as far as to taunt a guard into nearly beating him to death. The show had its funny moments but, make no doubt, the first episode was all about tapping into Barry’s heart of darkness.

The second episode had a bit more of the show’s trademark bizarre humor. Cristobal and NoHo Hank attempted to convince two rival crime families to join them in their sand enterprise. In order to convince them, they arranged for a meeting at the happiest place on Earth …. Dave and Buster’s! The meeting went well, up until NoHo Hank announced that freeing Barry from prison would be a part of the plan. An upset Cristobal told NoHo Hank that his loyalty to Barry made him appear to be “soft.” However, Fuches then called NoHo Hank for prison and told him that Barry had decided to become an FBI informant. A stunned NoHo Hank announced that Barry would have to die.

While that was going on, Gene finally gave an interview about his experiences with Barry but, being Gene, he couldn’t just sit down and answer questions. Instead, he put together a one man show, one that actually turned out to be pretty good, even if Gene’s version of events was a bit self-serving. Meanwhile, Sally has returned to Los Angeles and is trying to put the pieces of her life and her career back together. Unfortunately, her career still hasn’t recovered from last season’s viral video scandal and, to top it all off, she is now known for being the girlfriend of a serial killer.

As for Barry …. well, Monroe wasn’t lying. At the end of the second episode, it appeared that Barry has decided to work with the FBI!

What a wonderful way to start the fourth season! This is the final season of Barry and I can’t wait to see how the story wraps up. I have a feeling that there won’t be many happy endings.

Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

Barry’s not the only one to have returned this week. These two morons, Beavis and Butthead, have returned as well. This week, Beavis and Butthead ruined meditation for everyone and then they went hunting with Mr. Anderson and nearly got killed. Of all the supporting characters on this show, Mr. Anderson is probably my favorite because he’s basically just a really old version of Hank Hill. His World War II flashback was wonderfully odd.

Beef (Netflix)

Unfortunately, it’s been a long week so I’ve only had time to watch the first four episodes of this miniseries. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun are both giving outstanding performances in this series about a road rage incident that spirals out of control. I’m looking forward to finishing it up during this upcoming week.

Dynaman (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode of this Japanese series on Saturday morning. A bunch of fish monsters were trying to take over the world. Dynaman stopped them. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s a screenshot:

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, Fox)

The farmers are still not married.

Half Nelson (YouTube)

I reviewed Half Nelson here!

Hang Time (YouTube)

I have watched and written up reviews for several hours of Hang Time this week. In fact, I’m nearly done with the show. (My reviews of the show will be running through September.) Read this week’s review here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I recapped this week’s episode for the Reality TV Chat Blog!

Tulsa King (Paramount Plus)

I finally got around to watching the second episode of Tulsa King this week and I’m afraid the show still isn’t working for me. I think it’s because Stallone’s character is a bit too aggressive. Stallone is at his best when he’s playing either a dumb but likable mook (i.e., Rocky) or when he’s fighting for his survival, like in First Blood. But when he’s the one who is actually barking out orders and intimidating innocent people, it’s just not as much fun. Plus, there’s only so many times that any show can go to the “Old people sure are confused by technology” well before the joke starts to run dry. That said, I’ve been told the show get better so I’ll stick with it and see what I think of the third episode.

Waco: The Aftermath (Sunday Night, Showtime)

This miniseries picks up where Showtime’s last Waco miniseries left off. The Branch Davidian compound has been burned down. David Koresh is dead. The main FBI negotiator (Michael Shannon) feels guilty about what happened at the compound but he also fears that the stand-off is going to embolden the militia movement. (And he’s right!) Meanwhile, the surviving Davidians are being railroaded in court and treated as scapegoats for the failures of both Koresh and the government. Things got off to a strong start on Sunday. I look forward to seeing where this show ends up going.

Yellowjackets (Sunday Night, Showtime)

This week’s episode was intriguing. I loved the scene where Shauna confessed to Callie. I’m still worried about Walter and Misty though. I can just see Walter getting on Misty’s nerves and getting poisoned as a result. I’ll also say that, as much as I enjoy this show, I’m starting to get a bit tired of the whole Taissa thing. The show need to either explain what’s going on with all that or just move on.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/9/23 — 4/15/23

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

This week, Janine’s mom (Taraji P. Henson) made an appearance, hoping that she could get Janine to pay her phone bill. This was a really touching and very emotional episode. Sheryl Lee Ralph was especially moving as Barbara tried to save Janine from being taken advantage of by her mother. While that was going on, Gregory struggled to improve his people skills and Jacob amazed everyone with his magic tricks. “The magic doesn’t work if you lie, Melissa!”

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

This week’s episode was a nicely melodramatic one, in which an angry man tried to frame his ex-wife as a drug smuggler. To be honest, it was kind of a silly episode but it was so over-the-top that it was still enjoyable.

American Idol (Sunday and Monday Night, FOX)

Not surprisingly, I wasn’t really that happy with the Top 24. Many of the singers seemed to be a bit generic and, after all the suffering he went through to just make it through Hollywood Week, Aden was eliminated. I was happy that Nutsa made the top 24. She’s a force of chaos so I hope she wins but I fear that the show’s efforts to turn her into Hollywood Week’s villain will lead to the voters punishing her.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, FOX)

I was cleaning around the house while watching this week’s episode so I have to admit that I wasn’t paying the show 100% attention. That said, the farmers still do not have wives.

Half Nelson (YouTube)

I wrote about this week’s episode here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about this week’s episode here!

The Masters (Sunday Afternoon, CBS)

“Lisa Marie,” so many people said to me on Easter, “you’re watching golf?”

You better believe I was watching golf! Seriously, the golf course was very relaxing to look at and I enjoyed the restrained applause of all the people watching the game. Later that night, while rest of my family was enjoying the danger of NASCAR, I was remembering the calming day on the golf course. As for who won the game …. well, to be honest, I don’t know who any of the golfers are, outside of Tiger Woods (who dropped out by the final round of the Masters) and that guy that Necromoonyeti doesn’t like. But no matter! I’m happy for whoever it was that won.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

Dan had a chance to become a billionaire by investing in a new tech company. Abbi ruined it for everyone. Oh, Abbi! Seriously, I like Melissa Rauch and I think she does about as good as anyone could with the character but, at some point, I’m going to start wondering why everyone puts up with Abbi continually screwing up their lives.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about this week’s episode here! Where is Jeff Probst always trying to be so nice nowadays? It’s weird.

Yellowjackets (Sunday Night, Showtime)

Now, I not only have to worry about the new dog but I also have to worry about Elijah Wood! I swear, I may never recover from the anxiety that this show brings me.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/26/23 — 4/1/23

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s some thoughts on what I watched this week!

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

This week’s episode featured a couple seeking revenge on a white supremacist who drove a car into a protest and who was never punished for his crime. The search for vengeance is usually a compelling topic and the episode had the potential to explore some very interesting ethical issues but, as has been the case for many of Accused‘s more recent episodes, it was all a bit too heavy-handed to really work. It didn’t help that this week’s episode was rather poorly acted by almost everyone involved. A part of me thinks that Accused‘s biggest weakness is its anthology format. Between introducing a new group of characters on a weekly basis and also trying to tell a complex story, Accused often seems as if it’s trying to cram a bit too much into just 45 minutes of runtime.

The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)

It’s over, that’s the important thing. It’s hard not to feel that, for all of the drama surrounding sex week, Zach mostly just slept with Gabi because he knew he probably wasn’t ever going to see her again after he dumped her for Kaity. This was a season of The Bachelor that left me feeling just a little bit icky so let us never speak of it again.

Dirty Pair (YouTube)

I watched this 90s anime on Saturday morning. The plot was next to impossible to follow but a lot of things blew up and the theme song was pretty cool.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, FOX)

Agck! Listen, just because you marry a farmer doesn’t mean that you have to castrate a bull. Seriously, I’ve spent some time on some farms and I’ve seen some bulls and I assume that I’ve met some people who have castrated bulls but it was definitely not something that I needed to know about or be in any way involved with. Just saying.

Five Days At Memorial (Apple TV+)

I started watching this absolutely devastating miniseries on Saturday. I’ve still got one episode left to watch so I’m going to hold off on saying much more about the show until I’ve watched that episode. I will say that Five Days At Memorial, which deals with what happened at a New Orleans hospital in the aftermath of Katrina, features some truly horrific images but it’s not just out to shock the audience. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface and it’s impossible to watch this series without wondering what you would have done if you had found yourself in the same situation as the doctors and the nurses at Memorial Hospital. I’d like to think that I would have refused to abandon my patients. I would also like to think that I would have been the one person willing to stand up to the doctors who had decided to play God. But, in the end, it’s impossible for me to say what I would have done in that situation because I’ve never been in that situation.

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

Todd, the obnoxious podcaster, returned! Alberta was happy when her great-granddaughter checked into the B&B but Alberta was much less happy when it looked like she might hook up with Todd. This was a sweeet episode. Not only was it nice to watch Alberta discover that her talent had been passed down to her descendants but it’s always enjoyable to watch the ghosts recoil from Todd’s very presence.

Half Nelson (YouTube)

I reviewed Half Nelson here!

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

I enjoyed this week’s episode of Law & Order, mostly because everyone from Cosgrove to Sam to McCoy got a chance to call Price out for being arrogant and self-righteous. Sam is typically such an underwritten character that it was immensely satisfying to watch her shut down Price with an armor-piercing one liner. (It’s just unfortunate that the show left some ambiguity as to whether Sam’s anger was motivated by her ethics or her feelings for Price.) Price definitely did not prove the judge’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and I imagine the verdict will get overturned on appeal. To be honest, I kind of suspect that’s what happens with most of the guilty verdicts on this show because some of Price’s legal strategies are seriously unconstitutional.

(No, I don’t know why I’m taking Law & Order so personally. If I can figure out why, I’ll let you know.)

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

I watched it but I don’t remember a thing about it. I do know that I groaned whenever anyone other than Abbi and/or Dan was onscreen.

Poker Face (Peacock)

“Play Staplehead!” I watched the fourth and the fifth episodes of Poker Face this week. After initially being hesitant about the show, I have to say that I’m pretty much hooked now. The fourth episode, with the heavy metal band murdering their drummer so that they could steal a song that he unwittingly stole from an old sitcom, was wonderfully executed.

Saved By The Bell (Wednesday, E!)

E! was doing a Saved By The Bell marathon! I watched the No Hope With Dope episode. I loved how everyone else was talking about celebrities who had died as a result of doing too much cocaine and Jessie immediately started talking about how she was hooked on caffeine pills for a week. Like, I get the feeling Jessie probably brought up that experience a lot and her friends probably got tired of having to listen to her go on about it.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about Survivor here. Poor Matthew! He seemed like a genuinely good guy and my heart broke for him when he talked about how much pain he was in. That said, if I never have to watch that clip of him falling off a cliff again, I’ll be happy. Seriously, I was shocked he wasn’t pulled from the game earlier. (I do hope that he gets a second chance.)

Tulsa King (Paramount Plus)

I finally got around to watching the first episode of this show. Sylvester Stallone plays an old school mobster who is released from prison and sent down to Oklahoma by his bosses. The Family says that they want Stallone to set up business down there but actually, they just want to get him out of New York. I have to admit that, as much as I like Stallone, I didn’t care much for the first episode. Maybe if everyone in Tulsa was a jerk, it would be fun to watch Stallone threaten them but everyone seemed to be so nice that I just wanted Stallone to go back to New York. I’ve been assured, though, that the show gets better so I’m not going to give up on Tulsa King just yet.

Waco: American Apocalypse (Netflix)

This three-part docuseries about the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco is a real Rorschach test. Do you watch it and see a story about a manipulative and dangerous cult leader or do you watch it and see a record of law enforcement incompetence and government arrogance? Either way, it was a fascinating and thought-provoking look at the tragic siege.

Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu)

I binged this miniseries on Sunday. It was enjoyable in its own tacky way. Murray Bartlett was well-cast as the doomed choreographer. Kumail Nanjiani should play more villains.

Yellowjackets (Showtime)

I’m glad that Yellowjackets is back for a second season and I’m intrigued to see what happens. But seriously, I am so worried about what’s going to happen to the new dog!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/19/23 — 3/25/23

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

To be honest, I feel as if I’ve already reviewed just about everything that I watched this week. For instance, I spent ten hours watching Dahmer on Netflix and then I posted a review here on the site. So, this week in television is going to pretty much be full of links. For that reason, I considered not doing a post for this week but what can I say? I’m a completist. I haven’t missed a week yet and I don’t want to start.

Anyway, here’s what I watched this week!

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

I started to watch Accused this week but as soon as I saw that dusty courtroom with the big Texas flag hanging over the door and the title cared announced that this was “Lubbock, Texas,” I realized that I probably wasn’t going to make it through the entire episode. Then, the accused was escorted into the courtroom by some old guy wearing a string tie and I said, “Nope,” and stopped watching. I’ve been told by some folks on Twitter that this week was actually a good episode but I don’t care. There were too many dumb clichés in the first three minutes for me to devote another 44 minutes of my life to the episode.

American Idol (Sunday Night, ABC)

Is it Hollywood week, yet!? I know it’s not any different from any other season but the auditions just seem to be going on forever!

The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)

Sex week turned out to be a disaster, as I think we all knew it would. After announcing that he would not be having sex with the three remaining bachelorettes, Zach went on to have sex with Gabi and then decided it would be a good idea to tell Kaity all about it …. DURING THIER DATE! Meanwhile, Ariel — who was the most accepting of Zach’s decision not have sex with any of three finalists — was sent home. The Fantasy Suite pretty much exists to create drama and that’s what it did this week. That said, Zach’s really not interesting enough for this season to be the emotional rollercoaster that it’s supposed to be. Boring Guy Turns Out To Be A Jerk …. wow, that’s a shock.

Dahmer (Netflix)

As a part of my preparation for covering the Emmys in another few months, I watched all ten episodes of Dahmer this week. I reviewed the miniseries here.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday, FOX)

Hey, it’s the State Fair of Texas! And a rodeo! Look at everyone having fun! Take that, Bachelor!

Half Nelson (YouTube)

I reviewed the pilot for this Joe Pesci detective show on Friday.

King of the Hill (FX)

On Wednesday, I watched two episodes of King of the Hill. The first was one of my favorites, featuring Minh, Peggy, and Nancy all running for a seat on the school board. The second one featured Bobby going to military school and discovering that it wasn’t quite as strict as his grandfather claimed it would be. King of the Hill always makes me smile.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

Law & Order returned with a new episode, in which the murder of a journalist was investigated. The story was obviously based on a recent murder that happened out in Las Vegas. The real-life story is pretty interesting but the Law & Order version wasn’t. The scenes with Cosgrove and Shaw interrogating suspects and investigating the crime often felt like self-parody. Sam Waterston still has his natural gravitas but it’s hard not to feel that both he and McCoy have earned the right to retire.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I reviewed The Love Boat here.

Survivor (Wednesday, CBS)

I reviewed Survivor here!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/12/23 — 3/18/23

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Eh. This has been a strong season, with the exception of all the nonsense about the charter schools. Unfortunately, this week’s episode was all about trying to keep Abbott from turning into a charter school and it was a rare heavy-handed misfire for what it is usually one of the smartest shows on television. Ava still made me laugh, though.

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

This week’s episode of Accused was a misfire. It tried to deal with both gun control and misinformation and, in both cases, it just came across as being histrionic. It was like the Reefer Madness of 21st Century anthology shows.

The Bachelor (Monday and Tuesday, ABC)

The thing with this season is that it’s impossible to get excited about Zach and it’s difficult to take anyone seriously when they say that they were falling in love with Zach. Monday featured the hometown visits and a “shocking” departure. (Don’t worry, Charity avoided marrying Zach and she gets to be the new bachelorette). Tuesday featured the Women Tell All, which started out as interesting with lots of petty drama but then all the action stopped so Greer could go through a televised struggle session about her old social media posts. Jesse Palmer announced that the Bachelor franchise will no longer shy away from addressing the actions of its contestants and I rolled my eyes so dramatically that I’m surprised I’m still able to see straight. It’s one thing to address actions. It’s another thing to spend half an hour patting yourself on the back for doing it, especially when it was obvious that both Jesse and Greer were just reciting what they had been told to say.

The Brady Bunch Hour (YouTube)

I finished the series this week. Yay! Seriously, it was kind of fun to experience something as strange as The Brady Bunch Hour but I think if it had lasted longer than nine episodes, I wouldn’t have made it. That final hour nearly broke me.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, FOX)

After suffering through The Bachelor, this show provided a nice and simple relief. Life on the farm isn’t easy but at least all the farmers are interesting and everyone gets to wear cute country outfits!

Jail (Tuesday Afternoon, Reelz)

This was a Cops-style show that aired in early 2010s. As the title suggests, a camera crew filmed the events in a county jail. Sometimes, they were in Fort Worth. Sometimes, they were in Las Vegas. Whenever they went to Las Vegas, there was one annoying intake officer who always ended up getting attacked by an inmate. Were the inmates attacking because they were violent criminals or because they were on camera? My personal theory is that the intake officer, with his sandy hair and his glasses and his air of unearned authority, was kind of a jerk who just brought out the worst in people.

Anyway, I watched two episodes on Tuesday. A lot of drunks were brought in for the night. Most of the guards were not particularly bright, which made it a bit awkward whenever they tried to get philosophical about why people commit crimes. “I guess until they get tired of us arresting them, we’re going to keep getting called out there.” Okay, whatever you say, dude.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

You know, I still like Melissa Rauch but I have to say that, as of this latest episode, I think Abbi is now officially the most annoying character on television. Her fiancé, Rand, came to New York to help her train for a marathon. Rand himself was a pretty annoying character but Abi was a hundred times worse for putting up with him and forcing him on her co-workers.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday, I watched an episode about the 1984 Oscars. A lot of good songs were nominated that year.

The Oscars (Sunday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the 2022 Oscars here!

The Scott & Gary Show (Night Flight Plus)

This was a public access show from the 80s. Night Flight Plus has episodes of it and several other old public access shows. I watched one episode on Saturday morning. Gibby Haynes stopped by the set and talked about how he used to be an accountant.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about Survivor at the Reality TV Chat Blog.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/5/23 — 3/11/23

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s just a few thoughts on what I watched this week:

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Now, I want to play Drought.

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

After missing the previous two episodes, I caught the latest episode of Accused on Tuesday night. Whitney Cummings played a comedian who was a raped by another comedian. Mary Lynn Rajskub played the clingy fan who offered support but who later turned out to be dangerous in her own way. This episode was a bit overwritten, which tends to be a problem with many anthology shows. But it was saved by the excellent performances of Rajskub and Cummings.

American Idol (Sunday Night, ABC)

The auditions moved to Nashville! A lot of talented singers made it through to Hollywood but …. eh, I don’t know. The best singers are usually the ones who may not be technically perfect but who bring their own individual personality to their performances. So far, there hasn’t been much personality this season. Everyone’s a bit too polished and the judges already seem to know who is going through before they ever hear one note. I guess I’m old-fashioned as far as my reality show preferences go. I don’t care how tragic your life has been or what your family is like. I just care about whether or not you’re an interesting and entertaining performer.

The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)

Eh. Who cares?

Bar Rescue (Weekday Mornings, Paramount)

I watched two episodes on Wednesday morning. Both featured bars that were so disgusting and filthy that it made me happy to be a non-drinker. The second episode that I watched actually featured the bar’s cook taking a bath in the dishwashing area. BLEH! That was not exactly something I needed to see.

Bubblegum Crisis (Night Flight Plus)

I have no idea what was actually happening in this animated series from Japan but the imagery was nice and a lot of things blew up.

Court Cam (Weekday Mornings, A&E)

I watched two episodes on Wednesday. Angry defendants were making trouble. Dan Abrams breathlessly narrated every single event. One defendant attacked his own lawyer. I’m going to assume that someone else probably handled his appeal after he was convicted for that.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, FOX)

Apparently, this show is 1) based on a British program and 2) also a reboot of a show that aired on the CW way back in 2008. Basically, a bunch of city girls compete for the chance to marry four farmers. The dramatic high point of the first episode came when the farmers had to ask each girl, “Do you want to come back to my farm?” and the women were then given the choice to say yes or to walk out. Only one girl walked out. Everyone else was like, “I’d love to go back to the farm with you!” This show felt a lot like Burning Love, the brilliant and much-missed parody of The Bachelor franchise.

I enjoyed the first episode, though. With The Bachelor a bit of a bore this season, Farmer Wants A Wife might temporarily replace it as my new guilty pleasure show. I’m always torn between my love of the city and my nostalgia for the country so this is a show to which I can relate. Plus, the farmers are all handsome and strong and they don’t look like the types to spend a lot of time crying about the state of the world. This show brings out my country girl side. I think my accent got a hundred times more Southern while I was watchin’ it.

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

This week’s episode was great. I hope Matt Walsh makes a guest appearance every season.

Jared From Subway (Monday Night, ID)

This three-hour documentary detailed, in repulsive detail, the crimes of Jared Fogle and his associate, Russell Taylor. On the one hand, it did a good job of showing how America’s cult of celebrity allowed Jared to flourish. On the other hand, Rochelle Herman, the journalist who first recorded Jared talking about his desires, often came across as being more concerned with promoting herself than anything else. Between the use of blurry reenactments and the people who were interviewed solely so they could talk about how “beautiful” Rochelle was, the documentary was occasionally its own worst enemy.

The New Wave Theatre (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 80s cable access show on Saturday morning. The music was good and loud.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

Abby is all excited because her favorite podcast host is in the court to serve as a witness. Abby thinks that the going-ons at the court would make a great podcast! The host, however, only wants to interview Dan. Dan talks about running for the city council in the 80s and bribing people to vote. “It was hard to get people to vote in the 80s,” Dan says, “there were other things to do …. like cocaine! Plus, Pac-Man had just come out and that was the perfect surface on which to do cocaine.” Okay, that made me laugh. The rest of the episode was fairly forgettable. The problem is that Dan is the only consistently well-written character and John Larroquette so completely dominates the show that it’s hard not to kind of resent having to spend time with any of the other characters.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday, I watched an episode from the early 80s. It was about erotic imagery in music videos. Prince and Madonna were heavily featured.

Poker Face (Thursday Night, Peacock)

Though it took me a month and a half to get around to it, I finally watched the first episode of Poker Face on Tuesday night. I resisted because the commercials (“Meet Charlie Cale, you’re going to like her.”) annoyed me and the show’s creator Rian Johnson is undeniably talented but also makes films that occasionally seem to be a bit too impressed with their own cleverness. However, Poker Face has been critically acclaimed since it premiered and I do like Natasha Lyonne and Benjamin Bratt so I decided to finally give the show a chance.

The first episode was set in Nevada and set up the premise of the series. Lyonne stars as Charlie, who has the ability to tell whenever anyone is lying. Over the course of the episode she discovered that her boss (played by Adrian Brody) was a liar and, after his suicide, she had to go on the run. The episode looked great. I loved the sight of Charlie’s little trailer sitting in the desert and I also liked the contrast between the opulent casino and the messy house where the episode’s murder actually took place. Plotwise, it suffered from a problem that is typical of pilots in that it tried to cram too much information into a limited amount of time. That said, it held my interest and Natasha Lyonne was sympathetic and likable as Charlie. I did find myself wishing that Charlie would cut down on the alcohol but I guess that’s what people do when they’re stuck in a go-nowhere situation. They drink to dull the pain.

The second episode was set in New Mexico and featured Charlie not only solving the murder of a Subway employee who had just won the lottery but also proving that a trucker was not a murderer. The mystery itself wasn’t that interesting (and really, since both episodes opened with showing us the murder being committed, it technically really wasn’t a mystery) but, again, the episode was entertaining due to Lyonne’s performance. Since this show is apparently going to reveal the identity of the murderer at the start of each murderer and then show how Charlie eventually learns the truth, it’s important that the lead character be likable and interesting. As much as I hate to admit it, the commercials were right. I like Charlie Cale.

South Park (Wednesday Night, Comedy Central)

“Written by Trey Parker and ChatGPT.”

I loved this week’s episode, mostly because it confirmed that ChatGPT is going to eventually transform the world into a cold, barren place where people have no appreciation for art or literature. It’s not a happy vision of the future but at least we’ve been warned so it won’t be too much of a shock.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor at the Reality TV Chat Blog!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/26/23 — 3/4/23

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I was finally able to get caught up on some of my shows this week. Here some thoughts on what I watched.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I’m kind of worried. There’s so much about this show that works but I worry that it’s going to lose sight of all of those things by getting bogged down with this whole Charter school subplot. This week was great when Jacob was freaking out over the mural and when Janine and Gregory were trying to work up the courage to tell Maurice about what happened at the convention. (And I loved Maurice’s reaction to the news.) But the Charter school stuff is such a drag! It’s the same sort of thing that ultimately kept Parks and Rec from being as good as it could have been.

American Idol (Sunday Night, ABC)

I watched the two latest episodes of American Idol on Hulu on Monday. It’s always a bit weird to me when I see the newest episodes of the show and I see how positive and friendly the judges are. Obviously, times have changed and I guess you couldn’t really get away with Simon and Randy laughing at someone for having a bad voice nowadays. Today, old school American Idol would probably be seen as bullying. I’m not necessarily saying that the show should go back to its old style. To be honest, I always hated it whenever someone who was obviously developmentally challenged was brought in to audition just so the show could try to score a few mean-spirited laughs off of them. Still, the upbeat atmosphere of the current version of the show feels a bit forced at times.

The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)

I watched the last three or four episodes this week. They all kind of blended together but I’m all caught up now. Zach is not particularly interesting but I did enjoy seeing London. If I don’t seem like I’m really into this season …. well, I’m not. To be honest, I kind of feel like maybe this franchise needs to either take a longer break between seasons or change up the format a bit. When the show’s bachelor or bachelorette is interesting, it’s fine if the season itself is a bit predictable. But when you got someone like Zach, it becomes a lot harder to overlook just how artificial this entire show is.

The Brady Bunch Hour (YouTube)

I’m nearly done with The Brady Bunch Hour and, as much as I make fun of this show, I am going to miss it. You can read this week’s review here!

City Guys (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched and wrote up reviews for several hours worth of City Guys. As such, I won’t have to watch the show again until June. Yay! Read this week’s review by clicking here!

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

I got caught up on the last four episodes of Ghosts this morning and I have to say, it remains a surprisingly fun show. Depending on what happens with all that charter school nonsense, there’s a chance that Ghosts could replace Abbott Elementary as the best sitcom to currently air on network television.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

Love, exciting and new! You can read this week’s review here!

My Lover, My Killer (Netflix)

This is a British true crime series about women and men who were killed by their lovers. I watched two episodes on Wednesday morning. I fell asleep while watching the third episode, not because it was boring but just because it was three in the morning. I’m pretty sure I had a bad dream or two as a result of watching this before dozing off.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

This week, Abby’s mother dropped by the court and Abby, as usual, reacted in a totally unprofessional way. There is a part of me that really wants to this show to improve, just because I do like Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette can get laughs out of even the weakest of lines. But there’s just a blandness at the heart of Night Court. Even writing up these very brief reviews, I sometimes struggle to really come up with anything to say about the show. It’s neither great nor terrible. It’s just kind of there.

The SAG Awards (Sunday Night, YouTube)

This year, the SAG Awards were broadcast on YouTube, which I think is probably a sign of things to come. It might not happen for a few years but, eventually, the Oscars are going to be an exclusively streaming event as well. I’ve always assumed that the inevitable move to a streaming platform would improve the Oscars but, to be honest, the SAG Awards on YouTube were just as bland as the SAG Awards on television so who knows?

I was a little bit surprised at how completely Everything Everywhere All At Once swept the awards. I was expecting the film to win Best Ensemble but I was certainly not expecting Jamie Lee Curtis to beat Angela Bassett for the Supporting Actress award. Other than that, the SAG Awards were most memorable for Fran Drescher announcing that SAG is apparently going to save the world. Good for them!

(Actually, as I watched Fran Descher’s speech, I suddenly remembered that she lobbied to be appointed to the Senate after Hillary Clinton become Secretary of State. U.S. Sen. Drescher? Actually, that’s kind of a fun idea.)

South Park (Wednesday Night, Comedy Central)

I’m happy to say that I’m now caught up on the latest season of South Park. “We want our privacy!”

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Yay! Survivor’s back! I wrote about the premiere of the 44th season over at the Reality TV Chat Blog!

The Weather (Thursday Night, Every Channel in North Texas)

On Thursday, North Texas got hit by a huge thunderstorm and there were rumors of tornadoes in the area. The local weather people were overjoyed to have an excuse to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. For an hour or two, they went out of their way to try to terrify anyone watching. “We think we may have spotted some tornadic activity!” Fortunately, North Texas survived but you better believe these folks will be patting themselves on the back for at least the rest of the month.

Lisa Marie’s Week in Television: 1/29/23 — 2/4/23

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I watched quite a bit. Let’s see what I can remember about it.

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

This week’s episode was actually pretty good. It has an enjoyably macabre ending and was well-directed by Jonathan Mostow.

The Amazing Race 5 (Netflix)

The fifth season of The Amazing Race is on Netflix! I watched a few episodes this week. I’m glad that Colin and Christie were given a second chance to compete on the show because they really were the strongest competitors during the fifth season. After getting used to the mellow Colin who appeared the second time, it was interesting to be reminded just how intense and ultra-competitive he was the first time he appeared on the show. I know that Colin and Christie were meant to be the fifth season’s “villains” but, honestly, it’s impossible not to like them. I respect the fact that they consistently refused to yield or U-turn anyone.

American Auto (Tuesday Night, NBC)

Anna Gasteyer’s character went on the Seth Meyers show to try to soften her image and convince everyone that she really wasn’t the country’s most hated CEO. I understand that the whole point here was to reunite Gasteyer and Meyers, as I assume they were on Saturday Night Live at the same time. But I don’t know. Gasteyer had a few funny moments but Meyers has never really appealed to me a a talk show host. And really, if you were a CEO trying to improve your image by appearing on a talk show, would you go on the one that most people don’t watch? She should have held out for Fallon.

The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)

Boring!

The Brady Bunch Hour (YouTube)

I wrote about The Brady Bunch Hour here!

California Dreams (YouTube)

I wrote about California Dreams here!

City Guys (Tubi)

Uh-oh! It looks like Tubi has removed a few episodes of City Guys! Fortunately, I think I can find them all on YouTube. Anyway, click here to see what I wrote this week!

Football Game: Bengals vs Chiefs (Sunday Evening, CBS)

I watched this game with Jeff and Erin. I guess I’m glad the Chiefs won. The Bengals uniforms were a kind of silly looking.

Football Game: Eagles vs 49ers (Sunday Afternoon, FOX)

Was it on FOX? I honestly can’t remember. Anyway, I watched this game with Jeff and Erin and they were a lot more into it than I was. I decided that I would root for the 49ers because Philadelphia is the city of Parking Wars but I changed my mind once it became obvious that the 49ers weren’t going to win.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

I’m not sure if I agree with Chef Ramsey’s decision to keep Dafne over Sommer. Sommer may have been abrasive when she was put in charge of the Kitchen but she was still a lot less scatter-brained and more effective than Dafne was. That said, we all know that Alex is going to win this season.

Kids Behind Bars: Life or Parole? (Hulu)

This show originally aired on A&E. I watched an episode on Monday morning and I was immediately reminded of why I never particularly cared for this show. Not only does it exploit real-life tragedy but it’s also so biased and heavy-handed that it’s not really worth watching as a work of journalism.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, the murderer was a prosperity preacher. Nolan Price used a bunch of shady legal tricks to convince a judge to force a minister to break his sacred oath. This show is always at its most cringey when it tries to deal with religion. As I watched this week, I noticed that the show is now playing up the whole “relationship” angle between Price and Maroun. They’re a cute couple but I kind of want to see Maroun handle a case without Price hovering over her shoulder.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

I know I watched the episode because I jotted it down in my notes for the week but I can’t remember a thing about it. That’s kind of a recurring problem with Night Court. I’ve seen every episode so far and I still can’t really tell you anything about the show or its characters.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode from the 80s. It was all about the use of animation in music videos.

Survivor: Philippines (Hulu)

There are several old seasons of Survivor on Hulu. I watched a bit of the Philippines season, which featured the unbelievably hot Malcolm and the unbelievably obnoxious Abi-Maria. Along with Penner, RC, Russell, and a few others, this season featured some of the least likable castaways ever but it also featured Malcolm so it all worked out.

TV Party (Nightflight Plus)

I watched an old episode of this 80s public access program on Friday night. Chris Stein, of the band Blondie, led a small band in playing medieval music. Then a bunch of drunk people called the studio and threatened to beat him up.