Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/14/22 — 8/20/22

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I came home on Monday and I ended up spending most of the week making plans for our annual October horrorthon. So, I have not watched much. (Well, I have watched a lot of the Big Brother Live Feeds, I will admit to that.) Here’s a few thoughts on what little I did watch this week:

The Bachelorette (ABC, Monday Night)

Eh. Everyone went to Amsterdam and learned about sadomasochism. Considering that they’re voluntarily on a reality show, it would seem that should be something that they all should already know about. Logan was kicked off the show because he failed his COVID test. Gabby not only has better men than Rachel but she also gets to go on more interesting group dates. It’s just not the same without Meatball.

Better Call Saul (AMC, Monday Night)

Better Call Saul came to a close last night with one of the best finales that I’ve ever seen. As someone who spent this entire final season convinced that there was no way that Jimmy/Saul/Gene was going to still be alive at the end of the show, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when it turned out that everyone in prison knew who he was and loved him. It was a great wrap-up and here’s hoping that Bob Odernkirk finally gets his Saul Emmy.

Big Brother (CBS and Paramount+, All The Time)

Well, so much for the Leftovers! They were a fun alliance while it lasted but Kyle would rather get laid than actually win the game. What’s funny is that there’s no way Alyssa is going to be as interested in Kyle once they’re no longer locked in the House together and she actually has other options. This relationship is going to be almost as short as their sex sessions. (“I’m not very good at sex,” Kyle told her, after lasting 45 seconds. KYLE, YOU’RE ON THE LIVE FEEDS, SWEETHEART! YOUR MOM IS PROBABLY WATCHING!)

Thursday’s episode was two hours long and it turned out to be a disaster. I’m assuming that they were originally planning on doing a double eviction on Thursday but, for whatever reasons, they changed their minds at the last minute and basically had use every piece of filler they could find to fill out the time slot. Either way, most Big Brother viewers felt a bit betrayed by production this week.

I’m still writing about the show over at the Big Brother Blog.

The Challenge (CBS, Wednesday Night)

Well, so much for Kyland. With Kyland’s elimination, that means that all of the former members of the Cookout are not out of the Challenge and Alyssa is the last member standing of the Big Brother 23 cast. Myself, I’m hoping that Tyson wins. Why not? He represents an entertaining era of Survivor that I fear may be over now that the show seems to be determined to be “the nice reality show.” Go Tyson!

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

On Tuesday, I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis. YouTube warned me that this episode was “age-restricted,” which was not a warning that I had ever seen on this show before. Anyway, it turned out that the age-restriction was because Lewis and Hathaway found themselves investigating a series of BSDM-style murders. It was a bit of a sad episode, to be honest. Oxford is a dangerous place.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)

Oh, poor Beavis! He really does deserve a better best friend. This week’s episode found Beavis actually making a new friend but, unfortunately, the guy turned out to be even more obnoxious (if a bit more articulate) than Butt-Head. Beavis’s frantic efforts to get away from his new friend were hilarious. For that matter, I also laughed when Beavis and Butt-Head ended up getting stuck in a giant glue trap that they had set up to try to catch the racoons that were breaking into their kitchen. How are those two still alive?

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/7/22 — 8/13/22

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Being up at the lake this week, I haven’t watched a lot but here’s a few thoughts nonetheless.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Allo Allo was a bit weird this week and I think it’s because Sunday’s episode was the first episode of the show’s final season. Watching it, it was pretty obvious that the show’s writers and directors had run out of new ways to hide the painting and, for the first time, the show felt like it was kind of going through the motions. Apparently, the show’s star, Gorden Kaye, was in a very serious car accident before the 9th series was filmed and, when the episode started with Rene’s traditional recap, I couldn’t help but notice the very prominent scar on his forehead.

As for the episode, everyone in Nouvion knows that the Allies will be invading at any minute. The Resistance is awaiting liberation. The Germans are making plans to flee. (And, because Richard Gibson declined to return to the role, Herr Flick has had plastic surgery.) Officer Crabtree still cannot speak French. And Rene has been abducted by the communist resistance.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

The dates in Bruges were wonderfully romantic and I loved the fireworks display that ended Aven and Rachel’s date. But then it was time for the Rose Ceremony and …. Boooooo! Meatball did not get a rose. I’m over this season.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

This week, Bob Odenkirk and Carol Burnett proved themselves to be dramatic powerhouses. With Kim telling Jimmy to turn himself in and Howard’s wife now having the true details of Howard’s downfall, it’s slightly frightening to think of where this is all going to end up leading. There’s only one episode left and I’ve pretty much given up on Jimmy/Saul/Gene getting a happy ending out of this.

Big Brother (All Week, CBS and Paramount+)

Seeing Daniel, one of the most annoying houseguests in the history of the show, get voted out really made my week. For those of us who are still angry over the way the show catered to bullies like Paul during season 19 and Jackson during season 21, this latest season of Big Brother has been cathartic. I’ve actually been enjoying writing about it over at the Big Brother Blog.

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Derek X. became the latest cast member of Big Brother 23 to get eliminated from the show. For all the talk about how strong the cast of Big Brother 23 was, they kind of suck at The Challenge.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

The first episode featured Michelle graduating from preschool. Jesse took it upon himself to turn Michelle and her classmates into a band called …. I am not kidding — Jesse’s Little Rippers. They performed a horrific rendition of Twist and Shout. Could no one tell Jesse that not everything was about him and his lameass band? The second episode featured Aunt Becky discovering she was pregnant and worrying that this might make it difficult for Jesse to go on tour with the Rippers and …. well, I’m not going to repeat myself. Seriously, everyone deserved better.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

A gossip website led to multiple murders in Oxford. Lewis was stunned to discover the Internet could be such a dangerous place. Hathaway towered over everyone else on the show.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

Beavis and Butthead nearly died twice in the latest episode of their show. First, they got trapped on a roof. Then they got trapped on a piece of wood that sailed out to sea. Actually, they were still stranded when the show ended so they might be dead now. That’d be a shame. They really don’t seem to mean as much harm as they cause.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

Granville painted something silly on the window of the shop so Arkwright beat him up in the stockroom. Then the milk delivery came by and Nurse Gladys Emmanuel pulled up in a hearse or something. I don’t know, it was a weird episode.

Book Review: “My Ox is Broken!” Roadblocks, Detours, Fast Forwards and Other Great Moments from Tv’s ‘the Amazing Race’ by Adam-Troy Castro

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I will be the first to admit that I probably watch too much reality television.

Of course, I will also defend myself by saying that I don’t watch as much as I used to. I limit myself now. The Bachelor, the Bachelorette, and Bachelor In Paradise are the only dating shows that I still watch and I have to admit that I find them less and less interesting with each passing season. (Some of that, to be honest, is because I cringe whenever I see people talking about the “Bachelor Nation.” Just because I watch the same show as you doesn’t mean that I want to come over to your house and watch you get drunk on box wine.) I still watch Survivor but I have yet to watch any episodes of the Hulu Kardashian show. The only reason that I recently watched Selling Sunset was because I was checking out the shows that had been submitted to the Emmys. I haven’t really been emotionally involved with Big Brother for a while now, though I do still write about it because I love my readers.

That said, I still absolutely love The Amazing Race and I make no apologies for that.

The premise behind The Amazing Race has always been a simple one. Teams of two are sent on a race around the world. During each leg of the race, they have to complete tasks before they can continue on their journey. At the end of each leg is a pit stop. Finish first and you’ll get a prize. Finish last and you’ll probably be eliminated from the race. Each season has featured little tweaks to the formula but the basics have always remained the same, which is one reason why The Amazing Race‘s fans have remained loyal to it for over 22 years.

What is the appeal of The Amazing Race? It’s more than just seeing who wins and who loses. It’s seeing how the teams, who always start out very confident, handle being outside of their comfort zone. I’ve lost track of how many athletic, cocky teams were eliminated from the race because they failed to properly communicate with their taxi driver. How many teams have gone from being in first place to being dead last just because their flight was delayed? The most recent season of the Amazing Race was actually put on hold due to COVID quarantines. Filming stopped in 2020 and then resumed over a year later, with the remaining teams returning to their last pit stop. The Amazing Race is unpredictable and it takes exactly the right mix of athleticism, intelligence, confidence, and luck to survive it. The Amazing Race is about skill and communicating and seeing the world and I absolutely love it. A good deal of the Race’s popularity is also due to host Phil Keoghan, who actually seems to be sincerely invested in the racers and their journey. That’s quiet a contrast to most reality competition hosts. Just as snarky Jeff Probst was the perfect host for Survivor (or, at least, he was before he decided to get all weepy and sincere these past few seasons), Phil Keoghan is the perfect host for The Amazing Race.

My Ox is Broken! is a perfect companion to The Amazing Race. Admittedly, the book was published in 2006 and, as a result, it only covers the first 9 seasons of the Race. But those were some truly great seasons and reading the book today is a wonderful way to relive the excitement of Rob and Amber going from dominating Survivor to nearly winning The Amazing Race, Colin and Christie narrowly losing the fifth season, and the dysfunctional couples who made up the sixth season. Author Adam-Troy Castro takes a look at everything that made those first 9 seasons so much fun and he’s also honest about the show’s occasional missteps. Full of recaps, interviews, and lists (you know how much I love lists!), this book is an essential for anyone who loves the Race.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/31/22 — 8/6/22

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, I watched a lot of old TV shows this week. I was doing some work around the office and the retro channels always seem to keep me focused.

Here are this week’s thoughts on what I saw!

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Fortunately, the attempted execution of Rene and Edith failed and they were safely returned to Nouvion. Unfortunately, before they got back to their café, the Resistance attempted to run the business and thoroughly screwed things up. Meanwhile, realizing that the war not going particularly well for them, the German occupiers made plans to leave France and perhaps relocate some place with a warmer climate. While all of this went on, Officer Crabtree continued to wish everyone a “Good Moaning,” because Officer Crabtree was a professional.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

This week’s episode was extremely awkward to watch, with Rachel feeling insecure when compared to Gabby and the bachelors themselves not being particularly sensitive about the situation, but at least Meatball was given a second chance. Seriously, this entire franchise will be redeemed if Rachel ends up getting engaged, even if it’s just temporarily, to Meatball.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

I am so worried about what’s going to happen to Jimmy/Saul/Gene! During this week’s episode, we flashed back to Saul first meeting Walt and Jesse and then we flash forwarded to Gene treating Buddy and Jeff in much the same way that Walt used to treat Jesse. Especially after Gene’s phone call to Kim, I’m starting to worry that Gene is becoming just as self-destructive as Walt was at the end of Breaking Bad. Considering that there’s only a few episodes left before this show ends, that’s not a good development for those of us who are hoping that Jimmy/Saul/Gene gets some sort of a happy ending.

Big Brother 24 (Everyday, CBS and Paramount+)

I’m writing about the latest, surprisingly entertaining season of Big Brother at the Big Brother Blog! This week, Nicole was voted out and proved to be as delusional on her way out and she was on her way in. Even after Julie Chen explained to her why she had been targeted and voted out, Nicole still didn’t get it.

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

This week, yet another former member of Big Brother 23‘s Cookout was eliminated. Azah is out of the game, leaving Kyland as the last member of the Cookout standing. Considering what happened when Kyland was voted out of the Big Brother House, it somehow seems cosmically appropriate that he’s managed to survive the Challenge while the other members of his former alliance have been eliminated. That said, I hope Derek X. wins the show.

CHiPs (Weekday Afternoons, Charge TV)

I watched two episodes of this 70s motorcycle cop show on Monday. Both episodes were pretty much the same. There was a big accident on the freeway. There was a lot of motorcycle cop action. There was some pretty California scenery. The bass-driven theme song is the main thing that I remember about the two episodes. The show was bland but the music was great.

Diff’Rent Strokes (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

Diff’Rent Strokes is one of those old sitcoms that I’ve heard a lot about but I’ve never really watched, just because everything I’ve ever heard about it just made it sound like a pretty stupid viewing experience. That said, I did need some background noise on Monday so, when I saw that the show was now on Rewind TV, I decided to catch two episodes.

In the first episode, old Mr. Drummond attempted to go camping with his new stepson but things got complicated when his stepson’s biological father also decided to tag along. In the second episode, Mr. Drummond decided to do the Undercover Boss thing by working in one of his factories. He discovered that he wasn’t popular with his workers and that he needed to pay them more. Surprisingly, no one saw through his disguise, despite the fact that it only consisted of a fake mustache that didn’t even match his hair color. It was all pretty dumb. For a rich man, Mr. Drummond lived in a really boring penthouse. Like seriously, if you’re that rich, update your décor.

Family Ties (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

I used two episodes of this very 80s sitcom for background noise on Monday. On the first episode, Elyse (the mother of the family at the center of the show) was struggling with her conscience about whether or not she should fire a recently divorced but extremely annoying employee. It was kind of obvious that Elyse needed to fire her but Elysa was a former hippie and, as a result, had no idea how to wield authority. On the second episode, an impossibly young Michael J. Fox had to babysit his bratty younger sister. He took her to a poker game. She got annoyed with being treated like an afterthought and wandered off. Luckily, everything worked out in the end and lessons were learned all around.

Fantasy Island (Monday Morning, GetTV)

I watched two episodes of the original Fantasy Island on Monday morning but I have to admit that I was half-asleep during both of them.

The first episode featured two fantasies. In the serious fantasy, a jazz trumpeter went back in time to New Orleans so that he could play with his idols. In the comedic fantasy, a woman and the two men who were in love with her got stranded on an island in the Bermuda Triangle. The goofier of the two men was played by football player Joe Namath. His performance here was better than his performance in C.C. and Company but not by much.

In the second episode, the main fantasy dealt with a private detective who wanted to solve a case with Humphrey Bogart. The guy playing Bogart did a passable imitation. The other fantasy featured Michelle Phillips as a woman who wanted to be “the most famous equestrian in history.” She thought this would mean that she would be famous but instead, the Island took her words literally and she was transformed into Lady Godiva. First off, why did the island take her words literally when it didn’t do that for anyone else? And secondly, is Lady Godiva really the most famous equestrian in history? Oh well, the important thing is that everyone learned a lesson.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

I watched two episodes of this show on Sunday and I’m sure I lost at least two brain cells as a result. The first episode featured Uncle Joey auditioning to be the voice of a cartoon chipmunk or something like that. Frankie Avalon was the episode’s special guest star. Remember Frankie’s cameo in Casino? “I have 8 children. It was my pleasure.” This was followed by an episode in which Aunt Becky told Danny that DJ was sneaking out of the house to hook up with her boyfriend. DJ got mad and said, “I thought you were my friend!” Poor DJ. I don’t blame her for wanting to escape the Full House.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Mornings, Start TV)

I watched an episode on Monday. Melinda was (understandably) concerned that Aiden was now seeing and talking to ghosts. When the ghost of a girl who had recently died of Leukemia insisted on taking Aiden on a journey through town, Melinda had to track them down and find out what the girl wanted. Fortunately, since this was Ghost Whisperer and not Medium, things worked themselves out.

Hart to Hart (Monday Morning, GetTV)

In this very 80s detective show, a fabulously rich married couple (played by Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers) traveled the world, spent a lot of money, and occasionally solved mysteries. Their loyal chauffer was Max, played by the gravelly voiced Lionel Stander.

I watched two episodes of Monday morning. In the first episode, the Harts were taking part in a car race in Greece. A Greek tycoon wanted to kill off Jonathan Hart so that he could take over Jonathan Hart Industries. Fortunately, he didn’t succeed. If he had, I imagine they would have had to change the title of the show. The second episode featured a mysterious woman who claimed to Jennifer Hart’s half-sister. Needless to say, Jonathan did some investigating and it turned out that there was more to the story.

Anyway, the two episodes that I saw were kind of dull plotwise but I did enjoy the show’s shameless celebration of money and glamour. It was all very 80s.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched an episode with my TV Mysteries friends on Tuesday night. A buried body was discovered. Hathaway and Lewis investigated. Lewis was in a notably cranky mood in this episode and even dismissively referred to one woman as being “Miss Marple.” My theory is that Lewis had a drinking problem. Usually, Hathaway was able to cover for him but this week, Lewis just lost control.

King of the Hill (Hubi)

Early Friday morning, I watched the episode in which Hank and his undefeated softball team took an exhibition game against the Ace of Diamonds and His Jewels just a bit too seriously. “Believe to achieve.”

Kojak (Monday Morning, GetTV)

Kojak is a show from the 70s, about a bald homicide detective who calls people baby and who sucks on lollipops. Kojak was played by Telly Savalas, who was also Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the Devil in Lisa and the Devil.

The episode that I watched on Monday morning was the first episode that I had ever actually seen of this show, though I had read about it in the past. In this episode, Ruth Gordon played a psychic who had been having dreams in which she saw women being murdered. Luckily, Kojak was there to eventually capture the killer. Neither Gordon nor Savalas were particularly subtle performers and, in this episode, they both seemed to enjoy competing to see who could best steal every scene that they shared. Add to that, the killer was played by Andy Robinson, who also played Scorpio in Dirty Harry. It was kind of entertaining to watch.

Magnum P.I. (Weekday Mornings, Charge TV)

On Monday, I watched an episode of the original 80s Magnum, P.I. Magnum’s friend T.C. was in a coma. Magnum had to figure out why T.C.’s helicopter crashed. Luckily, the mystery was solved and everyone survived. The Hawaiian scenery was lovely.

Medium (Weekday Morning, Start TV)

On Monday’s episode, Allison had a dream about a courtroom shooting and also discovered that she wasn’t the only psychic offering up her abilities to the legal system.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)

I watched the first two episodes of this show on Thursday night, immediately after the Nicole eviction on Big Brother. I laughed and I cringed. Beavis and Butt-Head don’t look like they use deodorant so that worries me. You can read Jeff’s review of the show here!

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

It’s been a few months since I last watched Open All Hours. I checked it out this week. Arkwright was cheating his customers and Granville was consumed with resentment.

Traffik (DVD)

I watched Traffik on Wednesday and Thursday and I wrote about it here.

Miniseries Review: Traffik (dir by Alistair Reid)

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

First aired in 1989 and running a total of six episodes, Traffik is a British miniseries that takes a look at the War on Drugs.

British minister Jack Lithgow (Bill Paterson) has negotiated a treaty with Pakistan. The UK will send increased aide to Pakistan if the government will crack down on the heroin trade. In theory, it sounds like a good idea. Pakistan will get extra cash while joining the effort to stop the flow of heroin into Europe. In reality, it harms the poor farmers in Pakistan. After soldiers destroy his village’s poppy fields, Fazal (Jamal Shah) is left with no way to support his family. He travels to the city, where he gets a job with drug lord Tariq Butt (Talat Hussain). It’s a job that Fazal has to take in order to feed his family but it’s also a job that puts his family’s safety at risk.

After the heroin in processed in Pakistan, it is smuggled into Europe by men like Karl Rosshalde (Juraj Kukura), a German businessman whose company is a front for his operations. When two German police detectives (Fritz Müller-Scherz and Tilo Prückner) arrest Jacques (Peter Lakenmacher), one of Karl’s couriers, it looks like Karl might finally being going to prison. However, Karl’s British wife, Helen (Lindsay Duncan), proves herself to be just a ruthless as he was when it comes to running his operations.

Even with Karl on trial, the drug trade continues. The heroin that is processed in Pakistan and smuggled through Germany eventually ends up in the UK, where it is used to by Caroline (a very young Julia Ormond), the teenage daughter of Jack Lithgow. When Caroline runs away from home, Jack searches the streets and back alleys of London and, for the first time, he starts to understand the futility of Europe’s war on drugs.

If Traffik sounds familiar, that’s because it served as the basis for Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 film, Traffic. When I watched Traffik this week, I was actually surprised to see how closely Soderbergh’s film stuck to the plot of the miniseries. The only difference, beyond shifting the action from Europe to North America, is that Soderbergh replaced the farmer’s storyline with a story involving Benicio del Toro as a Mexican policeman. That’s a bit of shame, actually. Traffic is one of my favorite Soderbergh films but it is a bit cop-heavy. The people who actually do the day-to-day work in the drug trade, as opposed to the drug lords, aren’t really represented in Soderbergh’s film. As the British miniseries shows, people like Fazal end up working in the drug trade not because they’re evil but because they literally have no other choice. It’s either work for someone like Tariq or starve to death.

As I mentioned earlier, Traffic is one of my favorite Soderbergh films. Considering that I usually find Soderbergh’s films to be hit-or-miss, it’s actually kind of remarkable just how effective Traffic is. The original miniseries, however, is superior to the film in every way. Some of that is because the miniseries has six hours to explore its world whereas Soderbergh had to cram a lot of incidents into 147 minutes. Beyond that, the miniseries succeeds because director Alistair Reid takes a straight-foward, no frills approach to telling his story. Even at his best, Soderbergh has a tendency to be a bit pretentious. Even though Traffic deals with real-life issues, it never allows you to forget that you’re watching a film. Traffik, on the other hand, tells its story with an almost documentary-style immediacy. One need only compare the scenes where Bill Paterson searches for Julia Ormond in Traffik to the scenes where Michael Douglas searches for Erika Christensen in Traffic to see not only the differences between Reid and Soderbergh’s style but also to see why Reid’s more gritty style works better for the story that’s being told. Whereas Soderbergh can’t resist framing Christensen with a blonde halo when she’s finally rescued by Douglas, Traffik leaves little doubt that Ormond has been through Hell and that, even if she does eventually beat her addictions, she’ll be carrying the scars of her experience for the rest of her life. Whereas Traffic ended on a note of hope, Traffik ends with the realization that there is no perfect solution.

Traffic and Traffik are both good looks at the destructiveness of both drug abuse and the efforts to treat drug addiction as a crime. Both are worth watching.

Here’s The Trailer For Cars On The Road

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Cars is the only PIXAR franchise that has never made me cry. This is largely because it’s about talking cars. It’s easy for me to get emotionally worked up over toys fearing that they’ll be forgotten or WALL-E losing its personality and returning to collecting trash. Don’t even get me started on some of the emotional trauma that I suffered from UP and Inside Out. But Cars …. I mean, I know that cars don’t talk to each other so it’s difficult for me to get too emotionally involved in their issues. In PIXAR’s defense, though, the Cars films have always been pretty honest about the fact that they’re just meant to be silly fun. No one is going to mistake Cars for Toy Story but then again, PIXAR has never asked anyone to.

Cars on the Road is the latest entry in the franchise. This original series will be premiering on Disney Plus on September 8th. Here’s the trailer:

Here’s The Trailer for Star Wars: Andor

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The upcoming Disney+ original series, Star Wars: Andor, is a prequel to Rogue One, which was itself the fourth prequel to Star Wars: A New Hope. If Andor is a success, I’m sure it will lead to another prequel and then a prequel to that and then a prequel to that and eventually, we’ll have a Star Wars series that takes place right before the Big Bang.

(As you may have guessed from the tone of that last paragraph, I’m a bit skeptical of prequels in general. It’s rare that they’re ever worth the trouble. Better Call Saul is really the only prequel that I can I think of that actually enriches the experience of watching the show from which it was spun off.)

Anyway, Star Wars: Andor will be available to stream on September 21st. Here’s the trailer:

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/24/22 — 7/30/22

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It was a good week. I got my car inspected, I watched a lot of Big Brother, and I worried about very little.

Here’s a few thought on my week in television:

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Once again, Rene and Edith found themselves in front of a firing squad. This seemed to happen fairly frequently in Nouvion. Of course, they were only being executed because the Communist Resistance thought they were actually Hitler and Goering. No, it didn’t make any sense but that’s the charm of this show.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

Things got a bit awkward this week when it was announced that the remaining bachelors would have to decide whether or not they were there for Rachel or Gabby. With everyone flocking to Gabby, Rachel found herself struggling to find anyone willing to take her rose. Let’s just hope that she agrees to let Meatball come back. Of course, even if Rachel doesn’t give Meatball a second chance to accept her rose, I imagine we’ll see him again on every future season of Bachelor in Paradise….

I can only imagine how weird those sentences read to anyone who doesn’t watch the show.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul was brilliant this week, giving us a look at what Jimmy’s life is like now that he is “Gene” and he’s a Cinnabon manager. On the one hand, it was nice to see that Jimmy hasn’t lost his edge. He’s still the smartest guy in the room and he’s knows it. On the other hand, even in triumph, Jimmy was a bit of a pathetic character. He may have won but he couldn’t celebrate his victory.

There’s only a few episodes left. Will they all be in black-and-white? Will we learn Jimmy’s ultimate fate? Actually, do we want to know Jimmy’s fate? As clever as he is, it’s hard to imagine this story ending well for him.

Big Brother 24 (Everyday, CBS and Paramount Plus)

Wow, this was actually a good week of Big Brother! Finally, Taylor has an alliance! Finally, we got a true blindside! Finally, the show is no longer hiding the truly over-the-top bullying that’s been going on inside the House! For once, the feeds are actually worth paying for and the Casuals actually got to see how terribly some of the people in the House have behaved. (Looking at you, Daniel.)

Of course, this won’t mean anything to you if you don’t watch or like or know about Big Brother. And that’s okay. It’s not a show for everyone and I’m sure that CBS will find a way to screw up all the fun because that’s kind of what they do. But for now, this season is actually entertaining and I’m actually enjoying writing about it over at the Big Brother Blog!

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

For those of us who remember what happened during Big Brother 23, this was an interesting episode to watch. On Big Brother, Xavier engineered Kyland’s eviction and the two of them nearly came to blows before Kyland left the House. It was seriously one of the most awkward eviction episodes either. (Kyland went as far as to say that Xavier’s nephew would be ashamed of the example he was setting.) On The Challenge, Kyland (along with Alyssa) was pretty much responsible for sending Xavier (and Shan) to the challenge that resulted in Xavier being eliminated from the game. You have to wonder what will happen when the two of them inevitably end up getting selected for the next all-star season of Big Brother.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

On the first episode, Stephanie was pressure to throw the little league game. In the second episode, Michelle kept calling Tokyo on the family’s landline and presumably costing Danny a fortune. (I doubt Joey, Jesse, or even Becky ever bothered to help pay the bills around the Full House.) No one really got upset about Michelle being a brat because, as far as I can tell, they were all totally terrified of Michelle.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on Tuesday. Someone was using LSD and arsenic to commit murders in Oxford. One of the unfortunate victims was named Elmo. Among me and my friends, many Sesame Street jokes were made.

Saved By The Bell (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

The first episode I watched featured the Bayside High Class of ’92 finally graduating! Screech stepped aside so that Jessie could be valedictorian. The gang ruined the school’s ballet so that Zack could earn the last credit that he needed to graduate. To top it all off, Zack got to give the graduation speech because Jessie announced that Screech was actually valedictorian and then Screech announced that no one wanted to hear from him as long as Zack was in the auditorium. Screech was probably right but still….

This was followed by an episode set in the “future,” in which the Class of ’02 watched a videotape featuring the Class of ’92. It was a clip episode and lazy even by the standards of the original Saved By The Bell.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/17/22 — 7/23/22

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This was a relax and get healthy sort of week for me. I didn’t watch much but I enjoyed what I watched.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

I finally got a chance to check back in with Allo Allo this week, having missed the last few episodes due to my focus on the potential Emmy nominees. To my shock, I discovered that both the Italians and the British airmen had left Nouvion. The war continued however, with both the communist Resistance and the other Resistance trying to capture Lt. Gruber and Col. Von Strom under the impression that they were actually Hitler and Goering. It was all a bit complicated, to be honest. Michelle has become my favorite character because “I shall repeat this only once” is just a badass way to start a conversation.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

As long as the “meatball enthusiast” makes it to the end, this will be a successful season. I don’t know, I think I liked this franchise more before everyone started talking about “Bachelor Nation” and all that nonsense. Now that everyone’s in on the joke, it’s just not as much fun.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Kim left Jimmy and Jimmy finally appears to have completed his transformation into Saul Goodman. To be honest, this is how I always figured the final episode of Better Call Saul would go. However, there’s still four episodes left in the series. Now, it wouldn’t surprise me if the final episode deal with Jimmy’s life after fleeing New Mexico but what’s going to happen in the other three?

Big Brother (All week, CBS and Paramount Plus)

What a week for Big Brother fans! Due to the Congressional hearings (which have been a bit hit on Twitter but apparently nowhere else), Thursday’s live eviction show was preempted. At first, CBS said that Big Brother would instead air on Friday. Then, for some reason, they decided to just do a two-hour special on Sunday. CBS also initially announced that the feeds would be down for four days, from Thursday until after Sunday’s show. After the people who actually pay money to have those feeds complained, CBS relented and the feeds come back on Thursday night …. which, of course, now means that everyone knows what is going to happen on Sunday. It’s just another example of what a disorganized mess this season has been so far.

So, we all know that Pooch (yes, that was his name) was voted out of the house and that Turner (yes, that’s his name) is the new HoH. And we know that Michael and Brittany are on the block and the plan is to backdoor Taylor. Hey, I don’t have to watch the show on Sunday now!

Anyway, I wrote about all of this at the Big Brother Blog. I was kind of looking forward to having four days off, to be honest with you….

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Go, Tyson, go! Sorry, I’m still struggling to get into this show but Tyson’s a Survivor so I’ll cheer for him.

City Homicide (Weekday Nights, DigiTV)

This is an Australian show that I discovered on Thursday, when I came across it on DigiTV. Basically, it’s CSI, just with Australians instead of Americans. The episode that I watched dealt with a murder at a public school.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Having married Aunt Becky, Jesse attempted to move out of the Full House. Michelle demanded that Jesse return so, of course, that’s what Jesse did and Becky cheerfully agreed to spend the rest of her life living in the attic and helping Danny raise his daughters. This was followed by an episode where Michelle gave her pet goldfish a bath and KILLED it! I’m sorry, Michelle was a little demon child.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Afternoons, Start TV)

I watched an episode of Ghost Whisperer on Monday. It had been a while since I last watched this show. As much as I love Ghost Whisperer, I was a little bit disappointed to discover that Monday’s episode was from that really weird story arc where Jim died but then possessed someone else’s body. This particular episode ended with Jim coming back to life but I have to admit that, for the rest of the series, I was always confused as to whether or not everyone knew he was Jim or if they thought he was Sam. That said, I still enjoyed watching the episode because it was Ghost Whisperer.

Medium (Weekday Afternoons, Start TV)

On Monday, after watching Ghost Whisperer, I watched an episode of Medium, which was basically the super serious version of Ghost Whisperer. The medium (played by Patricia Arquette) found out that her brother had psychic powers as well! Medium was never quite as much fun as Ghost Whisperer but Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber were an adorable couple.

The MLB All-Star Game (Tuesday Night, AMC)

I watched this very long baseball game with my sister, mostly as a way of making up for making her watch a film called Blood Game two weeks ago. Her team won so I was happy for her, even though I wish both teams could have won. Everyone should be a winner!

Comic-Con 2022: Here’s The Trailer For The Finale of The Walking Dead

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As long as I’m sharing Walking Dead-related trailers, here’s the trailer for the final few episodes of the original The Walking Dead!

This dropped yesterday but, again, I was overwhelmed by the cuteness of I am Groot and I’m only now getting around to posting this non-Groot related teaser.