Tag Archives: television

Horror on TV: Friday the 13th: The Series 1.5 “Hellowe’en” (dir by Timothy Bond)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of Friday the 13th: The Series is a Halloween episode!

For some reason, Ryan and Micki decide that it would be a good idea to throw a Halloween party in a cursed antique store.  Unfortunately, their evil Uncle Lewis is determined to return from Hell and what better time to do that than on the greatest holiday of them all!?

This episode is distinguished by the presence of the great character actor R.G. Armstrong, going totally over-the-top as Lewis and having a lot of fun while doing it!  Something to keep an eye on during the Halloween party are the costumes.  You’ll see a lot of sheets and leotards.  You won’t see many familiar characters, largely because it would have cost money to feature any of them.  That’s not a complaint, though.  Personally, I like it when people make their own Halloween costumes, as opposed to just copying whatever’s popular.

This episode originally aired on October 26th, 1987.

Lisa’s Week In Television: 9/26/21 — 10/2/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

If it seems like I watched an excessive amount of old TV shows this week, that’s because I did.  While I was working this week, I kept the TV turned to the retro channels.  The only exception to that rule was on Friday when I watched three daytime dramas.  For the most part, these shows served as background noise while I was making plan for this year’s Horrorthon but, at the same time, I have to admit that I do kind of like occasionally watching the old TV shows.  I’m a history nerd and, at their best, those shows are like stepping into a time machine and seeing the way people used to dress, talk, and, for better or worse, think.

This week also saw the end of Big Brother, which means that I can now devote all of my time to horror films.  Yay!

With all that in mind, here’s my week in television:

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

With the Germans and the Italians holding a conference to determine their plans for invading England, it falls on Rene to discover their plans to send that information to the Resistance, via the use of a homing duck.  Yes, a duck.  There’s probably worse ways to do it, to be honest.  I know that the ducks in our neighborhood are pretty resilient.  Needless to say, Rene complained quite a bit but still did what he had to do.

Bachelor in Paradise (Tuesday Night, ABC)

Ivan had to leave the show because he snuck out of his room during lockdown and tried to see one of the future contestants.  This show certainly does have a lot of rules for something that is essentially just a second-rate knock-off of Paradise Hotel.

Bewitched (Weekday Afternoon, Antenna TV)

I watched two episodes of this classic sitcom while doing some work around the office on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, both episodes were from the Dick Sargent years.  (I prefer the episodes with Dick York’s hapless Darrin to the episodes that feature Dick Sargent flying into a rage every few minutes.)  The first episode features Sarena causing trouble, which was fun.  The second episode featured Endora casting a hex on Darrin, which was fun if just because Darrin was such a pain in the ass that he certainly deserved it.

Big Brother (24/7, Paramount Plus and CBS)

It’s over!  I wrote about the show and big finale over at the Big Brother Blog!

The Bold and the Beautiful (Weekday Afternoons, CBS)

Last year, when the COVID lockdowns first kicked in, I got sucked back into the world of the daytime dramas.  However, up until this week, it had been a few months since I had watched any of them.  I guess I just got bored with them.  That said, this Friday, I decided to check in with a few of them, just to see what was going on.

The Bold and the Beautiful remains my favorite, just because it’s so self-aware and intentionally over the top.  This Friday’s episode featured a lot of people having heated discussions and it was fun to watch.  The drama, the eye rollings, the flaring nostrils, the little smirks — Hell, I might have to start setting the DVR for these shows again!

CHiPs (Weekday Afternoon, Charge!)

I watched two episodes of this 70s cop show on Thursday.  The show itself was pretty bland but the California scenery was lovely and that opening theme music really gets stuck in your head.  They knew how to work a bassline in the 70s.

Cold Case (Weekday Afternoon, Start TV)

Remember this show?  Cold Case followed the adventures of Lily (Kathryn Morris), the deathly pale cold case detective who never seemed to wash her hair.  On Wednesday, I watched an episode in which Lily and the cold case squad investigated the murder of a woman who made a tape for a dating service shortly before her death.  As always, the show started off on an interesting note but then got unbearable once Lily and the gang started doing their thing.

Crossing Jordan (Weekday Afternoons, Start TV)

On this crime show, Jill Hennessy played Jordan, a coroner who investigated crimes for some reason.  This was one of those overly quirky crime shows that aired in the aughts, so naturally Jordan has a crew of odd co-workers and a potential boyfriend played by Jerry O’Connell.  Fortunately, Miguel Ferrer was also on the show, lending it all some much needed gravitas.

I watched two episodes on Wednesday.  In the first one, Jordan researched the darkest corners of the internet.  (GASP!)  It was interesting to watch, just because the episode was made before Twitter and Facebook really became things.  This was followed by an episode in which Jordan investigate the death of corporal who had gone AWOL from Afghanistan.  Crossing Jordan was always at its worst when it tried to be political.

Considering how annoying I found this show to be, both during its original run and in reruns, I’m kind of surprised I watched two episodes.  Was I just too lazy to change the channel?  It’s possible.

CSI: Miami (Weekday Mornings, Charge!)

I don’t care what anyone says.  Between David Caruso putting on the sunglasses and Emily Proctor’s Southern accent, CSI: Miami was the best of the various CSIs.  I watched two episodes on Thursday.  The first one dealt with a man who died at a race track and it was okay but kind of forgettable.  The second one dealt with the mysterious world of the internet and there’s nothing I love more than when CSI: Miami explores the dark web!  While the team explored the internet, Horatio protected his niece from a killer and did that thing where he delivered one-liners in an extremely serious voice.  It was fun!

Dennis The Menace (Weekday Afternoons, Antenna TV)

Dennis the Menace?  More like Dennis the sociopath!  I watched two episodes on Tuesday.  When Dennis wasn’t harassing Mr. Wilson, he was making everyone else’s life a living Hell.  GO AWAY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

Getting to discover old shows like this is one of the truly fun things about our annual horrorthon at TSL.

General Hospital (Weekday Afternoons, ABC)

Oh my God, Sonny might still be alive!  On Friday, I watched this show for the first time in months and I was immediately reminded of why I love General Hospital, despite the fact that I find the title to be misleading.  The show features nonstop drama, much of it revolving around gangsters named Sonny who know how to fake their own death.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Mornings, Start TV)

As I’ve written in the past, I love Ghost Whisperer!  The episode that I watched on Wednesday featured a ghost leading Melinda to a munitions dump that was full of unexploded bombs.  I don’t believe in ghosts but, if they did exist, I would hope they would be willing to confide in me as easily as they do Melinda.

I Dream of Jeannie (Weekday Afternoons, Antenna TV)

I watched two episodes of this old show on Tuesday, while I was doing some work around the office.  The first episode featured Jeannie’s sister trying to steal away Major Nelson.  The 2nd featured a con artist (played by Milton Berle) trying to outsmart Jeannie! Oh no!  The 2nd episode took place in Hawaii, which was nice.  I loved visiting Hawaii.

Hazel (Weekday Mornings, Antenna TV)

Hazel is an old sitcom about a live-in maid who insists on trying to run everyone’s life.  On Tuesday, I had the TV in the office tuned to Antenna TV and, as a result, two episodes of Hazel served as background noise while I worked.  In one episode, Hazel’s employer was convinced that the neighbors were interfering with his TV reception.  In the second episode, Hazel came to the defense of a friend who was accused of being a corporate spy.  I felt bad for Hazel, who apparently didn’t have much of a life outside of work.

Knight Rider (Weekday Afternoons, Charge!)

I’ve often heard of this old show but Thursday was the first time that I ever watched an episode.  In fact, I watched two episodes.  Youngish David Hasselhoff driving a car that talks in the voice of Mr. Feeney?  What’s not to love!?  Actually, to be honest, it seemed like the type of show that would get pretty boring once the novelty wore off.  The car was cool, though.  The first episode featured the Hoff and the car saving a building from detonation.  The second found the Hoff driving the car in a race and protecting a journalist.  In both cases, everything turned out for the best.

McHale’s Navy (Weekday Mornings, Antenna TV)

This was an old sitcom about a bunch of sailors in the Navy.  It was obviously made at a time when America was not at war because you wouldn’t trust any of these people to be able to handle a combat situation.  Ernest Borgnine played the McHale of the title.  I had the show on for background noise while I was doing some work around the office on Tuesday.  Antenna TV aired two episodes but I didn’t pay much attention to either one.  One featured a chimpanzee.  The other featured McHale trying to run a beauty contest.  Ernest Borgnine seemed to be having fun.

Medium (Weekday Afternoon, Start TV)

Medium was the serious version of Ghost Whisperer, starring Patricia Arquette instead of Jennifer Love Hewitt.  It will always be interesting to me that Patricia basically spent the first decade of this century starring in Medium and filming Boyhood on the weekends.  Anyway, Medium was always a bit too dour for me but Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber both gave good performance every week that the show aired.  It was a show for grown-ups, one that unfortunately aired when I was anything but.

Start TV always shows Medium after Ghost Whisperer, which makes it impossible not to compare the two shows.  On Wednesday, I watched an episode in which Patricia developed a sensitivity to light.  She started wearing sunglasses but whenever she put them on, everyone that she saw would have a number on their head that states how many days they have left to live.  AGCK!  Actually, by Medium standards, this was a fun episode.

Moone Boy (Sunday Night, PBS)

PBS’s airing of Moone Boy came to a touching end with two final episodes on Sunday.  The first featured Dessie trying to open a Catholic book shop.  It soon became popular with people of all religions, including Scientologists!  The second episode featured the death of Martin’s grandfather and the return of his grandfather’s imaginary friend, George Gershwin (played by Paul Rudd).  It was the a very, very sweet episode, one that took an honest but humorous look at aging, maturing, and death.  The final scene brought tears to my mismatched eyes,  What a good show!  I’m glad I got to see it.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

I didn’t really pay much attention to this episode but I’m pretty sure a dog ordered Granville to go on a rampage.  I’m a little bit worried about Granville, to be honest.  He seems to let things get to him.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

You can read my thoughts on the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Talking Dead was a bit bland this week, which was a shame considering how good the latest episode of The Walking Dead was.  For the record, the guests were superfan Yvette Nicole Brown and, via satellite, Lauren Ridloff.

That Girl (Weekday Afternoons, Antenna TV)

On Tuesday afternoon, I had the TV in the office tuned to Antenna TV, largely because I had a lot of work to do and retro sitcoms are often the perfect background noise.  Among the shows that aired were two episodes of That Girl, which is a show that I had heard of but never watched before.  Marlo Thomas plays Anne Marie, an actress.  I appreciated the fact that Anne and I share a middle name.

Anyway, I didn’t really pay much attention to the two episodes that aired.  I had a lot of work to get done.  The first episode featured Anne dealing with a potential audit from the IRS and it was nice to see that people in the 70s hated the IRS as much as I hate them right now.  The second episode featured Anne Marie trying to encourage a singer who was planning on becoming a nun.  In both cases, everything worked out for the best.

Three’s Company (Weekday Afternoons, Antenna TV)

I watched two episodes of this very 70s sitcom on Tuesday.  I should admit that I only had it on for background noise while I was finishing up some work so I didn’t pay much attention to it.  I’ve seen a few episodes of this show over the year and I’ve never really seen the appeal.  I’m just like, “Just explain what really happened and get on with your life!”

Anyway, the first episode features James Cromwell — yes, that James Cromwell — as a vice cop who thought Chrissy was a prostitute so he came back to the apartment to arrest her but Jack thought he was just a jerk so he punched him and then Cromwell tried to arrest everyone but then Mr. Roper said that Jack was gay so Cromwell let him go because it would be too embarrassing to admit that he got punched out by a gay guy.  God, that was exhausting.  This was followed by an episode where everyone thought the apparently asexual Mr. Roper was having an affair because every character on the show was an idiot.

Unforgettable (Weekday Afternoon, Start TV)

On this show, Poppy Montgomery played a detective who had the ability to remember every single thing she had ever seen or heard.  It was a really interesting premise and Poppy Montgomery was a good series lead but the show was never as interesting as it should have been.  The episode I watched on Wednesday featured Poppy and Dylan Walsh transporting a witness down to Florida.  It was a pretty basic show but Poppy and Dylan had an enjoyable chemistry.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

This week’s episode was pretty good and I wrote about it here!

The Young and the Restless (Weekday Afternoons, CBS)

After having not watched the show for a month, I watched Friday’s episode.  There was a lot of talking.  Mariah and Tessa were debating whether or not start a family.  Victoria and Nick’s rivalry was threatening to ruin a wedding.  As usual, there were a lot of restless people on the show.  I enjoyed it.  I like watching attractive, rich people argue.

In conclusion …. actually, this post is already over 2,000 words long so we probably don’t need a conclusion.  It was a good week!

Horror on TV: Friday the 13th: The Series 1.3 “Cupid’s Quiver” (dir by Atom Egoyan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of Friday the 13th: The Series, a cursed cupid statue is causing trouble!

Now, I’ll just be honest here.   The idea behind the cupid statue is not a bad one.  The statue causes people to fall in love with the owner of the statue, with the unfortunate twist being that the owner is then required to kill them.  However, the sight of incel Eddie Munroe (Denis Forest) carrying around that statue is often unintentionally funny.

That said, even if this isn’t necessarily the strongest episode of the series, I wanted to share it because it was directed by future Oscar nominee, Atom Egoyan.  Friday the 13th: The Series was filmed in Canada and this was an early credit for Egoyan.  Later, Egoyan would go on to direct films like The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, and Where The Truth Lies, making him one of the most important Canadian filmmakers not named Cronenberg, Villeneuve, or Arcand.

This episode, the third of the series, originally aired on October 17th, 1987.

Horror on TV: Friday the 13th: The Series 1.1 “The Inheritance” (dir by William Fruet)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

During the month of October, we like to share classic episodes of horror-themed television.  That was easier to do when we first started doing our annual October horrorthon here at the Shattered Lens because every single episode of the original, black-and-white Twilight Zone was available on YouTube.  Sadly, that’s no longer the case.

However, there is some good news!  Twilight Zone may be gone but there are other horror shows on YouTube!  For instance, I’ve discovered that every episode of Friday the 13th: The Series is available.  Though I had never seen an episode of this show before coming across it on YouTube, I had read about it in Crystal Lake Memories, an excellent oral history about the Friday the 13th franchise, and it just seems like the right show for October!

Friday the 13th: The Series was a syndicated horror show that ran from 1987 to 1990.  It followed the adventures of two cousins who inherited an antique shop.  Their uncle, it turned out, was in league with the devil and he used the shop to sell cursed antiques.  So, the cousins and a mysterious friend of their late uncle worked together to try to track those antiques down.  Personally, I love antique shopping and Erin and I inherited about half of our mother’s doll collection.  We’ve got over a 1,000 antique dolls here in the house.  Some of them may be cursed, who knows?

This show was filmed in Canada and produced by Frank Mancuso.  Mancuso also produced the original Friday the 13th films, starting with the second one.  Beyond the title, though, the show didn’t have much to do with the films.  John D. LeMay, who played one of the cousins, did go on to star in Jason Goes to Hell but that was actually the first Friday the 13th film (other than the first installment) to not be produced by Mancuso so that may have just been a coincidence.

Here’s the first episode of Friday the 13th: The Series, which aired on October 3rd, 1987.  The episode was directed by exploitation vet William Fruet and stars Sarah Polley, in one of her first roles, as a child who uses a doll to kill people.  Fortunately, I’ve been around dolls my entire life so I don’t have a fear of them.  As for the rest of you …. enjoy Friday the 13th!

 

 

Horror TV Review: The Walking Dead 11.6 “On the Inside” (dir by Greg Nicotero)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Who is Connie?

I have to admit that, when I started watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead a few days ago, I had absolutely no idea who Connie was.  As I’ve stated before, I actually stopped watching the show after Carl Grimes shot himself during season 8.  With Carl dead, it really didn’t seem like it was going to be worth following the show to whatever bleak destination it was heading towards.  So, I sat out two and a half seasons.  I missed the final appearance of characters like Rick Grimes and Michonne.  I missed the death of Jesus during season 9, which was unfortunate since that was one character who really got on my nerves.  And, most importantly, as far as this week’s show was concerned, I missed the introduction of Connie.

And yet, despite not really knowing who she was, I was enthralled by her storyline.  Connie (played by Lauren Ridloff) and Virgil (Kevin Carroll) spent the majority of this week’s episode trapped in a house.  On the outside of the house, there were Walkers.  On the inside was something even more frightening, a group of feral human beings who, though still living, had reverted to mindless cannibalism.  For the first time in a long time, The Walking Dead was genuinely scary.  The Walkers, who are far too often treated as an afterthought on this show, were a legitimate threat and the feral people made me jump every time they emerged from the shadows.  I was frightened for Connie and Virgil, despite not being totally sure who they were.  For once, I cared about whether or not the film’s human characters would survive and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say that about The Walking Dead or, for that matter, any other zombie-themed show or movie.

Director Greg Nicotero deserves a lot of credit for this episode.  He did a wonderful job maintaining suspense and an atmosphere of impending doom.  The scenes of Connie and Virgil in the house felt a bit like an homage to the Dead films of George Romero.  Beyond the location, the twin threats of the Walkers and the Ferals brought to mind one of the main themes of Romero’s work — i.e., there’s not that big of a difference between the dead and the living.  One could argue that the Ferals are just getting an early start on their eventual fate.

The Connie/Virgil storyline was so intense that I was actually happy for the somewhat more subdued scenes involving Darryl and the Reapers.  They have me a chance to catch my breath, even if the Reapers themselves still haven’t really established themselves as anything more than just this season’s group of misdirected bad guys.  Naturally, I felt bad for Frost but, at this point, I can’t really say that I’m surprised by his fate.  There’s been many Frosts over the past few years of The Walking Dead.

On The Inside was definitely a triumph.  It reminded me of why, way back in 2010, people were so excited about this show in the first place.  Hopefully, this will bode well for the rest of season 11.

Scenes That I Love: Tony Soprano Dreams Of A House In The Sopranos

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since this weekend is going to see both the release of The Many Saints of Newark and the start of our annual October Horrorthon, I thought that this would be an appropriate time to share a creepy scene that I love from The Sopranos.

The Sopranos was well-known for its dream sequences. For me, this dream from the season 4’s Calling All Cars is one of the best of the series. It’s full of menace and ominous atmosphere, from the minute we see Tony being led to the house by the deceased Ralphie. And then, when that mysterious shadow appears on the staircase — AGCK!

I’ve read online speculation that the woman in the shadows was meant to represent Tony’s mother, who will be played by Vera Farmiga in The Many Saints of Newark. Young Tony Soprano, meanwhile, will be played by Michael Gandolfini, the son of the late (and missed) James Gandolfini.

I look forward to watching (and, hopefully, reviewing) The Many Saints of Newark on October 1st!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/19/21 — 9/25/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week planning and preparing for the big October horrorthon (yes, it does take a month to prepare) but I did watch a bit of television.  I also made the decision not to watch American Crime Story: Impeachment, despite having the two most recent episodes on the DVR.  The first episode just didn’t capture my interest and there’s way too much that I want to do to spend any more time than necessary on the Clintons.  So, Impeachment is now off my DVR.  If I hear that it’s good, I might get caught up with it later.

Here’s some thoughts on what I did watch this week:

Bachelor In Paradise (Tuesday Night, ABC)

I’ve stopped paying attention to what actually happens on this show.  Some of that’s because I’ve been busy getting ready for October.  More of it, though, is just because this show is primarily about watching attractive people hang out on the beach.  Actually paying attention to what they’re talking about would just take away from the fun of it all.

Big Brother (24/7, Paramount Plus and CBS)

Yay, it’s almost over!  The highlight of this week was Kyland nearly getting into physical altercation with Xavier over being voted out of the house.  I had mixed feeling about the whole thing.  It was interesting television but I didn’t particularly feel good about watching it.  I wrote more about this show over at the Big Brother Blog!

Dancing With The Stars (ABC, Monday Night)

I used to love this show but I’ve kind of been over it for a while.  I will still set the DVR for this season but, after just one episode, I really have a hard time imagining anyone other than JoJo and Jenna winning.  I’m torn, because I liked Dance Moms, The Office, and the Spice Girls.  I guess I’m Team Melora/JoJo/Melanie.  I would definitely prefer not to have Mr. Peloton win.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

This is an old 80s horror show, which ran for about three seasons and was about a cursed antique store.  (Jason Voorhees is nowhere to be seen.)  All three seasons, I recently discovered, been uploaded to YouTube.  I watched a few episodes this week in preparation for our upcoming Shattered Lens Horrorthon!  I’ll have more to say about this show in October.

King of the Hill (Wednesday afternoon, FX)

The episode where Hank and Bobby enter the father/son shooting contest despite the fact that Hank’s a terrible shot is one of the few cartoons to consistently make me cry.  It’s such a sweet episode.

Ordinary Joe (Monday Night, NBC)

This is a new series about a guy named Joe.  The day he graduates from college, he has to make a decision.  He can either go talk to the girl he just met or he can talk to his girlfriend or he can talk to his uncle.  The show features three alternate realities, each determined according to whom he decided to speak with.  In one reality, Joe is a rock star.  In another, he’s a cop.  In another, he’s a nurse.  Unfortunately, he’s pretty boring in all three of those realities.  The idea behind this show is interesting but the pilot suffered from some pretty obvious This Is Us-style plotting.  We’ll see how the rest of the series does, though.  The premise has enough promise that I’ll give it a second and probably even a third chance.

Smash (Friday, E!)

Yes, E! did indeed do a Smash marathon on Friday.  I watched an episode or two, perhaps hoping the show would turn out to be more fun than I remembered.  Smash is the show that made the term “hate watch” well-known.  To be honest, it was rarely even interesting enough to be a hate watch.  The Marilyn musical feels like it really would be a pain to sit through.  This is the show that begged us to believe that Katharine McPhee could somehow be a better Marilyn Monroe than both Megan Hilty and Uma Thurman.  It was a disappointing show, let’s just leave it at that.

(Dammit, now I want to rewatch the whole thing.)

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Yay!  Survivor’s back!  I wrote about the 41st Season Premiere at the Reality TV Chat Blog!

The Ultimate Surfer (Tuesday Night, ABC)

I honestly didn’t even realize that Tuesday was the finale until a few minutes before the show ended.  That’s how much I was actually paying attention to the show.  As I’ve said before, the appeal of this show was essentially that it featured attractive, wet people.  Congrats to the winners.

The Voice (Monday Night, NBC)

I watched a bit of The Voice but I have to admit that I got bored with it.  The singers are good but they’re all good in the same generic way.  Blake and Kelly are the fun judges.  I would probably want to be on Kelly’s team, just because we’re both from Texas.

The Walking Dead

I wrote about this week’s episode here.

TV Review: The Walking Dead 11.5 “Out of the Ashes” (dir by Greg Nicotero)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As opposed to what we’ve previously seen since the start of the 11th season, this week’s episode of The Walking Dead focused on multiple storylines.

At the Satellite Outpost, Negan and Maggie continued to argue about whether or not anyone else in their party would be smart, lucky, or brave enough to join them.  At this point, Maggie and Negan pretty much sound like an old married couple and, considering the chemistry between Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that could very well be what they end up becoming by the time the show ends.  Sorry, Glenn!  Anyway, this time Maggie won the argument because Gabriel and Elijah eventually showed up and proved that people could be depended upon.  Yay, Maggie!  Unfortunately, if Gabriel’s the best you go, you probably have bigger problems to deal with than just a philosophical disagreement.

At Alexandria, Judith tried to keep the other kids from taunting the Walkers and potentially getting everyone killed.  Judith had a point but seriously, no one likes a snitch.

Aaron, Carol, Lydia, and Jerry returned to the ruins of Hilltop on a supply run.  It turned out that Hilltop was also being used as a home by the last surviving Whisperers!  Their leader, Keith, insisted that the Whisperers were no longer a threat.  Aaron didn’t quite buy that and he wanted to torture and then kill Keith.  Fortunately, Carol talked him out of it.  Keith lost an arm but he got to keep his life.  And he also told them where Connie’s hiding!  Now, of course, is where I should remind our readers that, until the start of this season, I hadn’t really watched the show since Carl died so I’m not exactly sure who Connie is.  But I guess I’ll soon find out.

Meanwhile, at the Commonwealth, Eugene and the crew got to watch a really neat presentation on VHS tape that welcomed them into the community.  Eugene then went for a walk with Stephanie and nearly screwed everything up when he broke into the radio room and tried to contact Alexandria!  Or did he?  See, my theory is that the Commonwealth is still setting Eugene up.  They’re manipulating him to reveal everything that he knows about Alexandria but they’re doing it in a way that makes it seem as if they actually don’t want to know anything about Alexandria.  They’re manipulating him into contacting Alexandria by pretending like it’s something they don’t want him to do.  It’s all very clever and it’s the type of thing that Eugene always seems to fall for, despite the fact that he’s the smartest guy on the show.

This week’s episode, which was directed by Greg Nicotero, was a definite improvement over the past few episodes.  I liked the fact that it focused on several different groups, as opposed to getting bogged down with one repetitive storyline.  I liked that it revisited the Whisperers and showed that, as far as they were concerned, they were the heroes and the Alexandrians were the villains.  (The show has always been at its best when it has acknowledged that even the bad guys are just scared, lonely, and trying to survive the end of the world.)  The Judith subplot was handled well and showed that some things — like obnoxious children –are never going to change.

Mostly, though, I just liked the Commonwealth stuff.  From the minute I saw that introduction on the VHS tape, I was all about the Commonwealth.  The intro may have looked cheap and all the happy scenes were obviously staged but, seriously, it’s easy to see why some people would find it appealing after spending years fighting other humans and trying to avoid Walkers.  I loved the way the tape went from celebrating community to celebrating “security.”  It felt very relevant to our current times, a true libertarian’s nightmare.  You want to have ice cream and watch your kids play?  Then you’ve got to accept the legion of armored men watching everything that you do.  And, as always, I loved the oddball intensity of Josh McDermitt in the role of Eugene.  I would seriously watch a spin-off that was just Eugene going to different communities and voicing his disappointment with their life choices.

This was a good episode, one that took a look at how different communities are trying to find some sort of normalcy in the face of the zombie apocalypse.  The remains of the Whisperers are just scrounging to survive.  Alexandria is trying to balance the needs of the collective with the need of every human being to be an individual.  And the Commonwealth is living in denial, embracing the myth that random chaos can be controlled by strictly enforced order.  

I’m looking forward to seeing where things to go.  After a few weak episodes, The Walking Dead might be able to reclaim some of its lost narrative momentum.  Here’s hoping!

Here’s What Won At The 73rd Emmy Awards

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Watching the Emmys tonight, I realized that I really don’t watch as much TV as I think I do. Seriously, I’m running so far behind on the shows that everyone else has already watched that I still need to finish up WandaVision.

So, needless to say, I’m in absolutely no way qualified to pass judgment on whether the Emmys went to the right people and shows this year. So, I’ll just say congrats to winners!

As for the show itself — well, it was advertised as being a return to fun but it just left me feeling depressed. Everyone seemed to be trying way too hard to convince both themselves and the viewers that they were having a great time. The more they tried to act like they were having fun, the less fun it all seemed. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just in a weird mood tonight.

Anyway, ignore me! Here are the winners!

Supporting Actress, Comedy
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Rosie Perez, The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (HBO Max)
Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Juno Temple, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Supporting Actor, Comedy
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hacks (HBO Max)
Paul Reiser, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Brendan Hunt, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Jeremy Swift, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Supporting Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Julianne Nicholson, Mare of Easttown (HBO) (WINNER)
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton (Disney+)
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton (Disney+)
Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Moses Ingram, The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision (Disney+)

Supporting Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown (HBO) (WINNER)
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton (Disney+)
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton (Disney+)
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton (Disney+)
Anthony Ramos, Hamilton (Disney+)
Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You (HBO)
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

Outstanding Writing For a Drama Series
The Crown (Netflix) Peter Morgan (WINNER)
The Boys (Amazon Prime Video), Rebecca Sonnenshine
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Yahlin Chang
Lovecraft Country (HBO), Misha Green
The Mandalorian (Disney+), Dave Filoni
The Mandalorian (Disney+), Jon Favreau
Pose (FX), Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J

Outstanding Directing For a Drama Series
The Crown (Netflix), Jessica Hobbs
Bridgerton (Netflix), Julie Anne Robinson
The Crown (Netflix), Benjamin Caron
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Liz Garbus
The Mandalorian (Disney+), Jon Favreau
Pose (FX) Steven Canals

Supporting Actress, Drama
Gillian Anderson, The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown (Netflix)
Emerald Fennell, The Crown (Netflix)
Madeline Brewer, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Aunjanue Ellis, Lovecraft Country (HBO)

Supporting Actor, Drama
Tobias Menzies, The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian (Disney+)
John Lithgow, Perry Mason (HBO)
Chris Sullivan, This Is Us (NBC)

Outstanding Writing For a Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) (WINNER)
The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (WINNER)
Conan (TBS)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

Variety Sketch Series
Saturday Night Live (NBC) (WINNER)
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
Hacks (HBO Max), Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky (WINNER)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), Steve Yockey
Girls5eva (Peacock), Meredith Scardino
Pen15 (Hulu), Maya Erskine
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Hacks (HBO Max), Lucia Aniello (WINNER)
B Positive (CBS), James Burrows
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), Susanna Fogel
Mom (CBS), James Widdoes
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), Zach Braff
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), MJ Delaney
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), Declan Lowney

Lead Actress, Comedy
Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max) (WINNER)
Aidy Bryant, Shrill
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish (ABC)

Lead Actor, Comedy
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC)
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime)
Kenan Thompson, Kenan (NBC)

Competition Series
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) (WINNER)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)

Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix), Scott Frank (WINNER)
Hamilton (Disney+), Thomas Kail
I May Destroy You (HBO), Michaela Coel
I May Destroy You (HBO), Sam Miller
Mare Of Easttown (HBO), Craig Zobel
The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video), Barry Jenkins
WandaVision (Disney+), Matt Shakman

Outstanding Writing For a Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
I May Destroy You (HBO), Michaela Coel (WINNER)
Mare Of Easttown (HBO), Brad Ingelsby
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix), Scott Frank
WandaVision (Disney+), Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron
WandaVision (Disney+), Jac Schaeffer
WandaVision (Disney+), Laura Donney

Lead Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown) (WINNER)
Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)
Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)

Lead Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Ewan McGregor (Halston) (WINNER)
Paul Bettany (WandaVision)
Hugh Grant (The Undoing)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton)

Lead Actress, Drama
Olivia Colman, The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Uzo Aduba, In Treatment (HBO)
Emma Corrin, The Crown (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Mj Rodriguez, Pose (FX)
Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country (HBO)

Lead Actor, Drama
Josh O’Connor, The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us (NBC)
Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Rege-Jean Page, Bridgerton (Netflix)
Billy Porter, Pose (FX)
Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason (HBO)

Variety Special (Live)
Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 (Showtime) (WINNER)
Celebrating America — An Inauguration Night Special (Multiple Platforms)
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
The Oscars (ABC)
The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd (CBS)

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Hamilton (Disney+) (WINNER)
Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)
David Byrne’s American Utopia (HBO)
8:46 – Dave Chappelle (Netflix)
Friends: The Reunion (HBO Max)
A West Wing Special To Benefit When We All Vote (HBO Max)

Comedy Series
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Black-ish (ABC)
Cobra Kai (Netflix)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Pen15 (Hulu)

Drama Series
The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
The Boys (Amazon)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC)

Limited Series
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Mare of Easttown (HBO)
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) (WINNER)
The Underground Railroad (Amazon)
WandaVision (Disney+)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/12/21 — 9/18/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Again, this was another week where I didn’t watch much.  But I have a good reason.  Number one, I was up at Lake Texoma for the first part of the week and I forgot to set the DVR to record a few shows.  Number two, I accidentally DVRed a reshowing of the first episode of Impeachment and I missed the second episode and, since I didn’t care much for the first episode, I didn’t bother to rewatch.  Number three, I somehow totally forget abut the Brooklyn Nine Nine finale.  That was such a good show but I always had a hard time figuring out when it was actually airing.  Finally, I watched quite a few movies this week as I continued to prepare for October!

So, here’s a few notes on what little television did I watch:

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Having avoided (through a convoluted set of circumstances) marrying the head of the community resistance, Rene found himself being targeted for death by that same resistance.  Rene was forced to once again fake his own death and then wander around the village disguised as his father, which meant putting on a fake beard.  Rene even resorted to asking Herr Flick to “lock me up in one of your dungeons for a few days,” but Flick refused because they couldn’t just have people wandering in from off the street.  Rene even asked Office Crabtree to arrest him.  “Are you confessing to a cream?” Crabtree responded, in his broken French.  It was all a bit complicated and, in the end, nothing really worked out.  But it made me laugh and that’s the important thing.

Bachelor in Paradise (Tuesday Night, ABC)

Because I forgot to set the DVR, I only saw one of this week’s episodes of Bachelor in Paradise.  Lil Jon was the new host because eventually, every reality show will be hosted by Lil Jon for a week.  I didn’t really pay too much attention to the show, to be honest.  I had just gotten back from the lake and I was tired.

Big Brother (All the Time, CBS and Paramount Plus)

It’s almost over and I’m happy about that.  I like Big Brother but I always get a bit bored with it towards the end.  I’m still writing about the show over at the Big Brother Blog.

Hell’s Kitchen (Monday Night, FOX)

I was happy that Trenton won, even though he did occasionally act like a bit of a jerk.  Still, he obviously earned his victory and I’m sure that Megan will find success as well, even if she didn’t ultimately win Hell’s Kitchen.  I really liked this season.  The kinder, gentler Chef Ramsay was fun to watch and, for once, he really seemed to actually enjoy working with the younger chefs.  Who would have thought that Hell’s Kitchen would end up becoming the most positive and feel-good reality show of 2021?

Moone Boy (Sunday Night, PBS)

Two episodes of Moone Boy aired on Sunday.  I recorded both.  The first featured the Moones trying to fool granddad into giving up his house so that Fidelma, Dessie, and the baby would have some place to live other than with them.  Meanwhile, Martin wandered about with a video camera, hoping to capture something that could be sent to Ireland’s version of America’s Funniest Home Videos.  Fortunately, it turned out that Grandad’s home was full of bats and when they attacked Dessie, Martin had his video!  The second episode featured Martin and Padraic all excited about the idea of aliens having landed in Boyle.  Can you blame them?

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

After overordering, Arkwright desperately tried to get his customers to buy extra apples.  Meanwhile, Granville continued to wonder how his once promising life had descended into the living Hell of being a 40 year-old stockboy.

The Ultimate Surfer (Tuesday Night, ABC)

Though two episodes aired this week, I only watched the 2nd episode.  I still have no idea what’s happening on the show, beyond that it features a lot of attractive people getting wet.  But, sometimes that’s all a show needs.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I wrote about the latest episode of The Walking Dead here.

Yes, Minister (Sunday Night, PBS)

PBS aired two episodes of Yes, Minister and I recorded both of them, despite having seem both of them before.  That’s just how good this show is!  The first episode featured Jim unsuccessfully trying to reduce the power and size of the civil service.  The second episode featured a lively debate about whether or not the government should allow citizens to have any privacy.  Even though this show is over 40 years old, both episodes continue to feel extremely relevant to our current situation.  That’s the mark of a good show.