Tag Archives: The Challenge

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

Posted on 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 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!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/10/22 — 7/16/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week watching movies.  The Emmy nomination period is over with and, as a result, so is a lot of my interest in television.  I am still watching Big Brother, of course.  How could I ever stop watching that?  That’s the power of addiction.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

There’s two Bachelorettes, which is only right considering what a mess the last season of The Bachelor was.  We’ll see how this plays out.  To be honest, I’m suffering a bit of fatigue with this franchise.  It was more fun to watch before everyone decided that they were also in on the joke.  Jesse Palmer seems like he’ll be a better host than Kaitlyn and Tayshia.  So, we’ll see!  (Can you tell that I didn’t really pay much attention to the first episode?)

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul returned with a bang this week.  For those who thought Lalo would be around for a while longer, nope.  I still feel bad for Howard, who will apparently now forever be branded a drug addict.  I’m also increasingly concerned about what’s going to happen to Kim because pretty soon, Walter White and his sidekick are going to show up and Kim was never seen or spoken of in Breaking Bad.

Big Brother 24 (All week, CBS and Paramount+)

My thoughts on this latest season of Big Brother can be found over at the Big Brother Blog.  This big news this week was that Paloma, who was obviously a favorite of production’s, self-evicted after having what appeared to be a hypomanic episode in the House.  Julie Chen Moonves made a big deal about saying that production wished the best for Paloma and that they were only concerned with her mental health but rumor has it that production actually asked Paloma to stay in the game, even after it became obvious that she was struggling.  Anyway, that’s Big Brother for you!  (That’s also why I would never go on that show.)

Boy Meets World (Disney Plus)

On Thursday, I was bored enough to watch an episode of this late 90s sitcom.  Shawn joined a cult.  Mr. Turner got into a motorcycle accident.  As with most episodes of Boy Meets World, it was 50% cringey and 50% effective.  This episode featured a good performance from Rider Strong but it also featured Ben Savage going totally over the top as he shouted, “This is a hug, Shawn!  THIS IS A HUG!”

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Survivor alumni faced off against Big Brother alumni and Love Island alumni and some Bachelor alumni.  To be honest, I may have had the television on but The Challenge really has yet to capture my attention.

Hawkeye (Disney Plus)

I’m still mad that Natasha sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame so Clint could be reunited with his family.  That said, this series was enjoyable when taken on its town terms.  It may be because my last name is Bowman but I’ve always liked archers.  Vincent D’Onofrio seemed to be having fun as a crime lord and Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfield were believable as father and daughter.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on Tuesday.  I watched it with a group of friends on twitter and I have to admit that the tweets were so lively that I actually didn’t may attention to the episode.  Sitting here and typing this up on Saturday, I have no idea what happened but I do remember that Hathaway seemed troubled.

Loki (Disney Plus)

My God, could Tom Hiddleston be any more adorable?  The plot of this show was typical Marvel nonsense but Hiddleston’s devilish performance made it fun and worth watching.

Stranger Things (Netflix)

I watched the latest season and, as you can tell from my personal Emmy nominations, I liked it.  I’m going to hold off on saying anything more because I’m planning on reviewing each episode individually at some point in the near future.  By the time I get around to reviewing it, everyone will probably have moved on but oh well.  That’s one of the benefits of having your own site and being your own boss.  You can set your own schedule.

A Movie A Day #37: The Challenge (1970, directed by Alan Smithee)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

A U.S. spy satellite has crashed onto an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.  Both the United States and an unnamed communist country (described as being “a fifth-rate China,” but obviously meant as a stand-in for not only China but North Korea and North Vietnam as well) have both lay claim to the satellite.  To prevent a possible war, the two countries agree to a compromise.  One American and one communist will be dropped off on the island and will fight to the death.  The survivor gets the satellite.  The communists send the disciplined Yuro (Mako).  The American select Jacob Galley (Darren McGavin), a grizzled Vietnam veteran-turned-mercenary.  Jacob is armed with the latest advancements in weaponry, including a double-barreled sub-machine gun.  Yuro is armed mostly with his wits and an endless supply of booby traps.  Jacob and Yuro fight to a stand still, growing to respect each other even as each tries to kill the other.  However, both countries are willing to cheat to win the challenge.

Originally made for television, this is one of the many films to have been credited to Alan Smithee, the pseudonym that directors used to use whenever they felt that the finished film, usually because of studio interference, did not properly represent their vision.  According to the imdb, The Challenge was actually directed by veteran television directed George McGowan, whose other credits includes episodes of shows like Fantasy Island, Starsky and Hutch, and Charlie’s Angels.  I am surprised that McGowan chose to take his name off of The Challenge because, for a television movie, it’s not bad.  The Vietnam analogy is laid on a little thick but the action is exciting and both McGavin and Mako give excellent performances as the two very different combatants.

The Challenge can be viewed on YouTube.  Keep an eye out for a very young Sam Elliott, in the role of America’s insurance policy.

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