Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/23/23 — 7/29/23

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother starts next week and I’m going to have a lot less free time. (I probably should have made better use of my free time this week!) That said, I skipped the Big Brother special that CBS aired this week because I knew there wouldn’t be anything interesting revealed. Big Brother is a show that I both love and hate in equal measures. I never find myself looking forward to it but I always watch once it starts.

Anyways, here some thoughts on what I did watch this week!

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

Claim To Fame (Monday Night, ABC)

I have to admit that Cole was one of the players who I thought had a really good chance of winning the game so I was a little surprised to see him leave the show this week. For the record, he was Alicia Keys’s brother. At this point, I’m just rooting for Olivia.

Degrassi High (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Sunday. Everyone was smoking weed.

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

I watched a few random episodes on Sunday. Most of them were from the superlong tenth season, which isn’t really Degrassi’s best season but it is one that I occasionally like to revisit just because it’s not one of those seasons that really demands that you put a lot of effort into concentrating on what was happening on-screen. The tenth season of Degrassi is perfect for background noise.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

The episode that I watched on Thursday was entitled “I Want My Child To Stop Listening To Marilyn Manson.” The kids loved Marilyn and the parents were panicking. Jenny Jones told her audience, “Now, you know, Marilyn Manson is a guy, right? He’s a male.” One of Jenny’s guests was a cutter. The audience booed her, which I doubt helped. “He is far from being one of the beautiful people!” one parent said, “He is a sadistic pig!” I think this episode was from 1996.

On Friday, I watched an episode in which Jenny revealed the results of DNA tests. As a host, Jenny Jones was so flustered and spent so much time stumbling over her words that I actually got a headache while watching her.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

Sally Jessy Raphael (YouTube)

On Thursday, I watched an episode about young people with lovers who were old enough to be their grandparents. Many of them had angry family members who wanted to yell at them on national television. The audience did a lot of booing.

I followed this up with an episode in which women were encouraged to dump their “cheating boyfriends.” One of the boyfriends had cheated on his girlfriend with a 13 year-old! Hopefully, they broke up after the show.

I then watched a third episode, in which bratty teenagers talk about how much they disliked the men that their mother dated. I cringed as I was flooded by memories of my own bratty behavior whenever my mom started to date someone new.

On Friday, for reasons that even I can’t quite fathom, I watched another episode in which Sally gave updates on out-of-control teens, the majority of whom were still out-of-control. The boot camps did not work.

Stars on Mars (Monday Night, Fox)

The silliest reality show on television right now continued this week, with Rhonda Rousey asking to be sent back to Earth. Fortunately, since no one on the show had actually left Earth to begin with, it was a quick journey home. As for who I hope wins Stars on Mars …. eh, whatever the prize is, give it to William Shatner. I know he’s the host and he probably only had to spend a day or two pre-taping all of his scenes but he’s still the most entertaining part of the show.

The Steve Wilkos Show (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Thursday. Two brothers with really deep acne scars were on the show, trying to figure out which one was the father of a baby. Their annoying mother came out and screamed at everyone. It was so incredibly trashy that it become oddly fascinating.

I followed this with a second episode, in which Steve tossed an abusive boyfriend off of his stage. That was satisfying to see. Believe it or not, I do think that Steve was perhaps a bit more sincere than his fellow daily talk show hosts. The dislike that he felt towards abusers and cheaters always seemed real in a way that Maury Povich’s similar outrage did not.

On Friday morning, I watched two episodes while doing some work in my office. The first episode featured a woman with a scummy, abusive boyfriend. She dumped him at the end of the episode and the entire audience chanted her name. This was followed by an episode featuring a woman who claimed that her ex-boyfriend had stolen the ashes of her deceased and cremated child. That was weird and depressing.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 2.25 “Murder on the High Seas/Sounds of Silence/Cyrano de Bricker”

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

This week, Sonny Bono shocks the squares!

Episode 2.25 “Murder on the High Seas/Sounds of Silence/Cyrano de Bricker”

(Dir by Richard Kinon, originally aired on March 17th, 1979)

Uh-oh! The singer who Julie hired to perform on the cruise had to cancel! Fortunately, Gopher has a connection at a talent agent and he is able to recruit a replacement. Meet Dominic Dark!

He’s pretty fearsome! When he arrives on the boat, he’s accompanied by his manager (Arte Johnson) and a living snake. When he performs in the Acapulco Lounge, he destroys his instruments and sings about how much he loves rebelling against conventional society. But underneath that KISS-inspired makeup and behind those sub-Alice Cooper-style lyrics …. wait a minute …. is that….

Yes, this is one of the four episode of The Love Boat to feature singer and future U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono as a passenger on The Love Boat. (Fred “Gopher” Grandy would also go on to serve in the House as well.) Not surprisingly, Mr. Dark turns out to actually be a rather mild-mannered gentleman named Phil Backstrom. Phil wants to abandon all the gimmicks and just make a name for himself as a singer but his manager orders him to keep putting on the makeup and to keep upsetting the squares. While on the cruise, Phil meets and falls in love with Sara (Sheila Lenham), who understands his love of music and who is also deaf.

It’s actually a pretty sweet story and Sonny Bono is so likable that it’s easy to see how he managed to go from singing to having a career in politics. But the main appeal of this entire storyline, and indeed this entire episode, is the chance to see Sonny Bono playing a 70s-style shock rocker. It’s one of those ideas that is so ludicrous that it’s actually kind of fun. Bono looks so awkward in his makeup that it’s hard not to root for him. I also liked the fact that the other largely middle-aged and obviously wealthy passengers all loved Phil’s act. It seemed like Phil’s biggest fans were the same people who, in theory, were supposed to be shocked by his antics.

As for the other two stories, Jill St. John plays Mitzi, an old friend of Doc’s who boards the boat with her new husband, Vinnie (Charlie Callas). It’s supposed to be their honeymoon cruise but Vinnie seems to be more interested in gambling than honeymooning. At one point, he says that, after living with Mitzi for two years before getting married, the honeymoon just feels like another trip. Needless to say, Mitzi leaves their cabin and decides to spend the cruise in Doc’s office. Doc Bricker is able to bring Mitzi and Vinnie back together but it’s hard not to feel that Mitzi made the right decision when she left Vinnie the first time. I mean, Vinnie’s a jerk! And he seems to have a bit of a gambling problem….

Finally, Isaac thinks that he overhears two people (Peter Lawford and Dana Wynter) plotting to kill Captain Stubing. This leads to Isaac and eventually the entire crew getting into a panic but it turns out that Lawford and Wynter are just two mystery novelists plotting out their latest book. The main problem with this plot is that it hinged on a mistake that Isaac, at least based on what we’ve seen of him in previous episodes, normally wouldn’t make. Misunderstanding a conversation seemed more like something that Gopher would do. Isaac has always been the smart and down-to-Earth member of the crew and Ted Lange never looks quite as comfortable with slapstick antics of this episode as Fred Grandy probably would have.

In the end, this was fairly negligible episode that was occasionally amusing due to the efforts of future congressman Sonny Bono.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/16/23 — 7/22/23

Posted on July 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here.

Claim To Fame (Monday Night, ABC)

Claim to Fame is a show where 12 relatives of celebrities compete to be the last relative standing. If someone guesses who you are related to, then you’re out of the show. If someone incorrectly guesses who you are related to, they are out of the show. It’s all really, really silly but it’s also a lot more fun than it probably has any right to be. It helps that the show is hosted by the totally charming duo of Kevin and Frankie Jonas.

I watched the first three episodes of the second season on Sunday morning. The highlight, of course, was the epic meltdown of Tom Hanks’s niece, who really only had herself to blame for being eliminated because she literally had a panic attack whenever anyone mentioned that someone on the show might be related to Tom Hanks. As I finished the third episode, I decided that Olivia and Chris were my two favorite players and that Hugo was least favorite, largely due to the fact that Hugo just seemed awfully impressed with himself.

I watched the latest episode on Monday night. Eddie Murphy’s daughter was finally sent out of the house. I say finally because everyone pretty much figured out who she was during the second episode. That said, she seemed to be a nice person.

Degrassi High (YouTube)

Old school Degrassi! As much as I hate to admit, I haven’t seen much of either Degrassi Junior High or Degrassi High but I intend to remedy that soon. On the two episodes I watched, the school bully discovered that he was HIV+ and Joey’s attempt to raise money for a new car failed. It was interesting seeing Joey when he was younger and still had hair.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Happy Hour (YouTube)

I watched the 2nd episode of this old 90s game show on Saturday morning. Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa hosted. Ahemt had a bit too much energy for his own good but at least Mario Lopez was one of the contestants. There was an extremely creepy moment when a woman was brought out of the audience and talked about how obsessed she was with Mario. Also interesting was to note that this episode was nearly 30 years old but Mario Lopez looked exactly the same as he does today. The man seriously does not age.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

Night Music (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this 90s late night music show on Friday night. Bootsy Collins performed and it was very entertaining.

The Simpsons (Weekdays, FXX)

I watched two episodes of this long-running show on Thursday afternoon. In the first episode, Bart was expelled from Springfield Elementary but, fortunately, he was allowed to re-enroll after he exposed the truth about whacking day and saved the lives of a bunch of snakes. This was followed by an episode in which Marge forgot to pay for a bottle of whiskey and was sent to jail for 30 days. Needless to say, the entire town fell apart without her and was forced to settle for a Jimmy Carter statue when they couldn’t afford one of Lincoln. This led to riots, as one would naturally expect.

Stars on Mars (Monday Night, Fox)

I binged and got up-to-date with this stupid, stupid show throughout the week. As dumb as it is, it’s compulsively watchable. On the one hand, it was great to see William Shatner hamming it up as the host. On the other hand, is it really time for Lance Armstrong redemption tour?

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about “The Sit-In” here!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 2.24 “Ages of Man/Bo and Sam/Families”

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Captain needs a new watch but his crew is determined to give him a bunch of toothpicks instead.

Episode 2.24 “Ages of Man/Bo and Sam/Familes”

(Dir by Richard Kinon, originally aired on March 10th, 1979)

This week’s cruise gets off to a bizarre start with Captain Stubing reminding the members of the crew that he will soon be hitting his 5-year anniversary mark as their captain. Doc, Julie, Gopher, and Isaac are planning to throw him a huge surprise party and they’ve even gotten him a gift, a replica of the Love Boat made out of toothpicks!

Now, it’s not just the gift that feels strange about this scenario. There’s also the fact that Stubing claims that he’s been captain of the Pacific Princess for five years even though the show is only in its second season. As you may remember, the very first episode of The Love Boat featured the crew still talking about how they couldn’t figure out the proper way to approach their new captain and how they didn’t know anything about his background. So, unless three years passed without anyone noticing, the Captain has only been on the ship for two years.

Add to that, Captain Stubing keeps telling anyone who will listen that he needs a new watch. So why is the crew dumb enough to give him a boat made out of toothpicks for his anniversary gift? The toothpick boat itself is constructed by two close friends, Bo (Philip Charles MacKenzie) and Sam (Michael Tucci). Of course, when Bo and Sam deliver the gift to the cruise, they end up breaking it in half. As a result, they stowaway on the ship so that they can rebuild the toothpick boat. And they do rebuild it! But then they break it again so, with hours to go until the Captain’s party, they again have to rebuild it. When they deliver the boat the captain’s party, they discover that every member of the crew has given Stubing some sort of miniature boat. Stubing is not particularly excited about the toothpick boat until he hears the sound of something ticking inside of it. Yes, that’s right, Sam’s watch fell off while they were rebuilding the boat. Stubing smashes the toothpick boat and is overjoyed to discover a watch, one that is inscribed with a touching message about friendship. Bo promises to get Sam a new watch.

This storyline was …. well, to say it was frustrating is perhaps putting it a little bit too lightly. Seriously, it never made any sense. Why, if the Captain keeps telling you that he desperately needs a new watch, would you buy him a toothpick boat instead? And why, with something that fragile, would you not wrap it up or find some other way to protect it before trying to carry it onto the cruise? Every time that fake boat got destroyed, I wanted to throw something at the TV.

As for the other storylines….

Julie develops a crush on an older passenger named Walter (Paul Burke) while a younger passenger named Bobby Trymon (Patrick Labyorteaux) develops a crush on Julie. Julie wants to spend all of her time dancing with Walter but she also has to try to let teenage Bobby down gently. Eventually, Julie tells Bobby that he’s too young for her and then Walter explains that he’s too old for Julie. So, everyone ends up miserable.

While that’s going on, publisher Hank Hardaway (Leslie Nielsen) is shocked to discover that his arch nemesis, union leader Monica Cross (Arlene Dahl) is on the cruise! Hank’s daughter, Diana (Ellen Bry), thinks that Monica has a point about protecting the working man while Monica’s son, Jeff (Mark Shera), thinks that Hank has a point about working hard and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. Eventually, Diana falls for Jeff and Hank falls for Monica and the four of them prove that you can love someone even if you disagree with their politics. This storyline was simple and silly but, to be honest, kind of charming. Nielsen, who still in the “serious actor” phase of his career when he did this episode, seemed a bit more relaxed than usual and Ellen Bry and Mark Shera had a likable chemistry. Simple as this story may have been, it was kind of what the episode needed to counterbalance all the toothpick boat nonsense.

This cruise was a mixed bag. At least the Captain got a watch.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/9/23 — 7/15/23

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I devoted most of this week to movies so I didn’t really watch a lot of television. But here’s some thoughts on what I did watch!

All You Need Is Love (Nightflight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched the 2nd episode of this 70s docuseries about the history of rock and roll music. For the most part, the episode took place in Africa and featured interviews with African musicians who discussed how their traditional music was later transformed into both the blues and rock and roll. It was an interesting documentary. Needless to say, there was a lot of good music.

The Ashley Madison Affair (Hulu)

I watched this enjoyably tawdry docuseries on Monday morning. It was a bit too heavy on the talking heads. I mean, I’m not sure that I really needed to hear every single thought Sunny Hostin ever had on the Ashley Madison hack. But the visuals were often so over-the-top and literal-minded that it was impossible not to smile at how overwrought it all was.

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

Diff’rent Strokes (YouTube)

Early Sunday morning, I watched a special episode of this 80s sitcom on YouTube. Arnold and his adopted sister Kimberly were kidnapped by a weirdo who tied-up Arnold and threatened to kill Kimberly. That was pretty creepy but what really made it bad was that this was a sitcom so there was a laugh track that just felt totally wrong for the episode. It reminded me a bit of David Lynch’s Rabbits.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

Fantasy Island has been removed from Tubi! Fortunately, quite a few episodes are available on YouTube but it still bothers me that I’m probably not going to be able to review every single episode for Retro Television Reviews now. Read my thoughts here!

Geraldo (YouTube)

I came across an episode of this 90s talk show on Saturday. In 1993, Geraldo Rivera interviewed “Girls In Hate Groups.” The girls were dating skinheads and Klansmen. The audience was full of people wearing Klan robes and National Socialist uniforms. It was thoroughly icky. Geraldo, I got the feeling, was more concerned with bringing in ratings than actually battling the forces of hate.

Gimme A Break (YouTube)

After he read this week’s review of Hang Time, my friend Mark suggested that I watch an episode of this 80s sitcom. The episode was called “Joey’s Hero” and it featured a 10 year-old Joey Lawrence discovering that his hero — a television host named Captain Jerk (played by Paul Williams) — was not only a real-life jerk but an outright racist as well! It was very 80s but I did smile at the fact that all of the co-stars of the Captain Jerk Show still wore their television costumes even when they went to visit Captain Jerk in the hospital.

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

On this 90s talk show, Jenny Jones gave polygraph tests to self-declared playas.

Lifestories: Families in Crisis

I watched an episode of the 90s HBO anthology show on Thursday. A young Ben Affleck played a high school football player who get hooked on steroids and went crazy.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

Read my thoughts on The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

Night Flight (NightFlight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 90s musical anthology show on Friday. Host Tom Juarez took a look at “eclectic female singers.” I was happy because they showed a video from Souixsie and the Banshees.

Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu)

I watched this two-part docuseries on Sunday. The first part, which focused on the young Brooke Shields as a symbol and explored how the culture sexually objectifies women while also expecting us to remain chaste and innocent, was far more interesting than the second part, which got bogged down in people insisting that Shields was a better actress than she actually seems to be.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back, Kotter here!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 2.23 “A Funny Valentine/The Wallflower/Home is Not a Home”

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

After the past few cruises, I think we’re overdue for a good episode of The Love Boat. Let’s see if this week’s episode can deliver!

Episode 2.23 “A Funny Valentine/The Wallflower/Home is Not a Home”

(Dir by George Tyne, originally aired on March 3rd, 1979)

Julie has decided that this week’s voyage is going to have a carnival theme and, in order to get everyone in the mood, she’s hired a fortune teller! Mary Louise (Samantha Eggar) claims that she can read palms but she’s even more interested in the art of phrenology, the study of heads. When she sees that Captain Stubing is bald, she can’t wait to see what the top of his shiny head says about his romantic future. Unfortunately, Stubing is in one of his depressed moods and says that fortune telling is for the young. He explains that he’s old and he already knows that he’s destined to spend the rest of his life alone.

Awwwww!

Luckily, Mary Louise has other ideas! The Captain is soon won over by Mary Louise’s free-spirited ways and her joi de vivre. But the Captain also realizes that, unless he holds a carnival every cruise, there’s really not much place for a fortune teller on the ship. The best that he can offer Mary Louise is a job in the gift shop. Realizing that their lives are just too different, Mary Louise leaves the boat without saying goodbye the Captain …. but then she returns to tell the Captain that maybe she will take that gift shop job.

Awwwwww!

But then the Captain tells her that she would be miserable working in a gift shop. (Hopefully, none of the other gift shop employees overheard him.) The Captain and Mary Louise part ways.

Again, awwwwwww!

It was a simple story but I have to say that Samantha Eggar and Gavin MacLeod had a surprising amount of chemistry and both of them gave really heartfelt performances in this episode. I found myself caring about them as a couple and hoping that things would work out. Of course, I knew things couldn’t work out because then the show would have to find a new captain.

While all that is going on, shy Sylvia (Patty Freedman) has finally taken the advice of her neighbor, Gopher. She has booked a cruise on the Love Boat! However, Sylvia is painfully shy and doesn’t even realize that there’s a passenger named Monroe (Zane Lasky) who has a crush on her. (Of course, Monroe is pretty shy himself.) Gopher decides that Sylvia needs a confidence boost so he sends her a rose at dinner and tells her it’s from a secret admirer. Unfortunately, Sylvia becomes so obsessed with finding her secret admirer that she continues to fail to notice Monroe trying to talk to her. When Sylvia returns to her cabin, she discovers hundreds of roses. When she tells Gopher about it, Gopher is confused because he didn’t send any roses to her cabin. For some reason, Gopher assumes that Sylvia is now delusional and that she only thought she saw all of the flowers in her cabin. Seeking to restore her sanity, Gopher confesses that he sent Sylvia the rose. Sylvia assumes that Gopher means that he sent all of the roses so, when Monroe confesses to sending the flowers to her cabin, she assumes that Monroe is making fun of her and….

AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Yes, this is another story where all of the problems could have been easily resolved by everyone not acting like an idiot. But you know what? As much as stories like this usually tend to drive me crazy, I actually enjoyed this one. Patty Freedman and Zane Lasky both gave charming performances, even if their characters did things that didn’t always make sense. I was happy when they finally got together. This was a rare case where two passengers really did seem perfect for each other.

Finally, the third storyline featured Arthur Godfrey and Minnie Pearl as Ned and Molly, two seniors who were eloping. Looking to stop the marriage was Ned’s son, Francis (Warren Berlinger), and Molly’s daughter, Rowena (Elinor Donahue). Of course, Francis and Rowena fell in love and the episode ended with everyone planning to get married in a big double wedding. This story was pretty predictable and Berlinger and Donahue went a little bit overboard playing their characters as being uptight prudes in their first few scenes. But, still, at least everyone got a happy ending.

I liked this episode. The crew was likable, the passengers were charming, and everyone found love. Yay!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/2/23 — 7/8/23

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week was all about getting caught up on the shows that might be nominated for this year’s Emmys. I ended up watching a lot of TV. Here’s a few thoughts on it all!

60 Days In (A&E)

I watched this show’s seventh season this week. Sending former criminals undercover was an interesting idea and Carlos, who struggled with the temptation to return to his old ways, was definitely the most compelling character this season. It really was one of the worst jails that they’ve ever featured on this show. It’s easy to be dismissive of a show like this and it definitely is a bit exploitive. But it also does portray why jails fail to rehabilitate its inmates.

Big Beasts (Apple TV+)

I watched an episode on Friday about the great whales! I enjoyed it. Whales are fascinating creatures and it certainly didn’t hurt that the whole thing was narrated by Tom Hiddleston.

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

The Crown (Netflix)

I’ve always had mixed feelings about The Crown. On the one hand, I absolutely love it as a well-made, well-acted, and well-produced royal soap opera. On the other hand, I have never been comfortable about the idea of turning anyone’s life into a miniseries while they’re still alive. Of course, Queen Elizabeth passed away last year but the show itself still feels a bit invasive. That said, the fifth season was as addictive as ever. Imelda Stauton took over at Elizabeth. Dominic West made Charles into a far more interesting person than he probably is in real life. Of all the seasons so far, this season was the most melancholy as it portrayed a world that was suddenly changing faster than ever before. Not only did Charles and Diana divorce but the UK lost Hong Kong. The decommissioning Britannia felt like the true end of an era. It was hard to watch this season without thinking about how the people portrayed had no idea how much worse things were going to get in just a few more years.

Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime)

I binged this miniseries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Full of music and 70s atmosphere, this series charted the rise and the fall of a fictional rock group. Riley Keough, who really seems like she should be a bigger star, was wonderful in the lead role.

Dead To Me (Netflix)

Unfortunately, I really haven’t had time to binge the final season of Dead To Me but I did jump ahead and watch the final episode on Saturday afternoon. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini were still a great and messy team and I definitely got a bit watery-eyed at the episode’s conclusion.

The Diplomat (Netflix)

I watched the first episode of this show on Wednesday. It didn’t really hold my attention but Keri Russell was convincing as the title character and it was kind of amusing to see Michael McKean playing an apparently sincere and idealistic president.

Fleishman Is In Trouble (Hulu)

This was an excellent miniseries that I binged on Monday and Tuesday. Jesse Eisenberg and Claire Danes were excellent as a divorced couple who struggled with life in New York City. This miniseries felt like some great 70s movie that just happened to be set in 2016.

Forgive or Forget (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Thursday. Former best friends were demanding apologies. Very few apologies were given, which I think may have been due to the fact that host Robin Givens kept interrupting everyone so that she could yell at them. If Mother Love had been there, everyone would have come through the door.

House of the Dragon (HBO)

HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel turned out to be quite a bit better than I was expecting. That said, I would be lying if I said that I was always able to follow what was happening on the show without the help of Wikipedia. I had the same problem with Game of Thrones, to be honest. However, the chaos and the feeling that you could never be sure who was actually plotting what was one of the things that made both the early seasons of Game of Thrones and the first season of this show so intriguing.

The Last Of Us (HBO)

I binged this throughout the week and I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t watch it earlier. Because I had so much to watch this week, I feel as if I rushed through the show, going from one episode to another so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to really contemplate and savor everything that happened. That said, The Last Of Us was well-acted and created a convincing dystopian society. For once, the “zombie” apocalypse felt realistic as opposed to contrived.

The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple TV+)

Enjoyably twisty and melodramatic, this adaptation of Laura Dave’s novel featured great performances from Jennifer Garner, Angourie Rice, and David Morse. Even though I had read the novel and knew what was going to happen, the show still held my interest

Love & Death (Max)

Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons were great but this limited series’s story was better told by Hulu’s Candy. As a producer and a writer, David E. Kelly has always had a tendency to rely on easy caricatures and too much of Love & Death felt like a Yankee fantasy of what life in small town Texas is like.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (Netflix)

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, I watched this 3-part docuseries on the Malaysian airline that mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. (Remember Don Lemmon suggesting it had flown into a black hole?) It was interesting viewing, though ultimately I think it works better as a look at how quick people are to buy into conspiracy theories than anything else.

Midnight Special (YouTube)

From 1973, the first episode of Midnight Special was hosted by Helen Reddy and featured performances from Ike and Tina Turner, George Carlin, Curtis Mayfield, Don McLean, Rare Earth, Kenny Rankin, The Byrds, and The Impressions. Helen Reddy was a bit of a boring host but the music was great.

The Old Man (Hulu)

With the Emmy nominations due to be announced next Tuesday, I finally got around to binging The Old Man this week. On the one hand, it was yet another morally ambiguous thriller featuring the government pursuing a former agent who had gone underground. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman all brought a lot of conviction to their roles and the film was as much about dealing with one’s own morality as it was about dealing with the dark side of the intelligence community. I liked it far more than I was expecting too.

The Patient (Hulu)

I watched the first three episodes of this miniseries on Monday morning and that was enough for me. Steve Carell plays a psychiatrist who is being held captive by a serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson) who is looking for help curbing his homicidal impulses. Carell gave a great performance, proving again that he’s just as capable of doing drama as he is comedy. But, other than Carell’s performance, I found the show to be tedious and I haven’t felt any real desire to finish binging it.

Real Time With Bill Maher (Max)

I watched the episode where Russell Brand yelled at John Heilenmann. I was on Brand’s side but a lot of that has to do with Heilenmann just be annoying in general. Bernie Sanders was also on the show and seemed kind of tired of the whole thing.

Rollergames (YouTube)

On the 2nd episode of Rollergames (which I watched with Jeff and our friend Pat on Friday night), the Thunderbirds competed against Bad Attitude. Thunderbirds were heroic but Bad Attitude had style. I’m not sure who actually won.

Slasher: Ripper (Shudder)

I’m always tempted to call this program Canadian Horror Story but Slasher is actually far better than Ryan Murphy’s show. The fifth season, which I binged throughout the week, has an intriguing mystery, many macabre deaths, a lot of atmosphere, and a wonderfully villainous performance from Eric McCormack.

Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 (Netflix)

I finally watched this docuseries on Saturday morning, after finishing up Midnight Special. I guess I was in a musical mode. The mix of hubris, greed, and celebrity that went into making Woodstock ’99 a disaster will never not be fascinating.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 2.22 “Love Me, Love My Dog/Poor Little Rich Girl/The Decision”

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s time for Isaac’s heart to get broken, yet again!

Episode 2.22 “Love Me, Love My Dog/Poor Little Rich Girl/The Decision”

(Dir by Roger Duchowny, originally aired on February 24th, 1979)

Isaac has sworn off falling in love with passengers. As he explains it, he’s fallen in love with a movie star, a singer, a criminal, and a journalist and, every time, the romance ended as soon as the ship docked. Isaac is tired of getting his heart broken and, unlike Doc and Gopher, he doesn’t view romance as just being a game.

Still, as soon as Isaac spots Selena Moore (Debbie Allen) boarding the ship, he’s interested. He insists that he’s not going to act on his attraction but both Gopher and Doc tell him that it’s okay to just have some fun. And when Selena starts showing up at the bar and telling Isaac about her doubts about whether or not she wants to get married to her fiancé, Isaac decides to follow Gopher and Doc’s advice. He and Selena have a shipboard romance.

And, of course, Isaac falls in love. He said that he wouldn’t but he does because that’s just who Isaac is. Isaac is the most sincere character on the show. Gopher is goofy. Doc is a walking HR nightmare. Julie is practical. The Captain is stern. And Isaac is the one who impulsively falls in love, even though he knows he’s probably going to get hurt.

When Isaac trips and falls after one night of dancing, Doc jokingly declares that Isaac will never walk again. Selena runs away in tears. That really should have been a clue that she loved her fiancé more than she was letting on. When the ship finally returns home, Isaac can only watch as Selena greets her fiancé, who turns out to be an older man who uses a wheelchair. Isaac can only wipe away a tear and hand the roses that he got for Selena to a random passenger. It’s a bit sad, even though the outcome was predictable. Ted Lange and Debbie Allen both made the story work far better than one might expect it to.

And it’s a good thing that Lange and Allen worked so hard because the other two stories are nowhere near as strong.

One of the stories features Fannie Flagg as Alicia Finch, an eccentric woman who sneaks her terrier (played by Cricket) onto the boat. (Cricket gets her own credit, which is cute). Alice meets Mason Randolph (Gene Rayburn), a single man who also loves dogs! Unfortunately, Cricket starts yapping and biting whenever she sees Mason. It looks like Alicia and Mason will never be. However, when the boat docks, Mason’s dog is waiting for him. Even though Mason’s dog is quite a bit bigger than her, Cricket takes a liking to him. This story was extremely predictable and Gene Rayburn was a bit annoying as Mason. (Apparently, he was a game show host and he delivers almost all of his lines as if he’s waiting for the audience to applaud.) On the plus side, Cricket was really cute.

Finally, Suzanne Welles (Maren Jensen) is a waitress who has won the lottery but now that she’s rich, she’s not sure if auto mechanic Alan Harmon (Dennis Cole) really likes her or just wants her money. Alan is also the Captain’s mechanic and Stubing comes up with a plan that’s so stupid that it makes you wonder if he should really be in charge of cruise ship. Basically, Stubing tells Suzanne that she’s right about Alan and that he’s only after her for the money. Alan then says that the Captain is correct. Stubing thinks that if Suzanne’s suspicions are confirmed, she’ll be able to relax and fall in love with Alan without worrying about why he’s pursuing her and …. wait, what? How does that make any sense? Why would Suzanne continue to spend time with Alan after he tells her that he’s only interested in her for the money? I mean, the boat is full of single, handsome men. The plan is idiotic but somehow, it works! Everyone tells the captain that he’s a genius. Seriously, what a weird story. I mean, Isaac is pouring out his heart and getting hurt again and the Captain is busy encouraging his passengers to lie to each other.

The cruise was definitely mixed bag. The Ted Lange/Debbie Allen story was nicely done. Cricket was cute. Lauren Tewes got to wear a really pretty dress for the ship’s Mexican Fiesta Night and I loved the sparkly blue evening gown that Maren Jensen wore while having dinner at the Captain’s table. But the non-Isaac stories were, respectively, bland and incredibly dumb. I guess no vacation is perfect.

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 2.21 “A Good and Faithful Servant/The Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover”

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we have a special 90-minute episode of The Love Boat!

Episode 2.21 “A Good and Faithful Servant/The Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover”

(Dir by Roger Duchowny, originally aired on February 17th, 1979)

It’s a Mills family reunion as John, Juliet, and Haley all board The Love Boat. Despite being related, the three of them appears in three separate and unconnected stories. (There is one moment where Juliet walks past John and he gives her a slightly quizzical “Do I know you?” look.)

John Mills plays Bertram MacDonald, the long-time butler and chauffeur to Estelle Castlewood (Celeste Holm). Estelle has booked herself a vacation cruise on the Pacific Princess and she’s surprised to discover that Bertram has also booked a cruise. As Bertram explains it, the only time that he can take a vacation is when Celeste takes a vacation. At first, Bertram promises to stay away from Celeste during the cruise so that they can both enjoy their vacations without feeling like employer and employee. However, fate keeps bringing them together and soon, Bertram tells Celeste that he has to resign from his position because he’s now in love with her. Fortunately, Celeste is also in love with him so it all works out. Upon returning to America, Bertram again drives Celeste home but, this time, Celeste sits up front with him instead of in the back of her limo. This was a rather sweet story, largely because John Mills and Celeste Holm had a lot of chemistry and, being two veteran actors, they both knew exactly how to deliver their sentimental dialogue without making it sound overly calculated.

Juliet Mills plays Millicent, who is separated from Sherman (David Hedison). Millicent boards the cruise with her 8 year-old son, Lucas (Keith Coogan) and she is shocked to discover that Sherman has decided to take the cruise as well. Lucas blames himself for the separation but, fortunately, he gets a pep talk from a real-life baseball star, Reggie Jackson. (Yes, I did ask my sister who he was.) Even better, Sherman and Millicent realize that they still love each other and agree to call off the divorce. Yay! Again, this was another story that worked because of the chemistry between the two leads. Juliet Mills and David Hedison were convincing as a couple who, for all of their ups and downs, were still willing to give their marriage another chance.

Now, you may be wondering what Reggie Jackson was doing on the cruise. It turns out that Reggie is an old friend of Isaac Washington’s. Apparently, Isaac was known as “Freight Train Washington” in high school. Reggie went on to become a multi-millionaire athlete while Isaac went on to become a bartender on a cruise line. When Reggie boards the boat, he tells Isaac that he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s famous. However, in an amusing twist, Reggie soon becomes frustrated when he gets what he asked for. He’s soon reduced to telling people that he’s Reggie Jackson, just to have them reply that he looks nothing like Reggie Jackson. Not even Captain Stubing believes that he’s Reggie Jackson! Fortunately, Reggie is finally able to convince Cleo (Telma Houston) that he is who he says he is and the two of them leave the boat together. As an actor, Reggie Jackson was a bit stiff but he still had decent comedic timing and it was hard not to be amused at his growing frustration over being anonymous.

Finally, Haley Mills plays model Cheryl Tyson. Gopher is excited that Cheryl is going to be on the cruise. She’s his favorite model! He even has a big poster on the wall next to his bed in his cabin. Unfortunately, every time that Gopher is near Cheryl, he loses the ability to speak in complete sentences. As such, Gopher spends the majority of the episode fantasizing outlandish, film-inspired scenarios that all lead to him sweeping Cheryl off her feet. Gopher imagines himself as an explorer, an admiral, a knight, a spy, and as Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. He imagines himself as Elton John, performing Pinball Wizard as the Love Boat crew dances around. He even imagines being in a love triangle with Julie and Cheryl. Eventually, Cheryl gives him a pity date and it’s …. well, this whole storyline was pretty stupid. Fred Grandy was likable in the role and Gopher could be an amusingly goofy character but his fantasies were just so silly and poorly written that I couldn’t wait for them to be over. It’s nice that the show finally gave Grandy a showcase but neither he nor Haley Mills were particularly well-served by this episode.

This was an uneven episode. Even though the stories featuring John and Juliet Mills and Reggie Jackson were nicely done, the Hayley Mills/Fred Grandy stuff took up the majority of the episode and it dragged the whole thing down.

Next week …. Freight Train Washington falls in love!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/18/23 — 6/24/23

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Andor (Disney Plus)

I finished up Andor this week and I was surprised by not only how intelligent the show was but also how much I enjoyed it. Usually, Star Wars stuff tends to bore me to tears but Andor was full of interesting characters, exciting action, and even a few memorable exchanges of dialogue. The show took itself seriously without ever becoming dull. Diego Luna gave a strong performance in the title role and really, the entire cast impressed. On a personal note, one reason why I enjoyed it is because it didn’t get bogged down in all of the usual Star Wars mythology. As such, even an outsider like me could follow what was going on.

Beavis and Butt-Head (Thursday, Paramount Plus)

“Those boys sure do die a lot,” I thought as I watched last week’s episode of Beavis and Butt-Head on Thursday. The first segment on that episode, which featured Beavis and Butt-Head becoming hoarders, ended with their skeletons being discovered on their couch and then dumped into a dumpster without anyone bothering to even ask who they had been in life. The second segment ended with Beavis finding inner peace via acupuncture. Beavis enjoyed having the needles in his face so much that he ended up sticking a bunch of thumb tacks and sewing needles everywhere else on his body. The episode ended with Beavis apparently castrating himself. Fortunately, that happened offscreen.

This week’s episode featured even more hardship for Beavis. Jealous because Butt-Head got to wear a stupid costume at work, Beavis made his own stupid uniform and eventually got beaten up. (It’s too complicated to explain in a capsule review but it was all Butt-Head’s fault.) This was followed by one of Tom Anderson’s stories about the Korean War and a segment in which Old Beavis and Butt-Head got a job working at a warehouse that was owned by a company that was totally not Amazon. Needless to say, the warehouse burned down by the end of the day.

Bubblegum Crisis (NightFlight+)

As usual, I can’t truthfully that I was able to follow the plot of the episode of Bubblegum Crisis that I watched on Saturday morning. But the explosions were plentiful and the animation was stylish. Sometimes, you don’t have to know what’s going on.

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

Dancing With The Stars (Disney Plus)

I’m not sure why I missed the 31st season of Dancing With The Stars when it originally aired but, with the Emmys approaching, I finally watched it this week. It was pretty good, though I think Gabby and Val should have won.

Fantasy Island (Tubi)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Forgive or Forget (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Sunday night. It was from the Robin Givens years. Parents demanded that their out-of-control teens sign a contract promising to no longer be out-of-control. One teen signed and the others dramatically ripped the contracts into little pieces. Robin yelled at all of them. I doubt it made much difference in the long run but it probably made the parents feel better (or worse as the case may be.)

I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Netflix)

I binged the latest season on Wednesday night. “This guy is trying to start a pay it forward chain!” made me laugh so hard that I nearly fell off my couch.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

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

Making the Cut (Prime)

The Master (Tubi)

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

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

On Friday night, I watched an episode of this 1984 episode of this show. It was all about music videos based on movies. Among the videos that they showed was the one for Relax from Frankie Goes To Hollywood. From what I’ve seen, it appears that the people behind Night Flight were always looking for an excuse to show that video.

U.S. Open Golf (Sunday, NBC)

Congratulations to Wyndham Clark! As always, I thought the course looked lovely.

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox/Tubi)

At the same time that I was binging the latest season of Dancing With The Stars, I was also watching what might be the last season of So You Think You Can Dance. As always, I enjoyed the dancing but everything was pretty much overshadowed by the whole Matthew Morrison thing. Personally, I always found Matthew Morrison’s performance to be the most annoying thing about Glee so I wasn’t particularly sad to see him step down as a judge on this show.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about this week’s episodes here!