Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/10/24 — 3/16/24


On Sunday, I discovered that there are hundreds of episodes of Blind Date on YouTube.  Blind Date was an early reality show, where two strangers would be set up on a blind date and the cameras would follow them as they searched for a deeper connection.  The show was distinguished by its snarky attitude, which was usually represented by thought balloons that would show what the two people were “really” thinking.  While plenty of episodes featured likable people who went on good dates, the disastrous dates were always a lot more fun to watch.

And I’ve watched a lot of them this week.  Whenever I’ve been bored or I’ve found myself struggling to focus, I’ve pulled up an episode of Blind Date and …. well, I’d be lying if I said the show was making me more productive.  If anything, I’ve probably wasted a lot of time on it.  But still, it makes me smile when I need to smile.

On Sunday, I also watched The Oscars I wrote about the show here.  For the most part, it was an entertaining show and I’m glad Christopher Nolan finally won his Oscar.  I’ve been thinking a lot about Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech, of which I was not a fan.  Zone of Interest is an important film and Glazer’s speech can’t change that.  Still, I’m having to do now what I always tell me friends they should do whenever they discover one of their favorite directors or actors isn’t as much of a leftist as they are.  I always tell them to stop whining and just separate the work from the artist.  And now I’m discovering that is easier said than done.  I may owe some of my friends an apology.

On Tuesday, I watched a 90s talk show called Rolanda.  Rolanda interviewed gang members who wanted to come out of the closet.

On Wednesday, I was excited to watch both Survivor and The Amazing Race!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to full concentrate on either show because I got a call halfway through Survivor but I plan on rewatching both episodes tomorrow.  Survivor, I have to admit, hasn’t really worked for me lately.  Ever since it came back from the Pandemic hiatus, Survivor has felt like a shadow of its past self.  But I continue to unreservedly love The Amazing Race.

On Friday, I watched episodes of Vanishing Shadow and Night Flight on Night Flight Plus.  The Night Flight episode featured film directors who made music videos.  I’ve noticed that every episode of Night Flight finds an excuse to show Brian DePalma’s video for Relax and this episode was no different.

On Saturday morning, I watched the first episode of an old anime called Bubblegum Crash.  I have no idea what was going on for most of it but a lot of stuff did blow up.

Also Watched And Reviewed Elsewhere:

Baywatch Nights

Check It Out! — Review upcoming

CHiPs

Fantasy Island

Friday the 13th: The Series

Highway to Heaven

The Love Boat

Miami Vice

Monsters

Puppetman

T and T

Welcome Back, Kotter

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/25/24 — 3/2/24


This was an odd week.  Other than the shows that I watch for my retro television reviews, I only watch six other shows this week.  And no, Shogun was not one of them, though I do plan to watch it tomorrow.

On Wednesday, I watched Abbott Elementary and I thought it was funny, even if it didn’t really reach the heights of last week’s episode.  Abbott Elementary is definitely the best sitcom on network television but it’s still starting to show some signs of age.

Also on Wednesday, I watched the season premiere of Survivor.  It seems like a good group, even if I still wish Survivor would go back to its old format.  It does kind of bother me that every new season of Survivor has to have some whiny, socially awkward person who acts scared of everything and who were supposed to feel sorry for.  If I want to watch Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison on a reality show, I’ll watch more true crime.

On Friday night, I watched an episode of an 80s music video show called Radio 1990 and an episode of Night Flight that featured a lot of Canadians.  I also watched another chapter of the 1930s serial, The Vanishing Shadow.  They were all fun.

On Friday and Saturday, I watched several episodes of — cringe! — The Jerry Springer Show.  They’re on YouTube and I watched them as research for a future post.  There’s no way that whole show wasn’t staged.

That’s it!  Not much to this week in television.  I almost skipped this week’s post altogether but …. well, I’m a completist.  Even if I don’t do anything, I still feel it’s important to officially acknowledge my inactivity.

 

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/18/24 — 2/24/24


Greetings from Lake Texoma!  It’s been a relaxing week and exactly what I needed.  Here’s some thoughts on what I watched out on the deck.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

“Janine smokes weed every day!”

Finally!  After being slightly disappointed with the previous episodes of Abbott Elementary, this week’s episode was definitely a return to form!  Whether it was all of the teachers talking about their drugs of choice or the hilarious FADE assembly, this episode epitomized everything that makes this show special.  And while Janine smoking weed every day may seem a bit unexpected, it makes sense when you consider that she dated Tariq for ten years.

American Idol (Sunday Night, ABC)

Whenever American Idol starts a new season, I always find myself saying, “Is that show still on?”  Seriously, it’s been a while since American Idol was a huge part of the cultural landscape and it’s been even longer since the show introduced America to genuine talents like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

This season got off to an odd start, with Ryan Seacrest saying that the previous winner had put his home state of Hawaii on the map.  No, Ryan — I’m pretty sure people knew about Hawaii before American Idol.  As I watched the rest of the first audition episode, it occurred to me that, once again, the judges were too concerned about their own image to really offer up any sort of constructive feedback.  That’s one reason why a show like this needs someone who is willing to be brutally honest and who has nothing to lose by being the show’s “villain.”  Simon Cowell was a brilliant judge because he could always just hop on a plane and head back to the UK if his criticism ever turned America against him.  Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, on the other hand, all have brands that are based on being likable and not destroying people’s dreams.

Everyone who auditioned had a tragic backstory and they all did that thing were they oversold the emotion of whatever they were singing.  It was kind of boring, to be honest.  It’s been a long time since the show has produced a true American idol.

Bubblegum Crisis (Night Flight Plus)

Jeff and I watched an episode of this anime on Saturday morning.  I have no idea what was going on in the episode but a lot of stuff blew up.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

On Thursday night, Jeff and I watched an episode in which a woman named Lynsey accused her ex of abusing their daughter.  That Lynsey was lying was pretty obvious from the start.  Eventually, Lynsey got angry and stormed off stage.  She came back out a bit later and accused Dr. Phil of turning her story into a “circus.”  Usually, I’m totally in favor of people giving Dr. Phil a hard time but, in this case, Lynsey really was the worst.

Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court (YouTube)

He was the father!  Yay!  I had an episode of this playing in the background on Friday morning while I was in the process of waking up.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

After playing the role for almost as long as I’ve been alive, Sam Waterston played Jack McCoy for the last time this week.  McCoy resigned as District Attorney in order to protect his subordinates from the political fall-out of prosecuting a friend of the Mayor’s.  I would have liked to have seen McCoy retire on his own terms, as opposed to being forced out.  Quitting in the face of political pressure felt out of character for Jack McCoy.  And the fact that he resigned to protect Price and Maroun, neither one of whom really feels worthy of the sacrifice, only adds insult to injury.

I find it interesting that almost every episode of Law & Order seems to feature a wealthy murderer.  Do poor people not commit crimes in New York City?

Maury (YouTube)

“You are the father!”  “You are not the father!”  “You’re going to be in this baby’s life, right?”  “Oh, you know it, Maury!”  I watched way too much Maury on Friday and I will never forgive myself.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, Jeff and I watched a profile of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, Jeff and I watched another episode of this 1930s serial.  Our heroes spent the entire episode fleeing gangsters.

Watched and Reviewed Elsewhere:

  1. Baywatch Nights
  2. Check it Out (review will be dropping in 30 minutes)
  3. CHiPs
  4. Fantasy Island
  5. Friday the 13th: The Series
  6. Highway to Heaven
  7. In The Lion’s Den
  8. The Love Boat
  9. Miami Vice
  10. Monsters
  11. T and T
  12. Welcome Back, Kotter

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/11/24 — 2/17/24


This was another week in which I didn’t watch much television, beyond what I usually review.  A lot of that is because I was preoccupied with exercising my ankle (which is doing much better) and Valentine’s Day!  And some of it is because I guess modern television just doesn’t interest me that much right now.  All the game shows and the self-conscious prestige dramas are just kind of boring.

Anyway, here’s some thought on what I did watch this week!

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I felt that this week’s episode was a clear improvement over the premiere, though the show still seems to be struggling to find its footing in the third season.  I liked Gregory as the cool teacher and I enjoyed the return of Tariq but I’m still not a fan of Janine working for the district.

Bubblegum Crisis (Night Flight Plus)

The action moved to Houston in the episode that I watched on Saturday morning.  As usual, I couldn’t really follow the plot but it was fun to watch everything explode.  Bubblegum Crisis takes place in 2033 so I guess we’ve got nine years left.

Diocese Of Dallas Catholic Mass  (Sunday Afternoon, Channel 27)

For various reasons, I really wanted to go to Mass on Sunday but with my sprained ankle, I really didn’t feel like having to hop all the way down to St. Joseph’s.  Fortunately, television to the rescue!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Monday night.  A woman falsely accused her ex-husband of using their child to make pornographic movies.  Her husband passed a lie detector test and, as Phil pointed out, the woman’s story was full of inconsistencies and never made any sense.  Despite being exposed as being a liar, the woman refused to apologize.

On Saturday, I watched an episode that featured an online gambling addict who, having lost all of his money, was now living in his mother’s basement.  “We are staging an intervention,” Dr. Phil said, in that ultra-dramatic way of his.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

This Friday, I watched an episode about famous people who made cameo appearances in 80s music videos.

The Super Bowl (Sunday Night, CBS)

I have to admit that I was really rooting for the 49ers by the end of the game.  I always like it when the underdogs win.  But still, congratulations to the Chiefs on their victory.  As usual, I was mostly watching for the commercials but I got kind of bored with them this year.  The one with Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon was amusing.

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

I watched another installment of this old timey serial on Saturday morning. Our heroes spent most of this episode being pursued by gangsters.  Fortunately, they had a vanishing ray!  This old 30s serial is a lot of fun.

Watched and Reviewed Elsewhere:

  1. Baywatch Nights (YouTube)
  2. Check It Out (Tubi) — Review Dropping In 30 Minutes
  3. CHiPs (Freevee)
  4. Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)
  5. Fantasy Island (Daily Motion)
  6. Friday the 13th (YouTube)
  7. Highway to Heaven (Freevee)
  8. Lookwell (YouTube)
  9. The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)
  10. Miami Vice (Tubi)
  11. Monsters (Tubi)
  12. T and T (Tubi)
  13. Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Televison: 10/22/23 — 10/28/23


I’ve got so much stuff piling up on the DVR.  I’ll get caught up on it all in November!

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

I wrote about this stupid show over at the Reality TV Chat Blog!  I will be so happy when this season is over.  Every day, I pray for the cancellation of this show.

Check It Out! (Tubi)

I watched the fourth episode of Check It Out! on Friday.  My review will drop in a few hours.

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here!

Dragnet (Weekday Morning, MeTV)

I woke up early enough on Monday that, when I turned on television, I found myself watching the episode of Dragnet where Joe Friday served on a review board that was investigating whether a police officer had failed to properly identity himself.  It was not one of the more interesting episodes of Dragnet.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched an episode of Dr. Phil in which Phil interviewed a woman who shaved her head and faked having cancer.  The woman said that she felt very guilty.  Dr. Phil didn’t buy it.

On Tuesday morning, I watched Dr. Phil talk to a woman who was in an abusive marriage with a total jerk.  Dr. Phil called the jerk a “loud-mouthed bully” but it didn’t really seem to do much good.  Later, on Tuesday evening, I watched an episode about an out-of-control teen named Taylor.  Phil yelled at the parents but he didn’t seem to do much good for Taylor.

On Saturday night, I watched an episode about a disastrous wedding that was still tearing a family apart.  Seriously, it was a really bad wedding.  I think the only solution was for the wife to get a divorce.  “Wow,” Dr. Phil said, in his condescending way.

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about Gun here.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

The Hitchhiker (YouTube)

I watched several episodes of The Hitchhiker this week, while choosing which ones to feature on the site.  It was a bit of an uneven show but, when it worked, it worked.  I loved Page Fletcher’s super-judgmental monologues.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this classic on Thursday.  Read Erin’s’ thoughts on it here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Nightmare Café (YouTube)

I wrote about Nightmare Café here!

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Toy Story Of Terror (Disney Plus)

Erin and I watched this on Thursday, after we watched It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  I love the toys!  This isn’t their best adventure but it’s still nice to see and hear everyone again.

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

I watched Chapter Three of this serial on Friday night.  In this episode, the invisibility ray was used.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I reviewed Welcome Back Kotter here!

Yes Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

A member of Jim’s cabinet had a plan that he felt would help the economy and reduce unemployment.  Sir Humphrey felt that the cabinet member was a pointless radical and encouraged Jim to ignore him.  This episode featured one of my favorite sources of humor on this show, Jim’s tendency to just agree with whoever last spoke to him.  It feels like a very realistic portrait of the way governments work.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/15/23 — 10/21/23


TV!?  Who has time for TV in October!  I’m going to have so much to catch up on in November, I swear.  Here’s some thoughts on what I did watch over the previous week!

ALCS Game One (Sunday Night, FOX)

I watched this baseball game, between the Rangers and the Astros, on Sunday night with my sister, Erin.  The Rangers won, which made Erin happy and that made me happy.

ALCS Game Two (Monday Afternoon, Fox)

I watched a bit of this with Erin on Monday.  She was happy that the Rangers won so I was happy too.

Big Brother 25 (24/7, CBS and Paramount Plus)

I wrote about Big Brother here!

Check It Out (Tubi)

I watched the 3rd episode of Check It Out earlier today and my review will be dropping in about 90 minutes.

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi here!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

Find someone who loves you as much as Dr. Phil loved saying “Sugar Daddy web sites” in 2017.  The episode that I watched on Sunday was from 2017 and Phil said either “Sugar Daddy” or “Sugar Baby” over a hundred times in 40 minutes.  It all came across as being a bit silly.

On Monday, I watched an episode in which a woman and her 81 year-old fiancé accused her ex-husband of being abusive.  Phil didn’t believe a word that the woman had to say and the woman proceeded to have a meltdown on stage.

On Saturday, I watched the first part of an interview with a young woman who thought she was pregnant with Jesus (as in literally Jesus).  Special guest star Dr. Stork from The Doctors visited to tell her that she wasn’t pregnant.  She accused him of lying.  The audience gasped.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about Gun here!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here …. here!

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

On Tuesday morning, I watched an episode about young teenage girls who dated older teenage boys.  The youngest of the girls was like 13 and she was dating a 17 year-old.  Jenny got extremely flustered while interviewing the idiots on her stage.

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched a 1988 interview with director Brian De Palma where he came across as being about as confident as could be.  That’s probably because the interview was filmed after The Untouchables and before The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Nightmare Café (YouTube)

I wrote about Nightmare Café here!

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

Our serial continued with chapter two, which I watched on Friday night.  Having escaped using the Invisibility Ray at the end of the previous chapter, our hero spent this chapter being chased by villains who were carrying a Death Ray.  It was a fun 30 minutes.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

Gabe’s father came to visit and I wrote about it here!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

This week’s episode as Yes, Prime Minister was very, very British as it resolved around Prime Minister Hacker selecting a new bishop.  The entire episode was full of jokes about how the Church of England was less of a church and more of a social club.  As someone of an Irish/Italian Catholic background, I had a good laugh.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/8/23 — 10/14/23


I’m running behind on everything.  I haven’t even started Bachelor in Paradise yet.  Oh well.  I’ll probably have time in November to watch everything that I’m currently missing.

The Amazing Race (CBS, Sunday Night)

The race went from Thailand to Vietnam this week and, for the first time since the new season began, I was able to watch the entire episode from beginning to end.  I still need to catch up on the episodes that came before the one I watched this week but it almost doesn’t matter who is on the show.  I just enjoy The Amazing Race as a matter of general principle.  I like watching everyone go from country to country.  It’s always interesting to see which otherwise strong team will have a total meltdown due to a bad cab driver.

Big Brother 25 (24/7, Paramount+ and CBS)

I’ve been writing about this extremely annoying season over at the Reality TV Chat Blog!

Bubblegum Crisis (Night Flight Plus)

I watched another episode of this anime on Saturday morning.  As usual, I couldn’t follow a single thing that was going on, though I did notice that there were a lot of explosions.  The anime clothes were to die for.

Check It Out (Tubi)

I watched the second episode of this Canadian sitcom earlier today.  My review should be dropping in another hour or two.  The episode dealt with a unions and labor relations, which is something that has certainly been in the news recently.  The episode made me glad that I’m not a member of a union because I don’t think I could handle all of that repetitive picketing.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about the second episode of Friday the 13th here!

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about Gun here!

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, Fox)

I’m running so far behind on my television watching that I only watched last week’s episode on Tuesday and I have yet to watch this week’s episode.  That said, I kind of knew that Tad was going to be the first person to be sent home, just be Chef Ramsey’s negative reaction to his signature dish.  It’s probably for the best.  Tad was amusingly weird but they’ve got a kitchen to run!

The Hitchhiker (YouTube)

I watched a few more episodes of The Hitchhiker while selecting which ones to feature here on the site for October.  Unfortunately, a lot of the best episodes of The Hitchhiker are also age-restricted so I can’t embed them.  Still, I think it’s a fun show.  I’ve been enjoying Page Fletcher’s wonderfully judgmental monologues at the start and end of each episode.

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Nightmare Cafe (YouTube)

I wrote about Nightmare Cafe here!

Radio 1990 (NightFlight Plus)

I watched an episode of this old 90s music show on Friday night.  Gene Simmons was interviewed and actually came across as being calm, reasonable, and polite.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

You know, the fact that the same tribe has been sent to tribal council for three episodes in a row really should tell the producers of this show that it’s time to stop doing the three-tribe thing and return to starting out with two big tribes.  I mean, every season since the show returned from its COVID hiatus, two tribes have dominated while one has had to go tribal over and over again.  It’s getting kind of boring.

The Vanishing Shadow (NightFlight Plus)

This is actually an old serial from the 1930s.  I watched the first chapter on Friday night.  A man developed an invisibility ray and hoped that he could use it to exonerate his criminally-convicted father.  This episode ended with a cliffhanger and it was actually a lot of fun.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

In a development that felt very current, Prime Minister Hacker found himself being bulled by the American ambassador.  This seemed like a funny episode but, unfortunately, I was also doing some emergency cleaning around the house while it aired so I didn’t get to pay as much attention as I would have liked.