4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Michael Curtiz Edition

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

December 24th is not just Christmas Eve! It’s also the anniversary of the birth of Michael Curtiz! Michael Curtiz was born in Budapest in 1886 and, after getting his start making silent films in Hungary, he eventually came to the United States and became one of the most important directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age! Curtiz mastered every genre and worked with every star and the end result was some of the greatest films ever made.

Today, we honor the legacy of Michael Curtiz with….

4 Shots From 4 Michael Curtiz Films

The Walking Dead (1936, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Hal Mohr)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: W. Howard Greene)

Casablanca (1942, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Arthur Edeson)

Mildred Pierce (1945, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Ernest Haller)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/9/22 — 10/15/22

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week watching movies but I did catch a few shows. Here’s some thoughts on them:

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Ava is such a cool principal! This week’s episode wasn’t as strong as the previous three episodes but the scenes in which we saw how Ava dealt with disciplinary problems were entertaining. “I want to go to the principal’s office!”

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I reviewed the latest episode of The Amazing Race here!

Atlanta (Thursday Night, FX)

Another crazy day at the mall. I’m glad Al survived. Earn and Darius got their shoes. The Crank Dat Killer was taken off the streets. Some Guy Named Doug finally got to collaborate with Al. Another day in Atlanta.

Bachelor in Paradise (Monday and Tuesday Night, ABC)

Eh. This season is too complicated for me. The scenery’s nice.

Baywatch (Weekday Morning, H&I)

I watched an episode of Baywatch on Wednesday morning. After an accident left him paralyzed, Manny had a crisis of confidence. Meanwhile, Neely and Mitch continued to argue on the beach. This was an episode from Baywatch’s final season. It was all a bit silly but the scenery was nice.

Fantasy Island (Tubi)

You can read my review of what I watched by clicking here!

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

In the first episode, Aunt Becky went back to work and Danny panicked because it meant his new girlfriend would be leaving Wake Up, San Francisco. Fortunately, she got hired to do weather so I guess that all worked out. Becky going back to work reminded me of how little Jesse actually does.

In the second episode, a singer was hired to perform at Stephanie’s birthday party. Stephanie had a crush on him but he had a crush on DJ. The singer was like 30 so he really shouldn’t have had a crush on either of them.

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

Poor Jay! He just wants some friends, like his wife has with the ghosts. Unfortunately, he always seems to end up finding the worst possible friends around. This week, he nearly got sucked into a cult. Perhaps Jay should follow the ghost’s advice and become a snake oil salesman.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

O’Shay being eliminated was not a huge surprise. It really should have happened last week, when he tried to send out raw chicken. The episode ended with Chef Ramsay announcing that the 20s vs. 40s competition was over and the show was reverting back to its usual women vs men format. Again, this wasn’t a huge surprise. Hell’s Kitchen, unlike several other reality shows, has pretty much stuck with its original format and I don’t see it changing any time soon.

Interview With A Vampire (Sunday Night, AMC)

I’m still struggling to get into this one, for whatever reason. I’ll give it another try next week and maybe rewatch the first two episodes as well.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, the criminal was a serial killer who was also a famous actor. The episode wasn’t anything special but at least it wasn’t obnoxiously political.

Law & Order: Organized Crime (Thursday Night, NBC)

I watched it but I’d be lying if I said I remembered a thing about it, beyond Stabler looking like he was about to give himself a heart attack with all of his pent-up rage.

Law & Order: SVU (Thursday Night, NBC)

Again, I watched it but I don’t remember much about it. By broadcasting all of these Law & Order shows on the same night, NBC is causing them to blend together in my mind.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I reviewed what I watched here!

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

I honestly thought last week’s episode was the season finale but it turns out I was wrong! A new episode dropped on Thursday. Beavis and Butt-Head building their own dinosaur was hilarious and also sad. “Why did we do this?”

The Real Love Boat (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Who cares? The old Love Boat is more fun.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I reviewed the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I didn’t pay much attention. Chris Hardwicke seemed kind of bored with it all.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I hate to admit it but I have yet to find the time to write out full length reviews of the past two episodes of The Walking Dead. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to do it next week. As for last week’s episode, it was an improvement on the episode that came before it. I’m kind of bored with the downfall of the Commonwealth, though. I think the show made an excuse taking that long break before starting the final half of season 11. I was really into the show before that break but now I’m struggling to get reinvested.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/2/22 — 10/8/22

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s some thoughts on what I watched this week!

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Oh Lord, the Story Samurais. Seriously, I’ve known people just like that. I was cringing for them through the entire episode. Ava continues to be the best character on the show.

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of The Amazing Race here.

Atlanta (Thursday Night, FX)

This week’s episode dealt with an enigmatic entertainment mogul known as Kirkwood Chocolate, who was a prolific and popular creator of melodramatic dramas and broad comedies. Everyone on the show acknowledged that Mr. Chocolate’s shows were not necessarily good but they also wanted to support black art. Mr. Chocolate, himself, turned out to be a somewhat crazed megalomaniac who also claimed to have no control over his shows. Lottie briefly became Mr. Chocolate’s biggest star. It was a funny and thought-provoking episode and it made no attempt to hide that Kirkwood Chocolate was basically Tyler Perry.

Bachelor In Paradise (Monday and Tuesday Nights, ABC)

I just watched it for the scenery. It is kind of interesting that everyone who has been eliminated so far came from Clayton’s season. It’s like someone put a curse on that season and the people involved will never find peace.

Beyond The Headlines (Sunday Morning, Lifetime)

This was a one-hour discussion of the Gabby Petito case, which Lifetime aired as a companion to The Gabby Petito Story.

East New York (Sunday Night, CBS)

On Sunday, I watched the first episode of CBS’s newest cop show, East New York. The main reason that I watched it was because I had been inundated for commercials for the show while I was watching Big Brother last month. Much as I was expecting, East New York turned out to be a middling cop show, one that tried to walk the fine line between back the blue and defund the police. It didn’t really work but it was nice to see that the show had good roles for Richard Kind and Jimmy Smits.

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

Sam started a podcast about Hetty’s murder but, in order to get funding, she had to accept the eccentric and creepy Todd Pearlman as a co-host. This episode wasn’t quite as funny as the season premiere but it did set up what I assume will be this season’s major storyline.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

Someone finally tried to serve raw chicken. It’s not really Hell’s Kitchen until that happens.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched the end of the 8th series on Tuesday. Robbie was upset because one of his old cases was being reopened. I was upset because Hathaway had a truly terrible haircut. Hopefully, that’ll be corrected next week.

Interview With A Vampire (Sunday, AMC)

I watched the premiere on Monday and I was bored out of my mind.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise in New York City so, of course, Law & Order decided to do an episode about it in which they blamed it all on a generic right-wing gun nut who was upset over COVID. The U.S. government wanted to prosecute the criminal but they also wanted to see the death penalty. “I don’t know if I can set my personal beliefs aside,” Price said. When has Price ever been able to set aside his personal beliefs? Seriously, we’re only to seasons into this season and I’m already sick of Price talking about his personal beliefs.

Law & Order: Organized Crime (Thursday Night, NBC)

I did watch Organized Crime but seriously, don’t even ask me what happened on this week’s episode. I got bored and kind of zoned out. All I know is that Stabler needs to relax. Maybe try yoga or something.

Law & Order: SVU (Thursday Night, NBC)

SVU took a heavy-handed swipe at influencer culture this week. It was a bit of a generic story but the episode was somewhat redeemed by Killi Giddish’s performance as Amanda Rollins, who is still struggling to put being shot behind her.

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

Never will I forget the horror of Beavis putting on Yoga pants. The season came to an end this week with an appropriately hilarious episode. First, Beavis and Butt-Head were thrilled to discover their employer reserved the right to refuse service to customers who created an unsafe work environment. And then Beavis decided that he would “look really sexy” in yoga pants. Needless to say it didn’t go well. As for the overall season, I liked it. I perhaps would have done a bit less with Old Beavis and Old Butt-Head but otherwise, this was a really funny and sharply satiric show.

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

I watched two episodes of this old 80s show on Friday night. One dealt with songs about drugs. The other was a profile of Depeche Mode.

The Real Love Boat (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Basically, this is just Paradise Hotel on a boat. Who knows? Maybe everyone will find love before the season ends.

So Help Me Todd (Wednesday Night, CBS)

This is a new show about a lawyer and her son, the private investigator. Guess what the son’s name is! CBS advertised the Hell out of this during Big Brother, so I watched the first episode when it was re-aired on Sunday. It was not quite as bad as I was expecting but it’s still very much a middle-of-the-road, safe to watch with your middle-aged relatives sort of show. Marcia Gay Harden plays the lawyer and it’s nice to see her playing someone who isn’t a half-crazed victim for once.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here.

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I still like Talking Dead but it’s hard not to feel that everything that can be said about The Walking Dead already has been said. Even Chris Hardwicke seemed to be kind of bored with it all.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

The Walking Dead returned with a boring episode. Let’s hope things pick up next week.

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

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

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

Lisa Marie’s Week In Televison: 4/3/22 — 4/9/22

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the next few weeks, I’ll be trying to catch up on all the potential Emmy nominees that I missed when they first aired. So, I guess my week in television is about to get a lot busier!

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

“I shall say this only once,” Rene announced to Michelle, “I am done with the Resistance!”

Rene says this during nearly every episode of Allo Allo and no one ever believes him. Such was the case with Sunday’s episode. Michelle responded to Rene’s resignation from the Resistance by giving him suicide pills and announcing that the British airmen had been captured but she had a great plan to rescue them, a plan that would, of course, hinge on Rene’s involvement. While Rene’s mother-in-law prepared for her wedding and Lt. Gruber tried to make sure that the painting did not fall into the hands of his rivals, Rene had to deal with a code book that had been eaten by rats. I realize that previousy sentence makes no sense but that’s to be expected with this show. Eventually, everyone ended up disguised as an undertaker while Crabtree wished everyone a “Good moaning,” in his fractured French.

American Idol (Sunday and Monday Night, ABC)

Hollywood week came to a close with two episodes of American Idol.

On Sunday, the finalists were forced to perform duets, which meant that the episode was full of people singing painfully sincere songs and getting all emotional. It was a bit awkward to watch at times. There was a definite lack of drama, as only one duet team failed to get along. Though a lot of Idol fans are going to hate me for saying this, I found myself getting a little bit tired of Kelcie going on and on about how insecure she was. Fortunately, she was paired with Betty, who made it her life mission to bring Kelcie out of her shell. And it worked, as both Kelcie and Betty made it to the next round.

On Monday, the remaining competitors performed one last time for the judges and they were whittled down to 24. Both Betty and Kelcie were let go during this round. We didn’t actually get to see Betty’s performance but we did see Kelcie perform and she wasn’t bad. She’s got a great voice, even if the insecurity is a bit hard to take. But she was apparently let go specifically because of the insecurity, with the judges telling her to work on her confidence so …. I don’t know. It seems like, if that was going to be a determining factor, that’s something that they could have said during the Duets. Instead, they put Kelcie through because it would make for good television to then cut her at the last minute.

Anyway, it’s a pretty bland bunch of singers this season. They’ve got good voices but there’s very little real quirkiness to be found. And no, Leah Marlene is not quirky, no matter how many times she tells us that she is. Real quirkiness is natural. It’s not something you have to work at.

Bar Rescue (Sunday and weekday mornings, Paramount)

Sunday’s bloc of Bar Rescue episodes was all about Jon rescuing bars in Texas! I watched two episodes on Sunday evening. They were both set in Houston and they both involved a lot of yelling. The important thing, though, is that every bar was made profitable by the end of the hour.

On Monday, I watched an old episode that found Jon Taffer and the crew in Florida. The bar owner thought that Taffer had good ideas. The bar manager felt that Taffer was rude and he resented being yelled at. I was kind of on the manager’s side as far as that was concerned because Taffer really did go a bit overboard with the yelling during this episode. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end. The bar was rescued, just in time for the hurricane season.

Beyond the Edge (Wednesday Night, ABC)

It amuses me to no end how this show keeps pretending like the celebrities are in mortal danger in the jungle. We all know that production is not going to let Metta World Peace drown in quicksand. After I pointed this out on twitter, a fan of the show wrote to me, and said, “Your weird.” (That’s an exact quote, including the misuse of your.) Oh well! You can’t please everyone.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

What a weird collection of episodes! First off, we had an episode where Mike’s father and Carol’s mother visited and the kids tried to get them to fall in love with each other. Robert Reed and Florence Henderson played their own parents. You could tell Florence was just having fun but Robert really went all in and acted up a storm. This was followed by the episode where Cindy and Bobby auditioned to be on television and Cindy ended up freezing once the cameras were on her. Poor Cindy! Finally, Bobby got his first kiss and turned into a jerk and then Greg got in trouble for helping his friends steal a goat. The drama never stopped with those Bradys!

The Chair (Netflix)

I watched all six episodes of The Chair‘s first (and, perhaps, only) season on Thursday. In this comedy-drama, Sandra Oh plays the newly named chair of Pembroke University’s moribund English department. When the department’s most popular professor (Jay Duplass) is filmed doing a Nazi salute in jest, all heck breaks loose. The Chair is a bit uneven but ultimately, it works. It’s well-acted and the mix of comedy and drama is, for the most part, effectively handled. A recurring bit about David Duchovny being invited to give a lecture is a highlight of the show’s first season.

Couples Court With The Cutlers (Weekday Afternoon, OWNTV)

I had this on as background noise for two hours on Monday. That’s a total of four episodes, for those keeping count. I didn’t really pay much attention because, again, it was background noise. I did hear the audience gasp quite frequently. And, of course, I looked up whenever Kendall Shull came out to deliver the lie detector results.

Court Cam (Wednesday, A&E)

I watched four episodes on Wednesday evening. Mostly, I just had them on for background noise. I do remember that one episode featured an attorney getting mad at a deputy who went through her private papers while she was giving her closing statement. The deputy was held in contempt of court, as he definitely should have been. He spent ten days in jail, after refusing to apologize to the attorney.

Cruel Summer (Hulu)

The first season of Cruel Summer aired on FreeForm last year. With each episode jumping back and forth between three separate years, the show tells the story of two teenage girls in Texas. One is abducted. The other takes her place. On Thursday, I watched the first two episodes of Hulu. It was all a bit overdone and overheated but undeniably compelling. I always enjoy a good melodrama.

Dopesick (Hulu)

On Thursday night and Friday morning, I finally watched the highly acclaimed miniseries, Dopesick. The miniseries deals with the introduction of OxyContin and how the drug literally destroyed communities and continues to destroy them today. This was one of those miniseries where good scenes co-existed with scenes that were a bit too on-the-nose for their own good. Michael Keaton and Kaitlyn Dever both gave excellent performances as two people caught up in the epidemic. The miniseries wasn’t quite as good as I had been led to believe and it was definitely heavy-handed but it was still effective enough to make an impression.

The Dropout (Hulu)

I wrote about the series finale of The Dropout here!

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Poor Uncle Jesse! On his 26th birthday, he and his band had a gig at the hottest club in town. Unfortunately, when the band couldn’t make it, Jesse’s idiot roommates decided to help him out and basically, they ruined Jesse’s big night. Everything worked out in the end, though, because it’s not like Jesse could move out and have a normal life or anything like that. The other three episodes that were shown on Sunday featured Joey getting back together with his ex (ewww!) and a two-parter in which Jesse and Becky nearly got married at a tacky casino before decided that it would be better to hold off so that Becky’s parents could come to the ceremony. Run, Becky! Escape while you still can.

The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

I reviewed the latest episode of The Girl From Plainville here!

King of the Hill (Weekday Afternoons, FXX)

I watched two episodes on Wednesday, both classics from the show’s final season. In the first episode, Louanne and the Manger Babies got involved in the lucrative but demanding world of direct-to-DVD children’s programming. As John Redcorn put it, “We are already direct-to-DVD. There is no other place to go.” This episode featured one of my favorite Dale storylines, as he tried to write a children’s book about the “gun who cared.” The second episode featured Boomhauer allowing an obnoxious Canadian family to stay at his home while he went up to Ontario. The Canadians were not impressed with America but Hank still helped one of them get out of jail because that’s what neighbors do. Awwwww!

Law & Order (Thursday, NBC)

Eh. The Law & Order revival is just as clumsy when it comes to handling political issues as the original series was. This week, a congressional candidate was murdered and an extremist group went on trial and it all felt very much like partisan fan fiction.

The Love Boat (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

On this Sunday’s cruise: Frank Bonner, Shelley Fabares, Jennilee Harrison, Arte Johnson, Stephen Shortridge, McLean Stevenson, William Window, and Jane Wyatt. Not exactly the most exciting line-up, to be honest. And this was actually a pretty boring episode but the ship and the ocean both looked really nice!

The Office (All the time, Comedy Central)

I watched two episodes on Saturday. Unfortunately, they were both from the 8th season. In the first one, the Office crew went to a local trivia night. The second episode was the pool party episode. The trivia episode was actually fairly amusing but the pool party was the 8th season at its worse. There was never any reason for Robert California to invite the Scranton branch to a pool party. The problem with all of these ensemble party episodes during the post-Carell era is that they mostly just served to remind us that we really only knew these characters by how they related to Michael.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

After being rejected by Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, Arkwright considered burying Granville alive in the storeroom. It was an intense episode.

Parking Wars (Monday Morning, A&E)

In Detroit, Pony Tail handed out the tickets and encouraged everyone to be kind to each other. It was a valiant effort but we all know that it’s cold in the D. Anyway, I watched two episodes on Monday morning and they left me as aggravated as usual.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Chris Hardwicke interviewed people and complained about the villainy of Lance Hornsby.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I reviewed Sunday’s episode here!

Yellowjackets (Showtime)

I missed the first season of Yellowjackets when it first aired so I decided to catch up this weekend. I binged the first half of the season on Saturday and I’ll do the second half tomorrow. So far, this show has been playing out like a combination of Lost, Degrassi, and This is Us. Even though I already kind of know what’s going to happens thanks to Wikipedia, I’m still intrigued by the show. That said, I’m also spending a good deal of the show with my hands over my eyes because OH MY GOODNESS! THE COACH LOST A LEG! THAT GIRL’S FACE WAS RIPPED APART! THERE’S A COMPOUND FRACTURE ON THE SOCCER FIELD! EVERYONE’S PERIOD HAS SYCNED UP! AGCK! Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynesky, and Juliette Lewis are all Emmy-worthy.

TV Review: The Walking Dead 11.15 “Trust” (dir by Lily Manye)

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s often been said that, in the world of The Walking Dead, you shouldn’t trust anyone.

Of course, that’s not necessarily true. Indeed, if you don’t trust anyone, you’re actually probably increasing the odds that you’ll end up getting eaten by walkers or killed by Reapers or Whisperers or whoever the main villain of the season happens to be. You have to be willing to join up with some sort of community and that requires taking a leap of faith and putting your trust in the survival and leadership capabilities of someone who, under normal circumstances, would probably forever be a stranger to you.

That said, the world of The Walking Dead does require a certain amount of weariness. As the past 11 seasons have shown us, not everyone is worth the trouble. Some people insist on trying to apply reason to a chaotic world. Some people simply aren’t strong enough mentally or emotionally to survive the harsh reality of the apocalypse. Some people are just mean. And, of course, some people are just too annoying to keep around. Trust is important but trust also has to be earned.

Last Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead was all about trust. In fact, it was so much about trust that it was a little boring. This was one of those episodes that you could appreciate because it was laying the groundwork for whatever the finale is going to be but, at the same time, you also find yourself wishing that the show would just get on with it.

But, back to the issue of trust:

Hornsy has to decide if he trusted Gabriel and Aaron’s version about what happened at the Apartment Complex. Hornsby decided that he did not and with good reason because both Gabriel and Aaron were obviously lying. Aaron can get away with that but Gabriel just broke a Commandment. As others have pointed out, Gabriel’s not a very good priest.

Maggie had to decide whether or not to trust Daryl when he promised her that the Commonwealth soldiers would only be inside Hillside for a brief moment of time. She trusted Daryl but, obviously, she still doesn’t trust Hornsby and that’s definitely the right call on her part. Hornsby is so villainous that you have to admire the show’s restraint in not putting a black hat on his head.

The Hillside residents are trusting Maggie to give them a safe place to live but I couldn’t help but notice that Hillside looks worse and worse every time the show spends any time there. Would it kill someone to mow the grass and take care of the weeds? Everything about Hillside just reeks of mosquitos and tetanus shots.

Hornsby had to decide whether or not to trust little Herschel when the kid tried to pretend like his mom hadn’t gone to the Apartment Complex. Hornsby obviously knew better than to believe a word that kid had to say.

At the Commonwealth, Eugene has decided to trust Max. Yay!

Mercer has decided to trust Princess. Yay!

Mercer has decided that he does not trust Hornsby. That’s a smart decision but Mercer seriously needs to hurry up and announce whose side he is on.

Finally, the sick of the Commonwealth have decided to trust Ezekiel’s surgical skills. That seems like something that could go wrong but …. well, we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, with this episode, we finally reached the flashforward from the 9th episode. We finally learned why the Commonwealth showed up at Hillside and why Daryl was with them. For all of the speculation, it turns out that Daryl and Maggie are not enemies and, as Daryl showed when Hornsby threatened Herschel, Daryl will probably be on Team Hillside when the inevitable war breaks out. To be honest, I think we all secretly suspected that was what was going to happen. Still, it’s hard not to be a little bit disappointed that things worked out so simply and so obviously. It makes sense, though. Daryl trusts Maggie.

And, in the end, it’s all about trust.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/27/22 — 4/2/22

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week passed out, to be honest. Oscar Sunday took a lot out of me. Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch:

The Academy Awards (Sunday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the Oscars here.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Could the British airmen escape from floating down a canal and meeting a submarine? It sounds like a good idea but …. no, of course it’s not going to work. Good moaning, indeed!

American Idol (Monday Night, ABC)

Hollywood week! The genre challenge! It was boring. The indie folk group had some of the most annoying singers that I’ve ever seen. I’m really hoping that the girl who keeps bragging about how “weird” she is will get eliminated early. If you’re truly weird, you don’t have to beg people to notice.

Baywatch Hawaii (Hulu)

On Wednesday, I finally watched episode two of the second and final season of Baywatch Hawaii. JD wasn’t being a team player so Sean briefly suspended him and then asked him to help with a rescue. JD learned an important lesson about putting aside your own concerns and taking one for the team. Bleh. Meanwhile, the father of an injured jet skier tried to sue Baywatch Hawaii but then he met the couple who was nearly killed by his son’s carelessness and he dropped his lawsuit. Yay! Lessons were learned all around.

On Thursday, I watched episode three. Jenna was determined to shut down Baywatch and sell the property to the Mafia. Sean was determined to raise the money necessary to pay his bills. Fortunately, Jason and Zack saved the gangsters from drowning and, as a result, Baywatch lived to see another day. You can’t put someone out of business after they save your life. It’s the Mafia code.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

All four of Sunday’s episodes centered around the kids playing baseball. Greg wanted to drop out of school to pursue a career in the majors so Mike used a baseball bat to break his kneecaps. That seems a little extreme to me but the important thing is that Greg stayed in school.

Couples Court With The Cutlers (Weekdays, OWN)

I watched two episodes on Monday afternoon. I was too busy making jokes about Will and Jada Smith someday appearing on the show to actually pay that much attention.

The Dropout (Hulu)

I reviewed the latest episode of The Dropout here!

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Personally, I don’t see what was so bad about Danny Tanner wanting to have a clean house. In all four the episodes that aired last Sunday on MeTV, people gave him a hard time for being compulsively neat but seriously, who would want to live in a dirty house? For instance, while I was watching Full House, I stepped outside for a few minutes and accident stepped on a rock while barefoot. Once I came back in, I discovered that the den floor had a trail of bloody footprints on it, much like a totally horrific crime scene. Needless to say, I was not happy about this turn of events so, once I managed to step bleeding, I spent a few hours scrubbing the floor. It was just the right thing to do.

The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

I wrote about the first three episodes of Hulu’s latest miniseries here!

King of the Hill (Weekday Afternoons, FXX)

I watched one episode on Monday. Desperate to make money so that he could afford some nicer clothes, Bobby first tried to get a legitimate job but eventually, he turned to panhandling. Hank, needless to say, did not approve of his own son being a bum for fun. He also didn’t approve of the other panhandlers, who were all basically rich kids just pretending to need the money. They even forced Hank’s favorite homeless man, Spongey, to move to a different spot! Fortunately, it all worked out in the end and Spongey hopefully got the money he needed.

Last Man Standing (Sunday, Newsnation)

I swear, this show is inescapable. It’s on at least one channel every hour of every day. I guess it kind of makes sense. It’s a sitcom that didn’t really require too much focus on the part of the viewer and, as a result, it makes for nicely acceptable and inoffensive background noise. Myself, whenever I see this show, I find myself relating to the middle daughter, the one who pretends to be self-centered but is secretly nicer than everyone else. Anyway, I watched three episodes on Sunday and I don’t remember a thing about any of them, other than one featured the mom and the older sisters trying on wedding dresses and talking about how silly the world was. That’s just the type of show that Last Man Standing was.

The Love Boat (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Debbie Reynolds boarded the ship and briefly pretended to be Dr. Bricker’s nurse. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for a doctor to agree to allow anyone to “pretend to be a nurse.” I mean, a nurse still has a lot of real responsibility. I assume everything worked out in the end. To be honest, I was busy getting ready for the Oscars so I didn’t pay much attention to the show this week.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

Arkwright somewhat desperately tried to convince Nurse Gladys Emmanuel that he wasn’t a monster who is holding Granville hostage. The nurse (a real one, this time!) was too clever for him.

Saved By The Bell (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

I woke up on Sunday morning and I watched the Christmas episode! That was the one where Zack and his mom allowed a homeless man and his daughter to move in and then they never mentioned them ever again. Kind of a strange episode. I’ve always been worried about what happened to the man and his daughter after the final credits. It just seems like having two strangers living in the house is something that would have come up again in a future episode.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Chris did his best to make this week’s episode of The Walking Dead more interesting than it actually was. Good for him.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

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

TV Review: The Walking Dead 11.14 “The Rotten Core” (dir by Marcus Stokes)

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve always wondered how little Herschel would react when he eventually met Negan and learned that Negan was responsible for killing Glenn.

I mean, we all knew that it would happen eventually because, let’s face it …. Maggie and Negan are totally in love! It’s going to take them a while to admit it, of course. Maggie’s busy ruling Hilltop like a dictator and Negan’s got a new wife. Plus, there’s the whole thing where Negan savagely murdered Glenn and then spent a few seasons gloating about it. I mean, it’s going to take a while to move on from all of that. Taking all of that into consideration, Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan still have more legitimate chemistry than anyone else on this show and Maggie and Negan are definitely in love. Plus, they’re scheduled to get their own spin-off, where they both move to the most romantic city in America, New York! Not only does that mean that Hilltop is probably screwed (because why else would Maggie leave) but it also means that Maggie and Negan are destined to fall in love while listening to Dean Martin sing That’s Amore.

And the question has always been, how would Herschel react? Well, this week, we got our answer. After discovering that bratty little Herschel had snuck into the Apartment Complex, Negan agreed to keep an eye on him while Maggie and the other Hilltoppers continued to fight off a combination of walkers and Commonwealth soldiers. It didn’t take long for Herschel to figure out that Negan was the man who killed his father. Herschel pointed a gun at Negan but was eventually talked out of shooting him, proving that Herschel is ready to forgive and it’s time to let the healing begin!

Just as Herschel was discovering that Negan killed Glenn, Darryl was discovering that the Commonwealth isn’t as much of a paradise as he perhaps originally thought. He and Rosita was ordered by Sebastian to enter his old house and retrieve his cash. The only problem was that the house was full of walkers! In not very subtle terms, Sebastian threatened Darryl’s children. Inside the house, Darryl and Rosita discovered that they were not the first people to be ordered into the House of Death. There was also April, whose children were also threatened by Sebastian. Apparently, threatening people’s children is Sebastian’s thing. Fortunately, Carol and Mercer showed up to help. Unfortunately, they still had to give the money to Sebastian because he’s Governor Milton’s son and, as a result, doesn’t have to face the consequences of his actions.

This was an okay episode, though it was hard not to feel that the whole thing with the Apartment Complex was a bit overextended. The Complex invasion could have been wrapped up in one episode instead of stretching it out over two weeks. That felt like a throwback to the days when almost every episode was Rick talking about something that he was going to do in a future episode as opposed to just going ahead and doing whatever needed to be done. The Walking Dead has often had a bad habit of stretching things out a bit too far. As far as the other subplot was concerned, we already know that Commonwealth is a bad place so devoting an entire episode to Darryl finally figuring it out felt a bit superfluous.

That said, the important thing is that this episode reminded us all that Negan and Maggie are totally in love, even if they won’t admit it. Good for them. The world may end but love never dies.

Lisa Marie’s Week in Television: 3/20/22 — 3/26/22

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I didn’t watch much this week because I’ve been busy preparing for the Oscars. Here’s a few thoughts on what little I did watch.

Allo Allo (Sunday, PBS)

Lt. Gruber thought that he spotted the ghost of Rene’s twin brother in the cemetery and was frightened for his life. Of course, what we all know is that Rene never had a twin brother and instead, he’s been pretending to be his own twin brother after faking his death several seasons ago. Somehow, no one on the show has figured this out yet or found it strange that Rene had to explain that both he and his twin have the same name. Things only got more complicated from there, with Flick trying to disguise himself as a British spy and the Italian soldiers learning how to speak English. Officer Crabtree still still thinks that he can speak French. What I like is that, whenever he says “Good moaning,” all of the French characters respond with “Good moaning,” indicating that they are also mangling their French in sympathy for him. That’s nice of them. I’m also starting to get the feeling that those British airmen are never going to get out of France.

American Idol (Sunday and Monday Night, ABC)

ABC gave us two episodes of American Idol this week. The auditions came to a close. Because I was busy on both Sunday and Monday, it wasn’t until Tuesday that I watched both of the episodes on Hulu and I have to admit that it wasn’t long before I started to get bored and I ended up fast forwarding through some of the auditions. From what I heard, some of the singers had good voices but there was still an overwhelming blandness to the whole thing. Perhaps things will perk up in Hollywood.

Beyond the Edge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

The show is all about celebrities doing stuff in the jungle. Aguirre, The Wrath of God, it is not. So far, none of the celebs have had a breakdown and requested to leave the show so what even is the point?

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

The Bradys went to a national park, laughed their way through a Native ceremony, and declared themselves to be The Brady Braves. More like the Problematic Bunch, am I right?

The Dropout (Hulu)

I reviewed the latest episode of The Dropout here!

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

The Tanners and the Uncles are stranded at the airport on Christmas Eve and proceed to make life miserable for all of the other passengers. Uncle Jesse gives a speech about the true meaning of Christmas. Santa Claus is revealed to be a grumpy passenger who wears a toupee. In a scene of maximum cringe, Danny falls asleep on the baggage claim carousel. This was followed by three more episodes, all of which dealt with Jesse and Joey trying to work from home while Stephanie and Michelle demanded all of their attention. DJ and Aunt Becky were the only characters on this show who ever seemed to worry about anyone else’s feelings.

The Love Boat (Saturday Afternoon, MeTV)

On Saturday’s episode, The Love Boat’s passengers included: Kim Darby, Howard Duff, Greer Garson, Lawrence Pressman, Louanne, and Jim Stafford. To be honest, I didn’t know how the majority of those people were. Greer Garson was a psychic. Lawrence Pressman was a guy who used his best friend’s daughter to convince Kim Darby that he was a single parent. In the episode’s serious plot, Isaac briefly went deaf. It all worked out in the end.

The Office (All Week, Comedy Central)

On Sunday, I watched two episodes from season 1, both of which were classics of cringe comedy. In Basketball, Michael challenged the warehouse to a game and Jim ended up getting punched in the face by Roy. (Agck! That was a lot of blood and, according to John Krasinski, it was real.) Then, Amy Adams showed up at The Office to sell purses and Michael ran out to buy her a cappuccino machine. Amy Adams deserved an Emmy for the look of horror she got in her face when Michael tried to flirt with her. Will offices really let you sell purses out of their conference room? I might actually check into that.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

This week, PBS aired the first ever episode of Open all Hours. Granville looked younger and a smidgen less disgruntled than he did in later episodes. He still seemed to be a bit of a ticking time bomb, though.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about this week’s episode here! I enjoyed this week’s episode far more than I enjoyed the previous two episodes.

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Chris talked to Michael Biehn and Seth Gilliam, both of whom were absolutely charming.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I wrote about The Walking Dead here!

Now, on to the Oscars!

TV Review: The Walking Dead 11.13 “Warlords” (dir by Loren Yaconelli)

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, The Walking Dead introduced yet another community and also show us the darker side of the way that the Commonwealth does things.

Aaron and, for some reason, Father Gabriel were recruited to accompany the Commonwealth’s Toby Carlson (played by Jason Butler Harner) to a community that was based in an old apartment complex. Toby told Aaron and Gabriel that their mission was one of recruitment. They wanted to check out the Apartment People, learn about their customs and way of doing things, and then bring them into the Commonwealth. Of course, it actually turned out that Toby just wanted to kill everyone in the apartment building because Lance Hornsby believed that the Apartment People were responsible for attacking a Commonwealth caravan.

Normally, I would be opposed to such wanton death and destruction but, in all honesty, the Apartment People were really annoying. They were so annoying that I’m not even bothering to refer to them by the name of their community. Oceanside deserves a name. Hilltop deserves a name. Alexandria and the Commonwealth deserve a name. There’s been a lot of different groups that have wandered through The Walking Dead and they all earned the right to be known by the name that they selected for their community. But the Apartment People were just jerks and, as such, I don’t care what they call their big, ugly home. To me, they’re just the Apartment People. From the minute that Aaron and Carlson showed up, the Apartment People were acting like jerks. Are there any communities in the world of The Walking Dead that aren’t run by some overly loquacious Negan wannabe?

In this case, the Apartment People were ruled by Ian, the Warlord. The Warlord was played by Michael Biehn, so at least he had that going for him. The Warlord had a nice, dark office and a cool display case of skulls. He claimed that all of the skulls came from the enemies of the Apartment People. I’m not sure if I believed him but I guess it’s always good to have a display of some sort. A good leader always used their decorating skills to make their office their own. (Seriously, that’s on page 19 of Somehow I Manage by Michael Scott.)

I appreciated the fact that The Warlord was immediately suspicious of Father Gabriel because I’ve never really felt that Gabriel adds much to the show. Gabriel started out this season as a newly confirmed atheist but now, suddenly, he’s back to being a fire-and-brimstone holy warrior. Pick a persona and stick with it, Gabriel! And, seriously — if you survived the zombie apocalypse, would you really feel like spending all of your Sundays sitting in church? The fact that Gabriel even has a congregation is just weird to me.

As for the Apartment People, it turned out that Negan is living with them! That’s probably good news for the Apartment People because the Warlord was dead by the end of the episode and someone is going to have to step in and be the new guy who gives long monologues while standing in front of a display case of skulls.

The episode ended with Maggie and her crew showing up, set to do battle with the Commonwealth. I guess this is how the war gets started, over a shabby apartment complex that’s populated by some of the most unlikable people to ever appear on the show. If Negan does’t want to take the Warlord’s place, I guess Maggie can take over the Apartment People and make them as miserable as she’s made everyone at Hilltop.

Anyway, this episode probably would have had more impact if we didn’t already know about the darkness at the heart of the Commonwealth. Still, Michael Biehn was an effective Warlord and Jason Butler Harner was effectively fanatical as Toby Carlson. At least now, we know just why exactly Hilltop and the Commonwealth are going to go to war.

Next week is the mid-season finale!