This week I decided to get a head start on my retro television reviews and I ended up watching and writing up reviews for three months worth of Hang Time and California Dreams. I am exhausted and I have dueling theme songs stuck in my head.
Here are some thoughts:
Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)
“Fire!” This week’s episode of Abbott Elementary was a classic and, after two somewhat uneven episodes, a return to form. I loved Ava’s response to the fire. I would have done the same. “Wait, you went to a spa?” Well, where else should she have gone?
Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)
This week, the accused was a father-turned-vigilante, on trial for the murder of a man who molested his daughter. The idea had the potential to be interesting but the execution was flat. The episode’s big guest star was Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who gave a credible performance but who was also a bit on the dull side.
California Dreams (YouTube)
I watched six hours of California Dreams this weekend. I will never get the theme song out of my head.
The Devil Next Door (Netflix)
This is a Netflix docuseries about John Demjanjuk, a retired auto worker in Detroit who was accused of being Ivan the Terrible, a notorious Nazi concentration camp guard. While Demjanjuk was indeed a former camp guard, there’s still some debate over whether he was also Ivan The Terrible. It was a fascinating and disturbing story. With Demjanjuk now dead, we’ll probably never know for sure whether or not he was Ivan but that doesn’t change the fact that this rather mild-looking elderly man was a participant in the most monstrous crimes in history.
Fantasy Island (Tubi)
I reviewed Fantasy Island here!
Hang Time (YouTube)
I watched and wrote up reviews for 15 hours worth of Hang Time episodes this week. I’m exhausted but, on the plus side, I won’t have to watch the show again until June.
The Love Boat (Paramount+)
I wrote up the first season finale of The Love Boat here!
Night Court (Tuesday, NBC)
In this week’s episode, a bunch of children led a protest in Abbie’s courtroom. My goodness, it was truly an embarrassing episode. Night Court doesn’t know if it wants to be goofy or edgy and the lack of focus is really becoming an issue.
Night Music (YouTube)
This was a live music program from the 80s. The episode that I watched on Friday night featured Stevie Ray Vaughn, Van Dyke Parks, and David Sanborn. The music was great!
The Super Bowl (Sunday Night, FOX)
I watched it for the commercials, as the game didn’t really interest me and I didn’t have any real feelings about either one of the two teams playing. However, I will say that everyone that I know is pretty happy that the Eagles lost. And while I don’t have anything against the Eagles as a group of individual athletes, I do kind of resent the Philadelphia Parking Authority, as a result of having watched too many episodes of Parking Wars.
The Watchers (Netflix)
I watched the first four episodes of this Netflix miniseries on Tuesday night. The mystery was intriguing but, like so many Ryan Murphy-produced programs, it felt like there was way too much padding and I kind of started to lose interest in it all as the story progressed. Fortunately, both Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale were well-cast.
Through the Shattered Lens 