Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.11 “Surprise, Surprise”

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night 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 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.

This week, stuff happens.

Episode 5.11 “Surprise, Surprise”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 27h, 1989)

Oh no! As a result of last week’s ghostly encounters, Ernie is now encouraging all of the players to have fun at practice and, as a result, Johnny Gunn injures his shoulder! It looks like the playoffs are in jeopardy! Wait a minute …. JOHNNY’S OKAY! Hey, it turns out that he only faked having an injury to make the other team underestimate him.

Oh no! Kristy’s husband shows up and he’s still a charming gambler! He’s put money on the Bulls game! What if the Bulls beat the spread …. oh wait, they didn’t. Okay, well, so much for that plot.

It’s amazing how many 1st & Ten episodes don’t add up to anything. There’s no real plot developments or suspense or, for that matter, even comedy. I’m not really sure why anyone would have watched this episode.

The Bulls are going to playoffs! Or maybe they’re already in the playoffs. Who knows? This episode didn’t really make anything very clear. The important thing is that the team won.

This is such a silly show. Reid Shelton’s performance as Coach Denardo used to be one of the things that worked about this show but I’ve noticed that he now just tends to spend his time standing around with a goofy smile on his face. It’s kind of annoying.

Go Bulls, I guess.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.10 “Heaven Help Me”

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Bulls have got a problem on the field!

Episode 5.10 “Heaven Help Me”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 20th, 1989)

Due to a bad call from an incompetent referee, the Bulls lose a close game. Coach Denardo gets angry and takes it out on the players. Kristy (Shannon Tweed) and TD Parker (OJ Simpson) suspect that the referee might have an agenda of his own. What can be done? Maybe TD knows someone who is good with a knife….

Fortunately, it doesn’t go that far. Kristy does some research and discovers that, in his day job, the referee does business with a rival owner. She goes to the Commissioner with her suspicions and the Commissioner agrees to take the referee out of the rotation. Wow, that was simple.

Meanwhile, Coach Denardo is visited by the spirits of Vince Lombardi (Ralph Monaco) and Bear Bryant (Bob Larkin), who both inform him that he’s going to go to Hell unless he’s nicer to his players. Before the next game, Denardo tells the players that he’s proud of them and that he just wants them to do their best. With the referee having been permanently retired, the Bulls win the game. Yay! Coach Denardo is going to Heaven!

Finally, Jethro meets a woman (Deborah Lacey) who claims to be the princess of an African nation. Jethro falls for her and is forgiving when he discovers that she’s actually just a maid.

This was another strange episode of 1st & Ten. The episode features three plots that really didn’t go anywhere. But I guess the important thing is that the Bulls are going to the playoffs and OJ didn’t have to kill anyone. That’s a victory in my book.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.9 “Gunn and Bullette”

Posted on October 28, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, everyone’s trying to get laid.

Episode 5.9 “Gunn and Bullette”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 13th, 1989)

Johnny Gunn tracks down Sunset West (Rebecca Ferratti), the daughter of one of Gunn’s friends in prison. Sunset is now working as a stripper. Her boss is an evil gangster guy named Achmed (Aharon Ipale). Achmed tells Johnny that, as a quarterback, he can have anyone at the strip club except for Sunset. Johnny wants Sunset. I wonder how Johnny’s prison friend would feel about Johnny becoming obsessed with his daughter.

In the end, it doesn’t add up to much. Sunset decides to go to the police about Achmed’s criminal activities. Achmed is arrested. Sunset goes into the Witness Protection Program. Johnny remains single. Who cares? It’s always funny to me how 1st & Ten will devote a show to some character we’ve never even met before and we’re suddenly supposed to have some sort of emotional stake in their story.

This episode’s second storyline featured Jenny (Shari Shattuck), a cheerleader who finds herself in trouble when Playpen Magazine publishes nude pictures that were taken years earlier by her boyfriend. Westwood offers to protect Jenny’s job if Jenny sleeps with him. Jenny gets revenge by inviting Michael to her apartment, dressing him up in a corset and stockings, and then having Bubba and Jethro snap some pictures. Westwood flees. It later turns out that Kristy is actually the one who came up with the idea of setting Westwood up. Kristy arranges for Jenny to get a new job in New York and Jenny gives Kristy the pictures.

The third and final storyline featured Kristy wanting to trade Dr. Death. Denardo convinces her to give Dr. Death another chance. Dr. Death has to have a good game to save his job. Dr. Death has a good game and he saves his job. Hey, that was easy!

The main thing that stood out about this episode was just how badly acted it was. I mean, I’m not surprised to see OJ Simpson and Shannon Tweed giving less than great performances. But even the usually reliable Christopher Meloni seemed to sleepwalk through this episode. The worst performance came from Aharon Ipale, who turned Achmed into the least intimidating gangster that I’ve ever seen.

This episode didn’t add up too much. Are the Bulls even trying to make the playoffs this year?

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.8 “Vindication”

Posted on October 21, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, some of the players get trapped in the woods.

Episode 5.8 “Vindication”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 6th, 1989)

It’s time for the Barbara Ann Awards.

The Barbara Ann Awards are a never-before mentioned annual tradition in which Dr. Death, Jethro, Bubba, and Zagreb go to a cabin in the woods with a bunch of women and the women compete to be the new Barbara Ann. Yep, it’s just as sleazy as it sounds. Fortunately, this year sees the players being stalked by two mask-wearing, chainsaw-carrying psychoes. While the women hide in the cabin, the players go out to battle their stalkers and, instead, they end up getting caught in a net. Oh no! Is this the end of the California Bulls? (Well, four of them, at least….)

Fortunately, no. It turns out that it was all a practical joke that was set up by the women. Yay! Put those men in their place! The players are so impressed that they give the title of Barbara Ann to the woman who came up with the joke. This whole thing was pretty silly but at least it felt appropriate for October viewing.

The episode’s other storyline featured Johnny Gunn being interviewed by reporter Susan McDermitt (Catherine MacNeal). With protestors constantly picketing the games and calling Johnny a murderer, TD Parker (OJ Simpson) figures that it’s time for some damage control. TD understands just how damaging it is to the reputation of the game to have a player who is routinely accused of being a murderer.

So, Susan and Johnny go to Johnny’s hometown in Pennsylvania. We learn about Johnny’s past as a foster kid and a high school football star. In a somewhat implausible scene, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend (Tally Chanel) admits on camera that she lied about what happened the night that Johnny killed a man. It turns out that Johnny was actually acting in self-defense.

“I’m glad that’s taken care of!” OJ says as he watches the news report.

This is another episode of 1st & Ten that’s impossible to watch without thinking about OJ Simpson’s later life. Every time OJ started to talk about how unfair it was that Johnny was being judged for being a murderer, I cringed just a little bit. The episode’s contention that one positive news story was all Johnny needed to get on with his life was almost charming in its naiveté.

Next week …. well, who knows? Hopefully, it won’t involve any more murders.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.4 “Mind Games”

Posted on September 23, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Bulls sign a new player!

Episode 5.4 “Mind Games”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on November 1st, 1989)

The Bulls have signed college phenom Achilles Byron (Ronald William Lawrence) to the roster. However, in order to his name on the dotted line, they also have to sign his loud-mouthed, wheelchair-bound father (Ron O’Neal). Mr. Byron is tough taskmaster who constantly yells at Achilles and forces him to do extra drills. Denardo isn’t happy about Mr. Byron’s presence on the sidelines. Quite rightly, he explains to TD Parker and Kristy that there can only be one coach on the field.

Fortunately, Achilles scores the game-winning touchdown in his first game and Mr. Byron announces that Achilles no longer needs him. Mr. Byron also reveals that he was driving drunk on the night that he crashed his car, injured his spine, and killed Achilles’s mother. Wow, that’s a lot to dump on a kid who just won a football game. Luckily, Achilles had already figured out all of that on his own. Achilles is like No hard feelings and I’m going to say, “Ouch,” on the behalf of the deceased Mrs. Bryon.

Denardo, as a sign of respect, rolls Mr. Byron out of the locker room. Denardo also threatens to roll Mr. Byron down a flight of stairs. Mr. Byron suddenly starts laughing.

1st & Ten has this weird habit of tossing new characters into the mix and expecting us to get emotionally invested in them despite the fact that we’ve never seen them before and we’ll never seem them again. I’ve already checked with the IMDb. This is the only appearance of the character of Achilles Byron on the show. The Bulls agreeing to let Mr. Byron sit on the sidelines never made any sense and the final revelation about the night he was driving drunk came out of nowhere. It almost felt like a parody of badly-done melodrama.

While all of that was going on, Dr. Death was briefly brainwashed by a cult. It doesn’t look like he’ll ever get his killer instinct back! But then an opposing player calls Dr. Death a “pinhead” and he snaps out of it. He scores a viscous tackle that leaves the other player so dazed that that he wanders over to the wrong sideline. Obviously, he has a concussion but the laugh track tells us not to worry about it.

Dr. Death getting brainwashed actually was kind of funny. Ron O’Neal, best known for starring in Superfly, does a lot of yelling as Mr. Byron. It’s not exactly a good performance but one gets the feeling that was more the fault of the script than O’Neal. This was another curiously insubstantial episode of 1st & Ten.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.3 “False Start”

Posted on September 16, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, OJ Simpson is stalked by an abhorrent admirer!

Episode 5.3 “Fale Start”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 25th, 1989)

Johnny Gunn, the new quarterback, is injured while leading the Bulls to victory in their latest game. Westwood, who has an unexplained dislike for Gunn, convinces the drugged quarterback to sign away his power of attorney and then has Gunn undergo a risky surgery. When Gunn realizes what has happened, he goes to the construction site of Westwood’s new house and knocks a few things over. The lesson? When your quarterback has just finished spending several years in prison for manslaughter, don’t upset him.

Dr. Death is stunned to discover that the highest bidder in the “Win a Day With Dr. Death” auction was not Heather Locklear but instead Carlyle Trent (Vince Edwards), a motorcycle-riding millionaire who happens to be gay. (Trent was obviously based on publisher Malcolm Forbes Sr.) Trent thinks that Dr. Death might be gay too. Oh, the hilarity, I guess. Actually, this storyline wasn’t as homophobic as one might expect from 1st & Ten. One of cool things about Dr. Death is that, despite his fearsome image, he’s usually the most open-minded and least prejudiced of all of the Bulls.

Finally, TD Parker (OJ Simpson) finds himself being stalked by a woman named Lisa (Laura Alavarez). Hey, that’s my name! Anyway, what starts as a one night stand ends with OJ having to talk Lisa out of shooting him and Kristy. Wow, OJ Simpson getting stalked by a homicidal maniac. Who would have guessed?

This episode tried to cram three big storylines into just 24 minute and, as a result, everything ended up feeling a bit half-baked. Last season, for all of its flaws, did seem to have a definite destination in mind, The Bulls were finally going to win the Championship Game. This season, on the other hand, has been all over the place.

Get it together, Bulls!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.2 “The Con”

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Bulls get a new quarterback.

Episode 5.2 “The Con”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 18th, 1989)

Following the murder of Doug Clayton (who, if I remember correctly, was still alive in last season’s flash-forward), the Bulls need a new quarterback. T.D. Parker (O.J. Simpson) is contacted by a former player who now works as a prison guard. Vito Del Greco (Chris Meloni) is the prison’s best quarterback. He’s been serving time on a manslaughter charge, but he’s set to be released. T.D. watches Vito throw the ball once and signs him.

Coach Denardo isn’t happy. “I’m not a parole officer!” Kristy Fulbright and Michael Westwood aren’t happy either. They want a big name at quarterback. T.D. believes in Vito but still agrees to put him on the inactive list. A previously unseen and unmentioned player named Lenny Santino is hired as the new quarterback.

Vito struggles to fit in with the other Bulls and to adjust to being a free man. Billy Cooper makes the mistake of singing “Jailhouse Rock” off-key and gets punched out. “Nobody makes fun of Elvis!” That night at a bar, Vito is nearly goaded into another fight. (His manslaughter conviction came from a bar fight.) He announces, “Del Greco is dead,” and leaves.

That weekend the Bulls play their first game of the season. Under Santino’s uncertain leadership they lose 41–7. In the owner’s box, Kristy wonders what happens when the Bulls lose. T.D. tells her that when you lose, the fans chop off your head. Well, T.D. would know something about that.

In the locker room, Vito approaches T.D. and says Del Greco is dead. His name is now Johnny Gunn, and he is going to be the new quarterback of the California Bulls. T.D. gives him a shot because “Johnny Gunn… that sounds like a quarterback to me!”

Meanwhile, Bubba is stunned to learn his wife is cheating on him. Zagreb is tricked into a phony stock scheme. It turns out Billy and Dr. Death set him up as revenge for Zagreb’s tell-all memoir.

After the Bulls went undefeated last season, it was kind of nice to see them lose this week. It’s always more fun to root for the underdogs. As you probably already guessed, the most interesting thing about this episode is the introduction of a young, intense, rather skinny Chris Meloni as Vito Del Greco, a.k.a. Johnny Gunn. Meloni even had hair. That’s how old this episode is.

Will Johnny lead the Bulls back to the championship game? We’ll see.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.13 “The High and Mighty”

Posted on August 19, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The undefeated season continues!

Episode 4.13 “The High and Mighty”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 28th, 1988)

In this week’s episode, we watch as the Bulls fly to and then from their latest game.

On the flight to the game, Denardo worries about whether or not he has what it takes to eventually win the Championship game. (That’s this show’s equivalent of the Super Bowl.) On the flight back, Denardo’s confidence has been restored and he can’t wait to start planning for the big game.

TD Parker (played by OJ Simpson) spends the flight back flirting with a flight attendant. OJ Simpson’s performance in this episode is perhaps the worst that he’s given since he first joined the cast. I think the problem is that Parker is supposed to be drunk and Simpson was incapable of playing any emotion or condition beyond bland amiability.

Bubba is terrified of flying and has a nightmare that Mad Dog is flying the plane.

Zagrib and a ringer (James Hampton) hustle all of the players in a poker game on the first flight. On the return flight, Zagrib loses all of the money he won and then begs Mad Dog not to kill him. Mad Dog says that he won’t hurt Zagrib because the team needs a good kicker.

Executives Gail (Shanna Reed) and Michael (Paul Tuerpe) argue over where the new Bulls Stadium should be located. Michael thinks that he has found the perfect spot but, on the flight back, Gail lies to him and tells him that the spot used to be a toxic waste dump. Michael calls the head of the Dodds Corporation and tries to take credit for finding the location where Gail wants to put the stadium. This storyline would have been more effective if Michael and Gail were interesting characters.

Finally, Doug falls for an obsessive flight attendant who later tells him that she poisoned his coffee. Doug panics, though he doesn’t actually die or anything so I think she was just lying to him.

I actually kind of liked this episode because I thought it was interesting to see how the members of the team distracted themselves before the game and how they celebrated after they won. This episode was all about big personalities in a confined location and, with the exception of OJ, it featured some fine ensemble work from the cast. Considering how much this show has struggled with finding a consistent tone from not only episode-to-episode but also from scene-to-scene, this was an unusually disciplined episode.

Next week, we finish up the fourth season!

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.10 “Out of the Past”

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

After last week’s trip to “the future,” this episode returns to 1988.

Episode 4.10 “Out of the Past”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on December 7th, 1988)

As a show, 1st & Ten has a weird habit of introducing new characters and pretending as if they’ve always been around even if they’ve never been seen or even mentioned before. In this episode, we meet Coleman King (Richard Lawson), the team’s veteran running back who fears that he’s on the verge of being dropped from the Bulls. Coleman is also an old friend of TD Parker’s (O.J. Simpson).

TD is conflicted. He knows that Coleman is past his prime. The Bulls are on the verge of signing a new running back and, when they do, TD knows that he’s probably going to have to cut Colman from the team. As a former player, TD knows how painful it is when your professional career is murdered and no one is held responsible for it. Complicating matters is the clear attraction between TD and Coleman’s wife, Della (Vanessa Bell Callaway).

While TD tries to figure out how to protect both the team and Coleman, Ernie Denardo runs into his ex-girlfriend, Brenda (Shannon Wilcox), at a bar. Brenda has some scary people after her because of her unpaid gambling debts. She tells Denardo that she has money on the next Bulls game. If the Bulls win by more than ten, her debt will be paid off and then she and Denardo can be together.

The next day, the Bulls are on the verge of winning by 9. With only a few seconds left in the game, Denardo has the team kick a field goal so that they can win by 12. Denardo returns to Brenda’s apartment and discovers that she’s gone. It was all a scam, hatched by Brenda and her real boyfriend.

In tears, Denardo tells TD that he has to quit as coach of the Bulls.

TD argues that Denardo didn’t do anything wrong because he didn’t have money on the game. TD points out that the field goal unit needed the practice and that the Bulls need as many points as possible to clinch home field advantage in the playoffs. The episode ends with TD embracing the sobbing Denardo. Awwww! Is there nothing an OJ Simpson pep talk can’t fix?

After last week’s bizarre episode, this was a traditional 1st & Ten episode. This episode served as a reminder of just how bland OJ Simpson was as an actor. That said, Reid Shelton did a good job as the grief-stricken Denardo and the gambling subplot at least did have a few interesting twists. By the standards of 1st & Ten, that makes this episode a success.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.9 “Team Picture”

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to 2013!

Episode 4.9 “Team Picture”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on November 30th, 1988)

Weird, weird episode.

Taking place 25 years in the future, this episode features the ’88 California Bulls reuniting in 2013. Of course, since this episode was made in 1988, its version of 2013 is a bit different from the one that we all lived through. The 2013 of this episode is a dark and depressing dystopia, with militarized police and …. well, maybe it wasn’t that much different from what we lived through.

In 2013, former wide receiver Billy Cooper is a reporter who is hoping to go from the sports desk to the anchor desk.

TD Parker (OJ Simpson) is now the mayor of Los Angeles.

Zagreb is still playing in the NFL.

Doug Clayton is a Nobel prize-winning scientist.

Dr. Death works at a lumber yard.

Mad Dog owns twenty-five “sex discos.”

Bubba Kincaid is now the “King of Beer.” After his bar was shut down and demolished, he started Bubba Beer, which we are told is the “last American beer.”

And Jethro — well, no one has seen Jethro for ten years. Bubba tried to get Jethro to join him in his Bubba Beer business but Jethro refused. He went into wrestling and then he vanished. Most of his teammates are angry with him. They view him as being a crybaby who needs to man up.

In this episode, Jethro resurfaces at the Dodds Corporate Headquarters in Los Angeles. He’s got a bomb strapped to his chest and he’s threatening to blow the whole place up. TD and Billy both try to talk to him but Jethro doesn’t want to hear what they have to say. Dr. Death approaches him and encourages him to blow himself up. Finally, Bubba goes to Jethro and apologizes for abandoning him. Unfortunately, Bubba gets shot by a robot sniper and is transformed into a pile of blue ash as Jethro watches.

And that’s how the episode ends!

I appreciated the fact that this episode was so weird. It pretty much came out of nowhere and I’ll be surprised if it’s ever referenced again. Probably the most interesting thing about it is that all of the Bulls ended up becoming jerks. No one seems to really care that Jethro might die. For that matter, Jethro isn’t that upset when Bubba gets killed.

I imagine when this episode aired, it was meant to be a commentary on how uncertain the life of a pro-athlete can be once they’re no longer playing. For every success story, there’s someone else who ends up losing all of their money and being exiled to the fringes of society. Seen today, it’s hard to watch Jethro without thinking about CTE and all of the former players who have succumbed to it.

This episode was so odd that it defies a traditional “good or bad” classification. I appreciated it for trying to do something different.