Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/22/24 — 12/28/24


Here are a few thoughts about what I watched during the final week of 2024.

Check It Out (Tubi)

Look for my review of this show next Saturday.

Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

I’ve had a cold since the day after Christmas so I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed and rewatching the Degrassi franchise.

Dragnet (YouTube)

Joe Friday and Bill Gannon kept the streets safe in the episodes that I watched on Friday as I tried to get over my cold.  Good for them!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

In order to get a head start on 2o25, I watched an episode of Friday the 13th this week.  Look for my review next Friday!

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

I watched this classic special with Erin on Thursday.  Someone needs to check on Charlie Brown.  He’s sleeping in the snow!  He’ll never finish War and Peace if he gets pneuomonia!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I returned to Highway to Heaven this week.  Look for my review next week!

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

Look for my review next week!

King of the Hill (Hulu)

Hank rented a truck for the holidays!  “You mean …. a convoy!?”  Absolutely one of my favorite episodes of this classic show and I was happy to watch it on Monday.

I went on to binge a few more episodes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  I’ve had a cold and this show has definitely kept me entertained as I’ve tried to will myself into good health.

The Love Boat (Paramount+)

I watched an episode of The Love Boat this week.  Look for my review next week!

Malibu, CA (YouTube)

I forced myself to watch two episodes of this show on Sunday.  Look for my reviews in 2025!

Monsters (YouTube)

I returned to Monsters this week.  Look for my review next week!

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Sunday Night, ABC)

I watched this holiday classic with my sisters on Sunday night.  It made me smile, as it always does.  I love the holidays!

Seinfeld (Netflix)

I watched the Festivus episode on Monday (which, appropriately enough, was Festivus!).  I always enjoy it when Bryan Cranston shows up as the decadent dentist.

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

Look for my reviews to return next week!

TV 2000 (Night Flight+)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video program on Friday night.  They were really wild about Bruce Springsteen.  I’ve never really gotten his appeal but then again, I’m not from New Jersey.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Prime)

I’m continuing my way through the fourth and final season.  My reviews will return in 2025.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/3/24 — 11/9/24


2024 U.S. Presidential Election Coverage (Tuesday and Wednesday)

On Tuesday, I swore to myself that I was going to vote and then we were going to go up to the lake and my plan was to basically stay off the grid until Friday.  I wasn’t even going to think about the election.  That did not last.  As much as I tried to avoid the news, I still saw a few updates on twitter and soon, I was switching back and forth from Fox to CNN to MSNBC and then to all the other news stations.

To be honest, I kind of suspected Donald Trump was going to win after Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz for her vice president.  The week leading up the election, however, I started to think that Harris was probably going to win.  I started remembering how 2022 seemed like it was going to be  a big year for Republicans, just for the Red Wave to fizzle on election night.  I thought about how polls have never accurately reflected either Trump’s support or how Dobbs turned a lot of people into one-issue voters.  I thought Harris would sweep Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin and win the election.  It turns out that I was wrong about most of that!

This was the third presidential election in a row where I swore to myself that I wouldn’t think about it after I voted, just to later find myself then obsessively watching as the results came in.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez (FX, Tuesday Night)

The ninth episode focused on how the women who knew Aaron Hernandez dealt with him being arrest for murder.  And to that, I can only say, “Who cares?”  After nine hours of this show, the only lesson that I’ve learned is that Aaron Hernandez was a tremendous dumbass and the same can be said of the majority of the people around him.

I was super-excited because I thought this week’s episode was the series’ finale.  It turns out that there’s one more episode to go.  Next week, this show will finally wrap up and I won’t have to complain about it anymore.

Bar Rescue (Paramount, Weekday Mornings)

On Tuesday, I watched an episode in which Jon Taffer turned a failing Irish bar into a failing western saloon.  It wasn’t as much fun as the Pirate Bar episode.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check it Out! (Tubi)

My review of this week’s episode of Check It Out! will be posted in about 30 minutes.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here!

Dragnet (YouTube)

On Tuesday, I took a break from the election coverage and rewatched my two favorite episodes of Dragnet, the talk show episode and the night school episode.

Fantasy Island (DVR)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

You can read my review here!

Good Times (Get TV, Weekday Afternoons)

I watched two episodes of this 70s sitcom on Monday afternoon.  Carl, a grumpy old man, discovered that he had cancer and he left Chicago for Arizona so that he could deal with it.  The most memorable moment of the two episodes came when Carl told Florida that he felt they should break up.  “Oh my God!” someone in the studio audience shouted.

Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, Thursday Night)

Just as happened last week, the Blue Team triumphed and the Red Team crashed and burned.  I’m enjoying this season.  I like the fact that they’re all strong chefs.  At this point, I feel like anyone could win.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

Homicide: Life on the Street (Peacock)

I wrote about Homicide here!

King of the Hill (FXX, Weekday Morning)

Before I left to vote on Tuesday, I watched four episodes of King of the Hill.  What a great show, that was.  To be honest, the fact that King of the Hill was canceled but Family Guy is still in production is all the evidence you need about the decline of American culture.  As for the episodes I watched, my favorite was the one where Luanne became a boxer and George Foreman appeared as himself.  “Novelty grill!?”

The Love Boat (Paramount+)

I watched The Love Boat on Tuesday night, while sitting outside on the deck of my family’s lakehouse.  That’s the best way to watch anything!  I wrote about The Love Boat here.

Malibu, CA (YouTube)

I wrote about Malibu, CA here!

The Megyn Kelly Show (YouTube)

On Friday, I watched the post-election episode of the Megyn Kelly Show.  Whether you love her, hate her, or if you’re indifferent to her (as I often am), it was hard not to agree with her post-mortem on the election and the Harris campaign.

Miami Vice (Prime)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Monsters (YouTube)

I wrote about Monsters here!

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

You can read my review here!

TV 2000 (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode of this old 80s music video program on Friday night.  The music was good.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I can’t believe I paid money to watch this episode.  You can read my review here.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/4/24 — 8/10/24


For the first time in a long time, things settled down enough this week that I could find time to watch a little television.  Here are my thoughts!

Atomic TV (Night Flight Plus)

This bizarre show, from the 80s, was an entertaining mix of public domain educational films and excerpts from music videos.  It was enjoyably trippy.

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

I watched the first five episodes of the final season on Thursday and Friday.  I know that some people felt that the new episodes got Season 6 off to a bad start and I can kind of understand some of the criticism.  How many times can Kreese come back from the dead?  How many times can Tory be tempted to join the bad guys?  The show has pretty much taken its premise as far as it can go and it’s probably good that this is the final season.

But, you know what?  Cobra Kai is a fun show, one that works because of the combination of Ralph Macchio’s earnestness and William Zabka’s strong comedic timing.  Yes, the show is silly and over-the-top but that’s kind of the point.  The show’s blend of cringe comedy and melodrama still keeps me entertained and William Zabka’s performance as Johnny continues to make me smile.

Plus, there was this wonderful moment:

Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (Netflix)

I watched all three episodes of this creepy docuseries on Sunday.  The series told the story of how Lou Pearlman created the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and O Town and how he ended up stealing over $500 million dollars from his investors.  Pearlman came across as being a bit of a monster and even creepier than he did during the first season of Making the Band.  The docuseries featured interviews with former boy banders (though not Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone or anyone else who currently has a career going), in which they shared their mixed feelings about their experiences with Lou.  My heart really broke for Michael Johnson, of Natural, who appeared to have been the most traumatized by his experiences with Lou Pearlman.

Dr. Phil (Pluto TV)

On Thursday night, I watched an episode in which Phil talked to a former Marine whose daughter was out-of-control.  Everyone agreed that it was the father’s fault but the teen was still sent to Turn About Ranch.  Did that ranch ever do anyone any good?

Miami Vice (Prime)

A gangster (played by legendary satirist Frank Zappa) thought Sonny had stolen some money from him.  I’ll be posting a review of this episode on September 2nd so keep an eye out for it!

Summer Olympics (NBC)

Usually, I’m a huge Olympics nerd but this year, I’ve been too busy taking care of my Dad to really pay attention to them.  I did occasionally tune in throughout this week.  Personally, I think I could win a gold medal for Beach Volleyball.  It doesn’t look that hard.

Steve Wilkos (Nosey)

I watched an episode of this talk show on Wednesday morning, when I couldn’t sleep.  A man denied that he was the father of his ex-girlfriend’s nine year-old child.  Steve yelled, “Get off my stage!” and threw a chair at the guy while the audience chanted, “STEVE!”  Lost in all of the chaos and chanting was whether or not the guy was actually the father.  I assume he was, just because of all the booing that went on.

On Saturday, I watched three episodes that featured Steve yelling at someone.  He threw another chair at a different guy.  The audience loved that.

TV 2000 (Night Flight TV)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video show on Saturday morning.  A youngish Gene Simmons was interviewed and come across as being as arrogant but oddly likable as he is today.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/7/24 — 1/13/24


I’m sitting here as a cold front rolls through my town.  The temperature is way below freezing and it will remain that way for at least the next three days.  So, I look forward to hiding underneath a lot of blankets and watching a lot of TV between now and Thursday morning.

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

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out (Tubi)

My review of Check It Out will be dropping later tonight.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

My review of Degrassi Junior High will (finally) post tomorrow!  Keep hope alive!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

On Tuesday afternoon, I had a two-part episode of Dr. Phil on as background nose.  Dr. Phil was talking to people who felt their sons and daughters had been brainwashed by a cult in Louisiana.  And indeed, they had been.  Cults are weird.  I never know how to react to people who fall for that stuff.

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Friday the 13th (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Highway to Heaven (YouTube)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Maury (YouTube)

On Friday, I used two paternity tests episodes of Maury for background noise while I was watching.  I feel very disappointed in myself.  On Saturday, I disappointed myself even further by watching an episode of Maury that featured lie detector tests.

Miami Vice (Tubi)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday, I watched an episode of this show from the 90s.  It featured music video profiles of The Kinks and The Cure, along with a tour of Universal Studios.

Sally Jessy Raphael (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this ancient talk show on Thursday.  Sally talked to kids who were being bullied and then confronted the bullies on the air.  I felt bad for all of the bullied kids, except for the one who said being bulled made him hate America.  If that’s how you feel, move.

On Friday, I watched an episode about women who could not forgive their men for cheating.  I don’t blame them but I bet half of them ended up marrying the guy anyways.

Saved By The Bell (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

Casey Kasem hosted a dance contest and encouraged everyone to do the sprain.  Jessie freaked out because a short guy wanted to date her.  A new substitute teacher taught everyone to appreciate Shakespeare.  Wow, this was a dumb but addictive show.

The Steve Wilkos Show (YouTube)

On Tuesday afternoon, I put on an episode of Steve Wilkos for background noise.  Steve was screaming at a woman who he felt was an unfit mother.  And who knows?  Maybe she was an unfit mother.  But Steve definitely came across as being a bully and his chanting audience didn’t help matters.

On Saturday morning, I watched an episode in which Wilkos threw several chairs across the stage while the crowd chanted, “Steve!  Steve!  Steve!”

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Turn-On! (YouTube)

I wrote about the second episode of Turn-On! here!

TV 2000 (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, I watched an episode of this old music video show.  The episode was from 1985 and it featured a lot of good music, along with some slightly annoying hosts.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back, Kotter here!