Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 2.4 “Driver’s Education”


Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, it’s time to learn how to drive!

Episode 2.4 “Driver’s Education”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 29th, 1990)

Good Lord, Zack Morris is so insecure!

Even though Zack and Kelly have been dating since the prom, Zack still fears that Kelly will dump him when Slater turns 16 and gets his driver’s license.  Slater’s already got a car.  Sure, the car looks bad at first but Slater says he’s going to fix it up and, one jump cut later, he’s got a pretty badass red convertible.

Zack’s solution?  If you thought Zack would respond by resolving to be such a great boyfriend that Kelly wouldn’t leave him, you don’t know Zack Morris!  Instead, Zack comes up with a ludicrously complicated scheme to cause Slater to flunk driver’s education.

A few words about driver’s ed at Bayside:

First off, driver’s ed is one of the many classes that is taught by Mr. Tuttle (Jack Angeles).  Last season, Mr. Tuttle inspired the creation of Buddy Bands.  This season, he’s teaching the students how to drive and complaining that he should have been named principal instead of “Mr. Balding.”  Mr. Tuttle was one of the few recurring teachers on Saved By The Bell and Jack Angeles, who was an attorney in real life, was a good comedic actor.  It’s almost always a good sign when Tuttle shows up.

Secondly, at Bayside, students aren’t required to actually drive a car.  Instead, they drive this thing:

Seriously, this thing has got three wheels and apparently, it’s not supposed to leave the classroom.  How are you going to learn how to drive in this thing!?  To his credit, Mr. Belding mentions that he’s often told Tuttle to get rid of this half-assed attempt at a car.

Zack’s plan is to take the driver’s ed car out of the classroom so that Slater can give him a private lesson.  Slater will get caught in the faux car and somehow, this will lead to him getting kicked out of class.  (Since it’s established that Slater already knows how to drive, couldn’t he just go down to the DMV and take the test regardless of the class?)  However, Kelly asks Slater for a ride, Zack attempts to get Kelly out of the fake car, and the pretend car ends up crashing into a locker.  Slater, Zack, and Kelly run for it.

In order to get Zack to confess, Kelly pretends to have amnesia.  When Zack announces that he will not only confess but that he’ll also get Kelly the best medical care available (good luck doing with with no car, Zack!), Kelly says that she knew “Zack” would do the right thing.  Hearing his name, Zack realizes that Kelly never had amnesia.  Zack says that he’s not going to confess and it won’t matter because what’s Belding going to do?  Flunk everyone?

The next day, at the start of class, Belding announces that he’s flunking everyone.

At first, Kelly stands up says that she’s to blame.  Slater jumps up and accepts responsibility because Slater’s a soldier at heart.  Realizing that Slater now looks a lot better than him, Zack finally admits that he’s the one who took the driver’s ed car out of the classroom.  The end result is that Zack flunks, Slater gets two weeks of detention, and Kelly gets …. no punishment at all.

This was actually a pretty enjoyable episode.  I mean, it was dumb but that’s par for the course when it comes to Saved By The Bell.  This episode features a lot of Tuttle comedy and Mario Lopez once again outacting everyone else in the cast.  That’s what Saved By The Bell is all about.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/17/26 — 5/23/26


Bardo: A Night In The Life (YouTube)

This was a live music program that aired on certain PBS stations.  On Friday night, I watched a concert given by Lake Street Drive.  Musically, they were very talented but a little mellow for my tastes.

Burning Love (Prime)

I bought all three seasons of Burning Love this week.  On Wednesday, I watched the first season.  Ken Marino was Mark Orlando, a fireman looking for love on a reality dating show.  “Will you accept my hose?”  “Please put your hose in my hands.”  I laughed and laughed.  If nothing else, it made up for not having a new season of The Bachelorette.

The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story (Hulu)

I watched this documentary on Wednesday and Thursday.  Over three episode, it revisited the horrific crimes of Andrea Yates and suggested that she was brainwashed by a street preacher.  It didn’t really convince me.  Obviously, Yates claimed that she was driven to murder by her beliefs but I think that, even if she had never heard a sermon in her life, she would have eventually become a murderer.  Some people are just evil and will use whatever they can as a justification.

This documentary featured interviews with two people who were former members of the preacher’s cult.  Former cult members always make for terrible witnesses because it’s hard to have much respect for anyone who could get brainwashed in the first place.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Saturday about fighting in-laws.  They should have just called off the wedding.

Election Coverage (Tuesday)

As someone who pretends not to follow politics, I made sure to pretend that I wasn’t glued to Tuesday’s election coverage.  I did a little cheering, I’ll admit it.

Family Lockup (Disney+)

I watched the first episode of this true crime show on Wednesday.  The father of a prisoner spent 72 hours in jail so he could talk to his son and see what it was like to be on the inside.  At the end of the episode, the son was released and his father was waiting for him.  Awww!

George Gently (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this British detective show on Tuesday.  It was depressing, as most British detective shows tend to be.

Good Times (Tubi)

In this 70s sitcom, the Evans family was divided over who to support in the next election, Alderman Fred C. Davis or Jimmy Pearson, who was well-educated but refused to play the dozens.  Jeff and I watched this episode on Sunday night.  Jimmy lost his election but swore that he would run again and this time, he would play the dozens.  Good for you, Jimmy.  Get out there and sell out.

Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)

This week’s episode took a look at 16 and Pregnant.  I guess it’s good that this episode exists because, in the future, historians will probably try to deny that 16 and Pregnant ever existed.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)

My review of this week’s episode will drop tomorrow.

Hulk Hogan: Real American (Netflix)

I watched this docudrama on Thursday.  It told the story of Hulk Hogan, from his early days to his death. The weird thing about this documentary was that it acknowledged that wrestling was fake but still tried to pretend like it wasn’t.  (I have to admit that I’ve never been a big wrestling fan.)  The documentary featured extensive interviews with sickly looking Hogan.  He passed away shortly after filming wrapped.  Hulk Hogan took down Gawker and he’ll always be remembered for that.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout Factory TV)

I watched two episodes of this weird Japanese series on Saturday morning.  Monsters were everywhere but luckily, so were some people who were apparently descended from dinosaurs.  I really couldn’t follow the plot but the saber-tooth tiger was cute.

The PGA Championship (Sunday, CBS)

Congratulation to Aaron Rai!  I loved looking at the golf course.  It looked so relaxing.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

My review of this week’s episode will drop in about 90 minutes.

Watched and Reviewed:

  1. 1st & Ten,
  2. Baywatch,
  3. CHiPs,
  4. Crime Story,
  5. Decoy,
  6. Degrassi: The Next Generation,
  7. Freddy’s Nightmares,
  8. Hunter,
  9. The Love Boat,
  10. Pacific Blue,
  11. Saved By The Bell: The New Class,
  12. St. Elsewhere

 

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 2.5 “The Fabulous Buchanan Boys”


Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001.  The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.

This week, we meet Mitch’s brother.

Episode 2.5 “The Fabulous Buchanan Boys”

(Dir by Gus Trikonis, originally aired on October 14th, 1991)

Mitch’s brother, Buzz (Tim Thomerson), shows up with his 12 year-old son, Kyle (Chance Michael Corbitt)!  Mitch is reunited with Buzz and they both realize that they’re two old beach bums who are not getting any younger.  That’s especially true in the case of Buzz.  The show makes it clear that Buzz is Mitch’s older brother but we’re still left wondering just how much older.  With his gray hair and his weathered features, Tim Thomerson looks like he’s nearly 70 while Hasselhoff appears to be in his late 30s.

And that’s pretty much it.

Okay, in all fairness to the show, there is a bit more of a plot than just Buzz showing up but none of it adds up to much.  Mitch’s girlfriend, reporter Kaye Morgan (Pamela Bach), is pressured by her father to kill a story about a dangerous pier.  Kyle has a bad attitude and has an accident while surfing at that pier.  Luckily, the lifeguards are able to save him.  Eduardo (Buzz Belmondo) sells bikinis on the beach but — ha ha — the bikinis dissolve when soaked in salt water.  Eddie and Shauni have to help a lot of suddenly naked people get out of the water.  “We’re in syndication!” the show loudly announces.  Meanwhile, I’m left to wonder why you would buy a bikini from a stranger with a pencil-thin mustache.

For the most part, though, this was a montage episode.  The plot was secondary to the music playing behind slickly edited montages of Buzz and Mitch bonding.  Buzz and Kyle leave town at the end of the episode but, given how close Buzz and Mitch are, I’m sure that Buzz will return frequently in the future.

(Buzz will never be seen again.)

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 2.14 “Easy Come, Easy Go”


Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

This week, Mary Crosby returns.  And hey — is that Wings Hauser!?

Episode 2.14 “Easy Come, Easy Go”

(Dir by William Malone, originally aired on January 14th, 1990)

In this sequel to Lucky Stiff, Greta (Mary Crosby) is still living in her mansion with her new husband, Eugene (Tracey Walter).  She’s married to Eugene so that Eugene won’t turn her in for having killed her previous husband.  Eugene says that he’ll leave the mansion as soon as they consummate the marriage.  Greta, however, has standards.  As a result, Eugene lives in the basement.

When her former brother-in-law, Wes Roscoe (Richard Eden), shows up, it doesn’t take long for a lingerie-clad Greta to seduce him.  It soon becomes apparent that Wes wants her money and vengeance for the death of his brother.  She makes plans to poison him but, when Wes attacks her, her life is saved by Eugene.  Greta realizes that she loves Eugene.  She sleeps with him.  Immediately afterwards, Eugene accidentally drinks the poison and dies.  Sorry, Eugene!

Shortly afterwards, Greta’s sister, Peggy (Jill Jacobson), shows up with her husband, eyepatch-wearing Sonny (Wings Hauser).  Sonny is Greta’s ex.  In fact, he blames her for the loss of his eye.  (They got into an argument in a car and a slap from Greta sent Sonny plunging eye-first into the gear shift.)  Greta seduces and then kills Sonny, just as she’s done with every man who has tried to take her money.  But then Peggy turns out to be a sociopath herself (“I killed mom and dad.”) and proceeds to shoot Greta.

“Easy come, easy go,” Greta gasps.

This episode was so over-the-top and cheerfully sordid that it was impossible not to enjoy it.  Mary Crosby threw herself into the femme fatale role.  Wings Hauser, as always, was amusingly disturbed as the bad guy.  Both stories were wonderfully sordid.  Even without any supernatural elements, this was a truly fun episode.

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 3.21 “Murder, She Rote”


Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Daily Motion.

This week, we’ve got a great episode of St. Elsewhere.

Episode 3.21 “Murder, She Rote”

(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on February 27th, 1985)

This week, Mrs. Hufnagle dies!

  • After spending the entire season getting on the nerves of the doctors and the nurses, Mrs. Hufnagle died in this episode.  She is found dead and apparently crushed in her bed.  (Hufnagle could never figure out how to properly lower and raise the front and back of it.  In this episode, it appears that she raised both at the same time.)  “Hufnagle in a half-shell,” Ehrlich says.  Meanwhile, the perpetually angry Nurse Lucy (Jennifer Savidge) blames herself for not responding when Hufnagle was desperately pushing her help button.  Gee, Lucy, you think?  Isn’t it your job to respond?
  • Now, I should note that this episode features both Westphall and Craig calling out the doctor for the treatment that Hufnagle received.  Both let it be known that doctors can’t just take care of the likable patients.  Everyone who enters the hospital deserves quality care.
  • What did Hufnagle die of?  That’s what Craig is determined to find out.  His first instinct is to blame Ehrlich.  Then he tried to blame Kochar (former serious regular Kavi Raz, making a guest appearance).  He tries to blame the nurses.  But, in the end, Craig examines his notes from Hufnagle’s heart surgery and he discovers that he’s the one who made a mistake.
  • In a wonderfully acted moment, Craig tells the residents that the mistake was his.  William Daniels does an excellent job of showing that Craig, for all of his arrogance, is not one to shirk responsibility.  When he explains how he made the mistake that led to Hufnagle’s death, it’s a brave moment for both the character and the actor.
  • That said, Craig is lucky Hufnagle didn’t have a family or he would definitely be getting sued.

While Hufnagle died, Shirley Daniels returned to the ER:

  • Given that Shirley has confessed to killing Peter White (even though she hasn’t gone to trial yet), clearing her to work at a hospital seems …. odd.  That said, a psychiatrist says that Shirley is not a threat to others and Auschlander seems to be oddly eager for her to get to work.
  • It doesn’t take long before Shirley pulls a gun on a patient.  She also points the gun at Fiscus and then Morrison.  She pulls the trigger and a little flag pops out that says, “Bang!”
  • It was a joke!  Oh, Shirely!
  • Shirley laughs and then leaves the hospital.

Elliot has a date:

  • Dr. Axelrod goes out on a date with Nurse Rosenthal’s odd daughter, Marcy (Jeannie Elias).
  • Marcy is impressed with Elliot’s goofy sense of humor.
  • Elliot takes her to the same Hawaiian restaurant that Ehrlich took the Craigs.
  • A sudden fire breaks out.  Elliot heroically saves the life of the restaurant’s owner.
  • Marcy explains that she liked Elliot because he seemed goofy and harmless.  Now that he’s a hero, she respects him too much to sleep with him.

This was a great episode!  William Daniels gave his best performance in the role of Dr. Craig so far.  Ellen Bry, in the role of Shirley Daniels, got one of the all-time great exits.  And the underused Stephen Furst got a storyline where he did something more than just get insulted.  I do feel sad for Mrs. Hufnagle, though.  She wasn’t that bad.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.6 “Flight of the Dead Pigeon”


Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Hunter searches for a pigeon.

Episode 1.6 “Flight of the Dead Pigeon”

(Dir by Michael Preece, originally aired on November 9th, 1984)

When a little girl (Marissa Mendenhall) shows up at the police station and asks for Hunter’s help in finding her stolen carrier pigeons, Hunter’s like, “Buzz off, kid!”  However, when it turns out that the girl’s uncle was a degenerate gambler and that he was thrown off the roof of a building by the mob, Hunter and McCall get involved.  It turns out that the Mexican cartels want to use the pigeons to carry drugs into America.  Because the little girl is the only one who knows how to train the pigeons, they want to kidnap her as well….

Yeah, this was a pretty dumb episode.  I don’t doubt that pigeons could be used to smuggle drugs but I do doubt that any successful criminal organization would go through all the trouble that they go to in this episode.  There are far simpler ways to smuggle drugs.  I’m also sure they could have found someone to train the pigeons without abducting a child.  Hunter and McCall are able to rescue the girl and the episode ends with her smiling cheerfully as she’s sent into foster care.

“Hunter,” McCall asks, “have you ever wanted kids?”

“Nope,” Hunter replies.

“Me neither,” McCall says, not sounding particularly convincing.

What a sad ending!  Seriously, if Hunter and McCall aren’t married by the end of this series, I will throw a fit.  They’re totally meant for each other.  Even in a kind of dumb episode like this one, their chemistry saves the day.

Retro Television Review: Decoy 1.32 “Fiesta at Midnight”


Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958.  The show can be viewed on Tubi!

This week, Casey is an accused man’s only advocate.

Episode 1.32 “Fiesta At Midnight”

(Dir by Michael Gordon, originally aired on May 19th, 1958)

Juan Ortega (Tomas Milian) comes to New York City from Puerto Rico and finds himself in jail, accused of robbery and assault.  Ortega, who is still learning English, says that he was at a community dance when the crime happened and that there are two women who can provide him with an alibi.  Unfortunately, one of them (Gloria Marlowe) is married and refuses to testify that she had been talking to another man.  The other, a mysterious woman named Maria, cannot be found.  Casey tries to help.

This was an okay episode.  The episode calls out the NYPD for being too quick to assume that Ortega is guilty just because he speaks Spanish and he’s a newcomer to the neighborhood.  That said, it bothered me that a translator was never provided for Ortega.  Ortega was clearly not comfortable speaking English but he had to do so when talking to Casey because Casey didn’t know much Spanish.  I get that this was probably all done to avoid having to ask the viewers to read subtitles but, in-universe, it felt strange.  It was hard not to notice that, even in a precinct located in Spanish Harlem, there weren’t any Spanish cops.

This was an early role for Tomas Milian, who would go on to star in countless Spaghetti Westerns and who also played the corrupt general in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic.  Though there’s little of the cunning or wit that distinguished Milian’s later performances, he still makes Juan Ortega into a sympathetic figure.

As for the episode’s ending, Maria (Miriam Colon) is revealed to be a nun and she testifies that Juan was with her when the crime occurred.  Casey tells us that Juan got his miracle.

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 4.2 “The Inmates Buy The Asylum”


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.

The center cannot hold.

Episode 5.2 “The Inmates Buy The Asylum”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 12th, 1988)

If there’s one thing that you can depend on when it comes to this show, it’s inconsistency.

Last week, the players decided to buy the team.  This was portrayed as being a genius move on their part.  Dr. Death dressed up in a suit and said that he was ready to be a businessman as well as a player.  TD Parker (OJ Simpson) told the players that it would be a good idea to take a blade to the typical player/owner relationship.

This week, the players buy the team and everything starts to fall apart.  Suddenly, the players are all too concerned with their own petty issues to be smart businessmen.  Dr. Death is no longer wearing a suit and shows up for a meeting of all the team owners in a denim jacket.  (All of the owners except for one walk out on him.)  The team decides to fire Coach Grier.  Why?  They just don’t like him.  T.D. delivers the news to an embittered Grier and admits that the players are not good owners.  Gee, TD, maybe you shouldn’t have told them to buy the team!

In other words, the players have seized the means of production and screwed everything up.  If nothing else, this episode was a good example of why communism will never work.

Meanwhile, agent Max Green was still in Louisiana, trying to sign college linebacker Sonny Clowers (Gary Kasper).  Fortunately, a chance meeting with the preacher of Sonny’s church gave Max an inside track.  But with the Bulls be able to get it together in time to draft him?

I guess we will find out next week.  As for this episode, it felt as if the writers suddenly realized that it was a mistake to have the players buy the team so they set out to course correct at the last minute.  Myself, I’m wondering how being both a player and an owner would work.  Who sets the salaries?  If a player is traded, is he still an owner?

Seriously, this all seems like a bad idea.

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 7.21 “Ace’s Valet/Mother Comes First/Hit or Miss America”


Welcome to 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 the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986!  The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

This week, the Love Boat has a few special passengers.

Episode 7.21 “Ace’s Valet/Mother Comes First/Hit or Miss America”

(Dir by Richard A. Wells, originally aired on February 25th, 1984)

Ace is back from photography school and not a minute too soon because the Love Boat is playing host to not only Miss America Vanessa Williams (playing herself) but also several former Miss Americas.  Unfortunately, for Ace, his mother insists that the family valet, Finley (Jeremy Brett), accompany him.  Ace decides that Finley needs a distraction …. maybe a girlfriend!  Hey, at least one of the former Miss Americas is single….

Meanwhile, Vanessa Williams is getting annoyed with various men hitting on her.  In order to get them to leave her alone, she tells them that she has a boyfriend and he’s on the cruise.  In fact, he’s working as a bartender on the boat!  Tyrone (Glynn Turman) is disappointed but Isaac is overjoyed when he hears that Vanessa is “crazy” about him.  Poor Isaac!  And actually, poor Vanessa as well.  A few months after this episode aired, she stepped down from her position after Penthouse magazine published some risqué pictures that were taken during her modeling days.

Finally, Jenny Rhodes (Audrey Landers) wants her mother, Mrs. Rhodes (Marian Mercer), to find love on the boat.  Gopher helps out by wearing bronzer and a fake beard and pretending to be a wealthy and powerful Indian named Punjab.  Uhmm …. yeah, I’m not really sure what to say about that.  On the one hand, this episode featured the first black Miss America.  On the other hand, it also featured Fred Grandy wearing brownface and speaking in a exaggerated Indian accent.  It’s as if the show was so proud of itself for not being racist in one story that it didn’t notice that it was being totally racist in another.

So, this was, overall, a pretty stupid episode.  I hate to have to say that because I usually really do enjoy The Love Boat.  But having Fred Grandy pretend to be Indian and then having Mrs. Rhodes not get upset about the deception just felt …. well, stupid.  As for the other two stories, Jeremy Brett was amusing and Ted Lange was, as always, endearing.  This could have been a good episode if not for that third story.

Oh well.  Not every cruise can be a winner.  That said, I know what your main question is about this episode.

Julie didn’t do much this episode.  Overall, she really hasn’t done much this entire season.  On a scale of one to ten, I would actually give her an 8 as far as this episode goes.  I mean, she really did lose it when she saw Ace was back on the boat.  For that matter, the Miss Americas all appeared to be in a surprisingly good mood as well.  This was the coke cruise.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 4.4 “Users”


Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

This week, Jamie goes undercover …. again!

Episode 4.4 “Users”

(Dir by Michael Levine, originally aired on August 16th, 1998)

 Pacific Blue started out as a show about bicycle cops.  I always thought that was a stupid premise but, regardless of my opinion, the first two seasons pretty much focused on keeping the cops on the bikes.  However, with the third and now the fourth season, the bikes have started to feel superfluous.  Now, the bike cops are suddenly working murders and going undercover.  This all seems like stuff that actual detective should be doing as opposed to a bunch of glorified traffic cops.

For instance, this episode features Jamie being sent undercover to befriend a teenage drug dealer named Brandon Jeter (future choreographer and Michael Jackson-accuser Wade Robson).  Brandon, who has witnessed a murder, is being used as an informant by an intense narcotics detective named Perry Marcus (Roger Floyd).  TC and Cory make a big deal about how they don’t like Perry’s tactics but why would Perry care?  He’s not a bike cop and they’re not detectives.

This is only Jamie’s fourth episode as a regular character but it feels like the 100th time that she’s been told to work undercover.  The problem is that we don’t know much about who Jamie is so there’s not really any emotional pay-off to seeing her pretending to be someone else.  Jamie is upset when she sees how everyone — from Detective Marcus to drug lord Nick Lambros (Corey Pearson) — is manipulating Brandon but we don’t really know why.  We know nothing about Jamie’s homelife.  We know nothing about her past.  We don’t know why she became a cop.  She’s a character with no inner life.  It’s not the fault of actress Amy Hunter that Jamie comes across as being boring.  The scripts, so far, have given her nothing to work with.

Meanwhile, Moncia is having an affair with the recently promoted Commander McKinnon (Jeffrey Meek).  The affair is often physically abusive but, when Bobby confronts McKinnon, McKinnon claims that Monica enjoys the pain.  Eventually, Monica and Bobby get McKinnon being abusive on tape.  The episode ends with Monica lustfully spying on TC in a neighboring apartment.  Ugh.  This show really annoys me with the way it portrays Monica.  She’s literally the only character on the show who has a positive and largely guilt-free attitude about sex and the show always seems to be determined to either punish or villainize her for it.  (What makes this especially annoying is that the show both judges and leers at Monica at the same time.)

As usual, this episode could have worked if the characters were more interesting.  The idea that everyone on the show was using someone else had potential but the execution fell flat.