Tag Archives: TV

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 1.9 “Coming of Age”

Posted on 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 Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2015!  The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi.

Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through….

Episode 1.9 “Coming of Age”

(Dir by Bruce MacDonald, originally aired on Mary 13th, 2002)

Degrassi: The Next Generation‘s slogan used to be “Degrassi goes there!” and that’s certainly the case with this week’s episode.  Emma goes from being irrationally annoyed by Sean and Manny to crying while watching a documentary about space.  Spike decides to cheer her up by taking her to the mall.  After Spike tells off a random man who makes a misogynistic comment (Go Spike!), she buys Emma a new white skirt to help her get over her depression.

(Awww!  My mom used to do the same thing for me whenever I was depressed.)

The next day, Emma wears that cute, bright white skirt to school.

And gets her first period.

This episode is a good reminder of why you never wear white when your period is coming.  It’s also a good reminder that your period is nothing to be ashamed of, which is something that we shouldn’t have to be reminded of but, unfortunately, we sometimes do.  When Emma delivers her book report while wearing oversized gym shorts, JT makes a dumb comment asking if Emma had an accident.  Emma replies that “No, I just got my period for the first time …. it happens to 50% of the population.  Perfectly natural, nothing to be ashamed of.”  Woo hoo!  You tell ’em, Emma!  And seriously, go to Hell, JT.  No wonder you’re going to end up dying in another 5 seasons.

Seriously, Emma’s character usually annoys me to death (and, in later episodes, you’ll see why) but she rocks in this episode.  But you know who is really cool in this episode?  Paige, who comes to Emma’s rescue with a pad and assures her that coming of age is no big deal.

As for the other storyline …. eh.  It’s another boring Ashley/Jimmy storyline.  Jimmy’s parents are professionals who are too busy working to make dinner for their son.  So, Jimmy has been hanging out at Ashley’s house.  Ashley gets tired of her boyfriend always being around.  When Toby overhears Ashley whining to her mother about Jimmy always being at the house, he tells Jimmy.

Did I mention that it’s Jimmy’s birthday?

Long story short, Jimmy breaks up with Ashley and ends up spending his birthday alone, eating pizza.  Oh my God!  That’s so sad!  Seriously, couldn’t he at least have gotten Spinner to come over and split a Ritalin with him?  But, the next day, he and Ashley get back together.  This will be a recurring theme through Jimmy and Ashley’s time on Degrassi so get ready for a lot of break-ups and make-ups.

(I still found it funny that part of Ashley’s issue with Jimmy hanging out at the house was that he was bonding with Toby.  I can only imagine how Toby feels about having Terri basically living in the room next to his.  This season, it’s hard not to notice that Terri is always following Ashley around.  Eventually, in the third season, Terri will get a boyfriend and a life outside of being Ashley and Paige’s servant.  Unfortunately, Terri’s boyfriend will eventually end up leaving her with serious brain damage before shooting Jimmy in the back….)

And remember — Degrassi goes there!

Horror on TV: Highway to Heaven 4.5 “I Was A Middle-Aged Werewolf” (dir by Michael Landon)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since we’ve been talking about werewolves today, I decided to take a one-night break from Hammer House of Horror and share this Halloween-themed episode of Highway to Heaven.  Michael Landon recreates his role as the Teenage Werewolf and scares Mark half to death.  He also helps a kid play some tricks and get some treats.

This originally aired on October 28th, 1987.  The series was a bit silly but this episode is kind of fun.  Keep an eye out for Michael Berryman!

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 4.10 “Full Moon”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC!  It  can be viewed on Peacock.

This week, Kellerman and Lewis head to a motel.

Episode 4.10 “Full Moon”

(Directed by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams, originally aired on April 5th, 1996)

If you go back and look over my reviews of Homicide, you might notice that the dates don’t always add up.  Last week’s episode aired at the start of January of 1996.  This week’s episode aired in April.  That’s because, when this show originally aired on NBC, the network did not adhere to the production order.  For instance, the show’s producers intended for Blue Moon to be the 10th episode of season 4.  NBC, however, decided to air it later in the season, as the 17th episode..  For the purposes of these reviews, I am following the production order as opposed to NBC’s order.

(Production order is also the order the was used when Homicide was released on DVD,)

As for this episode, it’s a bit of a change of pace.  For one thing, the episode centers on Lewis and Kellerman, with some assistance from John Munch.  The rest of the squad goes unseen as Lewis and Kellerman investigate a murder at a cheap motel on the outskirts of the Baltimore city limits.  As a result, the vibe of this episode is a bit less intense than the Pembleton/Bayliss episodes.  Lewis and Kellerman were far different detectives from Pembleton and Bayliss.  Whereas Pembleton and, at times, Bayliss often seemed to be on a holy crusade, Lewis and Kellerman were just doing their job.

That works for this episode, which is really more of a mood piece than a typical detective show.  An ex-con is shot and killed at a motel.  Lewis and Kellerman investigate the crime and meet the collection of eccentrics who work and live at the motel.  A large family of illegal immigrants lives in one small room.  A prostitute swims naked in the pool.  (Of course, Kellerman finds time to talk to her.)  The motel night clerk is studying for a better life.  The Reverend Horton Heat appears as a preacher.  The victim’s next door neighbor is an ex-con who stays at the motel because it feels like a prison.  This episode is full of slow and moody images and it’s far more of an examination of life on the fringes than a standard episode of Homicide.

Lewis does talk about his youth, growing up in the projects of Baltimore.  At the end of the show, he watches as the apartment building where he grew up is destroyed by controlled demolition.  The watching crowd cheers.  Lewis says, “Wow,” and then grabs a brick.  Meanwhile, the desperate characters at the motel go on with their eccentric lives.

This episode was a welcome change-of-pace, a noirish mood piece that showcased the teamwork of Clark Johnson and Reed Diamond as Lewis and Kellerman.  After the intensity of the sniper storyline, it was nice to just sit under the moon and watch things unfold.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.13 “The Mentor”

Posted on 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which ran on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 before then moving to NBC and being renamed Saved By The Bell.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, we close out the Miss Bliss years.

Episode 1.13 “The Mentor”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on March 18th, 1989)

For some reason, Miss Bliss’s mentor — James Lyman (Robert Donner) — shows up at the school to visit his favorite student, Carrie Bliss.  (Apparently, the very British Miss Bliss grew up in Indiana.  I’m not saying it’s not possible, as her parents could have come over when Miss Bliss was still young.  That said, it just seems odd that no one — not even her students — ever mention anything about Miss Bliss being British.  It would seem like something Miss Bliss would have mentioned during all of those lessons about the Constitution and American history.)  Mr. Lyman is retired but he agrees to substitute for Miss Bliss while she spends a week doing paperwork.  (Most teachers would probably just have to suck it up and both teach and do paperwork during the week but not our Miss Bliss!)

This is one of those annoying episodes where Mr. Lyman is the unconventional teacher who gives the kids free hall passes and takes them on extended field trip without getting permission beforehand.  Mr. Lyman makes learning fun!  (Gag!)  Miss Bliss gets upset because Mr. Lyman isn’t following her lesson plan and Mr. Lyman basically accuses Miss Bliss of being a sellout.  For once, I’m on Miss Bliss’s side here.  Mr. Lyman is a substitute.  His job is to follow the lesson plan.  If Miss Bliss doesn’t want him to handing out hall passes, that’s her right.  It’s her class!  And this whole thing of trusting the students not to abuse the hall pass?  I would have totally abused a free hall pass.  Everyone would abuse a free hall pass!  I would laughed at any teacher dumb enough to give me a free hall pass.  It’s almost as if the people who wrote this episode had absolutely no knowledge of how teenagers think.  In the end, Mr. Lyman comes across as being an unlikable crank.  The episode ends up with dressing up like Abraham Lincoln and showing up, unannounced, in Miss Bliss’s classroom.  Seriously, someone call the cops on their weirdo.

Meanwhile, Nikki worries that boys don’t see her as being feminine.  Lisa teachers her how to wear makeup.  Next year, maybe Nikki and Zach….

Oh, wait a minute.  Sorry, Zach, Mr. Belding, Screech, and Lisa are all moving to California.  Nikki, Mickey, Miss Bliss, Ms. Palladino, Mylo are staying in Indiana.  The Mentor was the final episode of Good Morning, Miss Bliss.  The Disney Channel canceled the show but producer Peter Engel took some of the cast over to NBC and launched Saved By The Bell.  The Miss Bliss episodes would later be repackaged for syndication with Zach saying, “I remember this time in Junior High…..”  I remember changing the channel whenever I realized a Miss Bliss episode was starting.

We’ll start Saved By The Bell next week.  Finally, the tyranny of Miss Bliss is over.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/5/25 — 10/11/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Eh.  I’m not really interested in Melissa’s adventures as a sixth grade teacher.  As well, Tariq really hasn’t been amusing since the end of the first season.  I worry this show is reaching the “treading water” phase of its existence.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday, Fox)

After a week of commercials that implied the police would be showing up at Hell’s Kitchen to arrest one of the chefs, this week’s episode featured the cops showing up at Hell’s Kitchen so the chefs could make them breakfast.  I wasn’t really surprised.  Hell’s Kitchen has always been shameless about doing stuff like that.  That’s actually a part of the show’s appeal.  As for this week’s episode, everyone appears to be remarkably incompetent.  I wouldn’t accept a meal from any of these people.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

Another week, another murder.  Once again, Maroun was upset over having to do her job.  The law half of this show is usually pretty good but the order half is awful.  Nolan is such a wimp.  Maroun should have been fired the first time she ever suggested allowing a criminal to go free.

Ozark Law (Hulu)

I guess this show ran on A&E earlier this year.  I watched the first episode on Hulu.  It was a reality show about cops in small town Missouri.  They had to deal with a bunch of people hanging out at the lake for the Fourth of July weekend.  It was the usual stuff.  The cops arrested a woman for having an expired license.  A man’s house was burglarized.  The male cops were all heavily tattooed and bearded.  The female cops all looked like the hyper-religious girl from high school who would judge you for wearing a short skirt.  All the cops had that terse cop way of speaking.

The Prisoner (Nightflight Plus)

Jeff and I watched the final episode of this 60s show on Friday night.  I’ll miss Rover.

Special Force: World’s Toughest Test (Fox, Thursday Night)

Jussie Smollett has left the show so what even is the point now?

Horror On TV: Hammer House of Horror #10: Guardian of the Abyss (dir by Don Sharp)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of Hammer House of Horror features antiques and cults!  It’s a like a very British version of Friday the 13h: The Series.  This episode is not necessarily one of my favorite episodes of this series.  I always find the ending to be disappointing.  The said, it does feature an intriguing story and a cast of Hammer veterans.

This episode originally aired on November 15th, 1980.

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 1.1 “In Deep”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 purchased on Tubi.

This week, Hobie’s a snitch!

Episode 1.1 “In Deep”

(Dir by Peter H. Hunt, originally aired on September 22nd, 1989)

Hobie, you idiot!

Mitch’s young son is spending the summer with his father and he’s supposed to be concentrating on summer school.  Instead, he hanging out with two older guys, Scott (Christopher Murphy) and Ron (Lance Gilbert), and basically letting himself be used as a slave in return for jet ski lessons.

Mitch is not a fan of jet skis.  They’re unregulated and they’re dangerous, he says.  As if to prove Mitch’s point, Scott collides with a windjammer!  The woman on the windjammer is killed.  (Craig and Eddie pull her body out of the ocean, which is the type of sad thing that Baywatch would eventually stop featuring.)  Hobie, realizing Scott is guilty, tries to find the evidence to prove it and nearly gets himself killed as a result.  Fortunately, Mitch is able to save him and Scott is arrested.  I have to say that, after this episode, I kind of found myself agreeing with Mitch’s ex-wife.  The beach is too dangerous!

Meanwhile, Craig caught Eddie sleeping in his lifeguard tower and realized that Eddie, who I assume is getting paid to be a lifeguard, doesn’t have a home.  Did he ever have a home?  Has he been sleeping on the beach all this time?  How did he apply for Lifeguard School without an address?  Anyway, Craig takes Eddie back to his Venice loft, where Craig’s wife (now played by Holly Gagnier, replacing the pilot’s Gina Hecht) decides that they should let Eddie rent their storage room.  It’s even got a view of the beach, if you ignore all the other buildings in the way and instead just find that one unobstructed alley to look down.  (Actually, Eddie finding and looking down that alley was cute and likable.  He was so excited!)  I have to say that, for a lawyer, Craig’s loft really sucked.  It was pretty impressive for a lifegaurd, though.

The other big development this week is that Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams) made his first appearance as the beach cop who hates sand.  (Then why become a beach cop?)  He and Mitch appear to be old friends.  Little do they know that they will eventually open up a detective agency together.

This episode was predictable but the cast was super likable.  The earnestness of it all carried the day.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 1.12 “The End of the World”

Posted on 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 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 Plex!

This week, dreaming saves the world.

Episode 1.12 “The End of the World”

(Dir by Jonathan R. Betuel, originally aired on January 15th, 1989)

Weird episode.

The first half of the episode featured Mary Kohnert as Amy Collins, a young woman who starts to have dreams about the past and discovers that she can change reality depending on what she does in her dream.  Most of the dreams center around the accidental death of her mother.  Amy sets about to save her mother’s life but she discovers that changing the past will always lead to unforeseen consequences.

Unfortunately, her psychiatrist (George Lazenby) rats her out to the CIA and Amy is soon being forced to work for the U.S. military.  When she senses that a soldier is planning on launching a nuclear attack and plunging the world into war, Amy is forced to do a mind-meld of sorts with him.  She watches as the army manages to break into his bunker and gun him down right before he launches the nukes.

I can’t complain about a show trying something different and I actually found it interesting how the two stories were totally different in style and tone.  The second story featured a dream about a nuclear war that was pretty disturbing.  On TV, Gumby and his horse melted from the atomic heat.  That said, this episode suffered from the same flaw as many of the episode of Freddy’s Nightmares, in that it really didn’t have the budget necessary to achieve what it was hoping to accomplish.

Still, who can forget the image of Freddy Krueger riding a nuclear missile in the style of Slim Pickens at the end of Dr. Strangelove?

Along with having an interesting premise, this one also had some interesting guest stars.  Along with George Lazenby and Gumby, Walter Gotell, Andrew Prine, and Albert Hall all made appearances.  I guess when Freddy Krueger invites you, you don’t say no.

Horror On Television: Final Curtain (dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr.)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

1957’s Final Curtain is a short, 22-minute film in which a mysterious man (Duke Moore) wanders around a creepy and seemingly abandoned theater.  While Dudley Manlove (who played Eros the Alien in Plan Nine From Outer Space) provides narration, the man sees many strange things in the theater.  What is real and what is merely a hallucination?  Watch to find out!

Final Curtain was envisioned, by director Edward D. Wood, as being the pilot for a horror anthology series.  Though none of the networks were interested in buying Wood’s proposed series, Wood considered Final Curtain to be his finest film and it certainly is a bit more atmospheric than the typical Wood film.  The role of the mysterious man was written for Bela Lugosi but, after Lugosi passed away, Duke Moore was cast in the role instead.

From 1957, here is Final Curtain.

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 2.19 “The Women”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!

This week, St. Elsewhere tries something different.

Episode 2.19 “The Women”

(Dir by Bruce Paltrow, originally aired on March 28th, 1984)

Four women share a room at St. Eligius.

Evelyn Milbourne (Eva La Galliene) is elderly, headstrong, and rich.  She’s also about to lose her independence as it’s clear that she can no longer live on her own.

Rose Orso (Brenda Vacarro) is only in her 40s but is already showing signs of dementia.  She struggles to remember who she is.  Her husband is becoming a stranger.  At one point, she grabs some scissors.  At first, it seems like she might be planning on attacking one of the other women.  Instead, she cuts her hair and doesn’t do a very good job of it.

Paige (Blythe Danner) is in for a nose job and she tells a lot of stories about her glamorous life outside of the hospital.  Towards the end of the episode, she confesses that she’s actually a pathological liar who got her nose job because she didn’t have anything better to do.

The fourth woman never speaks.  She’s in a coma.  She dies in the middle of the night and is rolled out of the room with disturbing efficiency.

This episode was basically a play.  A few of the regulars got scenes of their own but, for the most part, the action stayed in that one hotel room and it focused on the four women.  When I first realized what this episode was going to be like, I really thought I was going to hate it.  It seemed like the sort of thing that would bring out the worst in the show’s writers.  Instead, it turned out to be a very well-done and extremely well-acted episode, one that reminded the viewer that every patient has their own story.  After spending most of this season focusing on the doctors, The Women announced that the patients matter too.