Tag Archives: TV

Retro Television Reviews: T and T 2.6 “A Secret No More”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing T. and T., a Canadian show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990.  The show can be found on Tubi!

This week, things get muddy!

Episode 2.6 “A Secret No More”

(Dir by Don McCutcheon, originally aired on November 7th, 1988)

“On this episode….”

No, sorry, Mr. T does not utter those words at the start of this week’s episode of T and T.  Starting with the second season, the show did away with the practice of Mr. T introducing each episode.  It’s a shame because that was always one of the best parts of every episode.  I especially would have liked to have heard how Mr. T would have introduced this episode, which features a lot of mud wrestling.  “On this episode, Amy and I explore the world of mud wrestling and everyone gets dirty.”

This week’s episode find Amy and T.S. hired by an insurance company after a Canadian Senator named Sam Smale (Leon Pownall) is apparently killed by a car bomb.  If the insurance company can prove that the car bomb was planted by gangsters instead of terrorists, the company can get out of paying any money to the senator’s wife.  Wait?  What?  How does that work?  Is that really something that would be put into an insurance policy?  I guess the idea is that terrorists would be targeting Sen. Smale because of his job while gangsters would be targeting Sen. Smale because he was corrupt.  I don’t know.  It’s weird.

Sen. Smale was frequently seen hanging out at Toronto’s busiest mud wrestling club.  The club is owned by the Granger Brothers, Charlie (Michael Copeman) and Red (Ric Sarabia).  (“Those are two bad brothers,” T.S. says.)  A review of the senator’s assets reveals that he was nearly broke.  (“Senator business must be bad,” T.S. says.)  Could Sam Smale have gotten into debt with the loan-sharking Granger brothers?

T.S. heads over to the club, where he meets the newest mud wrestler, K.C. Morgan (special guest star Vanity).  K.C., however, is no ordinary mud wrestler.  Instead, she’s a reporter working undercover and she’s uncovered evidence that the Senator was doing business with the Grangers!  Needless to say, this leads to Amy, K.C., and T.S. all getting into a fight with the Grangers in the mud pit.  It also leads to Senator Smale suddenly showing up and revealing that he faked his death and was planning on running off with the insurance money.  T.S. promptly punches the senator and the corrupt politician ends up in the mud pit.  Later, at the gym, T.S. talks about how silly Amy looked covered in mud and K.C. goes out on a date with T.S.’s best friend, Decker.  (We learn, from K.C., that Decker’s first name is actually Danforth.)  And that’s the end of that!

This episode packed quite a bit into 22 minutes.  In fact, it was all a bit too rushed.  This is one of those episodes that would have benefitted from an hour’s running time.  I have to admit that I laughed out loud when the supposedly dead senator suddenly showed up with a gun on his hand, just because it was such an out-of-nowhere yet kind of lovable plot development.  This was a totally ridiculous episode but that’s what made it fun.  T and T is at its best when it embraces its own absurdity.

Next week, T.S. battles a crack dealer.

“On this episode, Amy and I attack the whack….”

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 1.9 “Catch A Falling Star”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, the highway leads to Hollywood!

Episode 1.9 “Catch a Falling Star”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on Nov. 14, 1984)

In this rather slight episode, Daniel Davis plays movie star Lance Gaylord.  Lance is both producing and starring in a western and he’s so dedicated to the film that he rarely sees his two children, Brock (Bobby Jacoby) and Karen (Emily Moultrie).  His son has been acting out and Lance thinks that it’s just because the kid is a brat and he’s upset about his parents getting divorced.  The truth, of course, is that Brock just wants his father’s attention.

Jonathan and Mark show up on the set of Lance’s movie and explain that they’ve been sent over by the Darwin Agency.  (An angel who works for the Darwin Agency?  Take that, secular humanism!)  Lance tells Jonathan and Mark to keep an eye on his kids while he’s shooting his movie.

The problem is an obvious one.  How can Jonathan get Lance to spend more time with his children, especially his angry son?  Well, maybe the child star who is appearing in the movie could come down with the chicken pox.  And then, maybe with Jonathan’s encouragement, Brock could try out for the role.  At first, Lance angrily says that he will not even allow his son to audition but when Brock runs away from home and Jonathan yells at him for not being there for his son, Lance realizes the errors of his ways.  When Brock returns home, he gets his audition and he gets the role.  He also finally gets to go fishing with his dad.

Probably the most interesting thing about this episode is how little actually happens.  It really doesn’t take much for Lance to see the errors of his ways.  He just needs Jonathan to yell at him for a minute or two.  The whole thing epitomizes the feel-good blandness that the show was known for.  In the end, Lance isn’t a bad father.  He just needed to be reminded to do what was right.  Myself, I’m more concerned with the fact that Lance’s film looks way too old-fashioned to be a hit, even in the 80s.  As soon as I saw Lance dressed up like a cowboy, I thought to myself, “Oh, this movie is going to be such a flop that careers are going to end.”  Hopefully, Lance is keeping productions costs down or he might never work in Hollywood again.

This episode’s big scene actually doesn’t have anything to do with Lance or his children.  Instead, it comes when Jonathan and Mark go to a grocery store and end up getting confronted by a junkie (Dennis A. Pratt) with a gun.  With the junkie attempts to shoot Jonathan, Jonathan snatches the bullet out of the air.  At the police drag him away, the junkie shouts that he’s never going to drugs again.  Obviously, Jonathan and Mark were changing lives everywhere!

Next week, Jonathan and Mark help out on another film set!

Retro Television Reviews: Jennifer Slept Here 1.8 “Rebel With a Cause”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Jennifer Slept Here, which aired on NBC in 1983 and 1984.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week, Jennifer learns karate and Joey is tempted to the dark side.

Episode 1.8 “Rebel With a Cause”

(Dir by John Bowab, originally aired on December 16th, 1983)

Poor Joey!

Jennifer has decided to learn karate.  Why a ghost would need to learn karate, I do not know.  However, while showing off her newly learned moves to Joey, Jennifer kicks his bed and causes it to collapse.  Mr. Eliot rushes into the room and, because he can’t see Jennifer, he assumes that Joey must have been jumping up and down on his bed despite the fact that Joey is a teenager in high school.  Joey’s allowance will go to buying a new bed!

The next day, at school, Joey makes the mistake of asking out the girlfriend of the school’s biggest bully.  Fortunately, Jennifer materializes just in time to beat up the school bully.  Again, because no one can see Jennifer, everyone assumes that Joey beat up the bully.  The bully’s gang decides to make Joey their new leader.

At first, Joey is reluctant.  But when people at school start to act like they’re scared of him and start to do favors for him, the power goes to Joey’s head.  Soon, Joey is wearing a leather jacket and trying to be tough.  Jennifer points out that this isn’t who Joey is and, deep down, Joey knows that.  When the entire gang shows up at Joey’s house, Jennifer suddenly materializes and pretends to be Joey’s biker girlfriend which somehow scares the gang off.

This is a confusing episode, largely due to the fact that the show has never clearly established just what exactly Jennifer can and can’t do as a ghost.  In some episodes, like this one, she can materialize and be seen by others.  In other episodes, it’s been suggested that only Joey will ever be able to see her.  In just the previous episode, Jennifer had the power to possess other people but, in this episode, she doesn’t even use that power despite the fact that it would have gotten both her and Joey out of a lot of trouble.  (If Jennifer has possessed Joey and then beat up the bully, it would have certainly made more sense than everyone assuming Joey beat up the bully despite the fact that Joey would standing several feet away while Jennifer put the guy in his place.)  And, again, why would Jennifer learn karate in the first place?  Who is teaching her?  When did she learn?  Jennifer mentions that she’s met a lot of bikers in the afterlife but when was that?  As far as I can tell, Jennifer spends all of her time harassing Joey at the house.

Even if you ignore all of the inconsistencies with Jennifer, you have to wonder why, in the year 1983, Joey is going to a school that is apparently controlled by a 1950s street gang.  Seriously, this gang of bullies is even less intimidating than a community theater production of Grease.

It was sweet that Jennifer was so concerned about Joey and, as usual, Ann Jillian brought a lot of heart to the role but this episode just didn’t make any sense.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Monsters 1.8 “Sleeping Dragons”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire show is streaming on Tubi.

This week, the lizard are leaping!

Episode 1.8 “Sleeping Dragon”

(Dir by Mark Rezyka, originally aired on December 10th, 1988)

Outside of Reno, Nevada, a stone capsule is found.  Professor Merrick (Kin Shriner) believes that the capsule is from the prehistoric era and that it might prove his theory that there was a highly-developed society on Earth before the rise of human beings.  Merrick brings the capsule to a lab that is located high in the mountains.

While a snow storm rages outside, Merrick and his colleagues, Jeffrey (Russell Johnson) and Jeffrey’s daughter Lisa (Beth Toussaint), examine the capsule.  Jeffrey is skeptical of Merrick’s theories while Lisa thinks that the rock could actually be some sort of time capsule that was buried centuries ago.  When the three of them leave the lab to get a Geiger counter and some more tools to try to pry the capsule open, a humanoid lizard (Wayne Toth) emerges from the stone.

The Lizard is not a friendly visitor and soon, he’s attacking anyone foolish enough to get close to him.  The surviving humans know that he have to find a way to stop the lizard but how do you stop something that you can’t understand?  With the blizzard raging outside, no one is leaving the lab until the battle between lizard and human is resolved.

This episode of Monsters had potential but it suffered because of its short runtime.  If the episode had a bit more time to emphasis the claustrophobia of the lab and to also allow a bit more suspense as the Lizard tracked down the scientists, it would have been far more effective.  As it is, the whole thing felt a bit rushed.

There are two things that I did like about this episode.

First off, it’s a huge plot point that the lab’s phone is dead, which means that the scientists can’t call for help.  The scientists assume that the phone is dead either because of the blizzard or because of the Lizard but, in reality, the phone isn’t dead at all.  It’s just that Lisa, while stumbling around the office, accidentally unplugged the phone and no one noticed until they actually tried to make a call.  That felt like a realistic mistake that one might make while under pressure and it also encouraged the viewer to question whether or not the humans were actually smart enough to survive their lizard encounter.

The second thing that worked about this episode is that lizard man really was frightening.  It helped that he stayed in the shadows for most of the episode and, when he did appeared, he moved quickly enough that you really didn’t notice that he was essentially a guy in a rubber suit.  He was an effective monster and, in the end, that’s what really matters when it comes to a show like this.

Next week, we’ve got another vampire story!

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 3.17 “April’s Love/We Three/Happy Ending”

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 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, a special guest returns!

Episode 3.17 “April’s Love/We Three/Happy Ending”

(Dir by George Tyne, originally aired on January 12th, 1980)

Let’s see.  This week’s episode is entitled April’s Love/We Three/Happy Ending and….

Wait?

Whose love?

April?

Oh no (or oh yes, depending on how you view things), it’s a Charo episode!

Charo was hardly the only celebrity to frequently appear on The Love Boat but she was the only one to always play the same character.  April first boarded the ship as a stowaway and then she returned as an entertainer.  She appeared at least once in almost every season.  In many ways, Charo was the perfect fit for The Love Boat.  She was loud, flamboyant, and shameless.  She was sexy but innocent.  She was the epitome of The Love Boat aesthetic.  At the same time, a little Charo went a long way and, whenever she boarded the ship, you knew the episode was pretty much going to be 75% Charo.

That’s the case here, in which the crew makes such a big deal over April that you have to wonder if they’re aware that there are other passengers on board.  April boards the ship with her manager and fiancé, Honest Tex (Forrest Tucker).  The crew doesn’t trust Honest Tex, especially when they find out that he was a used car salesman before he met April.  When Honest Tex hears Julie playing her flute and offers to get her a recording contract, the crew assumes that he wants to cheat on April!

(Side note: Since when did Julie start playing the flute?)

Fortunately, Honest Tex turns out to be sincere and he really does have a heart as big as Texas.  After April tells him what the crew has been saying about him, Honest Tex admits that he has been lying about something.  He was actually born in New Jersey.  April sings a song, the crew apologizes, and April and Honest Tex leave the boat a happy couple.

While this is going on, William and Betty Robinson (Don Adams and Juliet Mills) board the boat so they can get some work done.  They are married screenwriters but they are on the verge of divorce.  Once they finish their current script, they can split up.  The only problem is that William doesn’t want to split up with her.  Isaac suggests that William just never finish the script.  William hides the script in his nightstand and then, saying that it’s been lost, he works with Betty to write a new script in which a couple stays together.  Betty and William realize that they still love each other.  Betty discovers that William hid the script but she then confesses that she had another copy of the original script the whole time.  Awwwwwww!  This was a cute story.  Don Adams was a lot more likable here than he is on Check It Out! and Juliet Mills is a lot less annoying than her sister Hayley.

(Admittedly, I really only know Hayley from her time as Miss Bliss on those weird episodes of Saved By The Bell.  But seriously, Miss Bliss was the worst!)

Finally, Tom Thornton (Ross Martin) boards the boat and is surprised to see his ex-girlfriend, Martha (Marjorie Lord), and Martha’s adopted daughter, Laura Rogers (Laurie Walters).  Laura happens to be Tom’s daughter!  Tom isn’t sure whether or not he should reveal he is Laura’s father but meeting Vicki and hearing about how happy Vicki was when she discover Captain Stubing was her father leads to Tom telling Laura the truth.  Laura is happy to have a father and Martha is happy to reunite with Tom.  This was another sweet story, featuring sincere performances from both Ross Martin and Marjorie Lord.  (Plus, Vicki finally did something to justify breaking all of the labor laws that are undoubtedly being violated by having a 12 year-old working on a cruise ship.)

This episode featured two sweet and sincerely-acted stories but both of them are overshadowed by April and Honest Tex.  Personally, I think April is an amusing character and, as I said, Charo was the epitome of the ideal Love Boat celebrity guest.  But it’s still hard not to feel that the other passengers deserved just as much attention as Charo received in this episode.  That said, this was still an enjoyable cruise.  A good time was had by all.  I know Charo will return in future episodes but I have a feeling we’ll never hear from Honest Tex again.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Baywatch Nights 1.2 “Bad Blades”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Baywatch Nights, an detective show that ran in Syndication from 1995 to 1997.  The entire show is currently streaming on Youtube!

This week, David Hasselhoff battles John O’Hurley on Baywatch Nights!

Episode 1.2 “Bad Blades”

(Dir by George Fenady, originally aired on October 7th, 1995)

Cosmetics mogul Frances Sandreen (Lois Nettleton) has hired Mitch, Garner, and Ryan to help her track down her wayward son, Todd (Jason Hervey).  Like a lot of rich and spoiled kids, Todd has had his problems with the law.  He’s a wanderer, someone who has spent most of his short life pursuing extreme sports and who dropped out of college after just a semester or two.  Mitch and Garner think that the kid sounds like a spoiled brat but they need the money so they take the case.

(Why is Mitch so poor?  He never seemed to be struggling financially on Baywatch.)

Unfortunately, Todd has fallen in with an even worse crowd than his old prep school friends.  He’s joined a group of roller-skating burglars who rob apartments and delivery vans and then skate away into the darkness.  One reason why they’re so good at their job is because they spend hours every day practicing.  If you’ve ever wanted to spend 20 minutes of your life watching footage of people skating off of ramps in slow motion, this episode should be right up your alley.

Leading this gang of thieves is the impeccably-dressed Kemp.  Kemp is played by John O’Hurley of Dancing With Stars, Family Feud, and Seinfeld fame.  (O’Hurley also appeared in a few episodes of Baywatch, always playing a different character.)  With his perfect haircut and his resonant voice, O’Hurley makes for an entertaining villain.  There’s nothing about O’Hurley’s performance that suggests that he is in any way taking the role of Kemp particularly seriously.  O’Hurley plays him like a comic book villain and that is definitely to the episode’s benefit.

As entertaining as O’Hurley and the skating scenes are, this episode reveals a huge problem with the first season of Baywatch Nights.  Other than the fact that Hasselhoff is wearing a shirt for the entire runtime, there’s nothing about this episode to really distinguish it from a typical episode of Baywatch.  Baywatch has its share of episodes about spoiled rich kids and their worried parents.  Baywatch was always looking for an excuse to pad out an episode with some extreme sports footage.  Even the scene where Garner and Mitch chase the thieves across the Los Angeles river felt like it was lifted from Baywatch or any other Los Angeles-based crime show for that matter.

As well, it’s impossible not to notice that, for an a show called Baywatch Nights, most of the action takes place during the day.  I thought being a private eye was only supposed to be Mitch’s night job.  Who is watching the beach while Mitch is investigating crimes?  It really does seem like Mitch is violating some sort of lifeguard code here.

Next week: Mitch searches for the only witness to a murder!

Retro Television Reviews: Fantasy Island 4.1 “The Devil and Mandy Breem/The Millionaire”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.  Almost the entire show is currently streaming is on Youtube, Daily Motion, and a few other sites.

This week, season 4 begins with …. THE DEVIL!

Episode 4.1 “The Devil and Mandy Breem/The Millionaire”

(Dir by Vince Edwards, originally aired on October 25th, 1980)

The fourth season of Fantasy Island opens with Mr. Roarke and Tattoo once again upset with each other.

When a man named Fred Catlett (Arte Johnson) wrote to Mr. Roarke and said that his fantasy was to become an instant millionaire, Roarke turned down his fantasy for …. reasons, I guess.  Seriously, becoming an instant millionaire sounds like a typical fantasy and I seem to remember that it’s one that Roarke has granted for other guests on the series.  I’m not sure why Roarke decided that poor, meek Fred Catlett was somehow unworthy of his fantasy.

For whatever reason, though, Roarke does turn down the fantasy.  So, imagine his surprise when Fred shows up on the island!  Tattoo explains that he decided to give Fred his fantasy.  Roarke tells Tattoo that he’ll receive no help and no money from him.  Tattoo is shocked and I’m wondering if this means that Fred will get a refund.  I mean, Fantasy Island is not cheap.  Actually, if Fred already had enough money to come to Fantasy Island, that does make his fantasy seem a little bit weird.  It seems like you have to be a millionaire to get your fantasy in the first place.

Roarke, I should add, is a hypocrite because he totally suspends the rules for this week’s other guest.  Mandy Breem (Carol Lynley) has come to the Island with her fantasy being that she wants the Island to save her life.  However, Mandy refused to explain all of the details of her fantasy until she came to the Island.  Roarke allows her to come, despite not knowing what she wants.  If Tattoo did something like that, Roarke would never let him hear the end of it.

So, what is Mandy’s fantasy?  A year ago, Mandy’s husband (Adam West) underwent a surgery.  Fearful of his life, Mandy made a deal with …. THE DEVIL!  She agreed that, if he saved her husband’s life, she would give up her soul in a year’s time.  Well, that year is coming to a close and Mandy has come to Fantasy Island, hoping that she can somehow get out of the deal.  The Devil (played by a dapper Roddy McDowall) has followed her and soon, Roarke must confront the Lord of Darkness for the sake of Mandy’s soul.

This is a really fun story, largely because the performance of Roddy McDowall as the devil.  Wearing a black suit and a white tie and delivering all of his lines with just the right mix of menace, sarcasm, and camp McDowall is the ideal trickster.  The smoky confrontation between Roarke and the Devil is the highlight of the episode, with both Montalban and McDowall both seeming to relish they drama of the moment.  Ricardo Montalban once said that, while the show’s producers wanted to keep Roarke as enigmatic as possible, he always envisioned Roarke as being a fallen angel who was doing his penance on Fantasy Island.  And, indeed, there is a hint of that in his confrontation with the Devil, with the show suggesting that this is neither the first nor the final time that the two shall meet.

As for the other fantasy, Tattoo’s solution is to steal a magic lamp and give it to Mike.  Mike rubs the lamp and wishes for a million dollars.  A briefcase full of money flies through the sky and lands in front of him.  Mike is convinced the magic worked but actually the briefcase was tossed out of a moving car and now, three thieves (Arlene Golonka, Ross Martin, and Joe Turkel) want their money back!  It all works out in the end.  Despite Roarke’s earlier refusal to grant Fred his wish, this was ultimately a typical Fantasy Island fantasy.  While it really couldn’t compete with Mr. Roarke facing off against the Devil, it did, at least, give Tattoo something to do.  One gets the feeling that this episode was specifically conceived so that both Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize could get their chance in the spotlight without having to actually interact with each other.  And it works out wonderfully, with Tattoo’s silly antics providing a nice balance to the more dramatic stuff involving Mr. Roarke.

All in all, even if it’s obvious that Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize were still not getting along behind the scene, this was a fantastic start for season 4!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.2 “Undertow”

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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983.  The entire show is currently streaming on Freevee!

This week, Ponch takes a deep breath and he gets real high.

Episode 1.2 “Undertow”

(Dir by Christian I. Nyby II, originally aired on September 22nd, 1977)

On tonight’s episode of CHiPs, a true crisis breaks out.

The California Highway Patrol’s basketball team loses a game!

Now, they would have won the game if Ponch had been playing.  I’m only two episodes into this series and it’s already pretty obvious that there’s apparently nothing that Ponch can’t do.  However, while at the scene of an accident on the highway, Ponch stood right in front of a leaky cannister of nitrous oxide!  He ended up getting so high that he started seeing double, dancing in the halls of the station, and basically just acting like a total jackass.  Of course, he smiled the whole time.  Baker was less amused.

Because of his temporary high, Ponch was sent home and ordered to stay in bed for a day.  He missed the game and the CHiPs lost to some other off-duty branch of California law enforcement.  Fortunately, Sgt. Getraer is able to set up a rematch and, with Ponch now able to play, the CHiPs win by two points!  And, of course, the winning shot is taken by Ponch because there’s nothing that Ponch can’t do.  This episode ends with a series of freeze frames of Ponch winning the game and proving that California has the best highway patrol in the country.

Of course, the basketball game is only the B-plot of this episode of CHiPs.  The main storyline deals with fake tow truck driver (Angelo de Meo) who is listening to the police radio for calls from women who have broken down on the highway.  The driver goes to wherever the women are calling from but, instead of towing their car, he instead steals their money!  The first time that Ponch and Baker chase him, the crooked tow truck driver gets away.  The second time, they catch him.  Of course, both of the chases lead to multi-car wrecks on the highway.  This episode features the first instance of a car flipping over in slow motion on this show.  Apparently, that would go on to become a CHiPs trademark.

Of course, there are other little things that Ponch and Baker have to deal with.  They pull over a drunk driver (Jim Backus) and Ponch, who is high from the nitrous oxide, struggles to give him a sobriety test.  They also pull over an old surfer (Paul Brinegar), who has a talking myna bird in his truck.  The bird was cute.  These scenes did not add up too much but I imagine they were included to drive home the idea that Ponch and Baker are professionals, even if they do spend a lot of time talking about basketball.

This episode was actually kind of fun.  Erik Estrada is not a particularly subtle actor to begin with and this episode actually gives him an excuse to overact even more than usual.  As much fun as it is to watch Estrada bounce off the walls, it’s even more interesting to glance over at Larry Wilcox and see just how much he appears to resent having to work with someone who always has to be the center of every scene.  Neither Wilcox nor Baker seem particularly unhappy about Ponch being sidelined for a good deal of the episode.  Just as in the pilot, the chase scenes were genuinely well-filmed and it was impossible not to enjoy the shots of the motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic.

Next week, Ponch will probably save someone’s life while Baker seethes in the background.  We’ll see!

Retro Television Reviews: Miami Vice 1.11 “Give a Little, Take a Little”

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 Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

Tonight’s episode is a reminder that you don’t mess with Miami Vice!

Episode 1.11 “Give a Little, Take a Little”

(Dir by Bobby Roth, originally aired on December 7th, 1984)

Oh my God, this episode…. this episode put me through an emotional ringer.  After two episodes that were somewhat light and airy, Give A Little, Take A Little is a return to  the dark and surreal storytelling that was Miami Vice’s signature style.

Things start out on an energetic note, with a montage of Miami nightlife set to the tune of Tina Turner singing You Better Be Good To Me.  For once, Gina (Saundra Santiago) and Trudy (Olivia Brown) are seen before Crockett and Tubbs, this time purchasing appropriately trashy (but stylish) outfits for their undercover prostitution sting.  When Crockett and Tubbs are finally seen, they’re heading over to see their informant, Noogie (Charlie Barnett).  The very high and very talkative Noogie tells them about a warehouse that is being used by a dealer.

At the warehouse, Crockett and Tubbs find a nervous watchman, Bob Rickert (Lenny Von Dohlen).  The obviously terrified Bob explains that he’s just watching the warehouse for an old college friend of his.  When Tubbs and Crockett open up a box and yank out several bags of pills, Bob admits that he knows his friend is a drug dealer but Bob also insists that he’s never sold any drugs in his life.  Sonny takes sympathy on Bob and, after Bob gives them the name of his friend, he allows Bob to go home to his wife.

Bob’s friend is Sally Alvarado (a very young and smoldering Michael Madsen).  After the expected car chase, Crockett and Tubbs arrest him.  However, Alvarado’s lawyer — Richard Cain (Terry O’Quinn, of future Stepfather and Lost fame) — demands that Crockett reveal the name of his confidential source.  (When Crockett meets with the lawyer, he insists on calling him, “Dick.”)  The judge at Alvarado’s trial agrees that Alvarado has a right to know who has accused him of being a drug dealer and she orders that Crockett name his informant.  When Crockett refuses, Crockett goes to jail.

Meanwhile, Gina and Trudy are working at Club Ocho, which is owned by Cinco (Tony Plana).  They are both pretending to be sex workers who have just moved down to Miami from Philadelphia.  Cinco sends them out to work the streets, where they are picked up every night by their fellow Miami Vice detectives, Switek and Zito.  When Cinco’s boss, Lupo Ramirez (the great Burt Young), spots Gina at the Club, he promotes her to working directly for him.  When Ramirez comes to suspect that Gina might be an informant, he invites her to his house late at night for a meeting and, off-screen, he rapes her.

Crockett is released from jail, despite having not named his informant.  He assumes that Lt. Castillo called in a marker but Castillo instead reveals that Bob felt so guilty about Sonny being in jail that he went to Cain and confessed to being the informant.  He also agreed not to testify against Alvarez.  While Sonny was still sitting in jail, Sally Alvarez was released from prison.

That night, Noogie introduces Sonny and Tubbs to another informant, Trick Baby (Henry Sanders).  Impressed that Crockett went to jail to protect an informant, Trick Baby tells Sonny and Tubbs that Sally Alvarez is Ramirez’s second in command.  He also reveals that Ramirez is sending Cinco to kill Gina.

Back at her apartment, Gina is being comforted by Trudy when Cinco shows up.  Fortunately, Crockett and Tubbs show up at well.  A chase and gunfight leads to Cinco being seriously wounded.  Cinco promises that, if he lives, he’ll testify against Alvarez and Ramirez.

At Club Ocho, Alvarez is watching as Switek makes his debut as a stand-up comedian.  Switek’s act is terrible but it provides the cover needed for Crockett and Tubbs to arrest Alvarez.  After being told that Cinco has ratted him out, Alvarez agrees to rat out Ramirez.

The next morning, Gina and Trudy show up at Ramirez’s mansion.  Gina draws her gun and tells Ramirez that he’s under arrest.  Ramirez, who is holding the knife that he was using to make his breakfast, laughs and smugly says that Gina can’t arrest him after what “we’ve shared.”

And….

GINA SHOOTS HIM!

HELL YEAH!

Seriously, that was one of the most satisfying moments that I’ve experienced since I started watching this show.  It’s also a reminder of how different the cops on Miami Vice were from most of the other cops who showed up on crime shows in the 80s and 90s.  Just when you’re expecting Gina to sigh, lower her gun, and read Ramirez his rights because she’s a cop and a cop has to obey the law, she shoots him.  And since Ramirez was dumb enough to act like a smug jackass while holding a knife, the shooting will undoubtedly be ruled as being justified.

This was an emotional episode and not always easy to watch but it all built to a powerful conclusion.  While I did spend a lot of time playing “spot the famous guest star,” I was even happier that this episode finally gave Miami Vice‘s often neglected supporting cast to show what they could do.  John Diehl, Olivia Brown, Michael Talbott, and especially Saundra Santiago all got their chance to shine in this episode.

Next week, Giancarlo Esposito plays a drug dealer decades before Breaking Bad.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.10 “Smokescreen”

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 Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989!  The series can be streamed on YouTube!

This week, Rick and Caitlin team up to save the planet!

Episode 1.10 “Smokescreen”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on March 22nd, 1987)

Caitlin has a crush on the school bad boy, Rick.  All of her friends say that Rick is dumb and a criminal.  He’s known for getting into fights (though, as we learned a few episodes ago, most of his bruises actually came from his abusive father) and he was also held back a grade.  Everyone tells Caitlin that she needs to stay away from Rick but Caitlin says they’re wrong about Rick.  Rick, she says, is sensitive and misunderstood and she can fix him.

Agck!  Seriously, I’ve been there.  I knew exactly what Caitlin was feeling and what was going through her mind because I’ve always had a weakness for the troubled bad boys who hide their poetic soul underneath a tough exterior.  When I was in high school, I idealized more delinquents than I can even begin to remember.  Unfortunately, it often turned out that guys who had a bad reputation had that reputation for a good reason.  But still….

Anyway, Rick also has a crush on Caitlin and he doesn’t realize that she had one on him despite the fact that she’s totally obvious about it.  (Maybe Caitlin’s friends have a point about Rick not being the smartest kid at school.)  After finding out that Caitlin is a member of the Environmental Action Committee, Rick decides to join as well.  At first, snobby Kathleen is like, “Rick can’t join, he’s a criminal!”  But Caitlin insists that Rick really does care about the environment.  Rick even signs Caitlin’s petition protesting the foul-smelling pollution that is being spewed out of a nearby factory.

Rick actually has some ideas for what the EAC can do to combat pollution.  He says that the EAC has to actually be about action and not just endless meetings.  Kathleen rolls her eyes but Caitlin thinks that Rick has a point.  In a scene that practically screams, “This was filmed in the 80s,” Caitlin and Rick get on the school’s public address system and perform a rap called “Stop the Stink” and yes, it’s just as cringey as it sounds.  It does, however, inspire all of the students to sign Caitlin’s petition.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the corporate overlords don’t really care that much about a petition from a bunch of 13 year-olds.  Upset because Caitlin won’t admit that the petition was useless, Rick goes outside and lights up a cigarette.  Kathleen spots him smoking and uses it as an excuse to kick him out of the EAC.  This leads to Caitlin telling off Kathleen and Rick tells Caitlin that he only joined the committee because he liked her.

(If all this sounds familiar, it’s because pretty much the same thing happened nearly two decades later, when Sean Cameron joined Emma Nelson’s environmental club and volunteered to help clean the ravine.  In that case, it was Sean’s delinquent friends who dragged Sean away from environmentalism while  Emma was so busy getting mad at Manny for changing her look that she barely noticed.  We’ll get to that episode sometime in the far future….)

While all this is going on, Yick Yu is upset because, as a class assignment, he’s supposed to bring in a family heirloom.  As a refugee, Yick has no heirlooms.  Arthur tells him to just tell the class about how he came to Canada but, instead, Yick buys a vase from an antique mall.  Unfortunately, Arthur breaks the vase when he accidentally knocks it off a desk so Yick is forced to tell his life story anyway and the entire homeroom is impressed.  Yick learns to be proud of his background.  It’s a good B-plot, though you do have to wonder how many more times Arthur is going to do something stupid before Yick gets tired of him constantly messing things up.  I mean, in this case, I almost feel like Arthur was specifically trying to destroy the vase when he “accidentally” let it fall off of the desk.  No one can make that many mistakes without a few of them being deliberate.

This episode was a classic Degrassi mix of relatable characters and cringey moments.  I could totally relate to Caitlin’s crush on the school bad boy but my God, was that environmental rap ever cringey.  The scenes of Kathleen running the the environmental club like a dictator made me smile because I think we all knew someone like that in school.  That said, for anyone who knows their Degrassi history, any episode that features Caitlin but not Joey is going to feel strange.  I’m watching Degrassi Junior High for the first time so I don’t know how exactly this whole Caitlin/Rick thing is going to play out, but I do know who Caitlin is eventually going to end up with and let’s just say that it’s not the environmentally-concerned tough guy.  That’s the way it goes with bad boys.  They never stick around.