Tag Archives: TV

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/31/22 — 8/6/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, I watched a lot of old TV shows this week.  I was doing some work around the office and the retro channels always seem to keep me focused.

Here are this week’s thoughts on what I saw!

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Fortunately, the attempted execution of Rene and Edith failed and they were safely returned to Nouvion.  Unfortunately, before they got back to their café, the Resistance attempted to run the business and thoroughly screwed things up.  Meanwhile, realizing that the war not going particularly well for them, the German occupiers made plans to leave France and perhaps relocate some place with a warmer climate.  While all of this went on, Officer Crabtree continued to wish everyone a “Good Moaning,” because Officer Crabtree was a professional.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

This week’s episode was extremely awkward to watch, with Rachel feeling insecure when compared to Gabby and the bachelors themselves not being particularly sensitive about the situation, but at least Meatball was given a second chance.  Seriously, this entire franchise will be redeemed if Rachel ends up getting engaged, even if it’s just temporarily, to Meatball.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

I am so worried about what’s going to happen to Jimmy/Saul/Gene!  During this week’s episode, we flashed back to Saul first meeting Walt and Jesse and then we flash forwarded to Gene treating Buddy and Jeff in much the same way that Walt used to treat Jesse.  Especially after Gene’s phone call to Kim, I’m starting to worry that Gene is becoming just as self-destructive as Walt was at the end of Breaking Bad.  Considering that there’s only a few episodes left before this show ends, that’s not a good development for those of us who are hoping that Jimmy/Saul/Gene gets some sort of a happy ending.

Big Brother 24 (Everyday, CBS and Paramount+)

I’m writing about the latest, surprisingly entertaining season of Big Brother at the Big Brother Blog!  This week, Nicole was voted out and proved to be as delusional on her way out and she was on her way in.  Even after Julie Chen explained to her why she had been targeted and voted out, Nicole still didn’t get it.

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

This week, yet another former member of Big Brother 23‘s Cookout was eliminated.  Azah is out of the game, leaving Kyland as the last member of the Cookout standing.  Considering what happened when Kyland was voted out of the Big Brother House, it somehow seems cosmically appropriate that he’s managed to survive the Challenge while the other members of his former alliance have been eliminated.  That said, I hope Derek X. wins the show.

CHiPs (Weekday Afternoons, Charge TV)

I watched two episodes of this 70s motorcycle cop show on Monday.  Both episodes were pretty much the same.  There was a big accident on the freeway.  There was a lot of motorcycle cop action.  There was some pretty California scenery.  The bass-driven theme song is the main thing that I remember about the two episodes.  The show was bland but the music was great.

Diff’Rent Strokes (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

Diff’Rent Strokes is one of those old sitcoms that I’ve heard a lot about but I’ve never really watched, just because everything I’ve ever heard about it just made it sound like a pretty stupid viewing experience.  That said, I did need some background noise on Monday so, when I saw that the show was now on Rewind TV, I decided to catch two episodes.

In the first episode, old Mr. Drummond attempted to go camping with his new stepson but things got complicated when his stepson’s biological father also decided to tag along.  In the second episode, Mr. Drummond decided to do the Undercover Boss thing by working in one of his factories.  He discovered that he wasn’t popular with his workers and that he needed to pay them more.  Surprisingly, no one saw through his disguise, despite the fact that it only consisted of a fake mustache that didn’t even match his hair color.  It was all pretty dumb.  For a rich man, Mr. Drummond lived in a really boring penthouse.  Like seriously, if you’re that rich, update your décor.

Family Ties (Weekday Afternoons, Rewind TV)

I used two episodes of this very 80s sitcom for background noise on Monday.  On the first episode, Elyse (the mother of the family at the center of the show) was struggling with her conscience about whether or not she should fire a recently divorced but extremely annoying employee.  It was kind of obvious that Elyse needed to fire her but Elysa was a former hippie and, as a result, had no idea how to wield authority.  On the second episode, an impossibly young Michael J. Fox had to babysit his bratty younger sister.  He took her to a poker game.  She got annoyed with being treated like an afterthought and wandered off.  Luckily, everything worked out in the end and lessons were learned all around.

Fantasy Island (Monday Morning, GetTV)

I watched two episodes of the original Fantasy Island on Monday morning but I have to admit that I was half-asleep during both of them.

The first episode featured two fantasies.  In the serious fantasy, a jazz trumpeter went back in time to New Orleans so that he could play with his idols.  In the comedic fantasy, a woman and the two men who were in love with her got stranded on an island in the Bermuda Triangle.  The goofier of the two men was played by football player Joe Namath.  His performance here was better than his performance in C.C. and Company but not by much.

In the second episode, the main fantasy dealt with a private detective who wanted to solve a case with Humphrey Bogart.  The guy playing Bogart did a passable imitation.  The other fantasy featured Michelle Phillips as a woman who wanted to be “the most famous equestrian in history.”  She thought this would mean that she would be famous but instead, the Island took her words literally and she was transformed into Lady Godiva.  First off, why did the island take her words literally when it didn’t do that for anyone else?  And secondly, is Lady Godiva really the most famous equestrian in history?  Oh well, the important thing is that everyone learned a lesson.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

I watched two episodes of this show on Sunday and I’m sure I lost at least two brain cells as a result.  The first episode featured Uncle Joey auditioning to be the voice of a cartoon chipmunk or something like that.  Frankie Avalon was the episode’s special guest star.  Remember Frankie’s cameo in Casino?  “I have 8 children.  It was my pleasure.”  This was followed by an episode in which Aunt Becky told Danny that DJ was sneaking out of the house to hook up with her boyfriend.  DJ got mad and said, “I thought you were my friend!”  Poor DJ.  I don’t blame her for wanting to escape the Full House.

Ghost Whisperer (Weekday Mornings, Start TV)

I watched an episode on Monday.  Melinda was (understandably) concerned that Aiden was now seeing and talking to ghosts.  When the ghost of a girl who had recently died of Leukemia insisted on taking Aiden on a journey through town, Melinda had to track them down and find out what the girl wanted.  Fortunately, since this was Ghost Whisperer and not Medium, things worked themselves out.

Hart to Hart (Monday Morning, GetTV)

In this very 80s detective show, a fabulously rich married couple (played by Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers) traveled the world, spent a lot of money, and occasionally solved mysteries.  Their loyal chauffer was Max, played by the gravelly voiced Lionel Stander.

I watched two episodes of Monday morning.  In the first episode, the Harts were taking part in a car race in Greece.  A Greek tycoon wanted to kill off Jonathan Hart so that he could take over Jonathan Hart Industries.  Fortunately, he didn’t succeed.  If he had, I imagine they would have had to change the title of the show.  The second episode featured a mysterious woman who claimed to Jennifer Hart’s half-sister.  Needless to say, Jonathan did some investigating and it turned out that there was more to the story.

Anyway, the two episodes that I saw were kind of dull plotwise but I did enjoy the show’s shameless celebration of money and glamour.  It was all very 80s.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched an episode with my TV Mysteries friends on Tuesday night.  A buried body was discovered.  Hathaway and Lewis investigated.  Lewis was in a notably cranky mood in this episode and even dismissively referred to one woman as being “Miss Marple.”  My theory is that Lewis had a drinking problem.  Usually, Hathaway was able to cover for him but this week, Lewis just lost control.

King of the Hill (Hubi)

Early Friday morning, I watched the episode in which Hank and his undefeated softball team took an exhibition game against the Ace of Diamonds and His Jewels just a bit too seriously.  “Believe to achieve.”

Kojak (Monday Morning, GetTV)

Kojak is a show from the 70s, about a bald homicide detective who calls people baby and who sucks on lollipops.  Kojak was played by Telly Savalas, who was also Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the Devil in Lisa and the Devil.

The episode that I watched on Monday morning was the first episode that I had ever actually seen of this show, though I had read about it in the past.  In this episode, Ruth Gordon played a psychic who had been having dreams in which she saw women being murdered.  Luckily, Kojak was there to eventually capture the killer.  Neither Gordon nor Savalas were particularly subtle performers and, in this episode, they both seemed to enjoy competing to see who could best steal every scene that they shared.  Add to that, the killer was played by Andy Robinson, who also played Scorpio in Dirty Harry.  It was kind of entertaining to watch.

Magnum P.I. (Weekday Mornings, Charge TV)

On Monday, I watched an episode of the original 80s Magnum, P.I.  Magnum’s friend T.C. was in a coma.  Magnum had to figure out why T.C.’s helicopter crashed.  Luckily, the mystery was solved and everyone survived.  The Hawaiian scenery was lovely.

Medium (Weekday Morning, Start TV)

On Monday’s episode, Allison had a dream about a courtroom shooting and also discovered that she wasn’t the only psychic offering up her abilities to the legal system.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+)

I watched the first two episodes of this show on Thursday night, immediately after the Nicole eviction on Big Brother.  I laughed and I cringed.  Beavis and Butt-Head don’t look like they use deodorant so that worries me.  You can read Jeff’s review of the show here!

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

It’s been a few months since I last watched Open All Hours.  I checked it out this week.  Arkwright was cheating his customers and Granville was consumed with resentment.

Traffik (DVD)

I watched Traffik on Wednesday and Thursday and I wrote about it here.

Miniseries Review: Traffik (dir by Alistair Reid)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

First aired in 1989 and running a total of six episodes, Traffik is a British miniseries that takes a look at the War on Drugs.

British minister Jack Lithgow (Bill Paterson) has negotiated a treaty with Pakistan.  The UK will send increased aide to Pakistan if the government will crack down on the heroin trade.  In theory, it sounds like a good idea.  Pakistan will get extra cash while joining the effort to stop the flow of heroin into Europe.  In reality, it harms the poor farmers in Pakistan.  After soldiers destroy his village’s poppy fields, Fazal (Jamal Shah) is left with no way to support his family.  He travels to the city, where he gets a job with drug lord Tariq Butt (Talat Hussain).  It’s a job that Fazal has to take in order to feed his family but it’s also a job that puts his family’s safety at risk.

After the heroin in processed in Pakistan, it is smuggled into Europe by men like Karl Rosshalde (Juraj Kukura), a German businessman whose company is a front for his operations.  When two German police detectives (Fritz Müller-Scherz and Tilo Prückner) arrest Jacques (Peter Lakenmacher), one of Karl’s couriers, it looks like Karl might finally being going to prison.  However, Karl’s British wife, Helen (Lindsay Duncan), proves herself to be just a ruthless as he was when it comes to running his operations.

Even with Karl on trial, the drug trade continues.  The heroin that is processed in Pakistan and smuggled through Germany eventually ends up in the UK, where it is used to by Caroline (a very young Julia Ormond), the teenage daughter of Jack Lithgow.  When Caroline runs away from home, Jack searches the streets and back alleys of London and, for the first time, he starts to understand the futility of Europe’s war on drugs.

If Traffik sounds familiar, that’s because it served as the basis for Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 film, Traffic.  When I watched Traffik this week, I was actually surprised to see how closely Soderbergh’s film stuck to the plot of the miniseries.  The only difference, beyond shifting the action from Europe to North America, is that Soderbergh replaced the farmer’s storyline with a story involving Benicio del Toro as a Mexican policeman.  That’s a bit of shame, actually.  Traffic is one of my favorite Soderbergh films but it is a bit cop-heavy.  The people who actually do the day-to-day work in the drug trade, as opposed to the drug lords, aren’t really represented in Soderbergh’s film.  As the British miniseries shows, people like Fazal end up working in the drug trade not because they’re evil but because they literally have no other choice.  It’s either work for someone like Tariq or starve to death.

As I mentioned earlier, Traffic is one of my favorite Soderbergh films.  Considering that I usually find Soderbergh’s films to be hit-or-miss, it’s actually kind of remarkable just how effective Traffic is.  The original miniseries, however, is superior to the film in every way.  Some of that is because the miniseries has six hours to explore its world whereas Soderbergh had to cram a lot of incidents into 147 minutes.  Beyond that, the miniseries succeeds because director Alistair Reid takes a straight-foward, no frills approach to telling his story.  Even at his best, Soderbergh has a tendency to be a bit pretentious.  Even though Traffic deals with real-life issues, it never allows you to forget that you’re watching a film.  Traffik, on the other hand, tells its story with an almost documentary-style immediacy.  One need only compare the scenes where Bill Paterson searches for Julia Ormond in Traffik to the scenes where Michael Douglas searches for Erika Christensen in Traffic to see not only the differences between Reid and Soderbergh’s style but also to see why Reid’s more gritty style works better for the story that’s being told.  Whereas Soderbergh can’t resist framing Christensen with a blonde halo when she’s finally rescued by Douglas, Traffik leaves little doubt that Ormond has been through Hell and that, even if she does eventually beat her addictions, she’ll be carrying the scars of her experience for the rest of her life.  Whereas Traffic ended on a note of hope, Traffik ends with the realization that there is no perfect solution.

Traffic and Traffik are both good looks at the destructiveness of both drug abuse and the efforts to treat drug addiction as a crime.  Both are worth watching.

Here’s The Trailer For Cars On The Road

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Cars is the only PIXAR franchise that has never made me cry.  This is largely because it’s about talking cars.  It’s easy for me to get emotionally worked up over toys fearing that they’ll be forgotten or WALL-E losing its personality and returning to collecting trash.  Don’t even get me started on some of the emotional trauma that I suffered from UP and Inside Out.  But Cars …. I mean, I know that cars don’t talk to each other so it’s difficult for me to get too emotionally involved in their issues.  In PIXAR’s defense, though, the Cars films have always been pretty honest about the fact that they’re just meant to be silly fun.  No one is going to mistake Cars for Toy Story but then again, PIXAR has never asked anyone to.

Cars on the Road is the latest entry in the franchise.  This original series will be premiering on Disney Plus on September 8th.  Here’s the trailer:

Here’s The Trailer for Star Wars: Andor

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The upcoming Disney+ original series, Star Wars: Andor, is a prequel to Rogue One, which was itself the fourth prequel to Star Wars: A New Hope.  If Andor is a success, I’m sure it will lead to another prequel and then a prequel to that and then a prequel to that and eventually, we’ll have a Star Wars series that takes place right before the Big Bang.  

(As you may have guessed from the tone of that last paragraph, I’m a bit skeptical of prequels in general.  It’s rare that they’re ever worth the trouble.  Better Call Saul is really the only prequel that I can I think of that actually enriches the experience of watching the show from which it was spun off.)

Anyway, Star Wars: Andor will be available to stream on September 21st.  Here’s the trailer:

Comic-Con 2022: Here’s The Trailer For The Finale of The Walking Dead

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As long as I’m sharing Walking Dead-related trailers, here’s the trailer for the final few episodes of the original The Walking Dead!

This dropped yesterday but, again, I was overwhelmed by the cuteness of I am Groot and I’m only now getting around to posting this non-Groot related teaser.

Comic-Con 2022: Here’s The Trailer For Tales Of The Walking Dead

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Walking Dead may be coming to a close but the zombie apocalypse will continue in Tales of The Walking Dead, a new anthology series.  

Here’s the first trailer, featuring Terry Crews and Samantha Morton.  This actually dropped yesterday but, again, I was so overwhelmed by the cuteness of I am Groot that it took me 24 hours to get around to sharing it.  Don’t worry, though.  The Dead aren’t going anywhere.

 

Here’s The Third Trailer for HBO’s House of the Dragon!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Below, you will find the third trailer for House of the Dragon, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel!  I’m not really sure if I’m ready to take on yet another show that will inevitably have a complicated mythology to try to keep straight but, on the other hand, I do like dragons.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/10/22 — 7/16/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week watching movies.  The Emmy nomination period is over with and, as a result, so is a lot of my interest in television.  I am still watching Big Brother, of course.  How could I ever stop watching that?  That’s the power of addiction.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

There’s two Bachelorettes, which is only right considering what a mess the last season of The Bachelor was.  We’ll see how this plays out.  To be honest, I’m suffering a bit of fatigue with this franchise.  It was more fun to watch before everyone decided that they were also in on the joke.  Jesse Palmer seems like he’ll be a better host than Kaitlyn and Tayshia.  So, we’ll see!  (Can you tell that I didn’t really pay much attention to the first episode?)

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul returned with a bang this week.  For those who thought Lalo would be around for a while longer, nope.  I still feel bad for Howard, who will apparently now forever be branded a drug addict.  I’m also increasingly concerned about what’s going to happen to Kim because pretty soon, Walter White and his sidekick are going to show up and Kim was never seen or spoken of in Breaking Bad.

Big Brother 24 (All week, CBS and Paramount+)

My thoughts on this latest season of Big Brother can be found over at the Big Brother Blog.  This big news this week was that Paloma, who was obviously a favorite of production’s, self-evicted after having what appeared to be a hypomanic episode in the House.  Julie Chen Moonves made a big deal about saying that production wished the best for Paloma and that they were only concerned with her mental health but rumor has it that production actually asked Paloma to stay in the game, even after it became obvious that she was struggling.  Anyway, that’s Big Brother for you!  (That’s also why I would never go on that show.)

Boy Meets World (Disney Plus)

On Thursday, I was bored enough to watch an episode of this late 90s sitcom.  Shawn joined a cult.  Mr. Turner got into a motorcycle accident.  As with most episodes of Boy Meets World, it was 50% cringey and 50% effective.  This episode featured a good performance from Rider Strong but it also featured Ben Savage going totally over the top as he shouted, “This is a hug, Shawn!  THIS IS A HUG!”

The Challenge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Survivor alumni faced off against Big Brother alumni and Love Island alumni and some Bachelor alumni.  To be honest, I may have had the television on but The Challenge really has yet to capture my attention.

Hawkeye (Disney Plus)

I’m still mad that Natasha sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame so Clint could be reunited with his family.  That said, this series was enjoyable when taken on its town terms.  It may be because my last name is Bowman but I’ve always liked archers.  Vincent D’Onofrio seemed to be having fun as a crime lord and Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfield were believable as father and daughter.

Inspector Lewis (YouTube)

I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on Tuesday.  I watched it with a group of friends on twitter and I have to admit that the tweets were so lively that I actually didn’t may attention to the episode.  Sitting here and typing this up on Saturday, I have no idea what happened but I do remember that Hathaway seemed troubled.

Loki (Disney Plus)

My God, could Tom Hiddleston be any more adorable?  The plot of this show was typical Marvel nonsense but Hiddleston’s devilish performance made it fun and worth watching.

Stranger Things (Netflix)

I watched the latest season and, as you can tell from my personal Emmy nominations, I liked it.  I’m going to hold off on saying anything more because I’m planning on reviewing each episode individually at some point in the near future.  By the time I get around to reviewing it, everyone will probably have moved on but oh well.  That’s one of the benefits of having your own site and being your own boss.  You can set your own schedule.

Here’s The Trailer For The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This trailer actually dropped yesterday so I’m late in sharing this.  Then again, after The Hobbit trilogy and Game of Thrones and all that, it’s hard not to feel that this show is premiering a little bit late as well.  That said, people do seem to have fonder memories of the Lord of the Rings films than they do of many of the shows and films that followed.  It’ll be interesting to see if that nostalgia is strong enough to make this prequel a hit.

Here’s the teaser!

2022 Emmy Nomination Thoughts

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Emmy nominations were announced this morning.  As usual, I agree with a few of the nominations and disagreed with the majority of them.  I was happy to see Abbott Elementary nominated for Best Comedy.  I was happy that Barry got a lot of love.  You can see all the nominees over at Emmys.com.

For the most part, I think my personal nominations were better.

For Best Comedy Series, I was happy to see Abbott Elementary, Barry, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and What We Do In The Shadows nominated.  I was not happy to see that Cobra Kai, Ghosts, and The Flight Attendant were pretty much shut out of the major categories, with the exception of Kaley Cuoco’s nomination for Best Actress.  Though I’m not a huge fan of Ted Lasso, I realize that others are and I don’t think it’s bad show as much as it’s just not for me.  Hacks, I am going to guess, was nominated because it was about show business.  Curb Your Enthusiasm was nominated out-of-habit, as this latest season was pretty much unwatchable.  I’m disappointed Atlanta wasn’t nominated but, to be honest, I kind of suspected that this season would be too surreal for the voters.  Donald Glover was nominated for Best Actor but how did Atlanta not land even a single writing nomination?

For Drama Series, I actually agree with 6 of the 8 nominees, Better Call Saul, Euphoria, Severance, Squid Game, and Yellowjackets.  I will be rooting for Yellowjackets, though we all know that Succession is going to win again.  Succession pretty much dominated the acting nominations as well.  I’ll be cheering for Severance’s Adam Scott and Christopher Walken and Yellowjackets’s Melanie Lynesky and Christina Ricci.  That said, I’m fully expecting Succession to sweep.  Maybe Bob Odenkirk will finally get some Emmy love and spare us from a self-congratulatory Brian Cox acceptance speech.  That would be nice.

Best Limited Series, I don’t even want to talk about.  I agree with one nominee, The Dropout.  My other favorite miniseries — shows like Maid, Pistol, Candy, The Offer, Angelyne, 1883, Dr. Death — were shut out for stuff like Inventing Anna and Pam & Tommy.  I imagine that Dopesick will sweep this category, despite not being that interesting of a show.  Narratively, Dopesick was a mess but it had four good performances (Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever, Peter Sarsgaard, and Will Poulter) and a villain that was easy to dislike.

As far as Best TV Movie goes, I imagine that The Survivor will win and I’m happy with that.  I would have liked to have seen a nomination or two for I Want You Back and The House but The Survivor is an important film and, at a time when anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial is being normalized, it’s a film that deserves more attention.  With a growing number of celebrities and influencers recently displaying their ignorance of what happened in Nazi Germany and often being openly anti-Semitic without any apparent consequences, it’s easy to see why it’s important to honor films like The Survivor.

The Amazing Race was nominated for Best Competition Show.  I was happy about that.

When I started off this post, I was upset about the Emmys snubbing some of my favorite shows but, as I’ve sat here typing, I’ve calmed down.  It’s just the Emmys and don’t know anyone who really takes them seriously.  The winners will be announced on September 12th.