Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/29/22 — 6/4/22

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Let’s check out the butcher’s bill for this week:

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Having returned from England, Rene was named the editor of the town newspaper. He was expected to just publish propaganda. Michelle was excited to have access to a printing press. The latest plan to get the Airmen back to Britain is to make a raft out of telephone poles. We’ll see how that goes.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

Between Fuches somehow surviving getting shot at point blank range, Vanessa Bayer making silly noises as she explained what she thought Sally could bring to a show about Medusa living in SoHo, and that amazingly highway dirt bike chase, this week’s episode of Barry was one of the best overall episodes of the year so far. Who would have thought Bill Hader would be so good at directing action?

Creepshow (Shudder)

I finished up season 3 of Creepshow this week. What a wonderfully macabre show! It’s just as ghoulish as American Horror Story without being so annoying self-impressed.

Full House (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

Much like Rene on Allo Allo, DJ become editor of the school newspaper! Kimmie Gibbler wanted to report on sports. It led to a big fight but things worked out in the end. Meanwhile, Joey tried to direct a commercial with Danny and Rebecca. It led to a big fight but things worked out in the end. Did I already say that? Anyway, it was indeed a very full house.

Maid (Netflix)

At ten episodes, this miniseries was a bit on the long side but it was still a very good show. Margaret Qualley played an aspiring writer who, having left her abusive husband, finds work as a maid while trying to move forward with her life and her daughter. Qualley gave a great performance in the lead role and the show dealt with serious issues without ever descending into melodrama.

Norm McDonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)

In his final comedy special, Norm McDonald talked about …. well, he actually spent a lot of time talking about death. He was undeniably funny, an older comedian who could talk about how the world was changing without coming across as being either mean-spirited or performatively woke. What was interesting about this special (which was recorded in his home studio, in one take) was watching how McDonald would seemingly just stumble from point to point while still always bringing everything together in the end in a way that revealed the fierce intelligence that hid beneath the “average guy who likes to drink beer” persona. At first, I thought he was just rambling but then I noticed that he kept returning to his love of the color yellow.

The final 30 minutes of the special were made up of David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Molly Shannon, Dave Chapelle, Adam Sandler, and David Spade talking about Norm and his special. The roundtable was mostly interesting just for the obvious the affection that everyone involved had for Norm McDonald. It was sweet to witness.

Pistol (Hulu)

I really enjoyed Danny Boyle’s six-episode miniseries about The Sex Pistols and, needless to say, I related to Sidney Chandler’s Chryssie Hynde. I have no doubt that the miniseries offers a bit of a romanticized view of how things went down (that’s kind of Boyle’s thing) but it was well-acted, well-shot, and compulsively watchable. The first four episode were the strongest. The final two got a bit bogged down with Sid’s heroin addiction but the same can be probably be said of the band itself. All in all, though, this was a good and respectful miniseries. I know that Johnny Rotten is not a huge fan of the show and I can kind of understand why because, as I said earlier, it does tend to romanticize things. But, as played by Anson Boon, Johnny is always one of the most compelling characters in the show.

Saved By The Bell (Peacock)

I watched the second and final season of Peacock’s Saved By The Bell revival on Friday. This was actually a really good and clever comedy and it’s kind of a shame that it didn’t last longer. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley Lauren were both a lot of fun to watch as they not only parodied their SBTB past but, at the same time, managed to make Jessie and Slater into actual human beings. It was nicely done.

BEAT VALLEY!

We Own This City (Monday Night, HBO)

The finale of We Own This City aired on Monday. As I watched the first half of the finale, I came dangerously close to writing the show off as just being an example of how heavy-handed David Simon can be when he doesn’t have an equally strong collaborator to work with. However, I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. The final 30 minutes, in which we watched the crooked cops get sentenced to prison while also learning that it all ultimately made no difference as far as Baltimore’s culture of corruption was concerned, were undeniably powerful. The final flashback, to Jon Bernthal pumping up the cops about doing their job, was sad because it represented the failure of the cops to live up to their oath but it was also frightening because it perfectly captured the “warrior cop” mentality.

I have to give special mention to Jamie Hector, playing an otherwise honest homicide detective who was driven to suicide by the possibility of losing his job because he was on the periphery of corruption. It took me a few episodes to get used to Hector (best-remembered as psycho drug lord Marlo Stanfield on The Wire) in a sympathetic role but he truly delivered an outstanding performance in the final episode.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/22/22 — 5/28/22

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

We’ve been up in Arkansas for most of this week so I haven’t watched much television. Interestingly enough, I have watched quite a few films and written quite a few reviews. I guess there’s probably a lesson to be learned there.

I have to be honest. As much as I want to get caught up on all of the miniseries and shows that I didn’t get a chance to see over the past few months, it’s difficult to get started. It doesn’t help that even the miniseries that sound interesting are still way too long. I saw a show that I was interested in watching on Netflix but then I checked and I discovered that it’s 10 episodes long, each episode is over 60 minutes, and the first episode deals with the main character’s grandparents. It’s hard for me to justify spending 11 to 12 hours on a show that doesn’t even start with the main storyline. During the pandemic, streaming services could get away with that sort of thing because there were no other options. Today, there are other options, assuming you don’t live in one of those crazy lockdown states up north.

Anyway, here are a few thoughts on what I did watch this week:

1883 (Paramount Plus)

This western miniseries serves as a prequel to Yellowstone, a very popular show that I have yet to really watch. Sam Elliott plays Shea Brennan, an aging and suicidal cowboy who helps to lead a group of German settlers across the frontier. Along for the ride are the Duttons (played by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) and their teenage daughter, Elsa (Isabel May). It’s a long journey, full of tragedy and violence. Many people die, some from gunshot and some just from accidentally run over by a wagon. Elsa narrates. Shea finds something to live for. The Duttons eventually settle in the land that will serve as the setting of Yellowstone.

Each episode of 1883 was sponsored by a store that sells tractor supplies and that pretty much tells you who the target audience was for the show. For all the graphic violence, sex, and precision F-bombs, 1883 is a fairly old-fashioned western. That said, it was all very well-done and well-acted. Isabel May was the cast standout while Sam Elliott showed that, regardless of how you may feel about his Power of the Dog opinions, he’s still one of the most authentic western actors around. 1883 was long but, even over 10 episodes, there weren’t any slow spots and even potentially distracting cameos from Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Hanks didn’t take away from the show’s narrative momentum.

On a personal note, I liked 1883‘s portrayal of Fort Worth as being the most lawless town in Texas.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Having stowed away on the airplane that was meant to pick up the British airmen, Edith and Rene found themselves in the UK! They also discovered that Captain Geering (last seen 3 seasons ago) was now working for the British. Edith and Rene received medals for Chuchhill and then, to Rene’s consternation, they were promptly sent back to France. They arrived just in time to keep Momma and LeClerc from performing their new cabaret number.

By Allo Allo standards, this episode was actually fairly coherent.

American Idol (Monday Night, ABC)

Though I kind of lost interest in this season after Hollywood week, I did tune in to see Noah Thompson win the season on Monday. To be honest, Noah seems like he’s destined to be one of the forgotten winners of American Idol but I was still happy to see that he beat the annoyingly quirky Leah Marlene and the annoyingly monikered Huntergirl.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

While this week’s episode didn’t feature anything quite as brilliant as last week’s customer service conversation, it was still a very good episode. Gene’s dinner with Joe Mantegna was cringe comedy at its best. Meanwhile, Sally’s show was canceled despite its RT score. At first, I was a bit worried she would take Barry back but fortunately, Barry ruined the moment and she get kicked him out again.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Poor Howard! I’ve seen enough of this show and Breaking Bad to know that Howard was probably going to die at some point but I was still upset to see it happen. Patrick Fabian was terrific in the role. Hopefully, the Emmy voters will remember Fabian this year. If nothing else, he’s come a long way since he played Prof. Lasky on Saved By The Bell: The College Years.

Creepshow (Shudder)

On Friday, I watched the third episode of season 3. A tech billionaire destroyed the wrong painting. A prisoner took revenge after his pet spider was killed. It was all enjoyably macabre. Those killer spiders were especially creepy! Agck!

Dynasty (Friday Night, The CW)

All the scheming and the plotting and the melodramatic dialogue continued this week. To be honest, I was a bit out of it on Friday because I had strained my back earlier in the day so I’ll probably have to rewatch Friday’s episode. I just know I’m going to miss Dynasty when it’s gone.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Maryanne won. I was happy that Maryanne won. I know some people are saying that she only won because she was likable but Maryanne did engineer the Omar blindside so I think she earned her right to claim victory. That said, I am getting a little bit tired of people riding their immunity idols all the way to the end of the game. The show needs to put a time limit on those idols. Anyway, I wrote about the finale for the Reality TV Chat Blog!

We Own This City (Monday Night, HBO)

This week’s episode was a bit heavy-handed but that’s what most of us have to come to expect from David Simon’s recent work. We Own This City works when it’s dealing with the corrupt cops but it comes to a halt whenever the focus shifts to the DOJ investigators. Treat Williams’s cameo as a reform-minded police academy instructor was embarrassingly over-written and felt out-of-place. That said, the good still outweighs the bad when it comes to this show. It may be uneven but, at its best, it’s still a thought-provoking look at the warrior cop mentality and how systemic corruption can destroy a city.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television — 5/8/22 — 5/14/22

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Let’s get to it.

Atlanta (Thursday Night, FX)

Atlanta has been pretty evenly split, this season, between “anthology” episodes and the episodes that follow Earn and Al in Europe. It’s an interesting format but, as I watched this week’s anthology episode, I really found myself thinking about much more interested I am in what’s going on in Europe. This week’s episode was filmed in gorgeous black-and-white but the story of a biracial teen passing as white was nowhere near as interesting as what happened to Al in Amsterdam last week.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

This week, Barry attempted to make things up to Gene by getting him a role on a plausibly terrible television show. Unfortunately, for Barry, it turned out that Gene isn’t just going to forget about Barry murdering his girlfriend in return for a role. Meanwhile, Sally was forced to take part in a series of vacuous interviews in order to promote her new television series. Everyone wants to know: “Who should be the next Spider-Man?”

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

This week, we got to see what Saul’s office was like before he redecorated it. It was kind of a slow episode. Better Call Saul is always watchable because of the performers but its status as a prequel also means that there’s a certain lack of suspense as to what’s going to happen to everyone. Still, this week’s episode was worth it for the boxing scene.

Beyond the Edge (Wednesday Night, CBS)

The remaining celebrities continued to try to survive living in the jungle. Jodie Sweetin finally ran the bell and removed herself from the show, just leaving a bunch of former pro athletes to continue the competition. I don’t blame her. Jodie lasted longer than I would have.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

I don’t remember anything that happened during last Sunday’s Brady Bunch episodes so I guess I should count myself lucky.

Candy (Hulu)

I reviewed Hulu’s latest true crime miniseries here!

Dynasty (Friday Night, The CW)

Having missed most of the latest season, I finally got caught up on Dynasty this week and I was reminded of why I enjoy this wonderfully over-the-top and self-aware show. Unfortunately, no sooner was I caught up than the CW announced that they were canceling the show. Booooo!

Fantasy Island (Hulu)

Several months after watching the pilot, I finally watched the rest of Fantasy Island’s 1st season this week. It’s an extremely silly but fun show. Roselyn Sanchez plays her role with just the right mix of gravitas and mockery. The show’s a bit heavy-handed at times but I think that’s to be expected. The island looks lovely and the fantasies themselves are ultimately harmless and good-natured and that’s all the really matters.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

If I remember correctly, Jesse was worried that he was losing his cool and Joey said, “Cut it out.”

Ghosts (Paramount Plus)

I finished binging the first season of Ghosts on Monday and Tuesday. What a sweet show! I’m kind of amazed that it took me so long to give this show a chance. I’ll be curious to see what happens with the second season. Hopefully, the show can keep up its momentum.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

“This story is fictional….”

Yeah, whatever. This week’s episode started out as an homage to Inventing Anna and then it ended as an homage to Dopesick. Price decided to make a deal with a murderer so that he could then prosecute the owner of a pharmaceutical company. It was all because Price’s brother died of a drug overdose. To be honest, Price didn’t really make his case and he should have been fired for wasting tax payer money on a personal crusade. But the jury disagreed. It may sound like I’m trashing this episode but it was actually pretty well-acted and I actually appreciated that it totally turned into a different story during the second half. That said, I don’t think the Law & Order revival will ever be known for having a particularly nuanced political outlook.

The Love Boat (Sunday Evening, MeTV)

Vicki discovered that one of the passengers was hooked on speed. Luckily, everything worked out in the end.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I reviewed the latest twist-filled episode of Survivor here!

We Own This City (Monday Night, HBO)

It was a pretty boring episode this week. The cast is convincing and Baltimore continues to be a fascinating portrait of the American Dream gone bad but David Simon doesn’t really seem to have much to say, beyond pointing out that cops are bad and federal investigators are underfunded.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/1/22 — 5/7/22

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Why didn’t anyone tell me that Ghosts was so good!? Over the past few days, I’ve been watching it and loving it.

Anyway, here’s some more thoughts on my week in television!

Atlanta (Thursday Night, FX)

During this week’s funny but unsettling episode, Al got stoned in Amsterdam. It’s possible that he met a mysterious women named Lorraine who warned him about the people around him and who took him to a club where he met Liam Neeson. It’s also possible that Al hallucinated the whole thing while passed out in a doorway.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

The latest episode of Barry really, really freaked me out. Basically, Barry found himself with two options. He could either get Gene a role on a TV show in order to make up for killing Gene’s girlfriend or he could just kill Gene. Barry was determined to give Gene a second chance and, by extension, himself a second chance. Barry was trying to do the right thing. The problem is that Barry is a sociopath who is trying to be the good person that he is incapable of being.

This episode was all about abusive relationships. Sally is trying to produce her dramedy about her own abusive relationship but she doesn’t seem to understand that her current relationship with Barry is just as abusive as the one she escaped. (The scene where Barry yelled at her for not casting Gene was legitimately scary.) Barry is trying to recover from his abusive relationship with Fuches, little realizing that he’s repeating Fuches’s behavior with the way that he’s manipulating Gene. Is Gene going to end up becoming a hit man by the end of this season? It could happen. Meanwhile, the only vaguely healthy relationship on the show, between Noho Hank and Cristobal, came to an end due to them being members of rival criminal gangs.

Bill Hader continues to astound as Barry. He’s both sincere and terrifying. Barry truly believes that he’s capable of doing the right thing even though we know he isn’t. This week’s episode reminded us that Barry can be a scary guy. When he indicated that he would kill Gene’s grandson if Gene didn’t accept the role that Barry had gotten for him, it was a chilling moment. I’ll never look at Barry the same way again.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Rhea Seehorn directed this week’s episode of Better Call Saul, which featured both Jimmy’s continuing efforts to destroy Howard’s career and also his move into his new office. Meanwhile, Gus and Mike continued to search for evidence of Lalo still being alive. This was a well-done episode, one that did a good job of showing how Jimmy McGill transformed into the Saul Goodman who would later be hired by Walter White.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

Oh no! Marcia lost her diary! However, this somehow led to her meeting Davy Jones so I guess everything worked out. This was followed by an episode in which the kids were worried that Mike and Carol were going to sell the house so they pretended to be ghosts. Then, Carol and Mike had tickets to a show and Alice had a date so Greg and Marcia were left in charge of the house. Disaster followed. Then, during Sunday’s fourth episode, Marcia was accused of pulling a prank by her school’s principal. The principal was played by the distinguished character actor, E.G. Marshall. One can only guess how Marshall felt about going from Broadway and Oscar-nominated films like 12 Angry Men to appearing on The Brady Bunch. Actually, he was probably happy for the money. I hope Marshall was paid well because he definitely classed up the joint.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

MeTV aired 4 episodes of Full House on Sunday and I’m struggling to remember much about any of them. In the first episode, Jesse was worried that he wasn’t smart enough for Rebecca and he proved that he wasn’t by acting stupid. Rebecca, however, forgave him. Then, Michelle and Kimmy ended up babysitting some bratty kid who got his head stuck in a bannister. This was followed by an episode in which Danny started dating again and managed to forgive his date for having a messy apartment. And then, in our final episode, Michelle started preschool and accidentally set the class’s pet bird free. So, Danny bought a new bird and demanded that everyone be nice to his daughter, despite the fact that she was kind of a self-centered brat.

Ghosts (Thursday Night, CBS)

What a charming show! For some reason, I was under the impression that Ghosts was just another gimmicky show but I finally sat down and binged the first eleven episodes on Paramount Plus and I discovered that I was totally wrong. This is really a sweet, witty, intelligent, and well-acted show and one of my favorites of the season. I loved the episode where Sam went to see her mom. That made me tear up. As for my favorite ghost …. Trevor. Yep, it has to be Trevor.

The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

This frustratingly uneven miniseries came to a close this week. The final episode dealt with the day that Conrad committed suicide and also Michelle’s final days before heading to prison. Considering just how inconsistent this show has been, the finale was actually pretty effective. The lengthy fantasy sequence, in which Michelle imagined running into Conrad at a bar while home from the college that, in reality, she’ll never get to attend, worked far better than it had any right to. In the end, this miniseries didn’t have much to tell us about the suicide of Conrad Roy that we didn’t already know but it did work as a showcase for the talents of Elle Fanning and Colton Ryan.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

I have to admit that, when this week’s episode of Law & Order started, I rolled my eyes when it appeared that the main villain was going to be a barely disguised version of Elon Musk. But then it turned out that guy was just a red herring and the accused instead turned out to be a former State Department employee who claimed that he couldn’t control his actions because of Havana Syndrome. To my great surprise, this turned out to be the the best episode of the season so far, largely because the prosecution finally lost a case and Price was left to wonder if it was largely due to his own self-righteous approach to the law. Sam Waterston finally got a few good scenes too. The Law & Order revival has, for the most part, been uneven but I do think that it’s been getting better.

The Love Boat (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

A famous actress took a cruise and fell for Captain Stubing. Unfortunately, not even the promise of being wealthy and secure could convince the captain to give up the sea.

M*A*S*H* (Weekday Evenings, MeTV)

On Sunday, I watched two episodes of this old sitcom. The first one featured an obnoxious surgeon from Arkansas, who got in trouble for trying to steal Col. Potter’s horse. The second was a bit more dramatic, as a friend of Hawkeye’s died on the operating table and a teenage Ron Howard appeared as a soldier who lied about his age in order to enlist. In the past, I’ve found M*A*S*H to be a bit too preachy for my tastes but this was actually a pretty effective and well-acted episode.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

We Own The City (Monday Night, HBO)

The second episode of David Simon’s latest miniseries about Baltimore was as compelling and as packed with detail as the first. While setting in his jail cell, Jon Bernthal’s Wayne Jenkins remembered the process by which he went from being a relatively honest cop to being the poster child for police corruption. Nicole Steele continued her investigation of Daniel Hersl. In the role of Hersl, Josh Charles only appeared during the final few minutes of the episode but he still made a huge impression as the epitome of everything that people tend to dislike about the cops. I look forward to seeing where this series is heading.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/24/22 — 4/30/22

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I saw some pretty good things this week. Barry is back. We Own This City looks like it’s going to be a worthy follow-up to The Wire. I finally binged the first season of Abbott Elementary. Here’s some thoughts on what I watched:

61st Street (Sunday Night, AMC)

As of this point, I really don’t see 61st Street becoming anything more than a second-rate version of The Wire so I think I’m done with it. As I said last week, I think the show would be fine if it was just about Courtney B. Vance and his family but the show is trying to tackle too much in its first season. The best shows develop naturally whereas 61st Street has been overstuffed since the beginning.

Abbott Elementary (Hulu)

Throughout this week, I binged the first season of ABC’s Abbot Elementary on Hulu. A comedic mockumentary about the teachers at a Philadelphia public school, Abbott Elementary owes a bit of a debt to The Office but, at the same time, it also quickly established an identity of its own. It was a good, heartfelt comedy, one that made a point about the importance of supporting teachers without ever committing the Parks and Rec sin of getting preachy or self-satisfied. Of the ensemble cast, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James were the stand-outs but really, everyone did a good job of bringing their characters to wonderful life. I look forward to season 2!

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

How to get the British airmen out of France? How about sending them up in a Helium balloon? But how to keep the Germans from noticing the balloon? How about moving up the wedding of Fanny and Ernest LeClerc? Sure, why not? It didn’t necessarily make any sense but I’m used to that by now. The episode ended with the wedding and the release of what Officer Crabtree called a “carrier podgeon.” I suppose that next Sunday, I’ll learn why this latest attempt to rescue the airmen failed.

Atlanta (Thursday, FX)

This week’s episode of Atlanta was another stand-alone episode dealing with white people struggling to understand black culture. This time, the story dealt with a wealthy New York couple who, while attending the funeral of their Trinidadian nanny, discover that not only was she more of a parental figure to their son than they were but that she was also so busy raising the children of wealthy white people that she missed out on raising her own children. Chet Hanks had an odd but somehow appropriate cameo as one of the people who the nanny had raised.

It was an okay episode and, unlike the other stand-alone episodes, it was clearly not a dream. (For the same of continuity, posters advertising Paper Boi’s tour are visible during one scene.) The humor and the satire was still sharp but also notably gentler this week than it’s been all season. That said, this episode felt like a clear follow-up to White Fashion, with its portrayal of neglectful white parents who use people of color to raise their children but who, at the same time, can’t even be bothered to learn anything about their nanny’s life or culture.

Barry (Sunday Night, HBO)

Barry’s back! After all the excitement of last season’s finale, the new season Barry opened with everyone stuck in the same rut. Barry is auditioning for roles and still killing people for money. Sally is working on her television series. NoHo Hank is struggling to be a gangster. Gene is in mourning and looking for revenge. (I loved the fact that his gun was a gift from Rip Torn.) Fuches is in Chechnya, eating cereal. The first episode served its purpose. It reintroduced us to the characters (due to the Pandemic, there was a long delay between the 2nd and 3rd seasons) and reminded us of why we watch them in the first place. Bill Hader both directed and starred and showed once again that he is a talent to be reckoned with.

Better Call Saul (Monday Night, AMC)

Better Call Saul is an enthralling show, even if I’m often left a little bit confused as to what exactly is going on. Bob Odenkirk is brilliant, though this week’s episode was dominated by Michael Mando in the role of the intimidating but ultimately tragic Nacho. Perhaps because we know what’s going to happen to the majority of the characters once Walter White shows up, the shadow of death hangs even heavier over Better Call Saul than it did over Breaking Bad.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

Upset that his children were tying up the phone, Mike Brady came up with the brilliant idea of installing a pay phone in the house. How did that even work? Who installed the phone? Who collected the money? Seriously, this was one of Mike’s worst ideas and he was never held responsible for it.

This was followed by an episode in which Bobby got it into his head that Carol was going to kill him so he tried to run away. Would anyone have missed Bobby in that crowded house? This was followed by an episode in which Marcia got braces and the world world stopped while everyone tried to make her feel better. (Good for them! I never needed braces, by the way.) The fourth episode of MeTV’s bloc of Brady programming featured Peter saving a little girl from being crushed by a collapsing wall. Peter was a hero but he let it go to his head. Mike had to remind Peter that he was still only the middle child and, as such, had no right to feel good about anything.

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

I missed last week’s bloc of Full House but I get the feeling that once you’ve seen one episode of this show, you’ve seen them all. The first episode of Sunday’s bloc was yet another one where Jesse was worried that he was no longer as cool as he had once been. After being ridiculed by his old friend Scott Baio, Jesse hopped on his motorcycle and drove up to the roof of a building. Apparently, he planned to jump from one roof to another. Rebecca, however, talked him down. The funniest thing about this episode was the discovery that Jesse’s nickname was once “Dr. Dare.” Like, seriously, I get the feeling that Jesse’s fiends were probably making fun of him when they gave him that nickname.

This was followed by an episode in which Michelle’s third birthday party was ruined by the combined stupidity of Jesse and Stephanie. Michelle may have said she was happy celebrating her birthday in that dirty gas station but she was lying big time. The next episode featured Stephanie panicking due to an earthquake and Danny eventually taking her to a therapist so that she could discuss her feelings. Luckily, it only took five minutes to cure Stephanie of her anxiety. The day’s final episode found Joey and Jesse once again struggling to write a jingle together. Meanwhile, the family’s new dog, destroyed Stephanie’s childhood toy but no one cared because Stephanie’s the middle child.

The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

Much last week, this week’s episode of The Girl From Plainville got bogged down with a lot of boring courtroom dramatics. Still, the final scene, with Michelle Carter fantasizing about her sister singing Teenage Dirtbag, was nicely done. The Girl From Plainville seems like it would be a fine miniseries if it was only four episodes long but, at eight episodes, it just feels a bit too overextended.

Happy Days (Weekday Evening, MeTV)

I watched Happy Days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, despite the fact that the continuing popularity of this show has always escaped me. The reason I watched is because it was the three-part episode in which the Cunninghams and Fonzie went to California and Fonzie ended up proving his courage by putting on water skis and jumping over a shark. It was an important moment in pop cultural history so I felt it was important that I watch. Fortunately, Fonzie made it over the shark and Richie realized that he would rather be a journalist than an actor.

King of the Hill (Weekday Afternoons, FXX)

On Tuesday, I watched the episode where Jimmy Carter tried to heal Hank and Cotton’s relationship. It’s a classic episode, if just for Hank and Cotton’s disdainful comments as Jimmy and his secret service detail fled the scene. “Why, that’s was just a one-term peanut farmer.” “The man wore a sweater.” Take that, Carter!

On Wednesday, I watched four episodes. Hank carried the Olympic torch and learned that it was okay to be happy. Peggy overthrew the tyrannical king of a Renaissance Faire. (Alan Rickman voiced the king, which was pretty neat.) Connie and the Dale Gribble Bluegrass Experience went to Branson, where Bobby sold a joke to comedian Yakov Smirnoff. Peggy was conned out of her retirement savings but she got the money back. Yay!

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

The headmaster of an exclusive private school has been shot! Was it because he was too woke? Nope, it turns out that he was shot by a troubled student. The D.A.’s office decided to charge both the student and the student’s father. Personally, I found their actions to be legally dubious but the jury disagreed. D.A. Jack McCoy was okay with manipulating legal statutes but I don’t think Adam Schiff nor Arthur Branch would have been happy with what his office ended up doing.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

Granville’s broom fell apart and Nurse Gladys Emmanuel needed a new washing machine. In the end, no one got what they needed. That’s what happens when you’re open all hours.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

T.J. Hooker (Saturday, Decades TV)

William Shatner is a tough cop who speaks in a very dramatic fashion. I was doing some work in my office on Saturday so I had this old 80s cop show playing in the background. (Decades TV was apparently celebrating the 80s with a TJ Hooker marathon.) The episodes kind of blended together but watching Shatner back when he was still taking himself seriously is always fun.

We Own This City (Monday Night, HBO)

The latest Baltimore-set miniseries from David Simon and The Wire crew, We Own This City premiered this week and the first episode proved to be, in typical Simon fashion, both frustrating and fascinating. The show’s political asides were heavy-handed but it’s depiction of a troubled American city was heart-breaking. Simon has never flinched from showing how political corruption, racism, poverty, and crime all come together to create a destructive cycle that’s impossible to escape. Because happy endings are nearly nonexistent, Simon’s show can be difficult to watch but each one is something that should be watched. As for We Own The City, this miniseries deals with police corruption in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent uprising. Out of the large ensemble cast, Jon Bernthal and Josh Charles are early stand-outs.