TV Reviews. See Flashes page for updates.

10/11/00 - "The Immortal" showed up Tuesday 10/10/00, 10 p.m., on KNBC chan 4. Part 2 will be 10/11. Lorenzo Lamas has done a few action series, typically slam-bang action mixed with humor. I remember him as a biker, then as a pilot. This one tells its history in flashbacks. He's shipwrecked in Japan a few hundred years ago, his wife is killed and his child stolen by demons, he acquires a caucasian kid sidekick, and the pair are sworn to vengeance against those and all demons by a mysterious Japanese. If they said how he became immortal I missed it. 'Normal' schedule was shown as Sunday at 2 a.m.

-- The first show (a part 1 of 2) has the pair rescuing a lady doctor who builds electronics to hunt/attract demons, they form a demon-hunting group, and the sidekick gets kidnapped by the demons who killed the wife. The first show works somewhat like the "Highlander," the year he had the sidekick, except there's no "there can be only one" theme, he just kills demons, and instead of the passive girl friend he works with the demon-hunting lady doctor. This should be one of the better new syndicated action shows, much better than "Shenna." Site at www.theimmortal.com. Some or all may be shot in the UK.

-- 10/12/00 - As interesting as the first part was, with good photography and something like a plot, the second part yesterday was the opposite. The whole hour was devoted to recuing the sidekick. Oh, did I give it away? I don't remember more than a few ok lines. The demons overacted and were so over the top it got stupid, dull, and silly. I could hear millons of viewers yelling "kill the sidekick," and move on. The one-hour shows may be better and may be ready for prime time or at least a better slot than the scheduled Sunday at 2 a.m. At that time I can't see many people watching or even VCRing it. Check the TV guides for the most correct schedule. How about a better slot if it turns into a better show?

9/29/00 - V.I.P. - It's "Charlie's Angels" meet "Remington Steele" except with more angels, on steroids, with more violence, Pam is Remington Steele, etc. Check the guides or try KTTV, Channel 11, Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and either 2 or 5 p.m. The "office angel" is the smart, good looking one. Try site at www.spe.sony.com/tv/shows/vip.

7/11/00 - Too Close to Home, movie, 1997, with Judith Light, she's good, and the new kid from NYPD Blue, good also. Was on Sun, 7/9/00. Most of these movies stink, but this one was different, strange, twisted, and more; my kind of show. If it's on again, try to see it - with or without your mother??

6/20/00 - The 1900 House - Part 1 (6/12/00) picks an English house, restores it to 1900 condition, and stocks it as in 1900. They select a family to live in the house for three months as they would in 1900. Part 2 (6/19/00) summarizes Part 1, moves the family into the house and goes through the first few days. The weekly laundry takes a whole day and the ironing takes three days. Check out the 'good old days.' Weekly on Monday on KCET ch 28 10-11 p.m. and KVCR ch 24 9-10 p.m. and perhaps other PBS stations. Says they have info at www.pbs.org. It was filmed over three months, but it only aired four hours. 7/11/00 - one of the other PBS stations is playing it also - maybe channel 50 or 58??

3/23 & 3/29/00 - The Beat, Tuesday's, 9-10 p.m., on KCOP channel 13. Ment to watch the first show, 3/21/00, of this cop/buddy series, but only saw the last few minutes. Didn't seem very good, but wait till I see a whole show. The quality shows on Tuesday, Buffy and Angel, are in rerun. 3/29/00 Update. Tried to watch the second show last night, and turned it off after about five minutes.

3/8/00 - 3/7/00 was the first "Secret Agent Man," Tues, 8-9 p.m., KCOP (UPN), channel 13. The LAT, Daily Breeze, and Press-Telegram all mentioned this yesterday, but I think only the LAT said anything negative. I thought I'd read this was to be a comedy or a spoof on the secret agent theme. But, they did it as a straight show, with cleavage, more talk than action, not much plot or villian, I didn't care about the characters, and it didn't quite work for me. Who knows, the next few shows could get better, if it's on that long. Check an on-line guide to see if it's on at other times also.

*2/6/00 - www.back2backaction.com "Cleopatra 2525" & "Jack of all Trades." Want more mindless, action, T&A shows? Here are two offering a variation on the karate & cleavage (© K&C) theme. Cleo has not one but three scantily-clad heroines and is set in the si-fi world of the year 2525. What happens if the show runs two years? No problem. Jack, going the other direction in time, is set in the Colonial period (about 1805?). In the first show he performed a 007-type mission for the president. Did someone have a big sale on Colonial custumes? Set the VCR for Saturday, 3-4 p.m. or Sunday, 11-midnight, both on KTLA, channel 5. They're both half-hour shows and may be worth seeing at least once. New shows for 2000?

1/15/2000 - "Man in the Kitchen," Thur, KVCR channel 24, 10:30 a.m. Last show was local chef doing Italian dishes and a tour of a local winery. This show covers the Inland Empire, like San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, maybe 80 miles East of L.A.

Relic Hunter - 10/8/00 - Moves to Sat at 2 p.m. 8/6/00 - Was Sun at 9 p.m. also. 2/00 seems stable at Sat 5-6 p.m. 11/14/99 - Moved to Sun, 4-5 p.m., chan 13 at least for today. She's a history professor, karate expert, and adventurer who gets hired to find missing items. One day she's in class, and the next day she's on the road with her male, teaching-assistant sidekick. She's the hero, and he's along to mess things up. The show is on Saturday from 5-6 p.m. on channel 13, so some might think it's a kid's show. The language is ok, there's a little T&A, but it does get violent. VCR one, and see what you think. This is a new show for the 1999 fall season. 3/10/00 - In a few shows you may see their short-haired secretary in a miniskirt. Just be prepared to wipe the drool from your chin.

6/29/99 - [The] Crow: Stairway to Heaven. Sunday?, 12:00 a.m.?, channel 9 KCAL-TV. This is a very violent and dark show, but I don't remember much T&A, sex, or bad language. Mostly it the characters that make the show interesting. You might like the dead guy and his dead girlfriend. The little girl steals the show, so they cut back on her part. The demoted cop and his replacement may become an item. I enjoyed the 6/27/99 show, and they introduced another "crow" which I hope will become a recurring part. I won't even try to describe the plot, you'll pick it up as you watch. This show moves all over the schedule, so keep an eye on clicktv.com. For 7/04/99 and 7/11/99 clicktv.com shows it as shown above. Their web site is at www.thecrow.com, and it is rather slow. *2/19/00 - 6/27/99 could have been the last show.

3/16/99 Payne. Did anyone see the new show "Payne" last night on CBS? It's a rip off of "Faulty Towers" (don't remember the spelling) with similar characters, sets, and plots. Except "Payne" isn't as funny or clever and it has a laugh track and more sex, neither of which helped.

I have seen and would expect better from John Larroquette. I didn't even recogonize JoBeth Williams, who I've always liked and who looked real good, but she's too nice for the part. Throughout the show I kept thinking how much better each scene would have been with the original "Faulty Towers" cast.

One of Larroquette's better scenes was in the dining room where he was hunting through soup bowls to find a lost brooch. With Larroquette it rated one smile, but with the original guy it might have rated at least two chuckles. I'd like to see the show succeed but, I'm guessing, it would have to become even better than the original "Faulty Towers", and I'm not sure if this cast can do that.

6/7/98 Ryori No Tetsujin (or Testujin) [that translates to Iron Chef]

*3/24/00 - This has been off for a few months. Some paper said it ended a couple of years age, and they were just playing reruns.

An unusual cooking show is on opposite 60 MINUTES on Sunday night anytime from about 6:30* p.m. to 8:22* p.m. on KSCI channel 18. A guest chef challenges one of four* resident chefs (the Iron Chefs). The surprise ingredient appears, and the two chefs with their assistants rush to prepare the best dishes in a limited time in side-by-side kitchens. A panel of diners discuss the dishes and pick the winning chef. In Japanese; *no English subtitles since about 5/24/98 for "copyright reasons." The L.A. Times newspaper did a review in the food section on 10/14/98.* Many web sites available; search for "iron chef".*

PS -- Start and stop times are flexible. On 3/8/98 it ran from about 6:57 to 7:35 p.m. The 200^th show was broadcast on 3/15/98 and ran from about 6:52 to 7:33 p.m. On 4/12/98 and 4/19/98 it started at 6:30 p.m., and on 4/12 it ran till about 8:15 p.m.

5/10/98. With Love....this was their site??
The last show was 7/5/98, but there may be a video and there are three CD's. Why can't they find actors, plots, emotions, visuals, and sound tracks like this in the USA? The end of one show may be among the best seven minutes in TV drama and music. In Japanese, but it works without understanding the language. There were about 13 shows in the series?? See With Love

4/9/98. Hey! Hey! Hey! (This might not be the correct name.)
On Sunday 4/5/98 KSCI channel 18 preempted Ryori No Tetsujin (above) and ran a variety show from about 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. I have never seen such a bunch of high-energy people having so much fun. I was laughing and crying. The main entertainment was singer impersonators. Tina Turner was good, but Mick Jagger was funny. This may have been a variation on the show which normally start at 6:30 and only run for a few minutes. **"My Little Lover" did "Destiny" on 7/26/98 at about 6:40 p.m. In Japanese.

3/2/98. Kuishinbo Banzai
One of the shortest food-related shows is also on KSCI channel 18 on Sunday night from about 8:22 to 8:28* p.m. On 3/1/98 it began with a food tasting, then moved aboard a fishing boat, and back to the tasting with a few food-related commercials. The only food I could identify was fresh sea cucumbers. In Japanese.

1/23/99. Let's Dine Out**

Myra Grayber (?spelling?) was replaced by Jode, maybe about 1/2000.

New version of "Table for Two" with two of the three original people. Two people review restaurants; mostly in the Inland Empire but sometimes in LA or even other states. The last two guys could be compared to Siskel & Ebert or Laurel & Hardy. The show includes other short subjects. I did question the last guy's ability to appreciate Chinese food. It is broadcast on KVCR channel 24 in San Bernardino on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and repeated on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; also Tues & Thurs at 11:00 a.m. Check for exact schedule. Most shows are 30 minutes, but some special shows are longer. This is an interesting PBS station, but it can be difficult to receive over the air, and it is not on many cable systems. Ask your cable company.

3/27/98. California Heartland
This show covers the production of food items in California and the associated people. The food items could be anything from abalone to zucchini. The first few minutes introduce the items and give the viewers a chance to tune out or skip items. The show could also be of some value as an aid in picking trip or vacation destinations. It's on Saturday from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on KCET channel 28. This show is followed, typically for a few hours, by gardening and cooking shows.

PS -- The show is also broadcast on Saturday at 7 p.m. on KVCR channel 24 and on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on KOCE channel 50. It is also available in other cities and states; see their web site for details.

*Revised since date shown