The Fifth Network

A project where @nullpointerintime watches The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 83: Season Recap - Renewed Shows

Continuing from where we left off last week, this week I'll cover the shows from last season that will be continuing this fall.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

10. Unhappily Ever After (Season 2)

Unhappily Ever After remains as misanthropic and misogynistic in its second season as it did in its first.

Best Episode: Making the Grade

9. Kirk (Season 1)

For most of Kirk's first season, it was mostly a replacement-level sitcom about a 20-something having to be a parent to his three younger siblings that was weighed down by the lead's cringeworthy obsession with the woman who lives next door.

However, once the show has Elizabeth [1] reciprocate Kirk's feelings and the two begin dating, the worst part of the show disappeared and I actually began to enjoy it a bit in the last few episodes I watched.

Hopefully Kirk's second season is more like the end of the first and not the beginning.

Best Episode: The Beach House

8. The Wayans Bros. (Season 2)

The Wayans Bros. made some changes in its second season that I think were a definite improvement, but it still landed at meh more often than not.

Best Episode: Getting It

7. Moesha (Season 1)

Moesha showed a lot of promise in its first season, but is still very rough around the edges. It has a particularly bad problem with rushed endings to episodes that resolve stories through voiceover if at all.

That being said, the bones of Moesha are good, and given it ran for six seasons and was one of the few WB/UPN sitcoms I had even heard of before starting this project, I assume it will find its groove eventually.

Best Episode: Niece

6. The Sentinel (Season 1)

Best Episode: Night Train

5. Sister, Sister Reruns (Seasons 1 and 2)

Over the course of this year, in addition to the new season of Sister, Sister, the WB also reran all of the episodes from the first two seasons that originally aired on ABC. I thought the new episodes were a significant step up from the reruns, so I'm separating them in the rankings here.

That being said, I still generally enjoyed the reruns. Sister, Sister has a strong sitcom premise that the first two seasons make good use of, even if it really hits its stride in season 3.

Best Episode: Scrambled Eggs

4. The Parent 'Hood (Season 2)

I found myself ever-so-slightly disappointed with this second season of The Parent 'Hood when compared to the first, but as I looked back at my notes, I think this was more a result of comparison with the other shows each season aired alongside.

The Parent 'Hood season 1 was a gem among the mediocrity (at best) of the spring 1995 season, while season 2 was a reliably good, occasionally great show that nevertheless had to be compared to other sitcoms at a similar level like Sister, Sister and Minor Adjustments.

Best Episode: A Kiss is Just a Kiss

3. Savannah (Season 1)

The WB's first attempt at drama is a primetime soap set in the titular Savannah, Georgia and it's a strong first outing for the network. It's the sort of serialized drama that works well at a weekly pace, but probably would fall flat in a binge.

It will be cancelled after its second season, but its creator Constance M. Burge would go on to create the much more successful Charmed, so I'm looking forward to that in a couple of years.

Also, I can't find anyone else with this view [2], but I remain convinced that Reese has repressed and unreciprocated romantic feelings for Lane. #LesbianReese

Best Episode: Who Killed Travis? (this is a very serialized soap though, so I recommend just starting from the beginning)

2. Sister, Sister (Season 3)

As I mentioned above, Sister, Sister really hit its stride in its third season, thoroughly fulfilling its premise as a sitcom about a mixed family of two twins separated by birth and their single adoptive parents.

Best Episode: Paper or Plastic?

1. Star Trek: Voyager (Season 2)

Last year, I excluded Voyager from my rankings entirely, both because I had seen it before and because it was so clearly on a different level from everything else that aired in that first half season. With the networks now having a chance to a put together a proper season, I thought it was a fair enough fight to rank Voyager along with everything else.

It's ranked first here, though I'll note that in my combined rankings of renewed and cancelled shows (see below), it takes silver behind Nowhere Man.

Best Episode: Dreadnought

Sunday August 4, 1996 Kirk S1E14: "The Love Letter" - 7 PM on The WB Kirk S1E16: "Stuck On You" - 7:30 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E13: "Little Bitty Pretty One" - 8 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E06: "Free Billy" - 8:30 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E06: "Driving Me Crazy" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E11: "The Whiz Kid" - 9:30 PM on The WB Monday August 5, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E23: "The Thaw" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E23: "Zero Minus Ten" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday August 6, 1996 Moesha S1E14: "Hakeem's New Flame" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E01: "Pilot" - 8:30 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E09: "Episode Nine" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday August 7, 1996 Movie: "Harrison: Cry of the City (1996)" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E08: "Weird Science" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E18: "An American Class President" - 8:30 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E17: "The Ghetto Gourmets" - 9 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E19: "It Takes a Thief" - 9:30 PM on The WB

One final bit for anyone who's curious how the renewed shows stack up against the cancelled ones, here are my overall rankings for this season:

Nowhere Man

Star Trek: Voyager (Season 2)

Sister, Sister (Season 3)

Minor Adjustments

Savannah (Season 1)

The Parent 'Hood (Season 2)

Live Shot

Sister, Sister Reruns (Seasons 1 and 2)

The Sentinel (Season 1)

Simon

First Time Out

Moesha (Season 1)

Deadly Games

Pinky and the Brain

The Wayans Bros. (Season 2)

Kirk (Season 1)

Swift Justice

Unhappily Ever After (Season 2)

Cleghorne

Real Ghosts / The Paranormal Borderline

Next week is part one of a two week prelude to the fall season, with the WB airing a new-to-it rerun of sitcom Brotherly Love and UPN airing a one-off special that is apparently a game show based around a male beauty pageant?

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Played by Kirk Cameron's real life wife Chelsea Noble ↩

At least among the admittedly limited amount of discussion of the show I can find online. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 82: Season Recap - Cancelled Shows

There's two more weeks until the fall season starts, so it's time for a recap of the 10 shows that won't be continuing in the fall.

The numbered rankings here correspond to their place in my overall completed series rankings at the time of writing. You can see the complete rankings here, which also include shows from the first season of this project and will be updated as additional shows finish.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

16. Real Ghosts / The Paranormal Borderline

Technically, these are two different shows, but they're both paranormal shows and I hated both of them. The Paranormal Borderline is the slightly better of the two solely due to Jonathan Frakes hosting.

14. Cleghorne!

I could only find recordings of two early episodes of this one, but what I saw was replacement-level sitcom writing at best, with performances that just didn't land at all. Maybe later episodes improved on this, but based on the episodes I was able to watch, this was bad.

12. Swift Justice

It's possible I would have more positive things to say about this if the quality of the recordings were better, as there's a compelling style to it that just doesn't come through on the low quality tapes.

Unfortunately, what's left just a show attempting gritty realism but landing at bland copaganda.

Best Episode: No Holds Barred

11. Pinky and the Brain

This show's placement low on the list here might surprise some folks, both because (a) it lasted beyond the 95-96 season and (b) it has a pretty good reputation. As far as why I'm considering it "complete": while it ran for three more seasons on Kids' WB, this project only considers the primetime schedule, and outside of a couple of specials, Pinky's primetime run ended after one season.

As to its ranking, I'm sorry to anyone with fond memories of the show, but I largely found it boring. Granted, kids are the primary audience here, and I was watching it for the first time as a 29-30-year-old, but there are clearly jokes targeted towards the adults of the time, and all of that material just felt dated.

It's not ranked here since I'm considering the two episodes that aired in primetime as one-off specials, but I much preferred Freakazoid! as a Kids' WB show that the network could have brought to primetime.

Best Episode: A Pinky and the Brain Christmas

8. Deadly Games

Look: I know this show is bad. It's a show about video games come to life where it's not clear that anyone who worked on it had ever even played a video game. If you're looking for a good show here, don't bother. However, if you're looking for some fun, campy nonsense, there's a lot to like here.

Best Episode: The Practical Joker

7. First Time Out

I was only able to watch two full episodes of this show, but from what I saw, I really liked it. If I'd been able to find recordings for more of it, I imagine I'd rank it even higher.

6. Simon

This sitcom about simple Simon Himple was weaker when it focused on him living with his former-stockbroker brother Carl and stronger when it involves more of his eccentric coworkers at a cable TV network.

Best Episode: Simon Gets a Butler

4. Live Shot

I really wish that this ensemble drama about a local TV newsroom had at least received a full season.

Best Episode: Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Contract

3. Minor Adjustments

I'm honestly a little shocked that this show failed to find an audience on both NBC (where it originally aired) and UPN (which it switched to after NBC cancelled it mid-season). It's a great sitcom! Rondell Sheridan is great as a child psychologist with a family of his own, and there's a compelling ensemble around him, both at work and home.

Best Episode: Baba-Doo-Wang

1. Nowhere Man

If you've followed along with my recaps at all this season, it should be no surprise that I've ranked this first. This thriller about Thomas Veil, a photojournalist whose life is seemingly erased in an instant by a shadowy conspiracy, is the best thing I've watched for this project so far.

Best Episode: Absolute Zero (start here, since it introduces the premise, but the whole show is great!)

Sunday July 28, 1996 Kirk S1E13: "The Spare" - 7 PM on The WB Kirk S1E10: "Kirk Unplugged" - 7:30 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E22: "Reconcilable Differences" - 8 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E16: "Smoking in the Girls' Room" - 8:30 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E03: "The Rat" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E16: "Mr. No" - 9:30 PM on The WB Monday July 29, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E22: "Innocence" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E22: "Calaway" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday July 30, 1996 Moesha S1E13: "Baby Love" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E15: "The Way We Weren't" - 8:30 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E08: "Episode Eight" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday July 31, 1996 The Sentinel S1E08: "Love and Guns" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E02: "The Break-Up" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E08: "Welcome Back, Robert" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E08: "Horses" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E16: "Hearts and Flowers" - 9 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E20: "New Lease on Life" - 9:30 PM on The WB

The season wrap-up will continue next week with the 9 shows that have been renewed for the 96-97 season.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 81: Back Next Week

I meant to finish up my end-of-season recap posts before going on vacation, but I ran out of time. Since there are still three empty weeks before the first fall shows start, I decided to just push everything back a week. Next week will cover shows that won't continue in the fall while the following week will cover shows that will.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday July 21, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E04: "Crappy Anniversary" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E02: "Get a Job" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E06: "Smart and Smarter" - 8:30 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E02: "Zit Could Happen to You" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E12: "Hot Wheels" - 9:30 PM on The WB Monday July 22, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E21: "Deadlock" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E19: "Doppelganger" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday July 23, 1996 Special: "The Secret Of... (2)" - 8 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E07: "Episode Seven" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday July 24, 1996 The Sentinel S1E07: "Rogue" - 8 PM on UPN The Parent 'Hood S2E17: "Torn Between Two Brothers" - 8 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S3E01: "The Natural" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E07: "No Holds Barred" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E11: "Farmer's Daughter" - 9 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E22: "Trial and Error" - 9:30 PM on The WB

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 80: Murder at a Monastery

This week brings the final two episodes of the 96-97 season, with The Sentinel's season finale and Swift Justice's series finale.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday July 14, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E13: "Trust a Move" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E09: "Two for the Road" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E02: "S'Wonderbra" - 8:30 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E09: "Making the Grade" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E20: "Girls Who Wear Glasses" - 9:30 PM on The WB Monday July 15, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E20: "Investigations" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E18: "Hidden Agenda" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday July 16, 1996 Moesha S1E12: "Mother's Day" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E14: "Baba-Doo-Wang" - 8:30 PM on UPN Special: "Trauma One" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday July 17, 1996 The Sentinel S1E10: "Vow of Silence" - 8 PM on UPN The Parent 'Hood S2E21: "Ode to Billy Stankbreath" - 8 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S3E21: "Big Twin on Campus" - 8:30 PM on The WB

The Sentinel finishes its first season with a solid episode. Blair takes a reluctant Ellison to a monastery for some time off, but just as he's starting to warm to it, one of the monks is murdered. I think the murder mystery that takes up the bulk of the episode is its strongest part, but the action scenes at the end are still decent.

The Sentinel will be the only one of the new UPN dramas to continue in the fall, and while my preference would have been for Nowhere Man, I at least prefer this to the other mid-season replacement.

Swift Justice E13: "Retribution" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E09: "The Sting" - 9 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E13: "Getting It" - 9:30 PM on The WB

That being said, Swift Justice's final episode is also solid, as Swift and Patterson have to deal with the return of a serial killer they put away and the federal agents who released him.

Next week, I'll begin my season wrap-up, covering the shows that won't be continuing in the fall.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 79: Nowhere Man Bonus Features, Part 2

The only thing airing this week is a Swift Justice I'm missing the recording for, so I'll take this week to finish up the second half of the Nowhere Man DVD bonus features.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

In the commentary for the finale, Larry Hertzog talked a lot about how he was pretty much checked out from the show by that point, having lost his battle with the network to leave mysteries unanswered. He also expressed some frustration with fans who wanted this to be a mystery box show (the "clues people" as he calls them).

Hertzog did have some positive experiences with the network though. In an interview alongside UPN's president of entertainment Mike Sullivan, Hertzog thanked the exec for taking a chance on him. Apparently Sullivan read a pilot script of Hertzog's that he liked but didn't feel was a good fit for UPN, and then the idea for Nowhere Man arose out of discussion the two had after Sullivan asked Hertzog what his dream show would be. Hertzog didn't have an answer in mind, and in response to the rambling he did in response to the question, Sullivan brought up The Prisoner.

The network and fans weren't the only people asking for answers that the creators didn't have and didn't want to give. In one of the commentaries, Bruce Greenwood talked a lot about being frustrated by not knowing what his character's whole deal was, and that it led him to butt heads with Hertzog at times. I can understand the frustration, but I think it was ultimately to the show's benefit.

Throughout the bonus features, cast and crew regularly brought up just how short the turnaround time was to actually get the show made, which I think makes it all the more impressive how great the show turned out (disappointing ending aside).

Anyway, that unfortunately ends my time with Nowhere Man. While I've enjoyed other shows I've watched for this project so far, it was the first true hidden gem I've gotten to [1], and I hope it won't be the last.

Sunday July 7, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E11: "Nice Guys Finish Last" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E03: "Joey's Choice" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E15: "Double Date" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E12: "The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth" - 9 PM on The WB Monday July 8, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E19: "Lifesigns" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E17: "Stay Tuned" - 9 PM on UPN

And another note here so that the episode list will link back to the recap covering the second half of the bonus features.

Tuesday July 9, 1996 Moesha S1E10: "Reunion" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E12: "Make My Day" - 8:30 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E13: "My Fair Darby" - 9 PM on UPN Moesha S1E11: "The Ditch Party" - 9:30 PM on UPN Wednesday July 10, 1996 The Sentinel S1E06: "Night Train" - 8 PM on UPN The Parent 'Hood S2E20: "I Never Danced for My Mother" - 8 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S3E04: "History a la Carte" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E12: "Stones" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E07: "Scared Straight" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E21: "Leaving Van Nuys" - 9:30 PM on The WB

There was a new Swift Justice this week, but I don't have a recording for it, hence the Nowhere Man post instead.

Next week is the official end of the season, with the series finale of Swift Justice and the season finale of The Sentinel.

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Legend is probably the one that comes closest, but it's not Nowhere Man ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 78: A Pixelated Alcoholic

The mostly empty summer schedule continues with the penultimate recorded episode of Swift Justice.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday June 30, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E06: "The Paw That Rocks the Cradle" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E05: "Out Alone" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E05: "Magno Man Vs. Capt. Chunks" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E11: "Creep Throat" - 9 PM on The WB Monday July 1, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E18: "Death Wish" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E16: "Shine a Light on You" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday July 2, 1996 Busted Pilot: "American Bounty Hunter" - 8 PM on UPN Swift Justice E11: "The Haze" - 9 PM on UPN

I thought this episode about Swift helping an alcoholic woman who can't remember why some mobsters want her dead was decent, though the low quality of the taped episode made it hard to follow at times. For a bit, I thought that the woman Swift was helping and the dirty cop working for the mobster were possibly the same person (or maybe identical twins?) because at this level of video quality, every blonde white woman looks pretty much the same.

Wednesday July 3, 1996 Legend E01/02: "Birth of a Legend" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E12: "Christmas" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E11: "The Man Who Canceled Christmas" - 8:30 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E12: "Psycho Santa" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E13: "Picnic of Pain and Peril" - 9:30 PM on The WB

As I mentioned previously, I'll finish up the Nowhere Man bonus features next week, as the only thing airing is a Swift Justice that I can't find a recording of.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 77: Freakazoid, Part 2 of 2

Another very short week, with just a single episode of Freakazoid!.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday June 23, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB Selections from Kids' WB: "Freakazoid! - Emergency Broadcast System / Hotrods from Heck / The Lobe" - 7:30 PM on The WB

It's still a 30-year-old children's show, but based on these two episodes that made it to the primetime schedule, I really wish this had been the Kids' WB show that got the Sunday primetime slot instead of Pinky and the Brain.

Granted, I didn't enjoy this so much that I feel compelled to watch any more of the show beyond this project, so if you're neither a child nor the parent of a child, I don't know how much I can actually recommend it.

Sister, Sister S1E09: "Love Strikes" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E07: "The Crush" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E10: "From Here to Paternity" - 9 PM on The WB Monday June 24, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E17: "Dreadnought" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E15: "Forever Jung" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday June 25, 1996 Moesha S1E09: "Niece" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E11: "A Fish Story" - 8:30 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E06: "Episode Six" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday June 26, 1996 The Sentinel S1E05: "Cypher" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E19: "Summer Bummer" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E07: "Poppa was a Rolling Stone" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E06: "Takin' Back the Street" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E05: "Loot" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E19: "Jack Writes Good" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week we get the penultimate episode of Swift Justice that there's actually a recording for.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 76: Skipped Sentinel and a Random Cartoon

This week brings a great episode of The Sentinel that I missed the first time around due to a corrupted video file, as well as an episode of Kids' WB Freakazoid! that I actually thought was pretty solid.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday June 16, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB Selections from Kids' WB: "Freakazoid! - Five Day Forecast / Candle Jack / Foamy the Freakdog" - 7:30 PM on The WB

For this week and next, we get a selection of segments of the Kids' WB show Freakazoid! that reran in primetime. While it's not something I enjoyed enough to watch beyond this project, I actually enjoyed this a fair bit more than Pinky and the Brain.

While Pinky's adult-targeted bits were mostly references that are now too dated to really enjoy, Freakazoid! [1] has a nice meta element that I think still works.

Sister, Sister S2E04: "A Tall Tale" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E03: "Night at the Movies" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E09: "Prince of Lies" - 9 PM on The WB Monday June 17, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E16: "Meld" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E14: "Heart of Darkness" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday June 18, 1996 Moesha S1E08: "Job" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E10: "The Ungrateful Dead" - 8:30 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E05: "Episode Five" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday June 19, 1996 The Sentinel S1E04: "The Debt" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E18: "The Piano Lesson" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E14: "Substitute's Pet" - 8:30 PM on The WB

I'm glad I ordered the DVDs after the initial source I found for this episode was corrupted, because I really liked it! Ellison and cop-of-the-week Earl Gaines try to prevent a dirty cop [2] from starting and gang war and framing Gaines for it in a compelling episode.

This also explains why Blair is living with Jim in later episodes, since Blair's previous place was blown up in this one.

It's been an open question throughout the show whether the fictional setting of "Cascade" is supposed to be Seattle with the serial numbers filed off or whether it's a separate city and Seattle still exists in this universe. We get no closer to an answer in this one, as Gaines is established as a former college football player whose jersey was purple and who played against Oregon, which suggests the Seattle-based University of Washington, but there's also dialogue that establishes that Gaines went some distance away from home for college, so who knows what's going on there.

Swift Justice E05: "Where were You in '72?" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E03: "Blood is Thicker Than Watercolor" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E15: "In the Stars" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week will again just be Freakazoid!, this time without a missed Sentinel to add to it.

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Or at least the two main segments that aired this week ↩

In one ding to the episode, it was extremely obvious early on that the dirty cop was Lt. Williams, as he also hadn't appeared previously. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 75: Nowhere Man Bonus Features, Part 1

With nothing new to watch this week, I decided to dig into the DVD bonus features for Nowhere Man. The rerun that aired this week is episode 13, "Contact", and since it's the halfway point of the show, I decided to stop there and watch the rest of the bonus features sometime later this summer.

Note: During my episodic reviews, I tried to limit spoilers, but I won't be doing that this week, so you should skip this one if you haven't seen Nowhere Man yet but want to.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

For the first half of the show, the DVDs included four interviews with the cast and crew, audio commentaries for episodes 1, 5, 8, 11, and 13, and various network promos for individual episodes, all of which I watched for this post.

First, I'll say that the promos really did not do the show justice. Then again, I can understand that it's a hard show to advertise. Its appeal, at least for me, is heavily based on its vibes, and those can be hard to show in a 30 second TV promo.

Second, one source of inspiration that series creator Lawrence Hertzog brings up a lot in these interviews is the 1967 BBC series The Prisoner, which I've heard good things about before and now might need to bump to the top of my list.

As far as writing goes, creator Lawrence Hertzog and other writers on the commentaries mentioned that they didn't originally have answer for who "them" was, preferring the vague menacing presence that I think worked better overall, especially on an episodic level. The answers they did provide, and particularly the palmtop arc that begins with episode 13, were a result of network pressure.

Since I've just watched the bonus features for the first half of the show, they haven't yet touched on the finale reveal that "Thomas Veil" was a constructed identity that our main character was brainwashed to believe himself to be. With a few weeks' distance from watching the finale, I'm more sure that I don't like it, as given Veil is the one constant of the show [1], it undercuts the character too much. My hope is that this was always intended as a season cliffhanger that would have been backtracked on as another trick of the conspiracy had a second season been ordered.

One final thing that came up repeatedly in the commentaries is that, excluding the pilot, the whole show was filmed in and around Portland, Oregon, and how good of a job they do making each episode feel distinct despite that. The show has such a great road trip feeling [2] that I really want to give a lot of credit to the show's production team for how great they made one city feel like all different parts of the country.

Sunday June 9, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E08: "Byte Me" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E10: "Wedding Bells & Box Boys" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E01: "Welcome to New York" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E08: "Playing with the Enemy" - 9 PM on The WB Monday June 10, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E15: "Threshold" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E13: "Contact" - 9 PM on UPN

Putting a brief note here so that the episode list will have a link back to this post covering the first half of the DVD bonus features.

Tuesday June 11, 1996 Moesha S1E07: "Chain, Chain, Chain" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E09: "Ask Doctor Ron" - 8:30 PM on UPN The Paranormal Borderline E04: "Episode Four" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday June 12, 1996 The Sentinel S1E03: "Killers" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E15: "The Volunteers" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E16: "I'm O'Tay, You're O-Tay" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E04: "Supernote" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E04: "Two Men and a Baby" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E07: "A Touch of Glass" - 9:30 PM on The WB

I'll finish up the Nowhere Man bonus features in four weeks when there's once again an empty schedule.

Next week we get a rerun of episode 4 of The Sentinel, which I missed during its originally airing due to a corrupted video file. There's also an episode of the Kids' WB show Freakazoid!.

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One line from the commentaries that stuck out to me is that the world of the show is cold, but Tom is warm, which I think captures the vibe of the show well. ↩

Maybe the best show I've watched for that since I binged Supernatural in high school? ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 74: Christmas in June

Last week we got a new-to-UPN Halloween Minor Adjustments, and this week we get an entirely new Christmas Minor Adjustments. Unfortunately, it's also the final episode aired.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday June 2, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E03: "Pizza Man" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E01: "Hair Today" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E18: "Hey, Hey We're the Hartmans" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E07: "Information, Please" - 9 PM on The WB Monday June 3, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E14: "Alliances" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E12: "It's Not Such a Wonderful Life" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday June 4, 1996 Moesha S1E06: "Driving Miss Moesha" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E20: "A Christmas Story" - 8:30 PM on UPN

I think that, of the two holiday episodes, I preferred last week's Halloween one, but I liked these characters enough to still enjoy this episode.

The Paranormal Borderline E03: "Episode Three" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday June 5, 1996 The Sentinel S1E02: "Siege" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E17: "Paper or Plastic?" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E15: "The Lost Weekend" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E03: "Sex, Death and Rock 'n' Roll" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E19: "It Takes a Thief" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E18: "All About Jennie" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week is all reruns, so I think I'll use it to watch some of the Nowhere Man commentaries and other DVD bonus features.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 73: Halloween in May

Everything's in reruns this week, but the Minor Adjustments rerun is new to UPN, so we get a decent but not fantastic Halloween episode five months early.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday May 26, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S1E01: "Ring Around the Nosey" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E02: "First Dates" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E17: "The Odd Couple" - 8:30 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After: 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After: 9:30 PM on The WB Monday May 27, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E13: "Prototype" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E11: "An Enemy Within" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday May 28, 1996 Moesha S1E05: "Million Boy March" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E05: "Boo!" - 8:30 PM on UPN

I thought the main plot about Rachel having a pregnancy scare was solid, but the running bit about a group of trapped whales didn't feel like it added anything. Still, a sitcom Halloween episode gives them an excuse to put everyone in costumes, so it's still a decent watch.

The Paranormal Borderline E02: "Episode Two" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday May 29, 1996 The Sentinel S1E01: "The Switchman" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E16: "Valentine's Day" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E03: "Don't Take My Wife, Please" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E01: "Out on a Limb" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E18: "A Hero's Story" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E17: "The Agony of Victory" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week also just consists of a single Minor Adjustments episode, and this time it's the series finale.

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 72: Somewhere Man

This week brings the series finale of Nowhere Man, and while I'm not quite sure how I feel about the finale specifically, I can now definitively place the show as a whole on the top of my list of shows I've watched so far for this project.

We also get good-not-great season finales for Voyager and Moesha this week, as well as an expectedly-bad Unhappily Ever After finale.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday May 19, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E13: "Little Bitty Pretty One" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E08: "The Birthday" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E16: "Stuck On You" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E06: "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire" - 9 PM on The WB Monday May 20, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E26: "Basics (1)" - 8 PM on UPN

This season's Voyager finale is weakened by the fact that it all kind of feels like set up for part 2, and given it's a cross-season cliffhanger, we wont' get to see the resolution until September.

Nowhere Man E25: "Gemini" - 9 PM on UPN

I think I still need some time to fully process this finale and the implications its reveals have on the rest of the show. I bought the DVD box set on eBay, and with the summer schedule being light (or entirely empty some weeks), I think I'll take the time to listen to some of the commentaries and special features and write up some spoiler-filled thoughts on the show as a whole.

For now, I'll say that while this finale isn't perfect, I think it does an admirable job of tying together a few different elements from past episodes in a way that makes the final reveal work as a definitive series ending while theoretically leaving enough unanswered questions to allow for a potential continuation.

Tuesday May 21, 1996 Moesha S1E14: "Hakeem's New Flame" - 8 PM on UPN

Less of a true finale than the Monday night dramas, Moesha's final episode this season is another good-not-great outing, including a notable appearance of The Parent 'Hood's Reagan Gomez-Preston as Hakeem's new girlfriend.

Minor Adjustments E03: "Coach Ron" - 8:30 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E04: "Hoop Dreams" - 9 PM on UPN

Two solid sports-related Minor Adjustments as Ron proves to be a terrible coach of Trevor's soccer team and then Trevor lies about his family's financial situation to go to a basketball camp.

Moesha S1E04: "Hakeem Owes Moesha Big" - 9:30 PM on UPN Wednesday May 22, 1996 The Sentinel S1E09: "Attraction" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E14: "Reality Really Bites" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E10: "Just Say Yes, No or Maybe" - 8:30 PM on The WB

I don't know if this week's episode of The Sentinel was bad per-se, but this story about Ellison being entranced by a thief's pheromones just didn't land for me.

Swift Justice E10: "Isaiah's Daughter" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E17: "The Ghetto Gourmets" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E22: "Getting More Than Some" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Unhappily finishes the season at its usual level of misogyny and misanthropy with this episode about Ryan bringing home a woman with two kids.

With most seasons concluded [1], we now enter the summer break, so aside from Nowhere Man commentaries and season-in-review posts, the next few months of posts will be less substantial.

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There's still one NBC rerun and one entirely new Minor Adjustments, as well as two more episodes of Swift Justice and one more episode of The Sentinel. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 71: Five Season Finales

Five of the WB's sitcoms finish their seasons this week, with strong episodes from Kirk, Sister, Sister, and The Parent 'Hood and less strong episodes from Pinky and the Brain and The Wayans Bros.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday May 12, 1996 Pinky and the Brain S1E13: "The Third Mouse / The Visit" - 7 PM on The WB

This last pair of Pinky and the Brain stories is fine, but I'm not sad to see the show's primetime run end.

The Parent 'Hood S2E12: "One Man and a Baby" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E11: "Mothers and Other Strangers" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E21: "The Beach House" - 8:30 PM on The WB

Another great Kirk to finish out the season. Kirk's pursuit of Elizabeth early in the season was extremely cringeworthy, but since the two of them actually got together the whole show has felt much stronger. Hopefully this can continue for the 11-episode second season this fall.

Savannah S1E05: "The Purloined Letter" - 9 PM on The WB Monday May 13, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E25: "Resolutions" - 8 PM on UPN

It's the Janeway/Chakotay cottagecore ship-bait episode! That aspect aside, it's a solid but not amazing episode.

Nowhere Man E24: "Marathon" - 9 PM on UPN

Unusually for Nowhere Man, this feels more like setup than a standalone episode, but I suppose the penultimate episode of the series is the right place to do that if you're going to. There is still an episodic plot as Veil teams up with a secretary at an FBI office and later an assistant director, but the emphasis seemed to be on the major reveals set up for the finale.

Tuesday May 14, 1996 Moesha S1E13: "Baby Love" - 8 PM on UPN

Another good-not-great Moesha, though I'm curious whether the possibility of Frank and Dee having a baby was just for this episode, or whether it's going to be an ongoing storyline going forward.

Minor Adjustments E19: "The Model Wife" - 8:30 PM on UPN

The A-plot here about Bruce getting a green card marriage to a model was just okay, but I really liked the B-plot about Bam (Trevor's tutor from "The Way We Weren't") learning formal etiquette from Rachel to impress a rich girl.

The Paranormal Borderline E09: "Episode Nine" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday May 15, 1996 The Sentinel S1E08: "Love and Guns" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E22: "The Audition" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E22: "Reconcilable Differences" - 8:30 PM on The WB

The core plot of The Sentinel this week about taking down an arms dealer was solid, but all the stuff about Blair's relationship with the arms dealer's daughter fell flat.

Sister, Sister finishes its first season on the WB strong with an excellent episode as Tia needs to make Tamera sad to win a bet based on Tamera's skills at singing the blues.

While not quite at the level of Sister, Sister's finale, The Parent 'Hood also ends the season well with a cute episode about Nicholas being worried that his parents are getting divorced while Zaria and Michael struggle babysitting CeCe.

Swift Justice E09: "Bad Medicine" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E22: "Trial and Error" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E21: "Leaving Van Nuys" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Unfortunately, the second hour of the Wednesday slate is a lot weaker than the first.

The last finale this week is a bit of a dud, with Marlon's antics throughout this week's Wayans Bros landing squarely on the side of annoying rather than funny.

Unhappily still has one more episode after this before the season ends, but I have to imagine next week's finale can't be worse than this. The kids are out of school (eliminating the setting where the stronger elements of the show tend to reside) and Mr. Floppy is heavily feature (he sleeps with Jennie).

I think I've started to figure out why I've enjoyed The Sentinel so much more than Swift Justice. They're both cop shows with villains that are often so over-the-top they strain credulity, but The Sentinel pairs them with a cop who basically has super powers, so his battles with these supervillains makes for enjoyable campy fun.

On the other hand, Swift Justice aims for gritty realism, and then uses ridiculously evil villains [1] to make an insidious copaganda argument that the police are too constrained by procedure and the rule of law to defeat these not-at-all-exaggerated evildoers.

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This week, a pharmaceutical executive who covers up a dangerous drug by poisoning a whistleblower ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 70: What Is This, a Crossover Episode?

In addition to an infamous Voyager episode and another strong Nowhere Man as it continues its final stretch of episodes, this week also sees actors from each of the WB Wednesday sitcoms crossing over to other shows.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday May 5, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E18: "An American Class President" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E04: "Cheater, Cheater" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E20: "Operation Kirk" - 8:30 PM on The WB

Really liked this week's Kirk, where Kirk has to reassure Russell before his tonsillectomy while dealing with his own nervousness over his tonsillectomy.

Savannah S1E04: "Who Killed Travis?" - 9 PM on The WB Monday May 6, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E24: "Tuvix" - 8 PM on UPN

It feel like there's not a whole lot that hasn't already been said about "Tuvix" especially in regards to the moral dilemma at the end of the episode. I do think that the episode as a whole is fairly strong, with the biggest weak point being that we never get any sort of reaction from Tuvok or Neelix to the events of the episode.

I feel like the ending as written would work great if this was a more modern show where those feelings could be explored in future episodes, but given this is Voyager and the whole Tuvix incident will never be brought up again [1], the story feels incomplete.

Nowhere Man E23: "Zero Minus Ten" - 9 PM on UPN

Nowhere Man seems to be finishing strong with the third-to-last episode being another excellent outing. Veil wakes up from what he's told is a coma apparently three days before the gallery opening from the premiere. This sees the return of Alyson, who Tom no longer trusts in the slightest, as well as his friend and lawyer Larry, who Tom had found dead in the premiere.

Tuesday May 7, 1996 Moesha S1E12: "Mother's Day" - 8 PM on UPN

At times, Moesha's hostility towards Dee has been fairly aggregating, but the scene in this episode of Moesha talking to her mother's grave provides some emotional clarity that helps explain why she's been having such a hard time with Dee.

Minor Adjustments E18: "Baby Boomer Angst" - 8:30 PM on UPN

Still plenty of laughs from both the A-plot here about one of Ron's teenage patients wanting to have a baby and the B-plot about Bruce being afraid of going to the dentist, but the show's had better episodes.

The Paranormal Borderline E08: "Episode Eight" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday May 8, 1996 The Sentinel S1E07: "Rogue" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E21: "Big Twin on Campus" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E21: "Ode to Billy Stankbreath" - 8:30 PM on The WB Swift Justice E08: "Horses" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E21: "Mama, I Wanna Act" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E20: "Girls Who Wear Glasses" - 9:30 PM on The WB

It's crossover week for the WB's Wednesday sitcoms, with Nikki Cox appearing on Sister, Sister [2], Shawn and Marlon Wayans on The Parent 'Hood [3], Faizon Love on The Wayans Bros. [4], and Jackée Harry on Unhappily Ever After [5]. None of the cameos really add anything to the show, aside from a meta bit about the whole affair that's probably the best part of this week's Unhappily.

Cameos aside, Sister, Sister was great, The Parent 'Hood's plot about Robert not making enough time for his family felt like it came out of nowhere, The Wayans Bros. was meh on its own, but if the show actually follows up on a Marlon-goes-to-acting-school plot, that could be interesting, and Unhappily was above-average for this show, but still below-average for a sitcom.

As for UPN's Wednesday slate, a villain who's aware of Ellison's abilities makes for a strong episode of The Sentinel, while an already mediocre Swift Justice is further weakened by a recording that seemed to have a few gaps.

In addition to another episode from everything that aired this week, next week also has the last new episode of Pinky and the Brain to air in primetime (excluding a Halloween special that airs in October 1997).

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In Voyager at least. 27 years later, the Lower Decks episode "Twovix" would return to the concept, but IIRC it was mostly just played for laughs there. ↩

As an actress struggling because there aren't really acting jobs in Detroit ↩

As Jerri's new husbands in a daydream of Robert's ↩

As an acting teacher Marlon is auditioning for. ↩

As the guidance counselor at the kids' school who advises Ryan to become a lab rat. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 69: A Nice Week

It's a busy month for May sweeps, as most of this year's shows wrap up their seasons (or series in the case of Nowhere Man). The month starts out nicely, with strong episodes from all four dramas and decent outings from the sitcoms as well.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday April 28, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E06: "The Taxi Man" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S1E06: "The Pimple" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E19: "Baby, You Can Drive My Car" - 8:30 PM on The WB

Kirk's back this week, and it's actually a pretty strong episode, at least by its standard.

Savannah S1E03: "Sex, Pies and Videotape" - 9 PM on The WB Monday April 29, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E23: "The Thaw" - 8 PM on UPN

This is yet another Voyager episode that I enjoyed way more for this rewatch than I did originally. Michael McKean is excellent here as the clown and the whole premise of people being held hostage in a simulation by their own fear works really well.

Nowhere Man E22: "Calaway" - 9 PM on UPN

It seems like we're reaching the endgame for Nowhere Man as Thomas Veil, completely unable to sleep, returns to Calaway Hospital from the premiere to figure out what they did to him.

Tuesday April 30, 1996 Moesha S1E11: "The Ditch Party" - 8 PM on UPN

Another decent Moesha episode, though the problem of plots not feeling fully resolved remains.

Minor Adjustments E17: "Witness" - 8:30 PM on UPN

A fun Minor Adjustments where Bruce identifying the wrong man as his mugger to the police leads to both the falsely accused man and the actual mugger taking Ron, Francine, Bruce, and Darby hostage.

The Paranormal Borderline E07: "Episode Seven" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday May 1, 1996 The Sentinel S1E06: "Night Train" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E20: "The Candidate" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E20: "I Never Danced for My Mother" - 8:30 PM on The WB

After a weaker outing last week, The Sentinel spends the night on a train in a great episode where Ellison has to protect an informant while dealing with wonky senses after taking cold medicine.

Both Sister, Sister and The Parent 'Hood were just okay this week, though I liked this week's Parent 'Hood better than last.

Swift Justice E07: "No Holds Barred" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E20: "New Lease on Life" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E19: "Jack Writes Good" - 9:30 PM on The WB

I think this might be my favorite Swift Justice episode so far, not because it's good, but just because its premise of a collegiate boxer being kidnapped and forced to participate in a secret fight to the death is so bonkers as to be entertaining.

This Wayans Bros plays uncomfortably with the "sexual assault is funny if it happens to a man" trope, but is otherwise over-the-top enough to make for a halfway decent episode.

I though this week's Unhappily wasn't half bad until it spent an extended sequence at the end on a bizarre flash-forward sequence of an elderly Jack and Mr. Floppy is France for some reason.

Next week continues the full slate of shows, including another infamous Voyager episode [1].

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I had forgotten that both "Threshold" and "Tuvix" were in this season. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 68: Calm Before the Storm

It's the last quiet week before May sweeps, and aside from a strong but sad Moesha, it largely disappoints. Even Minor Adjustments, which has generally been the strongest of the spring replacements, wasn't quite at its usual level.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday April 21, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E19: "We Don't Need Another Hero" - 7:30 PM on The WB

It's been over a month since The WB aired a new sitcom episode and it comes back with this episode of The Parent 'Hood that was just okay. It all felt very by-the-numbers. Zaria asks her parents if she can be in a pop star's music video; her parents say no because it's sexualized and demeaning to women; she goes anyway and is sexualized and demeaned by the director.

Sister, Sister S2E17: "Playing Hooky" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E15: "Double Date" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E02: "Wedding Belle Blues (2)" - 9 PM on The WB Monday April 22, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E12: "Resistance" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E10: "Father" - 9 PM on UPN Tuesday April 23, 1996 Moesha S1E10: "Reunion" - 8 PM on UPN

A sad (but very good from a quality standpoint) Moesha episode this week as Moesha reconnects with childhood friend Matt, but, because Matt is white, the date they go on is ruined by the racism of people not approving of the interracial relationship.

Minor Adjustments E06: "The Ex-Files" - 8:30 PM on UPN

This week, Trevor sells Ron's baseball card collection and Francine reconnects with her ex-husband. A young Drake Bell appears in the cold open as one of Ron's patients. Not Minor Adjustments' strongest episode, but still some good laughs, especially towards the end.

The Paranormal Borderline E01: "Episode One" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday April 24, 1996 The Sentinel S1E05: "Cypher" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E10: "Thanksgiving in Hawaii (2)" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E17: "Torn Between Two Brothers" - 8:30 PM on The WB

This week's Sentinel was weakened both by some various obvious beats for a serial killer story [1] and leaning uncomfortably in a Buffalo Bill direction that it never pulled itself out of.

Swift Justice E06: "Takin' Back the Street" - 9 PM on UPN The Wayans Bros. S2E16: "Hearts and Flowers" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E16: "Mr. No" - 9:30 PM on The WB

This show has a kinetic visual style that's probably its strongest element, which is unfortunate because the recording quality limits how much of it comes through.

Pretty much every show is back with a new episode next week, so hopefully at least some of them can impress.

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Called him being the forensic psychologist from the first scene he appeared. ↩

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 67: Thomas Veil's Long Night

This week, all we've got is one drama and one sitcom. Luckily, it's the strongest drama (Nowhere Man) and the strongest sitcom (Minor Adjustments) in the current lineup.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Sunday April 14, 1996 Pinky and the Brain: 7 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E08: "Welcome Back, Robert" - 7:30 PM on The WB Sister, Sister S2E15: "Scrambled Eggs" - 8 PM on The WB Kirk S1E14: "The Love Letter" - 8:30 PM on The WB Savannah S1E01: "Wedding Belle Blues (1)" - 9 PM on The WB Monday April 15, 1996 Star Trek: Voyager S2E11: "Maneuvers" - 8 PM on UPN Nowhere Man E21: "The Dark Side of the Moon" - 9 PM on UPN

A really eerie Nowhere Man this week as Veil has to recover the negatives after he's mugged by a member of a street gang. Most of this episode takes place overnight in the gang's territory, which has a vibe that lends it an unreality that felt more extreme than even the episodes that explicitly questioned the reliability Veil's own perspective.

While there have been other episodes of the show I've enjoyed more, this one felt especially dense with symbolism that might only become clear once I've seen the end of the show.

Tuesday April 16, 1996 Moesha S1E03: "Sixteen" - 8 PM on UPN Minor Adjustments E07: "Everybody's Got A Secret" - 8:30 PM on UPN

Another very good Minor Adjustments where Trevor sees Francine's new boyfriend cheating on her and can't tell her without revealing that he cut school to see a movie.

The Paranormal Borderline E06: "Episode Six" - 9 PM on UPN Wednesday April 17, 1996 Movie: "Roswell (1994)" - 8 PM on UPN Sister, Sister S3E09: "Thanksgiving in Hawaii (1)" - 8 PM on The WB The Parent 'Hood S2E16: "I'm O'Tay, You're O-Tay" - 8:30 PM on The WB The Wayans Bros. S2E15: "The Odd Couples" - 9 PM on The WB Unhappily Ever After S2E15: "In the Stars" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week has a slightly busier schedule, with 3 sitcoms and 2 dramas, but the April lull is almost over.