aqueckboerner Reviews

7th Heaven: In Praise of Women (1999) Season 3, Episode 14

Worst episode so far

[1/10 · 31 March 2024]

This was by far one of the worst episodes of the first three seasons of the show. The entire episode was focused soley on the birth of the twins. While mom had a long delivery, the kids were shown being at the hospital the entire time growing bored as they had to sit and wait. With nothing to do, they began wondering around the hospital with no supervision. Seriously, neither set of grandparents could be there to watch the kids? Speaking of which, why didn't Matt or Mary watch the younger children and made sure they obeyed the father's wishes by staying where they were supposed to? This children seem to have no respect for authority or for things that don't belong to them (Mary is sitting in a wheelchair with Ruthie on her lap) taking it for a spin around the hospital halls. Does this family not know how to play card or board games to pass the time? And then the entire thing of the father forgetting to lock the door or make sure the fridge door was shut was a bit unbelievable. Again, Matt or Mary would have not thought to make sure those things were taken care of? Instead we see Happy knowing how to change channels on the tv remote (again unbelievable) and wild animals coming into the home to raid the fridge. That entire segment was just stupid.

Love this show but feel like I wasted 40 minutes of my life watching this mess of an episode that I'll never get back. I could have skipped it and not missed a thing.

7th Heaven: It Takes Two, Baby (1998) Season 3, Episode 1

What happened?

[1/10 · 8 February 2024]

The first 2 years of the show were great. So what happened? This entire episode was about a grumpy pregnant mother who forgot the words "Please" and "Thank You" that she had taught her children to say in season 2 when they were ungrateful. Seriously, this husband had no gumption to confront his wife about her rotten attitude? It's no wonder both teenage girls are obsessed with their looks with a mother who is also obsessed thinking she's "fat". After 5 pregnancies she didn't think ahead to go shopping for maternity clothes? Hard to believe. No one loving her enough to tell her the reason she may be gaining so much weight is also do to the fact she eats junk food? Is she really no longer cable of going to the store to get her family some groceries? This whole episode was just unbelievable with that storyline alone. Then on top of it we still have two teenage girls who have no self esteem thinking that all there is to life is how you look and getting boyfriends. It really is sad that the parents in this show rarely take time to have quality one on one time with their kids to pour into them and build their self esteem so they aren't trying to get it from outsiders or from their makeup. And Simon really has no backbone to tell this girl off that's using him? Not believable either. And Ruthie is still her spoiled self all because the parents allow it.

If the future of this show is as bad as this episode, I will no longer be watching it.

Little House on the Prairie: Injun Kid (1977) Season 3, Episode 15

Good story but lacking

[8/10 · 31 January 2024]

This episode was good in that it had a lot of valuable lessons to teach. However what I hate it the fact that two of the episodes characters are never seen in the school again. Both Seth and Jeremy. You would think that if they and their families are living in and have homesteads in Walnut Grove that they would indeed be regulars on the show or at least in the school scenes. Also the scenes where Seth is shown on the wild horse were done terribly. They showed a make believe scene of him supposedly on the wild horse and while you can tell it wasn't real, the show's producers showed the exact seen numerous times.

7th Heaven: Time to Leave the Nest (1998) Season 2, Episode 19

Creepy

[1/10 · 31 January 2024]

This episode was odd and gave a vibe of just downright creepy. Where did a 6th grade boy get an idea that another human being was their property? The writers didn't have him say, "Can she stay with us?" as in the entire family in THEIR home. No, he asked if he can keep her. What young man talks like that? She is not a slave nor is she property. The whole thing just seemed strange for a young man to talk and think like that. Sexual predators think that way, not a 6th grade boy. He wants her by his side at all times like he's obsessed with her. Again very odd behavior coming from someone that is still a child. They sit very close on the bed together looking through some slides. The whole thing just seemed creepy. I hate the way the writers did this whole storyline. It wasn't appropriate at all and not once did the father correct him showing him this young, strange girl is not property.

Also, it was totally unbelievable that the kids took time to make their parents dinner including a turkey. These children are rarely seen helping their mother do anything in the house. Yes they had the knowledge to cook a big dinner at the last minute? A turkey has to thaw in a fridge at least 2 days before you can cook it. And we are to believe the mother never saw it? Let alone the many hours it takes to cook it. Yet we are supposed to believe all that miraculously happened in the blink of an eye. These writers are not living in reality.

7th Heaven (1996–2007)

The Parents Need Help

[8/10 · 21 January 2024]

There's obviously something to this show that is redeemable because if there wasn't it wouldn't have been on the air as long as it was. Sure some episodes were slow or corny but others were very hard hitting dealing with some tough subjects like death, drugs, premarital sex and more. I don't always agree with the way the parents handle situations. In fact, I often find myself getting frustrated and yelling at my television screen at least once in every episode for the poor way parenting was handled. Why Ruthie wasn't punished more for some of the things she did left me scratching my head. What kind of example is that to spoil your youngest child by not punishing them when they deserve it? In fact, mom rarely checks up on her and this is why she always seems to be getting into mischief.

Simon's character is great. A kid with a lot of questions who does a great job looking out for his younger sister. But having them live in the same room was creepy, especially as they moved into season 2 and Simon was now in Jr. High. Totally inappropriate to be living with his younger sister at that point. His parents seriously had no discernment about that?

Then there is Lucy. Her constant need for the attention of a guy seems to scream that her parents, especially her dad does not spend enough quality time with her. Seems she's always rebelling. Yet her parents do not see the need to do something to change that.

Mary's character is pretty boring. It's sad she's always jumping around dating different guys just to see how they kiss. Are her parents seriously wanting her to be that shallow when it comes to the opposite sex? The fact they let her go on kissing a guy in their living room without coming up for air didn't teach her a thing about where that leads. It's almost like the parents are not around investing in their kids lives and talking to them about deep subjects and addressing their kids insecurities.

And then there is Matt. Great kid trying to do the right thing but it doesn't always work. And sadly he can do nothing to please his dad.

And I don't like that they made the dad a pastor. I wish they had just left religion out of the show if they were not going to be authentic about it. He never preaches sermons talking about Jesus or reading much of the Bible. He could have been a Unitarian Universalist leader for what they made him out to be. As a pastor, seriously no lessons he gave his kids from Scripture? That just didn't seem realistic. But then again, the writers were not Christians trying to make a Christian show. But they could have done better than what I've seen so far.

7th Heaven: My Kinda Guy (1998) Season 2, Episode 18

Disappointing

[3/10 · 21 January 2024]

Seriously, you would think that a pastor who understands addictions would understand boundaries but obviously not when he agrees at the last minute to host a foreign student in his home without first even discussing such an important matter with his wife first. Does he not care to show any discernment and ask questions and get background information on the student first? We're talking about inviting a complete stranger into your home where your job is to protect your children. How did they know he was trustworthy? That he didn't have weapons or drugs in his bags? They didn't even know he smoked. And the mother is just as bad as the dad for having no boundaries and telling her husband no without them having time to do more background homework on the student. Any parents with half a brain that cared about their children would do that. Certainly not doing something like that at the last minute. And I love how the mother let's Simon get on the students laptop without confirming he had permission and with no supervision. What if there was p*rn on there that Simon would have had access to? The mother was not thinking one bit in this episode.

7th Heaven: Nothing Endures But Change (1998) Season 2, Episode 17

Great episode with caveats

[8/10 · 21 January 2024]

Just like so many episodes, this one was jam packed full of emotion and lessons. It's sad that the writers keep portraying Lucy as a young woman who doesn't want to obey her parents and do what is right. What is it with the constant rebelling? First it was dressing like a call girl and wearing heavy makeup at the mall without her parents knowledge (until she got caught) and now this. What I don't understand is why the writers didn't connect the mother's loss of her own mother with Lucy's loss of her friend and share that same bond of grief. I also don't understand why they didn't have the mother make Lucy face reality instead of being self absorbed and make her go comfort her friend in the hospital. Too often the Camedon's don't teach their children to be unselfish and this episode was just another example.

Also, the entire fact that they moved Simon into Ruthie's room near the beginning of the show was odd seeing how much older he was than she. In the second season, Simon is now in Jr. High and still living in the same room as his little sister. This was totally inappropriate considering their age differences. Seriously, the mom or dad didn't realize this? I hate that the writers did this to the two characters.

7th Heaven: It Takes a Village (1998) Season 2, Episode 16

Strange episode

[4/10 · 21 January 2024]

This episode was seriously lacking in originality. It was very odd in fact. We know that Eric's pastor friend had an issue with his wife's ex always contacting her at Valentines but to stalk him and meet him was just odd. But then it gets even stranger when he admits he's remarried and has kids but calls Patricia because it reminds him of his days before getting injured in the Vietnam War. So how does it make it okay for him to continue to contact her every Valentines when they have both moved on and remarried? Neither spouse should have be okay with that. But then they invite him back to the Camden's house to see Patricia. Very odd. Strange episode indeed.

Gilligan's Island: The Kidnapper (1966) Season 3, Episode 12

Unbelievable

[4/10 · 11 July 2023]

It's strange how the episode starts out with the skipper reading a letter from the kidnapper that doesn't really tell us how Mrs Howell was kidnapped in the first place. And we are to believe Don Wrinkles could actually kidnap anyone especially somebody as big and tall as Ginger. Mr Howe really has that much cash he always carries around? I mean it's very rare for someone to have a $100,000 bill and yet he has three of them he gives Gilligan? And then we see Mr and Mrs with trench coats and leather gloves? Yes we know they brought multiple suitcases with them when they came but why would they need trench coats and leather gloves and a warm climate? And the log should have fell on Gilligan when he picked it up and we really think it was light enough for him to do that? So much stupid slapstick humor in this episode.

The Brady Bunch: The Brady Braves (1971) Season 3, Episode 3

Nice 3 part episodes

[8/10 · 29 November 2022]

I remember seeing this three part episode as a child but it was nice just seeing it again as an adult. The Grand Canyon trip was a nice addition to the show and broke up it's mundane routine of always being at home/school. I had forgotten about the Ghost Town. Since the producer and Jim Buckus were such good friends it was not surprising to see him. What was strange though is the parents willingness to easily forgive him after leaving them stranded in a jail cell with no food or water and no one around to rescue them. But that's the Brady's. They are never are negative about much at all. Then in the second part it was okay for Cindy and Bobby to wonder off by themselves? Do parents not watch their kids when on vacations? Where were the older siblings? It's not like they were on their smartphones or something. Just didn't find that believable. Also it's obvious the parents don't punish them after they got lost as they felt it was okay to do again to sneak food off the the young Indian boy in the middle of the night. Cindy is awake enough to hear Bobby whistling and can leave the tent without waking anyone esp. Alice? Not believable. Anyway then they end with the family being invited to a tribal ceremony. Not sure how much of that was believable. But all in all I did enjoy watching it again.

The Jeffersons: A Dinner for Harry (1975) Season 2, Episode 1

Disappointing

[5/10 · 25 November 2022]

I absolutely loved the first season of this show. Creative scripts and very funny scenes. I'm not sure what happened though. Did they get different writers? This episode seemed stiff and not natural as the acting the season previous. And Florence the maid just appeared out of no where. I mean she was in the very first show on the first season but they never show the Jefferson's hiring her. But she just suddenly appears which seemed a bit odd. Also, we are to believe they are all that close to their neighbor that they would actually throw him a party in honor of his birthday. With the way George feels about him, seemed doubtful.

The Shunning (2011 TV Movie)

Decent movie but...

[8/10 · 25 November 2022]

Thankfully this wasn't a typical cheesy Hallmark movie. The adoption storyline may have been a little farfetched but it worked. I appreciate the values it tried to teach. Always nice to have a movie that's clean. The romance with what looked to be a younger man seemed odd. Where would he get a guitar and how would he bring it in the community without getting caught? How is it they were alone together? That's not how young people typically fellowship together in the Amish community. And why would Katie feel the need to go into town for a day and put on English clothes. And then not be seen by someone in her community? Again, not believable. The ending was disappointing as we never got to see her reunite with her birth mother.

Other problems included the way the Amish community was portrayed. There would have not just been a bishop but also and elder and a deacon. All of them would have been involved in her shunning. And the movie does not tell the viewer if Katie had even joined the church. Typically that happens at the time of marriage but nothing is shown. If she had not joined the likelihood of her being shunned was slim (but not impossible). Other inaccuracies included an elderly Amish lady wearing her hair in the incorrect manner. Katie wearing makeup. And the fact that the men did not have the traditional bowl style haircuts but rather short English style hair.

Even with the inaccuracies, it wasn't enough for me to not like the movie thus my score of 8.

Expecting Amish (2014 TV Movie)

Not Culturally Accurate

[2/10 · 6 November 2022]

Why do producers put out a movie without doing their actual homework on real Amish life? First off, most Amish, especially the conservative ones in Pennsylvania, do not have a church building. They meet in private homes. And men and women would definitely not be sitting together as portrayed. Amish women do NOT cut their hair yet a teenage girl is shown with bangs. When Hannah is shown with her hair down, it should have been super long yet was obviously cut. Not accurate at all. And the majority of Amish teens who participate in Rumspringa do not leave their homes. They must definitely would not be spending money to go to LA which was clear across the country! This movie inaccurately portrays Rumspringa as a time Amish teens go wild and party, drink, wear English clothes and have premaritial sex. That's usually not what happens. The girls would not be eager to put on sexy dresses and go out partying with English people. Also the Amish do not shun their own unless they've joined the church then committed a serious sin or leave the community. Then they are shunned. But this movie shows the Bishop stating the teenage boy who did not return as being shunned. That's simply not accurate. And conservative Amish don't have cell phones thus there would have been no cell phone towers in the area yet somehow we are to believe she had cell phone reception in the woods. Also in order to charge a cell phone, she would have had to remain at the building where she found an outlet for hours. For her to be gone that long would have raised questions with her father. Again, not believable.

Putting all that aside, the story is unbelievable. The fact Hannah even went to LA doesn't seem realistic. Then she happens to fall for an English guy quick enough to have sex with him? And the English guy, knowing he had never had sex was smart enough to have protection? Their whole romance seemed farfetched. They don't know what love is yet he claims to love her after driving all the way out to Pennsylvania? Come on now.

Gimme a Break!: The Groupie (1983) Season 3, Episode 1

New changes

[6/10 · 13 October 2022]

Why do the producers insist on changing things that are not broken? Why a new theme song change? I get that the girls have grown so new images of them is understandable.

Katie is like every typical teenager. Crazy about some pop star way out of her league but more importantly wanting to do whatever it takes to fit in with the "in" crowd. So much so she defies not only her father but breaks trust with Nell. When dad finds out she had been gone all night he screams like always. We see dad still hasn't learned how to deal with his anger appropriately and not only screams at her and Nell but then goes and tries to put Andy Gibb under arrest for what he thought was solicitiation of a minor. Once dad realizes he made a mistake he made up with his daughter. But then forgets she disobeyed him in the first place with no punishment for that. Terrible example of parenting.

The episode spent way too much time featuring not just one but two numbers sang by Andy. The last one being a duet with Nell. We get that Nell can sing but why make this about her? The last song went on way too long. Let's get back to focusing on the girls and their dad.

Gimme a Break!: Nell and the Kid (1983) Season 2, Episode 21

Strange Episode

[2/10 · 13 October 2022]

Okay, so they producers put this episode out hoping for a spin-off. Well not only did that fail but the episode was strange in that hardly any of the main characters were involved or had lines. It mostly involved two new characters that had never been seen before. A homeless child and a grocery store owner. Long store short, he takes her in not only in the store to work to pay off what she stole out of the register but also to give her a place to live. What was strange was after he helped get her ready for bedtime, he left so we couldn't tell if this was an apt. Above the store and he lived somewhere else or what exactly. And nothing creepy about an elderly white man having a young girl around. Did Nell not realize how inappropriate that was?

Family Affair: All Around the Town (1967) Season 1, Episode 17

Hard lessons to learn

[6/10 · 9 October 2022]

There's some things that just are not believable in this episode. Number one that Mr French would take the word of the kids instead of going to Uncle Bill to verify. Secondly that nobody in the streets took that money from Buffy as she was just basically waving it around. That they never asked the man at the Chinese restaurant if they could get something to eat. I mean they obviously had money to pay for it. But what was most unbelievable was how far they strayed and that the man knew how to get them back to their apartment which was 4 MI away and they didn't have the exact address. Definitely a lesson to learn as children need to know their street address and their parents phone number by heart.

Gimme a Break!: Julie Smokes (1983) Season 2, Episode 13

This Father Needs Help

[8/10 · 4 October 2022]

The father in this show needs desperate help for his anger issues. He seems to constantly be wanting to yell at his daughters and use a belt on them even though they are all teenagers and way beyond the age of spanking. And then displays this anger once again by slapping his daughter instead of sitting down and talking with her in a calm manner. Yes, we get that smoking killed his wife. We get why he won't allow anyone in the house to smoke. But blowing up at your child is only going to make them rebel, just like Julie did by leaving. Why is after the damage the father has caused does he THEN decide to calmly talk to her instead of doing that from the get go? At least Julies grandfather was willing to defend her from her own abusive father. Also the father can't see his own hypocrisy by forbidding smoking in the house but it's okay that he drinks.

Gimme a Break!: The Centerfold: Part 2 (1983) Season 2, Episode 15

Political correctness bologna

[2/10 · 4 October 2022]

In so many of the episodes from season 1 and 2 we see nothing but standards and rules the chief tries to live by and make everyone else around him abide by. So why cave now? You can't honestly believe it's because of his family as he claims it is. Don't get me wrong, it was great he admitted that he could be wrong about something. But he knew in his heart he wasn't wrong about this but caved anyway. Guess it's okay not to teach your kids to have any standards and pay any price needed to stand on those principles.

And this episode was ridiculous by introducing a crazy lunitic bomber. Guess the producers didn't have enough material to cover two full episodes surrounding this issue so they fill most of the second part with this waste.

Gimme a Break!: Katie the Cheat (1982) Season 1, Episode 11

Taking a belt to your 15 year old daughter?

[2/10 · 18 August 2022]

We get that this dad can be excessive in his emotions, especially when he's angry but taking a belt to a 15 year old child because she cheated on a test shows that his anger is inappropriate since he wants to abuse his daughter. I know this show was in a different time period. I grew up watching this show. But even that was inappropriate. This episode also shows he doesn't know how to give appropriate discipline. It's either abusive or doesn't give any at all when the middle daughter should have been grounded for taking the test for her sister. No lesson at all given to her about what she did was wrong. This father! Ugh.

Star Trek Continues: Embracing the Winds (2016) Season 1, Episode 7

Weak episode

[3/10 · 17 August 2022]

The issues brought up in this episode are ones that seem to be focused on in today's world not during the late 60s with Gene Roddenberry so this episode seemed out of place. I can also tell you that in the late 60s nobody would have ever referred to a woman officer as "Sir" as they did in this episode. I thought the episodes of the show was supposed to reflect what it would have been like if there had been a four season of the original show. I wish they would keep things in that context.

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1994–1996)

Great series!

[8/10 · 16 August 2022]

It's always nice to find a drama that has pretty good morals in it. The story lines always kept it interesting. The characters are lovable and you want to return to watch more episodes.

The only reason I didn't give it 10 Stars was because the producers did not keep things consistent throughout all four seasons. The arch rivaling family had the father suddenly killed off the show by the early second season. His departure made no sense as his character would not have been out in Aussie wilderness in the first place. By the third season we didn't even hear from the brother or sister anymore and they were major characters in the first season.

And then the producer's decided they didn't like the age of the youngest daughter so they fired the actress and brought somebody else on who in my opinion came across immature so the goal they were trying to achieve didn't work.

Too many actors coming and going making the show a bit inconsistent. The character of Rob had two opportunities to fall in love and get married and yet the show robbed it's viewers of that by removing the two Americans he fell in love with from the show. Made no sense.

And why continue the show after one of the major actresses leaves? The last episode of the third season would have been a perfect time to end the series but instead they tried to continue on without two of the family members. It was a bit difficult to watch the last season especially near the beginning. Thankfully they redeemed the last season by giving us an on the edge of your seat two part episode for the finale.

Gimme a Break!: Your Prisoner is Dead (1981) Season 1, Episode 7

One of the best episodes

[10/10 · 16 August 2022]

I think this is one of the best episodes of the show because it took a different tone from its regular comedic routine and instead focused on a serious subject. The girls must have been oblivious as to how dangerous their father's job was until he had to shoot somebody. Of course this was during a time period where when a police officer shot somebody they didn't have to get counseling before being allowed to come back so the chief had to grapple with his own emotions over what happened even considering retiring from the job.

Star Trek Continues (2013–2017)

Not bad but not a fan of all the actors

[7/10 · 8 June 2022]

Love that they kept to the costumes and the original music of the original series but not a fan of all of the actors. They did pretty good with Captain Kirk and it was awesome seeing Scotty's real life son due his part. But I'm not a fan of the doctor or Spock at all. They should have got a taller guy with a deeper voice for Spock.

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga: Comeback (1996) Season 4, Episode 1

Not the same without Kathleen

[4/10 · 4 May 2022]

Since the actress who plays Kathleen decided not to return for this season they should have ended the show at the end of the third season. It would have made sense because the ending seemed to close up the show in a good way.

The Nanny (1993–1999)

Best comedy show that has ever existed

[10/10 · 2 May 2022]

I thought no one could ever top the funny antics of Lucille Ball on the I Love Lucy Show but Fran Dresher has done it with The Nanny. I've never watched such funny comedy in my life. Every episode is packed full of funny expressions, slap stick humor and teasing among all the characters. The chemistry between Niles and C. C. is hilarious. You just can't find comedy like this show anymore. It's one of my all time favorites.