Reviews

First off I'm giving this a 5 out of 10, because the filmmakers did a good job with the one side to this story. I also think it is a bit curious that all the other reviewers that gave reviews that pointed out the film was extremely biased were overwhelmingly "unhelpful" reviews. Meanwhile the "This film changed my life!" reviews all got glaringly "helpful" reviews. This leads me to believe the filmmakers had all his or her friends "thumbs downing" all the negative reviews. For shame!

So I watch a lot of documentaries and sometimes you have to take a bit of bias with a grain of salt and sometimes it is warranted when atrocities are involved. The entire premise of this film hinges on the original claim that TASER International made that TASERs couldn't kill a human being. Well "armed" with the fact that over 128 people have died in the 15 or so years the modern TASER has been out, the entire film paints TASER as merchants of death. This is a prime critical thinking fallacy in that of 10's if not hundreds of thousands of people who have been "tazed", some have died while the filmmakers frame it so that it appears that there is an epidemic.

With that the filmmakers highlight several stories of either people misusing the devices, or the fluke instances where people reacted poorly and died. It's a shame, but as far as less lethal ways of stopping someone who is liable to hurt you or their self, having a 99%+ chance of "no" adverse effects? It's the most ideal tool out there. People lose sight that this is a tool intended for stopping someone who is going to harm others or their self. It's a tool for stopping further loss of life, not something that has a mind of it's own that goes out, hunts down victims, and purposely murders people. Removing the instances where the devices were used improperly there have been less than a dozen fatalities? As one of the TASER International brothers pointed out, more people are accidentally killed by falling coconuts than properly used TASERs on non- complying law breakers. Hey maybe law enforcement agencies should move to using coconuts? Although the exporter of coconuts would face litigation every other time a coconut resulted in a fatality.

I anticipate getting "thumbs downed" by all the filmmaker's friends for pointing out this might be one of if not the most biased film I've ever seen, but I have to support all the other "negative" reviews of this. Kind of interesting the exact same percentage of people that "thumbs up" the praising reviews are the exact same percentage that "thumbs down" the negative reviews huh? If the filmmakers highlighted how the TASER's have been misused and then illuminated how effective of a tool it is and has a remarkable safety record, then the viewer could make the logical deduction that the TASER is a valuable tool. Only showing the negative points and blatantly painting TASER International as villains will only serve to have people falsely make opinions of that company or product.

This episode is pretty good and true to life. Mr. Lewis can't prevent Parker from growing up and more independent, but he can still worry. As Parker tries to weasel his way into a sporty car Mr. Lewis tries convincing Parker to take a safe and reliable Volvo. Parker always wins (despite the title not being "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" anymore) and gets the sporty car. It's great as Parker gets to experience the life of a cool car owner and yet Mr. Lewis starts to question his own lifestyle. Even though Mr. Lewis viewed the car as a threat to Parker and his relationship in the end it actually has the potential to bring them closer together. Like I've said a ka-gillion times about liking the realistic episodes this one is a dead ringer for that category.

Hank tends to just bumble through life without making too much of himself. Not the sharpest knife in the cutting block he doesn't think things through. When his dad is forced to give Hank his share of inheritance from his mother's death he predicts that Hank will squander the money. Sure enough Hank doesn't think more than 20 minutes ahead in his future and drops the money into buying the Atlas Diner. Hank can be annoying so when he's the focus of an entire episode stupidity ensues. With his child-like nature in full swing he talks baby talk to everyone in the diner during the downswing of the episode. Towards the end of the episode when the staff of the Atlas Diner abandons Hank I was about ready to abandon the episode. So to sum up, not one of my favorites ;)

"Parker Lewis Can't Lose" constantly tackles real world issues and put them in a more PG format. In this case it's the epic battle of the big video store chain vs. the family owned video store around the corner. Time after time the massive chains run the small video stores out of business. Now that the big chain, "POWder Keg Video" has moved into Santo Domingo the family owned video store around the corner happens to be "Mondo Video"... This is a clever episode as it's very realistic. Everything that Mondo Video does great it seems Powder Keg does the same thing, but twice as well. Naturally Parker the thinker he is taps into what Mondo Video can always do better than the big chain and exploits it. It's a bummer that they don't refer back to the status in the war between the two chains ever again in the series. This is one of the best episodes of Season 3 and it wraps up neatly... A little TOO convenient in my opinion :-P

I miss Nick as the manager of the diner as he was mysterious and wise. It seems since Hank's been in charge the status of the diner is dependent on Hank's emotions at the time. As soon as Hank gets a girl that shows the slightest bit of interest in him and WHAM he disregards the diner. The whole bit with Mikey dealing with a seemingly evil boss is funny and realistic though. Another funny touch on this episode is the use of "Unchained Melody" whenever Hank and Carol are about to have a moment. As normal though Annie does her job of ordering Parker around and trying to make the world a better place. If they never bothered with Annie or Hank and kept the character Nick and Frank Lemmer instead in the show things would've been loads better. Oh well not much one can do I suppose.

Considering it's the pilot episode for PLCL the writers don't waste time setting up the Parker Lewis world. Right from the get go you see Parker's jack of all trades tendencies. Parker shows his video editing skills, his technological savvy (his auto-opening locker, compact monitors, buzzer to help Mikey cheat on a test, etc), ticket salesman, and keen ability to weasel his way through any situation. Mikey is a little different in this episode as he normally is suave with the ladies whereas here he requires Parker's assistance. Shelley shows her face as the evil sister out for her brothers destruction and Kubiac threatens to do the destructing of Parker. Milla Jovovich makes an appearance as the love interest (looking faaaantastic at that). I'd definitely recommend that if you're going to watch PLCL for the first time, or if you haven't seen it since the early 90's then you should watch this episode first.

This episode is a little bit of a downer as it portrays Parker in a downward spiral. I was hoping that in the end there'd be a series of twist lifting Parker back up high, but it ends with only one 'conveinent twist'. Literally 20 minutes of the episode (not including commercials mind you) are of bad things happening to Parker which is to say the least, depressing. I'd hope for a season finale to be more of a positive episode, but sometimes you can't get what you want. A funny gag at the end is during the fade out the silhouette of Ferris Bueller and his sidekick take notice of Parker's style and then leave quietly. Oh and one thing I always take notice of though is Parker's clothing, and the bright side of this episode is Parker wears a cool yet over the top shirt. So I give credit on this episode to the costume designer!

Shelley is constantly learning lessons and in this episode she finds that getting a date with the perfect guy isn't always a good thing. Parker doesn't normally go out of his way to help out his sister, but when she blackmails him Parker is at her mercy. Parker helps Shelley out by first giving her help in being a lady via Jerry Steiner as her training date. With a lot of High School stories the outcome is the same. The geek Jerry turns out to be a better date than the football player Brad (obviously), but Shelley keeps a cool head and turns a new leaf. The story is good as it's evolving and sets up the later episodes where Jerry finds interest in Shelley. The humor in the episode is a plus too with Kubiac's rues to get into the big party.

I'm normally a fan of episodes with lots of twists and subplots, but this episode was a little cheesy. Jerry's attempts to find a job was a little goofy, Mikey's job stresses was a little over the top, and Musso's shopaholic tendencies was tacky. The story of Shelley trying to figure out if Lemmer was a vampire is funny though. That and the mall security hunting Parker because he fits the description of the thief they're searching for has lots of laughs. The story structure isn't all that bad either. Everyone finds his or her self at a low point in the middle of the episode and the end of the episode finds resolution. Perhaps one of the things that turns me off is the things that aren't the norm. Maybe that's why the job stuff with Mikey drives me crazy seeing as Mikey isn't the job type (that and it's never mentioned that he HAS a job). I dunno maybe I'm just picky!

Parker seems to be a force whenever he spearheads a prank. Behind his back Jerry decides to give a go at pranks and gets Kubiac voted in as Junior Prom King. Although a funny prank it makes Larry look like a joke and in turn Jerry looks foolish. Throughout the undertone about Musso's prom date with Ronnie Ray comes up. It's nice when series have running themes as the Ronnie Ray theme reoccurs along with the episode, "Glory Daze" where Ronnie Ray comes back to town. That and the guest appearances are always funny with Donnie Osmond making one in this episode. In the end Jerry feels that since he caused the problems with Kubiac he had to fix them. The episode ends tying up loose ends and has laughs to boot.

Reminiscent of Ferris Bueller, Parker finds himself having a good time while having to avoid authority. To help Jerry through his turbulent first date at a nearby college Parker and Mikey try to help out and give guidance. Parker blew off helping Musso by telling Grace he had to help his father, and blew off his father with the excuse he had to help Grace. Sure enough Mr. Lewis and Grace Musso find their way to the college causing added tension as Parker and Mikey must avoid them while trying to help Jerry. The episode is ++ as Jerry's imaginary older self constantly hurts his self esteem and Parker ducks in and out trying to assist their friend. The whole bit with Larry going through his growth spurts is funny to and the ZZ Top reference tops it off.

Dr. Pankow episodes are always ripe with deception and plot twists. Of all of them this one takes the cake in terms of suspense. It's hard to tell what everyone is up to until everything finally wraps up in the end. Alliances are drawn and even those are hard to distinguish. Parker owns this episode with regards to his planning over everyone else. Even Shelley gets involved although her involvement is seriously questionable. With video and audio tape surveillance among other forms of technology the spy vs. spy theme is genius. You know from the get go that there's no way that Dr. Pankow could win out in the scheme of Parker Lewis, but you're kept on your toes regardless.

One of the reoccurring themes in the show is Mikey's breaking out to do his own thing. I'm not incredibly fond of these episodes because it always requires Mikey to burn Parker and Jerry and yet they always stick by him. I realize that the true friend thing is to stick by each other through thick and thin, but after burning your buds over and over you have to draw the line. On the upside I've always dug the clothing style of the early 90's and things such as Sammy's biker jacket are just plain cool. The man who wears the most hats in the episode 'Seargent Melman' also makes the episode more lively. All in all the moral story of the episode is a good one and everything seems sound though. It'd just be nice if Mikey 'learned his lesson' for once, but oh well.

Kubiac eats more than some small countries and now it's finally caught up to him. As I've learned in real life food isn't exactly cheap and now Larry's going for broke with his appetite. A zany episode, but it really demonstrates Larry's tendency to put others first. When he wins 2 million dollars he not only eats to his hearts... ehh... artery clogging content, but spreads his wealth to every else. Even with Parker trying to help Kubiac control his money Kubiac still gives money away to anyone who asks at an alarming rate. The episode is true to life in regards to the nature of money. As Larry learns when you have money everyone is your friend and when you're broke people don't acknowledge you. That and the ending shows that sometimes being generous can be beneficial... A pretty good episode all in all.

The rivalry between Dr. Pankow and Grace Musso heats up in more ways than one. The sub-plots in this episode are good and keep you guessing. Dr. Pankow for one is up to his usual plotting and sneaking around. Parker accidentally got the ball rolling with a love note he wrote 'from' Dr. Pankow to Grace and is out to undo the damage he's done. That and Grace is a lot smarter than people give her credit for and is up to her own shenanigans. Weird Al makes a couple of cameo appearance playing piano as Grace and Pankow's romance heats up. That and the occasional twists that occur in PLCL usually make for laughs and this one has quite the twist at the end.

With the Parker Lewis episodes the ones where the guys 'fall in love' turn out to be the more boring ones. It's funny at least here when you see the transformation of Parker into the slick-back haired guy he becomes, but not so funny when Parker bails on the buds. I'll at least say that Parker's love interest is quite good looking so It's not a complete loss :). Parker's replacement was a funny choice as well. Larry Kubiac proved to be a weird change-up as Parker is slender and sly and Kubiac is polar opposite. So Basically not much happened in this episode so I wouldn't put it up there in the top PLCL episodes. There weren't many subtle jokes in this episode or cameo appearances either. Hrmm.

The story of Jerry falling into the world of addiction of video games is kind of a cheesy one. I think sometimes the writers go a little overboard on certain episodes which makes them ridiculous. It's funny to see the old game systems that pop up though in this episode though. All the hand-held games are 8-bit and at one point a Sega Genesis game falls from Jerry's jacket. It's rather disturbing at the end of the episode when a mountain of old school video games and hand-held's are 'disposed of'. If you notice in the credits Jerry Mathers and Barbara Billingsly are listed. Sure enough the two appear in the episode as Musso's mother and brother (which was their role in "Leave it to Beaver" sans Musso though). One constant I've noticed in PLCL is the music and sound effects that find themselves overplayed at times. In this episode the video game music that plays almost every time Jerry whips out a hand-held is the same which grows tedious.

As happens a lot in PLCL Shelley tries to break of of her lowly freshman role and be somebody. The Vogues are the popular snobby girls that exist in every High School and they decide to bring Shelley into their circle. To be a part of the group Shelley has to burn her bridges and leave behind her old friends and even put Parker into a tight spot. The mission Parker is on during this episode is care of Musso to help Larry Kubiac lose weight. As for plot the episode is good in that there are sub-plots that all tie together and conclude with the end of the episode. Like a bunch of teen-aged movies then and now Shelley has to decided once she becomes a vogue whether the cost of being popular is worth all the damage she will cause.

Whenever there's a need for a big strong guy people call upon Kubiac. With the rising rate of shoplifting from Mondo Video Kubiac is hired as security. Not the brightest bulb Kubiac has a hard time distinguishing between shoplifters and normal paying customers. Mondo Video goes from losing 600 dollars in a month from theft to making no money as customers are afraid to shop there. Kind of a slow moving episode in all, but still entertaining. One really funny part is when Jerry is finding a 'new image' for himself he dresses like Mikey and tries to play guitar. Mikey comments that Jerry, "Is setting music back worse than Ozzy Osbourne." and then there's a quick cameo of Ozzy saying, "Geez, you don't have to bite my head off". Gotta love the cameo appearances that PLCL had.

The poetry teacher Ms. Donnely has the amazing ability to not only reach her students, but help them out. Parker's pranks normally go off without a hitch, but whenever they don't Ms. Donnely always bails him out. Maybe in the Parker Lewis universe this week could be considered a 'bad week', but a lot of his schemes seem to backfire. Parker goes too far and Ms. Donnely finally calls it quits... Literally. This episode is chocked full of little tidbits such as the one listed in the goofs about the "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" T-shirt. That and Parker and Mikey get roughed up at one point (basically involving their clothes getting switched). Sure enough through the rest of the episode you see Parker wearing Mikey's jacket and Mikey sporting one of Parker's trademark shirts. Not only does Parker risk an epic fight going down (Kubiac vs. McDonald), but Ms. Donnely's replacement is driving the class crazy. Without Ms. McDonald a lot of people risk getting beaten up! A climatic episode as everything culminates towards the end.

Whenever Parker gets involved with seemingly simple schemes the outcomes always wind up going awry. With the science fair approaching Musso ups the stakes for the winning student (in attempt to win the science fair over El Carado High). Jerry has the most promising project, but the pressure builds until Jerry reaches critical mass. At the same time Pankow's most promising student project also looks bleak. The two then decide to change the bet cater to the school with the lowest placed science project. Parker has to pull a lot of tricks out of his book to help Jerry although he doesn't realize Musso wants the team to fail. The funny nuances in this episode are rampant such as Kubiac trying to create a potato powered flashlight (using potato based products like french fries). Good times :) The only thing I'm left wondering is where did Corin Nemec get his shirts for this show?

I've always liked the idea of a pirate radio station and sure enough Parker Lewis does to. When Parker and the guys stumble across the hidden radio station of Santo Domingo they decide to put it back on the air. Simliar to the movie, "Pump Up the Volume" the students of Santo Domingo respond to the mysterious DJ, "Dr. Retro", and he finds himself in over his head. When not playing music Parker gives advice and finds he is becoming a hot commodity at Santo Domingo. Utlizing a voice modulator nobody knows who the DJ's are and Musso and Frank strive to shut them down. A classic episode that not only exercises the imagination, but it's cleverly written and even has a twist at the end.

This is probably one of my favorite PLCL episodes of all time. Not only do you get to see the spiting image of Parker Lewis through Parker's Dad (along with his two friends), but you get to see plotting and scheming galore. Throughout the episode as the plot develops Parker and his crew are constantly moving about trying to figure out who perpetrated 'the ultimate prank' along with trying to stop the evidence from getting out. At the same time Marty Lewis and his gang are getting back together they find themselves scheming at the same time to get the evidence from the time capsule. Not only does Marty end up coming out on top, but Parker has a little surprise at the end that works towards his benefit. It's hard to comment on this title without giving a lot away, therefore I'll just end up here by saying, 'this episode has reached coolness'!

Very seldom does it seem that the focus of PLCL is on Lemmer. This episode finds Lemmer showing actual emotion and has a problem that he knows only someone like Parker could help with. One of the odd things about this episode actually ties the whole plot together. If Parker helps Lemmer find a date (so Lemmer doesn't have to go out with Musso's niece) then Lemmer will help Jerry with his upcoming History test. I realize that Frank Lemmer is a hard-core history buff, BUT finding Jerry stressing about a test to the point where he's worried he won't even pass it never occurs. It's one of those convenient problems that had to of been written in as to make the episode make sense I suppose. After Parker finds himself making the Lemmer problem even worse the solutions he comes up with are pretty witty and funny though, so kudos to that. Basically the episode has some 'faults' in it, but otherwise It's a pretty good episode.

A secret admirer takes up hinting to Mikey and yet Parker, Jerry and Mikey can't figure out who it is. Normally Parker could probably figure this puzzle out rather quickly, but as Musso's bent on making Parker make up his absences of first period (by assigning a week of detention) Parker's attention is elsewhere. The episode is filled with lots of tension as the gang struggles to locate the girl who's eying Mikey, Parker's been avoiding detention, and the measures that Mikey's secret admirer, "Breathless" takes after Mikey finds the wrong girl. A relatively clever and funny episode that even has a message at the end. Parker and 'Breathless' are able to connect on a deeper level in the end and possibly a sign that Parker's turned a new leaf...