Late Night Retro Television Review: Check It Out! 3.22 “For The Book”

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Posted on July 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and Peacock!



We all knew this day would come. It’s time for the final episode of Check It Out!

Episode 3.22 “For The Book”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on February 14th, 1988)

Cobbs is celebrating its 50th anniversary and its putting together a commemorative book of memories. Howard calls the staff into his office and asks them what they think should be included in the book.

“Remember that time….” Christian starts and yes, it’s a clip show.

The final episode of Check It Out! is indeed a clip show. Really, it’s not a terrible way for the show to go out. For 30 minutes, the show relives what the writers believed were the best moments of season 3. (There were a few clips from seasons one and two but, for the most part, this episode was dominated by recent clips.) Some of the clips — like Howard doing a vaudeville routine — went on for way too long. Some, like Marlene filling in as Howard’s secretary, did not go on long enough. It was a typical clip show.

And so ends Check It Out! What can I say about this show? The first season was okay. The second season was a trainwreck. The third season was uneven but, overall, surprisingly good. The show was built around Don Adams but it was the supporting characters — Aaron Schwartz, Jeff Pustil, Kathleen Laskey, Gordon Clapp — who got most of the laughs. Looking back, I really can’t think of any episodes of Check It Out! that really stand-out in my mind. The show was the epitome of pleasant but unmemorable entertainment.

Next week, we’ll have a new show here. For now, let’s end things with the Check It Out! theme song.