Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 1.11 “Malibu Holiday”

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Posted on September 26, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999. The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!



This week, an actress runs away with Scott.

Episode 1.11 “Malibu Holiday”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on December 20th, 1998)

Desperate to escape the paparazzi, world-famous movie star Jessie Sinclair (Ragan Wallake) ducks into the restaurant where Scott works. (Does this place have a name? I assume it does but I can’t remember it to save my life.) Even after Jessie dyes her blonde hair brown, Scott still recognizes her. However, he also promises not to let anyone know who she is. Touched by Scott’s kindness (and seriously, when has Scott ever been this nice before?). Jessie spends the weekend with him.

Meanwhile, Jason and Stads want to make a quick $5,000 by taking a picture of Jessie for the tabloids. While pretending not to know who Jessie actually is, they secretly snap a picture of Jessie with Scott. However, when the publisher of the tabloid starts to press Jason and Stads for information on Scott, Jason and Stads realize that Jessie deserves her privacy.

It’s too late, though. The paparazzi are on to Scott and Jessie. At first, Jessie accuses Scott of selling her out but, eventually, Stads and Jason admit that they were the ones who took the picture. That night, Jessie and Scott hang out at the beach before Jessie announces that she has to leave to go shoot another movie. After Jessie leaves, Scott admits to Jason that his heart is breaking.

Awwwww!

This would be an okay episode if not for the fact that it reminded me way too much of that episode of Saved By The Bell where Zach made a bet that he could get a kiss from pop star Stevie. Little did Zach suspect that Stevie was actually Miss Bliss’s houseguest, Colleen McMurphy. Seriously, are there any episodes of Malibu CA that don’t feel as if they were recycled from leftover bits of Saved By The Bell, California Dreams, and Hang Time? With each episode, it gets more and more difficult to ignore this show’s total lack of originality.

As for the b-plots, Tracy (who, as played by Priscilla Inga Taylor, is the only consistently amusing character on Malibu CA) hopes to be cast as a screaming girl in Jessie’s film. Meanwhile, Murray takes it upon himself to screen all of Sam’s potential boyfriends because, as he explains it, Sam has terrible taste in men. Considering that Sam dated Scott for two episodes, Murray has a point.

It’s kind of interesting how, when this show started, both Scott and Jason were supposed to be in love with Sam. Now, Scott is dating random guest stars, Jason is dating Stads, and Sam rarely gets much to do on the show. If anything Gina May (who played Sam) had more chemistry with Brandon Brooks (who played Murray) than she did with either of the show’s stars. It’s just funny how things develop.