Saturtainment: Commander USA's Groovie Movies (1985)

One of USA Network's earliest hits was a weekend series that celebrated and satirized the horror movie hosts of television's Golden Age.

Commander USA's Groovie Movies bowed in 1985 and continued until 1989. Some might say the network gave up on it too soon, but then, they tipped their hand by moving the series to Sundays. Initially, the Commander (Jim Hendricks), a "retired superhero", would screen a pair of cheesy B-or-C-movies, with comedy sketches to lead into and out of commercials. Once the series moved to Sundays, it was down to one feature per week.

Here's a sample open:



These days, USA would rather shove reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or NCIS down the viewers' throats with weekend marathons than reach into their movie vaults. No, the corporate suits figure, that's what they have SyFy & Chiller for. Too bad they haven't recalled the Commander.

Rating: C.