#SetTheVCR: September 16-22, 2024

From my Sammy Suggestions you’ll quickly see this week’s #SetTheVCR is Nöthin’ But a Good Time.

Monday, September 16

Three Women (Anytime / Starz)

Lina a homemaker in suburban Indiana, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in the Northeast, has a committed open marriage with Richard. Maggie, a student in North Dakota, weathers an intense storm after accusing her married English teacher of an inappropriate relationship. Gia, a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades each of these three spectacular “ordinary” women to tell her their stories, and her relationships with them change the course of her life forever.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: MOTHERS’ INSTINCT (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO CANADA)

Best friends and neighbors Alice and Celine both live an idyllic traditional lifestyle with manicured lawns, successful husbands and sons of the same age. Life’s perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident. Guilt, suspicion and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond and a psychological battle of wills begins as the maternal instinct reveals its darker side.
~~~

Anne Hathaway has never really lived up to her potential. Sammy’s Instinct says this is clearly gonna be one of those solid trailer terrible movie movies. Maybe if it had a Yo Mamma joke or two? Yeah maybe. That’d help.

Tuesday, September 17

Child Star (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

The Demi Lovato documentary explores the deeply personal subject of early fame and the myriad challenges that come with trying to navigate it. In addition to her own story, she weaves in intimate conversations with other former child stars, including Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, JoJo Siwa and Kenan Thompson. Though their talents and timelines vary considerably, taken together they provide a portrait of trauma and instability, with recurring tales of rejection, betrayal and unrelenting pressure. I mean how good is Demi Lovato anyways, right? So you could watch her directorial debut documentary Child Star or you know you can check out Alex Winter a prominent documentary filmmaker and half of Bill and Ted’s Showbiz Kids. Winter’s is a 2020 doc on HBO.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME: THE UNCENSORED STORY OF ’80S HAIR METAL (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

Go inside the ‘80s hair metal phenomenon that enthralled generations of music lovers and still influences culture today.
~~~

And now some hair-raising adventures from the ’80s: “A fresh and candid behind-the-scenes look at one of music’s most iconic eras; each episode showcases the insanity and blazing ambition that has enthralled generations of music lovers and continues to influence culture to this day.” Shout out to all the parents Guns N’ Roses freaked out! Oh and Mötley Crüe. I miss all the bands that toss parents into a tizzy. Decades later, we’re still listening to so much of the music they make. Somehow, despite a wonderfully hedonistic lifestyle they managed to record bangers. And The Work is all that matters. Sure some of em are on Skid Row, some injected Poison but this was a glorious Quiet Riot. What an era: this is the soundtrack of Reaganomics.

Wednesday, September 18

The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens (Anytime / Crave)

An eight-episode series is narrated for English audiences by George Stroumboulopoulos: The Montreal Canadiens played their 2023-2024 season with the sole objective of re-establishing the team as an NHL powerhouse. The docuseries takes viewers up close with players, coaches, executives, and diehard Habs fans, and tells the behind-the-scenes story of a great sports organization undergoing profound change.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: AGATHA ALL ALONG: SEASON 1 (9:00 P.M. ET / DISNEY+)

Agatha escapes with the help of a goth teen who wishes to face the trials of the legendary Witches’ Road. Without her magical powers, Harkness and the teen form a new coven of witches to face the trials with.
~~~

Wanda and Vision’s “nosy neighbor” gets a spin-off show. Indeed, the seventh episode of WandaVision reveals that “Agnes” is actually Agatha Harkness, a Marvel comics character who is a witch. Turns out, it was Agatha all along. Well, sort of. Wanda Maximoff is still an unrighteous psycho who used her grief as a legitimate excuse to create her own sitcom-inspired reality and terrorize the uncorrupted people of Westview, New Jersey. I did not enjoy that Marvel TV show. I found it corny, flat, dull and ultimately vapid with no valuable payoff. Like most MCU TV shows it failed to advance the story. However, white people found it to be enchanting and mined it for many memes. (I expect Agatha All Along to be a White People Special. It’ll be MCU-Hamilton for em.) So, Agatha went full on Loki and stirred the witch’s brew Wanda was working on. I dunno. This current Marvel Phase has floundered: most of the Marvel TV shows are Feeling Cute, Might Delete Later. They don’t add up or provide significant ROI for viewers. Looking ahead: we’re getting Daredevil: Born Again tentatively scheduled for March 2025. I’ll #SetTheVCR for that. And before that something called Eyes of Wakanda is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2024. This is an animated limited series. I’m…kinda out for that. Programming Note: Technically even though this is a streaming TV show it’ll be broadcast at 9:00 p.m. ET, with the first two episodes on Disney+.

Thursday, September 19

Wise Guy David Chase and The Sopranos (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

25 years after the show first debuted, HBO’s paradigm-shifting series “The Sopranos” remains a cultural phenomenon and a touchstone for prestige television. In WISE GUY David Chase and The Sopranos, acclaimed filmmaker Alex Gibney delves deep into the psyche of renowned “Sopranos” creator and writer, David Chase, to illuminate his life and career while offering a unique window into his unparalleled work on the iconic program.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE PENGUIN: LIMITED SERIES (9:00 P.M. / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Tear down the empire from the inside out.
~~~

Welcome to the Batman Epic Crime Saga. What a dumb name for a dumb movie Universe. This eight-episode DC Studios limited series continues Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga, which began with The Batman in 2022. I don’t trust Matt Reeves…at all. He’s clearly not good at Batman. So…so thankful Emo-Twilight “Batman” has been dumped into Elseworlds. Like yo: who wants to watch a billionaire with a $10 strip mall haircut fight crime? (Played by Robert Pattinson this Emo-Batman’s hobbies include brushing his hair off the side of his face, writing in his journal about how nobody gets him and listening to Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance.) Elseworlds automatically means it doesn’t count, it doesn’t have any value. So it doesn’t matter if The Penguin is good. Or bad. Or meh. It’s Elseworlds: it doesn’t count. It doesn’t matter. It’s not part of what James Gunn is building with DC Studios. However, Hard R is clearly DC’s best path forward (with the exception of Superman) to beat and defeat the MCU. Other classic Batman characters included in this limited series are Sofia Falcone, Johnny Viti and Salvatore Maroni. And finally, this series will be followed by The Batman – Part II, which will be released in theaters on October 2, 2026. Programming Note: Batman Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of September of every year and thus will be September 21st in 2024. Visit www.dc.com/batman to stay up to date on activations and celebrations of Batman’s 85th anniversary taking place around the world.

Friday, September 20

The Disappearance of Shere Hite (Anytime / Hulu)

Shere Hite’s bestselling book The Hite Report liberated female orgasm by revealing the most private experiences of thousands of anonymous surveys. Her findings rocked the American establishment and conversations about gender and sexuality.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: HIS THREE DAUGHTERS (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Emotions run high when three estranged sisters reunite in a cramped New York City apartment to watch over their ailing father during his final days.
~~~

You classic Netflix drama: “Three sisters return to their father’s home to prepare for the worst; his health is failing and time is running out. As they wait at his bedside, old resentments rise to the surface, and the sisters’ relationships face new strains. Will their father’s imminent death bring them closer together — or push them apart for good?” And there it is. The three sisters are Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne. Family is an F word. If like those types of movies then your F word is Fantastic.

Saturday, September 21

Twilight of the Gods (Anytime / Netflix)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Zack Snyder and Jay Oliva are behind this animated series based on Norse mythology. In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds and great despair, LEIF, a mortal King, is saved on the battlefield by SIGRID, an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love. On their wedding night, SIGRID and LEIF survive a wrath of terror from THOR, which sets them – and a crew of crusaders – on an against all odds and merciless mission for vengeance.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: I SAW THE TV GLOW (ANYTIME / HBO MAX)

A teenager who is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show. The TV show, a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own, leads to cracks in Owen’s own view of reality.
~~~

Return to the glorious pre-internet world of the 1990s: high school sucks and parents are voting for a second Clinton term. Maddy and Owen are two high school losers who escape their awful realities with a TV show: The Pink Opaque. But then…Maddy mysteriously disappears, is declared dead and what the? She reappears after a decade. Where has Maddy been? And who has Owen become because of her disappearance? This all sounds like My So-Called Life with horror. Long as it’s not a Party of Five, we good.

Sunday, September 22

Rescue HI-Surf (8 p.m. / Fox)

Pulse-pounding Hawaii lifeguard drama Rescue: HI-Surf follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O’ahu – the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. Each episode will feature these dedicated, heroic, and adrenaline-seeking first responders saving lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii’s Seven Mile Miracle. It Is What It Is.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: FROM: SEASON 3 (ANYTIME / MGM+ & PARAMOUNT+ CANADA)

Slowly unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
~~~

Welcome back to Middle America…visit a Township that freely radiates eerie Stephen King small town vibes. No, not Derry…though replace a creepy clown with a creepy…milkman? Over two seasons “the series unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.” Fresh! I’m a (blood) sucker for these types of trapped sci-fi horror mysteries. If all the books in the library are blank my heart blooms. And now following Season 2’s classic end of season cliffhanger, escape has become a tantalizing (for the first time) possibility. The true nature of the town is coming into focus (and this has me worried. Nerd Prayers up the reveal is dope. Avoid the mistakes TV shows like Lost made.) Plus the townspeople are going on offense against the myriad horrors surrounding them. Add some chaos by the arrival of mysterious newcomers and here we go! From me to you; this is Must See TV.