So many Game Changers featured in this week’s #SetTheVCR. From Chucky to UFOs to Jules Verne and more. This time around for these TV recommendations…Every Minute Counts (Cada Minuto Cuenta).
Monday, November 04
Brothers (Anytime / Prime Video)
Twins! Only replace Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito with Josh Brolin & Peter Dinklage. Otherwise same concept: “You mess with me, you mess with my whole family…” Brothers tells the story of a reformed criminal (Josh Brolin) whose attempt at going straight is derailed when he reunites with his sanity-testing twin brother (Peter Dinklage) on a cross-country road trip for the score of a lifetime. S’fine as a streamer movie. Smells like Tubi, though.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: DOC OF CHUCKY (ANYTIME / SHUDDER)
Directed by Thommy Hutson, this documentary dives into the iconic Child’s Play franchise, featuring exclusive interviews with Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, and more.
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When the Chucky TV show premiered in 2021 I wrote about being curious. Because I dunno how this can come and play out: the murderous doll is gonna kill people for 10 episodes?! This now canceled TV show served as a sequel to Cult of Chucky, the seventh film in the Child’s Play franchise. Let that sink in…the seventh movie. (I watched Season 1: though I enjoyed it I didn’t return for subsequent seasons. Not sure why.) The first Chucky movie was released on November 9, 1988. Of course it was called Child’s Play. Brad Dourif is the voice of Chucky and this is the story of how we got here. For a small dude Chucky has had a big impact…2 documentaries?! (Child’s Play/Chucky and Leprechaun are the two wee-“people” horror franchises that kept cranking out instalments. Nothing slows em down.) In 2022 Kyra Elise Gardner released Living with Chucky. Now in 2024 Doc of Chucky which is a five-hour documentary breaking down every aspect of the Child’s Play franchise. Whew. I’m a Good Guy…for telling you all this.
Tuesday, November 05
The Simpsons: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Anytime / Disney+)
A new short from The Simpsons: Sideshow Bob teams up with the most infamous villains of Disney+ to share the true meaning for the Halloween season. Filled with music, mayhem, and madness, this short from The Simpsons is simply to die for. More Simpsons shorts are coming.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: GAME CHANGERS (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & DISCOVERY+)
From Pong to Call of Duty and Monopoly to Minecraft, this eight-part limited series dives into the little-known backstories of how these wildly popular and successful games were created.
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Ironically the aptly named Game Changers airs tonight as Americans vote. Streaming is an excellent way to skip and silence the American election white noise. Politics is mostly sports and sadly this Super Bowl won’t have a clear winner by the end of tonight. So, what’s on TV? Well: This is the first of 2 EA Sports/Madden NFL docs we’re getting. Episode 3 of Game Changers covers: “Electronic Arts and John Madden set out to make the world’s first realistic football video game. Instead, they created the greatest football video game of all time.” (Then It’s In the Game streams on Prime Video on November 26th.) Episode 7 is Monopoly/Scrabble and that’s the highlight for me. Otherwise over 8 episodes Game Changers is mostly video game focused: Pong to Pac-Man to Call of Duty to Minecraft and so much more. Are you game to check this out?
Wednesday, November 06
Janet Planet (Anytime / HBO Max)
In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BEYOND: UFOS AND THE UNKNOWN (ANYTIME / MGM+)
Following revelations in 2017 of a secret government program studying UFOs buried deep within the Pentagon, many scientists, academics, and government officials stopped wondering whether UFOs were real and started asking: “what are they?”
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In 2021 Showtime broadcast UFO a 4-part docuseries produced by J.J. Abrams. UFO focused on what the government knows about UFOs, and what it may or may not be telling us. In 2024 this UFO 4-part docuseries produced by J.J. Abrams focuses on: “What are they?” I know the hook is UFOs and aliens but you know what? The Truth Is Out There. I wanna know more about how the government covers things up, how they create conspiracies and silent people. Yes, UFOs are fascinating. So is how the truth is hidden from us. Who gets to decide what we know and when we know it? Programming Note: The Manhattan Alien Abduction streamed on Netflix on October 30th. Before that Netflix offered Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 5 with a Roswell incident episode. They’ll also release Investigation Alien on November 8th. UFO Cowboys: Season 2 beamed down on September 13 on The Roku Channel.
Thursday, November 07
Citadel: Honey Bunny: Season 1 (Anytime / Prime Video)
Series Premiere: Fears confirmed: Citadel: Honey Bunny is a bit too Brown. “Citadel: Honey Bunny has a riveting narrative that fuses the pulse-pounding elements of a gritty spy action thriller with the heartwarming allure of a love story, all set against the vibrant tapestry of the ’90s.” See? Yeah, No. I’ll get around to the recent Italian Original Citadel: Diana and I’ll be back for Citadel: Season 2 but this is a hard pass. Prime Video has miles to go figuring out quality international productions. Well, see the Sammy Suggestion for Sunday.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: NAUTILUS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-UK)
Nautilus tells the origin story of the iconic Captain Nemo: an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.
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Series Premiere: Jules Verne is in the house! However, this series is a reimagining of Jules Verne’s 1870 classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, presenting an origin story for Captain Nemo (an Indian prince-turned-crusading scientist.) Like Doctor Who Nemo and his followers managed to successfully take over the Nautilus and escape out to sea. “Now hunted by the East India Company and its vengeful Director Crawley, both of whom want the Nautilus back and Nemo dead, Nemo and his motley crew sail beneath the seas on a mission of retribution and vengeance to utterly destroy the power of the Company…and the Company itself.” Is this bad underwater sci-fi? Is this is good steampunk fun? Is it mean to share something streaming only in UK regions? I dunno the answer to any of those questions. Jules Verne is dope so even if you can’t see this series…check out Jules Verne’s books. Highly Recommended Reading.
Friday, November 08
Black Cab (Anytime / Shudder)
When Anne and Patrick hail a black cab after a night out their driver is chatty, jovial even, but they are in no mood to talk. In fact, the couple is barely on speaking terms. That is until they realize the driver has no intention of taking them home.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MY OLD ASS (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
A mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott face-to-face with her 39-year-old self. But when Elliott’s “old ass” delivers warnings to her younger self, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about her family, life and love.
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My Old Ass is like The Wonder Years (the good one!!) meets Quantum Leap (the good one!!). Ziggy says there’s a 78% chance you should avoid going out with Chad.” Yeah, sure why not? I can sit my old ass down to watch this. Especially on streaming.
Saturday, November 09
Transformers: EarthSpark: Season 3 (Anytime / Paramount+)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Transformers: EarthSpark introduces a new generation of Transformers robots – the first to be born on Earth – and together with the humans who welcome them and care for them, they’ll redefine what it means to be a family. In season three, a giant-size Dome divides the town of Witwicky and traps the Decepticons inside, but it can’t hold them forever. The Malto family and the Autobots must figure out a long-term solution, and help arrives from an unlikely place. While doing all they can to get life back to normal again, a mysterious saboteur threatens the Autobots, and Robby and Mo face a ruthless foe who challenges their right to wield the power of Quintus Prime.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE SHADOW STRAYS (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Skilled in the art of killing, a young assassin defies her mentor to save a boy from a ruthless crime syndicate — and she’ll destroy anyone in her path.
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And now an Indonesian action crime thriller movie. Those rarely show up on #SetTheVCR. I missed this at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. We got an international organization of assassins. We got firearms and fists. We even got samurai swords. And it all kicks off with Codename 13, a 17-year-old trained assassin known as a Shadow. She’s in Japan to assassinate her primary target, the leader of a criminal clan. Cue the ruckus. Team Ruckus Reporting For Duty. Though this came out on Netflix on October 17th, I saved it for today as John Wick…the first movie is back in cinemas celebrating its 10th anniversary. So much ruckus!
Sunday, November 10
Yellowstone: Season 5 (Anytime / Paramount+)
The drama’s fifth and final season finally returns with its final batch of episodes. (You may or may not remember that the first half of the season concluded way back on January 1, 2023.) One thing you won’t be seeing: Kevin Costner, who is no longer part of the series. Is he Yellow?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: EVERY MINUTE COUNTS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
In 1985 Mexico City, a catastrophic earthquake buries thousands. A doctor with a dark past, a journalist chasing fame, and a family in distress risk their lives in rescue attempts. Their efforts become chances to change their own lives.
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Series Premiere: Every Minute Counts (Cada Minuto Cuenta) which is set during a real 8.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico City: September 19, 1985. For the production they used the Unreal Engine virtual screen technology used by Disney’s The Mandalorian. That’s…rare. Typically we don’t productions outside America deploying such adventurous technology. I’m curuius what Mexico looked like in 1985. Otherwise the series focuses on the classic moving stories of survivors and of course captures the spirit of solidarity and heroism that emerged in the hours after the disaster. This looks good…10 episodes is a lot; I dunno I could commit to 10 but I’ll do at least 1 or 2. I enjoy ruckus. Still, check out the trailer: not bad, right? Looks good, looks fun. Prime’s international offerings have mostly been weak. Netflix has done a fantastic job with foreign productions. (I enjoy lots of it!) So it’s time for Prime to catch up. This is a good start.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
