It’s all battles for this week’s #SetTheVCR: NFL playoffs, Spyware vs privacy, staying alive in a horror movie, chasing waves in Japan…it’s a lot. Who will be…The Last of Us?
Monday, January 09
Alert: Season 1 ( 9 p.m. / Fox)
Alert is a procedural drama about the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons’ Unit (MPU). And I’ll alert you tonight is the second episode: the new drama premiered on Sunday, January 8 immediately after NFL on FOX.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: IF THESE WALLS COULD SING (ANYTIME / DISNEY+ CANADA)
Canadian Premiere (aired December 16, 2022 on Disney+): The untold story of the Abbey Road studio, all-star interviews and intimate access to the premises..
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Kid A – Radiohead, Rubber Soul – The Beatles, Raiders of the Lost Ark (soundtrack) – John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra, Duran Duran – Duran Duran and so much more have been recorded at Abbey Road Studios. It’s why they’re all featured in Mary McCartney’s documentary (Paul’s daughter). Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Williams, Elton John, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Noel Gallagher, George Lucas, Kate Bush and Nile Rodgers all share their Abbey Road memories and magic. Now that sounds like an usual yet fascinating dinner party you’d “crosswalk” Abbey Road to. Surprisingly for such a popular recording studio; this is its first documentary.
Tuesday, January 10
She Said (Anytime / Peacock)
Reveals how New York Times reporters who broke one of the most important stories in a generation – a story that shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and altered American culture forever.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FRONTLINE: GLOBAL SPYWARE SCANDAL: EXPOSING PEGASUS (10:00 P.M. / PBS)
Investigating the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group.
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Today can be either part 2 or Part 1 of this a 2-part Frontline documentary; depending on the PBS station you got. Check your local listings to confirm. (Check YouTube as well sometimes Frontline shares their docs online.) In 2013 Edward Snowden who worked at the CIA and NSA shared highly classified information. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA. Unsettling in a Big Brother sort of way; though oddly expected. It was a confirmation really of where our digital lives are going. 3 years after Snowden, Pegasus was spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones. Pegasus tracks calls, reads text messages, collects passwords, provides location tracking…all cellphones have a microphone and a camera so…yeah you get it. This disturbing spyware was used on journalists (Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi), activists, Jeff Bezos (yes the Amazon guy) and many others. Super upsetting. That’s why I…as your Big Brother am recommending you check out this documentary. Let’s get upset together.
Wednesday, January 11
Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler: Season 3 (9 p.m. / Showcase)
Canadian Broadcast Premiere (aired October 6, 2022 on HBO Max): Alfred Pennyworth is no longer in Batman comics (RIP!) but he lives on in TV with all kinds of EPIX adventures; only now he’s taking it to the Max. Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler (now renamed!) was added to HBO Max on October 6 so stream it anytime in the US.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CHASING WAVES (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)
Shines a spotlight on the people and places that are defining Japan’s reach in the global surf culture.
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Surf culture is like hip hop a global culture that is uniquely interpreted in each region it finds itself in. Local and global all at the same time: that’s hip hop, that’s surfing. This 8 part docuseries features pro surfers Mahina Maeda, Yuma Takanuki, Sara Kohrogi, Kanoa Igarashi and Australian-Japanese surfer Connor O’Leary. I mean with 18,000 miles of coastline coupled with its distinct culture Japan makes a significant contribution to surfing. It’s freshtastic we have a documentary that captures this moment in Japanese culture and history. Even if for most people the first image they see upon hearing surfing is Hawaii or Australia. So Hang Ten with Japan today. Programming Note: This is a binge release…all eight episodes drop today.
Thursday, January 12
Velma (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)
The Max Original Series Premiere is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RIOTSVILLE, U.S.A. (ANYTIME / HULU)
Welcome Ro Riotsville, USA where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder.
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One of those truth is stranger than fiction things…are you ready for this? “In the wake of mid-1960s popular uprisings in Newark, Watts and Detroit, the United States Armed Forces constructed two fake towns on the sites of former plantations for use as training grounds to equip troops against future civil disobedience.” Seriously? That sounds dated yet completely present as the same time. This is Sierra Pettengill’s documentary debut so here name won’t be familiar but it’s great Hulu picked up this political documentary. If the line between comedy and horror is blurred; lawlessness and revolution is equally a super thin line. Cue the Stars’ Take Me To the Riot.
Friday, January 13
Servant: Season 4 (Anytime / Apple TV+)
Following the suspenseful season three finale, season four will bring the final chapter of the Turner story to an epic and emotional conclusion. Leanne’s war with the Church of Lesser Saints heightens, threatening Spruce Street, the city of Philadelphia, and beyond.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CAMP COLD BROOK (ANYTIME / CRAVE)
A paranormal team sets to check out an abandoned summer camp where a mass murder had taken place decades previous.
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So what is going on at Camp Cold Brook? “A paranormal team sets to check out an abandoned summer camp where a mass murder had taken place decades previous.” Oh…what’s the worst that can happen? In Camp Cold Brook there is camp (obviously!) but not in the traditional comedy sense: some fun moments are Chad Michael Murray’s mailing address is 742 Evergreen Terrace (lol!) and a handful of sweet Joe Dante Easter eggs. And of course there’s plenty of horror my favourite moment is the swing set scene. That scene will leave you…cold. (Puns are camp…y good fun!)
Saturday, January 14
Gold, Lies & Videotape (Anytime / Discovery+)
One family has been fighting for over 70 years to recover what they say is rightfully theirs – a $28 billion treasure buried deep inside a mountain in the New Mexico desert. Some believe the U.S. Government stole the 16,000 gold bars and priceless artifacts, while skeptics claim it never existed.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND (VARIOUS TIMES/NETWORKS)
The first round of the NFL playoffs is dubbed the wild-card round (or super wild-card weekend). In this round, the second-seeded division winner hosts the seventh-seeded wild-card, the third hosts the sixth, and the fourth hosts the fifth.
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Two teams are going to Super Bowl LVII: 1 of em will win and 1 of em are…just gonna home. The road to the 2023 Super Bowl starts today with the Wild Card Games which will run January 14-16. Some of the upcoming NFL playoff games are: Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills (Bills right?) on Sunday January 15 at 1 p.m. on CBS, Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals (Bengals yup!) on Sunday January 15 at 8:15 p.m. on NBC, Los Angeles Chargers vs Jacksonville Jaguars (Jaguars…yes?) on Saturday January 14 at 8:15 p.m. on NBC and the Wild Card game I cannot wait for Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tom Brady…100%) on Monday January 16 at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN. Oh yes. Let’s go! It all starts with Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers (49ers…sure?) on Saturday January 14 at 4:30 p.m. on Fox. Order pizza and wings, call up your boys and get comfy on the couch. Are you not entertained?
Sunday, January 15
Your Honor: Season 2 (9 p.m. / Showtime & Crave)
In season two, some will seek salvation in response to the tremendous loss they suffered, while others will seek revenge and they will all be pursued by their enemies at every turn. Ultimately, the question remains: How far are you willing to go to protect what matters most to you?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE LAST OF US: SEASON 1 (9 P.M. / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America.
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Post-apocalyptic drama is my love language. Last of Us is of course adapted from the 2013 video game of the same name. The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States in 2033. This is 20 years after humans been decimated by a fungal infestation that makes its victims violently insane and feral. Kind of like an I Am Legend vibe you know? Eventually the feral humans evolve and develop echo-location to find people to devour. Kind of like a Daredevil vibe you know? Ellie is immune to the brain infection that created the apocalypse. So…can the smuggler survive this epic journey outside of the quarantine zone and west across the United States with his precious cargo? The Game is afoot! Programming Note: The nine-episode first season follows a weekly release schedule with new episodes dropping Sundays.
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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.
