#SetTheVCR: August 25-31, 2025

This week’s #SetTheVCR is dedicated to my Stans.

Monday, August 25

Upload: Season 4: Final Season (Anytime / Prime Video)

The sci-fi comedy from Greg Daniels concludes in a four-part series finale, where sentient AI rapidly turns evil in a technologically advanced future, threatening to wipe out Lakeview (and the world) and testing Nathan (Robbie Amell) and his friends to team up one last time to save humanity from deletion.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: HELTER SKELTER: AN AMERICAN MYTH (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-US)

The untold story behind cult leader Charles Manson and his followers’ heinous crimes as told through interviews with former members, archival footage and newly unearthed images.
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Helter Skelter: An American Myth is like The Last Dance but like for Charles Manson. And I know it’s a terrible comparison but it’s accurate: it is a sociological and anthropological dig. It is archeology to understand sociology. It’s been five years since Epix (as it was called back then) broadcast Helter Skelter: An American Myth on July 26, 2020. That date was selected as it recognized it’s been 50 years since the grisly murder of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, and several others. The 6 episode docuseries chronicles the Manson Family history, with the classic never-before-accessed interviews from former family members and journalists coupled with archival footage and newly-unearthed images. It’s stunning. You know Lesley Chilcott as the producer on such documentaries as An Inconvenient Truth and it’s sequel as well as Waiting for Superman and It Might Get Loud: all fantastic work. This time for Helter Skelter she’s the executive producer and director behind this dramatic docuseries. All this prompts the obvious question: this is past tense right? Something this dark couldn’t happen today right? That’s how my conversation with Lesley Chilcott started when she visited My Summer Lair.

Tuesday, August 26

The Friend (Anytime / Paramount+)

Iris has had a long, complex friendship with Walter. Walter is an irresistible charmer, a brilliant author, a lover of many women, and a master at letting down loved ones. When he dies suddenly, Iris is left to deal with all he left behind — three ex-wives with unfinished business, his interrupted literary legacy, and his beloved beast Apollo. It’s not that Iris doesn’t like dogs, but this is Manhattan, and she’ll get kicked out of her building if they find out she’s pretty much trying to house a horse.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: STANS (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

An unconventional and revealing journey into the obsessive super fandom of rapper Eminem, the iconic song that originated the term “Stan,” and the double-edged sword of fame.
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“Dear Slim, you still ain’t called or wrote / I ain’t mad, I just think it’s fucked up you don’t answer fans.” Fans love. Stans obsess. Eminem built a legacy on both.

Wednesday, August 27

Beyond Magic with DMC: Complete Series (Anytime / Disney+ Canada)

What the eyes perceive, the mind believes… Master of illusion Drummond Money-Coutts embarks on an international journey, exploring the thrilling and high stakes world of advanced card play and magic. From ESP to levitation, DMC bends audiences’ minds with captivating tricks on the streets of London, Barcelona, Mexico City, and Singapore.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE TERMINAL LIST: DARK WOLF: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

Co-created by author Jack Carr and Season 1 showrunner David Digilio, the prequel series is an origin story that follows Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch) throughout his journey from the Navy SEALs to the clandestine side of CIA Special Operations. Also featuring Chris Pratt reprising his role as James Reece, the espionage thriller explores the darker side of warfare and its human cost.
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Did you watch The Terminal List? Released on Prime Video on July 1, 2022. It’s based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Jack Carr. That season followed Chris Pratt as he navigated fallout from a covert mission (is there any other kind?) and he returned home to his family. The conflicting memories of the mission and questions about his culpability connected him with Taylor Kitsch, who play Ben his former teammate. Always silence suspicions is the takeaway from these conspiracy thriller military TV shows. It never ends well. Which is true but does it ever start well? Dark Wolf takes place seven years before The Terminal List events. (Oddly, a proper follow to Season 1…as in Season 2 is in development.) Turns out there was a significant twist in Season 1…this is the origin story told from Ben’s perspective and how he ends up crossing paths with Chris Pratt. Beware losing a hand when you want to pet a Dark Wolf. Programming Note: premieres with the first three episodes; the remaining four episodes are released weekly through September 24, 2025.

Thursday, August 28

Cagney & Lacey: The Complete Series (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)

Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are female police officers in New York City. The women are partners and friends, but they lead different personal lives. Cagney is a single, career-minded woman, while Lacey is a married mother. In addition to going after the bad guys, the ladies have to combat sexism in the male-dominated workplace.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Four septuagenarian friends who live in a retirement community and, led by a former spy, form the Thursday Murder Club to solve cold cases for fun. But when a shady property developer is found dead, the four find themselves in the middle of their first live case.
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“Based on Richard Osman’s international bestselling novel of the same name, The Thursday Murder Club follows four irrepressible retirees – Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Joyce (Celia Imrie) – who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun. When an unexplained death occurs on their own doorstep, their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn as they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands. Directed by Chris Columbus.” Yes, this is Netflix’s Only Murders in the Building. But the Chris Columbus thing is fun, tossing it into the mix for that.

Friday, August 29

Until Dawn (Anytime / Crave)

A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes chase and kill them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it. Programming Note: This horror movie is now streaming in Canada. In American it’s on Netflix-US since July 24.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: VICE IS BROKE (ANYTIME / MUBI)

The meteoric rise and spectacular fall of Vice Media. A disaster capitalism exposé that’s emblematic of an era, from the irresistible insider’s point of view of a man on a mission to tell it like it is.
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“We were biased. There’s nothing journalistic about Vice.” Ah, okay. I missed this documentary at TIFF24. What happened to Vice? And does anybody care?

Saturday, August 30

Eyes of Wakanda: Season 1 (Anytime / Disney+)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zaraze, and this is their story. The all-new Marvel series features four episodes.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RUBY RED HANDED: STEALING AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS PAIR OF SHOES (ANYTIME / HULU)

In August 2005, the world’s most famous pair of shoes – a pair of Ruby Slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” – were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. This documentary goes inside the wild, fast-paced, and often absurd story of how the stolen shoes were ultimately found and features exclusive access to the Grand Rapids police department and exclusive elements and interviews with key players in the case.
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True Crime! The iconic ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 by Terry Jon Martin, who believed they were adorned with real rubies. What the?! There’s a Judy Garland Museum? How did Terry steal them…like a heist?! And why did he believe they were real? The FBI recovered them in 2018 after 13 years, during which the shoes’ whereabouts were a mystery. I don’t understand any of this. Good thing Hulu has a documentary to explain it.

Sunday, August 31

The Golden Girls: The Complete Series (Anytime / Crave)

Four mature women live together in Miami and experience the joys and angst of their golden years; strong-willed Dorothy, spacey Rose, lusty Southern belle Blanche and matriarch Sophia, Dorothy’s mom, occasionally clash but are there for one another in the end; after all, when the show’s theme song is titled “Thank You for Being a Friend,” the ladies have to remain friendly with one another.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THUNDERBOLTS* (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must go on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
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I had zero interest in seeing Thunderbolts* at the cinema. Streaming is acceptable. While better than Captain Marvel (still one of the worst MCU movies, easily Top 3 Suck) Thunderbolts* still struggles. The “comedy” is puke-inducing corny. Was hoping this MCU movie would be Winter Soldier spy tight: down with espionage, up with the violence and right on with the ruckus. It Is What It Is. The good news? Smell Ya Later Phase 5 of the MCU. With Thunderbolts* streaming this concludes easily the worst MCU Phase. Phase 6 kicks off with Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25. I dunno that Marvel is back on track since Phase 6 also includes Avengers: Doomsday. We’ve come this far, right?