Your Mission Impossible is to enjoy this week’s TV Recommendations which range from Paul Anka to Jeff Buckley. Clearly with music that good it’s time to #SetTheVCR.
Monday, December 01
It’s a Wonderful Life… (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
Christmas Crap!! George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence – who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all his good deeds over the years.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: MY NEXT GUEST WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
In 27 episodes across five seasons and three specials, My Next Guest has featured notables including Barack Obama, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, JAY-Z, Robert Downey Jr., Kanye West, Dave Chappelle, Will Smith, Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Durant. It’s David Letterman, you’re either in or you’re out.
~~~
It’s The Sandman with The Letterman. Oh man…this is gonna be good.
Tuesday, December 02
After the Hunt (Anytime / Prime Video)
A college professor finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light. Man, this looks insufferably boring; like a bundle of limp Twitter clichés.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: PAUL ANKA: HIS WAY (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
From teen idol to chart-topping songwriter, Paul Anka has spent seven decades as one of the most prolific musicians in the world and he’s still going. Part road movie and part living biography, Paul Anka: His Way traces the iconic Canadian’s journey through stardom and constant reinvention in an ever-changing industry.
~~~
This documentary requires a cigar and a tea. Paul Anka is magic and this sonic legend is long overdue for a documentary. In this doc Paul Anka just over 80 years old and still actively touring and recording reflects on his life and his work…why hasn’t he retired by now? He concludes; it’s like a junkie with a needle in his arm. Oh and with Paul Anka in the can, of course Frank Sinatra’s got docs…it’s time, now to give Nelson Riddle a Last Dance. Riddle’s work is astonishing and horrifically overlooked. That’s not right. For now, turn this up…an excellent musical documentary.
Wednesday, December 03
A Photographic Memory (Anytime / Hoopla)
Through interviews, photographs, journals and films, Rachel Elizabeth Seed tries to build a posthumous relationship with her mother, Sheila Turner Seed, who died when she was just 18 months old.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: CAUGHT STEALING (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, is unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ’90s New York City.
~~~
Matt Smith plays Russ a punk-rock neighbour. And Matt Smith asks Austin Butler to cat sit. Already dude should say no…cats cannot be trusted. Austin foolishly agrees and now it’s worse than cats. (As if that’s possible.) That innocent cat-sitting gesture drags him into a ruthless criminal underworld full of gangsters who all want a piece of him, for reasons he doesn’t even understand. There’s always an underbelly, right? Think the cat will help him get out of this jam? I doubt it. Programming Note: This’ll stream on Crave for Canadians on December 5.
Thursday, December 04
The Abandons: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)
Washington Territory – 1854 – The matriarchs of two very different families – one of wealth and privilege bound by blood, the other a found family of orphans and outcasts bound by love and necessity – find their fates linked by two crimes, an awful secret, a star-crossed love, and a piece of land with silver underneath. The collision echoes the American struggle of the haves and have-nots, in a place just beyond the reach of justice.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: MUSIC BOX: IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.
~~~
Jeff Buckley got a Last Dance!! Even in death Kurt Cobain remains a callous wanker. Yet during that same fantastic era we had true soul singers: Elliott Smith, Richard Ashcroft…even Thom Yorke. And of course Jeff Buckley. Briefly. What coulda been. “I don’t really need to be remembered. I hope the music’s remembered.” And Jeff Buckley is right…this is the way to remember Grace.
Friday, December 05
Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Anytime / Netflix)
Diddy. Puff Daddy. Love. The public knows the hip-hop icon by many names – but who is the real Sean Combs? In a new four-part documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning is a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend, and convicted offender. Born with an insatiable drive for stardom and a knack for spotting talent, Combs made a quick ascent through the ranks of the music industry with Bad Boy Entertainment and was crucial in bringing hip-hop to the pop masses and launching the careers of dozens of generation-defining artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, and Danity Kane. But along the way, and as detailed by his former associates, childhood friends, artists, and employees, something darker began to color his ambitions. Through explosive, never-before-seen materials, including exclusive interviews with those formerly in his orbit, this documentary tells the story of a powerful, enterprising man and the gilded empire he built – and the underworld that lay just beneath its surface. Eh: It Is What It Is.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: JAY KELLY (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Famous movie actor Jay Kelly and his devoted manager Ron embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind.
~~~
It’s The Sandman with The Clooney…man? This doesn’t work as well. Still, more Adam Sandler on Netflix this week. It’s a good week.
Saturday, December 06
The Transformers: EarthSpark – Specials (Anytime / Paramount+)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: The two specials continue the saga of a new generation of Transformers born on Earth – and the humans who welcome them – as they redefine what it means to be a family and face their greatest challenge yet. In Hometown Heroes, every victory has a cost, and now the Maltos must face those consequences. When Robby is caught abusing his powers, Mo and “Detective” Thrash team up to prove their brother’s innocence, while Twitch becomes her own worst enemy. In Legacy of Hope, the Maltos and Autobots search Cybertron for their missing allies. Thrash steps up to help his struggling sister lead this critical mission, but tension divides the team when they need unity most. Meanwhile, Robby and Mo find a new friend, and Optimus finds an old enemy.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE FAMILY MCMULLEN (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
30 years after the events of The Brothers McMullen, romantic entanglements plague a now fiftysomething Barry McMullen and his twentysomething kids, as well as his brother Patrick and widowed sister-in-law Molly, who are also facing similar unexpected hurdles.
~~~
Thirty years after the indie-drama that made him a Sundance legend, Edward Burns returns with The Family McMullen, this time with kids, exes, and second chances in tow. The original trio (Burns, Connie Britton, and Michael McGlone) are back — along with a new generation of McMullens tangled in messy love lives, smashed dreams, and that familiar Long Island-to-Brooklyn attitude.
Sunday, December 07
Spartacus: House of Ashur: Season 1 (Anytime / Starz)
In this reimagined world, where power, passion and destiny unite in an unforgettable new story, viewers are thrust back into the brutality of Ancient Rome with the shocking resurrection of the once-defeated Ashur who now returns as Dominus, the master of his own House. Fueled by vengeance and cunning ambition, Ashur rises from betrayal and bloodshed to seize power, gouging out a place for the House of Ashur in a new arena full of violence, desire and twisted loyalty.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)
Ethan and the IMF face the Entity, a rogue AI capable of ending the world by seizing global mainframes. How far will Ethan go to stop it?
~~~
“Our lives are the sum of our choices.” Though not as dense as Fast & Furious; it’s impressive Mission Impossible built a mythology on the fly. Those early days were lean. We’ve been with these MI movies since 1996. If this is the end: So Be it. I’ll be honest…when I saw Cocktail I didn’t see any of this coming. The Mission Impossible movies will be
Tom Cruise’s eulogy. Like his career…it took a while for the franchise to “spark,” to discover the correct formula and how to effectively market all that. Boom. Here we go…one last Mission…if you choose to accept it.
-28-
Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
