#SetTheVCR: February 13 – 19, 2023

Monday, February 13

Kindred: Limited Series (Anytime / Disney+ Canada Star)

An aspiring writer who has uprooted her life of familial obligation and relocated to Los Angeles, ready to claim a future that, for once, feels all her own. But, before she can settle into her new home, she finds herself being violently pulled back and forth in time. Programming Note: This show premiered on Hulu on December 12, 2022 and cancelled on January 30, 2023.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: UFOS: INVESTIGATING THE UNKNOWN (9 P.M. / NAT GEO)

At long last, it looks like the truth about UFOs may finally be revealed.
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A 5-hour UFO docuseries with Mark O’Connell whose book is outstanding: The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs. Yes a compelling biography of J. Allen Hynek who attempted to debunk or dismiss UFOs. How…did we get there? The US Government’s recent revelations about their UFO/UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) program is currently challenging our beliefs. Something…is out there. And this is why I’m recommending this docuseries. Rather than focusing on the difficult to explain experience of an individual; this is an exploration of the American Government’s role in our UFO lore. What they’ve made public is just as fascinating as what they’ve kept hidden; there’s a push for transparency (in all aspects of government really) and a frustrating mystery that even with their resources and experts cannot neatly solve. Something…is out there. But what? But who? And can we trust the American Government to tell us what is out there? You can hear the X-Files errie theme in your head as you read this huh? Programming Note: This will stream on Hulu the next day.

Tuesday, February 14

Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

Marc Maron stars in his first-ever HBO comedy special filmed in front of a live audience at New York City’s Town Hall. Maron explores such universal topics as getting older, antisemitism and faith, and the superiority of having cats over children – especially during the pandemic.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JIM JEFFERIES: HIGH N’ DRY (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

In the special, newly married and loving life with his wife and kids, Jefferies sounds off on the laziness of koala bears, the injustices of male pattern baldness and the reason why he’ll never drink again.
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His tenth stand up special and latest since 2020’s Jim Jefferies: Intolerant. And yes there are jokes about stoned koalas. I mean it’s Jim Jefferies; this is what you signed up for. It’s Valentine’s Day…most people rank sense of humour high in their destined soulmate, so here ya go.

Wednesday, February 15

Re/Member (Anytime / Netflix)

Japanese horror movie acquired from Warner Bros. Japan about six high schoolers stuck in a murderous time loop. An adaptation of the manga Karadasagashi: a group of high schoolers must spend the night finding the scattered remains of a body hidden within their school, or risk being killed over and over by the “Red Person” and repeating the same day forever.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RED ROSE: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

This creepy show about a supernatural app and horny teens is a BBC-Netflix co-production; it was already broadcast on me telly back in August last year. For now all 8 episodes of Red Rose are available on BBC iPlayer and now on me Netflix.
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What does the Red Rose app want and why is it taking over the lives of these Bolton schoolgirls? Remember Black Mirror’s 2016 episode Shut up and Dance, in which a teenage boy downloads what he thinks is an anti-malware program called Shrive? There’s also Countdown a 2019 movie about an app that can predict when a person will die. Red Rose is the latest supernatural infused technology which ensnares hapless teens in a dark web. Originally released in the UK on August 15, 2022 this original horror series is now streaming on Netflix. (It’s rare but this is indeed an original series not adapted from anything.) Well let’s see how these kids navigate and survive the evil entity they’ve unleashed by downloading the Red Rose app. I’m sure the insidious app will no doubt “Force Quit” some of these wayward youths.

Thursday, February 16

Wu-Tang: An American Saga: Season 3 (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

The series returns for its third and final season with three episodes: full off the release of their debut album and their continued rise to fame, we follow the Wu-Tang Clan over the course of their five-year plan as they face and overcome different challenges.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: STAR TREK: PICARD: SEASON 3 (3 A.M. / PARAMOUNT+ (US) & 9 P.M. / CTV SCI-FI CHANNEL (CANADA))

Vadic a mysterious alien captain of the Shrike, a warship has set its sights on Jean-Luc Picard and his old crewmates from his days on the Enterprise.
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One last epic adventure across the galaxy for the heroes of the Enterprise. Most of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew — including Michael Dorn’s Worf, LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge, Jonathan Frakes’ Riker, Marina Sirtis’ Troi and Gates McFadden’s Dr. Beverly Crusher — are set to appear alongside Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. All Good Things…Part 2.

Friday, February 17

Carnival Row: Season 2 (Anytime / Prime Video)

In a fantasy world where humans and creatures clash, Season Two of Carnival Row picks up with former inspector Rycroft Philostrate a.k.a. Philo investigating a series of gruesome murders stoking social tension. This final season will be 10 episodes released weekly.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: HELLO TOMORROW!: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

Set in a retro-future world, Hello Tomorrow! centers around a group of traveling salesmen hawking lunar timeshares.
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The leads are weak! Glengarry Glen Ross for the space jet set. Set in the future, the show follows a group of traveling salesmen selling lunar timeshares. Oh…yes. Coffee’s for closers! Welcome to the future: vacation on the moon and on Earth cruise in hovercars with fins. Another alternative American saga from the streamer who gave viewers For All Mankind. Programming Note: The 10-episode, half-hour series debuts with the first three episodes, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through April 7, 2023.

Saturday, February 18

All-Star Saturday Night – NBA (8 p.m. / TNT)

NBA All-Star 2023 is held February 17-19 in Salt Lake City. Tonight’s All-Star Saturday Night events are as follow: Skills Challenge (first event), 3-Point Contest (second event) and Slam Dunk (third event).
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SHARPER (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

No one is who they seem in Sharper, a neo-noir thriller of secrets and lies, set amongst New York City’s bedrooms, barrooms and boardrooms.
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Something’s off. What starts off as a meet-cute in a bookstore become a romance where $350,000 from a hedge fund is exchanged. Oh oh. This is gonna be one of those who can you trust movies? And you know everybody in this movie. Or do you? The con is on…

Sunday, February 19

For All Humankind (Anytime / discovery+ & HBO Max)

For All Humankind is a documentary that looks back to compare the contradictions of success and failure in the arenas of human space flight and human rights. In 1969, the country celebrated the landing on the moon. At the same time, the nation was mourning the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, with civil rights protesters facing violence in the streets. Interesting…
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: 72ND NBA ALL-STAR GAME (8 P.M. / TNT)

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association and showcases 24 of the league’s star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a three-day event.
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I detest the NBA All-Star Game’s current format with popular players as captains creating their teams via a draft. It’s dumb. The last East vs West game was played in 2017: West 192, East 182. As a recap of 2022 Team LeBron-163 narrowly beat Team Durant-160 in Cleveland. See? Dumb. Not as cool as East vs West. In 2022 the All-Star Game MVP was Stephen Curry. I’d be up for an Internationals vs Americans if the format “needs” to be changed; at least that would be more engaging. Still despite the awful changes; this remains an NBA tradition and so here we are. It’s Team LeBron James (representing the West) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (representing the East) in the All-Star Game that returns to Salt Lake City for the first time since 1993. Following a flurry of trades last week which reshaped a number of NBA teams the legit season now begins on Thursday February, 23 with a mad dash to the NBA Playoffs. Let’s Get It On!v

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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.