It’s #SetTheVCR and yes I am aware Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and as such I’m providing a broad range of romantical tv choices. If you are single; if you have somebody you treasure or if you are trapped in a cold dead faithless marriage I got you covered!
Sunday, February 9
Sammy Suggestion: Origin (Anytime / YouTube)
YouTube is hosting a free preview so you can watch a number of their shows and documentaries. I’ve been watching Origin (though lots of people suggest Cobra Kai. That is also free to watch as well.) “From the producers of The Crown and producers of Lost comes Origin, a chilling new original series that follows a group of troubled passengers as they wake up on a damaged spaceship abandoned in deep space.” Some horror-sci-fi. Massive sets. Hard sci-fi.
Monday, February 10
Sammy Suggestion: Desus and Mero (Anytime / Crave)
While I struggled with Desus and Mero during Season 1 (I can allow a show to find its footing but there’s gotta be potential some spark of hope…I did not finish the first season. Just found it not funny.) Season 2 is back and the first episode guest is David Letterman. Yes! It’s rare to see Letterman in a hip hop environment and I’m not entirely sure why he agreed to do the interview. Maybe he just wanted to get out of the house? Maybe this is part of his subtle reputation renovation; I cannot understand Letterman. I just appreciate his work. So check out the first episode…I did not watch any other episodes after that. It’s on Crave in Canada and on Showtime On Demand in the US as it originally aired on February 3rd, 2020.
Tuesday, February 11
Sammy Suggestion: Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (9 p.m. / HBO)
We surprisingly don’t have many (any?!) Dick Cavett documentaries. So I’m not surprised the kids today don’t know Dick. “You’ll never go broke appealing to the lowest common denominator.” I am the champ when it comes to those cheap and obvious puns. Speaking of the champ the latest Muhammad Ali documentary is HBO’s Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes covering their relationship, especially during Dick Cavett Show appearances. Ali’s relationship with sports broadcaster Howard Cosell was another well-documented media-relationship so this new documentary should be fascinating as a media commentary. Generally, we don’t see relationships like this…it’s not like Steph Curry and like Jimmy Fallon are always getting into hijinks, you know?
Wednesday, February 12
Sammy Suggestion: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (Anytime / Netflix)
So To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was all the way back in 2018. We were slowly introduced to Lana Condor who’d go on to A+ ruckus in Deadly Class. The eagerly anticipated follow up to To All the Boys is finally…finally!! out today. Is Lana gonna live happily forever with Noah Centineo (how could she not?) or will she be tempted to stray (how could she?!)? The third movie To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean is already in post-production. So I’m expecting this one to have an open ending. For now…toss your snuggie into the dryer for 30 seconds and dump your microwave popcorn into a big bowl it’s movie night. (Though if you have somebody special in your life maybe save this for Valentine’s Day?)
Thursday, February 13
Narcos: Mexico: Season 2 (Anytime / Netflix)
Sammy Suggestion: The Changeling (Anytime/ Netflix)
A 2008 movie The Changeling was added to Netflix on February 1st. If you don’t know Changeling was written by J. Michael Straczynski a name well known to nerds (he’s written excellent Spider-Man and Superman runs) and to geeks (co-creating Sense8 and Babylon 5). The epic journey (and I fully acknowledge that phrase is overused but in Straczynski’s case it is apt) to make The Changeling and how it kept him alive; his slim hope as his career struggled is documented in his outstanding and terrifying memoir Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood. The ah…first 100 pages are disturbing. The man has not had an easy life. So while this is a cool movie suggestion for you it is also support for Straczynski’s work and a book recommendation: check out Becoming Superman (with a Neil Gaiman introduction). The hardback is out now; paperback drops June 23, 2020.
Friday, February 14
High Fidelity: Season 1 (Anytime / Hulu)
Utopia Falls: Season 1 (Anytime / Hulu)
Sammy Suggestion: Ask Dr. Ruth (Anytime / Hulu/Crave)
It’s Valentine’s Day! So in honour of that romantic recognition, I suggest Ask Dr. Ruth a 2019 documentary that traces her life. As a survivor of the Holocaust to the sexual revolution to her 80s popularity, Dr. Ruth has lived an extraordinary and utterly raunchy life. We could all be so fortunate. In America, you can see this on Hulu (it is a Hulu documentary) and in Canada, you can watch this on Crave (the puns write themselves sometimes…). And as always with documentaries who knows…maybe you’ll learn something. Oh, so that’s where it’s supposed to go…
Saturday, February 15
Sammy Suggestion: Polaroid (Anytime/ Netflix)
You that “cheap” $5-10 million horror movie genre? Wish Upon, Truth or Dare, Countdown etc. Typically a good looking cast gets into modern trouble by encountering something ancient and powerful. Well, have you seen Polaroid? I have not! I cannot wait to watch this. “High school loner Bird Fitcher finds a vintage Polaroid camera that holds dark and mysterious secrets. She soon realizes that those who get their picture taken by it meet a tragic and untimely death.” That’s What You Get!! Oh, man so excited for this cheeze…gonna turn off all the lights and really enjoy this. Which hot teen is gonna eat it first?!
