#SetTheVCR: July 08-14, 2024

From a Sunny Spider-Man to a Space Cadet and a Superpower; this week’s TV recommendations are super fun. #SetTheVCR its Faye…d.

Monday, July 08

Hit Man (Anytime / Hoopla)

A professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department, descends into dangerous, dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services. Sparks fly between a fake hit man (Glen Powell) and his potential client (Adria Arjona) in Richard Linklater’s noir comedy inspired by a wild true story. The latest Big Name Netflix movie didn’t stream in Canada on Netflix.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SPACE CADET (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

A Florida party girl turned (thanks to a fabricated resume) into a woefully underqualified applicant to NASA’s astronaut program.
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According to the TV Guide: “Tiffany “Rex” Simpson (Emma Roberts) has always dreamed of going to space, and her “doctored” application lands her in NASA’s ultracompetitive astronaut training program. In over her head, can this Florida girl rely on her quick wits, moxie, and determination to get through training and into the cosmos before she blows her cover?” It is what it is: more like Space Case than Space Cadet.

Tuesday, July 09

Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken (Anytime / Paramount+)

This two-part docuseries tells a story of music’s power to heal and transcend. Melissa Etheridge finds inspiration in five incarcerated women in Kansas and performs an original song for them at their prison: Burning Woman.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE MANDELA EFFECT PHENOMENON (ANYTIME / VOD PLATFORMS)

Something mind-blowing is happening, where half the people swear reality’s been altered, like they’re from another timeline. Millions claim movies are different, and TV show titles, celebrities’ names, logos and brands, other cultural touchstones and even the Bible are not what they once were. Is a supernatural force “Editing” history?
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Recently, I was surprised to learn this Fun Fact from Collider: “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga topped iTunes VOD and Fandango at Home charts, showing audience interest in the prequel despite box office struggles.” I…just assumed people waited for a streaming date following a theatrical release. Perhaps not? My #SetTheVCR aim is access. By clearing up the confusion from Canadian broadcast dates to shifting platforms it increases access while giving viewers the options for their regularity schedule TV viewing. However, after learning about the VOD popularity I’m recommending the following Mandela Effect documentary which comes out today. Chuck Klosterman’s 2022 outstanding book The Nineties does a great job of describing the Mandela Effect: “The erroneous belief that Mandela died in the eighties (as opposed to December of 2013, the month of his actual demise) has spawned an entire category of conspiracy theory now known as the Mandela Effect. First named by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome in 2009, the Mandela Effect is a collective delusion in which large swaths of the populace misremember a catalog of indiscriminate memories in the same way.” When he writes about “iconic lines of dialogue” two famous examples are “mirror, mirror on the wall,” was never said in Disney’s Snow White and (spoiler alert?) Darth Vader doesn’t say, “Luke, I am your father…” in any Star Wars movie. It’s super disturbing because we have these cultural shorthands that are…just common fictions. These are collective cultural memories: we all know “mirror, mirror on the wall” and yet…it turns out we don’t. This is the issue. Memory is unreliable.

Wednesday, July 10

Receiver: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)

Fumbling Is Not an Option: An NFL follow-up sports documentary series to last Summer’s Quarterback. This time with the gentlemen who catch the thrown ball: Davante Adams, WR, Raiders, Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings, George Kittle, TE, 49ers, Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers and Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ICONS UNEARTHED: SPIDER-MAN (10 PM / VICE)

We’re taking a glimpse into Spider-Man’s journey to the big screen with new stories from cast, crew & experts (experts??).
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If you dig The Toys That Made Us or The Movies That Made Us you’ll probably enjoy Icons Unearthed by Vice. Same concept: the pop culture that made us, basically. Narrated by Yuri Lowenthal, Icons Unearthed: Spider-Man is a one-hour documentary series that goes behind the scenes of the Spider-Man movie franchise. My curiosity is better understanding how Sony has mismanaged this franchise. Star Wars has struggled lately, so has the MCU though Kevin Feige’s track record is generally solid. These are not easy movies to make. Featuring interviews with John Dykstra, Don Burgess, Todd McFarlane, Yair Landau, Vic Armstrong, C. Thomas Howell, Debbie Berman, Leigh Folsom Boyd, and Dan Lebenthal.

Thursday, July 11

The Responder: Series 2 (Anytime / BritBox)

Behold: The U.S. Premiere: The Responder’s second season sees Martin Freeman return to his dark, gritty best. The new series picks up six months after the last one left off. Carson is busy trying to better himself as a police officer and as a father to his daughter, Tilly. However, the recurrent trauma of the night officer beat continues. And, in an effort to finally free himself, he seeks a day job.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SUNNY: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, has her life upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash. As “consolation,” she’s given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband’s electronics company.
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An adaptation of the book Dark Manual by Japan-based Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan, it sees Jones play Suzie a grieving wife and mother. She lost her family in a plane crash. Suzie is gifted a domestic robot named Sunny from the tech company her husband worked for, to help her fill the void of her loss. Cue the husband was hiding secrets she now discovers in the wake of his death and this goes from Lost in Translation to Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Programming Note: Premiere with the first two episodes, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through September 4, 2024.

Friday, July 12

In the Arena: Serena Williams (Anytime / ESPN+)

The eight-part series provides the most complete, intimate, and compelling account of her legendary career, featuring firsthand perspective from Williams and key figures throughout her life.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE BOOK OF CLARENCE (ANYTIME / CRAVE)

Struggling to find a better life, Clarence is captivated by the power of the rising Messiah and soon risks everything to carve a path to a divine existence.
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And now, a miraculous spectacle to kick off the weekend! The story unfolds in three Books, just like the Bible: The 13th Apostle, The New Messiah and The Crucifixion. It follows a struggling down-on-his-luck man named Clarence living in A.D. 33 Jerusalem who looks to capitalize on the rise of Jesus Christ, by claiming to be a new Messiah sent by God, in an attempt to free himself of debt and start a life of glory for himself. Is that enough to draw the converted to the TV screen? Is this satire? Parody? Comedy? Blasphemy? Only one way to find out.

Saturday, July 13

Sausage Party: Foodtopia: Season 1 (Anytime / Prime Video)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: The voices of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton return (joined by newcomers including Will Forte and Sam Richardson) for a TV series spinoff from the 2016 R-rated animated feature film Sausage Party. All eight episodes are now streaming.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FAYE (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Faye Dunaway reflects on her life and candidly discusses the triumphs and challenges of her illustrious career.
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I…dont have any Faye Dunaway feelings. Recent documentaries on Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018) and Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023) were special focused on special ladies. Faye Dunaway, eh? “In Faye, the first feature documentary of the Hollywood legend, Academy Award-winning actress Faye Dunaway candidly discusses the triumphs and challenges of her illustrious career, with breakthrough, Academy Award-nominated roles in Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, and Network – for which she won Best Actress in 1977 – while also reflecting on the film Mommie Dearest, which she views as a critical career misstep.” Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown and Network are all excellent films. I don’t think of any of them as Faye films, though. “Through those reflections, she courageously explores personal discoveries, including her struggles with mental health issues and bipolar disorder, her family history growing up in a small town in Florida, and how the intensity of the characters she played still impacts who she is today. In addition to Faye, the film features interviews with her son, Liam Dunaway O’Neill, and her colleagues and friends, including Sharon Stone, Mickey Rourke, and James Gray.” That’s a terrible list. That’s why I don’t think about Faye Dunaway. The Talking Heads in your Last Dance are a vital part of your legacy.

Sunday, July 14

Arcadian (Anytime / Shudder)

In the near future on a decimated Earth, Paul and his twin sons face terror at night when ferocious creatures awaken. When Paul is nearly killed, the boys come up with a plan for survival, using everything their father taught them to keep him alive. Is this I Am Legend?!
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SUPERPOWER (ANYTIME / YOUTUBE-US)

Sean Penn sets out to make a lighthearted film about President Zelensky, but ends up with a front row seat to the early days of Ukraine’s war with Russia.
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The best thing about being wealthy and famous is you can indulge your curiosity. In A Curious Mind a 2015 book by Brian Grazer he wrote about being curious and using his position to have lunch with all kinds of fascinating people: economists and physicists…anything he was curious about. It was his own self-directed curriculum and he was the only student in school. Echoing that self-designed curriculum is Superpower a Sean Penn documentary where he wanted to learn about Ukraine and President Zelenskyy. You and I? We watch docs like this. Penn? He goes right to the source and asks questions. So class in session…let’s identify what Penn was curious about and what we can learn about the latest skirmish dominating headlines. The Paramount+ original documentary is now streaming on YouTube-US and here it is: