You want dynamic TV recommendations? This week’s #SetTheVCR has something for everyone. From blockbusters to Batman to documentaries and director’s cuts. Big week!
Monday, July 29
Prison Break: Seasons 1-5 (Anytime / Netflix-US)
All 90 episodes of the hit crime drama series starring Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller. Michael Scofield is a desperate man in a desperate situation. His brother, Lincoln Burrows, was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and put on Death Row. Michael holds up a bank to get himself incarcerated alongside his brother in Fox River State Penitentiary, then sets in motion a series of elaborate plans to break Lincoln out and prove his innocence.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FUTURAMA: SEASON 12 (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)
Following Hulu’s critically acclaimed 2023 revival of Futurama, the epic sci-fi series from Matt Groening and David X. Cohen returns in 2024 with ten all-new episodes.
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The TV Guide says: “On this orbit around the sun, our occasionally heroic crew embarks on mind-bending adventures involving birthday party games to the death, the secrets of Bender’s ancestral robot village, A.I. friends (and enemies), impossibly cute beanbags, and the true 5 million-year-old story behind the consciousness-altering substance known as coffee. And, of course, the next chapter in Fry and Leela’s fateful, time-twisted romance.” Hulu has renewed Futurama, for two more seasons (seasons 13 and 14) for an additional 20 episodes. After a 10-year hiatus Hulu originally revived the freshtastic series in 2022 with a 20-episode order. It’s so good to have more Futurama! The people who endlessly complain about The Simpsons simply don’t count: ignore and dismiss em all. (Especially the anti-Apu losers. Thanks for nothing, fools.) It’s okay and good to leave people behind. There’s absolutely no legit reason to stop now. Keep going. Make more episodes and release more seasons. Here’s a shovel, I dig the animayhem.
Tuesday, July 30
Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game (Anytime / HBO Max)
The CNN Original Series Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game tracks the spies operating behind the scenes in the 1980s as the Cold War brings two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war. Netflix recently added Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. We’re starting to understand the history we’ve lived through.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WITHOUT A NET (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
When Cirque du Soleil moves to reboot its flagship production, O, more than a year after an abrupt global shutdown, both performers and crew members face uncertainty as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night curtain in Las Vegas.
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How do you get live entertainment back on track after the COVID-19 lockdown mess? We learned this during prolonged COVID lockdowns…the show must go on. “Picking up over a year after having to shutter, the documentary captures the highs and lows as crew members and performers work to meet their own world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night.” We completely brush over the massive cognitive decline following endless lockdowns. As a society we got incredibly dumber during the pandemic. I believe the aggressive lockdowns killed a lot of small talk. We didn’t do anything for a long while and if a stranger isn’t ah…watching Stranger Things or going out to live shows and having adventures then there’s little to discuss. Our social skills atrophied and awkwardness prevailed. Lockdowns and limited mobility have also had an adverse affect on adults: there’s a clear cognitive decline in many people. (I bet if you search podcast transcripts from before the pandemic and during for a variation of the phrase “I forgot” it’ll have noticeably increased.) So what about the creators and actors of these live shows? What about their cognitive decline? Can they just pick up as if nothing happened? Thank God for Vegas. Ironic I know but so true.
Wednesday, July 31
Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 4 (Anytime / Netflix)
In this chilling docuseries, witnesses, law enforcement, and experts reexamine cold cases, bizarre creatures, and other puzzling events: This is our most unique volume yet. From one of the most notorious unsolved cases of all time to all-new baffling mysteries, there’s something for everyone to solve. The track record for “armchair detectives” is appalling, remember the Boston Marathon bombings debacle? When OG Unsolved Mysteries aired we never tried to Hardy Boys solve any of it. We simply accepted this Universe is vast and strange: it won’t always make logical sense.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (ANYTIME / CRAVE & NETFLIX-US)
When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.
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This month Netflix offered viewers Beverly Hills Cop IV and the 6th (6th!!) season of Cobra Kai. Like Beverly Hills Cop, Karate Kid is 40 years old. Kid came out on June 22, 1984. While Cop opened on December 5, 1984. In 1984 I did not forecast I’d be with these characters for the next 40 years. Like, how did we get here?! This years Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire flowed outta the ’84 comedy classic. Did Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray (a moment of silence for Harold Ramis) realize their goofy movie would last this long? The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man attacked New York City…this is not something that shoulda lasted for 40 years. Still here we are. This fifth Ghostbusters movie is a) the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and 2) horribly a Hand-Off Movie. Hence the title Frozen Empire. That’s literally true. “They’ve got ghostbusting in their DNA,” Yeah that’s not true. Far from it. Hand-Off Movies Are Not Acceptable: This is a Hilary Swank Karate Kid movie. (Sony has impressively messed up Spider-Man Lite and Ghostbusters. Surreal.)
Thursday, August 01
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color (Anytime / Netflix)
The monochromatic (or black and white) version of Godzilla Minus One debuts on Netflix today. Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the movie was set in postwar Japan with survivors of the war having to face down a giant devastating monster that threatens to finish them off. Colour me impressed.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant, and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.
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Saturday Morning Cartoons & Series Premiere: Not bad: though not as good or as grand as the OG Batman: The Animated Series. Its difficult to fully convey the status and cultural contribution of that stylish animated series if you weren’t around. That mid-90s cartoon remains some of the best Batman. Mature storytelling after decades of Disney damaging animation marketing only to children. All told through a remarkable film noir lens; the gentle portrayal of the villains was as loving as the primary characters. In short Bruce W. Timm and Paul Dini got it. And did it right. They understood Batman and were able to make significant and notable contributions to the mythology. That’s damn hard to do. And now? Truly. I don’t trust Matt Reeves…at all. He’s clearly not good at Batman. (He’s down right terrible at Batman, lets be honest.) So, I’m super cautious with this new series. Maybe HBO was right to transfer the Bat-rights to Prime Video? I despise nostalgia in any form. What’s my ROI for returning to this series? Granted: X-Men 97 had a triumphant return…can this fresh Caped Crusader pull of the same vibe?
Friday, August 02
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)
The 2024 blockbuster is now streaming: The fourth chapter in the Apes reboot franchise is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign. Apes are living harmoniously as the dominant species — and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape named Noa undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: REBEL MOON – DIRECTOR CUT (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Part One follows a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon which finds itself threatened by a tyrannical ruling force. There, a stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival. Part Two follows Boutella’s Kora, and the surviving warriors who prepare to defend Veldt, their new home, alongside its people against the Realm.
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The PG-13 cuts of Rebel Moon were released many rebel moons ago on December 22, 2023 and April 19, 2024. Just like his long-winded Justice League here’s six hours of R-rated Rebel Moon from Zack Snyder with his anticipated director’s cuts. The recuts, which have been renamed Rebel Moon—Chapter One: Chalice of Blood and Rebel Moon—Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness are both streaming today. In December when Part 1 was broadcast shortly before Christmas I wrote about Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: “When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.” This looks, smells and tastes like Avatar meets Dune. Granted it looks like how Star Wars should be if Disney wasn’t so concerned about luring children but that’s not an effective marketing hook. Yeah I dunno about all this. I haven’t watched PG Part 1…now I can consume the whole saga. I suppose. I ain’t exactly over the Rebel Moon excited for all this.
Saturday, August 03
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (Anytime / Netflix)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: An animated feature with SpongeBob SquarePants: When Bikini Bottom and all its denizens are suddenly scooped out of the ocean, Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob SquarePants journey to Texas to save the town from a villainous plot.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JOE ROGAN: BURN THE BOATS (7:00 P.M. PT / 10:00 P.M. NETFLIX)
“Don’t get mad at me, you know why you came here: Jokes, folks. Just jokes.”
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Sunday, August 04
SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE MOVIE MAN (ANYTIME / HOLLYWOOD SUITE)
Amid a global pandemic, an entrepreneur looks back on his life’s work owning and operating an idiosyncratic cinema in the forest of northern Ontario.
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Guillermo del Toro recently shared his perspective in the Toronto Star upon hearing Toronto’s Revue Cinema may close. “The denizens of Toronto tend to be humorously self-deprecating, but to an outsider, the city is a place that loves cinema with real passion. This has been true for decades and across the span of two centuries, so it is not a passing fad. Toronto has great voices, both critical and directorial — many of the world’s foremost critics and filmmakers have made their home here — as well as a world-class film festival (TIFF) and Cinematheque.” This is a filmmaker supporting a local cinema because cinema is where memories are made. This is a documentary about a small independent movie theatre named Highlands Cinemas, which is located in the region of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. It is an ode to the theatrical experience; a personal moment that post-COVID we should treasure even more. On July 25, I had the supreme pleasure of getting on a bus (joining Henry VanderSpek aka Culture Snap Photography) provided by Hollywood Suite to visit the Highlands Cinemas and see the documentary. The cinema is breathtaking, photos don’t quite convey the spectacular environment. Check out this doc, if you haven’t gone to Highlands Cinemas I highly recommend a Summer Road Trip.
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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.
