#SetTheVCR: March 04-10, 2024

Monday, March 04

The Jamie Foxx Show: Seasons 1-5 (Anytime / Netflix-US)

Jamie King is an aspiring actor from Terrell, Texas, who has come to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business. To support himself, he works at his family’s hotel. Programming Note: Martin: Seasons 1-5 will be added to Netflix on March 31st.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TRIGGER POINT: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / CBC GEM)

Two bomb disposal officers must risk their lives during a terrorist campaign in the heart of London.
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Did you watch Series 1? It aired here on CBC Gem and it aired there on Peacock. “When a terrorist campaign threatens the capital over one summer, the Expos are at the forefront of urgent efforts to find out who is behind the bombings before fatalities escalate.” This time in Season 2 it’s a race to determine the bomber’s real identity during a summer terror campaign. This being a British show I expected either a cover up or a conspiracy that runs through the heart of this show. When it’s all revealed you’ll be…blown away. Heh. Good puns are the bomb!

Tuesday, March 05

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping (Anytime / Netflix)

Does this count as True Crime? It dives into the odd and tragic experiences of students who joined The Academy at Ivy Ridge in Ogdensburg, NY. The series reveals the pain and cruelty they experienced at the institution through their own stories.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CANADIAN REFLECTIONS: HARD FALLS (ANYTIME / CBC GEM)

Three best friends face hardships at home after they part for the evening. Ultimately, they find solace and safety in the freeing world of jump rope and each other.
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The TV Guide description of Hard Falls is: “In Hard Falls, three best friends navigate the complexities of their lives, facing hardships at home as they part ways for the evening. Anchored in themes of immigration, family dynamics, girlhood, and mental health, the film offers a deeply resonant exploration of the nuanced loneliness of growing up.” Cool. However, as an added bonus? For Hard Falls writer and director Alina Kulesh went back to Scarborough, the same neighbourhood and building where she grew up as an immigrant. “To create even more authenticity, we filmed the short in Scarborough, in the exact neighbourhood and apartment building where I grew up,” adds Kulesh. “This was personally humbling and rewarding for me.” So cool! Part of the Canadian Reelections series on CBC Gem: “Canada’s longest running showcase of independent short film.” There’s a number of short films and flourishing talent…maybe see what else captures your attention?

Wednesday, March 06

Supersex: Limited Series (Anytime / Netflix)

Italian Boogie Nights: A seven-episode biopic series from Italy that looks into the life of pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, who Alessandro Borghi will play.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: EXTRAORDINARY: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)

Stephanie adds a description
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“Meet Jen. She lives in a world where everyone has a superpower. Everyone except her. Which is just sodding great. Extraordinary is somewhere between a sitcom and an existential crisis: an eye-popping, shocking, hilarious, and bittersweet comedy about finding your way in the world, when all you’ll ever be is ‘ordinary.’” I did not watch Season 1. So I get the general idea. “Season two picks up where season one spectacularly left off, following Jen on her powers journey as she enrolls as a client at the power clinic. Jen soon discovers that the process of finding her power isn’t as easy as she hoped, and things in the rest of her life aren’t sailing smoothly either.” Well, shall we power up Season 2?

Thursday, March 07

Poor Things (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

The incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE SIGNAL: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

A missing astronaut sets her family on a frantic hunt for answers. But the more they uncover, the greater the threat becomes to them – and the world.
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A German sci-fi mystery miniseries Das Signal. (Germans are efficiently terrible at their Netflix titles. Dark?! Like, yo how am I supposed to google that…) It’s expected to be 4-episodes. German sci-fi has been a decent genre on Netflix. While stationed on the ISS, astronaut Paula made an unbelievable discovery in the depths of space. And astronaut Paula never makes it home. The mystery of all this is solved on Earth via Paula’s husband, Sven and their daughter, Charlie. Das, good yeah?

Friday, March 08

Damsel (Anytime / Netflix)

Damsel sees Millie Bobby Brown Dungeons & Dragons heroism as a dutiful, well, damsel, who agrees to marry a handsome prince — only to discover it was all a trap: The royal family recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. She’s then thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, relying solely on her wits and will to survive.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE GENTLEMEN: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

When aristocratic Eddie inherits the family estate, he discovers that it’s home to an enormous weed empire – and its proprietors aren’t going anywhere.
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A spin-off of Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie of the same name: The Gentlemen. The regal British violence echoes Pennyworth (which I’ve haven’t seen…). The Gentlemen begins with the death of one. Eddie Horniman leaves his military service when he’s informed his wealthy father is on his deathbed. Upon the patriarch’s death, it’s expected that Eddie’s oafish older brother Freddie will inherit the family’s sprawling estate. But this is 8 epodes not a ten minute short so that’s not what happens. Instead, Eddie is announced to be his father’s true heir. Now, he has to tend to the sketchy finances that his father left behind. Sketchy as in a marijuana empire. Classic British Gentlemen…all regal on the surface, sketchy down below.

Saturday, March 09

Wonka (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

With dreams of opening a shop in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Willy Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ANATOMY OF A FALL (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-CANADA)

A woman is suspected of murder after her husband’s death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
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Let’s class up the joint with a foreign movie: a French legal drama. And because it’s a foreign movie, those are hard to read and decide if they are worth pants. I bet you big money this’ll hit hard when it shows up on streamers. Streamers can create hits in a slow burn sorta way going to the movies no longer can. We got a murder, did the wife do it? Hard to know…their son and the only witness is blind. I dunno anymore than that and sometimes that’s enough. Programming Note: Streams March 22 on Hulu.

Sunday, March 10

Priscilla (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: AMERICAN FICTION (ANYTIME / MGM+ & PRIME VIDEO CANADA)

A novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.
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I actually don’t know much about this movie. Is it a satire? A comedy? Who is it mocking? The only way to get the joke is to hear the joke. Some fresh American Fiction is an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon or evening.

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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.