#SetTheVCR: March 27 – April 02, 2023

Monday, March 27

FX’s Great Expectations: Limited Series (Anytime / Hulu)

Great Expectations is the coming-of-age story of Pip, an orphan who yearns for a greater life, until a twist of fate and a mysterious benefactor opens a dark world of possibilities.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RABBIT HOLE: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

John Weir (Sutherland), a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces who have the ability to influence and control populations.
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A sure sign Rabbit Hole is Must See TV? Once again Kiefer Sutherland is in over his head and can’t trust anybody. That’s always a positive sign for TV viewers. The latest Paramount+ series that isn’t Yellowstone related follows John Weir (Kiefer), “a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations.” That sounds about right! How do you fake out the deep fakers? I’m betting on Kiefer to bring the whole sinister operation down. Unless it’s one of those nothing is as it seems kinda deals. Reverse Inception? Programming Note: This airs on Sundays, and premiered yesterday with two of the season’s eight episodes

Tuesday, March 28

American Experience: The Movement and the Madman (9 p.m. / PBS)

Two antiwar protests in the fall of 1969 cause President Richard Nixon to cancel his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: KNOCK AT THE CABIN (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

M. Night’s latest.
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Knock knock? Who’s there? It’s four armed strangers who demand a family vacationing at a remote cabin make a disturbing choice. This is M. Night Shyamalan so things are gonna get twisted. This is the second movie in a row Night has adapted a book. Old was based on Sandcastle a graphic novel by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. While Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World supplies the story this time. It’s an interesting mini-trend for a good screen writer. Bonus TV fun? On March 17, 2023 the 40th and final episode of his Apple TV+ show Servant was broadcast. I’ve yet to watch an episode.

Wednesday, March 29

MPower (Anytime / Disney+)

A 4-Episode docuseries spotlighting several of the MCU’s most inspirational women heroes.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: a-ha: THE MOVIE (ANYTIME / VIAPLAY)

Follows the band on tour, telling the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming Norwegian pop stars. When Take On Me reached number 1 on Billboard in the US in 1985 the dream came true. Or did it?
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Aren’t most documentaries a-ha? If you’re a fan of the iconic ’80s hit Take On Me, then you won’t want to miss a-ha: The Movie. This documentary takes you behind the scenes of the band’s reunion tour, where you’ll witness three musicians who have been friends since childhood, but have grown apart. Follow Morten, Magne, and Paul on their journey to sold-out arenas and luxurious hotels, as they struggle with the question of whether their success was really what they dreamed of as kids. Discover what it really means to be a serious rock star. I can’t come up with another a-ha pun. You got one?

Thursday, March 30

Unstable: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)

Rob Lowe and his son, John Owen Lowe, star in a new comedy series inspired by their real life dynamic, where John Owen often trolls his dad online.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RAPCAVIAR PRESENTS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)

A compelling new documentary series that tackles some of today’s most provocative issues through the stories of hip-hop visionaries and emerging stars currently ruling the charts and influencing our culture.
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I wasn’t sure what to expect from RapCaviar Presents but this looks decent. 6 episodes is a lot; thought. Pharrell is in Episode 1 about Tyler, The Creator. Breaking The Mold asks can a rapper like Tyler make it past gatekeepers and truly be accepted? That’s an interesting question. I mean isn’t the answer yes? Killer Mike is in Episode 6: Rhyme and Punishment. Law enforcement has a history of surveilling Black Americans and targeting rappers, using lyrics and social media to build cases. With the feds constantly watching, can hip-hop effectively harness its political power to combat the criminalization of rap? Oh! I’ll watch those 2 for sure; not sure about the rest. Episode 2 is City Girls, 3 is Roddy Ricch. We’ll see. 1 and 6 for sure.

Friday, March 31

Tetris (Anytime / Apple TV+)

Based on a true story, Tetris is a Cold War-era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes and a nail-biting race to the finish.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MURDER MYSTERY 2 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Full-time detectives Nick and Audrey are struggling to get their private eye agency off the ground. They find themselves at the center of international abduction when their friend Maharaja, is kidnapped at his own lavish wedding.
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Adam Sandler as Nick Spitz, a New York City police officer and his wife Jennifer Aniston as Audrey Spitz, a hairdresser, murder mystery novel enthusiast are back! And they’re killing it, case closed! 2019’s Murder Mystery was lots of Adam Sandler goofy fun. This follow up promises even more goofy whodunit only with professionals. Nick and Audrey Spitz are full-time detectives trying to launch their own private-eye agency. I mean what’s the worst than can happen? Well…murder, I suppose. Settle in for a night of murder, mystery, and mayhem with The Sandman.

Saturday, April 01

NCAAA: Final Four Basketball Games (6:09 p.m. / CBS)

The NCAA championship game will be broadcast on April 3 on CBS (Game starts at 9:20 p.m.). For now, tonight we see who is gets to play in that game.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: DIE HART 2: DIE HARTER (ANYTIME / THE ROKU CHANNEL)

Every great action star needs a sequel.
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Hold onto your funny bones, if you thought Murder Mystrey 2 was fun then good news: Kevin Hart is back in Die Hart 2. In this action-packed comedy follow up to the 2020 movie, Hart plays a fictionalized version of himself who’s determined to become an action star. Only the road to success is filled with hilarious obstacles and misadventures. He’s trying to blow up not ah…get blown up. This time around, Hart’s character has to go even deeper into the world of espionage. It’s…Kevin Hart…you know what to expect by now. Little man…big Hart.

Sunday, April 02

Royal Crackers (11:00 p.m. / Adult Swim)

Royal Crackers was once the king of snacks, but the empire is crumbling. When the family patriarch, tyrannical company founder Theodore Hornsby Sr. ends up in a “super coma,” the rest of the Hornsbys will take their lack of talent and business acumen and try to make Royal Crackers the success it once was. Programming Note: This will be on HBO Max tomorrow.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (Anytime / Crave)

Oh Boy…hold onto your “butts” for true: the third and final installment in the Jurassic World trilogy and the sixth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series, concluding the storyline that started with Jurassic Park (1993).
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We got a dinosaur black market, the CIA’s dangerous-species division and Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill who reprise their roles from the Jurassic Park trilogy, appearing together for the first time since the original film. Which is good because the question they hafta address is whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with dinosaurs. It’s not looking good for the humans, is it? Even with our bigger longer arms?

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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.