#SetTheVCR: May 06-12, 2024

With these TV recommendations prepare to Kiss The Future. Yes there’s Dark Matter but there’s also Prom Dates. So as always when it comes to #SetTheVCR it’s worth it to do Anything For Fame.

Monday, May 06

The American Society of Magical Negroes (Anytime / Peacock)

The American Society of Magical Negroes is a fresh, satirical comedy about a young man, Aren, who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: A MAN IN FULL: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

When Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker faces sudden bankruptcy, political and business interests collide as Charlie defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace.
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Limited Series Premiere: David E. Kelley adapts Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel A Man in Full. Will this be better than the Tom Hanks-Tom Wolfe adaptation of The Bonfire of the Vanities? Can’t be worse, right? Right now The Right Stuff is his Wolfe’s best adaptation. Let’s see if this limited series also has…the right stuff. That’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Tuesday, May 07

FX’s Welcome to Wrexham: Season 3 (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

For the first time ever in season three, with the team taking their place in the EFL, Welcome to Wrexham’s cameras will have unprecedented access on the pitch, bringing viewers inside the locker room and alongside the players, while the action is unfolding in some of the biggest matches Wrexham AFC has ever played.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: KISS THE FUTURE (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

Kiss the Future explores the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo. Explore how art and music sustained hope, thanks in part to humanitarians and the band U2.
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Kiss The Future is a potent documentary: Witness the resilience of the people of Sarajevo through art and music and the tale of a post-war concert by U2. Directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain, produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, featuring Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton of U2, and Bill Clinton this is an uplifting documentary about undaunted creativity. During the Siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996 Bosnians refused to surrender to the war. Instead they hooked up generators and put on plays, a beauty contest and played loud punk rock. While highlighting the intelligent power of creativity to repel the darkness. Creation in the midst of destruction is the dark soil where hope grows. For a documentary it has a killer soundtrack: Foo Fighters All My Life, The Clash, U2 songs including (duh) Miss Sarajevo and Public Enemy’s anthem Harder Than You Think perfectly cued to when NATO bombed the hell outta Milosevic’s forces. For more here’s my interview with the director Nenad Cicin-Sain.

Wednesday, May 08

Reginald The Vampire: Season 2 (10 p.m. / Syfy)

The Fat Vampire Is Back: Reginald Andres finally got his life together – when he was turned into a vampire. While he doesn’t fit into the stereotypical expectations of what a vampire looks like – he’s not chiseled or classically handsome – Reginald has found his place amongst an unlikely cohort that includes the cool vampire who sired him, the former vampire chieftain turned unexpected ally (or is she?), and his co-worker/former girlfriend.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: DARK MATTER: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

There are infinite realities. This is the one where Jason Dessen kidnaps himself.
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Series Premiere: Did you enjoy Wayward Pines? TV show or the novels. I’ve never read Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter: “Sent out to buy ice cream one evening, Jason is abducted and drugged, & wakes up to find himself in a version of Chicago that isn’t his own.” Oh, yes! Blake Crouch is one of those sci-fi writers I keep meaning to find time for but never do. I enjoyed his 2022 book Upgrade…solid sci-fi. That’d be an excellent adaptation; you can do lots with it. As for this adaptation here’s the other tantalizing hook: having developed a technology to travel to alternate universes, he wants to see the road not taken. That’s not gonna end well. Do you check out this TV show in this universe?

Thursday, May 09

Best of the Tonight Show Special: 10 Years of the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (9:00 p.m. / NBC)

The show will feature the best moments of The Tonight Show from the past 10 years featuring favorite sketches, guest and musical performances. The special will stream the next day on Peacock.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BODKIN: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

In this darkly comedic thriller, a crew of podcasters sets out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish town.
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Series Premiere: Obama’s Netflix work has been uneven (i.e. American Factory, Becoming etc.) but this looks promising. Will Forte plays Gilbert Power, an American podcaster looking to discover his Irish roots. And what he discovers in an West Cork, an Irish coastal town is an opportunity to investigate mysterious disappearance of three strangers. Of course: once Gilbert and his podcast pals “start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined.” Is this Netflix’s Only Murders in the Building? Or something different? We’ve got 7 episodes to compare and contrast the two streaming series.

Friday, May 10

Doctor Who: Series 14 (7:00 p.m. / Disney+)

Episodes 1 (Space Babies) & 2 (The Devil’s Chord): Doctor Who follows the Doctor and Ruby Sunday through infinite adventures across time and space in the TARDIS. From the Regency era in England to war-torn futures, the duo champion the forces of good while encountering incredible friends and dangerous foes. Programming Note: Rudely this doesn’t stream in the UK until tomorrow on the BBC iPlayer. That’s not right.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ANYTHING FOR FAME (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+ US)

A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything for Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious-and reckless-new breed of content creator.
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The keyword in the description of this provocative NFB doc is reckless: “A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything for Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious-and reckless-new breed of content creator.” What would you do for fame? In the doc you’ll meet Ava who went viral for licking an airplane bathroom toilet set. She called it a Coronavirus Challenge. And you’ll meet Jake an Ontario skateboarder who performs Jackass type stunts with nail guns and getting shot at with sharp needle tipped darts. There will be blood. So…what would you do for fame? Remember Hoop Dreams from the mid-90s? It was a doc following two inner city kids and their struggles to make it into professional basketball (NBA). Anything for Fame is Hoop Dreams for influencers. It’s a nuanced looked at going viral and the struggles of influencers to become wealthy and (internet) famous. I spoke to the director Tyler Funk about these online “Hoop Dreams” during his MSL visit. Programming Note: Currently streaming on Paramount+ Canada; the NFB will steam Anything for Fame for free across Canada on November 8, 2023 via NFB.ca.

Saturday, May 11

Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

Taped in December 2023 in front of a sold-out audience at the Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington, Glaser dives into a wide range of topics including why she doesn’t want kids, the harsh realities of aging, her sexual fantasies, and plans for her own death – all in her hilarious, unapologetic, and brutally honest style.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: PROM DATES (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)

They made a pact to have the perfect senior prom. That was their first mistake.
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“Prom Dates follows best friends Jess and Hannah, who made a pact at 13 to have the perfect senior prom. Despite the impending changes that college will bring over the next four years, the two are committed to honoring their prom pact. However, with only 24 hours left before the big event, everything falls apart when they break up with each of their dates. Jess and Hannah are left with one night to find new dates and live out their middle-school fantasies.” We lost John Hughes in 2009 but teens and proms are timeless Hollywood classics. Do you wanna be a my prom date for this feature?

Sunday, May 12

Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 (Anytime / AMC+)

The interview continues in Season 2. In 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy. Picking up from the bloody events in New Orleans in 1940 when Louis and teen fledgling Claudia conspired to kill the Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, Louis tells of his adventures in Europe, a quest to discover Old World Vampires and the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris, with Claudia.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MARK TWAIN PRIZE AWARD: KEVIN HART (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Comedy’s biggest stars gather to honor — and roast — Kevin Hart as he accepts the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a heartfelt, hilarious ceremony.
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The Man From Toronto is interrupting your Me Time! Is Kevin Hart in your Top Five stand up comics? I mean dude is always In the Mix. Well Let Me Explain as Netflix will broadcast the Kennedy Center’s 25th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony honoring Kevin Hart so you can Laugh At His Pain. The Sandman was Number 24, so I’ve a Grudge Match as I’m not certain Hart has done enough work to earn this award. Do I Think Like A Man? I do. I’m not saying Hart is a Wedding Ringer; he’s Seriously Funny and worth a Ride Along or 2. It’s just that is his comedy taught at Night School? Does it Lift the soul and inspire other comics and other Little Fockers? Is this a harsh Reality Check? Perhaps this is Irresponsible. After all since his first comedy special in 2009 Kevin Hart is a Gown Little Man. That’s the Upside of all this. I’ll let Let Go now since this recommendation was low on Central Intelligence about the actual special. Like will we Meet Dave? I dunno. That’s how Fatherhood and TV recommendations go, I suppose.