Author Archives: Kyle

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/31/18

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Early this morning, Amazon released the 10-episode first season of the new original series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Jack Ryan (John Krasinski, The Office) is a former Marine, the sole survivor of a helicopter crash that killed 12 of his fellow soldiers. For the past four years, Ryan has spent his days behind a desk, working as a CIA analyst, studying financial markets and transactions in Yemen, looking for suspicious activity. As the series opens, Ryan discovers an unusual pattern of bank transactions, and thinks he has identified the next Bin Laden, a possible terrorist named Suleiman. But when he takes his data to his new boss, he gets a lot of pushback. Ryan got off on the wrong foot when he first met his new boss, James Greer (Wendell Pierce, Suits, Treme, The Wire). Greer also has a chip on his shoulder – he was a former Base Chief who just returned from a forced leave after an incident and now finds himself demoted to Group Chief for a team of analysts. However, it isn’t long before Greer sees some merit in Ryan’s findings, and Ryan suddenly finds himself thrust into the field, ending up in the middle of a dangerous and deadly situation.

I had never seen any of the five Jack Ryan films, nor read any of the books, so I didn’t really know what to expect from the series or the character. However, John Krasinski is fantastic in this role, which is drastically different from his more comedic Jim Halpert on The Office. The pilot takes its time to introduce the characters and set up the premise, but by the end of the episode, it has really hit its action-packed stride, and I am really looking forward to checking out the rest of the season! The series comes from creators Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel, Colony, The Strain) & Graham Roland (The Returned, Almost Human, Fringe) and has already been picked up for a second season of 10 episodes, so there’s plenty more to come.

Binge-watch the entire first season now on Amazon!

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/31/18

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/22/18

Posted on August 22, 2018 by

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, thriller Mr. Mercedes returns for a second season on the AT&T Audience network. In the first season, retired detective Bill Hodges found himself suddenly thrust back into one of his unsolved cases. Brady Hartsfield, the psychopath who mowed down a crowd of innocent people at a job fair with a stolen Mercedes, started taunting Hodges on a private message board, letting him know that he was planning something even more devastating. Hartsfield tried to manipulate Hodges into taking his own life and even murdered the love of Hodges’ life in the process. However, with the help of young assistants Jerome and Holly, Hodges managed to figure out what Hartsfield was up to and stopped him before he massacred hundreds more innocent people. However, in the process, Hartsfield got his head bashed in and fell into a vegetative coma that he was unlikely to ever recover from. However, Hodges vowed that he would keep visiting Hartsfield at the hospital so that the day he woke up, he would pay for his crimes.

While the first season of the series stayed very close the first novel of Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy, the second season borrows from both the second and the third books. As the second season opens, Hartsfield is in this vegetative state, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still plotting and planning his revenge on Hodges. D.A. Tony Montez (Max Hernandez) is anxious to prosecute Hartsfield, but there’s not much he can do with Hartsfield in his current state. At the same time, cocky brain surgeon Dr. Felix Babineau (Jack Huston, Boardwalk Empire) is being pressured by his ambitious wife Cora (Tessa Ferrer, Extant) to use Hartsfield as a human test subject for a new drug designed to counteract tumors. Over the course of the next year, Bill teams up with Holly to start a private investigative agency called Finders Keepers. As they solve whatever small cases come their way, Bill also picks up the odd repossession job. Meanwhile, the other folks affected by Brady’s actions also try to move on with their lives.

I loved the first season of this series and had been really looking forward to seeing what happens next. I was curious to see how the series could work with Hartsfield in a coma, but the writers have found a really unique, creative, and creepy way to show what’s going on inside Brady’s mind. And even though his physical body doesn’t work, there is a bit of a supernatural element to the series this season that allows Brady to resume his terror from his hospital bed. We will also see how the events of last season affected the rest of the characters – Jerome had a promising academic career, but the trauma of these events may have sent him in a downward spiral. And how will the one person you thought was your friend trying to murder you going to affect Lou? I’ve watched the first two episodes of the season and can’t wait to see more. The one disappointment is that the series only airs on the provider-specific Audience Network, so only those with AT&T U-verse or DirecTV as their TV providers will be able to watch.

At San Diego Comic-Con, I participated in roundtable Q&As for the series, with the series creator as well as several of the stars. Check out my videos from the pressroom at NoReruns.net: http://www.noreruns.net/2018/08/14/mr-mercedes-press-room-at-san-diego-comic-con-2018/

On tonight’s episode, “Missed You,” with Brady hospitalized, Hodges and Holly rebuild, opening private investigative agency Finders Keepers. Brady’s care falls to Dr. Babineau, an ambitious neurosurgeon, with input from his brilliant wife, Cora.

Don’t miss the exciting premiere tonight on Audience Network at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/recording Big Brother, MasterChef, Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, and The Sinner.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/22/18

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/17/18

Posted on August 17, 2018 by

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Early this morning, Netflix released the first 10 episodes of the new animated series Disenchantment. The fantasy series comes from creator Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama) and follows the misadventures of Princess Bean (Abbi Jacobson, Broad City), a teenager who hates her depressing life in the medieval kingdom of Dreamland. Her mother passed away when she was a child, and her father, King Zog (John DiMaggio, Futurama), has since remarried. He has arranged for Bean to marry a prince from another kingdom in order to secure a political treaty, but Bean wants none of that. She just wants to drink, party, and do whatever she wants to. As the series opens, a demon named Luci (Eric Andre, Man Seeking Woman) attaches itself to Bean as her personal demon and is constantly encouraging her bad behavior. Meanwhile, an elf named Elfo (Nat Faxon, Married, Ben and Kate) is also feeling out of place in his home. He’s sick of eating candy all day and always being happy. He wants to see what it’s like to feel depressed…and he may soon get his wish when he manages to make his way to Dreamland.

The animation style of Disenchantment looks a lot like that of The Simpsons and Futurama. The series also has the same layered site-gag humor, such as the punny shop names throughout the kingdom. There are also some really fun new characters, with familiar voices – both from the voice cast behind Futurama as well as some from talented British comedians. Where this series differs from Matt Groening’s previous work is the tone and structure. The humor is a bit more adult – Bean is constantly getting drunk or high, there is some pretty graphic (though humorous) violence, and there are quite a few sexual jokes or situations. While some of this may go over the heads of younger viewers, the target audience definitely seems to skew older. Also, unlike The Simpsons and Futurama, this series is highly serialized. While Bean, Elfo, and Luci usually have some kind of misadventure or problem of the week, there is a deeper ongoing story arc and character growth that flows from episode to episode, and there are some mysteries set up early on that will hopefully be explained by the end of the season.

Disenchantment is definitely worth checking out for Matt Groening fans. It feels both fun and familiar but also quite different from his previous shows. At San Diego Comic-Con, I participated in a roundtable discussion with series creator Matt Groening and showrunner Josh Weinstein, so if you want more even more information on the series, check out my write-up/audio at NoReruns.net.

Check out Disenchantment now on Netflix!

I’ll also be watching/recording The Great British Baking Show.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/17/18

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/7/18

Posted on August 7, 2018 by and

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Jenny’s Choice

My favorite genre of TV has to be the procedural – cops, detectives, crime scene, & the like. So when I got an email about screeners for a new lighthearted detective comedy/procedural on WGN America, Carter. Jerry O’Connell stars as Harley Carter, an actor playing a detective on a hit TV show who retreats to his hometown after an embarrassing public meltdown in Hollywood. (Yes, it sounds similar to Take Two, with the actor/public meltdown/becoming a detective in real life. But I’m okay with that. LOL) Once there, he uses what he’s learned on set to help out his childhood best friend, Sam Shaw (Sydney Poitier Heartsong), a police detective. He also ropes in their third best friend, Dave Leigh (Kristian Bruun), who reluctantly goes along with Harley’s sometimes crazy, sometimes dangerous schemes.

I’ve seen most of the first 10-episode season, and while it isn’t perfect, it’s a fun, enjoyable show that is an escape from the real world, which is just kind of what we want sometimes, isn’t it?

On tonight’s episode, “Koji the Killer,” Harley Carter returns to his Ontario hometown after a public scandal, only to find that his housekeeper has been accused of murder.

Check out this fun new comedic procedural tonight on WGN America at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/DVRing America’s Got Talent, Chopped, & Making It.
 
Jump with us to see else we think you should watch. Continue reading →

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/7/18

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/6/18

Posted on August 6, 2018 by

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, Better Call Saul returns to AMC to kick off its fourth season. During last season’s finale, Howard had had enough of Chuck’s drama. He handed him a $3M personal check to buy out his part of the firm and then immediately announced Chuck’s departure to the entire firm. When Jimmy heard the news, he went to apologize to his older brother, but Chuck didn’t want to hear it. Later that evening, Chuck had another one of his panic attacks, tearing apart his home looking for the source of an electronic hum. Chuck had lost his job, and his reputation, and couldn’t control his anxiety. He had had enough – he kicked some piles of paper in his office that were holding up a lantern, until it fell over, setting the whole house ablaze with him still inside.

Meanwhile, Kim had already decided to take some time off after her car accident, and now Jimmy was about to have some free time of his own. Jimmy felt guilt over destroying Irene Landry’s life, and when he couldn’t con her friends into accepting her back, he orchestrated an accidental confession during bingo. This basically destroyed his credibility at the old-age home and caused his clients to flee en masse. And finally, Nacho watched from his car as Hector, Gus, and Juan had an argument outside his father’s upholstery shop. Hector clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground. Surprisingly, Gus Fring administered CPR, saving Hector’s life. Surely part of some master plan.

I’m looking forward to another season of Better Call Saul tonight. How is Jimmy going to react to his brother’s death/suicide, and will this be what finally pushes him to become Saul Goodman? And how will this affect Kim and Jimmy’s seemingly doomed relationship? And what else will we learn of the larger Madrigal business that plays such a major role in Breaking Bad?

On tonight’s premiere, “Smoke,” Jimmy struggles to cope with Chuck’s tragic death; Mike ponders his role at Madrigal; and Howard makes a startling confession.

Check out how the season begins tonight on AMC at 9/8c.

I’ll also be watching/recording Lodge 49.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/6/18