Author Archives: Kyle

If We Controlled Your Remote… 12/2/19

Posted on December 2, 2019 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, NBC returns to the farmhouse to kick off another season of the delightful crafting competition series Making It. This season, ten new makers will compete in various challenges that put their creativity and craftsmanship to the test, and in the end one will be named Master Maker and take home the $100K prize. The contestants come from all kinds of backgrounds, including a costume maker, a construction manager, a portrait artist, a calligrapher, a DIY blogger, a software engineer, a muralist, an interior designer, an installation builder, and a scientist. Back again this year are hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, who provide hilarious commentary during the challenges as well as fun interstitial banter and sketches between the segments. Each episode consists of two challenges – a 3-hour Faster Craft round, followed by the longer Master Craft round. At the end of each challenge, the winner receives a patch, and at the end of the Master Craft round, one of the contestants is also sent home. Judging the rounds and determining who will be sent home are judges Barneys NY Creative Ambassador Simon Doonan and Etsy Trend Expert Dayna Isom Johnson.

This year the competition will take place over just two weeks, with all 8 episodes airing over 7 week nights. I checked out the first two episodes, and it took all of my strength to not just binge through more of them. This show is so much fun – Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman have such amazing chemistry and had me laughing out lough throughout each episode. There are so many puns! Somehow this second season is even better than the first, which I also loved. I can’t recommend this show highly enough. If there’s one crafting competition show you watch this holiday season, make it this one!

On tonight’s premiere, “What Are You Made Of?” ten new makers join Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman to show off their skills; for their first faster craft, they make a physical representation of themselves as a food item, and for the master craft, they recreate a favorite craft from their youth.

Meet the new crafters tonight on NBC at 10:01/9:01c.

I’ll also be watching/recording The Good Doctor, 9-1-1, Prodigal Son, Wrap Battle, and His Dark Materials.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 11/28/19

Posted on November 28, 2019 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! And to our fellow US TV viewers, may you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Kyle’s Choice

Today, Apple TV+ launched the new psychological thriller Servant, from director M. Night Shyamalan and writer Tony Basgallop. The series follows couple Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell, Dead Man’s Shoes), who are in mourning over the recent loss of their infant son, Jericho. The two have taken different approaches towards dealing with their grief, and this has caused a bit of a rift in their marriage. Dorothy appears to be in denial, pretending that nothing has happened, treating a doll made to look like the child they lost as though it were actually their son. Sean just wants his wife to snap out of it and is annoyed that he must pretend to love and care for this doll. It’s been almost nine months, but the couple hasn’t even told anyone about their loss – the only people who know the truth are Dorothy’s father and her younger brother Julian (Rupert Grint, Harry Potter). The couple lives in a large, expensive townhouse in Philadelphia. Sean works out of the home as a consulting chef, developing recipes for high-end restaurants. Meanwhile, Dorothy works as a field reporter for a local TV news station, and so she needs help taking care of “baby” Jericho. Enter the couple’s new live-in nanny, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young), a quiet, reserved eighteen-year-old from Wisconsin, who doesn’t seem phased at all by the couple’s unusual situation.

While Dorothy is eager to please the new houseguest, Sean doesn’t feel the same way. He’s confused as to why Leanne insists on treating “Jericho” like a real baby even when Dorothy is not around to see. He senses something is off about this young woman, and when odd, creepy things start happening around the house, his suspicions intensify. I really enjoyed what I’ve seen of the series so far. M. Night Shyamalan projects usually involve strange, unexpected twists and turns, and this show certainly has many of those. As the episodes progress, things get increasingly mysterious and creepy. Shyamalan has a very unusual way of framing the scenes, which adds to the uneasiness and tension of what’s happening. Much of the series takes place inside this house, which can be at times beautiful but also a bit claustrophobic (though in a good way that helps set the tone). The series does a great job of ending each episode in a way that makes you eager to check out the next one. While this series could easily be binged, I like that it will be released weekly, as it is certainly a show that is going to promote water cooler talk. This is easily my favorite of the Apple Originals thus far.

Today Apple released the first three 30-minute episodes, and new episodes will continue to roll out weekly, every Friday, starting next week. Due to the holiday, new episodes of Apple’s other three weekly originals (The Morning Show, See, and For All Mankind) will also drop today, instead of their usual Friday release.

I’ll also be watching/recording Merry Happy Whatever, Holiday Rush, and Almost Family.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 11/27/19

Posted on November 27, 2019 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!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race returns for an all-new but abbreviated holiday installment. This time around there’s just five food truck teams that will hit the road to see who has the best combination of culinary skills and salesmanship to win the $50,000 grand prize. And for this holiday race, the teams are headed to my neck of the woods, New England.

The five teams competing include “Big Stuff,” comprised of two professional private chefs who work on yachts and their marketing friend; “Creole Queens.” a married couple from New Orleans along with their friend; “Lia’s Lupima,” an executive chef who started a catering company with his mother, joined by a friend; “Magical Mystery Heroes,” a chef along with his cousin and his cousin’s wife; and “Slap Shot,” a Northern Minnesota culinary student, her sister, and their mother.

Even though it will just be a short, 4-episode season, it should be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to this winter-themed installment of the series.

On tonight’s premiere, “Holiday Hustle: Blizzard Brawl,” five aspiring food truck teams kick off the season in snowy Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Tyler Florence challenges the contestants with naughty and nice holiday ingredients, and they compete for sales while battling the elements in a winter wonderland.

Don’t miss the start of the winter fun tonight on Food Network at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/recording The Irishman, Survivor, and Almost Family.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 11/25/19

Posted on November 25, 2019 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!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, Freeform kicks off the all-new holiday-themed reality competition series Wrap Battle, with two back-to-back episodes. The series finds nine contestants trying to out-wrap one another to be the first ever Wrap Battle Champion and take home the $50K prize. You read that correctly: it’s a present-wrapping competition series! With Christmas just a month away, it’s as good a time as any to get into the holiday spirit, and this show certainly has that in droves.

The competition is hosted by comedian Sheryl Underwood (The Talk), who serves as a judge, alongside Carson Kressley (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), and gift wrapping expert Wanda Wen (founder of fine stationery and luxury paper brand Soolip). Each episode consists of two rounds. The first round is the Swift Gift Challenge, a short 45-minute challenge, at the end of which the winner will be given an advantage for the second round. The second round is the Big Gift Challenge, a longer 3-hour challenge that involves a much bigger effort. At the end of that round, some of the contestants will be put on the Nice List, while some others will make the Naughty List. And it will be a wrap for a contestant from the latter list, as they are sent home.

I checked out tonight’s two episodes and found the show to be a lot of fun. It’s got an eclectic mix of contestants ranging in age from 24 to 47. While some of them are professional gift wrappers, designers, entrepreneurs, and event coordinators, there’s also an insurance agent and a mom/PTA president. And if you like wrapping puns, this show is loaded with them – the contestants are often sent off to the present-tation room to display their work to the judges. Tonight’s second episode features a guest judge for one of the challenges, and I’m sure there will be more of that in later weeks as well. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this battle and what crazy tasks the contestants are given in upcoming episodes.

On tonight’s premiere, “Wrap Big or Wrap at Home,” nine talented gift wrappers compete to become the Wrap Battle Champion and win a grand prize worth $50,000. In the second episode, “Shopping Mall Wars,” wrappers team up to operate gift wrapping kiosks, each team try to out-hustle and out-wrap their competition; featuring guest judge Sherry Cola.

See how talented these wrappers are tonight on Freeform starting at 9/8c.

I’ll also be watching/recording The Good Doctor, 9-1-1, Prodigal Son, and His Dark Materials.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 11/21/19

Posted on November 21, 2019 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, ABC’s Thursday drama lineup airs its fall finales. One of these shows about to take a break is A Million Little Things. Last week, Rome’s mother and father were preparing to go on their anniversary cruise when Gina got the call that Rome’s mother had died. Rome had a great relationship with his mother, and one of her dying wishes was for Rome and his father to mend their broken one. Rome and his father had never really gotten along. Rome always believed that his pop loved his brother Omar more and treated him better. But Rome made the first steps toward fixing his relationship with his father. Everyone came to the funeral, where Rome gave the eulogy. Gina was worried that this loss might send Rome into another suicidal depression, but he assured her that his sadness was just normal grieving. During the post-funeral party, PJ discovered his DNA kit hiding under the bed and learned that there was a 99.9% that Jonathan was his real father. So he silently stormed off, upset that Rome had been hiding the results from him.

At the party, Delilah suggested she might take the children to France for the summer, and this increased Eddie’s concern that his name wasn’t on his daughter’s birth certificate – Delilah could decide to just run off and never return, and there was nothing he could do about it. So he and Katherine confronted Delilah, even threatening her with legal action, but Delilah was adamant that her children not found out that Jonathan wasn’t their baby sister’s father. This didn’t stop Eddie and Katherine, who had bonded a bit over this, and Eddie started to fill out some legal paperwork. It seems like Eddie and Katherine could just simply let the cat out of the bag directly to Delilah’s kids, and then it’s too late, the truth would already be out there!

Meanwhile, Gary had been fired from work for taking too much time off to help Maggie. However, he didn’t want this to have an effect on Maggie’s decision whether or not to take a fellowship at Oxford, so he hid this news from her. Instead, he decorated the apartment with British paraphernalia to show her that he supported her decision, whatever it may be. Though, honestly, from a show standpoint, it seems highly unlikely that this would happen because one or both of them would be then leave the series.

As the episode came to a close, Delilah learned that PJ was Barbara Morgan’s son, and so she showed up at Rome and Gina’s door, asking why they hadn’t told her this. Will Rome and Gina finally tell her the truth about Jonathan’s relationship with Barbara and that PJ is Jonathan’s son? And will this finally convince Delilah to reveal the truth about her own daughter’s parentage? And how will Delilah’s children react to the news of all these secret love children? Will it be a relief to Sophie that PJ is her brother and that’s why he rejected her, or will this only make things worse? And how will PJ’s parents deal with him discovering the truth?

On tonight’s midseason finale, “Time Stands Still,” Rome helps PJ through a personal crisis; Gary and Maggie’s relationship takes a turn; Delilah, Eddie, and Katherine make tough decisions that will affect their families.

See how the first half of the season ends tonight on ABC at 9:01/8:01c.

I’ll also be watching/recording The Knight Before Christmas, Grey’s Anatomy, Young Sheldon, Carol’s Second Act, Superstore, Perfect Harmony, The Good Place, and Will & Grace.

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