Author Archives: Phoebe

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/2/19

Posted on August 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!

Phoebe’s Choice

With only two episodes to sew up the whole story, Swamp Thing found himself in a dire situation to start last week’s penultimate episode. He was held captive by Dr. Jason Woodrue, who was dissecting him in a makeshift portable lab. Woodrue developed a theory that the swamp creature was not Alec Holland, as we’ve believed all season, but a plant that was manifesting as a humanoid that believes they’re Holland. Daniel Cassidy/The Blue Devil woke up in a hospital, confronted by the demonic deal broker who cursed him with his powers. A vision of the future was shared, showing Abby & Liz Tremayne getting slaughtered by mercenaries in a mystery location.

IRL, Abby & Liz went to Woodrue’s house to try to track his location. They spoke with his increasingly insane wife. In the lab, Woodrue tore Swamp Thing’s organs out one by one, despite the fact he was clearly alive. Avery Sunderland recovered with Woodrue’s help and moved directly to having his wife forcibly admitted to an insane asylum. Cassidy accepted his fate, and the power of the Blue Devil possessed him. Abby & Liz used the lead they got from the mad wife and sneaked into the remote, mobile medical lab Woodrue had been using. The gals stopped just short of a room they heard the mercenaries in, when The Blue Devil appeared! Using his demonic powers of electricity and blue flames, he totally killed the shit out of all of them.

That allowed the gals to free Swamp Thing, who wished to return to the swamp to see if Woodrue’s theory was true. Woodrue meanwhile returned home just in time to find his wife dying of an overdose. Abby followed the creature into the swamp where, shockingly, they actually found the body of dead human scientist Alec Holland, proving that Swamp Thing is not Alec!

Now, this show got canceled after one week on the air. It was not given a chance because the state of North Carolina chintz’d out on the tax breaks they had initially offered. The show’s creator did however make a point to tell us to stick around for the post credits for a tease of future content. So maybe the character will see life on a future show? I hope so, because this show has been a great ride, even after being cut down to 10 episodes instead of the originally planned 13.

On today’s episode, “Loose Ends,” The swamp fights back in the season finale. Still reeling with the revelation of the truth behind his existence, Swamp Thing goes on the offensive against Ellery’s mercenary team hunting him. Meanwhile, Abby comes up against Jason Woodrue, who’s crossed the line to save his wife’s life. And as Liz tries to help Dan Cassidy escape the curse of the Blue Devil and leave Marais once and for all, Avery Sunderland attempts to find a resolution to his relationship with Lucilia and Matt Cable.

Don’t miss the finale this morning on DCU at 9AM/8AMc.

I’ll also be tuning in for the 2-hour season finale to Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/31/19

Posted on July 31, 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

Early this morning, Hulu released the first four episodes of the new series Four Weddings and a Funeral. The ten-episode series comes from creator/executive producer Mindy Kaling and is a re-imagining of the 1994 romantic comedy of the same name. However, the only thing it really shares in common with its namesake is that over the course of the season, there will be four weddings and a funeral. Andie MacDowell also makes a guest appearance, though not reprising her film role.

The series centers around the lives of four American friends who went to college with one another and spent a semester abroad in London. After college, three of the friends moved to London, while Maya (Nathalie Emmanuel, Game of Thrones) stayed back. Maya had fallen in love with married Congressman Ted Spencer (Tommy Dewey, Casual) while working on his campaign, and now she is helping him run for the Senate. As all romantic stories like this go, Ted says that he loves Maya and will be leaving his wife any day now.

In the opener, Maya takes a trip to London to see her friends for a costume party. During a bag mix-up at the airport, she meets the charming Kash (Nikesh Patel, Indian Summers), who says that he is an actor. She later discovers that Kash is the boyfriend of her best friend, designer Ainsley (Rebecca Rittenhouse, The Mindy Project, Red Band Society). Ainsley lives across the hall from the posh Gemma (Zoe Boyle, Frontier, Witless) and her husband and son. Gemma is a bit jealous to see that Ainsley has another friend. It turns out that Kash isn’t actually an actor but rather co-workers with investment banker Craig (Brandon Mychal Smith, You’re the Worst), who has just asked girlfriend Zara (Sophia La Porta, The Five) to move in with him. And rounding out the American crew is Duffy (John Reynolds, Stranger Things, Search Party), a dorky, awkward teacher at an all-boys school where he also lives in the dorm. He has had a secret crush on Maya for the past decade but has never been able to get up the courage to tell her how he feels.

The series feels more like an extended feature film than a traditional TV series, with each episode flowing nicely right into the next, plus it has a very British aesthetic to it. The episodes are filled with all those delightful tropes you expect to see in any classic romantic comedy, with the characters going through ups and downs and lots of plot twists and turns. There are also fun callbacks to iconic scenes from classic romantic comedy films. The show has a nice mix of drama and humor, and many of the comedic moments had me laughing out loud as I checked out the first two episodes. The series also has a wonderful soundtrack, and it didn’t even bother me that all the songs were covers.

One of the fun things about the show is that we know there will be four weddings and a funeral, and so there is this constant mystery of who will be a part of those five events (well, not that it’s fun to imagine who is going to die). The first couple of episodes do a nice job of setting up various possible love pairings and triangles, and you don’t necessarily know who is going to end up with whom. I fell in love with the show from episode one – these characters are so much fun and really feel like they could be longtime friends. I look forward to seeing how their intertwining stories all play out over the course of the season… I just hope I don’t have to watch one of their funerals!

Check out the first four episodes now on Hulu.

I’ll also be watching/recording Archer, Krypton, Younger, Match Game, Big Brother, and MasterChef.
 
Jump with us to see else we think you should watch. Continue reading →

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/28/19

Posted on July 28, 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!

Phoebe’s Choice

An exciting new Epix Original debuts tonight that is yet another DC Universe, Batman-related, live-action series that will not feature Batman directly. Pennyworth instead will follow the adventures of the only non-costumed detective to be allowed in the Batcave: the butler Alfred Pennyworth. The show takes place after World War II, with Alfred fresh out of the British Special Forces. He is very much a bad-ass with hand-to-hand skills that rival old Bat’s. He is also young and in love and trying to establish himself as a savvy security consultant. Fortunately young bachelor Thomas Wayne has a price on his head and needs security, so I think they can work something out. I got to see the screener for the debut – and without spoilers, it is flat-out smashing. Ka-pow!

The other Bat-related shows are the recently completed Gotham and the soon-to-debut Batwoman. Batwoman will be a part of both the Arrowverse in general and the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover coming next winter. Oh, I just remembered an honorable mention for Bat-related show that tangentially featured Bruce Wayne: Powerless. What I am getting at here is that it feels like they are getting ready to try a Batman show sometime this century. I’m hoping for it anyway. Till then, we have Pennyworth.

On tonight’s 70-minute premiere, “Pilot,” just out of the English air service, Alfred Pennyworth finds himself at loose ends and endeavors to start a security company.

I’ll also be watching Perpetual Grace, LTD, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, & Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/24/19

Posted on July 24, 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!

Phoebe’s Choice

While I still don’t have a complete handle on what/why Pop is, I do know that the hilarious new show Florida Girls airs on it. Having just spent a month living in Clearwater and being no stranger to Florida trailer park madness, this show hits close to home. It follows four 20-something roommates who share a trailer and a workplace in Clearwater, FL. They are slightly on the trashy side, but the most responsible of the quartet, Shelby, is determined to get the money together for her GED to get the heck out of the town eventually. They’ve been airing 2 episodes every Wednesday, so the ten-episode season one will be done quickly.

Last week’s second episode started with the girls dressed in super fashionable black outfits, scraping together the $2.79 for a small soda and a lottery ticket. They won $800 with the scratch-off lotto ticket. They were in the fash black outfits cause they were going to the funeral of local party guru, Josh Travis. Shelby tried to encourage the other girls to invest in GED classes too. Jayla noticed a guy that was in an expensive watch, and it turned out to be Erica’s brother, Matty, all cleaned up and sober. Jesus saved him. Shelby roped the other girls into going on a kayaking trip with Matty. She hoped that maybe religion would inspire them to invest their lotto winnings smarter. Jayla pretended to be Christian to get Matty interested in her. Erica found a blunt roach in the sand and thought Jesus wants her to invest her money in becoming a pot dealer.

Kaitlin accidentally let all the kayaks float away, stranding them on the island. Matty snapped and lost his shit, telling Jesus to eff off and then chasing the pastor who convinced him of his new faith around the beach. When Kaitlin realized they had been on Josh Travis’s party island the whole time, she declared that Jesus wanted her to invest her money in an island party. The girls pointed out to Shelby maybe she just was too scared to get her GED without them, and she confessed they were right. The episode ended with Shelby deciding to swim for the mainland as her friends cheered her on. About ten yards out, she paused to turn and give them the finger. Why is this so relatable?

On tonight’s first episode, “What’s Your Favorite Boat,” the girls get a taste of the privileged life when they visit Breezy Lopez, a rich girl from high school; a glimpse of Breezy’s idyllic family makes Shelby realize the cracks in her relationship with her mother.

Then on the second episode, “Stop Pretending to Read,” when Shelby buys a book that makes her realize the girls have been objectified by men, she tries to tackle the issue at her bikini bartending job.

Don’t miss the Florida fun tonight on Pop at 10/9c & 10:30/9:30c.

I guess Wednesdays are my strongest TV night right now, ’cause I’ll also be watching the penultimate Archer: 1999 episode plus Full Frontal with Samantha Bee & Krypton.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/23/19

Posted on July 23, 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!

Phoebe’s Choice

I have been looking for summer content, so I decided to give the Pandora premiere last week a try. It’s sci-fi & on The CW, who does a great job on the Arrowverse, so why not? Well. It’s not the best sci-fi I’ve ever experienced, but I am not throwing tomatoes at the screen just yet.

The bizarre pilot opened with Jax, our main character, going for a jog on her planet, when her parents were obliterated by an attack. Fast forward to her being admitted into some academy back on Earth that a relative got her into. That escalated strangely. Okay, next we met and befriended alien Ralen & former sex slave & clone Atria Nine, cause a girl needs supporting cast. Where would Buffy be without Willow after all? They formed a study group, (what is this, Community??), and then Jax needed to check out the remains of her old home.

Once on her homeworld, at the site of her parents’ slaughter, she and the gang were attacked by some weird alien species but were able to duck into a vortex that put them in a safe pocket dimension during the laser bombardment. I was trying to figure out where they found the cool cave that most of these scenes were shot in, and I read that the entire show was produced in Bulgaria. Okay, that tracks. We also learned that Professor Osbourne from the academy was an undercover detective who suspected wrongdoing from the human upper tier. And that’s it. Left on a weird cliffhanger in a Bulgarian cave.

Visually, it is a well-done TV show. The writing so far seems kind of slopped together. I’ll watch it for now, until it either jumps shark or my better Tuesday night shows come back. Check it out if you are content starved. Otherwise you’re not missing the next Expanse or anything.

On tonight’s episode, “Chimes of Freedom,” when Atria Nine learns that Adari leader, Seeker Creston Hubbell, will be speaking on campus, she enlists the help of Jax and the study group to stand up against her former masters to help free her clone sisters and brothers from oppression on her homeworld.

Check out this new sci-fi drama tonight on The CW at 8/7c.

I’m also watching Young Justice.

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