Author Archives: Phoebe

If We Controlled Your Remote… 6/24/20

Posted on June 24, 2020 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!

Phoebe’s Choice

We’re kind of lucky to have any Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at all this year. It was supposed to get axed after season 6, but when Inhumans flopped (hard), this show was extended. Comic book TV content is still highly in demand, and Fox also cancelled The Gifted, so something had to be salvaged. To be brutally honest, this season could be written off as mashup of Legends of Tomorrow & 12 Monkeys, but we’ve grown to love these characters so much, we’ll take them packaged however, wherever, whenever. So I’m gonna be grateful that we are spiraling through time with the core S.H.I.E.L.D. crew led by Mac, sans Fitz but with a robot Coulson & an afflicted Mae. Why? Because it has been phenomenal so far, as we’ve spent 2 episodes in the 1930s and now 2 in the 1950s.

Last week started with a unique show logo and robot Coulson as a film noir narrator in an appropriately black & white episode. Agent Surry from the short-lived yet classic Agent Carter crossed paths with the time-displaced team already. Robo-Coulson realized as he was in Sousa’s custody that that day was the one that Sousa was meant to die, after delivering a vital piece of technology to Howard Stark. Initially he sought to preserve history and steered Sousa towards his (later famous and revered) doom, but a number of problems cropped up on the way. For one thing, in retrieval of the item, Deek got kidnapped by Hydra. Yo-yo got away with the item, but instead of taking it to Coulson, she was preoccupied with saving Deek. To comedic effect, Enoch was again left as a bartender in the speakeasy where we last saw him in the 1930s. This time his only use was in patching the comms of the crew in a tech-starved era. In the end they faked Sousa’s death and took him forward with them on their next time hop after smoothing out history and foiling the Chronicons attempts to sabotage the timestream.

On tonight’s episode, “A Trout in the Milk,” after a bumpy landing in the disco decade, the team — Daniel Sousa in tow — reunites with more than one familiar face at the S.H.I.E.L.D. hangout and discovers exactly how to dismantle the Chronicoms’ latest plan. But when they get too close for comfort, the Zephyr unexpectedly leaps forward again, this time to a date pivotal to not only the future of S.H.I.E.L.D. but to the future of Director Mack as well.

Find out why the date is pivotal to the team tonight on ABC at 10/9c.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 6/22/20

Posted on June 22, 2020 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

After the lackluster (at best) first season of Batwoman, I was not expecting a whole lot from another CW Arrowverse show. I did not realize, however, that it was simply being licensed for broadcast on The CW, that it was in fact a DCU show and was not part of the Arrowverse at all. I’m glad my expectations were so low, because now the season that I am swept up into is an absolute delight. Luke Wilson and Brec Bassinger star as S.T.R.I.P.E. and Star Girl respectively, two members of the second incarnation of the Justice Society of America. The tale takes place after the original JSA was wiped out by the Injustice Society of America. I know, real weak branding, but this show is still sooooo good. High school student Courtney Whitmore believes she is Star Man’s daughter because his staff activated for her and gave her all of his powers, even though her stepdad, who is also S.T.R.I.P.E – Star Man’s old sidekick and a robot made out of cars – tells her time and again that he was not her real dad.

After recovering a number of power items associated with each of the ex-members of the JSA, Courtney has been on a quest to find heirs apparent for each of the fallen members of the once prominent superhero team. Last week we added Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite’s replacements in the form of the trouble student Rick Tyler & nerd outcast Beth Chapel. Beth snooped through Courtney’s room, where she found the relics of power. Donning the glasses of Dr. Mid-Nite, she is now guided by the disembodied voice of Charles McNider, the original Dr. M, incarnated here as an AI with all of his memories and an extensive library of information about the modern world.

While reluctant to let Beth claim the helm of a hero who she is not a direct legacy of, Courtney pursued Rick Tyler because she discovered that he is the original Hourman’s son. After giving him the hourglass medallion that his father used, he was imbued with the power of super-strength but only for one hour each day. He initially intended to use the powers to cause mischief, but after Beth used her goggles to show him that his parents were actually killed by the JSA, he agreed to join their growing group of super-powered beings.

This show has the production value of Titans but with way more heart. It is tremendous fun & if you aren’t watching this yet, it is time to #ketchup.

On today’s episode, “The Powers That Be,” Courtney makes a difficult decision after Pat confronts her about the potential consequences of recruiting new members to the JSA. Elsewhere, Barbara shows up in support of Mike’s science fair, and Courtney, Yolanda, Beth, and Rick prepare for their first major mission.

Don’t miss it this morning on DC at 9AM/8AMc.

I’ll also be watching the ever weird and hilarious American Dad.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/3/20

Posted on May 3, 2020 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

Tonight, the second half of Rick and Morty season four premieres on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) at 11:30pm EST, with all five remaining episodes set to debut in the month of May. After that we have no idea how long we might wait to get a fifth season. They are contracted for 70 more episodes, but we just don’t know how long that will take to happen, or if (considering our current Cronenberg of a global pandemic) that is really feasible anymore.

Anywhoodles, let’s hope that the rest of the season is as hilarious as the midseason finale was, when one imagines that Summer entered the writing room and said, “Okay, what if we do Snakes on a Plane meets Terminator?” To which Rick would have replied, “Wow, that’s a pretty specific pitch, Summer.” But they made it anyway, and it was spectacular! With at least 5 minutes of the episode laid out in semi-intelligible “snake talk–only” sequences where they showed us what happened on Snake Planet, they threw exposition out the forking window sideways. They also tangled time in a way that would summon the Testicle Time Lords from the Season 2 premiere. This was a rare call back from a show that has stayed (relatively) fresh by not depending on continuity to drive the episodes.

I rated the first half of this season as 3/5 classics with two “filler” status episodes. I don’t expect them to beat that ratio this second half, but here’s to hoping that they do. #EnjoyYourApocalypse everyone!

Don’t miss the midseason premiere, “Never Ricking Morty,” tonight on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) at 11:30/10:30c.
I’ll also be watching Supergirl, Batwoman, Bob’s Burgers, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and especially, robotically, the Westworld season three finale.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/1/20

Posted on May 1, 2020 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, Amazon Prime Video released the 10-episode first season of the new sci-fi comedy Upload, from series creator Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation). In the year 2033, people now have the option to upload themselves into a digital afterlife before they die, allowing them to essentially live forever. Those who are still living on Earth can interact with their deceased loved ones using virtual reality headsets – and other specialized equipment, should their needs be a little more intimate. However, much like life on Earth, every bit and byte in these virtual worlds has been monetized, and only the rich can afford to spend their digital afterlife in a luxurious place like Lakeview.

Nora Antony (Andy Allo, Chicago Fire, Pitch Perfect 3) is a customer service representative for the Horizon corporation. It is her job to be an “angel” to the residents of Lakeview, helping them get accustomed to their new digital after-lives and assisting them with whatever needs come up. While she may be good at her job, her boss, Lucy (Andrea Rosen, Episodes) doesn’t appreciate her and is constantly threatening to lower her star rating. Nora also hasn’t had much luck in her personal life, resorting to using a sketchy hook-up app when she feels lonely. However, Nora’s life is about to change when she is assigned to a new Lakeview client.

Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell, The X-Files, The Flash) is a bit of a party boy but also an intelligent programmer. He and business partner Jamie (Jordan Johnson-Hinds, Letterkenny) are working on a freeware program that would allow people of any means to be able to afford to live on in a digital afterlife. However, when Nathan is badly injured in a suspicious self-driving car crash, his wealthy girlfriend, Ingird (Allegra Edwards, Briarpatch), makes the decision to upload him to Lakeview. While Nathan is now “living” in luxury, he also feels trapped as Ingrid has control over his finances and what he can do with his endless time. However, his new angel, Nora, becomes a breath of fresh air…well, if he could breathe.

Once I started watching this show, I couldn’t stop – I thoroughly enjoyed this first season and was screaming to see what happens next after it ended! In some ways the show reminded me of The Good Place – though it does take advantage of the fact that it’s not on network TV and is thus not as family-friendly. The series offers a unique, interesting, and sometimes wacky alternate take on the afterlife, mixing in witty writing, clever humor, topical references, and some really fun, quirky characters. There is a really nice blend of humor and character drama, along with the underlying mystery of whether or not what happened to Nathan was truly an accident. The cast is fantastic and have such great chemistry with one another. In addition to the main characters, there’s also some fun recurring characters, such as the annoying A.I. GUY (Owen Daniels) who seems to be everywhere, Nora’s foul-mouthed 18-year-old client Dylan (Rhys Slack) who’s stuck in a 12-year-old avatar body, and Nora’s co-worker Aleesha (Zainab Johnson) and her clients, young veteran Luke (Kevin Bigley, The Moodys) and bigoted billionaire David (William B. Davis, The X-Files).

The series has some really fun and interesting ideas as to what the future will be like. I just hope the actual future includes another season of this series!

Check out the first season now on Amazon.

I’ll also be watching/recording Trying, Prop Culture, Hollywood, The Blacklist, and The Graham Norton Show.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 4/26/20

Posted on April 26, 2020 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

The idea of a Batwoman show was a lot more exciting than the show itself, as it turns out. Actual Gotham in the Arrowverse with a queer super heroine, heck yeah! Or so we hoped. I don’t hate the show, but they’ve lost a lot of potential in the way they’ve paced their season, the fact that Kate’s sister Alice is the perennial Big Bad, almost no cool villains, and an at-best-adequate set of supporting characters. But yeah, I still watch it. I’m just not sure we need a season two or three.

Last week started with Kate burying the body of Augustus after she had killed him last episode for how he treated both Beth & her mom. Kate’s dad Jacob & Alice were there as well. Alice blackmailed them into letting her go. Jacob, being the chief of police, and their special squad, The Crows, tasked Sofie to track down Mouse. Alice also was tracking down Mouse, and she convinced Kate to help her. Since he had been attacking other nurses from Arkham Asylum, they staked out the house of one of the nurses he had not yet attacked. Mouse did turn up, but The Crows nabbed him first and they sent him back to Arkham.

Meanwhile, Lucious Fox’s supposed killer was let free after he got a retrial scheduled. Luke Fox later confronted the accused killer, Reggie, who swore he was set up. An assassin then sniped him from across the street. Sophia was also targeted by a hitman but was rescued by one of Kate’s other exes: Julia, the British special agent. Despite learning that Alice set her up to kill Augustus, Kate still agreed to “reunite Alice with Mouse,” who was locked in the basement at Arkham. Kate betrayed Alice though, locking her crazed sister into the basement of the asylum as well. We learned that the Quick Store owner who was there the night Lucious was killed had also been taken out by a professional hit. Jacob was almost taken out by an assassin as well but managed to kill him instead.

I just feel so much of the plot has been ripped from a police procedural, a genre I don’t watch. The Cov19 outbreak cut the series short, but apparently there will still be a few more episodes that air this spring. Let’s hope for some cool villains at least, but don’t hold your breath.

On tonight’s episode, “A Narrow Escape,” Batwoman encounters a new challenge when an old villain resurfaces, testing the heroics of Gotham’s most stand-up citizens. Alice’s limits are tested.

See how everyone stands up to the tests this week on The CW at 8/7c.

I’ll also be watching Westworld & Bob’s Burgers.

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