Author Archives: Phoebe

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/25/17

Posted on August 25, 2017 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

Last week on Dark Matter, we finally got all but the money shot on the resolution of the lasting rivalry between Two and Ryo that began late season two. After she was kidnapped the episode before by the alternate timeline Three, who goes by Boone, she was brought before Emperor Ryo Ishida on his home world. She hastened to making mincemeat of his guards and was dueling with him when an explosion rocked the whole palace. A meeting of Ryo’s generals had been sabotaged.

Back aboard the Raza, the rest of the crew wondered if Two could still be alive but soon learned the truth when Ryo called and invited them to Zairon to negotiate a trade: the Blink Drive in exchange for Two. Instead of going in person, Three, Five, & Six beamed their minds into clones to talk about an exchange. Six confronted the leader of the royal guards, Misaki, who confessed to her murder of former Raza crew member Nix. The Emperor’s advisor Teku took Five to see Two, and together they weighed options.

Ryo confided in Three that when he regained his memories, he recalled that Three himself was the cause of the radiation poisoning that eventually led to the death of his lover, Sarah, who existed now only as a digital copy of her former human self. Next in a private talk with Five, Ryo revealed to her the identity of her sister, whom she knew was adopted by a wealthy family. Though the reveal never made it past the fourth wall, she was visibly shocked and upset.

Later Ryo had his private talk with Six, and Six thwarted an attempt on the Emperor’s life. Then, for some reason, despite the state of emergency, Ryo had a full dinner with all of the Raza crew. There, he told Six that their Portia/Two discovered that he was a mole through an informant high in the ranks of the G.A. (Could it be Anders?!?) Misaki interrupted dinner, saying they are under attack. She also produced evidence that made it appear Teku was behind the attempt on Ryo’s life. She was soon ordered to execute the Raza crew members, but they were already breaking free to get Two to a ship to escape.

Misaki lured Ryo to an ambush, finally revealing that it was her treachery all along. He slayed the group of assassins then engaged her in an exciting katana fight. Six & Five got into their clone/transport units that would transfer their memories of the day back to their real bodies. Three stuck around and got his clone killed on purpose so he didn’t have to retain the memory of his contribution to the tragedy of Sarah’s death.

Just as Misaki was about to kill Ryo, Two intervened and killed the traitor with the same poisoned knife she used to kill Nix. Two then took Ryo into custody, and both of them headed back to the Raza. Once on the ship, the crew debated the fate of their former ally Four, who was Ryo. She went into where he was being held as their prisoner, and they had a long talk. He told her she had a child that she has no memory of. It was his apology before she was to execute him. And then. In fine cliff-hangar fashion… The episode ended with her finger on the trigger about to execute him!

Does Four/Ryo die tonight in the first two seconds of the episode? Is Anders the one who betrayed Six? Will we also learn who Five’s sister is? Only one way to find out, and that’s by watching the final episode of season three of Dark Matter tonight! Also, be sure to check out my interview with Jeff Teravainen, who plays Anders! You can see it here: Jeff Teravainen Interview

On tonight’s episode, “Nowhere to Go,” the crew of the Raza unite Ferrous Corps’ enemies in an effort to end the corporate war.

See how the season ends tonight on Syfy at 9/8c.

I’ll also be watching the season finale of Wynonna Earp & Killjoys!

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/17/17

Posted on August 17, 2017 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

This week, the Marvel TV universe hits a serious milestone when The Defenders season one is released on Netflix late Thursday/early Friday. Similar to how the separated films of Iron Man, Thor, & Captain America were used as a platform to launch The Avengers as a movie franchise, Netflix built into this team event through two seasons of Daredevil and one each of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, & Iron Fist. I was very let down by Iron Fist and mostly let down by Luke Cage, so I can’t say I am confident this will all go smoothly or that it will satisfy the Marvel Comics nerd in millions of us fan-girls & bois.

Continuity will likely be further mangled, as it seems this show’s big bad is going to be Alexandra Bont, played by Sigourney Weaver. The departure herein being that in the book it was a man named Alexander Bont that was a prominent Daredevil enemy. Screw it, though. Let’s not nitpick on how true-to-the-books these shows are or aren’t. Instead let me hope that this 8-episode crossover packs as much punch as the two Daredevil & one Jessica Jones seasons did. And hey, it IS All-Time Scream Queen Sigourney frackin’ Weaver.

One thing to look forward to is that Marco Ramirez is back as the show runner on this one. It was his direction that made two seasons of Daredevil a pair of consecutive roller-coaster rides that kept us holding on to our hats and screaming the whole way. I had been hoping that Kristyn Ritter, as Jessica Jones, would play a role in the season of Luke Cage, but alas no. It has been leaked, however, that those two will be rekindling a romantic interest in The Defenders, even if only as a plot device to get Jessica in the right place to meet the rest of the motley team. And too bad so sad… No signs of a resurrection of Kilgrave, (played by the former Dr. Who David Tennant) either.

As far as Weaver in the role of Alexandra, we have been led to believe she is more of a grey character than pure evil. Popular speculation at the moment leans towards her being involved with The Hand – a recurring crime organization that runs many parts of the underworld in this universe’s New York City. They would be an easy jump off point to connect Daredevil to Iron Fist at least. The last thing that I’m wondering and hoping for is this: will we see any more of the Punisher, who carried so much of Daredevil season two that it could have been named Frank Castle instead?

We’re gonna have to binge watch and see! You can do that starting super late tonight on Netflix starting at 3:01AM/2:01AMc.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/13/17

Posted on August 13, 2017 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

This is my Remote pick as well as a recap of last week in case you missed it. So far, each season of Rick & Morty has had a slightly different series of ridiculous scenes laid under the opening music, some of which appeared in the episodes, some which are just there to highlight what a whacky multiverse the show takes place in. After two mediocre episodes in season three, I took note of the opening last week. I shrugged and sighed as I watched Rick & Morty tied to a giant piano with the hammers smashing down destroying other versions of themselves, thinking “Looks cool, but when does the writing start to match the extreme, the morbid, and the weird? Is Dan Harmon even working on this anymore?”

The episode opened with Rick calling Morty into the garage to show him he’d turned himself into a pickle. No arms or legs. Just his face on a standard-sized pickle. Morty was nonplussed. We all knew as Beth walked out to rally the family into the car to go to family therapy that this was just a ploy to avoid talking about feelings. Morty noticed the needle set up to fall into Pickle Rick set to a timer for after the rest of the family left. Rick insisted it had nothing to do with his pickleness, but Beth snatched it anyway. A few minutes later, a cat wanderd into the garage and knocked Rick off the workbench. Next a flash storm washed him into a sewer.

But being a pickle was no major setback for the smartest man in the universe. He attacked a cockroach by biting its head till it died. He then used the brain and body of the insect to build himself an exoskeleton. Luring in and slaughtering the rats in the sewer enabled him to build a more agile exoskeleton, and he was soon flushing himself up someone’s drain, with a tiny but lethal rat-borg body built around his pickle core. It was as magnificent and ridiculous as it sounds!

Back in therapy, instead of discussing the recent bad behavior of Morty & Summer, the conversation fast turned to Rick and the drama which he brings to the family. Susan Sarrandon guest starred as the shrink, Dr. Wong. (“Racist name…” Beth quipped.) The therapist tried to explore why Beth refused to accept that Rick lied to her about the purpose of the needle.

Meanwhile Rick emerged up to the surface, only to be trapped in a highly secured facility of some sort. Within minutes, Pickle Rick had killed all 34 of their armed guards. This forced the mysterious evil bad guy who runs this facility to unleash a mercenary he held prisoner: Jaguar!! He seemed loosely based off Batman mashed up with any 80s movie role Schwarzenegger played. However, he had to be blackmailed into attacking Rick; the bad guy running the facility told him he would release his daughter if he killed the pickle. Jaguar and Rick had an incredible shoot-out until they made friends, bonding over their common enemy. They were then able to quickly escape and destroy the facility in the process.

Rick made it to the therapy session as it was about to end with “eight minutes to live” unless he got that needle. Beth calmly made her father tell her the truth about the purpose of the needle. Rick came clean: he wanted to avoid the session because he thought it was a crock of shit. Beth saw his point, and Dr. Wong went on to wrap up the affair with a lengthy monologue. Beth and Rick reconciled on the ride home, but it was very awkward. Their camaraderie in this exchange was tinged with sexual tension. Apparently, nothing is off-limits on this show.

The credits roll, but as is the standard on Rick & Morty, they smash-cut back into one final joke. I was shocked to see them tied to the giant piano about to have their heads smashed in. They did use that bit! For a single punchline?!?! Just as they were about to die, Jaguar swooped in and killed the rascal who was playing the piano. When Morty asked for an explanation, Rick replied, “That, Morty? Is WHY you don’t go to therapy.” I feel redeemed, and I’m back in the saddle waiting for this week.

On tonight’s episode, “Vindicators 3: The Return Of Worldender,” if you like superhero stories, don’t miss it! Trust them!

Catch the all-new episode tonight on Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) at 11:30/10:30c.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/28/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 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

Last week on Syfy’s Killjoys, the trio of RAC bounty hunting agents started things off with a party to celebrate that Johnny was now finally a Level Five agent like his brother D’avin and their longtime teammate Dutch. The festivities were broken up by other RAC agents arriving to serve Johnny with an old warrant for killing Del Seyah. The orders come straight from the new Reclamation Apprehension Coalition overseer, Banyan Gray. Dutch and Turin stood up for Johnny, but when he admitted he killed her, a tense shoot out began. Johnny & Dutch made their escape with Pree the bartender, who is both a smuggler plus their sometime informant and ally.

Meanwhile, on the Hullen Armada Mothership, Dutch’s evil doppelgänger Aneela was acclimating the recently recruited and very much still alive Del Seyah. Aneela is the default leader of the Hullen species now that her father died in last season’s finale. Seyah was shown that the green goo that fuels her species can fully immerse them into any of their collected memories just by touching it.

Dutch and Johnny made their way to the Ohron moon, where they encountered the obscure group of outlaws known as the Ferran. We discovered that Pree is a disgraced former leader of their band, and he offered himself up to their justice in return for amnesty for both Dutch and Johnny. The Ferran then set up a triathlon competition to represents the two sides of the drama, and Pree picked Dutch as his champion. Cleverly, the Ferran selected Johnny as theirs, as he had already been granted entrance to their ranks by being on the run; that base qualification of “being on the run” is sacred to them and the primary cause of how they formed as a collective.

Back in Westerly, D’avin found proof on security cam footage that Seyah survived the time that Johnny shot her. He used this evidence to force Banyan Gray to cancel the warrant on his brother, but not before a RAC agent took Dutch & Johnny into custody during the third round of their forced contest. Pree was left to face death at the hands of the Ferrans, but let’s be honest, he’s too damned charming to just be executed by his former comrades.

The new nerd tech girl Zeph, who is akin to a future sci version of Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan, finally conceived a way to take advantage of D’avin’s prior exposure to the goo, and she was able to send him into a recently created memory that confirmed Seyah is both alive and working with the Hullen. Pree and the Ferran rescued Dutch & Johnny from the rogue RAC agent who still held them as captives.

On the Mothership, Aneela actually saw D’avin invading their space psychically and she ejected him forcibly with a message: Tell Dutch Aneela is coming for her. The very last scene saw Dutch, D’avin, and Johnny all together agreeing to collaborate towards the ends of the Hullen perversion of humankind.

On tonight’s episode, “Attack the Rack,” the Killjoy rebels take drastic measures to clean house: a secret ops attack against their own Rack. But thanks to Aneela’s schemes and a mole among them, not everyone will make it out alive.

Don’t miss all the excitement tonight on Syfy at 8/7c.

In addition to this quickly escalating show, I will also be catching up on my Wynonna Earp & Dark Matter. (P.S. Be on the lookout for my upcoming August interview with Dark Matter/12 Monkey‘s Jeff Teravainen!!!)

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 7/25/17

Posted on July 25, 2017 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

Last week on Adam Ruins Everything, the comedian turned comedic/annoying educator took on weight loss as his topic du jour. As he does every week, host Adam Conway tackled common misconceptions about an everyday subject. I’ve been trying to lose a few pounds for two years, so this one really pulled me in. It opened with an exercising man named Sam doing an aerobic workout while watching a satirical version of The Biggest Loser called Fatty Melt. During a commercial break, he went to the fridge for a low-fat snack and instead found Adam, who had been hiding in there overnight.

Adam immediately started picking apart and refuting everything poor Sam thought he knew about what makes us gain weight in the first place. We quickly learned that the idea that “low-fat” food keeps weight off or helps lose weight is all based on cherry-picked data published by physiologist Ancel Keys. The sugar industry was paying for such erroneous data to be spread to obfuscate the fact that obesity and heart disease are linked to sugar consumption, not fat consumption. The sugar lobby was so successful in duping the world that by 1980, the USDA was recommending a fat-free diet as a way to stay healthy. Logically, obesity increased.

Next Adam started to pick apart the concept of counting calories. For one thing, everyone’s body is different, so there can be no standard count that is correct for all humans. Secondly, the median value they came up with — 2350 calories a day — was rounded down, because it is presumably easier to recall the number 2000 than it is to remember 2350? This is clearly not science. It’s propaganda. Further confusing this issue was the fact that the FDA found that the calorie count on labels varies by as much as 20%. No two Fig Newtons have the exact amount of calories in them. The entire calorie counting method is literally junk science. Fitness bracelets, which people use to count the calories they burn, are neither scientifically accurate nor medical devices, according to their own disclaimers!

Adam then used his magical television host powers to teleport himself and Sam onto the set of the aforementioned Fatty Melt game show, where contestants were trying to win by losing the most weight. He exposed the scams weight-loss game shows use: They have contestants gain extra weight before starting on the show, & they use dehydration to create artificial temporary weight loss occasionally. After exposing those points, Adam sat down to talk to an expert who spent six years studying the after-the-show statistics of former contestants on The Biggest Loser. He disclosed that 80% regain the weight they lost on the show. The only way to keep the weight off is to maintain the diet and exercise rates that lost the weight in the first place. Also, quick weight loss is harder to keep off. Basically only 1% of all dieters are able to keep the weight off, and this is done by completely changing their lifestyle.

In the final scene, Adam teleported Sam to the high school reunion pool party that motivated him to try to lose weight. He met his high school crush, Marcy, and she was enamored despite his slightly chubby tummy. Adam pointed out that you could be obese and still healthy and that essentially “weight is just a number.”

On tonight’s episode, “Adam Ruins the Hospital,” Adam explains that inflated hospital costs have created a system that’s unaffordable and unfair. Plus, reckless prescription of antibiotics is making them worthless, and you might not need a mammogram. [Note from Jenny: Always do your own research, check with your doctor, etc etc, about things like mammograms. Don’t just take even Adam on blind faith!]

Don’t miss Adam’s take on hospitals and health care tonight on TruTV at 10/9c.

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