Category Archives: If We Controlled Your Remote

What do we think you should be watching each night? Find out!

If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/6/20

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, Manifest finally returns to kick off its second season on NBC. In the first season, Montego Air Flight 828 left Jamaica bound for New York City and disappeared for five and a half years before suddenly returning. For those on board, it was just a normal flight and no time had passed, but their families had presumed them dead. Upon their return, the passengers started to see and hear things, which they referred to as “callings.” Brother and sister Ben and Michaela Stone were two of the passengers on board, and these callings guided them toward helping people in danger. A government agency was interested in using these returned passengers as test subjects, but over the course of the season, it seemed like the Stone family managed to put a stop to these plans. Meanwhile, Ben’s son Cal, who was also on board the plane, had a vision, which showed that the passengers had a Death Date – following their return, they would only live the same number of days that they were missing, so they only have until June 2, 2024. Also, Michaela’s callings led her to Zeke Landon, a hiker who had gotten trapped in a cave during a blizzard a year prior, and he experienced something similar to the Flight 828 passengers (could he have a much shorter Death Date as well?). As the season ended, Michaela’s partner (and former lover) Jared had shown up where she and Zeke were hiding, he fought with Zeke over a gun, and we heard it go off.

The second season picks up right where we left off, following the aftermath of the shooting, before jumping ahead 2 months. Cal gets a calling that they need to “save the passengers” –whether that means saving them from the Death Date or just saving them in general remains to be seen. While the Stones try to figure this out, it’s pretty much business as usual as they continue to seek out and educate the Flight 828 passengers about the callings and help them carry out their missions. Meanwhile, there is a tough new captain at the precinct, and she’s not going to simply accept Michaela’s constant “anonymous tip” justification to solving her cases via her callings, so this could pose quite a problem. Plus, Ben and his wife Grace must let the family know about the pregnancy and have to decide if they want to learn whether or not Ben is the father. And finally, it looks like there may another government conspiracy brewing to study and harness the powers of the passengers.

I checked out the first two episodes of the season, and it feels very much the same as the first season. The writers do a good job of providing a case-of-the-week story while also exploring larger mysteries and season-long arcs. I am really enjoying the show and happy it is back. I look forward to seeing how the events set up in tonight’s premiere play out over the course of the season.

On tonight’s second season premiere, “Fasten Your Seatbelts,” as the Stone family reels in the aftermath of a devastating shooting, it’s hit with its most foreboding calling.

Jump back in with the passengers on Flight 828 tonight on NBC at 10:01/9:01c.

I’ll also be recording All Rise.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/6/20

If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/5/20

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

I’ve been kind of burned out on Worst Cooks in America (& the celeb version). But the new season starting tonight brings in Alton Brown against Anne Burrell, and this is a matchup I have to see. Each will lead a team of “worst cook” recruits through a culinary boot camp to find the best of the worst and will then pit them against each other in a final challenge, cooking for a panel of culinary judges, in order to win $25,000 for themselves and bragging rights for their team leader.

Out of all the rival chefs paired against Anne, Alton Brown matches her in terms of attitude, and he’s got the chops to take his team to the win. We’ll see if I’m right or not when the season premieres tonight!

On tonight’s episode, “Bottom’s Up,” sixteen of the worst cooks in America enter boot camp with dreams of putting their kitchen nightmares behind them; Anne Burrell and Alton Brown ask the recruits to make a baseline dish and the results are truly disastrous.

Meet the new recruits and see Alton’s premiere tonight on Food Network at 9/8c.

I’ll also be watching NCIS: LA & Beat Bobby Flay.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/5/20

If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/3/20

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!

Megan’s Choice

I had a wonderful holiday season, but I am also incredibly happy that some new television is starting again tonight! What is even more exciting about tonight is that we are finally getting the Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. crossover I have been wanting since the beginning. It has always bothered me that they haven’t had the teams meet before, seeing as we have supporting characters such as Noelani and Duke who have appeared on both shows. Hopefully after this crossover, it will be more like the #OneChicago series of shows, where the different departments cross paths during each other’s shows. That would make this girl ecstatic.

On tonight’s Hawaii Five-0, “Ihea ‘oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana? (Where Were You When the Rain was Pouring?),” when a list of undercover CIA agents is stolen, Steve and Five-0 enlist the help of Magnum, Higgins, Rick, and TC to get it back and protect national security. Also, Higgins gives Tani some personal advice.

Then on Magnum P.I., “Desperate Measures,” Junior is kidnapped as leverage to retrieve the stolen list of undercover CIA agents, and most of Five-0 is rounded up by the CIA to prevent them from interfering. Tani and Quinn ask Magnum and Higgins for their help.

Can my two favorite island crime fighting teams secure the list of CIA agents and save Junior before it’s too late? Find out for sure tonight on CBS starting at 8/7c.

I’ll also be watching Blue Bloods.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/3/20

If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/2/20

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

I’m so excited about tonight’s premiere on FOX, their newest drama, Deputy, which kinda feels like it should be on CBS… According to FOX: From director/executive producer David Ayer (Training Day, End of Watch, Suicide Squad), Deputy brings the spirit of a classic Western and a gritty authenticity to the modern cop drama. When the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff dies, an arcane rule forged back in the Wild West thrusts the most unlikely man into the job: a fifth-generation lawman (Stephen Dorff, True Detective), more comfortable taking down bad guys than navigating a sea of politics, who won’t rest until justice is served. Deputy also stars Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin, The Tick as Dr. Paula Reyes, LA County General Hospital’s chief trauma surgeon and Hollister’s wife; Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town) as Deputy Cade Ward; Bex Taylor-Klaus (13 Reasons Why) as Deputy Brianna Bishop; and Shane Paul McGhie (Unbelievable) as Deputy Joseph Harris; as well as Danielle Moné Truitt (Snowfall) & Mark Moses (Desperate Housewives).

There are some fun names attached, and the premise is wild & crazy but seems right up my alley, too. I’ve watched the first few minutes, and it starts off great, so I have my fingers crossed that’ll continue.

On tonight’s episode, “Graduation Day,” when Los Angeles’s newly elected Sheriff dies, Bill Hollister (Dorff) is suddenly propelled into the role leading one of the largest police forces in the world.

See how Hollister and the other deputies take Hollister’s sudden promotion tonight on FOX at 9/8c.

I’ll also be watching Last Man Standing, Dr. Pimple Popper, The Great American Baking Show, & Beat Bobby Flay.

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , | Comments Off on If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/2/20

If We Controlled Your Remote… 12/13/19

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, after a year and a half, the sci-fi drama The Expanse finally returns to TV for its fourth season, now as an Amazon original series. The first three seasons originally aired on the Syfy channel and are also available on Amazon Prime as well. The series is set 200 years in the future, where the Earth is governed by the UN. Low on resources, some humans left Earth to settle on Mars. There is a cold war brewing between the planets, and stuck in the middle are the Belters, who live on Ceres, a mining community in the asteroid belt. In the first season, we met the ragtag crew of the Rocinante, which included Earther captain James Holden, Martian pilot Alex Kamal, Belter engineer Naomi Nagata, and Earther mechanic Amos Burton. A mysterious alien protomolecule was discovered by the Protogen corporation, which had goals of weaponizing the creature. Earth, Mars, and the Belter’s Outer Planets Alliance (OPA) also wanted to get control of it. The molecule was incredibly dangerous, and Protogen launched an experiment on Eros Station, killing everyone aboard. Belter detective Joe Miller sacrificed himself helping the Roci crew destroy the molecule (or so they initially believed). The Roci crew had obtained a sample of the molecule, which Naomi ultimately gave to OPA leader Fred Johnson, since Earth and Mars already had their own samples.

In the second season, the crew discovered that Protogen had been experimenting with the molecule, trying to turn children into super-soldiers, but this ultimately just resulted in turning the children into carriers, spreading the alien creature. Meanwhile, on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, Martian Marine Bobbie Draper and her unit came under attack by a strange new creature – a human/protomolecule hybrid that was the result of more Protogen experiments. She headed to Earth to talk about her experience but found that no one wanted her to tell the truth. She ended up partnering with UN Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala, who was also experiencing a coup, as her trusted partner was trying to frame and eliminate her. Later one of these protomolecule hybrid monsters also attacked the crew of the Roci.

In the third season, the protomolecule that the crew tried to burn up in Venus re-emerged from the planet, flying into space and forming a large ring. The Rocinante had a documentary crew aboard, but it turned out that one of the crew was the sister of one of the people killed on Eros, and she was out for revenge. Using her footage, she made Holden look like a terrorist. The Roci found itself under pursuit, and they had no other option than to enter this mysterious ring. While other ships had been wiped out when entering the ring, the Roci somehow made it through unscathed, but now other ships were following. The OPA was convinced that the ring posed a danger to all humans and that they had to blow it up. However, Holden had a vision, taking with the protomolecule as it took on the form of Detective Miller, which told him that the ring used to be a gateway to other worlds. After a brief skirmish with the crew of the OPA ship, Holden managed to shut down that ship’s engine to prove to the molecule that they weren’t a threat. Shortly afterwards, nearly 1300 Stargate-like portals to other solar systems appeared in the sky.

Today, Amazon has released season 4 of the series, which picks up 8 months later, following the fourth novel of the series, “Cibola Burn.” Thousands of Ganymede refugees are eager to find a new home in these new solar systems, but the UN first wants to ensure that there are no alien threats. They have set up a blockade to prevent others from entering the ring, but before doing to, a Ganymede ship managed to slip through, landing on Ilus and establishing the New Terra colony. The UN discovers a protomolecule structure on the planet, and UN Secretary Chrisjen Avasarala is afraid of another Eros situation. So she enlists the help of Holden and his crew to head down to the planet to check things out, negotiate with the settlers, and report back their findings. However, there is already political unrest brewing, as the settlers just want to be left alone and are prepared to protect their colonial claim. And things are about to get worse as the company sends a ship of its own with its own ulterior objectives, and unknown creatures are awakening on the planet.

I checked out the first couple episodes of the season, and I have to say, this is probably my favorite season of the series yet. I didn’t really notice any huge difference so far between the Syfy and Amazon episodes as far as runtime or content – the show never really held anything back in the past, especially in regards to Avasarala’s language. It still feels like the same show but with an interesting new setting for the season. I look forward to seeing what other civilizations and planets will be explored and what new alien threats await the Rocinante crew this season. How will Naomi deal with her first visit to a planet’s surface? How will these new planets affect the fragile peace between the Earth, Mars, and Belters? With so many ready-to-go planets, what does this mean for Mars’s huge terraforming project? Will the Earth see more people fleeing to these new worlds? Does the UN really think they can control all of this and hold back those anxious to explore this much larger new world? The series has already been renewed for a fifth season, so there are plenty more adventures to come for the Rocinante crew.

I’ll also be watching/recording Marvel’s Runaways, American Housewife, Fresh Off the Boat, The Blacklist, and Van Helsing.
 
Jump with us to see else we think you should watch. Continue reading

Share
Posted in If We Controlled Your Remote | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment