Category Archives: If We Controlled Your Remote

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/31/19

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

Early this morning, Amazon Prime Video released all 6 episodes of the new original series Good Omens, which is an adaptation of the 1990 novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen, The Good Fight, Masters of Sex) and demon Crowley (David Tennant, Doctor Who) have been on Earth since its creation, literally. In fact it was Crowley who tempted Eve with that apple. While they work for opposite sides, the two have come to an arrangement during their centuries of influencing humans, particularly in situations where their efforts would just cancel one another out. This professional respect for one another has grown into a long-lasting friendship – in so much as an angel and a demon can be friends. The two are enjoying their time on Earth and don’t want to see it end anytime soon. So when they learn that the Antichrist has been born, they decide to insert themselves into the child’s life, to mentor him, so that when he comes into his powers at age 11, he will not bring about Armageddon. However, this means defying their superiors, who are looking forward to this long-awaited war between good and evil to play out – but things don’t go quite as smoothly as Aziraphale and Crowley planned.

Meanwhile, Anathema Device (Adria Arjona, Emerald City), an American ancestor of infamous 17th century witch Agnes Nutter, makes her way to the small British town where the Antichrist resides. Agnes had written a book of incredibly accurate prophesies, which has been passed down for generations. All her life, Anathema has been letting these prognostications dictate her actions, and that has led her to cross paths with Newton Pulsifer (Jack Whitehall, Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father), an awkward young man who seems to break any piece of technology he touches. Newton is the ancestor of the man who executed Agnes Nutter for being a witch, and the latest protege of the head of the Witch Hunter army (of one), General Shadwell (Michael McKean, Better Call Saul). Shadwell has a few screws loose and is focused on his self-appointed duty to rid the world of witches.

As the four horsemen of the Apocalypse make their way to the spawn of Satan, time is quickly running out. Humanity’s last chance to prevent Armageddon lies in the hands of a band of quirky misfits.

I can’t recommend this series highly enough. Over the course of the 6 episodes, you get a complete story, so it’s not a huge time commitment, and you don’t have to worry about being left on a cliffhanger that may never get resolved. Once I started watching the first episode, I couldn’t stop. Who would have thought a show about preventing the apocalypse could be so delightful and entertaining?! The show is filled with bizarre, off-beat characters and extremely smart and witty writing that combines fun pop culture references with a bit of social commentary on the human condition. The style and tone of the series often reminded me of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. The series is extremely faithful to the original source material, and now I can’t imagine anyone else but Tennant and Sheen in these roles. Crowley is like the classic cool rock star, who’s always wearing shades and drives around in his prized vintage Bentley. While he likes being evil, there is definitely some good in him, and he tries to hide this from his superiors. Meanwhile, Sheen’s Aziraphale is constantly trying to do good, but he sometimes breaks the rules when he feels like his superiors – such as the angel Gabriel (Jon Hamm, Mad Men) – don’t have the humans’ best interests in mind. The series’ cast also includes Frances McDormand (as the narrator/voice of God), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Miranda Richardson, Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), and Mireille Enos (The Catch, The Killing).

Check out this incredibly fun series now on Amazon.

I’ll also be watching/recording Swamp Thing, How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/30/19

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!

Phoebe’s Choice

In last week’s penultimate episode of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger season two, we finally got “Big Bad” Andre’s origins slightly fleshed out for us. We see that he was a jazz musician chasing the elusive “Blue Note” on his trumpet that would put him amongst the all-time greatest. His migraines struck him on stage though, and his career passed him by. This was what drove him to be on the bridge during the same Roxxon explosion that gave Tandy & Tyrone (Dagger & Cloak respectively) their powers nine years ago; he was going to kill himself. In the hospital, he only recovered by discovering his strange telepathic ability to transmute women’s despair into psionic power in an astral record shop.

In the now, Tyrone & Tandy were trying to trace Andre/D’Spayre, but they found that all the women he still held sway over were in a trance coma state, all humming the same tune. Mayhem brought one of the girls for Tandy to try to read her spirit to see if she had any hope left. While Tandy was discovering that this girl was just a black hole of static noise inside, Tyrone found out that his mom killed Detective Connors and was busy covering up the evidence. Tandy used the static space inside the girl’s mind to enter the memories in her mind, where they faced off against D’Spayre. He was impervious to her attacks, however, and ejected from the astral battle.

Out in the real world, Tyrone shook down a pair of drug dealers and threatened them and told them to warn the streets that no sex trafficking through drug addiction would be allowed, as per Cloak & Dagger. He also got Andre’s location from them. When they got to him, he was using his personalized voodoo symbol, or veve, to completely enrapture a crowd of people who stood to watch him play trumpet. He was reaching for the Blue Note, and Tandy & Tyrone combined their powers to defeat his living body, but that was not enough. The gathered mesmerized crowd all dissolved into nothing as he collapsed to the ground. We saw in the last scene he was somewhere back in the astral plane with a club full of people to perform for now.

This show has been one of the great underestimated sweet spots in comic book adaptations of late. In the last few years, only season one of Jessica Jones, season one of Legion, Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, and most recently Doom Patrol have been in the same echelon of production value and storytelling in comic book TV. They have done well to make the city of New Orleans itself a character in the tales — or at least the voodoo culture of the city has done a great deal to transform this tale about a superhero duo that usually operates in New York City. It has been a pleasant alternate reality to watch. With a good chance for season three renewal, tonight’s finale could be either a conclusive showdown or a cliffhanger to string us along. Tune in to find out!

On tonight’s episode, “Level Up,” Tyrone and Tandy head to the Loa dimension to stop the evil force threatening New Orleans. To finally put an end to it, they must come face to face with their own personal issues that have been holding them back. Meanwhile, Mayhem and Evita do their best to hold off the dangers in the real dimension.

To see how the season ends, tune in to Freeform at 8/7c.

I’ll also probably cue up an episode of Good Omens, which drops today.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/29/19

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!

Jenny’s Choice

My pick tonight is NBC’s newest drama, The Inbetween. Relative newcomer Harriet Dyer plays Cassie Bedford, a young woman who was born with the rare ability of visions, events that have already occurred or ones that will happen in the future. She also can see and communicate with ghosts. Her father is Detective Tom Hackett, played by the sexy and talented Paul Blackthorne (Arrow & The Dresden Files to name a couple of his latest and most famous roles). When he and his new partner, former FBI Agent Damien Asante (Justin Cornwell, I am the Night on TNT and CBS’s Training Day), need help solving a dark and twisty murder, Cassie agrees (albeit reluctantly) to help. Unfortunately, once she opens that door, the dead don’t want to let her rest.

I’ve seen the first couple of episodes and really enjoyed it. Cassie’s ability is nothing earth-shatteringly new, but it’s still creepy and spooky and all things ghostly. This show has been in the works for quite a while, and I don’t know that NBC has been advertising it much (although I don’t watch a lot of stuff on NBC right now, so maybe they have?), but I’d suggest giving it a shot because at least the first two episodes are really great.

On tonight’s premiere, “Pilot,” Cassie helps her father and his partner solve a young woman’s murder using her unique psychic powers. She also encounters a supernatural spirit, Ed Roven (recurring guest star, Sean Bolger), whose evil transcends time.

See how Cassie’s visions help solve the murder tonight on NBC at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/DVRing The Amazing Race, American Ninja Warrior, MasterChef, Dinner Takes All, Guy’s Grocery Games, The Hot Zone, Best Room Wins, & The Butcher.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/28/19

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!

Jenny’s Choice

My pick tonight is a twist on the songster reality competition show, Songland. Instead of singers, this time the contestants will be competing to be the top song writer. Each week, one guest artist (including Charlie Puth, Meghan Trainor, Kelsea Ballerini, Macklemore, will.i.am, & more!) will visit “Songland” to hear unknown songwriters pitch their original material. Four songwriters will perform their original tracks in front of the guest artist and three big-time producers in music: Ryan Tedder, the lead singer of OneRepublic and a four-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer for Adele, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé; Ester Dean, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer for Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj, as well as an actress who starred in the Pitch Perfect film franchise; and Shane McAnally, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer for Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, and Sam Hunt, who has 38 #1 country records and was named the 2019 ACM Songwriter of the Year.

Each song’s lyrics, arrangements, beats, melody, and story will be considered by the panel as the producers and guest artist engage in a lively discussion about ways to creatively adapt them to better fit the style and sensibility of the recording artist of the week. After the performances, the guest artist will choose three songwriters to move forward to the studio and pair each songwriter with the producer best suited to perfecting their songs. In the studio, the songs will take shape in unexpected ways as the songwriter and producer duos work together to win over the recording artist. In the end, a winner will be chosen and their song will be recorded and released for a global audience. What a fun twist to the other music competition shows, yeah?

On tonight’s episode, “John Legend,” undiscovered songwriters are put center stage as they pitch their original material to mega-star John Legend and a panel of chart-topping music producers.

Check out this fun new show tonight on NBC at 10:01/9:01c.

I’ll also be watching/DVRing Jeff Dunham: Talking Heads, America’s Got Talent, MasterChef Junior, Chopped, The Hot Zone, Jeff Foxworthy: Stand-up Guy, Blood & Treasure, & Sweet Home Sextuplets.
 
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If We Controlled Your Remote… 5/27/19

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!

Jenny’s Choice

Starting tonight is a 3-night event miniseries on National Geographic Channel (NGC) called The Hot Zone. From executive producer Ridley Scott, the series is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Richard Preston and gives us a dramatic look at the true story of the origins of the Ebola virus and its first arrival on US soil. In 1989, the virus appeared in chimpanzees in a scientific lab near Washington DC. A US Army veterinarian working with a secret military SWAT team put herself in mortal danger when she tried to head off the outbreak before it spread to humans.

The miniseries has a great cast, starting with the lead, Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, ER). Noah Emmerich (The Americans) plays her husband, also in the army. Alongside them are Robert Sean Leonard (House), James D’Arcy (Marvel’s Agent Carter), Topher Grace (That 70s Show), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), Nick Searcy (Easy Money, Justified), Paul James (Greek, The Path), & Robert Wisdom (Happy Town). I’ve heard great things about the short series, and I’m excited to watch it starting tonight!

On tonight’s first episode, “The Arrival,” Dr. Nancy Jaax has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world handling deadly viruses; after a lab accident, she is faced with a possible Ebola outbreak on U.S. soil.

Then on the second episode, “Cell H,” Dr. Nancy Jaax and her lab partner, Dr. Peter Jahrling, must take matters into their own hands to determine the source of the virus before it spreads; Dr. Jaax convinces an employee to hand over samples from infected monkeys.

See how the terrifying virus begins in the US tonight on NGC starting at 9/8c.

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