As I write this it’s currently minus 20. Toronto has a naturally built in lockdown season; it’s called January.
Ain’t no need for vapid political machinations to shut down pop culture as an attempt to look they’re doing something. Politically something is always better than nothing, right? That’s like hitting the side of a TV to make it work.
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Another week of TV and another set of Super Duper TV recommendations. It’s also I believe the first time Britney Spears has been mentioned or even acknowledged. So that’s Super Cool right?
Lennox Lewis: The Untold Story (Anytime / Crave)
An inside look at the career of Lennox Lewis from his rough upbringing to the Olympics and the professional ranks where he established himself as one of the greats in the history of the sport.
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From Executive Producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter comes a new series that focuses on groundbreaking songs pivotal to the evolution of American music and culture. Don’t miss the series premiere Sunday, October 13 at midnight.
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2019’s Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America surfaces on CBC Gem. Check out the talent behind the camera: executive producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee and Alex Gibney. Whew. Each episode of this documentary series focuses on a novel song pivotal to the evolution of American music and hip hop culture. The six episodes of this AMC series are devoted to MC Shan and Marley Marl’s “The Bridge,” Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” Run-DMC’s “Rock Box,” Outkast’s “Elevators,” and Queen Latifah and Monie Love’s “Ladies First.” Amazing.
Fake Famous (9 p.m. / HBO)
In the future, everyone will be FAKE FAMOUS for 15 minutes as detailed in this documentary about the rise of the social-media influencer.
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An anthology series featuring updated tales of horror and haunting for the digital age, inspired by the viral fan fiction of two sentence horror stories.
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Tonight’s episode of Two Sentence Horror Stories (Essence) is special because Laura Mennell the troublemaker from Project Blue Book guest stars. Should be fun and joyful mischief. “A young woman struggling to make ends meet starts work at a high-end nail salon, but the horrifying physical toll the job takes leads her to suspect something much more sinister may be at play.” Oh Oh.
Based on a true story, CRITICAL THINKING tells the inspiring tale of Mario Martinez, the Cuban-American teacher, and his chess team at the Miami Jackson High School.
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Critical Thinking is the latest in the “help the at-risk kids inspirational sometimes based on a true story” movie genre. We’ve had Antonio Banderas as an unwavering teacher reaching problem kids with dancing. Hilary Swank as an unwavering teacher who used writing to reach problem kids. Even Tiffany Haddish in Night School took a turn as an unwavering teacher to help problem students. The latest addition to this genre is John Leguizamo an unwavering teacher and “white knight” teaching his inner-city kids chess! Because life isn’t a game of checkers. He also directed this movie and it got some decent buzz at SXSW so perhaps it can teach us something special.
The Head (Anytime / HBO Max)
THE HEAD is a six-episode survival thriller set in an isolated and inaccessible Antarctic research station in which winter has fallen on the South Pole, and the sun will soon disappear for the next six months.
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The story of the long-running feud between Raiders owner Al Davis and NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.
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The latest 30 for 30 is a fantastic story; I know some of this but not the whole story. (Oakland is a crazy sports town though we don’t recognize it as such: Moneyball for baseball, the Raiders and how they influenced hip hop culture while the Warriors offered Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Chris Mullin to Curry…and yet with the exception of baseball teams leave Oakland.) One thing I’ve never understood is the primary difference between how the NFL is covered vs the NBA. NFL owners figure prominently in daily sports coverage and reporting. Owners get blamed for losses sometime. I don’t get the difference. It’s rare for NBA owners to be interviewed or blamed or even acknowledged. Anyways. Here’s the story of Al Davis vs. the NFL. (For Canadians this’ll be on TSN on Friday night at 7 p.m..)
Space Sweepers (Anytime / Netflix)
Chasing after space debris and faraway dreams in year 2092, four misfits unearth explosive secrets during the attempted trade of a wide-eyed humanoid.
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Greenland (Anytime / Prime Video)
A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth.
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Bliss (Anytime / Prime Video)
A brilliant painter turns to anything she can to complete her masterpiece, spiraling into a hallucinatory hellscape of drugs, sex, and murder.
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Anytime there’s that amount of money to be made, you have to question the motives of everyone close to that person.
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The New York Times Presents on FX is their version of PBS’s Frontline. They’re following The Killing of Breonna Taylor with umm: Framing Britney Spears. Crazy. Gimme More hard hitting journalism. This documentary about the I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman pop star’s Toxic legal fight to wrest control over her life and Circus career from her father’s conservatorship because she’s not A Slave 4 him. I can’t name any more Britney hits without Google’s assistance. #FreeBritney
An American political comedy film written and directed by Jon Stewart, about a Democratic strategist who tries to help a local candidate win an election in a small right-wing town.
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That this movie is from writer and director Jon Stewart is what makes it Irresistible. Expect political satire and comedy with sharp edges as a Democrat political consultant (Steve Carell) helps a retired Marine colonel (Chris Cooper) run for mayor in a small Wisconsin town. Thanks to Rose Byrne it’s not going well. February 26 on Crave for Canadians.
The Circus: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth: Season 6 (8 p.m. / Showtime & Crave)
Come one, come all to THE CIRCUS. This documentary series pulls back the curtain on the Trump era of presidential politics, revealing the stories behind the headlines.
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The American Football Conference champion Kansas City Chiefs will play the National Football Conference champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Because Tom Brady is not capable of sitting out a Super Bowl.
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This is an outstanding Super Bowl! If Brady wins he’s 7 for 10. 70% in The Final Game! I thought Jordan’s 6 for 6 100% was nuts. If Mahomes wins it’s like a passing of the torch. Like when Jordan won his first NBA Championship in 1991 against Magic and the Lakers. (By then Bird’s back was bad, Celtics were done. And in the fall of 1991 Magic tested positive for the HIV virus and retired. So Jordan naturally rightfully became The Man!). Either way it’s ruckus. And Malvern’s own The Weeknd is performing at halftime. This’ll be a Super Sunday: may it be as spicy as your chicken wings.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
My Summer Lair Chapter #177: What’s The Best Way For A Sports Fan To Show Love For His Team?
You know what’s a popular aspect of sports fandom I’ve never understood? The topless guys all lined up in a row each with a large hand-drawn letter on their bare chest: sometimes they spell the name of the team like Eagles sometimes it’s a different message. Many NFL games are cold why not just make a poster? And worse it’s never the ones you want getting naked.
To get a better sense of sports fandom I’ve invited director Kyle Thrash to My Summer Lair to discuss his NFL documentary Maybe Next Year.
The doc follows Eagles fans like Eagles Shirley, Bryant, Barry, and Jesse while exploring the powerful intersection between their Eagles fandom and personal lives during the course of the 2017-18 season. Which turned out to be a winning season. On Super Bowl Sunday, February 4, 2018, the Eagles faced the 5-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. And won! The Eagles won Super Bowl LII, defeating the Patriots, 41-33.
Yet this was not an easy season nor was many of the lives and experiences of Eagles fans easy. Victory was in doubt.
Yes, this is a documentary about Philadelphia Eagles fandom but it’s a documentary about all of us. This is a football movie that isn’t about football. Winning championships makes cities better: winning makes life better.
In our pre-COVID life, the bus was late, the winter day was freezing, the boss was in a mood there was so much that was not in our control that affected us. Sports is like that: I can cheer, I can boo, I can chant defense and I can make comments about a player’s mother but I have no control. Except over my emotions, I can express my passions…connect with others, laugh during the good times, and find comfort in the dark moments.
And you can see all of this…all of these common experiences in Kyle’s documentary. Including hope: Because Maybe Next Year is ultimately about hope. Recognize and celebrate hope whenever you find it. Hope is the fuel of the underdog.
Welcome back to a new #SetTheVCR and a new streaming service. The latest New Kid on the Block is Peacock from NBCUniversal (a subsidiary of Comcast. So clearly they got lots of “content” to offer.). The service will launch on July 15, 2020. Is TV getting stressful? Aren’t you glad you have the following TV recommendations to make your life easier? You’re welcome!
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So I watched the second half of the Super Bowl. Tom Brady is 6 for 9 in the Super Bowl.
I’m not an NFL guy at all but that’s incredible…6 for 9! Criticisms of any kind are utterly irrelevant, haters are worthless…critics don’t count. 6 for 9!
I watched because Jordan taught me this goes by so quickly.
As much as it resets the standards of excellence this doesn’t last. We tolerate so much mediocrity from corporations and politicians and our managers at work…hell LeBron is considered great and he has 3 rings. 3?!!
Stop wasting my time with LeBron…he’s a Vegas slot machine no matter how much investment he gets he ain’t never gonna be money.
I went to see Jordan and Kobe live as much as I could and I fought myself from taking them for granted…I pushed myself like a Nike commercial to accept that one day they will be gone. I’m grateful for their relentless determination and their sacrifice not just of themselves but of the others who they denied glory.
6 for 9! Just keep going. There’s no reason to stop. Make it an even 10. 6 for 9! Wow.
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The following are some basic Canadian Reactions to the classic American spectular known as the Superbowl…
“What’s a Cam Newton? That a new delicious cookie?”
“NFL would be a lot easier to follow if both teams were called the Broncos.”
“Pfft. Our balls are bigger.”
“Remember that time we cut The Rock from the CFL?”
“How come after hitting each other the players don’t say sorry?”
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