#SetTheVCR for February 2025

Time To Eat Super Chili Out Of A Super Bowl...

Feb 04, 2025

Yo…

Monday February 3 was Super Bowl Opening Night; kicking off the NFL hype train as we hurtle towards Super Bowl LIX.

Of course, I am cheering on the Chiefs…a 3-peat is a beautiful sight. Just like Tom Brady’s utter domination, Patrick Mahomes has been given a small window to be great. I appreciate it. It goes by so quickly.

Unlike this winter and all this deep freeze. Not a lot of snow, eh granted but it’s been Vanilla ice, ice, baby. Shall we warm up in front of the TV glow?

**To quote Bring It On: “Brr! It’s Cold In Here.” (Photography by Henry VanderSpek aka Culture Snap Photography)**

Bah: covering TIFF 2024 I was so annoyed I missed The Order.

It’s a bank robbing movie. I’m always down like I’m brown for those.

Although, turns out it’s a bit more than just about robbing banks. This ain’t Point Break or Heat.

Based on true events, The Order is set in 1983 Idaho. Jude Law is an FBI agent tasked with following a series of violent bank robberies. Dude comes to realize that they’re the work of a gang of domestic neo-Nazi white supremacist terrorists.

Inspired by the real-life radical leader Robert Jay Mathews (played by Nicholas Hoult), The Order are plotting a war against the U.S. government. The heists are their way to fund The Order’s activities.

Oh. I was only expecting bank heists. I didn’t expect to also overthrow the American government.

Though that explains why The Order was buried in America. Vertical (the film distributor) gave The Order a U.S. platform release on 600-700 screens starting December 6.

With all this talk about Donald Trump returning to The White House and recent January 6 pardons for groups echoing The Order (Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters etc.) the film folks got nervous and couldn’t figure out how or when to market the movie.

Speaking to Variety producer Stuart Ford admitted: “There is no doubt that The Order fits into the Trumpian Zeitgeist.”

(Trumpian Zeitgeist is a most excellent punk rock band name!)

To that I say…so what? I’m an ‘80s punk. I grew up in an era where grown educated adults were terrified of pop culture. Dungeons & Dragons, spinning records backwards…countless silly and entirely stupid pop culture panics.

That whole Trumpian Zeitgeist doesn’t make any sense either.

The Order is an adaptation of The Silent Brotherhood a 1989 book. 1989, yo! Again…these ugly elements (neo-Nazi white supremacist terrorists) were part of the American experience decades before Donald Trump was elected (either time.).

Before The Order the Unabomber mailed his first mail bomb on May 25, 1978.

Abraham Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth was more than just a Confederate sympathizer. In 1865 the plan was to to decapitate the Union government by slaying the three senior members of the Executive Branch all on one fateful evening.

Booth was tasked with taking out Lincoln (which he did). Lewis Powell attempted to assassinate Secretary of State William H. Seward (he stabbed him but failed; Seward survived). While George Atzerodt was assigned Vice President Andrew Johnson. (Atzerodt lost his nerve and made no attempt on the Veep’s life. And for that was tried by a military tribunal, sentenced to death and hung.)

Super malicious plot.

History proves and confirms these insidious rivers have always run through America.

As President it’s possible Donald Trump may make things worse (how you could accurately measure hate…I’m not sure. Count racist Facebook posts?).

In his recent stand-up comedy special Lonely Flowers Roy Wood Jr. effectively said in his preamble to set up a joke:
“You had to know the militias was coming. This is America. What do we do in America? You have progress then you have backlash. That’s the cycle of this country. Progress then backlash. You knew the militias was coming.”

It’s funny cos it’s true.

Anyways here in Canada The Oder will stream on Prime Video on February 6. I was happy to see it got a legit streaming date.

Only it’s yet to stream in America.

(I mean releasing a movie about white supremacist terrorists during Black History Month is probably not the best look either, lol! The Order is never gonna win. Just drop it like a grenade and walk away.)

Often with pop culture I feel like a dog owner: “it’s friendly, it won’t bite. You can pet it. Come closer…it’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

If your New Year’s Resolutions includes Watch More TV, this #CouchWorthy list I prepared for January 2025 was loaded with Mid-Season premieres from High Potential to the return of The Rookie.

For February to Watch More TV, this #CouchWorthy list offers a number of full series offerings. Disney+ Canada has added Gilmore Girls, Prime Video Canada went with 24 and Netflix will stream A Different World starting on February 7. (Of course no matter what #CouchWorthy TV is offered this month the Super Bowl sucks up all the oxygen.)

For February 2025 I present 5 mostly chair dancing non-Super Bowl TV recommendations for you to #SetTheVCR.

Monday, February 3
Disco’s Revenge (Anytime / Crave)
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A pulsating deep dive into the very soul of disco music and its impact across genres and history. Told by the people who created it, nurtured it, and in turn, discovered themselves on the dancefloor.

As Nile Rodgers puts in the doc: “Disco was more powerful than the (Black) Panthers.” An epically edited saga of how the counterculture became pop-cultural. Such a fresh soundtrack. Disco’s Revenge has a fantastic soundtrack.

I caught this documentary last year at Hot Docs. I left the cinema beaming like a mirrorball.

Disco’s Revenge features interviews and performances by Nile Rodgers and Chic, Billy Porter, Nona Hendryx and LaBelle, Grandmaster Flash, Fab Five Freddy, Nicky Siano, Earl Young and The Trammps, Jellybean Benitez, Kevin Saunderson, Sylvester and Martha Wash and many others. Yo. Now that’s a party.

Netflix recently added Morgan Neville’s Saint of Second Chances documentary which references Disco Demolition Night. PBS disco double dipped: back in October 2023 they broadcast American Experience: The War on Disco. And on June 18, 2024 they broadcast a three-part docuseries: Disco: Soundtrack of A Revolution. Collectively this is truly Disco’s Revenge.

Disco Stu was always a one-note joke on The Simpsons. Yet he represents how things constantly fall in and out of fashion. Disco Stu was a dumb joke in the ‘90s now…he’s cool again. Because Disco is cool again.

This is Disco’s Revenge. Check this out on behalf of Disco Stu because he’s right.

Friday, February 7
Piece By Piece (Anytime / Peacock & Prime Video-Canada)
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Piece by Piece is an unparalleled motion picture experience that captures the magic and brilliance of Pharrell Williams’ creative genius, one LEGO brick at a time. Uninterested in making a traditional film about his life, Pharrell set out to tell his story in a way that would set audience’s imaginations free. Developed from his singular vision, Piece by Piece defies genres and expectations to transport audiences into a LEGO world where anything is possible.

Piece by Piece is a beautiful ode to creativity and the potency of imagination. Basically? It’s Pharrell. The Get Lucky into Happy segment left me verklempt. Yo. There are profound moments though most of the darkness is kept at bay as this as…after all a Lego movie.

At my Q & Eh? following a TIFF screening Pharrell freely offered this insight: “Lego gave me the texture to be seen as a Black man.” It’s so odd yet he’s 100% right: Pharrell’s humanity, Pharrell’s Blackness, Pharrell’s soul and Pharrell’s essence…all that make him Pharrell shine bright through the Lego.

You need to see this movie. Show the kids.

Thursday, February 13
Sly Lives! (Aka The Burden Of Black Genius) (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+)
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The documentary examines the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone.

In 2021 Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson released Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). He’s slowly been fashioning himself into a director. Then in 2025 NBC broadcast his special Ladies & Gentlemen...50 Years of SNL Music and now closer to Summer of Soul’s ‘60s groovy vibes is Sly Lives!

Obviously…this documentary explores the life, career, and legacy of Sly and the Family Stone. A band that provided us with massive and soul edifying hits from Family Affair to Everyday People.

This descriptive quote from Rolling Stone magazine is spot on: “Sly and the Family Stone became the poster children for a particularly San Francisco sensibility of the late Sixties: integrated, progressive, indomitably idealistic. Their music, a combustible mix of psychedelic rock, funky soul and sunshine pop, placed them at a nexus of convergent cultural movements, and in turn, they collected a string of chart-topping hits.”

Talking Heads in the documentary? We hear from: Andre 3000, D'Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rogers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, George Clinton, Ruth Copeland and Clive Davis: yo. Good group.

So…shall we Dance to the Music?

Programming Note: Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is still on Disney+ if you wanna do a double and soulful Questlove feature. However, as of February 1st Summer of Soul is streaming on CBC Gem as well. Free tip for Canadians.

Sunday, February 16
Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special (8:00 p.m. / NBC)
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The SNL50 celebrations will culminate with the three-hour primetime SNL50: The Anniversary Special. The star-studded event will feature a half-century worth of sketches, cast members, Hosts, and other collaborators, in what will surely be one extraordinary evening.

First came Saturday Night, released on September 27, 2024. A dramatic telling of Saturday Night Live’s October 11, 1975 premiere on NBC. “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.” Decent movie, do check it out. (Technically the show was called NBC’s Saturday Night.)

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night debuted January 16 on Peacock. Executive-produced by Morgan Neville this 4-part docuseries featured a fascinating historical account by revealing a number of classic SNL auditions. How Tracy Morgan got on the show I’ll never know.

January 27 was Questlove’s Ladies & Gentlemen...50 Years of SNL Music. I’ve yet to watch that. (It’s on Peacock if you have that.) More SNL music?

Getting closer on Valentine’s Day NBC and Peacock offer SNL50: The Homecoming Concert. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon that special features live performances from Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Chris Martin, David Byrne, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robyn, The B-52s, The Roots and more.

Whew. And now we are here. The 50th Anniversary Special. No doubt it’ll be similar to the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special (billed as SNL40) which is a three-and-a-half-hour prime-time special that aired on February 15, 2015. Like an SNL episode only longer and with more stars.

In SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night More Cowbell was described as SNL’s most popular sketch. Is that…true? Cowbell is amazing and it’s for sure in my Top 5. However, my jam is living in a van down by the river. Just #Gold. 50 Seasons of SNL. Wow.

We have seen so much and done so much.

Wednesday, February 19
Blue Rodeo: Lost Together (Anytime / CBC Gem)
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An electrifying journey into the heart and soul of Blue Rodeo, one of Canada’s longest-running and most beloved bands. Guided by the unmistakable voices of Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, this film delivers an unfiltered, often hilarious, and deeply moving account of their 40-year journey. Blue Rodeo is at a creative high, showing no signs of slowing down, and this film takes you right into the thick of their incredible journey.

For over 40 years Blue Rodeo’s music has been the soundtrack to our lives. And with Dale Heslip’s documentary Blue Rodeo: Lost Together we travel with the band through their inconceivable story.

At its core Blue Rodeo was sparked when Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor met in high school. As someone who has worked creatively with high school friends…that intense connection and that formative bond creates an extraordinary dynamic. As you’ll see in this documentary it’s a friendship and a partnership with Jim and Greg as well as the rest of the guys in the band.

After 40 years…after all the struggles and setbacks…after all the success and the songs…the boys enjoy each other’s company and making each other laugh.

You treasure that because that alchemy is so rare. Towards the end of this My Summer Lair chapter I quote Tegan & Sara from the documentary. They talk about “re-falling in love with Blue Rodeo” which neatly sums up the sentimental space the band occupies.

Re-falling in love with Blue Rodeo is a wonderful sentiment that accurately expresses the emotional and often Canadian connection they’ve canonized for over 40 years. As you’ll hear Dale enthusiastically agrees with me as well as Tegan & Sara.

Prepare now to re-fall in love with Blue Rodeo.

Those are five-ish #SetTheVCR highlights to enjoy while you chew Tums to calm down all the acid burps you’re spewing after eating all that spicy Super Bowl chili.

Don’t forget to check out #SetTheVCR every week: Watch More TV!

My Pal Sammy

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