#SetTheVCR for July 2025
Warm July TV Recommendations You Can Watch On Your Front Porch...
Yo…
Welcome to July!
In between Canada Day and Independence Day is an equally important day worth celebrating: World UFO Day every July 2nd.
While US-Canada relations are struggling UFO sightings for both countries are flourishing. So…somebody is coming and going…it’s just not us.
According to released “Science;” here’s a breakdown that answers a crucial UFO question.
If an alien invasion happened, which Canadian provinces would stand the best chance of survival? (This is real Science…somebody funded this study…)
Quebec ranks as the most survivable province. (That works for me…I enjoy poutine.)
Ontario is best for food security, boasting 2,402 food businesses. (This could be handy as well in case we score a Zombie Apocalypse. #ProTip)
Canada’s UFO hotspot New Brunswick (with the highest sightings per 100,000 people) offers 85% forest cover for potential off-the-grid survival. (Ya, not happening. I’m a city kid…with a library card. I know how Lord of the Flies ends.)
Nova Scotia is the most prepared, with Canada’s largest active military presence. (Which sounds like a sequel to John Candy’s Canadian Bacon: the Canadian army goes to war with aliens? I’d like to review the Draft Kings odds on that.)
British Columbia is least likely to survive an alien invasion. (Alanis-Ironic since 5 seasons of X-Files was shot there.)
Science did not break it down by U.S. States.
Although I’ve heard (this isn’t Science!!) Louisiana is the state you’re least likely to be abducted by aliens in.
Hooray For Science!
Happy UFO Day, nerds and geeks and believers.
Today…is a day where we have a moment of silence for the Roswell Fallen (and perhaps for that unfortunate creature in the Fox “Special:” Alien Autopsy).
A consistent feedback I receive shortly after posting a fresh My Summer Lair episode is…I wanna see this movie! How?!
Sometimes it’s just playing at festival; which sadly means pants.
It takes time for a movie to end up on streaming; which happily means no pants.
Here’s 5 recent #CouchWorthy My Summer Lair episodes you can watch right now:
The Movie Man is streaming on Hollywood Suite. (Here’s my interview with Matt Finlin and Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) and Keith Stata.)
Morningside is streaming on Hollywood Suite. (Here’s my interview with Fefe Dobson).
Young Werther is streaming on Crave. (Here’s my interview with José Lourenço).
Bob Trevino Likes It is streaming on Hoopla. (Here’s my interview with Tracie Laymon).
We Beat The Dream Team is streaming on HBO Max and Crave. (Here’s my interview with Michael Tolajian).
And for July 2025 I present 5 TV recommendations that freely offer passion and demand you passionately #SetTheVCR.
Wednesday, July 2
The Old Guard 2 (Anytime / Netflix)
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Andy and her team of immortal warriors return to protect humanity from a formidable new enemy who threatens their existence.
The Old Guard is literally living up to its name: this comic book movie came out on July 10, 2020.
Though, I gotta admit the Netflix adaptation is slightly (I said slightly!) better than the original Image comics. The movie flows better.
Still, 2 wrapped up in October 2022. The characters maybe immortal but the cast…is not. At least Greg Rucka is the writer for 2, that helps.
#SetTheVCR 5 years later. At this languid pace I can only hope we’re not getting a third movie. As annoying as it was to get to this point, we’re all here so…let’s do this.
I’ll let my Guard down for this follow up adventure now starring Uma Thurman.
Thursday, July 10
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (9:00 p.m. / Nat Geo)
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Alongside Steven Spielberg, JAWS @ 50 charts the extraordinary journey from Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel to one of the most iconic films ever made. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the documentary uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.
Brewed a strong tea to watch Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story. It’s understandably puff piecey...it’s 50 years of Jaws. It’s all been said.
However...there are 2 notable notables in this retrospective documentary.
When Jaws came out in 1975, reviews were mixed. In this doc they showed a number of newspaper reviews. (Sadly they didn’t 360 degrees spin the newspapers before landing right side up.)
And I was startled...they randomly threw in a Toronto Star review. 1975 Toronto is a deep cut. We didn’t even have the Blue Jays yet. (And the Star reviewer Clyde Gilmour nailed it...he called Jaws a masterpiece. He was one of the few that got the movie.)
One 1975 negative-review was so weird.
I hafta go back and freeze the still shot of the newspaper. Find out who the writer is.
Dude wrote Jaws is cliched and formulaic with no surprises. What was he watching all through the 1960s to confidently print Jaws is formulaic??
Maybe he was thinking about other horror movies? Godzilla movies? Like...did we have shark attack movies before Jaws?
We barely had (modern) movie cliches by 1975. (Was that probably a deadline response...gotta fill those column inches?)
The other notable is the passion (and abiding affection) current filmmakers have for Jaws: J.J. Abrams, Emily Blunt, James Cameron, Cameron Crowe, George Lucas, Greg Nicotero, Steven Soderbergh, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Zemeckis, and more. Like, when have any of those creators been in the same room together? That’s what Jaws did, that’s part of Jaws’ legacy.
Programming Note: This streams the following day on Disney+ and Hulu so on July 11.
Sunday, July 13
The Institute: Season 1 (Anytime / MGM+)
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The story of teen genius Luke Ellis, who is kidnapped and awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.
Limited Series Premiere: The Institute (2019 novel) was okay…not terrible, not amazing either. It’s not a Stephen King book I’d eagerly endorse. It’s basically King doing his version of MKUltra meets Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
(Stephen King is listed as an executive producer if that helps. While Jack Bender is the director…nerds know him from…well: From. This is his third Stephen King adaptation. Previously he directed Mr. Mercedes (highly recommended TV viewing) and Under The Dome (highly unrecommended TV viewing).)
I’ll watch this—perhaps it’ll be serviceable?—but I not hoping for a strong adaptation.
Programming Note: This premieres on July 13 on MGM+ at 9 p.m. with 2 episodes; eight episodes total. It’s a weekly series. For a smaller series like this…do you watch weekly or wait for the whole thing?
Wednesday, July 16
The Summer I Turned Pretty: Season 3 (Anytime / Prime Video)
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It’s the end of her junior year of college, and Belly’s looking forward to another summer in Cousins with her soulmate, Jeremiah. Her future seems set, until some core-shaking events bring her first love Conrad back into her life. Now on the brink of adulthood, Belly finds herself at a crossroads and must decide which brother has her heart. Summer will never be the same…
Mercifully Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah’s love triangle will come to a close with the third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. It’s all based on Jenny Han’s third book in the trilogy, We’ll Always Have Summer.
Standard formula by now...“core-shaking events” shatters Belly's fragile world...and now she’s at another crossroads like she’s Britney Spears.
She’s forced (yet again) to confront her feelings for Conrad. All that’s left is for the audience to guess which dopey brother she ends up with. Cue the Draft Kings odds.
Niles speaking about this brother Frasier’s dating track record has a great line: “Oh, yes, he went through that family like a recessive gene.” And that Pretty much sums up Belly, she goes through the Fisher boys like a recessive gene.
Programming Note: The 11-episode season returns with two episodes on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. New episodes debut weekly until the series finale on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
Friday, July 25
Happy Gilmore 2 (Anytime / Netflix)
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Thirty years after winning his first Tour Championship,[a] retired golfer Happy Gilmore returns to the sport to pay for his daughter Vienna’s ballet school.
“Just Tap It In.” Happy Gilmore is one of my favourite Sandman Movies. But...Happy Gilmore 2? I get it...more is already built into the title. But. Well. Still. I gotta say The Sandman’s track record with his sequels isn’t great: Grown Ups 2 and Murder Mystery 2. One was lousy and the other was frowzy. I dunno that this Adam Sandler movie demanded a sequel but here we go. Guess it’s better than Big Daddy 2: The College Years or something, right? Let’s see if this’ll land in the rough…
Those are five-ish #SetTheVCR highlights so your July can be infused with passion.
Don’t forget to check out #SetTheVCR every week: Watch More TV!
#SetTheVCR Bonus: Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War
I don’t have a trailer for this upcoming Prime Video documentary so I’m hesitant to include it.
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War streams on July 23, 2025.
Directed by Nicole Newnham and Cori Shepherd, Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War “focuses on the controversial organization Teen Mania – once America’s largest youth ministry, attracting millions through their wildly popular stadium shows known as Acquire the Fire.
More TV Guide description: “The series bursts with peak Millennial nostalgia and cringe, featuring colossal stadiums filled with teens enraptured by religious rock anthems, inspired to swear purity oaths and eagerly embark by the thousands on culturally questionable global missions. But beneath the wholesome youth group illusion lies a darker undercurrent: a high-pressure pipeline of brutal spiritual bootcamps, surreal role-playing scenarios and relentless psychological control — all under the command of a charismatic leader with endlessly expanding ambitions.”
There’s always an underbelly, right?
But as always with these documentaries are these legitimate criticisms or petty grievances?
It’s like when people proudly proclaim Nike uses sweatshop labour. I don’t understand how fools feel comfortable being that dumb out loud and in public.
If you hate Nike, hate Nike. Don’t be stupid and justify it or dress up your ignorance.
Admittedly, that’s a fashion industry issue that isn’t primarily limited to Nike.
Recognize the industry, understand the corporate practices that can and should change and explain the agency of the consumer. Don’t just sit there and glibly tell me Nike is bad like a lazy liberal shorthand.
Same thing with this documentary. Is this solely about Acquire the Fire? Or is there a more sinister and corrupt strain of Christianity (especially in America) that we fail to properly confront and correct? Is this about a specific corporation or is this about culture?
You gotta know when to be critical using a microscope and other times you gotta be critical using a satellite to cover more ground.
This’ll be a cautious watch for me.
Is Humming The X-Files Theme Song…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.