SHOW OF THE WEEK: Magic Shadows, Elwy Yost: A Life in Movies (Nov. 27, 8 p.m., TVO and TVO.org)
Everyone who’s not a baby boomer (or older) will have to forgive me while I indulge in some nostalgia this week. Between this and my recommendation, sight unseen, of the Disney Beatles documentary (which probably would have been my pick of the week had I seen it), I realize I’m dating myself.
But if you ever spent a Saturday night watching a genial, bespectacled man introduce screenings of classic films, alongside his own interviews with the people who made them, this documentary will be a welcome trip down memory lane.
Directed by Karen Shopsowitz, it comes 10 years after Elwy Yost left us and 22 years after he stopped hosting “Saturday Night at the Movies.”
It may be hard to imagine in the era of on-demand everything, but the show was must-see TV for anyone interested in movies. And though the interviews here are with Canadian fans of Elwy’s — including filmmaker Ron Mann, Greg Godovitz of rock ban Goddo, “Degrassi” creator Linda Schuyler and Elwy’s sons, Christopher and writer-producer Graham — appreciation spread beyond this country’s borders.
The doc reveals a man who was not only smitten with movies, a passion that he made contagious on “Saturday Night” and his other series, “Magic Shadows,” but who was a beloved husband, father and co-worker.
And if this tribute piques your interest, head on over to the Retrontario YouTube channel, where you can watch a few of Elwy’s interviews with Hollywood greats, including legendary director John Huston and beloved comedian John Candy.
True Story (Nov. 24, Netflix)
The logline for this miniseries says “one of the world’s most famous comedians is forced to answer the question of how far he’ll go to protect what he has.”
The answer is very far, but I’m not allowed to tell you what that means since the answers are considered spoilers.
The question for me: what is the show saying beyond the plot twists that see comedian Kid, played by Kevin Hart, make an escalating series of bad decisions after an initial bad decision in a hotel room after a boozy night out?
The answer: nothing that deep.
It’s not that famous comedian Hart does a bad job as a dramatic actor, but I can’t get a handle on who Kid is beneath the surface, i.e. rich and famous. Thus the choices he makes seem less like potentially soul-shattering, desperate measures and more just the cost of keeping his multi-billion-dollar career intact.
Wesley Snipes fares a little better as brother Carlton, who has to tamp down his resentment while doing Kid’s bidding, lest the largesse that keeps him afloat gets cut off.
I only watched four of the seven episodes, but I gather the series gets even twistier before it’s through.
Netflix also has Season 2 “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” (Nov. 23); Season 4 of real estate reality show “Selling Sunset” (Nov. 24); Season 5 of animated comedy “F Is for Family” (Nov. 25); new anime series “Super Crooks” (Nov. 25); and “School of Chocolate” (Nov. 26), in which Amaury Guichon tries to do for chocolatiers what “The Great British Baking Show” did for bakers, but without the stakes (nobody gets sent home) and not as much of the charm.
The Beatles: Get Back (Nov. 25, Disney Plus)
I’m breaking a rule here in writing up a TV series that I haven’t yet seen — aside from the trailers and sneak peeks that are out there.
The screeners for this three-part extravaganza (which I’ve read runs almost eight hours in total) aren’t being made available till Monday and, even then, reviews are embargoed until Thursday when it debuts.
But when an Oscar-winning filmmaker like Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings”) creates a documentary out of unseen footage of one of the biggest bands in the world it seems to me it’s worthy of attention.
Whether you think the Beatles were one of the greatest rock bands ever (and personally, I’m not a diehard fan), the 60-some hours of footage shot in January 1969, of the Beatles writing and recording 14 new songs, and giving their final live performance on a rooftop in London, represent music history in the making.
Note that the other two parts of the doc debut Nov. 26 and 27.
Disney Plus also has its latest Marvel superhero series “Hawkeye” (Nov. 24), which I didn’t screen (and probably just as well because I hear through the grapevine that the conditions to do were alarmingly prohibitive); the documentary “Becoming Cousteau” (Nov. 24) about famous underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau (his 1960s-’70s TV series “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” is another blast from my past); and the animated sitcom “Solar Opposites” (Nov. 22).
Odds and Ends
South African drama “Reyka” (Nov. 26, CBC Gem) isn’t your standard detective series in that the titular lead (Kim Engelbrecht) was kidnapped as a child and has a somewhat unsettling relationship with her jailed abductor, played by Iain Glen, Jorah Mormont on “Game of Thrones.” She also has a child she struggles to raise while investigating the murders of six women left to rot in a sugar cane field.
CBC Gem also has “On the Spectrum” (Nov. 26), an Israeli dramedy about three roommates on the autism spectrum, and “Write Around the World” (Nov. 26), in which British actor Richard E. Grant travels to France, Spain and Italy following in the footsteps of great authors.
HBO and Crave have a few things I didn’t get a chance to preview, including the docuseries “Black and Missing” (Nov. 23, 8 p.m., HBO) about a foundation of the same name that highlights the cases of missing Black girls and women in America. There’s also another instalment in HBO’s “Music Box” series, “DMX: Don’t Try to Understand” (Nov. 26, Crave), about a year in the life of rapper Earl “DMX” Simmons, who died in April at the age of 50. Plus Season 2 of HBO’s “How to With John Wilson” debuts Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. And if it’s not too early for holiday fare, you can check out “8-Bit Christmas” (Nov. 24, Crave), a new family comedy set in 1980s Chicago, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Steve Zahn, and directed by Canadian Michael Dowse (“Goon”).
Speaking of Christmas, Apple TV Plus has the documentary “‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas” (Nov. 26), about a Christmas-loving man in Idaho whose neighbours threatened to sue him over his holiday light show.
Amazon Prime Video has the documentary “Burning” (Nov. 24) about the devastating Australian bushfires of 2019 and 2020; the docuseries “The Curse of Von Dutch” (Nov. 26) about the rise and fall of the company behind those trucker hats; and Season 3 of assassin drama “Hanna” (Nov. 24).
And finally, if you’re into shows set in high school, the “Saved by the Bell” reboot returns for its second season Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. on W.
NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve cross-checked the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste.
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