From CBC:
Mohawk Girls series tells stories of once ‘voiceless’ women
The director behind a TV series being shot in Kahnawake says she wants to show Canadians what it means to be a Mohawk woman. “I’m making a show about my own life, about my sister’s life, my friends’, my cousins’,” says director Tracey Deer. Continue reading.
From a media release:
WINGIN’ IT TAKES ITS FINAL FLIGHT MAY 25 ON FAMILY CHANNEL
After three hit seasons of magical mayhem, the adventures of Carl Montclaire and Porter Jackson come to a conclusion in the Canadian original series finale of Wingin’ It premiering Saturday, May 25 at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT. As the boys prepare for their high school prom, Family Channel celebrates with a morning of prom-themed episodes from top series Wizards of Waverly Place, Gravity Falls, Jessie and Good Luck Charlie beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT. Immediately following the finale is a special presentation of High School Musical 3: Senior Year at 12 p.m. ET/PT.
In the final episode, titled “Live and Let Fly,” Porter deals with an aching back while the teachers and students get ready for Bennett High’s prom. Carl asks Jane to be his date and Brittany runs for Prom Queen with Serge as her Prom King. Meanwhile, Denise finally receives her A.I.T. assignment.
For the past three seasons, Wingin’ It has seen Angel-In-Training (A.I.T.) Porter Jackson help Carl Montclaire, a disaster-prone high school student, navigate the halls of Bennett High. To earn his wings and become a full fledged angel, Porter was tasked with transforming Carl in to the most popular kid in school. But this seemingly simple task was often hindered by Porter’s side-tracked schemes and multiple magical mishaps, making this mission more difficult than expected. Now, with graduation in sight and everything finally falling into place, the unlikely duo prepare for the biggest – and hopefully best – night of their lives.
The fun continues at Family.ca where fans can play Wingin’ It themed games and catch up on past episodes. Throughout the month of May, devilish and angelic audiences alike can watch favourite episodes from the entire series on Family OnDemand. The final episode will be available May 31.
Wingin’ It stars Dylan Everett as Carl Montclaire; Demetrius Joyette as angel-in-training Porter Jackson; Brittany Adams as Carl’s friend Jane; Hannah Lochner as Brittany, the most popular girl in school; Sebastian Hearn as the jock, Serge; Brian White as tagalong friend Alex; Wayne Thomas Yorke as Dr. Cassabi; and Kendra Timmins as Denise. Jenn Robertson plays Carl’s mom Angela and Jamie Bloch plays Carl’s little sister, Becky.
Commissioned by Family Channel, Wingin’ It is produced by Temple Street Productions and is executive produced by Frank van Keeken (The Next Step, Kids in the Hall, Billable Hours), Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (The Next Step, Orphan Black, Being Erica).
From a media release:
APTN and OMNI Television Start Production on Original Series, Mohawk Girls
- Production on half-hour series is now underway in Montreal and the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec
- Principal cast includes Jenny Pudavick (Cashing In) and Glen Gould (Da Vinci’s City Hall)
APTN, OMNI Television, and Rezolution Pictures today announced that principal shooting has begun on the seven-episode, 30-minute original series Mohawk Girls. The edgy new dramedy is both filmed and set in Montreal, and the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec. Slated to premiere in 2014, Mohawk Girls will air in English on both APTN and OMNI Television, in Mandarin on OMNI, and in Mohawk on APTN. Full broadcast details to be announced at a later date.
Mohawk Girls follows four, sexy twentysomethings, as they try to figure out what it means to be a modern day Mohawk woman. From battling family pressure, tradition, and the intoxicating freedom of the “outside world,” to trying to find love on a reserve where everyone has dated everybody, this fabulous foursome is on a mission to find happiness…and themselves.
The cast features Jenny Pudavick (Cashing In) and Glen Gould (Da Vinci’s
City Hall) who are joined by Christian Campbell (Big Love), Kyle Nobess (Todd And The Book Of Pure Evil), Rachelle White Wind (Moccasin Flats), Ashley Michaels (Snare), and Meegwun Fairbrother (The Time Traveler). New Canadian talent Brittany LeBorgne, Heather White, and Maika Harper round ut the key cast.
Mohawk Girls is directed by Gemini Award-winning Tracey Deer (Club Native), who also serves as executive producer. Mohawk Girls is inspired by Deer’s 2005 acclaimed feature-length documentary of the same name, about the trials and tribulations of teenage girls growing up on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake. Cynthia Knight (Sophie) is the showrunner; and executive producers for Rezolution Pictures include Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick, and Ernest Webb, all of whom were involved in producing the multiple Gemini and Peabody Award-winning film, Reel Injun.
From John Doyle of The Globe & Mail:
Mr. Hockey is a well-told tale for playoff time
We approach this type of TV movie with some trepidation. Well, I do anyway. The abominable two CBC movies about Don Cherry set a new low in hockey drama – groan-inducing, obvious, sanitized and trite. There is plenty of sentimentality in Mr. Hockey (no surprise it will air in the United States on the Hallmark Channel next week), but it’s a well-told, engrossing movie that has fine performances. The tropes of hockey movies are there, but there’s wit, too, and an occasional sharp edge. Continue reading.
For all you scifi fans out there, the season finale of Lost Girl aired Sunday night on Showcase. Now in its third season, this Canadian scifi drama explores the world of a succubus named Bo who embarks on a quest to find her origins and winds up embroiled in the world of the Fae, a race of creatures known mainly to folklore and kept secret from humans.
If you’re a fan of Lost Girl, you’ll love this action packed season finale. Bo, caught between the dark Fae and the light Fae, is on a quest to save Dyson (a werewolf) from a sociopathic scientist. Bo risks enlisting the help of the Valkyrie Tamsen, whose loyalties are in question. When Bo and Tamsen “storm the castle” they find a little more than they bargained for, and struggle to keep up with the twists and turns that are thrown at them.
The finale kept me interested from start to finish with lots of twists and turns. The setup for the story points made sense, and the payoffs throughout the episode didn’t fall flat. The one thing that struck me a bit odd was the confusion in tone. The moments of hard emotion came through on the heels of a light-hearted joke. The stormy backdrop would give way to light, bright scenes, leaving me uncertain of how I was supposed to feel. It seemed as though the viewer wasn’t given enough time to digest the weight of any heartfelt emotion from Bo before she turned her frown upside down and headed into a new emotional state. That being said, I haven’t been an avid watcher of every episode so perhaps this tonal setup has been a staple of the show that the established fan base finds no fault with.
The main reason I watched this week’s finale (out of order) was so I could try out the accompanying game. The Lost Girl App was released for iOS and Android devices for fans of the show to enjoy some additional content.
I gamely (yep, I said it) downloaded the app to my iPad and launched into personal Fae-Dom … for about 20 minutes. When I had to leave the game for a time, I couldn’t get it to reopen on my iPad. Certainly this could be an Apple issue, but I left it, shut the game down and have yet to have success getting it to operate again.
What I did experience in my limited playtime was a puzzle/search game tacking on some pseudo role-playing elements. Though the advertisements say “interaction” with characters from the show, I would classify it more as listening to what they tell you, and continuing on in your objective, which primarily involves sussing out items that adorn the wall of the first level (the bar).
Though the moments of searching for items is enjoyable and certainly belongs to the type of mobile game that would be easy to get addicted to, the long loading screens and lack of instructions make it less worth the wait. The great thing about Fruit Ninja is that you spend 90% of your play time slicing through watermelons. I spent the majority of my play time waiting here on loading screens and trying to figure out how to get to the next puzzle.
While it was cool to start my own Fae character and customize it (mine is a Succubus named Pax) the atmosphere of the game didn’t match the play style. Then again, who knows, maybe once you get more than 20 minutes in, things pick up.
The show certainly did its job in making me want to get caught up right quick, and overall it wasn’t the worst effort I’ve seen from bonus content in app form, but I’d prefer to see shows able to use this money in a way that truly benefits them. If the show demands a mobile game app – great, but maybe it’s not a bandaid to be used on every show. Wouldn’t it be great to have a working customized digital plan that fits each individual show and caters to what the show and audience demands? I’m no stranger to the importance of a digital strategy, but with the extremely high caliber of games that exist today you really have to nut up or shut up when it comes to a mobile app and game content, even if it is in a really cool universe where I get to be a succubus. Or you know, they could just let them use the cash to make more content.