Mr. D, CBC – “Guest Speaker” Gerry needs to find a guest speaker for Career Day. Dwyer supposedly has a good one, and Gerry wants to outdo him. Robert has a fraternity reunion this weekend, and he wants to avoid catching the sickness that’s going around at all costs.
Little Mosque on the Prairie, CBC – “Finders Weepers”
After Ann and Sarah have a huge fight, Ann’s college frenemy hires Sarah to be her PR person.
Redemption Inc., CBC – Finale “Redemption Inc. Revisited”
Six months have passed since the filming of Redemption Inc. The winner has started a new business, and the other participants have forged ahead with newly-acquired resources and skills. Kevin O’Leary and Brian O’Dea travel across the country to check in.
Canada’s Got Talent, Citytv
The judges stampede to the west to see what Canadian talent Calgary has to offer.
Cammalleri makes acting debut
If you’re a big Mike Cammalleri fan and miss watching him play regularly on TV with the Canadiens, you can catch him on television in a new role on March 5. Cammalleri, who was traded to the Calgary Flames this season, will make a guest appearance as an actor on the CBC TV comedy Mr. D on that night. Read more.
From Mark Brelsin in Postcity.com:
When getting a D in school is actually a good thing
CBC’s new entry in the field is Mr. D, starring Toronto’s Gerry Dee. He’s a pretty good gamble as these things go: he’s good-looking, respectable, mainstream, with a background in teaching and sports. You can see how executives could drool at the package. Read more.
Heartland, CBC – “Breaking Down and Building Up”
When tragedy strikes Amy must find a way to save Mr. Hanley’s rescue horses from kill buyers.
Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II, CBC
The continuation of an iconoclastic and extraordinary career as Don Cherry moves on and becomes a legendary hockey broadcaster.
Lost Girl, Showcase – “Fae-nted Love”
Kenzi and Trick must race to save Bo from the fallout of a steamy night gone awry before it binds the Succubus for a millennium. In its wake, Bo poses very uncomfortable questions to Trick about her origins. Written by Shelley Scarrow, directed by Michael DeCarlo.
Less Than Kind, HBO Canada – “Jerk Chicken” Sheldon hosts the victory celebration for the wrestling team and Tina becomes his girlfriend. Josh is forced into being a reluctant chaperone by a frightened Anne. Danny and Miriam crash the party.
Million Dollar Neighbourhood, OWN Canada – “The Kids Are Alright”
While kids control family spending, look for savings in their parents’ budgets and land part-time jobs, the adults start up a free child care service and protect their families’ futures by refinancing their mortgages with the help of Jessi Johnston and his team.
Canada’s Got Talent, Citytv – Series premiere We start the search for Canada’s talent in Toronto. Meet our host and judges as the show kicks off it’s cross Canada tour.
Walking into Vancouver’s Shark Club for an interview with the man who plays Don Cherry in a CBC miniseries, I could be forgiven for expecting someone who looks a little like Don Cherry.
27-year-old Jared Keeso, star of tonight’s Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II, is proof that television makeup and hair artists deserve more recognition.
“Oh my goodness I’m glad you asked,” he laughed to a question about the transformation. “It really is something.”
The first miniseries, Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story, ended as Cherry began Coach’s Corner. In this one, airing in two parts on March 4 and 11, Keeso plays the man into his 70s – a makeup process that took five hours each morning. “They poke and prod you like a lab rat, gluing stuff to your face.”
Even more remarkable is that Keeso didn’t know until two weeks into shooting that he would end up playing a man three times his age. “They originally entertained the idea of Don playing himself in the final two acts of the movie,” Keeso revealed.
Wrath of Grapes focuses on “Don’s tumultuous relationship with the CBC,” Keeso explained. “What it comes down to is: fire him or shut up.”
As a youth, Keeso himself played for the Strathroy Rockets of the Western Ontario Hockey League and the Listowel Cyclones of the GOJHL. “I was a bit of a suitcase,” he said, meaning he was frequently traded. He never missed Coach’s Corner, and watched Cherry’s Rock’em Sock’em Hockey series on the team bus.
But perhaps surprisingly, he added: “I’m a big Don Cherry fan, but I’m a huge Ron MacLean fan.”
As thrilled as he was when Cherry called after the first part of the first miniseries aired to express his love for it, Keeso was even more thrilled when MacLean mentioned Keep Your Head Up Kid on Coach’s Corner the night before.
Keeso won a Gemini for that role, but he won’t copy MacLean’s habit of giving his awards away. “I respect his principle but I’ll squeeze that thing until the day I die.”
Check out the full video interview with Jared Keeso:
Jared Keeso stars as Don Cherry in WRATH OF GRAPES: THE DON CHERRY STORY II (the follow-up to Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story) airing on CBC in two parts on March 4 and 11 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT). Diane Wild of TV, eh? interviewed him at the Shark Club in Vancouver:
