Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

Preview: You Gotta Eat Here continues cross-Canada noshfest

Oh to be John Catucci. I dream of it sometimes. The opportunity to travel across Canada—with the occasional stop in the U.S.—sampling  things roasted, broiled, barbecued, grilled and steamed? It’s worth what it would do to my waistline.

Catucci is back for Season 4 of Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here! on Friday night with the same formula that’s worked for the past three. In it, the affable, comedian, writer and actor drops by a trio of eateries—Pizzeria Via Mercante in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood, Moonshine Barbecue in Montreal and The Cheshire Cat in Carp, Ont., outside of Ottawa—to munch and mingle with the staff and customers.

I wiped away slobber as Catucci and Romolo Salvati worked their way through pizza and pasta at Pizzeria Via Mercante, exclaimed at the size of the smoked ribs and “totini” (tater tots smothered in pulled pork, gravy and cheese) at Moonshine Barbecue and stared in wonder at the pub fare sampled at The Cheshire Cat.

A die-hard fan of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I at first dismissed YGEH as a cheap Canadian rip-off of what Guy Fieri’s been doing for years. How wrong I was. Yes, Catucci is travelling to restaurants, talking to people and eating plates of food, but his sense of humour, shameless mugging for the camera and open-eyed wonder at the foods placed in front of him makes this project unique. And it’s proved to be quite the triptych of dining moments for me. Thanks to YGEH, I’ve added several fantastic places to chow down to my contacts list and I’m look forward to adding a bunch more thanks to this newest season of 26 episodes.

You Gotta Eat Here! airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.

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History greenlights Proper Television’s Brett & Cliff Go to Hell

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From a media release:

After a successful pilot, HISTORY has greenlit six, one-hour episodes of Brett & Cliff Go to Hell with production starting in Roatan Island, Honduras.

The series follows adventurers Brett Rogers and Cliff Quinn as they re-live actual historical worst-case scenarios in six locations around the world. Filming the entire journey themselves, each one-hour episode will chronicle Brett and Cliff’s treacherous voyage as they pit themselves against history’s toughest men. Broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

The six episodes will be shot over six months, with each expedition being shot over seven days. Production began on Roatan Island, travelling back in time to 1723, with Brett and Cliff on the run from pirates. Dressed in authentic period clothing, with period tools and little food, they must survive a full seven days amongst the hordes of jungle insects, alligator-like caimans, and venomous coral snakes.  Brett and Cliff will also travel to Arizona, Louisiana, Manitoba and Newfoundland.

The pilot, which was filmed last year and premiered in December on HISTORY, captured Brett and Cliff as they put themselves in a worst-case scenario from 1885 – as two gold prospectors who stayed deep in the Yukon wilderness late into the season, only to have their camp burn along with most of their belongings. Using only authentic clothing and tools, their goal was to make a punishing trek to the safety of the Yukon River in seven days, while staying one step ahead of hunger, plunging temperatures and sheer exhaustion.

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Lynn Crawford and Noah Cappe team for Food’s Great Canadian Cookbook

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From a media release:

Two of Shaw Media’s most dynamic hosts are heading across the nation and into Canadians’ homes and communities on a revolutionary mission to define, document and celebrate Canadian Cuisine. Shaw Media is proud to announce that celebrity chef Lynn Crawford (Chopped Canada) and funny man Noah Cappe (Carnival Eats) have been named the faces of the colossal multi-phase project, Food Network Canada’s Great Canadian Cookbook. The multi-platform venture launches later this year with the ultimate online experience for food fans. The website launch will be followed by an explosive four-part docu-series, which starts production today in association with Alibi Entertainment.

The highly entertaining four-part television series sees Crawford and Cappe travel the country stopping along the way to meet and eat with Canadian food lovers and makers. With a richness in diverse cultures, an abundance of deliciously home-grown ingredients and multi-generations of beloved family recipes to draw from, each episode of Food Network Canada’s Great Canadian Cookbook takes a look at Canada’s cultural food mosaic by capturing kitchen conversations and chronicling culinary quests with everyday Canadians.

Food Network Canada’s Great Canadian Cookbook four-part television series is an original production produced by Alibi Entertainment for Shaw Media and Food Network Canada. The digital component is designed and produced by Toronto-based agency Digital Howard in collaboration with Alibi Entertainment,Shaw Media and Food Network Canada.

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RTR Media rolls on HGTV’s Open House Overhaul

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From a media release:

RTR Media is excited to announce the start of production on the new HGTV Canada series OPEN HOUSE OVERHAUL with designer/writer Samantha Pynn (Pure Design, Summer Home).

In Open House Overhaul, Sam and her crew overhaul houses on the real estate market in order to sell them fast and make top dollar. Production on the new 14×30’ series has started in Toronto and will premiere on HGTV Canada this spring. The program will be distributed by Distribution360, making it their first RTR Media property to represent after the recently announced first-look deal.

Samantha Pynn is a writer, decorator, stylist and TV host.  She’s the Contributing Design Editor for Chatelaine magazine and a columnist for the National Post.  Samantha Pynn’s first series with RTR Media was the HGTV Canada hit Summer Home.

Open House Overhaul is produced by RTR Media in association with Shaw Media, HGTV and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit Program.

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Preview: High-flying Airshow spotlights daredevils of the skies

I love airshows. I would not love to be a passenger in one of the planes that participate in them. Those loops, dives and stalls excite me when I’m safely on the ground but the thought of experiencing them first-hand causes my stomach to churn.

Those feelings were further driven home by Discovery’s latest series, Airshow, debuting tonight. To put it bluntly, I just don’t have the stuff to get behind the stick—or climb along the wing—that these folks do. But I’m more than happy to sit back and watch. Produced by Great Pacific TV, the same folks behind Highway Thru Hell, Airshow is stunning to watch on an HD TV. Bright paint, blue sky, black asphalt and multicoloured flight outfits pop as these folks explain not only their reasoning behind making a career out of performing in airshows but the inherent danger—and touch of crazy—involved.

Things don’t start all that promisingly. The awful footage of wing walker Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker, crashing and dying in an Ohio airshow in 2013 is shown before introducing viewers to former bush pilot and airline owner “Super Dave” Mathieson who admits to being bitten by the airplane bug when he was a youngster. Wing walker Carol Pilon is up next, describing the feeling of having the wind whip by her as she stands outside of her own airplane. Additional featured storylines in Episode 1 include rookie Stefan Trischuck and his Pitts Special and airbus Donna Flynn, who runs airshows.

Offsetting the interviews and airshow footage from the ground is stunning in-air stuff showcasing Dave performing in his MX-2 and Carol on her Stearman Bi-plane with veteran Marcus Paine at the controls; future episodes boast reel of The Patriots, Pete McLeod, Jon Melby and Sean Tucker taking to the skies.

If you’ve wanted to know what it’s like to fly in one of these planes alongside industry veterans, strap in and catch Airshow.

Airshow airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.

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