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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Discovery’s Daily Planet dives into Shark Week

Shark Week certainly knows how to make a splash with big-name hosts and special events. The American Chopper cast (remember them?!), Les Stroud, Craig Ferguson and Andy Samberg have all taken a turn hosting; this year it’s actor-producer-director Eli Roth. The tentpole event for 2017 takes place on Sunday when former Olympic medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps gets into the water for Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White. Me? I’m more interested in what the folks at Daily Planet are doing.

Daily Planet‘s Shark Week coverage airs Monday, July 24, to Friday, July 28, at 7 p.m. ET on Discovery and features hosts Ziya Tong and Dan Riskin at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto presenting truly compelling segments during special episodes of their nightly science series. One preview segment next week finds Tong in the water with the toothy critters.

“I’ve gone diving enough times with sharks that I don’t think my heart rate changed at all,” Tong says alongside her co-host after completing filming at Ripley’s for the day. “I was more concerned with getting the right shot than the fact there were these massive animals around me. I love them and they’re so beautiful.”

“This really drives home that we practice what we preach,” Riskin says of Tong jumping in the water with sharks. “We want to show that, for the most part, sharks are not vicious killers. We put the more valuable co-host in the water to prove that she wasn’t going to get hurt.” Debuting in 1988, Shark Week has become a must-see event thanks to show titles like Shark: Maneater or Myth?, Teeth of Death and Anatomy of a Shark Bite. This year boasts programs like Great White Shark Serial Killer Lives, Great Hammerhead Invasion and Shark Vortex. Those outrageous titles may attract eyeballs, but the truth about sharks is much more mundane.

“The truth is, we have lots of stories this week about people who are in the water with great white sharks without a cage and they’re fine,” Riskin says. “They know what they’re doing and they would never throw the kid from the Nirvana album into the water with a shark.” He adds these experts know how the predatory fish posture and communicate what their intentions are. The result? The charisma and fascination surrounding them is still there, but the fear drops. Segments that Tong and Riskin introduce on Daily Planet include “Touching Great Whites,” as Jean-Marie Ghislain and Martin Kochling leave their dive cages behind to swim with sharks off the coast of Guadalupe Island; “Liverless Sharks,” regarding the mystery surrounding sharks washing up on South African shores with their livers expertly removed; and “Dead Whale Feast,” which—from its description—could be the gross-out of the whole lineup.

“Marine biologist Choy Aming is on a whale carcass bobbing in the middle of the ocean and all of these different species of sharks start coming up and feeding on the carcass while he’s sitting on it,” Tong teases.

“It’s in the sun, it’s baking and it’s decomposing,” Riskin adds. “He said it was like standing on a school bus made of tissue paper and covered in olive oil. A carcass is full of calories and animals need calories. A carcass in the ocean; what a great place to be.”

Daily Planet‘s Shark Week coverage airs Monday, July 24, to Friday, July 28, at 7 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Viceland’s Funny How? dissects the art of standup comedy

I listen to a daily podcast from former radio show hosts Humble & Fred. The pair, in addition to discussing the latest news of the day and dissecting their lives, often have standup comedians in to promote their latest shows and talk a little shop. I’m always fascinated when a comedian drops by because, quite often, discussion turns to writing and the mechanics of standup. I love that kind of insight. What makes a person want to get up in front of a room of strangers and attempt to make them laugh?

That’s all covered in Viceland’s latest original series, Funny How? Debuting Monday and broadcast all week long at 11:30 p.m. ET on the channel, Funny How? trails Canadian Kliph Nesteroff, former comic and author of The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy, as he discusses all things standup with the folks who do it every day.

The debut instalment, “The Art of the Bomb,” delves into exactly that … bombing on stage. Nesteroff shares his own experiences, rattling off numerous Toronto clubs where he crapped out, and chatting with folks like Dave Attell, Mike Birbiglia, Artie Lange and Chris Robinson, who recall their first time bombing with an audience. But what makes this episode, and Funny How? in general, so interesting is its analysis of standup comedy. What, exactly, does it mean to bomb on stage? Is it merely that your jokes don’t work, or does the audience play a part in it too? And how does failing on stage help in one’s evolution as a standup comic? As Attell says, failing on-stage doesn’t just happen in the beginning of your career; it can derail a veteran too.

Upcoming episodes cover breaking in, comedy classes, and niche comedy from the LGBTQ community to Christian comics. If you’re a visitor to comedy clubs, a fan of standup comedy or just marvel in the fact folks have the guts to do it as a hobby or career, give Funny How? a peek.

Funny How? airs Monday, July 10, to Friday, July 14, at 11:30 p.m. ET on Viceland.

Image courtesy of Rogers.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

The Scott Brothers go behind the camera with Reno, Set, Go!

Drew and Jonathan Scott have built themselves quite the empire thanks to television projects like Property Brothers, Buying and Selling, Brother vs. Brother and Property Brothers: At Home. Now the pair turn the cameras on another duo as they executive-produce Reno, Set, Go!

Debuting on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada, the Scotts have cast designer Cheryl Torrenueva and contactor/model/professional clown Roger Morin as saviors who swoop in and, in just 36 hours, churn out an awesome project for a deserving family. With the Scott name attached to it, expectations were high Reno, Set, Go! would be a slick, entertaining program. But could it break free and be something truly unique from the unending feelgood renovation programs already packing lifestyle television?

In the first episode, Roger and Cheryl come to the rescue of Murray, a professional chef who’s seen his basement refuge turned into makeshift bedroom when his brother-in-law came to stay. Four months later, and Tristram is still sleeping on the couch, altering the dynamic in Murray’s home. As a thank you for letting him crash, Tristram organizes a reno of the master bedroom (Why doesn’t Tristram look for a place and move out, giving Murr the ultimate gift?), with the help of Cheryl, Roger and Murray’s wife Tamarah. What makes Reno, Set, Go! unique is that the homeowners, family members or helpers are involved not only in some of the planning, but construction too. Cheryl and Tamarah combine to make a bench for Murray and, with a small team of eager folks and 36 hours, the bedroom transformation is underway.

Cheryl and Roger are knowledgeable and charismatic, a must for a program like Reno, Set, Go! They also offer information and suggestions in an accessible way viewers can understand. There’s nary a word about struts, cantilevers and fulcrums to confuse folks. No, this isn’t an in-depth renovation series, but it is a light, enjoyable program perfect for some summer inspiration.

Reno, Set, Go! airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Gusto spices things up with new original series The Latin Kitchen, premiering July 6

From a media release:

Gusto turns up the heat in July with a new lineup of creative cooking adventures, including Gusto’s brand-new original Canadian seriesTHE LATIN KITCHEN, exploring the culinary favourites of three chefs from Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela. From Gusto Worldwide Media, the new 15-episode, 30-minute cooking-series airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET beginning July 6, exclusively on Gusto.

Fun and fast-paced, each episode of THE LATIN KITCHEN follows one of three chefs as they use an individual ingredient or regional flavour to create four mouth-watering recipes. Juan Pablo González, a Venezuelan artist and musician turned cook, combines his artistic creativity with his passion for food. Spanish chef Luis “Tigretón” Leon brings authentic recipes straight from Barcelona and Madrid, and chef Luis Valenzuela shares Mexican dishes that have been passed down through generations. The chefs introduce simple techniques and exotic ingredients that are sure to fire up viewers’ palettes and spice up every meal. For information on Gusto’s series, chefs, recipes, how-to videos, and more, visit gustotv.com.

THE LATIN KITCHEN is created by Chris Knight, President and CEO, Gusto Worldwide Media.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Jonathan Torrens delivers the funny and heartfelt in CBC’s Your Special Canada

Jonathan Torrens wears his patriotism on his sleeve. Want proof? In addition to co-hosting a podcast with former Our Lady Peace drummer Jeremy Taggart called Canadianity (a book is on the way this fall), he’s hosting a Canada Day special where he does maple syrup shots and jumps into a massive butter tart.

Your Special Canada starring Jonathan Torrens—debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBC and repeating July 1 at 7 p.m. —is an entertaining and ingenious hour featuring Torrens playing himself and memorable characters like Slappy the Trivia Beaver and cross-dresser Sindy Crosby. A combination of online bits he’d already done for the network’s comedy portal were strung together with original content filmed in Torrens’ birthplace, Charlottetown. The celebration begins with a Sir John A. MacDonald re-enactor sniffing that everything has been done with regard to Canada Day television specials; Torrens aims to prove him wrong.

“The first is with The Taters of Conspuderation, a diorama with potatoes dressed as the Fathers of Confederation,” he says on the line from his home in Nova Scotia. “The second is ‘Jonath-Anne of Green Gables,’ a one-man show in which I play both roles, and my big finale is jumping into a big butter tart.” It took a few days for producer and star Torrens—along with writer-producer-director Richard Mortimer, producer Lynn Harvey and writers Paul Pogue and Steve Dylan—to suss out the content surrounding the existing skits; the result is a variety show with a Canadian angle.

Torrens gets gooey to celebrate Canada Day

There are plenty of outlandish moments in Your Special Canada—Torrens dons a beaver suit and slaps folks in the face with a whipped-cream-laden beavertail when they get trivia questions wrong, and has Zamboni drivers compete in an obstacle course—but there are goosebump-inducing ones too. Case in point: Torrens delivers a heartfelt take on Alanis Morrisette’s “Thank You” to this country and flies to Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut to deliver maple syrup, Canadian flag toques and good feelings to soldiers stationed there.

“My challenge in Alert was to keep it together and not cry on camera,” the Mr. D co-star admits. “First of all, the sacrifices that they make for our country are enormous. Secondly, the universal feeling of the folks is that it’s an honour to be posted there and they’re happy to be there.”

“It just makes you realize that making funny faces on the TV … there is no merit in that compared to what these people are doing.”

Your Special Canada starring Jonathan Torrens airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBC. It repeats on Saturday, July 1, at 7 p.m. on CBC.

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