TV, eh?

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• CBC Battles on Without Blades
  “FRIDAY saw 1,575,000 show for the season finale of Flashpoint (with Hugh Dillon and Michael Cram, left), which tried to steal a little Blade glory by training its sights on Maple Leaf Gardens.” Read more.

9 p.m. ET/PT
The Sanctuary Network charges Dr. Helen Magnus with murder. Will tries to prove her innocence. Amanda Tapping, who plays Dr. Helen Magnus, directs.

9 p.m. ET/PT
Dr. Helen Magnus fights to save one of the Sanctuary’s research scientists who was uncharacteristically attacked by an Abnormal.

From Mary Francis of The Vancouver Sun:

• Sci-fi series navigate the dangerous waters between the web and TV
  “‘I would definitely recommend going online with a series, but not the way we did it,’ says Amanda Tapping, the lead actor and executive producer of the multiple-Gemini-nominated Sanctuary, which debuted its second season last month.” Read more.

From Alex Strachan of Canwest:

• Great Canadian TV: What you might have missed
  “Canadians love Canadians. Canadians love television. But Canadians don’t always love Canadian television. There is, however, some great TV being created north of the 49th parallel, despite our national boob-tube inferiority complex.” Read more.

From a media release:

New Not-for-Profit Foundation, SANCTUARY FOR KIDS, launched by TV Actor / Executive Producer Amanda Tapping

• Foundation will raise funds for children in crisis by auctioning rare props, set visits and ‘priceless’ items from sci-fi TV series Sanctuary

Television Actor and Executive Producer Amanda Tapping announced the launch of a new not-for-profit foundation, Sanctuary for Kids (S4K) that will support local and international charities providing vital aid to children and youth in crisis.

Sanctuary for Kids was inspired by the sci-fi TV series Sanctuary, for which Amanda Tapping is Executive Producer and the series lead actor. The foundation will harness the tremendous and supportive sci-fi community and provide access to rare and experience-based online auction items from Sanctuary to raise funds for children’s charities. The first auction will take place November 12 – 22, 2009.

(more…)

From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family:

• Hull of a Weekend for Canadian TV
  “Friday’s Flashpoint picked off 1,816,000 commercial on CTV (all figures BBM Canada overnight estimates). CBC’s Battle of the Blades was right behind Sunday night with 1,810,000 tuning in to see the final three skate off. Then, lookit this–CBC’s pony drama Heartland quietly rode off with 1,282,000 Sunday evening.” Read more.

9 p.m. ET/PT
Dr. Helen Magnus wakes up to find the Sanctuary in ruins and the entire city decimated with no memory of how the devastation occurred.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Blades, Flash, Blades Top Weekend Draws
  “CTV’s Friday night winner Flashpoint picked off another 1,870,000 according to BBM Canada overnight estimates (“commercial” data). Battle of the Blades landed 1,618,000 Sunday night for CBC. CBC’s Sunday night family drama Heartland, featuring Amber Marshall and Spartan, left, had another near million night, drawing 932,000.” Read more.

9 pm – Magnus traps a superhero (Christopher Gauthier) whose lack of finesse affects the team’s work. Elsewhere, the discovery of an eggshell remnant puts Will and Declan (Robert Lawrenson) on the hunt for a creature that’s loose in the city.

9 p.m.
Magnus takes in refugees from the Cabal attacks on the Tokyo and London sanctuaries. Meanwhile, Kate (Agam Darshi) accidentally sets free a one-of-a-kind creature.

9:00 PM
Conclusion. The Cabal attacks sanctuaries across the world with Ashley transformed to support their cause. Tesla (Jonathon Young) and Henry try to devise a means to stop the onslaught without killing Ashley in the process.

From Cynthia of SF Universe:

• Tapping and Dunne Talk Sanctuary Season 2
  “Earlier this month, Sanctuary stars Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne sat down with reporters for an extensive interview. There was an easy banter between the both of them; humorous and self-deprecating. From the sound of it, they have a great working relationship that will only grow stronger (both on screen and off) as the second season of Sanctuary takes hold.” Read more.

From Andrew Ryan of the Globe and Mail:

• Homegrown viewing: the good, the bad and the ugly
  “Friday night’s freshest homegrown programs, however, still fall neatly into the categories of the good, the bad and the ugly. Choose one, sample the other two at your peril.” Read more.

From Joseph Dilworth Jr of Pop Culture Zoo:

• Preview: ‘Sanctuary’ Season Two – Part One
  “As the first season of Sanctuary came to a close, our cast of characters (Helen Magnus, Will Zimmerman, John Druitt, Nicola Tesla, Clara Griffin and John Watson) had succeeded in finding the last remaining vial of pure Vampire blood, but not without a cost.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• ‘Sanctuary’ is the sci-fi ‘24′
  “Make no mistake, Robin Dunne is happy with his acting job on Sanctuary. But he has a passion for baseball.” Read more.

From the Canadian Television Fund – a newsletter with feature articles on Moose TV, Sanctuary, Cat City documentary:

• interactivity7

From Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press:

• ‘Sanctuary’ cast got to step away from the green screen for Season 2
  “When cast members of the Canadian sci-fi series Sanctuary shoot a scene that takes place abroad, they don’t usually get to see or touch the landscapes of the featured city, meet its people, or even breathe its air.” Read more.

Why yes, I am bribing people to chat up Canadian TV right now. Join the fun and blog, email, or Twitter your thoughts for the chance to win some great prizes, courtesy The Movie Network/Movie Central/HBO Canada, CBC, and TV, eh? Click here for all the details.

Here’s a small sample of what people are saying so far:

Alex Epstein at Complications Ensue:

• Divorced, Beheaded, Died
  “I really enjoyed the first two seasons of (The Tudors); but not on the CBC. The BBC version clocks in at about 51 minutes, the CBC version had to be edited down to 44 or so. I found the CBC version to be quite choppy, if you’ll pardon the expression, with odd priorities. So I watched Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.” Read more.

• This is What I’m Talking About
  “Shows like DURHAM COUNTY are worth making just because they’re fun, scary, creepy detective shows; and if you like the dark, Laurie Finstad and director Adrian Mitchell ladle out darkness enough for any appetite. But, together with FLASHPOINT and CORNER GAS and the other exports, they go a little way towards giving the rest of the world a sense of who we’ve become. And that’s a value in its own right. Okay, Steven Harper?” Read more.

From Groove Kittie:

• Teeeeeeeeee Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, eh!
  “The Border: OH MAN! Talk about a cliffhanger! I’m a bit anxious about this one being a bit of a Gray/Layla shipper. :S On the upside, my favourite characters (Gray and Slade and Maggie) were untouched by the blast. Hey. I’m trying to keep positive here. *trembles* And just to make things a little bit worse, the premiere isn’t until October 8th. Way to drag out the suspense, CBC. *flail* Evil bastards! October 8, 2009 / CBC” Read more – she talks about Flashpoint, Murdoch Mysteries, and Sanctuary, too.

Check out #tveh on Twitter for even more Canadian TV chatter.

And enter the contest – deadline’s Monday!

From a media release:

On October 9, Take Shelter with SPACE Original Series SANCTUARY Season 2

• Canadian production exclusive to SPACE
• Episodes available on-demand at www.spacecast.com

Finally, a refuge for all species opens its doors on SPACE with the original series SANCTUARY Season 2. Premiering Friday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. ET, this 13-part, sci-fi adventure is part of SPACE’s ongoing support of Canadian productions. Each episode is available on demand at www.spacecast.com immediately following its television premiere.

(more…)