TV, eh?

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Border Closed, Republic Endures
  “The Border was thrown into a suicide slot in its third season and got overrun by CTV powerhouse Grey’s Anatomy. Unlike Doyle, which enjoyed the public network’s strongest lead-in (Dragon’s Den), The Border got squat from Doc Zone. The finale drew a little over a half million viewers with some weeks dipping closer to 400,000.” Read more.

From Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter:

• CBC renews ‘Republic of Doyle’
  “Republic of Doyle seizing the public broadcaster’s last 9 p.m. slot will mean the axe for the action drama The Border from White Pine Pictures after three seasons. ” Read more.

From Facebook/Twitter:

The Border is not being renewed for season 4

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Border No More Secure After Final Draw

From Denis McGrath of Dead Things on Sticks:

• One More Border Run
  “THE BORDER AIRS its 38th episode on CBC tonight at 9pm.  The third season finale is full of its own twists & turns, plenty of action & is rip-roaringly rendered by the same able hands who helmed the show’s pilot, John Fawcett. But the real cliffhanger is whether this will be the final adventure of Kessler & Co.” Read more.

312 – No Refuge
Written by Janet MacLean
Directed by John Fawcett

Kessler must protect his ex-wife’s lover from a deadly Mexican drug cartel.

A kingpin in Mexico’s Los Zetas drug cartel is en route to Toronto to meet his new distributors – the ultraviolent street gang, MS-13. Ramon Esteban – the new flame of Kessler’s ex-wife Terri – is a Mexican journalist whose articles on Los Zetas have put him on the cartel’s hit list. When Kessler, Carver, and Gray attempt to transfer Ramon from Terri’s shelter into protective custody, MS-13 launches an all-out attack. Kessler must fight back with an unlikely team of warriors.

From Denis McGrath of Dead Things on Sticks:

• My Fame Is Bonafide, Check It, Worldwide…
  “‘Credible Threat’ is written by Sarah Dodd, who besides being an adorable brand-new Mom was always The Border writer who could be counted on for the mind-bendingest twists & contortions. Great writer. Great Director. Gunplay, Slade, and the U.S. Prez? Heck, I’m in. What more do you need?” Read more.

Kessler and Carver join forces to prevent the assassination of the visiting American President.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Blue Christmas for Elvis, Ratings-Wise

Kessler, Darnell, and Charlotte uncover a deadly Canadian link to coltan smuggling in the Congo.

Darnell and Khali are caught up in the intrigue surrounding a priceless Buddha.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Post Sweeps Survivor Takes Quiet Night

ICS must save Maggie’s daughter from a cross-border serial killer.

From Guy Dixon of the Globe and Mail:

• WATCH ME GRACE PARK
  “Part of her allure is that actress Grace Park, who plays U.S. Homeland Security agent Liz Carver on CBC-TV’s The Border, comes across as an everywoman – an everywoman, that is, who sprang to stardom on Battlestar Gallactica and has electrified the pages of Maxim magazine. Yet the Vancouver-raised actress does seem down to earth. How does she do it?” Read more.

Khali helps a young Indian woman track down her runaway groom.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Tribe Has Spoken: Survivor Still Potent
  Further down was CBC’s The Border, up week-to-week at least with 503,000.” Read more.

Zoe helps a Chinese Olympic athlete defect to Canada.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Border No Better Despite Press Push
  “The Border got very little bump this week from all that press about James McGowan’s Afghanistan episode, drawing 443,000 viewers across the country according to BBM Canada overnight estimates.” Read more.

From Bruce DeMara of the Toronto Star:

• Caledon quarry serves for Afghanistan on The Border
  “‘In terms of production, it’s the biggest show we’ve done,’ says producer David Barlow about the action series, which airs at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV. The series does not disguise Toronto as the locale for much of the action, but in tonight’s episode, Mike Kessler, head of Immigration and Customs Security, and an agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are kidnapped – not once but twice – during a trip to Afghanistan.” Read more.

From a media release:

KIDNAPPING, INTIMIDATION AND TORTURE. THE STAKES ARE HIGH ON THE BORDER
THURSDAY, NOV. 5, AT 9 P.M., ON CBC-TV

• The Border recreates Afghanistan in a gravel pit in southern Ontario

Gemini Award-winning THE BORDER takes viewers to Afghanistan, where Major Kessler (James McGowan) and young Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent Henry Masoud are kidnapped and held for ransom by the Taliban. The stakes are high as Kessler and Masoud face intimidation, torture and possible execution.

Darnell (Jim Codrington) and Carver (Grace Park) join NATO’s search and discover their prime suspect, General Zaki, is also their best hope of getting their colleagues out alive.

Under a blazing August sun in a gravel quarry in Caledon, Ont., production designer Benno Tuttor (2009 Directors Guild of Canada Award, The Border; Directors Guild of Canada Award Away from Her) and his team recreated an Afghan town that would have evolved over centuries.

Episode 305 “Missing in Action” is written by Alex Levine and directed by Phil Earnshaw. THE BORDER was created by Peter Raymont, the late Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole. The series is produced by Brian Dennis, Janet MacLean and David Barlow. Peter Raymont is executive producer.