Tag Archives: City

Featured, Package Deal

Review: Package Deal says goodbye

I’m suspecting it’s the end of the road for Package Deal. Of course, things may change and a third go-round may be ordered, but I’m betting that won’t be the case. Moved to at least three different nights and timeslots since Season 2 bowed last fall, one could argue City attempted to find a night and spot where the Canadian sitcom could attract a larger audience (like right after 2 Broke Girls for a few weeks), but I never saw a commercial promoting Package Deal. If I wasn’t following several of its cast members and the show itself on Twitter I would have lost track of it long ago.

And that’s too bad. Aside from the friendly cast and crew I met while on a set visit for Season 1, this sophomore season has been tighter, funnier and more raw. Sunday’s back-to-back season finale, “The Break Up” parts 1 and 2, plunged couple Kim and Danny into truly stressful territory for the very first time by throwing marriage into the picture. (“This can’t be happening. He’s so young, to be cut down in his prime,” wailed Sheldon. “There’s so much more for you to experience. You haven’t even slept with an albino.”)

The fact that they both waffled independently over the prospect of advancing their relationship to the next level was a departure from the usual light-hearted weekly bickering and allowed actors Julia Voth and Randal Edwards the opportunity to play some very serious moments and heartfelt emotions … at least until Harland Williams’ Sheldon or Jay Malone’s Ryan jumped in to say something ludicrous.

The ensuing break-up that concluded the first instalment made for several interesting moments that carried to the second script, written by creator and executive producer Andrew Orenstein. Danny and Kim both re-entered the dating market and while Danny was disgusting gals with his “dump stink,” Kim found a paramour in TJ (John Dore), the produce guy working at his local market. The addition of Dore ramped up the laughs thanks to his hippie views on life, a stark contrast to Danny’s lawyer profession.

The conclusion of “The Break Up” certainly could have kept Kim and Danny apart–setting up a cliffhanger–but I’m glad that didn’t happen. If this is indeed the final episode of Package Deal, I’d much prefer the pair to be a couple than apart. Thanks, Package Deal, for two seasons of laughs.

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Comments and queries for the week of Nov. 28

Despite being a “bottle episode” designed to save production budgets from going overboard, this week’s episode of Murdoch Mysteries garnered a lot of praise from fans, especially for lead actor Yannick Bisson and guest star Nigel Bennett (above).

Yannick is a very underrated actor. We have not yet seen how good he can be. I look forward to the writers giving him something he can “get his teeth into” and really shine but still not lose the essence of Murdoch. I have no doubt that years from now we will be talking of the amazing things that he has done. As they say, the best is yet to come.—S

This episode was a showcase for the vast talents of the cast. It is, so far, my favourite. Nigel Bennett will be missed on the show even if for his contribution to a great tension simmering between he and Yannick Bisson. Brian Kaulback played his role superbly. I would like to see his character re-emerge in some capacity. In all, I would like to see more of this type of drama as opposed to bringing the “archvillan” back who torments Julia and William. I have never missed an episode and this show is only getting better!—Diehl

I believe that the interrogation scene between Giles and Murdoch will go down as one of the top moments in this series. For me it was a battle of wits and minds, as Murdoch tried to nail Giles, only for him to sly out of the way and strike back.—TJ

Meanwhile, a few readers reached out with their opinion regarding Bachelor Canada‘s Tim Warmels choosing April to be his bride-to-be.

I can see why Tim chose April (she’s beautiful) but looks don’t last forever. Trish seemed much more genuine, grounded and mature and she is also gorgeous. Often with men, their hormones make the decisions, not their minds. From what I can tell, that’s what happened in regards to Tim choosing April.—Joy

Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com

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Bachelor Canada, Featured

Review: Bachelor Canada shocker: Tim chooses his lady love

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After all of the drama surrounding April’s performance at the end of last week’s start to The Bachelor Canada season finale, I would have been shocked if Tim Warmels had chosen her over Trish. It seemed to be a no brainer. Trish was outgoing and April wasn’t. Trish was sure of her feelings and April waffled. Tim’s parents liked Trish and were dubious of April.

So, who did Tim choose after all of these weeks of tears and tribulation, brashness and booze? After summarizing that he only wanted to move forward with someone who wanted to be there, April suddenly had a change of heart and wanted to stay.

“Today is a good day,” she told Tim upon meeting him for an impromptu sit-down at the beach.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard from you all day,” Tim responded. One long kiss and a special note later, and April was back in the hunt for the bachelor’s heart. But would she steal it away from Trish?

For her part, Trish was confident in her chances with Tim and he admitted to having no questions regarding her feelings towards him. They even put a padlock on a love fence to prove their warm and fuzzies for each other. A brief meeting with Michael Hill, who pulled some diamond rings out of his leather satchel, and Tim was ready to propose. But who would it be to?

I guess someone’s going to have to go down and dig for the key to unfasten that padlock because Tim chose April. I can only surmise that Tim is looking for someone to protect rather than a gal who is sure of herself because his decision seemed out of character. Maybe it was the fact that Trish is an Edmonton Oilers fan vs. Tim’s beloved Maple Leafs. At this point I’m grasping at anything that makes sense. (As an aside, I thought April’s dress looked like it belonged at a Grade 8 prom rather than the coast of Tahiti.)

The After the Final Rose special was pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the franchise, with Trish confronting Tim over his decision and the reunion of the happy couple. Among the tidbits of information host Tyler Harcott was able to suss out by the end of the episode:

  • Trish has learned a lot about herself
  • Trish’s favourite moment was her date with Tim in Italy
  • Trish isn’t mad at April
  • Tim has fallen in love
  • Tim goes commando
  • There are wedding plans

What did you think of this season? Did Tim choose the right girl?

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Bachelor Canada, Featured

Review: Women … and Tim … Tell All on Bachelor Canada

This is my first go-round at a Women Tell All special. At least, the Canadian version. I’ve seen several of the U.S. Bachelor tell-alls and have been amused by the cattiness, sniffs and the side eye delivered in front of the live audience.

This being my first-ever watch of the Canadian instalment, my immediate questions were as follows: Would the truth behind Lisa’s makeup session come out? Would Natalie defend her return to the show or admit it was a mark of desperation? What would former frontrunner Kaylynn say to Tim Warmels? And would Tyler Harcott show up to host the darned thing?

The first revelation delivered was that yes, Harcott was the ringleader for the episode, wrangling jangled hearts and raw nerves with aplomb. After what felt like an endless recap of the season’s highs and lows–anyone who has watched the year already knows what went down–Harcott got down to business with hard-hitting questions regarding their first thoughts on Tim (“Price Charming,” Sonia exclaimed), how Sonia felt being the “most mature” woman in the mansion at 42, and whether Rileigh was jealous of the other girls in the house. I always hate it when the ladies or men are interviewed en masse like that; there are quick edits and mere snippets of conversations that really don’t reveal anything of substance.

Things got more interesting once Kaylynn made her way to Harcott’s Hot Seat. There were some mildly testy moments during her segment, most notably Kaylynn saying she’s not that emotional in real life, followed by the first eye roll of the night courtesy of Sachelle. The thing that struck me about the first few minutes of the Women Tell All was how upbeat Harcott was and how flippant his comments were regarding the girls’ feelings. Kaylynn’s crying jags were underplayed by the host, which I thought was a bit of an injustice and bordering on disrespectful. Kaylynn cried a lot, so why not explore why that was? I’d have been a lot happier if the producers had dumped all of the replayed footage and really explored the reasons why the girls thought they were dumped and their feelings about the process overall.

Natalie was up next and stated the producers had not asked her to return to the show, but that it has been her own decision. She also announced–and I was actually caught off-guard by this–that she knew Tim wasn’t going to keep her around and had only returned to cause drama amongst the remaining girls. The fireworks started to go off, with Lisa critiquing Natalie over her decision to come back and Renée-Anne accused her of putting on an act. I was actually surprised by the vitriol directed at Natalie for her actions, actions that I didn’t think were unwarranted.

The highlight, of course, was when Lisa took the stand her spot on the couch. If Natalie felt attacked by the ladies, Lisa must have felt like she’d been through a war. However, jabs from Sachelle (backed by audience applause) and comments from Natalie didn’t faze the season’s villain; she just shrugged her shoulders and blamed the free booze. She also blamed the demon in the bottle on her smoochfest with the Italian bartender, an incident that was galvanizing during the episode but barely covered on Tuesday night. Lisa said she regretted the move, but I wanted more of an explanation. Alas, none was given.

Sachelle relived the horror of being dumped after her hometown date, but the arrival of Tim on the couch meant they had some closure and no hard feelings. Tim also didn’t have any harsh words for Lisa; he accepted her apology and moved on. I was a little underwhelmed–I had been expecting harsher criticism of Tim by the ladies who had been dumped–but that stuff was either left on the cutting room floor or ignored in favour of bloopers and lighter moments on the show followed by an extended sneak peek at the two-part season finale. That’s too bad. I was really hoping for more serious discussion with the girls–especially the ones eliminated early and received no attention other than being introduced at the beginning of the show–over their experiences with Tim.

The Bachelor Canada two-part season finale kicks off next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on City.

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Bachelor Canada, Featured

Review: Hometown hell on The Bachelor Canada

After the shocking events of last Tuesday’s episode of The Bachelor Canada–Lisa stayed and Kaylynn was eliminated–I was truly interested to see how Tim’s hometown visits would go. Especially when it came to seeing Lisa in Calgary. Would he revisit the drama of the week before and question her more deeply about her kissing another man, or would bygones be bygones?

The producers saved all that for the last visit on Tim’s schedule by having him travel to see Trish, Sachelle and April first.

Trish’s hometown date in Edmonton was brilliant, offering the hockey-crazed bachelor not only a genuine Leafs jersey–with Warmels on the back, it should be noted–but also with some ice time on the local rink. After scoring some points on the net and Trish, Tim was hoping to win some from her family. It started out a little awkwardly–having an entire family come walking down the driveway will do that–before settling into oddness at the dinner table. (How did I know it was odd? Why, the producers were playing off-kilter music to let me know.) A round of “Jesus Loves Me” later and that was pretty much it. I expected Trish’s brother–sporter of some bad-ass shades–to pull Tim aside and quiz him on the “journey,” but that never materialized. Trish and Tim did, however, admit to falling for each other, the closest either would come to using the “l” word. (Did anyone else half-expect to see Gam-Gam peeking through the drapes while T&T made out?)

Things didn’t look good for Sachelle, meanwhile, after she learned their Porter flight with Tim from Toronto to her hometown of Sudbury, Ont., was grounded for hours by fog. Undeterred–and realizing the entire city of Toronto was right behind them–Tim turned her frown upside down and the pair hopped into a cab and headed to his Queen St. West neighbourhood for a coffee, some prime people watching and talk of babies. (I love how they made Sachelle seem like a big-city newbie in awe of everything in Toronto.) And while Tim suspected it would be Sachelle’s brother, Shane, who would pull him aside for a chat it was actually her father who did it first. They were quickly joined by Shane, who played bad cop by telling Tim to let Sachelle go if the feelings weren’t there. Gee, thanks buddy. Also, if Tim does dump Sachelle, I’m assuming Shane’s veiled threats about putting a hurt on Tim will have had something to do with it.

Meanwhile, April was battling with nerves and trust. It was something she hoped they would address once he arrived in Wasaga Beach, Ont. The date started off very seriously, with April revealing her father passed away at a young age of a drug overdose and that they wouldn’t be meeting her mother either because the two don’t get along. Instead, they had dinner with April’s grandparents, who have been raising her. April’s grandmother put Shane to shame, observing that Tim liked to work out a lot and that she could see right through him. Turns out the comment may have been taken out of context–I know, shocking–because she then complimented Tim on having great qualities.

So, what happened in Calgary? Tim was up front with Lisa, first admitting that he could totally see himself falling for her. Then came the but: he wasn’t going any further in the relationship with Lisa and would not be meeting her family for dinner. Unless the producers asked him to keep Lisa around to make for a dramatic hometown visit–and I have no reason to suspect this–Tim made a tough last-minute decision. Was it the right one? It’s easy for me to say yes, but clearly it weighed on him. And despite me not liking Lisa, The Bachelor Canada contestant, I didn’t feel any joy at seeing her cut down like that. I also don’t envy her; she’ll be the girl who was eliminated from the show for kissing a dude in Italy for awhile.

The lack of a third rose confirmed what April, Trish and Sachelle suspected–Lisa had been dropped–opening the door for the season finale. So, who will Tim have to choose between? April and Trish. I told you: Shane scared Tim off with his aggressiveness and punching talk. In the meantime, next week’s Women Tell All special looks exciting, with appearances by Lisa and Natalie, eye rolling and a rare appearance by host Tyler Harcott.

The Bachelor Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on City.

Who do you think Tim will pick in the Bachelor Canada season finale?

  • April (55%, 226 Votes)
  • Trish (45%, 183 Votes)

Total Voters: 409

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