From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:
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Haute hosers do Everest
“First, note that Everest is old-fashioned in a very specific way. The CBC doesn’t make miniseries any more, and it certainly doesn’t seem to make miniseries about recent events in Canadian history. That’s so old-regime. Thus, Everest may be the last of its kind – close to us in terms of history and based on real Canadians who achieved something. It’s not what the CBC mucky-mucks want on the network now and it has, apparently, been on the shelf for two years – even though it is a big-budget production, costing $10.5-million.” Read more.
From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:
- Series celebrates historic climb
“There were times when Edmonton actor Eric Johnson felt he was channeling the same thrill-seeking spirit that fuelled Calgarian Laurie Skreslet’s harrowing 1982 ascent of Mount Everest.” Read more. - Climbers say producers soaped up story
“As TV characters, they are presented as underdog heroes who made history as the first Canadians to conquer the highest peak in the world. But mountaineers Laurie Skreslet and Pat Morrow — the first and second Canadians to make it to the top of Mount Everest — say viewers should take CBC’s upcoming dramatization of their harrowing, death-filled expedition with a grain of salt.” Read more.
From Alex Strachan of Canwest News Service:
- Everest series not quite an epic
“True stories don’t always make for compelling drama. Everest, the two-night miniseries that debuts Sunday and concludes Monday, bears the dreaded label ‘based on a true story.’ And while there are moments of compelling drama, it never feels real.” Read more.
From Elizabeth Withey of the Edmonton Journal:
- Everest explores Canadian first
“Above the treeline, Eric Johnson commutes with class. During the filming of Everest, a new mini-series about the first Canadians to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, the Edmonton-born actor went to the ‘office’ by chopper, chairlift, snowmobile, snowcat, 15-seater van and glacier bus. Oh, and he hiked, too.” Read more.
From Brian Gorman in the Brantford Expositor:
- Shooting Everest is almost as hard as climbing it
“It’s hard to decide who is more obsessed: the people who climb Mount Everest or the people who set out to make a TV movie about it. In making the two-part docudrama “Everest” — airing Sunday and Monday, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, on CBC Television — the dangers may not have been great, but the logistical challenges that were overcome are pretty impressive.” Read more.
From Brendan Kelly of the Ottawa Citizen:
- A tall mountain to climb
“Campbell is proud to point out that this stunning-looking miniseries set in the Himalayas was almost entirely shot in and around the Rockies. Some exteriors were shot in Nepal but virtually everything you see was filmed in the mountains of Alberta and B.C.” Read more.
From Al Beeber of the Lethbridge Herald:
- Lethbridge actor on top of the world in mini-series
“When a two-part mini-series on the first Canadian expedition to conquer Mount Everest premieres on CBC Television Sunday night, many southern Albertans will recognize a familiar face. Lethbridge-raised actor Kevin Kruchkywich, who made his feature length film debut in the 2005 comedy ‘Chicks with Sticks,’ plays real-life mountaineer Rusty Baillie, one of a daring group of Canadians who attempted to summit Everest in 1982.” Read more.
