Yearly Archives: 2016

Featured, Killjoys

Killjoys ends Season 2 on a high note … and heads for more adventures

It’s a good thing that Space and Syfy greenlit a third season of Killjoys, because, after Friday’s season finale, they damned well owed us one.

“How to Kill Your Friends and Influence People,” written by Michelle Lovretta and Jeremy Boxen—and directed by sometime Murdoch Mysteries guest star Peter Stebbings—wasn’t much of a cliffhanger, throw everything including the kitchen sink into the mix in case the show’s not renewed. Nope, Friday’s finale was very much a set-up to the adventures to come, now that our trio has vanquished Khlyen and the green plasma.

Khlyen, the masterful manipulator to the end, wasn’t ousted by a phaser blast to the chest, a spurt of rocket fire via Lucy or even a long, intimate throat cut from Dutch. We certainly would have understood that final choice; after all, he’s been a major thorn in her side, the bane of her existence … you pick the cliché. Khlyen was this show’s Big Bad and needed to be put down. But Khlyen, in a final bid to show how much he loved Dutch, used his own blood to poison the plasma pool (I’m sure there was a parable or something in that.), saved Old Town and expired in Dutch’s arms.

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It was a stunning turnaround for a character I’ve loved to hate, and kudos to actor Rob Stewart for taking Lovretta and the room’s words and helping turn Khlyen into a sonofabitch I cared about. Also: did anyone else get a distinct Star Wars vibe from Khlyen and Dutch’s final scene? A bit of Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker happening? I certainly felt it, especially when Khlyen told the history of the plasma, and how he’d hoped it would be a saviour of people rather than a killer. That back story gave us the details on Aneela, and how the plasma sent her on a path to insanity. Now she’s still on the loose, sipping green drinks and strutting along white halls. We can’t have that, so Dutch, D’Avin and Johnny are … oh wait.

Still hurting from Pawter’s death—and who wouldn’t be—Johnny lured Delle Seyah into an Old Town back alley and shot her in the stomach. In sci-fi, the only real kill shot is one to the head, so I’m betting this isn’t the last we see of Delle Seyah. Johnny, not wanting to bring the heat down on his buds, planned his escape. Kudos to Aaron Ashmore for turning in a great one-sided performance talking to Lucy and showing the kind of emotion you normally do a living human. Clearly, Johnny has strong feelings for Lucy, and her initially closing the door on his departure showed a reciprocation. Thankfully, Johnny’s not going off on his own; Lucy calling on Clara to be his … um … right-hand woman was a brilliant move and I’m ecstatic at the pairing.

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Speaking of partnerships, I couldn’t get enough of Fancy and D’Avin’s grudging teamwork blasting around Archive. “You’re a Six, not a 10,” “Worst partner ever,” and “Human shield bitches!” all had me laughing out loud. Thankfully, Fancy survived the great goo expulsion of whatever year we’re in and lives to quip another day, so there’s hope the pair are involved in a few more fight scenes.

Lovretta and her writing team turned out one hell of a great Season 2. They upped the ante with regards to drama, fleshed out not only our Killjoys but Pree, Pawter and Alvis too. They expanded the universe, tipped a few winks to the fans and generally made Friday nights a fun, exhilarating ride. I can’t wait to see what they do in Season 3, especially with Hannah John-Kamen playing Dutch and Aneela.

What did you think of Season 2 of Killjoys? Let us know in the comments below or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Killjoys

Link: Killjoys showrunner Michelle Lovretta on the season finale and what’s coming in Season 3

From Geek Girl Diva of Blastr:

Link: Killjoys showrunner Michelle Lovretta on the season finale and what’s coming in Season 3
“Oh, man, I’m fiercely in love with Aneela already, to be honest, at least my gestating S3 version of her.  She’s oddly fragile and very, very different from Dutch, so I think Hannah will get a kick out of that variety and do brilliant work with it.” Continue reading. 

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Children's Programming, Featured

YTV jumps into horse-based family drama with charming Ride

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Jonny Gray has established himself as a bona fide star for YTV. He leapt onto the network as co-lead on Max & Shred and most recently became Bruno in the Bruno & Boots franchise. Now he’s utilizing his real-life horse-riding skills as Josh Luders in the channel’s newest series, Ride.

But Ride, debuting its first episode of 20 half-hours this Monday on YTV, isn’t all about Gray. Instead, he’s part of an ensemble in the equine-themed family drama about Katherine “Kit” Bridges (Kendra Timmins, Wingin’ It), a young lady who swaps Canada for England when her father, Rudy (Mike Shara), accepts a gig as an equestrian supervisor at Covington Academy, an elite riding school. The Canada-England co-production, between Breakthrough Entertainment and Buccaneer Media in the UK, was created by writers Jill Girling (Life with Derek) and Lori Mather-Welch (Queer As Folk) and has a direct lineage to series like Heartland and Anne of Green Gables.

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Like Heartland, there are horses and a lot of time is spent on them. It’s a horse riding boarding school after all, so that makes sense, and the beautiful beasts are certainly celebrated. Director Stefan Scaini, a stalwart of Canadian TV from Heartland and Odd Squad to Avonlea and Wind at My Back, spends several moments capturing their movement in Monday’s debut.

But Ride feels more to me like an update of Anne of Green Gables. Kit has a flowing, unruly mane of reddish hair, bursts with enthusiasm and energy, and thinks nothing but the best of people. That, of course, causes her to run afoul of uppity rider Elaine (Alana Boden) and school marm Lady Covington (Sara Botsford). Kit does make a friend rather quickly: a wild and unpredictable horse named TK everyone is afraid of.

There’s a lot to like in Ride. Aside from strong writing—in the first 60 seconds of the debut we know why Kit and Rudy are in England, how they feel about it and their reservations—and the performances (Timmins, in particular, is fantastic), there’s the setting: rolling green English countryside, gnarled tree branches and moss-covered castles.

Check Ride out and let me know what you think.

Ride airs Monday to Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/PT on YTV.

Cast image courtesy of Corus.

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Children's Programming, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of September 2

Is SnapShots returning to CBC?

I have enjoyed the SnapShots show. My daughters would be interested in participating. Are there going to be any more episodes of SnapShot? If so, will there be any more auditions and where and when will they be? —Lisa

SnapShots will be back for another season on Sept. 10 on CBC. for auditions and other information, go to the CBC Kids’ Facebook page.

Readers react to the CRTC’s changes to Certified Independent Production Funds

I live in Australia and most of my favourite TV shows were/are filmed in Canada, frequently with Canadian creatives—Stargate (SG1, Atlantis & Universe), Arrow, Dark Matter and The X-Files. Many are set in the U.S. but are still very Canadian. In fact, I’ve seen so much that I can often look at a film without knowing and say that’s British Columbia—the forests, streets, generally the look and feel.

Canadian creatives are every bit as talented as those in other countries. While my mother and I were initially attracted to Stargate because it was American actor Richard Dean Anderson’s new show, we loved the show itself and all of the actors to which it introduced us. In fact, Canadian Michael Shanks was my late mother’s favourite. For genre television fans like myself, some of the names of creatives that I follow from project to project aren’t necessarily well-known names in mainstream television. Examples: James Bamford, Ivon Bartok, Joseph Mallozzi, Brad Wright, Robert Cooper, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Kavan Smith, Paul McGillion, David Hewlett, Ryan Robbins and Patrick Gilmore, etc.

So I want to see more Canadian creatives names on-screen. —Webgurl

Bad news indeed. Should the Levys, Reitmans and Balcer be given shows in Canada since they clearly have spent their lives and careers in the USA? Never mind that some of them have no experience producing or writing … leaving local talent unemployed and without opportunity. So tomorrow Kiefer Sutherland, his U.S. career having faded, comes to Canada and gets shows/money thrown at him at the expense of lesser-known local creatives? And then Hart Hanson… What constitutes Canadian and what is fair? Is this question too Harperian in nature?

Canadian tax dollars should be spent on creatives residing locally … too few shows get made and far too often the same Canadian writers/producers get those shows. The executives are largely to blame for this turn of events. How do you develop talent, then, given the new regulations and the collusion of executives to deprive local creatives of opportunities and enhance their own reputation by funding American-Canadian U.S.-based talent? —Mir

Saying goodbye to Motive

One of the best, if not the best, truly Canadian series is ending. The unusual twist of victim/killer made this dramatic very intriguing! Kudos to the crew and cast got an outstanding run! Sorry to see you go! —Brenda

My favourite show is ending. So sad. Hope they will renew it in the future. —Bo

Such a shame that a great show has to end. Well, I can only hope it’s replaced by another great Canadian show! God knows there’s not enough of “our” stuff—and too much of everybody else’s! —Stephen

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email Greg.David@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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