Yearly Archives: 2016

Featured, Podcast

TV Eh B Cs podcast 45 – Helen Shaver’s Longship Journey

HelenShaverThe career of Helen Shaver is really a story of three careers, two in front of and one behind the camera. Shaver has had acting roles in such films as Who Has Seen the Wind, In Praise of Older Women, Amityville Horror, The Osterman Weekend, Desert Hearts, The Color of Money, and Bethune: The Making of a Hero, to television roles in the series United States, Jessica Novak, WIOU, Poltergeist: The Legacy, and The Education of Max Bickford.

It was for Poltergeist that she stepped behind the camera to direct several episodes. She has become an in-demand director and has helmed series such as The Outer Limits, The O.C., Judging Amy, Flashpoint, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Combat Hospital, Revolution, Person of Interest, and Orphan Black.

Her first television movie, Summer’s End (1999), a family film starring James Earl Jones and Wendy Crewson, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding directing in a children’s special.

She continues her television directing efforts on this season’s Vikings which will kick off our conversation, before exploring some of the art and craft of storytelling with Helen Shaver.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

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Industry News, Travelers

Showcase Announces Start of Production on New Canadian Original Series Travelers Starring Eric McCormack and Created and Written by Brad Wright

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From a media release:

Showcase announced today the start of production on the new Canadian original sci-fi seriesTravelers. Shooting on location in Vancouver, the time-traveling sci-fi drama is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., in association with Showcase and Netflix. The series will air exclusively on Showcase in Canada and stream on Netflix internationally later this year. Broadcast and streaming details will be announced at a later date.

Hundreds of years from now, the last surviving humans discover the means of sending consciousness back through time, directly into people in the 21st century. These “travelers” assume the lives of seemingly random people, while secretly working as teams to perform missions in order to save humanity from a terrible future. The travelers are: FBI Special Agent Grant MacLaren (Eric McCormack), the team’s leader; Marcy (Mackenzie Porter), a young, intellectually disabled woman in the care of her social worker, David (Patrick Gilmore); Trevor (Jared Paul Abrahamson), a high school quarterback; Carly (Nesta Marlee Cooper), a single mom in an abusive relationship; and Philip (Reilly Dolman), a heroin-addicted college student. Armed only with their knowledge of history and an archive of social media profiles, the travelers discover that 21stcentury lives and relationships are as much a challenge as their high-stakes missions.

The series is written, created and produced by WGC and Gemini Award winner Brad Wright, co-creator of the Emmy Award-nominated Stargate SG-1 and its related franchises Stargate: Atlantis and SGU, and features a heavily Canadian cast led by Emmy Award winner Eric McCormack (Will and Grace). Other confirmed cast members include: Jared Abrahamson, J. Alex Brinson, Nesta Cooper, Reilly Dolman, Patrick Gilmore, Arnold Pinnock, Dylan Playfair, MacKenzie Porter, and Ian Tracey.  The pilot is being directed by Nick Hurran (Sherlock), with Canadians Andy Mikita (Lost Girl), Helen Shaver (Vikings), Martin Wood (Killjoys), Will Waring (Continuum), and Amanda Tapping (Continuum) all tapped to direct episodes in the inaugural season.

Travelers is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., in association with Showcase and Netflix, and is distributed by Sky Vision.

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Featured, Motive

Motive’s massive Episode 5 twist

Motive is all about the complicated twists and turns on the road to discovering the link between victim and killer. And while there have been four season’s worth of stories, I honestly can’t remember one that was so unexpected. If you want to do a little bit of homework before “The Scorpion and the Frog”—written by Jennica Harper—airs Tuesday night, check out Aesop’s Fable, the inspiration for the storyline:

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, “How do I know you won’t sting me?” The scorpion says, “Because if I do, I will die too.”

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp “Why?”

Replies the scorpion: “It’s my nature…”

Motive2

A matter of trust
The power of those who work in the mental health industry is explored, as the killer—a psychiatrist—manipulates a situation for his benefit. The result is the plot biggest twist I’ve seen on Motive and one of the most disturbing crime scenes I’ve witnessed in network TV.

Mazur’s past haunts her
Three years ago Mazur had a similar case that send a killer to prison. But the details surrounding this murder causes not only Angie to question whether Mazur did the right thing but Mazur herself.

Vega looks amazing behind the Staff Sergeant desk
I didn’t think I’d like seeing him in the station so much, but he’s been great. That said, there is an excuse for him to hit the streets on Tuesday alongside Lucas.

Motive airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Orphan Black

Link: Orphan Black Science Recap: “The Collapse of Nature”

From Casey Griffin and Nina Nesseth of The Mary Sue:

Orphan Black Science Recap: “The Collapse of Nature”
Welcome to our Orphan Black science recaps, where Casey, a graduate student in genetics and developmental biology, and Nina, a professional science communicator, examine the science in each episode of OB and talk you through it in (mostly) easy-to-digest terms. If you haven’t watched the latest episode of Orphan Black, be forewarned: there will be spoilers. There will also be crazy science. Continue reading.

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Saving Hope

Production Begins on Season 5 of CTV’s Hit Original Drama SAVING HOPE

From a media release:

CTV announced today, in association with Ilana Frank’s ICF Films and Entertainment One (eOne), that production is underway on Season 5 of original drama SAVING HOPE. Eighteen episodes will shoot on location in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area until November 2016, bringing the hit series to 85 episodes in total since its 2012 debut. SAVING HOPE’s fifth season is set to air as part of CTV’s 2016/17 broadcast season, and stars Erica Durance as Dr. Alex Reid. A Best Dramatic Series nominee and finalist for the Golden Screen Award for most-watched Canadian drama at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, all past seasons of SAVING HOPE are streaming now on CraveTV™.

The most-watched Canadian drama series among the key demos this broadcast year to date, Season 4 of SAVING HOPE averaged 1.3 million viewers on CTV. A Top 30 program among the key A18-34 demo, SAVING HOPE saw a 17% increase in the demo, as well as a 67% increase in F18-34 over Season 3.

SAVING HOPE’s emotional and gripping special two-hour Season 4 finale saw Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) undergo brain surgery to remove an aggressive tumour, which could also affect his ghost-seeing abilities. Following Charlie’s surgery and a successful recovery, the finale culminated with a vengeful Tom Crenshaw (Travis Milne, ROOKIE BLUE) showing up at the Hope Zion Hospital Fellowship Awards and firing a shot at Alex and Charlie.

Picking up in the aftermath of the heart-stopping finale which ended in a cliffhanger, Season 5 ofSAVING HOPE returns with the Hope Zion staff thrust into turmoil. Following her promise to stay away from Charlie if he survived his surgery, Alex faces a big decision while her fellow doctors deal with new challenges as changes come to Hope Zion that will not only affect the livelihood of the hospital, but also its doctors and everything they hold dear.

Joining the cast for Season 5 in a recurring role is Calgary-born actor Jarod Joseph (THE 100, MISTRESSES). The young, charming, and philosophical radiologist Dr. Emanuel Palmer brings a laissez-faire attitude to Hope Zion, as well as a propensity for challenging his medical colleagues with his unique insights. Directing this season are series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks, as well as David Wellington (BITTEN), Peter Stebbings (THE LISTENER), Kelly Makin (VIKINGS), Gregory Smith (ARROW), Steve DiMarco (ROOKIE BLUE), and James Genn (CALL ME FITZ).

SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres(BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, and Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara.

 

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