From Anna Borowiecki of St. Albert Gazette:
Link: Heartland launches 10th anniversary season
I can’t see former St. Albert resident Mark Haroun’s face during our telephone interview from Calgary. But I do hear the smile in his voice. With good reason.
The co-executive producer and senior writer of Heartland has shepherded the popular CBC family drama through a decade of incredible growth, both in terms of storylines and audience. Continue reading.
Jamie (Michelle Mylett) has a surprise for William (Mazin Elsadig) and she is on a mission to share. William follows in her determined wake as they hustle through an empty bar into the back kitchen.
This is it!
Jamie asks, “Do you trust me?”
William replies, “Absolutely not!”
“Then this is going to be terrifying for you,” and Jamie climbs into a freezer full of water.
Wait! WHAT?
OK, so the freezer is secret passage—part of a network built before the discovery of fluid dynamics—to Dovie’s (Jennifer Dale) backyard pool. It seems Jamie has arranged a party of popular authors, giving William an opportunity to rub some elbows and get feedback on his manuscript. However, like Roman Roman (Richard Zeppieri), the effort has pushed all of Jamie’s insides out, leaving her empty. William, though, is full. Feeling completely alone, Jamie has fallen victim to loving too much.
Meanwhile, Mitzi (Lola Tash) and Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) are visiting Bondurant’s father Orvis (Rod Wilson) in the backwoods of Manitoba and Mitzi hears a startling sound. She sends Bondurant to investigate … his mother Sitari (Cheri Maracle) has come home to roost.
In typical Bondurant fashion, we learn that his parents, in their raven forms, were forced into marriage as punishment for being so selfish as to allow the twin towns of Wendel and Clark to burn to the ground. Apart, his parents are the best parents ever, but together they are poisonous. This proves an uncomfortable reunion for Bondurant and speaking of poison …Â Bondurant’s parents lace Mitzi’s tea with amobarbital, whereupon Mitzi reveals to all that she slept with William.
So that leaves us with two couples, each on the brink of a breakup.
This surreal little show is one that people either love or hate; there is no in-between. The most frequent complaint is that it is “overacted,” or “takes itself too seriously.” That, though, is exactly the point. You only get out of it what you put into it. If you take a bit of time to unpack these quirky stories, you come away with a lot of great wit.
Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Strait:
Vancouver’s Andrea Bang hopes Kim’s Convenience helps boost Asian Canadian representation
“I didn’t see people like me on screen so I wanted to be a part of that conversation. The fact that a show like Kim’s Convenience is coming out and it has real characters, fully fleshed out people, not people who just come on and say like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ and then leave—they actually have a backstory and a future story.” Continue reading.
From Aaron Chatha of Metro News:
Kim’s Convenience and having minorities on TV
On Tuesday, CBC premieres Kim’s Convenience, and having seen the first three episodes, I’m hoping it’s the first show in a long time that my whole family will sit together and enjoy. Continue reading.
From Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail:
Link: Ivan Fecan: The producer bringing popular play Kim’s Convenience to TV
“I was blown away by the play in rehearsal,†said Fecan. He, Schultz and Ins Choi, a first-time Korean-Canadian playwright who mined his extended family’s story for the play, went to lunch. Over burgers and salads, Fecan told Choi about his parents, Ukrainian refugees who had arrived separately in Toronto in the early 1950s and worked long and gruelling blue-collar hours: his mother washing dishes in the Sears cafeteria, his father sweeping the city streets. Continue reading.
From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:
CBC’s big week starts with the excellent Kim’s Convenience
Heartily recommended, Kim’s Convenience is a clever, generally engaging screwball comedy with an eye on entertainment – and not much else, thankfully. Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
Airport: Below Zero, a thrilling new documentary series from Our House Media, in association with Corus Entertainment, reveals the intricate and intense balancing act required to keep operations running smoothly at Edmonton International Airport, Canada’s most northerly major airport. Shot entirely at the ‘Gateway to the North’, this 10 x 60 series follows airport and airline staff as they work 24/7 to ensure a steady and safe stream of take offs and landings, while battling blizzards, medical emergencies, diverted planes, missing passengers, and even a snowy owl. Airport: Below Zero airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, beginning October 5 on HISTORY.
Edmonton International Airport is the fastest growing and most northerly major airport in all of Canada. Each and every day it faces challenges from extreme temperatures to medical emergencies, but one thing is constant – this airport NEVER closes. With total access to the airport and a compelling cast of characters, Airport: Below Zero witnesses Fort McMurray wildfire evacuees, the arrival of heavy metal band Iron Maiden’s jumbo jet, and the snowstorm of the year that would shut down any normal airport. In each episode, firefighters, paramedics, snow removal teams, ticket agents, and cargo handlers perform a complex balancing act where the perils of operating at 53 degrees north latitude constantly threaten to disrupt a never-ending stream of take offs and landings.
Airport: Below Zero is produced by Our House Media, in association with Corus Entertainment. Executive Producers are Simon Lloyd and Joe Houlihan; Series Producer is Marshall Jay Kaplan. Jane Lloyd is VP of Production and Samantha De France is VP of Business & Corporate Affairs.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: This Life’s Torri Higginson on Natalie’s struggle for control
“I think he was the love of her life and she’s still hurt by that. That translates to anger pretty easily. She’s also able to transfer her anger at being sick to him which is kind of a nice gift in a weird way.” Continue reading.
From Steve Gow of Metronews:
Link: CBC’s This Life kicks off its second season
CBC’s This Life won over so many fans with its intuitive tale of a 40-something single mother juggling a cancer diagnosis with family drama, it even turned trenchant TV critics into believers.
But with a highly-anticipated second season kicking off Sunday, the sophomore jinx is staring down the show’s star. Continue reading.
