All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Remedy

Link: Enrico Colantoni promises a sharper, funnier second season for ‘Remedy’

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From Cassandra Szklarski of Canadian Press:

Enrico Colantoni promises a sharper, funnier second season for ‘Remedy’
“Remedy”‘s second season will be looser, smoother and funnier than its rocky first season, promises star Enrico Colantoni.

The outspoken TV actor admits the medical drama’s first batch of episodes had its issues, noting “sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we didn’t.”

“It’s much funnier this year,” Colantoni says in a recent interview, detailing big changes for his doctor character, Allen Connor. Continue reading.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Interview: Arwen Humphreys investigates Murdoch’s Margaret Brackenreid

It’s no mystery that Murdoch Mysteries fans are part of the reason Arwen Humphreys has gotten more screen time. Turns out Margaret Brackenreid is a favourite of watchers who made that point known to producers, who upped her initial three-line appearance into a recurring role on CBC’s Monday night period drama.

But what fans might not know about Humphreys is that she has a background in comedy, improv and has performed stand-up three times. We dug up that info, and some other scintillating facts, during a lengthy discussion with the Toronto native.

Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get on Murdoch Mysteries? Was it a casting call? How did it come about?
Arwen Humphreys : It was a casting call, and it was for a three-line role. My name at that point was just Mrs. Brackenreid and I’ll never forget those three lines: ‘Thomas?’ ‘Inside’ and ‘Come here boys and let your father be.’ That was the beginning. The scene was that she had discovered what she thought was a bomb and I thought about it a bit and realized that she’s the wife of a police inspector so there is no way that she’d freak out. I’m guessing that she’s been around a lot of stuff, so I figured she wouldn’t play it in a panicked way when Thomas came to the door. It would just be, ‘OK, come inside. It looks like we have something.’ I booked the role and was really excited because I’d been in and out of this industry for the last 20 years. Tom  [Craig] and I got to talking on the first day and I explained what I thought before going into the audition. He asked me what I thought her first name was and I hadn’t thought of anything. He said, ‘What about Margaret?’ I liked it, and in Season 2 they wanted to call her Levina, I think, and Tom went in and said, ‘No, no, no, her name is Margaret.’ And that’s what it’s been ever since.

What’s it been like being on this ride from three-line role to recurring?
It’s been amazing. Tom came down the following February and told me that the show had been renewed for a second season. They could have recast the role easily, but I think Shaftesbury and Tom have been my cheerleaders since Day 1. Then in the second season they gave me a couple of scenes and that was amazing. It’s been this slow built in a way because I didn’t know what they were going to give me every year. It wasn’t until Season 3 at Tom’s going away party when [then showrunner] Cal Coons told me they were thinking of a storyline where the Brackenreid’s son was kidnapped and that was the first time I was given a lot to do.

Between ‘Kung Fu Crabtree’ and the wedding episode … I really love how you’ve seen the passionate side of Margaret and her interests. I love any episode that gives you a glimpse into the Brackenreid history. Maureen Jennings told me that there is no Margaret Brackenreid in the books, so she’s strictly something that’s been created for the series.

And the fan support blows me away as well.

The fans are unbelievable. Anytime I’m on set I think there are different reasons as to why I’m there and one of them is the fans.

The fans are so passionate. What do they say to you on the street?
I don’t get recognized on the street because my hair is down and my energy is different. I’m more the sillier side of Margaret. I’ve actually walked through a group of fans and nobody recognized me until I was introduced. It’s a transformation for me when I go into hair and makeup. Once I have the whole getup on, I’m her. I love her strength and her heart and I love the relationship between her and Brackenreid. There is so much heart and love between them. It’s a real marriage. It’s a solid relationship.

The fans are unbelievable. They sent a petition to Shaftesbury to have me on more and I hear that they email them too. It’s so sweet and so lovely. Anytime I’m on set I think there are different reasons as to why I’m there and one of them is the fans.

Did you come up with your own backstory for Margaret?
Once we knew there was a Season 2, I worked extensively with a voice coach, Rae Ellen Bodie, and we sussed out the relationship and how it functioned. So I had a general idea. And the writers have definitely hinted at her past through things like her being arrested for gambling and that’s how she and Thomas met.

It must be fun when Margaret lets loose in a scene and play her less rigid.
My background is in comedy. I did a lot of improv, a lot of sketch and I did standup three times. That was in the late 90s and early 2000s. I was heavily involved in TheatreSports in Toronto. I did stuff with them and I did some stuff on the Second City main stage. I wasn’t part of the main stage troupe but I did perform on the stage, which was a thrill. The wedding rehearsal scene was a blast to shoot. As soon as I read that she hums the Wedding March I was at home rehearsing it and I did what you guys saw, the big flourishy thing. I did it so many times at home that I just did it on-set automatically and everybody burst out laughing. Yannick looked at me and said, ‘Now that’s funny!’ And I was like, ‘Woo!!’

Do you have any plans to go behind the camera and write, produce or direct?
I have friends who tell me that I should write, so if it was anything it would be that. I don’t know if it would be writing screenplays because I have no idea how to do that. I have a friend who keeps telling me, ‘I’m submitting something for this contest, you should too!’ And I hesitate.

Are you a student of TV? Do you like to watch it and analyze it or do you just like to sit and watch it?
While I’m watching it, I just like to take it in. But I love the craft of television writing and there is some really great stuff happening right now. I’m a binge watcher and pretty up to date with everything on television. Breaking Bad is a series you have to think about and I’ve never had a more satisfying ending with a series.

Orphan Black is crazy. [Murdoch‘s] Kristian Bruun is on it and my friend Natalie Lisinska was in it in Season 1 and I got so wrapped up in it that I was thinking of the call sheet and wondering who was first on it. And I’d decided it must be Rachel because I had totally forgotten that it was Tatiana Maslany in the roles!

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Colin & Justin back with more Cabin Pressure

The bonny boys of home renovation and decoration are back. Yes, Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan—better known to their legions of fans as Colin and Justin—return for Season 2 of the pair’s primetime Cabin Pressure project where they take turn a dilapidated cottage into a dream getaway starting Sunday night on Cottage Life.

In Season 1, the duo partnered with friends and purchased a run-down outpost and converted it into something magnificent, complete with massive bunkhouse, outdoor hot tub and a bank of windows in the main house overlooking a lake. But it didn’t take long for McAllister and Ryan to yearn for a property of their own. So they sold it and went hunting for another piece of paradise.

That hunt—and the subsequent adventures involved in transforming “chicken poo into chicken pie,” as McAllister so colourfully describes in Sunday’s first instalment—is the show’s focus. There is plenty of poo, thanks to the wild animals who took up residence in the cottage, and … nastier things.

“We find a dead beaver, dead raccoons, dead pigeons and dead squirrels,” McAllister describes while Ryan makes a face. “The worst was, we removed some drywall and found the corpses of several hundred dead mice. We found what we thought was black insulating foam and it was actually the fur from several hundred dead mice. The stench was unbelievable.”

“There was a damp spot on the ceiling that we thought was just a little bit of water damage,” Ryan recalls. “And we uncovered a huge wasp’s nest and a highway of rodents.” McAllister figures they got rid of 80 per cent of the original cottage, keeping some character intact while meeting their needs in a prime lakeside location in Ontario’s cottage country. That involved lifting the building up off its foundation so that a basement could be dug out, adding extra space in a mud room, TV room, laundry and storage and over $100,000 to the value of the property.

And while Ryan describes Season 1’s final product as “European Colin and Justin,” he says this season’s project is all about connectivity. Bedrooms are enhanced to feel like guests are sleeping in the forest and the cottage’s main great room is modernized. But McAllister is quick to point out that chunks of money spent to update windows, septic systems and add the basement meant tighter design budgets and being creative with existing items. Case in point: they turned the top five feet of the television antenna into a fab lamp, resurrected the waterlogged deck into a headboard and made tables from discarded wood.

“I think last season was a walk in the park,” Ryan says. “This season is bigger build and we’re more boisterous. I like to think this is our Adele second album: better than the first!”

Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life. Cottage Life is available for a free preview now.

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Featured, X Company

Comments and queries for the week of March 20

The bulk of the comments this week revolved around the CRTC’s latest decision regarding Canadian TV production and whether or not X Company‘s lead character, Alfred, has been captured by the Germans and we’re looking back at what has already happened to the team. Also a hot topic: our contest to snag a pair of passes to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference.

It’s disheartening to see the CRTC choosing which genre the country’s industry will make. Canadian kids TV is very successful internationally—and popular with Canadian viewers too—but every discussion ends up being about primetime, always. Caillou was more successful than Flashpoint, but you’d never know to hear industry folks talk.—Lisa

I like what the CRTC has done here. Contrary to the U.S. tradition of buying “cheap Canadian exports” in the summer, we do have talent and culture up here that I think should be given support. Fittingly, a show that does well in the ratings for summer here and balances being Canadian with being just plain *good* is The Amazing Race Canada. All of its first season and most of its second took place here and it felt positive for Canada without being overdone. And was just plain fun to watch at times. I had no idea we had a desert right in the middle of the Yukon. But it follows the U.S. format so it attracts all those fans right off the bat, and airs after the U.S. one is done for the season. Honestly, if I were a U.S. network, I’d want that on in summer. It’s just like the U.S. one while appreciating Canada.—Dan

 

Another hint [in X Company]: in the previous episode, in the blue “cell,” Alfred tears up and eats a passport photo of Aurora that he had foolishly kept on his person (sort of lying to his boss about having disposed of it) after swiping it from a German intelligence file during a break-in. He would probably only do that if having that photo on him was a liability, i.e. he was captured… —Mark

 

I have been [to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference] for the past two years, and the sessions have blown me away. People STILL talk about Michael Arndt’s talks from last year! So I’d love to go, because I’ve found my writing has grown SO MUCH since I’ve been going—and I’d like to keep on that trajectory, pretty please.—Diane

Juggling five kids, two jobs, two writing projects and my first option deal. Would love the opportunity to learn from the pros.—Adam

I’m a broke screenwriter hustling to create great, story-driven content for Canadian film and television! In a country where the competition is fierce and money is scarce, attending the TSC would be invaluable for networking opportunities.—Mary

I never considered myself a writer, just a director, but I have so many ideas in my head. Learning more of the craft and structure of screenwriting will help get those ideas on to paper and realized into full films.—Brad

I would love to attend the Canadian Screenwriting Conference because it’s a rare opportunity to hear today’s industry leaders talk about the craft and what strategies have led to their success. If you fancy yourself a scriptwriter, why WOULDN’T you want to go?!—Justin

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Let me know below or via @tv_eh.

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Dramas and Comedies, Featured

Jacob Blair’s crash course on The Pinkertons

Jacob Blair is no stranger to Canadian winters. He grew up in Edmonton, but even he found the cold in Winnipeg while filming the syndicated cops and robbers Canadian co-production The Pinkertons to be daunting.

“They’ve been quoting me things like the weather has been colder than the surface of Mars and I’m like, ‘That’s not a selling feature, guys,'” he says from the set with a laugh. “You let people discover that once they’re already here.”

Still, Blair is having a blast. And who can blame him? The chance to play William Pinkerton, son of Allan, the man who founded the legendary law enforcement, detective and security agency in 1850 is just too much fun. Hired by President Abraham Lincoln to be his security detail during the Civil War, the company was based out of Chicago; the series is loosely based on the Pinkerton’s real case files. Blair is joined by Angus Macfadyen (Turn) as Allan, and Martha MacIsaac (1600 Penn) as Kate Warne, the first female detective in the United States.

Blair, who has appeared in episodes of Rookie Blue, Republic of Doyle and Beauty and the Beast, only had two weeks between being cast on The Pinkertons before cameras rolled—he was the last of the principals to sign on—so he crammed for the role. He’d already known from watching shows like Deadwood that the Pinkertons were feared and not a group you wanted to run afoul of, but learned there wasn’t much information regarding William’s personality, just snippets gleaned from Allan’s memoir and in case files.

“I had to create him on my own,” Blair says. “He’s his father’s son, so growing up he would pick up on those traits of being no-nonsense. Because we’re going the family angle, we do need to infuse it with humour. Viewers really love the friction and the dynamic between the characters, so we have William giving it back to Allan and William and Kate getting under each other’s skin, but there’s a mutual admiration there.”

Of course, whenever you place a young man and woman in close quarters and at odds on television, an obvious question must be asked. Will William and Kate end up falling in love like so many small-screen couples have before them? Blair hopes not.

“I just don’t know where it would go,” he says. “I have a hard time picturing that and if they did I’d hope they’d wait a few seasons.” Guess the winters will have to get even colder before the two would ever consider huddling for warmth.

The Pinkertons airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CHCH.

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