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.
19-2, Featured

Review: 19-2 heads into a new direction

Quite often it’s the physical action on 19-2 that keeps me riveted to the screen. But there are times when conversations between the characters have me on the edge of my seat. That was certainly the case with Monday’s latest, “Tables,” when Ben finally came clean to Nick that he had been spying on him.

To say this was a relief for me is an understatement. Nick and Ben have developed into a fantastic partnership and having this hanging over them has made me feel very uneasy. To be honest, I was expecting major fireworks between the two once Nick found out—maybe a wrestling match like we saw in the cabin last season—but Nick was surprisingly cool even though Ben pulled his gun at the height of his fright. I’m guessing the fact Ben’s apartment was torn apart and his files stolen caused Nick to realize his partner wasn’t spying on him because he enjoyed it. Still, Ben betrayed Nick’s trust and they won’t simply bounce back from it in a week.

Nick’s own investigation into who the mole in 19 will certainly make strides in the right direction. Arresting the guy Nick saw in the pizza place—the same fellow who had the underage girl in the hotel room—and booking him on drug and weapons charges caused the fellow to request help from their “friend in 19” has gotten the ball rolling. From the way he’s been acting, it looks like Commander Gendron is the mole. He’s been pretty shifty lately and been caught looking out the window a lot, which means he’s reflecting on decisions he’s made in his life.

Past decisions revisited Bear this week. A call to a strip club reunited she and former girlfriend Mary Louise, who planted a big kiss on Bear—much to J.M.’s glee—and demanded a dinner date. Dinner went well, but some after-dinner oral sex seemed to go even better. I’m guessing the reunion, paired with Mary Louise’s desire to turn over a new leaf, means Bear will be questioning that life plan she’s got all figured out.

Notes and quotes

  • Kudos to composer Nicolas Maranda for creating haunting moments with 19-2‘s theme and background music.
  • I never realized the police were given a specific time during their shift to eat. I assumed they just did it whenever they were peckish.
  • I don’t know what “squished chicken” is, but I want some. With rice.
  • “I don’t mind a bit of grime.” Line of the night from J.M.

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Featured, Orphan Black

Orphan Black return blocked from AMC in Canada

Turns out the only place Canadians will be able to catch the Season 3 debut of Orphan Black will be on Space. Bell Media, which owns the specialty channel, announced Monday afternoon that fans would not be able to tune in to AMC for their clone fix on April 18.

“Space is the exclusive Canadian broadcaster for its original series Orphan Black,” confirmed Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications for Bell Media. “As a result, Orphan Black will not air on AMC in Canada.”

It makes sense for Bell Media to make the move; it means their broadcast and ratings aren’t watered down by viewers tuning to another channel.

The news comes days after AMC Networks announced BBC America’s flagship show would be broadcast across four other networks in the U.S.—AMC, Sundance TV, IFC and We TV—in a bid to capture as many viewers as possible. AMC broadcasts in Canada, allowing viewers north of the border access to series like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Halt and Catch Fire.

AMC will air a repeat episode of Mad Men in that timeslot.

“Orphan Black is a truly outstanding original series that has attracted consistent and widespread critical acclaim as well as a considerable, growing following from viewers,” AMC Networks CEO Ed Carroll told Variety at the time. “AMC Networks is a channel group known for high-quality storytelling and creating a premiere television event for Orphan Black is a perfect opportunity to use our programming assets to help extend the reach of this quality series.”

As previously revealed by Space, the third instalment of Orphan Black begins with Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) fighting to locate Helena while a threat from Castor (Ari Millen) looms. Orphan Black is nominated for a total of 13 Canadian Screen Awards, including nods for co-stars Maslany and Jordan Gavaris.

Orphan Black returns Saturday, April 18, at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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Awards, Industry News

Writers Guild of Canada announces 2015 Award finalists

From a media release:

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 19th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards. The WGC Screenwriting Awards celebrate the excellence of Canada’s screenwriters with a gala event on April 27, 2015, at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.

This year more than 150 scripts were nominated for awards in seven categories, with 29 scripts chosen as finalists. In total, 53 screenwriters are up for awards. Several special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize, and the Sondra Kelly Award, will also be presented.

The WGC Awards cover all genres of screenwriting in Canada, and include TV drama favourites such as 19-2, Orphan Black and Lost Girl, and noted web series Out With Dad, and Ruby Skye P.I. The award categories also cover the best in animation, children and youth, movies and miniseries, documentary, and TV comedy.

The WGC Awards honour the talented people who start with a blank page and go on to create an entire universe: screenwriters.

The winners will be announced at the 19th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards on Monday, April 27, 2015, at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning’s Koerner Hall.

The WGC is very pleased to welcome writer, actor and comedian Ryan Belleville back to host the awards. The show will be written by stand-up/sketch comedian and writer Jeremy Woodcock, in collaboration with Ryan Belleville.

ANIMATION
The Day My Butt Went Psycho, Season 1 “Everybooty Loves the Great White Butt”
Written by Craig Martin

Fangbone, Season 1 “The Warbrute of Friendship”
Written by Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott

Johnny Test, Season 6 “Johnny’s Junky Trunk”
Written by Sean Jara

Nerds and Monsters, Season 1 “Kaboom With a View”
Written by Greg Sullivan

CHILDREN & YOUTH
Annedroids, Season 1 “New Pals”
Written by J.J. Johnson

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Season 4 “Goodwill Toward Men”
Written by Dan Angel & Billy Brown

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Season 4 “Mrs. Worthington”
Written by Melody Fox

Some Assembly Required, Season 1 “Dance Crew Evolution”
Written by Cole Bastedo & Jenny Siddle

You & Me, Season 1 “Ninja Squirrel”
Written by Katherine Sandford

DOCUMENTARY
The Cholesterol Question
Written by Michael McNamara

Norman McLaren: Animated Musician
Written by Donald McWilliams

Shameless Propaganda
Written by Robert Lower

MOVIES & MINISERIES
The Best Laid Plans “You Had An Option, Sir”
Written by Jason Sherman and Susan Coyne

Elephant Song
Written by Nicolas Billon

Sex and Violence, Season 1 “Surface Scars”
Written by Thom Fitzgerald

SHORTS & WEBSERIES
Bill & Sons Towing, Season 2 “Cleaning House”
Written by Mark De Angelis

Darknet “Episode 3”
Written by Doug Taylor

Darknet “Episode 5”
Written by Randall Cole

Out With Dad, Season 3 “Outed”
Written by Jason Leaver

Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy “Everyone’s a Suspect”
Written by Jill Golick & Julie Strassman

TV COMEDY
Mr. D, Season 3 “Old School”
Written by Andrew De Angelis

Sensitive Skin, Season 1 “Not the Haitian Corpse”
Written by Bob Martin

This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Season XXI “Episode 16”
Written by Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder, Mike Allison, Bob Kerr, Susan Kent, Greg Thomey, Jon Blair, Sonya Bell, Abdul Butt, Tim Polley, Heidi Brander, Adam Christie, Kevin Shustack, Jeremy Woodcock
Contributing Writers: Dean Jenkinson, Ron Sparks

Trailer Park Boys, Season 8 “Episode 4”
Written by Mike Smith & JP Tremblay & Robb Wells

TV DRAMA
19-2, Season 1 “Partners”
Adapted by Bruce M. Smith

Lost Girl, Season 4 “La Fae Époque”
Written by Michael Grassi

Orphan Black, Season 2 “Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est”
Written by Tony Elliott

Saving Hope, Season 3 “The Way We Were”
Written by John Krizanc

Strange Empire, Season 1 “The Oath”
Written by Jackie May

 

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Industry News

Quebecor looking for the next TV hit

From a media release:

Quebecor, in collaboration with C2 Montreal, invites all television and film media creators and designers to a formidable challenge: to pitch “the” big idea that could give rise to a new TV format that’s likely to appeal to producers and — who knows? — possibly reach across the planet!

The P.I.T.C.H competition offers an unprecedented opportunity to put daring, innovation and imagination in the spotlight! Open to all designers — professional or not — aged 18 and older, Canadian citizens residing in Quebec, P.I.T.C.H wants to showcase the breadth and strength of Quebec’s audiovisual creativity. Non-scripted television formats, original and unpublished, as long as the intellectual property is fully owned by the individual submitters, will be eligible.

Three P.I.T.C.H grants will offer something to inspire participants. The first prize consists of a $25,000 development grant offered by the Quebecor Fund. The second prize, offered by Armoza Formats, entitles the recipient to participate in the April 2016 MIPFormats in Cannes. The third prize will be a four-week development course with the QMI Content Creation team.

Will the next La Voix, Les enfants de la télé or L’amour est dans le pré come from Quebec? That’s the P.I.T.C.H competition challenge!

To enter the P.I.T.C.H competition, simply submit an outline of a TV format by April 15, 2015.

Proposals will be evaluated under the supervision of Quebecor. Selected finalists will then be retained for four weeks to work on and submit their presentations to a jury of five public figures from the audiovisual industry in Quebec and abroad during the 2015 edition of C2 Montreal, to be held from May 26 to 28.

For more details, visit www.pitchformat.com.

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X Company

Link: Jack Laskey Finds His Inner Hero on X COMPANY

1 Comment

From Alfonso Espina of The TV Addict:

When you think of secret agents or action heroes, an endless montage of American or British figures are likely to appear in your mind: James Bond, Captain America, Sydney Bristol, Natasha Romanoff, etc. The list goes on and on.

But what if I told you that a synesthete, a journalist, a student, a policeman, and a salesman were among the ordinary citizens who were handpicked by the Allies to become some of the world’s first secret agents? That’s the concept behind Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern’s (FLASHPOINT) new CBC spy series X COMPANY, which is led by a rising English export from the British stage — Jack Laskey. Continue reading.

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