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.
X Company

Second World War thriller X Company debuts Feb. 18 on CBC

XCompany101a-gallery-thumb-638xauto-395376

From a media release:

From the creators of Flashpoint and the producers of Orphan Black comes the CBC original WWII spy drama X COMPANY, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC Television. Inspired by remarkable true events, X COMPANY is an emotionally driven character drama set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. During World War II, a real life spy training school existed on the shores of Lake Ontario. The new series follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents at an ultra-secret training facility, Camp X.

In the series premiere, the head of Camp X, Duncan Sinclair (Hugh Dillon), pulls out all the stops to convince his British counterpart that Alfred Graves (Jack Laskey), a fragile young man with a perfect memory, would make a good Allied agent. Meanwhile Sinclair’s first team is already behind enemy lines working to thwart a German plot to slaughter an entire village.

Shot on location in Hungary last summer, the exhilarating new show highlights Canada’s epic role in the war, which has largely remained unseen for many Canadians. The international ensemble cast stars Evelyne Brochu (Orphan Black, Pawn Sacrifice) as Aurora, a half Jewish-German, half French-Canadian, trilingual strategist and undercover specialist; Jack Laskey (Endeavour, Hatfields and McCoys) as Alfred, a gentle soul with synesthesia – a condition that cross-wires one sense with another, giving him near-perfect memory; Warren Brown (Luther, By Any Means) as Neil, an English ex-copper specializing in weapons and combat who lost his family in the Blitz; Dustin Milligan (No Clue, Extract) as Tom, a Madison Avenue advertising wunderkind, intimately familiar with the mechanics of persuasion, propaganda and seduction; and Connor Price (Being Human, Carrie) as Harry, the team’s radio operator, explosives specialist and gadgeteer. Rounding out the cast is Hugh Dillon as Duncan Sinclair, who runs the secret training facility Camp X and Lara Jean Chorostecki as Sinclair’s right-hand woman, Krystina Breeland.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Cold Water Cowboys returns to Discovery

discovery

From a media release:

The worst winter that Newfoundland has seen in 30 years sets the stage for the return of Discovery’s hit original series, COLD WATER COWBOYS. Bravery reigns in the second season of the riveting Canadian Screen Award-nominated series, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning March 10, as the captains and their crews attempt to arrive at The Rock’s fishing grounds. The clock doesn’t stop ticking as returning Captain Richard Gillet and fellow fishermen – including newcomers Andre and Michelle Jesso, and Morris Antsey – pit themselves against Mother Nature in the hunt for bragging rights, and a fortune of fish in the hold!

Returning to its timeslot where it outperformed all other Canadian Entertainment Specialty channels*, the epic second season of the megahit series from Paperny Entertainment features new boats and new crews joining last year’s stars – each of them determined to prove they have what it takes to be among the COLD WATER COWBOYS. It’s a season filled with bigger, bolder gambles as fishing vessels become icebreakers, harsh conditions take a toll on vital equipment, and crews  are pushed to the breaking point. Fishing in Newfoundland has always been a family affair, and this season sons, fathers, brothers, husbands, and wives are on deck to join the race for the best catch.

In anticipation of the hit series’ second season, Discovery.ca presents the Cold Water Cowboys: Atlantic Empire simulation game – a combination of both strategy and skill based gameplay, show characters and locations, along with a strong social media component. Players control their own fishing vessels while going for broke as one of the cold water cowboys in the unforgiving North Atlantic using map-based gameplay to  net as much crab, shrimp, turbot, herring, and mackerel to build a fishing dynasty.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Paul Lafrance brings his crazy-cool designs inside for Custom Built

2 Comments

With Old Man Winter holding much of this country in its sub-zero grip, you can’t help but wonder if Disaster Decks and Decked Out host Paul Lafrance pitched his latest show, Custom Built, to HGTV just so he could ensure he’d stay warm.

The truth is a lot simpler.

“The exterior world is a niche for me, but I’ve been doing interior renovations for the last 20 years,” he explains. “The backyard was a draw for me because it’s such an empty canvas, but I want to connect with more people and tell their stories.”

The man who goes through life with three loves—music, Lego and people—returns to HGTV with his latest creation, debuting Tuesday night. In it, Lafrance and his loyal team of Joey Fletcher, David Kenney and Kate Campbell head indoors to create mind-blowing designs for homeowners. The first episode introduces viewers to Jeff and Allyson, who want their tired 60s-era bathroom updated to match the rest of their gorgeous heritage home. It doesn’t take long for Lafrance’s creative juices to get going after a walk around the couple’s property uncovers barn beams. By the end of the storyline those beams have been transformed into a stunning bathroom counter and a previously hidden antique door and brick work become the focal point of the new shower.

The spiky-haired Tragically Hip fan is quick to mention his co-stars when discussing Custom Built. The word “family” is used several times to describe Fletcher, Kenney and Campbell and part of this new television project spotlights the trio. Each episode heads back to Lafrance’s Southern Ontario workshop where a one-of-a-kind smaller piece is created for a client.

“That’s just showing something that’s been going on for years,” he says. “There has always been a shop. That’s the headquarters, the club house. That’s where creative ideas are birthed and built and fabricated for the renos that we’re doing. Being able to show the mad skill that all three of them have and the individual talents each brings to the table … I love that. There isn’t some leader that has his minions around him. My favourite days are when they come up with something more creative than I did.”

The veteran of HGTV still can’t believe people tune in to watch him tear things down and build them back up again. After all, he’d be doing this job whether camera crews were around him or not. What will those cameras will be capturing over the next several months? More episodes of Custom Built, hopefully more seasons of Disaster Decks or Decked Out. And, perhaps, a series documenting Lafrance building a new home for his family.

“Viewers want to see the real people, not characters,” he says. “I want people to know that if they’re watching me on TV, that’s the real me. If they were seeing my wife and my girls, they’re seeing the same thing.”

Custom Built airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Interview: Dr. Grace finds love on Murdoch Mysteries

67 Comments

“Toronto’s Girl Problem” was notable for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it introduced viewers to another member of Inspector Brackenreid’s family. His nephew, Charlie (Charlie Clements, EastEnders), had come to the constabulary as a fresh start after witnessing the death of his partner back in London. It gave a fascinating tease into what sort of bloke Brackenreid is.

But Monday’s latest Murdoch Mysteries episode also brought Dr. Emily Grace’s sexuality out into the open. After allowing Lillian to undo her corset in “The Devil Wears Whalebone,” Emily went one step further at the end of last night’s episode, planting a romantic kiss on Lillian’s lips.

We got the episode’s writer, Michelle Ricci, to sound off on Emily’s sexuality and what it means for the future of Murdoch.

From what I understand, there were some notes from CBC regarding the scene between Lillian and Emily?
Michelle Ricci: I don’t know if it was CBC as much as it was everybody was a little bit nervous. There were discussions that I wasn’t a party to and Pete would come back and say, ‘These are some of the things that I’m hearing, but we’re going to stick to our guns and we’re going to do it.’ He did shoot the ending three ways. He shot it just with Emily walking in, he shot it with just the approach to the kiss, and he shot it with the full-on kiss. I’m glad that he used the full-on and that, ultimately, the network and Shaftesbury decided to trust us. We use kisses and physical contact so rarely on our show that when we do it, it really means something. That’s a part of the time—public displays of affection were not the norm—and it also goes to character. Our characters don’t run around making out all the time. It would feel weird in our world, so when we do do it it really means something.

I just think that, building all season to this moment and the corset being the pivotal moment—had we not gone for it and shown it on-screen—it would have felt like a bit of a cheat. I think it’s really important for Emily to go for it as well.

Do you think Emily realized what she was going to do in this episode, or was it at some other point in this season?
I think she was starting to figure it out in ‘Whalebone’ a little bit. When that corset comes off, you can see there is a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Georgina does such a good job in that scene, you really get the range of emotions that she’s going through in that scene. And it ends on an excited note rather than a nervous one. So coming into this episode, Lillian makes a couple of comments and Emily thinks, ‘OK, maybe this is something.’ But she’s still very hesitant until Brackenreid confronts her to grow up. She’s like, ‘Hold up, I am grown up and I’m going to do whatever I want.’ I think at that moment she decides to follow her heart. And her heart is with Lillian now.

I think it’s important to note that she isn’t falling for a woman. She’s falling for a person. She’s not turning gay on a dime. She isn’t all of a sudden discovering she’s a lesbian. This woman has opened her eyes to a whole world of possibilities. That’s an important distinction to not cheapen the relationships that she had in the past. She absolutely loved Crabtree. She was absolutely hoodwinked by Leslie Garland. This is a different person at a different stage in her life and a different journey for her.

It’s important that you say that. Is this an experiment on Emily’s part? How will this affect her relationship with George?
She really is falling for Lillian and wants to explore a future with her. Whatever form that future takes, she doesn’t know yet. It’s going to be difficult. And even though we have approached sexuality on the show before, we have never approached it from one of our main characters. It’s important that we do this. It’s a timely subject now, then, and forever.

We got a very touching note after the ‘Whalebone’ episode. A 14-year-old girl who, because of that episode, came out to her father. We were absolutely blown away and touched by that. You don’t realize, working in TV, how much power and influence you actually have on people, good and bad.

How do you feel about so much of a fuss being made about this storyline?
It seems like there are a lot of shows that are doing a lesbian storyline. We’re certainly one of the few that are treating it as an issue. We have to do that because of the historical context, but we’ve gotten some comments from people saying that because other shows have a lesbian storyline Murdoch has to do one. I actually think it’s great that we’re going gay, lesbian or transgender storylines in any capacity and not making it a big deal. That means that these people exist and live in our world and the way they live their lives is a valid one and it should be reflected on television. All aspects of life should be on television.

I am a bit sad when people tweet that if this is where we’re going with this character they’ll never watch again, but at the same time that’s kind of their loss. We make a good show and a lot of people work really hard to make a show that’s different, has something to say and tries to portray just how much we haven’t changed as much as how much we have changed.

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

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
19-2, Featured

Review: 19-2’s supporting characters shine

Jared Keeso and Adrian Holmes’ Ben and Nick may be the main focal point of 19-2, but the entire cast deserves major props. That fact is driven home to me every week, but especially with an episode like Monday’s “Rock Garden.”

Let’s start with Laurence Leboeuf’s Audrey, who is suffering the aftereffect of the horrible gang beating from Season 1. Clearly back at work too early, that was obvious when she freaked out on a local folk singer and his buddies two weeks ago, I couldn’t help but ache for her during that random hookup when she began crying in the middle of sex. I was confused at first—was it happiness that she was able to experience it again?—until her trip to the bathroom revealed the truth: that baseball bat damaged her genitals deeply, and perhaps forever. Will she turn to Bear for comfort rather than attempt intercourse with another man? I’m assuming that’s going to be addressed in the coming weeks.

Dan Petronijevic’s J.M., who has a history of assaulting his wife, Justine, took on the role of judge and executioner when he reported solo to a call of domestic abuse. J.M.—who has been the subject of humour the last couple of weeks—got an outside peek on what his assaults look like when he walked in on a man viciously attacking his wife. J.M. literally saw himself in the man and delivered a beating on him. The scene where Audrey arrived at the home to see J.M. cradling the weeping woman and applying ice to her face was tragically touching. Does this mean J.M. finally understands that he has a problem? We’ll see.

Maxime Roy’s Isabelle, meanwhile, was forced to make a horrible decision when it came to Theo. Her rage at discovering he had posted pictures of a passed-out girl on his Facebook page was certainly understandable, and I cheered when she handcuffed him, but I also understood the tortured look on her face as she realized Theo was headed down a dangerous path. Hopefully the scare and six months of probation will right his listing ship.

Finally, Bruce Ramsay deserves credit. He’s not on-camera as much as everyone else in his portrayal of Cdr. Marcel Gendron, but he hit it out of the park on Monday. Whether it was the less-is-more tentative step towards Isabelle before walking away, or discussing his daughter’s drug issues with Nick, Gendron is much less of a bad guy in Season 2 and becoming a character I cheer for.

Notes and quotes

  • Anthony Lemke is great at playing an a-hole.
  • Having sex in your childhood home is NEVER a good idea. Just ask Nick Barron.
  • “I am so hot for your scar.” Me too, Bear, me too.

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

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail