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.

Comments and queries for the week of Jan. 23

Is it my imagination or is Schitt’s Creek actually the same set as Little Mosque‘s town of Mercy!?  The town hall looks like the mosque. The diner looks like the same diner Fatima ran.—A

It may look familiar, but while Little Mosque was filmed in and around Regina, Schitt’s Creek‘s external shots were filmed in Goodwood, Ont., about an hour northeast of Toronto. Creek‘s sets are in Pinewood Studios in Toronto.

I’m getting about 100 new emails from TV, Eh? a day. Is there any way to just get one daily digest of them all?—Steve

Hey Steve, yes you can! Sign up here and you’ll get a daily email of the top stories and links from the website.

Meanwhile, a couple of readers—Kate and Heather—were wondering how they could get their hands on DVD copies of Cracked. What I thought would be an easy answer isn’t. In the U.S., Season 1 of Cracked lists the first seven episodes of the 13-episode season in a package being sold as Cracked: What Lies Beneath through the BBC store. There is another version of Cracked Season 1 available, but it doesn’t contain an episode list so I’m not sure if they’re all in that set.

If you don’t mind not owning Cracked on DVD, you can stream both Season 1 and 2 via CBC.ca. I checked the links and they work … if you live in Canada. It’s also available on Netflix Canada.

Pretty sure the only mention of Joel’s father [on Saving Hope] was earlier this season when Joel headed to New Zealand for his fifth wedding … and that marriage is already failing. Looks like Joel is so afraid of turning into his father that he actually is, in a way. 

At the moment it’s show vs. tell with Joel and Charlie. Joel says he wants to be there for the baby if it’s his, while Charlie is setting the bar fairly high. Loved Charlie and Henry. Couldn’t figure out who Henry was, that was a good twist.

Looks like next week will be huge. The possible ‘revealing’ moment I’ve been expecting for a long time now. Can’t wait!—Hallie

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or head to @tv_eh.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Preview: Four Senses continues tasty TV recipe for AMI-tv

There have been changes both in front of and behind the scenes at Four Senses, but the show’s main recipe has stayed the same.

Season 2, returning tonight on AMI-tv, continues with blind MasterChef winner Christine Ha and sighted Top Chef Canada champ Carl Heinrich at the helm. The program once again features embedded description, with Ha, Heinrich and their guests—tonight Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson—describing their actions for viewers who are blind or partially sighted. (Future guests include Frank Ferragine from BT Toronto, chef Bonnie Stern, Canadian Living food director Annabelle Waugh and Looneyspoons’ sisters Janet and Greta Podleski.) And everyone continues to create wonderfully tasty dishes.

As for the changes, the biggest is the setting for Four Senses. Instead of filming in a slapdash arrangement in downtown Toronto, Varner Productions decamped to Pie in the Sky Studios in East York. The spot enabled them to create a more effective studio kitchen tricked out by bright colours and a more cozy environment. The on-screen relationship between Ha and Heinrich has grown in this sophomore season as well. Any first-year jitters they had are gone and the culinary duo have developed a witty, entertaining repartee that oozes fun.

Another new ingredient to the show finds Ha and Heinrich hitting the road for on-location shoots. Friday’s return plants Heinrich in Enniskillen, Ont., where he visits Eric Baldwin, owner of Gallery on the Farm, a family run cattle farm. That provides an important farm to table link to Heinrich’s main dish during tonight’s “Roasted and Toasted” episode: a braised hunk of beef. Heinrich, Ha and Robertson all take turns serving as sous chefs while creating the beef, Ha’s side dish of roasted potatoes and Robertson’s awesome-looking chocolate chip studded banana bread.

Four Senses may offer description for those blind and partially sighted, but it’s a also a first-rate cooking show for anyone interested in making healthy, tasty meals. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some banana bread to make.

Four Senses airs Fridays at 4 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. ET/PT on AMI-tv.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Facet4 Media makes production in Canada for Canada

From a media release:

FACET4 Media is excited to announce its development slate of original television series to be produced in Canada for the Canadian and international marketplace. A home-grown business founded and steered by Stephen Greenberg of the Canadian entertainment family with a legacy of excellence, FACET4 has developed and acquired concepts in both the reality and dramatic arenas.

Based in Montreal with offices in Toronto, FACET4 Media is deep in the development process on projects including BUSINESS BOMBSHELLS: PALM SPRINGS, THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL, NO SILLY QUESTIONS, THE FOOD DIARIES, DRINK DETECTIVES, COMBAT CHALLENGE, HOW NEW ORLEANS GOT ITS GROOVE BACK, and scripted series ODD MAN RUSH.

With a television distribution deal and servicing arrangement already in place with Fox/Incendo, Canada’s largest television distribution company, FACET4 in poised to meet the demands of clients looking to make a big splash in the Canadian industry. Fox/Incendo will handle delivery, sales and back office support for all content produced and represented by FACET4 Media.

In Development at FACET4 Media:

BUSINESS BOMBSHELLS: PALM SPRINGS – 13 x 30’ Lifestyle Docu-Series
Business Bombshells: Palm Springs is an exciting new lifestyle docu-series based on the lives of five dynamic, feisty, self-made Palm Springs millionaires. This group of highly successful, beautiful, tough women have made it to the top of the business world, and Palm Springs society, through hard work, without leaning on men. Queen Bee Graison Stemper will introduce you to her friends behind the elite social setting of Palm Springs where these women have battled the storms and have come out on top of their fields. The Bombshells will welcome you into their lives, and share both their success and the drama it took to get there. This series will give you an in-depth look into worlds generally reserved for men where these women have risen, stumbled, and ultimately succeeded, in their quest for success.

THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL – 13 x 30’ Formatted Competitive Travel Series
What’s the best way to experience new places? In the five star luxury of sumptuous hotel rooms, Michelin starred restaurants and chauffeur driven limos? Or by taking a back to basics approach with budget hostel accommodation, street food and local transport? Best friends, Tommy and Randal, will be joined by a wildcard traveller who will judge each itinerary (high end vs. backpacker) on five criteria, and there will be an ultimate winner each episode. Join Tommy and Randall as they compete to see who can entice an unsuspecting stranger for bragging rights as to which way is The Only Way to Travel!

NO SILLY QUESTIONS – 13 x 30’ Family Oriented Interactive Game Show
Kids have a million questions and parents don’t always have the right answers. That’s where The NSQ Network comes in! No Silly Questions is a weekly half hour TV show that allows children of all ages (including a few parents) the opportunity to video record and upload any questions that come to mind and have it answered on the show!

THE FOOD DIARIES – 13 x 30’ Culinary Adventure Docu-Series
The Food Diaries is not your average food show. This food series will showcase a culinary travelogue where you’ll feast your eyes on the gorgeous scenery of each country visited, take in the sights and smells of local producers and learn about their artisan food and pick up great tips. Then watch as a top American chef reinvigorates each old world dish by spicing it up with some new world culinary artistry.

DRINK DETECTIVES – 13×30’ Docu-Series
In the new adventure docu-series Drink Detectives, take a trip to discover the secrets of the hidden world of booze. Our two genuinely colourful explorers, master sommelier John Szabo and rough-edged, irreverent and grouchy international wine expert Bill Zacharkiw, are armed with an authentic depth of knowledge and fuelled by an unquenchable thirst for more. They will travel the globe to track down the origins of legendary drinks they’ve heard about. Their aim is a common one, but their approach may not be. Expect sparks and even fireworks as they negotiate the rapids and bends that lie between them and the source of their quest.

COMBAT CHALLENGE – 13X30’ Competitive Paintball Series
Can a team of amateur paintball players be trained to become top-notch competitors on the playing field and challenge some of the best paintball players in the world? Two teams of amateur paintball players, led by one of our two professional players Wolf and Lady Hawk, go head-to-head each episode in an epic three-part paintball battle. Each episode will produce a winning team of amateurs who will not only win the newest paintball swag but will qualify for the semi-final. The last show of the season will feature the best teams competing in the World Cup of Paintball, in Orlando, Florida.

HOW NOLA GOT IT’S GROOVE BACK – 10 x 30 Cultural Docu-Series
Jazz is America’s music. And much of its evolution stems from the city of New Orleans. When Katrina hit, a huge number of New Orleans’ population was displaced. Among those people were her musicians, an important and vital part of New Orleans and American culture. This is a series about their journey, their city and most importantly their music and how it’s been influenced by the devastation of Katrina. We will delve into the lives and experiences of various musicians and hear their story of why and how they left behind their beloved city and what drew them back home.

ODD MAN RUSH – 13 x 30’ Scripted Dramedy Series
Odd Man Rush gives us a look at professional sports like we’ve never seen them before. At the heart of our show and experiencing it all for the first time is Chris Rush. After witnessing his humbling fall from grace in the pilot’s opening minutes, our hero heads to a world of hockey unknown to him: The Coastal Hockey League.

FACET4 Media will be participating in The 2015 Realscreen Summit; the world’s foremost conference and market for the non-fiction and unscripted content industry.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Anarchy in Calgary: Bruce McCulloch revisits aimless teenagedom in Young Drunk Punk

From David Berry of the National Post:

In the first episode of Young Drunk Punk, the (fittingly) punk-era sitcom about a pair of kids trying to make a go of life after high school, the guidance counsellor asks Ian McKay (Tim Carlson), obviously a frequent visitor to the office, what exactly he wants to be. He’s got no answer: “I only know what I don’t want to be,” he shrugs.

“I think, sometimes, you have to start your disdain for people around you before you can actually look at yourself,” says Bruce McCulloch, Kid in the Hall and creator of the City series. “It’s a person admitting that they’re searching, that they’re lost, and they’re starting with everyone else, but the fun is going to be watching them get inside themselves.” Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Jay Baruchel wants to fix Canada’s sitcoms (and the CBC)

From Jon Dekel of O.Canada.com:

Jay Baruchel may well be the last Canadian comedy star holdout – a prospect so conceptually absurd that his pals James Franco and Seth Rogen based their own $32 million film around it. But for all the well-meaning derision hurled in his northerly direction, the Ottawa-born, Montreal-based actor has no misgivings about wearing his Maple Leaf pride on his chest (literally), choosing to live and work as close to home as possible while still making a living. Most recently, he proved this steadfast allegiance to the producers of his Chicago-set FXX series, Man Seeking Woman. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail