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.
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Comments and queries for the week of Nov. 7

I literally jumped up out of my chair and applauded when Inspector Brackenreid laid down the law [on Murdoch Mysteries]: no leaving the church until the ceremony was complete. Finally! Now to get Crabtree & Edna Brooks together.–Sue

It seemed to me like they played the wrong music for Julia’s walk down the aisle. The one played was Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” which is usually played after the ceremony. But I loved the show!–CW

In a series where Murdoch’s faith seems to be an integral part of his actions, it struck me as extremely bad writing to have them talk all the way through their vows and tell the priest to hurry up! I could see them realizing who the culprit was and leaving the church in haste after the ceremony and everyone in the dark as to why they left, only to reappear at the reception with it all solved and taken care of.–Merle

Got a comment or question about Canadian television? Send it to greg@tv-eh.com!

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Featured, Haven

Review: Darkside Seekers return to Haven

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I should have known the Darkside Seekers would be Duke’s last ditch effort when it came to solving the puzzle of Nathan’s … spirituality. Unfortunately, it was just Seth who arrived in town during Thursday’s episode, “Exposure” (no Anderson meant no possible Masterson family reunion) to communicate with Nathan and possibly cure what ailed him.

“I take it from your desperate phone call and baffled expressions that you are are in dire straits,” Seth began. “Fear not. The calvary has arrived.” He quickly explained that Anderson wasn’t there because of he’d become rich and moved on before the trio got down to business.

How far would you go to be reunited with the person you love? We’ve seen just how far Nathan will go, and “Exposure,” echoed his journey through Morgan, the dead guy who was supposedly helping Nathan get them back to the land of the living. I say supposedly, because Morgan had no interest in actually returning because it meant his cancer would consume his body again. So desperate to keep this from happening, Morgan killed Glenn and was focused on doing the same to Nathan. I definitely felt for the guy. Another sharp-eyed reviewer supposed that Amy, the woman taking pictures at the market, was not only behind the Trouble affecting these folks but was Morgan’s wife. That proved to be true on Thursday–the original Trouble had evolved from affecting an artist and his painting to photography–and Amy took a picture of Audrey so she could go in and help save Nathan.

“Why do you get to be with the one you love?!” Morgan screamed as his plan to reunite with Amy went downhill. It’s a fair point, and drove home to Nathan just how single-minded (and selfish) he’s been all along when it comes to Audrey.

Duke and Mara, meanwhile, had a drunken heart-to-heart discussion about the former’s memories of his mother so that the latter would reveal her take on the photography Trouble. And while I appreciated the writers giving us insight into Duke’s upbringing–his mom was a deadbeat who only showed up to collect welfare cheques–I was disappointed more time wasn’t spent on him. Duke is a fascinating character with a pretty screwed-up family (remember his serial killer brother?), and we haven’t had a lot of background into what really makes him tick. We did discover that he had to fend for himself from a young age, but that was pretty much it. How did he get his boat? Where does he get his black market supplies from? Does he have cable TV? Questions I wish we had answers to.

Maybe we’ll get more information later this season. “Exposure” was jam-packed with other stuff after all, including Dave and Vince freaking because the secrets of Haven may come out. Sending off a sample of Dave’s leg wound to a lab for testing prefaced the arrival of  Centre for Disease Control’s Dr. Charlotte Cross (Laura Mendell), who showed at the Grey Gull to lurch the Troubles story in a new direction.

 Notes and quotes

  • “Here we are. Miss Marvel, Dave Navarro and the token geek.”–Seth
  • Is Duke letting Mara change her clothes or shower? Isn’t she getting kinda funky by this point?
  • I’m not sure I like the implications of Duke subconsciously saving Mara for himself. Wasn’t he madly in love with Jennifer, like, two weeks ago?

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

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Blackstone

Link: Carmen Moore previews the fourth season of Blackstone

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From Sabrina Furminger:

Several months have passed since Carmen Moore wrapped on the fourth season of Blackstone, but the experience – exhausting as it was – is still vivid in her mind.

“We shoot eight, one-hour episodes in six weeks, and it’s an adrenaline rush for the whole six weeks that we’re going,” says the Vancouver actress in a recent phone chat. “And then, it ends, and then you have time to process your emotions and what you’ve been through, and then you sleep for two weeks.” Continue reading.

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Uncategorized

Link: Ryerson show picked up by Oprah Winfrey Network Canada

From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:

When Ryerson University professor Sean Wise researched the availability of video materials to teach a class on entrepreneurship, he was dismayed to find a lack of Canadian content.

“There was lots of stuff on American business people. You could get the founders of companies like eBay and McDonalds. But where were the Canadians?” Continue reading.

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Featured, Republic of Doyle

Review: Republic of Saul

I always like it when Jake is challenged by someone on Republic of Doyle. Kevin Crocker and Maurice Becker jump immediately to mind as two dudes who’ve rubbed our P.I. hero the wrong way and insulted his intelligence to great effect and made for noteworthy scenes. So I’ve been thrilled with the addition of Vick Saul and Alisha Maracle.

Wednesday’s episode, “The Driver,” was particularly fun because Jake was literally at the beck and call of Alisha, who took insane pleasure in treating Jake like a dog. With Sloan constantly in danger of being killed by Saul if Jake didn’t do the man’s bidding, Jake was instructed to work with Alisha to steal a cache of weapons from Alex Marshall (Justified‘s A.J. Buckley) and deliver them to Saul. I was hoping Buckley would have a little bit more of a role in the episode, but I had to make due with Alex appearing in the latter half sporting a Danny Crowe-esque Southern drawl.

I also had my fingers crossed that Saul and Alisha would stick around for more instalments, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards either. By episode’s end the guns had been captured by the police and Saul’s biggest rival was arrested, clearing the way to him to claim the east coast as his sole criminal domain. The result? He called off the threat on Sloan.

Meanwhile, Leslie is attending her therapy sessions, but it looks like Dr. Ronan may have ulterior motives when it comes to them. I couldn’t help but suspect he was working for someone else when he used his phone to demand all the files the precinct had on Jake. On second thought, Dr. Ronan may be tied to the crooked cop everyone suspects took Brogan’s laptop and wiped it clean of footage clearing Jake in Clark’s murder. Krystin Pellerin turned in a strong performance in Leslie’s scene between she and Brogan. She vowed to find out who tipped him off that she would be at Clark’s and would ensure he’d never get out of prison.

Notes and Quotes

  • It was good to see Christian pop up at episode’s end. The announcement that he’s getting married will no doubt lead to a shocking revelation of who his wife-to-be is. Will it be someone from Jake’s past? Probably.
  • “Des, let’s go be stupid outdoors.”–Mal
  • Did anyone else find the scene with Alisha taping the wire to Jake a little steamy?
  • “You’re my bitch today.”–Alisha to Jake
  • “Why do I picture you with a whip and one hand and some guy’s pride in the other?”–Jake to Alisha
  • “Elaborate, stunjaws!”–Mal to Jake
  • Do you think Lola Tash looks a little like Demi Lovato?

Republic of Doyle airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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