From Bill Harris:
As a new year begins, maybe it’s time to reconsider your current junk situation.
After all, you don’t want to be watching Storage Wars Canada, and suddenly realize things are looking a little too familiar.
“It must be funny, or sad, for people to watch their stuff getting rifled through,†said Roy Dirnbeck, one of the buyers on Storage Wars Canada, which returns for its second season, Jan. 8 on OLN. Continue reading.
From Bill Brioux:
Remember last September when new, scripted Canadian TV shows were as scarce as promises kept at a CRTC hearing? Well, run that Maple Leaf flag back up the antenna: January marks the start of the real Canadian TV season.
Besides the return of 19-2 (Jan. 19, Bravo), Mr. D (Jan. 20, CBC), Spun Out (March 5, CTV), Motive (March 8, CTV), Remedy (February or March, Global) and Continuum(wrapping up with six final episodes in 2015 on Showcase), several new Canadian series are set to start. Here are seven to watch for in 2015. Continue reading.
Air Farce New Year’s Eve, CBC
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau gives his thumbs-up to the year’s biggest movies; YouTube superstar Lilly Singh (Superwoman) avoids her parents’ New Year’s Eve curfew; Heartland star Amber Marshall saves the ranch from the path of the Keystone pipeline; and it’s all downhill when Canadian Olympic heroes Maxime, Chloé, and Justine Dufour-Lapointe introduce their fourth skiing sister. Jon Montgomery stars in The Amazing Race’s new spin-off, where Canada’s political leaders run for office—literally—with special appearances by this summer’s winners, Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz, as well as celebrity chef Vikram Vij from Dragons’ Den. Singing sensation Nikki Yanofsky takes part in the annual dropping of the infamous F-Bomb.
The Big Picture, CBC
Comedian Ron James weighs in on the year that was – the fall of Rob Ford, the rise of Netflix, and the sequel no one saw coming, Iraq 2: The Redeployment. He looks at World Cup madness, reporting news in the era of “click bait,” and his well-meaning but doomed attempts to “take time for mindfulness” while keeping half a dozen plates in the air at the daily circus of multi-tasking.
And just like that, Blackstone‘s Season 4 finale was upon us. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a lot of closure.
Instead, “There Will Be Blood,” written by Damon Vignale and Ron E. Scott, had more of a mid-year finale feel rather than season-ender. An eight-episode run will do that, especially when compared to 13 or 22 instalment seasons. A part of me wishes Scott had tied everything up nicely and there was resolution on all sides, but of course life isn’t like that, so why should a TV show like Blackstone?
If there was some sort of happy ending, Gail would be it. She’s been on quite the journey, diving back into alcohol and pills and managing to lose custody of Wendy in the process. After seeing Dr. Crowshoe, she’d begun to turn things around, mending fences with Greg, Leona and the community by helping organize the Elder Feast and she was front and centre during the blockade against Shale. Sadly, it doesn’t look like Wendy will be returned to the ladies anytime soon: by episode’s end Darrien had scooped her up and escaped down the highway in a stolen car.
Speaking of Shale and the oil drilling, that was cleared up by episode’s end. Sort of. After stopping Shale from drilling on Blackstone land, the company had made an agreement with Daryl and Andy to test on their private land, meaning the Frasers could be in for a windfall of cash the band will never see, unless the old treaty is called into question. It’s not all good news for the Frasers, however. Alan suffered severe burns thanks to a Molotov cocktail thrown at the blockade and his status was unknown. I imagine Season 5–if one is ordered–will see this as a wake-up call to Alan to perhaps return to Blackstone and become a valued part of the community, perhaps even chief.
He certainly can’t do a worse job than poor Victor. Not able to live up to expectations with regard to keeping Blackstone’s financial affairs in order and waffling on the Shale deal, he’s ripe for being unseated.
Jumbo, meanwhile, had earned his way back into Daryl’s good graces. After returning the $55,000 he owed to his former boss, he was hired back on. I’m glad that storyline has been resolved, but I’m not sure where the money came from. Did Jumbo win it back while gambling, or did he kill Jack? That wasn’t clear, unless I missed something last week.
Like I said, I’m a little bummed so many loose ends were left untied by the end of Tuesday’s finale. The girls who ran the prostitution ring  in Edmonton were never caught, Victor’s budding romance never advanced past lingering looks and we never found out if the prison inmate who told Andy he was his son really was. I’m guessing at least one of those will be addressed–along with the other stories left unfinished–in Season 5.
What did you think of Season 4 of Blackstone? What questions do you still have after Tuesday’s episode?
Notes and quotes
From Bill Brioux:
It takes a whole year — and a couple of new cast members — to make an Air Farce New Year’s Eve special. The holiday favourite returns with the 2014 year-ender Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC.
After 40 years, the Farce has earned its wings as Canada’s longest-running comedy troupe. While the weekly series has been grounded since 2008, the New Year’s show continues to be a hit with Canadians, with last year’s effort the highest-rated yet, drawing over 1.5 million viewers.
Joining founding members Don Ferguson and Luba Goy this New Year’s are “second generation†players who date back to the series days: Craig Lauzon, Alan Park and Penelope Corrin. Continue reading.
