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.
Double Tap TV, AMI’s popular television program focusing on tech from an accessibility point of view, returns September 14th 2021 for its fourth season on AMI-tv. Airing every Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern, Double Tap TV hosts Steven Scott and Marc Aflalo offer viewers an in-depth dive into the consumer tech industry – always asking, “Is this accessible to people with disabilities?”
“Last season we really hit our stride bringing our viewers really compelling interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry,” says co-host Steven Scott. “Not only do we talk to the Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Google’s of the world, but we also shine a spotlight on some of the lesser-known companies developing amazing new tech. We are excited to bring viewers even more this.”
“Double Tap TV is one of our most popular shows. We are thrilled to have Steven and Marc back for another great year, which will include some really special broadcasts as we keep the tech conversation going,” said John Melville, Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, AMI-audio/AMI-tv.. “Double Tap TV Town Halls will be back, hopefully in person, as the show aims to bring Steven and Marc directly to their audience.”
Season 4 of Double Tap TV, hosted by Steven Scott and Marc Aflalo, debuts September 14th at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv. Stream past episodes and seasons on AMI.ca and the AMI-tv App for Apple and Android.
Viewers and listeners can follow Double Tap TV and Double Tap Canada on Twitter @DoubleTapCanada.
About Double Tap TV Double Tap TV features the latest tech news, product reviews and compelling interviews around consumer and accessible technology. Double Tap TV is produced by Double Tap Productions a Montreal-based production company which also produces Double Tap Canada on AMI-audio, a weekly audio program and podcast, YourTechReport, a weekly radio program and podcast on SiriusXM as well as some exciting new projects currently in production.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The cooler weather, leaves changing colour and Halloween candy already on store shelves also marks the return of Murdoch Mysteries for an unprecedented Season 15 of 24 episodes.
Kicking off on Monday night, here’s the official synopsis from CBC for “The Things We Do For Love, Part 1,” written by showrunner/executive producer Peter Mitchell and directed by TW Peacocke:
With their lives in danger, Murdoch searches for Anna Fulford and her son in Montreal.
And, as always here are a few more tidbits from me after watching a screener. Please note that, due to Federal Election coverage on September 20, Murdoch Mysteries will be pre-empted and returns on Monday, September 27.
Murdoch is on the road In the Season 14 finale, William was off to Montreal in search of Harry and Anna. When we catch up with him on Monday night, he has just arrived in La Belle Province and hot on their trail. Murdoch himself is being followed by a few people, one of which fans will recognize. As for William, he finds a Montreal police officer who is all too happy to help in his plight, and shares a few traits with Crabtree.
Watts is on a new case A fire burning in a Toronto yard leads Watts to the case of a young woman whose death is blamed on her husband by her parents. This storyline is another opportunity for Murdoch Mysteries to explore more diverse characters, always a good thing.
How’s George doing? Not well, thanks to the Ernst sisters, who are holding him captive. Kudos to Sarah Swire for playing Dorothy and Amelia so well. As for the fate of Effie, who we last saw trapped in a hollowed-out tree….? There’s a flashback to just how Effie was kidnapped that is particularly giggle-worthy.
Miss Hart makes a play Violet Hard has been on an incredible journey since she entered the world of Murdoch Mysteries. Her marriage to Carmichael has brought out a side of her that’s only been hinted at; it evolves even more on Monday night.
A nod to Canadian sports history Amid the ongoing Bobby Brackenreid storyline is a cool little note about Canadian history that had me heading to Google ,and confirming what year we’re in.
Canadian production company marblemedia has been creating some truly interesting twists on the reality competition genre. Blown Away (about glass blowing) and Landscape Artist of the Year (which is just what it sounds like) are stellar examples of reality shows that don’t have Canada in the title.
Now marblemedia is back with its newest reality project. Race Against the Tide debuts Thursday at 8 and 8:30 p.m. and finds 10 teams of highly skilled sand sculptors battling each other—and the tide—to impress judges and win $10,000. Hosted by Shaun Majumder, Race Against the Tide‘s setting is the Bay of Fundy, where high tides mark the deadline in each episode’s competition.
Not only is Race Against the Tide as engaging as heck, but it’s an education as well. I had no clue competitive sand sculpting was a thing. Neither did showrunner and writer Carly Spencer, who we spoke to about the challenges the pandemic and nature played in Season 1.
I knew nothing about sand carving contests until I watched the first episode of Race Against the Tide. Did you know anything about any of this stuff before you got involved in the show? Carly Spencer: I did not. And, it was a real whirlwind when we started up production because we were actually the first show in Canada out in the field during COVID. We just sort of hit the ground running working with CBC and it was crazy because we had never seen what we were going to be working with, this tide and everything because we couldn’t travel out there [in advance].
We saw that tide for the first time and we went, ‘Holy moly.’ What’s so cool about this show is that the crew is actually racing against the tide as well. We have basically the time from when the tide goes out and we start shooting and the sculptors start sculpting. And then, when the tide starts to come back, it hits these markers, so we have a little bit of time for judging. That’s it. If we miss a step we lose an episode. If the tide washes away one of the sculptures before we can shoot the beauty of it… But what that does is just create this amazing energy on set. Everybody is just in it working so well as a team. The cooperation on this crew is just like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I tell every single person who will listen to me, that it is because of the crew, the fantastic people just hauling their butts and working together, that this show even gets made.
These are incredible artists. Just learning about the packing down of the sand, the different scientific properties of the sand, and maybe black sand looks cool, but it doesn’t have the same properties or regular brown sand. You have so much packed into a 22-minute episode. That must have been a heck of an edit that you had. CS: You hit the nail on the head because this is a half-hour show. Every single line, every single shot is completely curated because there’s just no time to wait. It’s actually quite difficult cutting down so much footage.
How did you get involved in Race Against the Tide? CS: I had done a show called Landscape Artist of the Year for CBC and marblemedia. Then, I got a call from marblemedia and they said, ‘You’re never going to believe this, the show has been greenlit and you start tomorrow.’ I didn’t even have time to think about it. I really like working with marblemedia. Matt Hornburg and I have such a lovely working relationship. He really prepped me and he just lets me run. So the opportunity to repeat that was great. And, also, I like a good challenge.
Talk about the beach where you filmed. CS: The sand has to be the right type of sand to hold together. Originally, they were going to shoot it on a different beach, and then we did all this research. We actually had someone from here send samples to our judge, Karen Fralich, who had to do all these little experiments. We had to move to this particular cove because that’s where the best sand was. That’s the first thing all the sculptors asked, ‘How’s the sand?’ There’s so much science in this show and that nobody would know.
Race Against the Tide airs Thursday at 8 and 8:30 p.m. on CBC.
There’s a reason Mary Berg has resonated with audiences and judges, first on MasterChef Canada and then with Mary’s Kitchen Crush. What you see is what you get with Berg, and you can’t help but cheer her on.
The two-time Canadian Screen award winner is back with her latest series for Bell Media, helming Mary Makes it Easy. Debuting Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern on CTV Life Channel, Berg brings viewers into her real-life kitchen for easy-to-make (and equally easy to tweak) recipes, delivered with her trademark smile and humour.
We spoke to Mary Berg about Mary Makes it Easy, what viewers can expect from Season 1 and what it’s like to be an award winner.
How did Mary Makes it Easy come about? Is this something that you pitched to Bell or was this a collaboration? Mary Berg: I think it was a bit of both, to be honest. We definitely pitched it to Bell. It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a straight-ahead cooking show, in the kitchen, showing you how to make something, walking you through it, cooking show. And we definitely did that in Mary’s Kitchen Crush. With Kitchen Crush, it was about the end result. It was about the people coming over and making dishes inspired by people who you’re going to meet at the end, that was the payoff. In Mary Makes it Easy I think we did a good job at conveying this is it’s all about you and me in the kitchen together, because that is the biggest hurdle for most people.Â
It’s not necessarily having someone over. It’s how do you make something for friends, or even just your family that you live with or even just yourself? It is a hard thing to do when there are so many other options. This is about you and me, the person who doesn’t want to be pulling their hair out at the end of it when their guests arrive. It is just about prepping and making delicious food and making it as confident-filled and comfortable as possible for everybody.
You’ve always made it very accessible with your ingredients. Has that always been something that’s been important to you? Just keeping it easy for the home cook? MB: Totally. When I write recipes, I want someone who’s experienced in the kitchen to not think, ‘Oh, this is an easy recipe,’ but I want someone who isn’t also to feel like I’m there with them walking them through. With ingredients, especially over the last year and a half, my cooking style changed kind of completely. I don’t go to the grocery store every day anymore. I go once every two weeks, pretty much still like I’m still on that kind of schedule and it’s totally changed the way I cook. This show has a lot more options for substitutions. There are a lot more suggestions for if you don’t have this or you don’t like it, that’s fine. It’s not going to ruin the recipe. Make it yours because it’s about you.
How do you develop recipes? I love recipe development and I love food science. Basically, I have this Nancy Drew-style notebook, a composition book that I write my ideas in. I write what I think is going to work. I write estimated measurements and I just think about flavours that I think would go well together. It’s summertime right now, so obviously, everything I do has peaches and tomatoes in it because both of those things go so well together. So taking cues from what’s at the market, what’s at the grocery store, even what’s on sale, and then trying to figure out ways to do it in exciting but accessible and accomplishable ways.
You film Mary Makes it Easy in your actual kitchen. Was that always the plan? MB: This show was always going to be in my kitchen. I think I wanted to have people in my house [because] there’s a comfort level there that I think you can’t convey in a set in the same way. So having that and giving this whole show more of a comfortable, tight-knit, cozy, homey vibe, it feels a little more like you’re just hanging out at my, at my breakfast bar pretty much the whole time.
I enjoyed the bloopers at the end of the first episode. MB: Thanks, man! I wanted, throughout the show and throughout the episodes, to keep flubs in too. We kept things in where something goes wrong because that’s how it works. No one is perfect. In my world, in the kitchen, there’s no failing. You’re just like trying something and it might not work, but that means you learned how to make it not work. Sometimes things go wrong and you just roll with the punches and keep going.
Can you give me a hint about some of the upcoming episodes? The first is chicken. MB: We’ve got 25 episodes, and it was really fun coming up with the ideas for each episode because we wanted to think of common issues in the kitchen. For instance, chicken. It’s a great staple, so we wanted to do one that with 100 percent all on chicken. The next episode is date night. The thing with date night is no, you shouldn’t make like a souffle. That is an insane thing to do when you’re trying to impress someone because it’s going to go wrong. You need to do things that are quick, really impressive, but also still look like you aren’t sweaty and you just had a crying fit on the floor before your date arrived. There’s get ahead recipes, there’s one-pot there are lunches, there’s baking, baking recipes for like real beginners. Like if you want to make bread, I’ve got the bread for you as a beginner and you want to make a cheesecake, I got the cheesecake for you.
You recently won a second Canadian Screen Award. How does that feel? MB: It’s one thing to put something out there and think that you really like it and that the folks at Bell Media really like it, but it’s another when people vote and you find out that the Academy really likes you too. So how does that feel? Um, mindboggling. Oatmeal brain is what I call it. The fact that the show also won is so huge because so many people worked so hard on it. I know everyone says this, but I truly did not expect it either time.
I was a participation ribbon kid. I was the kid who you’re playing soccer and I’d be like, ‘No, I’m going to sit down and find a four leaf clover.’ It is really exciting and thrilling to work so hard on something and have that peer and Academy-based recognition.
Mary Makes it Easy airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Life Channel.
Amazon Prime Video and Left Bank Pictures today announced the start of production on the Canadian Amazon Original drama series, and second original scripted series, Three Pines. Filming in Montreal and rural Quebec, the series stars Alfred Molina and is based on Canadian author Louise Penny’s New York Times- and Globe and Mail-best-selling Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. The eight, one hour episode drama will film from August to December and launch exclusively on Prime Video in Canada, U.S., UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Greenland. Sony Pictures Television will handle all other international sales.
Louise Penny’s highly acclaimed, best-selling mystery series has won the CWA New Blood Dagger award, as well as multiple Agatha, Anthony, Dilys, and Arthur Ellis awards. In 2021, a reader survey conducted by The Washington Post ranked Chief Inspector Armand Gamache the most beloved fictional detective, beating out such characters as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.
Three Pines comes from Amazon Studios and is produced by Left Bank Pictures, the Sony Pictures Television-owned production company behind The Crown, with Canadian production company Muse Entertainment providing production services. The series is executive produced by Andy Harries, Sharon Hughff, and John Phillips for Left Bank Pictures. Additionally, Sam Donovan, Emilia di Girolamo, and Alfred Molina serve as executive producers. The series is written by Emilia di Girolamo, who adapts the novels as lead writer, and Catherine Tregenna will pen two additional episodes. Directors on the series are Sam Donovan, serving as lead director, Mohawk director Tracey Deer, and Daniel Grou. John Griffin will series produce. Tracey Deer also serves as Indigenous consultant, alongside Katsitsionni Melissa Fox. IllumiNative will also consult on the series.
The series is part of Prime Video’s continued investment in Canada, following the revival of the sketch comedy The Kids in the Hall, docuseries All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, comedy-variety series LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, scripted comedy The Lake, and special Rupi Kaur Live. Since 2015, Amazon Studios has filmed 24 Amazon Original series and films in Canada, including The Man in the High Castle and Upload in Vancouver, The Boys and The Expanse in Toronto, Tales from the Loop in Winnipeg, as well as parts of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Voyeurs in Montreal.
