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, Travelers

Travelers ending after three seasons

The Travelers‘ mission is complete. Star Eric McCormack made it official on Friday afternoon, confirming the sci-fi drama will not return for a fourth adventure.

“Travelers Program One, as well call it, is complete,” McCormack said on the show’s Facebook page. “On behalf of our creator Brad Wright, my fellow producers and directors, designers, our writers, our amazing crew in Vancouver, and our cast—who I love more than they know—I want to say thank you. All three seasons of Travelers will continue to be available for you to re-discover and, hopefully, bring some others along with you.

“But, for now, Protocol 5,” he continued. “Much love from 3468 in the 21st.”

“Well, all good things…,” Wright tweeted on Friday afternoon. “Thanks to the greatest cast, crew, directors, writers, artists and producing partners a guy could ask for. Love to you all. And to
@Netflix for stepping up so we could make Season 3!”

Created by Brad Wright and executive-produced by McCormack, Wright and Carrie Mudd, Travelers starred McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson and Reilly Dolman as a group of agents sent from the future to change the path of humanity by putting their consciousness into the bodies of others. Patrick Gilmore, Leah Cairns, Jennifer Spence and Ian Tracey were all part of the cast.

Travelers most recently won a Banff Rockie Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Action Program at the Banff Television Festival. It also captured Leo Awards for Best Direction for William Waring and Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for Spence.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Cardinal

Link: Cardinal’s Devery Jacobs on what turns Sam from a naïve girl to a strong woman

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Cardinal’s Devery Jacobs on what turns Sam from a naïve girl to a strong woman
“Working in North Bay, there’s really not a lot to do as it’s a small town in Northern Ontario. But every Thursday, Billy would come out and sometimes Karine, and we’d all go out and do karaoke.” Continue reading. 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Coroner

Coroner is the #1 New Canadian Drama of the 2018/19 Broadcast Season

1 Comment

From a media release:

Out of the gate, audiences in Canada and the UK are embracing the new CBC original drama series CORONER. In Canada, the series bowed as the highest-rated new drama series launch on Canada’s public broadcaster in more than four years. According to Numeris confirmed data, CORONER reached 2 million in Canada and delivered an average minute audience of more than one million viewers for each episode on CBC*, with the series ranking in the top 30 television programs in English Canada for two consecutive weeks. In the UK, CORONER premiered as Universal TV’s highest-ever rated series launch.

Inspired by the best-selling series of books by M.R. Hall, CORONER (8×60) is a character-driven one-hour drama about Dr. Jenny Cooper (Serinda Swan, Ballers, Inhumans), a recently widowed new coroner who investigates suspicious, unnatural or sudden deaths in Toronto. The series reflects the rich diversity of Toronto, and each case brings Jenny into a new arena in the city, touching on buzz-worthy themes. Jenny taps into her intuition as much as her intellect and heart as she solves cases with the help of homicide detective Donovan McAvoy (Roger Cross), a man who isn’t afraid of challenging the status quo; pathologist Dr. Dwayne Allen (Lovell Adams-Gray) and his assistant River Baitz (Kiley May); and Alison Trent (Tamara Podemski), Jenny’s assistant who keeps it real. And while Jenny solves mysterious deaths, she also deals with clinical anxiety; a teenage son, Ross (Ehren Kassam), who is still grieving the death of his father; and the prospect of starting a new relationship with the enigmatic Liam (Éric Bruneau).

In Canada, the series airs Mondays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service, with past episodes available to stream anytime.

A CBC original series, CORONER is produced by Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios. Morwyn Brebner (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue) is creator, executive producer and showrunner, Adrienne Mitchell (Durham County, Bellevue) is lead director and executive producer for Back Alley Films, Jonas Prupas is executive producer for Muse Entertainment with Peter Emerson and Brett Burlock executive producers for Cineflix Studios.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Preview: Murdoch Mysteries gets emotional in “Sins of the Father”

1 Comment

It’s official. Elvis Stojko has been the most enjoyable casting of Season 12. His guest appearance as the dim-witted Sam caught many of you off-guard; I got many comments from viewers who didn’t know it was Stojko until they read my interview with him. Nikola Tesla and an out-of-nowhere reference to The Chipmunks was just icing on the cake.

But as much fun as “Murdoch and the Undetectable Man” was, Monday’s tale has a darker tone. Written by Simon McNabb and directed by Mina Shum, here’s what the CBC has released about the story:

When a man dies in a deliberately set fire, Murdoch’s investigation reveals some shocking personal history.

And here’s a bit more from me after watching the episode in advance.

Murdoch gets cinematic
The episode begins with Detective William Murdoch standing, alone, in a forest. The camera pans up into the canopy while a simple piano and strings soundtrack plays. Birds chirp, the wind rustles leaves. It’s easily one of the most simple and cinematic scenes I’ve witnessed on Murdoch Mysteries. There are many introspective moments on Monday, spare amounts of time where nothing is said … and doesn’t have to be.

Body image is addressed
A young woman presses Julia for a procedure that the good doctor advises against. And yet, against her advice, the woman goes through with it.

CBC’s description is an understatement
“Some shocking personal history” is, perhaps, the understatement of Season 12. William is rocked by what happens on Monday. A hearty congratulations to Yannick Bisson and Hélène Joy for their performances.

Five-star guest stars
Shockingly, Sara Botsford and Peter MacNeill have never appeared on Murdoch Mysteries before; that is remedied in “Sins of the Father.” Stephanie Belding and James McGowan return as Nurse Sullivan and Dr. Forbes, respectively.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC and streaming on CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Comments and queries for the week of February 1

I saw Elvis Stojko’s name in the credits, but as the episode went on I forgot about him. I absolutely did NOT recognize him as Sam. So as far as that goes, job well done Mr. Stojko! I really enjoyed the episode. Tesla episodes are usually highlights, even if they do end up pushing the technological bounds maybe a bit too far. I was deeply impressed that they made the villainous mastermind the woman of the piece. Wondering where things are going with Brackenreid? I’m glad to see that he hasn’t quite given up on reconciliation with Margaret. Speaking of Brackenreid, I’m kinda hoping his daughter will visit Toronto sometime. It would be interesting to see her again. Finally, I can’t believe they named the Alvin brothers Simon and Theodore (call him Ted). Really, MM? The Chipmunks? You had to go with the Chipmunks? —DMK

At first, I kept thinking, ‘Omg … he looks so much like Elvis Stojko.’ Then I thought, ‘Nah, that can’t be him. It just looks like him.’ Lol. —Kate

I didn’t realize it was Elvis! He did a great job! One of the funniest things in that episode was the brothers, Simon and Theodore Alvin. Cracked me up! MM often inserts these zingers into the dialogue. Love it! —June

I was thrilled to see Elvis! He was very good at the role of Sam. I would really like to see him in a recurring role, maybe as a mole or informant. It’s always been great to see various well-known people in cameos on one the best shows on TV. Well done, Elvis. —Kate

Elvis, you had us fooled! I kept saying, ‘I recognize that guy, but from where….?’ You with your made up brown-toothed smile was superb! I recall the first time I saw you skate. It was over 30 years ago at Easter in Edmonton (You were but a child.). You skated to ‘Desperado.’ I was transfixed. I told my husband to ‘watch this kid, he’s going to be a superstar.’ I was right! And here you are again, reinventing yourself as a wonderful actor. Good luck and the very best of what life has to give, to you and your family. Please come back to Murdoch as a bad guy or a great guy. We loved you! And I laughed out loud to the chipmunk joke! Murdoch forever. —A&O

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail