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.
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

APTN’s First Contact premieres this September

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From a media release:

APTN, in association with Animiki See Digital Productions, Nüman Films, and Indios Productions, announced today that it will premiere the documentary-series, FIRST CONTACT (3 X 60). A compelling exploration into Indigenous culture in Canada, the three-part series is narrated by host and social justice activist George Stroumboulopoulos and takes six Canadians, all with strong opinions about Indigenous people, on a unique 28-day exploration of Indigenous Canada. It is a journey that will turn their lives upside down, challenging their perceptions and confronting their prejudices about a world they never imagined they would see. This exploration will change the participants’ lives forever.

Airing on Tuesday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET, the series will continue with episode two on Wednesday, September 12 and episode three on Thursday, September 13. The second and third episodes will be followed by a two-part reunion special airing September 12 and 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Following the second episode on Wednesday, APTN will air the first of a two-part reunion special featuring three Indigenous hosts that appear in the series. James Favel (co-founder of the Bear Clan Patrol), Michael Redhead Champagne (award-winning community organizer, public speaker and Shamattawa Cree Nation member) and Bernadette Smith (MLA, Assistant Director of Wayfinders Program in the Seven Oaks School Division) will come together in front of a live Winnipeg audience to reflect on the journey of the six participants and share their goals on how all Canadians can help strengthen relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Part two of the dramatic reunion special airs after the finale on Thursday evening, and will see the six participants come together before a live studio audience, to reflect on their experience during and since their journey together.

The following six participants will leave their everyday lives behind to travel deep into Winnipeg, Nunavut, Alberta, Northern Ontario, and the coast of BC to visit Indigenous communities:

Ashley Mathieu
Age: 32
Hometown: Ottawa, ON
Occupation: Personal trainer
About: Ashley’s life has been a truly transformative journey. The daughter of a Canadian Royal Mounted Police Officer and a Portuguese immigrant mother, she was a shy little girl who got bullied throughout most of her childhood. Having been through many challenges and hard times, Ashley is an empathetic person who is interested in learning about other people before passing judgment. She is also a direct and outspoken person and believes every Canadian has a right to their own opinion and the right to express it.

Avonlea Collins
Age: 28
Hometown: Chilliwack, BC
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom
About: Avonlea has spent her life caring for others, from her brother to her young sons. Her big heart and compassion are her defining qualities. Open to learning and changing, Avonlea dreams of living overseas one day and hopes her children get a chance to learn about other cultures in the world; something she never got to do. Avonlea considers herself open to new cultures, people and environments.

Dallas Cormier
Age: 26
Hometown: Saint John, NB
Occupation: Lobster fisherman/welder
About: Outgoing and athletic from childhood, Dallas spent his adolescence playing sports and hanging out at the community centre with the same group of kids he is still friends with to this day. Dallas’ parents pushed him to be someone who cared about others and he does his best to help others however he can. His mom is his role model, as she always made sure he was able to participate in activities with friends, despite a limited household income.

Donald Wright
Age: 65
Hometown: Ardrossan, AB
Occupation: Retired truck driver
About: Donald is proud to consider himself honest, with a strong work ethic and integrity. A self-proclaimed opinionated conservative, he considers that the freedom to live in a safe, clean place without war and suffering is the best thing about Canada. He’s not a fan of the current government’s focus on diversity, though he enjoys exploring the world with his wife of 18 years.

Jamie-Sue Sykes
Age: 36
Hometown: Ingersoll, ON
Occupation: Team leader, auto manufacturing
About: Country-born and bred, Jamie-Sue loves big trucks and small-town Canada. She defies any stereotypes that go along with country life with her open-mindedness and compassionate nature. She wants to see the country do much more to help its most marginalized communities, like those suffering from addiction or mental health issues. She believes we are only as good as the way we treat those most in need.

Ross Jackson
Age: 50
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Occupation: Accountant
About: Family man Ross has his roots firmly planted in Alberta but has explored the world as well, first as a young child living in New Zealand with his family, and later as an officer in the Navy. A father of three, Ross has strong opinions and believes, that hard work and traditional Canadian values are the key to success. He expects anyone who has the opportunity to live in Canada to feel the same.

First Contact is produced by Animiki See Digital Productions, Nüman Films, and Indios Productions, with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund. Producers are Vanessa Loewen and Desiree Single for Animiki, Jeff Newman and Jocelyn Mitchell for Nüman Films, and Stephanie Scott for Indios Productions. Written and Directed by Jeff Newman.

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Anne with an E, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of August 17

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It’s a shame, and no doubt my loss, but I won’t be watching this second season of Anne with an E. I am so disappointed (as well as others I know) that this Canadian production, by an iconic Canadian author, was aired on Netflix in the States before Canadian audiences had a chance to see it. Not kosher. And the third season no doubt will probably have its airing the same way in 2019. There is hardly a Canadian production I don’t watch, but this has left a bad taste. So long, Anne with an E — parting is such sweet sorrow. —D Mac

Bell Media[Daily Planet‘s cancellation is] disappointing but not really surprising. What we are witnessing are the death throes of profit-based cable television. Media companies like Bell and so many others are prostituting themselves to the public’s lowest common denominator to generate viewers because it is cheap and easy to make programming like what we see now and they have to compete with Internet-based programming. Like flashing lights in a casino, it’s not about quality anymore, it’s just about making you look. Like “click bait” on the Internet. They know you will leave, that is why ad time costs more at the beginning of a show because they already know most people are going to leave in the first 10 minutes. If we would like to preserve intelligent programming on television we need to support networks that don’t rely on maintaining profit margins. Unfortunately, that is only PBS, CPAC and sometimes CBC. Although CBC is fairly debatable also. Ultimately, we are all players in this game and if we want change we need to choose with our remotes and not watch junk TV. I work in the video production industry and all I can say is “Good luck people!” —Sean

So many dance tasks [on The Amazing Race Canada] this year, I’ve seen speculation that it’ll be the theme of the final memory task of the Race at the finale. Darts make for dull TV and I’ve never been a fan of the Face-Off essentially deciding who’s going to finish last halfway through the episode but at least they made it slightly hard with the all sides bit. Six teams and four Legs after this one. Pretty obvious it was going to be a non-elimination episode since the last episode always needs three teams. A good memory-matching opener task. Dylan and Martina were hilarious at the magic Road Block as was the judge watching them. And the kid in the audience that was unimpressed. It feels like the parking ticket was $0 just because they were on the Race. Is there even a penalty for that? I remember Sukhi and Jinder lost 15 minutes due to running a red light. With the amount of focus, Martina and Phil are probably in the finale; stranger things have happened then them possibly winning but they haven’t gotten 1st place yet in any Leg. Sinorama went out of business. I hope that doesn’t mean more budget cuts in future seasons. —DanAmazing

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

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Wynonna Earp

Link: Why Wynonna Earp’s Jolene allowed Zoie Palmer to really challenge herself

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Why Wynonna Earp’s Jolene allowed Zoie Palmer to really challenge herself
“It was a very cool role for me and I really appreciate Emily reaching out and offering that to me. It was a big stretch and I wasn’t sure because I read the part and thought ‘oh my goodness! What do I do with this?’” Continue reading.

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Featured, Killjoys

Preview: Killjoys welcomes its newest member of the family

Are you ready to meet Delle Seyah and D’avin’s baby, Killjoys fans? Of course, we already got a glimpse of the little tyke at the end of last week’s episode. But this Friday we get to know him a little bit better thanks to a fantastic—and very sci-fi (and daytime TV)—twist.

Here’s what Space has revealed with regard to a synopsis for “Greening Pains,” written by showrunner Adam Barken and directed by Stefan Pleszczynski:

A necessary detour to a familiar space station of sin and black-market goods is totally buzzkilled by D’avin’s newborn son. Especially when the wee tyke is aging so rapidly he’s at risk of dying of old age if the team can’t find help amongst the den of criminals they’ve made port in. Added to which, Dutch is still grappling with what happened to her in greenspace, and the Lady’s infection of one of the team is finally revealed …

And here are more spoiler-free details after watching a screener.

Welcome to the family Jaeden Noel!
He’s appeared on such shows as The Expanse, Rogue, Murdoch Mysteries and Odd Squad; now Jaeden Noel checks in as Delle Seyah and D’av’s not-so-little one. The team’s first reaction to his initial growth spurt is classic Killjoys. Look for my interview with Jaeden on the website after Friday’s broadcast.

Delle Seyah isn’t Hullen anymore. That’s good, right?
Depends on who you ask, I guess. I have a feeling the lady herself is going to feel the loss as we advance later into the season. For now, she’s kind of got her hands full.

Fancy returns
An integral member of Team Awesome Force, it’s always good news when Sean Baek grabs some screen time as Fancy. Even better news? Fancy teams up with Gared.

Letterkenny‘s Evan Stern guest-stars
Evan Stern swaps Roald’s Letterkenny overalls for unique facial hair and a memorable scene with Atticus Mitchell’s Pippin. Also memorable? The place Pippin, D’avin, Dutch and Johnny go where Stern’s character is introduced. I was visiting the set that day, and it’s gorgeous.

I never get tired of the Killjoys theme music
It’s simple, rockin’ and has the most memorable singalong since “Hey Jude.”

Killjoys airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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