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.
Children's Programming, Featured

TVO’s Canada Crew celebrates the country’s 150th in style

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be everywhere. Running behind a group of students prepping for their prom in Vancouver, kayaking up to supporters outside their cottage … I almost expect to see him in line with me at Starbucks. So, it’s nice to see Sophie Grégoire Trudeau getting some airtime as well, as one of several guests on TVO’s newest kid’s series Canada Crew.

Created by Ben Mazzotta and executive-produced by Maria Kennedy, Canada Crew—debuting Monday—is part of the public broadcaster’s Summer of Canada lineup that includes Opie’s Home and Kid Diners; both of those series bow on Tuesday. Mazzotta and Kennedy were meeting with Marney Malabar, TVO’s director of kids TV, to go over ideas for Now You Know when she asked for content tied to Canada’s 150th birthday. The independent producers batted around ideas in the car ride home.

“We were saying, ‘What if we did this? What if we did that?'” Mazzotta recalls. “We came up with an idea that morphed into what we see now.”

“We went with our strengths,” Kennedy says. “We know puppets through Now You Know and having high-profile guests on a show. We wrote a concept based on that.” Canada Crew‘s puppet hosts are Bebe the Beaver, Mo the Moose and Gavin the Canada Goose; the trio travels to every province and territory introducing kids the things that make Canada what it is: people and places, food, pastimes, animals and nature, and the national anthem. Big-name guests in the 26 seven-minute instalments include, aside from Trudeau, celebrity chef Susur Lee, hockey great Darryl Sittler, Olympic kayaker Adam van Koeverden, WE Day founder Craig Kielburger and Major Indira Thackorie of the Royal Canadian Air Forces Snowbirds team.

“Bebe is excited by everything,” Mazzotta says. “She’s precocious, she’s really funny, energetic and not afraid of anything. Mo is a little more cautious, studious and uses an iPad to research facts. And Gavin is a little more of a bumbling character, falling and tripping and forgets he can fly.” Together, they aim to educate viewers not only about the history of this country and what makes us unique from the rest of the world but to entertain too.

Mission accomplished.

Canada Crew airs at 8:20 a.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on TVO Kids and is available on TVOKids.com.

Images courtesy of TVO.

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Cardinal

Links: Cardinal

From Amy Glynn of Paste:

Link: Hulu’s Cardinal Is a Watchable, but Not Unmissable, Whiteout Noir
Actually, Cardinal had me unconvinced at first, but I warmed up to it because of the delicate precision with which it anatomizes people uncovering one another’s hidden layers and buried secrets and old traumas. Continue reading.

From Rob Thomas of The Captial Times:

Link: Bingeworthy: Hulu’s ‘Cardinal’ finds murder and corruption in the Great White North
“Cardinal” is engrossing and deliberately paced, and as a native Canadian and now Wisconsinite, I’ve seldom seen the impenetrable white of a Canadian winter portrayed on screen as well as it is here. So, even though it’s the dog days of summer, wrap up in a blanket and get pulled into this chilling mystery series. Continue reading.

From Josh Sorokach of Decider:

Link: Embrace The Soothing Paint-By-Number Charms Of Crime Thriller ‘Cardinal’
Already renewed by CTV for two more seasons, the confident drama knows exactly what it is and plays to its strengths, which includes Campbell’s doleful portrayal of dogged detective John Cardinal.  Continue reading.

From David Wiegand of SF Gate:

Link: Multiple mysteries keep ‘Cardinal’ flying on Hulu
Screenwriter Aubrey Nealon is masterfully stingy with the script, carefully doling out information about Cardinal and other characters in very small but tantalizing doses.

The performances are quite good, although Campbell speaks all of his lines is a somewhat loud whisper. It feels at times like an affectation, but otherwise, he invests the right about of credible angst to make the character compelling. Continue reading.

 

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Dark Matter

Link: Dark Matter: Joseph Mallozzi talks “Welcome to the Revolution”

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Dark Matter: Joseph Mallozzi talks “Welcome to the Revolution”
“One of the things that One offered, and Six offered as well, is that moral drive. Even though that’s very much Five as well, she has her hands full with so many other things, she’s not really the one to say that the crew has to take up the mantle of this good cause. Who knows, maybe it’ll be something that will fall on her to do in the future, but that remains to be seen.” Continue reading.

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Wynonna Earp

Link: Wynonna Earp: Emily Andras talks “Shed Your Skin”; plus more links

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Wynonna Earp: Emily Andras talks “Shed Your Skin”
“Listen, I don’t judge other people’s culinary tastes or diets and neither should you, Bridget. That was a lot — a lot — and she’s a little thing. I feel like she should’ve divided that spider into several servings, but I’m not sure how much she ate.” Continue reading.

From Christina of OMFGTV.com:

Link: “Wynonna Earp” Exclusive: EP Talks Dominique’s Bad British Accent, Previews Episode 2, Wynonna’s New Struggle & More!
“Purgatory is actually looking up! Things are actually kind of getting better there. At the same time, we know new creatures and new baddies are coming into the Ghost River Triangle. And not just demonic Revenants, but things maybe we haven’t seen before. It’s a really fun creature-of-the-week episode, with excellent Earp sister stuff!” Continue reading. 

From Lisa Steinberg of Starry Mag:

Link: Varun Saranga – Wynonna Earp
“I don’t want to give away too much. It’s totally darker. Everything is darker. Everyone is questioning their moralities all over the place and have to make sacrifices, unwillingly. Most of the time they are doing things … Emily touched on this being about free will and being forced into situations and having to make forced decisions. It comes down to a lot this season.” Continue reading.

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Orphan Black

Link: What We’re Really Losing When We Lose Orphan Black

From Jennifer Still of Vanity Fair:

Link: What We’re Really Losing When We Lose Orphan Black
As Orphan Black embarked on its fifth and final season last week, it became clear that the sci-fi series was finally ready to answer the big questions—about eugenics, biology, and morality—that have intrigued fans and critics alike throughout its run. It was never a clear path getting there, but the joy was in the journey—and once it’s complete, viewers will lose one of the most intelligent, empowering shows ever to air on television. Continue reading.

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