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, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron seek a lost city in Atlantis Rising

I’ve been fascinated with things like Bigfoot, UFOs and the pyramids of Egypt from a young age. The same goes for Atlantis, thanks to an episode of Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of and a little series called Man from Atlantis, starring a pre-Dallas Patrick Duffy.

So I was excited to check out Atlantis Rising, as Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron join forces to find out if the city of myths really existed. I’ve watched Jacobovici in other series like The Naked Archaeologist and The Lost Tomb of Jesus; the latter being pretty controversial. As for Cameron, well, when he’s not directing, he’s exploring the deep sea, most notably the Marianas Trench. The dude knows where and how to explore ocean depths.

The one-hour special Atlantis Rising—broadcast Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Discovery Canada—is an adventure combining ancient texts and cutting-edge technology to tell an entertaining search for a frustratingly elusive target. Jacobovici provides the backdrop to what we know about Atlantis: the Greek philosopher Plato wrote about it in 4th century AD; he and Cameron get to work on where in the world to dive for the Atlanteans’ port city of land and sea set in three rings.

The quest begins in Santorini, a Greek island that seems to fit the description; the island looked very different during the Classical Age but was ravaged by a volcanic eruption, not the earthquake and tsunami Plato says destroyed Atlantis. Jacobovici speaks to experts in the archaeological field, relating information and discussing the chances of different locations being the lost city. He delivers everything in a calm, measured tone that makes it easy for viewers to understand and come to their own conclusions. And, after winnowing his list of spots down, he presents his findings to Cameron and the diving begins.

I won’t ruin the conclusion for you, but I can say the journey to get there is a lot of fun.

Atlantis Rising airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Discovery Canada.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Hard Rock Medical

Comments and queries for the week of March 10

For Hard Rock Medical producers/directors … I’m very disappointed that Danielle Bourgon seems to have only eight-second parts to play in this series. She is a superb actor and I do wish you would write her into the series much more than you are doing. HRM is becoming increasingly uninteresting to watch because of “key” players not being featured. Sometimes Danielle isn’t in an episode at all! Why waste this woman’s time? She’s a very skilled actor and not being utilized. Thanks. —Terry

My husband and I used to LOVE watching the Leave it to Bryan show! We loved seeing how he fixed things and the renovation part gave us a lot of how to do it yourself ideas! Since his wife joined the show, we never watch it anymore and we miss it! We don’t watch it because we don’t want to waste our time seeing them argue back and forth about this and that and see all the drama! We just want to see how building and renos are done! Please, just cut out all the “reality TV drama” and get back to showing Bryan do what he does best (by himself!). —Karen

How can we in the U.S. see or purchase DVDs of X Company? —Patty

Unfortunately, you can’t watch X Company anywhere in the U.S. yet but you can buy Season 1 and 2 on Amazon. 

We love this series. So sad but so part of our history; both my father and father-in-law were part of this horrid war. My father-in-law until this day, at 97, will not talk about it even if he could. He was on the frigate boat that sunk one of the last of the German U-Boats. I have thanked them for many years for making our life what it is today. —Bett

 

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

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Awards

Canadian Screen Award Winners in Digital and Immersive Storytelling

From a media release:

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce that 10 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS and 1 Social Innovator Award were presented tonight in digital & immersive storytelling categories. This Canadian Screen Awards Gala was hosted by Chris Robinson at The Great Hall, Toronto.

Yolanda Gampp is the recipient of the newly minted Canadian Social Innovator Award. This award is decided by fan votes. Voting closed on Tuesday, March 7 at 12 pm EST.

A complete list of the winners.

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

Broken stoves and spirits on MasterChef Canada

Season 4 of MasterChef Canada returned with a huge new twist in the audition process, first by having the home cooks create a rice dish at home with just 20 minutes to shop for ingredients and then challenging them to recreate it in the grand kitchen. Within the space of 44 minutes, the original 24 were trimmed to the Top 12. It was an impressive and shocking beginning to what judges Claudio Aprile and Michael Bonacini promise is a dramatic season.

Case in point? Thursday’s episode, “Home on the Range,” began with the usual Mystery Box containing ingredients from the competitors’ homes as inspiration and a chance for viewers to decide who they’d be cheering for this time around. But even that test was altered; rather than an ingredient from the cook’s hometowns, it was an actual item from their homes. In the case of Barrie, that meant his pink pig timer; a piece of wood from Aaron’s grandfather’s property; Justine’s first pastry bag; and Trevor’s pepper grinder.

Early on, I was impressed by Matt (mainly because I interviewed him outside of the Toronto auditions and is insanely prepared), Miranda and her baking skills, Justine and her energy, Jordan and his giggle, gentle giant Aaron, and that Trevor kid, who managed to break a fine German stove made by Miele. Aaron’s attention to detail impressed the judges enough to land him a spot for tasting; his chowder and fish were a hit, as was Miranda’s orange-chocolate cake and Trevor’s pan-seared chicken. As Michael said before making a decision on a winner, these home cooks are a sophisticated bunch turning out food of high quality in Episode 2.

Trevor won, giving him the advantage in the Elimination Challenge as he picked stone fruits for his competitors to use in their next recipe. Miranda was thrilled … until Trevor was handed salt shakers and sugar bowls and decided who would make savoury or sweet foods for tasting. It was a brilliant way to shake up what could have been a very staid Elimination Challenge and showed savvy behind-the-scenes planning. The final stroke of genius was allowing Trevor to save all of the men or all of the women from cooking. By choosing to save the men, Trevor made quick friends of the fellows. I’m betting the girls will have long memories.

Thea was freaking out over her sponge cake and I couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t make a crumble with a jazzed-up ice cream or whipped cream. Trying to make a cake when you don’t know how is a bad move in my opinion. Thea managed to pull it off, causing me to wonder if some shady editing made it appear she was more flustered than she really was.

It was clear who scored top marks from the judges: Justine’s peach gazpacho and Miranda’s bison and stone fruit sauce were the taste winners and put the pair in the Top 2, and team captains next week. Thea, Mai and Alice were in the bottom thanks to overseasoning, undercooked meat and an ugly sponge cake; Alice was eliminated from the competition.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Alias Grace

Link: Sarah Polley’s Alias Grace adaptation the right fit for Canadian TV

1 Comment

From Johanna Schneller of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Sarah Polley’s Alias Grace adaptation the right fit for Canadian TV
Sarah Polley, the Oscar-nominated, Canadian writer/director/actress, spent 20 years thinking about how to adapt Margaret Atwood’s sprawling novel Alias Grace for the screen. She spent her own money to buy the rights when they came available. Then, she spent nearly two years writing, often in snatched hours during her children’s naps. Continue reading.

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