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.
Hard Rock Medical

School’s back in session with TVO’s Hard Rock Medical

From a media release:

TVO’s first commissioned drama series, Hard Rock Medical, returns with nine new episodes in January 2017. The episodes premiere on TVO starting on Sunday, January 8 at 8 pm, and for the first time, all of new the episodes will be available on demand on tvo.org following the January 8 broadcast.

Loosely inspired by the world-renowned Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), Hard Rock Medical’s students navigate their way through an offbeat medical training program in the North at Hard Rock U. With another year of med school under their belts, the stakes are raised with the students travelling by snowmobile to rescue a lumberjack with severed fingers, tending to patients with hypothermia, and caring for seniors with addiction issues.

The students are immersed in all areas of Northern life, as they grapple with issues of medical ethics, and struggle to keep their personal lives together. In the Nipissing First Nation, Eva and Melanie face a difficult cancer case that is complicated by Eva’s relationship with the patient’s mother. Gary and Charlie are embedded with EMS teams, working alongside paramedics, local police, and emergency room doctors. Cameron and Gina are based out of a downtown clinic doing outreach to street kids, seniors, and drug addicts, and Nancy and Farida learn what it takes to be a doctor in a small regional hospital.

The series’ ensemble cast returns including Canadian talents, Patrick McKenna (The Red Green Show, Traders), Angela Asher (18 to Life, Degrassi: The Next Generation), Tamara Duarte (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Northern Ontario favourite, Stéphane Paquette.

Mini docs that give an in-depth look into life in the North accompany the series. Created by students at North Bay’s Canadore College, topics include: the Full Moon Ceremony, inspiring accounts from the Nipissing First Nation, and the art and music of Hard Rock Medical. The short films will air on TVO in January and be available on tvo.org following the broadcast.

New episodes of Hard Rock Medical premiere on TVO beginning on Sunday, January 8 at 8 pm and repeat Mondays at 10:30 pm and Fridays at 7 pm. All nine 30-minute episodes will be available on demand on tvo.org, directly following the broadcast premiere, where viewers can also catch up on past episodes. The series will also be broadcast on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

Hard Rock Medical is produced by Distinct Features and was co-created by Smith Corindia and Derek Diorio. The series received funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to support the regional production of the series, which is shot entirely in Northern Ontario. Filming for the new episodes took place exclusively in North Bay.

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The Romeo Section

Link: The Romeo Section Season 2 finale preview: “Final Measures”

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: The Romeo Section Season 2 finale preview: “Final Measures”
Somehow, we’re already at the end of the second season of The Romeo Section, and the finale is a fantastic dance between Norman, Wolfgang, Al, and Gary on one side, and Rufus, Tony, Mei Mei, and Jimmy on the other. There are several moments of just flat-out clever maneuvering that are simply a joy to behold. Continue reading. 

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Featured, Shoot the Messenger

Shoot the Messenger closes out Season 1 in thrilling fashion

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How was Sam going to clean up this mess?! That’s the question, among others, I had after last Monday’s episode of Shoot the Messenger. It was certainly going to take more than a couple of wet wipes to tidy up the situation after Sam beat Marco DaSilva to death and grabbed the cell phone. And, with Phil Hardcastle arrested, there was no one to help Sam distance himself from the crime.

The “Full Circle” teleplay, written by Jennifer Holness and directed by Sudz Sutherland, did just that, tying up the loose ends that have been dangling since Episode 1.

Things certainly didn’t look good for Daisy and Simon when things started to roll. Sam Charles’ lawyer, Lewis, had slapped The Gazette with an injunction, delaying story they’d been working so hard on. I can’t help but feel co-creators Sutherland and Holness were not only showing how much legwork it takes to uncover a big story like the one created for Shoot the Messenger, but took a swipe at websites that post articles without doing due diligence, all in the name of clicks. (The fact Shoot the Messenger is airing amid fake news reporting is timely as heck.)

It was, as a writer myself, really interesting to observe the way Mary, Daisy, Simon and Marty sussed out how The Gazette could still write a story about Sam Charles without expressly tying him directly to anything they wrote, including Lawson’s parties and the super jail.

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Meanwhile, Lutz was putting small pieces of his own puzzle together, slowly tying Sam Charles to DaSilva’s death and Lawson’s blackmail plans via careful questioning. With the forensic reports in, DaSilva was identified as the one who’d killed Avril, Hassan and Khaalid, clearing Sam of the deeds. But who, Lutz wanted to know, killed DaSilva?

It wasn’t until halfway through the episode—when Nazeem sat down with Lutz and Daisy—that the circumstances surrounding Khaalid were fully realized. Drugs supplied to Lawson’s sex parties led to Avril and her retinue of ladies. Khaalid became involved with Harry and Sam, and Nazeem and Hassan were determined to pull their friend out by using the video to blackmail Sam into letting Khaalid leave. Hassan turned to Daisy for help, believing her story could protect him from harm. With a copy of the film in hand, Lutz had the evidence he needed. Pair that with Sam’s confession to a tearful Chloe, and his career was over. It also meant The Gazette could print the story, making Simon and Daisy’s careers.

But at what cost? Daisy’s sister has disowned her and she’s turned back to cocaine for solace.

Like I said in an earlier review, Shoot the Messenger is not the type of show you watch while checking emails. It deserves your full attention because of all the machinations and subtleties going on. But what a payoff. Stellar performances by Elyse Levesque, Lucas Bryant and Lyriq Bent carried the ball, while Sutherland and Holness’ intricate storytelling took Season 1 over the goal line.

What did you think of Season 1 of Shoot the Messenger? Comment below!

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Murdoch Mysteries’ Simon McNabb breaks down “Excitable Chap”

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Monday’s new episode of Murdoch Mysteries, “Excitable Chap,” marked the return of two favourites. Thomas Brackenreid was back from St. Louis, sporting a gold medal for soccer that he’d won coaching Galt to victory. Monday also saw James Pendrick back in Station House No. 4, first to hang out with Brackenreid because they’d bonded at the World’s Fair and then because, no surprise, he was suspected of murder in a very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde storyline.

But rather than fall back into his routine, Brackenreid has been grabbed by wanderlust and excited by the world. No longer content, for the moment at least, being a copper, he’s gone off on an adventure with Pendrick—he was once again exonerated of killing—in pursuit of Ashmi, who’s stolen the inventor’s formula for the fountain of youth.

We spoke to Simon McNabb—who co-wrote the episode with showrunner Peter Mitchell—about Brackenreid’s departure, Nina and Crabtree’s breakup, and a peek at next week’s holiday special.

It was interesting to see Brackenreid return to Toronto with his world view opened up and wanderlust triggered. Could this be the final season for Brackenreid?
Simon McNabb: Well, anything is possible. I can’t speak one way or another about what happens to the character in Season 10 or any possible future seasons but he’s certainly developed a taste for wanderlust as a character. We, as writers, wanted to explore what it would give to him as a character and open some interesting avenues for him in the future.

We thought this was sort of an interesting way to explore with Tom Brackenreid. Maybe this is the 1904 equivalent of buying a sports car; getting back out there and having that sense of adventure.

It was interesting that you referenced Ota Benga in the episode, who was really part of the St. Louis World’s Fair.
That emerged organically from our desire to put in as much as possible from the history of the period and that was one of the headlines of the St. Louis World’s Fair. At the time, they had these pygmies who were essentially on display which is sort of shocking by today’s standards. We were sort of at the end of this tradition by the end of 1904, but it had been going on for years that people had been brought and put on display at world fairs. We saw a little touch of it last year in the Arctic episode when Crabtree meets the Inuit man and thinks, for a moment, that he’s part of the display. One of the headlines from the World’s Fair is that they had these pygmies on display and did keep them locked up. The young man that Brackenreid is obliquely referring to did go on an adventure for awhile and left the fair and wandered about as a free man and then was either recaptured or returned to the group and travelled around parts of the United States as sort of a cause célèbre.

You and Peter Mitchell shared writing credits on this episode. How did that work?
The story itself took awhile to develop in that the very basic notion of a Jekyll and Hyde story was one that has sort of wandered in and out of the writers’ room over and over again. At some point, the notion of doing it with James Pendrick as the Jekyll and Hyde figure stuck around and we were all tickled by it. And then, Pete Mitchell early in the development process for this season had a few ideas about it and broke out most of the story you see there quite quickly on his own and then brought me along to help him write it. We split it up as front half-back half.

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You picked a great character to be Jekyll and Hyde. Peter Stebbings has such an emotive face.
He was such a natural fit. Peter is such a great actor when it comes to emotion and can play all sorts of different angles and elements and if you give him the opportunity he’ll play it right up to the max. I think this was the episode of Murdoch Mysteries that gave him the most room to go a little over the top. We knew he would have fun doing it, and we would have fun watching it.

I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek reference in the script about Pendrick showing up just in time to be accused of murder.
It’s one of those things where, as a murder mystery, it’s very hard to bring back anyone without them being involved, in some way, with the murder of the episode. Sometimes we come up with a way to just have them around for the week and not accused of murder but sometimes it’s just to much fun to have them as the prime suspect. You have to wink at yourself because, at this point, the audience is pretty convinced Pendrick won’t be the killer by the end of the day.

Nina and George have broken up. What can you say about the demise of their relationship?
George’s relationships have been a roller coaster and I, for one, am in favour of it. I’ve been a sucker, since I first started watching the show, for the troubles of George’s heart. At the start of last season, we tried to challenge Crabtree a little bit when it comes to what he wants out of a relationship and life. Through the years, we have matched him up with women and all of them offered the same sort of future he imagined for himself, getting married and having a family. By introducing Nina Bloom, we forced him to challenge that. He falls for her despite having none of those things and he starts to reconsider how much he values those things or whether this very exciting love affair might be something that he likes and appreciates and wants to explore more than the conventional lifestyle.

As soon as we did that, we realized we’d have to bring in someone who represented the more traditional choice and see if he really was ready throw away the whole notion of settling down and having kids. That’s what we’re trying to explore; where he lands I’m not sure.

I laughed out loud when Julia said, ‘I’ve had better,’ after Pendrick kissed her while he was The Lurker.
That was a line written by Peter Mitchell.

What can you tease about the next episode, the holiday special ‘Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas’?
It focuses more heavily on Crabtree than last year’s special. He is sort of at the centre of the main mystery and story this year. This year he is really in the thick of what is, I think, an exciting and delightful adventure.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Heartland

Heartland’s Graham Wardle talks the winter finale and Ty’s journey

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Whoa, talk about one heck of a winter finale for Heartland. “A Horse with No Rider,” was jam-packed with drama and danger on both sides of the world.

First, Ty and Bob were on the hunt for the elusive—and endangered—Gobi bears in Mongolia. They ran into some pretty tough customers on the road and then battled the heat and terrain in their quest before finding a cub whose mother had been killed.

Back in Alberta, Tim, Georgie and Amy fought for their own survival after a rockslide crushed the truck and horse trailer. With a horse trapped inside the trailer, Tim suffering from a concussion and Amy in physical distress with the baby, Season 10 is taking a break with plenty of drama.

One of the most interesting—and galvanizing—storylines this season has been Ty’s personal journey. He left Heartland with Bob because of something he believes in, despite Amy’s pregnancy. Not only has this story angle been an adventure for Ty but actor Graham Wardle, who really jetted to Mongolia earlier this year to film segments for the series and Ty’s blog, BordenWithoutBorders. With 10 seasons playing Ty under his belt, we spoke to Wardle about Ty’s journey, his time in Mongolia and what’s the come for his character.

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I just watched the pilot episode of Heartland on Netflix a week or so ago. Was it ever a kick to see Ty in a leather jacket and smoking a cigarette.
Graham Wardle: [Laughs.] Yeah, that was the character back then. He was a smoker, but they axed that as soon as the show got picked up. They were like, ‘Yeah, we’re not going to have him smoke.’ I think it was a wise decision, because having to smoke on-screen for 10 seasons … my character would have lung cancer by now. [Laughs.]

What’s it been like to have that character evolution? To go from a guy who was rough and tumble to the man we see today, who not only has a baby on the way but is in Mongolia because of something he believes in?
I’m very honoured to be part of the journey this character has been on and able to contribute to it. I think that’s what every artist wants to get out of their work. To contribute something authentic, to contribute something that inspires them and other people as well and speaks to bigger truths about turning your life around or going from a rebel troublemaker to getting his life straightened out and standing up for what he believes in is a big turn. That’s a big storyline. I’m a bit older than the character, but close enough in age that, as he goes through these things I learn and then want to contribute and add to him. I feel very blessed and passionate about telling those bigger stories, arcs and journeys. This is one of them.

I wanted to talk to you because of Ty heading to Mongolia. You really went there to film scenes. How did that and the story that sent Ty there come about?
It was a bit of a collaboration where I had sort of presented an idea about doing something a little bit different and we were going back and forth. [Showrunner] Heather [Conkie] had found a story about the Gobi bear and how there are, I think, less than 24 left in the desert. They are on the brink of extinction. And, from what I remember, the Cecil the lion incident was kind of part of that idea and how that impacts society, along with the Gobi bear story in Mongolia.

That was presented to me and I thought it was really cool, very unique and very different. As we started Season 10, I thought, ‘Well, what if I really go there?’ Most of the time when a character goes away somewhere they’re talked about but not seen, so I thought this was an opportunity to do something new and different and, I think, add a tremendous amount of value for the audience because they’d see a new part of the world and it would expand the storyline beyond Canada and Alberta. How to other people interact with their animals on the other side of the world?

Scott Lepp, our digital producer, set up BordenWithoutBorders, where Ty updates—within the reality of the show—Amy and his family about what’s going on. I went with a friend from Toronto, a good friend of mine who I went to school with named Peter Harvey. He came along and he shot stuff and I shot stuff. We were out there for just under two weeks and we did everything we could.

This storyline is important to me because I think it’s something everyone struggles with, including me. How do you balance your passion with making time for your family, your loved ones and your responsibilities?

You said you had some ideas for Ty before this was sussed out. What were some of your ideas?
I’m actually meeting with the writers to go over potential storylines for next year and is exactly some of the stuff I pitched to them originally. I could tell you, but then it would be out about what could be happening next year. It speaks to the larger vision that I want to contribute to this role and this show … the relationship of human beings to animals and how we see that relationship. A lot of people see animals as less than us … I want to explore the magical connection between animals and us.

You mentioned yourself and Peter filming the Mongolia bits. It sounds like you’re moving into producing and directing your own stuff. Is that fair?
Absolutely. I’m writing my own scripts and taking classes and doing my best to further my storytelling abilities behind the camera. That fits into that vision of what I feel passionate about in my life and what I want to contribute to the world is telling stories either in front of or behind the camera.

What was filming like in Mongolia? It’s not a country I know very much about.
Neither did I! I got a Lonely Planet book and was reading it. I met a guy from Mongolia who was an actor on the show before I went over. We filmed some stuff in Drumheller and I was talking to him about it and he told me what it was like. Filming there was a challenge at first because of the jet lag. Peter and myself taking care of the acting, the continuity, the scripts, the costumes and the filming … that was a challenge to do all at once. The heat wasn’t that bad, the people were really friendly, we could stop and talk to anybody at the side of the road and find out what was going on. Beautiful country and beautiful people.

OK, so what segments were actually filmed in Mongolia? Bob and Ty looking for the bear cub was done in Drumheller.
Almost all of the Skype calls, the blog and then some establishing shots were done in Mongolia. The rest is Drumheller doubling as Mongolia.

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Let’s talk about Ty and Amy. This storyline has been galvanizing for the fans. Some want him on this journey and others think he should be with Amy. Where do you stand, as Graham the actor?
It’s something I took seriously as an actor and a person. We all have responsibilities in our lives, things we are committed to and responsible for. At the same time, we all have dreams, hopes and wanting to experience and give more. This storyline is important to me because I think it’s something everyone struggles with, including me. How do you balance your passion with making time for your family, your loved ones and your responsibilities? I’m glad that the fans are interacting because it means it’s striking a chord with them and they’re asking those questions or stating those opinions. That conversation is out there and I’m happy about it.

What can you say about how this experience affects Ty? I feel like taking care of horses would be boring.
Hey man, you’re onto the nerve of it in a sense. That’s what I want to talk to with the writers. Where does he go from this? How do things change going forward? We have some pretty cool ideas about that.

Heartland returns with new episodes on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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