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, Murdoch Mysteries

Photo gallery: First look at “Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas”

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It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, as Murdoch Mysteries‘ two-hour holiday special, “Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas” approaches. Written by Paul Aitken, Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci and directed by T.W. Peacocke, CBC says the following:

It’s four days ‘til Christmas, and with no snow on the streets of Toronto, spirits are low until two bombastic businessmen barge into Station House No. 4 with a far-fetched story about a train robbery – a bandit is trying to steal Christmas! Murdoch is baffled but soon, more impossible robberies have him giving chase around the city. Crabtree is convinced the bandit is based on his latest fictional hero but Brackenreid dismisses this outlandish theory. Meanwhile, Constable Jackson forms a Station House No. 4 choir, but with only a few days to whip the singing constables into shape he begs Rebecca James for help. And Ogden finds herself mysteriously spirited away after a family of children who need her help mistake her for a storybook heroine. Stories collide on Christmas Eve – and once again, Murdoch must find a way to pull off a Christmas miracle.

CBC has given us an early Christmas present by revealing the following seven images to get you in the holiday mood! Let me know what you think of the storyline, and images, by commenting below!

[slideshow_deploy id=’38144′]

 

Murdoch Mysteries‘ “Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas” airs Monday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. on CBC, with an encore broadcast on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, at 5 p.m.

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Vikings

Vikings returns as No. 1 specialty series of the night

From a media release:

HISTORY®’s Emmy® Award-nominated original series Vikings returned with a vengeance, slaying the competition and seizing the #1 spot of the night across specialty with 465,000 Canadians (2+)  watching its November 30th mid-season premiere. As the enigmatic Ragnar Lothbrok made his return to Kattegat, Vikings claimed top spot in multiple key demos, including 2+, A25-54 and A18-49. Since its launch in 2013, Vikings has consistently been the #1 scripted series across Canadian specialty* (2+, A25-54, A18-34 and A18-49) and following Wednesday’s strong start, the momentum continues.

HISTORY’s domination continued with the special presentation of the premiere of Showcase’s Incorporated and the documentary special Vikings: The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok taking the #2 (127,000 A25-54) and #3 spots (116,000, A25-54) of the night, respectively.

Additional Vikings data highlights include:

  • Vikings is already on track to be the #1 original scripted series of the fall (A25-54)
  • The season 4B premiere grew its audience by 22% (2+), 24% (A25-54), 43% (A18-34) and 39% (A18-49) over last Spring’s season 4A finale
  • Vikings was the most-talked about Specialty series in Canada on both Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday night**
  • Since it premiered in 2013, Vikings continues to be the #1 series on HISTORY.ca and on the HISTORY Go app***

In the next episode of Vikings, airing Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HISTORY, the Kattegat locals chide Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) that the gods have deserted him as he struggles to crew his voyage to Wessex. Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) prepares to fulfill his dream of exploring the Mediterranean.

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Industry News

Link: Ad-free CBC could serve as a rallying point for Canadian creativity

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From Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Ad-free CBC could serve as a rallying point for Canadian creativity
In an increasingly scattered but ever more Internet-dependent and globalized media environment, the country needs a public producer, curator and distributor to craft a powerful Brand Canada across all platforms, offering not only news, public affairs and documentaries, but also fiction, variety and arts programming. It needs an iconic institution to nurture and lead the cultural industries, a rallying point for Canadian creativity. Continue reading.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Comments and queries for the week of December 2

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Which three new Canadian television shows are your favourites?

Bryan Inc. is my favourite, and the only one on the list that I watch. Was watching Moving the McGillivrays when it first started, but I feel that their new home is way over the top, and that has put me off. Their design style is quite elaborate. Do four people really need that much space? Bryan’s house is lovely, and I love their decorating style. —Marlene

Airport: Below Zero, Moving the McGillivrays and Bryan Inc. —Florence

Murdoch Mysteries‘ “Weekend at Murdoch’s” is a fan favourite

We loved the “Weekend at Murdoch’s” episode. The victim sure looked like Terry Kiser in Weekend at Bernie’s. Love Murdoch Mysteries and all the stars. —Liz

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

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Vikings

Link: Believe it or not, The Beatles inspired this season of ‘Vikings’

From Laura Prudom of Mashable:

Link: Believe it or not, The Beatles inspired this season of ‘Vikings’
“I think 4B is definitely the biggest season so far; it’s certainly got the best battle scenes in it, but it’s actually also the most emotional season. All of the major characters end up being changed profoundly during the course of this season, so for me, it was digging down a bit deeper into the characters and their relationships.” Continue reading. 

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