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.
Saving Hope

Saving Hope says goodbye after five seasons

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From a media release:

– Season 5 will consist of 18 new episodes from ICF Films and Entertainment One, and will air as part of CTV’s 2016/17 midseason lineup –
– Erica Durance leads ensemble cast including Michael Shanks, Wendy Crewson, Michelle Nolden, Benjamin Ayres, Julia Taylor Ross, Huse Madhavji, Kim Shaw, Dejan Loyola, and Jarod Joseph –

After five seasons, a coma, a love triangle, countless ghosts and surgeries, and with more dramatic moments to come, CTV confirmed today in conjunction with ICF Films and Entertainment One (eOne) that hit original drama SAVING HOPE will conclude with its upcoming fifth season. Set to wrap production in Toronto on its 18-episode final season on Tuesday, Nov. 1, Season 5 will air as part of CTV’s 2016/17 midseason lineup. Following the broadcast of Season 5, 85 episodes of the hour-long drama will have aired since its 2012 debut. Viewers can enjoy Seasons 1-4 of SAVING HOPE streaming now on CraveTV™. Episodes of the series fourth season are also currently airing Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Picking up in the aftermath of the heart-stopping Season 4 finale, in which a vengeful Tom Crenshaw (Travis Milne, ROOKIE BLUE) appeared at the Hope Zion Hospital Fellowship Awards and fired a shot at Alex (Erica Durance) and Charlie (Michael Shanks), Season 5 of SAVING HOPE sees the Hope Zion staff thrust into turmoil. As Alex faces a big decision, her fellow doctors deal with new challenges as changes come to Hope Zion that will not only affect the livelihood of the hospital, but also its doctors and everything they hold dear.

At the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, SAVING HOPE was a Best Dramatic Series nominee as well as finalist for the Golden Screen Award for most-watched Canadian drama. Additionally, Julia Taylor Ross was a nominee in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series category, while Michelle Nolden won Best Performance in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media for her role in SAVING HOPE’s companion digital series PSYCHIC HEALING.

SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres (BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara, and Jarod Joseph (MISTRESSES) as Dr. Emanuel Palmer.

SAVING HOPE is produced by ICF Films with eOne in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. SAVING HOPE airs on ION Television in the U.S.

The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank, John Morayniss, and Linda Pope, and co-executive produced by Noelle Carbone, Patrick Tarr, Jocelyn Hamilton, and Sonia Hosko. Adam Pettle is Executive Producer and Showrunner.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

APTN’s The Other Side explores more ghostly stories in revamped Season 3

Jennifer Podemski is a fan of paranormal programming. Heck, she’s had her own experiences with the otherworldly. But while programs like Paranormal State interested her, they didn’t cover a wide swath of her own background.

“I was a huge fan of Paranormal State, to the point I would watch the same episodes over and over again,” the writer, producer and actor says. “Then I realized, ‘Huh, isn’t it funny that I’ve never noticed how absent this show and genre is of an Indigenous perspective?'” After gleaning that information for several years, she consulted with her Angel Entertainment colleagues Wally Start and Bob Crowe and wrote a show bible. The result? The Other Side—returning for Season 3 this Thursday on APTN—a program that has Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, understanding and belief systems woven throughout the narrative.

“It’s an interesting spin on an old genre,” Podemski says. “I thought it would be amazing to have something on our own network, APTN, that showcased a little bit of perspective.” Back for more experiences are intuitive Jeff Richards and elder and spirit guide Tom Charles, with newbie Michaella Shannon taking over as researcher; researcher Priscilla Wolf and investigator Bill Connelly are longer with the show. Podemski has known Shannon for years, since she was part of the supernatural drama Rabbit Fall, and in addition to being an amazing role model within the community, is an intuitive like Richards. She was a natural when Podemski was looking to refresh and tighten up the series for Season 3.

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That refresh isn’t contained to the cast. The Other Side‘s opening credits have been revised and filming of the 13 episodes took place during the summer months, a first for the program. What hasn’t changed is the content. The Other Side continues its excellent storytelling, education and documentation of paranormal experiences without using cheap camera tricks and dramatic music to play up what this trio witnesses. Thursday’s return instalment, “Mr. Clark,” not only gives a history of Fort Walsh Historic Site in Maple Creek, Sask., and the massacre of First Nations people that occurred there but documents a man who may still be wandering around the grounds.

Podemski says upcoming an episode presents the most meaningful communication between a client and spirit or entity ever while another provides powerful, emotional moments at a residential school.

“One of my biggest concerns about doing [an episode] like that was that the story was told in a respectful and accurate way, that has the ability to transcend the policies around what people understand about residential schools,” she says. “These are real people that are very rarely spoken about in the Canadian narrative. It was a very intense show.”

The Other Side airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on APTN.

Images courtesy of APTN.

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Bachelorette Canada, Featured

Bachelorette Canada preps for hometown visits with tearjerker in Morocco

In the last week before hometown dates, the final five bachelors laid it all on the line for Jasmine as The Bachelorette Canada heads toward the finish line.

Kevin P. didn’t waste any time on his first-ever one-on-one date with Jasmine in Morocco, ironically discussing the rocky relationship he has with his mother after the pair successfully climbed a rock face. After hearing Drew’s patter for six weeks, it was refreshing to listen to Kevin and Jasmine be brutally honest with each other and come to the same conclusion: he wasn’t for her. Where Kevin wants to live a transient lifestyle full of excitement, Jasmine is ready to settle down and I totally respected both of them for talking so openly on primetime television.

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Host Noah Cappe got some major screen time in Tuesday’s episode as he met with Jasmine to discover where her head was at prior to the group date with Mike, Mikhel and Benoit. Jasmine had already experienced a stunning one-on-one with Kevin W. that included milking cows, making bread and Kevin looking like Aladdin on steroids and cemented their strong feelings for each other. By the time she was done chatting with Noah, Jasmine had made her decision: she nixed the market group date in favour of meeting with each one on one to ask more questions before the roses were handed out.

Of the three conversations, Benoit’s was a bit stilted. That was, in part, due to Mike showing up but also because, for the first time, Benoit got serious with Jasmine about his feelings. They managed to get some more alone time, and it was then Benoit dropped the funny guy routine and told Jasmine he wasn’t willing to reveal his family to her unless she was really serious about them being a couple. Jasmine decided she didn’t want to jeopardize that and Benoit was sent back to La belle province.

Do you think Jasmine was right to send Benoit home? Who do you think she’ll end up with in the finale? Comment below.

The Bachelorette Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on W Network.

Images courtesy of Corus.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: The Brain’s Way Of Healing: TV For The Mind

From James Bawden:

Link: The Brain’s Way Of Healing: TV For The Mind
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a TV documentary as challenging as The Brain’s Way Of Healing.

This hourlong edition of The Nature Of Things premieres Thursday night at 8 on CBC.

As TV networks multiply and fight for ratings dominance any program that  assumes viewers are intelligent and demanding becomes ever more of a rarity. Continue reading.

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Blood and Water

Link: Actor Steph Song finds her Asian Canadian identity reflected in Blood and Water

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From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Strait:

Link: Actor Steph Song finds her Asian Canadian identity reflected in Blood and Water
“As a woman in this industry, you’re constantly looking for strong female characters, and I know that it’s even more important for me as an Asian girl because you know that whole idea of Asian submissiveness and how Asian women are perceived, it was nice to use a battering ram and kill that one.” Continue reading. 

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