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, Heartland

Heartland welcomes Theo, Boone and Bubbles

I don’t like to see Amy stressed out, but that’s the way life’s been for her in these first two episodes of Heartland in Season 10. Last week, things were looking grim for Minnie when she delivered two foals, putting her health in danger. This week, she suffered from colic, necessitating emergency surgery and all hands on deck at Heartland to feed the foals, named Theo and Boone, until Minnie was well enough to return.

In fact, Heartland‘s animal co-stars almost outshone the human ones, as the horses and Bubbles the Goldfish 1 and 2 commanded plenty of screen time during “You Just Know,” written by Mark Haroun. There was an ever-so-brief moment when Ty and Amy were considering baby names until Jack called to say Minnie wasn’t doing so well. Her health, and those of the foals, hung over Amy all episode until the three horses were reunited. I can’t help but think Amy is seeing herself when she looks at Minnie, and that’s causing her angst.

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Katie, Tim and Jack all learned a valuable lesson about life and death on the ranch thanks to two goldfish named Bubbles. Tim bought the shiny dude for Katie, and quickly incurred criticism from Jack.

“What kind of world do we live in where a man can’t buy a goldfish for his granddaughter?” Tim wondered. He found out just what kind of world when Bubbles expired. Katie may have said her new pet was sleeping, but we all knew better. The storyline led to some very funny moments between Tim and Jack, first when the former tried to avoid letting the latter discover he’d replaced the dead fish with another one, and then both stammering while telling Katie the original Bubbles was deceased. Their worry was for nought; Katie wanted to flush Bubbles 1.0 like she did the dead ones at school.

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The hot and cold between Lou and Mitch reached a fever temperature out on the trail when they shared a passionate kiss … and then went stone cold when she announced she was headed to New York City for Maggie meetings, effectively putting anything they might have together on ice.

Meanwhile, Georgie may have made a new enemy in Sam. It’s one thing for Georgie to want Olivia put in her place, but there was no way she’d stand for Sam’s plot to unseat Olivia via injury. It was a classy move to stand up to Sam, but I worry that decision is going to haunt her later this season. As for her “Most Memorable Moment” essay topic? I give it an A+.

Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Kim's Convenience

Link: Kim’s Convenience mines Korean grocery store for laughs

From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:

Link: Kim’s Convenience mines Korean grocery store for laughs
Growing up in Toronto, Ins Choi worked at Jug City and Minute Mart.

What he didn’t know was that the frenetic world of the convenience store would eventually become his Walden Pond, an unlikely place of literary inspiration.

“It was my first high school job. I didn’t know it was research back then,” laughs Choi, the creator of Kim’s Convenience. Continue reading. 

The real store that became Kim’s Convenience
When Yong and Kyung Chung started a variety store business on Queen St. E. near Sherbourne St., they didn’t bother to take the old sign down.

So, almost 30 years later, Mimi Variety remained a thriving business, even though there was no one named Mimi.

“Oh, it wasn’t a big thing,” says Kyung, 53.

So it wasn’t a big deal either when a CBC location manager chose their store for the exterior shots, or that the store would be renamed Kim’s Convenience. Though it still took a little convincing. Continue reading.

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Industry News

Link: Trudeau government OK’s tax credit for TV talk shows

From Elizabeth Thompson of CBC News:

Link: Trudeau government OK’s tax credit for TV talk shows
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has quietly moved to make talk shows eligible for a lucrative tax credit, CBC News has learned.

While her office can’t say how much the retroactive tax credit will cost Canadian taxpayers, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is praising it as a move that will create jobs. Continue reading.

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Orphan Black

Link: Orphan Black producers see bright future for Canadian TV

From Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Orphan Black producers see bright future for Canadian TV
“There wasn’t enough money in the [Canadian] system to make great shows. Now, we’re in an era where there’s way more buyers, and Canadian broadcasters are much more inclined to support higher budget shows, because it’s actually in their own interests.” Continue reading.

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This Life

Link: This Life writer on the challenges of deep character dramas

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: This Life writer on the challenges of deep character dramas
“As a writer of character drama we really have to have an empathy gene to us. We talked about our lives but also talked about the lives of people we knew. But more than writing our own experiences, it was bringing these characters alive so that they felt like they existed.” Continue reading.

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