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.
Blood and Water, Featured

Set visit: Cameras roll on new episodes of Blood and Water

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I’m constantly amazed when I visit the set of a television show. Take Blood and Water, for instance. It’s easy to walk by the nondescript building in Toronto’s Liberty Village, steps away from a GO Transit platform, and have absolutely no clue cameras are rolling.

Yet that’s where Omni’s police drama—as it did for Block 1—is camped out for 18 days of production on-set and some location before completing filming in Vancouver. The warren of hallways and open spaces in the former Inglis factory (Lost Girl filmed there too) serves as the Vancouver Police Department where Det. Jo Bradley (Steph Song) is working her latest case.

Picking up a year after the events of the first eight episodes, Jo has got a new partner in Det. Evan Ong (Byron Mann) and new boss in Lt. Barron (Aidan Devine). Song says things get interesting for Jo during the next set of stories—referred to as Block 2 rather than Season 2 due to the way funding was spread out—because of her history with one cop and thoughts about the other. What is obvious about Jo is she’s in a better place than we last saw her. Not that Jo is hopping on stage to perform standup anytime soon, but her personal life isn’t as dour.

A poster in the Vancouver Police Department set.
A poster in the Vancouver Police Department set.

There is, however, another crime to keep Jo and Evan busy in the Mandarin, Cantonese and English-speaking series.

“This block takes place in Ghost Month, and is tied to the first block because a ghost isn’t necessarily a physical manifestation of somebody who is dead,” creator, writer and executive producer Diane Boehme says. “We’re going to play with that. It’s also about what haunts you. It’s regret, it’s the thing you did that you shouldn’t have done or the thing that you should have and the things that remain unresolved. All of our characters are wrestling with that.” Ron Xie (Oscar Hsu) is also back and dealing not only with the loss of his sons, but a power struggle within his company.

Ghost Month isn’t the only thing haunting the cast: the challenge of learning Mandarin and Cantonese is a constant spectre hovering over many. Dialect coaches help the actors and actresses with pronunciation and to ensure the correct phrasing is used.

“I wish they just wrote everything from the first block, because I still have those lines locked away somewhere,” Loretta Yu says with a laugh. “It’s definitely a challenge because I’m working in three languages this year. It’s been stressful, but really good, and I’m up for the challenge.”

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Season 3 of Working It Out Together debuts May 31 on APTN

From a media release:

Working It Out Together returns to APTN for Season 3 with inspirational stories of Indigenous men and women who are at the forefront of a movement for positive change. Starting May 31, the half-hour show airs every Tuesday on APTN East and APTN HD at 10:30 p.m. ET, and on APTN w at 10:30 p.m. MT, and starting June 4, every Saturday on APTN n at 12:00 p.m. CT. It’s a 13-part documentary series, hosted by Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller, that goes deep into the colonial roots of the profound disparities facing Indigenous communities today; while celebrating a new face of Indigenous Canada – bold, confident and healthy, moving forward with the strength of tradition, family and community.

For Indigenous People, “Mino Bimaadziwin” – the “good life” – is embedded in traditional ways. Colonization tried to destroy this holistic approach to health, but strong family bonds and connections to tradition helped Indigenous communities to survive. Working It Out Together features stories of dance and art as healing practices, the revival of harvesting traditional food, the role of supportive communities in overcoming trauma and more.

Through engaging personal stories, sharp analysis and insightful commentary from honoured knowledge keepers, Working It Out Together, Season 3 goes beyond individual blame for health problems to celebrate strength and resilience. Inuit teachers educating their way and Mohawk midwives bringing birth back home are among the dynamic stories that highlight the “decolonization” of Indigenous bodies, minds and nations taking place beyond the headlines.

The series is accompanied by a digital magazine that celebrates remarkable Indigenous voices and talent. Acclaimed artists, filmmakers, scholars, athletes, activists, knowledge keepers and, of course, Waneek Horn-Miller, all join this virtual talking circle, shining the spotlight on what’s real and what’s next. WIOT Magazine is political, artful, poignant and funny. It’s a space to watch films by notable directors Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Shane Belcourt; explore works by award-winning visual artists Kent Monkman and Duane Linklater; read the words of renowned trailblazers Joseph Boyden and Pamela Palmater; and listen to inspiring audio accounts of residential school survivors and director of The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Ry Moran. WIOT Magazine is reconciliation in action. Most importantly, it shows the varied nuances of Indigenous People in Canada, past and present. And that’s something to celebrate.

Contributors to both the website and the television show include: James Jones, an Edmonton dancer from A Tribe Called Red who hosts powwow fit classes across Canada; Cindy Blackstock, President of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, in Ottawa; Wayne Rabbitskin, a healer and counsellor who focuses on addictions and violence against women from Oujé-Bougoumou, QC; and Rene Meshake, an Anishinaabe Elder based in Guelph, whose art preserves the traditions of his Native culture.

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Anne, Featured

Moira Walley-Beckett looks for Canada’s next Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables may have been set in the 1900s, but she’s as popular as ever today. Want proof? How about the hundreds of girls who devoted sunny Saturday, May 7, to audition for the lead role in CBC’s upcoming eight-part first season of Anne?

Some wore costumes to look like Anne Shirley, a few even had red hair, most had their tresses done up to look like the energetic star of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels. Prepped with two scenes to perform, the girls—who convened in a multi-use building in east Toronto—were auditioning for Moira Walley-Beckett (Breaking Bad), Anne‘s writer and executive producer, who’d flown in from Nunavut for the first stop in the cross-Canada audition tour. (The remaining dates on the tour are Charlottetown on May 28th and Halifax on May 29 and May 30; go to theannesearch.com for more details.)

We spoke to Walley-Beckett about what she’s looking for in a leading lady, what Season 1 of Anne will be about, and returning to her native Canada to film a TV show.

This is an iconic character in Canada and around the world. Are you feeling pressure, especially since the 1985 miniseries is so beloved?
Moira Walley-Beckett: I hope to meet those expectations and exceed them. If there wasn’t more to explore, I wouldn’t be doing it. Anne is a story that I cherish—I grew up with Anne—and there is The Annotated Anne of Green Gables which is a tome, a hardback book where they go through, page by page with footnotes, what everything refers to. It’s my bible. I want to honour the material and I feel an enormous amount of responsibility and pressure to do it right and to serve it.

I’m also really excited to explore some uncharted territory within the story by opening up what’s between the lines and exploring what’s intimated at a lot of times but isn’t actually on the page. Lucy Maud is an interesting writer. She writes glorious prose and vivid characters that leap off the page, but a lot of the things that happen in television don’t happen in the book. For example: Anne’s first day of school. In the book, we don’t go there; she just comes home and tells Marilla about it. I want to go to school. I want to be there. I want to see how she deals with all of these children the very first time and what they think of this stranger in town. That’s the stuff that gets me jazzed.

It’s my plan to make it feel relatable and fresh and when somebody sits down to watch it they say, ‘Oh my God, that happened to me today at school.’

What’s the layout of the series if it’s renewed?
These are the high school years. The second season would still be within the first book because the first book moves really fast and I want to take my time with it.

What are you looking for from the girls auditioning for the role?
I’m asking a lot of this young actress. I’m asking her to have virtuosity. She has a lot to do, and Anne the character is so mercurial. Her highs are high, her lows are low … she has an inability to self-edit, and that requires a lot of facility. I hope these girls invest, I hope they don’t stay outside the material. The ones that will excite me the most and spark me are the ones who have a real understanding of the character and what they’re saying. Other than that, I’m wide open and want to see who’s here.

What are some modern-day story angles that you can explore in Anne?
A lot of the issues in the books are issues kids are dealing with today. The struggle to belong, bullying and just what it means to navigate these hormonal, pubescent years and try to fit in while trying to figure out who you are at the same time. It’s my plan to make it feel relatable and fresh and when somebody sits down to watch it they say, ‘Oh my God, that happened to me today at school.’

How is the writing going? Are you done all eight scripts?
I am not all done writing. [Laughs.] For some inexplicable reason I decided to write all eight episodes myself. No, I’m really loving it. It’s funny, because when I was up in the Arctic shooting The Grizzlies, I had a little moment to myself to whip back to my room and busted Anne out and wrote a little scene in Episode 6. It was such a relief to go to Avonlea again.

Are you able to write anywhere?
I can write anywhere, but I don’t like to. [Laughs.] I can write on a plane or anywhere, except for a coffee shop. I like to write at home, in my environment, in my pyjamas.

Are you excited to film Anne in Canada?
I’m thrilled to be back. I’ve missed Canada. I’m from Vancouver and it’s refreshing. The feeling of coming home is palpable and it’s really nice. There is a whole different vibe here that I’ve missed.

Anne goes into production this summer.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: Remembering Canadian factual TV pioneer Ralph C. Ellis

From Barry Walsh of RealScreen:

Remembering Canadian factual TV pioneer Ralph C. Ellis
Ralph C. Ellis, a Canadian independent television production pioneer, has passed away at the age of 91.

The founder of Ellis Entertainment began his career with the National Film Board as a field rep in Halifax, and then in Toronto, Ottawa and New York. In 1955, he partnered with Paul Talbot and Saul Turell to open Fremantle of Canada, and then in 1964, set up a shop with partners Jerry Kedey and Dan Gibson, known as KEG Productions. Soon after, he established his own distribution business, Ralph C. Ellis Enterprises. Continue reading. 

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Awards

Link: Golden Maple Awards Nominees Unveiled

From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:

Golden Maple Awards Nominees Unveiled
Nominees for the Golden Maple Awards, celebrating Canadian talent in U.S.-airing TV series like HBO’s Silicon Valley and FX’s The Strain, were unveiled Monday.

The awards show for Canadian talent will be presented by the Academy of Canadians in Sports & Entertainment – Los Angeles. The Golden Maple Awards, now in its second year, honour Canadians in the best actor, best actress and newcomer of the year categories for TV series airing in the U.S. during the 12 months to July 1, 2016. Continue reading. 

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