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, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Chef Matty Matheson cooks up engrossing TV in Dead Set on Life

Matty Matheson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Toronto Blue Jays game this week and tossed what he described as a “high ball.” But the celebrity chef serves up a strike down the middle with his new Viceland show, Dead Set on Life.

Debuting Thursday on the Canadian cable network, the tattooed, outspoken owner of Toronto’s Parts & Labour, Dog & Bear, P&L Catering, P&L Burger and Maker Pizza travels across Canada, visiting communities, eating food and interacting with the folks who make it. The eight-episode first season races out of the gate with Matheson and his mentor from Le Sélect Bistro, Master Rang, hitting the QEW to Fort Erie, Ont., Matheson’s hometown during his formative years. On the menu? A chicken finger sub made by the folks at the Robo Mart gas station and chicken wings at Southsides.

“I was just back at the Robo Mart the other day and I told them, ‘Are you ready to get very busy?'” Matheson says over the phone. “I think people are going to travel and come in and order the chicken finger sub.” Full confession: we’re plotting  a visit to Fort Erie for exactly that. Dead Set on Life is the latest project Matheson stars in for Vice, following online hits Matty Matheson’s Hangover Cures, Matty’s How-To’s and Keep It Canada. A natural progression in his relationship with the network, Matheson is hoping to strike gold with a television series.

Those expecting him to sit down in a high-end restaurant, extolling the virtues of upper-crust dining are going to be disappointed, though unsurprised. Matheson is in his element talking honestly with folks about their lives and creating tasty, accessible stick-to-your-ribs meals. Aside from Fort Erie, Matheson travels to Ontario’s Norfolk County, Winnipeg and Nova Scotia. Episode 4 catches up with the chef on the Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, where he not only noshes on elk and bison stew and participates in a pow-wow, but sheds light on the struggles fought by Native Canadians through honest, unflinching dialogue.

“Canada is a beautiful and kind place, but it’s not perfect,” he says. “There are no jobs in the east coast, or I’m on a reservation taking about residential schools. I’m not trying to show every social injustice. I’m a simple guy trying to have a good time, but if some bad shit comes up, I’m going to talk about it.”

Dead Set on Life airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Viceland.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Swimming with the fishes on The Amazing Race Canada

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I’m consistently fascinated by the odd times Amazing Race contestants depart for a new Leg. In Tuesday’s newest journey, for instance, Jillian and Emmett departed Jasper, AB, at 12:56 a.m. Why not round it up to 1 a.m.? Why set it that late anyway? Can anyone answer that question for me? I really, honestly, want to know.

But back to the contest itself. Following a dramatic Leg, The Amazing Race Canada upped the ante in Week 2 with a pair of Express Passes—ways of skipping challenges without incurring a penalty—up for grabs. Out of the gate, Jillian and Emmett and Steph and Kristen have proved themselves to by not only physically strong teams but savvy ones too. So it was no surprise they emerged from the first bus into Calgary—following another rappel test—and decided to team up in a hunt for the Express Passes. (Can I just say it was a little disappointing to follow up last week’s height test with another one in Calgary?) They were thick as thieves … until Jillian and Emmett discussed and decided it was more important to finish Legs of the Race in first place than it was to score the passes.

With that, they left the girls to hunt through hundreds (thousands?) of vinyl records at Canada Boy Vinyl on their own while they headed off to the “Swim” Detour, corralling thousands of hatchery trout into one area and scooping them into cages. Steph and Kristen’s gamble paid off after an hour of work—scoring them an Express Pass and one to hand to another team—but costing them precious time. Luckily, they were fast and physical, outgunning other teams at the hatchery to land a respectable fifth place for their troubles. Jillian and Emmett, meanwhile, never gave up their lead after that, cruising into first place again. When they’re not bickering, Jillian and Emmett are simply unstoppable.

Meanwhile, there was a log jam in the hatchery, as every other team save for Joel and Ashley chose to scoop up fish. Instead, the father and daughter opted for the “Sim” side of the Detour, involving using a crane simulator to move a concrete weight through an intricate obstacle course in under six minutes combined. (Steph and Kristen, Kelly and Kate and Rita and Yvette took one look and swapped challenges.) After much practicing, the pair completed the task in their first try and hit the mat in a very respectable fourth place.

Things never improved for Kelly and Kate and Rita and Yvette, who entered Calgary in the last bus and never made up ground. In a footrace to the mat. Rita and Yvette edged out Kate and Kelly for the last spot. I could right away by Jon Montgomery’s tone that it was a non-elimination Leg, meaning the two friends have a Speed Bump to contend with in Vietnam. My take? Amazing Race Canada introduced a non-elimination way too early and should have waited until next week.

Here’s how the teams finished the Leg:

  1. Jillian and Emmett (trip for two to Paris)
  2. Stéphane and Antoine
  3. Frankie and Amy
  4. Joel and Ashley
  5. Anne and Tanya
  6. Steph and Kristen
  7. Julie and Lowell
  8. Rita and Yvette
  9. Kelly and Kate (non-elimination Leg)

What did you think of this Leg of the Race?  Comment below or via @tv_eh on Twitter.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

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Industry News

Link: A lament for the days of bad Canadian TV

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From Joel Rubinoff of Torstar News Service:

Link: A lament for the days of bad Canadian TV
All I hear about these days is the Golden Age of Television.

Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad — shows that set a new standard for quality on the small screen the same way auteuristic films by Coppola and Scorsese did on the big one four decades ago.

But there’s another golden age, long lamented, fondly remembered, sporadically revisited, that also deserves attention: the Golden Age of Bad Canadian Television. Continue reading.

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The Romeo Section

Season 2 of critically-acclaimed The Romeo Section commences principal photography

From a media release:

Haddock Entertainment announced today that production has commenced on Season 2 of the critically-acclaimed espionage crime drama series, The Romeo Section. Created by renowned showrunner Chris Haddock (Intelligence, Da Vinci’s Inquest), the second season will consist of 10 new one-hour episodes in which the players get played, the powerful stumble, and the meek rise to power. As with Season 1, the second season will be filmed entirely in Vancouver, both on location and in studio. Season 2 will premiere this fall on CBC.

The second season of The Romeo Section finds Wolfgang McGee (Andrew Airlie) tasked with a covert investigation into an alleged terrorist incident, leading him into the dark side of intelligence. He calls upon an old acquaintance to assist, a blackballed spy named Norman, , and together they sift through inconsistencies that seem too convenient to be coincidence.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang’s former asset Rufus (Juan Riedinger) uses his new connection with the Red Mountain Triad to become the newest player in Vancouver’s competitive heroin market – the profits from which are being used to finance the latest movie starring Mae Mae (Fei Ren), the wife of the Triad leader, Wing Lei. Elsewhere Lily (Leeah Wong), now a recruit for the Intelligence Service, plays Al (Eugene Lipinski) against another agent to climb the chain of command and prevent her discovery as a double agent.

Returning cast members include Andrew Airlie as Wolfgang (50 Shades of Grey, Cedar Cove); Juan Riedinger as Rufus (Narcos, RL Stine’s The Haunting Hour); Leeah Wong as Lily; Eugene Lipinski as Al (Fringe, Intelligence); and Fei Ren as Mae Mae (Lucifer; Supernatural). Joining the cast this season is Brian Markinson (Mad Men, Charlie Wilson’s War) as Norman, the unapologetic and blackballed former spy.

The first episode of Season 2 is directed by David Frazee while Chris Haddock continues as the series’ showrunner and executive producer. Laura Lightbown, Stephen Surjik, and David Frazee also serve as executive producers, Jesse McKeown is co-executive producer and Arvi Liimatainen is producer.

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