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.
19-2, Featured

19-2’s Alexandra Ordolis hints at Justine’s Season 3 journey

When we last saw Justine Brouillard (Alexandra Ordolis) on 19-2, she had been beaten—once again—by husband J.M. (Dan Petronijevic). Though he had been trying to keep his anger issues in check, the Montreal cop backslid and assaulted his long-suffering wife, prompting her to finally level charges against him.

Now, with Season 3 returning to Bravo next Monday, we spoke to Alexandra Ordolis about Justine’s journey this time around and what she looks for in a role.

Justine returns for Season 3, correct?
Alexandra Ordolis: Yes, we see her in Season 3 and we get a little bit more into that storyline and what J.M. is dealing with as well, which is very exciting. I can’t say too much because I don’t want to give anything away.

As much as I enjoy J.M. the cop, I do not enjoy the scenes where he abuses Justine. It must be pretty emotionally draining for you and Dan Petronijevic to play those scenes.
Shooting that is a long day, but it’s wonderful working with Dan and the whole crew. Those scenes are tough to film, but also at the same time the way the scenes are written are so truthful. It’s wonderful to work with that kind of writing and that the show doesn’t shy away from these hard facts. It’s hard to get in there and shoot it, and it’s hard for the audience to watch, but it’s important and isn’t shying away from this issue of domestic abuse.

By the end of Season 2, Justine has pressed charges against J.M., and Nick had beaten J.M. up. Is Justine’s journey this season the result of her pressing charges?
We’ll see her keep going in that direction. We see where she’s at a little bit down the line and audience members will see she’s come a long way from where we’ve seen her at the beginning of Season 1.

It’s hard for the audience to watch, but it’s important and isn’t shying away from this issue of domestic abuse.

What about her relationship with Nick? That’s been hinted at since Season 1.
Her relationship with Nick has been hinted at, that they’re close friends. This season we’ll see less of that relationship and more of J.M. and Justine and how they’re dealing with their relationship.

Do you like the fact that 19-2 is written by a bare-bones room headed by Bruce M. Smith?
There is something amazing about the continuity of one or two people’s visions. Bruce’s writing really brings out the tone and the way that the characters interact with each other has built from season to season. That’s one of the strong things about the show.

Going back a bit, how did you end up on the show in the first place?
I came down from Toronto to Montreal and auditioned. I think I was the first person they saw for the role. I’m always nervous when I audition for a role and I let the casting director take the lead with respect to how the audition will go. I don’t know what came over me with 19-2, but we had finished doing a scene between Nick, Ben and J.M. and Justine and I said, ‘No, that’s not it.’ I had this feeling that I wasn’t there yet as to what Justine needed to do to get her feelings across to Nick and Ben. So we did it a couple more times. I walked out and I was pretty charged up about what we had done but I also worried I’d been rude.

You appear on both 19-2 and Reign, so I need to know: who has the better food?
[Laughs.] It changes, actually. I do have to say there was a fantastic caterer on Reign and everyone wanted to be on-set the whole time. But a lot of the caterers on 19-2 will bring cheese out, which I think is a Montreal thing. We always have a cheese plate with dessert, which I’m a big fan of.

What do you look for in a role?
In the beginning, it was paying the bills. [Laughs.] Now, it’s roles that challenge me. As an actor, I really like the journey of finding my way into a character. Sometimes I’ll read something and it jumps off the page and I feel a connection immediately, but other times I want to get in there and I’m not quite sure how to. It’s quite satisfying to do research and look at the person from different angles. Sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s food. Roles that perplex me a little bit wind up being the ones that I want to play.

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Industry News

Multicultural TV for All Canadians

From a media release:

OMNI Television announced today that it has filed an application with the CRTC to operate a new national multilingual and multicultural channel called OMNI Regional, the first of its kind in Canada. The national channel would be comprised of four feeds: Pacific, Prairies, and East, which would mirror OMNI’s local stations in those regions, and ICI Quebec, made possible due to a strategic partnership with Montreal ethnic television station International Channel/Canal International (ICI) to serve French-language ethnic communities in the province of Quebec. If approved by the CRTC, OMNI Regional would have priority access to basic TV packages (pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act).  Today’s local OMNI stations in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver would continue to operate as free over-the-air channels, as would ICI’s local station in Montreal.

As part of its proposal, OMNI Television is committing to bringing back four daily newscasts in Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi, making it the only national ethnic programming service in Canada to provide daily newscasts, seven days a week, in multiple languages.

OMNI Television’s proposal also includes the following:

  • A commitment to devote 80% of OMNI Regional’s schedule to ethnic programming – a 20% increase over current – and maintaining the requirement to devote 50% of the schedule to third-language programming;
  • A commitment to devote a minimum of 40% of OMNI Regional’s annual revenues to the production of Canadian programming;
  • A commitment to maintain local daily current affairs shows in Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi languages;
  • The creation of a national cultural affairs series produced in Alberta that is designed to showcase important cultural and social contributions from Canada’s ethnocultural communities;
  • A commitment to re-establish in-house production in all of the markets served by OMNI’s OTA stations; and
  • The creation of four regional feeds that comprise the national network will be specifically tailored to ethnic Canadians living in B.C., the Prairies, Eastern Canada and Quebec by including English and French-language ethnic programming as well as third-language programming produced by local independent producers that reside in those regions.

OMNI Television expects the CRTC to post its application for public comment shortly.

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Featured, Still Standing

Still Standing celebrates more Canadian small towns in Season 2

Jonny Harris is back with Still Standing, celebrating small-town Canada with big laughs. Returning Tuesday with what’s quickly becoming a summer staple for CBC, the likable Harris sheds his Constable Crabtree duds and spikes his hair to hit the road, shining a spotlight on communities of folks ekeing out a living in the place they call home.

Tuesday’s return finds the young Newfoundlander in British Columbia, where the 800 citizens of Skidegate are struggling to keep their Haida culture intact amid a history of boom and bust.

Shop owner Rose Russ discusses the local artisans, tourism and an economy that once did well thanks to fishing and logging; Haida elder Diane Brown gives a history of the area and reveals she is one of a mere handful who still know their ancient language; and Jags tells of the once-thriving community of Skedans that was decimated by smallpox.

As with Season 1, Harris successfully tells the history of the community he’s visiting without a hint of malice. He’s there to point out the hard and good times, but there’s no meanness in his comedy. There are references to Europeans arriving in the area and promptly stealing totem poles (“How are you going to show that off to your friends and not look like a complete a-hole?”). And it’s not all bad news in Skidegate: Ben Davidson is a renowned local artist creating Haidi works, a heritage centre promises to educate the youth on their history and language and the Skidegate Saints kick butt on the basketball court.

Upcoming stops in Still Standing‘s season include Omemee, Ont., Inuvik, NWT., and Georgetown, PEI.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Baroness von Sketch Show

Link: Should I even write about female-centric comedy?

2 Comments

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Should I even write about female-centric comedy?
It’s a good comedy show, not a great one. The sketches are swift, the jokes good, but to me it too often amounts to mere drollery. Any sketch show is going to be hit-and-miss. Some of the real hits in Baroness von Sketch Show are MacNeill engaging, sometimes very bravely, in brilliant physical humour. She’s gifted in doing the physical gag, and often hilarious. All of the women are hilarious at times and in the dozens of sketches there are bound to be real gems. Continue reading.

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Baroness von Sketch Show

Links: Baroness von Sketch Show

From Lauren La Rose of The Canadian Press:

Link: ‘Baroness von Sketch’ offers twist on comic format
The Canadian quartet behind CBC’s “Baroness von Sketch Show” is quick to give kudos to shows that helped popularize comedy sketches on the small screen.

Yet while acknowledging the lingering influence of series like “SCTV” and “The Kids in the Hall,” the all-female cast is hoping to bring a fresh perspective to a familiar format. Continue reading.

From A.R. Wilson of DigitalJournal.com:

Link: CBC’s Baroness von Sketch Show original, relatable fun
The four comedians behind CBC’s new all-female comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show — Aurora Browne, Meredith MacNeill, Carolyn Taylor, and Jennifer Whalen — had only one rule when writing material for the show: Make it relatable. Continue reading.

From Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press:

Link: Sketch Marks
The new CBC summer series Baroness von Sketch Show appears to be earning its roster spot. The first two instalments of its six-episode run are fast, smart and consistently funny, boasting a hits-to-misses percentage that inspires favourable comparisons to some of TV’s sketch-comedy Hall of Famers. Continue reading.

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