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.
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Season 3 of AMI’s Four Senses to premiere on Jan. 14

From a media release:

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today that its cooking show with an accessibility twist, Four Senses, will kick off season three on Thursday, January 14 at 7:30 p.m. on AMI-tv. For the first time, fans are invited to visit AMI’s Facebook page during the broadcast to stream the episode andparticipate in a live question and answer session hosted by Four Senses’ very own celebrity Christine Ha.

Four Senses is a unique cooking show produced by AMI in partnership with Varner Productions Limited that unites blind and sighted chefs in the kitchen. Chef Carl Heinrich is back alongside Christine to share new recipes and experiences with a fresh group of celebrity guests. Each 30-minute episode will also include nutrition guidelines for optimal eye health and accessibility tips and tools for independence in the kitchen.

Season three begins with Chef Corbin Tomaszeski from Restaurant Makeover joining Carl and Christine in the Four Senses kitchen. Additional chef and celebrity guests this season include: CHFI morning show host, Erin Davis, Laura Calder of French Chef at Home, Claire Tansey of Chatelaine and the return of Frank Ferragine (aka Frankie Flowers).

The show also highlights culinary wonders across the country with stops in Prince Edward Island, rural Ontario and Kelowna, British Columbia. Along the way, Christine and Carl will have the opportunity to catch lobsters and harvest oyster beds in PEI, visit with renowned Canadian Chef Michael Smith at the Inn at Bay Fortune, travel the Butter Tart Trail in Wellington North, and visit an accessible goat milk farm in the Okanagan.

In keeping with AMI’s mandate of making accessible media for all Canadians, Four Senses features embedded description, where hosts and guests describe their surroundings and actions for audience members who are blind or partially sighted, as well as closed captioning for those with hearing loss.

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Industry News

Harper legacy spells trouble for Canadian TV

From a media release:

A first-of-its-kind independent economic forecast shows regulatory changes espoused by the Harper government and adopted in last year’s CRTC Let’s Talk TV announcements will likely lead to the loss of more than 15,000 Canadian jobs and take $1.4 billion from the Canadian economy annually by 2020.

Co-authored by the economic and media consulting firm Nordicity and Peter H. Miller, the 100-page study – Canadian Television 2020: Technological and Regulatory Impacts – also forecasts the CRTC decisions will likely result in a $400 million annual drop in spending on Canadian programs by 2020 and accelerate the impact of technological change while weakening Canadian broadcasters.

The study’s authors have advanced proposals to reduce the negative economic impact of the CRTC’s decisions by as much as 75%: “This would not, in our view, require ‘turning back the clock’ on all the Let’s Talk TV decisions. It would merely require relatively minor ‘tweaking’ that recognizes Canadians as broadcasting policy has always recognized them – not merely as consumers, but as creators and citizens too.”

The study found the CRTC’s decisions regarding unbundling, over-the-top (OTT) TV and the predominance of Canadian programs are the primary drivers of this erosion.  Not yet implemented, these changes are scheduled to take effect starting in March.

Canadian Television 2020: Technological and Regulatory Impacts was commissioned by ACTRA, the Canadian Media Guild, Directors Guild of Canada, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and Unifor.

The full report can be read here.

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Awards, Featured, Podcast

TV, eh? podcast episode 197 – And the Ehward Goes to

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Our first podcast of 2016 covers the many projects debuting and returning over the next two weeks, including Degrassi: Next Class, Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, Leave It to Bryan, Say Yes to the Dress Canada, Lost & Found Music Studios, Hello Goodbye, Chopped Canada, Schitt’s Creek, Buying the View and Mayday.

Talk turns to The TV Ehwards as Diane, Anthony and Greg recap the winners in all 10 categories.

Want to contribute to the discussion? Post links and discussion topics on our Reddit page.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Say Yes to the Dress Canada returns with tears and dress triumphs

Much of television is the equivalent of comfort food: you sit down, tune in and know what you’re going to get. Such is the case with Say Yes to the Dress Canada, returning for Season 2 on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT with back-to-back episodes on W Network.

The franchise once again spotlights Canadian ladies from different backgrounds and personal stories with the same goal: to find the perfect dress for her wedding day. As it was in the debut season, Rachelle Pollari of Amanda-Lina’s Sposa Boutique in Toronto and her team of experts aid the gals and their families and friends in finding the perfect frock. The only change from Season 1 is that fashion director Joseph Spencer is out in favour of Tyrel, who helps put the finishing touches on each sale.

Say Yes to the Dress Canada has always been a tear-filled affair and Wednesday’s return is no different; the second episode spotlights bride-to-be Heather, who lost her mother at 17; and Ashley, whose mom skipped out when she was young, leaving John a single father. Several misses threaten to throw everything into disarray.

The genius of Say Yes to the Dress Canada continues to be the ability to tell meaningful stories about these brides and their families while seeking out the perfect frock within the constraints of a 22-minute runtime. By the end of each segment you feel like you know these ladies and wish you’d gotten an invite to their big day.

Coming up later this season: the stories surrounding a wedding officiant, a divorce lawyer, athletes and a lesbian couple. And the franchise features one of its own tying the knot, as consultant Dimitra comes in for a fitting and has the wedding of her dreams with her coworkers cheering her on.

Say Yes to the Dress Canada airs Wednesdays at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on W Network.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Dominic Monaghan hunts more Wild Things on OLN

I’ve always enjoyed Dominic Monaghan’s animal hunt-travel show. The aptly named Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan finds the spunky, energetic Lost actor as he hopscotches the planet seeking out dangerous, unique and odd-looking beasties from the animal world. Among the items on his checklist this season are the Indian Cobra, the flying lizard, giant whale sharks and the rare Aye-aye lemur of Madagascar.

Monaghan’s enthusiasm and dry sense of humour is what keeps me coming back to the series and the information he includes in each episode is just as entertaining as the subject matter. In Tuesday’s Season 3 return on OLN, Monaghan and his long-suffering Toronto-based cameraman Frank Vilaca trek to Belize in search of the Fer-de-Lance or Bothrops asper, an aggressive, six foot long reptile capable of leaping a third of its length to deliver a bite on prey.

As with the first two seasons, Monaghan’s enthusiasm is addictive: you really want him to succeed in his hunt for the snake. Padding out each episode is the story of the region, in this case the pair offer a triptych of wildlife and the people who live in Belize, including a stop at a pyramid and some background on the Mayan culture.

While searching for the Fer-de-Lance, Monaghan discovers a “small” tarantula the size of his hand and describes how long the species lives (and how it would bite him if so inclined), shops in a market and instructs Vilaca on successfully injecting anti-venom in case a snake makes its mark on either of them. The duo also discover an inquisitive member of the raccoon family and the strongest animal in the jungle.

As for finding the Fer-de-Lance … well … I’ll let you watch and find out for yourselves, but following Monaghan and Vilaca on their journey is worth tuning to.

Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OLN.

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