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, Haven

Troubled Haven returns for last bow

Remember when the only thing Haven fans were concerned about was who Audrey Parker was?

Back in Season 1, the FBI agent showed up in that strange Maine town, had a crush on cop Nathan Wuornos and flirted with that scallywag Duke Crocker. Vince and Dave were the comic relief, bumbling around while keeping the town’s biggest secrets under wraps while Chief Wuornos quietly took care of folks with Troubles. I really miss that show, especially after getting a sneak peek at Sunday’s two-hour season return episodes, “New World Order” and “Power.” Listen, I still love the trio of Nathan, Duke and Audrey, but the ludicrous lengths the show’s storylines are going has me shaking my head, and that’s saying something for a guy who loves sci-fi and fantasy series.

Where past seasons were all about stemming the Troubles and perhaps curing them, it only takes minutes for the entire show to be reset back to square one when the Trouble slugs infect everyone in Haven. Throw in an impenetrable fog bank and it looks like Haven is royally screwed. Ending generations of secrecy, Dwight and Nathan reveal to their cop brethren Haven is full of Troubled folks and they need to be handled with kid gloves lest things get bad. I won’t give away any more plot points, but I will say there’s minor movement forward in the Croatoan story and Audrey tells Charlotte to “get out of my town.”

If I seem a little frustrated, it’s because I am. I’ve been a fan of Haven from the very beginning, and I have to say it’s becoming a bit of a slog. Each week finds the main characters going through the same actions and repeating the same lines. Nathan and Audrey go from smoochy to in danger of breaking up forever. Duke feels put upon until he emerges a hero. Dwight looks around with a mildly shocked look on his face. Dave and Vince bicker with each other. And, in the grand scheme of things, nothing is ever really solved.

With just 13 episodes left until the end—10 after this week’s twofer—some pretty interesting stuff better happen or I may skip it all and wait until the series finale.

And that’s coming from a fan of Haven.

Haven airs two back-to-back episodes this Sunday at 7 and 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

Haven‘s regular timeslot starts next Sunday is 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

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Dramas and Comedies, Featured, Forgive Me

Super Channel’s quiet, effective Forgive Me returns

Amid Super Channel’s pirates of Black Sails, aliens of Falling Skies and spies of Homeland there is Forgive Me. Written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald (The Hanging Garden), Forgive Me is quiet and spare. There’s no swashbuckling and no armed troops, but plenty to like.

Back for Season 2 on Sunday, Forgive Me stars Mike McLeod as The Priest, a young man who listens to the daily confessions of his Halifax congregation. The brain tumour that had been operated on hasn’t gone away (and may be causing angelic visions), but The Priest insists he go back to work, telling his doctor (Fitzgerald) perhaps it’s God’s way. After convincing fellow priests in the Prelate (John Dunsworth) and Father Gene (Jeremy Ackerman) he’s fine, The Priest heads back to confessional; and that’s where Forgive Me truly shines.

Rolling out like a two-person play, the camera is in the tight confines of the confessional as—lit by the muted light coming through plain stained glass—The Priest hears the confession of pedophile Johnny Smith-O’Leary (Hugh Thompson), who is considering suing the church because he was molested by a choir master there when he was young. There are funny moments amid the conversation. Johnny asks The Priest what circle of hell his group of sinners is confined to and learns Dante’s Inferno is a play, and not scripture.

“How the hell is that not in the Bible?” he wonders. “Do you have any idea how many hours of my life that I wasted finding out exactly what circle of hell I’m going to?!”

“Johnny,” The Priest counters. “I watched all seven seasons of Dawson’s Creek.”

“You win,” Johnny allows.

McLeod turns in a fine performance; he’s instantly likeable in the role, more coach and therapist than priest, as is Dunsworth, far removed from drunken Jim Lahey on Trailer Park Boys. Fitzgerald has attracted high-profile talent to appear, with Olympia Dukakis reprising her role as Novalea, The Priest’s grandmother and Season 2 guest stars in Wendy Crewson and Ed Asner.

If you’re looking for something a little different from your Canadian TV, give Forgive Me a look and let me know what you think of it.

Forgive Me airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Super Channel.

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Continuum, Featured

Continuum’s end … and new beginnings

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Well, that’s it then. Continuum‘s series finale on Friday night was a mixture of emotion, action and … hope. Creator Simon Barry and cast members Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster and Stephen Lobo did tell me the show’s final stanza would incite discussion, and they were certainly right.

Since Season 1, future cop Kiera Cameron has been trying to get back to 2077 Vancouver to be with her son. And she got that, though not exactly the way she wanted it to be. The Kiera Cameron we’ve followed for the past four seasons did step from 2015 Vancouver back to her home time, but had to settle for seeing a version of herself happily playing with Sam next to a idyllic fountain. Turns out the sacrifice she made to make Sam’s world a better place meant our Kiera couldn’t be with him, a bitter pill to swallow but at least she got back home, right? And what a home. Thanks to the actions of everyone in 2015, Vancouver 2077 is now a place devoid of violence, war and corrupt companies, a city where the police wear form-fitting t-shirts rather than armour. A place of light rather than dark. Reunited 60 years after she left Vancouver, the aging Alec hugged The Protector and explained how he, Julian and Edouard had worked together to make the world better for all.

“Final Hour” was full of memorable moments, cameos and Easter eggs that made the Continuum fan in me giddy. Kiera and Carlos’ goodbye was heartfelt and tearstained (Thank goodness Barry never got those two together romantically; it would have ruined their relationship.), producer Jonathan Walker played the lead cop that got his head blown off by a rampaging Weaver, and Carlos’ dedication to the Vancouver Police Force was recognized by a sweet memorial.

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Not so sweet? Kellog’s fate. Well, at least not for him. The man who always made sure he covered his butt first did exactly that on Friday night, pitting his own Piron security force against the VPD so that he could escape 2015 and back to his future. Trouble was, Alec had futzed with Kellogg’s time ball and he didn’t go back to 2077. Who else cackled out loud when Kellog said, “Oh, that little shit,” when he spotted B.C.’s First Nations people peeking out from behind trees at the weirdly-dressed stranger? Kellog won’t be making any adjustments to the time ball from there, will he?

With only six episodes in the season, not every storyline was tied up neatly. The revelation Vasquez was Kellogg’s daughter was too easy to spot, the Time Traveller angle felt rushed (I’m sure it was) and I’d loved to have found out how Garza’s life turned out. Still, those are minor quibbles for a series that was given six episodes to finish up rather than ending abruptly with Season 3’s cliffhanger. I’ll take what I can get and be thankful for it.

What did you think of “Final Hour”? Let me know below or via Twitter at @tv_eh.

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Dramas and Comedies

Link: London native Mike McLeod grateful for role as Priest in TV’s Forgive Me

From Joe Belanger of The London Free Press:

London native Mike McLeod grateful for role as Priest in TV’s Forgive Me
McLeod stars in the lead role of Priest in Sunday’s season premiere of Forgive Me, a hit show on Super Channel that got rave reviews, earning McLeod an ACTRA Maritimes award and nomination for best actor in a drama at the Canadian Screen Awards earlier this year. Continue reading.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Great Canadian Cookbook celebrates country’s smorgasbord

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Food Network Canada’s Great Canadian Cookbook is a multi-platform project designed to celebrate and inspire with recipes reflecting this country’s diversity, and Noah Cappe knows exactly which family recipes he’d share with viewers.

“Growing up, my mom was famous for her chocolate chip mandel bread,” Cappe says during a break in filming Season 3 of Carnival Eats. “And for my dad, to this day I still think he makes the best French toast with McCutcheon’s maple syrup. Everybody has something in their family someone makes that transports you to growing up and those are it for me.”

Cappe and celebrity chef Lynn Crawford co-host Food’s ambitious Great Canadian Cookbook, part docu-series, part recipe source, part celebration of Canada. Launching Monday with four back-to-back episodes, the television segment of Cookbook finds the foodie duo hitting the East Coast, Ontario, Prairies and West Coast in search of tasty recipes, touching stories and interesting characters. You don’t get more interesting than Episode 1 in St. John’s, where Crawford experiences brunch at Mallard Cottage, a Jigg’s Dinner hosted by firemen and a music-infused house party fuelled by cod tongues and scrunchions. Cappe, meanwhile, visits Lunenburg and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, sampling lobster rolls, lobster-topped burgers and to-die-for homemade bacon.

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“A show like this is as much about the people as it is about their recipes,” the Toronto-born actor says. “It’s really nice to see how each story is built through the landscape, the person, their story and then through the food.” He likens Cookbook to chef-author Anthony Bourdain’s CNN series Parts Unknown, that uses food as a stepping stone to learning about other cultures and peoples. Over 20 nationalities contribute to the four-part Cookbook.

The series serves as a path to FoodNetwork.ca, where recipes from the episodes are combined with extra video content of Crawford cooking with celebrities, making sausage in Saskatoon and foraging  for mushrooms and Cappe icing cakes in Winnipeg and sampling Nanaimo bars in B.C.

Cappe spent two days in each locale, filming for the television show and website, eating, talking and gathering some of his favourite recipes to re-create at home, though he won’t be the one making them.

“I don’t cook, but I’ve given all of my favourite recipes to my dad, ” Cappe says. “He loves cooking and I love eating. It’s a win-win for me!”

All four episodes of Great Canadian Cookbook air Monday, Oct. 11, beginning at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on Food Network Canada.

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