Everything about Book of Negroes, eh?

Book of Negroes, Dragons' Den, Saving Hope, Young Drunk Punk

Tonight: Saving Hope, Young Drunk Punk, Dragons’ Den, The Book of Negroes

Saving Hope, CTV – “A Simple Plan”
Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) finds herself under the thumb of her overprotective birth partner – leading her to wonder what kind of plans are truly worth making. When a patient comes in two days before he’s set to go to prison, Alex and Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) must sift through his many secrets to find out the truth about what really happened to him to help save his life. Dr. Maggie Lin (Julia Taylor Ross) and Dr. Zach Miller (Ben Ayres) treat a couple on their way to see the Northern Lights, when a surprise diagnosis changes their futures forever – leading Zach to open up to Maggie about his own family secrets. Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies) enlists Dr. Shahir Hamza’s (Huse Madhavji) help to get a young bride ready to walk down the aisle. Charlie finds a spirit loitering in the halls, and when he discovers why, he finds himself facing a very emotional flash from his past. ETALK Anchor Ben Mulroney makes a guest appearance on this episode.

Young Drunk Punk, City – “The Van”
Ian (Tim Carlson) and Shinky (Atticus Mitchell) turn an old van into the coolest party wagon in town, but when the van threatens their friendship, the guys have to decide if they’d rather be friends with each other, or with the van. Meanwhile, Belinda (Allie Macdonald) and Lloyd (Bruce McCulloch) team up for some father-daughter crime fighting, and Helen (Tracy Ryan) takes up jogging – only to find that she’s exercising her eyes as much as her legs.

Dragons’ Den, CBC
One entrepreneur thinks he has the right skills to be an industry ringleader; a Dragon gets burned by a flashy product causing the other Dragons to breathe fire; and one product’s outlawed origins rear an ethical motive. Plus, a green product has two Dragons seeing red.

The Book Of Negroes, CBC – Part 5 of 6
As racial tensions boil in Nova Scotia, Aminata organizes a final journey back to Africa.

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Book of Negroes

Link: The Book of Negroes an “incredible love story”

From Andrea Nemetz of the Chronicle Herald:

Actor Lyriq Bent hails ‘incredible love story’ in CBC miniseries The Book of Negroes
The Book of Negroes tells the heart-wrenching tale of Aminata Diallo, captured as a child in her African homeland, sold into slavery in South Carolina and her long, hard-fought journey to freedom. But for Lyriq Bent, it is a love story. Continue reading.

From Elissa Barnard of the Chronicle Herald:

Nova Scotia’s role in Book of Negroes series celebrated
One of Lawrence Hill’s first stops in researching The Book of Negroes was the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown. “It was probably the size of that table,” the best-selling novelist said in an interview in a hotel room before a Halifax screening, hosted by TD, of the TV mini-series’ fifth episode set in Nova Scotia. Continue reading.

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Book of Negroes, Featured

Review: The name’s the thing in The Book of Negroes

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The historical book of Negroes finally gets its starring turn in the miniseries The Book of Negroes, and Canada as Canada is poised to show up in the next episode.

In part four, Aminata is recruited to collect the names of every black person who assisted the British during the American Revolutionary War. That ledger will determine who can earn a berth to Nova Scotia and freedom, and the process allows them to claim their names and their stories, and for Aminata to live her dream of becoming a djello — storyteller — for her people and their ancestors.

The U.S. title for the Lawrence Hill novel this miniseries is based on is Someone Knows My Name, and it has a resonance of its own. Stolen from their homes, their families, their continent, the slaves are stripped of so much of their autonomy — often down to their own names. Aminata Diallo, for example, was anglicized to Meena Dee, though she reclaims her name and ultimately her freedom.

Yet in the course of the episode her true name almost costs her that freedom. Though she more than earned her place in the book of Negroes, her name appears on another list: of runaway slaves. She is ripped from the boat and Chekura, who must proceed to Nova Scotia or lose his place forever, while she can challenge her designation as another man’s property in court and sail on a later ship.

Their love is the beating heart of this story, making the scene where they are torn apart again, and the one where they are forced to admit that he aided the slave traders and tore her from her family, particularly heartbreaking.

Her assumption — and mine — is that Solomon Lindo has finally caught up with her. Instead, the supremely creepy Robinson Appleby is making a false claim, denying he ever sold her. Sam proves his love again through actions, finding the only way to counter that claim: he produces Solomon Lindo to testify and bring the papers that prove he bought her — and sold her baby — and then to finally, officially, grant her freedom. She’s as grateful to stalwart Sam as she is unforgiving of Lindo.

Aunjanue Ellis is transcendent in this role, of course. Allan Hawco gives Lindo a regretful sweetness which belies the ugliness of his position. He was a better master than Appleby — played to slimy perfection by Greg Bryk — but selling her baby to a good family and getting her away from the brutal Appleby is still selling her baby, and calling her a servant instead of slave didn’t prevent him from treating her as property.

Her declaration about the new United States: “There is nothing united about a nation that proclaims all men are created equal, but keeps its people in chains.”

There are clunky moments in the episode. Some — such as when Aminata questions General Washington about why he owns slaves if he opposes the institution of slavery — because they come across as jamming a plot point from the sprawling novel awkwardly into the script — and some feel like small missteps in direction or editing. You could almost hear the DUN DUN DUNNNN when Solomon Lindo was revealed in court.

I’m not a fan of voiceovers in general, but in The Book of Negroes it feels crucial to translate the gaps that couldn’t be jammed into the script and explain the time jumps, and to give Aminata her rightful role as the author of her own story.

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Book of Negroes, Featured, Murdoch Mysteries, Ratings, Saving Hope, Schitt's Creek

Ratings: Canadian series rock the top 30 for January 12-18

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In the Numeris ratings for January 12-18, Canadian scripted series earned five of the top 30 spots, including both episodes of Schitt’s Creek‘s double-header premiere:

  • # 14: Book of Negroes – 1.607 million
  • #16: Schitt’s Creek – 1.581 million
  • #17: Schitt’s Creek – 1.554
  • #19: Murdoch Mysteries – 1.387
  • #20: Saving Hope – 1.384
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Book of Negroes, Dragons' Den, Saving Hope, Young Drunk Punk

Tonight: Young Drunk Punk, Dragons’ Den, Book of Negroes, Clara’s Big Ride, Saving Hope

Young Drunk Punk, City – “Working for Cowboy”
Determined to not end up like his father, Ian (Tim Carlson) takes a construction job with Shinky (Atticus Mitchell) but gets more than he bargained for when the boss turns out to be his sister’s scary ex-boyfriend.

Dragons’ Den, CBC
A protective product sparks a Dragon competition and turns heads in the Den; an entrepreneur exposes it all to have the Dragons weigh in; and a couple outlines their eco-friendly solution to a monthly problem. Plus, accomplished Canadian athletes hope the Dragons will join their team.

The Book Of Negroes, CBC – Part 4 of 6
After British defeat, Aminata registers Black Loyalists in The Book Of Negroes for an escape to freedom in Nova Scotia.

Clara’s Big Ride, CTV
Premiering in primetime on CTV during Bell Let’s Talk Day (Jan. 28), the original one-hour Bell Media documentary CLARA’S BIG RIDE chronicles an unprecedented 11,000 km bicycle journey across Canada by six-time Olympic medallist and Bell Let’s Talk spokesperson Clara Hughes. Throughout the journey, Hughes spreads a hopeful message designed to break the silence surrounding mental illness and helps create a stigma-free Canada. Directed by multi-award winning filmmaker Larry Weinstein (Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Our Man in Tehran, TSN’s THE 13th MAN), the documentary recounts Hughes’ epic 110-day journey through 105 communities and 235 events in varied and often extreme weather conditions from coast to coast to coast.

Saving Hope, CTV – “Remains of the Day”
Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance), Dr. Maggie Lin (Julia Taylor Ross), and Dr. Rian Larouche (Danso Gordon) could use a little help studying for their surgical board exams. So when a high school English teacher comes in for treatment, Alex finds herself receiving a few life lessons of her own. Meanwhile, Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies) is consumed with a patient’s vanishing bones. And a patient, who is very particular with her lists, has Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) working through a long list of medical reasons as to why she could be flatlining in the OR. Plus, the future of a teenage girl rests in Dawn’s (Michelle Nolden) hands – and a future she doesn’t know if she’s ready for weighs heavily on her heart.

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