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Comments and queries for the week of September 6

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Glad to see Dave and Irina eliminated [from The Amazing Race Canada]. Anyone who takes multiple penalties on purpose doesn’t deserve to be in there. They took a spot from true fans who want to race, not take time penalties. —Bruce

They were so full of themselves. Delusions of grandeur, thought they were the best. The best doesn’t take penalties. I was done with her long before princess couldn’t jump in cold water. Dave might’ve had skills, but Irina was as useless as a bag of hammers. Their lack of humbleness was disgusting. They should’ve been eliminated the first time they took a penalty. Long overdue, but I’m so glad I don’t have to put up with them in the finale. I’ll be happy with any of these three teams winning. —NeilC

Dave is a pro fighter. He needs to work his opponent to psyche them out and instill doubt. Same strategy he employed on this show. I am disappointed they were eliminated as I connected with their competitive spirit as a contestant in a race. Did not agree with all decisions but I was racing from a couch, they weren’t. If they had led with Irina’s strategy to do what you know first with the apples instead of trying to match all at once, the outcome may have been different. They were the team to beat once the season got going. And yes they were gracious in defeat, while still proud and confident. The race was much more entertaining with them. Am cheering A & J on for the win!! —Tunie

Dave and Irina are two of the nastiest, rudest, meanest, condescending bullies with few redeeming qualities in them. Why they have this inflated opinion about themselves is a real mystery. They are probably one of the most hateful creatures around. —Sswamy

Yayyyy so glad to see Dave and Irina eliminated. Hated them both to the point I almost stopped watching this season. Cheaters and poor sports and so unCanadian in their approach . Now I will be happy with whoever wins. —Laurie

While I like a lot of people are happy that Dave and Irina are gone, having a sinister team made the show more enjoyable to watch, it added a love to hate angle to it all. —John C

Yay! Glad to see Dave and Irina have been eliminated, now I can watch again. Rude, nasty, cheaters. I had stopped watching because of them. I hope TAR doesn’t try to bring these two back for any future shows. —Ann C

I am glad they are gone as well. I stopped watching the show when there were no consequences to their cheating but now that they are gone I will watch the finale. I like to see people overcome challenges and figure out how to get it done, not to see them cheating and hear them insulting other competitors. —Andrea

Last night’s episode was the best ever. I was so glad to see Dave and Irina eliminated. I have had no respect for them since the episode where Irina referred to her fellow competitors as “peasants.” She deserves to lose. —June G

I hope the producers of The Amazing Race Canada take note of the majority of the feedback from Canadians and never cast another couple like Dave & Irina. How many of you out there are like me and loved the original U.S. TAR until Season 6 with Jonathan and Victoria and then of course Season 7 with Rob and Amber? Sure, short-term the ratings went through the roof but it did lasting damage to the show. Now, U.S. TAR is just a freak show (cross over with Big Brother and now even Survivor) and I have long since abandoned it. If in Episode 1 of Season 8 of TAR Canada I see another couple like Dave and Irina then I am done with the show. Life is too short to spend with people like this. And that was not grace on the mat. They were trying to rehabilitate their image and just pure revisionism. We all saw what they did. For me, the way Irina mocked Aarthy at the airport shows who she really is. Absolutely unforgivable. —Charles

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Amazing Race Canada shocker: And the final three teams are…

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Which three teams will be in The Amazing Race Canada season finale next week? Nova Scotia was the battleground to decide that in Tuesday’s newest episode.

It’s safe to say this has been one of the most controversial seasons of the franchise thanks to Dave and Irina. I got quite a few emails from fans who were outraged at their moves. It is a bit of a shock to see a team so intent on winning, but with so much at stake, I think I’d have done the same thing. They, along with Anthony and James, Lauren and Joanne and Sam and Sarah, were all fighting for the Top 3 spots.

Dave and Irina led the charge out of Thunder Bay, Ont., to Wolfville, NS. There, they located the Tangled Garden gallery and tea room, the site of their next clue. In the Road Block, one team member was tasked with tasting and identifying the ingredients in jams and jellies made in-house. Dave, Lauren, Sarah and Anthony all tackled the test at hand. (Credit to the show producers for focusing on Anthony’s sniffing skills and unique tasting routine.) Sarah’s athlete’s diet of chicken, rice and broccoli wasn’t helping her (she only got two of seven correct at first) while the others were getting five out of seven. It was Anthony and his cultured palate that completed the test first, and made sure he covered his answers so Dave couldn’t look at them. Dave got it right on his next try, followed by Joanne and Sarah.

A man and woman pick through apples.Anthony and James got going on the windy roads to an apple stand to score their next clue. In the Detour, teams chose either Puck (playing sledge hockey at Acadia University) or Apples (sorting and identifying 12 apple types at Noggins Corner Farm Market). Anthony and James had no idea what sledge hockey was, but opted for that over sorting apples. Was it the wrong choice? Dave and Irina chose Apples because it appeared to be the easier task, as did Joanne and Lauren. Meanwhile, Sarah and Sam picked Pucks too.

Both Detours proved to be difficult. After many tries, Anthony and James scored their next clue, which led them to TapRoot Farms. Once there, they had to back up their truck, gather up song lyrics and put them in the right order to construct “Farewell to Nova Scotia.” After that, teams delivered beer to The Church Brewing Company and performed the tune.

Back at the orchard, Lauren and Joanne and Dave and Irina were having no luck at all. Neither were Sarah and Sam, who got oh-so-close a couple of times on the ice. Finally, they scored on lucky No. 13 and moved on. Lauren and Joanne successfully sorted their apples, leaving Dave and Irina amid the trees. They finally got it but were in last place. Would Nova Scotia be Dave and Irina’s downfall?

A woman and man read directions.Out on the field, Anthony and James were chugging along, collecting lyrics and piecing them together. They completed the song lyrics as Sarah and Sam arrived. On the road to the brewery, each duo learned “Farewell to Nova Scotia,” giving us several opportunities to enjoy these teams we’ve watched race all summer. The singing was made a lot easier by the fact the Racers were allowed to read the words, but still. Joanne’s meticulous driving allowed Dave to catch up. And, as he spun around the field collecting words Joanne faltered and made mistakes. The result? Both teams were scrambling to get the lyrics in the correct order at the same time. Joanne and Lauren got it first, but Dave and Irina didn’t give up.

The Pit Stop of Tuesday’s Leg of the Race was a British phone box located at Luckett Vineyards. It seemed like an almost impossible task to locate Jon from just a photo. Thankfully, an information booth was just outside the brewery. Anthony and James departed in first place. Sarah and Sam finished at the brewery next and got directions from a passerby.

It was Anthony and James to scored the first spot in The Amazing Race finale, hopping on the mat and landing a trip to Singapore. Sarah and Sam showed that never giving up was key on the Race by placing second. Joanne and Lauren were in third place heading to the mat but neglected to write the directions they were given down. Dave, meanwhile, noted the sisters got lost often and hoped it would happen again. But it was’t to be, as the sisters arrived ahead of the married couple, eliminating one of the strongest teams ever from the competition.

Here’s how the teams finished this leg of the Race.

  1. Anthony and James
  2. Sarah and Sam
  3. Lauren and Joanne
  4. Dave and Irina (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada season finale airs next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Poll: Which three returning Canadian shows will you be watching this fall?

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The fall television season is here, and we couldn’t be happier. With the crisper weather comes the traditional time of year when networks’ new and returning favourites hit the airwaves.

In particular, the CBC jumps into the next few weeks with longtime faves in Murdoch Mysteries and Heartland alongside soon to be classics in Anne with an E and Frankie Drake Mysteries. Not to be outdone, Corus series like Carnival Eats and Property Brothers are back and Citytv’s newbie, Hudson & Rex returns with new episodes. In short, there is a lot of television coming our way.

To celebrate, we’re asking you to check off the three returning television series you’re most looking to watching in the coming months. Have fun, and please feel free to leave a comment below regarding why you chose which shows you did. (After you make your selections, make sure you hit the blue “Vote” button just below and to the right of The Nature of Things.)

Also: wondering when your favourites return? Check out our handy calendars.

Which three returning Canadian shows will you be watching this fall?

  • Heartland, CBC (39%, 1,133 Votes)
  • Murdoch Mysteries, CBC (13%, 392 Votes)
  • Anne with an E, CBC (8%, 228 Votes)
  • Property Brothers, HGTV Canada (6%, 169 Votes)
  • Frankie Drake Mysteries, CBC (6%, 165 Votes)
  • Still Standing, CBC (6%, 162 Votes)
  • The Great Canadian Baking Show, CBC (4%, 126 Votes)
  • Hudson & Rex, Citytv (4%, 111 Votes)
  • The Nature of Things, CBC (3%, 87 Votes)
  • Highway Thru Hell, History (3%, 84 Votes)
  • Battle of the Blades, CBC (2%, 57 Votes)
  • Marketplace, CBC (2%, 53 Votes)
  • Dragons' Den, CBC (2%, 47 Votes)
  • Letterkenny, Crave (1%, 43 Votes)
  • Carnival Eats, Food Network Canada (1%, 29 Votes)
  • Baroness von Sketch Show (1%, 21 Votes)
  • CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, CBC (0%, 8 Votes)
  • First Contact, APTN (0%, 8 Votes)
  • Eyes for the Job, AMI-tv (0%, 6 Votes)
  • Bajillionaires, Family (0%, 6 Votes)
  • In the Making, CBC (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,464

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Comments and queries for the week of August 23

I did not understand why the windows on the bus were blacked out to Kitchener-Waterloo [on The Amazing Race Canada] but besides that, I really liked the last two episodes. They included tasks that challenged the mind instead of just testing physical ability allowing different teams or members of a team to take the lead and thrive. Gulp, the math challenge would have done me in, been too long since high school and do not use the term square root in adult life. Seeing the teams calculate the distance like that (snap!) was awesome. I do not mind Dave and Irina as a team on TARC actually. I do not agree with every decision they’ve made when it comes to their strategy or calling their fellow racers peasants but they are a team who support each other in their goal to win. Plus the way Dave cherishes his wife! Initially, I thought Aarthy was a spunky competitor but with each episode (is it just the editing??) she cannot control her temper, either hates or loves the race, appears to be a bit spoiled, and just brings negative energy. Yup, her outbursts make for good TV but I do feel bad for her partner and not just in the race. The phrase “that’s disrespectful” keeps coming to mind each time she loses her cool at him. Seeing how these teams would fare in a different country would be interesting! Nice to see Team SK almost come in first and win a leg. They are trying so hard. Cute how big sister fed little sister. —Tunie

I liked the questions in other languages so it wasn’t a total advantage for speaking French, though Irina needed time to overcome her fear kinda offset her multilingual skills. Dave just trying to Hulk-smash the Detour was funny too. A flaw in Anthony and James’ skill set, French. Find someone that looks at you the way Sam and Aarthy looked at Thinesh in that suit. Aarthy started strong but the last few episodes she’s flamed out letting him do all the work. The Blind Detour concept was interesting though “That” was clearly easier. Ontario-Quebec-Ontario again, on top of three B.C. legs. Flawed race course design at best. (Though I give them a bit of slack if the rumours of Waterloo and Revelstoke being replacement legs for Turkey and The Philippines are true.) Last week, what was the point of blacking out the bus when it was just another Canadian city? —DanAmazing

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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CBC Gem’s How to Buy a Baby delivers in Season 2

In the first season of How to Buy a Baby, viewers met Jane (Meghan Heffern) and Charlie (Marc Bendavid), a young couple struggling to get pregnant. From hormone injections to faulty testes and uterine walls, How to Buy a Baby opened the door to hilarity and much-needed openess about infertility.

Jane and Charlie are back for a second season—dropping on CBC Gem on August 23—tackling the next logical step in their journey: adoption.

“This is based on my own experiences and I wanted to portray things as authentically as I could,” says Wendy Litner, How to Buy a Baby‘s creator. “Because my husband and I moved on to adoption that seemed like the logical next step.” Litner—who has written for The Globe and Mail penned a blog for Today’s Parent about How to Buy a Baby.

“I really felt like I connected with Wendy and the subject matter,” Heffern says during a recent phone call. “And I really loved the idea of playing a normal woman. In some of the other roles I’ve had I’ve played sci-fi villains or very heightened versions of a normal person. It was exciting to play someone grounded in reality.”

In the first instalment of Season 2, Jane and Charlie are stressing over an upcoming visit from an adoption agency worker. But before that, Charlie runs through a questionaire they need to answer. Among the queries: will they accept a baby that was the result of a rape or incest? Once Stan (Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll) arrives things escalate. He has his own questions and suggestions about how Jane and Charlie can improve their chances at adopting a baby, namely ensuring Christmas happens despite Charlie being Jewish. Outrageous? Yes. But, they are exactly the questions Litner and her husband were asked during their adoption process.

“I was actually shocked by the questions when we were filling out the questionnaire,” Litner recalls. “How often did we have sex? I mean, what is the right answer to that?! It was so jarring and they delve so deep into every aspect of your life.

“Although, you are getting a child, so I can understand why they want to make sure your electrical outlets are up to code.”

How to Buy a Baby is streaming on CBC Gem.

Image courtesy of LoCo Motion Pictures.

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