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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Mon dieu! Amazing Race Canada heads to Quebec

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With just five teams left, The Amazing Race Canada headed to La Belle Province for its latest Leg. Would language play a major factor with the teams? At first blush, it seemed Dave would have the upper hand, him being from Quebec and all.

Trains carried the remaining teams to the Charlevoix region, a spot where English-speaking folks are rare. Dave was predicting another winning Leg for he and Irina. An over 1,000 km ride ended in La Malbaie, with a stop for poutine at Chez Chantal … and their next clue. Sam and Sarah were the first to arrive and got peeling 25 potatoes to be used in the gooey, cheesy delicacy.

In the Road Block, teams were instructed to hit the road for Le Manoir Richelieu, site of the 2018 G7 summit. Once there, one team member memorized a statement given at the conference and then answered three questions about it from the media. The statements were delivered in English and French and questions were in Japanese, German and Italian. Instead of Dave taking on the test, Irina did it. Of course, that was because they didn’t know what the challenge would actually be. And, as it turned out, Irina knew French too. Anthony and James were the first to arrive … Aarthy and Thinesh were last.

A woman stands at a podium, speaking.While Sarah scarfed down poutine, Sam worked on the speech, confident he could do it. At the other end of the scale were James and Irina; the latter because she is afraid of public speaking. James started off strong and confident, until the French part. With shattered nerves stacking up and almost 15 minutes of broadcast already done, it looked like this was going to be a long and agonizing challenge. Thinesh wowed not just for the way he looked in a suit but also for his bilingual delivery. Even Dave was impressed. With a “Vote Thinesh for Prime Minister!” he completed the task and departed with Aarthy in first place. Joanne performed an upset, vaulting she and Lauren into second place. And, after a long time, Sam finally got it. Say what you want about Dave and Irina, but seeing him tear up as she tackled her biggest fear was pretty frigging adorable. And, after nine tries, James and Anthony moved on.

This week’s Detour was blind, meaning teams didn’t know what they had to do. Aarthy and Thinesh picked “That,” as did Sarah and Sam and Dave and Irina. “That” turned out to be a game involving an orange piece of wood being hit by a broom handle to score points. Thinesh quickly started to accumulate points while Aarthy swung at the air. They were done the challenge before any other teams had arrived. As the fog rolled in, so did dark thoughts. Dave and Irina got lost and she started to lose it on him. Sarah and Sam, meanwhile, asked for directions.

Dave was swinging for the fences but wasn’t connecting with the piece of wood. The result? He got mighty angry. Irina stepped up, calmly, and hit it. Dave picked up on her routine and they were off to the races.

A group of people sit in chairs.Lauren and Joanne chose “This,” which involved painting emu eggs to look like two samples and then delivering them to one of the two shops featured on the eggs. “This” was a time-consuming and fiddly Detour and Anthony and James opted to do it too, putting their chances of continuing on the Race in jeopardy. Joanne and Lauren had left for the shops before the married couple arrived.

Next, teams drove to the Musée Maritime de Charlevoix for the Pit Stop. A drive to the wrong musée delayed Aarthy and Thinesh for a bit, but they still completed the Leg first, scoring a trip for two to Santiago, Chile. Lauren and Joanne placed second. Dave and Irina landed in third place, and they weren’t happy about it.

The final sprint to the mat was closer than anyone imagined, as Anthony and James were in a footrace with Sarah and Sam for the final spot. That went to the athletes, and it looked like Anthony and James had been eliminated.

But in a twist that the producers kept from viewers through the magic of editing, the Leg wasn’t done. Clues were handed out and everyone kept racing, with the Royal Ontario Museum in their sights.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Aarthy and Thinesh
  2. Lauren and Joanne
  3. Irina and Dave
  4. Sarah and Sam
  5. Anthony and James

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Never Too Old proves you can do anything regardless of age

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As they say, age is just a number. That saying is driven home in the excellent, inspiring “Never Too Old.”

Debuting Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC as part of CBC Docs POV, the project—from Dream Street Pictures, who made the equally excellent “Sickboy”—tells the story of 82-year-old Olive Bryanton who aims to earn her PhD, and documents the lives of women over 85 living in rural Canada.

Never one to relax, cameras capture Prince Edward Island native Olive as she works on her doctoral thesis at the University of Prince Edward Island. Her thesis? To prove most octogenarians and older defy the stereotype of taking it easy. Olive recruited 10 women aged 85-91, living in rural P.E.I., to document their busy lives and determine what support, if any, was there helping or hindering them in their lives.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing older adults are a burden on society, because they’re not,” Olive says. She, and the ladies we meet in “Never Too Old,” would run circles around me and a lot of younger folks I know. Like 91-year-old Theresa, a self-professed tomboy who delights in cutting the grass on her riding lawnmower and has “no notion of living anywhere else.” Or 88-year-old Anna, who is still active in her farming community; 87-year-old Ruby, the centre of her senior’s group; and 89-year-old Nan, who paints, revels in her “beautiful junk” and still feels sexual.

At the heart of Olive’s message is dropping the stigma that the older generation isn’t of value to society. As she points out, society’s focus is on those living in care facilities. But a mere 10 per cent of seniors are living in them. They’re active and they have something to say.

“I have never said to myself, ‘It’s too late to do something’ or ‘I’m too old to do something,'” Olive says. “That has never entered my mind.”

“Never Too Old” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC and streams on CBC Gem.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of August 16

Although I’ve only started watching [Canada’s Worst Driver] when Season 7 premiered, I’ve been a fan of this show since then. Very saddened to hear this news. I was really looking forward to the 15th season this year. RIP to one of Discovery’s best TV shows. —Tiffany

Sorry to see the end of CWD. The show was funny and educational at the same time. —George

I really enjoyed the show and watching it corrected bad habits that I was developing. I also viewed it as a comedy. Sad that it is leaving the airwaves and hope that it will come back. —Norm

Love this show. Hate to see it come to an end. Just browsing to see when it would start up again, and sad to say I won’t. You’ll think they would at least give them a goodbye season, especially when its Season 15! Sad to say there is no heart left in so much of TV. —Ruth

Two women smile into the cameraGreat news! I really like When Calls the Heart. It’s a show that I watch with my mom and daughters. Currently, we are watching the 5th season on CBC Gem. Hopefully When Hope Calls will be available for streaming too, even if we have to wait a while. —Alicia

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: CBC Docs POV’s Humboldt: The New Season should not be missed

How can you possibly return to the ice after fellow teammates, coaches and others close to you die? That path is explored through the eyes of Humboldt Broncos players and their families in the heartbreaking and touching “Humboldt: The New Season.”

Debuting as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC, “Humboldt: The New Season” follows five survivors—Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter as they return to play for the 2018-2019 Humboldt hockey season with a different coaching staff and new teammates and Tyler Smith, Kaleb Dahlgren and Layne Matechuk—as they continue their recovery while pursuing their love of hockey in new ways.

Produced by Chris McIvor and Libby Lea of Frank Digital and Lucas Frison and Elise Beaudry-Ferland of Prairie Cat Productions, “Humboldt: The New Season” recalls the horrific crash between the Broncos bus and a tractor-trailer on that lonely road on April 6, 2018. Sixteen perished and those left behind have been affected physically and mentally for the rest of their lives. Set against a haunting rendition of Tom Cochrane’s “Big League,” while a drone hovers over kids playing hockey on a frozen pond, “Humboldt: The New Season” is a gut-punch from Minute 1.

Banners sit on the ice in a hockey rink.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to return after my injuries,” Brayden Camrud says in the opening minutes. “It’s been tough. You have a lot to think about. You think about all those other guys every day. I think about the boys who aren’t here.” Much of the documentary is spent telling the stories of those who were lost, including coach Darcy Haugan, assistant coach Mark Cross and athletic therapist Dayna Brons.

It’s also about healing, whether it’s the players themselves or the small town of Humboldt, whose citizens were thrust onto the world stage because of the accident and who rallied around each other.

The danger of making a project like this is that it can feel invasive, an excuse to get into the faces of those affected and exploit them. But the producers don’t ever do that. The result is a tear-filled story of remembrance and respect that everyone should watch.

“Humboldt: The New Season” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of August 9

Seeing as The Amazing Race Canada cannot really do culture-clash language barrier struggles with the lack of international legs, and they typically cast for “inspirational” stories (Anthony and James were pretty much asked to audition by production) that avoid the inter-team drama (Dave and Irina an obvious exception this year), that leaves task drama so the perception is the tasks are very difficult which creates the penalty as a strategy angle. Had the time came in then the task would have become literally impossible; and if I remember correctly, it took A&J, T&A over four hours, so over double the penalty time anyway. And, apparently, if it wasn’t for the local advantage knowing Goats on Roof the Roadblock would have slowed them down even more. This Leg was a bit weaker than the last few. So-so tasks and the maze while it looked like a cool Survivor challenge, was much quicker then the dance just from the description of the Detour. Knew it was probably a non-elim with only six teams left and only midway through the episodes. —DanAmazing

[Hudson & Rex is a] wonderful series, looking forward to Season 2. —Irene

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

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