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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Jonathan Torrens delivers the funny and heartfelt in CBC’s Your Special Canada

Jonathan Torrens wears his patriotism on his sleeve. Want proof? In addition to co-hosting a podcast with former Our Lady Peace drummer Jeremy Taggart called Canadianity (a book is on the way this fall), he’s hosting a Canada Day special where he does maple syrup shots and jumps into a massive butter tart.

Your Special Canada starring Jonathan Torrens—debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBC and repeating July 1 at 7 p.m. —is an entertaining and ingenious hour featuring Torrens playing himself and memorable characters like Slappy the Trivia Beaver and cross-dresser Sindy Crosby. A combination of online bits he’d already done for the network’s comedy portal were strung together with original content filmed in Torrens’ birthplace, Charlottetown. The celebration begins with a Sir John A. MacDonald re-enactor sniffing that everything has been done with regard to Canada Day television specials; Torrens aims to prove him wrong.

“The first is with The Taters of Conspuderation, a diorama with potatoes dressed as the Fathers of Confederation,” he says on the line from his home in Nova Scotia. “The second is ‘Jonath-Anne of Green Gables,’ a one-man show in which I play both roles, and my big finale is jumping into a big butter tart.” It took a few days for producer and star Torrens—along with writer-producer-director Richard Mortimer, producer Lynn Harvey and writers Paul Pogue and Steve Dylan—to suss out the content surrounding the existing skits; the result is a variety show with a Canadian angle.

Torrens gets gooey to celebrate Canada Day

There are plenty of outlandish moments in Your Special Canada—Torrens dons a beaver suit and slaps folks in the face with a whipped-cream-laden beavertail when they get trivia questions wrong, and has Zamboni drivers compete in an obstacle course—but there are goosebump-inducing ones too. Case in point: Torrens delivers a heartfelt take on Alanis Morrisette’s “Thank You” to this country and flies to Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut to deliver maple syrup, Canadian flag toques and good feelings to soldiers stationed there.

“My challenge in Alert was to keep it together and not cry on camera,” the Mr. D co-star admits. “First of all, the sacrifices that they make for our country are enormous. Secondly, the universal feeling of the folks is that it’s an honour to be posted there and they’re happy to be there.”

“It just makes you realize that making funny faces on the TV … there is no merit in that compared to what these people are doing.”

Your Special Canada starring Jonathan Torrens airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBC. It repeats on Saturday, July 1, at 7 p.m. on CBC.

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Bad Blood, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of June 23

2 Comments

I’ll be watching Bad Blood and Fubar [on City this fall].

I shall pass along the info about the space comedy to friends who are Star Trek fans. They may like it. Cheers! —Iris

 

What are you thinking Corus … cancelling You Gotta Eat Here, Timber Kings and Income Property? These are your bread and butter, so to speak. Trying to find decent Canadian content is hard as it is. You will lose a committed fan by doing this. So very upset. —Shelley

Seriously big mistake cancelling this show. I truly looked forward to John and his funny smile. The show took us to great restaurants people wouldn’t know about without John. What a great way to boost the Canadian economy by letting everyone know about all the great places Canada has to offer the food scene. Poor choice to let the show go. —Michelle

It was a horrible decision! John was an amazing host. I made a point of going to restaurants that he recommended. It was great for the Canadian economy. I am sure many viewers did the same thing So now what, we have to watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?? Seriously Corus, what a pathetic mistake! —Theresa

 

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

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Dark Matter, Featured

Dark Matter: Things gets loopy in Episode 4

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Here’s what Anthony Lemke told us about the character of Three heading into Dark Matter‘s third season:

“Three’s through-line story has been about his past and discovering that a bad guy isn’t all bad. We learned in Season 2 the root of that complexity; he is a caring and very soft person, but that bravado is real too. Both of those sides live within this character and that’s what makes it fun to play. When he says, ‘Let’s go steal stuff and kill some people,’ he means it. We continue on that journey in Season 3.”

He also laughed and smacked the table as he teased the adventures Three gets into this year. Well, Dark Matter fans, this Friday’s new episode “All the Time in the World,” is one of the key storylines Lemke was talking about. With Sarah alive as a computer program and accessible to him—and a part of his past life open—here’s what Space’s official synopsis is for the instalment:

Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, THREE has been trapped in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over.

And here are some spoiler-free tidbits we can add about the episode, written by Joseph Mallozzi and directed by Ron Murphy.

Two is non-plussed about Three’s behavior

Here we go again. And again. And again.
We’ve gotten a mere peek at Anthony Lemke’s comic timing over the past two seasons. This week’s script allows him to go full-on and it’s a goshdarn treat. I won’t give anything away but I’ll admit I watched pretty much every scene Three was in with a stupid grin on my face. Even the soundtrack in those scenes is different, with a funky bass thump to note this isn’t your usual Dark Matter episode.

The Android is Three’s partner in crime
Zoie Palmer + Anthony Lemke = belly laughs.

Speaking of The Android…
Fans are going to be blown away by her storyline during the latter third of the episode. We’re going to be talking about this for weeks.

The bounty hunters disperse
Remember the lineup of baddies Ryo ordered to find the crew of the Raza? Well, it happens.

Dark Matter airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Wild Bear Rescue examines rehabbing and raising bears on the west coast

I’m a sucker for animals and pretty much any programming around them. I’ve watched many, many episodes of Hope for Wildlife, about Hope Swinimer’s non-profit wildlife rehab centre in Nova Scotia. Now there’s a new group being spotlit on the west coast thanks to Animal Planet.

Wild Bear Rescue, debuting Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Animal Planet, visits Northern Lights Shelter, a place that raises orphaned bear cubs—and other wildlife—to give them a shot at survival. Begun in 1990 and designed to be an occasional refuge for injured animals, Angelika and Peter Langen’s passion project has grown. Now they’ve got 40 bear cubs rehabbing on their property, making them one of the largest in the world. There are, of course, challenges. With no government funding, the Langers rely on the charity of local supermarkets, private donations and passionate volunteers to make ends meet and Episode 1 outlines those challenges, both money and ursine, faced at Northern Lights Shelter.

“A Cub with a Kick,” the first of 12 episodes, introduces viewers to the Langers and their team before getting right to the drama when a young female bear is brought in after being hit by a car. Omnifilm Entertainment, the show’s producers, did an excellent job ramping up the drama for six seasons of Ice Pilots NWT and do the same thing here, leaving viewers in suspense regarding the overnight fate of their newest arrival and whether a newborn fawn will feed.

If you’re like me and enjoy programs about animals, Wild Bear Rescue will be right up your alley. And if you’d like to, Northern Lights is always looking for volunteers and donations.

Wild Bear Rescue airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Animal Planet.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Private Eyes

Private Eyes gets ghostly in Episode 5

Season 2 of Private Eyes has really been a joy to watch. It’s the perfect summer confection, packed with fun with a side of light drama; the perfect program to sit down and fully enjoy on a steamy evening. The writing in this sophomore go-round is tighter and the acting crew have truly embraced their roles. That continues in this week’s new storyline, “Now You See Her…,” which injects a little of the paranormal into the proceedings.

Here is the official episode synopsis from Global for Thursday’s episode written by James Thorpe and directed by Kelly Makin:

A brilliant orchestra conductor hires Shade and Angie to find his missing fiancée. But there’s a catch – she died a year ago. On the trail of a ghost, Shade and Angie unearth a dark secret with fatal implications for everyone involved.

And, as always, here are a few tidbits to tease you after watching a screener.

Don gets a plot of his own
Daddy Shade has been in the background for much of the series so far, able to offer a supporting shoulder or a well-timed quip. This week a phone call puts Don front and centre, and throws his and Matt’s lives for a loop.

Nolan returns
It’s been a few weeks since Clé Bennett (above) has been on-screen and it’s great to have his whisper-voiced, detective back in our lives, especially if it leads to some super-awkward scenes involving Angie as they discuss the case. (Also, I love the writing team giving a shout-out to Cobourg, Ont.)

Follow the moving donut box
I’m a total TV geek and take immense pleasure in the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a television show from the writing to the incredible sets and set decoration. That’s why I spotted a donut box that switched position a couple of times in one scene. See if you catch it too. Mon Dieu!

Second Jen co-star alert!
Samantha Wan, of course, plays Zoe this season. While we await the fate of Second Jen—ahem Rogers—keep your eyes peeled for a guest role by Wan’s co-star Amanda Joy.

Private Eyes airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Images courtesy of Corus.

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