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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Mohawk Ironworkers recalls The World Trade Center and 9/11

September 6, 2016 Carolyn Potts 1 Comment

As we are approaching the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 disaster, it is appropriate APTN’sÂ Mohawk Ironworkers begins with stories of the World Trade Centre.

I have a number of friends from New York, and one who worked atÂ Ground Zero mere days after 9/11. When I mentioned this episode to him he said, “They [the Ironworkers] walked into the hazards side by side with firefighters and cops without hesitation. There were lives to save. A job to do.” He calls them heroes.

Peter J. Stacey, Randy J. Horn and Chris BeauvaisÂ from Kahnawa:ke, and Bill Sears from Ahkwesahsne (who claims to be the infamous “Moon Over Manhattan”) are featured in the first segment of the debut. All were involved in the building of the original twin towers and recount their experiences during the construction, sharing a number of entertaining anecdotes. They also share grief following the destruction of the towers. ForÂ them, the loss was incredibly personal.

Chris Beauvais, who spent four long months on the cleanup and recovery, was one of the first on site following the collapse. He had been working nearby on another building at the time and explains, “All of the ironworkers went down there. That’s our job. It’s iron and we know how to play with it.”

In the third and final segment, we visit with Preston Horn, Kevin McComber and John McGowen, all from Kahnawa:ke. All three are currently working on the New World Trade Center and speak of their pride inÂ the brotherhood of Mohawk ironworkers, and of being a part of the construction of World One.

The episode also gives a brief overview of the construction of the towers and describes the many innovative techniques that were unique to the construction of the original World Trade Center.

This was a good start to the series, demonstrating the long connection Mohawks have had with the skyline of New York City.Â As we are approaching the eve of the anniversary, I would like to close simply with one other thought that my friend shared: “To those iron workers who waded into the horrors with all of us first responders … thank you.”

Mohawk Ironworkers airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.

Amazing Race Canada, Featured

The Amazing Race Canada sets up its season finale

September 6, 2016 Greg David 3 Comments

This episode could easily have been called, “Meltdown in the Maritimes,” as all four teams were on the brink of emotional breakdowns at least once during Tuesday’s Leg of The Amazing Race Canada. It makes sense, though. It’s been a long Race full of drama and frayed nerves, and to be so close to the finale must be stressful.

Once again, the devil was in the details for teams, especially Jillian and Emmett and Frankie and Amy, who failed to understand they needed to learn just the English names of 15 plants at Kingsbrae Garden and not the Latin too. I certainly don’t blame Ashley for convincing Frankie they needed to know both; it’s the Leg before the last one and all bets are off. Still, I felt badly watching the mother-daughter team slouch back to the garden as Joel completed the task in his 10th try. That Road Block was a very interesting one and revealed something Lowell lives with every day. Being blindfolded caused every team member with their eyes covered to freak out, realizing they’d have to trust their senses of touch and smell to guide them to victory. I wonder if Lowell would have aced that challenge if he’d made it that far and chosen to try it?

I’ve only ever driven through New Brunswick on my way to and from Prince Edward Island, but thanks to The Amazing Race Canada, I’d love to visit. Touring the Moosehead Brewery and dropping by Crosby Molasses would be two items on my To Do list, as well as chowing down on some seafood. Speaking of molasses, I was convinced Frankie and Amy’s miscue of dumping four cups of vinegar instead of four tablespoons into their taffy would ruin the recipe. It threw off the cooking time but the pair weren’t far behind the other teams. And, despite losing the golf challenge, they were still in it when they arrived at the garden Road Block.

Steph and Kristen landed at the Pit Stop in first place, scoring a spot in the Final Four and a trip for two to Australia in the process. The girls have battled Jillian and Emmett for tops almost every week and have shown a lot of love and respect for each other. They’re the ones to beat. Joel and Ashley placed second and might be the dark horse of the competition. Joel is sneaky good at several things and, paired with a certain amount of luck and cool-headedness, he and his daughter could certainly run away with the title.

Jillian and Emmett, who completed the plant challenge ahead of Frankie and Amy, could certainly win too, thanks to smart racing and physical skills. As long as Jillian keeps a cool head, they could pocket the grand prize.

Alas, this Leg was the last for Frankie and Amy, and I felt awful when Amy was frustrated and trying her best, knowing it was the end of the road. Still, they made it a lot further than I expected and proved to be worthy adversaries. If it hadn’t been for Ashley’s head games, they might very well be in the finale rather than Jillian and Emmett.

Who do you think will win Season 4 of The Amazing Race Canada in Montreal? Comment below or @tv_eh.

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

Steph and Kristen (trip for two to Sydney)
Joel and Ashley
Jillian and Emmett
Frankie and Amy (eliminated)

The Amazing Race CanadaÂ season finale airs next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

Featured, Ransom

Set visit: Global’s crisis negotiation drama puts Toronto up for Ransom

September 6, 2016 Greg David

Living in Toronto, seeing orange traffic cones signify one of two things: road work or a film or television production. I’ve seen plenty of the former and latter over the past 15 years, but never a full-on road closure for a television production. Until earlier this summer.

The reason? Global’s crisis negotiation drama, Ransom. The co-production between the Canadian network, CBS in the U.S. and TF1 in France (Toronto’s Sienna Films and eOne are among the production partners) closed down a block near the Eaton Centre, filming a bank heist scene taking place during one of 13 episodes. Yellow barriers and Toronto police redirected traffic while black SUVs and cop cars emblazoned with the NYPD logo sat staggered in front of an old office building standing in for a bank. A phalanx of actors portraying SWAT police trooped down the street during several takes as a drone buzzed loudly overhead, capturing the action.

Ransom stars Luke Roberts (Black Sails) as Eric Beaumont, a hostage negotiator who jets to locales around the world talking criminals out of dire situations. The hook? Eric doesn’t carry a gun, preferring to use his gift of patter to disarm the bad guys. Based on the real-life experiences of negotiator Laurent Combalbert, executive producer Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files) says this is the biggest international show he’s done.

“I was told about Laurent about two and a half years ago,”Â Spotnitz says. “It already makes a great TV show,Â because, in the case of Laurent, every case is 24 to 48 hours. They are naturally adrenaline and suspense-filled. And he doesn’t carry a gun. That’s crazy. I’ve done lots of shows, including The X-Files, where people solved their problems with guns. To have a guy who says, ‘No guns. I’ll solve this with my mind,’ is a challenge but I wanted to do a show like that.”

Rounding out Ransom‘s cast is Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful) as Maxine Carlson, a girl with a secret; Brandon Jay McLaren (Slasher) as Oliver Yates, a psychological profiler; and Nazneen Contractor (Covert Affairs) as ex-cop Zara Hallam. After filming in Toronto for several monthsâ€”the city stood in for North American locationsâ€”the series decamped for the south of France, with the area representing European spots.

Spotnitz, who lives in London, full-time says he fell into the current production model where several countries toss production money into a hat and share costs but sees it as the way of the world now, where viewers are watching programs both traditionally and non-traditionally (like his The Man in the High Castle on Amazon).

“When I moved to London, I sort of fell into this model,” he says. “It’s an amazing time to be in Europe. There is a real awakening of television and a new ambition to do shows in the English language that compete with the best shows in North America. It’s challenging to do a show for two or three broadcasters but I enjoy it, travelling and getting to know all of these different cultures.”

Ransom airs during the 2016-17 broadcast season on Global and CBS. Look for more Ransom coverage on TV, Eh? as we get closer to a broadcast date.

Featured, Podcast

TV, eh? podcast episode 210 â€” One Step Up from Tang

September 4, 2016 Greg David

Note: This podcast is a re-post of the original, which was published earlier this month and lost during a website crash.

Diane’s still in Rio, so Anthony and Greg look forward to the upcoming weeks via the calendar, production beginning on History’s Hunting Nazi Treasure, CraveTV ordering a third season of Letterkenny, financial issues at Super Channel that have put three series in limbo and the cancellation of Houdini & Doyle.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

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