Everything about Featured, eh?

Featured, Masterchef Canada

Seeing red on MasterChef Canada

After taking over Claudio’s Origin in Season 1 and Michael’s Canoe in Season 2, it was Alvin’s turn to hand the keys to his restaurant to the Top 6 during Sunday’s instalment. The episode title, “Demon at the Pass,” certainly lived up to its name as Chef Leung barked orders to the Red and Blue teams as they cooked at Toronto’s R&D restaurant, launched by Season 1 winner Eric Chong (Rebel) and Leung (Demon).

And by the end of the episode, it was Dr. Shawn who surrendered his apron (and signature ball cap) and exited the competition. But back to the Restaurant Takeover for a second, where the Demon Chef lived up to his name by barking orders and refusing to mince words when plates delivered by the Red and Blue teams weren’t up to par. I felt badly for the Top 6, who not only had to learn and execute complex Asian dishes but served them to former MasterChef Canada competitors. Mary’s Red team of Veronica and April Lee gutted it out against Jeremy’s Blue squad of Matthew and Shawn and everything appeared to be evenly matched … until a second plate of wonky chow mein was sent back to the Blue kitchen. That spelled their defeat and sent the men to the Pressure Test.

Kudos to MasterChef Canada‘s producers for coming up with increasingly difficult challenges for the home cooks; making a Charlotte cake in just one hour seemed impossible and created some especially tense moments as Matthew’s glaze bled down the sides of his cake and Shawn’s lady fingers were chunky and child-like. The former edged out the latter when it came to taste, however, eliminating the good doctor from the competition.

MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Featured, Motive, X Company

Comments and queries for the week of May 6

1 Comment

X Company‘s creators discuss the heartbreaking finale and look towards Season 3

I like this show, but now Tom’s dead. I’m not watching it any longer. Killing the kid would have been better, I can’t stand him. But Tom was a much better character … and his death meant the death of the show for me. I’m done. —D

I suspect “the kid” will grow up if he survives the coming season. Very young people involved in causes often become fanatical about them—and not just those in the Nazi youth. With a little more life experience he’d have understood that his young German counterpart was a conscript who had no other choice, especially under a totalitarian régime (conscientious objectors were forced to clean minefields, where they were eventually blown up, among other things). Odd, I didn’t like Tom at first; I found him smarmy and a bit of a prequel to Mad Men. But he certainly became a fully-fleshed character and had to undergo quite the ordeal even pretending to be seriously wounded and then finally falling over the proverbial cliff. I miss René, who looks like a friend of mine (who is considerably younger than I am), but that wouldn’t have allowed me to watch much of the series. I do appreciate the development of the female characters. Some commenters are saying that it wasn’t realistic in light of female roles 70 years ago, but the very fact that so many men were off fighting meant that women had to take on new responsibilities (as we see at Camp X). And that was certainly the case in the Resistance, in many countries. —Lagatta

Motive‘s showrunner sounds off on the series’ final cases

We are disappointed that Motive is not continuing for another season. It is a terrific show with excellent actors and believable plots. —June and Brian

Person of Interest is now on Tuesday night in Motive’s time slot. Where is Motive? It was only on for four weeks!! —Stacey

The remaining episodes of Motive will air this summer on CTV.

 

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

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Children's Programming, Featured

Jason Priestley shows his comic chops in Family’s Raising Expectations

I’ve seen Jason Priestley guest-star on Spun Out, so I knew he could do comedy. But would he be able to headline a comic project on Family Channel? Indeed he can. As a matter of fact, he’s one of many reasons to tune in to Raising Expectations.

Debuting Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel, Priestley’s Wayne Wayney plays a somewhat out-of-touch dad alongside wife Paige (Molly Ringwald) and their four “multi-exceptional” children. The fifth kid? Well, not so much. Emmett (Simon Cadel) lacks the academic and physical prowess of his siblings, but has the street smarts to keep everyone grounded. And though the emphasis in the press releases surrounding Raising Expectations plays up Emmett a lot, he doesn’t really come off that much different from his brothers and sister. What does, however, is Priestley’s Wayne. After seeing him play a teen for so long on Beverly Hills 90210, it’s definitely a shock to see him playing a father. Thanks to the writing, he’s a blast.

Created by the same folks behind Todd and the Book of Pure Evil—Episode 2 features Emmett wearing a Crowley High t-shirt—Raising Expectations is a showcase for Priestley’s comic chops (he’s directing some episodes too). Whether he’s wallowing on a couch, feeling badly for lying to his family and drowning his guilt in bags of chips and tubs of ice cream, mistaking Internet trolls for gnomes or doing battle with a sap-filled tree, Wayne is the focus. Taking nothing away from Ringwald or the young cast—who are great too—but the series would be hard to watch with anyone else acting opposite them.

Another mark in Raising Expectations‘ favour? No laugh track. There’s simply no reason to have it when the writing is sharp and the performances are well done.

Raising Expectations airs Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel.

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Featured, Industry News

Canada AM’s Jeff Hutcheson announces retirement

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It’s the end of the road for Jeff Hutcheson. The longtime sports reporter, weather guru and Canada AM co-host announced during Friday’s broadcast that he is retiring following one final remote tour across the country.

Canada AM followed up Hutcheson’s on-air reveal with the following Facebook post:

“This morning, Jeff shared the news that he is retiring next month. Of course, we’ve been heartbroken since he told us his decision last June… but his wife is thrilled. Since they met twelve years ago, Jeff and Heather have spent 2,600 nights apart, with his work in Toronto and her work and life in PEI. As we get ready to say farewell, Jeff is heading out on one last Canadian tour, visiting some of his favourite places and remembering some of his favourite moments. If you’re near Niagara-on-the-Lake next Wednesday, May 11th, please come out and join us. If you have any retirement messages or advice for Jeff, you can share it with us here, or email us at canadaam@ctv.ca”

“I am humbled and overwhelmed by all your well wishes…thank you very much,” Hutcheson posted on his Twitter page soon after. “Looking forward to my last six weeks..it’s been my pleasure.”

Hutcheson has been with Canada AM since 1998, and has created several trademark segments for the show, including remote broadcast tours that have taken him to points in Canada and around the world and “Things I Learned on the Internet Today.” He began his broadcast career in 1976 as a college student on Toronto’s CFRB 1010 radio before being hired by Kitchener, Ont.’s CKCO-TV after graduating. The next two decades were spent at CKCO-TV as a sports anchor, reporter, producer, writer and program host before making his final move to Canada AM.

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Featured, Slasher

The Executioner takes a back seat to Vaughn on Slasher

Yes, Slasher is about a killer slaughtering small-town folks, but Friday’s new episode is almost exclusively about Chief Iain Vaughn. “The One Who Sows His Own Flesh,” is an examination into what motivates folks to make the decisions they do, and the impact it has on others.

Here are a few questions we get answers to on Friday night.

Why does the Chief have Ariel in his basement?
The shocking reveal at the end of last week’s “Gotten Gains” was Vaughn nabbed Ariel Petersen and was keeping her in a basement room along with a little boy. “The One Who Sows His Own Flesh,” retraces the event in a flashback and catches up with Ariel and her son, Jake. There are surprisingly tender moments in the scenes despite the shocking situation and credit to Dean McDermott for making Vaughn a relatable guy despite his actions. There is a reason for what he’s done, and that is explained.

Slasher2

Would a journalist kill members of his town to further his career?
That’s the question Sarah has for Dylan. Following the death—and deep-frying of Alison—Dylan has moved his things to her desk and is running the newspaper. He’s also looking to further his career even more than before, with expectations outside of being a talking head on a TV screen.

Why did Tom kill Sarah’s parents?
We got just a hint into the answer; expect more next week. Mainly because there are just two more episodes left.

Where is the FBI or RCMP?
After so many deaths in the town, why hasn’t a government authority descended on Waterbury to take over the investigation?

Slasher airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Super Channel.

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