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Featured, Saving Hope

Saving Hope returns to its roots for Season 4

If this is the final season for Saving Hope, fans will be happy on one front. Erica Durance and Michael Shanks were mum when asked directly if the current season will be its last, but they did acknowledge CTV’s homegrown medical drama is returning to its roots.

“Charlie and Alex become mature adults,” Shanks says of Hope Zion’s central doctors. “One of the reasons the love triangle [with Daniel Gillies’ Dr. Joel Goran] ended is because that story only has legs for so long. To be playing CW love triangle stuff with the level of angst that they write … why is Charlie getting into another fist-fight with Joel?! It became time for these characters to move forward.”

Things have moved forward significantly in Thursday’s return, “Sympathy for the Devil.” Eleven months have passed since Joel was blown to smithereens. Alex (Durance) leaves baby Luke for her first day back at Hope Zion and it doesn’t take long for her to become embroiled in drama both in and outside of the operating room. The headstrong, brilliant doc finds herself competing with one of the hospital’s newest hires, Dr. Patrick Curtis (Max Bennett), over how to treat a car crash victim. Then Alex tackles her next case: a man named Tom Crenshaw (Rookie Blue‘s Travis Milne) who was convicted of murdering his wife. And while Alex and Tom connect on the operating table, the accused killer turns to Charlie for help. Shanks explains almost every ghost who has interacted with Charlie has been well-intentioned and a resulted positively.

“With this one, we don’t know,” he teases. “There is a bit of a raised eyebrow.”

Meanwhile, Zach (Benjamin Ayres) is struggling to deal with Goran’s death, going so far as to put his life on the line by entering a quarantined area to help a sick patient rather than take the time to don a hazmat suit.

“For all of the fans of Zach, this is going to be a really big year for him,” Durance says. “He really gets to unpack some emotional stuff and deal with the guilt that he feels.”

Saving Hope airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

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Continuum, Featured

Interview: Continuum’s Victor Webster rocks in Rio

“Holy shit.” We will pardon Alec Sadler’s expletive in Friday night’s newest episode, “Zero Hour,” because, well, he’s right. Those two words are spoken in a scene so mind-blowing it not only changes everything we’ve known about Continuum but the course it may take in the show’s final storylines.

It’s a big episode for many characters aside from Alec. The Traveller is given airtime and Carlos waxes poetic on his early relationship with Kiera. The same is true for the man who has played Carlos for the last four seasons; Victor Webster is leaving behind a character he loves, but gives us a peek into his next project: Rio Heat.

Carlos and Kiera have been through some stuff, including he dealing with two of her. Will their fractured relationship ever return to what it was?
Victor Webster: I don’t know if you ever come back 100 per cent from that. There are aftershocks, but I think they’ve found a place where they can work together again. Carlos has also had a chance to wrap his head around everything that has been happening and that has been very confusing to him.

I hear the scripts have been pretty explosive.
We’re blowing shit up. There’s a helicopter and explosions, but it’s all done for the sake of the story. It’s a great wrap-up to the show and an unexpected ending.

Is there anything that you’re going to take from the set as a souvenir?
Yes. I stole me a time ball. Hopefully, I can find a power source and go back in time and change a few life decisions. [Laughs.]

What will fans think of the ending?
It’s not a feel-good ending. It depends on who you are whether you like the ending or not.

Where does Continuum rank for you, personally, in your acting career? Near the top?
Absolutely. As far as the overall talent that we’ve accumulated on this show—actors, writers, directors, crew—it’s some of the most talented and nicest, funniest, most down-to-earth people I’ve ever worked with. This show has been put together so well from top to bottom.

You’re a creative guy. Is the next step creating your own stuff?
I’d love to collaborate with someone because I can’t write. I want to direct. That’s my next step. Having control over your own projects is key and if I can come in and be a director and producer … I don’t want to be a showrunner. Hell, no. But to team up with somebody that is much smarter and eloquent than me with words would be cool.

Talk a little bit about your next project, Rio Heat.
There is no secret to that show. It’s not like Continuum, there are no plot spoilers. It’s a fun show. It’s an action comedy. My character is former Special Forces, who became a cop, then a detective who retired and moved to Brazil. He’s recruited by Harvey Keitel’s character, who is kind of like Charlie in Charlie’s Angels. He’s a philanthropist and billionaire who owns all kinds of properties and he has an investigation agency in Rio for the elite of the elite. You can’t look him up in the yellow pages. He recruits me and tells me he’ll try and find my family if I work for him. He teams me with a super-spicy, bad-ass, hot, sexy, former Brazilian cop played by Thaila Ayala. She’s a huge star in Brazil. Our characters are very attracted to each other but we don’t want to be partners.

Continuum airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

Look for more interviews with Continuum stars Erik Knudsen and Roger Cross, and creator Simon Barry, in the coming weeks.

 

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Review: And The Amazing Race Canada winners are …

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After 48,500 km, Season 3 of The Amazing Race Canada crowned its winners as Gino and Jesse Montani captured a year of travel for two in business class anywhere Air Canada flies, two Chevy Colorados, gas for life from Petro Canada, $250,000 and winners of The Amazing Race Canada.

“Here’s to you, Canada. Cheers!” was an orgy of Canadiana in Vancouver, from riding a bike along a metal beam on BCE Place to visiting the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre for a map challenge and a ski matching test in Whistler.

And it was anything but and easy Leg for the final three teams. I honestly thought Brent and Sean’s luck had finally run out when Brent took 20 tries to wobble his way across the beam in downtown Vancouver. Jesse and Matt conquered the Road Block in their first tries, giving their squads an early lead. Those leads were cut down thanks to Brent and Sean’s tenacity … and a major blunder by Jesse and Gino. The brothers from Hamilton were so stressed out the wrestlers successfully finished the map challenge ahead of them they neglected to completely eras their whiteboard … Brent and Sean merely had to write the final answer on their board and they’d completed the task. Racing tip: worry about what you’re doing and not the other teams.

A somewhat simple task at the Bearfoot Bistro—removing the tops from champagne bottles using a sabre and champagne flute—was nonetheless a symbolic one: these teams had battled hard through 12 Legs and were celebrating ever-so-briefly with a quaff of bubbly.

The editing made it look as though Jesse and Gino were mere minutes arriving on the mat in front of Jon Montgomery ahead of Matt and Nick on the 12th hole at the Nicklaus North Golf Course. Either way, the siblings were first and the wrestlers, who had placed in the Top 3 during nine Legs had to settle for second place.

“We never doubted each other,” Jesse told Montgomery. “This is the most beautiful country in the world. You don’t need to travel anywhere else.”

Overall, I’ve been impressed with Season 3 of The Amazing Race. A series of incredibly hard challenges forced some teams to sit out and take time penalties but for the most part they gamely soldiered on. I’ve never been a fan of the Race leaving Canada, but I’m OK they keep the continent jumping to a minimum and begin and end in the greatest country on the planet.

Here’s how the final three finished:

  1. Jesse and Gino (winners)
  2. Matt and Nick
  3. Brent and Sean

Notes and quotes

  • “Brent and I are from the east coast and prefer our mussels with garlic butter.” — Sean
  • How great was that callback to Monty’s gold medal Winter Olympics win by handing him a pitcher of beer?

What have you thought of this season of The Amazing Race Canada? Will you audition for Season 4?

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Featured, Industry News

No, Buzzfeed didn’t love 22 CBC shows, but that’s ok

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It’s hard to write this without coming across as sarcastic, but I mean it genuinely: It’s a stroke of genius that CBC paid to post their own Buzzfeed list “22 CBC Shows Every Canadian Needs in their Life” as a brand publisher and is now paying to promote it on Twitter as Buzzfeed’s list.

I’ve seen several examples featuring different listed shows, written as if it’s not CBC’s own content they’re shilling:

Advertorials aren’t new, though there are fancy new names for them, like branded content. But the CBC to Buzzfeed to Twitter path takes advantage of this new-fangled social media thing in a way Canadian networks and shows haven’t always done well. It also takes advantage of the fact that few people click on the link to read the actual story and even fewer pay attention to the byline. So most Twitter users who see the promoted tweets, whether they click or not, will assume Buzzfeed has endorsed the featured show instead of that CBC is paying both Buzzfeed and Twitter to imply Buzzfeed endorsed it.

With 22 shows to feature (22? seriously? isn’t that everything CBC produces?) they’re making sure they get a lot of bang for that advertising-dressed-up-as-earned-media buck.  This is the kind of advertising that could reach people who aren’t already the captive CBC audience.

And if you read the advertorial and didn’t realize it was one? There was no actual deception, and it’s caveat emptor on what we buy in our information-saturated lives. Plus the worst that can happen is it makes you check out a CBC show you might not have heard of before. And after all 22 start airing, maybe someone paid by Buzzfeed will like some of them enough to write about them, too.

 

 

 

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Featured, Polls, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, The Romeo Section, This Life

Poll: Which new Canadian fall TV programs will you be watching?

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Earlier this month, we asked which three Canadian television series you were most excited about returning—congratulations Murdoch Mysteries fans—and now it’s time to gauge interest in the rookies stepping up to bat over the next two months.

From Canadian comfort food to spies, from Tornado Hunters to Ice Racers, which three (3) new programs are you planning to watch? We’ve included summaries of each series below the choices to help you decide; check out our handy calendars to see when they debut.

(Vote by clicking the box next to your three choices and then selecting the Vote box to the right of Tornado Hunters.)

Which new Canadian fall TV shows are you planning to watch?

  • Tornado Hunters, CMT (54%, 344 Votes)
  • Crash Gallery, CBC (10%, 66 Votes)
  • The Romeo Section, CBC (8%, 48 Votes)
  • Ice Racer Showdown, CMT (7%, 42 Votes)
  • This Life, CBC (6%, 41 Votes)
  • Keeping Canada Alive, CBC (6%, 38 Votes)
  • Great Canadian Cookbook, Food Network (5%, 33 Votes)
  • Incredible Food Race, Food Network (4%, 24 Votes)

Total Voters: 482

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Crash Gallery
In this competition program, a trio of Canadian artists have just minutes to create an original piece of art using outrageous mediums in front of an audience who vote for the best piece. Hosted by the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Sean O’Neill.

Great Canadian Cookbook
Celebrity chef Lynn Crawford and Carnival Eats host Noah Cappe travel across the country, meeting Canadians who are passionate about the local dishes they prepare and celebrating the cultural mosaic of those recipes.

Ice Racer Showdown
Five drivers risk life and limb race vehicles through an icy obstacle course. Hosted by The Road Hammers’ Clayton Bellamy.

The Incredible Food Race
ET Canada‘s Rick Campanelli and celebrity chef Corbin Tomaszeski star in this culinary competition where two Canadian families compete to create a kid-approved meal.

Keeping Canada Alive
Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, this documentary series spotlights a 24-hour period in Canada’s health care system.

The Romeo Section
Created by Chris Haddock (Intelligence, Da Vinci’s Inquest), The Romeo Section explores the life of Wolfgang McGee (Andrew Airlie), a professor who secretly manages a group of spies. Jemmy Chen, Juan Riedinger, Stephanie Bennett and Eugene Lipinski also star.

This Life
Adapted from the French series, Nouvelle Adresse, This Life stars Torri Higginson as Natalie Lawson, a lifestyle columnist and single mother whose cancer diagnosis affects her and her family. Lauren Lee Smith, Christopher Turner, Rick Roberts, Rachael Crawford and Peter MacNeill also star.

Tornado Hunters
Cameras capture Greg Johnson, Chris Chittick and Ricky Forbes as their put their lives in danger to capture study North America’s tornadoes.

Vote above and comment below!

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