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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

He Said/She Said: Are reality shows the scourge of TV?

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Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week: Are reality shows the scourge of TV?

He said:

My feelings for competition reality television shows, particularly in Canada, is two-fold. It’s easy to rip on this type of programming as trashy, invasive and stupid, but it’s here to stay. Ever since a little show called Survivor was launched in May of 2000, the television landscape was changed forever.

(Just to be clear, when I refer to reality television, I’m talking about competition shows, not programs like Survivorman, Mantracker, Emergency and programs of that ilk.)

Cheap to produce when compared to scripted series, reality television does appeal to a certain segment of the population that enjoys seeing others at their most vulnerable. For many, the chance to sit down and watch people struggle through their daily lives in a show like U8TV: The Lofters, seek out love on The Bachelor Canada or traverse this country and the world on The Amazing Race Canada is a guilty pleasure. And who am I to judge? I’ve covered countless seasons of reality series and there are a few that I genuinely love to watch and review. TAR Canada, Top Chef Canada, MasterChef Canada, Canadian Idol and Eco-Challenge are competition programs that I’ve enjoyed over the last several years, mainly because they appeal to the adventurer, chef and wannbe singer (if I wasn’t tone deaf) in me. I’m not alone; these shows are consistently at the top of the ratings charts.

I do, however, have a bit of an issue with the recent move of adding “Canada” to the end of an established U.S. product. It’s understandable to do this—the familiarity to the brand means a built-in audience will tune in—but it’s stripping some of the uniqueness away. I fear it will only get worse. The recent CRTC decision affecting independent production companies could mean an abrupt drop-off in new reality series that aren’t homegrown versions of international reality shows.

She Said:

I proposed this topic as “reality TV is the devil” and figured I’d go moderate and reasonable by explaining no, they’re just Satan’s minions.

But of course that’s an exaggeration. Except for that spate of morally questionable shows like Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire.

I remember watching Survivor with a roommate and thinking: does anyone buy that this isn’t shaped and edited into a ridiculous story? Never mind how disgusting I find the cynical anti-romantic mysogyny of “romantic” reality series like  The Bachelor (Canada), but does anyone not roll their eyes at the absolute cheesiness of the repetitively scripted and ridiculous rose ceremony?

The answer of course is mostly no. People enjoy the shows for a variety of reasons ranging from buying into them and loving them to hate-watching them, but many simply find them entertaining and also realize there is some kind of overlord shaping the story we’re seeing, just like any other television show. When the Writers Guild of American started vocally unionizing reality TV writers, it began to be hard to deny there was a story being scripted, and the reality being presented bore no resemblance to reality. Canada’s Smartest Person is not Canada’s smartest person. Canada’s Worst Driver shouldn’t get 15 minutes of fame.

I’ve gotten sucked into some reality competition series (current addiction: The Voice, and I watched a season of Battle of the Blades avidly). I’ve defended some like Dragons’ Den against podcast cohost Anthony Marco’s accusation that they are all based in schadenfruede — wanting to see others fail.

Some reality series are good natured, some are mean spirited, some are ethically dubious. My main objection is I like my fiction to know it’s fictional. But I’d go even further than competition reality shows being the scourge of TV and say it’s been the scourge of the Internet. In the early days of that kind of television, discussion forums struggled with how to enforce “no personal attacks” with free discussion of the characters in a show. When the line between human being and ridiculous TV character blurs, where does our humanity toward the person go? Out the window of course.

That occupies only a small part of my hatred though. For the most part my hatred for reality shows is based on them taking up space on my dial, taking up space in Canadian broadcasters’ CanCon allotment where a good scripted series could be, and the fact that my taste doesn’t rule the airwaves, because reality shows often beat the ratings pants off of a good scripted series.

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

Review: Losers return to MasterChef Canada

I don’t like it when reality shows bring eliminated contestants back to win their way onto the program. To me, if you have been cut, you weren’t good enough in the first place and don’t deserve another chance. And you certainly don’t deserve another shot at winning the MasterChef Canada title and $100,000 over someone who has been in the trenches every single week.

So I went into Sunday’s latest episode, “Walking on Eggshells,” with a bad taste in my mouth. To me, Andrew, Cody and Kevin were nothing more than a dramatic twist that didn’t need to be there. This season has been filled with enough twists to keep me interested, so why this overkill? Regardless of my thoughts, the trio competed in the first challenge of the week, to prepare the perfect egg three ways.

The judges didn’t make things easy on Andrew, Cody and Kevin—they had just eight minutes to make a three-egg omelette, poached egg and soft-boiled egg—and the trio sweated it out. Kevin, who always seems to be a bit of a bull in a china shop in the kitchen, broke his poached egg yolk and was out of the running early, leaving the door open for Cody and Andrew. Cody ultimately won a spot back in. I won’t spend any more time whining about it.

Instead, I’ll spotlight Cody’s bonehead move of giving David a pass for the week. He is one of the strongest chefs in the kitchen and instead of making him battle, Cody let David off easy. Armchair David indeed. I understand Cody’s reasoning of putting David up there so he’s not competing with him, but he’ll have to face David sooner or later.

As for the rest of the finalists, they had an almost insurmountable task in recreating a sea scallop mousse. I’m sorry, but how can the judges expect the home cooks to master a dish that Michael Bonacini messed up the first few times he tried to construct it? Making things worse for herself was Jennifer, who forgot to grab eggs from the pantry. Kudos to Michael for taking time out to talk her off the ledge, but she had a tough road ahead of her. And yet she pulled it off by using a roux to thicken the custard and snagged a special nod from the judges.

Jon’s double shot of whipping his mousse too much and leaving a chunk of lobster cartilage in the finished dish put him firmly in the bottom next to Cody and his chunky mousse and Michael’s puddly creation. Jon’s two mistakes were enough to send him home and keep Cody in the competition.

Notes and quotes

  • “I’d rather cook what lays the eggs.” — Kevin
  • “It’s one of the most attractive poached eggs I’ve seen.” Uh, thanks Alvin.
  • I love that the finalists refer to David as “Armchair David,” because he’s always in the gallery watching others compete.
  • “I don’t get a mousse. Why would you do that to food?” Amen, Jon. Amen.
  • Does anyone have time to sit in that little library/study at the back of the kitchen?

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Bringing the dead to life in Mummies Alive

“Mummies: time travellers from the past. Who were they and how did they die?” That’s the goal of History’s latest documentary series, Mummies Alive.

Narrated by Jason Priestley—he utters the above quote off the top of the show—Mummies Alive, produced by Canada’s Saloon Media and UK’s Impossible Factual, is pretty entertaining. Rather than focus on the mummies we’re used to, like Egyptian pharaohs, this six-parter explores discoveries from different parts of the world and a wide range of time periods.

Sunday’s first episode, “The Gunslinger Mummy,” delves into the back story of a mummy on display at a Seattle curiosity shop since the 1950s. According to stories passed down, “Sylvester” was an American Wild West cowboy killed 120 years ago in a saloon shootout. But is that hole in his leathery stomach really from a bullet? Using state-of-the-art science, professors Ron Beckett and Jerry Conlogue investigate the truth behind the surprisingly well-preserved corpse. As Beckett exclaims, Sylvester looks more like a wooden carving than a mummy, complete with a full moustache and mouth full of broad, crooked white teeth.

Rather than perform an autopsy—which would destroy the body—they turn to forensic pathologist Dr. Richard Shepherd and his super-cool computer scanner, which removes layers of skin to reveal the skeleton underneath. Experts embark on some stunning tests, including using a Colt .45 and a beef brisket to prove whether or not Sylvester was shot in the stomach and if the Arizona desert really was hot and dry enough to turn Sylvester into a mummy.

Rather than just stick with the science of the investigation, Sunday’s debut uses newspaper articles, word-of-mouth and CGI to tell the alleged tale of Sylvester, a rough-and-tumble man who may have been on the wrong end of a poker game. Gunfights in the Wild West were commonplace, but is that what happened to Sylvester? A history of the time period and other facts are revealed until the true story of Sylvester, his life—and circumstances surrounding his death—are brought to light. It’s a fun and informative ride.

Upcoming episodes include spotlighting two Iron Age bog people and a Neolithic murder victim.

Mummies Alive airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on History.

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Featured, Orphan Black

Review: Them’s the Breaks on Orphan Black

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SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read on unless you’ve seen the Season 3 premiere of Orphan Black, titled “The Weight of This Combination.”

We’re back in Clone Country, and things are just as complicated … perhaps too complicated. The plot and goings-on in the Orphan Black Season 3 premiere are somewhat muddled, and at times it feels like we’re being over-explained to. To be fair, there’s a lot happening with the clones (now both male and female), Dyad, Topside, Mrs. S., Paul, the “cleaner” Ferdinand, Delphine, and some strange plotline with school board trustee Marcie and our favourite suburban couple, Alison and Donnie.

Thank goodness for the Orphan Black humour and visuals, otherwise this would have been a very tough slog. Underneath all of the exposition thrust upon us, there is a simple thread to follow, one that I intend to focus on rather than all the extraneous information that doesn’t really matter in the end. The bottom line is this: Rachel, Topside, Dyad and Project Castor are out to destroy the Project Leda clones, and the sisters have to band together in order to stop them. There. Easy, isn’t it?

The bizarro baby shower dream opening scene is one for the ages: saturated colour, reference to ox liver, Felix at the barbecue, pregnant Helena in her Sunday best. I didn’t believe it was real for one second, but hey, it was still entertaining. And only Helena would have a talking scorpion feeding her encouragement. This is the kind of fun I want from Orphan Black, but don’t always get.

Going by the ads and commercials, I was expecting this episode to dedicate more time explaining Project Castor, their motivations, and who each of the male clones were. While we saw them all, except for Mark (Rudy talking to Sarah and doing naked yoga/exercise, Seth beating up Mrs. S., and Miller freeing Helena)—we didn’t really get much. The show is still focusing on (and trying to make clear) the whole Topside debacle, along with the revelation about the Helsinki slaughter in 2006. I have a feeling Episode 2 will delve deeper into the guys’ backstories.

But for now, we get a lot about Cosima and Delphine, which I don’t mind. Their break-up scene was a heartbreaker, and hearing Tatiana’s crushing “I love you,” complete with cracking voice and tears, was enough to make my chin quiver. For the first time (to me, anyway), Delphine was awesome, concocting elaborate schemes and pushing down on Rachel’s empty eye socket. I was squirming away during that scene.

Straight-up, I’m worried that Rachel will kill Delphine. In fact, I’d bet money on it; but not before she and Cosima have their reunion. Their break-up seemed kind of unnecessary anyway, but I accepted it because Delphine is probably just trying to protect Cosima.

Alison and Donnie’s school board trustee story is out of left field. At least it’ll provide a less-intense side story when things heat up among the clones. It also brings us the glory of Kristian Bruun and his Donnie character, which I suspect is why they’re doing this story in the first place. No longer a monitor, Donnie needs to be integrated into the plot somehow. Also, Marcie? She looks so evil, she’s either A) involved with Topside somehow, B) involved with Project Castor somehow, or C) is both. Whatever the case, don’t trust her.

And I know I’ve said this before, but can I just shout out one more time to Tatiana? I never tire of watching her play a clone playing a clone. She masters it, from the walk to the tone to the accent, and it is a marvellous display of acting. Bravo. Just never play Tony again.

Next week, one of the Project Castor clones has Xs over his eyes. WHY? Can’t wait to find out.

Clone of the Week: Helena. Hands-down, she is the most entertaining clone, from the scorpion-talking to the dream sequence. More, please.

Random Thoughts:

  • Felix: “Delphine has your number? We definitely need new clone phones.”
  • Alison: “Holy diddle, here we go!”
  • Big nerd props to Scott’s periodic table of elements T-shirt. Not gonna lie, I kind of want it.
  • Donnie: “They took the Taurus.”
  • Another clone! Crystal Goderich, blonde, sexy, seductress … hope we get to see more of her.
  • Felix: “Don’t these people know you didn’t even finish high school?!”
  • Ari Millen didn’t have much to do in this premiere, aside from looking crazy and doing naked pull-ups, but I especially liked his Seth character (the moustache). I think he has the most depth, and I enjoyed his mini-breakdown in the kitchen with Mrs. S.
  • Wherever Sarah and Felix go drinking, down by that river—does NOT look appealing. Time for a new spot to set up the lawn chairs and talk clone.

Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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Featured

Second City jumps from stage to web to TV

Sketch comedy is enjoying a TV renaissance of sorts thanks to the major Canadian broadcasters. CBC has Punchline, where comedy fans can go online to check out original material, Bell’s Comedy Network offers up Letterkenny Problems and stand-up specials, and City has Sunnyside.

Now Shaw is getting in on the action with The Second City Project, an online entity that grabs the primetime spotlight on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. The TV project celebrates the long-running sketch troupe with never-before-seen sketches and comedy pieces from the company’s cast—alumni writer-performers Marty Adams, Tim Baltz, Caitlin Howden, Sam Richardson, Kayla Lorette and Steve Waltien, along with showrunner Bob Martin—in a half-hour special.

The Second City Project has a companion piece in a YouTube channel (check out one of the segments below) that embraces all things out-there while skewering social mores. Online clips include a wheelchair-bound werewolf—played by Adams—who finds it hard to hunt down victims because he can’t gain access to buildings, and a skewering of network executives who tell Martin one of the girls on the cast has to dye her hair blonde.

“The one about the hair was actually a real conversation we had with the network,” Martin says with a laugh. “They did come up and say, ‘One of them has to change their hair because they look too much alike.’ We had this whole awkward conversation and I had to go up to  Caitlin and Kayla and say, ‘The network would like one of you to become a blonde.'”

Martin is a hot property right now. In addition to The Second City Project, he’s begun work on the second season of HBO Canada’s Sensitive Skin with Kim Cattrall and Don McKellar, and CBC’s reboot of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays. But he jumped at the chance to flex his sketch writing muscles alongside comedy veterans like Adams, who sees Canadian networks committing to online content as a backdoor to getting funny stuff on TV.

“I think the only way to get on TV as a sketch production is to have already done stuff online,” Adams says. “You have to go on YouTube and get a million or 2 million hits to prove it can be successful. Sketch series have been a hard sell for a long time. You have Saturday Night Live, but now with shows like Key & Peele, it’s booming now. But you have to prove yourself to the network. They won’t sink money into a project just because they liked your showcase.”

Adams and Martin note sketch has advanced in the way it looks thematically, with Martin explaining the goal for The Second City Project was to make all of the content looks great online and on TV. Martin also wanted the sketches to be standalone vignettes with no through lines or characters recurring between segments.

“I love Portlandia, but I don’t want to play the same characters,” Adams says. “Unless it’s a rich character that you can mine, you can beat it to death.”

The Second City Project airs Sunday, April 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

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