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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Transforming Transgender an intimate look into the lives of transgendered people

“I just didn’t feel right in who I was. I always thought, ‘Am I in the right body?'” That’s how Olie, a young Quebec girl, felt while she was a boy. That stunning quote kicks off Transforming Transgender, airing Thursday as part of CBC’s Doc Zone, a program that informs and educates—as Geena  Rocero explains—the “T” in LGBT.

Executive producer Rachel Low and her team aren’t out to shock viewers with their documentary, but to spotlight, celebrate and produce some very interesting facts. History shows humankind likes to put everyone in one gender or another, when the reality is that isn’t true. Nature presents different variations of flora and fauna, including humans. As Rocero, founder of Gender Proud in New York City points out, gender has been blurred in Asian countries for centuries.

Transforming Transgender interviews a stunning array of transgendered individuals, from children like Olie and Wren to Dr. Carys Massarella (pictured above) and Stephanie Castle, who was born in 1925 and as a child dreamt he saw himself as a girl. Stephanie went into the navy and had a “normal” life with two marriages and kids. It was at the end of the second marriage Stephanie knew she couldn’t hide it anymore and had gender reassignment surgery at 66.

The documentary also presents some sobering stats: 97 per cent of transgendered people experience harassment on the job and 40 per cent will attempt suicide. Unemployment rates are high because of transphobia and depression is a common occurrence. And why not? As several interview subjects point out, they felt isolated from their family and friends because of who they felt they needed to act like versus who they really were.

Far from being a “woe is me” project, Transforming Transgender is also a celebration of becoming who one really is and being supported by those who love you. The most touching moments are those chats with parents who didn’t care whether their child was a boy or a girl, just that they were someone they loved.

“We have this little joke where we hear someone say, ‘Oh, we’re having a boy,'” Wren’s mom says with a laugh. “And I think, ‘Maybe. Maybe not.'”

Transforming Transgender airs as part of Doc Zone at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, X Company

Review: Emotional fireworks highlight X Company’s second week

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Last week’s first episode of X Company was exactly the edge-of-your-seat drama that fans of co-creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern are used to. The duo are able to mix action with engaging characters (and a mean music montage) into tension-filled moments that leave you wanting more.

So, did Wednesday’s second episode, “Trial by Fire,” keep up the pace of last week’s debut? Yes, but in a very different way. Whereas exploding bridges and gunfights were at the centre of the debut, Wednesday’s newest storylines focused more on emotional fireworks than physical (though literal fireworks were featured during Hitler’s birthday celebrations in German-occupied Chartres, France).

Alfred went on his first mission with team and everyone—including him—realized the huge gamble they made by adding him to the team. Sure, he was the man of the hour when it came to the team’s mission off the week—to gain access to codes that would help stop the German bombings of England—but when presented with the rigours of say, parachuting into France and facing a German officer face-to-face—he was woefully unprepared. His panic attack in front of the code officer was equal parts scary and frustrating because I just wanted Alfred to snap out of it and utter the German dialogue he’d been trained to say.

Luckily, Neil was there to save their butts, but it was a harrowing few moments before the officer was dispatched and the situation rigged to look like the man had gotten drunk and taken a fatal fall out of a window while watching the fireworks.

Tom, meanwhile, used his knowledge of propaganda and gift for words to not only avoid killing the French family that saw the team land in their field but to set the record straight on the Germans, who had convinced many of the French that they meant no one harm. Dustin Milligan—who is doing double duty on CBC on X Company and Schitt’s Creek—is pitch perfect as the charming ad man with expertise in the power of words.

“Trial by Fire” was another nail-biter of an episode and, with Alfred agreeing to more missions, is taking its first steps toward one heck of a Season 1 adventure.

Notes and quotes

  • Smart move by CBC to re-air the previous week’s instalment in the hour before a new episode. Not only does it give those who missed it the first time around a chance to tune in, but it really plays up the TV-movie feel the show boasts.
  • I’m hoping the producers continue to use the spinning globe segment to show the team going overseas. It was cool.
  • One little quibble: the team should have been wearing helmets during the parachute jump.
  • Having the piano keys and Aurora both emit the colour blue—the shade that reminds Alfred of home—was a nice touch.
  • Is Harry emerging as the Q of X Company? I sure hope so.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

History’s Yukon Gold mines for riches in Season 3

There’s still gold up in thar hills, and Karl Knutson is determined to find it. Turns out that, long after the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1899, the precious metal continues to be dug out of the earth. That adventure has been the focus of several TV projects, including Yukon Gold, which returns for its third season tonight.

The program is History’s No. 1 docu-series, and it’s no wonder; to watch these guys and gals turn precious ounces into a cash windfall is pretty addictive stuff. Even more so for someone like Knutson, who was born into the life under his father, Marty, and strives to succeed on his own.

“The hunt for gold and being able to pull your paycheque out of the ground just does it for me,” the 28-year-old says. “It doesn’t do it for some people. I love the fact that there’s gold in the ground and we’re able to pull it out.” It’s not easy. Weather is always and issue that far north. Toss in mosquitoes and black flies, aging bulldozers, diggers and sluice plants and remote sites, and you’ve got a recipe for extreme discomfort and even danger.

And while large machinery has taken the place of old timers panning for gold in a creek bed, the process of staking a claim hasn’t changed that much from the days of the gold rush. Knutson explains anyone can go up and spend $10 to stake ground on a creek. You then have two weeks to record that property and must do a certain amount of work on the land during the year to keep it. During that time licences are filed for permission to use water to sluice the earth away from gold; Knutson says environmental concerns regarding the use of water has to be carefully mapped out and regulated so as to conserve it and the land.

Re-joining Knutson on the Yukon Gold cast are Ken Foye, Guillaume Brodeur and Cam Johnson; newbies Chris St. Jean and Nika Guilbault struggle to make a living while taking care of their baby daughter. And while Knutson appreciates the popularity of the show and the spotlight it aims on the area of Canada he loves, it’s still a bit weird to have cameras pointed his way while he tries to work.

“We love telling this story because not a lot of people get to go to the Klondike and see this, let alone live it. But at the same time, they’re slowing me down a bit,” Knutson says with a chuckle. “I only have a certain amount of time to do this and sometimes it gets stressful explaining every waking moment to them.”

Yukon Gold airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.

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19-2, Featured

Interview: 19-2’s Maxim Roy celebrates la belle province

Maxim Roy is fiercely proud of her home province of Quebec. The native of Rigaud is thrilled Montreal and its surrounds serve as another cast member in 19-2 because it allows the series to show off its colour and character.

This second season of Bravo’s Monday night drama has been a tough one for Roy’s character, Isabelle Latendresse. The detective has her sights set on advancing her career in the force, but being married to Nick Barron (Adrian Holmes) seems to have labelled her defective among the higher-ups. Pair that with at-home issues with son Theo (Zackaryer Abdillahi), and things haven’t been easy for Isabelle.

Or, in a way, for Roy. As the veteran actress—and 2015 Canadian Screen Award nominee—tells us, being a French actress who dabbles in roles outside of Quebec has netted her some detractors.

What’s it like having your home province featured in 19-2?
Maxim Roy: It’s so refreshing to finally have our city showcased, and to feel that English Canada has embraced that is really fantastic.

This show is filled with complicated characters. Isabelle is very complicated. There were times in the first season where I shook my fist at the screen. Like when she slept with Nick and then broke things off again the next day.
Yeah … see … [Laughs.] I kind of feel for her, though. She’s in a very difficult position. Nick and Isabelle still love each other and have this amazing chemistry. They have the utmost respect for each other … they just can’t live together and that happens to a lot of couples. It seems so complicated, but the number of couples that I know that are exactly like that? I know a lot. So I thought it was really nice to play somebody that complex for once. She’s not just this superwoman cop who has no emotion. She’s a woman and she has feelings and desires and she is very passionate about her work and her son.

Have you watched the original, French version of 19-2?
I’ve only watched the first season, after we were done with Season 1. I watched it all in two days. I didn’t want to be influenced by performance. I know the girl that plays Isabelle in the French version—we played sisters in a movie—and she’s a fantastic actress. I didn’t want to go there. I wanted to do my own thing and build my own character.

Did you have questions about Isabelle heading into Season 2?
Yeah. Adrian and I had questions about the relationship between Nick and Isabelle and we thought it was important that it stay in there for Season 2. That whole tension thing is interesting and interesting to play. Isabelle is interested in her career and getting ahead this season.

Are you bummed Isabelle isn’t involved in foot chases and taking bad guys down?
[Laughs.] I’m hoping for more flashbacks! I want to wear blue. I want to wear those comfortable shoes, not those frigging high heels! [Laughs.] I am so envious of the other girls.

Quebec is a fascinating province with its own star system.
It’s crazy. You feel like everyone is there encouraging each other and their projects. But there is a lot of pressure in that if you go outside Quebec, like me—I work in both languages—there is some criticism. I have my Facebook page and if I post a picture of me with this crew, there are comments like, ‘Well, why aren’t you doing the French version?’ It’s like a betrayal, almost.

But at the same time it’s so admirable. We have the ratings. We watch our shows and we go and see our own movies, so it gives us jobs. That’s fantastic, but there is a sense of ‘belonging.’ If you belong to Quebec you should stay in Quebec.

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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19-2, Featured, Podcast

TV Eh B Cs podcast 14 – On Patrol with Bruce Smith

BruceSmithBruce Smith is currently the showrunner for 19-2 (BRAVO). Most recently he was showrunner for CRACKED (CBC). He has worked as a writer/producer on numerous dramas, including DURHAM COUNTY (HBO CANADA).

Bruce has also penned multiple award-winning long-form Movie of the Weeks and Mini-Series including CBC’s JOHN A: BIRTH OF A NATION, THE SLEEP ROOM, PRAIRIE GIANT: THE TOMMY DOUGLAS STORY and THE INVESTIGATION for CTV.

He won a 2013 Canadian Screen Award for JOHN A: BIRTH OF A NATION and is a three-time Writer’s Guild of Canada award winner.

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

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