Orphan Black feedback I wouldn’t bet on Rachel killing Delphine if only because she clearly has brain damage, so possibly some physical struggle as well as speaking. I sort of felt badly for Rachel during the eye socket torture but went back to hating her by the end for the Helsinki plan. Anyone who threatens Alison is on my bad side instantly.
Clone of the week: Sarah as Rachel. Also, the scene of Felix turning her into Rachel felt like a behind-the-scenes look at the make-up department.—Dan
No love for Coldwater Cowboys Most of these boys/woman should be put in a rubber room so as not to cause injury to themselves and others around them. The way these people carry on makes me ashamed to be a Newfoundlander. They have more troubles in one season than most people have in their entire fishing carrier. You truly paint a sad pic of Newfies.—Ern
More Murdoch finale chat Wow! Careful, concise and constructive comments regarding the interview and the possibilities that the course of the show might take, without devolving into name-calling and random political diatribes … how is this possible?! Oh … right … you folks are from Canada, where rational differences of opinion are possible and even encouraged and no trolls allowed! Must be nice. I do have some hope, however, since Sharon appears to be American; between the two of us, we may be the beginnings of a civility movement in the States. All joking aside, I recently discovered The Artful Detective by happenstance and find it charming. Although I have read the synopses of the first six seasons (in order to make some sense of the relationships), I will have to delve into my Netflix account to watch the episodes, as time allows. All the actors look like they are enjoying themselves immensely and they “play it straight,†with only an occasional scandalous wink (think of Julia removing her black wool bathing stockings at the lake) at their audience. I hope the ensemble wants to remain together for many more seasons of Murdoch! P.S. I really enjoy how the show entwines actual historical figures and events with the characters’ story lines … great fun!—Susan
Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.
“I win.” Ragnar Lothbrok certainly did. He pulled the wool over the eyes of the French Emperor, his own followers and I’m sure more than a few viewers when he faked his death in order to gain access to the heart of the city.
Sure, Ragnar used his love of Athelstan’s religion to his advantage, but that’s what you do in war, right? What I found interesting is that Ragnar was content with simply getting into Paris and having the Vikings do a little bit of looting before retreating rather than attempting to gain control of the city outright. He doesn’t really have the manpower to run Paris, but I was expecting a lot more violence than what happened during Thursday’s season finale.
By all accounts, it looked like “The Dead” was going to be all about the death of Ragnar. He’s been peeing and coughing up blood for the last several weeks, so I was expecting his death. And when Bjorn came forward with tears in his eyes, I fell for the act. Instead, Ragnar lay inside that beautifully carved ship-shaped coffin and listened to what his key followers said to him. There weren’t many surprises—my favourite quotes are at the bottom of this review—but it was still cool, in retrospect, to hear Floki admit he’d killed Athelstan. That closing scene where Ragnar revealed he knew Floki had done it was wonderfully dramatic and left me chortling with glee.
But despite all of that, I’m most excited to see what happens with Rollo. He chose to winter over outside Paris so that the Vikings have a presence there until spring when Ragnar plans to return. The Emperor smartly offered Rollo land, the title of Duke and Princess Gisla’s hand in marriage in exchange for Rollo agreeing to defend Paris against Ragnar. This is just the latest power play pushed in Rollo’s direction and it appears he’s on board. History documents Rollo really did marry a French princess as part of an agreement to stop attacking the capital, so I’m chuffed to see what Michael Hirst does with Rollo’s story.
Actor Travis Fimmel told me Vikings would go on without Ragnar and he was just a small piece of the story. And while that’s true, Fimmel’s shoes are tough to fill. Ragnar is compelling, funny, serious and easy to cheer for and it’s going to be tough for Clive Standen’s Rollo and Alexander Ludwig’s Bjorn to shoulder that load once Ragnar does make the journey to Valhalla.
Notes and quotes
“I am dying. But at least I’ll see Athelstan again.” — Ragnar
Floki has been on a fascinating journey this season. Far from the giddy genius, we saw his deep, dark side and commitment to the gods. He was willing to kill the man he looks up to, Ragnar, to appease the gods.
“If you have gone to Heaven, then we will never meet again.” A killer line from Lagertha.
“I’m sorry you’re dead, but it happens to all of us sooner or later.” Rollo’s matter-of-factness was snicker-worthy.
“I hate you Ragnar Lothbrok. And I love you with all my heart.” — Floki
Count Odo certainly has some odd tastes, doesn’t he? #whipsandchains
What did you think of this season of Vikings overall? What were some of your favourite moments? Let me know via the Comments below or @tv_eh.
Bell Local is definitely not your usual community television. The service, available to those in the Toronto area who subscribe to Bell Fibe, allows fledgling and established filmmakers to spotlight the people and places in Canada’s largest city in a new and unique way.
Ian Daffern, a producer at Bell Local, is always looking for new talent to showcase, and views it as a great way for newbies to get into the TV business. That was certainly the case for the boys at Touring T.O. and their offbeat comedy series about two guys pulling tourists between strange Toronto landmarks.
We spoke to Daffern about three unique series offered on Bell Local, and got the details on how people with ideas can get their content on the air.
What is the mandate of Bell Local? Ian Daffern: We’re looking to celebrate the places in the Greater Toronto Area that aren’t seen on television. We want to tell real stories and present original and new ways of doing that kind of television. We’re trying to present a contemporary way of celebrating the GTA. It’s hyper local but also using the latest forms of storytelling.
What do you look for in a pitch?
What really excites us is seeing some personal passion on the part of the creator. Maybe they would be doing this themselves if we weren’t connected with it. Like the Pique project; this guy was doing it himself anyway and out making it. When he connected with us, we were giving him a wider audience and wider reach. And we’re working with him to tell longer features on different artists. What we’re looking for is something that shows the different parts of the city outside of the core in a really interesting way. We’re not exactly like them, but I see what we’re doing as similar to BlogTO.
Slow T.O. is a perfect example of something different. A nice, leisurely ride across the Toronto harbour, looking at the city in a way you don’t get unless you’re on a boat or on one of the islands. The idea for this was our service comes through the Bell Fibe box and I thought, ‘What if there was something that you could watch through this box that gave you a different experience?’ It didn’t have to be a linear experience. The idea of making ambient television was really appealing to me and it was a different way of experiencing the city using music.
As someone who has lived in this city for over 10 years, it gave me a whole new way to look at it. I’m always looking out at the islands, rather than back at the city.
I was on that boat shooting, and it was one of the more fascinating experiences I had in the entire year. We were out before dawn and seeing the way the colours moved across the sky and trying to figure out when best to capture the sun hitting the different mirrors on the buildings. Our director of photography, Ryan Emond, does hyperlapse photography which is like Slow T.O. but it’s all done in five minutes.
Another series I loved was The Urbane Explorer. Jeremy Woodcock exploring known locations in Toronto—like Pearson International Airport—from a new perspective; he just went out there and hung out and captured some great moments.
He had done this short called Finding Bessarion and we approached him to make it into a series. I like to try and find people who are already creating this kind of content and reach out and ask where else their idea could go. They told us that as they were working on Finding Bessarion they kept getting pitched other subway stations that they should check out. But the point of the series is to look at the city from a whole new way. You’re getting Jeremy’s comedy and his wry point of view.
The last show I want to talk about specifically is Chillin’ with Dylan. How did that show come about? What I liked most about it was the series explored his interests and everyone he spoke to treated him with respect.
We want to change the way people think, and work with filmmakers that want to look at things in a new way. The filmmaker for that is Kire Paputts and we worked with him on a film about Gerrard St. Then he came to us with an idea and that was Chillin’ with Dylan. Kire worked with Dylan on a short film where he was cast as a boy with special needs who goes on an adventure in the city. Then he had an idea for an interview series that was driven by Dylan’s point of view. All the episodes were based on things that Dylan wanted to find out about. It’s kung fu, it’s sex, it’s psychics.
This city has thousands of stories that all fit with what you want to do.
Yeah, and different ways of telling them from a new point of view. Look at what’s right outside your window.
The guys at Touring T.O. told me that Bell Local was the perfect foot in the door for them to get something on the air. Do you view yourselves as fostering new talent as well?
Definitely. We look at ourselves as an incubator for talent. We’re trying to find people who aren’t getting as much reach as they could or maybe they’re lacking the resources to do what they want to do. Having the Bell Local name behind it, I think, gives them a little bit of weight when it comes to booking a guest or something. That’s what I’m most excited about, working with new and established filmmakers. Any time one of our filmmakers moves on and does something else, we feel like we’ve done our job.
How many households are you in?
Anyone who gets Bell Fibe has access to us. I think we’re around half a million households.
Ian, how do I get a pitch to you if I have one?
We have an open call on our website and we ask everyone to send their pitches through the website. You click on the Propose a Program tab and it gives you all the information on what we’re looking for. We’re always looking for pitches.
Matt Watts played the long-suffering producer Matt on Ken Finkleman’s 2005 International Emmy winning The Newsroom. He played “Matt” in Don McKellar’s Twitch City, on which he also a story consultant. He was a member of the Writer’s Room on six episodes of the 2003 edition of Slings & Arrows, and part of the team which created the international stage hit The Drowsy Chaperone.
His feature film credits include Scott Pilgrim versus the World, Fever Pitch, Don McKellar’s Childstar.
Watts is a veteran of radio drama creating and starring in three series for CBC Radio: Steve, The First (2005), a four-part dark comedy set in a post-apocalyptic future features a slacker who wakes up to find he’s slept through the apocalypse, Steve, The Second (2006) details the story of the son of the original Steve; Canadia: 2056 (2007) centres on Max Anderson, the American liaison on board the only Canadian spaceship in an otherwise American space fleet headed toward a galactic war.
And we recently learned of the triumphant return of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays next season on CBC.
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It’s the end of the road for Package Deal and Meet the Family.
On Monday afternoon, Vancouver’s Craigslist posted the following “Huge Set Sale”:
“Tons of chairs, bar stools and tables, banquettes, theatre chairs, church pews (!!) couches, lamps and other lighting, furniture, kitchen items, tea shop and bar paraphernalia, glassware, carpeting, clothing (no kids clothes) and those ever present knickknacks!
April 22nd, 23rd and 24th from 10am — 4pm (NO early birds)
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to grab some amazing deals!”
Those listed items are the contents of the apartment, tea shop, courtroom and offices featured in the original sitcom during the last two seasons.
City confirmed Tuesday afternoon that both Package Deal and hidden camera sketch series Meet the Family would not return.
“Despite the strong teams behind both series and critical acclaim garnered to date, Package Deal and Meet The Family were unable to connect with the audience needed to continue,” said Nataline Rodrigues, Director of Original Programming of Rogers Media, in a statement. “We remain committed to Canadian originals, and we are proud to have provided our viewers with two fun seasons of both series; it was a real pleasure and privilege to work with the immense talent on these shows – on and off the screen.
Package Deal starred Randal Edwards as Danny, a successful lawyer who met and fell in love with Kim (Julia Voth). The problem? Danny’s two brothers, ne’er-do-well Sheldon (Harland Williams) and fastidious Ryan (Jay Malone), don’t like that Kim is taking Danny away from them. The multi-camera series was created by Andrew Orenstein (Malcolm in the Middle, 3rd Rock from the Sun) and shot in front of a live audience. Never able to score decent ratings (it was down to 72,000 viewers in mid-October) the second season finale was broadcast in December, and had the feel of a series finale to it.
The news comes the same day that Package Deal‘s production company, Thunderbird, announced both seasons are available for streaming in the U.S. on Hulu starting Tuesday.
Produced by Frantic films and based on the successful U.K. series, Meet the Parents threw unwitting folks into a uncomfortable situation: meeting the downright odd family of their girlfriend or boyfriend. The series starred Terry Barna, Liz Best, Hannah Hogan, Theresa Tova, Don Berns, Heather Hodgson, Ralph Small, Nicole Maroon, Peter Keleghan, Chris Wilson, Miguel Rivas and Matt Bernard.
