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Featured, Heartland

Review: “Broken Heartland”

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“Broken Heartland” certainly lived up to its episode title, as the growing tension between Lou and Peter finally reached an explosive head. Heartland is never afraid to shy away from the drama in it’s family drama description, but even I was a little shocked by how loud their argument was following an increasingly cringeworthy family lunch.

As with most fights between couples, a re-hash of previous mistakes were dragged out into the open: Peter’s failure in Dubai and him insisting on working in Vancouver, Lou buying a house and getting a specialist for Katie without his consent. As Lou rightly pointed out, they’d both made errors. But suggesting he had someone on the side in Van-city seemed like a bit of a stretch, especially for Heartland. How many die-hard fans would be devastated if Peter and Lou’s marriage ended in divorce because he was messing around? Still, it could happen. As an aside, I agreed with Peter when he retorted that he and Lou couldn’t even get enough privacy to have a fight. Although, with all of that land around them, perhaps going out into a nearby field would have been a good idea.

By episode’s end, Lou was jetting to Vancouver to talk to Peter about the state of their marriage. I’m hoping Heartland‘s writers simply have him be happily surprised by her arrival rather than have a nasty shock awaiting Lou when she lands. (Of course, Heartland is on hiatus next week, so we’ll have to wait.)

Like Lou and Peter, Amy and Ty were finding it tough to score some alone time too. The pair were headed off to Montana for a couple of days but had that dashed when an impromptu horse ride resulted in the truck stolen by a hitchhiker. (WHY would Ty put the keys in the sun visor???? He’s got pockets!!! Why would they leave their cell phones in the truck?? What if something had happened??) Luckily for them, Brooke the hitchhiker didn’t get far; they caught up to her when the truck suffered a flat front tire. But rather than report Brooke to the police, they gave her a ride, and it was on that trip—and hearing of Brooke’s relationship struggles with her mom—that Ty realized that, off the wagon or not, his own mother deserved to be invited to he and Amy’s wedding.

Ty’s decision was a mature one, and I was impressed he came to it. I still think that he and Amy are going to elope—maybe with Brooke singing to them under that tree—but offering an olive branch to his mom was still nice.

Notes and quotes

  • I think Katie’s got the right idea; a cupcake tree would be awesome
  • “Your daughter thinks you live in an airplane.” I know this was supposed to be serious, but I laughed out loud at Lou’s line
  • “I’m never gonna live this down!” Luckily for Ty, Tim likely won’t find out about Brooke stealing the truck
  • Georgie and Jade provided much-needed levity on Sunday, first at the vet clinic and then when Georgie finally asked Steven to the Sadie Hawkins dance
  • Where’s Tim?!?

Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Vikings

Vikings Season 3 screening event ticket giveaway!

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Season 3 of Vikings returns to Canada on Thursday, Feb. 19, on History, but why wait? We’ve got four (4) tickets to give away to a special screening event in Toronto on Thursday, Feb. 12!

Taking place at the Cineplex Cinemas Yonge Dundas & VIP located at Yonge & Dundas Square, lucky winners not only get to witness Episode 1 of Season 3 on the big screen, but can participate in a Q&A session with two of the show’s producers as well as have the chance to show off their Vikings trivia to win prizes.

Want to attend this exclusive, private screening in Toronto? There are three ways to win one of four (4) tickets available:

We’ll announce the winners on Friday, Feb. 6, at 5 p.m. ET.

Here’s a glimpse into what’s in store in Season 3:

In the new 10-episode season, Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), the former farmer, is now King and has great responsibility resting on his shoulders. With the promise of new land from the English, Ragnar leads his people to an uncertain fate on the shores of Wessex. King Ecbert (Linus Roache) has made many promises and it remains to be seen if he will keep them. This season, the ever-ambitious Ragnar searches for something more – and he finds it in the mythical city of Paris. Rumoured to be impenetrable to outside forces, Ragnar and his band of Norsemen must come together to break down its walls and cement the Vikings legend in history.  The gripping family saga of Ragnar, Rollo (Clive Standen), Lagertha (Canadian Katheryn Winnick) and Bjorn (Canadian Alexander Ludwig) continues as alliances and loyal friendships are questioned, faith is catechized and relationships are strained. Vikings tells the extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors and portrays life in the Dark Ages, a world ruled by raiders and explorers, through the eyes of Viking society.

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada raises the bar in Season 2

Michael Bonacini is one of those guys who walks out of a movie sequel and shrugs his shoulders, less than impressed. That didn’t happen at the end of filming Season 2 of MasterChef Canada.

“At the end of Season 2, we all felt that this was an incredible showcase of culinary talent and creativity,” he says. The “we” he’s referring to is, of course, his fellow MasterChef Canada judging partners in crime, Claudio Aprile and Alvin Leung, who return this Sunday night after the Super Bowl wraps up on CTV. (In a late play by the network, MasterChef was called up early to replace Spun Out, which was benched after Dave Foley’s co-star, J.P. Manoux, was charged with voyeurism earlier this week.)

“The three of us would be watching in amazement at what was happening in front of us,” Aprile recalls during filming late last year. “We would say to ourselves, ‘Are the viewers going to believe this?!’ The talent is just phenomenal.”

That talent is showcased early on in Sunday’s return which begins the task of cutting the Top 50 down to a more manageable Top 16 on the way to awarding one home chef the title and $100,000. Sabrina, a 26-year-old office manager from Montreal, skipped her sister’s destination wedding to offer the judges her mushroom ravioli; former CFL Grey Cup champion John grills up a thick steak in a bid to garner a white apron; and 28-year-old Kristal jetted from Gander, Nfld., to deliver her stuffed pork tenderloin to the trio. It doesn’t take long for a few notable finalists to gain attention either. Michael could easily be the villain of Season 2 thanks to his overconfident, cocky attitude while Tammy, a 41-year-old mother of six might be the darling because of her inspiring story of loss and rebirth.

A common theme through Sunday’s instalment are competitors literally putting their lives on hold to compete on MasterChef Canada. Auditioners who quit jobs, held off on advancing their schooling and tales of dreams unfulfilled not only inspired but freaked me out. Quitting a job on the off-chance you might win? That’s bold. And it won’t be easy. Bonacini promises this go-round of episodes boasts tougher, challenges both in-studio and off-site.

“The off-site challenges are huge, outside the degree of difficulty,” he hints. “There are new, creative, big challenges. We had to continue to raise the bar and we did that.”

After all, it is a sequel and it can’t be boring.

MasterChef Canada airs Sunday night immediately following the Super Bowl on CTV. The series resumes its regular Sunday timeslot at 7 p.m. ET beginning Feb. 8.

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19-2, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of Jan. 30

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This week’s comments and opinions centred around Kelly Lynn Ashton’s informative column that explains exactly what makes a Canadian television show, W Network’s announcement of Hockey Wives and love for Bravo’s 19-2.

Although it’s less scientific than this article and, admittedly, prone to inaccuracy, one thing I’ve noticed is the end credit “This is protected under the copyright laws…” blurb. If I’m curious about whether something is actually Canadian or if it’s simply filmed in Canada, I’ll check to see if it lists Canada at all (“i.e.: This production is protected under the copyright laws of The United States, Canada, and other countries”), and if it does it’s probably Canadian or a co-production. If it doesn’t mention Canada, that doesn’t prove it isn’t Canadian, but I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a blurb that did mention Canada that wasn’t for a Canadian production. Admittedly, you have to be the sort of person who freeze-frames at the end credits, or even skips to the end credits first, which, y’know, probably is little too obsessive for most people. :) —D.K.

Though I HATE HATE HATE reality shows like The Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Honey Boo Boo, etc., the sociologist and hockey fan in me wants to check Hockey Wives out. I, admittedly, really liked the short-lived CBC series MVP which was a fictional look at the lives of hockey wives.—Ally

I have watched 19-2 from the very beginning on Bravo. You get to see how the officers on the front line face each and every day. I also can understand why most people have not heard of this great show or a number of other shows on Bravo. When you look on the schedule for Bravo all you see most of time are reruns of Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, Missing, etc. Only if you are an avid TV watcher do you know when and where to look. Maybe if they had more shows people would watch.—Barbara

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or head to @tv_eh.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Dino Hunt Canada uncovers new species for TV

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Finding dinosaur bones while television cameras are rolling is difficult enough. But discovering a whole new species? Next to impossible. And yet that’s exactly what happened when it came to production of History’s latest homegrown project, Dino Hunt Canada.

“Production had started on the series and there was the possibility that they would find something new,” says Sarah Jane Flynn, senior director of original factual content at Shaw Media. “Then they came back to us and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but this really is a completely new species. We pretty much lost our minds.” The result is the star of Dino Hunt Canada and the newest showpiece in the Royal Ontario Museum’s dinosaur exhibit, a new species related to triceratops. (A video of Dr. David C. Evans unveiling the animal is below.)

The project, Flynn explains, was the result of former Cream Productions (Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan) co-founder Christopher Rowley asking ROM head palaeontologist Dr. David C. Evans what he was up to and being told his team was on the verge of discovering something big. Rowley and Evans told Shaw what they had planned and the network jumped on board.

Bowing Friday night, History’s four-parter not only tells the story of how Evans and his team discovered the as-yet-unnamed beast (an interactive website urges Canadians to come up with a name for it), but spotlights the palaeontologists who scour this country for bones. One of the biggest surprises—to me at least—was learning that dinosaur bones and other fossils aren’t just found in the badlands of Alberta. Digs in B.C. and the Bay of Fundy are documented in Dino Hunt Canada in what Evans calls a Golden Age for the industry.

Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, the first episode serves to introduce several of the key players in the show, including Evans and his team in Alberta as they began to unearth their unique beast. Palaeontology butted up against television production with Evans’ group faced with the daunting task of putting the skeleton together in months rather than years in order to meet Shaw’s broadcast deadline.

“We knew we had something special because the first thing we uncovered were the pieces of the neck shield, which is the most characteristic part of the horned dinosaur,” Evans explains. The biggest challenge for Evans’ squad was to uncover remainder of bones locked under a hillside; a summer of daily jackhammering and the animal was free of its earthly bonds.

“By then we were able to tell History, ‘We’ve found something new here,'” he says with a smile. “‘If you want to be here when we uncover this new dinosaur, come on out.'”

See what they uncovered starting tonight.

Dino Hunt Canada airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on History.

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