Everything about Featured, eh?

Featured, Lost Girl

Review: Lost Girl goes to the gods

1 Comment

Of course Lost Girl would be the series to give us gender bending Greek gods, Hera and Zeus, with our mysteriously undead Kevin Brown revealing himself/herself as the devious goddess and leaving Zee as the lightning bolt-delivering god. The swap went some way towards explaining my confusion over trying to figure out how Hera was suddenly shooting lightning bolts like Zeus, but I’ll admit I’m slightly disappointed it means we have a dude kicking butt as top god on this lady power loving series.

Instead, Hera-as-Kevin Brown was relegated towards cleaning up the curious Alicia and trying (and failing) to take out Dyson. Though that does make sense if Bo’s guess about why the Ancients have suddenly returned is correct. Hera might be down with sticking up for her team, but not quite to the extent of Zeus—who might technically be Persephone’s father. Though, with the obvious sense that Lost Girl is going way off text when it comes to these fae, there’s no telling what the alliances are or who they’re really looking out for.

It’s a nice idea that the Ancients have returned to rescue Persephone—and maybe that’s why they were so interested in Bo’s “truth,” to find out how she got the candle and where Persephone is. Then again, considering they’ve killed nearly all of Lauren’s employees and devastated the city—along with an elevator of people—and finally, launched Cassie off the balcony of a skyscraper, the Ancients as good guys is a bit of a tough sell.

But if they’re that loyal to Persephone, who’s related to them, maybe they’ll turn out to be as unwilling to harm Bo—assuming they find out she’s one of them as well. Because I’m pretty sure that’s what having Hades as a father should mean. Of course, it’s not really news Bo is bandying about—keeping the list of people in the know about it to the barest of bare minimums—though rightfully opting to let Trick in on the update to what happened to his daughter after he turned her over.

I can’t help but feel like we should be seeing just a little bit more remorse from Trick as the revelations about Aife’s life come out. I understand the need to maintain balance (and that Aife’s a bit scary on a good day), but surely discovering your daughter gave birth in a cage in Tartarus warrants a bit of a pause if you were the one partially responsible. Then again, Trick’s already had to live with that decision for a long time and he did, technically, do what was right. But I’m feeling just a tiny bit of sympathy for Aife as the revelations come tumbling out.

Tamsin was in for her own set of revelations when she got succubumped to the curb by Bo. It was easy enough for us to see—even without the oracles exposing Bo’s heart’s desires—that Tamsin wouldn’t be on that list. But as a Tamsin fan (though not a shipper of the couple) it still hurt to watch her cling to any number of explanations as Bo finally stepped up to tell her the truth. I don’t agree at all with Bo’s assertion that Tamsin is confused just because they’re roommates (having managed to avoid falling in love with any number of my own), but there might be some truth to the fact that Tamsin’s feelings for Bo could be caught up in the complicated history they’ve shared. It doesn’t make breaking her heart hurt any less, though, and I wasn’t too impressed with Bo by the end of that talk.

Maybe giving the oracles one last go around finally gave us a sense of what direction all those “ships” would be “sailing” in before the end, with some kind of Dyson/Lauren/Bo triumvirate being an easy call. But while I doubt Mark’s worthiness in general, even I have to admit watching Vex cope with his attraction to Dyson’s son, of all people, was well worth it. And hey, at least it means we can rest easy in the shipping wars now.

Losing it:

  • Tamsin’s “Shit got real,” is also how I would describe this episode, now that we know what’s going on
  • “No, no, no, but yes.” Was this Vex’s redemption? Because it totally worked for me
  • “You smell good wet.” Was this not meant as an innuendo? Because if we’re talking ships here …
  • “Explains the face.” Evony, upon discovering Mark is Dyson’s son
  • Evony’s big, bad reveal was a big, bad letdown

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Showcase.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Heartland

Review: Silent treatment on Heartland

5 Comments

Communication is a big thing, whether it be between family, friends, business partners or horses. That was driven home on several fronts during Sunday night’s newest episode. And while the episode may have been called “The Silent Partner,” the subtitle could have been “The Silent Treatment,” especially when it came to Peter and Lou.

It’s no secret that the couple’s marriage has been rocky of late, with him quite happy to be jetting to Vancouver for work, something that gives him a much-needed respite from life on the ranch. And who could blame him? It seems like Lou has got a new bee in her bonnet every week. This time around it was pressuring Peter to find a job in Calgary so he would be closer to home. I thought she was crossing the line by having Amy serve as the go-between to land Peter a job with Tanner Gunn (Patrick Gallagher, Endgame). In the end her plan backfired in a major way. Not only did she fail to communicate her feelings to Peter directly, but she learned the worst news of all via Amy: Tanner offered Peter a lucrative job that he turned down. Now Lou (and we) can only wonder what Peter has planned. Is he leaving Lou, or has he got a business plan cooked up to keep him at home and he’s just getting ready to surprise his wife with the news?

Speaking of surprises, Caleb had a big one for Ty (and Amy). Despite Ty’s advice to the contrary, Caleb is in business with Jesse, which led to windfall of cash for Ty in the form of his initial investment and profits to the tune of over $41,000 in cash. What will the the engaged couple do with all that green? They could certainly pay for their wedding with it, but I’m suspecting a business of their own is in the cards. After all, Amy could train horses and Ty could care for them. It’s the perfect business idea.

Communication was the word of the week for Jack and Georgie too, the former between he and Lisa over planning Amy’s wedding and the latter regarding letting Steven ride Phoenix to take some of the pressure off her mounting responsibilities at school and Heartland.

But back to Lou and Peter for a second. I may complain a lot about Lou’s meddling in everyone’s affairs, but I don’t like to see her hurting. Sunday’s final scene—preceded by a weepfest with Jack—found her the odd (wo)man out, witnessing Peter and her two kids watching Phoenix ride while she wondered where her marriage was headed. Do you think it’s over between she and Peter? Let me know below or via @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

  • Hey Heartland fans, does anyone know how far Calgary is supposed to be from Heartland ranch?
  • “Can’t a man spend some time in his own home with people thinking there’s a crisis?!”—Jack
  • I could watch Heartland‘s horse riding footage all day long

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

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Awards, Continuum, Featured, Orphan Black, Schitt's Creek

Comments and queries for the week of Jan. 16

Readers were positively chatty this past week, with comments about Schitt’s Creek (an early ratings winner for CBC), the latest development news out of Canada that includes one TV series based on Pierre Berton’s The Last Spike and another on Nora Roberts’ book trilogy with former Lost Girl showrunner Emily Andras. Veteran TV writer Denis McGrath explained the nuances that go into what is considered a Canadian series when it comes to the Canadian Screen Awards nominations and some Bryan Baeumler fans voiced their opinions his latest show.

I loved that Schitt’s Creek didn’t feature an annoying laugh track. The giggles and belly laughs were coming out of me last night! Hilarious! Excellent! Love it! Hope they show two episodes in a row every week. Can’t get enough.—Karen

I like historical dramas, so The Last Spike sounds good to me. Also, Black Magick sounds good too. Pacific Spirit is something I’m really excited for.—Alicia

The determination was made that the Best Series category should be driven by and open to those shows where the primary creative personnel are Canadians. This would normally be the producer, the writer/showrunner, if there is a directing producer, i.e.: where was the show conceived and primarily developed? These shows would include made in Canada fare like 19-2, Flashpoint, Continuum, Motive, Orphan Black.

Series that have Canadian involvement at the industrial or craft level but whose writers, directors, and key decisionmaking come from elsewhere are eligible for the Best International Series Award, recognizing their unique position as pulling from labour and crews and artists from all over the world. In this way, the division is modeled after a similar split at the BAFTA Awards (the British Film & TV Awards). They basically do the same thing.

It’s easy to get confused because when people come in with money sometimes it’s said that they’re a “co-production.” That can mean maybe a U.S. or American channel gave money to the show, or bought presale or whatever.

But there’s a separate, legal defined term called a “treaty co-production” — which are governed by treaties Canada has with a number of countries. These treaty co-productions under the terms of the treaty count for 100% 10/10 content for the purposes of the Canadian broadcaster … but they might actually also include shows that are actually “Minority co-productions,” i.e.: where Canada as the partner has the lesser of the investment, and in these cases most often most of the primary creative decision making (showrunner, lead writer, directors, stars) is made outside of Canada.

So … sometimes a show like Orphan Black is called a “co-production” because it has a financial partner — but if you look at the production it’s actually legitimately 10/10 Canadian because the writing staff, the producers, etc., are Canadian.

And sometimes a show like The Borgias can be “deemed” under the international co-production treaty as being “10/10 Canadian” for the broadcaster, though when you look at it further, most of the creative decisionmaking isn’t made here. In cases like this, as per the way the BAFTAS do it, it can compete for International Series but not Best Series.

Once you get beyond the series level to the craft categories, none of that matters … and all craft categories are treated similarly. So you can have Costume Design or Sound or Editing on Orphan Black compete against the same artists working on The Borgias, so long as that work was done by a Canadian as the Canadian part of the international treaty co-production.—Denis

Glad someone posted something about Sarah Baeumler. I am finding it difficult to watch her. Perhaps it’s the editing, but she comes across as entitled. A $20,000 custom imported monster of a stove, and now she “will learn how to cook”? All we ever hear is how they need a big kitchen and space for all the family entertaining they do. I am more interested in the nuts and bolts of this construction, and the real obstacles people encounter in a major reno. That is why all his other programs have done so well. He’s funny and educational without being demeaning.—Mary

Sarah may be annoying, but she allows Bryan to shine and use his wit. Let’s worry about worse things.—Bob

 

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

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Book of Negroes, Featured

Recap: Book Of Negroes Part 2

8 Comments

We open part two of six, with Aminata (now played by Aunjanue Ellis) waking and several critical pieces of the story are quickly thrown at the viewers. We learn Aminata is travelling with Georgia (Sandra Caldwell) to assist with slave births and in this instance Georgia is insisting Aminata travel with her for her own best interest. Georgia is very much aware that their owner, Robertson Appleby (Greg Bryk of Bitten fame) has his eye on the young slave and warns Aminata of her fears. We are also informed of a couple of unrelated items imperative to the story; Aminata knows how to read, and that the south is suffering from smallpox outbreaks.

This episode gives viewers a visceral depiction of the power that the slave owners held and the violation perpetrated against the slaves during this era. This sense of not having any control over your own life is repeated throughout.

Our story really begins when Solomon Lindo (Allan Hawko of CBC’s popular Republic of Doyle), a Jewish businessman, comes to visit the Indigo Plantation. He and his wife Rosa (Amy Louise Wilson) realise that Aminata is an exceptional woman and attempt to buy her from Appleby. Rosa is aware that “Mina” can read. It is clear that Rosa wants Mina for her own. However, Appleby refuses Solomon’s offer of purchase.

As the Massa, we see Appleby exercing his power and orders Aminata to the Big House, trapping and ultimately raping her. I am not sure what would have be worse, actually watching the rape played out on the screen or leaving the violation to my imagination. We are however spared the details and only to hear her screams as Aminata is attacked by her owner. This scene only lays the groundwork for yet more abuse to come.

All is not lost though for our heroine, there is a bright spot. Chekura (Lyriq Bent) conveniently manages to track Aminata down since she is after all a famous baby catcher who knows every possible language, and they wed.

We next see Aminata ripe in an advanced stage of pregnancy and an incredibly powerful scene plays out (In my mind the most emotional of the night). Appleby, realises that the baby Aminata carries is not his and he shears her head before all of the other slaves. He concludes this public violation on Aminata, demonstrating his ultimate power by informing all who will listen with his veiled threat that “the baby you (Aminata) carry is no more yours than the hair on your head.” Mr. Bryk manages to convey his character’s contempt for the slaves that to him are merely a commodity. He exudes the entitlement as the owner and master of his domain. Further we see Ms. Ellis beautifully maintaining her character’s quiet dignity in the face of this public humiliation. Brava to Ms. Ellis for portraying Aminata’s strength and determination in such a poignant manner.

Aminata carries her baby to term and of course, Appleby, knowing that the child is not his sells the infant off in order to punish Aminata. Then as a final blow, she is sold to Solomon, committing her to a state of permanent exile her from her family of slaves.

In her new life as a servant (rather than slave) to the Lindo’s, Mina must adjust her perspective. Mina assists in the birth of Rosa’s son. Still the inequities of life as a black woman play out as we learn that Solomon helped sell Mina’s daughter. This is justified in his mind as he believes that both Mina and her daughter are better off out of the clutches of Appleby. He feels he deserves her gratitude since he exercised his power and wealth and saved them both.

We close with Mina grieving the loss of her daughter; she has succumbed to smallpox.

What a fabulous episode. I am loving that even in the short time frame this show airs (I really wish each episode was a 2 hour slot instead of the 1 hour) we are seeing a richness in each of our characters. We have in two episodes essentially seen two separate casts (in order to accommodate such a broad span of time) and yet this production has delivered a splendidly woven story with dynamic characters and not the caricatures we so often see.

Let me know what you thought about part two in the comments below.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Saving Hope

Review: Saving Hope heads into the woods

1 Comment

If you’re a regular Saving Hope viewer, you’re a little more than well aware of Alex’s terrible track record as a walking, breathing beacon of bad luck. So after checking out those severely ominous previews, it certainly looked like her streak of misfortune would only continue with Wednesday’s all-new episode, as a very pregnant Alex stumbled upon a trapped boy deep in the woods. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s to never trust a trailer—a lesson hammered home through “Narrow Margin.”

Like all classic horror movies, the episode certainly set us up to be prepared for the life of Alex’s baby to be in potential jeopardy. Not only did it seem like every resident at Hope Zion suddenly feel the need to remind Alex to take it easy for the sake of her baby, Alex then decided to take a hike all by her lonesome on a trail with no cell reception. (How the heck is a girl supposed to update her Instagram account like that?!)

After stumbling upon the body of a teenager, Sam, trapped under a tree, I was convinced Alex would somehow try and lift the massive piece of wood from on top of him in some she-Hulk style manoeuvre. Instead, and to my utmost surprise, Alex was able to keep a level head, coming up with the brilliant plan to use Sam’s EpiPen in small doses to help keep him alert. Not only did she save the boy, but her own baby was never in any danger AND we found out that she’s having a boy, which was probably all for the best considering how often it feels like some part of Alex’s life is in peril. Sometimes the duller conclusion to a storyline is the best conclusion.

While Alex was doing her thing (most likely with Taylor Swift’s “Are We Out of the Woods Yet?” lyrics streaming in her mind), her two potential baby daddies were once again acting civil to one another in the pursuit of a medical miracle. I’ve enjoyed the past two weeks of the duo putting their paternity power struggle on the back burner in order to do their jobs in a civil manner. What I didn’t really enjoy, however, was the storyline that accompanied their patient, Sue (or Soo? I’m not sure), someone Joel had seen at the clinic. While treating her, Charlie connected to the spirit of Sue, who told the tragic tale of her untimely death while travelling with Sue on a boat from Cambodia. The kicker? Sue had to eat her sister in order to keep from starving. Certainly didn’t see that twist coming. Although it was nice to see the two remove a (disgusting) tumour from Sue’s mouth, the storyline really glided over Charlie’s pursuit of Sue’s now-grown son in order to help put her sister’s spirit to rest.  One minute he was tasked with what sounded like the impossible, the next her son was by his mom’s bed.

What actually ended up being my favourite storyline of the night involved Zach and a stripper named Champagne (Continuum and Slings & Arrows star Melanie Merkosky) with a mystery diagnosis Zach was determined to figure out. The two had really great chemistry together—that vodka scene made me chuckle—as Zach finally figured out she’d been poisoned with anti-freeze by a crazy ex-boyfriend. Even more so, she helped distract Zach from stressing about whether he had prostate cancer (does it feel like Saving Hope always drops storyline bombs in the most subtle way to anyone else?).  Luckily, Zach is cancer free and won’t be going anywhere—except maybe straight to a Magic Mike audition with that strip scene through the hospital.

In more good news, looks like Joel won’t be going to prison, which leaves him still in the running for dad duty when Alex finally pops. Even more so, the scene gave us a chance to see Charlie, winner of the nicest guy on the planet award, sit down and help Joel come to terms with the fact that he may be innocent, but he still killed a man. This whole baby situation has really helped grow both characters and I’m all for it continuing.

Notes:

  • A little concerned about Champagne’s question about why Zach couldn’t take a shot of vodka with her. I guess she forgot he’s, you know, a doctor in the middle of the workplace.
  • Shahir stepping up for Alex at the end was such a sweet moment between the two.
  • I don’t know what kind of paintball Melinda is playing but I’m starting to doubt it’s not the same kind I play with my friends …
  • Hearing doctors discuss swapping patients with one another so they can do things like go to the gym and work out really freaks me out. You’re passing my foot surgery around for leg day?!

Saving Hope airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

What did you think of the episode? Drop us a comment below!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail