Everything about Masterchef Canada, eh?

Tonight: Second City Project, MasterChef Canada, Motive, Big Brother Canada, Mummies Alive

Second City Project, Global
The special features exclusive never-before-seen sketches and standout pieces from the hilarious cast – alumni writer-performers Marty Adams, Tim Baltz, Caitlin Howden, Sam Richardson, Kayla Lorette and Steve Waltien, along with showrunner Bob Martin. Since its March 9 launch on GlobalTV.com and Global Go, the sidesplitting sketches have rapidly taken over social media, from going viral on Reddit to invading Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Vine and Tumblr with no signs of slowing down.

MasterChef Canada, CTV – “Walking on Eggshells”
In the biggest twist yet, three eliminated home cooks return for a single chance to cook their way back into the kitchen, by preparing three egg dishes in eight minutes. The home cooks then face a demanding Elimination Challenge, replicating the first dish that one of the judges mastered as a professional chef.

Motive, CTV – “Pilot Error”
After Angie (Kristin Lehman) drops her investigation of Neville Montgomery (Victor Garber, Titanic), she focuses on the murder of chef Chelsea Richmond (Sonja Bennett, YPF), murdered by her two-timing lover, Brad Calgrove (Chris Klein, American Pie). Maria Snow (Luisa D’Oliveira, 50/50), frustrated by Angie’s decision, discovers that Neville is now looking for the person who provided Angie with evidence pertinent to her investigation. Vega’s (Louis Ferreira) decision to keep information about his health issues from Angie creates a growing rift.

Big Brother Canada, Global
The houseguests face Nomination in tonight’s episode of Big Brother Canada.

Mummies Alive, History
Mummies Alive travels to four continents to reveal the incredible stories behind the world’s most enigmatic mummies. The series spans 5,000 years of history, and each episode focuses on one mummy including a mysterious 3,000 year old Egyptian pharaoh, a legendary cowboy gun slinger of the American Wild West, and a 14-year-old girl found on top of a 22,000 foot volcano. By investigating their incredible preserved remains, their mysterious lives and the secrets of past civilizations come to light.

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Review: A MasterChef visits Canada

If it was me, I’d be too star-struck to make an omelette, much less anything high-end for Graham Elliot. And yet that’s exactly what was expected of the Top 8 on Sunday night. “Good Things in Small Packages” showcased not only the finalists preparing a dish utilizing ingredients the MasterChef U.S. judge had selected, but Canada as a cooking nation. Elliot was quick to celebrate the talents of this season’s home cooks, a fact that was cemented at the conclusion of the Mystery Box challenge when he, Michael, Alvin and Claudio tasted four plates rather than the usual three.

In something that has become a trend of this season, David impressed with his stuffed quail (he had expertly boned it prior to stuffing it) and won immunity from the Elimination Challenge.

Every season in the MasterChef franchise seems to feature that odd-looking, phallic sea creature known as the geoduck, and this year was no exception. The suggestive shellfish was one of three sea creatures David could choose to saddle his competitors with and he went with sea snails as conch. That move made perfect sense to David—assuming no one had prepared conch before—but he was dead wrong: Christopher and Jennifer both had recipes ready to go. Things might have turned out quite differently if the judges didn’t throw a massive twist at the finalists: after choosing their ingredients everyone had to move one station forward and use the ingredients chosen by their competitor instead.

What followed was mass confusion until the clock started to tick. Then everyone buckled down and got going—they only had 45 minutes to make something—and I was most impressed with Jon. Despite being a huge, burly CFLer, he showed great restraint and finesse with his sea snail and conch fettuccine with mushrooms, which was a hit with the judges. Christopher once again proved to be a tough chef to beat, wowing everyone with his paella and scoring the top dish of the night. Michael’s conch fritters were a close second.

Someone had to be on the bottom, and that fell to Tammy and Jennifer for their sub-par offerings. Tammy was shown the door.

Notes and quotes

  • As soon as Line said she hoped Tammy would be in the finals I knew the mother of six was toast. There was no reason to have that comment in the episode if it didn’t foreshadow what was to come.
  • “I’m going to be out of my comfort zone working with these itty-bitty ingredients.” — Jon
  • The look on David’s face when Jon slapped his butt was priceless.
  • I’m sorry guys, but the making a heart out of your hands is done.

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

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Tonight: MasterChef Canada, Motive

MasterChef Canada, CTV – “Good Things in Small Packages”
MasterChef judge Graham Elliot presents the home cooks with the smallest Mystery Box in MasterChef Canada history, filled with tiny proteins, vegetables, and greens. The home cook who wins the challenge receives an advantage in the Elimination Challenge, choosing which live underwater creature their fellow competitors have to cook with.

Motive, CTV – “Fallen”
Detectives Angie Flynn (Kristin Lehman), Oscar Vega (Louis Ferreira), and Brian Lucas (Brendan Penny) search for an unlikely killer in a case involving a local street artist. Angie and Vega zero in on evidence in the murder of Derek Caster, and find Maria Snow (Luisa D’Oliveira, CRACKED) eager to help in their search.

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Review: Hairy wedding on MasterChef Canada

Sunday’s newest episode of MasterChef Canada, “Wedding on the Waves,” was notable for a couple of reasons. First, it featured perhaps the most difficult Team Challenge so far—making a three-course wedding dinner on a boat for 70—and it saw the expulsion of two strong home cooks during the Pressure Test.

Andrew, who I thought had a very good chance of competing in the season finale, and Cody saw their fates sealed when they ran into the buzz saw that is a French fruit tart. Cody has been an up-and-down competitor who has the confidence to win but was betrayed by an ego that made big promises he couldn’t deliver.

The pair were both members of the losing blue team earlier in the episode thanks to a three-course meal that was skimpy on big flavours and fraught with bad time management. Andrew had rightly given his team the chance to shine during each of their courses, but he didn’t step in at the right moments and confusion reigned. Appetizers were tabled missing key ingredients and that as enough to hand them defeat.

Michael, on the other hand, was an astute and canny leader, knowing when to step in and take charge on the boat, a key move that got them back on track after a canapé was served with a hair in it. To the bride. Some crews would have been deflated and easy to beat, but not the red squad. Michael bucked up their confidence and they walked away with the win thanks to a winning canapé from Sabrina and a beautiful plating of their duck breast main course.

Once the Pressure Test began, I targeted Cody, Andrew and Jon for elimination. All three fumbled along the way, but Jon’s tart won out despite being a little light on pastry cream. Andrew had plenty of cream but it lacked flavour and Cody forgot to put raspberries on his tart, a major sin in a replication challenge.

Who do you think will win MasterChef Canada? Comment below or via Twitter @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

  • Toronto’s harbourfront beautiful? Sure, if you ignore the construction and fishy smell.
  • Having your wedding featured on MasterChef Canada is certainly a way to make the memories last forever.
  • I would have eaten Sabrina’s fig-proscuitto flower. Who am I kidding? I would have eaten 10 of them.
  • It sure looked windy and cold out there on that boat.

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

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