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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Timber Kings spinoff Carver Kings spotlights chainsaw artists

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I’m a fan of Timber Kings, HGTV’s hit docudrama about the guys and gals of Pioneer Homes who create fanciful masterpiece log homes for clients. I’m always amazed at how those folks not only see art in trees but turn their visions into a reality.

I’m just as impressed, and maybe even a little more so, with the dudes on Carver Kings. A companion piece to Timber Kings, each half-hour instalment spotlights the guys at Pioneer who create carved pieces to accompany the homes built. Sunday’s finale jumps right in with Mark Colp and Ryan Cook carving a 13-foot modern totem pole ordered by a couple who own a ski lodge built by Pioneer in Colorado. Mark and Ryan have just five days to create a stunning piece featuring animals native to the area: a wolf, owl, bear, fox and eagle.

And while Mark is a speedster with the saw, Ryan is a relative rookie and Mark is unsure of his partner’s chops. Reality shows like Carver Kings usually inject some kind of drama into the storytelling and this is no different. Will Ryan make mistakes? Yes. Does he battle back and fix them? Why, yes. And as long as you go into this knowing the thrills are a little contrived, you’ll enjoy yourself. Also on tap in Sunday’s debut: three junior carvers are given a big job by veteran Pete Ryan, who challenges them to create a Pioneer Homes logo to be placed on the Carver Corner building.

Visually, Carver Kings is stunning. You can almost smell the cedar as wood shavings cascade down as intricate artwork is teased out of the trees. The series is a worthy companion to Timber Kings and worth checking out.

Carver Kings airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Jade Fever strikes Discovery

Gold is a hot genre in TV right now, taking up primetime slots in the form of Bering Sea Gold, Gold Rush and Yukon Gold. Is jade mining the next big genre? Discovery sure hopes to strike gold … er, green … with Jade Fever.

Debuting Tuesday with two back-to-back episodes on the specialty channel, Omnifilm’s Jade Fever wastes no time getting to some pretty interesting facts. Just 30 people live in Jade City, B.C., an outpost 24 hours from Vancouver and an hour from the Alaska border. The town is near one of the largest deposits of jade in the world and China wants as much as the country can get. More prized than gold there, investors are itching to throw money at town boss Claudia Bunce and her husband Robin Bunce, who has a gift for finding the green stuff.

For a show like Jade Fever, the storytelling is all in the edit. Robin fails to hit pay dirt—and chafes—under the orders Raymond, a Chinese geologist brought in by Robin and Claudia’s Chinese-Canadian business partner Alan Qiao. Close to 100 holes are drilled in the earth under Raymond’s command, and Robin—used to giving orders rather than take them—gets hot under the collar. There are plenty of arguments, expletives and oversized egos exposed in the debut episode’s first 20 minutes … but no jade.

This being a show about the gemstone, I knew they were going to find it by the end of Tuesday’s instalment, otherwise there was no point in having a show. But even I was shocked by how beautiful the rock was coming straight out of the ground. Hard and gleaming in the sun, it’s easy to see why jade is so prized. It is literally the colour of money, something the Bunces—and Discovery and Omnifilm—hope to collect with Season 1 of Jade Fever.

Jade Fever airs Tuesdays at 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET on Discovery.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Slice’s Emergency goes behind the scenes in Vancouver’s ERs

From a media release:

A visit to the emergency department can be an emotional experience for the patient and for the loved ones that accompany them.  The new documentary series Emergency (14 x 30) gives viewers an intimate look at the lives of patients in some of Canada’s busiest emergency departments. Narrated by award-winning musician and author Jann Arden and produced by award-winning producers Force Four Entertainment, Emergency airs Thursdays at 9 & 9:30 p.m. ET/11 & 11:30 p.m. PT with back-to-back episodes beginning April 16 on Slice.

Each episode of Emergency interweaves the personal stories of three to four patients, each facing their own medical emergency, ranging from heart and respiratory ailments to broken bones and work-related accidents. With a heart-felt focus on relationships, the series focuses on the patients and their loved ones, their hopes and their fears, and just how their trip to the emergency department could impact their future. Emergency also showcases the relationships between patients and the medical staff who work tirelessly and urgently to unravel the mysterious illness or injury that brought the patient to the emergency department.

EPISODE 1
Thurs., April 16 at 9 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT
A father and son fishing trip is reeled in by excruciating back pain. A mom convinces her young construction worker son to get treatment for a boil under his arm. A grandmother forgets to take her medication and requires a jolt to slow her racing heart.

EPISODE 2
Thurs., April 16 at 9:30 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. PT
Doctors assist a patient with two life threatening conditions at the same time. A captivating couple seeks a solution to their ring problem. An anxious woman fears the worst when her heart rate suddenly accelerates.

Emergency departments featured in the series are all part of the Fraser Health network of hospitals.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Brojects returns with out-there outdoor projects

I’ve never owned a cottage, but I can certainly understand the allure of going to one to relax. Of course, after a few days of that, I can imagine getting a little antsy. But where I’d go for a walk, hike, swim or read a book, guys like Kevin and Andrew Buckles quaff some suds and come up with outlandish things to build.

Like a dock that can be turned into a bowling alley, for instance. Yup, that’s the first project tackled by the boys in Thursday’s Season 2 return of Brojects on Cottage Life. A warning before each new segment of Brojects warns viewers that the siblings aren’t professional builders and the program is purely for entertainment and it is certainly that, especially when the pair are taking verbal and physical swipes at each other on the road to project completion.

With just three days to replace their rotting, rusting, too-short old deck with a sweet, bowl-worthy new one is a tall task and thing start off shakily for what they dub The Browling Alley. A trip to the local alley gives the pair the measurements, information and inspiration to start, but initial trials aren’t that promising, especially when it comes to an effective ball return system. Several soaks in the hot tub, even more Solo cups full of beer and a call to Andrew’s buddy leads the pair on the path to success and—I have to say it—a pretty darned cool dock/bowling alley.

They may not be experts but Andrew and Kevin are able to get the job done. And it’s definitely a fun trip along the way.

Brojects airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Discovery debuts home reno competition Blood, Sweat & Tools

From a media release:

Tool belts fastened, hard hats on, and home improvement wannabees ready to nail it! From the producers of MASTERCHEF CANADA and CANADA’S WORST DRIVER comes the new series BLOOD, SWEAT & TOOLS, featuring a lively battle among five of Canada’s most inept home renovating couples competing for a life-changing $50,000 cash prize. Airing Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning April 13 on Discovery, the hilarious nine-episode season is filled with chaos that tests domestic bliss.

Set in the iconic cottage country of Northern Ontario, BLOOD, SWEAT & TOOLS features five duos of hapless handypersons performing all manner of home renovation challenges, from installing toilets and outdoor showers, to building gazebos and repairing roofs. The teams work to impress three experts – Rob Koci of Canadian Contractor magazine, fourth-generation tradesman and carpenter, Helder Brum, and power tool expert Hillary Manion – with successful Do It Yourself (DIY) home repair projects in a bid to be named “Most Improved.” The couples must perform these DIY tasks quickly and to exacting specifications. Then, following eight episodes of hammering it out to stay alive in the competition, the final decision is left up to Canada with viewers determining the winning couple LIVE during the season finale episode. Votes will be cast throughout the finale broadcast via text and social media. Complete voting details will soon be announced.

Meet the BLOOD, SWEAT & TOOLS competitors:

Tyler and Danielle, Woodstock, Ont.
When it comes to handiwork, Danielle is referred to as “The Tasmanian Devil” by her husband Tyler. They’re recently married and Tyler worries about this one-woman demolition diva wreaking havoc in their new dream house in Woodstock, Ont. And with good reason! Her favourite tool is a sledgehammer which she uses liberally, no matter the job.

Nicole and Jake, Mission, B.C.
Jake is a handyman wannabe. He’s got the belt, the safety glasses, the tools…just not the skills. His wife Nicole says he’s delusional. He actually thinks he’s top notch, boasting about his half-finished projects and saying “he’ll get back to them eventually.” He moves from project to project, leaving wanton destruction in his wake.

Fabian and Luayn, Teeterville, Ont.
Improvisation is a good thing in comedy. But handiwork? Not so much according to Luayn, who’s sick and tired of her husband Fabian’s jimmied, makeshift, and sloppy home repair efforts. Fabian argues that he likes to wing it, and that his work is “fine” or “good enough.” Of course this sends Luayn into a tailspin (it doesn’t help that she’s a Virgo). Fabian has to learn that cutting corners just doesn’t cut it when it comes to home repairs.

Steve and Richelene, Winnipeg
Richelene lives with Steve…a MacGyver-like character who’s made their home a monument to bad renovations. Steve has enthusiasm to burn, tackling every project with gusto and imagination. But his self-described flair for originality has gotten the better of him countless times. For example, he repaired a bathroom leak using plastic sheeting and duct tape.

Jesse and Holly, Penetanguishene, Ont.
Jesse and Holly could probably complete most of the unfinished projects in their home if they only learned to work together. But with one being a control freak and the other a micromanager, their home is in utter chaos. Jesse insists on doing projects his way, whether he has the skills or not. And Holly’s the backseat driver, barking orders at every step – whether SHE has the skills or not.

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