From Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter:
American, Brit Scripted TV to Dominate 2015 Rockie Awards
Canadian series will have home field advantage this year, having pulled in 39 nominations, mainly in digital categories. U.S. series are next with 29 nominations, mainly for sci-fi and procedural fare, while British series garnered 26 nominations, mostly for comedies. Continue reading.
From Amber Dowling of TV Guide Canada:
Canada’s Astral cancels ‘Rogue’
Astral Media, whose The Movie Network and Movie Central aired the inaugural season of Rogue, declined to pick up the series up for a second season, it confirmed to TV Guide Canada on Wednesday. Continue reading.
Mr. D, CBC – “Strip Club”
Gerry suspects that Dwyer is moonlighting as a stripper and decides to find out. Lisa makes a big deal of Secretary’s Day. Gerry tries to get in on the staff lottery pool.
The Ron James Show, CBC – “Science”
Ron puts the world of SCIENCE under the microscope. Special Guests: Alanna Harkin, Marty Adams, Jonas Chernick, Sugith Varughese.
Arctic Air, CBC – “Fool Me Once”
While a winter storm hammers Yellowknife, a couples’ weekend in Calgary goes sideways after the arrival of Blake’s sister and Krista’s discovery of Bobby and Petra’s kiss.
Food Factory, Food Network Canada – season premiere
In the season premiere, viewers are treated to a step-by-step look at how sweet and crispy waffles, tangy, crunchy Doritos nachos, dreamy dark chocolate milk, and an extravagantly cheesy Indian dessert get from the production line to people’s plates.
Rogue, Movie Central/The Movie Network – “Cathy’s Song”
Jimmy deals with fallout from the firebombing. Grace investigates Jimmy’s crew with Mitch’s help. Max negotiates with the Chinese. Alec tries to get back in Jimmy’s good graces.
Rogue, The Movie Network/Movie Central
Grace Travis (Newton) is a wife, mother of two, and Oakland’s best undercover detective. She’s adept at transitioning between suburban life and the docks where she’s been embedded for months with a criminal enterprise run by James “Jimmy” Laszlo (Marton Csokas) and his sons, Max (Matthew Beard) and Alec (Joshua Sasse). When Grace is abruptly pulled out of the field when her son is killed in a drive by shooting, her life is shattered. Four months later, the investigation into the death has gone cold and Grace, guilt-ridden and unable to accept the loss, has begun to search for answers. With the help of her mentor, Mitch (Ian Tracey), a link is uncovered between the death and Laszlo’s organization. Unable to convince her superiors that she is fit for duty, Grace goes rogue slipping back undercover as “Jackie Hays” in Laszlo’s gang.
Mr. D, CBC – “Culture Day”
It’s Culture Day at Xavier and Gerry wants what Dwyer already has. Leung admits to loving Lisa. Callaghan and Trudy work out a system to avoid Callaghan’s ex wife.
The Ron James Show, CBC
Knowing that the world has changed by leaps and bounds, Ron questions if things really are better? Exhausted medieval peasants are appalled when the King announces he has raised the age of retirement… to 27. Early adopters of a new invention called ‘the telephone’ learn the convenient new gadget can also dial up a huge amount of hassle. Meanwhile, when a mining company coal hole appears in L’il Ronnie’s backyard, it seems everyone wants a piece of the rock. Plus, in this week’s ‘Ode to the Road’, Ron breaks away from his usual poutine and learns to experience Montreal, QC in a whole new way. Featuring special guest stars, Sean Cullen, Cliff Saunders, Allana Harkin and Darren Frost.
Arctic Air, CBC – “Blood is Thicker Than Water”
Krista’s mother pays a visit to Yellowknife and throws Krista’s life into turmoil; and Bobby gets his first real chance to play “family” with Connor and Petra.
Rogue: If this were porn it would win a Woody!
Entertainment One and the UK’s Greenroom Entertainment have teamed up to bring us this little romp through Oakland’s seedy underbelly, shot in Vancouver in 2012. Rogue premieres April 3 on Movie Central/The Movie Network in Canada and DirecTV in the US.
Thandie Newton plays Grace, billed as “a morally and emotionally conflicted undercover detective who is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death.â€
In pursuit of the murderer she turns her back on the police force and goes “rogue” by re-infiltrating Jimmy Laszlo’s crime family. Her home life begins to breakdown as she and Jimmy set their sites on flushing out the mole in his organization who, incidentally, could also be her son’s killer.
Unfortunately, Newton is the weakest link in an overall good series. Her character is complex and swings between despondency, abrasiveness and outright hostility in the space of a minute. The actress, however, is unconvincing and wooden at either end of the emotional spectrum, and the overall effect is confusion with a hint of high school drama class flair.
Though Newton is the headliner, it is supporting actor Marton Csokas who shines as Jimmy Laszlo, the multifaceted gangster/devoted father/romantic interest. His delivery is gritty and intense, especially in contrast with his co-star’s insipid performance. That, combined with the decent writing and supporting actors, makes this reviewer hopeful that Newton can pull it together in the next few episodes.
For those of you who need a more compelling reason to watch, I suspect Newton has signed on for X number of breast shots this season as they were gratuitous in the first 2 episodes alone. Not only do we get an artistic overhead shower view, but they throw in a porn-style shaky-cam zoom-in nipple shot for good measure. In fact I wish this were a porn, because then I could call her acting top notch.
The only thing we see more of than her breasts are her shoes. Seriously, what is with all the close ups of her shoes? There are at least 3 shoe shots per episode. Is this a metaphor for Grace’s journey, or is the fact that she prefers high-heeled wedges for dangerous undercover work important to the plot?
You can decide yourself because episode 1 is available free-of-charge on demand and at www.moviecentral.ca and www.themovienetwork.ca. The Rogue web series rolls out online beginning March 29 and the show debuts with a special two-hour TV event on Wednesday, April 3.
By Martha Marcin
