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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Remedy

Link: Remedy’s new man will shake up the Conners

From Amber Dowling of the TV Junkies:

Remedy’s new man will shake up the Conners
When we last left the Conner family on Global’s dramatic series Remedy, they had finally come to something of a peaceful existence with one another, despite several professional hiccups. Allen (Enrico Colantoni) had been demoted thanks to his family’s shenanigans, Mel (Sara Canning) found her own stride amongst her siblings, Sandy (Sarah Allen) finally learned to stand on her own (with a baby!) and Griffin (Dillon Casey) seemed to settle into a good routine thanks to a little help from Zoe (Genelle Williams). Continue reading.

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Industry News

Link: Finally, a reason to stay tuned; On the CRTC and CanCon’s future

From David Berry of the National Post:

Finally, a reason to stay tuned; On the CRTC and CanCon’s future
Presuming the next government doesn’t also perceive some political margin to be had in lowering Canadians’ cable bills, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has now finished delivering the major points in the framework that will govern the country’s television landscape for the foreseeable future. Continue reading.

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19-2, Big Brother Canada, Murdoch Mysteries, Remedy

Tonight: Remedy, Big Brother Canada, 19-2, Murdoch Mysteries, Tiny Plastic Men

Remedy, Global – “Our Friend, Chaos”
Before Allen Conner can process losing his job as the head of Infectious Diseases at Bethune General Hospital (Beth-H), a massive explosion tears through the basement. Though he and Griffin work brilliantly together to treat those caught in the blast, the damage is catastrophic. Striking new ER resident Peter Cutler recruits Mel in aid of a foreign agricultural worker. Chief-of-Staff Linda Tuttle looks for a scapegoat in the wake of the explosion, while the downstairs staff grapples with loss and Allen pursues a new position as an ER doc at Beth-H.

Big Brother Canada, Global
A brand new group of houseguests enter the Big Brother Canada house in the season premiere.

19-2, Bravo – “Bridges”
With the mole on the run, a devastated squad turn on each other, and on themselves.

Murdoch Mysteries, CBC – “Election Day”
Dr. Ogden and the suffragettes face a setback on Election Day, while Murdoch investigates a murder with implications for national security. Guest starring Peter Keleghan

Tiny Plastic Men, Super Channel – “Latvania 6-5000”
The guys are sent to the Latvanian Embassy to negotiate with the Latvanian “monarch-tator” Dr. Von Chaos for licensing renewal rights to the Dr. Von Chaos line of toys. But Crad’s enemy Eric has other plans and the guys get trapped in the creepy “castle” and have to spend the night.

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Featured

He Said/She Said: What channels will you select for Pick & Pay?

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Join Greg and Diane on Mondays as we debate a TV-related issue that’s on our minds. This week: What channels will you select for Pick & Pay?

The CRTC announced what everyone in the Canadian TV industry suspected was coming: a pick and pay model of television. As Kelly Lynn Ashton outlined in her latest Wonk Report, starting in March 2016 cable and satellite companies must implement a skinny basic at $25 that includes local channels, mandatory carriage channels, educational channels and provincial legislature channels. They must also offer either the opportunity to pick and pay for individual channels or small packages that they either build or are themed.

By December 2016, cable and satellite companies must offer both individual and small package choices on top of skinny basic.

So, what pick and pay channels would we choose to be part of our cable lineups in addition to the basic cable package we’ll already have? Below are Diane’s and my picks; let us know yours in the Comments section or via @tv_eh.

He Said:

  • History: I need my fix of Vikings, Gangland Undercover and the infuriating Oak Island Mysteries
  • Showcase: So that I can see the last season of Haven and more Outlander
  • Food Network Canada: For Chopped Canada, You Gotta Eat Here and repeats of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
  • Sportsnet: As long as they air Blue Jays games, I’ll pay for Sportsnet
  • HBO Canada: I need this for U.S. programming like The Jinx, The Knick, Ray Donovan, Vice, True Detective and Last Week Tonight
  • HGTV: I don’t tune in often, but when I do it’s to watch Mike Holmes, Scott McGillivray, Timber Kings and anything starring Bryan Baeumler or Paul Lafrance
  • Space: Orphan Black, Bitten and Doctor Who
  • W Network: So my couchmate can grab her fix of Hugh Grant movies

She Said:

Ooh, Hugh Grant movies. But I have DVDs, Netflix and Xbox Video to cover me on that. Sorry, W Network.

I have a whole other decision to make before I get to picking channels: do I even want to go back to cable? I’ll have to look at the options when skinny basic and pick and pay is available, including whatever package deal I might be able to get with internet, before seeing if I’m even moderately tempted. It’s really, really nice not to have that cable bill. Between an over the air antenna, Netflix, and Chromecast to see online shows on my TV set, I don’t feel I’m missing anything right now.

The one thing that might tip the balance is if I could get a cheap skinny basic package that included the US channels (which I can’t pick up where I live on OTA) from a provider that offers a discount with internet and also offers CraveTV. And a pony? As long as Crave still has the HBO library that might be enough to tempt me back.

Even then, I’m skeptical. I’m looking at the channel listing right now thinking … hello old friends. I don’t really miss you.

That said, if I did decide to go back, and I did decide to supplement skinny basic, here’s what I’d want:

  • Fluidity. No, that’s not a channel, that’s my way of saying I’d want to subscribe and unsubscribe to channels regularly as TV series I want to watch come and go. If AMC had another Breaking Bad, I’d be there. But right now … meh. I can wait for Better Call Saul to pop up elsewhere.
  • HBO Canada: This channel is home to many series I can’t easily get another way and suspect (or know, from the ones I have seen) I would like. The Comeback, Hello Girls, The Knick, Olive Kitteridge, Togetherness, Silicon Valley, Veep, Sensitive Skin. I think I could have just HBO Canada and be happy.
  • Movie Central: If I could have HBO Canada and Movie Central I’d be happier. Episodes, Nurse Jackie, Masters of Sex, House of Lies, plus movies, of course. Also HBO Canada/Movie Central used to have some of the best Canadian series on the air — Call Me Fitz and Less Than Kind, to name two — and I’d love to see what else they come up with.

Hmm, listing all those great series makes me think going back to cable might not be such a long shot after all. Still, no cable bill is awfully nice, and I suspect my picks would have my skinny basic getting fat very quickly.

So your turn … what channels would you stick with?

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Featured, Motive

Review: Motive scores stellar guest stars

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I feel like guest casting is a science. Score the right person in a role and you get gold. Nab the wrong person and it can ruin a storyline or episode. Motive has always been great at finding the right people to come and play; last season’s standouts for me were Brooke Nevin (Cracked) and Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars) both playing against type. This season Motive has been firing on all cylinders and Sunday’s newest episode was no exception.

“Oblivion” featured two veteran actors portraying characters opposite from what we’ve traditionally seen from them to great effect. Stephen Lobo, who often plays jerks—most recently as Kellog on Continuum—was the good guy this time around. His Isaac was fiancé/developer Isaac, who had his life turned upside down when Robin dumped him and disappeared. By the time Angie and Vega showed up at his office Isaac was beside himself with grief, wondering what had happened to the woman he’d loved so much. Shockingly, Isaac had nothing to do with the murder of Jeff Armstrong, a city planner who stood in the way of Isaac’s next project getting off the ground.

Instead, it was Robin herself who murdered Jeff by swapping out his scuba tank of oxygen for one filled with nitrous oxide. Former Gilmore Girls lead Alexis Bledel was simply stunning as Robin. She was cold and calculated in her dispatching of Jeff and at first I’d assumed she’d done it—and made like she’d been murdered to throw off the police—because she was so devoted to Isaac that she’d do anything for him.

But in a great twist, Robin and Jeff had once been together and a car accident had killed their unborn baby and rendered Robin sterile. Furious that he had moved on with his life—and that he was in the way of Isaac’s project going forward—she killed him. I was totally sympathetic to Robin and her feelings, and understood her rage at Jeff’s insensitive comment that she move on. It was easy for him to say—he had a baby on the way with his new gal pal while Robin could never conceive—and for once I cheered for Motive‘s murderer of the week.

Well done, Motive, well done.

Notes and quotes

  • “I keep expecting original recipe Cross.”
  • I like Vega’s new glasses. And though he passed the shooting test, I worry he’s got an eye issue that may jeopardize his career or put someone in danger.
  • The slamming of that door into Angie’s desk cracks me up every time.
  • “Helping a murderer. That’s love.” — Vega
  • This Montgomery fellow seems like a bad dude.

Motive airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

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