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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Hard Rock Medical, Podcast, Remedy

TV Eh B Cs podcast 15 – Between a Hard and a Rock Place with Patrick McKenna

812531_drfraserhealeyPatrick began his acting career with Toronto’s famous Second City Theatre Company. Then he took to the road as a Stand Up comedian headlining in Universities and clubs throughout North America.

Eventually, episodic television beckoned. First with the hilarious Red Green Show with fifteen seasons as the loveable, nerdy, techno-geek, Harold; while simultaneously performing five seasons in the acclaimed dramatic series TRADERS. Variety newspaper noted, Mr. McKenna “has made television history” by being awarded Gemini’s for both the “Best performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedic Series” and “Best performance by a Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series” in the same year on the same night.

Currently Patrick co-stars in two new hospital series, HARD ROCK MEDICAL for TVO and APTN as well as Global Televisions newest hit drama, REMEDY. With any remaining free time, Patrick continues to guest star in several dramatic and comedic series from MURDOCH MYSTERIES to THE MERCER REPORT and has recently entered the world of cartoons; lending his voice to no less than five regular animated series.

Next you can see Patrick star in the soon to be released feature films A MASKED SAINT and MARGARITA.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to become a Patron of the Podcast? We’ve got a Patreon page where you can donate a small amount per podcast and get a sneak peek of each release.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Cold Water Cowboys sets Season 2 anchor

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I had the pleasure of visiting Newfoundland during a junket for Shaun Majumder’s W Network series Majumder Manor. It was a trip I’ll never forget thanks to the rugged terrain, the food and, most importantly, the people. The days on the trip were filled with the most friendly, caring and funny folks I’ve ever met, so it’s no wonder that Cold Water Cowboys is such a joy to watch.

Returning Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery, Season 2 of Cold Water Cowboys once again pulls up anchor and follows the captains and their crews as they take to the frigid, dangerous Atlantic in search of the big catch that will pay the bills.

It’s not easy. A harsh winter in Newfoundland has wreaked havoc on the fleet and thick pack ice threatens to chew through hulls. And yet that doesn’t stop Richard Gillett from pushing Midnight Shadow through … until he gets stuck fast. The horrible crunching of the ice against the hull set my nerves on edge and even know I figured the sinking of Midnight Shadow would have garnered some headlines here in the west, I was still nervous for the b’ys.

Styled after fellow Discovery series Deadliest Catch, Cold Water Cowboys uses a multi-purpose on-screen map to zip between boats, zooming from Midnight Shadow to Atlantic Bandit and skipper Paul Tiller, who is trying to make the money he used to renovate his boat over the winter back via crab fishing on the Grand Bank. Unlike Deadliest Catch, the crab pots used in the Atlantic are smaller than the welded steel beasts used in the Bering Sea. But nearly empty pots are the same regardless of what body of water you’re fishing and Paul comes up short out of the gate.

Other crews covered in Tuesday’s return are Conway and Rick Caines in the Seadoo; newcomers to the series are Andre and Michelle Jesso on Wave on Wave.

What sets Cold Water Cowboys apart from other shows in the genre is the setting itself. Aerial shots of green-tinged peaks, paddling polar bears and glistening icebergs are shown against a soundtrack of fiddle music. It highlights the uniqueness of Canada’s youngest province and the high entertainment value of these Cold Water Cowboys.

Cold Water Cowboys airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery.

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19-2, Featured

Review: Confusion reigns on 19-2

Monday’s newest episode of 19-2 was called “Babylon,” and a quick dictionary search came up with, in addition to being a city in Mesopotamia, the term “confuse.” That certainly jibes with what happened during the last 44 minutes of storyline.

There was chaos and confusion from the get-go, whether it meant 19 was helping clear out a warehouse occupied by protestors facing off against the police, or the circumstances surrounding Audrey’s two-month paid leave. The poor girl has been at the end of her rope this season and being assaulted by a protester in the dark, shooting a dog charging at Tyler and being doused by a bucket of human waste finally drove her over the edge: she attacked the douser with pepper spray and was given time off.

Confusion settled its claustrophobic grip around Tyler’s chest; the poor dude is afraid of the dark and being in the dim warehouse, lost and choking on tear gas caused him to leave Bear behind where she was kicked in the ribs and left injured. I’m not sure whether cops are tested for a fear of the dark, but I could certainly feel for Tyler; I was sitting on the couch in the daylight and I was having trouble breathing. Same goes for the scene between he and Paul. I rightly supposed the evicted man and his stroke-affected wife would return this week and they did in heart-wrenching fashion. After he pawned their TV, Paul’s wife was arrested trying to take it back, leaving him distraught enough he doused himself in gasoline and readied to flick his Bic. Enter Tyler, who soaked himself down in the liquid and talked Paul into calling off dying.

The Gendron storyline was almost a relief, but no less dramatic as Nick is convinced he is the mole in 19 and, even worse, may have molested his own daughter. That seems a little far-fetched even for 19-2, but then you never know. The show has thrown us shocking stories before.

Notes and quotes

  • Who else misses Vince?
  • Who else is upset there are only two episodes of 19-2 left?
  • Who is afraid that a major member of 19 is going to die by the end of this season?

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Featured

Coppermine by Keith Ross Leckie gets our CanLit adaptation vote

In a poll that couldn’t possibly be multiple choice given the plethora of great Canadian literature to choose from, we asked you what you’d like to see adapted by the CBC next. (I mean, if Bell wanted to tackle a book adaptation I wouldn’t complain — and they do have Bitten — but we all know CBC is our best chance for this.)

Coppermine by Keith Ross Leckie emerged as the winner with just three votes, amid a heap of singular suggestions. Bonus: Leckie has already written miniseries for CBC, including Everest!, Shattered City, Milgaard, The Arrow, and Lost in the Barrens, so we’ve even saved our public broadcaster from having to search for a screenwriter.

Coppermine is based on the true story of two Inuit hunters arrested for the murder of a pair of missionaries. From the publisher: “Part epic adventure, part romance, and part true-crime thriller, Coppermine is a dramatic, compelling, character-driven story set in 1917 in the extremes of Canada’s far north and the boom town of Edmonton.”

Other books on the wish list included:

  • Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (2 votes)
  • The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston (2 votes)
  • Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden (2 votes)
  • Room by Emma Donoghue (a feature film was recently shot)
  • Solomon Gursky was Here by Mordecai Richler
  • Bear by Marian Engel
  • Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
  • No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
  • The John Cardinal books by Giles Blunt
  • More of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny
  • A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
  • Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers
  • The Sea Captain’s Wife by Beth Powning
  • Graffiti Knight by Karen Bass
  • The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
  • The Sisters  Brothers by Patrick deWitt
  • Something else besides Jpod by Douglas Coupland
  • Any of Miriam Toews’ novels: All My Puny Sorrows, A Complicated Kindness, or A Boy of Good Breeding.
  •  Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
  • Annabel by Kathleen Winter
  • Galore by Michael Crummey
  • Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
  • The Birth House by Ami McKay
  • A mini-series on Emily Carr based on her autobiographical books Book of Small, House of All Sorts, Klee Wyck, Growing Pains and Hundreds and Thousands
  • A Breed Apart by Tony German
  • The Canadians by Robert E. Wall
  • I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby
  • Jean Pare: An Appetite for Life by Judy Schultz
  • Canada’s History magazine

Thanks everyone who commented on the “official” poll on the site, and those who gave suggestions via Twitter as well.

So CBC … your move.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: Dan Levy Discusses Schitt’s Creek, His Eyebrows & Being a Sex Object

From Michael Martin of Out.com:

Dan Levy Discusses Schitt’s Creek, His Eyebrows & Being a Sex Object
Dan Levy is making it look easy. The 31-year-old actor has come out of nowhere (OK, MTV Canada) to co-create and star in one of the funniest sitcoms of the year. Schitt’s Creek is the story of the wealthy Rose family, whose entire estate is seized in a tax lien, forcing them to live in a small town they bought as a joke. Continue reading.

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