TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1271
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
X Company

Link: X Company is excellent, if conventional, entertainment

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Here’s bloody good news: The new CBC drama X Company (CBC, 9 p.m.) is vastly entertaining. A Second World War spy drama, on the evidence of the first two episodes it’s brimming with action, tension delivered with appropriate dollops of poignancy and done with slick confidence.

It comes from Flashpoint creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and is based, loosely, on the existence of the real Camp X, a training school for spies and the organization of covert operations, established in the early 1940s by the British Army on Lake Ontario near Oshawa. Continue reading.

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Featured, Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays

A resurrection for Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays?

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Simon Houpt, the Globe and Mail‘s senior media writer, tweets that CBC’s cancelled series Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays is coming back under the new regime.

This is great news for those of us whose podcast partners mock us for bringing up the show every chance we get. Ahem.

Based on the real-life neuroses of co-writer and star Matt Watts, who played patient to Bob Martin’s therapist, Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays got critical acclaim but “boutique ratings” (in Watts’ words).

Heather Conway, executive vice-president of English services, has stated her intention to move toward more cable-like fare for the public broadcaster. The main criticism Michael faced in its one-season run was that it felt out of place on a populist broadcaster … and had the viewers to match. Its December 2011 finale garnered just 145,000 in overnight ratings.

With a new programming direction and new promotion, could Michael pull a Murdoch Mysteries and rise from the dead to a bigger audience? Here’s hoping.

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Featured, Podcast

TV, eh? podcast episode 176 – A Sling vs Goliaths

This week the team unveils a brand new feature called … Calendar! (We’ll come up with a cooler name.) Also on the docket: our newest poll will snag someone a one-year subscription to Netflix Canada, a discussion regarding Numeris and whether network ratings can be trusted, and we all think Sling TV would be a fantastic choice for Canadians who want to cut the cable cord.

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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Mr. D, Schitt's Creek, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Tonight: Schitt’s Creek, Mr. D, Close up Kings, 22 Minutes

Schitt’s Creek, CBC – “Turkey Shoot”
David goes on a turkey hunt with some townies. Jocelyn takes Moira on a “relaxing” spa day, while Alexis meets the new love of her life, Ted, the town veterinarian.

Mr. D, CBC – “Dating Maya Student”
Gerry’s former pupil, Maya is back at Xavier as a student teacher and Gerry is having difficulty accepting her as an adult. Robert tries too hard to be cool while attempting to connect with a student, and Bobbi works to prove her femininity to Malik amidst a school wide outbreak of lice.

Close up Kings, OLN – “Vancouver”
Close up King Jonny uses the Capilano Suspension Bridge for an epic trick after the Kings leave the USA for the first time and head north to BC. While on the trip, Magick gets a shocking tattoo to make this a trip of a lifetime!

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X Company

Link: CBC spy series X Company awakens Jack Laskey’s senses

From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

There are fivefold reasons Jack Laskey volunteered for X Company.

In the new eight-episode Canadian World War II-set series, which debuts Wednesday, Feb. 18, on CBC, Laskey plays a young rookie spy named Alfred Graves who has a condition called fivefold synesthesia.

“I’d heard of synesthesia before, but I hadn’t understood it in the way I do now, and had to, as a result of being cast in this beautiful role,” said Laskey, who is from England. Continue reading.

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