From John Doyle:

The thing about Strange Empire (CBC, 9 p.m.), which continues to blast along exultantly, is that it sets out to upend expectations and at the same time is soft-hearted and gee-whiz good-natured.

Tonight’s powerful episode (directed by Anne Wheeler, written by Jackie May) has several key scenes and twists that more or less justify the on-screen warning of adult scenes, violence and so forth. Last week’s episode and tonight’s contain serious shifts in the narrative. In the hallucinatory-strange western outpost where events unfold, in 1869 somewhere in Alberta near the border with Montana, a woman, Kat (Cara Gee), is now the sheriff. Last week the dangerous buffoon Sheriff Little decided that in wanting himself a whore, he could view all the women there as whores. Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux:

Two Canadian TV shows that are in many ways dissimilar — “Blackstone” and “Mohawk Girls” — have one key element in common: both attempt to show what life is like on a reservation.

Shot in Alberta, “Blackstone” is in its fourth season on APTN and airs Tuesdays in most of the country. Set in the fictional Blackstone First Nation territory, it offers a searing look at modern day life on a reserve rife with corruption and addiction. Continue reading.