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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Review: Amazing Race Canada returns home

Before I get into the review for Monday’s latest episode of The Amazing Race, I need to make a quick apology to Insight, the show’s producers. When the Racers left Canada for China two weeks ago, I scoffed that they never should have gone international, stupidly assuming they wouldn’t return to their home and native land. So, sorry for whining (mostly to myself) prematurely because return to Canada the show did.

Monday saw the teams jet to the Yukon, something that involved a flight across the International Date Line turning today into yesterday (“the past, man!” I imagined amiable stoners Mickey and Pete enthusing to each other) and an overall focus on one goal: unseating Olympic hockey champs Natalie and Meaghan as first-place finishers on the mat at the end of the Leg. This week was the first one that I saw teams shed some of that Canadian niceness that seems to plague us wherever we go. Everyone was gunning for Natalie and Meaghan, especially after they surrendered the Express Pass to brothers Pierre and Michel. Rex may have sniffed the air and commented that it was the wrong move, but I understood the girls’ decision. They may view the Quebecers as a threat in the game–and they most certainly are–but the gals also see them as competitors who should be rewarded for playing hard, a mantra these athletes live every day.

Speaking of Rex, can I say how giddy I am that he and Bob are on The Amazing Race? The longtime couple deliver great TV, whether they were getting catty over the fact siblings Sukhi and Jinder had been saved by last week’s non-elimination Leg or sniping (endlessly) at each other over, well, everything. Their countless attempts to re-create that Yukon camping setting had me giggling, especially when Rex threatened to scream if they hadn’t gotten it right after several tries. Sukhi and Jinder rank No. 2 behind Rex and Bob simply because they don’t know anything about anything. Don’t know how to put a leash on a sled dog? Ask another team. Don’t know which way is upriver? Make sure you paddle the wrong way until the current drives you in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mother and son duo Nicole and Cormac haven’t asked for help from anyone. The pair, who were eliminated on Monday, have showed fierce support for each other from the moment Jon Montgomery yelled “Go!” at the beginning of the season and haven’t wavered. If there was a time Cormac could have turned on his mom it was last night, when it took her over 20 tries to complete the biathlon challenge. Instead, he urged her on with compliments and enthusiasm especially when she broke down in tears. Kudos to Nicole for living up to the “never give up” attitude her own mother instilled in her.

Because she took so long nailing those rifle targets, Nicole and Cormac could only hope there was another non-elimination Leg in the cards. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be and the last-place finishers were eliminated from the competition.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Mondays at 9 p. m. ET on CTV.

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Featured

Majumder Manor’s rocky road to success

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Shaun Majumder is, literally, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Among the hardest rock in the world, actually. The actor, writer and standup comedian had a dream for his hometown, the village of Burlington on Newfoundland’s west coast: draw tourism to the area in an effort to improve the local economy.

The plight of Majumder, wife Shelby Fenner and best friend/architect/producer Peter Blackie was well-documented in the first season of Majumder Manor, as the hometown boy made good attempted to get the locals excited about their ambitious plan to construct a five-star eco-friendly lodge that would draw people from around the world.

Back for Season 2–airing Mondays on W Network–the trio have changed things up, but their challenge is no less daunting. Majumder purchased another chunk of land right on the waterfront (the first property was right next to a busy road), affording gorgeous views of the small bay and the good chance of seeing an iceberg or two float by. The official title to Season 2 is The Rocky Road to Majumder Manor, and it’s well-suited. Majumder and Fenner were married in Los Angeles in their kitchen, but decided to re-do their vows in Burlington surrounded by friends and family on their new tract of land. The big problem? Nowhere for anyone to stay. With the celebration looming, deadlines to break ground on the new plan–several square pod living areas–were bumped up, putting pressure on everyone to get rolling.

Fenner spent much of Season 1 wondering what the heck she had gotten herself into, but is more confident in this iteration of the project.

“It started off as Shaun saying, ‘I want to make an off-the-grid house and do a show about it,'” she explains. “And then it turned into this much bigger project. My anxiety level went as far as it could go, but I’ve come out the other side realizing that things do work out. I have more trust and know exactly what we’re involved in.”

As with any building project, challenges stack up. A Come Home reunion for former Burlington townsfolk meant Shaun had to quickly construct tents on wooden bases for visitors to stay in. Those proved to be tough to make on ground wobbly as a St. John’s bar patron hopped up on Screech. Majumder’s purchase of an old store led to the discovery of a boat partially crashed through the wooden floor and half a day was spent pulling it out. Fenner wanted to cut costs on booze by making her own beer. And weather was a constant concern; Newfoundland’s placement in the Atlantic means sun can turn to rain–or snow–within minutes, something the team ran into during construction.

“We wanted to be done the foundation on the first pod last summer,” the 22 Minutes star says. “We couldn’t because the winter hit early. Now the pressure is on to get the pod built for the wedding.”

But perhaps the biggest test on Majumder’s wallet, and patience, is the very ground he so passionately wants to share with the rest of the world. Burlington sits on a section of rock that is among the hardest in the world, meaning sinking reinforcing bar into it to hold the pods in place is a long, arduous task in a such a rugged setting.

“All of Newfoundland and Labrador are rock,” Blackie says. “Burlington is on rock known as Burlington granite and it just happens to be the hardest rock on the island. And the site we’re on isn’t just rocks, it IS rock.”  That meant drilling, sinking rebar, epoxying those in place and then pouring concrete around them. Oh, and did they mention there’s no road to truck the concrete in? Instead, the heavy material is slogged in on foot in buckets.

“We have a team of locals, plus me and Pete, sweating our balls off walking through a muddy, snowy hard trail to bring buckets of it to the site,” Majumder describes. “We were lugging pails of heavy concrete through these woods.”

Majumder Manor airs Mondays at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET on W Network.

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The Listener

Link: The Listener welcomes the devil

From Eleni Armenakis of The TV Junkies:

The Listener Welcomes The Devil
“This week’s The Listener, Zero Recall, offered up a change to the usual procedural format when Toby ended up as both victim and investigator, which was a nice bit of experimentation even if it unfortunately didn’t tie into his past the way I was hoping it would after last week’s cliffhanger. But before getting into any of that, can we agree that this was secretly Dev’s episode?” Continue reading.

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Uncategorized

Open Heart in production for YTV

From a media release:

  • Brand new live-action Family Mystery Series from the Producers of Degrassi, and developed in association with marblemedia
  • Ramona Barckert (2014 Canadian Screen Award winner) is Showrunner and Writer

Three-time Emmy®-nominated production company Epitome Pictures (Degrassi, Instant Star, The L.A. Complex), a DHX Media company, is starting production today on OPEN HEART a new original teen, live-action drama series. The 12 x 30-minute series was commissioned by YTV and TeenNick and is developed in association with marblemedia.

Exciting newcomer Karis Cameron stars as lead character Dylan Blake with the series also starring Tori Anderson, Justin Kelly, Cristine Prosperi, Kevin McGarry, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Jenny Cooper, Demore Barnes, Jeff Douglas, Elena Juatco, Mena Massoud, and Dylan Everett. The family mystery series will shoot this August through October in Toronto. DHX Media will handle worldwide distribution for the show.

OPEN HEART is a gripping mystery series, folded into a sprawling family saga, set against the high-stakes workplace and relationship drama of a hospital. Dylan Blake, the rebellious daughter of a fractured family of doctors, uses her stint as a youth hospital volunteer to secretly investigate the mysterious disappearance of her father. OPEN HEART is being produced with the financial participation of the Shaw Rocket Fund, the Cogeco Program Development Fund, Bell Fund and RBC Royal Bank.

The series stars:

  • Karis Cameron (Signed, Sealed, Delivered; The Haunting Hour) as Dylan Blake, the gutsy and headstrong heroine who is determined to unravel the mystery that plagues the halls of Open Heart Memorial
  • Tori Anderson (The L.A. Complex, Warehouse 13, Flashpoint) as Dr. London Blake, Dylan’s brainy older sister and first-year resident
  • Justin Kelly (Degrassi, Lost Girl, Latest Buzz) as Wes Silver, the cool and playful charmer, with a smart mouth that gets him out of trouble just as often as it gets him into it
  • Cristine Prosperi (Degrassi, Nicky Deuce) as Mikayla Walker, the bright and bubbly ally to Dylan who distracts herself with all the hospital’s social drama
  • Kevin McGarry (Being Erica, Saw 7) as Dr. Timothy “Hud” Hudson, the first-year medical resident and rugged bad boy of Open Heart Memorial
  • Patrick Kwok-Choon (Nikita, Rookie Blue, Being Erica) as Seth Park, loveable hipster-nerd lab tech, whose knowledge of biochemistry is exceeded only by his collection of indie novels and ironic t-shirts
  • Jenny Cooper (Hemlock Grove, Scandal, NCIS, C.S.I. Miami, 24) as Dr. Jane Blake, mother to Dylan and London, and the leading trauma doctor who would rather save lives than deal with her own family affairs
  • Demore Barnes (Hemlock Grove, The Listener, Flashpoint) as Dr. Dominic Karamichaelidis, the handsome attending emergency physician and resident advisor who doesn’t mind being the bad guy if it means saving lives
  • Elena Juatco (Repo! The Genetic Opera, Breaking the Rules, Sorority Surrogate) as Scarlet, the first-year medical resident, whose stunning beauty often leaves her razor sharp medical skills underestimated by others
  • Mena Massoud (King, Combat Hospital, Poser) as Jared, the snarky and upfront head of the youth volunteer program who plays by the rules and relishes the marginal authority his position gives him
  • Dylan Everett (Degrassi, Wingin’ It, The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story) as Teddy, Dylan’s old friend – a bored rich kid and a very bad influence.

OPEN HEART is executive produced by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn, Ramona Barckert, Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop. The series is developed in association with marblemedia, which is also taking the lead in producing a fully integrated interactive digital component to the series. Directors are Stefan Brogren and Samir Rehem. Writers include Ramona Barckert, Chris Pozzebon, Scott Oleszkowicz, Brendan Gall, Brendon Yorke and Barbara Haynes. Production Executives for Corus Entertainment are Jamie Piekarz and Chris Bell and for TeenNick, Kim Powers.

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Amazing Race Canada

After the Race checks in on The Amazing Race’s midway mark

From a media release:

  • Hosted by TSN’s James Duthie, hour-long midseason after show reunites this season’s eliminated teams
  • After show immediately follows Episode 6 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA
  • Fans invited to participate through Facebook and Twitter by submitting questions before the show with the hashtag #AfterAmazingRaceCDA
  • Viewers can catch up with the summer’s #1 series on CTV GO

As Canada’s #1 summer series THE AMAZING RACE CANADA closes in on the Season 2 midway point, CTV announced today it will produce and broadcast a one-hour, midseason, after-show special, AFTER THE RACE. Produced in front of a studio audience from CTV’s headquarters in Toronto, AFTER THE RACE seamlessly follows Episode 6 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, airing Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO. Hosted by TSN’s James Duthie (@tsnjamesduthie), AFTER THE RACE reunites all of this season’s eliminated teams, and features a look back at the most talked-about moments from the first six episodes. This is THE AMAZING RACE CANADA’s second after-show special, and first-ever midseason edition, following last year’s season finale special.

One of Canada’s most celebrated sportscasters and an expert interviewer, as well as a self-professed super-fan of the hit series, the three-time Gemini award-winning Duthie will talk to the eliminated teams about their experience on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and gain personal insight into the highs and lows of their incredible journey. The eliminated teams confirmed so far to appear in the After Show are Shahla and Nabeela, Jen and Shawn, and Laura and Jackie.

“I’ve watched THE AMAZING RACE from the very beginning, so I’m thrilled to get to be a part of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA,” said Duthie. “Like any die-hard follower of the show, I’ve always been left with questions about why teams made certain moves or decisions. You know, those, ‘What the heck were you thinking?’ moments. Now I’ll get to ask those questions and find out… what the heck they were thinking.”

In addition to the racers’ chats with Duthie, questions and comments will also come from audience members and fans pulled via Twitter and Facebook, who use the hashtag #AfterAmazingRaceCDA.

Viewers wanting to catch up on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA before the after-show special can do so at CTV GO, and through video on demand partners such as Bell Fibe TV.

Tonight THE AMAZING RACE CANADA returns home as teams fly to the mighty Yukon (9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO). Natalie and Meaghan’s Express Pass power play puts them at the centre of controversy. A dog-eat-dog competition heats up as the Detour leaves an opening for underdogs to take the reins. And a relentless Roadblock sets its sights on sending one team packing.

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