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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Anne of Green Gables

Link: Sara Botsford: Marilla for a New Generation in Anne of Green Gables

From Melissa Girimonte of The Televixen:

Sara Botsford: Marilla for a New Generation in Anne of Green Gables
“The style of this film is quite different. It’s much more realistic than idealistic, and it’s much more grounded. [Director] John Kent Harrison has a very clear idea. In his mind, the relationship for Marilla is with Matthew. It’s not with Anne. That’s a relationship that grows, but at the beginning of the film, it’s not about this orphan kid who showed up; it’s about Marilla’s brother and he’s not really going to do without this person to help us on the farm.” Continue reading.

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Saving Hope

Link: Saving Hope postmortem: Season 4 goes out with a bang

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Saving Hope postmortem: Season 4 goes out with a bang
“We are always conceiving the end of the season not knowing whether the show is going to get ordered or not. We did find out in enough time to try and build in enough of a cliffhanger. We didn’t want to try to compete with Joel (Daniel Gillies) blowing up–because that was so epic–but we wanted there to be a cliffhanger and something to come back to. If it was the last episode of the whole thing we designed it–with Charlie narrating and the tux–to have this feel of coming full circle, but then with a bit of a turn in it when we knew we were coming back.” Continue reading. 

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada returns with plenty of tears

MasterChef Canada is manipulative as heck. With two seasons under their belts, producers Proper Television know exactly how to tug at our emotions. With just one hour of this go-round underway, I was already cheering for finalists like Mary Berg and Jennifer Baglioni because of their backstories, and want them to go all the way to the end.

Of course, I’m supposed to feel this way, and once you just accept it, episodes like Sunday’s are entertaining both in the slick production but the storytelling as well. And with three seasons under their belts, judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung and Claudio Aprile know how to inject their own brand of drama into the proceedings too. All three took turns being critical with the first handful of home cooks to shoot for the Top 14, and stated more than once the talent bar had been raised. Thankfully, several contestants met the challenge or exceeded them.

One was Mary Berg, who overcame personal tragedy (her family was in a car accident years ago, claiming her father’s life) to score an apron. Another was Jennifer Bagione, who told her own tear-induced tale. Both parents were deaf and she learned to communicate through sign language. After their mother left, Jennifer took over cooking duties, ensuring Dad had a hot meal to come home to every night. The Maple, Ont., salon manager broke down in tears while the judges communicated through her to her father that she had won a spot in the Top 14.

Not everyone was so lucky. A montage captured several wannabe MasterChef Canada contestants eliminated because their plates were too pedestrian, under-seasoned or just plain bad. Folks like Sean Hickey—he of the bacon-themed headband and apron—bombed out with their audition plate but will battle it out for a spot in the show via kitchen cooking because the judges saw a glimmer of talent.

Who will win the $100,000 grand prize and MasterChef Canada title? It’s too soon to tell, but it’s going to be a fun (and tear-filled) ride on the way to deciding. Tell me who you think will win via the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

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Featured, Saving Hope

Saving Charlie on Saving Hope

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The news Saving Hope will return for Season 5 may have eased the stress of Sunday’s two-part season finale and pretty much guaranteed Charlie was going to pull through his brain tumour surgery, but it was still a pretty rough go for my nerves.

Would Charlie emerge still being able to see dead people, or would that ability disappear with his tumour? But while it took both episodes, “Anybody Seen My Baby” and “Let Me Go” for Charlie to emerge from surgery with his faculties intact and his ghostly gift excised (he thinks), he and Alex were far from safe. In fact, one of them may very well be at death’s door when the fifth season kicks off.

Yup, the couple who had been through so much already were thrown into the wringer once more—thanks for Adam Pettle’s finale script—when Crenshaw (Travis Milne) appeared at the Fellowship dinner with a gun and fired it when they stood so Alex and Maggie could accept their award together. To say the twist came out of left field is an understatement and a testament to Pettle and his writing staff. So much has gone on this season I’d completely forgotten about Crenshaw. He, of course, never forgot Charlie’s refusal to help get him cleared of murdering his wife and sought revenge.

Saving_Hope1

It was the perfect wrench to throw into what was for the most part a happy season finale. Yes, there were sad moments—Kristine died and a patient with liver disease lost her unborn daughter in “Anybody Seen My Baby”—but Dawn and Zach are officially an item (after a misstep courtesy of Maggie) and flying between Vancouver and Toronto so they can see Zach’s kids. After everything they’ve been through personally since last season I’m glad the pair are together and truly happy. Not so happy? Cassie, who went from No. 1 to also-ran in Jeremy’s life after his wife, Natasha, jetted in and proclaimed her love for him. Now he’s headed back to California, closing the door on their relationship but opening it up for Dev to make his move.

So what do you think, Saving Hope fans? Did Crenshaw shoot Alex? Charlie? Someone else? Or did he miss? And what did you think of this season overall? Write a comment below or send me a note via Twitter to @tv_eh.

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Anne of Green Gables

Link: Martin Sheen reflects on his career and latest role in Anne of Green Gables

From Brad Wheeler of the Globe and Mail:

Martin Sheen reflects on his career and latest role in Anne of Green Gables
Martin Sheen is on the line, talking Bob Dylan, keeping it real and Anne of Green Gables, as one does. Sheen, who stars as Matthew Cuthbert in a new small-screen adaptation of the 1908 Canadian classic, wants to know how authentic the blue-screened snow looks in one of the winter scenes. “I haven’t seen the final version, with the special effects,” he says. Continue reading.

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