From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: X Company creators on bringing their series to “a natural, full-circle conclusion”
“Our hope mainly was to inspire Canadians with a little curiosity about the secrets their country has kept, and with a little pride that we were an important part of the bigger picture. And to wonder what they would have done, if they had been that agent, or that German officer, or that team leader, or that wife…” Continue reading.Â
From Sabrina Marandola of CBC News:
Link: Bob McDevitt, iconic CBC Montreal sportscaster, dies at 85
Former CBC sportscaster and Concordia journalism professor Bob McDevitt has died.
McDevitt, whose health had been in decline for several years, died at the Jewish General Hospital yesterday morning at the age of 85.
His wife of 56 years, Pat, was by his side. Continue reading.
It seems this week’s theme of Four in the Morning is asking us why many people today are so cavalier in their relationships. Friends come, friends go; relationships have in a sense become disposable. However, “one way or another, everyone gets their blowback.”
We jump right in with William (Mazin Elsadig) and Mitzi (Lola Tash), two halves from two different wholes, sharing a late-night meal at The Patrician when William’s parents appear, declaring they are disowning him. Just like that, a biological connection is legally severed with a simple signature, and yet William does not appear bothered at all.
Now, if you recall at the close of Episode 1 , we learned that—on his deathbed—Albert the talking pig revealed to Mitzi that Jamie and Bondurant slept together, setting the stage for some dramatic irony. With that in mind…
Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) is at the hospital; he has lost his blow, and will miss an audition as a result. It is Jamie (Michelle Mylett), not Mitzi, who rushes to his side. Bondurant is diagnosed with “Trick Candle Syndrome,” a psychosomatic disorder, necessitating a visit from the on-call psychiatric resident. He is unwittingly treated by her daughter playing dress-up, but the wisdom of a child’s innocence brings clarity for Bondurant; he should not be lying to avoid intimacy. In the end, Bondurant recants his proclamation of love for Jamie and declares that he is indeed in love with Mitzi.
Meanwhile, Mitzi shares Albert’s revelation with William. Suddenly, William views his relationship with Jamie in a different light, already emotionally distancing himself from her. After a few long monologues we cut to Mitzi experiencing a sexlucinatory episode and we finally meet Albert the talking pig! He comes clean: after all who can believe a pig on magic beans?!? Bondurant it seems was simply trying to make the oh-so cavalier Mitzi jealous. The joke, however, is on Mitzi and William. They both assumed the worst of their partners based on the word of a pig and had sex behind Bondurant’s and Jamie’s backs.
I still really love Four in the Morning, but it really struck me in this episode that I do not yet have empathy for any of these characters; no emotional connection at all. They just happen to be fun to be around. But, after some thought and in light of the theme explored tonight, perhaps that is a deliberate choice for creator Ira Parker? Perhaps the point is I am to be invested in the journey rather than care about who is travelling with me. Relationships here, in this environment, can be tossed away easily and we, and our four protagonists, deliberately avoid investing ourselves/themselves in personal relationships. But to what ends?
I do have one complaint, however. NO one looks this good at 4 in the morning, except perhaps flight attendants.
What do you think is next for our foursome? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Four In the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
In the series premiere of Taken, hosted by Lisa Meeches, we revisit the case that shocked Canada, raising awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in mainstream media: Tina Fontaine.
Tina was a 15-year-old with a sweet little baby face, remembered by her teachers to be compassionate and loving. She was also brutally murdered, her body dumped in The Red River with the intention it never be found. However, because of its brutality, it was Tina Fontaine’s case that galvanised the nation. Sergeant John O’Donovan, Winnipeg Police Service, makes a sad observation that puts this into perspective: “I think society would be horrified if we found a litter of kittens or pups in the river in this condition. This is a child. Society should be horrified.”
Thelma Favel, Tina’s great aunt who raised Tina until she left Sagkeeng to reconnect with her estranged mother in Winnipeg, shares many stories that bring the face we know from the news to life. The storytelling is aided by re-enactments in the locations where Tina was known to frequent.
This initial episode of Taken also highlights the systemic abuse and racism present in Canada today. Policies put in place throughout the country’s history have promoted these vulnerable circumstances for Indigenous women. Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International explains, “this violence is a symptom of a much larger problem than was displayed in the Residential Schools. It is a pattern of discrimination that has played out in policy in a thousand minute every day ways as well.”
This is a serious program, not meant for entertainment but to inform. Care has definitely been taken to ensure Tina’s story is treated with the respect it deserves. However, due to the sheer number of cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and children, Taken may trigger difficult emotions for some viewers.
I have two main concerns with this show, co-commissioned between APTN and CBC. First, CBC has yet to slot the series into their schedule. This is an investigative documentary series showcasing ongoing investigations. Each episode opens and closes with a request for information. Would it not be judicious to broadcast this to the widest audience possible in the timeliest of manners? Over time, information and leads dry up, memories can fade, evidence can be compromised, all of which can weaken the Crown’s Disclosure in the court of law. And yet CBC is not airing in conjunction with APTN’s broadcast.
My second concern relates to how Tina was initially presented in this episode. Tina was a little girl, she was not just one more murdered Indigenous child. She was a child with family and friends and hobbies. Often, we forget who the person was and they are seen only as a victim. We did learn about Tina the child, but that came later in the program. I would have preferred to get to know the child so I could grieve the loss of her.
If you do have any information about the Tina Fontaine case you are urged to contact either the authorities or Taken.
Taken airs Fridays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.
From a media release:
— Tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died running away from a residential school 50 years ago —
— Proceeds will be donated to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation —
STATEMENT BY GORD DOWNIE
Ogoki Post, Ontario
September 9, 2016
Mike Downie introduced me to Chanie Wenjack; he gave me the story from Ian Adams’ Maclean’s magazine story dating back to February 6, 1967, “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack.â€
Chanie, misnamed Charlie by his teachers, was a young boy who died on October 22, 1966, walking the railroad tracks, trying to escape from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School to walk home. Chanie’s home was 400 miles away. He didn’t know that. He didn’t know where it was, nor how to find it, but, like so many kids – more than anyone will be able to imagine – he tried. I never knew Chanie, but I will always love him.
Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada’s story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were. History will be re-written. We are all accountable, but this begins in the late 1800s and goes to 1996. “White†Canada knew – on somebody’s purpose – nothing about this. We weren’t taught it in school; it was hardly ever mentioned.
All of those Governments, and all of those Churches, for all of those years, misused themselves. They hurt many children. They broke up many families. They erased entire communities. It will take seven generations to fix this. Seven. Seven is not arbitrary. This is far from over. Things up north have never been harder. Canada is not Canada. We are not the country we think we are.
I am trying in this small way to help spread what Murray Sinclair said, “This is not an aboriginal problem. This is a Canadian problem. Because at the same time that aboriginal people were being demeaned in the schools and their culture and language were being taken away from them and they were being told that they were inferior, they were pagans, that they were heathens and savages and that they were unworthy of being respected – that very same message was being given to the non-aboriginal children in the public schools as well… They need to know that history includes them.†(Murray Sinclair, Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 2015)
I have always wondered why, even as a kid, I never thought of Canada as a country – It’s not a popular thought; you keep it to yourself – I never wrote of it as so. The next hundred years are going to be painful as we come to know Chanie Wenjack and thousands like him – as we find out about ourselves, about all of us – but only when we do can we truly call ourselves, “Canada.â€
——
Gord Downie began Secret Path as ten poems, incited by the story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year-old boy who died in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario, fifty years ago, walking home to the family he was taken from over 400 miles away. Gord was introduced to Chanie Wenjack (miscalled “Charlie†by his teachers) by Mike Downie, his brother, who shared with him Ian Adams’ Maclean’s story from February 6, 1967, “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack.â€
The stories Gord’s poems tell were fleshed into the ten songs of Secret Path with producers Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin. Recording took place over two sessions at The Bathouse Recording Studios in Bath, Ontario, November and December 2013. The music features Downie on vocals and guitars, with Drew and Hamelin playing all other instruments. Guest musicians include Charles Spearin (bass), Ohad Benchetrit (lap steel/guitar), Kevin Hearn (piano), and Dave “Billy Ray†Koster (drums).
In winter 2014, Gord and Mike brought the recently finished Secret Path music to graphic novelist Jeff Lemire for his help illustrating Chanie Wenjack’s story, bringing him and the many children like him to life.
The ten song album will be released by Arts & Crafts accompanied by Lemire’s eighty-eight page graphic novel published by Simon & Schuster Canada. Secret Path will arrive on October 18, 2016, in a deluxe vinyl and book edition, and as a book with album download.
Downie’s music and Lemire’s illustrations have inspired The Secret Path, an animated film to be broadcast by CBC in an hour-long commercial-free television special on Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).
The Secret Path was created, written, and directed by Gord Downie, composed by Gord Downie with Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin, and illustrated by author Jeff Lemire. The film is executive produced by Mike Downie, Patrick Downie, Gord Downie, and Sarah Polley. The Secret Path is produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and Antica Productions Ltd. in association with CBC, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Jocelyn Hamilton is executive producer for eOne Television and Stuart Coxe is executive producer for Antica Productions. Justin Stephenson is director of animation.
The broadcast date marks the fiftieth anniversary of the morning Chanie’s body was found frozen beside the railroad tracks only twelve miles into his journey.
