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Featured, Saving Hope

Comments and queries for the week of August 4

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The fans say goodbye to Saving Hope

I have just found this show and have been binge watching it for five days now to only find out that this season, Season 5, is the end of the show!! Every time I find a show I truly love it goes off the air. I wish you were going to continue this show, I love it! Thank you, though, for what I have gotten to watch, the actors are great and I will greatly miss it! —Tammy

I wish Saving Hope would continue! The good ones always leave too soon. Hopefully, they get married and not one or both killed off! Love Charlie and Alex! —Marcy

Thanks for five loving years. Haven’t missed a single episode, some we watched twice and really enjoyed every one of them. Almost cried when Joel got blown up; that was a bummer. Thanks to all the cast for their superlative acting. I am not clear why Saving Hope was not renewed. The cast and crew were great and Michael, Erica and Huse Madhavji, Wendy and all. Hope somewhere in the near future we could see more of SAVING HOPE!!! —Jean

I’ve been trying to write this post for more than an hour, trying to say something 100 per cent nice, but not succeeding. It kept sounding like an underhanded compliment. So I’m just going to be honest and tell you how I feel. I loved the show, but I didn’t like Season 5 quite as much—which I’ve seen in its entirety. And when I say I LOVED the show, I mean I was part of the fan videos made for the cast before the show began, and watched all seasons from the beginning and sometimes had to go through a crazy international scramble to get copies of the show, and now I help run an 800-member Facebook group dedicated to Saving Hope. I’ve had that kind of commitment and love for this series, and a great deal of appreciation for all the heart cast and crew put into making this program. I often hear that it is better not to say anything unless you are going to say something nice. Alas, I believe in honest feedback. I wish it weren’t so, but I feel let down. —Solstice

Man, I love this show, the entire cast, the Canadian content, amazing acting and writing. Wendy Crewson especially blows me away. I will truly miss this show and characters (goes for guest stars like Missy Peregrym and others). Michael and Erica rock! Looking forward to more from these actors and producers. One of my favourite shows EVER! You did your audience and country proud with this one! —Gail

I am going to miss Saving Hope so much. Seeing my favourite stars of my TV show for the last five years has been such a joy. I absolutely love Michael and Erica and all of the Saving Hope guys and girls. I wish them all of the luck for the future and I hope to see them all again one day soon. xx —Jess

Thank you to all the actors, writers, and crew. Quite possibly my favourite show of all time, and the fact that it’s over will outweigh the heavy content of the finale for quite a while. —Hallie

Why do all the endings have to be like this now? Why can’t we have a happy ending to a great show? You just ruined five years of Saving Hope. This is why I don’t watch series. I made an exception and now I’m sad. I will stick to science-fiction from now on. Very dissatisfied and disappointed. —Crys

I did not like the ending at first but, overnight, I realized that it makes sense actually. It ended as it began. Charlie should have died in the first accident. The five years that he lived partly in both realms was a gift. A time for them to grow and have two children as the legacy of their love. —Ruth

As a Canadian, I couldn’t be more proud of this show. I am so very sad it’s really over. I certainly was disappointed and overwhelmed with emotions seeing Charlie’s death, but then very relieved that the very end brought him and Alex together again. It was a thing of beauty after all. I will miss it terribly. —Sheri

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian television? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

 

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Saving Hope

Link: Saving Hope’s Wendy Crewson looks back on her time as Dana

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From Christy Spratlin of The TV Junkies:

Link: Saving Hope’s Wendy Crewson looks back on her time as Dana
“Ilana Frank, our producer, has always been really great that way. She always writes with women in mind and certainly when I first started on Saving Hope our showrunner was Morwyn Brebner and she’s a terrific writer. She was really focused on making sure that the female roles were strong and believable. And it wasn’t just the women on the writing staff, the men as well, Adam Pettle and Aaron Martin, just to name a few, that were just terrific writers that could really speak with a strong female voice.” Continue reading.

 

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Featured, Saving Hope

Saving Hope co-executive producer previews the series finale

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When you have a chance to talk to one of Saving Hope‘s writer-co-executive producers, you take it. I ran into Patrick Tarr earlier this week in North Bay, Ont., where he is doing pre-production work as the showrunner on Season 3 of Cardinal. Tarr, who has written for Showcase’s King and CBC’s Cracked and the Murdoch Mysteries web series The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs, penned several instalments of Saving Hope, including last week’s “First and Last.”

Now, with the finale “Hope Never Dies” just two days away, we asked Tarr to tease his thoughts on Charlie and Alex’s final storyline.

“I don’t think that there is another ending that is true to what the show is about,” Tarr says. “I asked Adam [Pettle, Saving Hope‘s showrunner], when we were breaking the final episode and we had the idea we did: ‘What is Saving Hope about?’ This is what we’ve been doing for five seasons.”

Tarr acknowledges that, after a handful of seasons, fans are definitely going to have strong feelings if anything untoward were to happen to any of the key characters they’ve fallen in love with. To have something other than a happy ending for Charlie, Alex, Zack, Shahir, Dawn, Dana or Jackson would be incredibly upsetting. That said, Saving Hope is about life, death and everything in between. And, as the writers have proven over the show’s run, no one is safe from injury.

Tarr joined Saving Hope in Season 3 and has been involved in the last 54 episodes and exits with fond memories.

“I’ve been lucky to come on board a successful show that works really well and has great characters and directors,” he says. And now it’s coming to an end this week.

Saving Hope‘s series finale airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Amazing Race Canada hangs ten—and delivers a Fast Forward—in Bangkok

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It’s been a little hard for me to connect with the teams during this season of The Amazing Race Canada. I’m not sure what it is. No one is particularly annoying or deserves my scorn. Everyone seems to get along not only within their own duos but with each other too. Perhaps that’s it; I’m used to villains and heroes distinguishing themselves by now and it hasn’t happened. These folks are just so nice.

And while I haven’t been outright cheering for a pair yet, I was sad to see Zed and Shabbir eliminated. The father-son duo have a great story—Shabbir battled cancer and won, and Zed looks like José Bautista—and they’ve been strong performers so far both physically and in the mental game. Unfortunately, they stumbled in Bangkok, Thailand.

Sam and Paul, who began the Leg in first place, made a costly blunder at the top of the hour, dropping their instructions and train tickets to Shanghai in the street as they walked away. Incredibly, no one had sauntered along and picked them up and the boys reclaimed the ducats when they retraced their steps. And credit to the pair for keeping cool heads and looking for the tickets rather than wasting time blaming each other. They did, however, lose their clue instructions. But even then, Adam and Andrea gave them help without a blink of the eye. Yes, they want help in return, but this being a competition, I’m still surprised everyone is willing to help.

A quick stop at a Montreal-themed restaurant in Shanghai for some Sinorama product placement and teams were on a plane to Bangkok and a cat café in search of their next clue. It also introduced the first Fast Forward of the season, a special challenge that would score the first team to complete it a straight shot to the Pit Stop. The catch is always that you could waste time going there when another team had already completed the task, and many teams choose to skip it altogether. Ivana and Korey and Adam and Andrea both picked the Hoop Takraw. (The others all elected to stick with the Route Info and took a river cruise to their next clue.) I’m not sure how long it took them—and it appeared to be a total fluke—but Adam’s kick landed the ball in that small net, vaulting them to a temple Pit Stop in top spot and a return trip to Bangkok. Ivana and Korey were forced to return to the Route Info.

An intricate, word-free puppet show was the test for everyone but Adam and Andrea, a mixture of body movement, puppet coordination and silence that all members struggled with. Shabbir kept talking, resulting in failure. Sam and Paul and community theatre actors Bert and Karen nailed the performance on their first try and zipped off to the Detour: Bling It involved decorating a tuk tuk in a specific way while Shred It tested the ability to surf and snag flags for a clue. After eight tries, Zed and Shabbir re-read the clue and realized they were supposed to be silent during the puppet show. By the time they did, they were in last place.

After a few practice tries surfing, Sam and Paul nabbed a flag each and quickly departed for the Pit Stop. Andrea and Ebonie completed the surfing next, followed by Kenneth and Ryan. Clearly, the surfing was the easiest of the two Detours, but how could you know until you were there? Still, Shabbir had troubles surfing and after a particularly bad fall, they decided to switch challenges. That put them far behind everyone else and the only thing that could save them from being sent home was if this Leg was a non-elimination. It wasn’t.

Here’s how the teams placed at the end of this Leg:

  1. Adam and Andrea (won trip to Bangkok)
  2. Andrea and Ebonie
  3. Sam and Paul
  4. Kenneth and Ryan
  5. Karen and Bert
  6. Korey and Ivana
  7. Zed and Shabbir (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

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Featured, Saving Hope

Saving Hope says goodbye with tears and triumphs

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This is it Saving Hope fans. The last episode before the doors of Hope Zion close forever this Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. It’s been one hell of a ride, hasn’t it? I distinctly recall watching the first episode of the show back when I was at TV Guide Canada. “Another medical drama?” I thought. Yes, Saving Hope is a medical drama, but with one heck of a twist: a doctor who can see dead people. In the wrong hands, the premise would be cheesy, over-the-top and unwatchable.

In the right hands, it became a bonafide ratings hit for CTV. Stellar writing from co-creators Morwyn Brebner and Malcolm MacRury and a whos-who of scribes like Fiona Highet, Waneta Storms, Adam Pettle, Patrick Tarr, Noelle Carbone, Amanda Fahey and Jennifer Kassabian established the characters. Actors Erica Durance, Michael Shanks, Wendy Crewson, Benjamin Ayres, Julia Chan, Huse Madhavji, Joseph Pierre, Michelle Nolden and Daniel Gillies breathed life into them and made us care. Thanks to them—and all those behind-the-scenes folks and dozens of additional actors—who put in the long hours to make a truly great Canadian television series.

Here’s what CTV revealed as the episode synopsis for Thursday’s last episode “Hope Never Dies,” written by Adam Pettle and directed by James Genn.

In the shocking series finale of Saving Hope, following a mass casualty accident involving a bus full of teenagers, Dr. Alex Reid and Dr. Charlie Harris rush to the scene to try and save the kids while waiting for backup to arrive. The Hope Zion Hospital family must band together to overcome the tragedy, and move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Are here are a few more tidbits to get you through to the broadcast.

So, do Alex and Charlie finally tie the knot?
They were on the verge of it last week, but an injured bride-to-be got in the way. Now, the road is clear for these two to make it official, right? It would be a major bummer if, after five seasons, they didn’t get married. But, this being Saving Hope, nothing is easy, is it?

A truly shocking moment
I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop on a series like Saving Hope. Even I gasped because of what occurred just minutes into the episode. It was unexpected and takes “Hope Never Dies” in a stunning place made even more effective with Pettle’s storytelling, Michael Shanks’ and Erica Durance’s performances and Genn’s direction.

Guest stars aplenty
Keep your eyes peeled for Alden Adair from Workin’ Moms, Lisa Codrington from Letterkenny, Paul Popowich (Cracked) and Dempsey Bryk, who appeared on Heartland earlier this year.

What happened to Jackson?
Last week’s liver surgery went south thanks to the longtime nurse having an allergic reaction to the anaesthetics. We find out Jackson’s fate.

Related: Here’s what writer-co-executive producer Patrick Tarr says about the series finale!

Want to send the folks at Saving Hope a message? Post in the comments section and I’ll pass it along!

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

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