First of all, if you don’t already watch Frankie Drake Mysteries you should on Monday. I won’t spoil it for you, but just check it out. I promise that you WILL scream and clap your hands together. OK, enough with the public service announcement; we’ve got a new Murdoch Mysteries to discuss!
Tonight’s instalment is called “Biffers and Blockers,” and here’s what the faithful folks at CBC have revealed as the main storyline:
When a player dies violently on the cricket pitch, Murdoch and Brackenreid encounter some very unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Sounds positively dreadful! And here are more details we can share after watching the episode written by Dan Trotta and directed by Megan Follows.
Cricket, anyone?
I still don’t get how cricket is played. Or more succinctly, how it’s scored. I love the whites, the laid-back attitude, the strikeouts (wait, are they called strikeouts?) and all that, but I’m still not clear on how the game is scored and why some games go on for more than one day. Can a Murdoch fan help me out? Thanks in advance. Oh, by the way, it’s Henry who is on the cricket pitch for the main story and lands several great scenes and dialogue all episode long. Also? The cricket setting is stunning.
Julia’s fresh eyes
We’ve loved the direction Julia is headed in this season. She’s more flirty and playful and teasing William like mad. It’s awesome. Turns out she’s got an eye for athletes. And, as it turns out, she has some news for William. Squeeee!
The dead have risen
No, zombies haven’t invaded Toronto (again) but a previously dead character re-appears. I’m not going to spoil it, other than to say I was A) thrilled to see them return, and B) stoked at how they were worked into the story.
Paulino Nunes guest-stars
Nunes, who previously played Carlo Corsi in “Murdoch at the Opera,” returns to portray a hotshot cricket player who doesn’t win any friends amongst the players on the field pitch. Honestly? Trotta’s script turns him into an instantly memorable character. He’s a real hoot.
Michael Bonacini’s Christmas at the Farm is one of the best cooking shows ever. Quiet, not drowning out with music and a good down-to-earth love of food. He should do a regular show. —Alice
We agree! Are you listening, Bell Media??
How do I find out the music being played during the Jan. 3 episode of Mary Kills People, especially when the couple, who wanted to be killed, were dancing on their balcony? Where does one find out the credits? Thank you. —Jan
We used our trusty Shazam app and discovered the song you’re talking about is “For Your Precious Love” by Otis Redding. It was really effective in that wonderfully sad, heartfelt scene between Betty and Victor Lisko. Fun fact: Betty Lisko is played by Karen Robinson, who can also be seen co-starring in Schitt’s Creek and Frankie Drake Mysteries, both on CBC.
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.
This week on Frankie Drake Mysteries are two truly high-profile guest stars. I’ve been excited for this episode ever since I saw a short video of Lucas Bryant and Laurence Fox fooling around in the Drake makeup trailer where they were on location.
“The Pilot,” written by co-creators Michelle Ricci and Carol Hay and directed by Leslie Hope, finds Bryant playing Phillip Anderson, an aviator whose son is kidnapped. I’ve been a fan of Bryant since Season 1 of Haven (serious Stephen King fan over here) and was furthered in CBC’s excellent miniseries Shoot the Messenger, which bows on WGN in the U.S. on Feb. 26. As for Fox, he’s been on my radar for over 40 episodes of the PBS series Inspector Lewis, where he played DS James Hathaway. Anyway, enough of me being a fanboy; here’s what the CBC has revealed as the synopsis for Monday’s episode:
A day off turns into a day at the office for Frankie and Trudy when the son of an aviator is kidnapped.
And here is more information I gleaned from watching a screener.
Airplanes aplenty
I love airplanes. I love history. I was, therefore, giddy to see “The Pilot” involved both as stunning old aircraft zipped around the sky in Guelph, Ont. for the episode. (Read Bill Brioux’s set visit piece for more details.) Interestingly, this was the first episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries to be filmed but airs as Episode 7. Ah, the magic of television. And meetings.
Charlotte Sullivan guest-stars
Hold onto your hats Rookie Blue and Mary Kills People fans! Charlotte Sullivan, who also appears in CBC’s Caught next month, is Meara, wife of Phillip Anderson and mother to Charlie, the missing child.
Cheeky Fox
When we first meet Laurence Fox, he’s an unnamed gent who sidles up to Frankie and begins some major flirting. Who is he, and why does he seem to have bad will towards Phillip Anderson? They have a history, but what is it? Like I’ve already said, this was the first episode of Frankie to be filmed, but it doesn’t feel like it. Frankie’s sass, strong character and love of motorcycles and planes are firmly in place, as well as her relationship with Trudy. As a matter of fact, we learn some key backstory about Frankie thanks to her motorcycle and the conversation she has about it.
A storyline never revisited
Kris Holden-Ried appears at the end of Monday’s episode as a someone Frankie turns to for support. What’s interesting is that it’s tied to the backstory we’ve already mentioned but is never referred to, so far at least, in Season 1. Again, this was the first episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries so things change, but it would have been interesting to see this storyline fleshed out more.
A very special guest star
On top of the folks we’ve already mentioned, a certain someone drops by to escort Frankie into a building where women aren’t allowed. I kind of wish their name had been left out of the credits because it’s a major spoiler. I’ve already said too much.
Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
I’m a big fan of Alex Paxton-Beesley. Not only did she portray kick-butt Mennonite housewife Anna Funk in CBC’s awesome Pure but she’s the spunky Freddie Pink on Murdoch Mysteries.
Now Paxton-Beesley is featured in Cardinal: Blackfly Season in another memorable role as Red. At least, that’s what she’s called on account of her red hair. In truth, we don’t know her real name yet because Red was discovered in an Algonquin Bay bar suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Det. John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) and Det. Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse) spent last week’s first episode of Blackfly Season investigating who Red is, who shot her and what ties she has to a headless body found hanging in a cave.
We spoke to Paxton-Beesley about the role and Red’s journey as we head into Thursday’s new episode.
It’s been fascinating to see how Giles Blunt’s books have been translated to the screen.
Alex Paxton-Beelsey: Yes. I’ve read the first three books and the adaptations have been so interesting. They’ve done such a good job of visualizing what those stories are.
How did you get the role of Red? Did you audition in the traditional way or did the producers have you in mind?
It was mostly traditional in that I only auditioned for it once because I think their original interpretation for the character was different. I had worked with [director] Jeff [Renfroe] and almost worked with the producers before on another project that didn’t end up going forward. We all knew each other in the way that everyone does in the Canadian television industry. I went in and auditioned and it was really fun. I didn’t get a full script and the audition came so quickly that I didn’t get to read the whole book so I had to fill in a lot of those gaps myself. Sometimes that’s frustrating but because this was so well-written it was fun to put my imagination in there.
It was pretty fascinating, and creepy, to see your portrayal of Red when she’s discovered. She’s been lobotomized by the bullet and has this childlike innocence about her. Then, during the surgery to remove the bullet, she starts to sing. That was a little disturbing.
The Internet can be a terrible place, but also a font of information. There are some pretty incredible videos on YouTube of awake brain surgery that are just stunning. The is one in particular of this opera singer—you stay awake during some of these surgeries because they need to know if they are affecting something—and he starts singing … and then forgets all of the words. [We think we found the video she’s talking about.] It’s devastating and fascinating. Those scenes, in particular, were really interesting because those were my benchmarks. I got to assign meaning to all of these things that were randomly coming out of her brain. I talked to [showrunner] Sarah [Dodd] and Jeff about it and had conversations about what that could be.
It reminded me of that Heritage Minute…
Yes! ‘Dr. Penfield, I smell burnt toast!’
Yes! I wondered if perhaps you ad-libbed that line during a take or two.
That was definitely a reference. I’m pretty sure I said that between takes but that nobody got it. It’s like, ‘Come on guys, it’s Canadian history!’
There is a reference in this week’s episode that I want to ask about. A nurse walks into Red’s room and Red is looking out the window, recalling something. Can you comment on that scene?
I think that’s something that I would rather leave ambiguous. It’s something left open to interpretation and will be a part of how you read Red as a character.
What was it like working with Billy Campbell?
I love him so much. He and Karine are the most delightful people to work with. Billy is just fantastic. This was a real dream. The first season of Cardinal is one of my favourite TV shows of all time and one of the best things Canada has ever made and I never dreamed I’d get to be a part of it. So, to not only be a part of Season 2 but to show up and have Billy be the most ridiculous, hilarious person and Karine also be the most ridiculous person … they are both so funny and so strange.
This world of Algonquin Bay is a twisted one. We have biker gangs and strange voodoo and an interesting fellow named Ray Northwind, played by Bruce Ramsay.
Bruce plays him so gentle it makes him even more horrifying. The lightest touch of power has the deepest weight.
What can fans expect from this season of Cardinal?
I think Red kind of mirrors the fan experience this season. What she knows and doesn’t know and that feeling of being lost and really trying to be found. I hope people like it. I’m really proud of what we made. It’s beautiful and I’m so glad it’s a Canadian show.
Kristin Kreuk has swapped Superman and a Beast of a man to battle big pharmaceutical. The Vancouver native headlines and executive-produces Burden of Truth, CBC’s new legal drama, debuting Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC.
Created by Brad Simpson (Rookie Blue), Burden of Truth is a 10-part serialized drama about a big-time lawyer named Joanna Hanley (Kreuk) who returns to her small town as the representative of a pharmaceutical company whose drugs are thought to be making young women sick. Once in Millwood, however, Joanna finds herself—after crushing the case made by the girls and led by her former high school classmate Billy Crawford (Peter Mooney)—questioning whether she’s on the right side of the lawsuit and discovering some bad feelings were left behind when she exited Millwood at 14 years old. Burden of Truth‘s first episode has the feeling of a John Grisham novel—slick lawyer slam-dunks on the locals—and that’s a good thing for viewers.
“He was definitely on the inspiration list,” Kreuk says during CBC’s press day for its winter lineup. “It was, tonally, what we were looking for.”
Often, first episodes can feel cluttered. Introducing a raft of characters, as well as major and minor storylines, in 22 or 44 minutes can be a confused mess. That doesn’t happen in Wednesday’s debut, a credit to executive producer Ilana Frank (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue), who admits Truth‘s storytelling style—one case contained in one season—was a challenge.
“I’ve never done a serialized show before,” Frank says. “All of my shows have been episodic. So the idea that you have time was new to me. There were certain things that we knew we had to hit in the first episode and that was it. We made a short list. We knew we needed a reason for her to go to Millwood, we had to have a reason for her to stay in Millwood. There were certain things that were a must and if they didn’t work there it was going to work somewhere else.”
One of the musts was to pit Joanna against Billy. After eviscerating him in court she reflects on what she’s done and has second thoughts on who she’s fighting for. A lot of that reflection is because of her past with Billy, who is beloved by Millwood’s citizens.
“It’s such an interesting dynamic to take two people who knew each other more than half their lives and through circumstance have them come smashing back together,” Mooney says. “Their freshest memory of each other is them as teenagers. They’re trying to reconcile who they are now, how they’ve changed, who they were then and what their relationship was then.” They start out on opposite sides of the legal case, Mooney explains, and the relationship develops through Season 1 with Joanna and Billy realizing what makes them different as lawyers is a benefit in the courtroom.
Every small town, on TV at least, has a secret and Millwood is no different. Kreuk teases the reason Joanna and her father—played by Alex Carter—left the area when she was a teen will be revealed; that has a huge impact on Joanna and who she is. It also runs parallel to the court case.
“There may be a moment when her and her father are at odds,” she says with a laugh. “She followed her father, she became her father, she did everything centred around him. Everything she learns in town is really new and shocking and jarring for her.”
