Tag Archives: Featured

21 Thunder, Featured

21 Thunder: RJ Fetherstonhaugh talks Nolan Gallard

On 21 Thunder, RJ Fetherstonhaugh plays Nolan Gallard, a gifted soccer player whose tortured past returns to haunt him. In reality, Fetherstonhaugh is an unabashed animal lover. I caught up with Fetherstonhaugh to talk about his character on CBC’s summer hit 21 Thunder, including some key backstory not shown to viewers.

Since 21 Thunder is based on the team members of an under 21 professional soccer team. Can you tell me a bit about the chemistry in the locker room?
RJ Fetherstonhaugh: Overall it is pretty relaxed and fun. Andres [Alex] wrote a bunch of those chants and stuff. And we would all just hang out, and go about the scenes the way they were written. Sometimes the boys would create, come up with their own ideas as we went along. Overall, the chemistry was really good. We had a lot of fun and it really reminded me a lot of what it was like when I played on on my own team.

How did you get the role of Nolan Gallard?
The role was cast out of Toronto and I was in Vancouver at the time, so I sent in a tape of just dialogue for the first audition. The second round they wanted to see a video of me playing soccer so I sent in a tape of me kicking the ball and juggling and dribbling and all that. Then they flew me out to Montreal and we did the audition. It was fun and pretty unique to anything I had done before, having the lead role. I did the audition in front of about 10 people and I guess they liked it and I got the job.

You mentioned these chants that the team would do for the show. Can you tell me a bit more about how they came to be?
Well, Andres actually wrote them. He would sit in his trailer, and one day he just said, ‘Hey guys, I came up with this idea,’ and he would just teach us. We would sit outside his trailer and rehearse them, and then go in the room and do them. So that was really unique. I grew up playing soccer and we never really had that, so this was a really cool experience.

Getting to shoot in Montreal; what was that like? Was this your first experience in Montreal?
I was there when I was 18 or 19, which was a crazy experience. I went there because my sister was living there, finishing up her schooling, and I stayed with her for a week during the summer. She didn’t have air conditioning in her apartment and I remember how ridiculously hot it was. This time around I didn’t get to see too much of the city but Montreal is such a fun, cultured city.

We lived at Sainte-Laurent/St. Catherines, so it was pretty loud when you have a 5 a.m. call time and partiers were still going at four in the morning, so it was annoying at times. But genuinely I love that city. I would love to go back. I cannot wait for the next time I can go back. The food is great, there are so many great spots. As much as you want to say no to the food you can’t. They know how to cook. If there is good food in a place, then you can be sure I am happy with it.

Your character, Nolan, intersects with several different storylines: the team, Emma, Declan and Kevin. Which storyline is the most challenging for you to play?
Emma [Clark Backo] I think. Working with Clark was incredible and our chemistry was good. But I think because the show was so quick; the scenes were so fast. That was the challenge overall. You also have to remember, Nolan doesn’t speak. Like, no dialogue. There is very … very … very little. People say things to him and he just sits there. I constantly asked the writers, ‘Do you want me to say something?’ and they would reply ‘No, we want you to be quiet.’ Nolan is a just a quiet, solemn kid. So not having a lot of dialogue also made it challenging. Working a scene that is just four lines back and forth and that is it. Or, someone else speaks and you just listen. That was tough.

Working with someone as experienced as Colm Feore, were you able to glean some pointers from him during your time shooting scenes with him?
Watching him and sitting with him, I think seeing how relaxed and comfortable he is on set, being able to create without worry or nerves, I think that is the lesson I will take from Colm. He made the set so fun and so comfortable. He made everyone feel like they were at home. That was a really awesome thing to see.

Finally, there is so much tension building between your character and Kevin/“Special K.” What was that like to create?
I wish we had time to go into the history of those two. I just felt like with the show, because there are so many storylines going on, there was a lot of information that we know that is not there for viewers which is a shame really. We didn’t get to dive into the fact that in the story, when my mother died, and my father was arrested, Kevin took me in. I lived with him. He took care of me. I ran drugs for him. I did things for him but he basically sheltered me and kept me out of foster homes. Then when he went to jail, that is when I was scouted for the soccer academy and I met Emma. Then I moved in moved with Emma and her family. But none of that was talked about.

My thanks to RJ for taking a few moments out of the day. Fans can look forward to seeing him playing Agent Thomas J. Church in The Predator, due out next year.

21 Thunder airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Dark Matter, Featured

Dark Matter canceled after three seasons on Space and Syfy

5 Comments

It’s the end of the journey for the Raza Crew: NBCUniversal Entertainment has cancelled Dark Matter after three seasons. The sci-fi series aired in the U.S. on Syfy and in Canada on Space.

“It is with great sadness that I confirm the news. Syfy has cancelled Dark Matter after three seasons,” co-creator Joseph Mallozzi wrote on his blog on Friday afternoon. “To say that I’m incredibly disappointed would be an understatement. I just want to extend a heartfelt thanks to my amazing crew, my wonderful cast, and to all of you, our incredible fans. You all deserved better.”

Co-created by Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, Dark Matter followed the exploits of a ragtag group of villains who—over the course of three seasons—became heroes. Dark Matter starred Melissa O’Neil, Anthony Lemke, Alex Mallari, Jr., Zoie Palmer, Jodelle Ferland, Roger Cross, Marc Bendavid, Melanie Liburd, Natalie Brown and Ellen Wong.

Last week’s season finale was a cliffhanger. Now we’ll never know what happened to the crew, or what adventures awaited them.

What are your thoughts on Dark Matter‘s cancellation? Are you as upset as I am? Comment below.

 

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Worst to First encourages renovation over move-in ready

There is a plethora of renovation programming available on HGTV Canada. There are Holmes’, McGillivrays, Baeumlers … heck, one Corus series, Home to Win, packs around two dozen builders and designers into it. Is there really enough room for one more series?

Yes, says HGTV Canada, with the debut of Worst to First beginning Monday, Sept. 4, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the specialty network. The channel trumpets “everyone wants a move-in ready dream home, but with soaring real estate prices in a red-hot market, it’s just not possible for most homeowners.” Cue professional contractors Sebastian Sevallo (he’s on the left) and Mickey Fabbiano—business partners, who are also best friends and family—who promise to transform a scuzzy home to the highlight of their Vancouver neighbourhoods.

Monday’s first episode catches up with Alexis and Tyler, who are currently in a one-bedroom condominium and want something more, hopefully in the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood. That’s where, naturally, Mickey and Sebastian come in. On the couple’s wish list is an open concept, three bedroom, two bathroom abode with hardwood floors, media room, soaker tub and a gas fireplace. Easy, right? Nooooo. Not with just $1.2 million to play with. After showing them two homes way out of their price range as inspiration, Sebastian and Mickey present a fixer-upper with tons of potential.

Thankfully, each episode of Worst to First is 44 minutes long because there is a lot of work to do. After Alexis and Tyler purchase a 1950s-era place enrobed in stucco, Mickey and Sebastian get to work on the two-month job. Mickey and Sebastian are a little rough when it comes to looking and sounding natural on television but you can’t fault their skills in home building and design. The Baeumlers play up their bickering and Mike Holmes oozes knowledge; Mickey and Sebastian are like the drinking buddies you play softball with … and just happen to know the ins and outs of home renovation.

Worst to First airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Web series

Spooky web series Spiral connects college pals to past lives and murder

College is the place people tend to begin friendships that last a lifetime. But what if those friends you made turned out to be buddies from a past life? That’s the gist of Spiral, a new seven-part web series debuting Sept. 6.

Kailey Spear, Cody Kearsley, Corteon Moore, Louriza Tronco, Angela Palmer, Brennan Clost, Alexandra Beaton and Enuka Okuma topline the project about college students who realize they’ve been connected over multiple lifetimes … and the murder of a classmate threatens them all. For co-creator and executive producer Andrew Williamson, who has worked in reality television with projects like Gastown Gamble and Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH, Spiral has been a long time coming.

“Spiral is an idea that I’ve had for a really long time,” Williamson says over the phone from Vancouver. “This idea that friends could be joined by something that had happened in the past. It’s always been something that I’ve been interested in.” He adds that writing isn’t his strong suit, so he contacted Karen McClellan—currently co-showrunner at The Next Step—to flesh out the idea. After securing development money from Creative BC, the pair set up a writing room in Toronto with McClellan, Daegan Fryklind, Ian Carpenter and Felicia Brooker with Jocelyn Cornforth as story consultant and story editor. Then Telus stepped into the picture with web series funding and filming began in and around Victoria, B.C.

“They’re the only people commissioning original digital content in this way,” Williamson says. “This project was inherently meant to be for a digital audience.” Spiral is aimed at the 13-21 demographic, the same group Williamson says Facebook is targeting with their online videos. He hopes the unconventional storyline Spiral offers allows for a deeper connection with the online audience and encourages discussion about whether or not past lives are a reality, if dreams can be portents and if someone you’ve met for the very first time and connect with means you’ve known them before.

The first episode of seven introduces Emma (Beaton), Clark (Clost), Alex (Palmer), Sophie (Spear), Grace (Tronco), Davis (Moore) and Josh (Kearsley), students at Victoria’s King’s College who build friendships and make quick connections. By episode end, one of them is dead, and the dreams the group members have been experiencing are explored to unlock the mystery.

“One night over a few bottles of wine, they discover they have all had this dream in common from different points of view and the suggestion is it could be a past life they’ve all shared,” McClellan says from Toronto. “What they discover is that they’ve shared many lives together and that they’re a soul cluster: souls who have travelled through time.” Each eight-minute episode brings the viewer deeper into the mystery; McClellan tackled writing a web project the same way she does a traditional television series, breaking it down into acts and posing a cliffhanger at the end of each act.

“It’s looking for that hook,” she says. “What’s going to drive your viewer to click to the next episode? And by the end of the 70 minutes, you feel satisfied … but you also want more. TV is still my first love, and always will be, but being able to tell a serialized story through a web series and test the concept is very exciting and the closest we have in Canada to shooting a pilot.”

Spiral‘s seven-episode first season will be available online beginning Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Images courtesy of Off Island Media.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
19-2, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of September 1

Love for 19-2‘s latest episode

It’s amazing how this episode was going. From the start, the funeral for J.M. was moving, as every cop in Canada including the RCMP attended. The procession which included the bagpipe version of “Amazing Grace,” as well as carrying the casket to the hearse and the movements to the hearse was tight. When the officer ordered everyone to salute, the arms snapped uniformly to the brim, and the service was reminiscent of a cop funeral.

As the show continued, Nick Barron and Ben Chartier, helped a homeless vet get into a shelter who was denied a bed because the shelter was run by a prison gang. The officers managed to be heroes of the community by kicking out the gang members. Alexander De Jordy (Richard Dulac), the Rook (Rookie), was your typical rookie who lost his head after a man insulted him, but it was Tyler Joseph (Benz Antoine) who came to his rescue. Joseph used his years of experience to get the Rook out of trouble … and a jacket.

This episode was spectacular, as the acting as well as the environment up in Québec gave the feeling of coldness, as snow covered the dingy streets. The snow gave the graveyard the emotion of emptiness as J.M. was going to get buried.

Born, raised and still living in Los Angeles, Ca., the city, Montreal, seemed rough. Though, comparing cities like Watts, Compton, East L.A. and other gang-ridden streets, the lack of graffiti is surprising. Google East L.A. graffiti, one can see the “rough” part of town, while Montreal seems cleaner. Googling Montreal graffiti may prove otherwise, the contrast between the white snow and dirtied buildings made this episode more believable. Even at night as the melted-snow-turned-puddle extols a loneliness that seems to haunt Chartier, a rural cop working in an urban setting.

Great episode. —Tim

This is uncharted territory, as the original French version of the show ended after three seasons, with a very different outcome. It’s interesting to see some more Francophone stars show up on the series (Patrick Labbé as the new guy threatening Ben) and the doctor who Audrey will undoubtedly see again (forget his name but he played a doctor on the series Trauma, I believe). I have no idea how this will end!! But man I’m glad J.M. is dead. —Sara

Well, I’m worried. Ben has a bullseye on his forehead and I don’t think it’s outside forces.

I’m suspecting that mob-former-cop (sorry, cannot recall his name) is working for Internal Affairs. Oh Ben, you just took his word that he was working for the mob? Did you see his car? Classic undercover cop car you see parked behind every cop shop … complete with missing hub cap plates to avoid them being stolen so cops won’t have to out themselves when cops are out on surveillance!

Did everybody catch how calm and change-of-personality the “Bad Cop” projected for a moment when he picked up the mobile phone to call in? He was very professional and his acting sense of menace was completely gone. For a second, he just looked like he was a guy calmly making a phone call. (It’s the little hints I love about this show the way it’s written and acted; you have to pay attention to catch them.)

And oh dear. Martine. I do fear she has gone over to the dark side. She might be in with the mob too since I doubted witness protection would last long with her. The way she blew off Chartier on his call to her seemed as though she couldn’t talk because she might have been with some bad guys.

Or … did Chartier’s letter to her delivered to the witness protection office cop/administrator give Internal Affairs the idea of using Martine to try to get a confession from Ben, since they are such good buddies? Ben helped her for sure, but I think she still blames him for her uncle, so might be playing Ben.

And I think Nick is also in the poo with his new romantic interest. I think before the season is out her former hubby is going to take out his son’s death on Nick by trying to do something to Nick’s son at college. I think “Junior” is going to be a major problem for Nick.

Just cannot figure out why of WHY Ben ran his mouth to bad-cop-possibly-IA guy about disposing of the drugs. What a moron! (Is Ben so naive that if this IS a gang representative they’ll just say “OK then. Never mind?”)

And oh no. The minute one of our fave coppers starts showing everybody his bucket list, he’s a goner for sure. Please don’t let Tyler be killed. Please. Not before he meets the dispatcher whose voice he’s in love with!

I think Dulac is going to be the death of Tyler. The little idiot. —Fiona

 

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

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail