Tag Archives: Featured

Anne, Featured

Anne gets schooled on Sunday night

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Eight one-hour episodes is a lot of time to break down Anne of Green Gables. Perhaps that’s why last Sunday’s instalment, “I am no bird, and no net ensnares me,” didn’t contain anything from the source material. Anne didn’t make it all the way back to the orphanage, earn a ride helping the milk delivery man or sign the Cuthbert’s bible.

It certainly didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Yes, some of you let me know none of what happened was in the source material, but you also noted you’re enjoying Moira Walley-Beckett’s take on L.M. Montgomery’s classic. That’s pretty high praise, I think, and Walley-Beckett and CBC should be proud of that accomplishment.

But on to Sunday’s new episode, “But what is so headstrong as youth?” Here’s what the network had to say about it:

Anne is excited to begin school and make friends, but is unprepared for the bullying that occurs when she doesn’t fit in. Marilla too, is testing new waters as she accepts an invitation to join a “Progressive Mothers” group.
And here some notes from us after watching a screener.

Amybeth McNulty is a fantastic Anne
Playing such an iconic role is tough, but McNulty makes it look easy. As Walley-Beckett told me earlier this year, “Amybeth is fiercely bright and independent, spirited and incredibly sensitive and also has a worldly perspective, which is something we touch on again and again in Anne. She was it.” She most certainly is it, showing an incredible emotional range for such a young actress and able to go toe-to-toe with her veteran co-stars. I can’t help but smile every time she delivers a rat-a-tat-tat piece of dialogue, not waiting for an answer from Marilla or Matthew or anyone, really. Anne’s long walk to school is full of conversation … more of a soliloquy if we’re being honest.

Imagination vs. reality
We know Anne’s head is full of fantastic stories and characters, and she certainly has dreamy expectations of what school will be like. Unfortunately, she runs into bullying and meets her academic nemesis in Gilbert Blythe (Lucas Jade Zumann). School isn’t all bad for Anne; there is a very funny moment between she and Diana as they discuss babies and pet mice. I’m interested in hearing what fans think of Gilbert, so let me know after you watch the episode.

Marilla joins a club
Anne isn’t the only one trying to fit in. Now that Marilla has a daughter, it opens the door for her to become a member of the Progressive Mothers Sewing Circle. The group meets to discuss how their daughters should be educated, to do needlepoint and sip tea. Her attendance at her first meeting causes Marilla to wonder if she’s up to the task of raising a child. And not everyone is a fan of her being part of the Progressive Mothers Sewing Circle.

Anne airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Featured, Top Chef Canada

Top Chef Canada: All-Stars returns with former chefs and new-look judges

Twelve recognizable faces return for this Sunday’s debut of Top Chef Canada: All-Stars. Thirteen, actually, if you include head judge Mark McEwan. But the culinary competition—airing at 10 p.m. ET on the specialty network—boasts four new faces to help McEwan whittle down the dozen hopefuls to one grand prize winner who will pocket $100,000, a Monogram kitchen worth $25,000 and the to-this-point elusive title of Top Chef Canada.

Alongside McEwan are resident judges in former Globe and Mail restaurant critic Chris Nuttall-Smith, author and food contributor Mijune Pak, restaurateur Janet Zuccarini and host Eden Grinshpan.

“We’ve had a lot of fun,” McEwan says during a recent conference call with the judging panel. “Our different personalities work perfectly. Everybody comes at it from their own angle, but all of the comments are complementary. Eden was kind of the wild card as the host, but she turned into a rock star. There was a great energy on set.” Nuttall-Smith, after spending a decade as a secretive food critic for a national newspaper, has stepped into the glare of television cameras for the first time but didn’t wilt under the pressure of critiquing dishes to a chef’s face.

“When you are a restaurant critic, you keep things secretive so you some semblance of regularity when it comes to service,” he says. “And you also do it so that the chef doesn’t come and stand table-side and ask you what you thought. You never have to look them in the eyes. When you are in a competition like this, it’s face to face and that is humbling but also a lot more direct and it works. It’s not always comfortable, but this season the calibre of chefs is so high that you often find yourself tripping over yourself to capture just how exciting and beautiful a dish was.”

The Top Chef Canada chefs returning to create those dishes are Season 1’s Connie DeSousa, Dustin Gallagher, Andrea Nicholson and Todd Perrin; Season 2’s Trevor Bird, Jonathan Korecki, Curtis Luk, Elizabeth Rivasplata and Trista Sheen; Season 3’s Nicole Gomes and Dennis Tay; and Season 4’s Jesse Vergen. Nicholson may have once worked for Zuccarini, but the owner of Toronto hot spots Café Nervosa, Gusto 101 and PAI Northern Thai Kitchen didn’t let that influence her taste buds.

“These are professionals,” Zuccarini says. “These are people who own their own restaurants and I’m judging at that level. I’m not judging at an amateur level or somebody who is a line cook. These guys are high calibre and that’s what we’re looking for. And they brought it. Andrea did work for me, but I didn’t favour anyone, even if I wanted to.”

The resident judges were mum on specific details when it came to the challenges the chefs face but we do know several guests drop by to critique the proceedings, including Chopped Canada‘s Susur Lee, John Higgins, Lynn Crawford and Antonio Park; Lidia Bastianich; Sugar Showdown‘s Josh Elkin; and Daniel Boulud.

“We have an amazing new set design,” Pak says of Sunday’s debut. “The panel makes for some really interesting conversation and insight into food.”

“And the only injuries were to pride,” Nuttall-Smith says with a laugh.

Top Chef Canada: All-Stars airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network Canada.

Images courtesy of Corus.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of March 31

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Hi, I just happened to see the show The Goods and now I am hooked. Thanks for everything, it’s so great to watch just before I leave for work. —Janet

Please find attached a link to an important part of Canadian history that was completely missed on Canada: The Story of Us. The show, while extremely well done, overlooked Acadian people of the Maritime provinces. —Ron

It’s disappointing that both X Company and Orphan Black won’t be coming back. Such great shows which were ended too soon! Now I’m waiting impatiently to find out the news for Workin’ Moms and Anne. —Alicia

I am thrilled to hear about Heartland, Season 11. Best show going in my opinion. Love all the actors and each episode has a teachable moment, through words of wisdom, that everyone can benefit and learn something from. Just love Heartland! —Janet

 

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

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada home cooks get ground up by burger challenge

After a couple of really busy weeks where I wasn’t able to review MasterChef Canada—covering Canadian TV is a full-time job no matter what naysayers believe—it was great to return to the show and take some notes on it. This crop of home cooks has been very impressive so far; creating dishes that are the best-looking and tastiest the series has produced.

And though I love seeing a dish elevated, there is nothing like getting down to the basics, so I was particularly excited to see the remaining cooks grill up hamburgers for a group of men and ladies on motorcycles.

But “Burgers for Bikers” was no picnic, as the Top 9 quickly realized. (Shout out to the show’s producers for allowing Claudio to ride in on his motorcycle and cramming Alvin in a sidecar.) Two hundred hungry leather-clad folks rumbled into Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks for meat and potatoes. Everyone has their own burger recipe—mine is lean ground beef, diced onion, egg, bread crumbs, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce—so it was interesting to see how the red, green and blue teams were able to compromise and concoct something everyone was (mostly) happy with. Aaron’s leadership skills left Thea a bit cold—she didn’t think medium-rare, non-seasoned beef was the way to go—but that seemed to be the only concerns as prep work was underway … other than Mai keeping Justine and Miranda apart.

Service was, quite frankly, a nightmare. Having 200 people come running at once will do that, so it was expected. What wasn’t? Aaron’s decision to cook his burgers to order, a catastrophic move that sent hungry folks to the other two stations. Add to that not everyone likes medium rare and sent their patties back and the red team was reeling. It was no surprise his squad didn’t win. Instead, it was Mai’s green team that prevailed, proving she could lead a team and feed a hungry group.

Back in the MasterChef Canada kitchen, Aaron refused to apologize for medium-rare burgers and said he’d save himself from elimination if given the chance. That went counter to what his teammates thought but he did it anyway, sending Trevor and Thea into the Elimination Challenge. Alisha and Matt decided Barrie should be safe and he went up to the gallery to watch. The challenge was to make mille-feuille and Thea immediately brightened because she’s had experience baking.

To be honest, all of the desserts looked pretty good to me save for Alisha’s, and it came down to taste to decide who was going home. Tops were Thea and Matt with Alisha and Trevor taking a bit of a knock. Surprisingly, Alisha was cut not because of flavour but a pastry that wasn’t pretty.

Did you agree Alisha should have been eliminated? Let me know in the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Saving Hope

Things get historical (and sometimes hysterical) on Saving Hope

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Erica Durance hinted at the changes in Alex’s life this season. And, now that she and Charlie are completely kaput—for the time being at least—she’s revved up and ready to roll. Literally. If you’ve seen our teaser photos of the latest Saving Hope, you know Alex and Manny hop on a motorcycle and ride.

And while “A Stranger Comes to Town” finds Alex on the road, Charlie is diving into work. Here’s what CTV’s official synopsis says about the episode:

Trying to move on from his breakup with Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance), Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) is focused on work. Faced with a patient who was thrown off a horse while re-enacting the War of 1812, Charlie channels all his energy into saving the man’s arm. Meanwhile, Alex discovers Dr. Manny Palmer (Jarod Joseph, ONCE UPON A TIME) is going offsite to help a teenage runaway and makes the impulsive decision to join him. After bringing the girl back to the hospital and operating on her in secret, Alex faces an interrogation from Dr. Dawn Bell (Michelle Nolden). Tempers flare when an old nemesis of Dr. Dev Sekera’s (Dejan Loyola) from medical school arrives at Hope Zion. After Dev makes an uneasy truce with Dr. Billy Scott (Greg Calderone, HEROES REBORN), the pair struggles to revive a patient who has been frozen solid.

And, after watching a screener, here are a few non-spoilery tidbits.

Hey there, Pinky
We couldn’t help but giggle at Dawn’s nickname about Alex upon seeing her decked out in motorcycle gear. Sadly, some viewers will have to Google the reference to understand. We didn’t because, well, we’re old. Charlie, of course, has his concerns for Alex’s safety, especially after he was tasked with patching up a kid who crashed his bike and almost lost his leg. Still, the pair is downright chummy and we like that. They do share a baby, after all.

New boss on the block
There’s a new hospital CEO (played by Joe Dinicol) and, as Michelle Nolden told us, he gets right under Dawn’s skin. Can she keep things professional, or will she speak her mind? Complicating things is that aforementioned frosty fellow who enters the ER and an eager new resident.

A hysterical historical ghost
We won’t give this storyline away—it’s too much fun to ruin—but let’s just say some military reenactors go a little overboard in their immersion into a role. This gives Michael Shanks an opportunity to really show off his comedic skills. You’re going to love it. Huzzah!

Saving Hope airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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