Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, Sunnyside

Comments and queries for the week of March 18

Sunnyside cancelled by City

So confused. It seems somebody had the vision to greenlight the show, then someone with no nurturing supportive vision stepped in to red light it. Sheesh. Apparently a similar decision was almost made after the first season of Seinfeld. —Chris

How can great new shows like Sunnyside possibly achieve the coveted audience numbers if networks don’t invest in sufficient advertising and promotion for them? They are competing against the juggernaut of American shows and American ads; why aren’t our country’s broadcasters supporting great Cancon like this?
What a sad day. And what an ominous sign for the future of Canadian television: Great show. Great cast. Adored by critics. Award- winning. And cancelled?!? Yikes. —Dave

Sunnyside was the best. Too bad the higher ups didn’t feel the same way as everyone who watched it. Very funny and inventive. Finally we had a good Canadian comedy show and now it’s gone. I’m very disappointed in City. —Matt

I’m disappointed and will miss this show. It was hilarious and I found it amusing how different the actors looked when they dressed up as different characters. I’ve enjoyed Sunnyside while it lasted. —Iris

Orphan Black and Schitt’s Creek capture key Canadian Screen Awards

Norm McDonald did a GREAT job IMO. Overall, a pretty good show … just a few clunky presenter moments. Jacob Tremblay shows incredible poise for someone his age and the interaction between he and Christopher Plummer was fun. Great to see Schitt’s Creek do so well. And I don’t know if it was really scripted or not, but I liked how so many of the presenters and award recipients quickly jumped on the Candy bandwagon. While the late John Candy may not have had an extensive enough career to actually deserve such an honour, it does make for a catchy and fun name as Norm Macdonald mentioned, so, let’s hope there is plenty more Candy for Canada’s screen industry for many more years to come! —Byron

 

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Colin and Justin get down and dirty for Season 3 of Cabin Pressure

Anyone who’s done grand-scale home renovations knows that feeling of hopelessness. A “simple” job that grew to into a catastrophe, a project that morphed from costing a few thousand dollars into a massive bank black hole. Such is the case for Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, the Scottish design duo who return for a third go-round of Cabin Pressure this Sunday on Cottage Life.

The timing of the series couldn’t be better—Cottage Life is currently in an eight-week free preview—plenty of time to watch the lads’ cottage country exploits and commiserate when things go wrong. And do they ever. Episode 1 quickly sets up the premise—the pair have purchased a Haliburton, Ont., cottage to renovate and use as an income property—before plans go awry.

“We’re trying to redevelop one of the worst cabins on one of the loveliest lakes in Haliburton,” Ryan said. “It’s been a huge challenge from start to finish.” As in Season 2 with a reno of their own cottage, the pair wanted to lift this cabin off the ground and dig out a basement. But decades of moisture and a bad foundation threaten to shatter hopes and bank accounts. Ryan’s frustration at being over $80,000 in the hole just days into the work is plain. Thankfully, there is good news; sections of the fractured foundation could be saved and most of the floor joists escaped spreading mould, meaning a return to the hilarious (and sometimes very un-PC) comments Colin and Justin fans love. Well, that, and the ingenious design ideas they come up with, sometimes costing just pennies to do, like the coffee-stained walls utilized in Season 1.

McAllister and Ryan’s design inspiration for this project is a black-on-black European minimalism transported to cottage country, something not only reflected in the building itself but deck too. Ryan remembered how they were struggling to find someone to build the deck until a woman named Andrea contacted them via Twitter. Her boyfriend’s St. Catharine’s company, Boys with Big Decks could complete the 2,400 square-foot task.

“We’re now boys with big decks,” McAllister quipped.

“Actually, we’re boys with massive decks,” Ryan corrected.

Cabin Pressure airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life.

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Featured, Sunnyside

Sunnyside cancelled by City

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Things are less than sunny for the folks at Sunnyside; City has decided not to renew the Canadian sketch comedy series for a second season.

“We are extremely proud of Sunnyside and the 13 episodes of this fiercely original comedy that we were able to bring to our viewers,” a statement sent to TV, eh? on Wednesday read. “It was a privilege to work with the immense talent—both off and on screen —involved in this unique Canadian production. It was a difficult decision, but, despite critical acclaim, the series was unable to connect with the audience it needed to continue. We thank Canadians for their support of Sunnyside and look forward to bringing them more original content in the future.”

The news is a definite buzz-kill for co-creators Dan Redican and Gary Pearson and cast members Pat Thornton, Kathleen Phillips, Patrice Goodman, Alice Moran, Kevin Vidal and Rob Norman; the group captured a Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble) during Sunday night’s gala, besting This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Rick Mercer Report and The Second City Project. Sunnyside’s photographer, D. Gregor Hagey, won a CSA for Best Photography in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series and three other nominations.

Filmed in Winnipeg, the series followed the odd folks and characters who called the neighbourhood of Sunnyside home.

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Featured, X Company

Preview: Worlds collide on X Company

I’m lucky enough to be sent screeners of X Company in advance of the CBC broadcasts. That gives me the chance to watch them and work ahead on reviews or book interviews with writers, directors, cast or crew. It also affords me the opportunity to get into Twitter conversations with fellow television critics who receive the same perks I do.

The result? Social media conversations like what happened when Bridget Liszewski, A.R. Wilson and I jumped on social media to talk about Wednesday’s new episode, “Fatherland.”

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Written by co-creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and supervising producer Sandra Chwialkowska, Episode 8 provides the most gripping, dramatic scenes in Season 2. That’s saying something for a program that’s already featured the Fabers killing their son and Aurora taking Rene’s life. Here’s what Bridget, A.R. and I were going gaga over.

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“Planes, Trains and Panic Attacks”
Chwialkowska tweeted that tongue-in-cheek alternate episode title, but she ain’t lying. The simple train ride Aurora and Sabine are taking to the coast to celebrate Ulli’s life turns into a nail-biter. Façades are shed, conversation turns truthful and innocence is lost forever. Those scenes—directed by Amanda Tapping—are so claustrophobic and full of emotion that I had to get up and walk away from the computer. Yeah, it’s that powerful. Want more proof? Take another look at that image of Aurora and Sabine.

Scuba Man makes his move
Scuba Man works his way into Camp X and sets his assassination attempt against Sinclair in motion while Harry, Neil and Alfred try desperately to warn their commanding officer. Meanwhile, Klaus is still struggling with his feelings. Should he support his Fatherland, Germany, and do all he can to win the war, or recognize Sinclair as a friend of his father? What he decides is the second-most dramatic scene of the episode.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Schitt's Creek

Review: Schitt’s Creek “The Motel Guest” – I need my space!

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When Roland and Jocelyn have a fight, Jocelyn tells him she needs her space. So he seeks refuge at the motel, where he creates havoc for the Roses. David is “offended” by Roland’s collection of undershirts hanging outside his motel room, and Johnny and Moira have their own fight over “needing space.” Even Alexis decides she needs her own space and checks out an apartment in “Lower SC.”

This is an episode about relationships and the frustrations that can happen when living in close – or even not so close – quarters, and how (in the words of Johnny Rose) our loved ones can “push every button” we ever had.

Johnny and Jocelyn work through their respective frustrations together, and Moira and Roland do the same. Their style of communication is a bit more down and dirty than Johnny’s or Jocelyn’s, but in the end they also help each other work through their frustrations and come to a place of forgiveness.

Alexis doesn’t take the apartment after hearing that someone killed themselves in it, and in his twisted brotherly way, David says, “I can almost guarantee you that someone’s killed themselves in this [motel] room.”

I enjoyed this episode. It was funny and sweet while showing another side of human nature. A side that can sometimes be a bit bitchy. And no one does bitchy better than Moira and David.

It’s no wonder that this show and this cast dominated the Canadian Screen Awards.

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