Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, Remedy

Review: Proposals and PTSD on Remedy

“You come to a hospital to get better, not worse.” Firefighter Renee Hudson certainly had grounds to say that to Mel. She had been carted in with severe abdominal pain and would be leaving needing therapy after Jerry mixed up her medication and Renee was partially awake during her surgery. I didn’t even know that was a thing; now it has vaulted to the top of my “Things I Hope Never, Ever Happen to Me” list.

That it could happen was shocking enough—I can only imagine how traumatic that must have been—but it left Jerry’s career up in the air and his relationship with Mel in shambles. She had, after all, admitted she may not have forced him to admit to the mistake if he was a family member. That was grounds for a break-up just hours after Jerry confided in Sandy he was going to propose to Mel over dinner that night. That clearly ain’t happening, and it opens the door for Mel to find solace in Peter Cutler.

Peter has definitely made an impact on Beth-H, first with his breezy confidence and then with his memorable back-and-forths with Allen during “When You Awake.” The former hospital head-turned-ER doc had plenty of advice for the young whippersnapper and without that I fear pro wrestler “Pitbull” Danko would have gone down for a permanent three-count. It’s early days, but I already like the fact that Allen is in the ER in those blue scrubs and shaking things up. There were, of course, the early stumbles of not wearing the correct shoes and messing up the intubation, but overall I think he’s going to be just fine, and the perfect salve to Peter’s spiciness.

Meanwhile, bedbugs—they’re on my list too, but lower down—served as the unlikely formula for Griff and Zoe to finally decide to move in together. Personally, I think it’s a little too soon after Lonnie’s death for this to happen but I totally get their thinking that he’ll support her through that and she’ll be there when if/when he considers relapsing back into drug use.

Notes and quotes

  • How does Niall Matter get that perfectly-sculpted stubble?
  • Welcome back to the ER, Allen! Here’s an elbow in the gut courtesy of a pro wrestler.
  • Shirtless Griff count: 1

Remedy airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

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Featured

He Said/She Said: Are TV critics important?

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Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week: with the proliferation of places for everyone and anyone to talk about TV online, is there still value to television critics?

She said:

It seems unlikely that this would be a place to find an argument against critics, and sure enough I can’t do it. I’m a strong believer in a strong critical community for any category of art or entertainment. Without it, the art form itself appears weak. If Canadian TV can’t withstand criticism, what does that say to potential viewers?

Silence is not golden when it comes to criticism. Damning with faint praise sometimes feels like a cliché made forCanadian  TV. Liking everything is akin to liking nothing. Easy to say, but the industry should rejoice when critics are critical. Or at least mutter to themselves. Critics are just part of what influences people to decide to watch a show, and likely not even the most important part, but the connection to a mass audience is still significant. 

The rise of social media hasn’t changed my opinion that professional critics are necessary and good, making the incredible shrinking Canadian TV critic community something we should all be rallying against. Especially when the modicum of diversity of critical voices that used to exist is shrinking right along with it.

There is a difference between professional critics the armchair critics who posts their thoughts on Twitter, or the fans who post their excitement on Tumblr. Assuming a critic is actually critical — not as in negative, but as in forming opinions and writing about them with a high degree of awareness of how plot, character, tone, structure and execution intersect to create those opinions — over time, readers can come to understand a critic’s taste and how it aligns with their own. Fans can also feel challenged to examine our own opinions and reasons for our reactions to the content.

Some like to deny it but there is still cache to having something discussed in print, in particular, but really anywhere the content has gone through the gatekeeping of an editorial process.

Newspapers also know a scary amount of information about their subscribers: age ranges, income brackets, and a host of other demographics and psychographics. Digital publications know the kind of content their readers click on and comment on most — two metrics that don’t correspond as much as you might think.

Knowledge is power, on both sides. Professional critics know who they’re talking to and over time, readers know who they’re listening to. If a critic is unfair, or the critique doesn’t substantiate a negative review, there’s also a power in the audience fighting back. When the industry does it? Weak.

He said:

I am, of course, biased in my opinion that television critics are still important because I am one. And, in the ever-changing world where we’re seeing movie and TV critics being let go by newspapers and websites, they’re even more important.

I view the role of the television critic as this: watch a television show, comment on it, celebrate it or be critical of it. Have an opinion. If you think something is good, outline why. Hate it? Explain why. I’ve been ripped on for not being too critical of television shows or the industry in general, but I choose to find the overall good in things rather than focus on the things that aren’t working. I’m not afraid to point out shortcomings, but when I do it’s with a suggestion on how to make things better. Being miserable and mean just for the sake of it is, in my opinion, lazy.

I view my thoughts as being the starting point for a discussion. It’s something I’ve enjoyed for the last 15 years. There is nothing more fun than to have someone approach me and ask my thoughts on a TV show. Before I know it, I’m running through the programs on my DVR, the person I’m talking to is giving me their list and we’re talking. You may not agree with me—or me you—but man it’s fun.

Critics are never more important than they are now. With more of them in this industry being silenced due to job cuts, there is nothing to counter the noise coming from websites owned by cable companies touting their homegrown shows. I’m sorry to tell those folks, but not all of your shows are great no matter how much you tell me they are and how many behind-the-scenes exclusives you get.

You need someone to call bullshit, and that’s my job.

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

Review: Birthday cakes and backfired plots on MasterChef Canada

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Kudos to Christopher and David for having their hearts in the right place when they tried to give some people easier Elimination Challenge ingredients in order to carry them further into the competition. But as we’ve seen countless times on MasterChef Canada, currying favour to anyone usually results in disaster.

That was certainly the case with “No Piece of Cake” on Sunday, when Jon and Tammy found themselves in the bottom three next Kristen, who was sent home. Meanwhile, moves like giving Andrew and Michael difficult ingredients to cook with backfired, with both scoring the top plates of the night. Those two will head up the team challenges next week.

The episode had started so promisingly. The Top 11 were tasked with making a birthday cake that showed a side of themselves in it. Pastry expert Christopher was beaming the entire time, creating a four-later opera cake that was head and shoulders above everyone else, who could only hope for second place. That went to David; he bounced back from a bad week to nail his peanut butter and chocolate birthday cake. In fact, all of the cakes looked so delicious that Michael, Alvin and Claudio chose to taste four slices instead of three. (I’m thinking they did that because they love cake.)

David and Christopher headed into the pantry with control and safety for the week and plotted to put tough oddball pairings with chefs they wanted out and easier choices with less-talented cooks. Though their thinking was sound, Jon ran out of time and missed putting licorice sauce on his salmon and Tammy’s bacon and chocolate tarts were undercooked. Only Kristen out-did them with chicken and chorizo tacos that failed to showcase any grape jelly in her fruit salsa.

The MasterChef Canada Top 10 are:

  1. Michael
  2. Jon
  3. David
  4. Line
  5. Jennifer
  6. Tammy
  7. Sabrina
  8. Andrew
  9. Cody
  10. Christopher

Notes and quotes

  • Michael was wearing blue suede shoes when he met his girlfriend. Just throwing that out there.
  • I might be wrong, but this group of home cooks seems to be sharing ingredients pretty willingly with each other.
  • “Nothing is bluer than my hair.” Chef Alvin is right, Michael’s cake just didn’t stand up to the Dragon Chef’s ‘do.
  • I keep forgetting that I need to put a base layer of icing on my cake before the final coating.
  • The fact that Line and Jennifer’s Elimination Challenge plates weren’t even shown proved they were safe for another week.

MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Featured, Heartland

Review: Amy and Ty tie the knot on Heartland

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The wedding between Amy Fleming and Ty Borden has been a long time coming. There have been Princes and punches, fights and frustrations, breakups and bonding … a roller coaster of emotions for not only them, but their families and viewers. But after eight seasons of waiting, the two said their vows and became a couple.

“I was ready for this,” Amber Marshall told me after a meet and greet with Heartland fans last Thursday in Toronto. “I feel like if we waited any longer, people would start to get mad. It was time. It was totally time.”

That doesn’t mean Sunday’s season finale, “Written in Stone,” wasn’t without a few tense moments. It appeared the pair had decided to elope in Pike River, leaving Lou steaming because of all the planning she’d done. But Amy and Ty opted out of that, realizing they wanted to be surrounded by family and friends on the biggest day of their lives. It was a welcome relief to everyone, especially Lou. Well, until she got a call with some bad news: the hall she booked wasn’t available anymore. (To be fair, Lou has had a lot on her mind, but it was still funny to see the Queen of Planning thrown for a loop.)

Enter Jack, who has always been as steady as the rock hearth he sat in front of, recalling his marriage right there in the house in front of the fireplace. That sealed it for Amy and Ty: they would be married there too. The ceremony itself was a small and meaningful affair that called back many Heartland characters from the past to be there. And while Amy and Ty looked confident as they stood up and professed their love, things were a little different for Marshall during filming.

“I was nervous the whole time,” Marshall said. “I couldn’t remember the vows, I got dizzy, I was more nervous filming this wedding scene than I was on my actual wedding day. It was a really surreal experience.”

Heather Conkie’s script didn’t solely revolve around the happy couple. There were other storylines to wrap up, most notably Caleb losing his property to the dastardly Jesse Stanton. That was taken care of thanks to Val, who pulled Caleb aside and apologized for her hot-head son. She handed over a cheque that covers the loan still owing on the land, freeing it up for Caleb to stay.

Finally, there was Trouble. Because Amy was busy, you know, getting married, Georgie took it upon herself to gentle the annoyed beast. That wasn’t an easy task, but it sure was rewarding. The most touching scene of the season finale for me involved Amy and Ty watching Trouble charge at Georgie, pull up short, and nuzzle her arm in friendship. The perfect way to end a dramatic season of Heartland.

Notes and quotes

  • Amber Marshall wore her real-life wedding dress. Her mom’s wedding dress is actually owned by Heartland‘s showrunner, Heather Conkie.
  • Amy and Ty weren’t really watching Georgie and Trouble in that field. They were, as Marshall explained, “looking at a stick in a field” and the scene was edited afterwards.
  • The actress who plays Katie didn’t appear in the scene where the Fleming-Morris family danced together. Michelle Morgan explained Julia Maren Baker’s allotted on-set time had expired, so they used another girl in her place and filmed so you just saw the back of Katie’s head.

What was your favourite moment from last night’s episode? Comment below or at @tv_eh.

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Featured, Schitt's Creek

Schitt’s Creek passes down the comedy crown

I came for the Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy; I stayed for the Dan Levy and Emily Hampshire.

When Schitt’s Creek debuted on CBC in January, the show sold itself. Literally. CBC picked it up for a second season before the first started airing. The first two episodes, which aired back to back, earned 1.4 million viewers.  It was picked up by POP TV (formerly TV Guide Network) in the US.

The reunion of Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara brought out of the woodwork SCTV and Christopher Guest mockumentary aficionados, not to mention fans of their individual careers. Their ease with each other and mastery of these types of comic characters — Levy’s befuddled patriarch, O’Hara’s self-centred socialite – paved the way for a welcome reception, and they continue to be their reliably funny selves in a story of the formerly wealthy Rose family who have lost their money and live in a seedy hotel in the seedy town they own as a joke. Some of the jokes are crude, some are obvious, but they own them like the Roses used to own hideous and hideously expensive artwork.

The bad news? Overnight ratings have halved since the premiere. They’re still on par with other middling CBC shows, but they’ve definitely lost their luster. The good? Those of us who stuck around were rewarded with an undercurrent of a more subtle kind of comedy and moments of genuine emotion, as well as the heretofore hidden talents of another generation of comedic actors, some of whom share the Levy surname. Eugene’s daughter Sarah plays the smaller role of Twyla, but Schitt’s Creek is really Dan Levy’s show.

He co-created, executive produces and co-stars as Rose son David, and nothing about his previous resume — MTV host? — had me expecting his unique comedic timing. Something about that delivery cracks me up every time, and I remain amused at that ubiquitous affectation of a generation: the trailing “so ….”.

For every joke about Schitt, there’s a joke about wine that’s not really about wine at all, and more about character revelation than laughs (though it got laughs too). David’s prickly relationship with sarcastic hotel clerk Stevie (Emily Hampshire) has become the heart of the show. Spoiled daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy) has similarly become humanized over the course of the season through her real affection for some of the handsomer townfolk (I mean, Mutt’s no Roland, but he’ll do).

The season finale — “Town for Sale” – airing on CBC Tuesday is as absurd, puerile, multi-layered hilarious, and heartwarming as the previous episodes unexpectedly led me to expect. Johnny and Moira’s antics still make me laugh out loud, but it’s the kids who stole my heart.

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