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Comments and queries for the week of Dec. 19

It’s getting to the end of the year, Canadian TV viewers, and we marked that milestone by asking you to choose your Top 3 Favourite Canadian TV Shows of 2014. At the time of this story publishing, over 15,000 votes had been cast for a wide range of programs. Here’s what some of you said about the projects you picked.

Too many top good shows to choose from. I love the crossover stars of Lost Girl and The Listener and Murdoch Mysteries but couldn’t put them all in the Top 3 because Haven is my top choice.–Marcia

Where’s BACKROAD BOUNTY with Marty and Bam Bam???? !!!–Ellen

I love Heartland, It Is the best show I have ever seen.–Sue

Bitten and Heartland!!! Two of the best TV and book series ever! I’m dying to see the new seasons of both coming in early 2015, ahhhhh can’t wait! Love Lost Girl so much too and so sad that this will be their final season but they’ve had a great run and will be missed. :)–Brie

It’s hard to include every series, but the Knowledge Network’s doc series, Emergency Room kicked some butt out here on the west coast.–Dave

Meanwhile, the deep analysis has begun with the return of Lost Girl.

Demeter causing people to scream in horror kind of very easily gels if you ask me. She’s the goddess of the harvest, not the hearth (that’s her sister Hestia) and when Persephone was first taken from her she went on a rampage and held the entire earth hostage by blighting it until even Zeus bowed down, paid tribute and returned her daughter for half the year, according to the Homeric Hymns. (There was also an incident of trying to replace the other Olympian gods and her daughter by making mortal babies immortal, but she failed and just started chucking them on the ground instead.)–Fudgy

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

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Featured, Saving Hope

Review: Saving Hope hits midseason with head trauma

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Looking back through history, there have been many quintessential movie and television openings that have been shocking, whether it was for the gore value, something popping out at you, or an all-out unexpected scene throwing you off before things could begin. Falling right into the almighty gore factor was Wednesday’s dramatic episode opening of Saving Hope, where we watched Robert, a depressed man, try and committ suicide … using a power drill. In the middle of the hospital lobby. If that doesn’t set the mood for an episode, I don’t know what does.

It certainly was an interesting midseason finale with the incorporation of Thor MacLeod (Hamilton’s own Currie Graham)–one of the greatest TV names of all time–into the Hope Zion mix, as someone who claimed to have experienced the same out-of-body experiences of being in a coma as both Alex and Charlie. It helped trigger some of Alex’s own memories and seemed to open her up for the first time to the moments we know she shared with Charlie during her coma, which I really liked.

That being said, MacLeod himself was a total tool as he took command of the operating room saying things like, “I’d hate to leave my patient, but I’d love to buy you a latte.” It also killed me that Alex initially seemed to be so into MacLeod because he finally had some answers she was looking for. If only she knew Charlie could give her much better answers, all without having to share airspace with MacLeod’s ego. Thankfully Alex’s vision cleared on MacLeod and his experimental faulty implants in his pursuit for another near-death experience. Consequently, it seemed to actually open Alex up to telling Charlie about what she remembered, which feels like the right progression for their characters.

Of course while MacLeod was parading around the hospital, Charlie was the one actually dealing with poor Robert in his coma and helping him come to terms with both the death of his wife and the true cause of his mental breakdown (nice one, MacLeod). Robert and Charlie’s interactions were quite possibly one of my favourite Charlie’s ever had with a patient, perhaps because he wasn’t cryptically asking Charlie to help him do something but instead just needed Charlie to help talk him through his repressed memory of his wife’s death.

In other storylines, Dana’s daughter, Molly, also began working at the hospital, a move you knew would result in some sort of trouble from the minute Dana began praising her daughter to her colleagues. So when the pill bottle of oxy went missing it was mindless to point the finger Molly’s direction as the thief, rightfully as Maggie did. Of course it seemed Dana is clearly in denial about who her daughter really is (gutsy enough to pop a pill right outside the hospital moments before meeting her mom), so I’m curious to see what ultimately makes Dana realize who Molly is–a real piece of work. But shout out to Molly’s reference to Toronto’s own Gracie’s!

Also not so surprising was that hot and steamy Joel and Selena hook-up while at the clinic, where Joel’s clearly been hiding out. Their entire segments were spent showing him stepping in as a white knight for Selena by trying to help save the clinic and treat her broken bones, and the two had a blatant attraction to one another. It also wasn’t so surprising when Selena’s crazy husband, Brad, whom we all knew was the one that broken her arm, attacked Joel in the parking lot. But I won’t deny yelping in surprise when Joel’s self-defense ended with Brad’s head meeting a concrete block, followed by more yelling in anguish as the Hope Zion team couldn’t resuscitate him. I can’t even imagine how murder–defensive or not–is going to weigh on Joel’s conscience in future episodes, let alone how this will affect his reputation and relationships at the hospital. We’ll expectedly find out when Saving Hope returns for a two-hour event on Jan. 7, 2015.

What did you think of the midseason finale? Sound off through the comments below!

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Featured, Mohawk Girls

Review: Mohawk Girls are “Building a Nation”

Review by Carolyn Potts

This episode, entitled “Building a Nation” sees the introduction of Tantoo Cardinal (of Dances With Wolves, Black Robe, and Legends of The Fall) to the cast, taking up the role of Zoe’s mother, The Chief.

We are caught up with Caitlyn daydreaming about the future she hopes to have with her baby and Butterhead, nice girl Anna is hiding out with Thunder (because who wouldn’t since we are talking about Thunder after all!) in order to avoid confrontation with Vicky, Zoe’s mother, once again voices her displeasure with Zoe for missing the “splashy” fundraiser from Episode 107 “The Beast”, and Anna is forgiven by Bailey for dating Thunder (and besides Bailey is fairly gushing over her budding relationship with Jack “Mr. Dimples”).

Our episode takes off with Caitlin. She cannot wait to share the news of her pregnancy and visits Butterhead at work. Once again Caitlin is disappointed by Blockheaded Butterhead. He is obviously surprised but he makes it very clear to Caitlin that he does not want another baby. Word of Caitlin’s pregnancy spreads quickly on Kahnawa:ke and Zoe hears it from the neighbourhood gossips. The girls decide it is in Caitlin’s best interest that they conduct an intervention and confront Caitlin with their support “regardless of what she decides to do” (implying they think she might be better off with an abortion). This time Caitlin is heartbroken by her closest friends. She is stunned that they would even imply such a thing. Caitlin turns once again to her father who this time does not disappoint. Her father thinks Butterhead will come around in time (fingers crossed for Caitlin).

Baily receives shocking news from Jack’s roommate Leon (Alain Chanoine). According to Leon, Jack doesn’t want the drama that comes with a relationship with Bailey and intends to break things off with her. Will this spell the end of Bailey and Mr. Dimples?

Team “Thana” arrive together at the Fire hall fundraiser and it “seems” Anna can finally take her place in the community. Can the women in the community handle their best man taking up with a “half breed”? – Stay Tuned!

Good girl Zoe is once again waging war on her inner bad girl, cleaning and redecorating but comes across an advert to yet another fetish party, and so she returns to the sex shop. This for me was the surprise moment of the show as our sex shop clerk turned out to be none other than Yanic Truesdale, Michel from Gilmore Girls fame (and who doesn’t want to meet a sex shop clerk like him?). Zoe plays dress-up trying on lots of fabulously sexy outfits at the suggestion of “Michel” (“Michel” it is since his character has not yet been named). NOTE to Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight, if you are reading this, please please PLEASE can Yanic reprise this role in future episodes so we can at the very least give him a proper name?

The other highlight of this episode came once again from Caitlin played by Heather White. Caitlin shows up to the driving range and dumps all of Butterhead’s stuff at his feet. Caitlin’s Beast finally shines and it appears Butterhead rises to the occasion. It seems he has finally met his match. He tells Caitlin that this time he is up to the task of fatherhood. He wants to be a father to their baby that his father never was to him and proclaims that Caitlin is the loving and caring woman he wants to have in his life. (YAY for Caitlin!!)

We end with a “bang” so to speak, at the expense of nice girl Anna, who is jumped by Vicky by the lacrosse rink.

Will Butterhead live up to his promises to Caitlin? Will Jack really break up with Bailey? How will Zoe cope now that Caitlin knows her secret? How will Kahnawa:ke react to Anna’s beating? Let me know what you think is ahead for our foursome in the comments below!

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Featured, Mohawk Girls

Review: Mohawk Girls is a “Beast”

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Review by Carolyn Potts

Our story picks up right where we left off with a reminder that Anna is still trying to find acceptance at Kahnawa:ke. She is still at odds with Bailey, Caitlin, and Zoe over Thunder. Speaking of Thunder (because who wasn’t thinking about him?), tonight’s episode entitled “Beast” does not refer to “WOW! Thunder is so Beast!!”(even though Thunder IS so beast!); we will appreciate the journey that each of our protagonists undergo as their true characters – the inner “Beast”- struggle to fight their way out. Series creator Tracey Deer cleverly reinforces this theme played out in a bit featuring Zoe. Zoe opens a package to reveal some naughty reading just as her mother, The Chief (a final episode for Tina Keeper in this role), calls to remind her of her familial duty to help at yet another fundraiser.

This episode takes off with Bailey turning to Zoe and Caitlin for support as she considers if she wants to seriously date the forbidden white guy Jack (“Mr. Dimples”), knowing the battle she will face within her community if she does. Bailey is so distraught that even Auntie Velma notices. This gave us a great emotional scene played by Ashley Michaels. Auntie Velma reminds Bailey “who is going to think about you if you don’t?”, recalling her own unhappy past of always doing what was expected of her rather than what made her happy.

Catlin’s starting point is a reminder of how strong and supportive she is when she is with her friends and yet when it comes to the men in her life her insecurities come rushing forth. This time though the strong “Beastlike” Caitlin comes out to do battle with Butterhead; at first just testing the waters.

Several great bits are peppered throughout the episode featuring Zoe’s inner “beast”: Zoe perusing the BDSM web site again, Zoe pacing outside of a sex-shop, Zoe madly cleaning and organizing to regain control (I secretly hope we will be treated to an episode featuring more of Zoe’s back story as so far most of her story is told only through these little snippets).

Bailey, armed with the knowledge that she has a few allies*, goes to Jack “Mr. Dimples” and tells him she doesn’t want to end up like an old Lobster (a reference to episode 105 “The Lobster Club”). She wants to make a go of a relationship with him.

Anna, who up until now has been looking for a connection to her recently deceased father, finally makes that connection through Bailey’s father Sose (played by Glen Gould). He encourages her “to take her place among us and get in there and defend your turf.” He continues, “Your father was a proud Mohawk man and you are his child.”

Our “beast reveal” happens at the fundraiser (or in Zoe’s case NOT at the fundraiser – and Zoe’s Beast does not disappoint). Bailey shows up with “Mr. Dimples” and announces to all that yes, the white guy is her boyfriend. A furious Sose and Butterhead start to make a scene, Bailey stands her ground and Anna’s beast uses this moment to shine. Poor Vicky (Rachelle White Wind Arbez) ends up in the pool, heels still intact, producing a fabulous disruption to the party. Bailey and Jack are able to escape disaster.

Finally, we learn that Caitlin is pregnant by Butterhead (a fabulously poignant moment played by Heather White that every woman will recognise in herself).

Will Anna and our girls make up? How will Butterhead react to fatherhood, again? Is Caitlin doomed to be just another of Butterhead’s babymamas? What fallout will Bailey face after her declaration? What naughty things will good girl Zoe get up to next?

Another great episode. Keep ‘em’ coming ladies!

*This term “Allies” keeps popping up. I have to wonder is this a deliberate word choice? Time will tell.

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Featured

Comedy is hard, says Corner Gas: The Movie star

After an extended stay in movie theatres, Corner Gas: The Movie lands on CTV and CTV Two tonight. Stripped of the pre-show and feature film credits, the two-hour flick takes on the structure fans of the series are more accustomed to, a super-sized episode of a project they loved dearly.

For those who didn’t venture out to the movie theatre, here’s a short refresher on what to expect: Dog River, Sask., has hit on hard economic times and is in danger of ceasing to be a town. Everyone has crazy ideas on how to make ends meet, from entering Dog River in a contest to win the cash to pay off debts to prepping for the end of the world. Coming up with a script for a 90-minute movie was a tough task according to creator/executive producer Brent Butt, executive producer Virginia Thompson, writers Andrew Carr and Andrew Wreggitt and executive producer/director David Storey, who took over two years to come up with something everyone was happy with.

Comedies are just harder to make says Butt’s co-star, Nancy Robertson.

“You laugh or you don’t,” she says during a press junket in support of the project. “In comedy, you don’t have the help of mood lighting or music. Those all help to set up a drama, but they screw up a comedy because they get in the way of the timing. It’s far more delicate.”

“I think when people see a comedy and they burst out laughing they think it’s a surprise,” the gal who played Wanda Dollard for six seasons continues. “There is nothing further than the truth. They have no idea of the work that has led up to that laugh, that smile. Because the laugh is impulsive, I think people think what led up to it was impulsive.”

All of that work has paid off. Corner Gas: The Movie is a wonderful salute to the fans who wanted more of Oscar (Eric Peterson), Emma (Janet Wright), Davis (Lorne Cardinal), Wanda, Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn) and Hank (Fred Ewanuick). The feature film structure allows for an expansion of a couple of characters, most notably Oscar and Davis. The former attempts to go full commando and live off the land (when he’s not calling people “jackass”), leading to several laugh-out loud moments. Davis, meanwhile, tries his hand at being a private investigator; the resulting scenes make me wish CTV, Butt and everyone else involved had the time and cash to pull of a Davis spinoff where he’s a small-town P.I. working in a big city like Calgary or Vancouver.

For now we’ll have to be content with Corner Gas: The Movie, a loving return to those odd folks in that little town where there’s not a lot going on, knowing that there was in fact a lot going on behind the scenes to make it happen.

Corner Gas: The Movie airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV Two; and Monday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The Comedy Network.

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