Greg has a gig on The Tom O’Connell Show every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. until noon ET on CKTB in Niagara Falls, Ont., and CJBK in London, Ont.
This week Greg and Tom muse on the U.S. networks’ cancelled shows, Randy Jackson exiting American Idol and the second annual Canadian International Television Festival. Greg also answers a series of rapid-fire questions about your fave TV shows. The segment starts at the 29-minute mark.
By far the story that got the most comments this week was Kate Taylor’s piece regarding whether Strange Empire could ever become as successful as its Monday night counterpart, Murdoch Mysteries. Here’s a sampling of what people said.
The first issue any supporter of the CBC and Canadian TV in general should have with this is that such comparisons always make one show look good at the other show’s expense: if we want both show’s to do well on CBC, what is constructive about this “comparison†approach?
Ever wonder why Murdoch Mysteries has a fairly substantial audience? By bringing together a bunch of genres, Murdoch Mysteries came up with something “quirky†and “hybrid†and “cultish.†People use a whole lot of compound terms to describe it. But the point is, there is something in Murdoch Mysteries that “crosses over†for many audience segments, so it’s a ridiculous exercise to try to reduce it to some over-simplified strawman just for the same of comparing Strange Empire. All of these articles just makes it look like the reviewers don’t know what they are talking about to the over 1 million viewers who actually do watch Murdoch Mysteries every week.–Snacky
After watching the first two episodes of Strange Empire and having the people I had talked into watching it drop like flies, I began watching the show with a much more critical eye, but an eye which viewed the show in terms of why the show failed to appeal to people, rather than an eye to artistry. After watching five episodes of Strange Empire, I still am not sure exactly where the characters are all going and at this point I`m not sure what I`m hoping for the characters.–Ally
And, as The Bachelor Canada heads into its season finale on Tuesday, readers are split 50-50 over whether Tim Warmels will choose Trish or April as his betrothed.
Unfortunately, I see April as a mentally and emotionally unstable individual. What does Tim know of her background? How will she cope when she begins to have her own children, when she is so easily overwhelmed? It will take a lot of trust and possibly a lot of time in the future to help her deal with life’s issues, it seems, not just for Tim but his family.–Evette
I wanted April, but what I saw last week, I have changed my mind. April still needs to mature and really think what she really wants. She is very pretty and nice, but what would happen in the real life with Tim? This relationship will not survive. With Trish, this might work, but Tim must set the rules with a beauty queen. No diva, no drama, just be yourself. Moving to Toronto will be a big step with Trish. But I still like Trish.–Luce
Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? Contact me at greg@tv-eh.com.
If only Chris Brody had flown to Haven, perhaps the town wouldn’t be in the pickle it is now. Instead fans had to settle for Chris (Jason Priestley) and his charms via Skype as he attempted to stop Dr. Charlotte Ross from investigating the weird wound on Dave’s leg. Dave rightly supposed that once Charlotte laid eyes on Chris–and was affected by his charm Trouble–she would lay off her investigation of the town.
And it worked. For awhile. Unfortunately, a double Trouble (the ghost of a dead father in a bear suit and bubbly lip disease) revealed the Troubles to Charlotte and she called the CDC to order a big “Quarantine” sign plopped down over Haven. Duke–with some help from an electrical Trouble–took out the cell tower and ended her conversation, but I’m not sure that will stop her for long. Again, if only Chris was there to apply salve to the situation. She certainly won’t be trusting Dwight anytime soon. And that’s too bad, because I really liked the fact that he and Charlotte were bonding over lobster and their military backgrounds (she from the Navy and he an ex-Ranger). It was definitely taking away the sting of Dwight losing his sister to her Trouble in Cincinnati.
Getting back to Dave for a second; his latest dream had him looking through the eyes of someone at the site of the tree carved with Croatoan, surrounded by dead bodies and a black smoke (the aether?) beckoning to a thinny shimmering in front of that person’s eyes. Are these dreams from the other side, or are they placed in the present’s past? There weren’t any answers to that one, and I don’t suppose there will be any soon, seeing as the major storyline will be the outbreak and Charlotte for the immediate future.
Meanwhile, Mara used her feminine wiles–and I think her first shower in weeks–to woo Duke. Duke, who is always left just on the outside of Haven’s in-crowd, fell for Mara’s body and her mind games. By episode’s end he had sided with Mara, who described them both as outcasts that should be taking down Haven together. Duke’s sudden switch to the dark side was stunning but not unexpected. As several readers have hinted over the past few weeks, Duke may have separated Mara and Audrey with the intent on keeping Mara for himself. If that’s the case, joining her in the cause to fight back against Audrey, Nathan, Dwight et al. makes total sense. And they would be a powerful pair.
I think the citizens of Haven has better watch out. The disease outbreak and the CDC may be the very least of their Troubles.
Notes and quotes
Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.
Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean the scares need to end. Thanks to Netflix, there are numerous spooky series available all year long. And while there are the requisite flicks featuring chainsaw-wielding killers, frightening dolls and slithery things in closets, nothing is quite like Darknet.
Based on the Japanese horror series Tori Hada, Darknet is a Canadian anthology series airing its second window via the online broadcaster (it was available on Super Channel first). The project, made up of six intertwining half-hour stories, explores serial killers and axe murderers, but it also tips the horror genre on its head by offering unique views on society’s paranoia and some surprise character reveals. One gal, for instance, appears to be a mousy, quiet office worker but is anything but, and a medical student named Alison defends her privacy in a very unique way.
“I kept saying to the writers, ‘This is such a gift,'” Michelle Alexander says of her character, Alison. “One of the producers, Steven Hoban, and I were saying that we can’t think of a character in modern TV that has a big a swing from a the beginning of the series to the end. I’m usually cast as the first girl you meet, the girl who is sweet and lovely.”
The Vancouver Island native, who also works as Associate Artistic Director at Toronto’s Nightwood Theatre, assumed she was done playing Alison after filming the pilot episode. She was surprised to be called back after Alison was written into two more vignettes, including the season finale, a twisted trip that leaves a trio of characters in a cliffhanger ending.
Season 1 of Darknet was written by six different writers (each one wrote an instalment each) and six different directors–the result is unique take with regard to story and imagery–starring veteran and new faces from the Canadian television and film industry. Among those appearing in the scary tales are David Hewlett (Stargate: Atlantis), Ari Miller (Orphan Black), Martha Burns (Slings & Arrows), Peter Outerbridge (Orphan Black), Cara Gee (Strange Empire) and Arnold Pinnock (Combat Hospital). All embody characters counter to roles they’ve played in the past: Hewlett is a businessman who finds a mysterious locker key; Burns a mother seeking a babysitter for her unique son; and Pinnock portrays a seemingly loving husband who runs afoul of Alison.
“The problem with a lot of modern horror now is that you kind of get the formula. It’s so popular with young people right now that you just kind of pump out this formulaic horror shows,” Alexander explains. “This is more like a throwback to Alfred Hitchcock horror where there are twists and turns. Even if you’re looking for the twists, it’s better than just the shock and awe. Darknet is more character-driven and story-driven.”
Season 1 of Darknet is available on Netflix Canada.
After weeks of trauma and tears, backstabbing and booze, it all came down to Tuesday night on The Bachelor Canada. Well, sort of. Tim Warmels won’t reveal who he chose to be his betrothed–or at the very least his bestie–until next week, but the groundwork for his oh-so-important decision was laid.
In one corner was Trish, the big-city former beauty pageant participant who likes hockey and is open about her feelings. In the other corner was April, the quiet, more reserved gal who played her cards close to the chest. Which one would win Tim’s heart? The fact that Trish already loved him while April was still working on her deep feelings may have given the former an edge over the latter, but nothing was clear cut.
Tahiti served as the backdrop to a pineapple plantation picnic and dinner with Trish that led to the dreaded–or exciting–fantasy suite invite from Tyler Harcott. Did Tim’s heart do a stutter-stop when Trish nodded yes that she wanted some alone time with him? We’ll never know, but he did hop up and offer his hand to her. No word on if they skipped dessert for this or whether dinner was actually done by that point. (How funny would it have been if they’d opened the door to the suite and Tyler was stretched out on the bed? Listen, it’s been a long season, OK? Gimme some leeway on stupid comments.)
April and Tim headed off the coast of Tahiti for a cruise around in a yacht. The mood was tempered a bit by April’s concerns that Tim might choose Trish over her, which would shatter the already fragile brunette. Their jump off the side of the boat represented April’s hesitant leap of faith in Tim that everything would be OK, but she still wasn’t sure. Words like “scared,” “might be falling in love,” and “but” threw up red flags all dinner long, so I was a little surprised that she chose to spend time with Tim in the fantasy suite. I think he would have been OK with it if she declined.
Of course, Tim couldn’t make this all-important life decision on his own, so he called on his mom and dad to help out. Peter was immediately enthralled by Trish’s outgoing personality, but Marg was more suspicious and whipped out a list of questions for Trish to answer. Trish needn’t have worried; after saying she wanted a family she had Marg in the palm of her hand.
Not so for April, whose walk to Tim’s parents’ cabana looked like she was headed to the electric chair. If this was a job interview, April wouldn’t have gotten the gig. Her reluctance to look Peter and Marg in the eye, her stammered answers and repeated “ums” certainly could have been the work of careful editing by the producers to make April look like the underdog, but I don’t think so. Her request to see Tim, followed by a tearful “I want to go home,” would seem to have sealed April’s fate.
We won’t find out who Tim chooses until next week, but at this point it appears Trish is his best fit.
The Bachelor Canada finale airs next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET followed by the After the Final Rose special at 8:30 p.m. ET on City.
Who will Tim pick in the The Bachelor Canada season finale?
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