Tag Archives: Featured

Preview: Canada’s Smartest Person an addictive test of intelligence

Are you the type of person who is naturally successful at word puzzles? Do you wow your friends with your sports prowess? Think you’re just all-around more intelligent than everyone else in the room? Canada’s Smartest Person may very well be for you.

Debuting Sunday at 8 p.m., CBC’s rollicking game show goes beyond the standard I.Q. test–dismissed as too narrow to gauge real intelligence–to find the Canadian who is successful in a total of six categories. After an exhaustive cross-Canada search, 32 finalists compete in the categories of Math & Logic Intelligence, Visual & Spatial Intelligence, Body & Kinesthetic Intelligence, Linguistics Intelligence, and Musical Intelligence and Interpersonal Intelligence.

Sunday’s two-hour debut introduces viewers to the first four finalists–who by the time the episode ends is trimmed to one who moves on to the finals–and co-hosts Jessi Cruickshank and Jeff Douglas. Cruickshank, known for her personality co-hosting The Hills After Show on MTV Canada, is a natural to corral the show finalists. Her reactions to blunders and successes are classic, as are the numerous ways she contorts her body in a physical reaction to how well the finalists fare. Or don’t. As It Happens Happens co-host Jeff Douglas is the dude who explains the six ways of measuring intelligence and serves as the at-home viewers’ guide through app and online game play. Slow and steady, he’s the one with the task of explaining the results as they arrive in real-time from across the country.

But the real star of Canada’s Smartest Person is the online and smartphone app available for viewers to play along at home. With an easy-to-use interface and plenty of instruction by Douglas, viewers are encouraged to play along in games that are related to–but not always exactly like–the games the show’s finalists are playing. Enter a few extra bits of login information and at-home players can see how they rank against friends and family and other participants across the country. It’s adds a level of fun, addictive game play that honestly at times overshadows the television series.

Canada’s Smartest Person airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Review: Package Deal’s sloppy seconds

“Sloppy Seconds” is the title of Package Deal‘s second episode, but it might as well refer to how the sitcom was treated last week. Airing U.S. shows in simulcast meant the Canadian original was bumped off City’s primetime lineup last Friday for Utopia, not the best of news for a sitcom that attracted under 100,000 viewers for its Season 2 return.

Friday’s script, written by Denise Moss, saw the gang keeping various secrets from each other. In the case of Kim, it meant trying to keep several from Danny. Sheldon staying at his little brother’s place while asbestos was removed from his apartment (asbestos he had put there himself, it should be noted) bothered Kim so much she left for her own place, Danny in tow. The revelation that she was an utter slob–clothes were strewn everywhere and takeout Chinese food was rotting on the coffee table–grossed out the finicky Danny. Tempering that turn-off was the titillating second secret: Kim used to sport a D-cup and had her breasts reduced. Kim’s trust in Danny was shattered when she left for work and Sheldon, Danny and Ryan started snooping and found a list of men Kim had slept with.

Danny, unable to control his jealous streak, just wasn’t able to keep the list to himself and the pair had a spat. I took sides with Kim on this one; that all was in the past and had no bearing on the couple now.

The B-story concerned an interesting little fling between Ryan and Nikki, and Ryan keeping the tryst from his brothers for, like, a minute. Ryan and Nikki, from sides of the track so far apart you’d need binoculars to see them, nonetheless were attracted by those differences and–with a muscular bully as the lightning rod–tumbled into the sack together. Jay Malone’s high-strung Ryan paired with Jill Morrison’s Nikki made for an entertaining handful of scenes and I’m hoping the duo keep this thing going. A natural plot evolution would see Nikki and Sheldon hook up, putting the brothers at odds over the flame-haired vixen.

Friday’s episode advanced the character of Kim–we learned about her past and were shown she had somewhere to sleep when she’s not at Danny’s–and I’m looking forward to more tidbits. I’m also hoping City is able to keep Package Deal on their schedule for viewers to find it.

Package Deal airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on City.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Comments and Queries for the week ending Sept. 25

Hey, I was wanting to know if I can get onto Wipeout Canada? I’m crazy and I am pretty sure I can win the $50,000.–Charles

I hate to be the bearer of bad news Charles, but Wipeout Canada wasn’t renewed by Shaw Media. The hosting crew has moved on to other projects: Ennis Esmer is currently filming a movie How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town, Jessica Phillips was most recently in Swearnet: The Movie and Jonathan Torrens is in the new season of Mr. D.

As someone who may be biased because I’m on team Charlie, I loved the fight on Saving Hope. No, Joel didn’t deserve to be body slammed and pummeled, but Charlie had a ton of emotion built up and I think he just snapped when Reycraft mentioned Joel’s patient was the attacker. I think Joel got a few punches in as well!

I think Charlie just meant he’s happy that he is able to see Alex, not that she’s in a coma. He did save her life (again) because of that ability. I think this season is going to be full of emotions and relationship roller coasters. Just getting started!–Hallie

I personally enjoy watching and learning from Love It Or List It Vancouver. This program has the witty Todd and kind Jillian, who both appear to be knowledgable in their professions. It gives me hope and fulfills in my mind what I would like to happen one day with my older home which I have dreamed of renovating for over 20 years! It is wonderful to see there are reliable contractors and related staff who perform and create beautiful work. The contractors are also funny and proficient which adds to enjoyment of watching and relief of no stress as to how the renovations will inevitably come out. Thank you for those who brought this program to Vancouver.–Bonnie

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Review: Alex’s awkward return on Saving Hope

My biggest fear going into the third season of Saving Hope with Alex on the operating table was that she’d spend most of the season in a coma, expanding on a premise set up in Season 1. Thankfully, Alex woke up after only two episodes. Less fortunately for her, she might have a bit of a mess on her hands—assuming she remembers anything.

I can’t think of an episode of Saving Hope that has managed to put together as many awkward moments as this one. Just as Alex and Charlie seem to have made up from the fallout of last season’s reveal and decided they wanted to have a baby together, Joel decided to go in for the Sleeping Beauty kiss and we were left wondering which of the two (if any) were responsible for waking the good doctor up. In between this and last week’s fisticuffs, I’ve got a feeling our quietly simmering love triangle is about to explode—at least on the men’s side of things, that is, since we don’t know how much of her time with Charlie that Alex is going to remember, or if she’s even aware of Joel planting one on her.

Hopefully her subconscious will at least do Dawn the service of forgetting about her early morning routine. As adorable as it was to watch her sing to the pet she grudgingly took on to help one of Gavin’s patients, I couldn’t help but feel like this was some gross violation of her privacy. And while it’s not the first time Charlie has tried using a ghost to get intel on someone in the hospital, I was a bit surprised Alex went along with it. Maybe she was expecting something as simple as an early morning nap, and maybe she’ll keep that info to herself, but a woman should be allowed to sing a lullaby to her guinea pig in the privacy of her own office without her ghost of a colleague butting in. Or at least she should be, if there’s any decency in the world.

Also high on the awkward spectrum was almost the entirety of Maggie’s day, now that she’s got a new doctor in the form of Degrassi’s Stacey Farber (also lately a troublemaker on Rookie Blue). While I was enjoying Dr. Katz’ directness, especially about the Kalfis debacle, it was definitely throwing Maggie off in a way I appreciated after she not only broke up with Gavin (understandable under the circumstances) but then kept twisting the knife in. I was really hoping that split would be a blip in things after losing the baby, but her strange elevator proposition to Joel—along with her new residency on the couch—are starting to worry me. Not only does it spell the end of my favourite Saving Hope couple, but I suspect it just might put a damper on Gavin’s trademark sass.

As for the two cases of the week, Joel had a gruesome (and I do mean gruesome, thanks to the graphic effects) infected plate to deal with—before opting out of an amputation to try and save the leg of his drug addict patient. Meanwhile, Maggie and Katz were trying to convince David (Vampire High’s Joris Jarsky) to keep his wife on life support long enough for their baby to live. With Charlie’s help, David finally conceded that as much as he hated people (and kids) he just might like his own, but unfortunately Joel’s string of bad luck only continued. Now that Alex is back, things just might turn around for him, but it’s far more likely he’ll be ending up with another black eye.

Saving Hope airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail