All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada’s final two are revealed

3 Comments

MasterChef Canada‘s Top 2 have been revealed, as Trevor Connie and Thea Vanherwaarden will go head-to-head in next week’s season finale. After a long, impressive run, Barrie McConachie was eliminated in an emotional episode. To be honest, just making it to the Top 12 was an incredible feat; this season has been one jam-packed with high-end guest judges and the most complicated challenges in this franchise’s history.

Thursday’s instalment, “Sweet Francaise,” began with one heck of a test, to create a mélange of pastries for the show’s French bistro theme. As if making five different items wasn’t tough enough, the trio’s bites would be tasted by pastry chefs. The two-hour prep time went by in a blink and Thea seemed to have an edge over Trevor and Barrie, but by the end of the time limit, everyone completed the task. The big twist? Along with several pastry experts were children, meaning Thea’s lavender-lemon cake could have gotten a big thumbs-down from the kiddies. Luckily for everyone, no desserts were sent back, though the pastry chefs—and Michael Bonacini, Claudio Aprile and Alvin Leung—all found minor flaws. Barrie came out on top and I felt he deserved it, but he’s gotta stop with the bear-campers thing.

Barrie didn’t win immunity from the Elimination Challenge but was given the opportunity to decide the proteins everyone would cook with three ways. Barrie rightly went with his strength and the Waygu beef and assigned pork to Thea and chicken to Trevor. They may have been buds up until now, but Barrie wasn’t giving Trevor an upper hand by doling out tasty pork in his direction. Thea slumped upon hearing the pork was headed her way, but I’m not sure why. Then I heard her plan: to take that beautiful chunk of porky goodness and turn it into schnitzel for one of her plates. I’m not above schnitzel, but this was the wrong application for the main ingredient. Barrie’s oil-poached beef was a mystery, Trevor’s chicken skin burned during his first try and time—and a burn—threatened to derail Thea.

Barrie was confident his beef would be up to snuff and relied on his side dishes to take him over the top. The problem? His Waygu was underdone. Claudio ripped Thea for her plating and said taste was the only thing that could save her. And in the early going it looked like she had. As for Trevor, astringent sauce spoiled some pretty good looking chicken skin.

Still, it was a no-brainer for Trevor to be named the first home cook in the season finale. And after undercooking such a lovely piece of beef, Barrie left the door open for Thea to sneak into the final too.

Do you agree with the judges’ decision? Who do you want to win MasterChef Canada? Let me know in the comments below.

The season finale of MasterChef Canada airs next Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

[socialpoll id=”2442919″]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Anne, Featured

CBC’s Sally Catto: Anne’s future still up in the air

2 Comments

There’s a simple, yet frustrating, reason a second season of Anne wasn’t announced at CBC’s upfront presentation on Wednesday morning. Netflix has yet to weigh in on its commitment to a sophomore go-round of Anne Shirley’s adventures in Avonlea.

“[A second season announcement] is pending,” Sally Catto, general manager, programming at CBC told us. “It’s a partnership and they’ve just started broadcast it.” That may be tough to swallow for fans who were left staring in shock at their TV screens after the cliffhanger season finale went dark, but that’s the nature of the television business today. More broadcasters and countries involved in a series can mean a waiting game.

As for fans of programs Pure, The Romeo Section, Michael: Every Day, Four in the Morning, Bellevue and This Life, it was a bitter pill to swallow after it was confirmed none will return for additional seasons on the public broadcaster.

“Pure was beautifully received and done,” Catto explains of the Mennonite Mafia drama created by Michael Amo and starring Ryan Robbins, A.J. Buckley and Alex Paxton-Beesley. “If you look at it, it’s a contained story and that equally weighed into the decision. It wasn’t just a numbers decision. There was a beginning, middle and very final end to Pure. Of course, any series has the potential to have another season, but for Pure, it’s up against other programs that have been percolating in development and there is limited space in the schedule. You’re making a choice, and it’s not always easy.”

Crawford debuts this winter on CBC.

When it came to choosing new programming this fall and winter, Catto was looking for series to compliment what’s resonating with audiences. Though research plays a part in the decision, they’re looking for distinct voices and unique stories. Who has a story to tell? What’s their voice? What’s their vision? To be too narrow, she believes, is to miss gems in the making.

Catto sought to expand CBC’s comedy base by adding new projects in Mike Clattenburg’s Crawford and Little Dog from Joel Thomas Hynes. As for drama, Frankie Drake Mysteries is a natural new series to present to loyal fans of Murdoch Mysteries and literary adaptations of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace and Lisa Moore’s Caught fit in the network’s structure.

As for The Council, we got a final word on its fate. René Balcer’s series “set against the unfolding drama of our changing planet and draws inspiration from the true-to-life fight over the vast and valuable resources of the Arctic” that was originally announced for the 2016-16 season is not moving forward.

Images courtesy of CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Podcast

TV, Eh? podcast Episode 228 — A long, oaky corridor

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Waupoos Premium Cider courtesy of Mark Ellis, and Knob Creek 2001!

After discussing the return of Private Eyes, The Next Step and other items on the Calendar, we analyze CBC’s new programs for the upcoming broadcast season including 21 Thunder, Burden of Proof, Frankie Drake, Caught and Little Dog. Finally, we break down the CRTC’s latest decision and whether Canadian broadcasters will use it to opt out of new scripted programming in the future.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to support TV, eh?’s work? Become a Patreon!

SUPPORT

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Private Eyes

Private Eyes roars back onto Global for Season 2

Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) and Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) are back in Private Eyes, but there are changes afoot in Season 2. Tonally, there is a different feel to Global’s whodunnit drama, returning to the network on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The change is mainly because Shade and Angie are now equal partners at Everett Investigations. Yes, Shade is still trying to prove himself as a private investigator, but he’s much more adept and less time is spent on whether he can do the job. Meanwhile, Shade’s father Don (Barry Flatman) is struggling with retirement, and his daughter Jules (Jordyn Negri) is spending a lot more time with her mother, shaking things up on Shade’s home front. What Don decides to do post-retirement has an effect on everyone, necessitates a shift to a new setting and a new character in Shona Clement (Sharon Lewis). Det. Derek Nolan (Clé Bennett) and Det. Kurtis Mazhari (Ennis Esmer) are back and helping with cases, but things become more complicated due to romance … and Shade and Angie’s new assistant, Zoe (Samantha Wan). Zoe proves to be an important part of the team … and catches Maz’s eye. Throw in possible romantic targets for Shade and Angie in Melanie Parker (Bree Williamson) and Dr. Ken Graham (Mark Ghanimé) and these new 18 episodes prove to be quite a ride.

We spoke to Priestley and Sampson ahead of Thursday’s return—where Shade and Angie investigate death threats against a race car driver—about this season’s adventures.

In Thursday’s Season 2 return, Shade tries to stop a driver from racing

It feels like these characters are getting away from the sexual tension that was there in Season 1 and focussing more on the cases.
Cindy Sampson: Most definitely. Season 2 is more about the guest stars and the cases.

Jason Priestley: We’re getting on with it now. In the first season, we were laying a lot of the groundwork. Now we’re getting on with it and getting into the life of the show.

Having a new set, the diner makes a more natural place for everyone to hang out as well.
Sampson: It’s just like The Peach Pit!

One of the things I wondered about was the mystery surrounding Angie’s father and the envelope Shade found taped to the bottom of his desk. I was concerned that would be drawn out, but it’s resolved almost immediately. And, you’ve got Samantha Wan joining these two. What can you say about Wan’s character, Zoe?
Sampson: Having Zoe has added a different dynamic. It’s not just us. We have someone to play off of in our space and to bounce ideas off of. There is foreshadowing and maybe a relationship with Maz and Zoe. It creates a lot of different ways to go.

Priestley: It also frees us up to not always have to go back to the office to do legwork and sit in front of our computers. We can lay a lot of that stuff on her and stay out in the field and get into trouble and be the best investigators ever.

Where is Angie and Shade’s relationship at going forward? Is it friendship, a true partnership?
Priestley: We tick a lot of boxes for each other. This season, Shade and Angie’s relationship sort of ebbs and flows. They come together and then move apart, come together and move apart.

Sampson: At the core of it is what’s always best for the agency. There is that common goal they have and it’s always the most important because it’s become their lives. But, Shade begins a relationship that could screw our professional lives, so … you know … he’s a man. He’s not really thinking that through…

Priestley: … which men are prone to do from time to time …

Sampson: Actually, it’s really funny. In Episode 12 the four of us go away on an adventure.

What can you tell me about Angie and her relationship with Dr. Ken?
Sampson: They were together for five years. He proposed and she didn’t want to be Mrs. Perfect and ran away and called off the wedding. He moved away for work overseas with Doctors Without Borders and she hasn’t seen him in a year. Then he moves to town and his clinic gets broken into and, coincidentally, we’re there to save the day. It’s a major coincidence.

Priestley: That never happens on TV, what are you talking about?!

What about the custody situation between Shade and Jules? They’re struggling because Jules is spending most of her time away from her father.
Priestley: It’s tough on both of them at the beginning of the season and as the season progresses that situation—because it is so stressful—changes and Jules spends more time in Shade’s house because that custody setup was not working for anybody. Putting Shade in that position where he was dealing with it was adding just another pressure point to his life and that’s the kind of thing we like to explore on this show. We don’t like it to be smooth sailing for the characters … ever.

Private Eyes airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Images courtesy of Corus.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail