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.
Wynonna Earp’s Michael Eklund on creating Bobo’s look & why he’s so special
“There was no description of Bobo the way you see it on screen, so that was a stew of imaginations at work. I had an idea that I wanted to go with–the haircut and Bobo’s look–so with the amazing hair and makeup team we came up with it. It was their idea to bleach one side of his beard and one of his eyebrows. The wardrobe department then created the coat.” Continue reading.
Truth is often stranger than fiction. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s friendship. Turns out the master magician and escape artist was buds with the creator of Sherlock Holmes. The pair was on opposite sides of the paranormal—Houdini debunked the spirit world while Doyle embraced it—a conflict that eventually broke their alliance.
Their closeness in those early days are the focus of Global’s boisterous new series, Houdini & Doyle, with Michael Weston as Houdini and Stephen Mangan as Doyle. Co-created by David Hoselton and David Titcher and executive-produced by the duo along with David Shore, Houdini & Doyle—debuting Monday, May 2, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global (and Fox in the U.S.)—finds the pair teamed and working for the Scotland Yard in 1901 on cases involving the supernatural. Rebecca Liddiard is Constable Adelaide Stratton, the force’s first female constable and the men’s wrangler of sorts.
“Adelaide Stratton was a real person in history,” Liddiard says during a press day put on by Global and producers Shaftesbury. “This character is a little more fiction than accurate.” The Toronto-based actress, who teaches Creative Performance at Ryerson University, dug deep into the stories of women of the time period—like poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning—who were career-driven when most couldn’t be. She adds that old guard view of women not having a spot in the workplace, especially the police force, is reflected in what her co-workers say.
Rebecca Liddiard and Stephen Mangan. Image courtesy of Global.
Monday’s first case, “The Maggie’s Redress,” quickly introduces viewers to the trio—Houdini performs his water-based escape act and relishes his celebrity, Doyle is trying to move on from his Holmes stories—when Adelaide is assigned them as a tag along after a murderous ghost is reported running rampant in a convent.
There’s plenty to like from Houdini & Doyle. Lavish sets, dark corners and rich wardrobe choices add colour while the scripts and performances provide swaths of humour as the main characters’ personalities emerge. Houdini is serious about exposing the mediums stealing money from citizens intent on communicating with departed loved ones, but takes great pleasure in poking fun at Doyle. Doyle is a typical stiff English gent of the time, educated and respected certainly, but with an Achilles heel: he yearns to speak to his wife. Adelaide, meanwhile, often finds herself shifting her beliefs, unsure of whether the crimes committed have basis in science or spirits.
“She tries to stay focused on the information,” Liddiard explains. “‘Here’s a dead body: what are we going to do about it?’ She’s very grounded and keeps the other two grounded as well.
“These guys are so smart, they take it to the next level with the witty banter,” she continues. “Often Adelaide is stuck in the middle, having it thrown back and forth and saying, ‘Guys, let’s just do our work!’ But she gets her digs in too.”
Houdini & Doyle airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.
Wynonna Earp: The cure for TV’s female problem
It’d be easy to focus on all the negativity surrounding females–both on and off screen–at the moment, but sometimes it’s more helpful to focus on the positive. Wynonna Earp is all about female power. Not only that, it’s about females that lift each other up, instead of tearing one another down. It features several different types of female characters–each a unique and realistic portrayal of a complex woman. Continue reading.
Ari Lantos, Vice President Production,  Serendipity Point Films, announced today that principal photography for CBC original series FOUR IN THE MORNING, created by Ira Parker, is underway. The series has been ordered for eight half-hour episodes and is slated to premiere on the CBC in summer 2016.
FOUR IN THE MORNING is an unconventional comedy spiked with a touch of magical realism. The show follows four friends in their twenties as they navigate life at the unpredictable, emotional, but illuminative hour of 4 a.m. Dealing with themes of life and death, love and heartbreak, friendship and betrayal, it’s a series about self-discovery, disappointment, and clawing after dreams that always feel out of reach.
The series stars Daniel Maslany as Bondurant, Lola Tash as Mitzi, Mazin Elsadig as William and Michelle Mylett as Jamie.
Executive Producers include Ari Lantos, Ira Parker, Jeff Sagansky, Mark Musselman and Matt Geller.
Welcome to a new nightmare in Cancon policy
The wisest comment made so far about plans to review Canada’s cultural policies and bring them into line with our digital age came from former heritage minister James Moore: “The vast majority of the public pressure is toward maximizing consumer freedom and choice, while all of the stakeholder pressure is toward subsidizing the creation of content or regulating the distribution of that content to the consumer. These are two worlds that often collide.†Continue reading.
