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Featured, Heartland

Heartland welcomes Theo, Boone and Bubbles

I don’t like to see Amy stressed out, but that’s the way life’s been for her in these first two episodes of Heartland in Season 10. Last week, things were looking grim for Minnie when she delivered two foals, putting her health in danger. This week, she suffered from colic, necessitating emergency surgery and all hands on deck at Heartland to feed the foals, named Theo and Boone, until Minnie was well enough to return.

In fact, Heartland‘s animal co-stars almost outshone the human ones, as the horses and Bubbles the Goldfish 1 and 2 commanded plenty of screen time during “You Just Know,” written by Mark Haroun. There was an ever-so-brief moment when Ty and Amy were considering baby names until Jack called to say Minnie wasn’t doing so well. Her health, and those of the foals, hung over Amy all episode until the three horses were reunited. I can’t help but think Amy is seeing herself when she looks at Minnie, and that’s causing her angst.

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Katie, Tim and Jack all learned a valuable lesson about life and death on the ranch thanks to two goldfish named Bubbles. Tim bought the shiny dude for Katie, and quickly incurred criticism from Jack.

“What kind of world do we live in where a man can’t buy a goldfish for his granddaughter?” Tim wondered. He found out just what kind of world when Bubbles expired. Katie may have said her new pet was sleeping, but we all knew better. The storyline led to some very funny moments between Tim and Jack, first when the former tried to avoid letting the latter discover he’d replaced the dead fish with another one, and then both stammering while telling Katie the original Bubbles was deceased. Their worry was for nought; Katie wanted to flush Bubbles 1.0 like she did the dead ones at school.

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The hot and cold between Lou and Mitch reached a fever temperature out on the trail when they shared a passionate kiss … and then went stone cold when she announced she was headed to New York City for Maggie meetings, effectively putting anything they might have together on ice.

Meanwhile, Georgie may have made a new enemy in Sam. It’s one thing for Georgie to want Olivia put in her place, but there was no way she’d stand for Sam’s plot to unseat Olivia via injury. It was a classy move to stand up to Sam, but I worry that decision is going to haunt her later this season. As for her “Most Memorable Moment” essay topic? I give it an A+.

Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Featured

Exhibitionists exposes arts programming to CBC

Season 2 of Exhibitionists begins this afternoon on CBC, likely surprising many of you who didn’t realize there had been a Season 1. Or those of you who might have checked out CBC.ca. Besides the absence of a feature box promoting the show, the show’s link from the homepage schedule leads to “Sorry, we can’t find the page you requested”. CBC recommitted themselves—somewhat—to arts programming last year with the launch of series such as Exhibitionists and Crash Gallery, though a large TV audience—or marketing budget—hasn’t yet followed.

The 30-minute series highlights artists, their process and their impact on the community, and is hosted by the multi-talented Amanda Parris: artist, educator, scholar, producer, actor and playwright.

Fortunately, the TV audience is only a piece of Exhibitionists‘ mandate as a multi-platform program of short documentaries, digital series and arts-related content from across CBC. Parris calls it a flagship for CBC Arts, which is primarily a digital hub where original and aggregated content from around CBC is released year-round.

Parris is an engaging and passionate host who talks about the crucial role of digital platforms in what she and the CBC Arts team she works with are producing. “We realized we were attracting a great millennial audience online, so this season we’ve launched a YouTube channel that has some of the same content as the show, but also some content specific to YouTube.”

They’ve paid close attention to what people watched, liked and shared online, and of course what they comment on, so have a good sense of what their audience is attracted to: “Artists who are disrupting the conversation, challenging the status quo. Our audience is interested in diversity, so we don’t just stay in city centres, and we represent every medium—not just visual arts but dance, digital arts.”

“We’re interested not in presenting art that people will like all the time, but art that will spark conversations. The types of art that get the largest response are the ones that hit you in the heart or someplace intellectually or spiritually. People are interested in art that’s odd.”

Parris cites some season one standouts as photographer Dina Goldstein’s childhood icons twisted into a contemporary setting—“Ken might be a cross-dresser, Barbie looks really depressed”—and Marina Bychkova’s dolls that explore issues such as breast cancer and sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

“My hope  is we connect Canadians to art and that in turn inspires them to be more engaged with art in general,” said Parris. “Art can literally change the world. It’s not a coincidence that artists are some of the first to be targeted by repressive governments. Artists are powerful people.”

“We live in a very celebrity-obsessed culture—I just came out of a 45 minute conversation about Beyoncé, so I’m part of it—but there also needs to be room to talk about artists who aren’t necessarily interested in entertainment or celebrity but who are trying to create beautiful, provocative, innovative things that change our world. I’m so excited to be part of CBC’s commitment to doing that.”

Exhibitionists airs Sundays at 4:30 p.m. on CBC, or find segments online at http://www.cbc.ca/beta/arts/exhibitionists.

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Featured, Four in the Morning

Four in the Morning goes out in a blaze of surrealistic glory

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CBC ended its eight-episode run of Four in the Morning with the airing of the final two episodes back to back. The first, entitled “Four Christs,” riffs off of The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach (Parker hands us this one on a silver platter: William overhears a summary following a very long montage of memories). At any rate, all four of our protagonists are upset with each other, and yet all are feeling entirely blameless. After last week’s big reveal, William (Mazin Elsadig) and Mitzi (Lola Tash) sleeping together, Mitzi admits to William that she was mistaken, Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) and Jamie (Michelle Mylett) did not sleep together.

But, they did, long before Jamie and William got together. Despite his own adulterous guilt, William wallows in his delusional belief that he is the affronted party. The rest of this episode is angst-ridden with a little soupçon of string theory. The episode closes with a long shot on an empty booth at the diner setting the stage for “The Music.”

A few weeks have passed and this final episode begins like the first: in the Patrician Grill, the clock flipping over to 4:00, indicating that we have come full cycle. However, Tatiana Ratowski (Alison Brooks),  the ratty admissions director from Julliard, has come to notify Bondurant he is the worst trumpet player to ever approach her school. To console himself, Bondurant again breaks into Massey Hall and takes centre stage for a final time. Leaving his trumpet at centre stage, he finds a jet pack and rockets off in search of Shangri-La.

But Bondurant has been preyed upon by the backstabbing Ms. Ratowski. Seems she and Rat Man Tom (Micheal Therrault) are guarding a secret about the music program at Julliard.

Meanwhile, William recognizes he is in love with Jamie after-all. In a weak moment, he contemplates suicide and unwittingly shoots himself in the ear.

Mitzi, having had her apology rejected by William, heads to Amadeus’ falafel shop, and asks for the washroom key.

This is where things get weird … or weirder.

Instead of a washroom, the key unlocks a deserted hospital where Mitzi has a miscarriage, giving birth to a pig. Albert the talking pig returns to explain to Mitzi that she is not at fault for all of the disharmony in her friends’ lives.

The season closes with Jamie, Mitzi and William leaving the hospital with baby Margaret whereupon they see Bondurant, a.k.a. a shooting star, blazing across the morning sky.

Four in the Morning has been such a fun little show. The characters, despite their narcissistic tendencies, won me over. There has not been any word yet whether CBC will pick this up for another season. I hope it does. I really enjoy programs that don’t spoon feed you, but rather make you think. But should it not, I am content where the story closed.

What did you think of Season 1? Comment below or @tv_eh.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Murdoch Mysteries gets fired up for Season 10

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The wait is over, Murdoch Mysteries fans and we’re plenty thankful Season 10 is finally here. After a dramatic Season 9 finale, “Cometh the Archer,” that saw a final showdown between Julia and Eva Pearce, the series returns on Monday to tackle one of the biggest events in Toronto history: the Great Fire of 1904.

It all begins with “Great Balls of Fire, Part 1″—written by showrunner Peter Mitchell—and a debutante ball where a handful of the city’s most notable single ladies vie for the affections of bachelor Rodney Strong (Kyle Cameron). Among the gals are Elizabeth Atherly (Wynonna Earp‘s Dominique Provost-Chalkley) who has the unwavering support of her mother, Lady Suzanne (Downton Abbey‘s Samantha Bond).

Here are some other non-spoilery episode notes to get you primed for Monday night.

Crabtree is a gossip hound
George always has his finger on the pulse of the latest “thing” in society, and the debutante’s ball is no different. A very funny scene between Crabtree and Murdoch has the former educating the latter about who—and who doesn’t—have a shot at winning Rodney’s heart.

Julia isn’t herself
The events of “Cometh the Archer” has affected Julia in a very dramatic way, and while those closest to her try to help, Julia is in a fragile emotional state. I personally like the fact Eva’s death isn’t just glossed over, and that Brackenreid steps forward to help the good doctor.

Who started the fire?
A certain constable has picked up a dirty, smelly habit, and may very well be the person who starts the conflagration that consumes part of Toronto.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Related—Videos: Unlock the Mysteries of Murdoch: The Ultimate Insider Conference

 

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Featured, This Life

This Life’s “Perfect Day” brings adventure … and surprises

Natalie may have started experiencing side effects from her cancer drug in This Life‘s Season 2 premiere, but she’s feeling energetic enough for an adventurous day out in Sunday’s new episode, “Perfect Day.” Meanwhile, Maggie gathers the family for a housewarming party that takes a surprising turn, and Matthew’s plans to take Abby out for the day hit a snag.

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming.

Natalie and her friend, Tia, put the “fun” in funeral
Don’t ask. Just enjoy.

Maggie is full of surprises
Last week, Maggie moved into Raza’s apartment to save money. However, her housewarming party is not quite what her family expected—especially her mother.

Emma’s encounter with David puts Matthew on the warpath
David tries to win over Emma, angering Matthew and setting up a confrontation where big truths are revealed. Tip of the cap to Rick Roberts and Louis Ferreira for their nuanced portrayals of two men on the outside of their families looking for a way back in.

Romy follows up with Oliver
Romy continues to make plans for her future without Natalie, but can Oliver step up the way she wants? This Life showrunner Joseph Kay teased that Oliver would have a bigger storyline in Season 2. Let’s hope it involves a lot of uncle-niece bonding with Romy, because Kristopher Turner and Julia Scarlett Dan are consistently great in their scenes together.

The cat Natalie found is sticking around
And he gets a name.

Kudos to This Life‘s focus on Montreal musicians
This Life‘s music is a series highlight. Not only is Monogrenade’s “Ce soir” perfectly placed in this episode, but it’s landed on the top of my Spotify playlist. Great work by music supervisor Delphine Measroch, Joseph Kay, et al.

This Life airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBC.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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