This week on Wild Archaeology, we return to Richards Island, located in the Beaufort Sea.
If you recall, Dr. Max Friesen of the University of Toronto and his team are in a race against weather and climate change to gather information and artifacts from a traditional cruciform home, in their quest to gain greater understanding of the ancient Inuvialuit people.
We visit with Rosalie Scott, conservator of Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, who explains how the found artifacts are to be stored, stabilized and the proper way to pack these items for shipment back to the lab.
Then it’s off to Tuktoyaktuk—where the descendants of Richards Island now live—to meet Boogie Pokiak, a traditional Inuvialuit hunter who explains some of the history of the land and gives Jacob and Jenifer an opportunity to taste local foods, including muktuk.
Finally, we go to Dr. Friesen’s lab at the University of Toronto to look at some of the better finds from this excavation.
This episode was a bit of a departure from the previous few. Very little excavation was to be had; instead, we focused on some of the cultural aspects that are so important for understanding the context of the finds on these digs.
This week’s tally? Jacob: closed end harpoon head. Jenifer: no finds. Jacob is still in the lead!
Wild Archaeology airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.
I am just going to get this out of the way: I am terrified of falling.
I am not afraid of heights so long as there is some logical way that I cannot fall—safety harness, railing, plexiglass—I am completely at ease. Amusement park rides? The higher the better.
If, however, it is just me up high and nothing but my own skill keeping me from falling, I am terrified!*
So to watch any of these episodes of Mohawk Ironworkers sets my nerves just a little on edge. However, this episode was stressful for me to watch. My anxiety level was through the roof and I found myself wincing at the death-defying feats Albert Stalk, Jr. performed. I closed my eyes during his commercial. He is brilliant, and the footage is amazing. To be honest, I had never heard of “Eiffel Al” before this but WOW, what a life! I am left amazed, and he is IMHO barking mad to have done this. Brilliant, but barking mad!
We trace the life of Stalk, Jr., an ironworker from Kahnawa:ke who was the first to scale the Eiffel Tower without any safety equipment. From this fame, Albert earned a living as a model before eventually settling down to home building. If you didn’t catch the episode, I highly recommend you stream it online at APTN. This one will have you on the edge of your seat!
*(Usually, I watch a show twice before I review it; once to get the gist and a second time to grab specific details. This time, I just couldn’t. It has nothing to do with the quality of the content. Just call me a wuss!)
Mohawk Ironworkers airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.
Full disclosure: I wasn’t a die-hard fan of The Romeo Section in Season 1. I am a fan of the show’s creator, Chris Haddock, and his other series, especially Da Vinci’s Inquest and Da Vinci’s City Hall. In both, rat-a-tat, conversational dialogue came as fast and furious as the dead bodies (the former) and political plotting (the latter). And then came the spy-themed The Romeo Section. It was slow and methodical, many scenes were filmed in low light and therefore difficult to see, and I had a hard time warming to the characters.
But as Season 2 approached—it returns Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBC—I realized I was judging The Romeo Section against two series I loved. That wasn’t fair. As Haddock told press prior to the Season 1 debut, the world has changed (Inquest and City Hall went off the air in 2006) and Romeo Section was a reflection of that. It deserved another shot.
So, how do I feel about The Romeo Section now? I enjoyed parts of the season premiere and was a little annoyed by others.
Brian Markinson as Norman
“The Official Narrative” begins with Wolfgang (Andrew Airlie) driving the dark (yup), rain-soaked streets to the Vancouver waterfront. We quickly learn Wolfgang, no longer handing assets, is still teaching at the university and is asked to not just look over notes suggesting the government plans to put all of Canada’s security forces under one umbrella but read up and report on something else: a quashed terrorist plot involving a backpack bomb. Of course, Wolfgang signs on—he needs the money and there wouldn’t be much of a show if he didn’t—and heads to a club where he meets with Norman (Brian Markinson) a blackballed former spy. I love Markinson’s work and was jazzed to read he’d be part of Season 2. Norman is the type of character you can’t help but cheer for, despite the fact he oozes sleaze. He’s the smarmy ying to Wolfgang’s uptight yang, and the pairing works as they recreate the events surrounding the planned bombing and perceived bungles in the investigation.
As for Lily (Leeah Wong), she’s a recruit for the Intelligence Service and is caught in a power struggle between Al (Eugene Lipinski) and another agent while keeping her double agent status intact.
Thanks to the back-and-forth between Norman and Wolfgang and their investigation, I’ll tune in to The Romeo Section next week, with fingers crossed the Rufus storyline sheds some frustrating details.
The Romeo Section airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
For This Hour Has 22 Minutes, entering its 24th season tonight is astounding longevity. For Susan Kent, entering her fifth season as a full-time cast member is equally astounding.
Some of her favourite recent sketches are one of Mark Critch’s from last season inspired by the fact that a Breaking Bad writer is rebooting Anne of Green Gables for CBC, and the Heritage Minute spoofs by writer/comedian Adam Christie, including one where Kent’s little boy character got to name Winnie The Feces Bear.
“What a job,” she said. “It’s your dream as a performer to get a gig that’ll last a couple of months because that’ll give you time to hustle to get the next gig, so to have four solid years of work is a dream.” She breaks into song: “I cannot believe this is true.”
Kent breaks into song and voices sporadically, a funny and relaxed  performer even in an interview. The gig isn’t all fun and games, though. She describes the rapid-fire schedule of putting together the show, which starts on Tuesday morning with the first pitch meeting and ends on Monday night with a live taping in front of an audience.
By Wednesday evening they know what sketches they will shoot starting Thursday, and the art department and props get busy. “Oh dude, it’s crazy, and the only thing open is Walmart. You call in favours, make things yourself—we’re like MacGyvers on Wednesday night.”
Her boyfriend also works for the show, otherwise she says she would never see him. “It’s important to understand why your spouse is happily stressed out and won’t look you in the eye because they’re figuring out how they’re going to write that sketch or make that robot.”
This Hour Has 22 Minutes airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.
The auction has ended, items are being shipped out and the donation is being made. With the help of our prize donors, bidders and those who helped spread the word, we raised more than $8,000 for Kids Help Phone—a free, anonymous and confidential phone and on-line professional counselling service for youth.
If you’d like to contribute to Kids Help Phone, go directly to their website to make a donation.
Special thank yous to the following for the fantastic items and experiences:
