I’m a massive Stephen King fan; two of my favourite works are The Stand and The Mist. In the former, the world is brought down by a plague and the Americans that survive make their way across the nation to Boulder, Colo., recreating society out of a country with no power and no law. In The Mist, a cataclysmic thunderstorm tears a hole into another dimension, unleashing awful beasts that claim our planet as their own.
There’s plenty of both scenarios going on in Space and Syfy’s new series, Aftermath, and that’s just fine with me. Created and run by William Laurin and Glenn Davis (The Pinkertons, Missing), the 13-parter debuts Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Space, with Joshua (James Tupper) and Karen Copeland (Anne Heche) trying to keep their family safe from an approaching hurricane. A hurricane on its own isn’t a big deal, except the Copelands live in Washington state, nowhere near warm water where those storms spin. Battery-powered radios crackle alternately of the end times and science and … horrors … cell service is nonexistent. If no texting wasn’t bad enough, some folks have gone nuts and are skinning each other alive.
It’s with this as the backdrop that Tuesday’s debut, “RVL 6768,” sets up one hell of a ride. (Keep an eye out for the episode title to show up in one memorable scene.) With so much going on in the first 10 minutes, I worried I’d be overwhelmed with information. Sci-fi series can do that as the world, the characters and parameters are set up, but that wasn’t the case with Aftermath. I credit that to Tupper and Heche’s characters who are islands of calm as the world goes to shit. Josh is a university professor who studies world cultures and beliefs, so he picks up on the significance of fish and snakes dropping out of the sky. Karen is a former Air Force pilot whose no-nonsense attitude and survival training will keep her family—son Matt (Levi Meaden) and twin sisters Briana (Taylor Hickson) and Dana (Julia Sarah Stone)—safe.
Her skills are called upon early and often as increasingly violent and odd folks begin popping up. Incredible CGI and effects turn merely scary situations into horrifying ones and one such scene causes the Copelands to leave their home in the rearview mirror and explore what America has become. And what it’s become is a terrifying place.
The wait is over, Murdoch Mysteries fans! Season 10 is upon us, and we couldn’t be happier, especially after getting a peek at six images from the first episode!
As previously announced, Downton Abbey‘s Samantha Bond guest-stars in “Great Balls of Fire, Part 1,” but what we don’t know was that Wynonna Earp‘s Dominique Provost-Chalkley would be appearing as well. Here’s an episode description for Episode 1001:
We begin this episode of Four in the Morning, appropriately entitled Moon, with Jamie (Michelle Mylett) waxing poetic about how fabulous the moon looks whilst William (Mazin Elsadig) is completely indifferent. It makes him feel insignificant. William hasn’t been reacting to anything at all lately and that is pissing Jamie off. They head into an empty Patrician Grill as the lone patron, Coralie (Shiva Negar), rushes out. She slim jims a car and William and Jamie tag along for a trip to the observatory. It seems a group has gathered to watch the destruction of the moon.
Meanwhile, Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) just cannot catch a break with his trumpet playing. This time, he is called away by William in order to save the moon. Seems our musician Bondurant is also a world-class mechanical engineer. He also suffers from heavy fingers. It is only once a year, when the moon is at perigee, that its gravitational pull balances the heaviness of his fingers, making his trumpet playing c’est magnifique.
But these are just the surface stories. Mitzi (Lola Tash) discovers Bondurant lied about getting into Julliard, and she confesses that she had an abortion … but did she? Jamie and William fight about his lack of emotional engagement and William almost confesses about his time with Mitzi. In the end, William finally reacts, putting Jamie and William back on track and Bondurant terminates the moon for Mitzi! Yep … Parker had Bondurant blow up the moon! Guess we are significant after all.
As I sat down to watch this episode, I was thinking “OK, here we go again, we have a pattern established … yawn.” But, about halfway through “Moon,” I didn’t have a clue where we were going. Then there was a fabulous bullet time sequence edited with “Che gelida manina,” from La Boheme scoring the scene. This was absolutely perfect for Maslany’s physical theatrical style. Sure it was gimmicky, but it was perfect and I loved it. I also realised I am starting to care about these characters, albeit some more than others.
Let me know what your thoughts are about tonight’s episode in the comments below.
Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
I missed Liza Fromer on The Morning Show, and wondered where she was. Will she be back? —Sheila
No, Liza won’t be back on The Morning Show. Her contract was not renewed. Global News made the announcement in June.
Where is Kim’s Convenience?
What day and time is the pilot or premiere? —Alex
Kim’s Convenience debuts Monday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m. on CBC. Look for our behind-the-scenes feature closer to air date.
No love for The Bachelorette Canada
It’s sad that instead of making original content, broadcasters are buying concepts. They are cheaper to produce and bring in decent ad dollars, so I guess that’s the bottom line. As someone who works in the industry, I find it disheartening. —Chris
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or on Twitter @tv_eh.
Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler are, arguably, the faces of HGTV Canada. They’ve both got long-running series on the air in Canada and around the world, co-starred in the home giveaway series Home to Win and allowed TV cameras to follow their lives both on and away from the construction site.
Now the pair is taking over Sunday nights—beginning this week—on HGTV Canada with projects that peel back the curtain on their family lives. Yes, there is still plenty of renovation drama in Moving the McGillivrays and Bryan Inc.—it’s what put food on the table long before the TV cameras came into focus—but there is personal footage fans have seen only snippets of in the past and been clamouring for.
(l-r) Myah, Scott, Layla and Sabrina McGillivray
The first up is Moving the McGillivrays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, a surprisingly intimate look at the journey Scott, wife Sabrina and daughters Myah and Layla go through on the path to creating their forever home while Scott keeps his responsibilities to Income Property, his production company, McGillivray Entertainment, helping Habitat for Humanity and his public speaking engagements. What appeared to be a fairly straight-forward case of finding the right house for his family turned into a nightmare. Scott and Sabrina, a teacher, knew they needed a house with storage, near their parents and close to a good school. After winnowing the list down to three properties, the couple made their pick. Episode 1 covers those first steps into renovating … and the most emotional footage of Scott I’ve ever seen on camera.
“As tough as it was for me in those moments, it was even tougher for me to see my kids seeing that,” McGillivray says during a press day at HGTV Canada’s headquarters. “It’s been a tough show and a bit of a roller coaster for sure.”
But as dramatic as the renovations on their new home are, fans will get a kick out of Sabrina and Scott’s relationship. She’s not afraid to put her husband in his place, call him out on bad jokes or roll her eyes at his confidence. And, thanks to some unearthed early footage of Scott walking around his first-ever income property, you understand why he became the success he is. Forget the orange shirt and floppy mop of hair in that grainy video: the then 21-year-old Scott McGillivray had a plan.
“After I bought the first property, at 21,” he recalls. “I was in university and had a student loan and I almost didn’t buy that first property. I just kept running the numbers in my head and realized, ‘We’re gonna make money on this property. This is insane.’ And when it actually worked, it was a massive confidence booster. I literally got a cheque for that first property, for $30,000 and I asked my friend, ‘Why isn’t everybody doing this?’ I’m still saying that today.”
Sarah and Bryan Baeumler
But while Moving the McGillivrays reveals Scott’s wife and kids, Bryan Inc.—bowing Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT—spotlights the role Sarah Baeumler has had for years alongside her husband. While viewers have seen Sarah weighing in on design tips during House of Bryan: The Last Straw, where the couple built a forever home, and participating in Season 1 of Home to Win, she’s been part of Baeumler Quality Construction since Day 1.
“I’ve always been involved in the company, but more on the office side,” she says. “Bryan’s the guy on-site managing the projects and I was part of the office team looking at marketing and branding. I dabbled in design in House of Bryan. This is the first time Bryan has said, ‘I think it would be good for you to see our side of the business and understand what it means, from the ground up.'”
“I think the view out there is that Sarah shops,” Bryan says. “She runs the Baeumler Family Foundation, totes our four kids around and has been heavily involved in the construction company for 15 years. The only difference with this show is that we’re filming Sarah’s involvement.”
The education starts immediately on Sunday night when the pair purchase two homes, with a plan to renovate and flip them for profit. Sarah, project manager, quickly learns working within home-buying and design budgets is easier said than done. Throw in designing the company’s offices, keeping their media company and production company on track and … oh yeah … parenting four kids, and the duo have a tough task ahead of them. Episodes catch the pair on the construction sites, in the office, with the children … just a typical day in the Baeumler’s lives.
“There are big, big stakes with this show,” Bryan explains. “There is a name on the side of my truck that my father threatened me with my life if I ruined. The reality of that, versus let’s just break the bank to get exactly what we want … I think people will get a welcome peek into that side of it.”
Moving the McGillivrays airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.
Bryan Inc. airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.
