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Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron seek a lost city in Atlantis Rising

I’ve been fascinated with things like Bigfoot, UFOs and the pyramids of Egypt from a young age. The same goes for Atlantis, thanks to an episode of Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of and a little series called Man from Atlantis, starring a pre-Dallas Patrick Duffy.

So I was excited to check out Atlantis Rising, as Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron join forces to find out if the city of myths really existed. I’ve watched Jacobovici in other series like The Naked Archaeologist and The Lost Tomb of Jesus; the latter being pretty controversial. As for Cameron, well, when he’s not directing, he’s exploring the deep sea, most notably the Marianas Trench. The dude knows where and how to explore ocean depths.

The one-hour special Atlantis Rising—broadcast Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Discovery Canada—is an adventure combining ancient texts and cutting-edge technology to tell an entertaining search for a frustratingly elusive target. Jacobovici provides the backdrop to what we know about Atlantis: the Greek philosopher Plato wrote about it in 4th century AD; he and Cameron get to work on where in the world to dive for the Atlanteans’ port city of land and sea set in three rings.

The quest begins in Santorini, a Greek island that seems to fit the description; the island looked very different during the Classical Age but was ravaged by a volcanic eruption, not the earthquake and tsunami Plato says destroyed Atlantis. Jacobovici speaks to experts in the archaeological field, relating information and discussing the chances of different locations being the lost city. He delivers everything in a calm, measured tone that makes it easy for viewers to understand and come to their own conclusions. And, after winnowing his list of spots down, he presents his findings to Cameron and the diving begins.

I won’t ruin the conclusion for you, but I can say the journey to get there is a lot of fun.

Atlantis Rising airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Discovery Canada.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Paranormal Survivor gets spookier in Season 3

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Oh, lucky day! Specialty network T+E (formerly known as Travel & Escape) is available in a free preview in March, meaning potential customers have access to one of the creepiest series on television: Paranormal Survivors.

Returning on Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Paranormal Survivor takes a different approach from the usual supernatural series. This isn’t just about turning out the lights and waving technology around in the air, asking questions into thin air. Nope, this project—from Our House Media—interviews people who have been assaulted and abused by entities. As they tell their tale, re-enactments bring it to life, injecting disturbing details and driving home the fact they believe something awful happened to them.

In the first part of the debut, “Dream Home Nightmares,” Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., resident Kirk Wilson and his mother, Colleen, recount their 1987 experience. Moved items, strangely stacked CDs and a feeling of being watched plagued Kirk for months until one night when several “things” came out of his closet. Kirk was determined to ignore the occurrences … but then it got physical. There is no doubt Kirk his mother believe otherworldly stuff happened, and that’s what makes Paranormal Survivor so darned dramatic and, at times, disturbing.

In addition to the episodes on television, T+E has also released a series of one-minute digital shorts called Paranormal Survivor: Evil Surrounds You, available on the channel’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Each video features a one-minute scary scene based on true story. It’s very well done; I was suitably freaked out tracking my way around a darkened bedroom as something came out of the closet in the first clip. (A technical heads-up: the videos don’t work in Safari, so use another browser to witness the creepiness below.)

 

 

 

Paranormal Survivor airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CBC’s Canada: The Story of Us brings nation’s history to life starting March 26

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From a media release:

CANADA: THE STORY OF US, an epic 10 x one-hour docu-drama series highlighting many of the extraordinary moments and people that helped forge a nation from early Indigenous history to the 20th century, will premiere with back-to-back episodes on

Connected by themes that underscore how Canada came to be a nation including conflict, exploration, industry, ingenuity, growth and expansion, each of the 10 episodes will present five remarkable first-person stories that bring to life key moments in the country’s history. The series also features commentary from more than 80 prominent Canadians including Susan Aglukark, Lorne Cardinal, Paul Gross, Eugene Levy, Duncan McCue, Peter Mansbridge, Tatiana Maslany, Rick Mercer, Candy Palmater, Christopher Plummer, Lilly Singh, Georges St-Pierre, Clement Virgo, David Suzuki and more. From historians to homegrown stars and iconic national figures, these storytellers recount the sacrifices, battles and harrowing adventures that helped define the fabric of Canada.

CANADA: THE STORY OF US highlights key moments spanning centuries of history beginning with Indigenous nations in the pre-contact era to 1608 with the arrival of explorer Samuel de Champlain in “Worlds Collide,” to the introduction of the sea otter trade by Mowachaht leader and statesman Chief Maquinna in “Hunting Treasure” (1778-1802), to “Boom Bust” (1911-1937) with populations exploding in urban centres, concluding with the creation of Nunavut in “Canadian Experiment” (1970-1999).

The series was produced under the guidance of historians and academic consultants, including renowned Canadian historian and acclaimed author John English and Indigenous Arts Scholar Gerald McMaster, who serve as primary consultants on the series. Additional notable Canadian scholars and experts also provided historical expertise including Eldon Yellowhorn, Chair of First Nations Studies, Simon Fraser University; Margaret MacMillan; historian and professor at the University of Oxford; Charlotte Gray, author and historian; Hayden King, Assistant Professor, Carleton University; and Tim Cook, author and Canadian War Museum historian.

Related: Canada: The Story of Us set visit

Each week during the run of the series in partnership with Ancestry.ca, the world’s largest online family history resource and an integrated sponsor of CANADA: THE STORY OF US, CBC will air a short vignette featuring a Canadian celebrity from the series, including Susan Aglukark, Wendy Crewson, Sarah Gadon, Mike Holmes, Missy Peregrym, Jennifer Podemski and Mary Walsh, who will discover something new and surprising about their own family histories.

CANADA: THE STORY OF US will also be brought to life online through a trio of immersive, 360-degree videos that will put viewers inside key moments in Canadian history. Through these interactive vignettes, viewers will be transported into the lives of Chief Maquinna; Laura Secord; and Richard Rettie and W.C. Wilkinson – two Canadian scientists who led a team to decode the Nazi Smart Bomb. Produced by Secret Location, all three 360 videos feature ambisonic sound to further immerse viewers in the scene. The videos will be available at cbc.ca/canadathestoryofus and on Facebook for viewing on desktop, mobile and tablet devices.

Based on the internationally successful format created by Nutopia and produced in association with Bristow Global Media Inc., CANADA: THE STORY OF US is executive produced by Julie Bristow, Marlo Miazga and Janice Tufford as co-executive producers for Bristow Global Media Inc. as well as Jane Root, Ben Goold and Phil Craig for Nutopia. The STORY OF US format has aired in Australia, the UK and the U.S.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

The Real Housewives of Toronto oozes wealth and drama on Slice

You know what you’re going to get from The Real Housewives franchise. Cameras follow a gaggle of ladies as they go about their highfalutin lives, juggling cocktail parties and galas, strutting red carpets and posing for pictures, hanging out and complaining about how simply awful their lives are.

So, is The Real Housewives of Toronto—bowing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Slice—like all the others? Yup, and that’s just fine if you enjoy it. If that’s not your cup of expensive, shipped directly from the source, organically-grown tea, then you should skip the program altogether.

“When you have money and a fabulous life, lots of people want to be your ‘friend,'” fashionista Kara Alloway warns during the opening tease. (Thankfully, I have never had that problem.)

Set against a poppy, bass-driven soundtrack we meet Roxy Earle, who is equally unapologetic about her body as she is her personality. And why shouldn’t she be? Confident and opinionated, she’s the type of woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and I love her for it. (If only she wouldn’t refer to herself in the third person.) Roxy’s husband is older than her, her dog has a private chef and is groomed every other week, and she spends weekends in Turks and Caicos.

Then it’s on to Ann Kaplan Mulholland, who lives in tony Forest Hill and started a finance company when she was a single mother. Now it’s one of the biggest in Canada. Ann is a sharp contrast to Roxy; older, married to plastic surgeon Stephen Mulholland, and an avid collector of diamonds.

I won’t introduce the other ladies in the cast—I’ll let viewers enjoy the entrances and backstories of Kara Alloway, Grego Minot, Joan Kelley Walker and Jana Webb themselves—but suffice it to say slow-motion walking, clothes shopping (in Kara’s case, with Jesus as her wingman), smoothies, workouts and lunches are the most stressful events faced by the six in Episode 1.

The Real Housewives of Toronto certainly isn’t Cardinal or Bellevue and it’s not supposed to be. A series like this is meant to be ogled, analyzed and enjoyed like the entertaining confection it is. So go ahead and do it.

The Real Housewives of Toronto airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Slice.

Image courtesy of Corus.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Jade Fever searches for the million-dollar boulder in Season 3

What keeps viewers coming back to Jade Fever? Last year’s Season 2 debut reached a total of six million viewers who tuned in to see whether or not Claudia and Robin Bunce and their team would find the ever-elusive jade in Canada’s north. Why? I know why I check it out: not only to see if they’re successful but the challenges they face along the way.

Returning for Season 3 with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET/7 and 7:30 p.m. PT on Discovery, the Bunces are in it up to their hips in challenges. The episode title, “Hard Climb,” is self-explanatory, as Claudia practices driving a 65-ton rock truck in preparation for the annual 100-plus kilometre drive east from Jade City, B.C., to Wolverine, their jade mine. Also, new this season? A partner in Peter Niu, a miner who wants the Bunces to seek out jade on Bullion Creek—his gold claim—and share the profits.

No drive into camp is without issues and this season is no different. New equipment, overheating and a super-steep hill plague the mission. By the end of Episode 1, they’ve only made it halfway. Thankfully, by the end of the second episode, “Breakdowns and Meltdowns,” everyone arrives at Wolverine. (As trying as the trail was, I’m sure hearing Claudia’s complaints was worse.)

Now the real, money-making work begins.

Jade Fever airs Tuesdays and 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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