TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1077
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Degrassi

Link: How ‘Degrassi’ became the most digitally savvy show on (and off) TV

From Bethonie Butler of The Washington Post:

How ‘Degrassi’ became the most digitally savvy show on (and off) TV
As show insiders tell it, the Internet has been central to “Degrassi: The Next Generation” since it debuted in 2001, nearly a decade after the end of “Degrassi High.” The very first episode, in fact, featured a web-centric plotline — the show’s protagonist arranged to meet a boy with whom she had been chatting online, only to discover that her love interest was an adult predator. Off the air, the show kept its audience engaged with a Web site that allowed fans to enroll as students at a virtual Degrassi. Continue reading.

 

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Awards, Degrassi, Featured, Orphan Black

He Said/She Said: How about those Emmy nominations?

Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week, we dissect the Emmy nominations.

She Said:

OrphanOne of the biggest snubs of last year’s Emmys has been rectified this year: Tatiana Maslany got her first nomination as outstanding actress for her multitude of roles on Orphan Black. I hope they give her 7 statues if she wins. Long-running Degrassi — recently revived by Netflix and Family Channel after its cancellation by TeenNick and Bell — was nominated as outstanding children’s program.

That’s some great recognition for Canadian-made shows, when most years we have to be satisfied celebrating individuals who left the Canadian industry for the bright lights of Hollywood … not that there’s anything wrong with that. Go Michael J. Fox (The Good Wife), Semi Chellas (Mad Men), Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones) and Jeff and Mychael Danna (Tyrant) for their nominations, too.

Besides the Canadian invasion, the most interesting trend in this year’s Emmys is how streaming services are threatening to become dominant in the same way cable started talking over broadcast series years ago. Netflix earned 34 nominations, including for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, Bloodlines, House of Cards, Grace and Frankie, and Derek. Amazon snagged 12, mostly for Transparent, and even Yahoo was nominated for Community, the show they saved from an NBC cancellation.

In fact I feel unprepared to get excited about who was snubbed or what the surprises are in the nominations because after cutting the cable, the Netflix shows and The Good Wife are among the only non-Canadian shows I’m current with in my viewing. I’d love to see Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt win for comedy but I haven’t seen the current seasons of its competitors yet. Same with Orange is the New Black in the drama category. I was disappointed enough in this season of The Good Wife not to think it was snubbed, I think House of Cards is cheese wrapped in a prestigious package, but I haven’t seen the nominated seasons of the other series, even those that are must-watch shows for me. I’m waiting for them to appear on Netflix or I likely won’t bother.

Which makes a nice segue to a topic that’s been on my mind lately: the Canadian industry might want to figure out what to do about streaming services sooner rather than later. It’s possible broadband-delivered content isn’t just a fad.

He Said: 

As Diane has already said, a hearty “Woohoo!” to all of the Canadian nominees. Despite what some might think about the Canadian Screen Awards, it warms my heart to know we handed out hardware to Orphan Black and Tatiana Maslany before the U.S. has acknowledged the show’s greatness.

Property_BrosAnd a special shout-out to Jonathan and Drew Scott, who I left off my initial post announcing the Canadian Emmy nominees last week. They nabbed a nod in Outstanding Structured Reality Program for their long-running Property Brothers series.

As Diane has already pointed out, streaming services being nominated in the major categories has quickly gone from outrageous to commonplace, a reflection of how quickly everyone has adjusted to online broadcasters and the fact fantastic stuff comes out of those outlets.

I’m still on cable, so can attest that Mad Men and Better Call Saul deserve kudos for Outstanding Drama Series, though I felt Downton Abbey and Homeland have been on the downslope for the last couple of years. I’d have liked to have seen Justified added to the category because FX’s U.S. marshal series has gotten better with every passing year, including its final one. Likewise, I’m happy Louie and Modern Family received nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. The Big Bang Theory was left off the list, opening the door for Silicon Valley, Parks and Recreation and the excellent Transparent to get some serious consideration.

I’m a big fan of veteran series and talent being rotated out of categories so that newer projects and people get the chance to shine, and there is a nice mix in the 2015 nominees. Take a look at the full list of nominees, put your Emmy pool together and prepare to cheer for the Canadians when the Primetime Emmy Awards air Sunday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Industry News

Link: NFL in Court to Stop U.S. Super Bowl Ads on Canadian TV

From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:

NFL in Court to Stop U.S. Super Bowl Ads on Canadian TV
The NFL has gone to court to stop Canada’s TV regulator from forcing the CTV network to air United States Super Bowl telecast commercials.

The league instead wants the CTV to continue maximizing Super Bowl ad revenue with homegrown ads to boost the value of the Canadian broadcast rights for the next time they come up for renewal. Continue reading.

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Dark Matter, Featured

Review: Four, Five and Six on Dark Matter

Who is Titch, and what happened in their life to turn them into a hardened criminal? That was one of the key questions posed in Episode 6 of Dark Matter.

Friday’s newest episode showcased Jodelle Ferland’s acting chops as she assumed the role of Four to give us more of his back story while we learned more about Five’s own past. With the crew of the Raza still unsure about what brought them together, Five offered up her mind to a probe in order to get answers.

We knew Four’s power-hungry stepmother was behind the death of the Emperor, but Five recounted it all for Four. We learned the Emperor wasn’t all that nice of a guy and strived to have his son feared by all despite the kind streak in the boy.

As for herself, Das realized she and the dead boy, TJ, were stowaways on the Raza. She’d picked the wrong pocket to pick and gotten her hands on that key; the man who owned it killed all of her friends and mortally wounded TJ. The two snuck on board the ship where it was revealed One and Three knew each other.

Five’s extended attachment and reliance on the probe put her life in danger, leading Six to suit up and offer to go in and pull Five back. While he sought her out, he uncovered part of his own past: his rebel group fought back against the Galactic Alliance and took the extreme measure of blowing up a space station (and 10,000 people) for their cause.

So, who is Titch? Five was involved in that person’s memories doing chores around a farm and leading a happy life when Six showed up to take her back. Five was betting those memories belonged to One, but I think it was Three. He’s just the type of guy to put up a tough front to hide some inner sensitivity. Was Three’s idyllic life shattered by violence? I’m bet that’s the case, but we’ll have to wait at least another week to find out.

Notes and quotes

  • No wonder they’re running low on food. Three is eating. All. The. Time.

Dark Matter airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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Featured, Killjoys

Review: Secrets revealed on Killjoys

“I like fixing things, remember?” And with that, Johnny and D’Avin have begun to talk, really talk to each other. Sure, it came as a result of the latter being tortured by an interrogation computer on the fritz, but still.

“A Glitch in the System,” written by Adam Barken, was dark, creepy and violent, hearkening back to sci-fi thrillers like Event Horizon and 2001: A Space Odyssey. What appeared to be a routine mission to a derelict space ship to strip it of anything valuable turned deadly when Lucy detected danger and retracted from the old ship, trapping D’Avin, Dutch and Johnny inside. Of course, Lucy’s scan that revealed no life on board the craft was an error; there were two men on board and one jettisoned himself out of the air lock and into space. Why? To escape the clutches of fellow shipmate Hogan (Richard Clarkin), who had gone a tad nuts. Turns out the ship was a Black Ops interrogation ship using technology that put nanites inside people to erode—and rebuild—folks depending on how they answered questions.

Torture is a powerful instrument, and D’Avin revealed to Hogan (and Dutch and Johnny via monitor) that he had killed his entire squad, but didn’t know why. That information is being kept from him by three memory blockers placed in his brain. But who is keeping that information hidden from D’Avin and why?

With just a handful of episodes to go, Killjoys has really hit its stride. D’Avin and Johnny have emerged as a sarcastic one-two punch with Dutch throwing in her verbal two cents when she’s not kicking some serious butt. Or facing off with Khlyen, which she had to do in Friday’s closing moments. He says she’s grown weak because of her relationship with Johnny and needs an attitude adjustment. What does that mean? I can only surmise at this point, but I’m guessing it doesn’t include hot chocolate and hugs.

Notes and quotes

  • The CGI on Killjoys is amazing and those space suits are super-sexy.
  • “Let’s go find the treasure and blow shit up.” — Johnny
  • “How is that in any way loving me?!” — D’Avin, after Johnny shoots him in the leg to keep the nanites busy

Killjoys airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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