TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1303
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

Link: Storage Wars Canada gets ready for its second season

From Bill Harris:

As a new year begins, maybe it’s time to reconsider your current junk situation.

After all, you don’t want to be watching Storage Wars Canada, and suddenly realize things are looking a little too familiar.

“It must be funny, or sad, for people to watch their stuff getting rifled through,” said Roy Dirnbeck, one of the buyers on Storage Wars Canada, which returns for its second season, Jan. 8 on OLN. Continue reading.

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Link: Canadian TV to watch for in 2015

From Bill Brioux:

Remember last September when new, scripted Canadian TV shows were as scarce as promises kept at a CRTC hearing? Well, run that Maple Leaf flag back up the antenna: January marks the start of the real Canadian TV season.

Besides the return of 19-2 (Jan. 19, Bravo), Mr. D (Jan. 20, CBC), Spun Out (March 5, CTV), Motive (March 8, CTV), Remedy (February or March, Global) and Continuum(wrapping up with six final episodes in 2015 on Showcase), several new Canadian series are set to start. Here are seven to watch for in 2015. Continue reading.

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Review: Dating Mohawk Style on Mohawk Girls

Written by Carolyn Potts

“Dating Mohawk Style,” as the title suggests, is yet another 22 minutes that revolve around, you guessed it, dating. But wait! Hold onto your hats! I guarantee you have not seen a show quite like this one. Tracey Deer pushes the boundaries for primetime TV  in this installment and does so in hilarious fashion (I will, however, try to keep this summary PG).

We begin this lighthearted look at Mohawk relationships with Caitlin (Heather White) planning a candlelit evening for Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother). Sadly, he remains “Blockheaded Butterhead” and refuses her romantic overtures, leaving Caitlin to explore alternative solutions to her dilemma. Team Thana (Maika Harper & Kyle Nobess) follow up on last week’s “What’s Your Number” and lay the blood quantum system beast aside. Thunder agrees that there are failings within the system, and despite Anna’s 48.2% Mohawk blood, he finds her to be an incredible woman that he wishes to be with. Bailey (Jennifer Pudavick) is still without her prince and so Leon (Alain Chanoine) proposes that she attempt speed dating. Caitlin admits to the girls that she and Butterhead are currently not having relations which leads to Anna shocking the girls with her three-month rule. Meanwhile, Zoe (Brittany Leborgne) sets up her profile on AltMontreal.com, a fetish dating site.

Now that we are all caught up, dating advice flies from every direction. Danny (Jess Nobess), Caitlin’s assistant at the hair-shop, supplies her with his explicit instructions to ensure a man remains satisfied, and Caitlin gives Anna her five rules for Dating Mohawk Style (nothing terribly different from Non Mohawk Style but hilariously lampooned by Maika Harper and Kyle Nobess). Meanwhile, Zoe comes to learn the rules of a proper submissive partner from one of her many interested potential Doms.

The subplot in this episode (and our weekly lesson on Mohawk culture from Tracey Deer) involves Anna and Thunder. Anna is still fighting to fit in (an interesting use of the punching bag as a reinforcement of her struggle). She is reminded time and again that she is different, and more precisely, an outsider. This time Deer employs the Thana storyline to demonstrate there are many ways to be Mohawk. The blood number is not the only means, nor is behaviour. Reverse racism exists. The phrase, “No one can possibly know what it is like to be a Mohawk unless you grew up here,” is the commonly held attitude that our Anna is fighting to overcome in her quest to belong.

Which brings us to the climax of the show (pun intended). Following Danny’s advice, and desperate for some action from Butterhead, Caitlin coordinates an evening involving both Butterhead and bestie Zoe. Zoe and Butterhead share some of their more intimate secrets as Caitlin keeps the drinks flowing. Her plans for a “healthy compromise” do however go awry, and the evening ends abruptly as her victims recoil in disgust (I simply adored Meegwun Fairbrother’s facial expressions in this scene!), leaving Caitlin alone once again.

Will Thunder and Anna be able to iron out their cultural differences? Will anyone discover Zoe’s unconventional persona? What is in store for Butterhead and Caitlin? Can Bailey ever find her prince? Let me know in the comments below!

Mohawk Girls airs Tuesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

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Tonight: Air Farce New Year’s Eve, The Big Picture

Air Farce New Year’s Eve, CBC
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau gives his thumbs-up to the year’s biggest movies; YouTube superstar Lilly Singh (Superwoman) avoids her parents’ New Year’s Eve curfew; Heartland star Amber Marshall saves the ranch from the path of the Keystone pipeline; and it’s all downhill when Canadian Olympic heroes Maxime, Chloé, and Justine Dufour-Lapointe introduce their fourth skiing sister. Jon Montgomery stars in The Amazing Race’s new spin-off, where Canada’s political leaders run for office—literally—with special appearances by this summer’s winners, Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz, as well as celebrity chef Vikram Vij from Dragons’ Den. Singing sensation Nikki Yanofsky takes part in the annual dropping of the infamous F-Bomb.

The Big Picture, CBC
Comedian Ron James weighs in on the year that was – the fall of Rob Ford, the rise of Netflix, and the sequel no one saw coming, Iraq 2: The Redeployment. He looks at World Cup madness, reporting news in the era of “click bait,” and his well-meaning but doomed attempts to “take time for mindfulness” while keeping half a dozen plates in the air at the daily circus of multi-tasking.

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TV eh B Cs podcast 10 – Doug Slater’s Designs on Television

Doug Slater

Doug Slater has been Set Designer on Lost Girl, Orphan Black, and Flashpoint. He’s worked as a Set Designer or Art Director on The Listener and Nikita and on such films as Resident Evil: Retribution, Total Recall, The Thing, Devil, Death Race, Lars and the Real Girl, 16 Blocks, and Dawn of the Dead.

He’s currently working on the upcoming science-fiction series Dark Matter and talks about how The Brady Bunch led him to design the deck of a spaceship.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to become a Patron of the Podcast? We’ve got a Patreon page where you can donate a small amount per podcast and get a sneak peek of each release.

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