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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
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Bell’s Rencontres spotlights life in Toronto’s French-speaking enclave

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Some of the most interesting programming available in Canada is coming out of Bell Fibe TV1. The local On Demand channel has debuted stuff like the comedy Touring T.O. and has quickly become the space for folks to break into television.

The latest program to debut on Bell Fibe TV1 is Rencontres. Debuting Friday with all 10 episodes available, Rencontres is a curious little project about what Toronto looks like through the view of the city’s lesser-known Francophone community. OK, I’ve lived in Toronto for almost two decades and I had no clue there was a Francophone community in the city. Mais oui, according to award-winning directing, writing and producing duo Brennan Martin and Florian François—François also stars as the series’ lead—and they are a vibrant, vocal group. The pair expanded their award-winning short film of the same name into the series, intent on showcasing a city that usually stands in for another location.

“We want Rencontres to be an entertaining tribute to the Greater Toronto Area and its diversity through the eyes of a tourist discovering the city,” François said in a press release. “There are so many films and series shot here, but so few that actually incorporate the city itself.” With locations like Christie Pits Park, Kensington  Market and Stouffville showcased, Rencontres certainly does that.

In the debut 11-minute instalment, we’re quickly introduced to Laura (Mylène Theriault) a homeless woman who frantically searches the bushes for her bag before confronting Jen, who she accuses of stealing it. Frustrated, Laura goes to a local park and sings for money in her native language … until folks refuse to give her cash. She may say “tabernac” to fellow Francophones but uses the all-understood f-shot for everyone else. (There are English subtitles, but my Grade 13 French served me well.)

Meanwhile, Sebastien (François) a French tourist, arrives at the airport and, right from the get-go, has trouble asking if he’s in the right spot to catch the downtown bus.

“So you speak French in the air but not on the ground here…?” Sebastien says to an anglophone buried in his cell phone. It’s a funny line, but a poignant one too. Where else but aboard a Canadian airline or on a highway sign do you see French outside of Quebec? He steps off the subway into bright sunlight and enters a park, taking photos of his surroundings. It’s there the title of the series—Rencontres (“encounters” or “meetings”)—makes sense. The chance to speak his mother tongue with someone results in the pair bonding over food, language and music.

Rencontres is sweet, funny and definitely worth a look. I was entertained by Laura and Sebastien’s Episode 1 encounter and it gave me a unique outlook on the city I’ve called home for close to 20 years. And I used my high school French to fine effect!

Rencontres debuts Friday, Sept. 1, on Bell Fibe TV1.

 

 

 

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

The Amazing Race Canada: Feeling the squeeze in Saskatchewan

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Unless The Amazing Race Canada pulls a fast one on us, there are no more non-elimination Legs left for teams to rely on. Alliances are out the window and it’s every duo for themselves. At least, that’s how I’d play if I was participating in the Race.

Bert and Karen were saved from elimination in Panama, but there would be no respite in Regina when the teams all touched down in the prairie town on Tuesday. Sam and Paul, who have been stellar of late, were the first to leave for the airport with the spectre of the Double U-Turn hanging over all. Kenneth and Ryan were U-Turned by Sam and Paul earlier this season and were looking to return the favour. (I’m really hating how flights have been taken out of the equation so far this season. Part of the fun of splitting up flights was wondering how far ahead or behind teams were.)

I try to avoid including sponsor placement when reviewing The Amazing Race Canada, but Tuesday’s Leg included some pretty great work from BMO; the remaining teams helped hand out freshly-squeezed orange juice to some elementary school kids. The teams were clearly energized by the welcome they received, with Sam and Paul cutting and squeezing their way to completing the task first. The next stop: Rouleau, Sask., where teams met the cast of Corner Gas. Sigh. No, they did not. Hey, CTV, where was that product placement?!

In a stunning and brilliant gamble, Bert and Karen’s map skills paid off when they utilized a gravel road that vaulted them to the Rouleau farm in second place. The Detour offered teams the chance to get down and dirty doing work on the farm. In “Cart,” teams loaded canola seeds into a cart using a conveyor belt; in “Horse,” squads auctioned off animals in front of a crowd. Sam and Paul chose “Cart,” (I would have too) and were off. (Karen and Bert’s Speed Bump took place here as well; the married couple mucked out a horse stall, a relatively easy task that didn’t take long to complete.) Kenneth and Ryan chose “Horse,” and I predicted their gift for gab would serve them well. It took no time at all for them to memorize, perform and close out the bidding on the horse, putting them in first place and Sam and Paul on the brink of a U-Turn placed in front of the Dog River Hotel. Sam and Paul and Andrea and Adam both had their feeders lined up but didn’t know how to turn on the conveyor belt. Andrea and Adam had seeds loaded and ready, so they were a little ahead. Sam and Paul knew they were going to be U-Turned, and I wondered if they would have been allowed to stay at the farm rather than drive into town only to turn around and drive back? I guess the only option they had was to get to the hotel and U-turn someone else or hope another team would do that for them.

Team Giver was in complete control, heading for Moose Jaw with no one in their rearview mirror. Their task? To recreate a giant maple leaf sculpture out of soup cans. Back at the hotel, Ivana and Korey U-Turned Adam and Andrea, pitting two strong teams against one another in the horse auction. That left the road clear for Bert and Karen to advance to Moose Jaw. Kenneth and Ryan were on a roll, departing Crescent Park as Bert and Karen arrived. Korey and Ivana were determined to make up ground and made a critical mistake by stacking one can upside down in the middle of their art. As cans tumbled from Korey and Ivana’s display, Bert and Karen departed followed by Sam and Paul. Korey and Ivana made a huge mess but completed the task, leaving the park and siblings Adam and Andrea surrounded by soup cans and shattered dreams.

At the Road Block, one team member sought out their next clue in the middle of a bee hive: the queen bee. Kenneth had a head start but it was Sam who found the queen in his hive first, taking the lead from Team Giver and headed to the Pit Stop on an airfield surrounded by the Snowbirds air squadron. Sam and Paul arrived in first place yet again, cementing them as the team to beat.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Sam and Paul (won a trip to Costa Rica)
  2. Kenneth and Ryan
  3. Karen and Bert
  4. Ivana and Korey
  5. Andrea and Adam (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

 

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19-2, Featured

19-2: Burying cops and bad memories

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To say last week’s episode of 19-2 was shocking would be an understatement. I think we all knew, as loyal viewers, that J.M. was headed for a bad end, but I never imagined it would be in a hail of gunfire at the station, defending his fellow cops. That climactic finale capped off one hell of an instalment that had begun with the squad letting off steam at a rented cottage.

Appropriately, Monday’s newest episode, “Flowers,” dealt largely with the aftermath of the events at the station with a funeral for J.M. 19-2 will always rank among my favourite television shows not just because of the dialogue and action, but the quiet moments. Bruce M. Smith’s spare script and Louis Choquette’s direction was stellar in Monday’s opening moments as Ben prepped in his dress blues, the ghost of J.M. standing, reflected, in the mirror. Usually, when Ben sees something ghostly he turns away and it disappears; in the case of J.M. the dead cop was still there, a spectre over Ben’s shoulder. It was an incredible piece of drama and symbolism.

It was good to see Suarez attending the funeral, back on his feet and recovering from being shot, as well as J.M.’s wife, Justine. It’s been awhile since viewers have seen her and Justine looked healthy; kudos to Nick for sitting with her, lending support and holding her hand. Bear’s speech was heartbreaking and heartfelt, presenting J.M.—at that moment—as a hero who saved lives by engaging a suspect armed with an assault rifle with a mere handgun. The camera panned to Ben and Nick, two men who spurned J.M. and shut him out. Were they feeling guilty for the way they’d treated him in the days before J.M.’s death? And who would Audrey turn to now that the one person she could relate to was no longer there? (The music and camera work during the moving of the casket was spectacular.)

The moments of quiet reflection on 19-2 are always brief. The funeral over, Ben was approached by an ex-cop who shook his hand and then wondered where the items were that Ben stole. He was, of course, referring to the drugs and guns Ben secreted out of the car of the dealer he was doing surveillance on. The drugs and guns he dropped off a bridge into the river. (Reeling from that information, Audrey poured more pressure on Ben, demanding he recognize J.M.’s heroics.) Ben then told Nick he was reporting the incident to Internal Affairs and planned to inform them he’d stolen from the dealer and very likely gotten the man killed. I understand Ben wanting to get it all out in the open but—paired with him saying he ran down the student—it was going to be bad news. Would Ben choose justice or the truth?

The meeting with Internal did not go well. The suits weren’t interested in the threat against Ben but whether or not he did steal the items and why his partner left him that night. In fact, because Ben had killed a boy (he hadn’t) and of Nick’s history with Internal, the detectives didn’t want to work with Ben at all. Their advice? Take a year off patrol, work a desk, and get the stink off. Speaking of stink, Ben and Nick’s next call—trespassing—uncovered illicit goings-on at a homeless shelter being used for gambling, drinking and drugs. Gendron, smelling the opportunity to get even more support of the city behind them following J.M.’s death, ordered a public display of ousting the biker gang who’d taken up residence inside and ensuring the homeless had beds.

Dulac, who had been surprisingly quiet for most of the episode because he was internalizing everything, vented his frustrations on a mouthy ex-con who was trying to get into the shelter. The man shoved Dulac, who retaliated and broke the man’s leg; not good for public perception. Luckily, one idle threat from Tyler later and things had been smoothed over, but Dulac is acting out in a dangerous way that may jeopardize his career. That said, Dulac’s actions did have a positive outcome for Audrey. Delivering the man to the hospital personally meant she met a hunky doctor named Liam. Soooo … are things looking up for Audrey?

Nick appeared to be headed for some romance as well. He met up with Farah and a long walk ensued where the pair discussed kids, life and careers. Yes, it’s an unorthodox pairing, but both deserve happiness and it looks like they’re finding it in each other.

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

 

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21 Thunder, Featured

21 Thunder: Could this be Heaven, or Hell?

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We all have our own way of defining hell, and sometimes we cannot help making decisions that put us there, which is evident throughout this week’s episode of 21 Thunder, “Heaven or Hell.”

Three main storylines played out during this episode: Lara’s (Eileen Li) involvement in the online betting ring, Junior Lolo’s (Emmanuel Kobongo) call up to the show and Nolan’s (RJ Fetherstonhaugh) existential crisis over his deadly involvement with Kevin’s gang.

First with the sports betting ring. Declan (Colm Feore)  got word about Lara and Zhen’s (Anthony Shim) game fixing success and ordered Special K (Kyle Mac) to insert himself on their little gig. However, Lara, now out of debt with her one-time involvement wanted out. Kevin and Zhen were not having any of that because let’s face it, you can’t have too much of a good thing. In some anxious moments, we watched as Lara prepared to bolt, tried to secure a refund from medical school on compassionate grounds, but apparently, once in the world of illegal betting, you are all in—and yes my heart was pounding during this sequence! Between Declan’s (Colm Feore) insistence to stay in his employ and Kevin stealing her cash, she is now trapped in the hell of her own creation. Declan, it seems, is going to use this little venture to help his son the only way he knows how: Lara is to ensure the U21’s qualify for a tournament with the Europeans, thus giving his son the exposure to make it big in footie.

There was also a good deal of turmoil surrounding Junior Lolo. The cold open saw him with his younger brother Sly (Thamela Mpumlwana) as they were evicted from their apartment, having used all of their cash to learn the whereabouts of their older brother Gregoire (Kareem Tristan Alleyne). And if being homeless wasn’t enough, it seemed Coach Rocas (Conrad Pla) had some big plans of his own. Rocas convinced  Coach Shields (Randy Thomas) of the premiere team to call up Junior instead of Nolan, Rocas hoped to ride on Junior’s naive coattails should scouts from the European League take note of his skills. Scoring the game-winning goal in New York, they did indeed take notice of Junior and presented an offer. But Coach Mike had already warned Junior of Rocas’ plot to sell Lolo to a big European club. Resolved to remain in Montreal, Junior ignored Rocas’ pleas and instead called Coach out for the dishonourable man that he is. Meanwhile, Junior’s new love interest Fatima (Gabrielle Graham) went on her own search for big brother Gregoire, and unfortunately for her, found him. He is evidently not the lovable, kind soul the boys remember from their youth. Poor Junior, here he is in the blush of early love, faced with the knowledge that his brother he so desperately wishes to find, has beaten his girlfriend.

Finally, we returned to Nolan, whose guilt was starting to get the best of him after spotting his victim’s mother canvassing for information regarding the death of her son. Distraught, Nolan turned to of all people, his father for advice: “Just bury it.” Expected for a family dinner at Emma’s (Clark Backo) to celebrate her completion of the MCATs, Nolan instead sought out his comfort zone and hung out with his team mates. Here he learned Alex (Andres Joseph) had tried to kiss Emma while tripping on some molly. Despite his anger, or because of it, the episode closed with Nolan apologizing to Emma for missing dinner, followed by a very confused yet impassioned proposal of marriage—Nolan, you did that wrong. Don’t you know you need 1,000 yellow daisies when you propose?

In other minor developments, we learned Grace Cook is in need of 24-hour rehabilitative care. Begrudgingly, she agreed to go to that “shit hole rehab” when her care proved too much for Christy (Stephanie Bennett) and Peter to manage. Additionally, Christy is faced with fending off rude comments directed at her through her contractual social media presence. As her budding friendship with Marie (Kimberly Laferriere) continued to tread lightly,  Marie asked Christy to be a bridesmaid at her wedding to first-string footballer Damien (Lucas Chartier-Dessert). We also saw Assistant Coach Davey Gunn ( Ryan Pierce) injured in the match against New York.

This week we were left wondering:

  1. What the hell is up with Gregoire?
  2. How will Lara fix the next game? Or will she?
  3. Will some good Samaritan come forward with information that will lead police to Nolan and Kevin?
  4. How will Coach Gunn’s injuries affect his contractual obligations to the club and the tax debt he is carrying?
  5. Will Emma say yes?

This was another superb installment by the cast and crew of 21 Thunder. I suppose all there is to do now is keep watching and wait to hear if CBC will renew it for Season 2!

21 Thunder airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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