TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 637
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

Steve Patterson takes on late-night (sort of) with The Smartass-ociates

“People still want Canada to have a late-night Tonight Show type broadcast, but I’m not interested in doing that,” Steve Patterson says. “I would be more interested in doing a show where you actually learn something while you’re watching.” He’s got it with The Smartass-ociates,
Patterson’s newest project currently streaming on CBC’s website.

Patterson has been told for years that he should be doing a  late-night program but balked. That’s understandable. Mike Bullard tried to do it a couple of times with a certain amount of success, but Canadians never really supported a homegrown take on the U.S. late-night model. It wasn’t until The Colbert Report came along that Patterson saw something that would work here: a show where he could interview somebody with something to say other than the entertainment project they’re working on. Enter The Smartass-ociates, a co-production with Mountain Road Productions—who worked with Patterson on I Wrecked My House—where experts in different areas are paired with a comic to sit down to discuss various topics with Patterson as host and moderator.

Filmed last year in Ottawa, Season 1 guests pull from a wide range of interests. Episode 1, for instance, features the Honourable Lisa Raitt and comedian DeAnne Smith discussing the U.S. election and the difference between Canadian and American politics. Episode 6 boasts Olympic speed skater—and gold medal winner—Ivanie Blondin and comic Dave Hemstad discussing misogyny in sports coverage of female Olympic athletes. Rather than debating topics—something Patterson has nailed on The Debaters—these are frank conversations that educate as much as entertain. Blondin, in particular, stood out to me for her thoughtful first-hand account of misogyny, and her humour.

“She turned out to be one of our best guests and was one of our last bookings,” Patterson says with a laugh. “She was so honest about everything. I wouldn’t make it a habit of telling the rival of a guest to go f–k themselves, but it came about very organically.”

With Season 1 currently available online, Patterson’s ultimate goal is to have The Smartass-
ociates
 become a weekly television series on CBC where he discusses current topics, similar to John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. Ideally, he wants to do it within this calendar year.

“I want to get into the meat of news topics with people and introduce Canada to as many of my funny Canadian friends as possible,” he says. “Let’s learn something and let’s laugh while we’re learning. Let’s prove what comedians have to offer when they literally come to the table on some of these topics.”

Watch Season 1 of The Smartass-ociates on CBC’s website.

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Bellevue: “How Do I Remember?”

Spoiler alert! Do not read until you’ve watched Episode 5 of Bellevue.

“Paths can take you wildly away from anything you recognize and still bring you back to your door.” —The Riddler

And so we will follow the paths of remembering, and witness the pain that comes with discovery and growth as we gather more information and fit these pieces into the puzzle that is Bellevue this week.

We are now into the second half of the series and this episode, entitled “How Do I Remember?,” opens with Annie (Anna Paquin) reminiscing with The Riddler via her home surveillance system. She intimates that he made her life bearable after she lost her father.  Annie then questions The Riddler about Neil Driver (Andreas Aspergis) and Jed (Neil Napier) and their connection to the case. But I am beginning to wonder, is Annie still in control here? Is The Riddler needing a connection to Annie to reinforce his own sense of self worth and therefore manipulating Annie into this relationship? Or is he involved in the case(s) himself? Is he someone who knows Annie and wants to help? And is Annie falling back into the bad habits of her youth? A final cryptic message coupled with a request by The Riddler: “I dropped the stone but you are not seeing the ripples. Tomorrow at the funeral, wear the watch.”

The town attends Jesse’s (Sadie O’Neil) funeral to remember and celebrate Jesse’s life and it is the youth of Bellevue that are embracing the choices that she made. I was touched by the moment when Bethany (Emilia Hellman) stood up despite her mother’s (Janine Theriault) objections and brought a reluctant Danny (Cameron Roberts) back to the congregation. Unfortunately—or fortunately for the purposes of the investigation—Mr. Driver crashes the funeral and accuses Maggie (Victoria Sanchez) of ruining his daughter.

“You deserve this. The world needs a place to channel its evil, so God provides children to kill and he gives them to parents who deserve the pain. You know what you DID!” Alright already,  what did Maggie do?

Following the funeral, Daisy Ryder (Madison Ferguson) returns to the location where Jesse’s body was discovered and the other youth of Bellevue who were closest to Jesse are also there. It is here they celebrate Jesse’s courage and her life. I have now watched this episode twice and I couldn’t help it, I cried both times. Jane Maggs and her team created such an honest reaction, and completely captured the essence of youthful innocence as these teens cope with their loss. Their grief was palpable. This scene was perfect!

Now, on to the investigation. Annie first questions Jed about his MDMA, more specifically, how he and his employees package the drug. He believes there must be a new dealer in town working to compete with Jed. Further questioning of Danny’s father (Peter Miller) confirms Jed’s suspicions. There is indeed a new head that has sprouted to replace the old, and rumour has it if you have any unpaid debts, bad things will come your way. Doing some routine neighbourhood canvassing, Annie questions Maggie Sweetland’s neighbour Cali (Catherine Kidd).

“Sometimes you poke around, you might not like what you find,” and Cali queries Annie about Eddie’s (Allen Leech) well-being. Further conversations with The Riddler suggest Eddie is the connection between Sandy Driver and Jesse Sweetland’s deaths.

Meanwhile, just as Cali intimated, Eddie is in trouble. It appears his pill addiction and lack of employment have caught up with him and now he is indebted to the new dealer in town. To make good on his debt, Eddie is ordered to put the pressure on someone else who is not paying his dues. Annie’s curiosity is further piqued after chatting with Eddie’s latest “friend,” Briana (Amber Goldfarb), so she searches Eddie’s home, only to find Daisy’s dog frozen in a locked freezer. They need to talk! Annie accuses Eddie of planting the drugs in Jesse’s room, but no, Eddie admits that the drugs were stolen from him after Jesse was killed. And this is how you “get your shit together”? I guess The Riddler is right. Eddie is connected since somebody stole the drugs and planted them in Jesse’s room. But who? And, if The Riddler is correct, how is Eddie then connected to Sandy Driver?

FINALLY tonight we get to see Allen Leech’s talents. Up until now Eddie has been more of a supporting role. All of this time I have been waiting to see Leech let loose and tonight I was not disappointed. If you thought the chemistry was good in the parking lot scene two episodes ago, tonight these two ratchet it up a few notches! Eddie’s character is losing control under the pressure. He wants to change and his past keeps catching up to him. Annie convinces him not to play the enforcer and he speaks to Peter (Shawn Doyle). Eddie admits he owned the drugs. Eddie will testify as to his ownership of the drugs and swears this was a one time thing. Eddie returns to buy some time from Cali, letting her No. 2 beat the crap out of him. This is the dynamic moment for Leech’s character. Up until now, both Eddie and Annie have been stagnant within their complicated relationship. Each are so dependent on each other and yet they are not together. Eddie: “You love me too much the way I am. I don’t want to be the way I am anymore.” Eddie has effectively tossed down the gauntlet. If these two are to have a future together, Annie must change her ways too.

Once more Annie connects with The Riddler. She confesses that she felt his presence back at the burned shed. He confesses in kind, admitting that yes, he was there watching her. She pokes the bear, telling The Riddler that really he knows nothing, deliberately antagonizing him and he also admits he doesn’t know who killed Jesse. The Riddler is no longer a source. Annie wants him out of her life and orders a trace. Annie has been playing The Riddler for intel after all. She rules him no longer relevant to the case. The trace leads Annie to the cemetery where The Riddler has left his phone at the grave of Sandy Driver with the message, “You’re not crazy”.

Despite being in the minority, Annie is still convinced Jed is not guilty of killing Jesse, and returns to speak to Maggie one more time. “You are the only one who knows. My kid was killed because of me. Retribution for what I did to her. It all started with me. Sandy,” says Maggie. But Maggie has taken too many pills and collapses. Maggie is rushed to the hospital.

The episode closes with Annie trying to re-establish a connection with The Riddler: “I was wrong, you do know things.”

This was such a convoluted episode. So many twist and turns. Lots of new information, and new connections that fold back onto earlier events. So who do you think is The Riddler? Who do you think killed Jesse Sweetland? How is Jesse’s death connected to Sandy Driver? Let me know in the comments below!

Bellevue airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Murdoch Mysteries: Showrunner Peter Mitchell looks ahead to Season 11

Spoiler alert! Do not read on until you’ve watched Murdoch Mysteries Episode 18, “Hell to Pay.”

Now that was one heck of a season finale, wasn’t it Murdoch Mysteries fans? It’s a good thing our favourite series has been greenlit for another season because there are a ton of questions to be answered! Will Julia be found? How will William get out of this scrape? Is Det. Watts really there to help William? Did Brackenreid fight off Davis, or is he injured or, gulp, dead? And, perhaps most importantly: did Higgins, Crabtree and Jackson all survive the gunfire?

We spoke to Murdoch Mysteries showrunner Peter Mitchell about that edge-of-your-seat instalment—the show’s landmark 150th—and where the show goes in Season 11.

First of all, congratulations on your writing win at the Canadian Screen Awards, as well as Murdoch Mysteries winning the Golden Screen Award. Is it important to you to win awards, specifically one for writing?
Peter Mitchell: Murdoch has never gotten a nomination for writing, so it was important to give a little shout-out to the writers. It’s nice to win an award, but it’s not why I’m here. I think I’ve been nominated 11 times or something and this is the first time I’ve won. Winning is better than losing. [Laughs.] I won’t deny that. It was nice of the movie to win too as a whole. Obviously, I’m biased but getting the award for most viewership is more important than anything else.

Let’s talk about the cliffhanger season finale, ‘Hell to Pay.’ I seem to remember Murdoch being framed for murder once before?
I believe he was at the end of Season 4 [“Murdoch in Wonderland”]. That was just before my time. I don’t think it was a cliffhanger, he was exonerated by the end of the episode.

At what point did you decide ‘Hell to Pay’ would be a cliffhanger?
I think it was around the time that we thought Trump was going to win [the election]. I just figured everything would go to hell both fictionally and in real life.

It was great to see Robin Dunne back on TV. I haven’t seen him since Sanctuary.
He was great. I had never met him before, actually, and he was a ton of fun. It was also especially fun to work with John Wildman, who was on a TV show called The Campbells a million years ago and I used to drive him to work. That’s the first time we had worked together in, like, 30 years.

You started out in the industry as a driver?
Well, as a production assistant. They didn’t have drivers back then. I was the general gofer guy.

How long were you a P.A.?
One season, and then I moved into the writing department fairly quickly once I got my foot in the door.

Did you take a TV writing course at the time?
I took one television writing course at York University for, like, a semester. My instructor was in the business, at CTV, and he got me a gig.

OK, let’s talk about the episode. Miss Cherry’s personality has certainly evolved. In last week’s episode, she was talking shit about William and Julia. There is no faster way to turn the fans on someone than having them do that.
Yeah, especially Julia. We learned that when one of the characters Emily was involved with called William a stick in the mud. That was basically her death sentence. [Laughs.] But we had portrayed Louise as being controlling over George throughout, but it was when she insults George’s friends that he can do better. I kind of knew what the reaction would be.

Is that it for Louise Cherry?
I wouldn’t say so, no. She performs a function in the finale and is not out of the picture.

With regard to Inspector Brackenreid … we hear a gunshot and last saw Davis aiming a gun at his head. 
We hear a gunshot go off and that’s the last we see of Brackenreid. I guess we’ll see what happens.

It appears we might be losing one of the constables. Murdoch is told that one of them is dead.
I think you have to think about the reliability of the narrator, the person who is telling him that. I don’t think we can end a season like that and have everything be tickety-boo. The show, in essence, has five cliffhangers: three constables, one Julia and a Brackenreid. And we don’t see any of them past the three-quarter mark of the show. And, why is Watts offering to be so helpful at the very end of the episode? Is he a good guy? I don’t know. Why didn’t he help Murdoch earlier? Why is he showing up now?

So, Watts may have ulterior motives?
Maybe. I never trust those Maslanys. They have many faces! [Laughs.] Daniel is fantastic; just a very pleasant young man.

You’ve created this mess with all of these characters. How do you clean it up going forward?
I think it’s a big enough mess that it will take more than one episode to clean it up. I’ve been studiously avoiding the hard work of making it all make sense. I think what I’ll probably do is use a couple of the early episodes to deal with the repercussions of last year and then bounce the show ahead three months in time because I don’t think we’re purpose built to go dark, dark, dark. We’re allowed to go dark on the show but I don’t think we can stay there.

Are there any historical characters you’re planning on bringing on board for Season 11?
I think we’re going to bring back good old Teddy Roosevelt. I think we’re going to bring Dr. William Osler back, one of the founders of modern medicine. I think we’re going to bring in Helen Keller, who will help solve a case. And, with Helen Keller, I think we’re going to get Alexander Graham Bell. That’s just in the early stages right now and I think we’re going to try and pay a tiny bit more attention to getting more historical characters in this year than we did last year. That might entail the return of Laurier and Terrence Meyers, of course, some of the regular characters we like to see every year.

In terms of the historical characters, they all seem to be in the world of medicine for some reason.

What did you think of the season finale? Let me know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of CBC.

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TV, Eh? podcast Episode 224 — Wind Don’t Care

After discussing some less-than boozy drinks—coffee and Tic Tac Cherry Cola Mixers—Greg and Anthony discuss the Toronto Screenwriting Conference. For the third year in a row, TV, Eh? is the media sponsor, so keep an eye out for tweets and Facebook posts regarding the latest news leading up to the conference. New this year! We’ll be giving away two passes to the conference!

Then it’s on to the Calendar, which includes Murdoch Mysteries‘ and Heartland‘s season finales and the debut of What Would Sal Do? on Crave TV.

Finally, the boys talk about how TV, Eh? is now reporting on web series, kicking it off by spotlighting three of over 70 projects vying for funding from the Independent Production Fund.

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

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