Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Secret Path: The Chanie Wenjack Story is must-see TV

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I had been waiting for a screener of The Secret Path to land in my Inbox the moment I heard about this project. I have been a casual listener of The Tragically Hip for more years than I care to admit and I am also a big fan of artist Jeff Lemire’s work. I first took note of Lemire’s work with Essex County, a finalist for Canada Reads in 2011. His style is uniquely his own. Once you are familiar with his work, there is no doubt in your mind when you come across his other projects.

I was going into this preview with some trepidation. I am a firm believer that as Canadians—as we move together through this process of reconciliation—mainstream or non-Indigenous peoples must let Indigenous voices tell their own stories. For too long, non-Indigenous peoples have told them, using those tales to their own ends, often against the very people for whom they belonged.

Lemire had recently created Equinox for the comic Justice League United, based upon Shannen Koostachin, and prior to publishing it he received permission from the community of Attiwapiskat. That Lemire was on board for the telling of the Chanie Wenjack story eased a few of my concerns.

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The animation opens with a brief introduction from Gord Downie as he travelled to Ogoki, Ont., to meet with Wenjack’s family. We meet his sister Pearl, who appears delighted Chanie’s story is finally being told, and bemused, “Who would have thought? Tragically Hip?” doing so.

The story itself is presented in a series of short clips, short vignettes if you will. Each features a different component of Chanie’s lonely and desperate escape from Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School and his fruitless quest to reach his home. Each segment a different song sung by Downie, frontman for The Tragically Hip.

The first song shows memories of home, with Chanie and his family drawn in a warm colour palette in warm tones. This is the only sequence to feature those warm sunny colours. Throughout the rest of the animation, Lemire sticks to the cooler blue in his artistry reflecting the conditions Chanie traveled through, including freezing rain, while wearing only a light cotton jacket provided by the school.

The Secret Path airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBC and on the network website.

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Featured, Mohawk Girls

Get ready for Mohawk Girls’ Season 4 with our Season 3 recap!

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Season 4 of Mohawk Girls is set to premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 9:30 p.m. ET on APTN with Episode 1, entitled “Fauxhawk.” But, unless you have been binge watching, it’s been a while since you last caught up with our Kahnawa:ke foursome, so let’s catch you up.

Caitlin’s (Heather White) story arc saw many changes last season, as she sought to grow and heal from past disappointments. Following an abortion, she embarked on a self-improvement path in an effort to boost her self-esteem. Always the stalwart friend, Caitlin was loyal to the end and her growth paid off! Seems she has caught the eye of Luscious Leon, but will Caitlin be able to break her Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother) habit? Not to mention the social obstacles the cultural differences a Caitlin-Leon partnership mean in Kahnawa:ke.

The same growth was not to be had by Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne). The harder she tried to be the perfect, hardworking, proud Mohawk woman, the deeper she delved into the world of kink. Zoe went to great lengths to secure her secret and even landed herself a fake boyfriend in Ohserose (Shawn Youngchief). But how will she win her way back into the good graces of the community following the fundraiser? It is going to take something REALLY BIG to make over her reputation after that near disaster!

Bailey (Jenny Pudavick), has been torn with doing right by Mohawk standards and her desire to follow her wander-lustful soul. She found a great Mohawk heart in Watio (Jimmy Blais) but this relationship seems a bit of a misfit. However, Watio is prepared to make significant changes in order to hold Bailey’s heart. In a grand gesture, he gets down on one knee and recites his poetry to her in front of their friends. Oh yeah … and he proposed too! Will Bailey settle down with Watio or follow her inner spirit?

Anna ( Maika Harper) ended her season exactly where she left off: not with Thunder (Kyle Nobess). Despite her pursuit of Mohawk culture and embracing her inner warrior, her desire to fit in as a Mohawk turned her into a woman Thunder can no longer love. Does this spell the end for Team Thanna?

There is one notable change this coming season: Leon is now being played by the adorable and witty Dwain Murphy. He is a great fit to play Leon and the chemistry between Heather White and Murphy make a perfect on-screen couple!

Here is a teaser for Season 4. BTW, I sat down the other day and watched Episode 1 . It is BEAST!

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Andrew Younghusband returns to Discovery with Worst Driver and Tougher Than It Looks?

Andrew Younghusband has built himself quite the empire over on Discovery. I first spoke to the affable Newfoundlander when he was on Life Network’s (remember that channel?!) Tall Ship Chronicles. The next time we met up was during filming of Season 1 of Canada’s Worst Handyman. Now, with multiple seasons of that, Don’t Drive Here and Canada’s Worst Driver on his resumé, Younghusband returns with Season 12 of Driver and the debut of Tougher Than It Looks?

Airing back-to-back on Mondays, Younghusband hosts Driver’s usual passel of inept Canadians behind the wheel of automobiles before being front and centre doing some of the most bizarre—and taxing—jobs out there.

After a dozen years of Canada’s Worst Driver, we know exactly what to expect from the series: awful drivers who are oblivious to how dangerous they are behind the wheel going through challenges designed to teach them how to be better.

And, frankly, a dozen years of it, I’m pretty much done with the franchise. Clearly, I’m in the minority—the show was the network’s most-watched last season and the No. 1 specialty project in the key demographics—but my frustration at these unsafe folks who often have a blasé attitude about how much of a menace they are grows with every minute. Still, the show is doing a valuable service in educating the contestants and viewers in the rules of the road.

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Tougher Than It Looks? is something entirely different from Younghusband in that he’s doing the Dirty Jobs thing … with a twist. Where Mike Rowe performed the grimiest gigs out there, Younghusband is tackling any occupation. The hook? He has just one day to practice and, hopefully, perfect.

There’s a reason Younghusband hosts so many programs. He’s not only charismatic, but he’s funny and can ad-lib. That comes into play in Episode 1 of Tougher when he attempts to best as many Guinness World Records as he can. First up? Being one of two people hauling three fire trucks using their bodies and lengths of rope. Alongside Younghusband is Rev. Kevin Fast, who has set several strength-related world records in the tome. It’s certainly a tough task, and at its most critical point it looks like Younghusband’s eyes are going to shoot out of his head and land in some poor spectator’s lap.

The rest of the first instalment shows Younghusband as he tries to break 20 Guinness records in one day, a pretty tall task and an opportunity to show how odd many of the records are. Some the categories he tries to best? Stacking coins, eating an onion, unravelling a roll of toilet paper, hula hoop revolutions and most jumps on a pogo stick. I have to say, Tougher is one heck of a good time and I’m sad it’s only a half-hour long. Maybe we’ll get an hour in Season 2.

Canada’s Worst Driver airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Tougher Than It Looks? airs Mondays at 11 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured, The Goods

Comments and queries for the week of October 21

Getting The Goods on fashion

I have seen a navy blue velvet bomber on a girl that they styled on The Goods this morning, but they did not mention where they got it. If it is possible, I would like to communicate with the hosts to get this info. Thank you. —Azita

You can direct your question to the series, either via their Twitter account (@cbcthegoods) or their Facebook page.

A division over Drew 
If you guys pick Drew as the next Bachelor there’s going to be an awful lot of people that I know who will not watch. Don’t spoil it by letting him be on your show. —Dora

Finally that tool is gone (Drew), Every time I watched him put on a show to be nice and sweet it made me want to vomit. He’s wrong, the ratings will go up because he’s finally gone! Good luck on any woman wanting to settle down with you now. You showed your true colours and how immature you really are. If you are the next Bachelor, the only women that would come on the show would be those who have the same intentions as you: boosting their ratings in real life for business and being recognized from being on a show. Sad it took Jasmine this long to realize how big of a loser he is. BTW, bullying is actually not cool, they should have thrown him off the show earlier! So many times I just wanted to switch the channel, seeing how disgusting he is. —Billie

I am relieved that Drew went home. He would not make a Bachelor Canadians could and should be proud of to watch. His behaviour throughout the show was disappointing, but his exit after being eliminated was such poor taste. I am sure there are many other eligible men who would represent our country in more positive light. —Samantha

It’s too bad—he’s a very nice guy!! He’s not at all like he’s portrayed, which is probably why she kept him on. He’s fun, sweet and kind. Jasmine’s loss. The other guys are not impressive AT ALL! —TeamDrew

I couldn’t stand the dude! So full of himself, so cocky. He thought that he was better than everyone else! It was strange that Jasmine didn’t see right through this at the beginning and kept him for so long! —Larry

I cringed every time Drew opened his mouth. What a scene stealer!
If he is the next Bachelor—I WILL NOT BE WATCHING THE SHOW! —JC

So glad to finally see that loser go. What an exit! Couldn’t have been happier that he showed his true colours, what an ass! But, so very sad to see Thomas go. He is such a sweetheart and possibly the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen! Can’t believe I live only an hour away from such a gorgeous creature. Oops … think I may have got off topic. Question was about that loser. What’s his name again? Ha! —Joleen

Kevin W. is in love with Jasmine (he said exactly that in a voiceover in a preview). He’s not acting entitled to a rose, he is hurting because he loves her and he is being kept away from her and when he does see her he has to watch her make out with every guy she can get her lips on. It’s unfortunate he used the rose as a symbol to express how he feels because Jasmine immediately blew a gasket and assumed it was all about the rose and winning the competition, a prejudice she already had because that’s what she grilled him about earlier. She was misunderstanding Kevin’s point, as he said. For example, he said she wanted them to open up so he was being open about being jealous, and she jumped down his throat about other guys opening up more than he did. She was the one who made a competition about opening up, not him. He was looking for reassurance and instead she slapped him down by telling him others were doing better than him. She got mad and never gave him a chance to explain, then hurt him so much he just wanted to go home. I know he signed up for competing with other guys but he himself said the problem was he didn’t expect to have such deep feelings for her. Such strong emotions as love and jealousy are difficult to contain, and the camera amplifies everything, and the producers are always revving up the drama behind the scenes, making sure Kevin sees her making out with other guys. So I don’t blame him for his emotional reaction, it proves he’s really there because he loves her, and far from being into the competition as Jasmine accused him of, he wants nothing to do with competing with the other guys. As he said to Jasmine he just wants it to be over and wants to be with her. Also, remember he said earlier he had been cheated on, which would explain why he’s having such a hard time with seeing her kiss other men. —Mica

Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CBC’s Hello Goodbye makes an emotional return

Anyone who has said goodbye to a loved one before they embark on a trip knows the emotions involved. It happened earlier this year to me when my youngest stepson left on a four-month backpacking adventure in Europe. There was a lump in my throat as I watched him go through security at Toronto Pearson International Airport, knowing he was going away and it wouldn’t be summer until he returned home.

Back for Season 2 on Friday at 8:30 p.m. on CBC, emotions as folks leave and arrive at Pearson are captured by cameras on Hello Goodbye. Host Dale Curd is back too, weaving his way up to people in the Arrivals and Departure areas and getting the personal stories surrounding why they’re there. I don’t recall Season 1 of Hello Goodbye theming its episodes, so apologies to the producers if they did. Friday’s instalment, “Lost & Found,” as Curd says, focuses on empty holes in lives being filled by those they hold dear to them.

The half hour begins with Curd stopping to chat with a man and woman named Linda. He’s her dad and she’s returning to the UK. The catch? Linda is concluding a visit to Canada where she’d met her father for the first time. At 15, the man who’d brought her up as his daughter revealed the truth. After keeping quiet about it for decades, Linda finally asked who her real father was, and sought him out. At Curd’s prompting, viewers learn dad was in the British army in Glasgow and returned to Canada, not knowing he was leaving a future daughter behind. The story gets even more interesting from there, but I’ll let viewers find that out for themselves.

I remain amazed that total strangers are willing to open up to Curd. But, as he told me in January when Season 1 launched, “I just let the conversation unfold. If I opened up the space just to allow them to share and let the conversation build naturally and ask natural questions, they wanted to tell me more.”

That’s certainly the case of the next person Curd speaks to, a young woman waiting for her fiancé to arrive from France. During their chat, she reveals how long she’s been in a wheelchair, the circumstances surrounding the incident and how the home she grew up feeling comfortable become a foreign space after her accident.

It’s an emotional episode, but then saying hello or goodbye to someone you care about it like that, isn’t it?

Hello Goodbye airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.

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