Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, This Life

Torri Higginson on This Life’s “Positive” Season 2 premiere

One of the primary reasons to rejoice in this Sunday’s return of CBC’s excellent family drama This Life is the beautifully nuanced work by series lead Torri Higginson. As terminally ill Natalie Lawson, the Burlington, Ont., native deftly shuffles through angst, defiance, hope and humour each week as her character faces the unknown. Her talents are put to great use in the show’s Season 2 premiere, “Stay Positive,” as Natalie takes part in a cancer drug trial that could extend her life and confronts her deadbeat ex-husband David (Louis Ferreira) about the custody of their kids.

During a phone interview from Montreal—where This Life had just wrapped production for the year—Higginson told us about Natalie’s Season 2 journey, the emotional toll of playing a dying character and her roles on Dark Matter and Inhuman Condition.

When we last saw Natalie in Season 1, she had chosen to take part in a clinical trial for an experimental drug treatment. How are things going for her at the beginning of Season 2?
Torri Higginson: We end Season 1 with her choosing to take part in a drug trial, which is interesting because when you’re part of a drug trial you don’t know if you’re getting the placebo or the drug. So we start the second season with her taking this drug not knowing but believing it’s doing her good. She chooses to actively be positive.

I think nowadays, especially with Google, once you’re given any diagnosis, you go online and you look at everything. I think she’s probably done a lot of reading. I think she’s been reading, going, ‘What can I do? What control do I have? I have no control over my body. The Western doctors, they are taking control of that, so the only thing I can control is my attitude. It’s the only thing I have control over.’ So we see her at the beginning of Season 2 really trying to embrace that fully and go, ‘OK, I will put all my energy into hope and into positivity and into fighting this with love as much as I can.’

Natalie’s ex-husband David showed up at the end of last season, and he will be a major presence in Season 2. How does Natalie deal with that?
I refer to him as the baby daddy, not the ex-husband. Because he hasn’t been there, he disappeared. And I love [showrunner] Joseph [Kay] so much, I love his writing so much, and bless him because he’s put up with me a lot. I would go up to him and say, ‘Ahhh! I don’t even want [David] in the show because he doesn’t deserve it. How can you leave your kids?’ I was so angry at [the character].

But I think for Natalie what’s interesting is that we don’t see her ever angry about her diagnosis. We see her scared, we see her hopeful, we see her sad, but we don’t see her angry. I think David is this great thing for her to use to express her anger over her cancer. She’s legitimately angry at him for choosing to come back now in this way, and yet she’s really got to juggle with, ‘Well, is my anger beneficial for the kids? What is the best thing for the kids?’ And that’s a journey she’s got to go on. You know, ‘If I’m not here, what is the best thing for them?’ But I think there is almost a therapeutic thing about allowing her anger to have a place to live and a place to land. And it’s him, which I think is completely justified.

Natalie’s relationship to her children is central to the show, and James Wotherspoon (Caleb), Stephanie Janusauskas (Emma) and Julia Scarlett Dan (Romy) give wonderful, believable performances. Tell me about working with them.
The actors are remarkable. Those kids, all three of them are superb actors. They amaze me. Stephanie and Julia, I have more scenes with them than I do James. And also because there’s that mother-daughter thing. It’s very easy. I feel a very deep relationship, especially with Julia. She’s the youngest, so she’s the one that Natalie is the most worried about. And Julia has this openness. She’s just this very grounded but very open, beautiful young woman, and she’s just like 12 years old. And she comes across as this wise sage who’s so honest. She’s very much like Romy in a lot of ways, I find. Very easy to connect with. I miss them when we’re not filming.

This Life S2
Julia Scarlett Dan, Torri Higginson and Stephanie Janusauskas in This Life Episode 201, “Stay Positive.”

You have said that filming Season 1 was emotionally draining for you as an actor. Was shooting Season 2 just as difficult for you?
I actually had a similar curve in both Season 1 and Season 2. In the beginning of it, it’s a gift to be given a job that lets you meditate on mortality, and it gives you a closer relationship to gratitude. Because when you’re not filming and when you’re feeling tired, you just have to think, ‘Oh, my God, I could have cancer and I don’t. Oh, my God, I’m so grateful for everything I have.’ And that happened to me last season too. In the first block or two, I constantly felt gratitude and grace and lucky, and then by the end of the season—as you are having to act that every day and sit every day with that rushing through you—as a human you get tired.

By the end of the season, my skin gets very thin and I start having the same panics about ‘What is my life about?’ and ‘Have I done enough?’ and ‘What if I did die tomorrow?’ and ‘How have I justified taking up this space in my life?’ So, it gets it bit overwhelming.

I’m pretty shattered right now, I’ve gotta say. But, again, grateful. I feel [Natalie] has taught me so much over the last year. I get teary-eyed thinking about the end of the show, and this, as all things, will come to an end. For her, this character is going to come to an end in a different way than most shows. And I’m already very nostalgic about that.

This Life is shot in Montreal with a francophone crew, and you’ve been trying to learn French. How’s that going?
Well, I still feel embarrassingly bad at it, but the crew is very kind and very supportive, and they told me, ‘Oh, your French is so much better! Even from the beginning of this season. It’s so good.’ But I think they’re all just very, very kind and encouraging. [Laughs.] It’s not near as strong as I would like it to be.

I love when I have a day off and I’m able to just sort of walk the city. When there’s no one around me that I know, I’m much braver to try my French.

You also have a recurring role on Dark Matter. Was Commander Truffault supposed to have such a long arc?
No. They were actually going to kill her off. They asked me to do three episodes, and I said sure. We were shooting the second episode of the first season, and [showrunner] Joseph [Mallozzi] came and said, ‘Oh, you’re not going to be in the next episode because everyone in that episode is dying, and we decided not to kill you off.’ So I thought that’s kind of bittersweet. It’s a drag I’m not working next week, but yay, I’m not working next week because I’m staying alive. So it was a nice surprise because I’ve been killed off so many shows at this point in my career, I never expect anything past the day I’ve been hired for. It was lovely to be included as part of their season finale for the second season.

Truffault must be a nice change of pace for you.
She’s a fun character, I really like her. And I rarely get those kinds of characters. I usually get very big-hearted, good people. So it’s nice to play someone who’s sort of very mechanical and conniving and self-serving.

Things were looking pretty dire for Truffault and the Raza crew in the finale. Do you know if you’ll be back for Season 3?
I have no idea. For all I know, we blew up. [Laughs.]

You’re also in the web series InHuman Condition, which is a unique project. What was it like to film that?
We shot 35 episodes in five days. We shot six episodes a day. I was shooting about 40 pages of dialogue a day. I think I had a slight brain aneurysm during that process. I would sort of end every day in a fetal position, saying, ‘No more words, no more words.’ And I was amazed, when I saw what they did. Everyone was doing it for love, there was no money involved. The production looked better than I’ve seen a lot of stuff that had a really big budget.

Will there be a Season 2?
I know we all hope so. But we don’t know yet. Nobody ever knows anything until the camera’s rolling. Our gypsy lifestyle.

This Life airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, The Goods

CBC delivers the goods in daytime with The Goods

19 Comments

You simply can’t fake chemistry on television. Viewers catch on when folks don’t click. It’s the reason networks recast roles during pilot season; if co-stars don’t connect with each other, they simply won’t with an audience.

The Goods explodes with chemistry and makes for a wild daytime ride. Debuting Monday on CBC and marking Steven Sabados’ return to television, The Goods combines lifestyle, food, relationships and home and design into a fun package. Yes, the daytime market is packed with such U.S. fare as The Chew, The View and The Talk while Canadian rival CTV offers The Social, but The Goods is a welcome addition thanks mainly to its cast.

Surrounding Sabados on the panel is style maven Jessi Cruickshank, relationship and wellness expert Andrea Bain and Levetto chef Shahir Massoud covering all things culinary. Earlier this week, I was invited down to watch a taping of The Goods and experienced a well-oiled machine despite having just seven episodes already in the can.

(l-r) Bain, Cruickshank, Sabados, Massoud
(l-r) Bain, Cruickshank, Sabados, Massoud

“You always feel, on some other shows, as if people are trying to take away airtime,” Sabados says after the three-hour taping in front of a studio audience of just over 100 concluded. “There is that battle of, ‘You said that, so I have to say this,’ … Shahir didn’t have a segment today, but it’s all good because he’s still part of the show. We’re all here, so it’s all good.” It’s true. While Massoud didn’t contribute content-wise, he was still front and centre in a comedic role both unintentionally during Sabados’ decor quiz when he asked how to spell “teak” and on purpose during Cruickshank’s style bit when he walked the runway decked out in overalls, a baseball cap propped rakishly on his head.

Massoud explains he and his co-hosts come up with what their individual segments will contain with their own producers. Once that’s decided, the producers and hosts compare notes and figure out who will be interacting with who. Yes, The Goods is scripted when it comes to what segments make up an episode, but the interaction itself is done on the fly. That came into play Tuesday when Cruickshank dashed off to the control room and requested a hula hoop challenge be re-cut and slowed down for broadcast. The result was a very funny replay of Bain’s facial expressions and body language as she owned the hula segment (“I will never Iive that down,” Bain says with a laugh.) Cruickshank set herself up for criticism during her style portion, suggesting that sometimes socks can be worn with sandals. She was met with a chorus of good-natured boos from the audience.

“Where else can you get an audience who feels comfortable enough to boo the host?” Cruickshank asks. “There is this feeling of being in the round and we make sure people know they’re supposed to yell. They’re part of the show.”

The Goods airs Monday to Friday at 2 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Wild Archaeology: Innuvialuit—A Race Against Climate Change

2 Comments

This week on Wild Archaeology, Jenifer and Jacob are off on their own to experience salvage archaeology, without the supervision of Dr. Rudy. On this adventure, we are travelling to the far north where climate change is creating a desperate situation for archaeologists. Shorelines are facing accelerated erosion due to rising seas and rising temperatures resulting in a loss of artifacts to the sea.

Our duo travels to the Kuukpak dig site on Richards Island, north of Inuvik, on the Beaufort Sea where the Innuvialuit people would traditionally summer while hunting for beluga whale and store the meat, returning throughout the year. We learn the island was at one time covered in a series of camps and was a thriving summer community centuries ago.

The Innuvialuit people had no written history, and this is truly an example of traditional knowledge being rooted to the land. The land, because of climate change, has been forced to reveal the knowledge it held for centuries. If archaeologists fail in their mission to gather all of the artifacts, that knowledge will be lost forever.

In the initial site tour by Dr. Max Friesen, archaeologist at the University of Toronto, Jenifer spotted an ancient snow knife exposed by erosion. Continuing along the shore, ancient beluga bones were seen exposed and came across an old dog sled runner fashioned from bone and a number of ulu blades. Dr. Friesen estimates many of these finds are up to 500 years old.

I spoke briefly with Jacob on Tuesday, and he had this to share about his experiences on the show:

“I really loved the opportunity to work on this show and I learned a great deal throughout our travels. I have a new understanding of our natural history and discovered how scientists are in fact starting to tell stories that are parallel to those First Nation and Inuit people have been telling for a long time. The show is educational, but it was also an amazing adventure that I hope we can continue in the future.”

Jacob, I really hope your adventure does continue. This show is an absolute delight and I am so happy I decided to cover it.

Artifact tally tonight? Jacob: a rare, intact Innuvialuit arrowhead and a dog sled runner made from bone. Jenifer: a bi-face end scraper. Seems like Jacob is now in the lead.

Wild Archaeology airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Bachelorette Canada, Featured

Cackles, crying and crafts on The Bachelorette Canada

The sun was shining and the abs were on display in Week 2 at the Sandals resort served as the backdrop for this week’s Bachelorette Canada episode. Of the 13 men remaining, David was the only one who didn’t go on some sort of date with Jasmine last week.

“Dateless Dave” continued his streak off the top as Scott the carpenter was selected for a group date alongside Mike, Drew, Thomas, Benoit and JP. Drew kept up his douchebaggery by mocking Dave and asking if he wanted to go in Drew’s place. I think Dave got off easy, as Jasmine and the chosen few headed off to dance. Kudos to the show’s producers for throwing two tests at the boys that challenged not only their skills (singing last week, dancing this week) but how willing they were to be outside their comfort zone. Conray and Andrew of Shady Squad demanded a lot of the fellows, encouraging them to instil confidence in their dance routines. Scott, who has had almost zero airtime, grabbed a lot on Tuesday as he admitted to having no signature moves. Infuriatingly, moments after Drew told producers he tells girls exactly what they want to hear, he was doing it with Jasmine, leading her to believe that had a pure connection. Was it careful editing, or is Drew really a bad guy who’s playing Jasmine?

The boys hit the street to perform, where Scott did an arm spasm, Mike ate an imaginary banana, Thomas whipped his hair around, JP did pushups, Benoit shook his butt and Drew did Drew things. At dinner, JP piped up to the rest of the guys that he didn’t trust Drew. That’s two guys who don’t think he’s there for Jasmine. In an interesting twist, Drew let his guard down and revealed he’d been engaged, showing a side no one had seen. The most awkward conversation of the night went to Scott, whose social skills mirrored that of the dance floor. Drew got the ever-important rose and the expression on JP’s face was classic.

bach_can2

Next up was Kevin W. and a one-on-one with Jasmine. After connecting with her on a personal level last week, I wasn’t really surprised. Kevin is a modern-day superhero, a former soldier, firefighter and all-around good guy. The pair headed aloft in a helicopter where hand-holding gave way to a make-out session before feasting on jerk chicken and caving before having dinner in a grotto. (Hope no bat guano fell into their Two Oceans wine.) But after flying high, Jasmine was brought down to earth when he admitted to being a serial first dater. Now, it may just be he hasn’t fallen in love with anyone and is very particular, but it was a red flag for her nonetheless. An awful story about his brother being stabbed later, and Kevin was given a rose and several smooches.

David didn’t go 0-for-6 as he joined Mikhel, Kyle, Andrew, Kevin P. on an art-related group date. Each guy was tasked with creating a piece of art for someone special—Jasmine, obviously—with help from students. But where guys like Kyle, Kevin P. and Andrew had fun with the kids, Mikhel struggled and admitted he was intimidated. Kevin P. was awarded precious one-on-one time with Jasmine and a rose.

At the rose ceremony, Mikhel landed a massive kiss on Jasmine and presented her with a coral necklace; Chris talked kids’ charity; and Kevin W. interrupted Scott, frustrating the other guys. Sticking around for another week with the Kevins and Drew were Andrew, Mike, Kyle, Mikhel, Chris, Thomas, David and Benoit. I was shocked JP was shown the door, though perhaps Jasmine wasn’t a fan of him being a butler-in-the-buff. As for Scott, well, he was too awkward and shy to make a real connection.

Are you hoping one of the guys tells Jasmine that Drew is there for the wrong reasons? Comment below or via Twitter @tv_eh.

The Bachelorette Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on W Network.

Images courtesy of Corus.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Mohawk Ironworkers: Training for Steel

How does someone become an ironworker? It is not like it was decades ago; nowadays you need considerable formal training.

Episode 4 of Mohawk Ironworkers gives us the inside scoop on how to become an ironworker. Elder and retired ironworker Paul Deer—and my personal favourite in this series—shares how things were done in the past. There was nowhere to go to learn, so the skills were shared through family. Fathers taught sons and uncles taught nephews … it was in the blood. Today, you need 1,000 hours of training along with thousands of hours more as an apprentice before you can become a certified Journeyman Ironworker.

We visit a couple of schools that provide this training in Quebec. One such program is offered jointly by Kahnawa:ke and the Local 711 Ironworkers Union. The nine-month in-class program covers the schooling and gives students an opportunity to learn their craft safely in a controlled environment. Upon completion, candidates must find their own apprenticeship positions in order to gain enough hours to finally be tested and certified.

Another program is offered in Akwesasne, offering both apprentice and probationary training for ironworkers. This allows students to receive supervised on the job training in preparation for unionization.

Some of the students are showcased, with many of them coming from long lines of ironworkers. I found it interesting that physical fitness was a part of the training program. It makes absolute sense that you be physically able to manoeuvre at the heights that these men and women do but I was surprised this was a part of the actual training.

Mohawk Ironworkers airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail