Tag Archives: Featured

Dark Matter, Featured

Dark Matter’s Joseph Mallozzi goes dark Season 2

We’re three weeks into Season 2 of Dark Matter, and co-creator Joseph Mallozzi has made good on his promise to keep stories zipping at lightning speed. In short order Six was revealed to the crew as the mole, the squad busted out of Hyperion-8 with help from Nyx (Melanie Liburd), Devon Taltherd (Shaun Sipos) and Arax Nero (Mike Dopud), One was killed and Five used Bubba.

But as Mallozzi told us during a set visit earlier this year, that’s just the beginning.

What’s interesting about you as a showrunner is that you’re very active on social media and with your own blog. You head off spoilers at the pass and reveal things to fans in advance.
Joseph Mallozzi: If you keep things under wraps and you don’t show what the ship will look like—if you wait and show the blind-the-scenes stuff after the show airs—you’re really only getting to the die-hard fans. If I’m off on hiatus for months and there is anything I can do to keep the interest alive and the fans excited, I’m going to do it. Then people can share the hell out of it.

We’re going to use “Holy shit” moments to propel scenes and lead to a shocking season finale. This season puts the dark in Dark Matter.

Every episode in Season 1 had a “Holy shit!” moment. What was the pacing of the writing like?
I’ve been sitting on the concept for years. When I was working on Stargate, I always knew I wanted to roll into Dark Matter after that. Stargate kept getting picked up, so by the time we got the green light and it came time to write with folks like Martin Gero, we broke the entire season in two and a half weeks because I basically knew where we wanted to end up. I’m not a big fan of shows that set up a mystery and take so long to provide an answer or don’t provide an answer because they’re making it up as they go along. We’ve set up mysteries, but we’ve always provided payoffs along the way.

In terms of Season 1, I knew every story, every beat. And then when we got into Season 2, we knew where we wanted to end up and the arcs I wanted to explore. Season 2 is a very different beast from Season 1. The characters in Season 1 were almost ciphers in a way, they were blanks and the audience was learning things along with them and that added to the mystery. Our characters in Season 1 were more reactive. In Season 2, we have a bunch of mysteries in play. The key card, the old man, Alexander Rook and different characters in play. Right from the get-go we’re dealing with the arrests and betrayal. All of the episodes that ensue, our characters are more proactive. Who is going after the key card and why? Three is going to find out more about his past.

We’re going to use “Holy shit” moments to propel scenes and lead to a shocking season finale. This season puts the dark in Dark Matter.

What can you tell me about expanding the universe and adding new characters?
Season 1 was very much of a micro-level because we were learning about these characters. The big world—the big universe—wasn’t really explored. Now we’re going to find out about different organizations and different colonies and they’ll be a presence. Four will attempt to re-take his throne. Two will revisit Alexander Rook. Who was that old man and why was she created? We won’t get all of the answers necessarily, but we will get pieces that take us into a wild new direction.

You’re also one of the few showrunners I’ve spoken to who listens to feedback from the fans. Why is that important to you?
At the end of the day we’re not going to take dictation—we know what we like and the story we want to tell—but as technology advances audiences feel more of an ownership in the shows, and that’s why I do things like Name the Episode. There is an investment there. It’s not just an hour of your day; they are being rewarded to a certain extent and are part of the process.

Dark Matter airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Sweating it out in Vietnam on The Amazing Race Canada

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Unlike the last two legs of The Amazing Race Canada, Tuesday’s third one had no clear leaders. I blame it on the stifling heat in the Mekong Delta for causing teams to make bone-headed decisions and failing to note a critical clue that caused a shakeup at the Pit Stop.

Among the nuttiness in Vietnam? First-place team Joel and Ashley, along with three other duos, all took 30-minute penalties for using a water taxi to traverse between sections rather than the ferry clearly listed on the card they received. Listen, I get it. My instinct would have been to grab the water taxi I’d just climbed out of too, especially with teams breathing down my neck. But while I understand the urgency to keep moving—this is a race after all—I’m having trouble understanding what Stéphane was thinking.

The father not only relinquished the lead he and Antoine had by helping Ashley complete the goose-herding challenge, allowing she and Joel to depart the test in first place, but he aided other squads too, moving he and Antoine further back in the pack. It almost seemed like he’d given up and wanted to go home, and the frustration and shock on Antoine’s face was understandable. The pair eventually departed dead-last and never recovered, finishing in last place thanks to the four-hour penalty they took when Stéphane gave up on duck-herding after two hours. You’d think knowing the last team would be eliminated would light a fire under his butt, but perhaps the heat of the day sapped all rational thought.

The heat affected everyone, but Tanya especially. She struggled mightily during the ironically-named Hydrate Detour and had to be tended to by the show’s medical team. She sat off to the side, taking in fluids, while Anne continued to carry 60 coconuts from their boat to the harvesting station, completing the task and showing she wasn’t about to give up and was all about teamwork. Speaking of teamwork, Jillian and Emmett continue to complete Legs of the Race despite spending precious time and energy bitching at one another. The former Big Brother Canada competitors are used to playing a singular game, but The Amazing Race Canada is about supporting the other person and they need to work on that. I hit the mute button every time they start to fight because it’s embarrassing.

The most impressive team of this Leg was easily Kelly and Kate. The best friends, on the cusp of exiting the show last week, aced their toad-carrying Speed Bump (and informing viewers 20 toads is known as a knot) and landed in a very respectable third place.

What are your thoughts on this latest Leg? Would you have helped other teams like Stéphane did? Comment below.

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

  1. Joel and Ashley (30-minute penalty, won trip for two to Japan)
  2. Steph and Kristen
  3. Kelly and Kate
  4. Emmett and Jillian (30-minute penalty)
  5. Frankie and Amy
  6. Rita and Yvette (30-minute penalty)
  7. Julie and Lowell
  8. Anne and Tanya (30-minute penalty)
  9. Stéphane and Antoine (four-hour penalty, eliminated)

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

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Featured, Motive

Sons of Anarchy star lands on Motive

“Foreign Relations,” written by Sarah Dodd, may just be Motive’s most international episode ever. Not only does the main crime involve a British student found dead on university grounds, but Scottish actor Tommy Flanagan in a guest role. Yes, Chibs from Sons of Anarchy appears in Tuesday’s new story, as an Interpol agent teamed with Angie to investigate the crime.

Here’s what fans can expect on Tuesday night.

Sons of Anarchy star plays good guy?
It’s deliciously ironic that Tommy Flanagan is playing Interpol Agent Jack Stoker in this episode. He was unforgettable as motorcycle gang member Chibs for 92 episodes of Sons of Anarchy, so it’s pretty neat to see him showered, shaved and dressed to the nines, investigating Julian’s death … while catching Betty and Angie’s approving eyes. (Viewers with a sharp ear will catch a familiar, British bit of music when Jack leaves his meeting with Vega.) We learn a lot about Jack and his personal life; one wonders if he’ll return before—or during—Motive‘s series finale. And we love his off-key warbling of our national anthem.

Motive_2

Vega is in troubleeeee…..
Motive revisits last week’s case involving Sgt. Bailin, with Vegas being questioned by the press about why her mental unbalance wasn’t caught via screening. Vega gets called on the carpet by his superiors for telling the media he thinks the justice system failed her son.

Vancouver’s stunning cityscape
I always forget what a beautiful backdrop Vancouver is for Motive; make sure you look at the scenery as Angie and Betty are examining the body.

Motive airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Children's Programming, Featured

Gisèle Corinthios exits TVO’s Big Backyard

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Sad news for fans of Gisèle Corinthios: the host of Gisèle’s Big Backyard is no longer with TVO. As reported back in April, the publicly funded provincial channel had cancelled production of program block, impacting six employees.

TVO confirmed on Friday that Corinthios was one of those impacted.

“TVO receives a fixed transfer from the province. Every year, our $40 million transfer gets relatively smaller as inflation allows it to buy less and less. With limited resources that effectively decline each year, TVO has to reduce costs regularly,” the channel said in a statement.

“With 14 years of production and 800 segments of Gisèle’s Big Backyard in our archive, the two-to-four year old pre-school audience will continue to enjoy GBB’s interstitial content for years to come. Since the pre-school audience turns over every two years, there is a large enough catalogue to maintain high quality service without producing new episodes. Older children require a more interactive experience to engage them, which is why TVO offers a live call-in experience with The Space weekday afternoons.”

The network is touting new original content, including mPower, a new math online in-class resource for kindergarten to Grade 6 and Climate Watch, a look at how climate change is becoming an increasing local issue.

Corinthios had been with TVO since 1998, when she became host of The Nook, which evolved into Gisèle’s Big Backyard.

 

 

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of July 8

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Swimming with the fishes on The Amazing Race Canada

There’s something fitting about a bus pulling away just as you run up to it, even on television. They seem to be trying to inject a bit of a strategic game in our Race, usually the Express Passes are given for winning a leg and the Fast Forward takes you out of the way—but you’ll probably get first that episode with the FF. In typical Canadian politeness two teams agree to work together … but in no real shock the team from Big Brother breaks the deal. Though when they aren’t yelling at each other they seem like a strong team.

Although with the other Pass having to be given away either in Episode 3 or 4, I don’t see how much strategy could really go into it. There are eight teams left, so it can’t cause too much of an upset. The Face Off twist from last year was kind of a bust too. In terms of being strategic better just leave that to the U-Turn boards.

Having been to Calgary last year, I was deeply amused how the twins kept searching around the wrong building, which you can see from the tower but it clearly wrong. Two rapeling Roadblocks in a row? Meh. I know they’re going for a positive edit, but damn if Lowell’s big grin going down the tower and fish puns with Julie wasn’t sweet as hell.

That Sim Detour must have been harder then it looked. It seemed just like a video game but three teams GTFO almost instantly.

Oh wow! An actual footrace between the last two teams! This is so tense and exciting … way to undercut the tension there. I know non-elimination legs are planned in advance but this seems a bit early. (And aren’t we short at least one team this year to begin with?) Going international next week Yay! —DanAmazing

 

I find there is a lack of age diversity this time. Not very many older couples, it’s all very pretty and attractive shiny people. —Kelly H.

Where will Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles land?

Now that Super Channel has lost the rights to Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles, is there any word on the new seasons being picked up by a Canadian broadcaster? I know the last season of Rizzoli, which aired on Super Channel, is about to air on Showcase.

Meantime, has a Canadian broadcaster picked Shooter, which begins in the U.S. soon? —Doug

No word yet on where Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles will air now that Super Channel has lost the rights, but Showcase is a natural and likely fit for both, especially since Rizzoli is airing in a second window on that station.

As Jayme notes below, Shooter will be broadcast on Bravo this fall.

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

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