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Featured, Mohawk Girls

Mohawk Girls review: What’s that you say? An Apology?

The season premiere of Mohawk Girls, created and directed by Tracey Deer and written by Cynthia Knight, picks up one week after last season’s finale. As the title “Apologies Week” suggests, this week is all about making amends for the multiple transgressions committed by our favourite four Mohawk ladies.

Right away we learn that yes indeed Caitlin went through with her planned abortion. That question now out of the way, the rest of the episode can focus on all of the apologies. The town apologizes to Caitlin, Anna apologizes to Thunder, Bailey apologizes to Thunder, Zoe apologizes to Caitlin, Zoe apologizes to Lollipop, Butterhead apologizes to Caitlin— sort of. It seems everyone is apologizing to or for someone or something. However, the unspoken apology is left to Caitlin, but I will get to that later.

This week Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne) finally begins to atone for her meltdown that occurred in last season’s episode entitled Bridesmaidzilla. Lollipop (Devery Jacobs) has decided that the all too perfect Zoe must submit to her every desire, which includes such demeaning acts as bathroom scrubbing and an emergency pedicure. Zoe attends to this new master whilst “aching to serve” her new Dom played by Kyle Switzer. Speaking of her new Dom, we catch another glimpse of Zoe’s new game playing playmate as Zoe takes one more step into her world of kink.

Bailey (Jennifer Pudavick), clearly tired being the good girl who follows the rules, has yet another confrontation with her father Sose (Glen Gould) and Auntie Velma (Ashley Michaels) regarding her rebellious behaviour. As a result, Bailey again looks for love in the wrong places and settles—this time with newlywed Trumpet (played by Kevin Loring)—as she reminisces about her one night stand, with  the aid of Trumpet’s sexting. We see Bailey attempting to do the right thing by avoiding a  married man, but by the episode’s close it seems clear that resistance, at least for now, is futile.

Fish-out-of-water Anna (Maika Harper) spends this episode picking up the pieces of her shocking Blood Quantum reveal. The entire town now knows she is not the critical 50% Mohawk blood that guarantees your position at Kahnawa:ke, and Anna starts this season right back where she was in the series premiere last season. However, instead of the hopeful and lively Anna we are so accustomed to seeing embark on  new adventures at Kahnawa:ke, we see a woman grieving the loss of her newly won acceptance, not to mention her fear of losing Thunder.

Anna seeks out advice from her surrogate father figure Sose who supplies our lesson on Mohawk culture. We are told by Sose that “Blood Quantum was a white system imposed on our people. It is not our way”. He suggests to Anna that “there are other ways to connect with our culture and feel you belong here” and that she should not give up so easily. Anna apologizes to “Be Still my Beating Heart Thunder” (Kyle Nobess) and he reassures that it is difficult to stay angry with her. It seems Team Thana might live to see another day.

And finally we come to Caitlin (Heather White). Now that we know she deliberately ended her pregnancy, we are left to live through her consequences. Caitlin is in a world of hurt; filled with guilt and shame. Zoe apologizes to her for not being present for the procedure as she had promised and for telling the other girls of Caitlin’s secret. Caitlin continues to battle guilt and fear, using that guilt to justify settling for a man like Butterhead in order to quell her long held fears of being alone.

Caitlin however, is not impressed with Butterhead’s boyfriend behaviours. In a last ditch attempt to turn Blockheaded Butterhead into her Warrior, Caitlin agrees to school him in the art of being a good boyfriend. Alas, the blockhead fails and after a heart to heart with Butterhead’s baby mama Mean Girl Vickie (Rachelle White Wind), Caitlin gains the strength to forgive herself and finds the courage to leave Butterhead.

Hat Tip to Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight for tackling such a contentious and often times polarizing decision with such grace, and also to Heather White for once again playing Caitlin with so much honesty.

So what is next for our ladies now that the apologies have been made and everyone seems to be back in each others good graces? How long can Bailey enjoy an affair with a married man? Will Caitlin continue on her journey to healing? Now that Anna is forgiven by Thunder, can Tulip forgive her too? Let me know in the comments below.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Live-stream of paranormal investigation launches S2 of APTN’s The Other Side

I love watching TV shows about ghost investigations. I dutifully tuned in to every episode of Paranormal State, and checked out Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. Heck, I’ve been watching Supernatural since Season 1. I’ve seen a lot of questionable camera work and many things I can’t explain on those programs, but APTN’s The Other Side certainly seems to be on the up-and-up if you believe in the spirit world in the first place.

Returning Saturday on APTN—and just in time for Halloween—Season 2’s 13 half-hour back-to-back episodes of The Other Side once again mesh technology and the spirit world with things that go bump in the night as intuitive Jeff Richards, investigator Bill Connelly, spirit guide Tom Charles and researcher Priscilla Wolf investigate spookiness across Canada.

I screened Episode 4, “Love More,” and it’s pretty creepy stuff. Camped out at a burial ground for 16 hanged men outside Manitoba’s Headingley Prison, scientific instruments capture blips, bleeps and noises that are turned into a recognizable voice. Photographs taken at the scene uncover an orb—long thought to represent a wayward spirit—hanging out nearby. Is it really an executed murderer named Peter communicating with the team, or a local having them on? Backstory into the crime Peter was accused of rounds out the story nicely, adding a human face to the apparition the squad communicates with.

Regardless of your beliefs, The Other Side is solid entertainment. None of the team members freak out when something happens, an annoying trait on Ghost Adventures, and no jump cuts or sudden camera movements sully the shots.

Prior to Saturday’s return, The Other Side crew will be conducting a live-stream paranormal investigation on Thursday, Oct. 29, from the Senator Hotel, one of the oldest in Saskatoon. Check it out at 8:15 p.m. PT/11:15 p.m. ET from APTN’s website or the show’s website.

The Other Side airs Saturdays at 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Corbin Tomaszeski cooks up truly Incredible prize on Food Race

Corbin Tomaszeski laments the fact that, with many having busy lifestyles, families aren’t able to enjoy quality time preparing or sharing dinner together.

They’ll get a little bit of both—in a seriously amped-up manner—via The Incredible Food Race. Debuting Wednesday on Food Network, celebrity chef Tomaszeski and ET Canada host Rick Campanelli serve as hosts and ringmasters as two families face off in physical challenges followed by a live cook-off in front of an audience; the audience then tastes both meals and votes for the winning family. What does the triumphant squad go home with? Groceries for a year courtesy of Walmart Canada.

“Competition shows usually award product, some kind of service or monetary amount,” Tomaszeski says. “There’s something really attractive and tangible when it’s food and you have the control over what you buy. And, hello, food is a basic necessity.” The former Restaurant Takeover host explains The Incredible Food Race is more about bringing people together and having fun, with a big prize at the end.

It doesn’t take long for the “fun” challenges to turn into a bona fide competition in Episode 1. The super-athletic Snyman family face off against the vegan Buddle-Gills in three tests designed to give distinct advantages during the final cook-off. The biggest of those three advantages? Several minutes with Tomaszeski coaching them while preparing food for the hungry voting audience. The Dinner Party Wars judge admits that, unlike feelgood co-host Campanelli, he wants to hear smack talk and see some tears because it makes for good TV. One of Tomaszeski’s favourite challenges is called “Sumo Sushi,” and features a team member rolling their own rice-based recipes … while wearing inflatable sumo wrestler costumes.

At this point, Season 1 is a mere six episodes filmed in Toronto, but Tomaszeski hopes, if a sophomore season is ordered, The Incredible Food Race can become a country-wide affair.

“I think we’ve only just scratched the surface with Season 1,” he says. “I think we should travel or have people from across Canada come here because there are so many different types of families and components of families out there that it’s a good idea.”

The Incredible Food Race airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Hockey Wives skate to Season 2 for W Network

A lot of pressure is put on NHL players. They’re paid to score—or stop—goals, expensive commodities that can suffer a career-ending injury or be traded to a team on the other side of the country. It’s a stress-filled, sometimes cruel sport.

But let’s not forget the wives, girlfriends and children behind the scenes whose lives are affected just as much as the players. Returning Wednesday on W Network, Season 2 of Hockey Wives follows 11 ladies who call NHL players their husband, fiancé or boyfriend.

“Some of the girls from Season 1 were throwing my name around to the producers and told me how much fun they had,” says show newbie Angela Price. “I went back and forth with the producers before finally saying yes.” Wife of Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, Wednesday’s return introduces viewers to the affable young couple away from the ice, participating in photo ops at their charity, the Breakfast Club of Canada. Baby talk is front and centre; cameras capture Angela detailing how the pair are trying to get pregnant.

Back for Season 2—alongside Keshia Chanté, Rhianna Weaver, Kodette LaBarbera, Tiffany Parros, Noureen DeWulf, Paige Getzlaf, Taylor Winnick, Ashley Booth and Maripier Morin—is Martine Forget, wife of Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier. She reveals her sophomore season storyline is filled by footage of her raising their infant son, Tyler, and planning the couple’s wedding.

Price and Forget admit not every part of their lives was recorded for Hockey Wives; the Prices’ home life hasn’t been documented and Forget nixed a dinner out in Toronto.

“They asked Jonathan and I to go out for dinner,” she recalls. “But dinner in Toronto, with the cameras, is just too much. With the cameras there’s just so much attention, so we said no.” Forget adds that, with the shaky start the Maple Leafs have had, her hubby would rather concentrate on his game than reality TV cameras.

It’s easy, in this social media-obsessed world, to dismiss the ladies as women swanning around mansions waiting for a paycheque to be cashed. Hockey Wives is an eye-opener. Sure, there are high-profile events to attend and swank dinners on the calendar, but so is everyday stuff like laundry, paying bills, helping with homework, changing dirty diapers or holding down a job. Throw in a partner who is away playing hockey much of the year and you’ve got recipe for disaster.

“I want viewers to understand that I’m a mom going back to work and that I’m not at home spending money all the time,” says Forget.

“There are so many different varieties of lifestyles in hockey,” Price says. “I’m excited for people to see that Carey and I live a very similar lifestyle to what we did before he became a professional hockey player and we find pleasure in doing the same things we’ve always done.”

Hockey Wives airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on W Network.

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Featured, Heartland, Murdoch Mysteries, Podcast, Schitt's Creek

TV, eh? podcast episode 192 – Michelina’s and Sunny D

After an extra week off, the news edition of the TV, Eh? podcast returns outlining the new and returning shows coming up, the Season 2 return of Schitt’s Creek, the big winners at the Directors Guild of Canada Awards, the fall ratings so far and discussion surrounding the CBC acquiring broadcast rights to the next several Olympic Games.

Want to contribute to the discussion? Post links and discussion topics on our Reddit page.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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