Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, Fool Canada

Will Sasso sets out to Fool Canada

The short answer is yes, Canadians are just a polite as we’re believed to be. That is the finding of Fool Canada, CBC’s televised social experiment where hidden cameras capture everyday folks plunged into outrageous situations and confronted with outlandish characters.

Debuting Tuesday night, Fool Canada stars Will Sasso (MADtv) as the king court jester, who along with Craig Lauzon, Sam Kalilieh and Sara Hennessey goof on everything from our love of street hockey to mistaken identity.

“I would feel bad,” Sasso says. “The producers would be talking in my ear, telling me to push it a little further and I wouldn’t want to. ‘This person is on their lunch break, they don’t need to deal with me in a wig!'” And yet deal with Sasso they do, whether he’s dressed up like a European tourist and testing the patience of a passerby by having a dozen pictures taken or portraying a traffic cop and pulling over a girl for “speeding” on her skateboard.” The B.C. native describes Fool Canada as longform improv he found scary and daunting … exactly the reasons he signed on.

Though Sasso admits not all of the bits he participated in were stellar, several in Tuesday’s debut are. The aforementioned tourist bit goes from awkward to amazing and a segment where a city staffer (played by Kalilieh) drops off raccoons for placement in city homes is snicker-worthy. The laugh-out loud moment of the half-hour show? Two dudes playing street hockey … with two dolls strapped to their chests dressed up like real babies. The look of horror on the folks who walk by to see pucks bouncing off the fake infants is worth tuning in for.

“These things don’t work unless I’m in the comfy bosom of my countrypeople,” Sasso admits. “There is this meter where you wonder how far you can push. And when you reach that spot on the meter it becomes fun.”

Fool Canada airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured

He Said/She Said: Is Canada ready for another late-night talk show?

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Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week: Is Canada ready for another late-night talk show?

He Said:

The late-night world is changing south of the border. Jon Stewart exits The Daily Show in a few months, David Letterman stepped down from The Late Show after decades on the air and Craig Ferguson has exited his gig too. The result is a late-night landscape very different from just a few years ago.

Is this the time that a Canadian network gives a late-night talk show another shot? Through Strombo has headed up The Hour and Tonight for several years, we haven’t had a late-night show with a monologue and guest since Ed’s Night Party from 1995 to 2008. The Mike Bullard Show signed off in 2004 after one year on Global; Bullard preceded that gig with Open Mike with Mike Bullard on CTV from 1997 to 2003. From what I recall at the time, the biggest complaint about Bullard’s program was a failure to score enough big names to sit on the couch next to him. (Not everyone got his sense of humour either; his best-ever guest was Tom Green, who came out and tossed a dead raccoon on Bullard’s desk.)

But times have changed, and unless networks ban each other’s stars from appearing on a rival’s program, there’s enough talent—homegrown and international—to fill seats whether a late-night program is based out of Toronto or Vancouver and broadcast on The Comedy Network. (Can you imagine the A-listers they could book during TIFF!?) The challenge, of course, is finding the right person for the job and what style the show might take. Rather than modelling the show after a traditional U.S. program, why not take the blueprint of someone like Graham Norton and mix comedy bits and musical acts in with interviews with up to three or four guests?

As for who might host it, there’s no lack of Canadian talent to do that. Norm Sousa, Gavin Crawford, Seán Cullen, Jon Dore, Debra DiGiovanni, Elvira Kurt, Norm Macdonald, Candy Palmater or Claire Brosseau would all be great choices.

I think it could be done; what do you think?

She Said:

rick-mercer-alley-gallery-thumb-638xauto-242990.jpg

My most vivid memory of a Canadian late-night talk show was Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui. The exclamation mark was of course to indicate the great excitement we should feel about having a Canadian late-night talk show. Just maybe not that particular show, as the dismal ratings indicated.

I was a huge Letterman fan back in the day, and while a day job means I don’t watch a lot of late night television anymore, I like what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert did in a different version of the genre. Stroumboulopoulos seemed to do something in between the two, minus the comedic host. But I’ve always been puzzled by the late-night format and how rigid it is even with all its variations. Monologue, fluffy guest interviews, comedic bits. Do we need this many of that kind of show? Do we need a Canadian version to compete with the plethora of US versions in the same timeslots? I’d rather see the limited Canadian TV budgets put into primetime.

I feel like the Rick Mercer Report could easily slide into that late night timeslot, except it would lose a considerable amount of its audience in the move. In primetime, celebrity interviews are covered with the likes of Entertainment Tonight Canada and eTalk, and political satire in their own unique ways by Mercer and 22 Minutes.

So what I’d love to see, more than a late night talk show, is a year-round primetime Rick Mercer Report, so his commentary isn’t limited to the 18 weeks a year or so that his show is in production. Given that the number of Mercer episodes has shrunk in recent years, that doesn’t seem likely without some budget miracles happening. But I’d rather that miracle than the miracle of a successful Canadian late-night talk show.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries, Still Standing

Murdoch Mysteries star celebrates small-town Canada with laughter

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On Murdoch Mysteries, Jonny Harris plays Constable George Crabtree, tasked with aiding Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) in the solving of crimes in and around turn-of-the-century Toronto. But in his newest series, Harris does some investigating of his own.

The veteran Newfoundland comedian swaps his scratchy police wardrobe for regular duds in Still Standing. Debuting Tuesday on CBC, the series finds the energetic lad discovering small communities across Canada and spotlighting the citizens who call the areas home. As Harris told me at CBC’s upfront announcement, he spends five days in each community, getting to know those who live and work there and doing various chores (like milking goats or lassoing a calf). At the end of it, Harris hosts a small comedy show where he tells jokes based on his experiences, a tough task for a guy who prefers to wait until the last minute to write, even if he does have a couple of guys helping him.

“We write jokes while we’re on the road,” he explains. “We’ll meet someone in the morning and then we’ll furiously write on our laptops. Then we’ll go and meet the next guy or I’ll do the next activity and then over dinner we’ll write. Then we have to out together the set itself in a way that flows and makes sense to people.   At the end of four days I have to try and cram it all into my brain.”

Thirteen episodes comprise Season 1 of Still Standing and among the communities featured are Rowley, Alberta—population eight—a virtual ghost town neighbouring communities support with a monthly pizza night; Berwick, Nova Scotia, a.k.a. the Apple Capital of Canada; Souris, Prince Edward Island; Oil Springs, Ontario, the birthplace of the modern oil industry in North America; and Coleman, Alberta (population just over 1,000), a location fraught with tragedy. Mining disasters, including the Frank Slide of 1903 that wiped half the town of neighbouring Frank off the map.

“They have a very on-their-sleeve attitude about the slide, which made it very interesting for me comedically,” Harris admitts.

Locations were chosen because they were struggling to survive as towns, were locations not on major highways and places most people had ever heard of. The communities may be far-flung, but they all shared the same passion for the land they and past generations call home.

“The goal of the show is to celebrate the towns,” Harris notes. “And if somewhere down the line someone decides to stop in there because they saw it on Still Standing then it’s even better.”

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.

 

Will you be watching Jonny Harris in his new role? Let me know in the comments below! Follow Greg on Twitter.

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Featured, Orphan Black

Review: Orphan Black – All Together Now

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SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read on unless you’ve seen the Season 3, Episode 10 of Orphan Black, titled “History Yet to Be Written.”

What a happy ending. Unlike other TV series that ended recently with mass deaths and gruesome, tough-to-bear sequences (ahem, Game of Thrones), Orphan Black draws the curtain on Season 3 with smiles, family, reunions and tight endings. Sure, we’re left with a few questions, but most of the stray threads are tied up nicely.

That doesn’t mean the season was a success overall; in fact, the plotlines felt rushed to conclusion. In particular, the Topside and Castor plots, often muddled and needlessly confusing as the season went on, seemed to be quickly resolved with cryptic explanation. Yes, Kendall Malone graciously offered up her blood after fussing, and she kinda-sorta made up with Mrs. S., but she switched gears so rapidly after being such an old codger, it all felt very convenient.

Aside from Ferdinand, the extraneous faceless corporate men are always hard for me to remember, so when another one of those guys threatened anyone—Delphine, Mrs. S., whoever—I didn’t always get what was going on. Whose side were they on, and what were their motivations? Maybe that’s the point, that we as the audience were supposed to be confused about what was happening, who was on which team, and who we could trust. But I’m a bit skeptical. It felt like Castor didn’t quite work out, plot-wise, so it was a mess towards the end (which is also why we didn’t see the Castors in two episodes out of 10, or one-fifth of the season).

But there were things I loved about this finale—don’t despair. As ridiculous as the idea is of Donnie bringing Jesse back to Helena, I loved it despite myself. Knowing that someone in the Orphan Black universe can be in love with my girl warms my heart. Their reunion was the most enjoyable one of the episode. Delphine’s not-so-subtle final goodbye to Cosima was also touching. Too bad Delphine had to die, since she was finally becoming a badass, using her Frenchness as an asset and threatening people. Her death is a guarantee that we’ll be getting more of Shay in Season 4. I say bring it on.

As brief as they were, I loved the scenes with Rachel. Her nightmare, which opened the episode, was psychedelic and potent. The first time we see her new bionic eye is also quite something. Just when we thought Rachel couldn’t get any cooler! And that last bit when she reunites with Charlotte was poignant (so well-acted by Maslany), and then we see Rachel’s mother, who up until this point was presumed dead. A friend of mine actually predicted that it would be Rachel’s mom as the new enemy—since she’s pretty much the only one left.

For Season 4, it looks like the Neolutionists will be the big baddie. I got a refresher on what, exactly, a Neolutionist is from Orphan Black’s Tumblr:

“Neolutionism is a fictional term, a sort of philosophical composite, designed to tribute several contemporary and historic perspectives on ‘directed evolution.’ At its root, it represents the belief that scientific advancements can and do improve the human condition, so anything we can invent or develop scientifically to do that should be applauded. Even if those discoveries and inventions can refine the terms of the species’ survival.”

I’m not sure why a worm came out of that guy’s mouth, or what that has to do with the clones, but we can rest assured that whatever happiness and closure they’ve found will be disrupted soon enough.

Despite it all, the dinner scene was a pleasure—this season’s answer to the big dance in Felix’s apartment from Season 2. It’s always nice to give Maslany a proper send-off with most of her characters in the same frame (sorta). Sarah reuniting with Kira and Cal in the snow at the end was less heartstring-tugging (after all, we said goodbye Kira and Cal like two months ago).

Next season we’ll have Alison as school board trustee, a pregnant Helena with Jesse, Cosima with Shay and presumably not sick, Sarah with Cal and Kira (probably not for long), and Rachel on the hunt for all of them. And the clone story continues.

Clone of the Week: You know who I’m going to pick. It has to be Helena; every scene with her is a pleasure, impossible to look away from. She really breathed more life into this season—without her, it would have suffered immeasurably.

Random Thoughts:

  • Rudy vs. Helena: That. Was. Awesome. It was really the only way Rudy could go out, facing off against his just-as-unhinged sister in a knife battle. I wouldn’t have been bored of that if it had gone on for 20 minutes.
  • Alison is now the school board trustee. I never started caring about that election throughout the entire season. Sounds harsh, but it’s true. It always felt so tacked on.
  • Helena is still pregnant? Doesn’t it feel like she’s been pregnant for years? And in that garage fight scene, she wasn’t showing at all.
  • When Felix kicked down that door, I actually jumped back on the couch.
  • Helena: “Much moly.”
  • I tried really hard to care about Mrs. S. and her mother, but there’s just no charisma there. Mrs. S. works best on the periphery and not in the thick of things. There’s a reason why Art only makes an appearance now and then.
  • Lastly, thank you to everyone for following along with my recaps every week! Normally, I don’t miss multiple episodes a season, but life interfered. My apologies for that. Otherwise it’s been fun, and I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read these. Until next season!

What did you think of the season finale, and the season overall? Comment below!

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Dark Matter, Featured

Review: Dark Matter takes mysterious, intriguing next steps

Because I’ve been covering television for years, I have a bit of a suspicious streak when it comes to storylines. I’m always looking for the red herring, the twist, the other shoe to drop. Because of that, watching Episode 2 of Dark Matter turned into an exercise in conspiracy theories and experiments.

I watched the six aboard the Raza, interacting and weighing the knowledge they had their memories wiped and informed by the Android that they are all hardened criminals. One/Jace is the most sensitive of the guys and is all about redemption; no surprise he wanted to help the miners fight back against the corporation. Three/Boone, Four/Ryo and Six/Griffin were more in agreement by acknowledging their violent pasts while trying to move forward, but ended up joining One in his cause and taking up arms against a seemingly unbeatable foe.

Two/Portia quickly emerged as the most level-headed of the bunch, able to take a moment and think things through (unlike the testosterone-fuelled fellows), which paid off when she made a deal with a rival company and successfully scuppered Ferrous Corp’s devious plans. Five/Das spent much of the episode feeling like an outsider; ironic considering she’s the key to the big mystery of who wiped her compatriot’s memories and why. Sure, Five told Two she knows who did it but wouldn’t reveal their identity, leaving us wondering for at least one more week.

But getting back to my suspicious mind, I can’t help but wonder if this whole thing is one big social experiment. Just because the computer told these five that they’re criminals doesn’t mean they are. Maybe they’re just regular folks who have been told they’re bad people. How they react to that—and the decisions they make moving forward—are all part of a grand plan. Will a group of strangers with different personalities and social beliefs band together and form a cohesive team or tear themselves apart?

We already know corporations are in control of everything, so why wouldn’t/couldn’t they do the same with people? As for the Android’s role in all this, she could be recording everything that happens during the test as well as manipulating situations, offering up spare information to the six and then watching what happens.

I know, I know, we’re just two episodes in to Dark Matter. There’s lots more story to go before we get to the answer promised in the season finale. But it will be fun to find out if I’m on the right track … or way off base.

Notes and quotes

  • “We’re better than that … we’re also pirates and smugglers and thieves. That’s a very diversified portfolio.” — Three
  • “No computer program is going to tell me who I am.” — Two
  • Using terms like “baditude,” “Slashy Stabberson” and “It’s Bubba Time,” only makes Three all the more awesome.
  • Listen, I know David Richmond-Peck has played many roles, including Commander Neiman on Dark Matter, but he’ll always be “the guy with the tail on Orphan Black” to me.
  • The opening credits are super-cool.

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

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