Tag Archives: History

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

History’s Yukon Gold digs into Season 5

Somehow I totally missed covering Season 4 of Yukon Gold. No matter, the guys and gals who seek out the shiny precious metal in the most inhospitable of places—the Yukon—have stuck with it and return on Wednesday with Season 5 of the History program.

“Strike While the Iron is Hot” kicks off the new season at 10 p.m. ET/PT with a quick recap of what’s happened since we last visited the hardscrabble territory. And while folks like Big Al McGregor and Nika Guilbault and Chris St. Jean are back for this bunch of storylines, Karl Knutson, Bernie Kreft and Ken Foy and Guillaume Brodeur are no longer a part of Yukon Gold. No matter, there are more than enough interesting people sluicing. And with gold at a five-year high—$1,700 an ounce—there’s urgency to find the stuff and fast before the 16-week season ends.

Big Al has set himself a lofty goal, aiming to dig up 1,000 ounces (over $1.7 million). But Al’s infectious laugh and positive attitude hides his two-year struggle, first with the death of his wife, Colleen, and then cancer that caused him to lose feeling in his hands and legs. The result? He’s walking with the aid of canes and soldiering on in Colleen’s memory. You can’t help but hope he’ll get those ounces he’s dreaming of.

Meanwhile, young Whitehorse prospectors Ed and Riley are getting into the big game for the first time. Their first task? Transporting their $250,000 sluice plant through the mountains to their claim on Rabbit Creek. A rookie mistake shuts down their convoy for a bit, cutting into precious work hours but providing viewers with awesome, sweeping camera shots of the rugged Yukon terrain.

They may come from different backgrounds and have different levels of success mining, but everyone featured on Yukon Gold agrees on one thing: they deeply love where they are. The allure of living in the wilderness, eking out a living with the bare minimum and removed from the issues a big city presents is an intoxicating cocktail they simply can’t pass up. And having a little bit of gold is just gravy.

Yukon Gold airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.

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Vikings

Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes his Vikings debut in Season 4 finale

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From a media release:

The deception, corruption, and bloodshed culminates in the momentous season 4 finale of HISTORY’s #1 series Vikings airing Wednesday, February 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. In the explosive season finale, Golden Globe Award-winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes his first on-screen appearance as the pivotal character, Heahmund, a warrior bishop. Rhys Meyers joins the cast for season 5 of Vikings which is currently in production in Ireland. A first-look of Rhys Meyers as Heahmund is pictured below.

In the epic Season 4 finale titled “The Reckoning,” Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford) finds himself subject to the Vikings’ battle master plan. Meanwhile, Ecbert (Linus Roache) remains behind with a plan of his own.

Fans can catch up on this season of Vikings on HISTORY.ca, HISTORY on Demand, HISTORY Go app, and iTunes.

Vikings is an international Canadian/Irish co-production by Take 5 Productions and World 2000. HISTORY broadcasts both domestically in Canada and the U.S. MGM Television is the worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. Vikings is produced in association with Corus Entertainment.

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Vikings

Link: Vikings star explains Ivar’s violent streak and previews his rise to greatness

From Sadie Gennis of TV Guide:

Link: Vikings star explains Ivar’s violent streak and previews his rise to greatness
“I think Ivar puts ambition before anything else. He’s very religious and was schooled by Floki, and so he knows that being famous has everything to do with getting accepted to Valhalla in the end, which would be the main goal in your life as a Viking.” Continue reading.

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Vikings

Vikings returns as No. 1 specialty series of the night

From a media release:

HISTORY®’s Emmy® Award-nominated original series Vikings returned with a vengeance, slaying the competition and seizing the #1 spot of the night across specialty with 465,000 Canadians (2+)  watching its November 30th mid-season premiere. As the enigmatic Ragnar Lothbrok made his return to Kattegat, Vikings claimed top spot in multiple key demos, including 2+, A25-54 and A18-49. Since its launch in 2013, Vikings has consistently been the #1 scripted series across Canadian specialty* (2+, A25-54, A18-34 and A18-49) and following Wednesday’s strong start, the momentum continues.

HISTORY’s domination continued with the special presentation of the premiere of Showcase’s Incorporated and the documentary special Vikings: The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok taking the #2 (127,000 A25-54) and #3 spots (116,000, A25-54) of the night, respectively.

Additional Vikings data highlights include:

  • Vikings is already on track to be the #1 original scripted series of the fall (A25-54)
  • The season 4B premiere grew its audience by 22% (2+), 24% (A25-54), 43% (A18-34) and 39% (A18-49) over last Spring’s season 4A finale
  • Vikings was the most-talked about Specialty series in Canada on both Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday night**
  • Since it premiered in 2013, Vikings continues to be the #1 series on HISTORY.ca and on the HISTORY Go app***

In the next episode of Vikings, airing Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HISTORY, the Kattegat locals chide Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) that the gods have deserted him as he struggles to crew his voyage to Wessex. Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) prepares to fulfill his dream of exploring the Mediterranean.

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Vikings

Link: Believe it or not, The Beatles inspired this season of ‘Vikings’

From Laura Prudom of Mashable:

Link: Believe it or not, The Beatles inspired this season of ‘Vikings’
“I think 4B is definitely the biggest season so far; it’s certainly got the best battle scenes in it, but it’s actually also the most emotional season. All of the major characters end up being changed profoundly during the course of this season, so for me, it was digging down a bit deeper into the characters and their relationships.” Continue reading. 

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