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Because I love television. How about you?

Author: Debra Yeo (Page 8 of 29)

Watchable on Apple, Crave, Netflix Aug. 8 to 14, 2022

August 8, 2022 /

SHOW OF THE WEEK: Five Days at Memorial (Aug. 12, Apple TV+)

Vera Farmiga as Dr. Anna Pou in “Five Days at Memorial.” PHOTO CREDIT: Apple TV+

It seems to me the best way to take in a catastrophic event is to bring it down to an individual, human scale.

“Five Days at Memorial” tackles the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina by focusing on a particular group of people inside Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans and what they faced when the levees broke, and a place of refuge became a place of horror and hopelessness.

Vera Farmiga leads a strong cast as surgeon Anna Pou alongside Cherry Jones as nursing director Susan Mulderick and Julie Ann Emery as Diane Robichaux, an administrator at the private LifeCare unit on Memorial’s seventh floor.

(Full disclosure, a relative of mine by marriage, Katie Boland, plays a nurse at LifeCare.)

When the show begins, the hospital staff are battening down for Hurricane Katrina, expecting the building will weather the storm just as it has others for 80 years.

There are frightening moments in the first episode as the winds hurl debris through windows and nearly collapse a walkway between wings. Then the power goes out and water leaks into the basement where food and water are stored.

But by morning, the sun is shining and the hospital’s generators have kicked in. Anna, Susan and their colleagues believe the worst is behind them.

Viewers know differently since the series opens with the discovery of 45 bodies in the hospital chapel, the empty hallways strewn with debris and ominously empty wheelchairs.

But life at the hospital continues to hum along on Day 2 until the water rushing through the city from the broken levees starts to advance on the building.

It becomes clear the basement will be flooded, knocking out the generators and cutting off access to what’s left of the water and food. And thus begins the arduous effort to evacuate the hospital, including more than 200 patients, some of whom have to be carried on stretchers and in wheelchairs on a 40-minute journey to the helicopter pad on the roof.

The hospital becomes a microcosm of the chaos in the city at large, of poor planning, unreliable information and an abdication of responsibility by all levels of government. And while the main characters inside the hospital are white — aside from Cornelius Smith Jr. as Dr. Bryant King and Adepero Oduye as nurse Karen Wynn — it’s clear from the news footage interspersed throughout the series that the city’s poor, Black residents are the worst off.

“This is something that happens in a third world country, not here,” Anna says on Day 4, when the generators have failed, the medicine has run out, the water is nearly gone, the building is like a furnace and patients are dying.

By Day 5, when the New Orleans police finally show up and give the staff just five hours to evacuate the rest of the building, it’s clear some patients will be impossible to move.

At issue is whether some of those patients were then euthanized, with suspicion in the subsequent investigation settling on Anna and two nurses.

If you’re familiar with news reports about the real-life events that “Five Days at Memorial” is based on (along with the book by Sheri Fink), you’ll already know how it turns out. And if you’re not, I won’t spoil it for you.

But the series makes clear just how harrowing those five days were, and the life-and-death decisions they engendered.

Short Takes

Instant Dream Home (Aug. 10, Netflix)

With the plethora of home renovation shows out there, it’s getting harder to up the ante. This new series’ conceit is that abodes are renovated in just 12 hours — or less. In the first episode, for instance, a cramped two-bedroom bungalow is remade with new paint, new storage space, new furniture, a newly landscaped front and backyard, a new room for the coming baby carved out of the entryway, even a new prefab kitchen that has to be forklifted in, in two giant pieces. The recipients are the original homeowner of more than 40 years, who has gone blind due to treatment for a brain tumour, her expectant daughter and son-in-law, who all share the small home. So there’s definitely a feel-good element to go along with the design porn. Danielle Brooks, who you’ll remember as Taystee if you watched “Orange Is the New Black,” is the energetic host.

Netflix also has the docuseries “I Just Killed My Dad” (Aug. 9), about the Anthony Templet murder case; Season 3 of “Locke & Key” (Aug. 10); Season 2 of “Indian Matchmaking” (Aug. 10); Season 3 of “Never Have I Ever” (Aug. 12); and the films “Day Shift” (Aug. 12), starring Jamie Foxx as a vampire hunter, and the family coming-of-age comedy “13: The Musical” (Aug. 12).

Children of the Underground (Aug. 12, 8 p.m., FX)

This is one of those docuseries where what you think you’re getting at first isn’t what you end up with. It starts off as a straightforward story about an American organization called Children of the Underground, led by a woman named Faye Yager to protect kids from sexual abuse, then detours into the satanic panic of the 1980s and the men’s rights movement. It’s a multi-layered story with huge swaths of grey. Yager’s campaign to rescue women and children began after the courts gave custody of her own daughter to the father who was molesting her, despite physical evidence she was being sexually abused. Yager started to help other women in similar circumstances go on the run and you can’t listen to a story like April Meyers’ — whose own very young daughter, like Faye’s, was found to have a sexually transmitted disease — and not comprehend why these women lost complete faith in the family court system. But Faye starts to seem more zealot than saviour as the series goes on, not least because she perpetuated the now discredited myth that there were satanic cults all over America whose rituals included child sexual abuse, and used faulty interview techniques to elicit tales of those rituals from children. Despite that, Yager seemed nearly invincible until she helped disappear a woman and children who hadn’t been molested because the wife alleged physical abuse by her husband. That rich husband launched a punitive lawsuit against Yager that, combined with others, hounded her out of the underground. The series, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, known for the killer whale doc “Blackfish,” includes many voices, including allies and enemies of Yager’s, and now grown children who were both helped and harmed by their time on the run. But it will leave you with no doubt there are still desperate women and children out there being endangered by a system that continues to give the benefit of the doubt to men.

Diana, Princess of Wales, in a scene from “The Princess.” PHOTO CREDIT: HBO

The Princess (Aug. 13, 8 p.m., HBO/Crave)

This documentary, directed by Oscar nominee Ed Perkins (“Black Sheep”), purports to be about the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, but it’s only about the part of her life that intersected with the Royal Family, up until her death in Paris and the worldwide mourning that followed. It’s the 25th anniversary of that sad event on Aug. 31 — one of those “where were you when you heard the news?” happenings for those of us old enough to remember it — which explains why we’re seeing this doc now. There are no talking heads; the film is entirely composed of archival footage and commentary, but it’s a potent reminder of the outsized popularity of the princess, plucked from relative obscurity at the age of 19 in 1981 to become the wife of Prince Charles. If you were a consumer of media during those years, or even if you watched the most recent season of “The Crown,” you won’t learn anything new here about the disastrous turn the marriage took. Nor does it shed any new light on her death at the age of 36 in a car crash in a Paris tunnel. But I defy anyone to not feel moved watching that old footage of her sons William and Harry walking behind her coffin, nor to feel regret for what might have been had Diana lived.

Crave also has Season 2 of “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” (Aug. 12, 8 p.m.); Oscar and TIFF People’s Choice Award-winning film “Belfast” (Aug. 12); and Season 2 of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” (Aug. 14, Starz).

Odds and Ends

Series co-creator Abbi Jacobson as Carson Shaw in “A League of Their Own.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Nicola Goode/Amazon Studios

Reviews were embargoed for “A League of Their Own” (Aug. 12, Prime Video), which reimagines the 1992 movie about a team in the wartime All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by fleshing out the ball players, including one portrayed by series co-creator Abbi Jacobson, and not just those in the AGPBL. Chante Adams plays a Black woman who finds an alternate path to baseball after racism keeps her out of the league. And look for Canada’s own Kelly McCormack (“Killjoys,” Letterkenny”) — whom I’m interviewing later this week — as one of the Rockford Peaches.

“Rutherford Falls” is back for a second season on Showcase and StackTV (Aug. 9, 9:30 p.m.) with even more Canadian content. Besides scene-stealing Cree actor Michael Greyeyes and Dustin Milligan of “Schitt’s Creek,” Mohawk actor Kaniehtiio Horn (“Letterkenny”) joins the cast as villainous gym owner Feather Day.

Disney+ has the animated shorts series “I Am Groot” (Aug. 10), featuring Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.

Finally, Prince Charles might not be your favourite royal, especially if you watch “The Princess,” above, but he judges the new reality series “The Prince’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation” (Aug. 10, 10 p.m., Makeful), in which six British folks learn heritage crafts like basket-weaving, blacksmithing and kilt-making.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.

Life on ‘The Bachelorette’ is the (arm)pits for Rachel

August 2, 2022 /
Rachel Recchia with her men, blissfully unaware that Logan Palmer, right, is about to attempt to defect. PHOTO CREDIT: All photos except screen grabs Craig Sjodin/ABC

I have somewhat misjudged the “Bachelorette” producers. I said at the start of the season that they were going to shovel shit at both Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey, our dual Bachelorettes, to make them feel rejected. Turns out the storyline is really about making Rachel seem like the odd woman out.

That was certainly the plot in Week 4. After last week‘s embarrassment of having three men reject her roses, things seemed to be off to a good start for Rachel. She had a great one-on-one date with Tino in Paris. But then, when she and her nine dudes crashed Gabby’s group date, Rachel’s men were more interested in watching the boxing than in her, which sent her into yet another tailspin.

By the end of the episode, Rachel had to dump a guy who preferred the company of his dog to her. And the roller-coaster is about to take another plunge with Logan jonesing to switch back to Team Gabby.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the plan all along was to get Rachel to quit.

OK, maybe we can’t blame all of this on the producers. But I have no doubt that the cocktail party getting cancelled — again — was a device to prevent Logan from fessing up to Rachel about his feelings for Gabby so the drama could be dragged out for another week.

Here’s all you really need to know: Gabby’s group date involved her men literally fighting to spend time with her; Rachel got to smell her dates’ armpits. Nuff said.

So let’s back it up to the beginning of the episode.

Before Team Rachel and Team Gabby flew from L.A. to France, “leisure executive” Hayden had a revealing conversation with Meatball and some of the other men. He was complaining about being called out by Rachel and Gabby for telling Gabby she was “rough around the edges.”

Hayden’s excuse was that Gabby had used those words about herself and then she and Rachel threw it back in his face. “Well bitch, maybe you shouldn’t use that fucking word to describe yourself then,” he sniped.

Hayden also appeared to use the word bitch — it was bleeped out — about Rachel or Gabby or both, who he said didn’t “hold a candle” to his ex. “I don’t see how any guy in here could be ‘I’m gonna fucking marry these girls.'”

Hold that thought and let’s switch to some positive stuff.

Rachel and Gabby were in Paris, where they met up with Tino and Jason and went off on separate dates. They did some Paris 101 kinds of things: ate crepes (and pretended to make crepes while kissing, in Rachel’s and Tino’s case); tried on berets (Jason and Gabby, who said she looked like “a bald baby” in hers); tasted Champagne; kissed in the rain.

Yes, Rachel and Tino Franco are having dinner in an actual church.

But, whatever, they had fun and then they all met up at a cafe, and Gabby and Rachel pretended to go the washroom so they could compare notes about their dates, which was cute.

Rachel and Tino had dinner in the Cathedrale Americaine de Paris, which is Anglican, so maybe they’re less uptight about people eating and smooching in their churches than Catholics? I don’t know.

The theme of the dinner chat was whether Tino would object to Rachel’s job as a pilot and flight instructor and . . . we’re seriously still having these sorts of conversations?

And the answer was, as long as Rachel was willing to have kids at some point (she was), Tino was totally cool with their spawn having two working parents. He explained that his folks both worked full-time and “there’s always a way to make it work.”

Test passed, rose given, smooches bestowed.

Jason Alabaster and Gabby compare therapy notes.

Gabby’s test for Jason was whether he could open up to her and it didn’t take long, once they settled in for their non-meal, for him to spill about how he was a sensitive dude who took everything personally, but therapy had helped him “have my power again.”

(Although obviously the power needs recharging since when he got to the Bachelor mansion he couldn’t eat or sleep for three days and had a “breakdown.”)

Jason seems a tad, well — there’s no polite way to put this — boring.

But Gabby, who knows from therapy thanks to her estranged mother, was thrilled about his confession. They talked about “inner child work” for crying out loud!

So yes, Jason got a rose and smooches with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Host Jesse Palmer shows the men their new temporary home in Le Havre, France.

Next up, Gabby’s group date and I should pause to mention that while Jason and Tino wandered around Paris the other men checked into a freakin’ cruise ship in Le Havre, two hours away. Yes, apparently ABC paid for the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady, which holds 2,770 people, to ferry two women and a dwindling number of men around Europe. One hopes there were other passengers on the 11 decks that Team Gabby and Team Rachel weren’t using.

So the group date was a French boxing competition, which is a type of kickboxing, although the guys just whaled on each other like in a regular boxing match from what I could see.

But the main event for plot purposes was on the sidelines, where Rachel was sitting with Gabby. Her men were on the opposite side of the ring watching the bouts and Rachel was upset that none of them would make eye contact with her, let alone walk over and talk to her.

Kirk lands a punch on Spencer, whom Gabby declared the champion.

A few thoughts: a hectic, noisy environment like the, ahem, “Bachelorette Battle for Love” isn’t an ideal place for a tete-a-tete. How much of Rachel could the men actually see from where they were standing (Logan had to lean over to gawk at Gabby)? And were they told to stand there by producers, the better to stoke Rachel’s insecurities? (I wouldn’t put anything past them.)

Whatever the circumstances, Rachel was in full-on, tearful “I don’t feel like I deserve to be the Bachelorette” mode afterwards, to the point she claimed she felt more wanted by Clayton Echard than any of her current suitors.

She marched into the men’s suite to tell them how hurt and upset she was and not one guy followed her out to try to make amends so, yeah, slow learners.

Contrast that to frontrunner Nate telling Gabby at the match how he missed all the little things about her, like her “cute little head shake” when she starts to talk. Rachel noticed the difference in devotion and viewers were meant to as well.

Nate didn’t get the date rose. That went to Spencer, declared the winner of the battle and gifted a “special dinner” with Gabby. As far as I can tell, their only connection is that Spencer was in the military and Gabby comes from a military family, but good enough.

Poor Rachel. Still smarting from her “rejection” of the night before, she took her dudes to learn about the “art of romance” and it was one of the cringiest dates in franchise history.

First off, their guides, Flora and Boris, “experts in all things romance,” sat on a settee sucking face for a full 33 seconds while the men looked uncomfortably on. In my experience, over the top PDAs are not uncommon for the French, in Paris at least, but yes, awkward.

Yes, Rachel is sniffing Zach’s armpit.

I can’t imagine, however, what having the guys take off their shirts so Rachel could smell their armpits, blindfolded, had to do with romance.

Between Zach flirting with Rachel by putting her in a choke hold from behind, Meatball crawling across the floor to her like “Little Miss Sunshine” and Hayden French-kissing his own hand, the less said about this date the better. Just try to wipe it from your mind.

Luckily, Tyler wrote Rachel a poem to make amends for the night before so she picked him for alone time.

Tyler told Rachel how, even though his last serious girlfriend dumped him after he’d bought them a house, he was ready to find “unconditional love” again. “That feeling is 10 times better than the pain.”

Tyler Norris won Rachel over with his talk of suffering for love.

And since Rachel seemed like someone who loves “really, really hard,” Tyler was there for her.

Sounds a little masochistic to me, but fine. He got the date rose and Rachel’s fear was behind her. Or was it?

Of course it wasn’t. As Rachel and Gabby happily prepared to enter the cocktail party hand in hand as usual, we heard Logan plotting to express his feelings for Gabby because “the heart wants what it wants” and his didn’t want Rachel.

But before that bomb could go off, we had Hayden to deal with.

His plan to snare an extra week on the cruise ship was to tell Rachel all about his dying dog, Rambo, who had a brain tumour, sharing a book of photos of the poor animal.

Not only did Hayden put the dog through radiation just so he could get an extra six months with his pet, he left the pooch behind to come on “The Bachelorette” and he brought Rambo’s “cancer duck” stuffie with him to show Rachel. Who the hell does that?

Hayden Markowitz plays show and tell with Rambo’s “cancer duck.”

Then, when Rachel let Tino interrupt Hayden’s tale of woe, Hayden started complaining about her behind her back.

In the meantime, Meatball had dropped a dime on Hayden and, even though Hayden denied everything that Meatball said he said, Rachel was done with him.

I would have liked to see Hayden get lowered into a teeny lifeboat and made to row to shore, but the ship was docked so he got to walk a gangplank instead of the plank.

Hayden made it clear that he wanted Rambo more than Rachel. “I know right now for a fact no one has the amount of love that I have for Rambo and that Rambo has for me,” he said. Here’s a tip: next time stay home and take care of your sick dog.

Cue Rachel’s next meltdown: “This isn’t working for me. I’m a failure.”

Nonetheless, there was a rose ceremony. Gabby gave roses to Nate, Erich, Johnny, Michael and Mario.

Rachel gave roses to Aven, Meatball, Zach, Ethan and, yes, Logan, who accepted just so he’d get another chance to talk to Gabby.

Buckle your seatbelts for the Brouhaha in Bruges next week.

You can watch Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv. And you can comment here, catch me on Twitter or chat on my Facebook page.

Watchable on Disney, Prime Video, Netflix Aug. 1 to 7, 2022

August 1, 2022 /

SHOW OF THE WEEK: The Bear (Aug. 3, Disney+)

From left, Jeremy Allen White, Lionel Boyce and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in “The Bear.”
PHOTO CREDIT: FX

First things first, if the behind-the-scenes operation of a restaurant is as chaotic as in the fictional Original Beef of Chicagoland in “The Bear,” it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to open one.

But it’s to viewers’ advantage that sandwich shop Original Beef is up and running. If you’ll forgive the bad food pun, there’s a lot to chew in this story about a hot shot young chef (Jeremy Allen White, “Shameless”) who returns to Chicago to take over the restaurant he was willed by his dead brother.

When Carmy Berzatto takes on Beef, it has a tired menu, an inefficient kitchen and recalcitrant staff who resist the changes he wants to make, especially his so-called “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “Girls”), an aggressive loudmouth who was the best friend of Carmy’s brother, Michael (Jon Bernthal).

Michael was a drug addict who committed suicide and has left a pile of debt behind, including hundreds of thousands owed to his Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt). Carmy could wipe out the debt by selling to Jimmy, but against all odds he wants to keep the place and fix it up.

New employee Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, “Big Mouth”), an ambitious young woman who has her own ideas about how to run things, tries to help Carmy whip the kitchen into shape, which adds to the tensions among the staff, particularly with long-time employee Tina (Liza Colon-Sayas) and with Richie.

And Carmy, on top of everything else, is still processing his grief about Michael’s death, particularly since they were estranged for a couple of years before the suicide. He also has a tenuous relationship with his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott), who’s partly on the hook for the restaurant’s unpaid back taxes.

Add in mundane screw-ups like incorrect orders from suppliers, kitchen accidents, a bad rating from the board of health, an exploding toilet and a power failure, and it’s a wonder anyone’s getting fed.

Series creator Christopher Storer told Esquire he saw the chaos of a restaurant kitchen firsthand when he spent a couple of days as a line cook, but there was also a lot of research done and the show has a secret weapon in Canadian chef Matty Matheson, a co-producer who also plays the Beef’s resident handyman, Neil Fak.

If it seems like a restaurant kitchen is an unlikely setting for drama, I can tell you the show is fast, intense and never boring, and some of its most dramatic scenes take place in that cramped space .

In particular, in Episode 7, part of which was filmed in one continuous shot, something as ordinary as a restaurant review kicks off a nightmare of a shift in which many harsh words are exchanged, two people quit and another is accidentally stabbed.

But there is a resolution — a little too neat of one, but one that points the way to the already greenlit Season 2 — and the team pulls together.

Cooking is life for people like Carmy, Sydney and aspiring pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce).

For those of us who would rather just enjoy the end result, a show like “The Bear” makes it entertaining to see how the sausage is made.

Paper Girls (Prime Video)

From left, Fina Strazza, Sofia Rosinsky, Riley Lai Nelet and Camryn Jones in “Paper Girls.” PHOTO CREDIT: Amazon Studios

(Note: I don’t normally include shows that have already debuted on the Watchable list, but I missed out on reviewing “Paper Girls” last week because of an embargo.)

There’s been an inevitable linking of “Paper Girls” with Netflix juggernaut “Stranger Things,” but aside from the fact both start in the 1980s with bike-riding preteen protagonists confronted by supernatural forces, they’re not anything alike.

The girls of the title — 12-year-olds Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), Tiffany (Camryn Jones), KJ (Fina Strazza) and Mac (Sofia Rosinsky) — are battling humans, not monsters, albeit ones that possess advanced technology and can jump through time. And our heroines, despite their youth, shed their innocence more quickly than the Hawkins gang of “Stranger Things” and in ways that feel truer to real life.

In the early hours of Nov. 1, 1988, the girls are on their paper routes when they band together to avoid Hell Day hooligans and finish their deliveries. But it looks like nobody in this part of Stony Stream, Ohio, is getting their paper on time, because Erin is jumped by a couple of men in black who steal the walkie talkie that Tiffany lent her and the quartet gives chase.

That pursuit kicks off a series of events that puts them smack in the middle of a fire fight between two groups of time travellers known as the Old Watch and the Standard Time Fighters, or STF.

The walkie thieves save the girls’ lives but at the cost of them travelling 31 years into the future. They spend the rest of the eight episodes trying to get back to 1988, while avoiding an Old Watch assassin (Adina Porter) who is hunting them, with the help of an STF member named Larry (Nate Corddry) and older versions of Erin (Ali Wong) and Tiffany (Sekai Abeni).

That last wrinkle adds depth to “Paper Girls.” Each of them learns disappointing or confusing things about their futures and the people they become. Youthful optimism runs smack into the compromises that adult life demands and the girls don’t take it gracefully.

But they’re 12, so why would we expect them to?

The time-travel plot line is fine if not always well explained. It’s the performances of the show’s young and relatively unknown stars that elevate the material.

These girls have layers that are sympathetically and thoughtfully excavated, whether it’s KJ, who’s from a wealthy Jewish family, glimpsing a sexuality she doesn’t even know how to name; Tiffany, who is African-American, fighting to preserve her vision of what success means; Chinese-American Erin coming to terms with fractures in a once close family; or Mac, who lives in the rough part of town, realizing she might never escape the violent blight of her upbringing.

The girls straddle the line between childhood and young adulthood. One moment they’re eluding Old Watch travellers after seeing people they know die; the next they’re trying to figure out how a tampon works after Erin gets her period.

They start out as near strangers and end up friends, and it feels both earned and rewarding.

There is one other way that “Paper Girls” is like “Stranger Things”: it’s at its best when its young characters come together to grapple with whatever is plaguing them, whether it’s warring time travellers or the pain of growing up too fast.

Short Takes

Concert-goers dance as what’s left of Woodstock ’99 burns in “Trainwreck.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 (Aug. 3, Netflix)

The title of this three-part docuseries is appropriate because, as with the proverbial train wreck, it’s hard to look away as it documents this disaster of a music festival day by day and hour by hour. If it all seems familiar, it might be because HBO’s “Music Box” series also covered the chaos in the doc “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage” last summer. The Reader’s Digest version is this: what was supposed to be a three-day sequel to the blissed out hippie vibe of the 1969 Woodstock festival turned into a sort of “Lord of the Flies” nightmare of anger and violence that culminated in a riot on the final night. “Trainwreck” (whose original title was “Clusterf**k,” also very appropriate) is long on details of the mayhem but short on explanations. Promoters Michael Lang and John Scher; musician Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit; untrained security guards; aggressive, young men in the crowd: all get fingered for some part of the blame. Scher, in particular, still seems determined to deflect any responsibility for what happened and still seems to blame the women who got raped at the festival for their own misfortune. As far as I can tell, the die for the catastrophe was cast the minute it was decided the festival would be more about squeezing participants for every possible dollar than keeping them comfortable and safe. And as I said in my review of “Peace, Love, and Rage,” “One does wonder what geniuses thought packing 220,000 or so people onto a largely asphalt surface in searing July heat was a good idea.” This series makes no mention of the one (and only one, surprisingly) death from the festival: that of David DeRosia due to hyperthermia from overheating. But it does provide a cross-section of voices, including Lang (who died three months after he was interviewed), Scher, event staff, musicians, reporters, MTV personalities who covered it live and concert-goers, a couple of whom say they’d do it all over again despite the fear they felt that weekend. Lucky for them and for us, there will never be another Woodstock.

Netflix also has the rom-com “Wedding Season” (Aug. 4) and, of far more interest, “The Sandman” (Aug. 5), based on the comic book series by Neil Gaiman about what happens to the Master of Dreams (Tom Sturridge) and the world after he is imprisoned for a century. Reviews for this one are embargoed until release.

Odds and Ends

CBC and CBC Gem have “FreeUp! Emancipation Day” (Aug. 1, 8 p.m.), celebrating the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire, including Canada, on Aug. 1, 1834. The two-hour show includes a special about Emancipation Day celebrations across Canada, talks about what emancipation means, and performances by Jully Black, TiKA and Measha Brueggergosman. CBC Gem also has Season 2 of the Quebec series “C’est comme ca que je t’aime” (Aug. 1) and reality sitcom “Bobby & Harriet Get Married” (Aug. 5) in which a real-life couple, Brit Harriet Kemsley and Canadian Bobby Mair, play heightened versions of themselves.

Crave has the second season of workplace drama “Industry” (Aug. 1) about young traders in London, England. And if you missed Guillermo del Toro’s latest Toronto-shot, Oscar-nominated movie, “Nightmare Alley” comes to Crave Aug. 5.

Speaking of movies, “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear” is on Disney+ Aug. 3.

Apple TV+ has the animated film “Luck” (Aug. 5) and Season 2 of “The Snoopy Show.”

Finally, Prime Video has another film, “Thirteen Lives” (Aug. 5), a fictionalized account directed by Ron Howard of the rescue of young members of a soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand. I’m sorry I missed the chance to screen this one because the Disney+ doc about the event (“The Rescue”) was fascinating. Also new to Prime Video is Season 2 of “The Outlaws” (Aug. 5), about ne-er-do-wells banding together while doing community service in London.

Rachel and Gabby both taste rejection on ‘The Bachelorette’

July 26, 2022 /
Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia on the monster group date with Hayden, Johnny, Jordan and Mario. PHOTO CREDIT: All photos but screen grabs Craig Sjodin/ABC

The purpose of this two-“Bachelorette” season has been made abundantly clear, if it wasn’t already. It’s not about Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia finding love — although that could still happen — it’s about making them relive the kind of rejection they felt on Clayton Echard’s “Bachelor” season.

Thus, on a Frankenstein’s monster of an episode, we had Gabby being told point blank by several of the men that they preferred Rachel and Rachel having her roses rejected by several more at the rose ceremony.

And if that wasn’t humiliating enough, host Jesse Palmer then took those roses away so that Rachel couldn’t give them to anyone else. Funny how that suddenly became a rule on a season that supposedly had no rules.

When Monday’s episode ended, Gabby had nine suitors left and Rachel eight, along with two bruised egos — although it looks like James, a.k.a. Meatball, will get a second chance with Rachel and even out the numbers again.

The two stars aren’t the only ones enduring a so-called roller-coaster ride. I mean what the hell was that Monday?

The episode started with Rachel having a perfectly sweet one-on-one with tech exec Zach, then veered into train wreck territory with Gabby paying a surprise visit to the mansion and having the men ignore her to play football.

Gabby’s Grandpa John perked up the mood by accompanying her on her one-on-one with Erich — which was odd, but OK, fine — then Gabby had a meltdown during dinner but seemed to recover her equilibrium at the group date, only to crash again when three men told her she wasn’t their type.

Rachel and Gabby wanted to control their journey, as if producers would let that happen.

So Gabby and Rachel tried to take back control of their “journey” by dividing up the men at the rose ceremony and we know how well that turned out for Rachel.

Earlier in the episode, Rachel seemed like the belle of the ball.

She and Zach got to play dress-up with Karamo Brown from “Queer Eye” on an “old Hollywood” date that he allegedly planned.

Zach Shallcross and Rachel Recchia, ready for their close-ups.

Karamo sent them off to an “exclusive movie premiere” at the gorgeous El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard where they walked a teeny red carpet with faux paparazzi, only to discover that the movie, “Me & You,” was actually a collection of photos and videos from their childhoods and inspirational messages from their moms, all tastefully scored by piano player Matt White.

The walk down memory lane produced the requisite amount of tears on both Rachel’s and Zach’s parts, and they bonded over the fact they both spent time with their dads in airport parking lots watching planes take off and land.

So it only took two one-on-ones for Rachel to achieve liftoff — no hard feelings Jordan V. And Tino, watch your back: there’s a new frontrunner in town.

While Rachel was playing starlet, Gabby went to the mansion, in theory to see which men would make the effort to get to know her better. None, nada, zilch, that’s how many made the effort.

The dudes were more interested in tossing a football and complimenting each other’s shirts than chatting up Gabby. That went over about as well as you think it would for someone with abandonment issues because her mother withheld love when she was growing up.

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Gabby said as the ball was tossed back and forth, and she could have been talking about the show as well as the game.

But chin up, the next day she had a date with real estate analyst Erich and Grandpa John came along, supposedly so Gabby could see how Erich interacted with her family, but it’s way too early for that. This was just a sop to Bachelor Nation since Grandpa John is so beloved.

First stop was one of those woo woo activities the franchise likes to use from time to time: a sound ceremony to release negative energies. And it might have had meaning for Gabby, but I don’t blame Grandpa John for falling asleep.

Grandpa John, Julie, Gabby and Erich enjoy a beer ceremony.

Everybody stayed awake for the next activity — bowling — at which Gabby recruited a plant, er, lady named Julie to be a date for Grandpa.

So far so good: Erich was chill about having Grandpa along, Erich and Gabby got in a little smooching time and they got to be alone on the evening portion of the date.

But the wheels came off after Erich talked about his “soul-mate” parents, which prompted Gabby to talk about her estranged mother.

“I’ll maybe never know what it’s like to have a mother’s love,” Gabby said tearfully and Erich . . . just looked at her, not even a pat on the shoulder, for crying out loud. Maybe that’s just the way it was edited, but with that reaction it’s no wonder Gabby left him alone at the table to go cry on producers’ shoulders.

“Am I too broken for anyone to love?” she lamented.

No sweetie, you’re not, but this nasty franchise is going to make sure you keep feeling that way.

For a moment, it looked like Erich might go the way of Jordan V — just imagine how freaked out the other men would have been to see another dude not survive a one-on-one — but Gabby returned to the table, apologetic for not being a “polished” Bachelorette.

Erich made the right noises about Gabby’s experiences making her a “really unique person” and being “open and honest,” and really liking Gabby and wanting to “see where this goes.”

Where it went for the moment was a rose for Erich and lots of smooching.

“I’m the imperfect Bachelorette. I think in some people’s eyes it will mean perfect,” Gabby said.

A useful thought to take into the next day’s mob scene, the largest group date in Bachelorette history at 19 men. I didn’t count them, but one of the guys said there were 19 of them, so I’m going with it and don’t expect me to name names.

Gabby, Rachel and Franco Lacosta with a big-ass group of men.

And guess who was there? Alleged “Bachelor legend” Franco Lacosta to do a photo shoot.

Given that Gabby and Rachel made their entrances in wedding gowns, you might have thought it was going to be one of those faux wedding shoots with the men in tuxes and suits. But no, they were mostly given ridiculous costumes to wear: plaid shirts and Daisy Dukes for a car wash tableau; a diaper for Meatball, who was, ahem, birthed by Aven; a fig leaf/black box for Jacob for an Adam and Eve shoot with Gabby.

“I’ve seen Jacob’s situation multiple times today and excuse me, because I just can’t help looking,” Rachel said.

It was all ridiculous, the only interaction of note coming when Nate, in a suit thankfully, faux proposed to Gabby.

Nate poses with Gabby, Quincey and Kirk but got a more interesting solo shoot with Gabby.

“Your smile melts my heart, it really does. Whenever you enter a room the world melts away,” he said. “The second I laid eyes on you I felt like I was meeting my best friend and forever could never be long enough to realize how beautiful you are inside and out.”

Followed by a smooch chaser, it sounded like a rehearsal for the real thing, which would have been a good thought for Gabby to hold onto as the after-party commenced at SoFi Stadium.

Now, obviously, this was heavily edited. We saw Rachel kissing Aven, Jordan H and Tino, followed by Tyler, Hayden and Jacob telling Gabby they weren’t interested in her. Hayden damned Gabby with faint praise for her “bubbly” and “goofy aspect,” adding that she was rough around the edges.

And then Jacob cheerfully told Gabby she was “smokin’,” but “if you were the only person here I don’t think I could have the heart to continue.”

Ouch!

Show me a woman who wouldn’t have her insecurities stirred up after hearing something like that.

Rachel cheerfully gave her group date rose to Aven; Gabby didn’t give hers to anyone, saying, “Tonight has kind of been hard for me in a way.”

I find it really difficult to believe Gabby didn’t have positive interactions with somebody at that after-party with 19 men swirling around and, even if she didn’t, surely she could have given the rose to Nate for his lovely words from the photo shoot. But OK, let’s pretend this was all her idea.

After Gabby commiserated with Rachel about her lousy experience, the two of them decided that something had to change.

Cue the cancellation of the cocktail party! Jesse told the fellows they’d be moving directly to the rose ceremony and would have to choose which Bachelorette they wanted to date. No more sitting on the fence, Meatball!

“This will be the craziest night in Bachelor Nation history,” Quincey said.

Now, let’s be honest, if the franchise really had Gabby’s and Rachel’s best interests at heart they could have separated the rose ceremonies, with the women going one after the other. That might have eased the humiliation of rejection somewhat.

Gabby and Rachel face the men for the separate but together rose ceremony.

Instead, there were two tables with eight roses apiece, and Rachel and Gabby took turns handing them out.

The pre-ceremony narrative was that Gabby might face rejection because of what happened at the group date after-party. But Nate, Johnny, Spencer, Jason, Mario, Kirk, Quincey and Michael all took her roses.

Rachel gave hers to Tino and Logan and then Termayne balked, saying he had a deeper connection with Gabby and um, really? Can’t even remember seeing them together.

That’s when Jesse walked in to “clarify,” saying Termayne could get back in line but Rachel had forfeited that rose. Yep, the women are taking control of their journey all right.

Alec also said no thanks to Rachel. Thankfully, Tyler, Ethan and Jordan H said yes, but Meatball declined, saying, “I’m here for Gabby.”

Rachel and Gabby took a (producer-mandated) break to kvetch before giving out their final roses. “This was supposed to be us taking the power back. We literally handed it right back to all of them by doing this,” Rachel whispered.

Dealer, i.e. the franchise, always wins, ladies, dealer always wins.

Hayden said yes to Rachel’s final rose then the women repaired to separate rooms for champagne toasts with their groups of guys.

The footage over the credits showed Meatball, who had been booted along with Jacob and Rachel’s other no-men, Alec and Termayne, asking Rachel for another chance because, gee, he did want to get to know her after all. Rachel might not want him back, but the producers surely will to even up the numbers.

Next week the gang goes to Paris as “two separate groups on two separate journeys.” Logan is having second thoughts about throwing in his lot with Rachel — no surprise there — and Rachel gets information about “disturbing” things being said.

You can watch Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv. And you can comment here, catch me on Twitter or chat on my Facebook page.

Watchable on Crave, Netflix, Prime Video July 25 to 31, 2022

July 25, 2022 /

SHOW OF THE WEEK: City on a Hill (July 29, Crave)

Kevin Bacon as Jackie Rohr and Aldis Hodge as DeCourcy Ward in “City on a Hill.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Francisco Roman/SHOWTIME

Jackie Rohr is a bastard: a corrupt ex-FBI agent, a murderer, a booze- and drug-abusing philanderer, someone who’ll throw just about anyone under the bus to save his own skin. There’s no good reason to root for him and yet the character, as played by Kevin Bacon, compels you to watch him.

As Season 3 of this Boston-set crime drama opens, Jackie — having quit the FBI last season rather than be fired — is tending bar and burning through his emergency funds when his old FBI mentor offers him a private security job at $2,000 a week, which would be a real windfall in 1993.

But it soon becomes clear that his rich boss, Sinclair Dryden (Corbin Bernsen), is doing reprehensible things, which means Jackie has to decide whether to take the high road or keep his mouth shut for the money.

The other star of the series, Jackie’s sometime nemesis, sometime collaborator DeCourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge), who is as moral as Jackie is bent, has a shot at becoming Suffolk County district attorney if he gets his boss some high profile wins. But he resists quickly prosecuting the case of an alleged police killer when it becomes clear the young Black man was likely set up.

Both Jackie’s and DeCourcy’s wives are dealing with their own trauma: Jenny Rohr (Jill Hennessy) from sexual abuse at the hands of her estranged father and Siobhan Quays (Lauren E. Banks) from being shot last season and having a miscarriage.

Jenny finds new purpose volunteering at a community centre, where she re-establishes contact with Irish priest Diarmuid Doyle (Mark Ryder), which angers Jackie. And Siobhan, who has quit her law firm to work with the American Civil Liberties Union, goes up against the powerful forces behind the Big Dig megaproject when a worker is injured on the job.

This season also gives Boston police officer Chris Caysen (Matthew Del Negro) way more to do, helping root out corruption within the force.

The series is reminiscent of “The Wire” in its focus on the rot within the political and justice systems, although it doesn’t have that series’ finesse. There’s also a little “Homicide: Life on the Street” DNA, with Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson executive-producing both shows. (Boston boosters Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are also EPs on “Hill.”)

“City on a Hill” doesn’t tread new ground in the genre, but if you’ve already seen seasons 1 and 2 — and I’d recommend doing so before digging into Season 3 — you’ll want to keep following its characters, particularly the reprehensible but irresistible Jackie.

As Siobhan’s therapist says, “Most of life falls into grey areas,” which is certainly the case in “City on a Hill.”

Crave also has the spinoff “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” (July 28), in which a new set of teenagers is tormented by someone who goes by the initial “A”; and the comedy special “Dave Merheje: I Love You Habibi” (July 29).

Short Takes

Charlotte Law, a mother who fought to take down the Is Anyone Up? porn site after her daughter
was victimized, in “The Most Hated Man on the Internet.” PHOTO CREDIT: Netflix © 2022

The Most Hated Man on the Internet (July 27, Netflix)

I’ll be honest, I watched this docuseries because the Netflix releases that I most wanted to review were embargoed, but I only got through two of the three episodes. I was so thoroughly disgusted by Hunter Moore, the “man” of the title, who started a repository of internet evil in 2010 known as IsAnyoneUp.com, that’s all I could stomach. Sure, the series is meant to be about the victims and the people who brought Moore down, chiefly Charlotte Law — a mother whose daughter’s topless photos were hacked and displayed on the “revenge porn” site — but it also devotes time to the nastiness spewed by Moore and his degenerate cult of followers. Do we need this show to remind us that crap posted on the internet can ruin people’s lives to the point of making them want to kill themselves? I’m not sure we do but, if you disagree, “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” is there for the watching.

Netflix also has “Keep Breathing” (July 28), the British Columbia-filmed drama about a lawyer (Melissa Barrera) who has to fend for herself when a small plane crashes in the wilderness; “Uncoupled” (July 29), the Neil Patrick Harris comedy about a gay real estate agent whose life is upended when his partner leaves him; the docuseries “Street Food: USA” (July 26); the third season of “Dream Home Makeover” (July 27); Season 4 of car-flipping show “Car Masters: Rust to Riches” (July 27) and rom-com “Purple Hearts” (July 29).

Odds and Ends

Fina Strazza, Sofia Rosinsky, Riley Lai Nelet and Camryn Jones in ” Paper Girls.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Anjali Pinto/Amazon Studios

“Paper Girls,” the sci-fi drama about four 12-year-olds who get caught in a war between time travellers while out delivering papers in 1988, would have likely been my show of the week had reviews not been embargoed until July 29, the day it debuts on Prime Video.

Apple TV+ has “Surface” (July 29), which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a woman trying to rebuild her life after a suicide attempt, and “Amber Brown” (July 29), based on the Paula Danziger books, about a young girl using art and music to cope with her parents’ divorce.

Disney+ has Season 3 of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (July 27); and “Light & Magic” (July 27), a behind-the-scenes look at  Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects arm of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas’s Lucasfilm,

Before he was Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek,” Patrick Stewart was a science professor who helped the British government solve dangerous cases in “Eleventh Hour,” which comes to BritBox on July 26.

Finally, if you’re a fan of Gordie Lucius’s daffy science show “Frick, I Love Nature,” CBC Gem has a bonus episode on July 27 about animals that live in the Arctic.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.

A villain gets the boot, not once but twice, on ‘The Bachelorette’

July 19, 2022 /
Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia prepare to judge a man bits pageant on “The Bachelorette.”
PHOTO CREDIT: All photos except screen grabs Craig Sjodin/ABC

You win some, you lose some and some you have to get rid of twice.

So went the first “date” episode of Gabby Windey’s and Rachel Recchia’s joint “Bachelorette” season.

The episode was a reminder that with two very different women there will be very different outcomes, a reality driven home by the results of their first dates. But on one point they were agreed: any dude who’s already trying to control the outcome of the fantasy suites before he has even had a real conversation with either Bachelorette has got to go.

Chris Austin during eviction No. 1 with Gabby and Rachel.

And thus “mentality coach” Chris Austin was asked to leave not once, but twice: first, for running his mouth about fantasy suites and then for walking right back into the mansion to confront the men who ratted him out to Rachel and Gabby.

I mean come on! Even if production put him up to it, how arrogant do you have to be to be told to vamoose and then waltz back in like you own the joint?

Gabby and Rachel were having none of it and good for them, but Chris’s wasn’t the only non-rose ceremony exit in the episode.

For the first time ever, as far as I can recall, a Bachelorette denied a rose to her first date pick.

The unlucky fellow was Jordan V, the drag racer with whom Rachel was vibing on Night 1 and I am torn. On the one hand, Jordan seemed pleasant and like he was really into Rachel. On the other, we’ve all been there, right? You go out with someone who seems really promising and partway through the conversation you realize there’s no there there.

Rachel and Jordan V in the proverbial “happier times” on their one-on-one.

So good on Rachel for going with her gut even if it was really awkward that Jordan was left on his own at a table in the Los Angeles Theatre and that they had been smooching on a zero gravity plane just hours before, and then Rachel had to listen morosely all by herself to a private concert by Ashley Cooke and Brett Young.

Gabby, on the other hand, picked a winner for her first date. You could practically feel the air vibrating as all of Bachelor Nation swooned over Nate Mitchell.

Even before he got his date card, though, Nate had already ascended to hero status for calling Chris out on his toxic masculinity.

Here’s how it went down. Chris was sitting around with some of the other guys, pontificating about what would happen when — not if — he made it to the final four and what his deal breakers would be.

“We go into fantasy suite and we have this sexual experience, and then the person who I’m most interested in decides she’s gonna have sex with multiple people and feel it out, that would be the situation where I’d go, ‘OK, I’m out,'” Chris said.

When questioned by the other guys about whether he’d drop this bombshell before, during or after fantasy suites, Chris said it would depend on the situation.

Also, he kept calling Rachel and Gabby “females” like they were research subjects in an experiment he was conducting and not living, breathing women whom he allegedly might be interested in.

So many observations! First off, the final four don’t go to fantasy suites, just the final three. Duh. Second, that kind of ultimatum worked so well for Luke Parker. Third, who the hell are you and what gives you the right?

Several of the men were aghast. Words like “presumptuous,” “disrespectful” and “jerky” were used, but nobody called it better than Nate.

“Any time you have a premeditated thought of you won’t do this unless that, that is a form of control and that is manipulative . . . You cannot have preconditions for love. It’s just a form of control that a lot of men don’t realize that they do that damages good women.”

Yes, just yes.

Then Nate and Gabby went on a helicopter/hot tub date with lots of kissing and laughing. And did we mention Nate is 33, has a real job (electrical engineer) and a six-year-old daughter? And if you compare his bio to Chris’s on the ABC website, you’ll see Nate’s talks about doing thoughtful things for the woman he loves, whereas Chris’s says he wants a woman who will love him for being a hard worker and not complain as they “work together toward greatness.”

Sometimes the villains are hiding in plain sight.

Nate Mitchell with Gabby Windey before the rose ceremony.

Anyway, back to Nate. He told Gabby about his daughter at dinner at L.A.’s Union Station and Gabby teared up listening to him talk: “She is my world,” Nate said. “Like, a pocket of my heart just burst open the first time she said ‘Dad,’ the first time she told me she loved me, the first time I felt her hug me.”

And damn, who wouldn’t tear up listening to that? It’s moments like these that keep us watching this godforsaken franchise.

Gabby, reflecting on her close relationship with her own father, told Nate he was the best thing that was ever going to happen to his daughter.

Could Nate be the best thing to happen to Gabby? Well, it’s only Week 2, but there is definitely serious potential there. Nate got the date rose, so all the nervous nellies back at the mansion, freaked out by Jordan V’s disappearance, could relax.

Speaking of the mansion, pretty sure we’ve never had 29 men staying there at once, which is how many men were left after last week’s cancelled rose ceremony. But could the producers not have rolled in some cots? Guys sleeping on outdoor couches, really?

Host Jesse Palmer gives the men the laydown before they stripped down to their Speedos.

In lieu of a supersized group date there was a “pageant” inside the mansion in which the men had to don Speedos (and one banana hammock), and strut and flex for Gabby and Rachel, with the aim of winning time at a private after-party at their place.

Seriously, is anybody more obsessed with the male anatomy than “Bachelorette” producers? The show went through a season’s worth of black bars covering up bulges.

There was also a “talent” segment, although only two efforts are worth mentioning. The good: mortgage broker Jacob, a.k.a. wannabe Fabio, sat backwards on a chair, put on glasses and gave Rachel and Gabby a mortgage pitch, which was very entertaining.

“Jacob is Tarzan dressed like George of the Jungle slash my mortgage broker, ” said Rachel.

The bad and the ugly: James, a.k.a. Meatball, pouring a jar of pasta sauce down his chest. To quote Jesse: “Nooo! Oh!”

Neither man made it into the group of six winners, which included Aven, Logan, Brandan, Jason, Johnny and Colin.

And yeah, I had to look up all their names because I don’t really remember who anybody is at this point. But you only have to focus on two names for the moment: Logan and Johnny.

Logan Palmer with Rachel ahead of the rose ceremony.

I don’t trust videographer Logan as far as I can throw him and I’m still holding a grudge over him trapping two live baby chicks in his sweaty palms on Night 1. But mostly I don’t trust him because he’s clearly playing both Gabby and Rachel.

After getting blown off by Jason, who was there for Gabby, and finding Brandan and Colin not to her taste, Rachel connected with Logan, who blew smoke up her ass about how “incredibly brave” she was to “jump back into this process,” without mentioning Clayton by name. And they smooched.

Next thing you know, Logan was also kissing Gabby after spewing more flattery about how she was “someone who makes people smile and laugh.”

The dude is too smooth by half, but Rachel had to give a rose to somebody. And despite also being interested in Logan, Gabby generously deferred to her friend and gave her rose to Johnny, whom she also kissed.

The double dipping didn’t end there.

Pretty sure this is Mario talking to Rachel, even though the ABC caption didn’t identify him.

Ahead of the rose ceremony, personal trainer Mario — Gabby’s first impression rose winner — chatted up Rachel and then lifted her up and did squats with her, making Rachel squeal, all within earshot and view of Gabby.

But the real drama centred on Chris, because of course it did.

Quincey, Hayden and Jordan H, no doubt encouraged by producers, told Rachel about Chris’s fantasy suite “deal breaker” and she told Gabby, and the two of them confronted Chris.

Chris didn’t deny what he’d said — although he tried the “I wasn’t the only one talking about it” manoeuvre — and he didn’t apologize either.

“If you’ve seen our journey you would know it would be important to us, and would respect our place as women and our position to make our own decisions, which it seems like if we went against something you believed in you would take that time to leave,” Gabby said.

Chris tried to turn it around and make it about them not wanting to have a conversation with him, at which point Rachel told him he was being condescending and they walked his ass out of there.

But that wasn’t the end of it, since Chris walked right back in, gathered Jordan H, Hayden, Quincey, Nate and Tyler (I think), and started grilling them about what they said to Rachel and Gabby.

Rachel and Gabby pushed their way through the knot of producers and camera people filming the scene and gave Chris the boot again, for good this time.

And then, finally, we got a rose ceremony, but only six guys got the heave-ho, leaving a still unwieldy group of 21 whose names we’ll never remember, but for the record: Erich, Zach, Jordan H, Quincey, Michael, Tiny, Jacob, Tyler, Hayden, James, Kirk, Spencer, Alec, Ethan and Mario got roses, in addition to the ones that Nate, Johnny and Logan already had.

Rachel and Gabby alternated the rose-giving and made it clear the roses were from both of them, but looks like that will change next week, with at least one rose rejection and Rachel having a rose ceremony meltdown.

You can watch Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv. And you can comment here, catch me on Twitter or chat on my Facebook page.

Edited because I accidentally called Jordan V, Jordan Z in one reference.

Watchable on Netflix, Crave, Prime Video July 18-24, 2022

July 18, 2022 /

There is no show of the week this week, partly because I didn’t have that much to screen and partly because I didn’t have much time to screen what I did have.

Short Takes

From left, Trenton Quiocho, Rob Stern, evaluator Katherine Gray, John Moran, Claire Kelly, Maddy Hughes, Dan Friday, host Nick Uhas, Brenna Baker, Minhi England, John Sharvin and Grace Whiteside
in Season 3 of “Blown Away.” PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

Blown Away (July 22, Netflix)

Reality competition series are a dime a dozen these days, but this Canadian-made entry has managed to stand out and accumulate a loyal following. Fans are in for more of what they love in the third season as a new group of 10 contestants competes in the Hamilton hot shop for a chance at $60,000 in prizes. They’re a delightfully diverse group, each with their own unique reasons for their devotion to the art of blowing glass. There’s something almost hypnotic about watching the pieces take shape although, at the same time, it looks frenetic, sweaty and extremely difficult, especially given the time constraints for each challenge. And part of the fun is not knowing who’ll come out on top week to week since victory does not alway go to the most experienced glass blowers or those with the most high profile reputations. Former “Big Brother” contestant Nick Uhas returns as genial host and Canadian glass artist Katherine Gray as resident evaluator with a rotating cast of guest judges.

Netflix also has Season 4 of “Virgin River” on July 20, a bandwagon I confess I have yet to jump on; and action movie “The Gray Man” (July 22), which was unavailable to screen. Blow-em-up and shoot-em-up films are not generally to my taste, although I might have watched this one just to see what else “Duke of Hastings” Rege-Jean Page can do.

Dougray Scott as detective Ray Lennox in “Crime.” PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of CBC Gem

Crime (July 22, CBC Gem)

This is a fairly standard crime drama, complete with young adolescent girl kidnapped and murdered, but with the added distinction of being set in one of my favourite cities, Edinburgh, and being the maiden TV effort of Irvine Welsh, the author whose “Trainspotting” novel was turned into a seminal film by Danny Boyle. Several well-worn tropes are found here: the tortured lead detective (although Ray Lennox, played by Dougray Scott, is more tortured than most); the clever serial killer who’s eluded the police for years; the bureaucratic boss (Ken Stott) who wants the case tied up fast, to hell with the evidence. That being said, Scott does some decent work as Lennox, who’s battling not only an alcohol addiction but trauma from his own past that’s stirred up by the case. Joanna Vanderham (“The Paradise,” “Warrior”) holds her own as a young detective partnered with Ray and Jamie Sives (“Frontier,” “Guilt”) stands out as an uncouth, bigoted, sexist cop investigating a murder of his own. If this seems familiar, it’s because the BritBox original first debuted on that streamer in December.

CBC Gem also has the British real estate reality series “Extraordinary Extensions” (July 18) and the Canadian broadcast premiere of the Charles Officer film “Akilla’s Escape” on July 23 at 9 p.m., also on CBC TV.

Odds and Ends

KaMillion and Aida Osman in “Rap Sh!t.” PHOTO CREDIT: Alicia Vera/HBO Max

Sisters are trying to do it for themselves in “Rap Sh!t” (July 21, 10 p.m., Crave). The comedy from Issa Rae (“Insecure”) follows two high school friends who decide to form a rap duo, and try to rise above the sexism and misogyny of the rap music industry. I only watched one episode, not enough to give it a fair review. Crave and CTV also have Season 4 of “Love Island USA” (July 19, 9 p.m.), with episodes every Tuesday to Friday and Sunday, and who the hell has that kind of time?

Prime Video’s premiere of the week is “Anything’s Possible” (July 22), the feature film directing debut of Billy Porter of “Pose.” It’s a high school romance in which one half of the couple is a transgender girl, played by trans actor Eva Reign.

Apple TV Plus offerings include Season 3 of parenting comedy “Trying” (July 22) and “Best Foot Forward” (July22), which follows Josh (Logan Marmino), an engaging youngster with a prosthetic leg, as he switches from home-schooling to public school in Grade 7. It’s based on the true story of paralympic athlete Josh Sundquist.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.

2 Bachelorettes, 32 men, 3 kisses, 1 horse: let the games begin

July 12, 2022 /
Double Bachelorettes Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia. PHOTO CREDIT: Gizelle Hernandez/ABC

Let’s be honest, the relationship we care about the most this season of “The Bachelorette” is the one between its two stars, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia.

But there couldn’t be a more apt metaphor for the shit that’s gonna get shovelled their way than host Jesse Palmer scooping up horse dung after beautiful Blanca, who carried in a shirtless dude named Jacob, dropped a load in the mansion driveway.

Mortgage broker Jacob pulls a Fabio with the help of Blanca.
PHOTO CREDIT: All photos Craig Sjodin/ABC

Gabby pretty much called it, “Boys are dumb.” Or at least indecisive. It looks like she and Rachel will relive a version of the nonsense they endured from Bachelor Clayton Echard, who you’ll recall — and I’m sorry to conjure up the memory — strung them both along with sex and protestations of love, then dumped them simultaneously.

The good news: Clayton’s shenanigans couldn’t tear these best friends apart so I’m guessing none of this season’s dudes will either. We saw plenty of tears in the season promo and both women talking about wanting to quit; we never saw them turn on each other and if ABC had that kind of footage don’t you think they’d be gleefully promoting the hell out of it?

Still, Jesse promised “the most shocking season of ‘The Bachelorette’ yet” and that’s not a good thing if you’re more interested in seeing mature adults fall in love than divisive drama. But really, what did we expect?

Gabby and Rachel weren’t made dual Bachelorettes because Mike Fleiss and his team knew how much fans loved them both and wanted to make us happy. No, having two women choose from the same pool of men is about trying to pit them against each other. Just imagine the possibilities if they fall for the same guy!

“I don’t trust men,” Gabby said. Me, I don’t trust “Bachelorette” producers.

But we’ll save the angst for later. Monday’s season premiere was a pretty congenial affair with a generous tone set by its two lovely leads, Gabby, a 31-year-old ICU nurse, and Rachel, a 26-year-old pilot and flight instructor, who supported each other every step of the way.

So much hugging and hand-holding and squeals of joy! I’m here for it.

It was almost enough to appease us for losing Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams as “Bachelorette” hosts — almost.

As for the 32 suitors, they were well behaved. No excess drunkenness, no trash talking, no playbooks on how to get screen time, no blatantly misogynistic remarks.

I wasn’t keen on Logan manhandling a couple of live chicks just so he could make a lame joke about Gabby and Rachel being “cute chicks,” but one of them got revenge by pooping in his hand — the chickens, not Rachel and Gabby.

Logan introduces Gabby and Rachel to Marybeth and Alejandra. Call the SPCA!

Cringiest limo exit was a tie between investment banker Jason and life coach Quincey. The former said that, like Clayton, he was in love with three women: his mom, his sister and his dog, and ewwww. Quincey said he hadn’t had sex in over a year to show how “intentional” he could be and, like, why did they need to know that?

Software developer Jordan H, meanwhile, had the cleverest shtick, bringing along wireless, noise-cancelling headphones so he could talk to Rachel and Gabby individually without the other one listening in. Props also to venture capitalist Spencer for bringing chairs so Gabby and Rachel could take a load off their high heels. And wedding photographer Alec, besides being a natty dresser, brought along a quartet to sing a song, the gist of which was “Clayton sucks.”

Alec brings his own musical accompaniment.

Aside from the hokey limo entrances, who are the standouts so far?

To be honest, with that many dudes it was hard to get a handle, which is why Rachel and Gabby chose to forgo a rose ceremony and keep 29 men into next week.

They made magician Roby disappear, along with 24-year-old twins Justin and Joey. Being the only three guys singled out for elimination must have sucked hard, but it was a fair call.

Luckily, our Bachelorettes chose very different first impression rose winners and didn’t swap spit with the same men. In fact, there was very little kissing considering the precedent set in other seasons.

Mario got Gabby’s first impression rose and her first kisses of the season.

Gabby’s first rose went to Mario, an affable personal trainer who danced his way out of the limo, but holy hell, did their kissing look awkward! Rachel’s smooching with Tino, a contractor whose forklift-driving skills she admired, was more palatable. He got her rose.

Gabby also kissed real estate analyst Erich, who also considered kissing Rachel, seemingly hedging his bets to get a first impression rose.

“I can see how this is gonna get complicated very quickly,” he said. Ya think?

Gabby also had good chemistry with investment director Ryan and she couldn’t stop looking at Jacob’s pecs, the Fabio wannabe with the horse. That’s just as well; paying attention to the list of attributes he was reading for his future wife might have otherwise bored her to tears.

Rachel had a sweet interaction with “leisure executive” Hayden, who made a hand-written card for her recent birthday. But she couldn’t figure out why neither sales exec Aven or drag racer Jordan V went in for a kiss. There was a fleeting knee grab by the first and the second held her hand, but that was it.

She and Gabby were both attracted to chick guy Logan, who hugged Rachel and bonded with Gabby over sneaking snacks into the cinema (hopefully nothing as big as the meatball sub that “meatball enthusiast” James brought with him).

But yeah, there’s still a lot of wheat to be separated from the chaff with this group. We’ll get another shot at figuring out who’s who next week.

It airs Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv. And you can comment here, catch me on Twitter or chat on my Facebook page.

Watchable on Crave, FX, StackTV, Netflix July 11-17, 2022

July 11, 2022 /

SHOW OF THE WEEK: The Rehearsal (July 15, 11 p.m., HBO/Crave)

Nathan Fielder in the New York bar meticulously recreated on set for a scenario in “The Rehearsal.”
PHOTO CREDIT: HBO

It struck me after watching all six episodes of “The Rehearsal” that an alternative title might be “A Fool’s Errand,” since the idea that variables in a life event can be controlled by repeated rehearsal of the event is inherently preposterous, which is clearly the point here.

But I suppose it also works if you think of Canadian comedian Nathan Fielder as a fool in the sense of a person employed by royalty or other aristocratic households to entertain.

In this case, HBO is the one paying the bills and I’m thinking they must have been enormous.

In the first episode, for instance, Fielder has an entire Brooklyn bar recreated in a studio in meticulous detail, right down to the balloon stuck in a corner of the ceiling. All this so that a man who’s been lying to his trivia teammates for years about the master’s degree he doesn’t have can rehearse coming clean to the teammate he thinks most likely to react badly to the lie.

Fielder also rehearses his own interactions with the subject, using a look-alike actor and a replica of the man’s apartment — secretly digitally mapped during a fake visit by the gas company.

It’s a staggering amount of preparation for something so relatively mundane, and the awkwardness between Nathan and his subject shows that the rehearsal hasn’t really done the trick.

Likewise, the real-life meeting between the man and his teammate doesn’t go as it did in the 13 rehearsals; I won’t spoil things by telling you how it turns out.

Nevertheless, Fielder persists and his next rehearsal is a doozy: a 44-year-old woman named Angela is considering whether she wants to have a baby. So Fielder moves her into a house in rural Oregon where she parents a fake child named Adam, who’s meant to grow from infant to 18 years over two months.

Adam, of course, is really a series of child actors. It’s a trip watching crew members quietly sneak a replacement baby through a window into a crib to conform to Oregon’s child labour laws while simultaneously maintaining the seamlessness of the illusion.

Touches like that emphasize the falsity of the whole endeavour. Crew members “plant” store-bought vegetables in the garden — Angela’s idea of playing house includes living off the land — and she maintains a fake business selling fake skin-care products that a fake mail carrier picks up to fake ship.

Fielder, meanwhile, manipulates his subjects every step of the way, not just the ordinary people he aims to help with these rehearsals, but the actors he’s hired to stage the scenarios.

The trivia player compares Fielder to Willy Wonka, an analogy that seems to disturb Fielder — or does it? It’s difficult to distinguish Nathan the person from Nathan the character, which I’m sure is by design.

Mind you, after he gets more deeply involved in the fake parenting rehearsal — the network has asked media not to reveal how — things seem to get very real.

There appears to be genuine conflict between Angela, who is aggressively Christian, and Nathan, who is Jewish, on the subject of religion. Nathan’s attempts to rehearse his way into a detente with Angela, with an actor playing her, get uncomfortably nasty.

And there are heartbreaking side effects on one of the youngsters playing Adam at age 6. Fielder seems genuinely stricken by the development. Are those real tears in his eyes when he visits the child and his mother? Or is it just another part of the spoof?

With Fielder, it’s hard to say. As he himself says, “How do you ever know you truly understand someone?” The short answer is that you don’t.

“The Rehearsal” is billed as a comedy but, like Fielder himself, the show’s true nature is hard to pin down. Poking through the absurdity is a sense of melancholy, that no matter what bridges we strive to build in life there will always be some detail we get wrong and real connection will elude us.

Short Takes

Kayvan Novak as Nandor and Harvey Guillén as Guillermo in “What We Do in the Shadows.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Russ Martin/FX

What We Do in the Shadows (July 12, 10 p.m., FX)

The TV world’s most entertainingly dysfunctional vampire household is back, but it’s not quite business as usual in Season 4 of the comedy. For one thing, their Staten Island house is falling apart given that Laszlo (Matt Berry) couldn’t be bothered to maintain it while Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) were off on a year of adventures. (Look for cameos amid the decrepitude by one of Toronto’s better known creatures, the raccoon.) Laszlo was too busy raising the thing that crawled out of dead Colin Robinson’s chest at the end of last season — and props to the special effects crew for doing such a great job of putting Mark Proksch’s head on various child bodies. Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) is back as well, having survived two trans-Atlantic sea voyages in a crate with nothing but Oreos and Pedialyte for sustenance. But his plan to finally stop catering to the vampires is derailed when Nandor announces he’s getting married — to a yet unknown bride — and asks Guillermo to be his best man. And Nadja is determined to open a vampire nightclub in the vampiric council headquarters to the alarm of the Guide (Kristen Schaal). If you already love this incorrigible group of undead narcissists and their human caretaker, you’re in for more of what you love. And if you don’t, the seasons and episodes are short, so go ahead and catch up.

Felix Scholkmann takes part in a Swiss LSD study in “How to Change Your Mind.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Netflix

How to Change Your Mind (July 12, Netflix)

If I can shamelessly paraphrase American LSD proponent Timothy Leary, why not turn on, tune in and drop your preconceptions with this docuseries about psychedelic drugs? Based on the book by Michael Pollan, who also narrates the series, it considers the potential benefits of demonized substances like, yes, LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA (ecstasy) and mescaline. In the 1950s, for instance, Pollan tells us there was much promising research into LSD and other psychedelics that got buried when the United States under Richard Nixon began its war on drugs, a destructive and counterproductive campaign that continues to this day. It was the Swiss who jumped back into LSD research more than three decades later and now the drug is being studied as a possible antidote to depression, anxiety and pain, while people in the U.S. are doing their own experimentation with microdosing. Pollan proposes that psychedelics offer a way to penetrate the mystery of consciousness itself. No one’s telling you to go out and drop acid — the show includes a disclaimer that it’s meant as entertainment not medical advice — but it offers at the very least a drug-free opportunity for some mind expansion.

Netflix also has the comedy special “Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks” (July 12), the horror series “Resident Evil” (July 14) and the animated series “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight” (July 14). And while I hear the Jane Austen purists are up in arms over the new movie version of “Persuasion” (July 15), starring Dakota Johnson, this Austen devotee will reserve judgment until she’s seen it for herself.

Theo (Mark Rendall) and Kendra (Archie Panjabi) on the scene of a train crash in “Departure.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Stranks/Shaftesbury/Deadpan Pictures

Departure (July 13, 9 p.m., Global TV/StackTV)

Buckle up for another season of this fast-paced series in which a crew of intrepid investigators solve transportation accidents with all the intensity of a true crime drama. Last season it was a plane crash over the Atlantic; this season an automated high-speed train has derailed between Toronto and Chicago. Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi, “The Good Wife”) once again leads the probe. Some of the plot devices are well worn, such as the suspicious FBI agent (Karen LeBlanc) who won’t share information, but you tend to get swept along with the speed of the show. Panjabi is still magnetic as Kendra, ably backed by senior investigators Dom (Kris Holden-Ried) and Theo (Mark Rendall). And ex-boss Howard (the magnificent Christopher Plummer) is still helping from the sidelines, although he’s only ever seen on phone calls, with Plummer shooting all his scenes at his home in Connecticut, completing them before his death in February 2021. Welcome newcomers to the cast include Kelly McCormack as a new investigator, Donal Logue as a helpful local sheriff and Irish actor Jason O’Mara as an FBI prisoner who escapes the crash.

Odds and Ends

Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler and Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill in “Better Call Saul.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

I would have loved to get an advance look at the final episodes of “Better Call Saul,” but the fact I didn’t hasn’t diminished my enthusiasm for this masterful “Breaking Bad” spinoff, which concludes its sixth and final season beginning July 11 at 9 p.m. on AMC.

We “Bachelor” franchise fans are suckers for punishment, so of course we’ll watch “The Bachelorette” when Season 19 debuts July 11 at 8 p.m. on Citytv. One of the few good things to come out of the shit show that was Clayton Echard’s “Bachelor” season was the friendship between Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, who are sharing the season as dual Bachelorettes. With 32 suitors to start out with, it’s going to be a lot.

Fans of Canadian fabulousness will want to check out the Season 3 premiere of “Canada’s Drag Race” (July 14, 9 p.m., Crave). There are 12 new artists competing to be Canada’s Drag Superstar; Brooke Lynn Hytes, Traci Melchor and Brad Goreski are back as judges; and the guest judges include legends like Carole Pope, JIMBO and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. Crave also has the documentary “Julia” (July 11, 9 p.m.) for those who want to check out the real Julia Child.

Finally, you can catch “Forever Summer: Hamptons” (July 15, Prime Video) if you want to watch rich kids and townies mixing it up on the beach in the exclusive Long Island vacation destination.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.

Watchable on Apple, AMC+, CBC, Netflix July 4 to 10, 2022

July 4, 2022 /

SHOW OF THE WEEK: Black Bird (July 8, Apple TV+)

Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton in “Black Bird.” PHOTO CREDIT: Apple TV+

It’s not the crime scenes that are the most chilling in the miniseries “Black Bird”; it’s the moments when murderer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) is describing to fellow prisoner Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) what he’s done.

There’s one scene in particular in the fifth episode that is harrowing.

Jimmy, a charismatic cocaine dealer who’s cut a deal with the FBI to reduce his sentence in exchange for getting information from Larry about his victims, has finally got the cagey, paranoid killer to open up. As they sit across a table from each other in the prison woodworking shop, the camera jumps back and forth between their faces: Larry’s as he matter-of-factly recounts raping, beating and strangling a teenage girl; Jimmy’s as he listens and struggles to disguise his growing horror.

Later, when they return to their separate cells, Jimmy sobs quietly into his hands.

The stellar work of Hauser (“Cobra Kai,” “Richard Jewell”) and Egerton (“Kingsman,” “Rocketman”) is more than enough to recommend “Black Bird,” but it’s not the only reason.

Ray Liotta, who died at age 67 shortly after shooting wrapped on “Black Bird,” gives a performance that is in some ways the heart of the series. He plays Big Jim Keene, Jimmy’s father, an ex-cop whose love for Jimmy is never in doubt even when his actions put Jimmy in danger.

There’s a poignancy to the fact that Liotta’s character is in ill health; one wonders how much of Big Jim’s frailty was also Liotta’s with scenes in which you can see his hands shaking. But the acting is still top notch, fiercely and deeply emotional.

The bond between father and son explains why Jimmy takes the deal in the first place, which involves moving from a minimum-security institution where he’s well-liked and comfortable to a maximum security prison specializing in the criminally insane where his life might be in danger.

We go into the show knowing that Jimmy will survive since the series is based on the real James Keene’s memoir, “In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption,” but that doesn’t make the prison scenes any less tense, especially after a guard outs Jimmy as a snitch.

The jail footage is intercut with scenes of the investigation into Larry’s crimes — in which both Greg Kinnear as detective Brian Miller and Sepideh Moafi as FBI agent Lauren McCauley also give excellent performances — and flashbacks to Larry’s and Jimmy’s childhoods.

These suggest that both men grew up with negligent fathers and indifferent mothers, although only Larry — a harmless weirdo to the cops in his hometown of Wabash, Indiana, who loved fixing up old vans and civil war re-enactments — turned into a killer.

In any event, the series doesn’t go too deeply into the why of Larry’s crimes — and in real life, he has never been convicted of murder, although he’s serving a life sentence for kidnapping. It’s about the cat and mouse game between Keene and Hall and is at its most gripping when Hauser and Egerton are onscreen together.

Short Takes

Emma McDonald as Bella Sway in “Moonhaven.” PHOTO CREDIT: Szymon Lazewski/AMC

Moonhaven (July 7, AMC+)

I preface this by letting you know I’ve watched only two episodes of this six-episode sci-fi series, so consider this more of a first impression than a full review. The premise is that Earth is dying (that part is clearly not entirely fiction), but there’s a plan to save the planet and all its people via a revolutionary new form of machine learning that’s been developed in a colony on the moon. But “the bridge,” the name given for the imminent transfer by a giant corporation of tech and colonists back to Earth, is threatened by a couple of murders in the Garden of Eden-like colony, which might be part of a larger plot to sabotage the mission. Caught up in all of this is an earther named Bella Sway (Emma McDonald), a pilot and smuggler whose half-sister was the first murder victim and who witnesses the murder of the second. She teams up with a moon detective named Paul (played by Dominic Monaghan of “Lost” and “Lord of the Rings”) to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. Monaghan is charismatic in the role and McDonald starts to grow on you once her character lightens up on the cynicism, but you have to wade through some hokeyness to get to the meat of the matter. The colonists come off as cultists, wandering around in colourful robes singing and dancing, and speaking in a stilted combination of very old-fashioned language and made-up words. If you can get past the new-agey trappings there might be a decent show under there. Joe Manganiello also stars.

Reel Black: Our Film Stories (July 8, CBC Gem; July 9, 8 p.m., CBC)

Got 20 minutes to spare? Then watch this documentary for a bit of a history lesson about Black filmmaking in Canada. It includes interviews with filmmakers Claire Prieto, Clement Virgo, Christene Browne,  Karen Chapman, Karen King and Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, some of whom have been making documentaries and feature films for decades. But even with that wealth of experience, barriers remain thanks to ingrained racism in the screen industry. Yet the doc also imparts a sense of hope, highlighting a new generation of artists such as Ajahnis Charley and Christian Anderson, part of a mentorship program through the OYA Media Group. As Ajahnis points out, it’s not just about getting more Black faces onscreen and behind the camera, but more Black crews, writers, producers and executives. “I want more slices or let’s make a new, better pie,” he says.

From left, Praneet Akilla, Morgan Holmstrom, Ace (Aason) Nadjiwon, Natasha Calis
and Mercedes Morris in “SkyMed.” PHOTO CREDIT: CBC

SkyMed (July 10, 9 p.m., CBC, CBC Gem)

If you like your medical dramas with liberal helpings of romantic entanglements this might be the show for you. The drama follows a group of young, attractive pilots and nurses providing medical care in northern Manitoba. Their ministrations are mostly provided in the back of a plane, which means they have to be fearless and quick on their feet. Back on the ground, the crews share a house, which means partying and hooking up are also on the agenda. But apart from the medical and relationship emergencies, the series — inspired by creator Julie Puckrin’s nurse sister and pilot brother-in-law, who met while serving on an airborne medical crew —also casts an eye on the racism and health care barriers faced by patients in remote Indigenous communities. And the natural scenery is a hell of a lot better than anything you’ll see on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

CBC and CBC Gem also have Season 2 of the sand-sculpting competition series “Race Against the Tide” (July 10, 8:30 p.m.). Gem has “Sorry for Your Loss” (July 4), which stars Elizabeth Olsen of “WandaVision” fame as a widow dealing with the loss of her husband; Season 3 of British comedy “Stath Lets Flats” (July 8) and Season 12 of “The Great British Baking Show” (July 10, 7 p.m., also on CBC TV).

Odds and Ends

Lana Condor as Erika in “Boo, Bitch.” PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Voake/Netflix

Netflix’s offerings this week include “Boo, Bitch” (July 8), which stars Lana Condor of “To All the Boys” fame as a high school senior who uses her death to catch up on all the life she missed when she was trying not to get noticed. It has the usual high school tropes and is intermittently entertaining but doesn’t resemble any ghost story I’ve ever seen in the two episodes I watched. There’s also reality series “How to Build a Sex Room” (July 8), in which designer Melanie Rose, yes, helps couples build hanky panky spaces in their homes. True crime doc “Girl in the Picture” and rom-com “Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between” both debut July 6, and animated comedy “The Sea Beast” is out July 8.

I don’t watch much reality TV anymore, despite my handle, but I do make time for “The Amazing Race Canada,” which returns July 5 at 9 p.m. on CTV after a three-year absence due to the pandemic.

BBC Earth has the latest David Attenborough nature show, “The Green Planet” (July 6, 9 p.m.), which explores “the hidden life of plants,” including maple trees in northern Ontario and lodgepole pines in British Columbia.

The big PBS offering this week is “The Great Muslim American Road Trip” (July 5, 10 p.m.), featuring rapper Mona Haydar and husband Sebastian Robins travelling Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, and visiting Muslim communities and people along the way.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.

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