SHOW OF THE WEEK: The Expanse (Dec. 16, Amazon Prime Video)
in Season 5 of “The Expanse.” PHOTO CREDIT: Amazon Studios
In a sense, there’s no better time for “The Expanse” to return for its fifth and penultimate season than right now, during a pandemic, when many people are locked down and have time on their hands.
That’s because each episode of the sci-fi series is so densely packed with plot and character dynamics that it demands your full attention.
It’s also not a good show to come into cold, so if you’re not up on past seasons I’d respectfully suggest a binge watch before you tune into Season 5, which begins with a three-episode drop on Dec. 16 with weekly episodes thereafter.
Once you dig in, it’s easy to see why fans are so passionate about the series that they launched a vociferous campaign to save it in 2018 after its cancellation by Syfy. Amazon came through with a fourth, fifth and, next year, a final sixth season.
In the meantime, everyone’s favourite Earthers, Martians and Belters have plenty to contend with a couple of hundred years into the future.
Besides the fact that the characters are still grappling with the potential dangers posed by the protomolecule and the Ring Gates, there are personal crises to address, especially for Naomi (Dominique Tipper), who’s determined to reunite with her son Filip (Jasai Chase Owens) and try to save him from his terrorist father Marco (Keon Alexander).
Bobbie (Frankie Adams) is on the trail of a conspiracy involving the sale of black market Martian weapons; Monica (Anna Hopkins) has intel that someone is trying to obtain what’s left of the protomolecule; Amos (Wes Chatham) has unfinished business on Earth; and then there are the asteroids that Marco has disguised with stealth technology and set on a collision course with Earth.
Holden (Steven Strait), Alex (Cas Anvar), Fred (Chad L. Coleman), Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and Drummer (Cara Gee) are all back too, along with a few new characters.
So yes, there’s a lot to absorb, but what else do you have to do?
Borealis (Dec. 15, 9 p.m., TVO)
You could call this documentary a biopic, where bio stands for biology. It documents in beautiful, lyrical, even spiritual form the life of Canada’s boreal forest, a life story that’s still being written.
In particular, it focuses on the trees in the boreal forests of Ontario, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, the amazingly complex relationships they have with their environment and what one observer calls the forest’s “eternal ability to replicate itself.”
That ability is under threat thanks to human activity and climate change. The fires that in the natural scheme of things are a means of renewal are becoming more frequent and burning longer; permafrost is melting as temperatures climb, and repeated droughts leave trees unable to defend themselves against predators like mountain pine beetles.
“The forests were best when we left them alone,” says one of the doc’s mostly unseen expert voices.
The film — directed by Kevin McMahon (“Waterlife”) — ends on a hopeful note, with the planting of new trees and the suggestion that humans, with all their cleverness, will imagine a new way to interact with the forest.
“We can’t live without forests,” says another voice. “We won’t be able to breathe.”
And yet this doc, in its beauty, provides a chance to take a breath and to reflect.
Total Control (Dec. 17, Sundance Now)
as Alex Irving in “Total Control.” PHOTO CREDIT: Sundance Now
It’s nice, from time to time, to get a window into cultures outside our North American norm.
This political drama divides its time between Australian capital Canberra and the outback of Queensland, and between white and Aboriginal points of view.
The series was co-created by Oscar nominee and Australian native Rachel Griffiths (“Six Feet Under”), who stars as Prime Minister Rachel Anderson. But the key role is played by Aboriginal actor Deborah Mailman as Indigenous senator Alex Irving.
After Alex becomes a national hero for confronting a gunman who was about to kill his estranged wife, she is recruited by the PM as a means of shoring up falling poll numbers with an election just around the corner. Alex reluctantly takes the post as a means of helping her fellow Aborigines get a fairer deal from the federal government but must walk a fine line between being a political team player and not seeming like a sellout to her people.
Rachel appears to support Alex’s goals, but other more conservative members of the party are less enthusiastic.
Intertwined with Alex’s story is a plot about a young Aboriginal woman who dies in jail and a fellow inmate with a video that implicates the guards and the prison system as a whole.
If you’ve watched Australian detective series “Mystery Road” on Acorn TV (and if you haven’t, it’s worth checking out), you’ll recognize a few faces here, including Mailman’s and “Mystery” lead Aaron Pedersen’s.
Odds and Ends
Pay movie channel Hollywood Suite is showcasing a drama series during its free preview, the Israeli-made “Valley of Tears” (Dec. 19, 9 p.m.). Reportedly the most expensive show ever made in Israel, “Tears” takes place during the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Egyptian and Syrian forces attacked in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, aiming to recapture territory lost to Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. We see several days of battles through the eyes of characters such as Avinoam (Shahar Tavoch), a wiretapper who is mocked and ignored when he tries to convince his commanding officer Yoav (Avraham Aviv Alush) that the Syrians are about to attack; several members of the Black Panthers protest group (the Israeli one, not the American one) who also belong to Israeli tank crews; and sidelined female officer Dafna (Joy Rieger).
A new adaptation of the Stephen King novel “The Stand” debuts on the CBS All Access streaming service on Dec. 17. I haven’t heard yet whether it will also be available on a Canadian network or streamer down the road. It stars James Marsden (“Westworld”), Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Owen Teague (“It”), Odessa Young, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear and more.
If you appreciate the artistry and athleticism of ballet, “On Pointe” (Dec. 18, Disney Plus) is a docuseries that follows students at the famed School of American Ballet in New York City, and its production team includes heavy hitters Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Then there’s the Netflix drama “Tiny Pretty Things” (Dec. 14), which unfortunately got left off my screener list, but you probably already know it’s about a young dancer (Kylie Jefferson) who joins an elite ballet school in Chicago after another dancer is murdered. The cast is loaded with Canadians, including Brennan Clost, Jess Salgueiro, Paula Boudreau, Morgan Kelly and John Ralston, plus American-Canadian Lauren Holly.
Speaking of Canadians, CTV is airing a special, “Celebrating Greatness”(Dec. 18, 8 p.m.), that features highlights from 20 years of Canada’s Walk of Fame inductions plus interviews and archival footage from Canadians you’re sure to have heard of, including Shawn Mendes, Drake, The Weeknd and Alessia Cara.
If you haven’t burned yourself out on holiday rom-coms yet, Amazon Prime Video has “Palm Springs” (Dec. 18), which is actually a summer rom-com and a Sundance Film Festival hit that we’re just getting in Canada now. It stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti.
Speaking of holiday viewing, there’s lots to see this week. CBC has “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (Dec. 14, 8 p.m.); “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m.); “The Great Northern Candy Drop” (Dec. 19, 7 p.m.); “Shrek the Halls” (Dec. 20, 6:30 p.m.); “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (Dec. 20, 7 p.m.); and “Home Alone” (Dec. 20, 8 p.m.). CTV Drama Channel has made-in-Canada, same-sex rom-com “The Christmas Setup” (Dec. 18, 8 p.m.) while CTV Comedy Channel has a Christmas episode of “Corner Gas Animated” (Dec. 14, 9 p.m.).
Recent Comments