{"id":2520,"date":"2013-12-04T17:57:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T17:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2013\/12\/04\/this-years-canadian-fare-holds-up-to-its-american-cousins\/"},"modified":"2013-12-04T17:57:38","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T17:57:38","slug":"this-years-canadian-fare-holds-up-to-its-american-cousins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2013\/12\/04\/this-years-canadian-fare-holds-up-to-its-american-cousins\/","title":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s Canadian fare holds up to its American cousins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Bartlett \/ The Telegram<\/em><\/p>\n

During the last week or so, I\u2019ve been watching a lot of homegrown TV, two new shows in particular.<\/p>\n

Both the CTV drama \u201cPlayed\u201d and the CityTV sitcom \u201cPackage Deal\u201d are as good as anything coming from the networks south of the border.<\/p>\n

Some people may take that as a slight on Canadian talent, but it\u2019s not. The fact is, some of my readers are as reluctant to give Cancon a try, as its supporters are to figuratively wave the Maple Leaf.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve only watched the first two episodes of \u201cPlayed\u201d but plan to catch up and stay abreast for the rest of the first season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a cop show, and it\u2019s formulaic, but the production value is high, the writing is markedly better in Episode 2 than it is in the pilot \u2014 a very good sign \u2014 and it has an intriguing cast of characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayed\u201d centres around an undercover investigation unit that jumps on the big targets that the regular police around Toronto can\u2019t get the dirt on.<\/p>\n

John Moreland (Vincent Walsh) leads the team. He\u2019s a separated father of a teenage daughter and has a problem with the truth. His job has made telling lies very easy.<\/p>\n

Lisa Marcos plays Maria Cortez, another team member who is the focus of Episode 2 \u2014 not the easiest episode to watch considering it deals with a teenage prostitution ring on top of a murder.<\/p>\n

Daniel (Dwain Murphy), Khali (Agam Darshi) and Jesse (Adam Butcher) round out the team. Rebecca (Chandra West) is their commanding officer.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned last week, I\u2019ve also been watching a lot of \u201cThe Wire,\u201d and \u201cPlayed\u201d is a little bit like The Wire Light. It crams a season-long case into each episode, cuts the cast to a fraction and doesn\u2019t let you get to know the one-dimensional criminals any more than your average police serial.<\/p>\n

That being said, there are some pretty intense and engaging moments, and it\u2019s certainly worth checking out if you like cop shows at all. And there are some great shots of the Toronto skyline for those familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cPackage Deal\u201d is less successful than \u201cPlayed,\u201d but it would fall in the middle of the pack when compared to the half-dozen or more new network sitcoms I\u2019ve reviewed this fall.<\/p>\n

It does have potential, and has made me laugh out loud at some good one-liners and situational bits. The more I watch and get used to the characters, the more I find I like the show \u2014 despite some really bad one-liners and obvious stuff. But it\u2019s much better than \u201cSatisfaction,\u201d the last Canadian comedy I reviewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPackage Deal\u201d centres around Danny (Randal Edwards) and Kim (Julia Voth), who are getting serious about their relationship. Kim is from California, moved to Toronto for grad school and then decided to open a teashop. Her surly employee Nikki (Jill Morrison) is also starting to become a regular.<\/p>\n

Things are going well, so Danny thinks it\u2019s time to introduce his new lady to his two older brothers, which raised him after their parents were killed in a car accident when he was 10 or so. They are the most important people to him, and the three are bizarrely close.<\/p>\n

While Danny is an up-and-coming defence lawyer, his brothers are less successful.<\/p>\n

Sheldon (Harland Williams) is a lay-about who\u2019s always coming up with money-losing scams. Through most of the season so far, he\u2019s selling caskets for the obese.<\/p>\n

The other brother Ryan (Jay Malone) is a divorced house husband who\u2019s living off his settlement from his surgeon exwife. He\u2019s also an amazing cook.<\/p>\n

\u201cPackage Deal\u201d has both moments of greatness and moments of shame.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as corny and scatological as an American show, and except for Williams \u2014 and Eugene Levy, the guest star on several early episodes, \u2014 you\u2019d never think it was a Canadian production. But that also means, there\u2019s little to make it uniquely Canadian.<\/p>\n

Levy is really funny \u2014 despite that his character is accused of killing his wife, and maybe others \u2014 as a philosophical sounding board to Danny\u2019s domestic troubles, while making suggestive comments (that he\u2019s guilty of the crime with which he\u2019s charged).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve probably watched a half-dozen episodes so far and haven\u2019t wanted to stop yet, so I\u2019ll add it to \u201cThe Goldbergs\u201d and \u201cTrophy Wife\u201d as decent new sitcoms and keep the PVR rolling for now.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite Canadian TV show of all time? Send answers\/questions\/comments to Dave Bartlett at talkingtelevision@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Bartlett \/ The Telegram During the last week or so, I\u2019ve been watching a lot of homegrown TV, two new shows in particular. Both the CTV drama \u201cPlayed\u201d and the CityTV sitcom \u201cPackage Deal\u201d are as good as anything coming from the networks south of the border. 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