Spring is coming

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with my life, family and changing jobs.

I really want to get back into blogging about the awesome television and movies filmed in Toronto. And with the warming of the seasons the location trucks will be easier to spot as I ride bikes and walk through the city.

I know that there is a new werewolf show "Bitten" being filmed in the city at this time. My awesome upstairs neighbour is working on it while Lost Girl is between seasons. Lost Girl goes back to filming in July thanks to a delay due to star Anna Silk having her baby.

Beauty and the Beast is almost wrapped for the season. Nikita is still shooting the end of their current season and there are many others that will be starting up over the summer and into the fall. Warehouse13, Suits, Rookie Blue and the list goes on.

I love Toronto and the tv/film industry. I will do my best to pop in and write about anything I see, hear or can speculate on. If you are out there and care, stay tuned.

Warehouse13 Rocks!!

As I wander the streets of Toronto I stumble over many a filming location. I spot those white trucks and trailers and get a little giddy inside. Is it a series I watch? Will I find an actor I know? It's so fun. My neighborhood of Cabbagetown gets them a lot.

I live near Allen Gardens which is a big park with a gorgeous greenhouse. This park has been used by Rookie Blue (S1 Chris' sting location), my beloved Flashpoint (S4 episode about a cop who shot a kid which had filming happening on my wedding day), Nikita (episode about mind control/mental conditioning) and recently trucks were set up for XIII: The Series season 2 (based on the signs on the dressing room doors).

Others in the area were Covert Affairs near the big cemetery and The Firm filming in my own church. Warehouse13 has been in the hood multiple times as well.

I've been finding Warehouse13 sites frequently in the last few years. My husband and I were walking to the grocery store down a laneway and when we turned the corner we found lights and cameras and lots of crew. It was cool, I saw a take and then they let us walk through on our way. I asked who it was and it was Warehouse13 (this was a S2 or 3 episode I saw it recently but can't remember which). They were also filming at the United Church down the street recently for a Season 4 episode.

My big problem is that Warehouse13 is not currently airing on any channels that I have access to. I found a Season 1 episode at some point last year but had never seen the show advertised on any of my channels or found any episodes since. I've spent the last week enjoying episodes found in the depths of the internet and have caught up on the first 3 seasons coming to the conclusion that this show is awesome and that I really want to see season 4 (and any future seasons) on my TV.

I've asked the official twitter account @Warehouse13 if they're airing in Canada but we'll just have to wait and see.

My Beloved Flashpoint is ending

The 5th season is currently in production in Toronto for My Beloved Flashpoint. An announcement has been made that this upcoming 5th season (airing Thursday nights at 10pm on CTV) will be the last for the SRU Team 1 crew.

I'm saddened by this news but also looking forward to it. Since it is the show that has decided to make this season it's final run, the writers can do amazing things to make these final shows something special. Also, when a show is ending at a good point, the writers can provide us fans with resolution and closure rather than the shows that are just not picked up for another season and are left with cliffhangers and questions.

If Flashpoint had ended unexpectedly last season (season 3) I would have lost it because there would have been no closure on Ed's being shot or on the psychologist Toth (the fabulous Mr. Victor Garber) and his thoughts on the team dynamic.

Season 4 ended on a good note with family and friends and happiness. No unanswered questions or drama, so what will season 5 bring? I can't wait to find out in September.

Is it too soon to start a countdown when the actual premier date hasn't been set?

Any Baggage?

Rookie Blue has returned. The saga of Sam Swarek and Andy McNalley is back. The first episode of Season 3 has started with a bang!

Season 2 ended with Sam asking Andy if she wanted to try "being normal" together. She said yes and got in his truck. Season 3 opens with Andy jumping out of a plane and then returning to Toronto for her suspension tribunal.

Arriving at the airport planning to catch a cab, she finds Sam (in uniform) waiting for her with a sign that reads "Dummy" like an old school chauffeur. In a move that had me laughing out loud, Sam asks "Any Baggage" and Andy responds "No!... yes..." it was great. First thought I had with the "No" was "he's right in front of you!", but the real baggage was the luggage that included a beautiful wooden canoe paddle. I want it for my next wilderness adventure! If there was a contest to win that paddle, I would do almost ANYTHING to win it (even though I'm probably too short for it to be functional).

There was a lot of action and investigation in the episode and some great partnering between Sam & Andy (they really do work well together). There was tearful emotional moments with guest star William Shatner, there were brief yet touching moments between Frank & Noelle, and the enigma that is the new rookie and the black hole that is his past with Peck.

In the end, Andy is reinstated and she and Sam have a conversation about finding a way to "Start". The best way to start is with a kiss!

Can't wait to see what happens next. We knew that things would never be easy with Sam and Andy and as fans can we really let it be that easy. The chase, the attempt, the tension and laughter is so fun and will make it so much more worth it in the end.

Now we just need to find a perfect someone for Luke and the world will be a happy place.

Rookie Blue is filmed in Toronto and airs on Global TV Thursdays at 10pm.

Time Traveling Terrorists

Last Sunday was the first episode of the new show Continuum on Showcase. The first episode was great and I'm looking forward to more of it this summer.

There was drama and loss from the main character Kiera as she is torn from her home and family in 2077 Vancouver,  pulled into the past by the terrorist group Liber8 as they execute their plan to change the future. Kiera has to find a way to understand their purpose, capture/neutralize them and protect others from their ruthless tactics. Without ruining the future, she needs to work with techno-genius Alec and 2012 Hottie Cop Carlos (Victor Webster - yummmy). It will be interesting to see what happens.

Our Liber8 antagonists are star studded as well. Their leader, still in 2077 is Tony Amendola (Bra'tac on Stargate SG1 and Geppetto on Once Upon A Time - both filmed in Vancouver) but the group in 2012 includes some faces that I've had fun watching before and look forward to getting to see more of. Screen time was limited for Terry Chen (Combat Hospital) but he was a scary bad-ass dude who threw a knife at someone's head and hit a mannequin instead, missing by inches with the response "I missed", dude, even with a miss, I don't want to be on his bad side. The other face I want to see is Lexa Doig (Andromeda and SG1), this character will be very different from those that I've seen her in before, so I'm excited to see her in a darker role.

Continuum has gotten off to a great start. There was a scene at the beginning that started me asking questions and it was (to a degree) touched on at the end but in a way that makes me want to see the rest of that story. The time scape has been used sparingly in the first outing and I'm looking forward to seeing how scenes from 2077 help answer questions and further the story.

At the beginning-ish of the episode, Kiera's husband is with a man ("Smoking Man" or "Cancer Man" from X-Files) watching the execution of the Liber8 terrorists and the husband freaks out when he sees Kiera inside the chamber. After arguing (we don't get to hear the content) with someone and gesturing towards Kiera, Cancer Man is looked at for an answer and after his head shakes, the someone declines the husband's request. Kiera then notices that a prisoner has something in his hand and rushes forward to enter the radius of those being transported to the past in the middle of a violent reaction which tears apart the chamber and kills some present. When the dust settles, Cancer Man is sitting in his seat, unmoved, smiling at the empty spot in the chamber where Kiera was seconds before. At the end of the episode Kiera is introduced to Cancer Man by her husband. This man is his boss Alec Saddler (the same tech-savvy kid who helped Kiera out through the episode).

2012 Alec advised the viewers through Kiera of 2 schools of thought on time travel. The 1st being, you go to the past, don't mess anything up because you're not supposed to be there and you could cause your existence to cease by one wrong move. 2nd school is that the time travel was supposed to happen because it already did in order for your time to develop and now you're taking the steps necessary to form your future in the right way.

Based on 2077 Alec's greeting to Kiera of "long overdue" I'm betting we're looking at the 2nd school at work.

Till next time, will you protect the future, or destroy it?

Continuum airs Sundays at 10pm on Showcase in Canada.

14 days and counting

In 2 weeks a new show will premier on Showcase. I'm excited to see what the show brings to the table and how the story will grow. This new show is called Continuum and it will be borrowing the Sunday 9pm time slot that is normally held by Lost Girl.

Continuum is filmed in Vancouver but I won't hold that against them. Toronto is better, but I'm willing to let them slide. It means that I won't stumble upon the set one day and get to have my picture taken with the hunky Victor Webster but at Lear I can watch him on Sunday nights rather than re-runs of Mutant X or the final season of Charmed (mmm Coop, my favorite Cupid).

Here's to the countdown to a bright shiny new show and hoping it is as good as the anticipation.

Who knew the government could do that?

Sorry for the delay on posting the last few episodes. My life got a little crazy and Global TV changed the air date on me so I didn't know I had new episode until a friend said they saw the church in Chapter 10. But, that's for the next post. This one is all about Chapter 9, it'll be a lot shorter than my usual postings since it's been a while since I saw it.

Chapter 9

We open with Mitch and Ray at a sporting event, or at least coming out of a sporting event. The darling Skydome Roger's Center is in the background showing us the gate I always use when I go to Blue Jays games each season. The crew have turned the open square area in front of this gate into a parking lot where our hero and his brother meet their limo.

The car pulls away showing the driver on the ground in a not so pleasant state of non-consciousness. They have been kidnapped. The culprit is an Army Sgt who wants Ray's help (not Mitch for a twist) in finding out what happened to his son.

The group visit the site of a phone call the Sgt received from his wayward son which was suspiciously cut short. They find a covered up bullet hole and other things that make them want to take up the Sgt.'s cause of the day (or should I say case of the week).

Through interesting investigation in which Ray proves vital, our McDeere boys are led to believe that the government is involved. With a cryptic clue left by your friendly neighbourhood WitSec agent, the guys are led to understand the the Sgt.'s boy was on a terrorist kill list. A no questions asked assassination order that allowed for his death and the covering up of the killing.

Mitch, wanting nothing more than to make the government admit what they've done to the Sgt. (Mitch hates government cover-ups) submits for a Freedom of Information Act request for information on the kid and hopes to get closure for the Sgt.

Mitch makes some amazing arguments and the judge rules that he will review the file and advise if the decision to kill was justified. In the end he agrees with the government, but also agrees to let a father see his son's body.

The Sgt. knowing that his son was a bad guy grieves and says good-bye. Mitch and Ray do what they can to give him his moment to kiss his son's forehead before walking away from the last family he had.

Family

On  the family end of the spectrum, Abby chooses to dip her feet into the Holt investigation by befriending Mr. Sniffles' widow. She finds out that even though Sniffles death was suicide, the insurance was paid in full (not legal they say) and suspects that it's a bribe to keep her quiet on something.

Holt Case

Tammy takes a page from Holt's own playbook and decides to get a job at a Nobel subsidiary in order to access the mainframe and try to solve the mystery of the numbers. She ends up interviewing and getting hired by a pet food company in Maryland.

In the future scape, we're still dealing with the men in black trying to access the McDeere home and our family trying to stay alive.

What will Tammy find out on the mainframe? We'll find out next time in Chapter 10...