Any other Canadian gems like this? - Durham County (2009) Discussion

[–] evilotto-1 15 years ago

There is a very funny show called "Corner Gas" from Canada. It was shown here in America on WGN. Otherwise I don't know what is good in Canada. Canadians aren't usually very creative.

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[–] lem_pirx 15 years ago

there ARE other canadian gems like this... check out

DaVinci's Inquest - 7 seasons - located in Vancouver
show about coroner that i bet inspired many shows that followed it
great and gritty and real

Intelligence - 2 seasons - about drug trade in vancouver

those are my suggestions

and to the idiot that thinks canadians aren't creative - i bet you are one of THOSE americans, you probably think canada is beside europe somewhere

dumb **** up here canadians laugh at your stupid american country going down the s**ts while you cheer how you're number 1

ignorant prick

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[–] sekhmet622 15 years ago

That's nice, get pissed at someone for making ignorant and stereotypical remarks and then turn around and do it yourself. Because that always does a good job on making your point.

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[–] barbiekemp 15 years ago

I think he was joking.... chill.

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[–] PVarjak 14 years ago

The initial part of your answer would have carried a bit more weight if you hadn't gone into some inferiority-complex-fueled rant.

Yes, we have our share of xenophobic Americans. And having been to Canada many times, I've met my fair share of ignorant Canadians who think all of us Americans carry guns.

I'd add Slings & Arrows to the list by the way. Love Paul Gross.

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[–] crazy_old_days 14 years ago

I love DaVinci's Inquest, I watch it whenever it is on, lots of good actors on there. Didn't CSI rip off DI? Oh well, CSI Vegas is still great but the other two CSI shows are dreadful.

As for ignorant people, they are everywhere and not just here in the United States.

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[–] benecere 12 years ago

I cannot believe either of you. Take it to the school yard, why don't you?

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[–] wdawson-1 13 years ago

imo the best and most creative tv and film comes from canada and new zealand. there are highly creative shows from both these countries, and without doubt the most original and thought-provoking films. love 'Canadians aren't usually very creative.' wow. really? americans aren't usually very observant. and they make lots and lots of unwatchable tv and film; the only movies made in america that are worth watching are the indies which are probably the ones you don't watch anyway.

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[–] les_loupe 13 years ago

Did I mention Crash and Burn, I liked that and now there is Endgame which is AWESOME.

http://www.luminouslips.com
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[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Yagamei 15 years ago

Check out Flashpoint. Hugh Dhilon's in that one also.

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[–] Deltaego 14 years ago

I'm not sure if you'd consider it Canadian, but there is the Stargate franchis. Creators, writers and most of the actors are Canadian. The entire franchise is filmed in Canada as well, except the series is broadcasted by the American network Syfy.

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[–] crash_logan 14 years ago

Another vote for Flashpoint, especially if you like Durham County. Its on Friday nights on CBS.

For comedy Trailer Park Boys, G-spot and Billable Hours are good, Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie had their moments.

If you're looking for movies a couple that Hugh Dillon were in are two of my all time favorites; Dance Me Outside and Hard Core Logo.

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[–] lem_pirx 14 years ago

sorry for the rant - i agree i stooped down to his level by generalizing, but that half-serious "insult" was only meant for that ignorant yank scum

basically it's me coming out and saying a LOT OF AMERICANS (on TV at least) carry an amazingly condescending attitude towards canadians.... i see it over and over and over on talk shows a canadian will come on and will usually have to answer some stupid ignorant question about where he's from, which is clearly intended to scream "wow, so you're making money in america but you're canadian?"

i even got an attitude from a HOMELESS BUM in Seattle when I told them i was from Canada AND gave him a smoke

anyways the reason there is not any MORE canadian shows is not lack of talent, it's because the industry is so small here and restricted by stupid laws, that most of our great talent gets syphoned down to you guys

Mike Myers, Jim Carey, Pam Anderson, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, Seth Rogen.... the list goes on and on and on

Canada rocks and it's sad that a lot of you yanks do not see it... then again that's probably for the best.

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[–] barbiekemp 14 years ago

I was hoping that I could subscribe to a Canadian satellite service, so I could have these great shows first-hand.... there are many gems that still haven't made the trip down south yet.

I tell all my Canadian friends that I have Canada-envy... what's not to like?

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[–] crash_logan 14 years ago

I recently discovered Being Erica. Its great, one of my new must-sees and currently running in the US, but I'm not sure on which network. Erin Karpluk is really talented. I wish I could find her other big series, Godiva's, somewhere.

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[–] TexasRepublican 14 years ago

Anyone who recommends Corner Gas or Little mosque on the prairie. Don't listen to them, those shows are complete *beep*

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[–] shortribsfordinner 14 years ago

I watched about 10 episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie, but gave it up. Too dumb and simplistic. What's the deal with Corner Gas?

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[–] TexasRepublican 14 years ago

Picture a bunch of dumb rednecks in the south working at a gas station diner. Now picture it in Canada. That's the show. The only good Canadian made show I've seen has been Durham county and they completely boned it on the second season.

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[–] shortribsfordinner 14 years ago

Yeah, the second season of Durham wasn't as good as the first, but it was still better than 90% of what's on. Michelle Forbes was superb, even if her character was over the top. It seemed like the continuity was off. I didn't believe the daughter would have changed so much, and the dad had no compelling reason to keep lying to her. But again, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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[–] DJ-Ren 14 years ago

Yeah, you can always tell when a movie is made in Canada, because under the credits (on the back of the DVD or the bottom of the movie poster), there will be the 16 different companies that fund EVERY Canadian TV show or movie. Unlike the USA, (which, during the Reagan administration, basically went to war against government funding of the arts, even though the annual American federal budget for ALL artistic endeavors is something like the amount they spend on national defense in 72 seconds [if I remember correctly]) our government LOVES to fund Canadian TV shows and movies... but if you're one of those people who's thinking "Well, if the artistic endeavor was any good, it wouldn't NEED governmental funding!", generally I would say, "No, that's if the artistic endeavor was POPULAR, which, judging by the crap that is popular, has nothing to do with good!"

However, as many people in this forum have pointed out, there really aren't that many good Canadian shows. Not that I think there's a lot of good AMERICAN movies or TV shows, but really, what has Canada offerred the world lately? "Corner Gas"? The two spin-offs from "Corner Gas"? "Mosque On The Prarie" (or whatever it's called), "Royal Canadian Air Farce", or, really, ANYTHING that's put out on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company - our version of the BBC). And don't get me started on our movies. There's one good Canadian director, David Cronenberg, and if my tax dollars go to support him, that's OK with me. Naturally, there's a couple of Canadian directors - Kari Skogland, Bruce McDonald - who have made some brilliant films, but then went and ruined it by making movies about curling or "metaphorical" flicks about our country's bilingualism.

Anything with Callum Keith-Rennie is brilliant; anything with Paul Gross is terrible. If they're both in it, it's terrible. Like the flick that came out April 30 here in Canada, "Gunless". Apparently some people said, "You know what would be REALLY funny? If, during the late 1800's, an American cowboy came up to Canada, and had to deal with the strict Canadian gun laws! Wouldn't that be a hoot?!?! We'll get Paul Gross to play the cowboy, and we'll make a ton of money!!" 2 problems - Paul Gross can't play a cowboy (and he isn't funny), and it turns out a cowboy dealing with gun regulations isn't all that hilarious. Who woulda guessed?

OK, I'm babbling. See *ANYTHING* with Hugh Dillon (lead singer of the Headstones; was in "Hard Core Logo" [with Callum Keith Rennie!], the little seen "Down To The Bone", and, of course, "Durham County"); *ANYTHING* directed by David Cronenberg (except for "M. Butterfly" [shudders uncontrollably]); avoid any Canadian "comedy" (movies *OR* TV - nothing happens here, so there's nothing to make fun of); and rent "Pontypool" - the most BIZARRE zombie movie in the history of ever!!

"I am insane... and you are my insanity" - James Cole, 12 Monkeys

-ak

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[–] les_loupe 14 years ago

ZoS was amazing, I like The Line too.

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[–] newscot 13 years ago

ZOS was a good mini-series. As was Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures with Shawn Ashmore.

The Line sucked - worst acting ever.

Kids In The Hall is classic sketch comedy, as is SCTV.

Callum Keith Rennie's new show Shattered is a good new crime drama where he plays a cop with multiple personalities.

Corner Gas, Little Mosque, and company have their following... but they're not for me.

Same goes for Trailer Park Boys - insanely popular but I can't stand it.

All the Degrassi shows, if you're a teenager or pre-teen.

Flashpoint's been mentioned a few times already here.

Kenny vs Spenny is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen where 2 friends compete in ridiculous competitions.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Rick Mercer Report are kind of like Canada's versions of The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

Rent-A-Goalie was hilarious - not sure if it's still on.

All the Stargates, of course.

Traders was a great show in the 90's about bankers (was better than it sounds).

And here's a link to an extensive list on Wikipedia of Canadian TV shows. You'll probably be suprised to learn how many shows you thought were American were actually made in Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English-language_Canadian_television_series

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[–] les_loupe 13 years ago

Ya, I like flashpoint too, it's a little more mainstream though. I thought the line was pretty funny personally :) I never did see rent-a-goalie, I will have to keep an eye out for if it comes back on in reruns. Totally agree with you on the stargates, I really like the new ones, SGU, it's darker and has a more canadian feel I think. Do you know what I mean?

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[–] Adam_P_L 13 years ago

When I was a kid, my favorite TV show was Canadian -- "Friday the 13th: The Series."

I haven't seen a lot of Canadian television, though. I'm watching the first episode of "Durham County" and it's weird. I like it, but it's really different from American television. I can't quite put my finger on what's so different about it, though.

Thanks for the other recommendations of Canadian shows, although I could live without the name-calling and insults. Come on, guys, we're all North Americans, eh?

http://ocdviewer.wordpress.com

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[–] activista 13 years ago

@shortribs

Check out these other Canadian T.V. gems:

THIS IS WONDERLAND
TWITCH CITY
LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE
J-POD

Don't know if those last 2 shows are on DVD, but the first two are---and they're all good shows---being a Detroiter, I used to have the luxury of watching CBC Channel 9 from Windsor---before the big digital switchover---unfortunately I haven't been able to get it since then---you also might want to check our THE RED GREEN SHOW, which is like a spoof of the outdoor woodman type of guy---it ran for nearly a decade on CBC and is actually hilarious. Normally I wouldn't watch a show that had virtually NO female characters on it, but this one was definitely the exception to the rule. And,yeah,DAVINCI is worth a mention too, since it was a show dealing with forensics that came on the air a few years before the CSI craze.
Also THE BORDER is worth checking out--I don't believe it's on any longer,though. None of these shows are on the air any longer, so I couldn't tell you what the hot Canadians shows are now. Caught an episode of DURHAM COUNTY once, and was intrieged---however, I can't get the ION channel for some stupid reason, which sucks because I love me some mystery shows (and movies, of course).

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[–] MisforMischa 13 years ago

While not as great as Durham County, another good one is "Murdoch Mysteries", the tv show, not the movie.

It's about a turn of the century cop solving crimes using what was back then brand new forensic science. It's pretty cool actually. Kind of like a CSI for the eighteen hundreds, only less dramatic than CSI haha. It also stars Helene Joy (Audry from Durham) playing a medical examiner.

My evil self is at that door, and I have no power to stop it!

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[–] waynealanblood 13 years ago

I LOVE Murdoch Mysteries.
It's a lot of fun and the cases are wonderfully bizarre.
(Plus Yannick Bisson is *dreamy.*)

“Dean, did you service Oberon, King of the Fairies?”

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[–] sterhill-1 12 years ago

I have to say - as an American - I think Canadian TV and movies are very complex, well written and well shot. Very little of the PC crap which we have to have and not so watered down that every low IQ can get it. Do not judge Americans by that earlier person's dumb comment, PLEASE! I worked in film & video for 25 years and I am here to say Canada ROCKS!

Durham County (TV Series 2007– ) dark, scary, edge of your seat - really twisted - need to find where to watch season 3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0885761/
Canadian

watching on huluplus:

Endgame - Russian World Chess champ living in hotel, agoraphobic, becomes detective - wonderful!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1797629/
Canadian

ReGenesis (TV Series 2004–2008) - Geneticist David Sandstrom is the chief scientist at the prestigious virology/micro-biology NORBAC laboratory, a joint enterprise between the USA, Canada and Mexico for countering bio-terrorism.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429422/
Tidbit - several of the reviewers on imdb say they are molecular scientists and that the show 'has it right, surprisingly so"
Canadian
This is so good I have a hard time not going to the next, next, next until I just have to go to sleep!

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[–] Cognoscenti 10 years ago

One of my favourite shows who hasn't been mentioned is Paradise Falls. It's never been released on DVD, it's never been available on any streaming platform, and seems to have been well forgotten by everyone. But it was such a fun show. It was high-def and shot in the beautiful back-drop of Muskoka (and many scenes were shot in Whitevale, ON - coincidentally a part of Durham County). It's a soap or a send-up of soaps and extremely campy. The cast looks like they're having the best time. Will it be lost to history? So sad.

Other unmentioned shows are The Ray Bradbury Theatre, the Quebecois sitcom Les Parents, Nova Scotia's comedy troupe Picnicface (youtube them), and possibly the greatest documentary series I've ever seen Turning Points of History.

Other shows who have been mentioned who are fantastic are ReGenesis, DaVinci's Inquest, Degrassi Junior High, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

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[–] shortribsfordinner 10 years ago

I'll certainly keep my eyes open for all of these! Thanks!

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