Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cardinal TV show/ Phone it Forward/ Happy Holidays!

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Nov. 23, 2018 Cardinal: This pilot came out in Jan. 2017 so it's mid-season 2017.  It is based on a book series by Giles Blunt.  The first season is 6 episodes based on one book called Forty Words for Sorrow.  I have never read or heard of the books before until this show came out.  If you go on Wikipedia, there is more detail.

Pros:

1. There is a good opening with finding a dead body in the snow.

2. The lead character John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is good as the detective.  It turns out he was on the show Helix.  I saw the first 2 eps and then I never watched it again.  I don't remember him at all.

His new partner Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse) is good.

Good acting.

3. There is good ethnic diversity.

4. The police captain is a woman.

5. Good writing.  There is lots of drama, conflict, and tension as they investigate the murder.  Also a new victim is kidnapped.

Delorme is investigating Cardinal.


Cons: None.


Well this is a mild con.  Spoiler alert: In the season 2 finale, Cardinal's wife dies.  It then reminds me of this article in the Edmonton Journal called "Disposable women."  It mentions about lead character's wives dying in TV shows like Designated Survivor and Blue Bloods.


When a character dies, it does add more drama, conflict, and tension as the characters all deal with it.  However, it seems like it's a woman who often dies.


The wife Catherine was a supporting character and she didn't really add much to the show.


However, it was a reversal in Shades of Blue.  Spoiler alert: The lead character's boyfriend dies.


Comparisons: 


A woman or a woman of color, or a man of color is the police captain: It was done on:

Castle
Rush Hour TV series (I only saw the pilot) 
The movie Dredd (2012)
Blindspot
The Rookie
Forever


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5583512/?ref_=nv_sr_2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_(TV_series)

My opinion: I really liked it.  I saw the whole first season and the second season.  You should check out the pilot.

Nov. 24, 2018 Bellevue: This pilot came out in Feb. 2017 on CBC.


"Thrilling and eerie, Bellevue is a mystery set in a small blue-collar town with a lot of 'good people' who 'live right' and take it upon themselves to make sure the neighbors do too. Driving the series is Detective Annie Ryder (Anna Paquin), a cop whose intense and brazen personality has always been at odds with her hometown. When a teen goes missing, Annie dives in to unravel the disappearance that suggests foul play, despite finding herself in a difficult position as she must cast suspicion on people she has known all her life. As the case pulls her further away from her family, she is also confronted by a mysterious person from her past with disturbing answers and a terrifying need to get inside her head."


Pros:


1. The opening was good with Annie (Anna Paquin) acting drunk and getting into a fight with a guy.  Then they go to a motel room and do drugs.  The cops then bust in and arrest the guy.  It's revealed that she's a cop.


Annie: At least I got the supplier's name.


2. The cast.  You got Anna Paquin (X-Men) and then you got Shawn Doyle (Big Love) as the captain.


3. There is good writing.  There is lots of drama, conflict, and tension of a missing teen Jesse.  He is a boy and dressing up like a girl, so transgender.


They really set the small town.


Cons: None.


My opinion: The pilot was average and then I never watched it again.  It got cancelled after one season.


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6082618/?ref_=rvi_tt


Dec. 1, 2018 Pure: This show came out in Jan. 2017 on CBC.

"PURE tells the story of Noah Funk, a newly-elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of drug traffickers by betraying a fellow Mennonite to the police. But instead of solving the problem, Noah's actions trigger an ultimatum from mob leader Eli Voss: in order to protect his family, he must get involved in the illegal operation. Noah decides that if he must work for the mob, he will secretly gather enough evidence to dismantle the organization. Noah finds his beliefs and principles challenged every step of the way. Struggling to save his soul and complete his mission, Noah receives help from an unlikely source: his high school nemesis, local cop Bronco Novak. With his law-enforcement career hanging by a thread, Bronco sees the case as his ticket to redemption."


Pros:

1. It had a good opening with a car filled with a family.  Another car comes and hits it and the car flips.  A 10 yr old boy Ezekiel runs out.  The bad guys are to look for him.

2. The writing is good, because it's from the creator of The Listener, Michael Amo.  I loved The Listener.  

3. There is an interesting storyline where a Mennonite pastor has to take down drug traffickers.  There is lots of drama, conflict, and tension.

"If you want to kill all the rats, you have to find their nest first.  Then let the poison do it's work.

4. The cast:

Ryan Robbins plays the pastor Noah Funk, and is good in it.

AJ Buckley (CSI: NY) plays the cop Novak.  Good.

Gord Rand plays Abel, Noah's brother and drug addict.  Good.

Peter Outerbridge plays bad guy Eli.  Good.

Rosie Perez plays the cop Phoebe.  Good.

The below are average:


Alex Paxton-Beesley plays the mom Anna.

Dylan Everett (from Degrassi) plays the teen son Isaac.

Jessica Clement plays the teen daughter Tina. 

Felix Beiger plays Ezekiel. 

Cons: This is a mild con.  Alex Paxton- Beesley plays a mom to two teens in high school.  That would make her in her 40s.  She wears a bonnet and her hair up.

Then I see her on Cardinal season 2 and she plays a woman in her 20s.  I looked her up and she's 32.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Paxton-Beesley


Comparisons: 



A woman or a woman of color, or a man of color is the police captain: The chief is played by a black woman Lanette Ware.



My opinion: It was average.  There are 6 episodes in the first season.  I was kind of ambivalent if the show got a 2nd season.  Now that it has, I will probably watch it.


The series premiere was watched by 858,000 Canadian viewers.[7] On April 12, 2017, the show was picked up by Hulu in the United States.[8] WGN America acquired the US television rights to the series in August 2017.[9] Initially, Pure was not renewed for a second season.[10][11] However, in April 2018, the show was picked up for a second season by the CBC, Hulu, Super Channel and WGN America due out in 2019.[12] 



Motive: This show came out in 2013, but I never saw the pilot.  However, I decided to check out the episode called "The Score" because Tahmoh Penikett was in it.  He was from the TV show Dollhouse and guest-stars in TV shows I watch like Arrow and Castle.

"The killer: Hank Novak, the owner/manager of the Chieftain, a financially troubled live music venue/bar in Squamish. The victim: Vince Hutton, an ex-con just released from twenty years behind bars for drug smuggling, Hank's old friend from high school, and most recently the Chieftain's doorman. Vince's dead body is found outside in a remote area of Squamish, he killed by blunt force trauma to the head, the murder weapon some unknown metal object of a small roundish nature. The detectives know that Vince was killed elsewhere by the lack of blood at the crime scene.

 From Vince's new girlfriend, the detectives also know that Vince recently came into some money, more than a doorman would make, and in the process, in an unfortunate way for Angie, stumble upon another active investigation on the movement of stolen counterfeit goods. The person under investigation in that case, Levi Foster, becomes a primary suspect as Vince's murderer. But to discover the true motive for the murder, they will have to look at Hank's daughter, Sadie Novak, who has just been accepted to college in Chicago. Through the investigation, Angie, Paula and Brian all deal with an aspect of their respective love lives, Brian's which indirectly involves Oscar out of circumstance."

Huggo
Spoiler alert: Vince (Tahmoh Penikett) is eating at a restaurant.  He sits outside so he can see all these trucks go by and arrive with the shipment.

The bad guy boss Levi Foster sees that boxes are missing and it's like $300,000.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5149048/?ref_=ttep_ep4

My week:

Dec. 23, 2018 Work: It was steady.

Ch- it turns out she is still working here.  I must have missed her name on the schedule.

Ge- she worked here for like 2 yrs.  Then she quit and now she's rehired. 

Dec. 24, 2018 Happy Harbor Comics stays open:




Holiday season 2018:

1. Family: My parents are traveling since beginning of Nov.

My sister finally moved out of the house, and she occasionally visits.

It's mainly my grandma, brother and I.

2. We never exchange presents.  We save lots of time, effort, and money.  There aren't any decorations.  We won't be having a Christmas dinner.  It will be a regular dinner.

Job search: I have been constantly looking for a job and applying to places on the internet and in-person.  The holiday season kind of affects some places I apply to.

I applied to stores for the holiday seasons because they're hiring.  I didn't apply or have to wait to apply after the holiday season is over because the offices are closed.

I applied to offices, but will have to wait because the interviews will be held later.

The week of Dec. 16-22, 2018: I went to 3 interviews.

1. Appointment setter/ telemarketer- I didn't get hired.
2. Asian restaurant.
3. Food counter attendant at a bake shop.

Facebook networking: 

W (from Professional Writing in college): She told me to apply to the Rec Room.  I then applied on the internet and in-person. 

Dec. 25, 2018 Quantum Success book: This is a free book you can get, but you have to pay for shipping.  It's a self- help book.

https://christywhitman.clickfunnels.com/step-120307172

Jacob clothing at Costco: The Jacob clothing store closed down in 2014, but they do sell some of their clothes at Costco.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/how-costco-s-halo-is-keeping-the-jacob-clothing-brand-alive-1.1107767

Writing about TV shows and movies: It's the usual time of the year like end of Aug. and end of Dec. where there aren't many TV shows to watch.  I then fill the time by writing about TV shows and movies reviews so it's like I'm re-watching it. 

Dec. 26, 2018 Phone it Forward: 

Phone it Forward is a CNIB program that gives smartphones to people with sight loss who need them.

https://www.phoneitforward.ca/

Dec. 29, 2018 School serves free organic meals: I found this on Facebook.  It was on Jennifer Riley, an Evolutionary coach:


When schools in California’s Sausalito Marin City District return to session this August, they will be the first in the nation to serve their students 100 percent organic meals, sustainably sourced and free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

More than 500 students at Bayside MLK Jr. Academy in Marin City and Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito will eat fresh, local food year-round, thanks to a partnership with the Conscious Kitchen, a project of the environmental education nonprofit Turning Green.

The organization says meals will be accompanied by nutrition and gardening education. The Conscious Kitchen previously served 156 students at Bayside MLK Jr. Academy, where it first tested the program starting in August 2013. Over the course of two years, the founders said, disciplinary cases decreased and attendance increased.




Dec. 27, 2018 Cleaning: I washed the living room and kitchen windows and blinds for an hr.  P washed the kitchen cabinets.  My grandma told us to clean them.

Passed out resumes: In the afternoon, I went and passed out resumes to some places I never applied to before.

Dec. 28, 2018 Comark: I was looking for a job and learned that this company owns Cleo, Ricki's and Bootlegger.

http://www.comark.ca/divisions.htm

Charmed: I was watching the reboot this week.  I watched 6 episodes this week.  I have now seen it all.  I find this show to be average at best, and mediocre at worst.

The highlight of the week:

HER music: I was reading about this R&B singer in the Edmonton Journal.  I then checked out her music on Sound Cloud.  It's really good.  It's slow and calming music.

https://everythingrevealed.her-official.com/

Yuna: She reminds me of the artist Yuna.  Here is the song "Crush" feat. Usher:

https://soundcloud.com/yunazarai/crush

Circus du Soleil show Amaluna: This was back in Dec. 2014.  I got to watch the last 50 min. of this show on this channel.  I was so happy: "I get to watch this show and I don't have to pay $100 for a ticket to see it live."

I pay for TV and internet, but it's at a discount if I get to see this show.  I then see that the whole show is on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRq2SsgWDYk

Midnight, Texas: This show had their season 2 finale.  I missed their first 2 eps of this season because I didn't know they were airing it this fall.  I find this show to be average and fun.  I really like the season 2 finale, because there were a couple of twists and surprises that I didn't see coming. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5464086/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Burden of Truth: Their 2nd season is coming out on Wed. Jan. 9, 2019 on CBC.  This is a solid and average show.  Here is the description of the season 2 premiere:

"Joanna Chang is assigned a case of a brilliant young Internet privacy activist who will turn everything in her new life upside down. Meanwhile, back in Millwood, Billy Crawford is dealing with the aftermath of the Matheson Steel lawsuit."

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6987476/?ref_=nv_sr_1