[getting my canadian content requirements in]

[tellitslant]

It's interesting, given the fact that the Genies and the Geminis have just merged into one giant awards show, that all of a sudden there seems to be so much Canadian tv actually a) getting notice outside of Canada and b) being allowed to be - well, not always open, but a little less apologetic, about being Canadian. And I am watching, and loving, a lot of it!

Currently on my to-watch list: Continuum and Primeval: New World, both of which are sci-fi shows set unabashedly in Vancouver (P:NW is on the verge of cancellation after its first series).

On the other side of the country (because even if things are improving, we've still got the Vancouver-Toronto hubs), I've been watching a couple of shows that pass the Bechdel test every.single.episode - and should, given their titles: Bomb Girls and Lost Girl.

A few people have been bugging me to watch Lost Girl for months: it came up in class during our week on vampires and sexuality, which I took as a sign, and then when news of the season four renewal came out the other day I put it up the list. I'm a few episodes in now and highly entertained.

It's a sci-fi/crime/dramedy (...yeah, we need to have discussions about genre) set in nominally-Toronto (I understand it gets Toronto-y-er later on) about a succubus named Bo who solves supernatural crimes, and also sleeps with a lot of people (isn't Dyson the name of a vacuum cleaner?). sophia_gratia and I may be watching it wrong, as our primary takeaway thus far is that Kenzi (the Robin to Bo's Batman) needs to team up with Claudia (from Warehouse 13) and Kate (from Sanctuary) and Take Over The World. I would so far recommend it as light and fluffy and the kind of urban fantasy that I really enjoy: not afraid to fuck around with mythology, with a relatively well-developed narrative structure and some interesting world-building.

It also, as I said, regularly passes the Bechdel test, featuring two kickass women who team up to fight crime. Plus it has some interesting queer cred: not only is Bo bisexual, the fae world seems to be remarkably sexually nonjudgemental, save for when it comes to sleeping with humans. The show regularly makes me laugh out loud, and I adore the super-cute friendhsip between Bo and Kenzi. It's a pretty standard supernatural twist on a reluctant-brooding-hero narrative, but it's nice to see that play out with a reluctant heroine for a change.

Waaaay on the other end of the spectrum is Bomb Girls which is a historical drama about the women who worked in a munitions factory in Toronto during World War II. This is also one that had vaguely been on my radar, but then... well, a couple of weeks ago I was told that killer_quean was working on a Bomb Girls/Warehouse 13 crossover that would "make Karen's head explode with Canadian gay." I quote. So I watched the show. What, I'm weak.

Bomb Girls is incredible. It's the kind of historical fiction that we rarely seem to get outside of serious CBC biopics or near-NFB docudramas; it takes a period of Canadian history and does something with it rather than trying to faithfully represent it. It is brilliantly written, beautifully cast, incredibly well acted, and completely all about the ladies. It also doesn't shy away from representing a fairly full picture of Canada at the time: the same episode that gives us the Leafs' 1942 Stanley Cup run similarly gives us the harsh realities of the Italian (and Ukrainian, and Japanese...) wartime internment camps.

Aside from being deliciously Canadian, it is a wonderful look at representations of female strength and community. It deals with queerness, racism, religion, cheating, abortion, PTSD, sexual mores in general, and does so in a relatively nuanced way. The characters keep unfolding new comlpexities and new relationships. All the leads are amazing and I am a little bit in love with Meg Tilly, who is just ridiculous (I mean, ridiculously good, but also just ridiculous as a person). Oh and also it has Peter Outerbridge, who is AMAZING in everything he does. Highly recommended: if you're in Canada, it streams on Global, I think. The second half of the second season comes back on the 25th, I think: there are only 12 episodes so far, so plenty of time to catch up! :P

ALSO, promo photos for Warehouse 13's return next month. Myka I have missed your face and your hair and your everything, mostly your face. Plus, Myka punching people, in the trailer, makes my heart swell. Come back show come back and be awesome. (Please be awesome.)

Comments

[samjohnsson]

I may be watching it wrong, as our primary takeaway thus far is that Kenzi (the Robin to Bo's Batman) needs to team up with Claudia (from Warehouse 13) and Kate (from Sanctuary) and Take Over The World.

Yeah, pretty much, with a side of adding Zoe (Eureka) for all the toys.

[tellitslant]

Ooooh. I haven't watched Eureka, but I am open for additions to Team AWesome. :P

[jae]

Man, I really need to make more of an effort to watch Canadian teevee, don't I? There's really no excuse at all for how little I watch.

-J

[tellitslant]

Especially when some of it is actually good right now! Get with the program! Or programs. As it were.

[jae]

Hmmm...is it really all genre stuff, or is that just the spin you're giving it? (Is there any Canadian teevee made for meeeeee, in other words?)

-J

[tellitslant]

By genre, you mean just sci-fi/fantasy? Bomb Girls, as I said, is historical drama; I think you'd really like it.

[jae]

Okay, I'll give it a shot.

It does seem kind of odd that out of the bazillion shows you just mentioned, only one isn't in the sf/fantasy genre, though. Maybe Canada is seeing a niche market? ;)

-J

[tellitslant]

That's nothing particularly, new, though. I mean, tax credits and the previous dollar discrepancy draw loads of work to Canada, but the sf/f stuff mostly heated up following X-Files and given that Vancouver in particular a) developed a particular subset of trained cast and crew and b) provided a hub from which almost any type of landscape for filming was accessible. What's new is that some of them are actually starting to be allowed to show their Canadianness... although interestingly, many of those don't seem to be doing as well as those that still hide it (though that's probably a false correlation, if still interesting).

[soupytwist]

I really liked season 1 of Continuum! I think it has some awesome potential. :)

[tellitslant]

Yeah, I've been hearing good things! I will bump it up the list if you liked it, then. :D

[soupytwist]

I would say that it DESPERATELY needs some more women. Like, the main character lady is pretty great, and I find her really interesting, but it really needs to pass the Bechdel test sometime soon. But it doesn't creepily objectify her even though she's hot and her future uniform is a catsuit. (And it smacks down on the one time someone within the show could be seen as doing that.) And I think you might find it fits interestingly into your thesis work actually.

[soupytwist]

Er by which I mean give you thinkythoughts, not like you're going to write about it or anything! *hides*

[tellitslant]

Haha, I was going to say, in that case it's going BACK DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.

[hibernate]

1) Lost Girl is so much fun! Not a perfect show, but so enjoyable, and I will forgive it a lot for having a bi female hero with such an unapologetic relationship with her own sexuality. I do genuinely feel like the show is trying its hardest to be inclusive, even if it falls short sometimes. It gets better all the time, and Kenzi is AWESOME!

2) Bomb Girls, oh my heart! Betty kind of crushes me regularly with her feelings, Kate is like the sweetest real life Disney princess, Gladys is awesome, and Lorna is just lovely. I don't know much about Canadian history, but I do love what they're doing with the show, whether it's a faithful representation or not.

3) WAREHOUSE 13! Myka punching ~that someone~ is my favourite thing this month. Can't believe it's only a month and a bit before we get the show back. I'm so used to waiting it all feels unreal.

[tellitslant]

In reverse!

3. I LIKE IT WHEN MYKA PUNCHES PEOPLE :D :D Although I am a little terrified that it's back so soon in an "omg where did the time go" way! (And also a "what if H.G. is not treated awesomely" way.) I've been re-watching (and ficcing) and oh, show, I love it so much though.

2. I adore Lorna soooo muuuuch. She tries so hard! And OH BETTY. AND oh Gladys. The end of the last episode... wibble. It is just fantastic to see so much female strength on tv. Loooove.

1. LOL, yes, Lost Girl is definitely not perfect, but it is FUN. I do love that it's never really gone "Oh btw Bo likes chicks too AND THAT'S OKAY, ahem ahem," rather just letting things ride along without making a big deal of it. The sexual politics are kind of confusing, but generally really interesting, and KENZI IS THE BEST.

...it is so great to be able to talk about all these female-led or majority-female SHOWS, omg. <3

[labellamafia494.livejournal.com]

Have you watched Orphan Black? It's the crowning jewel of cdntv right now.