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The Listener?

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 4:12 pm
by SandChigger
Not quite scifi, but watched a preview of the pilot of this last night on Fox Japan. (Regular broadcasts to start in May.)

Adventures (and tribulations?) of rookie EMS paramedic telepath in Toronto. (Oh. My. Gawd. I lived to see it: a TV show set in Canada :shock: ) Slightly goofy sidekick partner for comedic relief. Tremulous romantic relationship with hot (mixed-?)Asian ER doc. Hot female detective suspiciously wondering about telepath; possible romantic angle if things with doc don't work out? Older academic mentor who knows about telepath's abilities (some kind of psychologist who treated him as a disturbed child?); possible romantic angle there as well? (Kidding.)

Haven't really looked for any info online and didn't even catch the lead's name. Craig something-or-other. Bint read the blurb in the monthly infozine and said it's a joint Fox International/NBC/CTV production that's premiering concurrently in about 50 countries.

Anyone heard anything about this one? I figure it'll be one of those "Well, there's shit all to watch again and Discovery and History are reruns, so ... The Listener?" what-you-settle-for shows. ;)

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 5:25 pm
by The Phantom
there are other canada setting shows :P
like.... ummm the border (gag), little mosque on the prairie (funny but not great)... and ummmm
uhhh, never mind.. :P

sounds somewhat interesting though

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:12 pm
by SandChigger
Little Mosque on the Prarie? :shock:

You're kidding, right?

Anyway, it turns out there's a Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listener_(TV_series)

The lead is Craig Olejnik. (What flavor of Slav is that? Polak?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Olejnik

Bint says she can't decide if he's cute or not. A bit too "ribey" and no butt. (She likes her men like her wine: full-bodied. With big butts. :P ) The blue eyes with black hair thing freaks her out, too.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181541/

Lisa Marcos is the detective. (Smokin' :P ) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1478589/

And Mylene Robic is the ER doc. (Rrrrraow! :D ) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1773454/

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:55 pm
by The Phantom
nope, not kidding :P

i think i might check this one out actually.. interesting premise

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:22 am
by SandChigger
If you buy the whole telepathy gig, there wasn't anything really objectionable about it. In the pilot at least.

(And I imagine it might actually be kinda fun if you can watch it without some half-loon nearby screeching, "Looggadit! No bum!" every five minutes. :roll: )


Edit: I keep forgetting to mention: there was one spot in the pilot where the music had a definite Charlie Jade vibe going. (Did anyone besides me ever get to see any of that?) That was a Canadian/South African production. I checked but couldn't see that there were any of the same people or companies involved.

Damned shame they never filmed the second season. :?

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:13 pm
by SandChigger
Caught part of an episode of this one the other night, all I've seen since watching the pilot. Bleh.

I understand it's been cancelled. Another one season FOX Japan wonder/blunder! :roll:

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:45 am
by GamePlayer
I hate it when I hear foreigners talk about this, especially for shows like this. Not because of what the shows are, but because they so vividly encapsulate the tragedy of Canadian television. On the one hand, we have all these successful Canadian-made TV shows being exported around the globe and making money. Then on the other hand, these Canadian shows aren't popular because they are great shows. In fact, they are almost all utter garbage. But audiences have grown so large, the lowest common denominator so broad and expectations are so low that these mediocre Canadian shows not only become popular internationally, but succeed financially. It's such a fucking kick in the teeth!

I mean, if Canada made something like The Wire or Deadwood, which then became internationally popular and successful, I would be thrilled and extremely proud as a Canadian. But Flashpoint? Fucking Da Vinci's Inquest? You've-got-to-be-kidding-me aka The Listener? All this proves is Canada can make homogenized, derivative bullshit on a professionally competitive level internationally. That's not something to be proud of :x

Anyway... :P

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:43 pm
by SandChigger
I feel your pain.

If I'd watched more, I'm sure I would feel it even more acutely.

(Here, maybe this'll cheer you up: I'm wearing a pink shirt today. :P )

I still morn the wonder that was Charlie Jade. (Granted, that was joint Canadian/South African, but I rather liked it.)

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:33 pm
by GamePlayer
I never watched Charlie Jade, but I'm aware of the rather prominent cult following that the show gained. I've never seen it, so I can't really comment in that particular instance.

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:58 pm
by SandChigger
Maybe the production wasn't as slick as this show, but it was definitely more interesting. I really wish they'd made the second season. :(

Re: The Listener?

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 6:43 pm
by Omphalos
What was that one with Frank Giambone? Night Heat or something? My favorite of all Canadian Cheezes.