Reefer Riches: Timing Is Everything

"Talk about timing!" laughs TV director Cynthia Banks whose sparkling new documentary Reefer Riches premieres on CBC-TV's new series Firsthand Thursday October 29 at 9 p.m.
It just so happens that veteran director Banks (Apocalypse 2012) had been working the past year on a meticulous exploration of what the legalizing of marijuana has meant to the U.S. states of Oregon and Colorado.
And then along came a little something called the Canadian general election and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's promise to decriminalize marijuana.
"And suddenly we have the hot button issue all covered," Banks says so the  appearance of RR right after Trudeau's election win is indeed serendipitous.
Firsthand replaces the old CBC series Doc Zone and one big difference is the absence of a series narrator --Banks narrates her own program which is right and proper.
She's also managed to stuff a heck of a lot of material into the 44-minutes. Usually TV content dictates style but expert editing gives Reefer Riches a certain speed but at no point should viewers feel rushed.
Banks isn't sure what will happen if the Canadian Parliament votes Trudeau's way.
"I know the black market aspect will disappear --much of the street stuff sold illegally is dangerous. . And don't forget the huge tax revenues that will flow into the government coffers.
"It sounds very easy to accomplish  but really the subject is quite complex."
Banks artfully shows all the problems the Canadian government must avoid iof legalization goes through.
The shock in Colorado is that a referendum on the subject passed (as a proposition) --here is one of the most conservative western states.
"Governor H was personally opposed but he went with it"--and there was no huge disaster on the ground.
Law enforcement officials say the rate of crime neither went up or down by very much.
Banks craftily personalizes the subject.
Stupid me I though people just smoked reefers.
We see how candy floss laced with marijuana is being sold over the counter. There are coffee brands laced with it.
We meet some of the emerging marijuana tycoons including Tripp Keber of Dixie Elixirs (one of he largest edibles company) .MSNBC's Pot Barons, Jamie Perino who owns a chain of marijuana dispensaries,  and Pete Williams,COO of Medicine Man.
And there's JamiePerino whose  enterprise Euflora has been dubbed "the Apple store of cannabis".

We see marijuana farmers and how they tenderly nourish their crops --I'd never seen that before.
Yes, some typical pot heads are interviewed including one lady who exemplifies all the traits of over usage.
This fascinating but balanced account should answer most questions. Banks argues forcibly for checks and balances.
Getting there first means Reefer Riches is a must see, as well constructed Banks's award winning A Hail Of Bullets.
REEFER RICHES PREMIERES ON CBC-TV'S FIRSTHAND THURSDAY OCTOBER 29 AT 9 P.M.
MY RATING: ***1/2.

It Takes Guts: TV For Your Intestines

 

 

 "My idea for this TV documentary (It Takes Guts) really came about when I was finishing my last one.
"I was asking my subject,  British geneticist Dr. Tim Spector what he was doing next and he talked all about his new book The Diet Myth.
"And I knew if I could sell it to a network it might really work out."
The result It Takes Guts premieres on CBC-TV's The Nature Of Things Thursday October 29 at 8 p.m.--it's certainly a provocative journey inside the human intestines.
Veteran documentary director Leora Eisen (Two Of A Kind) is laughing on the phone about how chance often plays a big part in any new project.

"Like a lot of people I wondered how one friend could consume enormous amounts of junk food while another munched on lettuce and couldn't lose an ounce."
So Eisen's journey begins and ends with the remarkable Dr. Spector who is there to teach us there's bad and good bacteria in all of us.
And we then visit a hunter-gatherer out in the woods cooking up a mess of legumes which are particularly favorable to lower intestine well being.
Spector gets college age son Tom to spend a week consuming nothing but junk food --burgers and fries --in an effort to duplicate the results in that great documentary Supersize Me.
In a very short time young Tom experiences feelings of "unwellness" caused by having his intestines out of order. He simply cannot face another burger dinner.
I liked the segment on the microbiologist  (Dr. Allen-Vercoe) who has created an artificial intestine called Robogut to see how it reacts to all kinds of foods.
And there's the guy who keeps his daughter's diapers in his freezer --the reason makes sense and cannot be revealed here.
Eisen has done a masterful job of compiling all the statistics but presenting them as easy-to-understand human tales.
Personalizing the issue keeps us tuned in and expert editing gets all the points across without the viewer ever feeling rushed.

"I'm lucky Spector is such a brilliant guy," she says. Indeed the British scientist has the ability to individualize all the facets of his thesis --his own father died early at 57 and he has been on this hunt for nutritional facts ever since..
He sincerely believes we are simply eating the wrong foods in an era when fast food junk is relentlessly peddled via pounding  TV commercials.
I once had a university professor who argued that original settlers in seventeenth century New France actually ate better in the summer and the fall with fresh meat killed from the forest and fruit and grains coming into season.
Winters were a bit more iffy with habitants living off their grain harvests and the meat they cured.
I think the best line in It Takes Guts is simply this: "You never eat alone.
 Because besides feeding our stomachs we're also feeding trillions of microbes in our gut which perform all sorts of duties to keep us healthy.
"Who knew?" says Eisen. "I was certainly ignorant of most of this. But it's one of the hottest topics."
I was so fascinated I wanted to toss out all my canned goods and tubes of processed cheese immediately.
Perhaps a sequel is needed on what to eat and how to get it at reasonable prices.But I'd grant obesity is our number one killer these days and I speak as someone who survived triple bypass surgery last year.
In my case there certainly were hereditary factors but as a reporter for 40 years I'd acquired any number of bad eating habits I still need to break.
Speaking from experience It Takes Guts could be your first step in taking back possession of your gut.
IT TAKES GUTS PREMIERES ON CBC-TV'S THE NATURE OF THINGS THURSDAY OCTOBER 29 AT 8 P.M.
MY RATING: ***1/2.

Milk: The Art Of The TV Documentary

 

I go way back in time to TV's infancy when TV documentaries meant something.
I'm thinking specifically of the See It Now documentaries of Edward R. Murrow and specifically the night he blasted red baiting senator Joe McCarthy to virtual smithereens.
But today's TV networks don't seem to have much time for such passion and the few docus that do get shown are carefully balanced and often dull, squeezed into hour formats (46 minutes plus commercials).

Toronto film maker Noemi Weis's new 90-minute documentary Milk is not like that at all.
You can catch Milk's premiere on CBC's Documentary Channel Tuesday October 27 at 9 p.m. Got that?
Milk takes a definite stance while still presenting all points and assumed that  you the viewer have the capacity to absorb different viewpoints in an important debate.
The title Milk is so all inclusive but the film is more than about the controversy over infant nutrition.
Here is a wide ranging rumination on the modern approach to childbirth and how multinational companies are promoting their brands of infant nutrition often at the expense of the welfare of both child and mother.
"We seemed to be traveling forever," director Weis  laughs. "We were in Brazil and Argentina,, up to 11 countries, 35 cities. The filming went on and off for nine months."
Is there a simple theme for this sprawling program?
"Yes, nature is the better way. Not the only way but much better. In our modern world the faster way is seen as the best at doing all things. But that's not true."
The more Weis researched the more she became convinced that very large companies were aggressively pushing their formulas on unsuspecting mothers particularly in Third World countries.
I wanted to show the balance. Breastfeeding if possible is the best way but I also interview mothers who opted for nutritional supplements because of a variety of issues. If they made their own choice that is just fine."
What surprised her was the controversy she stirred up.
"I think my strength is communications. Getting the sides to talk simply was my goal. I think I was very respectful to all. If a mother is informed then she can make up her own mind, I think."
Weiss was prepared to accept a wide variety of opinions in the countries she visited.
"What surprised me was how similar everything was in developed nations. In Brazil caesarian births are at an all time high."
Perhaps the most moving segment looks at the devastation in the Philippines after the 2014 typhoon devastated the country. Bottled formula was rushed in for three months but mothers were then expected to cope on their own and many had no money and support systems had left.
But why there's such a polarizing between mothers who breast feed and those who use a bottle?
I think Weis gets it right in showing what a huge growth industry having babies has become and how advertising is slyly styled to make us all feel a bit guilty we're not spending as much money as possible on our children.
Her portraits of mothers out in the field are lovely --I particularly liked the study the unwilling 15-year old mother-to-be whose own mother is very steady in offering all the support she has.
The perspectives portrayed here are balanced and often beautifully done and no wonder UNICEF has organized screenings of the film.
This accomplished film is sweeping but also deeply personal. It works on several levels. Screened on a regular network it would have to be cut down and the message truncated which means a specialty channel like Documentary is the perfect home.
MILK PREMIERES ON CBC's DOCUMENTARY ON  TUESDAY OCTOBER 27 AT 9 P.M.
MY RATING: ****.

Chris Haddock Returns To CBC-TV

We've met before!" I warn executive producer of CBC-TV's new drama section The Romeo Section which debuts Wednesday night at 89 p.m. on CBC-TV.
And Chris Haddock sighs mightily.
He's been down this long, winding road before.

I first met Haddock in 1998 when he was creating Da Vinci's Inquest which starred Nick Campbell and ran and ran to great acclaim --CBS even bought the U.S. rights to run on its affiliates.
That spawned the sequel Da Vinci's City Hall (2005-06) and more renown.
I remember a tense interview with Haddock just before he debuted Intelligence (2006-07) on CBC.
It was completely brilliant but CBC didn't quite know how to handle it --the subject was provocative and the public broadcaster has no 10 p.m. slots left for challenging drama --The National runs at 10 p.m.
Eventually Haddock sold remake rights for a U.S. version first to CBS and then Fox but subsequent pilots were disappointing and nothing came of it.
So Haddock addled over to HBO for yet more critical acclaim on Boardwalk Empire as producer and writer.
"Now I'm back," he grins wearily.
We met up briefly at CBC's fall launch.
Because the sad fact is Canadian TV doesn't quite know how to fashion a challenging dramatic series hit.
Look, I like and appreciate the smoothness of a Rookie Blue or a Saving Hope which are shot in T.O. but can be be  neatly repackaged for U.S. TV consumption.
CBC when faced with potential greatness tends to back off.
I liked and admired David Sutcliffe in the T.O.Cracked (2013) but that series had birth pangs and went under after 1 1./2 seasons.
I frequently visited the set of CBC's This Is Wonderland (2005-06) but again producer Bernie Zuckerman and creator George F,. Walker were told they were making a 10 p.m. show and there were no 10 p.m. slots available on CBC.
But Wednesday night at 9 CBC is debuting The Romeo Section which is densely plotted made and demands the most attention from viewers.

The network is desperate for a bright new hit.
"I think it's pretty good," Haddock says with great modesty.
Shot like a movie with superb cinematography from Brendan Uegama and great production design from James Hazell and fine art direction from Racquel Roper, the series is just about the best thing to hit Canadian TV in years.
Going back to DaVinci Haddock says he always had to neatly sum up stories at the end of each episode.
"These days the pieces can float. Dramatically it makes more sense."
I've watched the first two hours and can report the acting is outstanding from the likes of  co-stars Juan Riedinger, Jemmy Chan and Andrew Airlie.

Story lines here are very complex, scenes play out at different speeds, just keeping itt all straight is a challenge. with location shooting in both Hong Kong and Vancouver.

The question is simply this: will mainstream audiences be watching or is this the kind of fare relegated to cable networks these days?
On Canadian network TV some very fine scripted Canadian shows have perished --victims of the ratings game: Don McKellar's Twitch City, Power Play, Strange Empire.
Who knows what works anymore in this fragmented TV market.
'I can only say that The Romeo Section is as fine as anything Haddock has ever made and deserves to be watched.
THE ROMEO SECTION PREMIERES ON CBC-TV ON WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 14 AT 9 P.M.
MY RATING: ****.