216 replies to this topic

[killy]

New NBC series (Canadian) here.

I've seen a couple of episodes of this show and I'm liking it more and more. It centers around a paramedic Toby Logan, a telepathist that reminds me of the likable Gary Hobson of the 90s show Early Edition here who goes off on investigations on his own.
I like the slips of humor especially by his paramedic partner Osman and the cast grew on me.
It will probably be shown in US this May.
http://img523.images...cfywa501x5x.jpg

Edited by killy, Apr 29, 2009 @ 8:48 AM.

[dryedmangoez]

Yeah, I have all the episodes that have aired internationally so far, but have only seen the first few and I enjoy it. The series itself looks great and it is definitely enjoyable.

It'll have a two-hour premiere next Thursday, June 4th at 9pm on NBC. Its regular timeslot is Thursdays at 10pm.

[Softee]

Not bad, I'm watching the second episode now, we'll see how that one goes.

[Latecomer]

I'm enjoying this. Not digging the girlfriend. I find her a bit irritating, not sure why.

Edited by Latecomer, Jun 4, 2009 @ 9:21 PM.

[les yeux bleu]

How many episodes have there been? I just watched one now, 10:00PM on Thursday looks like its time slot on CTV.

[5673218]

Awesome series and like the lead guy ;-) Very cute and likeable ! He has the most mesmerizing eyes !

[Noonie]

I'm enjoying this. Not digging the girlfriend. I find her a bit irritating, not sure why.

She reminds me a little bit of Lana Lang.

[blackwing]

I liked it. I like the telepathic powers too. I haven't watched Heroes since Season One, but the telepath on that show absolutely sucked. How can you have this great power and be such a loser?

The guy that plays the lead on this show, he looks like he could be the brother of Brandon Beemer, of "The Bold and the Beautiful".

[Mister Alex]

I haven't watched Heroes since Season One, but the telepath on that show absolutely sucked.

(He still does.)

I'm enjoying this. Not digging the girlfriend. I find her a bit irritating, not sure why.

I totally like the cop better, but I think the show wants us to hold out hope for Toby and Olivia, hence that wistful look at the end...

I'll keep watching. If nothing else, as a Torontonian myself I can enjoy deducing various locations as they appear, but so far I like it.

Funny how they have a guy who kinda looks like Tobey Maguire playing a guy named Toby who has a superpower.

Wonder if they will have a crossover with Flashpoint?

[Radagast]

If nothing else, as a Torontonian myself I can enjoy deducing various locations as they appear

Gotta love how the daycare in ep 1 appeared to be directly under the OCAD tabletop. I have some friends who lived in that neighbourhood; looks nothing like what they showed!

Definitely liking the cop over the doctor, but I'll give it time.

[Jer2002]

The guy that plays the lead on this show, he looks like he could be the brother of Brandon Beemer, of "The Bold and the Beautiful".

To me he looks like tennis player Novak Djokovic. I really liked this and as others have said the lead character is adorable.

[Aludra]

Gotta love how the daycare in ep 1 appeared to be directly under the OCAD tabletop.

Or the car parked right in front of Roy Thompson Hall... Heh.

Interesting enough show and premise and love spotting the Toronto locations. Also love Colm Feore. I find the cop kinda awful, for my part, poorly acted and a little too obviously the Hot Lady Cop in her tank top at work.

[AVorlon]

I think there’s a lot of potential here, and I hope they don’t just have this guy use his power for crime solving. There are a lot of ways this sort of thing could be usefull, but this guy is just going to get himself killed if he insists on doing other people’s jobs for them. He’s not even certified to be an EMT, for crying out loud, yet he’s playing cop, detective, and arson investigator all at once.

I appreciate that he only recently tried to use his talent to help people, instead of trying to suppress it, but constantly breaking into buildings and chasing down the bad guys while unarmed is a sure course for disaster.

I hope the writers can figure out some new and innovative ways for him to use his talent. I wouldn’t want this to just become CSI:Toronto. We already have enough shows like that already.

[Faran]

He has the most mesmerizing eyes !

He certainly does! I knew as soon as I saw the dark hair/blue eyes combo that I was going to be sucked in. It's one of the reasons I was first attracted to Ian Somerhalder.

10:00PM on Thursday looks like its time slot on CTV.

I caught it @ 7 p.m. on Space. IDK if that's going to be its regular slot on that channel - but it's a more appealing time slot for those of us who get up uber early for work. If I won't stay up to watch Nathan Fillion in Castle @ 10 p.m., I definitely won't stay up for this.

It seems as if they're going to try and sell us on a hook up between Toby and the cop, at least I think they're headed that way. I didn't really sense any spark between them though, so it's going to seem forced to me.

I agree with those who are having fun spotting the local land marks. And, even though this is on US TV, I like that they're not trying to hide that it's taking place here. So often they try to disguise Toronto, but there were Ontario license plates, the mention of Burlington and Manitoba, and our familiar street cars.

If I can continue to catch it at 7 p.m., or even 8 p.m. I'll give it a shot over the summer.

Edited by Faran, Jun 5, 2009 @ 7:00 AM.

[Sandman]

Or the car parked right in front of Roy Thompson Hall... Heh.

Interesting enough show and premise and love spotting the Toronto locations. Also love Colm Feore. I find the cop kinda awful, for my part, poorly acted and a little too obviously the Hot Lady Cop in her tank top at work.

Aludra, I think you might be in my head! I also loved seeing Colm Feore, and Roy Thomson Hall, and I think Det. Tanktop was was kind of ... inappropriately attired for work, shall we say? Not sure if I like Dr. Girlfriend (but the comparison to Lana Lang upthread might be a little harsh).

Liking the partnership between Toby and Oz. (Especially Oz's "What? I know stuff. Ask me about climate change. I'm the Turkish Al Gore.") I don't know how long they can spin out Toby's being coincidentally being in the wrong place at the right time. Being two steps ahead of Det. Tanktop all the time, and getting face-and-eyes into crime scenes is going to look suspicious eventually, no?

[luna azul]

I want to like this, I really do. But so far I'm not impressed; it lacks subtlety and complexity. The leaden pace had me looking at the clock every few minutes and switching over to Rachel Maddow during the commercial breaks. (Ace of Cakes during the 2nd hour.) The supporting characters were not well defined and I found it hard to develop any interest in them. There's potential there, but the writers need to develop the characters beyond simple archtypes: the boss, the partner, the girlfriend, the detective. Yawn.

Totally agree with AVorlon about the way they're using Toby's power to do all the crime solving. It's implausible and irritating to see him doing a better job at being a cop than the cops can.

[marmaladesix]

Burlington got a shout-out and I missed it? Dang.

While I enjoyed spotting the glimpses of Toronto and Canadiana on a US network (Kraft Dinner made it through?), I found it couldn't compete with the new game I was playing on my phone. I wish the series well though.

[Mister Alex]

(Kraft Dinner made it through?)

And Toby ordered a double-double!

It's implausible and irritating to see him doing a better job at being a cop than the cops can.

Well, if cops could literally read minds, they'd probably do their jobs better (or certainly faster) than they do now. Telepathy is a pretty huge frakkin' edge when it comes to solving mysteries. That being said, I'm hoping that Toby settles into a more "advisory" role with the cops rather than always dashing in headlong (kinda like Medium! or Mentalist! or Castle! or... uh-oh)

Previews for upcoming eps have hinted at the fact that Toby will need to take others into his confidence, so I don't think the Lone Avenger thing will last very long. I suspect that before long we will have a "Team Listener" situation including certainly Oz, already Prof. Colm, and hopefully HotCop, working in concert to make best use of everyone's talents, etc. etc.

Also: Winnipeg joke!

[IgnaMom]

I agree with those who are having fun spotting the local land marks. And, even though this is on US TV, I like that they're not trying to hide that it's taking place here.

I'd say that's because it was a Canadian series made for Canadian TV that happened to be picked up by a US network. Most US series that are filmed in Canada are made by US companies for US TV networks so they try to hid that it is filmed in Canada.

(Kraft Dinner made it through?)

In the US I think of Kraft dinner and I think of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in a box. Is it something different in Canada.

Edited by IgnaMom, Jun 5, 2009 @ 11:21 AM.

[Taeolas]

I saw the first episode but haven't had a chance to see the second yet. Interesting premise, but I think I was overall too tired to really get into it. Maybe when I see the next few eps it'll click more for me.

So that's 2 on going series now set and filmed in Toronto. I wonder how much longer it'll be before we get a show set in Toronto and filmed in some US city? :)

I did ponder the idea of a Listener/Flashpoint crossover, but I doubt it would happen. Flashpoint tends to try to stick nearer to reality, and telepathy wouldn't fly there; or at least I doubt it would. Still, part of me is wondering what the Network suits would do in that sort of situation since both shows are CTV shows, just broadcast on separate US networks.

It was probably just me, but when I saw his apartment, it gave me a ReGenesis vibe; it looked very similar to David's apartment to me.

[YumYum]

This didn't do it for me. I watched the first two episode but that's it. Yet another cop show...with a female detective and an oddball male accomplice. Castle and Mentalist come to mind...both of which are so very good. This didn't strike me as being in their class. The lead is absolutely adorable (lovely blue eyes) but he lacks something. Depth? Acting strength? Pizazz? He's pretty but, IMO, very blah.

[mustbekarma]

They had me at telepath. I've only seen the first episode; it was past my bedtime for the other episode, which I'll have to catch online.

Seriously, though, I really enjoyed the show. The twists that made me enjoy it were small, but added some depth. First, the professor/mentor really sold me. I like that the telepathy isn't a huge secret that only The Listener knows. The professor, for want of a better name, also seems to genuinely care for Toby.

The second part I enjoyed is that Toby's telepathy gave him an edge in everyday relationships with people. He was able to help the old man in the diner without hurting his dignity. I also loved how Toby smoothed over the conflicts with the EMT commander and his girlfriend. That communication edge leads me to the third thing I liked.

Last, but not least, I love how Toby wasn't so smooth in conveying information during any of the "criminal" investigations. It wasn't so second nature to communicate effectively with that telepathic edge. I liked how the telepathy gave him inside information, but didn't give him the skills he necessarily needed to confront a crooked cop.

Hey, it's a summer show, and it's not reality or competitive television. It's a shoe-in for me to watch on that basis alone. I actually liked this show a lot, though. It's certainly no Flash Gordon or Painkiller Jane, my prime examples of how not to do a TV show.

[luna azul]

Well, if cops could literally read minds, they'd probably do their jobs better (or certainly faster) than they do now. Telepathy is a pretty huge frakkin' edge when it comes to solving mysteries.

But telepathy doesn't make him better at looking up arsonists' records on a police department computer when the cops aren't paying attention. That's just silly.

[Latecomer]

I liked this. I could see all the rough edges that everyone has mentioned, but I liked it anyway. I'm intrigued to see what happens next. My biggest peeve was the doctor ex-girlfriend — I thought they had NO chemistry together whatsoever, and hope a kibosh is put on any future romance.

Maybe that's what I didn't like about her - no tangible connection between the two.

[5673218]

I'm enjoying this. Not digging the girlfriend. I find her a bit irritating, not sure why.

I liked both the doc girlfriend and lady cop and thought Toby had great chemistry with both of them too ! However I think Toby's going to get with the lady cop and the doc girlfriend will be the one left behind missing what could have been .

Edited by 5673218, Jun 5, 2009 @ 7:51 PM.

[alexl467]

The following are some questions I have relating to the Listener and Canadian hour long shows that are set in Canadian cities.

1) Which Canadian city is the setting for the Listener?

2) From watching a number of episodes online it seems to me that the creators of the Listener are utilizing the same listed below creative approaches that I’ve seen used in other Canadian hour long shows which are filmed and set in Canadian cities, such as Blood Ties and Forever Night. If my observation is correct I would like know is it because of both the possibility that they will be eventually aired in America and an attempt to make the Listener and Canadian shows like it more appealing and relatable to the American tv viewing public?

(A) The utilization of nondescript urban locations without or mostly without any establishing shots that will feature well know Canadian landmarks, neighborhoods, and/or signs with the word “Canada” or the Canadian city that is the setting of the show. The utilization of nondescript urban locations which could possibly pass for places in American cites.
(B) Having the actors never or rarely mention the fact that the show takes place in a Canada.
© The utilization of actors and actresses have little to no Canadian accents and who look and sound like Americans, specifically ones from Northern Eastern and Mid-Western areas of the US.
(D) Always or mostly always refer to such universal things as money by their American terminology, for example as in dollars and cents. Never or mostly never show close up shots of Canadian money being past or received on camera.

Edited by alexl467, Jun 6, 2009 @ 10:59 AM.

[Softee]

I'd say that the CN tower is pretty much the ultimate Toronto landmark, and as far as the accents go, that's how people in Toronto talk.

[Shant]

A) The Listener is set in Toronto which was pretty obvious if you know what to look for - CN Tower, Art Gallery of Ontario, several skyline shots were shown. I would say that I thought there were several establishing shots. Place names were mentioned a few times (Burlington, Winnipeg, etc).

B) The characters talk like regular Canadians and we tend to not go around saying "Here in Canada" or "This is how we do things in Canada." "Did you know we were in Canada?" If they did that I would get annoyed and quit watching. I like that my intelligence isn't being insulted by having the obvious hammered into my head.

c) The show takes place in Toronto and I would have to say that like the majority of people from Ontario (aside from say, the Ottawa Valley), people who live in Toronto tend to not have a real discernible accent unless they were born elsewhere. I live in Ontario and the southern portion of the province is geographically close to the North Eastern and Mid-western states so there is perhaps some similarity in accent due to proximity.

Look like Americans? Is there a specific look for Americans? What exactly do you think Canadians looks like because I'm a little perplexed by that statement. Toronto is a very multicultural city so you could probably find at least one person who could also be considered a citizen of another country for every single country on earth. The same is true for a multicultural US city like New York.

D) Americans are not the only country in the world who speak of dollars and cents when talking about money so that is don't American terminology. Other countries were using dollars while the US was still using the British pound. Sometimes Canadians talk about Loonies and Toonies but that is slang for $1 and $2 coins. In the Listener I clearly saw a Canadian $5 bill and Toby give the man in the diner a Loonie. Several clearly Canadian terms were used in the show such as Kraft Dinner and double-double (coffee with 2 creams, 2 sugars). When you think about it, most terms used in English speaking parts of North America were actually brought here by immigrants. Canada and the United States aren't actually responsible for all that much in the English language.

Edited by Shant, Jun 6, 2009 @ 7:43 PM.

[AimingforYoko]

The arson web site said Ministry of Community Safety and they gave Richter's address as in Toronto plus Oz said, "We had the most set fires in the country outside of Winnipeg." That pretty clearly sets it in Canada.