Editor’s note: Our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season continues with No. 5, whose particular brand of TV stardom is best served by “Scara,” who runs GhoulsonFilm.net, a tremendous site for ladies and by ladies who happen to be fans of horror films and TV.
Now, let’s sink our teeth into our choice for No. 5…
By Scara
Special to Canadian of the Week
Few of TV’s Top Canadians talents are so readily visible as Anna Paquin’s – who comes in a at No. 5 on our list.
Everyone’s favorite star of “True Blood” brings a special perkiness to the part of Sookie Stackhouse, the sunny lover of those who can’t go out in the day. You’ve got to hand it to this Winnipegger, she has done things onscreen that would make the average actress shiver with fear. Maybe it’s the hearty Canadian blood coursing through her veins that keeps her warm during her ever-increasing nude scenes. Or her northern pluck that allows her to go that extra mile when outrunning a Maenad, shooting a werewolf, giving advice to a newborn vampire and delivering lines like “BEEEEELLLLLLL.”
While not everyone is a fan of Paquin’s attempts at a traditional Louisiana accent, no one can deny that she has made the character of Sookie her own and fully embraced the campy aspects of the show including some thoroughly outlandish sex scenes. She claims those scenes are no big deal when the one you’re embracing is your fiancé. A fact she joked about to the Huffington Post:
“I’m really close with all of our cast, and we’ve all seen each other in various compromising and odd situations,” she told them when asked about her scandalous sex scenes. “I think that one great bonus is we don’t need a fluffer.”
Editor’s note: Getting back to our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season, we check in at No. 6, which is brought to us by a big fan of “Smallville” and, in particular, Canadian actress Erica Durance.
If you hadn’t figured it out yet, No. 6 is Calgary’s own Erica Durance. Here’s why…
By Nadia Costa
Special to Canadian of the Week
Erica Durance has been playing the iconic Lois Lane on “Smallville” for the past six years, and her growth has been clear to see. Over the years, Durance has earned praise for her professionalism and the great understanding she has for the character she is portraying. Lois has been on an amazing journey and Erica has done a great job playing her.
Previous choices: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
9. Graham Yost (“Justified” and “The Pacific”)
8. Pamela Anderson (“Dancing with the Stars”)
7. Howie Mandel (“America’s Got Talent”)
Last season, for the first time, Erica had the most screen time on the show (second only to star Tom Welling’s Clark Kent). Lois finally got a chance to shine and, boy, did she deliver. Lois Lane was linked to every major storyline, from the materialization of Zod’s evil plans to the emergence of Checkmate. Having Lois at the forefront gave “Smallville” a new lease of life. The Lois-centric episode, “Idol” was an instant fan favorite, achieving higher ratings than the season premiere. Not many shows have the ability to keep things fresh for its fans but in its ninth season, “Smallville” pulled it off.
Portraying a character as complex as Lois Lane isn’t an easy task. One minute she’s the Army brat fighting bad guys and the next she’s the woman with a crush on Clark Kent’s alter ego, “The Blur.” Erica has truly shown her versatility, which is why this girl from Calgary, Alberta, can easily be regarded as one of TV’s Top Canadians.
The countdown of the TV’s Top Canadians of the 2009-10 season continues. And, yes, we’re a few days late in getting entry No. 7 up onto the site, but is anyone really setting their watch by Canadian of the Week? Really?
Coming in at No. 7 on our list is America’s favorite Canadian germaphobe. Howie Mandel has had himself quite the resurgence in the last few years with a hosting gig on “Deal Or No Deal” getting things jump-started.
This summer, though, the hairless Howie fills the recently vacated seat of the finely coiffed David Hasselhoff on “America’s Got Talent.” The selection of Howie completes a judges’ table that is made of two Brits and a Canadian, meaning America may have talent, but it apparently lacks the capacity to judge talent.
The pick was a wise one, though, as Howie has brought new life to the show. He’s genuinely funny, his observations are unique and he replaces The Hoff, who seemed to think the show was more about him than about the performers on the stage trying to catch a break and a $1 million performing contract.
Check out this clip, in which Howie talks about the show’s wildest acts:
After what host Tom Bergeron said was an effort that began with the show’s first season, Pamela Anderson took to the “Dancing with the Stars” hardwood in the show’s 10th season.
After falling into the bottom two in the first round of voting, Pam did herself and her country proud by blending some classiness with her inevitable sexiness and landing squarely in the middle of the final results in sixth place. For her weeks of entertainment, witty one-liners (when asked by Brooke Burke if America was going to see a different side of her on the show, Pam quipped, “I think America has already seen every side of me.”), Pam lands in the eighth spot on our countdown of the Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season.
Previous choices: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
9. Graham Yost (“Justified” and “The Pacific”)
Week after week, Pam’s confidence grew and eventually the competition just caught up to her as she exited behind Chad Ochocinco, Niecy Nash, Erin Andrews, Evan Lysacek and winner Nicole Scherzinger. She proved she belonged, as you can see from this clip below.
Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images North America
Pay no attention to the man in the photo. Well, that’s usually the case, anyway.
You likely don’t recognize his face because he typically is the man behind the proverbial curtain, but trust me when I tell you that Graham Yost has had a hell of a TV season, and that’s why he’s the No. 9 choice in our countdown of the Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season.
Previous choice: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
The 50-year-old Toronto native snuck up on everyone by giving FX its latest bona fide hit in “Justified” midseason. The testosterone-fueled cop drama stars Timothy Olyphant as a U.S. marshal reassigned from beautiful Miami to his old stomping grounds of Kentucky.
It received “universal acclaim,” with most TV critics roundly praising the show, on metacritic.com. Matt Roush of TV Guide called “Justified” “the best new series, network or cable, of the midseason,” and Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that it is “an instant entrant in the best-new-show sweepstakes in a TV season that already has several solid candidates.”
If that wasn’t enough, Yost also co-wrote and directed an episode of the HBO miniseries, “The Pacific,” which also won universal acclaim and is sure to rake in some awards later this year.
Without giving away too much, I’ll tell you now that Yost’s contribution to fine television this season earns him the distinction of being the only “behind-the-camera” personality on our Top 10 list.
If you’re into watching tremendous TV, check out the season finale of “Justified” here:
We’re officially into summer, which means it’s time for Canadian of the Week to launch its Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season list.
This was a big year for Canadians on TV, and each weekday for the next 10 days, we’ll feature a new entrant on our list, until we reach the top spot. The Canadian star who tops the list will win the inaugural William A. Shatner Award for Canadian Excellence in American Television Programming (yes, we made that up).
WIthout further ado, in the No. 10 spot is Cobie Smulders of “How I Met Your Mother.”
There are several reasons for including Cobie in our Top 10, the first and foremost being that she will more than likely be included on any list we do — because she is that awesome.
But this season was one in particular where the Canadian-ness of her character Robin Scherbatzky was also tested and called into question. As Robin continues to struggle to find her place in the world, she realized that she’s losing her Canadian roots while having yet to establish American ones.
Check out the clip below for a sample of her border-crossing dilemma, which features a visit to a Tim Hortons in her native land. And check out the one below that, suggested by Twitter follower @Black_tynamite, where Robin’s gets “Super-Canadian”!
Editor’s note: Our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season continues with No. 5, whose particular brand of TV stardom is best served by “Scara,” who runs GhoulsonFilm.net, a tremendous site for ladies and by ladies who happen to be fans of horror films and TV.
