Fringe and Strombo: it’s a crossover of two of my favourite things. One day after watching Lance Reddick film a Fringe season finale scene as Phillip Broyles at the Vancouver Art Gallery, I’m headed three or four blocks east to CBC Vancouver to see Reddick sit in the red chair as a guest on one of the best talk shows around, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.
I’m not sure that George, better known as Canada’s boyfriend, has ever watched Fringe but he’s a huge fan of The Wire, where Lance Reddick played Baltimore police officer Cedric Daniels, who rises the ranks to commissioner over the series but is forced out and ends up working as a lawyer. The seriously-smart Yale grad, who dropped out of physics early in his academic career to study music, also appeared as a detective on Oz and as a mysterious fixer for Charles Widmore on Lost.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Roberston shared today’s red guest chair with Lance Reddick. Robertson talked about the challenges and rewards of running a big city in this age of cities and Reddick talked about The Wire, as expected, with no questions about Fringe except as part of a round of Reddick vs Answerpology, a web site exclusive. And yet, despite Reddick’s in-character-as-Lt-Daniels profanity, the main guests might have been upstaged by the in-studio antics of the Vancouver Canucks’ Green Men, visiting from their usual behind-the-opposing team’s-penalty-box spot at Canucks games.
Toronto-based George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight is taping three nights of shows here. Music star Sarah McLachlan talked about Lilith Fair and her concerns about box office smash Hunger Games yesterday, while the “nice” Dragon Jim Trevling of CBC smash reality series Dragon’s Den and a former RCMP officer talked about the difference between customers and suspects. On deck for tomorrow’s taping are Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy and one of my favourite Vancouver indie films Double Happiness, as well as Paul Franklin. Oh talked about not choosing to be a Celebrity and Franklin, who lost both his legs in Afghanistan, about atheism in the foxhole.
Woven into the three shows are bits by local personalities like CBC Radio3’s Grant Lawrence (who did a hilarious pre-taped segment Vancouver Stereotypes that are Absolutely True and then struck a yoga pose in studio ), former Prime Minister Kim Campbell (who explained the origin of the city of Vancouver’s name), Corner Gas star Brent Butt (who explained Why the Canucks will win the Cup!), actor Tyler Labine (who talked about a furious World War II attack on Vancouver Island) and others who bring more local funny like the Green Men did in studio or some local insight.
Lance Reddick on Strombo airs tonight on CBC at 11:05 p.m. If you’re outside Canada, the April 3rd show video is on the Strombo website