Did Arctic Air’s now-estranged couple Bobby (Adam Beach) and Krista (Pascale Hutton) ever have a shipper name like Bista? Because Bista is no more. Krista left Bobby and Yellowknife behind at the end of season two to fly to Bali and is only now returning after three months of travel, soon to be followed by her overseas fling Tag Cummins (hunky Niall Matter). “I hate Niall Matter and his big muscles,” joked Adam Beach about his on-screen rival at CBC Vancouver’s Media Day late last year.
Earlier the prankster had a laugh photobombing Hutton’s photo shoot and then art directing her. Unlike their characters, who face a rough patch as they are forced to work together as co-owners of their maverick Yellowknife airline, the actors get along well, teasing each other like siblings.
Pascale Hutton ribbed her co-star for “gripping her knee” in fear when they filmed a NWT helicopter scene at The Chief near Squamish. Bobby and Krista jump out of a helicopter and stand on the edge of a cliff in high wind, a real-life cliff with a 200 foot drop and real-life wind. Beach confessed he would have been happy to turn over these scenes to a stunt double — “I was sh***ing my pants” — but the director wanted them both in the frame.
A later scene had Bobby rappelling down a cliff face, which was “not Adam’s cup of tea” either, Hutton said with a smile. All of this ties into Arctic Air’s new search-and-rescue contract . The journey towards this new business starts tonight when Krista’s homecoming is cut short to mount a search-and-rescue operation for Dev (Stephen Lobo) and Astrid (Emilie Ullerup).
Luckily Krista’s former fiancé Blake (John Reardon) is doing fine without her too, as new romantic interest police Constable Lindsay Gallagher (Rebecca Marshall) comes to town.
Arctic Air is broadcast Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on the CBC.