Skip to content

Jennifer Spence

BIG READ: CONTINUUM & Cosplay at Fan Expo Vancouver

Published April 21, 2013 on Vancouver is Awesome

A year ago, Fan Expo Vancouver hosted the first panel for Vancouver-cop-from-the-future series Continuum. And what a year it’s been. Continuum debuted on Showcase as an out-of-the-box hit. Almost one million Canadians watched, making it 2012’s  number one cable drama here. Since sold to more than fifty countries around the world. Canadian Screen Award,  Writers Guild Canada and Saturn Award nominations racked up. A debut in January on Syfy in the U.S. which led to rave reviews from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly TV critics. A second Continuum panel at Fan Expo Vancouver yesterday. And the premiere of a second season tonight on Showcase at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. No wonder the cast and creator got giddy yesterday in Ballroom A at Canada Place.

Continuum is part sci fi, part police procedural about a future police officer Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) who travels back in time from Vancouver in the year 2077 to Vancouver today, swept up in an escape by a group of terrorists — Liber8 — who plan to change the future from the past by targeting the corporations that will come to rule the world. Cameron ends up being partnered with Vancouver police detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster) and tasked with bringing down Liber8, with the unexpected help of teen tech genius Alec Sandler (Erik Knudsen), a boy who will grow up to become the head of mega-corp SadTech and seemingly the man responsible for sending Kiera and Liber8 back in time in the first place.

Read More »BIG READ: CONTINUUM & Cosplay at Fan Expo Vancouver

SHOOT: Rachel Nichols & 250 Protester/Police Extras Film CONTINUUM 2×10 in Gastown’s Blood Alley

Continuum staged a big protest scene in Gastown’s Blood Alley today with Vancouver-cop-from-the-future Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) shoved around in a crowd as hundreds of protester extras battled police extras in full riot gear. In one scene, Kiera ran out of the melee in her black high-tech cat suit, boots and a sky-blue jacket. But this was a rare sighting. Most of the time you couldn’t see her in the throng of up to 250 background performers.

Luckily, there’s another chance to see her at the Continuum panel at Fan Expo Vancouver this Saturday, April 20th, at Canada Place. Cast Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster, Erik Knudsen, Lexa Doig, Luvia Petersen, Stephen Lobo, Jennifer Spence and Omari Newton are scheduled to be there at noon in Ballroom A.  And fans are promised a sneak peek of season two, which premieres this Sunday, April 21st, at 9 p.m. on Showcase in Canada.

Read More »SHOOT: Rachel Nichols & 250 Protester/Police Extras Film CONTINUUM 2×10 in Gastown’s Blood Alley

BIG READ: LEO AWARDS Live-Tweets its Hotel Vancouver Gala

Published May 31, 2012 on Vancouver is Awesome

Live-tweets turned out to be the best thing about last weekend’s Leo Awards celebrating the best of B.C.-made film and television. Tweets from @LeoAwards gave an award-by-award account plus details of all the hijinks in between at both the Celebration and Gala Awards: hijinks that ranged from Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott mock-fighting over their award to Gala co-hosts Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne calling each other evil twin and English MILF to Nancy Robertson and Ryan Robbins pitching a new comedy series to Emilie Ullerup re-enacting Angelina Jolie’s notorious one-leg Oscars pose to acting legend Gabrille Rose swearing on stage while presenting the final award to Sisters & Brothers for Best Feature Film.

It was a great way to let the public share in this celebration of artistic talent after a tough week, which had started with the official cancellation of homegrown sci-fi series Sanctuary, the most-recognized B.C. production by far with 18 Leo nominations going in. Sanctuary ended up winning four Leos for its fourth and final season, but only one on the night of the gala for a guest performance by Arctic Air’s Pascale Hutton, who sang beautifully and turned her head right around in the Glee-meets-The-Exorcist episode Fuge.

I’d hoped for a repeat of last year’s wild times on the red carpet outside the Hotel Vancouver on West Georgia Street, but organizers moved the red carpet inside the hotel this year to the conference floor and restricted access. Most of the nominees kept the party going after the red carpet to take a turn at the new Media Wall by the bar where I had a spot, but it was so dimly-lit I had to jack some light from the pro-photographers’ flashes. Here’s The Express’s Johanna Ward interviewing nominee and eventual winner Johannah Newmarch on the red carpet about her supporting performance in mockumentary Sunflower Hour. Ward later dropped by the Media Wall to wrangle nominees Ali Liebert from Bomb Girls and Emilie Ullerup from Arctic Air as a backdrop to her standup.

You can see the start of Emilie Ullerup’s one-leg Angelina homage and how the popular Cassini brothers photo-bombed the arrangement. That’s Frank on the left and John on the right. Frank Cassini later won a roar from the crowd and a Leo for his supporting performance on Read More »BIG READ: LEO AWARDS Live-Tweets its Hotel Vancouver Gala

THE KILLING – Recap of Days Seventeen to Nineteen of the Investigation

Linden & Holder. The dynamic detective duo are back together for days seventeen to nineteen of The Killing investigation into the death of Seattle teenager Rosie Larsen. And it’s wonderful to watch and listen to them. I got to see quite a bit of Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman filming these scenes inside lead homicide detective Sarah Linden’s silver car in various spots around Vancouver-as-Seattle’s downtown and downtown eastside, but couldn’t hear any of their often funny dialogue.

Day Sixteen ends with Linden & Holder staking out the Larsen residence and Holder attempting to explain his actions to her: “Linden, I thought the [Darren] Richmond photo was legit. Kay. I mean Gil saved my life. I had 10 days in when I met him.” Linden is having none of it: “I don’t care. We’re in the middle of a shit storm because of you.” They follow an S.A. Larsen truck to Janek’s restaurant. Holder points out they’re not Stan Larsen’s guys: “They don’t got the overalls.”

The next day, the detective duo meet up with a mob expert with the FBI, who shows them a photo of the body of a man hands-bound with a single shot to his head in the trunk of a car and tells them that it was Stan Larsen who whacked him. Back at the police station, it’s another fun food conversation with Linden asking Holder: “Mmmmm is that bacon?” He replies: “Nah this is ham, eggs and sausage.” Linden: “What happened your whole lacto ova vegan thing?” Holder: “Nothing. I’m just ready to embrace meat again.” And then after a while, Holder brainstorms: “Maybe Rosie’s BFF knows about tattoo boy?”

After first stopping in to see the widow of the man killed by Stan Larsen, Linden & Holder go to Rosie’s school to ask her BFF, played by Vancouver’s own Kacey Rohl, what she knows about the Boy with the Manga Tattoo. She confirms seeing this boy hanging around Rosie’s place but that’s all.

They go to a juvenile hall to question the tattoo artist and discover the boy was a foster kid, Alexi Giffords, who lived three blocks from the Larsens. And then onto the stakeout scenes I saw being filmed in Strathcona. It was a long one and Holder got on Linden’s nerves to the point she made him get out of the car and left.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was so Holder: “Yo I gotta piss. So Rosie likes bad boys like her father.” Linden doesn’t buy it but Holder presses on: “It’s in the DNA…sins of the fathers.” Linden: “Did you read that in O magazine?”

Then he teases her about the FBI Mob guy: “Oh snap, Linden rocked a booty call. Dial 1-900-Linden.” Linden replies: “It’s not even enough numbers.”  But when Holder starts pushing her Foster kid buttons she snaps. He reminds her she was a runner in her day and she gives him a warning look but he continues on: “I’m just making conversation since we’re wasting our time anyway.” Linden barks: “You’re right this is a waste of time. Get out!” Holder: “Come on Linden. What am I supposed to do out here?”. Linden: “Your job.” Holder: “Least we’re back to normal.” They are.

Linden goes to see Regi to ask to read a file on an ex-foster kid. The Regi and Linden talking on the dock scenes were filmed in late January at the Quayside Marina in Yaletown. Here are my photographs of Mireille Enos and Annie Corley being battered by wind and rain on their way to set and on set.

Meanwhile Holder is taking a piss when Alexi returns home. He chases him but can’t manage the fence. And Linden gets a peek at the file which tells her Alexi is the son of the man Stan Larsen whacked.

Read More »THE KILLING – Recap of Days Seventeen to Nineteen of the Investigation

FAN EXPO: CONTINUUM Presentation at Fan Expo Vancouver

How did Continuum creator Simon Barry conceive of a Vancouver in 2077 which has become North America’s financial centre in a world where corporations have taken over failed governments? By reading and watching the news, of course. He calls it more science fact than science fiction. In this dystopian future, rising seas from global climate change have wiped out the east coast but Vancouver is protected by a dam across English Bay.

So why hasn’t the Lions Gate Bridge been dealt with in 2077?,  joked one of the Continuum panel at Vancouver Fan Expo last Saturday. Is the city all bike lanes in 2077?,  joked a fan during the Q & A, prompting Barry to respond that there are no cars at all in his future Vancouver.

Read More »FAN EXPO: CONTINUUM Presentation at Fan Expo Vancouver