Godiva's
Encyclopedia
Godiva's is an hour long Canadian
television comedy-drama
series, which debuted on Bravo! and Citytv
in 2005. It completed a successful two-season run in 2006, but though the show received rave reviews, it was cancelled by CHUM broadcasting. There are currently attempts at getting a third season made.
The series was created by Michael MacLennan
with Julia Keatley of Keatley Entertainment. The series was nominated for numerous Gemini Awards including Best Series. It was celebrated for its intelligent, fast-paced depiction of young Canadians in the restaurant industry.
's Yaletown
district, the series revolved around ten young friends working at the hip Godiva's bistro
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
series, which debuted on Bravo! and Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
in 2005. It completed a successful two-season run in 2006, but though the show received rave reviews, it was cancelled by CHUM broadcasting. There are currently attempts at getting a third season made.
The series was created by Michael MacLennan
Michael MacLennan
Michael Lewis MacLennan is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter, and producer of television shows. He is a two-time finalist for Canada's prestigious Governor General's Award, and the only playwright to win the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Award twice...
with Julia Keatley of Keatley Entertainment. The series was nominated for numerous Gemini Awards including Best Series. It was celebrated for its intelligent, fast-paced depiction of young Canadians in the restaurant industry.
Plot
Set in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
's Yaletown
Yaletown
Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver approximately bordered by False Creek, Robson, and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the Expo 86, it has been transformed into one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city...
district, the series revolved around ten young friends working at the hip Godiva's bistro
Bistro
A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. Home cooking with robust earthy dishes, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet are typical...
.
Cast
- Erin KarplukErin KarplukErin Karpluk is a Canadian television actress. She is best known for her leading roles in Godiva's and Being Erica...
played Kate, the restaurant's manager. She is a transplant to Vancouver from Toronto. At the beginning of the series, she is engaged to Bruce, but they break up after she cheats on him with their realtor, Zach. After that, she goes through several brief relationships, and is eventually date-raped by Joe, a man who picks her up at a club. At the same time, she deals with fending off Garth, a property manager who is trying to buy the neighbourhood in which the Godiva's building is situated. - Stephen LoboStephen LoboStephen Lobo is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the television series Godiva's, Painkiller Jane, Falcon Beach and Little Mosque on the Prairie...
played Ramir, the head chef. He is an East IndianIndian peopleIndian people or Indisians constitute the Asian nation and pan-ethnic group native to India, which forms the south of Asia, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the rich and complex history of India...
chef who often has to deal with his overbearing parents, who are disappointed with his chosen career path (mainly because he frequently cooks meat). He is known as a player and has an on-and-off relationship with Jenna throughout the series, though he is more interested in the physical aspects of it than the emotional ones. He becomes engaged to Rajni, the daughter of family friends, who tells him that she is a lesbian. She convinces him to ask for her hand so they can satisfy their parents, but he abruptly leaves her during the middle of their wedding. This leads his father to disown him. Ramir consistently debates between continuing work at Godiva's and opening his own restaurant, at one point offering Martin the opportunity to become his partner in a potential new venture. - Carmen Moore played Simone, the bartender. She is known for her sarcastic commentary and her wide-ranging knowledge of alcoholic drinks, which was likely gleaned during her period as an alcoholic. She throws out her back in the middle of the series and becomes addicted to her painkillers, but she quickly solves this by seeking acupunctureAcupunctureAcupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
treatments from Victor. She has a daughter named Chantal, who shows up unexpectedly near the end of the series and ends up running away with T.J. - Neil Grayston played Martin, the sous chef. He is Ramir's roommate and frequently has to deal with the "noises" coming from Ramir's bedroom. He shows almost zero interest in women at the beginning of the series and almost resigns himself to asexuality, though he eventually begins taking hormone treatments, whose side effects cause his budding relationship with a woman named Jane to fail miserably.
- Michael McMurtry played Cordell, the waiter. He is a flamboyant homosexual who often makes no secret of his effeminate nature, as proven when he tells Daisy, "Just don't expect me to put out." He has a fragile relationship with a man named Drew, who is more interested in monogamy than the more promiscuous Cordell. This catches up with Cordell when he fears that he may have contracted HIV. Though primarily a waiter, Cordell becomes the restaurant's sommelierSommelierA sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
with the instruction of Simone and a wine expert named Telmo, with whom he sleeps one night. - Sonja BennettSonja BennettSonja Bennett is a Canadian actress who portrayed Marcie Brasko in Battlestar Galactica.Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bennett has acted in various genre series including Eureka, Stargate Atlantis, Painkiller Jane, The Dead Zone, Cold Squad, as well as other Vancouver filmed television...
played Daisy, the pastry chef. She is a devout vegetarian and the "peacemaker" of the group. She develops a close friendship with Victor after he begins his medical practice. She begins dating Sam, a local organic farmer, who runs the meditationMeditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
group she joins after witnessing a harrowing death. His influence causes her to rename herself "Savitri" (SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
for "daughter of the sun") and behave erratically in the kitchen. Daisy is fired from Godiva's after stealing from her co-workers in order to help the meditation group's charity project. After a particularly uncomfortable encounter with a fellow member and pressure from Cordell and Victor, she leaves the group and is allowed to return to her old job at Godiva's. - Matthew Currie HolmesMatthew Currie HolmesMatthew Currie Holmes is a Canadian actor who has appeared in dozens of projects. He was a lead on the Canadian series Godiva's , as well as on the series Edgemont. His feature film credits include The Fog, Firewall and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. He currently resides in Los Angeles,...
played Stick, the prep chef. He is considered the slacker of the kitchen crew, often seen with his surfboard at Wreck Beach, or smoking marijuana on the restaurant's loading dock. He comes from a wealthy Vancouver family that he generally tries to avoid, though their social influence helped him get out of jail for dealing drugs. He develops a crush on Jenna while she is having problems with Ramir, and later becomes her boyfriend. - Rick Tae played Victor, the dishwasher. He was a doctor in his native China, but due to his poor English, he cannot get a medical license in Canada. For a short time, he offered medical treatment to patients at the back of the restaurant, but quickly halted his "practice" after a patient was killed. He lives with his wife, Su Fei, and their daughter, Anita.
- Noel Fisher played TJ, the busboy and the owner's son. He is often immature and rude to the fellow restaurant staff, which may stem from the constant absence of Godiva, his mother. He is sometimes seen with a group of hard-edged classmates, Coulter, Mitchell, and Dani, who at one point almost burn down the restaurant when he lets them in after closing. He eventually becomes a DJ, running a nightclub out of his apartment above the restaurant. At the close of the series, he runs away with Chantal, Simone's daughter — ironically, he had lost his virginity to Simone in a much earlier episode.
- Leah CairnsLeah CairnsLeah Cairns is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as one of the Raptor pilots, Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson, on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica.-Biography:...
played Jenna, the waitress. She is an aspiring dancer who has trouble finding a role, once because of her age. She has a one-sided, mostly physical relationship with Ramir at the beginning of the show. She later gets together with the more romantic Stick.
Episodes
| # | Title | Airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | "Begin It Now" | March 16, 2005 | |
| 102 | "The Hungry Ghost" | March 23, 2005 | |
| 103 | "Having Her Cake" | March 30, 2005 | |
| 104 | "Masters of Delusion" | April 6, 2005 | |
| 105 | "Fancy Footwork" | April 13, 2005 | |
| 106 | "Fast and Loose" | April 20, 2005 | |
| 201 | "Floodgates" | February 14, 2006 | |
| 202 | "Flipping Switches" | February 21, 2006 | |
| 203 | "Out the Door" | February 28, 2006 | |
| 204 | "Champagne Kisses" | March 7, 2006 | |
| 205 | "Dead Flowers" | March 12, 2006 | |
| 206 | "Forbidden Fruit" | March 21, 2006 | |
| 207 | "Rubbing Shoulders" | March 28, 2006 | |
| 208 | "The Bigger Man" | April 4, 2006 | |
| 209 | "Tempting the Spice" | April 15, 2006 | |
| 210 | "Little Engines" | April 22, 2006 | |
| 211 | "The Fifth Taste" | April 29, 2006 | |
| 212 | "Inked" | May 6, 2006 | |
| 213 | "Exit Strategies" | May 13, 2006 |
Reviews
- "Created by Michael MacLennanMichael MacLennanMichael Lewis MacLennan is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter, and producer of television shows. He is a two-time finalist for Canada's prestigious Governor General's Award, and the only playwright to win the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Award twice...
and Julia Keatley, the show throbs with style and confidence. It is, in a word, outstanding. [...] In the interest of balance, I tried, repeatedly, to come up with something negative but was stumped. One pompous chef describes Ramir's cooking as "assertive yet complex." You could say the same thing about this show." - Vinay Menon, Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario... - "Godiva's looks as if it could be the most exciting opening act in Canadian TV drama since The Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour (TV series)The Eleventh Hour is a Canadian television drama series which aired weekly on CTV from 2002 to 2005.The show revolves around the reporters and producers at a fictional television newsmagazine series, The Eleventh Hour...
." - Alex Strachan, National PostNational PostThe National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays... - "The dialogue sparkles with wit and bite." - John DoyleJohn Doyle (critic)John Doyle is one of the two television critics with Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper. Doyle also covers major football events for the paper....
, The Globe and MailThe Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star... - "The kudos are warranted. Godiva's [...] sharp writing, three-dimensional characters and moments of unexpected sensitivity make Godiva's air of jaded hipness ring with an authenticity foreign to most prime-time series. Deftly veering from comedy to drama, the show's ability to convey the subtle shadings of real life not only give it a grit and urgency, but it also makes us care about characters who—in a different format—would seem unlikable and off-putting. In the end, Godiva's edgy rock-and-roll attitude is a clever illusion. Deep down, this is a show about heart." - Joel Rubinoff, Hamilton Spectator
External links
- Bravo.ca: Godiva's from Bravo! CanadaBravo! CanadaBravo! is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Bravo! is an entertainment channel with a particular focus on television dramas and films, as well as art-related programming....
- Citytv.com: Godiva's from CitytvCitytvCitytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
- Godiva's at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- http://www.michaelmaclennan.com Michael MacLennan's website