The Great Canadian Pottery Throwdown - General Discussion

[RealityCheck]

The GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN with Jennifer Robertson and Seth Rogen is coming to CBC in winter 2024.

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Canadian actress and comedian Jennifer Robertson will serve as the host of the series.  A potter in his own right, Seth Rogen is among the executive producers and also serves as a guest judge, alongside Vancouver-based artist 0mily Carr and Institute of Art & Design ceramics instructor Brendan Tang.  The series was shot this summer at a studio on Granville Island in Vancouver, the hometown of both Rogen and Robertson and set to premiere in winter 2024.

[xfuse]

I can't wait. I love the British version so I hope it's as good as it but it's all in the judges. If the judges are bland and stiff than the show will be too.

[endure]

I had no idea Seth Rogen is actually a potter!  Looking forward to this, I love the British Throw Down.

[jpgr]

Pretty good first episode! Seth's stoner laugh was getting on my nerves by the end, and I assume he won't always be the one judging the second challenge.

Loved quite a few of the potters and was happy with who won and who left.

[shok]

11 hours ago, jpgr said:

Loved quite a few of the potters and was happy with who won and who left.

Eww, I couldn't stand the one who won and didn't think her creation was particularly outstanding. There were others that I thought were much better.

Hopefully they all - judges and host and potters - got over all their nerves in this first episode and the next ones will be more interesting.

[Taeolas]

I liked the first episode. I was a bit worried about Seth's presence, and sadly I'm still a bit concerned. He's not a bad fit, and he does seem to honestly know the craft. But he's a bit like Will Arnett on Lego Master; his presence tends to become the focus instead of the discussion about the craft. But he's no where near as focused on as Will Arnett, so he's well in the "Tolerable" category for me. I'd probably still prefer a slightly less gregarious host, but that seems to be the direction CBC's Reality Competition show casting is going. (See also Best In Miniature and Race against the Tide) 

The winning piece was a deserved win. The losing piece was justifiably gone. Cracks and an illfitting top are good excuses to release her. 

I was a bit surprised by the number of New Brunswickers showing up. We have 3 NBers there (I think if I counted right) which is impressive considering usually we're lucky if we have one contestant on these shows. I suspect part of the reason is because of the Craft College we have right in downtown. Three alumni from there are competing, so that seems to mean quite a bit. (As a local, it's never really drawn attention to itself in my experience. I see it and walk by it a lot, but never seem to hear much about it)

[oldCJ]

For the chess sets, it felt like being able to differentiate the pieces or even play an actual game with them was not relevant to the judging. Like the mountains only being different sizes. So playing a game, you do what, hold up the pieces next to one another to see if it is a knight or bishop? The snails and birds didn’t even fit within the squares of the board. And the mud/rock cartoon characters were so complicated and different to one another they belonged in a vitrine or on a fireplace mantel rather than a game board. 

Glad I only had to hear the Rogan laugh for his demo for the throwdown. It felt like the host was channeling her “inner 8 year old who just learned a bad word” and got tiresome fast. The judges were certainly quick to use the bucket. 

I am hoping the judges grow on me soon. They are fine but definitely no Keith Brymer Jones. 

 

 

[Taeolas]

Some of the sizing seemed off, but overall they felt good. The bottom two were rightfully there with the right one going home. Compared to the others, those cylinders were just too plain, and needing to have the indicator dots on top was an obvious design failure. 

The birds and snails ones were beautiful in comparison, but ultimately not really playable; you couldn't really identify the roles as was pointed out. Granted some of the others had similar ambiguity but I think for the most part they were nicer or the roles were more clearly defined (even if you had to remind yourself that X was a bishop, at least X was distinctive).

[xfuse]

I like the show. The challenges are good. The potters are good. The judges and the host are just bland. They need at least one of them with a vibrant personality. And not Seth Rogen with his annoying laughter. 

Edited March 3 by xfuse
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[Taeolas]

I agree, the challenges and the show format are good. The judges seem decent enough, they just need a bit more experience in the TV show formats. 

The main host, she seems okay but her personality is probably a bit too subdued. They may have picked her to be the straight host to Seth's wacky host, but Seth (laughing aside) is surprisingly restrained, probably because he's Zooming in some of the middle eps now. Thankfully he's not as distracting as Will is on Lego Masters. 

 

But yeah, this show could use a slightly more animated on-set host, someone with more comedic background would do I suspect. Canadian Baking Show's been lucky with their hosts, but lightning hasn't quite struck twice yet. And that said, she does have some potential, she may just need more practice and experience. 

[oldCJ]

I keep waiting for the judges to show their personalities. It feels like being stuck making small-talk at a networking event. 

My heart broke for Jackie. Her artistic skill as seen in the earlier episodes was amazing. 

Thomas and Keifer need to host their own show. On any topic. I just love their friendship and how well Thomas describes what he is doing, like he is narrating an educational program. 

 

[jpgr]

I agree the judges are so flat, even though the male judge's clothes and mullet make me feel like there has to be some flair in him somewhere.

I was also gutted for Jackie :-(

[ahpny]

Just as with its UK original incarnation, what works best for this reality show is that the competition seems gentle, cooperative and friendly. No one appears to be aweful, so you can root for just about anybody. I'd be curious about how many potential candidates passed through casting. They do seem to find basically nice and friendly people.

There really can't be any truly objective measure of who should "win" most challenges since art is quintesentially subjective. Nevertheless, the artistic choices and talents of some do seem to exceed those of others. The chess sets episode confused me because in almost no one's set could you tell what any of the pieces really were. That is, no one's set was truly usable. I was surprised in the final episode that all three threw their spouts. More elegant, narrowly-tapered, and curved spouts can be pulled like a handles and then split in half, hollowed and rejoined. 

I do wonder how much happens off screen, like how they come up with their ideas (and whether at least some of that is fed to them) and how long it takes for them to draw what appear to be pretty detailed drawings beforehand. Also, I don't get why they use a "drying room." This show is not shown in real time so who cares if it takes an extra day or two to dry stuff. Studios I've used have "damp rooms" to slow the drying process, not speed it up. I suppose using a "drying room" may be a cost issue, to keep the filming process shorter to some extent?

Keifer and Jenn's throwing skills seemed to rival those of Seth. I was rooting for Jackie and was sorry to see her go so early.

Edited April 9 by ahpny

[Shelbie]

I enjoyed this season and would watch another.

[jpgr]

1 hour ago, ahpny said:

There really can't be any truly objective measure of who should "win" most challenges since art is quintesentially subjective. Nevertheless, the artistic choices and talents of some do seem to exceed those of others. The chess sets episode confused me because in almost no one's set could you tell what any of the pieces really were. That is, no one's set was truly usable. 

I do wonder how much happens off screen, like how they come up with their ideas (and whether at least some of that is fed to them) and how long it takes for them to draw what appear to be pretty detailed drawings beforehand. 

I agree about the chess sets, although some were beautiful I didn't think they were playable.

I assume that, like Bake Off, the contestants are given the parameters of the main make well in advance so they can design something. Whether or not they are allowed to practice it, I'm not sure (on Bake Off they are expected to practice), but they are certainly not coming up with their concepts and drawing their plans at the last minute.