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Cutting edge
'Battle of the Blades' stars reveal what to expect in Season 2
| Source: |
TVGuide.ca |
| Date: |
September 24, 2010 |
| Author: |
Denette Wilford |
It's on.
When Battle of the Blades debuted last October, it was initially
believed to be Dancing With the Stars on ice, a harebrained idea
aiming to be a guilty pleasure — take former NHLers, pair them with
world-class female figure skaters and see what comes up.
But it was no joke.
As we gear up for the second instalment, TV Guide Canada caught up
with Blades host Kurt Browning and new cast member Russ Courtnall at a
Toronto press event on what to expect in its sophomore season, which
team Russ loved playing with most — the Leafs or the Habs — and if
Kurt has a future on another CBC series.
TVGuide.ca: Season 2's no joke — it's serious now.
Kurt Browning: Well, I didn't think Season 1 was either. But it
definitely was an experiment last year. What's happening is, last
year, was this, like, how do we get people to know we're taking this
seriously, we're not making fun of the hockey players, this is the
real thing. So that was the challenge, it happens, it pulled people
in. So when you say this is serious now, this means we have to do it
again.
TVG: Russ, did you watch the first season?
Russ Courtnall: I didn't. I lived in Los Angeles, so I missed it. But
I heard all about it.
TVG: Kurt, are you feeling the pressure this time around?
KB: I'm taking encouragement from Idol and talent shows and Dancing
With the Stars; their format doesn't change. But they have a good
system and people go back to see the journey and to see the results,
and we have that. So I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to do it
again. Will the numbers go down? Maybe a little, maybe not.
TVG: Sometimes formats do change, and I've never been a fan of
change.
KB: I think what we're going to do is try and tell the backstage stuff
a little bit better, the journey. If something kind of nasty happens
between them, then that's gonna go on the show. Last year, we kind of
protected them a little bit, this year, no.
TVG: Russ, do you know who you want for a partner?
RC: No, I don't. The girls that I've met are great. I think the hockey
players focus less on who they get and more on the experience of
skating. And then the girls, I think, are more focused on who they get
because they're the pros, right? We're the rookies.
TVG: Are you excited? Terrified?
RC: I'm not terrified, but I'm nervous and excited. I don't know what
to expect. I haven't put on figure skates since I was a little kid.
TVG: Have you seen the movie, The Cutting Edge?
RC: Yes, my friend, D.B. Sweeney, made that movie.
TVG: Toe pick! I love that movie. Would you want to have any input in
the choreography?
RC: Oh my God, no. We'd be going home the first week. I have honestly
no clue. Hopefully my partner takes charge and helps me get through
this and I don't embarrass myself.
TVG: Are there any tips you can give the new guys, like Russ?
KB: Have a lot of patience with the skates. If they decide to go with
figure skates, play with your skates, spend a little bit of money if
you have to. Shaving down the toe pick a little ... we learned a few
tricks last year like don't tighten up the laces all the way up to the
top. I'll be able to help them through that a little bit better than
we did last year.
TVG: Describe the difference between hockey skates and figure skates.
KB: When I skate in my hockey skates, I feel like I'm in a sports
car. When I skate in my figure skates, I feel like I'm in a
sedan. You're more refined, your stroke is cleaner and longer, and in
a hockey skate, you're more maneuverable.
TVG: Are there any dream skaters/players you want for the show?
KB: Well, Gretz, let's get Gretzky! I'd love to see Guy LaFleur; Brett
Hull would be hilarious. You want personalities and you want stories
and performers. Brett would be awesome.
TVG: Totally off-topic, Russ, but for all the Canadian hockey lovers
out there, who did you enjoy playing for the most, the Leafs or the
Habs?
RC: I have to say that I loved playing for the Leafs because it was my
favourite team growing up, my dad's favourite team, they drafted me
and my favourite player was Borje Salming so it was an unbelievable
experience.
TVG: There's a "but" coming.
RC: But I obviously wasn't a Habs fan because when you're a kid,
you're either a Habs fan or a Leafs fan, but the respect I have for
the Montreal Canadiens, their organization, and we were a really good
team, I had a great time there. It was just different. They were
different experiences, I loved both of them and I was really lucky to
play for both organizations. Is that pretty good for sitting on the
fence? (Laughs.)
TVG: It's no longer filming in Maple Leaf Gardens. Where's the venue
this year?
KB: It's a studio down by the water. We have the same set so on TV
it'll look exactly the same.
TVG: What do you think of it branching to the U.S., because there were
rumours ...
KB: There were talks. Good talks.
TVG: The exposure would be great.
KB: We can't show what we're doing because it's live and it would have
to be a brand new show with a brand new cast.
[At this point, we were interrupted by Men With Brooms star Joel
Keller, who made himself right at home, and he and Kurt came up with a
plan.]
KB: Where are you guys filming?
JK: Winnipeg.
KB: I was the caretaker of the curling rink in my hometown. As a kid,
I was always sweeping cigarette butts, riding the rocks ...
JK: Why don't you come out and do a cameo?
KB: Are you serious?
JK: Dead serious.
KB: What, I get drunk and I go skating on the ice and you guys catch
me? That would be fun.
JK: Sure.
KB: I can do me.
JK: I'm all for it. (Brooms' creator) Paul (Gross) isn't here, but we
should have that. We should totally have that. It's like, what does he
know about curling? That's something my character would totally say,
threatened by the guy invading his turf. Totally.
KB: He had to choose in '88 if he was going to go in curling or if he
was going to go in figure skating.
JK: See, it's writing itself.
KB: But then I get drunk and take my skates and wreck the ice and get
in trouble.
JK: Come on, how great is this? I call the cops, you get arrested,
it's this whole thing ...I think that's the way to go.
Battle of the Blades premieres Sunday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m. ET,
CBC.
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