Traders

Thankfully this program is still in reruns and it takes a long time to get through five seasons, but what a series! A weekly TV series based on the goings on in the financial industry may sound like a yawner, but not at all. The cast is large and varied, but the most memorable cast member is head floor trader Marty Stephens, played by comedian Patrick McKenna, whose eccentric character is never underplayed. Great supporting cast also includes the wonderful David Hewlett as the quirky yet brilliant computer genius who specializes in the derivatives market. Drama, suspense, and even action-thriller in some plots keeps viewers on edge and wanting more.

Season three storyline about corporate financier Jack Larkin (played by David Cubitt) and bad guy Jean-Paul Brunet (played by Carlo Rota) is one of the best, though new cast additions in the fourth and fifth season and new story lines do not draw away the attention from the main characters.

Viewers not familiar with investment jargon will not be lost in trying to follow story lines. If Marty screams "SELL !!!" he's probably running with the bulls. Throughout the five seasons, we get to see a myriad of stories including some real business scandals made fictional, the popular activity of day trading, insider trading, bankruptcy and restructuring, and others.

Series was nominated and won numerous Gemini Awards in the mid to late 1990s, and most recently listed as one of Canada's Top 10 best shows of all time. Too bad only season one is available on DVD. Series deserves a finale two-hour movie.

When I first heard of the show, my initial reaction was: "a show about traders? How boring! How can anything about finance be interesting?" Because of this, I missed the first season and half of the second before I finally started watching it, and I was instantly hooked. What caught my attention, more than anything else, was the wonderful acting jobs of the cast and how they truly brought their characters to life.

Not one of the characters in the show are predictable or stereotypical; there are no "good guys" or "bad guys". Instead, each of the characters are highly complex individuals with personal issues that they are forced to deal with on a regular basis, who struggle daily with the ethical and moral dilemmas of working in their professions. The credit for this realism must go to the excellent writers of the show. But even though the show deals with serious issues on a regular basis, it can also be quite humourous. Watching the interaction between the characters provides an incessant source of both laughter and tears, demonstrating both the writers' innumerous talents and the fantastic acting abilities of all of the actors on the show.

My personal favourite characters are Marty Stevens (portrayed by Patrick McKenna) and Paul Deeds (portrayed by Peter Stebbings). Marty is the head trader whose biting sarcastic remarks always make me laugh. Yet, underneath it all, his character is incredibly vulnerable and inherently lovable. On the other hand, Paul's character is far more seedy and is kind of a "bad boy". He is ruthless in his job and will go to whatever lengths he has to in order to get the deal signed, including breaking moral or ethical boundaries. But every now and then he shows that he is not entirely heartless and has his vulnerabilities, too. All of the characters in the show have characteristics that are both admirable and disagreeable ... making them incredibly human ... and which makes me come back for more. :)

This is one of the best Canadian shows you will see on TV ! This show has cast one of the most Impressive young & talented kids in Toronto, Danielle Bouffard ! Danielle plays the role of Sopie in this wonderfully well written TV series. You will love her in this show just as much as you all loved her in the role of Mary on the TV series 'Peter Benchley's Amazon'. You may also remember Danielle as Angel Bryson at age 5 in the TV series 'Twice in a Lifetime' and Katie Miller in the TV series 'Blue Murder'.

I remember seeing this show on Global during one of my visits to Canada a few years ago – near the end of its last season run.

While I was not familiar with any of the back-story, I was taken by the drama – the style and the acting. Its setting – a Toronto Investment Bank – is reminiscent of the absolutely terrific British 1989-1990 drama also dealing with an Investment Bank – Capital City (search Title Capital City 1989 on IMDb). Capital City was a show that I loved when I was a kid.

Traders appealed sufficiently to me as to keep my eye on amazon.ca to see if and when it would ever be released on DVD. Well, the wait is over and it is here. I am now half way through the Season 1 DVD of Traders and I am really enjoying it. It has remained fresh, despite being some 10 years old now. If anyone from Alliance Atlantis is reading this though – please note that the DVDs tend to freeze – especially on the first disk. These problems need to be addressed. Also lacking are any Special Features – which should be standard on any contemporary DVD release. Nonetheless – worry not – I will be purchasing Season 2 when it is eventually released.

Reading some of the other reviews here – which unsurprisingly have generally been written by Canadians – there seems to be some Cultural Cringe regarding the quality of Canadian drama. Maybe it is only because I have tended to see the best of what's on offer, but I have always viewed Canadian drama as pretty good …

I give Traders Season 1 DVD a buy recommendation.

And if you like Traders and ever see Capital City on release – I give that a Strong Buy.

This was a great drama which I wish stayed on the air longer than it had. Full of great actors and suspenseful plots which carry on from episode to episode. Rick Roberts and David Hewlett are hilarious together- David Hewlett himself is such an underrated actor. He's so different as Grant that it's almost hard to recognize him from his other work.

The only thing that irritates me is the camera work- too shaky and too many close ups. But the show itself usually makes up for that. I would recommend this for anyone.