Haute finance

This may sound unpatriotic, but I've always shyed away from Canadian attempts at this type of prime time drama. They've always had a kind of style about them that shouted "Canadian" in a non complimentary way. So when Traders premiered I was reluctant to give it a try. Thank heavens I gave in and viewed it. I was hooked from the very first.

Traders is decidedly Canadian. It takes place in a real Canadian city and is full of references to Canadian culture and institutions. Luckily, this is of no importance at all to the quality of the show. Both the writing and acting can stand shoulder to shoulder with any Prime Time drama produced anywhere in the world, including the best of both American and British television. It did not have to try and sell itself to me by appealing to some sense of patriotic duty to Canadian media like so many other past attempts.

When this show premiered, it was up against the brand new "ER". The magic of video allowed me to view both shows and make my choice. "ER" lost.

It goes to prove that when we stop trying to be so "Canadian" and just try to concentrate on quality, we can kick some major derriere.

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.

OK I gotta say, this show is really hard to find online, which is really the only way us US-ers are gonna be able to see anything past season 1 (at least until everything else comes out on DVD.)

Now that I've started to watch the show, I'm glad I didn't give up in my efforts to find it, because I'm lovin' it. I originally only wanted to watch the show for Hewlett (Grant Janksy), as I'm familiar with his more recent work, but I find myself enjoying watching McKenna (Marty Stephens) and Roberts (Donald D'Arby).

I would recommend this show to any of my friends, and I'm so hoping to someday own the whole series on DVD (we all know it'll happen at some point.)

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.

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.