Haute finance

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.

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.

Hi everyone,

I am a fan of this show and I recently purchased Season 1 on DVD with the full intent of buying the rest of the series when it came out on DVD. However, it seems as though Alliance Atlantis is taking their time in releasing Seasons Two and beyond. So I emailed Alliance Atlantis and this is the response I received:

From: HomeVideo@AllianceAtlantis.com Date: Tue Aug 02, 2005 02:28:09 PM CDT Subject: RE: "Traders" Seasons Two and beyond?

Thank-you for taking the time to write to us here at Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution, Home Entertainment.

Unfortunately we do not have any immediate plans to release further seasons of "Traders".

I hope this answers all of your questions, any further inquiries please don't hesitate to contact us, and thank-you once again for writing to Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment.

So if you, like I, love this series and would like the rest to be released on DVD. Email HomeVideo@AllianceAtlantis.com and request that they release it!!!

I just thought I'd share this with all the other fans of this great Canadian TV series.

-Mr Toby

In Ontario, "Traders" is on at the same time as "ER". If you are as SICK of "ER" as I am...this is the show for you! (no stupid romances, repeated plots, characters you hate or patients you wish would die to be found!!!) Plus on Canadian TV they tend to swear which makes it even more realistic.

"Traders" is quirky, humourous, down-right off the wall at times and an enjoyable hour to spend in front of the tube! (take as a point the plot-line where a hooker was hired to pretend to be Grant's "adoptive mother". What does Grant do? Take her as a girl friend. And pays her for it!)

Patrick McKenna is a genius in his portrayal of Marty (just compare this character to Harold on the "Red Green Show"!) as is David Hewlett in playing Grant (a true computer geek to the end!) and Sonja Smits as the kitten-at-heart Sally Ross.

"Traders" tends to be current in regards to financial and political issues, and its ever-present black humour and is worth a look: you'll be hooked, for sure!

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. :)