Power Play

This series focused on a fictitious hockey team called The Hamilton Steelheads and production personnel were proud to be daring and present the series as a Canadian hockey team in a Canadian town. All issues affecting a pro sports team were explored starting with funding problems (which brought in the opportunistic and completely narcissistic Brett Parker), internal management problems which the team fought hard to keep out of the media, to the intervention of politicians (and we do meet the minister of culture - Sheila Copps!!) to agent-player contract negotiations, and much more! It was presented solely as a comedy-drama and was on its way to becoming a unique series which didn't mirror any other series during its run, but unfortunately, it was given the boot with no further interest by CTV to give the series another chance.

I am a fan of both hockey and of Gordon Pinsent. What a treat to have seen them come together so successfully! Pinsent is blessed with hilarious dialogue, which he delivers with ease and brilliance. I hope they use him more. Dean McDermott is wonderful, too. Good writing, good cast, good show. I was fortunate enough to see a couple of episodes on a recent trip to Ontario, and was greatly disappointed to discover I wouldn't be able to see it upon my return to the U.S. This country is missing out on some top quality programming by not covering Canadian broadcasting.

I thought this show was really boring and the comedy was not up to snuff.

I remember it well because at the time I was dating a girl who really enjoyed the show or maybe she just pretended she did for the sake of her friend, a girl who was in the show who I remember and see in the cast list but will not name her because I don't want to single her out in my review.... mostly because my review is definitely not going to be a good one, and even though I met her a long time ago she seemed nice and actually seems like she is actually a talented performer who I'm sure has done much better work on much better shows since this one. I'm assuming.

The acting on this show was not very good, the stories and plot lines were terrible. The comedy they do on the show is not funny at all and again is totally predictable, what is the point of doing jokes that are so obvious that everyone watching has already thought of them anyway?

This show is better than MVP, another Canadian hockey series that was on CBC a few years later, but that's not saying much since MVP was awful.

As the title says, Power Play has succeeded where many others have tried and failed -- they have made a movie/tv show centering on hockey that isn't crap. The only other production to ever achieve this was a 1994 CBC movie called Net Worth. With strong performances by all the leads, especially by the under-used Dean McDermott as the captain of the Hamilton Steelehads who is very convincing in his role as the soft-spoken jock. Gordon Pinsent is a pure delight to watch, and if you're able to follow all of his fast-spoken, half-muttered dialogue I'm sure you'll laugh as hard as I did. Overall, I'd have to say this power play lived up to it's name, because Alliance-Atlantis seem to have scored their first winner since merging.

You might be wondering what the novelty was for me in the first place. Well, being from Hamilton, it's very rare for me to see a show or movie based in my hometown. And I'll admit that was my initial attraction to "Power Play". Good writing and strong acting, though, have me hooked (no hockey pun intended).

Most of the characters are likeable in their own way, but two performances stand out. Gordon Pinsent as the somewhat-crazy owner of the Hamilton Steelheads, Mr. McCardle, is great and fast-paced comic relief. Dean McDermott is the other performer I most enjoy. As Mark Simpson, the soft-spoken captain of the Steelheads, his intensity and dedication to the team shines through. He's extremely convincing, and in my opinion under-used thus far (2 episodes have aired as I write this). Michael Riley is Brett Parker, the guy you love to hate and hope to love, and the character around which the show revolves and evolves. The frantic pace of his life is reflected in the pacing of the show. The hockey sequences are, for the most part, well represented. And to be honest, the hometown boy in me wanted to cheer on the fictional Steelheads franchise.

I really hope this show survives, and not just because it shines a spotlight on Hamilton, but because it deserves to. "Power Play" is that rarest of creatures; a well-made Canadian drama.