MovieChat Forums > While You Were Out (2002) Discussion > Grrrrr this is REALLY bugging me!

Grrrrr this is REALLY bugging me!

posted 21 years ago by Smartie_7
21 replies | jump to latest

OKay, don't get me wrong, this show is okay- I'm watching it right now, in fact. I'm Canadian, and the eppy shot in Toronto is on right now. Stephen St. Onge is basing the room around hockey and the maple leaf, and it's just really bugging me. Somebody please tell me why it's necessary to do the room in red and white just because they're in Canada? I mean, if a Canadian show went down to the states to shoot an episode, they wouldnt do the whole room in red, white, and blue! And will they STOP complaining about the cold! We do not live in igloos and we have the same climate as a lot of the US states. Sorry. I just had to rant.

Sam

PS Didnt they have a lot of maple leafs in the other Cdn episode? I didnt catch the whole show and don't recall, but I'm pretty sure they had some. Why, I ask you, WHY???

[–] lizs_scooby 21 years ago

Hey I feel the same way. I'm Canadian also and I thought the over done Canada theme was a bit out of line. Not to mention the over-reacting to the cold. The other Cdn episode was an outside garden and if I remember correctly the only maple leafs were on the little flags they had. Don't get me wrong I agree with you on the over doing it, you don't see them making a big fuss over the fact that they are filming shows in the states....no stars and stripes everwhere.

[–] LadyJeanne 21 years ago

I have a question in regard to the Canadian episodes...where the hell is Andrew? Why didn't he come here?

I'd hoped to nail you again but I didn't think it would be literally.

[–] k_gs 21 years ago

I am wondering if it has something to do with the fact that he is not American, he was born in Nigeria and lived in England b4 coming to the states, but Canada isn't exactly anti-immigrant, so I don't know.

[–] fish-imdb 21 years ago

It's more likely that it would be the other way around: if he left the States, it might be tricky to get in, if he doesn't have status. Which, one assumes, he does. Few illegal immigrants appear on nationally televised shows.

[–] suceress1 20 years ago

Hmm.. Well Andrew has a company and lives in the US. He might have some sort of permanent residence. I don't think he's in the US on a work visa. I'm assuming because his brother is in the US that he immigrated. I'm not sure if he first immigrated to Britain and got some sort of citizenship there. Some countries have Visa waver programs. I'm not sure, but I think US citizens can get into Canada and vice versa without a visa. I don't know much about Canada's immigration laws, but since my father worked for USINS for 30 years I have a source of info. If someone plans to enter the US to work they have to get a work Visa. It's entirely possible that Andrew was busy or just didn't feel like going to Canada.
I do think it sucks when people get too stuck on stereotypes. But maple leafs are pretty. :-)
I admit I would probably complain about the cold if I went up there, but mostly because I lived on tropical islands for almost 10 years. It never got below 70 degrees F. I would probably be freezing if I went to even some of the northern US States. Btw, in Canada is temperature measured in C instead of F?

[–] ZchatterboxZ 21 years ago

This show appears to enjoy "themed" rooms regardless of their at-the-moment location. Also, if Andrew is only in the U.S. via visa (doesn't have citizenship), then he cannot come/go at his leisure even to/fro friendly Canada. It would require time and paper work; which is most likely why Jason gets those jobs.

[–] suceress1 20 years ago

Well, considering that Andrew lives in the US and has a company running it is most likely that he has permanent residence status. If he was here on a work visa it would be alot of paperwork that the employers would have to submit to say that he is the only one that can do the particular job and that they couldn't get a US citizen to do it instead. The work Visa would have to be constantly renewed. Once someone is a permanent resident they are allowed to leave the country but they can't be gone for more than a year or they will lose their status and have to reapply.

[–] ZchatterboxZ 20 years ago

I don't know what his citizenship is or the laws governing it; I was just speculating. Does Andrew have his own company registered as a U.S. business? I know that Sony, Daimler-Chrysler, and such operate here but are foreign owned. Oh well, it's all merely conjecture.

[–] suceress1 20 years ago

Ah. I don't know. I know it's called Eurotech. So maybe it's registered as a foreign company.
The whole USINS was disbanded though, and now it's all under Department of Homeland Securities. Everything is a huge mess right now and I don't know if they've changed the rules. I know they've screwed over their personnel though.

[–] ZchatterboxZ 20 years ago

I'm also puzzled by the statement that "you'd have to prove/say why you couldn't get an American to do the job". Alex Trebek has only within the past few years gained his USA citizenship status and I'm just about positive that many Americans would have taken his job if offered to them, lol.

[–] suceress1 20 years ago

Well, Alex Trebek is an actor and is therefore the company can argue that no one else could effectively do the job as well as him. Since he was cast specifically because of qualifications in an audition process, it would mean he was better suited for their needs than anyone else.
I think the main point is to prevent situations in which immigrant workers are paid less than minimum wage and therefore the only reason for hiring them over a citizen would be to pay less in wages. They get away with doing this by outsourcing to other companies where labor is really cheap, but within the US, if a job needs to be done they generally want to give citizens and permanent residents a chance first-- because when the jobs go to illegal workers or people making less than minimum wage then the citizens are left unemployed.
I'd have to ask my father on the specifics since he worked for INS for 30 years..

[–] sarel7 20 years ago

Well, I doubt that's why he didn't go to Canada anyways. Andrew does home shows in Canada all the time.

I agree about the room. I'm a proud Canadian but I wouldn't want maple leafs on my wall.

[–] suceress1 20 years ago

Ah, well maybe it was just Andrew's week off or something. I hear that everyone but the host gets a week off.

[–] ZchatterboxZ 20 years ago

"Visiting" another country is a different VISA than to "work" in one. All this is just speculation anyway.

[–] sarel7 20 years ago

yes, u don'r even need a visa to visit another country. But I'm sure he was paid for his homeshow appearences, which means he needs a work visa. At least as much as he would to work on the show. He wouldn't get paid in Canada either, I really don't see what the difference is. For example . . .Jeff Probst doesn't have a work visa for which ever country Survivor's in but he still gets paid and is allowed to go there.

[–] ZchatterboxZ 20 years ago

Personal appearances may require less/different paperwork/permission than physical work does, or whatever. If you aren't a citizen of the United States, you cannot just leave America to visit another country without permission. That is USA law; I don't know what legalities the Survivor show must face.

[–] darren-cdli 19 years ago

He just had a week off people. Next topic... :)

[–] suceress1 19 years ago

I didn't see this one before but I just saw it now. Actually, the US is one of the few countries that does not require citizens to gain permission to leave. They would however, probably need permission to enter the other country. The exception is with Visa waver countries. Basically the US has good relations with these countries and if people are visiting they do not need a Visa. Many other countries have an exit Visa which usually requires a fee. I remember Evan Farmer saying that things got a bit freaky when he was in Russia because he didn't have an exit Visa. Generally the US will not detain people who are trying to leave the US unless they are charged with a crime in the US and wanted OR if the place they are trying to go will not accept them. It is all about where they are going and if the other country will complain about having that person arrive. Well, at least that's how it was. I don't know what the new laws are under Department of Homeland Security.

[–] KAnnD86 19 years ago

I don't remember this episode specifically, but maybe the homeowners wanted a hockey/maple leaf motif. Plenty of Americans decorate their homes with an early American, red white and blue theme. I think it's more on an individual basis rather than a country as a whole. The homeowner must've been okay with it or they would've complained.

Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!

[–] pfslaf 19 years ago

Do you all realize that Andrew's business is based in Buffalo, NY, NOT that far from Canada. Maybe it was his week to be off.

[–] Batwoman_the_Crimson_Avenger 18 years ago

I don't remember this episode specifically, but maybe the homeowners wanted a hockey/maple leaf motif. Plenty of Americans decorate their homes with an early American, red white and blue theme. I think it's more on an individual basis rather than a country as a whole. The homeowner must've been okay with it or they would've complained.

From what I remember of the episode, it was a hokey themed one and the favored team (of the homeowner) was the maple leaves. That's why they did it in those colors, as in the team's colors. There are plenty of US sports fans that have rooms made up of their favorite team's colors.