'Great for London': CTV’s 'The Amazing Race' episode in London draws positive reaction
The Forest City got some national exposure during the latest leg of CTV’s The Amazing Race Canada.
London, Ont. was the site for multiple challenges on the hit reality show.
“I'm honestly completely thrilled,” says Michelle Shipley, a freelance producer and Fanshawe College professor. “I've been in television for a very long time, and this is probably one of the highlights of my career.”
Shipley was hired to help with the episode, and scouted many locations in the city before eventually helping co-ordinate a few stops and challenges which were filmed in early May.
Michelle Shipley is a producer and Fanshawe College professor who helped coordinate the London, Ont.-based episode of CTV’s "The Amazing Race." (Brent Lale/CTV London)After arriving from Toronto by VIA Rail, the contestants went straight to East Park golf gardens.
They made their way around the property looking for a clue, eventually finding it at the wishing well on the 10th hole of the mini-golf course.
“The show introduced something called an ‘on-ramp’ which is where they allowed players who were previously eliminated to come back on the show,” says Justin Tiseo, manager of East Park.
He adds, “It's never been done before on the American or Canadian versions, so we're pretty fortunate to be able to be the first destination for that to happen.”
East Park staff held a viewing party on their patio Tuesday night as they watched the show.
Tiseo admits it was difficult to keep the production of the show quiet.
After grabbing their clue at East Park, racers made their way to Fanshawe College where they had a choice of two challenges. At main campus on Oxford Street, they could either assemble a piece of an airplane propeller or go to the downtown campus and use motion capture animation.
“So I thought that the airline was really unique, and that's a first for the Amazing Race franchise to do a challenge with the airplane,” says Shipley.
The wishing well mini-golf hole at East Park golf gardens was featured in the London, Ont.-based episode of CTV’s "The Amazing Race." (Brent Lale/CTV News London)She adds, “Then just to see the caliber and quality of the animation that was designed specific for creating John Montgomery's character, and then seeing some of our film intelligence students modeling was amazing.”
Shipley was also able to help employ some of her film and television students.
“I was told I needed to hire an additional 50 support people to work with the main crew,” she says.
“I knew straight away that giving the opportunity to our students here at Fanshawe College was the first place I was going to stop. So we hired 38 paid positions as production assistants, which is entry level into the industry. But what a way to enter the industry with one of Canada's largest TV series with 1.8 million viewers each episode,” Shipley adds.
From there racers made their way to the Middlesex Dog Agility Club, where they guided dogs through a challenge. After receiving their clue, it was off to Western University and the interdisciplinary research building.
Contestants were given a consumer-grade Muse meditation device.
“It has sensors and electrodes and what the participants did was they put this on their forehead and this helped us track their brain activity while they were doing the meditation challenge,” says Western University psychology professor Dr. John-Paul Minda.
As they were meditating, they were trying to be calm without having their mind wander. The device is paired with a phone, and the sounds would change to challenge them.
They then had to recover from their mind wandering.
Dr. John-Paul Minda, a Western psychology professor shows off the Muse meditation device used on the London, Ont.-based episode of CTV’s "The Amazing Race." (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“We thought this would be a fun challenge because first of all, it showcases some of the research and the technology that we have in our neuroscience group and at the university but also we thought it was seemed like a really different kind of a challenge with competitive meditation,” says Minda.
The episode finished at Western’s Alumni Stadium as racers reached the pit stop with the 34-time national cheer champion Mustang team and the Mustangs band rooting them on.
Women’s varsity basketball player Jordyn Brooke Bryan was next to Montgomery welcoming them to the finish mat.
Shipley says London is a great spot for filming and the city was easy to work with to get permits for production. She feels it could become more of a hot spot for television.
Tiseo felt the entire show was great exposure for London.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.