Prime Fantasy

[Nathen Paisley]

FinallyI believe every team needs a fall guy, a wild card, someone to blame in case things do not go well. My fall guy is Joe Clark (1979-1980). I blame him for my poor performance in this draft, and I hope you support my decision to blame him by voting for my team!

Top to bottom I was able to draft Prime Ministers who, I think, not only did a good job for the country, but also represent some of the things that I really love to see in politics and politicians. Going into the draft I wanted to be able to have one principal achievement that I could point to for each Prime Minister I drafted. I wanted something that I would have personally supported at the time and something that over the years has proven to be a net positive for the country. This meant some tough decisions: for example, despite my undying love of Saskatchewan, because I study the history of the CBC I eliminated John Diefenbaker because of his strong opposition to the concept of public broadcasting.

In addition to wanting Prime Ministers who I like, I also thought about the composition of my team in the same way as you would put together a reality show. Big personalities, different opinions, and conflict are critical to that and I think that if you put the four Prime Ministers who I selected in a house and turned the cameras on, you would have all those elements.

To that end, Mike drafted a team that started with Wilfrid Laurier (1896-1911), a strong figure who emphasized linguistic unity and was a strong leader as Canada welcomed the 20th century. In the second round, Brian Mulroney (1984-1993) was added to the team in part because, love him or hate him, he had a very clear vision for the country and made some significant financial decisions that have had a long-term impact. With that focus on leadership, the third round saw Mike add Robert Borden (1911-1920), the prime minister who not only led Canada through the First World War but was also a major figure in the Commonwealth. The final addition was John Thompson (1892-1894), a prime minister who died on the job and was plagued by the question of what if?

Sean Graham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa where he is currently working on a project that examines the early years of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has previously studied at Nipissing University, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Regina and like any red-blooded Canadian his ultimate dream is to be a curling champion while living on a diet of beer and poutine.

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If you're into sassy immortals, a hint of comedy and a whole lot of banter between Michael Sheen and David Tennant, Good Omens is the show for you. Featuring angels, demons, witches and a literal Antichrist, Good Omens is a stellar adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's 1990 novel which will have you saying, "just one more episode" every time the credits roll.

Based on the Dungeons and Dragons web series, Critical Role, this adult animated series follows a lovable band of unexpected heroes as they find themselves on a quest to save the land of Exandria from dark magical forces. Get ready for adventure, rich storytelling and a lot of laughs.

Carnival Row tells the story of mythological beings that are forced to hide in plain sight, blending fae with humans in a tense, murderous environment. Starring Orlando Bloom as a half-fae inspector, the show uncovers a twisted conspiracy that could change the very face of the city. If nothing else, it's worth it just to hear all the funky fae names.

The Boys is... Well, it's not the type of superhero fare we've come to expect. All the wholesome, earnest superhero schtick goes right out the window with this gritty, dark and gory depiction of what the world would be like if some of the heroes were also just really, really bad people. It's funny, intense and full of twists -- but definitely not one for the faint-hearted.

The Rings of Power is set during Middle-earth's Second Age, thousands of years prior to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved trilogy. The Lord of the Rings fans will recognize some familiar characters (though played by different actors) in elves Galadriel and Elrond, however. The Rings of Power is set in the time just before the titular Rings of Power were created -- including the One Ring to Rule Them All. It features political intrigue, gorgeous vistas and some excellent action setpieces that will keep any Lord of the Rings fan happy.

Based on the books by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred. The powerful sorceress (called an Aes Sedai) is tasked with finding the Dragon -- a Chosen One destined to defeat the embodiment of evil and save their world from complete annihilation. With 14 books in the series, we anticipate a lot of Wheel of Time content coming your way.

This animated TV series centers around Mark Grayson, a seemingly average teenager whose father happens to be the most powerful superhero on the planet. However, when Mark turns 17, his whole life begins to change. This Amazon Prime Video original will take you on a roller coaster ride.

Based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, American Gods has a cast to die for, featuring Ian McShane, Crispin Glover and Gillian Anderson among others. Sadly, it was canceled after three glorious seasons and before the full story could be told.

Starring Sissy Spacek and J.K Simmons as an older couple with a strange portal in their basement, Night Sky is one of the weirdest shows released on a major streaming service in a while. It's far from perfect but, in Spacek and Simmons the show has two incredibly charismatic leads. It's nice to watching older people have agency in a show for once.

Loosely based on Arthurian legend, Merlin is a show that was canceled before its time. Over the course of five seasons, the show went from strength to strength, improving each season as we watch Merlin, Arthur, Gwen and Morgana develop into the characters we know and love.

There's something that's always exciting about a character finding out they're a descendant of something wildly powerful or impressive. In Grimm, detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he's a descendant of the famous Grimm family, destined to protect humanity not only from criminals, but from evil creatures hellbent on causing destruction. A fun monster-hunting romp.

Not to be confused with the 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox, this series follows Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, a teenager who gets bitten by a werewolf and has to defend his town from all manner of supernatural beings. Throw in a healthy dose of teen angst, relationship drama and the day-to-day tribulations of high school for good measure.

Why would the muggle prime minister even know about Azkaban let alone magical affairs in general? What's the point in alerting a muggle if they shouldn't even have knowledge of the magical world at all?

Half-Blood Prince (the book) opens by revealing that the Prime Minister is among the Muggles who are permitted to know about the Wizarding world; he's kept abreast of relevant developments, like escaped murderers, by the Minister of Magic (emphasis mine):

[I]t had been like this from his very first meeting with Fudge on his very first evening as Prime Minister. He remembered it as though it were yesterday and knew it would haunt him until his dying day.

He had been standing alone in this very office, savoring the triumph that was his after so many years of dreaming and scheming, when he had heard a cough behind him, just like tonight, and turned to find that ugly little portrait talking to him, announcing that the Minister of Magic was about to arrive and introduce himself.

Naturally, he had thought that the long campaign and the strain of the election had caused him to go mad. He had been utterly terrified to find a portrait talking to him, though this had been nothing to how he felt when a self-proclaimed wizard had bounced out of the fireplace and shaken his hand. He had remained speechless throughout Fudge's kindly explanation that there were witches and wizards still living in secret all over the world and his reassurances that he was not to bother his head about them as the Ministry of Magic took responsibility for the whole Wizarding community and prevented the non-magical population from getting wind of them. It was, said Fudge, a difficult job that encompassed everything from regulations on responsible use of broomsticks to keeping the dragon population under control (the Prime Minister remembered clutching the desk for support at this point). Fudge had then patted the shoulder of the still-dumbstruck Prime Minister in a fatherly sort of way.

"Not to worry," he had said, "it's odds-on you'll never see me again. I'll only bother you if there's something really serious going on our end, something that's likely to affect the muggles - the non-magical population, I should say. Otherwise, it's live and let live.

Although the Prime Minister's ability to react to these threats is pretty limited, being able to at least warn the general population is an important way to help mitigate muggle casualties. This is, presumably, why the muggle press was reporting on Sirius' escape at the beginning of Prisoner of Azkaban.

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