MVP: GAME ON {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this short-lived drama series about the complicated personal and professional lives of the members of the Mustangs hockey team. In this episode, Evelyn McBride, wife of beloved team captain Adam, throws her annual house party for the team, unaware that their teen daughter Molly is enjoying a private moment upstairs with one of the waiters. Cocky player Damon Trebuchet arrives as Adam, brooding alone in his room, confides to Evelyn that he may have to take a pay cut in order to pay for highly-prized new recruit Trevor Lemonde, and he gives Molly a mysterious key as "insurance." As Evelyn begins to give a speech to the players, Adam suddenly drops dead of an apparent heart attack in front of everyone. Hundreds of fans gather at the ice rink to pay tribute to their favorite athlete, while elsewhere Trevor prepares to depart his rural hometown of Loon Lake, leaving behind his parents and his girlfriend Tabbi, to join the famous team. Damon takes advantage of the funeral to seduce a young lady, and he videotapes the encounter, as he has done with many other conquests, without her knowledge. At a press conference, Coach McCall is questioned about his decision to promote his own son Gabe to the captain position, and shy schoolteacher Connie is startled when the famous Gabe spots her at a café and begins actively pursuing her, even showing up at her preschool to deliver her lost shoe.
Trevor is publicly welcomed to the team, though the reporters note that the Mustangs have had several bad seasons in a row, and Evelyn is stunned to learn that Adam left her virtually nothing, having used his life insurance money to pay for Trevor's recruitment. Damon snubs Trevor when they meet in the locker room, and when Gabe visits Connie again, their encounter is caught by the paparazzi and splashed on the front page in a piece noting that she is just one in a long line of "Gabe's babes." Trevor calls Tabbi, who asks him to send money back home, and Damon experiences a dose of guilt over his secret wife and child, whom he has all but abandoned. Evelyn confronts Malcolm at a game, demanding to know why he has not remedied her dire financial situation, but he tells her that Adam had no assets to speak of and eventually has her kicked out of the arena. Trevor struggles to play well in his first game, and Damon invites him out for drinks with the rest of the team, though Trevor soon realizes that he has been tricked and sent to the wrong location.
Gabe surprises Connie with an expensive gift, and she finally gives in to his advances and arrives at the nightclub where the team is partying – but she spots him in the "captain's chair" with a female fan and immediately leaves, upset to find that the playboy rumors are apparently quite true. Damon enjoys a night with a groupie, Mandy, but she spots his hidden camera and later steals the tape of their encounter. Elsewhere, Evelyn and Molly are forced to move out of their spacious mansion, facing an entirely different life now that Adam is gone. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: June 20, 2008 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 113006
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Hockey; Relationships
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2008; CBC (Canada) - 2008
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Fool's Gold" home video
- TV - Commercials - "The Spiderwick Chronicles” home video
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - AirWick air fresheners
- TV - Commercials - Aleve painkillers
- TV - Commercials - Colgate Total Advanced Whitening toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Crest Pro-Health products
- TV - Commercials - Donate Life association
- TV - Commercials - General Mills Cheerios cereal
- TV - Commercials - Hebrew National hot dogs
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's SmartStart cereal
- TV - Commercials - Kia automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Lysol disinfecting wipes and spray
- TV - Commercials - Maybelline Volum' Express mascara
- TV - Commercials - Nair Shower Power hair remover
- TV - Commercials - One-a-Day vitamins
- TV - Commercials - PediaSure children’s nutritional shakes
- TV - Commercials - Red Lobster restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Soapnet.com website
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret stores
- TV - Commercials - Werther's Original candies
- TV - Commercials - Yoplait yogurt
- TV - PSA - A Better Community volunteering
- TV - PSA - MyPyramid.gov website
- TV - Promos - "General Hospital"
- TV - Promos - "MVP" upcoming episodes
- TV - Promos - "Night Shift"
- TV - Promos - "One Life to Live"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelorette"
- TV - Promos - "The View"
- TV - Promos - "Wipeout"
CREDITS
- Heather Haldane … Executive Producer
- Mary Young Leckie … Executive Producer, Created by
- Lena Cordina … Producer
- T.W. Peacocke … Producer, Director
- Kent Staines … Associate Producer, Created by, Writer
- Tavia Charlton … Visual Effects Producer
- Sherry White … Writer
- Gary Koftinoff … Music by
- Lucas Bryant … Cast, Gabe McCall
- Kristin Booth … Cast, Connie
- Peter Miller … Cast, Damon Trebuchet
- Dillon Casey … Cast, Trevor Lemonde
- Natalie Krill … Cast, Molly McBride
- Deborah Odell … Cast, Evelyn McBride
- Anastasia Phillips … Cast, Tabbi
- Maxim Roy … Cast, Margot St-Simone
- Matthew Bennett … Cast, Malcolm LeBlanc
- John Robinson … Cast, Chuck Morgan
- Aidan Devine … Cast, Adam McBride
- Charlotte Sullivan … Cast, Mandy Czarka
- Janine Theriault … Cast, Cindy Trebuchet
- Sherry White … Cast, Diane
- Megan Fahlenbock … Cast, Lisa
- Leah Cudmore … Cast, Frances
- Barbara Mamabolo … Cast, Zyth
- Shirley Cheechoo … Cast, Trevor's Mom
- Bob Desrosiers … Cast, Trevor's Dad
- Kay Hawtrey … Cast, Nan
- Melody A. Johnson … Cast, Paula
- Salvatore Antonio … Cast, Keith