Canada's Worst Driver 8
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Canada's Worst Driver 8 | |
---|---|
Season 8 | |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Release | |
Original network | Discovery Channel |
Original release | October 29 December 17, 2012 | –
Season chronology |
Canada's Worst Driver 8 is the eighth season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Driver, which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with previous years, eight people, nominated by their family or friends, enter the Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. The focus of this season was on Big City Driving. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at the Dunnville Airport in Dunnville, Ontario for the third straight season. The initial drive started in Niagara Falls, Ontario and the final road test occurred in Hamilton, Ontario.
Experts
[edit]Three experts return from the seventh season, though Peter Mellor, head instructor for the past three seasons, is not among them.
- Cam Woolley is the show's longest-serving expert, having been present in every season except the first and has seen the habits of Canadian drivers change drastically since 2000, with the most common offense having changed from DUI to distracted driving. He is the traffic expert on CP24 in Toronto and had a 25-year career as a traffic sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police.
- Philippe Létourneau is a veteran high-speed driving instructor who counts BMW and Ferrari among his clients. Since joining the show in the third season, the average car has gained considerably in speed and acceleration, with the high-speed emphasis of this season making his job a particularly important one.
- Shyamala Kiru returns for her second season as the resident psychotherapist and relationship expert.
- Tim Danter is the new head driving instructor this season who is with DriveWise. He is from Oakville, Ontario.[1]
Contestants
[edit]- Robert Cárdenas, 26, from Toronto, Ontario (originally from Cuba), is a college student originally who owns a car but has no real desire to drive it; he prefers public transit because he is an overly cautious and slow driver who cannot handle highway speeds or large numbers of other vehicles and pedestrians. He is considering selling his car if he cannot improve his driving skills. He was nominated by his friend, Socrates. He drives a grey Hyundai Sonata and drove a blue Nissan Altima to the rehab centre.
- Margherita Donato, 31, from Edmonton, Alberta, is a bar owner more focused on her appearance than her driving and has caused $250,000 in damage by running into an RV. Margherita is just one ticket away from having her license suspended. Margherita has also admitted to bribing her driving examiner $80 to pass her test. She was nominated by her best friend and business partner, Cheryl Schultz, who now does all the driving for their business, Sneaky Pete's Bar and Grill. She drives a green Suzuki Aerio and drove a green Ford Focus to the rehab centre.
- Azim Kanji, 28, from Edmonton, Alberta, failed his learners' test six times before finally getting his license, but is unable to reverse or park his car and had a $2,300 speeding ticket, which led to him stressing so much, he started losing his hair. He was nominated by his buddy, Ray. He drives a red Volkswagen Corrado and drove a red Pontiac G5 Pursuit to the rehab centre.
- Klyne Postnikoff, 18 and licensed for two years, from Kelowna, British Columbia, is a short order cook who has written off two cars, including his mother's, within two weeks of having his license, had his license suspended and caused ten accidents and continues to text while driving, continues to speed and believes he is invincible. Klyne was nominated by his mother, Maureen, who laughs at his crashes on the show and continues to pick up the tab for his accidents and insurance. He drives a red Dodge Durango 4x4 and drove a blue GMC Sierra to the rehab centre.
- Dallas Sam, 26, from Vancouver, British Columbia, is a university student with a tough-girl appearance, but is really a nervous wreck behind the wheel of a car. Her sister, Gene, thinks she may have gotten her license based on looks rather than driving skills. She drives a tan GMC Jimmy and drove an orange Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
- Kevin Simmons, 25, from McBride, British Columbia (now lives in Burnaby, British Columbia), is a grocery store worker born with no vision in his right eye and needs a new corrective lens for his left eye annually. Kevin has had five accidents so far (two of them serious). He was nominated by his boyfriend, Lenny Stone, who really wants Kevin to stop driving altogether. He drives a white Ford LTD Crown Victoria and drove a gray Dodge Grand Caravan to the rehab centre.
- Flora Wang, 39, from Edmonton, Alberta (originally from China), is a home care worker who immigrated to Canada in 2006 and only had ten hours of training before getting her license and is very nervous behind the wheel, often freezing in the middle of traffic when she gets scared as English is not her first language. She relies on her husband, Frank, for driving advice, although Frank is frequently wrong. Flora almost rolled the show's 2012 Mustang GT at 140 km/h during the Eye of the Needle because she didn't understand the need to take her foot off the accelerator. She drives a red Dodge Grand Caravan and drove a silver Dodge Grand Caravan to the rehab centre.
- Diane Zbierski, 38 and licensed for four years, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (near Montreal), is so hesitant to drive, she cannot take her son to school 0.5 km (0.31 mi) away. She got her license after persistent nagging from her family and, once she got it, told her husband of ten years, Stephane, not to talk to her about driving again. She drives a white Nissan Pathfinder and drove a silver Chevrolet Equinox to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
[edit]Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Simmons | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
Flora Wang | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
Diane Zbierski | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
Margherita Donato | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
Azim Kanji | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||
Klyne Postnikoff | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||
Dallas Sam | IN | IN | OUT | |||||
Robert Cardenas | IN | OUT |
- (CWD) The contestants became Canada's Worst Driver.
- (OUT) The contestant graduated.
- (IN) The contestant was shortlisted for graduation.
Episodes
[edit]No. | Title | Original air date | |
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0: Canada's Worst Driver | "U Asked!" | October 28, 2012 | |
Host Andrew Younghusband answers the most frequently asked questions from fans about the show. Those questions are in regard to him and his role, the experts, the nominees, the nominators, the vehicles used and the collective interactions with each other and with the crew (most specifically with what are assumed the several damaged cameras). Andrew also passes along a message from several fans to perhaps the most beloved of the 56 nominees to date-- Aaron Cheshire, whose reasons for being at the Drivers' Rehabilitation Centre in the previous season outlined what all the other 55 nominees should have taken to heart—and answers the most frequently asked question of all: in his opinion, who indeed is Canada's Worst Driver? | |||
1 | "Here They Come..." | October 29, 2012 | |
After the challenge, the drivers had their initial meeting with the experts. Robert is reminded that driving too slowly is an offense (he admits actually being fined for doing so at least once) and the experts quickly identify the need to address his high-speed nervousness. Stress is also felt to be the biggest issue for Margherita, Dallas, Diane and Azim. Flora admits that Frank isn't her only problem and that she still needs to drastically improve her skills. The experts all condemn Klyne for his reckless attitude, both in the episode and toward the ten accidents he caused prior to the show. Kevin admits from the very start that he may be Canada's Worst Driver. As usual, no one graduates this episode, as it serves merely as a skills evaluation. | |||
2 | "Look Out!" | November 5, 2012 | |
While there are three obvious candidates to be the season's first graduate (Klyne—who passed all the challenges—and Flora and Robert, who generally did well, despite only passing one challenge each), Robert is the only driver who actually wants to graduate. Cam and Shyamala both vote that Robert should graduate, as they feel that his major issue of being too slow and lacking in confidence has been addressed and are unconvinced that Klyne's attitude has sufficiently improved. Andrew and Philippe want Klyne to graduate for doing better in the challenges, leaving Tim with the deciding vote (his first as an expert), which he casts in favour of Robert, who becomes the season's first graduate. | |||
3 | "Look Where You Want To Go" | November 12, 2012 | |
Dallas is the only driver who shows any desire to graduate. Despite this, the experts unanimously decide that Diane should be the person who graduates, feeling that she has a better overall attitude than Dallas and would be safer to send back out onto the road, but Andrew disagrees, pointing out that Dallas had been the best performing driver until this point and that she actually wanted to leave, while Diane expressly said that she wanted to stay. Furthermore, Dallas overcame her stress-related problems, while Andrew argues that the panel should not overlook Diane's failure in the Eye of the Needle challenge at reduced speed. Ultimately, Andrew convinces the experts that Dallas should become the second graduate. | |||
4 | "Making a Splash" | November 19, 2012 | |
Prior to the judges' deliberations, Maureen joins Klyne and the two reflect on their respective attitudes and the role they played in Klyne's destructive habits. It quickly becomes obvious to the judges that Klyne is the only possible graduate and while Shyamala argues that no one should graduate this episode and that Klyne should be made to stay at least one more episode to make sure his attitude change sticks, the others conclude that there is nothing more they can teach him and that his future as a driver is entirely in his own hands now, as Klyne becomes the third graduate. | |||
5 | "Ice Cream" | November 26, 2012 | |
The episode begins with Andrew receiving a letter from Halifax speech coach Robert Spears criticizing Andrew over his pronunciation of "kilometre."
As usual, no one graduates this episode. | |||
6 | "Hole in One" | December 3, 2012 | |
Prior to the experts' deliberations, Cam informs Margherita that wearing wedges or any other form of cumbersome footwear is considered a criminal offense if it is judged to have been responsible for an automotive accident. While Andrew encourages Diane to put herself forward for graduation, she admits that she does not deserve to graduate based on her performance in this episode and Flora also does not want to graduate. Azim, on the other hand, feels that he finally has the confidence and skills to graduate. Kevin, meanwhile, is informed that certain drivers (referring to Canada's Worst Driver 3 "winner" Jason Zhang and Canada's Worst Driver 5 "runner-up" Mike Butt) have given up driving in the wake of their respective appearances on the show; Kevin's response is to call the drivers in question "stupid" and vow never to give up driving even if he's named Canada's Worst Driver, a response which enrages the panel. With Azim the best performer in the episode and the only driver showing any desire to leave, his graduation is a foregone conclusion. However, the experts also discuss the possibility of forcing Margherita to pick a new nominator and kicking Cheryl out of rehab for her disrespectful behavior after the previous challenge, in what would have been a first for the series. Luckily for Margherita, Cheryl is ultimately allowed to stay (as Andrew states, "Kicking Cheryl out wouldn't do Margherita any good"), though is given a warning over her attitude and, as expected, Azim becomes the next graduate. | |||
7 | "1-2-3-Go!" | December 10, 2012 | |
When meeting with the experts, Kevin asks to be considered for graduation out of a desire to avoid being in the final, but is immediately shot down and told that there's no way he will graduate this episode, mainly due to his comments in the previous meeting. Flora is more realistic about her chances and admits she may be Canada's Worst Driver. Margherita feels that she's ready to graduate, while Diane is unsure. With Kevin and Flora obviously unfit to graduate, the decision comes down to Diane and Margherita and Diane's lack of enthusiasm over graduating combined with a feeling that Margherita is more technically skilled leads to Tim, Philippe and Shyamala voting for her to graduate. Andrew and Cam are adamant that, despite her lack of enthusiasm, Diane is a much better driver overall and that Margherita is not ready to graduate, but are unable to convince the others to change their minds, leading to Margherita being the penultimate graduate, once again ensuring that there will not be three women in the finale and sending Diane into the finale with Kevin and Flora, much to the dismay of Andrew, who tells Margherita to her face that he totally disagrees with Tim's, Shyamala's and Phillipe's decision and that Diane should be the one leaving rehab instead of her, yet nonetheless congratulates her on having improved so much, as she had been one of the worst drivers in rehab during the first few episodes (and especially the worst during the Three-Point Turn). | |||
8 | "Trophy Please..." | December 17, 2012 | |
In an obvious decision, Diane becomes the final graduate, with Andrew and the panel describing her as a "model student." It's a completely different story for Kevin and Flora, though, as both are deemed completely unfit to drive by the experts, yet both are adamant that they will never give up their licenses. In the final discussion, Tim and Philippe deem Kevin to be the worst, feeling that while Kevin and Flora are equally bad overall, Flora has a very slim chance of improving someday, while Kevin's missing eye has proved to be an insurmountable problem on top of his existing issues. Cam and Shyamala, on the other hand, deem Flora to be the worse of the two, feeling that she showed a dismissive attitude toward the entire process and that, while Kevin had at least put some effort into the city drive despite his missing right eye, Flora made no real attempt to improve her driving. Andrew is left with the deciding vote, but notes on the difficulty of actually deciding who is worse—both passed just two challenges over the course of the whole season, both have nominators who tend to exacerbate their problems (Lenny by not pushing Kevin harder and Frank by constantly interfering with Flora's driving and giving her bad advice), Flora did worse on the Slalom challenge and Kevin worse on the Mega-Challenge and both were equally bad (in slightly different ways, as Phillipe stated) on the final Road Test. This lack of a clear difference between the two leads to an unprecedented decision-- both Kevin and Flora are named Canada's Worst Driver (Kevin becomes the fourth man and Flora becomes the fifth woman), with Andrew giving each a separate part of the trophy and implying that, had either volunteered to give up their license, they would have avoided the title. As the two are driven away by Lenny and Frank, respectively, Andrew ends the season on a somber note by voicing his concern that two drivers could be so equally and so terrifyingly bad. |
References
[edit]- ^ Kurek, Dominik (30 November 2012). "Tim Danter instructing contestants on Canada's Worst Driver". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via ProQuest.