Canada's Worst Driver 5 Explained
Canada's Worst Driver 5 is the fifth 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. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at CFB Borden, the military base previously used as the rehab centre for Canada's Worst Driver 2; however, it is only referred to on-air by Andrew as an "undisclosed military location." The focus of this season was on Driver's Boot Camp. The series launch was set to coincide with the launch of a new law in Ontario prohibiting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving. Similar bans have been instituted in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, with Manitoba and Saskatchewan considering similar laws. The initial drive started in Barrie, Ontario and the final road test occurred in Toronto, Ontario for the second year in a row and third in the last four seasons. This season will also be the second to be featured on the iTunes Store and the first to have new episodes one day after first airing.
Experts
Three experts return from Canada's Worst Driver 4, though Dan Bagyan, head instructor from the past season, 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.
- Dr. Louisa Gembora has been in private practice since 1994 and has been in the psychology field since 1980. In her off-time, she drives a single-seat race car.
- Peter Mellor is the new head instructor this season who is with the Advanced Motoring Bureau and is the host of Wheel Base, a Canadian syndicated driving program. A graduate of the Jim Russell Racing School and the Ferrari and BMW driver training programs, he is dedicated to the "art of driving."
Contestants
- Michael "Mike" Butt, 28 and licensed for 12 years, from Regina, Saskatchewan, is a telemarketer who has had 11 vehicles and has asked others to drive cars in reverse for him. His brother-in-law, Jodie Burkholder, is the only one in his family who believes driving skill is not hereditary and he is willing to go into rehab with Mike to prove his point. He drives a black beat-up Buick Century and drove a red Ford Focus to the rehabilitation centre. Mike is the nephew of comedian/actor Brent Butt.[1]
- Melissa Cook, 32 and licensed for 15 months, from Saint John, New Brunswick, is a mother whose problems are twofold—one is that she has never had formal driver's education and it shows when she constantly drives 20 km/h under the speed limit. The other is her common-law husband, Wil Fawcett, who verbally abuses her when she is driving. She drives a silver Pontiac Grand Prix and drove a silver Ford Taurus to the rehab centre.
- Crystal Hubley Farao, 46, from Windsor, Ontario, is a businesswoman who has had 11 reported major accidents on the road, including one occasion in which she caused $15,000 damage in her car, only to cause another major accident in a rental car while her car was being replaced. This is partly because, aside from the fact that she has 20/120 vision in her right eye, she is extremely distracted, as she appears to be severely addicted to her cell phone. Though she has been nominated by eight or nine separate people, a record for the series, her ex-sister-in-law and business partner, Theresa, represented the other seven or eight people. She drives a black Pontiac G6 GT convertible.
- Father Giles Joly, 56, from Richmond, Ontario (near Ottawa), is a Roman Catholic priest who is too conservative on the road: on major highways, he has only driven the full 110 km/h limit once in his lifetime. It is frequently observed that he drives too slow. His brother, Guy, wants him in rehab to help him get more confidence. He drives a silver Ford Freestar.
- Joanna "JoJo" Kopty, 19 and licensed for two years, from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec (near Montreal), is a spoiled teenager who's on the limit of her demerit points; she's had 13 accidents, including backing her mother's car into her father's car. Her friend, Nima, wants her in rehab to avoid another episode where the two were hospitalized as a result of an accident. She drives a black Honda Civic and drove Andrew's green 1998 Mazda B4000 to the rehab centre.
- Angelina Marcantognini, 26, from Sudbury, Ontario, is a recently licensed "stay-at-home girlfriend" who has had many fender benders. Her best friend, Christine Latondress Andrews, wants her in rehab for her own good, as her unsafe driving has led her to drive when the two are going out together. She drives a beige Pontiac Sunfire.
- Jakob Poirier, 25 and licensed for nine years, from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, is a punk rocker whose road rage has led to 12 major accidents. When on tour, his band, "Slaveclass," no longer allows him to drive. He has been nominated by his girlfriend, Stacey Fitzsimmons. He drives a white Chevrolet Blazer and drove a black Ford Escape to the rehab centre.
- Arun Suryanarayanan, 25 and licensed for six years, from Windsor, Ontario (originally from Mumbai, India), is a mechanical engineering student who has yet to be accustomed to the rules of driving on Canadian roads, having moved to Canada in 2005. His wife, Sanah Shaheen, wants him in rehab to get rid of his habit of driving in the middle of two lanes and taking up two spots when parking. He drives a blue Pontiac Grand Am and drove an orange Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|
| Angelina Marcantognini | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
| Mike Butt | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
| Arun Suryanarayanan | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
| Jakob Poirier | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Father Giles Joly | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Crystal Hubley Farao | IN | IN | IN | IN | WD | |
| Melissa Cook | IN | IN | OUT | |
| JoJo Kopty | IN | OUT | | |
(CWD) The contestant became Canada's Worst Driver.
(RUNNER-UP) The contestant was runner-up for Canada's Worst Driver.
(OUT) The contestant graduated.
(IN) The contestant was shortlisted for graduation.
(WD) The contestant withdrew for compassionate/personal reasons.
Non-Elimination Week, due to all contestants wanting to remain at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.
Reception
Canada's Worst Driver 5 continues the series trend of being the most-watched show on Discovery Channel, with the first episode garnering the highest ratings in the history of Discovery Channel, and was the highest-rated non-sports specialty channel show for the night.[2] Discovery Channel also boasted that the show's ratings routinely beat out those for conventional channels in the same timeslot, specifically naming Heroes (on Global) and The National (on CBC).[3]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Twitter statement by Brent Butt: I'm curious if you have any relation to Mike Butt from Canada's Worst Driver Season 5? << Yep. He's my nephew.. April 26, 2012. April 26, 2012.
- Web site: Canada's Worst Driver Season 5 smashes audience records. 2009-10-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20091218070226/http://www.channelcanada.com/Article3743.html#. 2009-12-18. dead.
- Web site: Who is Canada's Worst Driver? Season finale Monday. 2009-12-08.
