A New Obsession

As previously mentioned, I received the complete series of Slings and Arrows for Christmas. Now, this was a bit of a risk seeing as I had never watched the show at all before. But I needed more Cancon to fill my days and from what I read about it, it seemed like something I liked. So we watched the first two episodes. At first, I thought it seemed a bit slow, though there were lots of moments that made me laugh. But at the end of each episode, I couldn't wait to see the next one. I just had to know what was going to happen. And now I can't stop watching it! I heart it. The downside is that there are only 3 seasons and to make it even worse, there are only 6 episodes per season. So I'm torn between needing to see them at once or making them last...I'm going to watch them all at once. But there are two things that I feel the need to point out:

(1) The show is SO Canadian. Aside from the subtle slowness (we Canadians don't like to rush a story) and the financial trouble of the festival, forcing them to always look for funding (ah, good times), it stars pretty much Canadian royalty: Paul Gross, Mark McKinney, Don McKeller, Martha Burns, Rachel MacAdams, Colm Feore, Stephen Ouimette and Michael Polley, who is, of course, the father of Sarah Polley who also pops up in season 3. I could spend the rest of the challenge just going through all the amazing things these people have done but I won't. It has the touches of bizarre which always feels so Canadian. And such great lines like "Darren, everybody cries when they get stabbed. There's no shame in that."

(2) Related to the first note, it's made me realize how much the theatre plays a role in Canadian culture and it's cinema and television. I mean, the majority of those actors listed above have done or got their start in theatre. And it's not hard to see the similarities between the New Burbage festival in the show and the Stratford Festival in real life. But in the first season, an American actor is sent to send in to play Hamlet in order to get crediability. It's funny because it's kinda how it works (and was inspired by Kneau Reeves playing Hamlet in Winnipeg) but that's not how it works in Canadian. Most actors here already have theatre experience, thus are more "legitimate". Or else they've started their own comedy troupe. In the states, they all just start on soap operas (just kidding - sometimes they don't even bother with them anymore). I'll leave everybody to draw their own conclusions about who has better actors...

Forgiveness

Okay, I can't hold it back any longer. I cheated. But before you judge me too harshly, let me tell you that it's probably the lamest cheat I could've done. So it was Christmas Eve and I had done so well over the past couple months and I was so proud at not even once accidentally watching anything other than Canadian Content. But just two days before the reprieve, I failed.

I was sitting around with my family, seeing what was on and any Christmas specials that were left on the eve before Christmas. I wasn't paying attention to we started watching an Andrea Bocelli special (he may or may not have been at the Vatican. I'm still not sure if it was referring to that show or advertising a different special). And then because my brother and sister have a tradition of always watching the Mormon Tabermnacle Choir so we were flipping back and forth. About half way through the Mormons, I realized what had happened. I blemished my perfect record with Mormons! So please, don't blame me. Blame the Mormons.

But don't worry. I'm back with Degrassi today and learning about gonorrhea. This is why I love Canadian content.

A Reprieve

So here was my Christmas present to my family: I gave in and watched any American TV they wanted on Boxing Day. We have a long family tradition of spending our Boxing Day sitting around, eating leftovers and watching all the movies and TV shows that we got the day before. Tis a noble tradition. I realized that I was going to through a wrench into the plans seeing as we bought my mother Jericho and knew that my brother was getting Futurama and my sister NCIS. It seemed unfair to limit all the TV show watching that day to only the Canadian content that I receieved (which ended up being the 1st season of Corner Gas and the complete series of Slings and Arrows). Thus, I granted them the Boxing Day Reprieve. So we happily sat around watching Futurama and a lot of NCIS (I forgot how much I really like that show...oh Gibbs) and my family didn't hate me. It truly was a Christmas miracle.

But now we are back to the cold hard reality of this challenge. At least now the pond of Canadian content I have to reach into has been refreshed. Here's to the next 4 months!!!

Torch!

This isn't exactly related to Cancon or television at all but guess who passed by my house this morning??? The Olympic flame! Now, considering that the rely is 106 days and going through numerous cities, it's not that big of a deal. But then again, I'm home for the holidays and thus in the small small town of Fort Erie. Why would the flame be there? I have no idea but it was. In fact, I got my picture taken with one of the torchbearers and then the flame was passed right at the corner by my house. It's a pretty big deal here! I just wish I had a pair of those red mittens!!!

On a television related note, The Hour's Christmas special is on tonight. Bunch of people singing. Should be good times. I know I'm excited.

Cheap Goods

So a little while ago, Strombo did a dare for the Stephen Lewis Foundation which found him skating with the Battle of the Blades crew, wearing a Maple Leafs jersey. It was kinda funny to watch and we all had a good time. Then, Strombo said that they were auctioning off the jersey that he had worn and it was signed by not only himself, but all of the people at Battle of the Blades. Cool stuff, right??? I would love it have that but assumed that it would be ghastly expensive.

But then I found it on ebay. And the current bid? $407. Seriously?! I mean, I could very well take that much off my credit line and consider it a worthy buy. Only $407??? I mean, I thought the Strombo fans alone would be shelling out mad cash for not only an item of his clothing, but a Maple Leafs jersey that he wore and signed. And then add all the autographs from Battle of the Blades? There is no way that this should be in my price range (mind you, it's not really. There just happens to be a possibility that I could buy it). I just think that this item happens to be worth more.

If you want to check it out for yourself, or have a Strombo fan that would appreciate it, here it is: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270498261278&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT. You have less than a day to make it your's!

Steven and Chris

I always hated Designer Guys. Truthfully, I never really watched it that often. All I knew was that that one guy bugged the hell out of me. I was less then enthusiastic when I found out that they were getting their own talk show. Okay, I was happy since the CBC was giving a talk show to two openly gay persons, and even better, they are in a committed relationship with each other (not that you would really know from the show but it's still a step).

Now, I wouldn't really call myself a fan of Steven and Chris but I don't hate them like I used to. Okay, I do really like Steven. He's cool. Chris...well, he was the one I didn't like in the beginning and not much as changed (have you seen his hair?? It's like a foot off his head!). I am sucker for lifestyle shows so they make a good replacement for Martha. I learn so much about fashion from watching! I even learned the proper way to apply lipstick the other day. Okay, so I never actually wear lipstick but I feel it's handy to know.

So overall, I do enjoy the show. Except for Chris. Though he can be okay sometimes. The best part of any show I've seen was from their Christmas special (which had almost everybody from the CBC there. It's like the Ceeb owns their souls). Scott Thompson was there and they were all in the kitchen. Scott is talking and turns to Chris and Chris jumps as if Scott was attacking him with a knife. I laughed and laughed and laughed! (for your own enjoyment, here's the whole special: http://www.cbc.ca/holiday/2009/11/deck-the-halls-with-steven-and-chris-1.html. Scott Thompson is in the fourth segment. That's my present to you all.)

American Cravings

For the most part, I haven't been hurting too much. It's taken some adjustments but overall, I am content with the Canadian content I have been viewing. But every once and a while, I have an overwhelming urge to watch Grey's. I know it's so bad for me but I just want it.

I haven't given in and don't plan on it any time soon. I just find myself wondering what Meredith is up to and if Izzie and her stupid haircut will die soon. I don't find myself watching CTV too much and never really seem to see any promos for it when I do so I literally have no idea what is happening in this season. Some people have suggested that I can always just read the summaries online and ABC also has a writer's blog for the show so I can really follow the storylines whenever I want. I feel that would only make things worse. I think this is good for my relationship with Grey's. We were going through quite the rough patch there and now we're both taking some time apart to think about our decisions.

But don't think too highly of me for during this challenge. I plan on gorging myself on Grey's once it's done because I know I'll always keep going back to it.

Canadian Celebrities

So I was watching the show Colour Confidential the other day (only because they have since replaced Style by Jury. I do not care for Colour Confidential that much mainly because it does not star Bruce Turner. I was a little upset), and the person who was getting a room re-decorated was none other than Jully Black. I was a little shocked since she is such a huge star and she had previously been on The Hour like a week before. But it was kind of cool since her bedroom was, rather boring. You'd think that with all the money she had, it would look fabulous and be papered in money (or at least that's just what I assume celebrities do with their places) but her house looked like a regular house. It's always sort of a nice little reminder than celebrities are normal people too. And I guess in Canada, they are even more like real people since we don't really have the same celebrity culture they do in the States.

And you can Ms. Jully Black tonight on Steven and Chris's holiday special. I am quite excited for it, even if that does make me lame!

Canadian Finales

Last night was the finale for Being Erica. I don't want to spoil anything but like most season finales, there's a cliffhanger. This is something we all used to and have to live with it. I personally hate it because I hate not knowing. I hate having to wait to find out what's going to happen but I know it's a fact of television.

But here's the problem with cliffhanger ends to a season with Canadian shows: you're never quite sure if the show is going to come back so you might never know. So when I see Erica going through the door at the end, I desperately want to know what's on the other side of the door (I have my own ideas and would like to hear what you think!). The state of not knowing is something I've come to live with since shows like jPOD and Defying Gravity have been cancelled. I have no idea if Kaitlin is dead or not. I don't know who this Babette is since she wasn't in the book. Was Douglas Coupland ever planning on becoming a character like in the book? The same happened with Defying Gravity which left so many questions unanswered when the show was cancelled. Thankfully the creator of DG revealed in an interview revealed what would have happened had the show been allowed to continue (http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2009/10/29/how-defying-gravity-would-have-progressed-straight-from-the-creator/). I know they don't always know in advance that the show isn't coming back and everything can't be tied up in a nice little bow but I hate the not knowing.

I just really want to know what's behind the door!

(ps Being Erica always seems to have this freakish ability to align itself with what's going on in my life. For example, when I started watching it in the summer, the night I was the premiere where she is fired from her call centre job, was the night before I was starting a job at a call centre. Last night was no exception. Weird.)

Flashpoint

I watched my first episode of Flashpoint the other night. I find that I have the same problem with this show as I had with Degrassi. I've heard so much about it and how important it is, that I can't go into it with a blank slate. But it was good show. I enjoyed it even though I don't always go in for these shows.

But watching it, it looks more like an American show. It seems to have more of a smoothness and usually in Canada, we don't see shoot outs in the airports (not like this happens everyday in the States, but that's just how they are portrayed in their shows). One of the things that has made Flashpoint is the fact that many Americans who watch the show have no idea that it is actually set in Toronto. And though I'm happy that Amercians are actually watching Canadian shows since somehow this makes it seem more legitimate to most Canadians. But aren't we losing something when in order to get them to watch, we have to make it look like an Amercian show? I know people would find it hard to believe is that we do have a Canadian culture and it is something that we can lose.

Question Period

For the first time, I actually watched an hour of Question Period. First of all, it makes me proud that it is televised, allowing all Canadians to keep an eye on what's actually going on in Parliament. Usually when I try to watch QP, it's rather boring. Usually they are all standing up discussing the details of some bill and I have no idea what's going on. But last night was spectacular! First they were discussing whether the government knew about the torture that was happening with the Afghan detainees. Then somebody brought up the long gun registry, the financial discrepancies, and the numerous Native women who have been murdered or gone missing. It was fascinating.

Here are some things I noticed:

-John Baird will stand up and talk about anything. Especially when he's not the one who a question is pointed at. He must love QP.

-the Conservatives main defense seems to be that all the bad things started when the Liberals were in power. All their problems are based on the previous government. Despite the fact that that previous government was now, what, almost 4 years ago?

-the Opposition apparently hate the troops

-The Minister of State in charge of the status of women reminds me of Sarah Palin.

-The Speaker of the House mostly sounds like a teacher in a classroom.

-There are a few attractive MPs. Not many, mind you, but some.

Makes me kinda wish that I had actually gone to a QP when I still lived in Ottawa. I really just want to see somebody thrown out!

Other Really Cool Stuff Online

Ever wish that you personally could decide what shows get put on the air? Wouldn't that be a lovely universe?

Well, thanks to our accelerated and highly interactive culture, Teletoon is asking for you to decide. The Teletoon Detour Pilot Project is asking you what you want to see. They put out an open call for writers and animators to submit their idea for a show. Eventually this lead to 10 pilots being produced. These pilots are now online where any old person can stop by and vote for which one they think is the best. Each week one more pilot is premiered, I think only to help build suspense. 6 have already been posted so far, leaving only 4 yet to be seen.

I think this is a really awesome idea and probably one of the best ways for a network to take advantage of the interactivity in a good way. Your actually making the viewers feel like part of the process instead of just dictating what they will see. Plus you're building an audience before it even really premieres. I would only be more excited if I was more into animation.

So go vote!

http://www.teletoon.com/teletoon3/detour.php?language=En&func=php|/misc/detourPilotProject/pilotProject.php|0

Online CanCon

Do you ever miss those choose your own adventure stories you used to read as a kid? Do you miss the choice between going into the creepy cellar or continue on into the next room? Well here is some good ol' choose your own adventures!

http://www.survivethehouse.com/

And it's made in Canada. Now I've found 2 ways to survive and have been killed multiple times. It's a fun time. My favourite is the guy in the basement. He's a good man. You should go meet him! All the cool kids are doing it.

Rick Mercer

Can you believe that the Rick Mercer show is currently in it's 7th season? I was shocked to realize this today but I suppose it makes sense since it debuted the year before I went to university. It just doesn't feel right somehow. Anyway, this year I had fallen out of touch with ol' Rick. Sure I own his book but I wasn't watching him every week like in some years past. So today as I was feeling unwell, I sat myself down and caught up on the season.

I know that some people think that he was gotten over-hyped and seems to own the CBC (in partnership with TD) but that man still makes me laugh. The ridiculous things that he does on the show. I particularly liked when he went bungee jumping with Rick Hanson and you could tell that he really didn't want to do it. It was hilarious.

But the thing that makes me such a fan is how much he truly loves Canada. You can see it in every show and every page of his book. And his job is pretty much what every Canadian does anyway: critique Canada. But that in no way should imply that he (or all the other Canadians) don't love Canada. In fact, it's because we love Canada that we can point out it's faults. Just because you love something doesn't mean it's perfect. In fact, it's even harder to love something because it's imperfect.

George may be Canada's boyfriend but Rick is Canada's faithful husband, who despite all the issues and the fights, he'll always be there for. No matter how dysfunctional the relationship may be.

Gobble Gobble...Grumble Grumble

Today really made me reconsider some of my life choices. This morning was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Now my family has a proud tradition of always watching it. Even back in the day, my mother, like any good mother, would let us all stay home for the day just to watch the parade. About a week ago, when we realized it was so close, I got excited. That was, until my brother reminded me that I wouldn't be able to watch it. My spirits fell nigh to the centre of the earth. Then my sister cheerfully skips down the hallway this morning and gleefully knocks on my door to let me know it was on. And I remind her that I can't watch it before rolling off and crying myself back to sleep. Twas a sad day indeed.

Sidenote: from watching Being Erica, I have a strong hypothesis about where the Goblins cafe should be. Based upon the streetcar and a street shot, it should be around the corner of Queen and Spadina. I think a field trip is in order.

Today was a very emotional day. JT got stabbed and Jude went off to London, after breaking off her engagement with Tommy. Now, when I was watching the other Degrassi the other day, I realized that the Lakehurst kid that was threatening JT was Erica's older brother on Being Erica. So I started shouting "Erica's brother is the one who stabs JT?!?" In the end, it wasn't him who killed JT but this is one of the reason I love Canadian TV. There seem to be so few actors and that it feels like they all appear in everything. And so, a case study:

Being Erica - Listed below are the other shows that the 15 stars of Being Erica (as determined by how many episodes they have appeared in) and beside it, the number of actors from Being Erica who appeared in that show, even if just for one episode.

Flashpoint - 5
1-800-Missing - 4
Degrassi - 3
Regenesis - 3
Heartland - 3
The Border
Wild Roses, The Guard, Falcon Beach, Durham County, The Listener and Canadian Idol - 1 each.

It's kinda sad. 1/3 of the cast have appeared on Flashpoint. Are there really that few shows in Canada that actors always end up on the same ones? And these aren't just limited to other shows on CBC. There's some CTV and even The Movie Network. And if you look at the cast of jPOD, it's like they just went through the list of people who have appeared on Stargate.

Come on Canada, let's get some more shows so that the actors have a better chance. And so we don't have to see the same actors again and again in different roles. Erica's older brother would never threaten to kill another student!

Mmm...mmmm...good!

I love the Food Network! I lived over a year without it and didn't realize how much I really missed it. The lovely side to this is that there are so many Canadian shows I can watch. Thankfully, most of my favourite shows were Canadian. I can now spend my time with Ricardo, Michael Smith, Laura Calder and even The Main (he's a good man). And of course, Anna Olsen. I've even been to her bakery that might not even be there any more... it sure was delicious!

This rediscovery of the Food Network is handy since many of the shows I started watching have finished. There are more shows debuting in January but for now, I don't quite know what I'm going to do. A girl can only watch so much news, you know. But I look forward to seeing some new shows. Maybe this will give CTV and Global a chance to improve? We shall see.

So Much More

So I'm watching MuchMusic. Back in the day, this was a usual occurrence when I was in high school and it was cool. But as I grew, this died off and I moved on. Of course, I fall victim to the whole "Back in my day, MuchMusic was a lot better" but watching it now, I'm feeling like it's true. I feel a little out of touch since right now they have the band Honour Society on and I have no idea who that is. I know that I am no longer the target audience for this channel and was never the type to stand on the street and scream when I see my favourite band but I miss the old MuchMusic. Back in the day with Rick the Temp. The best is remincising with friends about everybody's old favourite VJs.

But if you just look at the programming available, there's very few music videos actually being played. I miss the music video. If the early 2000's are defined by the 30 sec youtube video, the 90's will be all about the music video. I know videos aren't are important as they used to be and I was actually surprised that bands still make them but look at the way they are now presented on MuchMusic. While airing the premiere of an Honour Society video, there was a little box at the side that still showed the band actually at MuchMusic. There was something else along the bottom of the scene. Above that, there were little facts about the band, including the fact that they are all single. They also had (have?) the PunchMuch channel were viewers text in the videos want to see and they have the ones with the top votes listed at the bottom and then "shout outs" that people text in along the side. I suppose this is just another example of accelerated culture but I kinda miss actually watching a video and not all the stuff that's going on around it. I don't need to know how the lead singer of Hedley is dealing with his fame. Just let me watch the video!

Why I Like Degrassi

You know, I used to be just like you. I looked at those who admitted to liking Degrassi with disdain. I mean, I watched Saved by the Bell when I was younger. Why would I want to watch another teenager show when I am in fact not a teenager?

And now look at me. I watch Degrassi every day of the week! Sometimes I even manage to catch the new ones on Sunday. But here's the thing, Degrassi ain't like Saved by the Bell in the least. My friend lent me her copy of the book Growing Up Degrassi and the authors come the show to both Saved by the Bell and 90120 and all say the same thing: the American shows lack the realness of Degrassi. On the Next Generation alone, I've seen them deal with eating disorders, teen pregnancy, lesbianism (and learned that the proper way for a man to come out to his father is in the middle of a school play), a predatory coach, cheating parents, and my favourite storyline of all:

Libery and JT: An inter-relational Couple

Liberty is a over-achiever and on the student council. Her parents disapprove of her relationship with JT, who lives with his grandmother and has to work 2 after school jobs. When Liberty gets pregnant, she is worried that her parents are going to kick her out so the two decide to get an apartment together. JT isn't able to afford the rent along with all the other costs of having a child so he begins to steal drugs from the pharmacy where he works and sells them to a drug dealer. Now, which one is Black and which one is White?

The answer may surprise as Liberty is African American and JT is a ruggedly handsome Causasian (I may also have a crush on JT). It's things like this where they flip the stereotypes around that makes me less ashamed to admit to liking Degrassi. It's not just cheating boyfriends or who's sleeping with who. It's stuff that happens in real life that teens have to deal with. And just so you all know, Liberty and JT give the baby up for adoption. But don't worry, other characters have had abortions and kept their babies. All options are equally represented here. But that's the thing about Degrassi, the characters have to live with their decisions. It's not a one episode per issue type show. The main characters are the ones who have to deal with the tough stuff.

So if liking Degrassi is wrong, I don't want to be right.

The Giller

Every once and a while I get really proud of Canadian broadcasting. It doesn't happen often which is really rather sad but last night was one of those nights. The fact that the Giller prize is aired on TV makes me ridiculously happy. In fact, this is the third year in a row that I was able to watch it on TV and find out live who won. I'm glad that Canada appreciates it's literary awesomeness and wants thinks it deserves to be shown across the country. And CTV even streamed it live online. Major props for that CTV. The highlight was clearly when Seamus almost said 'twat'. What a guy. But in his opening speech, he said Canada is a nation of readers. And that makes me proud.

Congratulations Linden MacIntyre and Canada. You done me proud.

Extra Extra!

A bonus post for today but something that needed to be mentioned:

Tonight at 9pm on Bravo are the Scotiabank Giller Prize Awards. What is the Giller, you may be asking? It's a literary prize given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published (in English) in the previous year. This year's short list include:

• Kim Echlin, The Disappeared
  
• Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean
  
• Linden MacIntyre, The Bishop's Man
  
• Colin MacAdam, Fall
  
• Anne Michaels, The Winter's Vault

And to make it all the better, Seamus O'Reagan is hosting it! I know I'll be there!!

Birthday/Christmas List

As some of you may know my birthday is next week. As all of you probably know, Christmas is in little over a month. So I've decided to devote today to a list of DVD's I would like to own as I can't find most of them online! Having these would make my viewing life so much easier.

-Robson Arms (seasons 1-3)
-Corner Gas (seasons 1, 3-6)
-Being Erica (season 1)

Now the rest of these are a bit risky since I've never actually watched any of these shows and might actually end up hating them. But with the limited amount of Cancon on these days, I would probably end up watching them anyways. I really wish that I could find more Cancon online since then I would have a better idea of if I would like them or not. Somebody needs to start the Canadian Hulu!

-Slings and Arrows (seasons 1-3)
-Made in Canada (seasons 1-5)
-The Newsroom (all 5 seasons )

And of course, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High which I believe comes in a box set. Please, I don't think my siblings hate me enough!

Quantity

In my original post, I stated that I wasn't going to decrease the amount of television I watched so that I would still be consuming the same amount of TV except more Cancon. This hasn't quite worked out as planned. The amount of TV I watch has decreased, especially recently. This has been because of a number of factors so that since I'm now working more at night, I'm not sitting down for some good ol' fashioned prime time any more.

At the same time, a lot of the shows I watch have or are ending. SYTYCD-C is over and that took care of a good couple of hours a week. Battle of the Blades is finished next week. This leaves me Being Erica from the list of shows that I really started watching at the beginning of this whole thing.

Another factor is that my siblings have things that thy want to watch as well. Where as before I would just throw things on in the background, I now have to physically leave the room so they can watch How I Met Your Mother and Glee. Oh the politics of TV watching. Speaking of which, my sister commented about how she has never watched more news than we have lately. There will literally be nothing else on so we will throw on the CBC News Network or CTV News Channel and learn more about the world. It's not a bad thing but it would still be nice to have more variety to choose from. Just saying.

However, I still watch The Hour religiously and am looking forward to the new shows that will be premiering in January but that is still a long way away.


ps Really, Dubreuil and Richer?? I have no idea what Canada sees in them. They better not win. Shae-Lynn and Claude all the way!

Pitching Fun!

I think with all the reality shows on television these days, there needs to be more about the media industry. I mean, they have the fashion/model/business/cooking/comedy/dating shows but no real media reality shows. Okay, so there was Scream Queens and another one about directing I believe but they didn't really go that far. I want to see Canada's Next Top Cinematographer. Or So You Think You Can Pitch which can be done one of two ways:

(1) A Last Comic Standing-isque show where they hold auditions and select the top 10 pitchers across the country and week after week they have to complete challenges and escape elimination. Challenges would be things like creating a sitcom that involves a fiddle playing monkey and Dan Akroyd. But then again, that one just writes itself! The prize would be some sort of development deal with whatever network it is associated with.

OR

(2) A Dragon's Den type style where the nervous pitchees come in and have to pitch their ideas to a panel of professionals (I really want Norman Jewison in there). This wouldn't just be focused on just writers but would include producers and the rest of the circus as well. That way there would be another source of funding for filmmakers and already established filmmakers could give back in the form of money and advice. The downside to this is finding people who would be willing to be on the panel and put their money towards the projects. You don't find too many billionaire filmmakers around these days. But it sure would be interesting.

Moral of the story: there really isn't anything on Thursday nights.

Rawr

Due to the lack of Canadian shows, I sometimes end up having to watch shows that I wouldn't normally watch. One of these shows is Dragon's Den. I'm not really a business person and often it all goes over my head so I do what most people do and ignore it. There was no real incentive for me to watch the show. But one Wednesday night when there was nothing else on, I turned it on. And was pleasantly surprised. Okay, I don't really like seeing the people with the terrible ideas who the Dragons tear apart because I feel bad for them (and yet am always surprised that these people believe that they genuinely have a good idea and that the Dragons just don't get it. Somehow, I tend to side with the Dragons). But some people actually have good ideas and it's interesting to see how the deals go down. And I like to see the Dragons fight. It's all about the conflict.

I would say that it does so well on a major Canadian network in prime time because it's roots lay in our documentary/journalist/informational programming but like most things in life, it originated in Japan. Go figure.

Family Ties

There’s just something I need to share with you all: Last night, I had a dream and I was dating Ethan, Erica’s boyfriend from Being Erica. Not only was he my boyfriend, at one point she tried to get him back but he stayed with me. Take that, Erica Strange. I think this is proof that the Cancon has started to permeate my subconscious.

But in other news, I have gotten my siblings hooked on some good ol’ fashioned Cancon. We now all watch Take This House and Sell it and Style by Jury, they’ve started watching Being Erica and Battle of the Blades with me. My sister even now watches Degrassi with me during lunch. I think she’s starting to get hooked too (I’m just so happy that Spike took Snake back today. It made me sad when he was kicked out of the house).

Though there is a certain level of unfairness built into it. I mean, I limit what they can watch when we are all together and though they can watch the shows I want to watch, I can’t watch the shows they want to watch. There’s no real sharing going on. And there will be times when somebody will suggest watching some Futurama/Arrested Development/Family Guy and I just shake my head. Even right now, my sister is out in the living room watching NCIS and I’m in my room…alone. But so far it hasn’t worked out too badly and though it takes some adjusting, we all seem to be managing. At least they haven’t killed me yet.

Now I just have to get my brother hooked on Degrassi…

Oops

...So that took a bit longer than expected. Sorry friends. But here's what you missed:

-Daneyko and Higgins got kicked off Battle of the Blades.

-Strombo is going to be skating with Kurt Browning wearing a Maple Leafs jersey.

-Erica learned the appropriate times to interfere.

-And Vincent didn't win SYTYCD-C but I was okay with Tara Jean wearing. I think she deserved it. But I will miss the way Vincent moved his hips when he would dance across that stage. Sigh.

But do not fear. Despite my lack of blogging, no American show has been watched in the meantime. In fact, I usually end up watching Degrassi now at noon. I may in fact be hooked and it makes me feel kinda dirty.

And I will provide my details dealing with watching TV with non-Cancon limited persons at a later date. Once I can stop painting and lifting heavy boxes.

MIA

I just thought that I should warn everyone that I will probably not be posting for the next couple of days. As most of you know, I am moving to Toronto this weekend (yay!). Thus as Rogers seems to think I should return my modem and cable box, I will be without both TV to watch and internet to post.

Now, because I am essentially a nerd, I'm very interested in seeing how this will affect my challenge. For the past months, I have been in my own apartment but now I'm moving in with two other people. There is a big difference between me, squirreled up in my tiny basement apartment by myself, watching whatever I want whenever I want. Now there will be other people there that I'll either have to fight with to watch what I want to watch or spend a lot more time in my room. The main problem will be the fact they are not limited to watching Cancon. The temptation here is rather small since I can just simply not watch American shows. Plus, TV is also a social thing. It brings people together (if only to sit quietly together in the same room) and gives them something to talk about. Do you know how sad it'll be while I'm squirreled in my tiny little room while my brother and sister are out there watching NCIS or Grey's? (I don't think either of them watch Grey's but I think the sound of my sobs would force them to stop anyway). I've largely been able to ignore most of the social aspects of TV up till this point since I have nobody else to really talk about the shows with anyway (except you blog, you care, don't you blog?). But now I'll be like those kids whose parents won't let them watch The Simpsons.

The upside? My housemates will probably end up watching more Cancon with me. Hurrah!

But don't worry! I'll be watching the SYTYCD-C finale on Sunday. Even if I have to fight my siblings for it. I want to see Vincent crowned Lord of the Dance!

All's Fair

The cable companies have answered the challenge with http://www.stopthetvtax.ca/ Still no handy song but I have been seeing commercials explaining the cable's side of the story. Now, I know that the broadcasters are not completely blameless in all this but I have some serious problems with the commercials that the cable companies are running. Thus, in list form:

(1) In these commercials, they say that the CRTC is going to be making the common people pay an extra $10 a month. This is not entirely true. In fact, it is pretty much not true. The CRTC would only require that the cable and satellite companies to pay the broadcasters a fee for carriage. The cable companies are the one who say that they will pass the cost onto the consumer. Which I have always thought was a rather childish way to deal with it (but frankly, everybody in this whole debacle seems to be playing the childish card so it doesn't really matter anymore). Or they say that the networks themselves are proposing the monthly cost. To be clear, the cable companies are the ones who intend to make you pay if they have to pay.

(2) What I also find kinda funny in these commercials is how they keep referring to them as the "big" broadcasters. Yes, they are clearly "living large." And they are just closing local stations for fun. But then they claim that these "big" broadcasters made a total of $400 million last year. Wow, that's a big number. But that covers the 3 biggest networks in Canada? Maybe it's just me but considering that covers the 3 main networks in Canada...it doesn't seem like a lot. I mean, I wish these broadcasters were the wealthy giants that the cable companies are making them out to be (I know that they aren't poor by any stretch of the imagination, but after Global is applying for bankruptcy protection and seeing all the people who've been fired this year at CBC and the other broadcasters, I find it hard to believe that they are just bleeding cash).

(3) Though, despite all this, what really made me chuckle is how on the commercial online, portrays the CBC. It's postively rolling around in it's own gluttony. And worse yet, it's all from YOUR money. Just look at all the money flowing into the CBC. How could they possibly need any more?! Well, as my teacher told the class this year, the CBC is one of the worst funded public broadcasters in the world. In fact, I think the only one that was worse was New Zealand but I'm not entirely sure on that. And considering that the CBC doesn't purchase the majority of it's primetime schedule from the foreign markets and instead produces it's own content which is more expensive (Or at least that's what I hear from CTV and Global), I wonder why they need all that money? Possibly to produce Canadian content? How bizarre.

But here's what I think should happen. If the CRTC does allow this whole fee-for-carriage thing to go through, I think the broadcasters should then have to stop trying to reduce the amount of Cancon they have to carry. I'm tired of CTV and Global arguing that they can't afford to produce Cancon. Also, there should be a provision so that the money actually does go towards local television. If we could guarantee those, I'm all for the fee-for-carriage because then it might actually mean more local television. You know, television that matters.

Never too old

I hate to admit it, but I think I'm starting to like Degrassi. Now I've only seen The New Generation and completely out of order but they are growing on me. I realized this today when I turned one on and was shocked to find out that Liberty was pregnant. I was shocked. And then I found out that JT was the father and that this was the first time that I had ever actually seen JT (and I was very impressed indeed...).

The other thing I disovered today was Instant Star. I had heard of it but never really bothered watching it since I'm not really the target audience. But it just happened to come on after Degrassi (okay, I realize I need to stop watching shows at teenagers. I know, I know) and I actually found it really interesting. It follows this teenage girl who wins a singing constant show and shows how she deals with being an instant star. First of all, I thought it was a really interesting idea to fictionalize a reality show like that but also showing the downside to becoming instantly famous. Which is probably something that most kids should know since everybody these days thinks they should be famous. Secondly, it's an interesting counter-part to Hannah Montana since this show has a much more real vibe to it (possibly because it seems to be aimed at a slightly older audience but still). Though Hannah experiences times in which it isn't fun to be famous, the consequences never really seem to appear. Thirdly, the issue on this episode was that the media started questioning her virginity which is something that all female pop stars seem to have to deal with. But she refused to answer the question, leading to everybody thinking that she isn't but later on reveals to one of her friends that she's still a virgin. I admire that she was able to take such an adult stance on this issue and that the show dealt with a very real issue.

Now I just have another show that I either have to find online or buy on DVDs.

All Night Long

I have decided that tonight is going to be the perfect CanCon night.

6:30 - Style by Jury (W Network)
7-8 - Rick Mercer and 22 Minutes (CBC)
8-10 - SYTYCD-C (CTV)
10-11 - Being Erica (CBC)
11-12 - The Hour (CBC)

God bless time shifting channels. What's nice is that I can actually have a night of CanCon without having to watch a show online. Usually if there's nothing on, I'll flip on The Listener or Corner Gas but this way, I get to see 5 hours of brand new CanCon! SYTYCD-C is on the final 4 and I'm really looking forward to this episode of Being Erica since she spends the whole day with that other guy whose in therapy (he has a strange name...). It'll be good times!

...and Bruce just kissed the woman on Style by Jury. Where can I sign up for this show?

A Battle Indeed

(This indeed contains spoilers. Please be warned).

One on the first episode of Battle of the Blades, there was a very clear team that came out on top: Barb Underhill and Ron Duguay. They skated wonderfully, Barb hasn't figure skated in a long time and has a rather sad history, and Ron the hair and the Studio 54 past, they were the clear favourites. Even though I didn't like them, I thought that they were going to go far.

...But apparently they would only stay until tonight. They actually got beat out by Tuffy and Tie. Mind boggling, almost. I mean, if you look at the CBC website for the show, Duguay and Underhill have the most fans! I really have no idea what happened. I mean, yes, they didn't quite have the same showmanship as Tie and Tuffy or even that they did in their first performance but to fall this quickly out of favour and be eliminated? Canada is apparently a very fickle mistress. And how can the team with the largest amount of fans online be in the bottom two? It just seems bizarre. Too bad there's no french judge to pin it on this time.

Personally, I think it's going to come down between Lemieux and Bourne vs. Simpson and Sale. But who knows? They might just be the bottom two next week! (I will once again state my apathy when it comes to reality shows. I will do absolutely nothing to keep them safe. They are on their own).

Slacker

I'm sad to admit but things have been a bit crazy lately so I haven't really been keeping up on my shows this week. Just now I'm trying to catch up on The Hour and still haven't touched Being Erica or Defying Gravity yet. It's a good thing that I have some extra time this week so that I can catch up on everything and not fall further behind.

I'm excited since today is another episode of Battle of the Blades and the competition is starting to heat up because now the hockey players are taking it much more seriously and getting more competitive which is great! Plus Strombo will be a guest judge tonight which is more of an incentive to watch. But watching the interview on The Hour with Glenn Anderson and Isabelle Brasseur, I learned something that makes me reconsider the competition. So we all saw how Glenn fell last week and it made me very sad. That damned toe pick! Originally, I was impressed since Domi was the only one still wearing hockey skates as the rest of them all switched to figure skates which is quite the adjustment for them. Then in this interview, Glenn revealed that the majority of them (excluding him and I believe he said Craig Simpson) has filed the toe pick off their skates! That seems unfair! I mean, even though Glenn fell, at least he had the decency to man up and face the toe pick. The rest just seem like cowards now. I think that they should all have to use regulartion figure skates with the toe picks. It's part of the sport. And if you fall, that's part of the sport too. Suck it up men, it's to put on the real figure skates.

p\s I just want to give a shout out to my brother. As I'm sure you all watch the Hour, remember when Stephen Lewis was on? And in his bio, there was a clip of a public service announcement with K-OS working at the Bay? Yeah, that was done by my brother's company, The Corner Store (http://www.thecornerstore.tv/ check out the Fast Food link). I don't mean my brother owns the company, he works for them so it's not "his" in the sense he owns it...this is going on too long. Anyway, good job bro!

If I had a million dollars

At my work, we have a lottery pool and like to discuss what we'll do when we win. What I found funny was yesterday, somehow this turned into a discussion of whether when we were rich, whether we would get coffee from Starbucks or Tim Horton's. Their conversation was actually about the type and quality of the coffee but seeing as I don't drink coffee, it didn't mean much to me. At first, I agreed that I would go to Starbucks since I love the green tea fraps and recently addicted to chai lattes. But then I realized that nothing would ever really replace a iced cap or sour cream glazed donut in my heart. And I have a feeling that no matter how rich we are, we would still go to Tim Horton's. I mean, of course we would, we would just go more.

Final 4

So it's official: SYTYCD-C is down to four. I'm happy with all but 1 of the 4. I dislike Jayme Rae and would be kinda upset if she won. And I think she should have gone home tonight and that Melanie should still be here. But here's what I find funny. Out of the 5 people I originally said I liked, 4 of them made it to the top 10 and 2 of them are still in the running to become Canada's favourite dancer (...okay, I still think that's a bit of a lame title. I think they should have gone with something like "Supreme Dancer of Canada"). And that's why you should always pick people based on their looks. I'm just surprised since usually Canada and I are on different sides. This was how it usually worked with Canadian Idol (except for Brian Melo, we all agreed on him). But here, I have pretty much agreed with each elimination (except for Melanie. See above).

My pick to win? Either Vincent or Tara-Jean. I just love his hips so much! Mesmorizing really. Even though I do love Everett a lot, I would probably pick Vincent. And I think Tara-Jean has really been awesome the past couple of weeks and really shown that she wants and deserve it.

But will I vote at all next week to have my say in who should be Canada's favourite dancer? No. It's a proud Canadian tradition to be apathetic. I'll just save my votes for when Harper tries for a majority.

The Listener

I spent most of yesterday doing absolutely nothing. It was wonderful. But I was also catching up on CTV's The Listener. And it wasn't as terrible as I thought it was.

I will admit. I unfairly judged the show. Mostly because of SNL. They did a skit once mocking The Closer, by having a man dressed as Penny Marshall starring as The Looker (really terrible quality but here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ljinko1KCA&feature=PlayList&p=E750B66F70A0BC37&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6_). And whenever I heard "The Listener," that's what I think of.

Overall, I'm impressed with the show but we all know that's not the interesting part so here are the problems I have with it:

As much as I love a man in uniform (especially when it's Craig Olejnik), Toby completely oversteps the boundaries of being a paramedic. I'm pretty sure the police would have been much more violent towards him than just the distain Charlie shows towards him. And as a character, he seems kinda one dimensional. I dig the dark, mysterious and brooding man but I find him kinda flat at times. I would just like to see him happy every once and a while.

What I do like? That his best friend Oz is Turkish and his love interest Olivia is Asian. How Canadian. And Toby's apartment. And that in the one shot, you could see the spot where I used to wait for the bus all the time. It was good times. Generally I'm not a fan of cop shows (you notice the lack of Flashpoint and The Border in this blog) but I do like the twist that he is a telepath. That keeps me interested. And how did I get this far without mentioning Colm Feore? I love that man.

Giving Thanks

It seems appropriate that on this Thanksgiving weekend, we take time to appreciate things in our lives. Besides all the family, friends and all that jazz, I think we should all give thanks for local TV. Hopefully by now, you've all seen the commercials for Local TV Matters. These revolve around the fee-for-carriage issue. Now originally, it took me a long time wrap my head around this idea (and I don't really know why, apparently I'm just slow). But essentially, the traditional broadcasters (CBC, CTV, Global) want the cable and satellite companies to have to pay to carry their signal. These companies have to pay to carry American stations like CNN and HBO etc but the traditional Canadian broadcasters don't get anything. And what is the response from the cable companies? "If we have to start paying to carry these signals, we're going to pass the cost onto the customers!"

When I first heard about this issue, I assumed the cable companies would win and the networks would get screwed. But now I'm not thinking it will end like this. This commercial campaign is first of all, going to (hopefully) get the public on their side. Everyone already hates most cable companies already (personally, I'm already not a fan of Rogers...) and the possibility of having to pay more for cable. But the truth is, with all the different local stations that have had to close over this year, I think people are actually paying attention this time around. Especially since even during times of economic crisis, people aren't canceling their cable since that's their escape from the real world. So while the networks growing through a crisis because of the economy and lack of ad revenue (damn you internet!), the cable companies are still in a good place.

What I find most awesome about these commercials? Most people are watching these commercials on their cable! The cable companies have to carry these networks and so in fact, the cable companies have to air these commercials against themselves. Frankly, if I didn't have cable, I wouldn't have seen these commercials at all.

Plus the networks have a catchy song: http://localtvmatters.ca/. What have the cable companies got?

Who killed JR? (Er, I mean Canadian History)

For this Thanksgiving weekend, since I doubt there is much Canadian programming going on (I have chosen to listen to music and clean instead of watching TV), what is better than to take a look at Canadian history?

I just finished reading J.L. Granatstein's "Who Killed Canadian History?" and it is a really interesting read. For the most part, I find myself agreeing with him though at times, I feel dirty about it since he can go further and ends up sounding like my father or grandfather. Basically, the argument is that Canadian history is not being taught in schools as much as it should be and that when it is taught, it's not done properly. Mostly it's now through the many social, politically correct lens that permate academia. So we don't learn so much about the different battles of WWI but the roles of women and minorities during the war. Who needs to learn about a bunch of old dead white men anyway?

The problem with this? Most of the history is made by old dead white men and it's hard to ignore that. Yes, we need to learn about those who didn't have any power and what they still managed to accomplish that but I don't think we need to throw out all the facts that those old men did too. It needs to be taught in context, to understand why there were no 'mothers' of confederation but still teach who the fathers of confederation were too.

The other really interesting point that he raises and I agree with him on the most part (I'm hesitant with how far he goes with some of the examples sometimes...) is that Canadians have a habit of painting our history with the darkest brush. We never commited any sort of genocide. We didn't start any major wars. We fought when we needed to fight but we didn't go killing sprees all the time. Yes, there are blemishes on our record and these need to taught. But there is no way that the fact that we turned away Jewish immigrants during WWII makes us as bad as the Nazis. We should be proud of our history when compared with those of other nations, instead of trying to bring ourselves down to their levels. It's like being the smartest kid in school but not wanting to draw attention to it so we downplay our marks. That A doesn't really mean anything. Yes, the treatment of the Natives was terrible. But did we try to turn it into a genocide? No (well, not actively anyway. The diseases the Europeans brought weren't exactly a great welcoming present). There just needs to be a better perspective on our history.

I think the best way to put is, in Granatstein's words, we have "a generally usuable past" and we need to utilize it properly.

TD CBC?

You know, if the CBC wasn't the public broadcaster, I would think it had been bought by TD. Seriously?

(1) As previously mentioned, the whole Little Mosque - TD scene.

(2) TD now sponsors "The World of Good News" for The Hour.

(3) On Being Erica, Judith's husband not only works for TD but had to give a speech with large TD banners behind him. And the large green chair. And the point of the speech? "Promoting diversity in the TD Canada workplace."

...And all of this was just in one week. I mean, I know that neither of the two scripted shows revolved around TD and it would have been easy to slip in references to the bank into the shows. But I find that once shows actually start inserting the names of products in the shows (without the type of ironic self-awareness as in shows like 30 Rock) it becomes too much. It's a dangerous road, CBC. Please be careful.

I really wonder what kind of deal the CBC struck with TD.

The Hour ...

As much as I love George, and I do, don't get me wrong, I don't know how I feel about some of the changes in this new season. I mean, the guests are still top notch but the show is trying some new things and generally, I don't like new things.

First of all, now they tend to show more of the audience or behind the scenes type shots. Which really isn't too bad except when I see the guy telling the audience to clap. That just doesn't seem classy. And they do these different camera angles before he does Mile a Minute which I don't care for. Or the new woman who does the voice-over for the bios. Or the "Tomorrow's Headlines Tonight." I miss when George would end the show with "And that's time." I much preferred that.

But those are all little things that I suppose aren't a big detail. What I dislike is how George now insists on playing games with the guests. I mean, true or false with Drew Barrymore is one thing but I don't really care what type of music Richard Dawkins listens to. For me, I find it takes away from the seriousness of the show. It always had the fun/cool edge but was still a credible show. Now it feels like it's gone down a few pegs.

...excuse me now, I have to go spend some quality time with George.

Cheaters

So last night was the closest I had ever come to cheating since I started this. And why was I so close to cheating? Peer pressure. It's just no good. My friend, Sabrina, had baked an apple crisp and thought it would be nice if she brought it over and we watched America's Next Top Model. Then she remembered. She told me that I could just watch it and not tell anybody. And I was so close to watching it. So close. But then we didn't and instead went on facebook.

But here's the thing, I totally would have confessed that I had cheated. Some people were convinced that I would end up cheating and not tell anyone. But that would ruin the whole integrity of this project. If it gets to the point that I do cheat and watch an American show, I want to know why it was that time and what lured me over to the side of evil. It's all part of the challenge and the experience. So if I cheat, I will let you know. Rest assured.

The moral of this story: Peer Pressure? Just say no.

The Way of the Future?

We have all gotten used to product placement in our shows. I mean, in SYTYCD-C, Tylenol sponors the after the dance section, Canon shows the dancers getting ready and somebody else probably does the recap of all the dances. For the most part, it's not something you notice any more. But last night on Little Mosque, I was a little surprised with the TD placement. First you got it in the background of a bunch of shots (and Thorne's car oddly matched the TD colours). Then a scene actually took place inside. Okay, scenes take place in banks all the time but I can't really recall if they ever actually state which bank it is. But here, the teller kindly does her "Welcome to TD, how can I help you?" And then I thought, "Hm, I think TD might be giving the CBC some funding."

Now, I've always been okay with product placement as long as it doesn't play an active role in the show (unless it's like in Josie and the Pussycats where it almost becomes another character). I mean, the money for these shows has to come from somewhere so if there occassionally has to be Snapples in the shot, I can deal. Of course there is an intersection of art and business, the problem becomes when you notice the business more than the art. But it's a fine line when it becomes distracting. Little Mosque was walking the line because I think anything more would have been too much.

But am I more likely to go to TD now??? Not really. I hate their commercials with the old men.

Battle of the Blades

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this show so much was because you can see how it probably came into being:

"Hm, I think we should do a Canadian Dancing with the Stars."
"But Canada doesn't have any stars (especially b-list stars)."
"What do we have?"
"Hockey players."
"I know! It'll be Dancing with the Stars...on ice!"

Overall, I enjoyed it though. I do enjoy figure skating and am glad to see Kurt Browning again. What I noticed and expected though, is that it is mostly the women skating around the men who occasionally throw them in the air. But I know that as they improve, the performances will get a lot better. And I'm looking forward to it.

The one thing I notice though, that makes me smile is that when the men make a mistake, they all shrug their shoulders and shake their heads. It's just such a change from professional skaters where they just keep on going without even a facial expression. It does draw a lot more attention to it even though I know I would probably do the same thing. And the men are so out of breathe when they finish.

The part that made me a little was the technical errors that kept occurring. The judges' monitors weren't working (which I thought worked out better since they had to say their scores aloud which I liked). Kurt messed up at one point. But it all just made it fall into the Canadian stereotype of poor production quality. At least there was no boom mikes.

(sidenote that probably only my family will appreciate: While I was watching it, the hockey players kept having problems with the toe picks. And I thought to myself: "Toe picks? This all sounds vaguely familiar. OH MY GOD! It's the Cutting Edge!" And then suddenly I enjoyed the show so much more).

2 Boos and 1 Yay

Boos:

(1) I was quite mistaken that DG would be posted on Space. At least not yet anyways. I'll check back in a few days but for now there are just episode previews posted. This makes me more sad since I dislike leaving things incomplete.

(2) I tried to be all cool and watch some of the Battle of the Blades stuff online since I thought it would be funny. But for some reason, all the clips are skipping and stuff which makes them unwatchable. This makes me sad.

Yay:

(1) Battle of the Blades start tonight. Since I saw Domi and Probert on The Hour, I'm all excited. As a former figure skating star, I've been looking forward to this for a while. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Defying Gravity

Last week (I believe, as I have permanently lost all track of time), Defying Gravity was not on. Originally it had started on Sunday nights and then was moved to Fridays. Then instead of DG, Flashpoint premiered. I thought, okay, where are they going to shove DG now? And why does everyone (meaning CTV and Global) shove the Canadian shows to Friday and Saturday nights when everybody with lives are out doing other things? Anyway, I looked around for it and realized it wasn't there. So I checked the next week. Not there either. I then had to go to wikipedia in order to find out what happened to it (I know that I really need to stop getting all my information from wikipedia but it's just so handy!).

So here's the deal: Apparently now the rest of the shows (episodes 10-13) are only being aired on Space. Which means that both CTV and ABC have dropped the show from their line-ups. This is a similar story to The Listener which NBC pulled mid-season due to low ratings. What a sad day for co-pros. After all the hope and optimism of Flashpoint, we all believed in a new era. I just hope that Americans don't give up on Canadian TV after this. Especially since Canadians have given up on so long ago.

The only silver lining in all this is that Space will be posting the remaining episodes of DG online so I can actually watch them. Even though I didn't care for the show, I still need to know what happens!

Shows I wish I were watching

When I started going through the schedules to find shows to watch, I found a whole bunch that I really wished I could watch. And the worst part is, that most of them have a Canadian connection which make them so close to being watchable! Here are the top of the list:

(1) Flash Forward: A mysterious global event causes everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 2 minutes and 17 seconds (137 seconds), during which people worldwide see what may be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future, April 29, 2010. The event results in deaths from accidents and leaves the survivors wondering whether what they saw will happen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FlashForward_(2009_TV_series)
-It's based on a Canadian novel and stars Joseph Fiennes. That's pretty much all I needed to know to start with but it just sounds so fascinating.

(2) Eastwick: The show follows the lives of three strangers, Roxanne, Joanna and Kat, who meet at a wishing fountain and soon become friends. A mysterious man named Darryl Van Horne has moved to Eastwick and has sinister plans for the women, but befriends them. Even more dangerous, he unleashes their supernatural powers. By igniting their hearts' desires, he might just be opening Pandora's box. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastwick_(TV_series).
-And who plays that mysterious man??? None other than Mr. Paul Gross. Despite never having been interested in the book or the movie, having Mr. Gross involved definitely piqued my interest in the show.

(3) Glee: Really, it looks like a TV version of High School Musical. That's all I needed. I think everybody needs a little more HSM and even better if it's in a weekly dose! Though when I put it in perspective, watching a bunch of teenagers sing isn't exactly what I would call a good time. But then again, for a while I was watching HSM 3 once a week. Sometimes I question my own judgement.

And of course, there is the old favourite America's Next Top Model. I just got addicted to it last year. It's a shame to have to say good-bye so soon. At least I had Canada's Next Top Model throughout the summer.

But please, if you watch any of these shows. Let me know how they are. My fingers are crossed that they are terrible so I'm not missing anything.

Just think of how nice Thursday would have been with Flash Foward and Grey's...sigh.

A Month in Review

My oh my, does time fly by! So after watching Canadian television for a month, what do I have to say? What grand reflections do I have to give? Truthfully, it hasn't been that bad. Sure there have been times when it really sucked, but it hasn't been desperate times. In fact, what I have found is how easy it is to replace the American shows that I usually watch with similar Canadian ones. Being Erica instead of Grey's, Style by Jury instead of Friends, Corner Gas instead of 30 Rock, and SYTYCD-C instead of ANTM. I don't even miss the American shows that much (except maybe Grey's...oh the curiosity!).I don't see a marked difference in the quality at all and I am just as entertained. But do I feel like a better Canadian? Not so much. I don't really feel like I know Canada or what it means to be Canadian any better. I'm not going to lie, this was part of my desire to do this. Because I'm a nerd like that. I still hope to glean some sort of Canadian truth from this whole experience though.

But here's the other part of the truth: It's been easy because I've had Corner Gas to fall back on. Whenever there wasn't something on, I could just throw one of them on. Now that I'm finishing up the sixth season, it's going to be rough times soon. I mean, I have jPOD lined up for next (I realize that most people don't plan out their television watching this much or make notes during the shows but then again, I've never been one for being normal) but I'm beginning to get worried for what lies beyond that. I suppose only time will tell for that.

ps how much do I love Vincent? SO much!

Appt. TV

I find myself looking forward to Tuesday nights now with SYTYCD-C and Being Erica. I was worried that I wouldn't find anything that would create the same excitement as Grey's did but I'm finding this a suitable replacement.

Now I can appreciate how the internet makes it so that you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want. There's no old men sitting around determining when I have to watch anything. But to tell the truth, I still am a fan of appointment TV. I like having things probably spaced out for me (I have a problem that if I can, I will sit down and watch a whole season all at once). Maybe it's because I like rules and organization. I just like having my time parceled so that I know that no matter what, I will take 2 hours aside from everything else that is going on and everything I have to do tonight, and just watch my shows. It's a nice break from all the craziness.

So I will happily keep my appointments with CTV and CBC tonight. And it'll be good times.

(Now a quote from Degrassi: "You just can't handle that I'm a sexual being." Seriously?)

The Hour

So back in my student days, I remained entirely unaware of what was actually happening in the world. I never read newspapers or anything more than the headlines that would pop up online. I could have happily told you about the political turmoil of England in the at 15th century but had no idea what was currently happening.

This all changed one summer when I started watching The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. He was my only resource for the news (this was before I started my affair with Seamus). Now aside from just watching it to see George every night, what I like most about the show is that I was introduced to things that I would never have been otherwise. From learning more about Right to Play to the fact that my mother bought In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan because she saw him on the show. Plus I get to see ex-prime ministers and Rick Mercer. I like a nice variety.

There are 2 segments of the show that I really love. First off, was last year when they introduced "The World of Good News" where they would share stories of happy events occuring in the world to balance all the end-of-the-world gloom of the recession. The other segment is the classic "Best Story Ever." I'm not going to lie: part of it is the opening claymation and children singing. But I just find it fun to see these celebrities sharing what they think is their best story ever. Though I was upset when I saw one person give two best story evers. Everyone should only get one chance, it's just the way it should be.

So I'm happy to see The Hour premiere tonight. I look forward to once again seeing George every night ... Okay, so I'm willing to admit that I'm too lame to actually stay up until 11 every night to watch (some of us have to work in the morning, you know!) so I will most likely be watching it the next day online. Still I look forward to seeing my boyfriend once again.

Worth Less?

The other day (and by that, I mean two months ago), I was in Chapters, browsing through the DVDs. As usual, I looked for some of my favourite shows to see if there were any sales going on. Not really noticing anything, I then started one of my new favourite past-times: looking for Canadian shows on DVD. It's like a great game of Hide and Seek. I thought that considering Chapters is a Canadian store, maybe they would prove to have a better selection of Canadian shows (perhaps this thinking was encouraged by the "The World Needs More Canada" section which showcases books about Canada). However it still remained a feat to find TV shows. I did manage to find some though, including Slings and Arrows which I had almost completely forgotten about.

Then I found something that made me both excited and concerned. There was a copy of Robson Arms season 2. I'd seen a couple episodes of it and enjoyed it so I was excited, especially when I saw that it was only $20. Then I thought about it and that seemed extremely cheap for an entire season of a show. Having previously bought DVDs of Grey's, I know how much a season can go for. I decided to pick up a movie (Lars and the Real Girl) just to compare prices. Lars was at least $30. Now this confused me since they were both from approximately the same time (2007) so you would assume the TV show should be more, right? This disturbed me but not nearly as much as when I found a copy of jPOD season 1 in a bin at HMV with a "2 for $10" sticker on it. I know that jPOD might not have been wildly successful but it's only been off the hour for one year and hardly deserves to be only$5.

Now, I don't know the reasons why these TV shows are so much cheaper than pretty much most other things. Maybe there are some high tariffs on American DVDs (okay, so I have no idea what tariffs really are, either). I'm hoping there is some reasonable explanation for why Canadian shows seems unbelieveably cheap. I know they are not as popular as the American shows, but is that really the only determining factor? And if you know why, free feel to enlighten me. I would really like to know how this system works.

The upside to all this? I might actually be able to afford some of these shows on DVD. I mean, I pretty much would only need like $500 to own the entire Canadian canon. Sweet deal.

Hannah vs. Alice

Last year, I realized I missed how awesome Saturday morning cartoons were. The only flaw is that I now never get up early on Saturday mornings, thus missing all the cartoons. But because of this effort to recapture childhood, I started watching That's So Raven, Hannah Montana and the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Admitting this does make me a little ashamed. But the upside was that I get to see all the commercials for cool toys that are available these days.

Having said goodbye to these shows, I had to find something to watch. Now sometimes I throw on The Littlest Hobo or Valerie Pringle Has Left the Building. But I am pleased to say that I have replaced Hannah Montana with a new show: Alice, I Think. I never really cared for it before but I have to say, I'm really enjoying it. I always enjoy watching weird families.

And on the surface, it would seem to be impossible to find two shows as different as Alice and Hannah. A young girl trying to hide the secret that she is also a pop star vs. a young girl being raised by uber new age hippies. The bizarre thing however, seems to be the emphasis placed on being normal. Alice is continually trying shrug off the albatross of her family in order to fit in more. Miley hides her pop star identity in order that she can lead a normal life (and apparently the movie is extremely sad as she learns to deal with this...according to one of my friends). Of course, the theme always becomes that fitting in is overrated and you should be yourself and blah blah blah. At first I found it odd that the theme still always seemed to be that you should want to be normal but then, isn't that what high school is all about anyway? I mean, one of the truest songs about high school I've ever heard is "Stick to the Status Quo" from High School Musical. The true difference between these songs is just that we don't have flashy Canadian pop tarts. We just have werid hippies. But don't we all just need to belong???

(ps I was watching an animated version of Anne of Green Gables this morning and everything was going fine until this bizarre green alien/fairy appeared and suddenly it was like an acid trip. I've read the books and I'm pretty sure that never actually happened).

The Hardest Cut of All

I always knew that this was going to be the hardest night of all: Grey's Anatomy season premiere.

Now, my relationship with Grey's is an intense love/hate. It's the only show that I regularly watch and was pretty much my only "appointment" TV left. I remember when I started watching it in my tiny rez room from the very beginning and then getting my friends hooked too. I related to Meredith as if she were actually me (from the dark and twisty bits to the Asian friend Christin(a)). We had a happy time together.

That was the love side of it. Now it's pretty much all hate. I spent the majority of last season yelling at my TV (even this summer when watching a rerun, I started yelling at the Chief for telling Meredith that Derek was going to propose. Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!). Izzy was having sex with a ghost and even though I knew I was supposed to be upset that she had a brain tumour, I couldn't wait for her to die.

It took me awhile to figure out why I so angry with it. Here's my theory: we all know that the networks and the business side of everything effects the show. It's not all just what is best for the characters or the story as there are all these outside sources pulling the strings. And with Grey's, the strings really began to show. First, the whole Isaiah Washington incident and Burke was gone. And then Erica Hahn just randomly disappears at the end of one episode and it's never explained what happened to her (and she then got replaced by a younger, blonder lesbian for Kallie...). Katherine Heigl turns down an Emmy nominations because she hasn't gotten enough interesting storylines. And suddenly Denny returns (because Izzy's only interesting storyline is Denny apparently). Heigl wants off the show so Izzy gets a brain tumour. TR Knight wants off the show and suddenly he barely has any storylines. Heigl doesn't want to leave the show so we know that Izzy didn't really die at all. Suddenly it's like the actual story doesn't matter at all (since apparently the show is all about keeping Katherine Heigl happy). As much as I know that this is pretty much what happens with all shows, it just breaks my suspension of disbelief. And I just really hate Katherine Heigl now.

Despite all this, it is taking all of my willpower to not flip it over to CTV right now. I just need to know what is happening! And what do I get to watch instead? Battle of the Arctic...it's just not the same.

Being Erica

When Being Erica first came out, it looked like something I would like. However, I was hesitant after the whole jPOD incident. I had already had my heartbroken by the CBC and didn't know if I was ready to put myself through that again. So I kept my distance. Then one night, I had Being Erica on in the background whilst I was on my computer. And then Dr. Tom started quoting one of my favourite poems and I literally went "WHAAAT?!" (though I know nobody cares, this be the poem: http://www.artofeurope.com/larkin/lar2.htm). So this summer I sat down and watched the whole first season and that's when I realized that I was only a MA and therapist away from actually being Erica. Needless to say, this was one of the shows I was most looking forward to coming back this year.

And I wasn't disappointed. I was really upset when I thought Dr. Tom wouldn't be coming back so I was quite pleased when he did. Nadia just wasn't the same. One of the things I like most about this show is that it oddly feels aimed solely at me. Like it was designed just for me, which is something that hasn't quite happened with other shows (even jPOD, may it rest in peace). With it's references to Philip Larkin, Antigone, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and last night, a nod to Coyote Ugly, among many others. And how she worked in a call centre. I mean, I know it's not aimed just at me but it does make me like the show more.

The one thing I don't like about the show in general is that it bears some striking resemblances to one of my other favourite shows Wonderfalls (don't worry if you've never heard of it. It was cancelled after only 4 shows aired). The whole high school reunion plots are forgiveable. The main issue I have is Tyron Leitso. Now, I have no actual problem with him. Frankly, I am in favour of him being on every show. But let's compare the characters he plays on each, shall we?

Wonderfalls - Eric: goes on honeymoon to Niagara Falls with wife, wife cheats on him, he stays in Niagara Falls, becomes Jaye's love interest, wife comes back, tries to work things out, dumps wife for Jaye.

Being Erica - Ethan: married to Claire and lives in Montreal, Claire cheats on him, he moves in next door to Erica in Toronto, becomes love interest for Erica, Claire comes back, tries to work things out, dumps wife for Erica.

Let's try something other than the puppy dog dumped husband next time, shall we Tyron?

(ps check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zcOFN_VBVo ....how come my school(s) never did anything this cool???)

Watching Online

So I had this nice long explanation (...okay, rant) about why I was going to watch SYTYCD-C instead of Being Erica tonight since I thought they were both on at the same time. But apparently that's not the case. SYTYCD-C is over at 9 tonight and that's when Being Erica starts. So everything worked out nicely.

...Except I would still like a moment to rant. I, like most younger people these days, watch a hefty amount of my TV online. When I thought I was faced with choosing between Being Erica and SYTYCD-C to watch online, the choice was easy because of one simple detail: I absolutely HATE the CTV online player. With a passion of thousand fires.

Firstly, they break up the show into different sections. Not really a problem since shows are always broken up into acts anyways and there are commercial breaks on TV. So I could deal with that. Secondly, they then usually have a commercial in-between each segment. Okay, you have to deal with on regular TV and I know that they have to make money some how ... but still, it's the internet. But I'm willing to forgive them on that too. On top of all this, and the worst part of all, when watching in full screen and each segment ends, it goes back to regular screen (...I'm so high tech it hurts) and then the commercials play at a louder volume. What is up with that? There really has to be a better way. In fact, I know there is a better way. Even watching Corner Gas on youtube has proved to be a better experience. Start each show with a commercial, that's fine. And how hard to make them all the same volume? I'm seriously not impressed, CTV.

...but this doesn't really matter since I won't have to use it.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

Here is the official breakdown of the main channels I will be watching this year. And to help further the spirit of competition, they will be ranked on the availability of shows I can actually watch.

(1) The CBC: Not surprisingly, I can pretty much watch the Ceeb at anytime. The shows I'm looking forward to watching the most are Being Erica and Battle of the Blades. Then there are the usual Rick Mercer, 22 Minutes and Little Mosque. (sidenote: I just noticed that Sophie is missing from the line-up. Did they really cancel it?) The one episode I've seen of Dragon's Den seemed entertaining. And of course, I'll always have The Hour. And who knows? Maybe I will even start watching The National like a good Canadian.
Grade: A+ (you're gone far beyond those C's and B)

www.cbc.ca/programguide/weekly/2009/09/28/cbc_television/

(2) CTV: I'll give CTV points for giving me Canada's Next Top Model this summer and Canadian Idol in the past. And now I've gotten hooked on the SYTYCD-C (even the acronym is too long). Defying Gravity is my replacement Grey's so they also get points for trying there. Flashpoint is still their biggest, current claim to CanCon and I suppose I will eventually try to catch up on that. But really CTV, I'm starting to get tired of just recycling reality show formats. They may be cheap and easy, but you don't want that kind of reputation, do you? I think we both know that you can be better.
Grade: B- (but only because you try...kind of).

www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/tvlist/CJOHtvlist.html

(3) Global: ....crickets. Truthfully, I was shocked when I looked at the Global primetime line-up. Until I got to Saturday at 8pm for Project Runway Canada. Yep. That's it. I mean, really, Global? Am I just missing something? I thought maybe this would give us time to bond since the amount of channels I have to choose from are limited, but then you do this to me? I don't know, Global, I just don't know.
Grade: F (for not even trying...really, Saturday night at 8pm?!)

www.globaltv.com/entertainment/schedule/index.html

Okay, I will admit that I might be slightly biased because of my crush on the CBC (is it possible to have crushes on television networks?) but the others aren't giving me much to work with here. Oh well. Time to go see what's on tonight...

Horrible News!

So today while browsing through the schedules for the different broadcasters (lots of premieres coming up this week!) I saw that CTV had the Emmy Awards on tonight. I got excited because I love award shows and hadn't realized that they would be on tonight. And then it hit me: I can't watch it because it's not Canadian produced (...or has anything really to do with Canada at all). I was a little disappointed but since they were just the Emmys, I wasn't too upset. That's when I realized the most horrible thing of all: I won't be able to watch the Oscars this year! What have I done! I clearly didn't think this through enough. You know, for all the thought and care I put into what I would have to give up, I never once thought of this.

I suppose it will be okay though. I end up missing them every other year anyway (usually because I'm on a bus). Last year, I was even lucky enough to hold a real Academy Award. I just thought that now that I'm done with school, I would always be able to catch them. Oh well, at least I still have the Genies, Junos and Geminis.

...I'm not going to lie, this upset me far more than it should have.

Canadian Soap?

Sadly, today was the last episode of Guiding Light. Despite the fact that I never watched the show, it still made me a little sad. Canada AM was making a fuss over it (and by fuss, I mean they had one of the actors on this morning) and it got me athinking. Why are there no Canadian soap operas? Or am I just missing them all? Because frankly, this is something I would like to see. I mean, I'm sure we have enough Canadians faking their own deaths and getting married 5+ times. I know Canadians have the reputation of being too polite and friendly thus making them not soap material but I'm sure we have enough deviousness to pull it off. There's enough intrigue in Canada. I mean, we had a cabinet member leaving classified documents at his girlfriend's house. If that's the real world, then think of what could happen on our soap opera!

But for the life of me, I can't imagine what a Canadian soap opera would look like. I know what the farcical version it would look like. What would a real, serious Canadian soap opera look like? I feel that this is something that is severely lacking and needs to be remedied. I'd watch it. I also think it should be set in Newfoundland. Now wouldn't that be a good time?

The Jury is In

As I've mentioned before, Style by Jury has been one of my 'finds' so far. I always assumed it was a kind of poor man's What Not to Wear (of course makes me wonder why I would still assume the Canadian alternative would be somehow lesser ... bad me). After years of watching Stacy and Clinton, it's hard to watch other shows like it. And I will admit, I may have had an unhealthy obsession with What Not to Wear. But now I have a new unhealthy obsession: Bruce Turner. One woman got to go on a cruise with him. I want a makeover and a cruise with Bruce Turner! I mean, come on: http://www.etv.co.za/extended/index/style_by_jury/

And now Bruce just took a woman to Niagara Falls. It was sad how excited I was to see the oh-so-familiar highway signs. This is why we need more Canadian TV.

What I find interesting, though, is that the people on this show, I don't want to say are more deserving but for lack of a better phrase, we'll go with it. The last two people were cleaning women. Before that, it was a woman who worked in a nursing home. I like it because it's people who don't get to feel glamourous like this often ... or ever, really. I mean, have you seen some of the closets on What Not to Wear?

I'm really looking forward to next week though. Shows are starting to premiere on CBC which means that I might actually have something to watch! The hopes are high.

...and are people really that sensitive about their teeth??? That always seems to be the one thing they are happiest about.

Spelling for your life

What I realized over last year and especially during the summer is that for the most part, I am never just watching TV. I'll throw it on while I'm cleaning up or doing things around the house (if you've seen how small my apartment is, you realize that this works rather well). More often than not though, I'm on my computer and have the TV just on in the background. I suppose this might be because I live alone and having the TV on makes it seem like more people are around (...of course, this is based on what the people on TV told me so I don't know how much I want to trust them on it). Or it could be a symptom of our accelerated culture and shortened attention spans. Choose whichever option you prefer.

This is of course good and bad for this challenge. It's good because I end up throwing on something that I might not have watched otherwise (ie The Nature of Things). The bad side is that there sometimes is nothing really on. Which is why I'm now watching Canada's Super Speller. This really just seems cruel since I'm a terrible speller. What is it with Canadian television and showing off smart children? From this to Reach for the Top (hells yeah!) to Canada's Next Prime Minister. Are there really that many people wanting to see smart kids/young adults compete for stuff?

...and that's when I realized that I'm really just waiting around to see the time-shifted results show for SYTYCD-C. Somehow attractive people dancing around will always beat out kids spelling. Maybe the kids just need more sequins.

Rxns

One of the things I find most interesting since starting this whole experiment is the reactions from other people. My two favourite reactions so far were these:

(1) "Watching Canadian television? Don't you do this anyway?"
-Indeed I did. However once I explained that I would be losing shows like Simpsons, Friends, and even Jeopardy, he began to understand. The truth really hit home though, when I would have to give up 30 Rock. Then he really understood.

(2) Many have suggested that I should also have limited my movies and music to solely Canadian. My other friend took it even further and said I should only visit Canadian websites. Besides being insanely difficult to do so, it would mean having to give up facebook and there are very few things that would actually make me give up facebook. Almost all of them include bodily harm.

What I really like though is that it is making people think about what is actually Canadian produced. One person suggested I could watch Harper's Island because it was filmed in Canada. My mother suggested Lost in Austen because she thought it might be a co-production (actually, she properly used the phrase "co-pro" which was kinda cute). Most people think it's not a big deal since people who did not grow up on a border town like I did only have access to Canadian networks. However, Canadian networks do not equal only Canadian productions. I just want people to take a second and think about what they are watching. I'm not saying that everyone should only watch Canadian television (now there's a dream) but just to consider how much television they watch isn't made in Canada. And maybe make a few changes to their nightly selections.

...but I see my threats of kitten deaths on facebook seem to be working. Good job, people.

Rainy days and Mondays

It's days like this that make me miss being able to watch whatever I want. It's raining. Work is ... well, work. The OC Transpo apparently has a vendetta against me now. All the motivation I had to do work tonight (and really, there is a lot of stuff I should be doing) got washed away in the rain. Really I just want to flake out on the couch and watch all the Friends, Simpsons, Family Guy and those other shows that I've seen a thousand times. But instead I get Style by Jury and Degrassi. It's just not the same.

Oh well ... maybe I'll watch a scary movie. And by scary, I mean "scary" like Scared Stiff or Clue.

The Saskatchewan Conspiracy

I've been thinking about it, and I find it extremely odd that the 2 Canadian sitcoms that have done the best in the last decade are both set in Saskatchewan. I mean really, Saskatchewan? What is there even in Saskatchewan? Everybody loved Corner Gas because it put Saskatchewan on the map and now Little Mosque is set there as well. Does nobody else find this suspicious? Why Saskatchewan?

Here's my theory: Nobody has any strong feeling towards Saskatchewan either way. Everybody hates Ontario, mainly because of Toronto. We all know how people feel about Quebec. Ever since the whole oil fields in Alberta, it hasn't been the same and everybody hates BC because of the nice weather and mountains. All the Atlantic provinces get lumped together and the Newfies just bring down that whole crowd. Manitoba doesn't really have much but at least they have Winnipeg. Saskatchewan's got nothing. It's pretty much the middle of nowhere of Canada. Which, apparently, makes it the best place to set everything ... plus there are probably some sort of tax credits for shooting there.

What I want to know, is why nothing is ever set in the East. Toronto has Sophie and Being Erica. jPOD was set in Vancouver. Quebec has all it's own TV anyway. The Prairies have Wild Roses and Little Mosque now (I would also guess that Heartland is set there too because of all the horses but have not confirmed this). What's in the East? Don't try to sell me on all the Anne of Green Gables stuff. That's all based on novels. Where is the original, fictional programming set in the Atlantic provinces? That's what I want to see. I'm thinking that maybe New Brunswick should become the new Saskatchewan. I'd watch that.

...but really, Saskatchewan?