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?

Defying Gravity: Shades of Grey

Once I heard about Defying Gravity, I was both excited and hesitant. Since it's been described as "Grey's Anatomy in space" and I am an extreme Grey's fan, I was both excited and hesitant. Now sci fi shows don't usually turn my crank(Buffy and Stargate excluded) so I was a little extra nervous.

Overall, I think it's a good show. Great? No. Grey's? No, definitely not enough sex to make it Grey's. It uses the same voice-over convention as Grey's but for some reason, I don't connect to it since it's done by Maddox Donner (seriously, that's the character's name. It just doesn't hit me as hard as Grey's.

The one thing I think bothers me the most is that it feels more cinematic than a TV show. It's really like 2 shows since it has so many flashbacks. I now have to remember wants going on while they are in space and what happened 5 years ago. And maybe it's because I never started watching Lost or any other highly serialized show, but I really dislike how we're 8 episodes in and we're just going to learn what this whole BETA thing is. I don't mind some suspense but this is just taking too long.

Lastly, remember how I was complaining about how the shows are starting at awkward times of the year? This show premiered on August 2. The Halloween episode aired on September 4th. Does this really make sense?

(What I did like though: the last episode was all about obeying orders and since I like rules and organization so much, I greatly enjoyed it).

No longer hustlin'

Thank God for time shifting. I still managed to catch last night's results show for SYTYCD-C which made me very happy. I was very sad to see Vincent and Cody both in the bottom three but I have to say, I love watching Vincent dance. Especially in his sexy green shirt. That made it all worth it. I didn't like how Jenna Lynn just resigned herself to going home. She should've had more fight. And poor Nicolas was just growing on me. But overall, I agree. It makes me nervous though since now it's getting down to only 7 couples. Please don't let Vincent leave.

But I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised by Emmanuel Sandu. As a fan of figure skating (how girly, I know), I wasn't ready to move on. And I really thought he was going to suffer the Dave Moffatt syndrome. However, he seems to be doing quite well. At first I didn't think his partner liked him at all, but somehow they seem quite close now. Bizarre.

...though I really think that Daniel and Jayme Rae are going to be the couple to beat. Everybody just loves them too much (but I like how Leah keeps faking them out. Hehehehehe).

Good Morning Canada

So I'm a bit of a hypocrite. But I admit it. Remember all those long days ago when I was talking about we should all be watching local television? Well, when it comes to morning television, I don't practice what I preach. If I were a good person, then I would be watching Ottawa A Channel morning show. I mean, I've drunkenly stumbled past where they film the show many atimes (not while they were filming. Usually a few hours earlier). But instead, I watch Canada AM. I believe there are two reasons for this:

(1) Seamus O'Regan: What a man! I mean, read this and not be impressed: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/1099432398009_94838600?hub=AMFamily
Aside from his dashing good looks, he has a degree in philosophy. That's all I need to know.

(2) Bill Welychka: It generally makes me sad seeing people in their post VJ careers (Strombo excepted...that's right, we're so close, I call him Strombo). Despite the fact that I probably could have touched him at the Genies which was kind of cool, it's just not the same seeing Mr. Welchka as a weatherman on the A channel. I prefer to remember him in his mid-90's MuchMusic glory. Here's to the good ol' days, Bill.

I have to say though, I think I generally hate most weathermen. I don't really care for Jeff Hutcheson either. Growing up with Don Paul and Mike Cejka, it's hard to compete with the greats. I just can't move on.

A Very (Corner) Gas-y Weekend

A few weeks ago, my cable and internet went down. This made me sad. So in order to entertain myself, I threw on some DVD's. Despite the fact that I knew that I was going to be starting this challenge soon, I was an idiot and started watching my Corner Gas DVD's (only own season 2). I had always enjoyed the show but never really loved it. I could take it or leave it. Much like everything, I've come to really appreciate it, only once it is longer on the air. Because I'm an even bigger idiot, I managed to make it through season 1 before September, leaving me only 3-6 left.

For years now, Canadian TV was synonymous with Corner Gas and now I'm addicted too. But despite my obsessive nature, I can't put my finger on why. I find it interesting this new found appreciation of Saskatchewan (2 hit sitcoms set in rural Saskatchewan...who knew?). I know Canadian TV does have a history of country living (Don Messer's Jubilee, anyone?) but it's never been something that interested me. I'm a city girl, through and through so why should I care about some small town in Saskatchewan? But everything about the show just works so well though. The whole cast just plays off each other and the humour different (I'm still trying to work through a comparison with American sitcoms...we'll see how that turns out). But somehow, this show came to mean so much to everyone. And it made being Canadian cool. It makes jokes about Canada that all of us can relate to without having to be from a small town. Plus all the awesome cameos. I like how all Canadians have a sense of humour about themselves.

What is so interesting to me is how the characters have basically seen each other everyday for their entire lives. I've always known that I was never going to stay in the town I grew up in. My closest friend from home that I've known for over ten years now, I haven't seen in four months. It blows my mind to have a friendship like Brent and Hank where they've been friends their entire lives like that. To have somebody like that around all the time. It's just so bizarre to me.

And I was wondering: how do they date? Like I know that there is more people in the town than just the 8 of them, but seriously, how would they date anybody? And what about Wanda? She has a kid but they never mention a husband? Is she a single mother? In my head, she ends up with Brent just because apparently I can't tell the different between reality and fiction. And how did Lacey adjust so well in Dog River after moving from Toronto? For some reason, the problem was the town accepting her but seriously, after living in Toronto, wouldn't you have some adjustment issues in Dog River? But then again, this is just me over-thinking everything like usual.

Time to return to Dog River.

CanCin

Originally when I was considering this blog, I was going to include Canadian movies as part of the challenge. As I watch far too many movies to only survive on Canadian films, I planned on doing a 1:1 ratio. For every American movie I watched, I was going to watch one Canadian movie. That seemed fair to me. The problem, of course, is getting a hold of Canadian movies. I, for sure, couldn't do this ratio for the movies I watch in theatres (God bless Cheap Tuesdays) and as I watch most of my movies online, Canadian films don't really have a presence there either. I learned that the hard way when I was trying to watch the movies nominated for Genies. And really, who rents movies these days? (Okay, I'll admit it, I still enjoy going to Jumbo video...well, I would if I had actually gone to one within the last year). So that is why I ditched the whole Canadian movie attachment but I would still like to pump up the number of Canadian films that I do watch. (Note: if anybody has any sites they can recommend that actually have Canadian movies online, I would greatly appreciate. Thanks!)

Which is why I watched One Week (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104806/) this weekend. Also because it was recommended to me by a friend on facebook. To put it basically, it's Joshua Jackson riding across Canada on a motorcycle. Okay, so he was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to take one last trip, and to really live, before going home to get treatment. The first thing that intrigued me about this film (that has nothing to do with it being Canadian) is how as a society, we've learned to speak the language of cancer. So when the doctor tells him that he has stage four cancer, we all know what that means (even though he still has to ask the doctor to make it absolutely clear). Found that interesting.

It's been described as a love letter to Canada and essentially that's what it is. From the 2 teenagers riding bikes from St.John's to Vancouver for a case of 24 to the obsession with "World's largest" objects. As a film on the how, I'm not entirely sold on it but it's always lovely to see more of your country. And I think it did a good job of showing people trying to deal with the shorten lifespan that he was handed.

2 Things I Loved though:
(1) The narrator. Screw Morgan Freeman, I want this guy to narrate my life. Second only to Ron Howard in my books.
(2) There's one moment after Ben (Joshua Jackson) has an accident and he wakes up on the side of this empty road. So he starts dancing and the narrator describes how this is like the moment in movies when the main character dances in order to show how they have thrown off the shackles of society. But then a car drives by, staring at him so he stops dancing and the narrator says something about how he can't really dance. It made me chuckle and it's a lot funnier than it sounds here.

It's worth seeing. I would recommend it. Now, aren't I supposed to be watching some TV right now??

Day Well Spent

Well, it was if you consider watching TV and napping all day well spent...which I do. It was filled with pleasant surprises. Usually when I'm sick, I go through all my regular day time shows. Regis and Kelly, Ellen and of course, Tyra Banks (my guilty habit of the summer which I've had to kick). But sadly, these are no longer available to me and I didn't think the day would go well.

What I found instead was: the W Network. Now, I've always enjoyed TLC but have learned to live without it since I always just get basic cable. Never once did I realize that W would be suitable replacement. Style by Jury may just be one of my new favourite shows (but it will never replace What Not to Wear in my heart). And they have cooking shows which makes up for my lack of Food Network. What is really the best part about it: most of the shows are Canadian. Now I have a handy channel in my back pocket. This makes for a very happy Ally.

Another discovery of today was...Degrassi. I've never watched an episode of any Degrassi before today. I knew it was always a classic Canadian show and knew that I should watch it but it never really tickled my fancy before. Besides, my obsession with High School Musical kinda of precludes my enjoyment of other high school centred media. Well, Degrassi ain't High School Musical. In fact, they're pretty much polar opposites. One of the reasons I like HSM so much is the fact that it doesn't even try to represent real high school experiences at all. There's not irony or winks or nudges to the outside world. The biggest problem in this world is that the jock wants to be in a musical with the science nerd (oh my!). But one of the things that I've heard most about Degrassi is the fact that it does deal with the more serious issues facing teenagers. Teenage pregnancy, abortion, cancer, and in the episode that I saw today, cutting. I appreciate this effort of being real and actually discussing the issues that teenagers have to face. Whether that be an alcoholic mother or your boyfriend cheating on you. Overall, the experience wasn't totally unpleasant but I would prefer to delve more into the earlier incarnations of Degrassi instead of just jumping right into the new generation. It may become a project in a few weeks...

And of course, I watched Stephen and Chris because seriously, what would a day at home be without them?

Am sick. Missed work. Will post again when world stops spinning.

I remember the good ol' days of my youth where the beginning of September meant not only the dreaded (or exciting, if you are a nerd like me) return to school but also the return of all your favourite shows. Ally McBeal, Roswell, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It was all about being reunited with both your real life as well as your fictional friends. It was good times. Then the shows started premiering later and later so that it was almost October by the time they were starting up again.

What I don't understand now is the fact that CTV premiered their shows in August (Defying Gravity and SYTYCDC) while CBC is waiting basically till the first week in October. Maybe someone smarter than I can explain it to me but this just makes my life exceedingly difficult. It's like a weird limbo here and made it difficult to find a date to start my crusade. August seemed to early and October seemed to late. So I settled right in the middle (plus I'm used to framing my life around September). But now I have to wait a couple weeks to actually have more shows to watch since the majority of Canadian produced shows are on the CBC. And then since The Hour is pretty much on all the time on different channels, I'll always have something to turn it to. But for now, I wait...

Day 2

So I haven't ended up in the fetal position, rocking in the corner yet. What kind of sucked was coming home tonight with a headache, just wanting to turn on the TV and slack for the rest of the night. Ended up watching Emily of New Moon for a while which wasn't quite as fulfilling. But I learned from wikipedia that there's an animated Japanese version of it which sounds ... strange.

What I was really looking forward to was the results show for So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Now, I've never watched any of these dancing shows before (except first season of Dancing with the Stars) and really only started watching it so that I could have something on CTV to watch. However, I've really been enjoying it. I've been learning a lot about dance since I basically knew nothing about it. I've taken a liking to contemporary but now I know about krumping. That's a lie. I still know nothing about krumping.

I was really hoping for a result show like last week. Everybody seemed so shocked and appalled when the two people got kicked off. I know it was the first result show so the reality of it was setting in and everything but come on, what did they think was going to happen? They were all going to get puppies? They saw the first season and we all know how reality shows work. Though, as much I don't really care for Leah Miller, I like how much she cares about the dancers and is truly upset when they have to leave.

What I like most about this show is the phrase "dance for your life." I think all matters should be decided like this. Would make job interviews more interesting. But I don't think one commercial break is enough for the judges to make a decision about who is going to leave. It just isn't enough time for the democratic process.

My favourites: Everett (because he can tap dance), Cody (because I like young boys) and Vincent (because I like when I can't tell if they're gay or just French). As for the girls, probably Melanie M and Natalie. Of course, now because I've said they're my favourites, they will all getting voted off next week. So far, I've agreed with Canada so far with the results which surprises me. We'll just see what happens next time.

Also, follow me on twitter where I'll be posting more frequently about what I'm currently watching. http://twitter.com/MamaPeach75

In the beginning...

I, Allison Vorstenbosch, hereby renounce all non-Canadian produced television.

Now, what would possibly lead somebody to take such a dramatic and, what most people would consider, insane step? The answer is really threefold:

Firstly, most people know that I’ve always had a fancy for Canadian culture. I believed that watching Canadian Idol was my patriotic duty. I worship at the altar of Douglas Coupland and will actually admit to liking Margaret Atwood. My musicals tastes always swayed to the Canadian, with Our Lady Peace, David Usher and Barenaked Ladies topping the list. And most pathetically, I admit, I always preferred the Moffatts to any Backstreet Boy or *N Sync. Then of course there was the show jPOD (and I can promise that you will all know about my obsession with jPOD before this blog ends). I will admit my Canadian cinema experiences are a bit weak though (do I get anything for owning Century Hotel?). On top of this, I have a sick love of reading books about being Canadian which led to a misguided application for a MA in Canadian studies. So really, it’s not much of a surprise.

Secondly, I have always been interested in the relationship between media and food. Weird, right? I know. But really, we consume media almost as much as we consume food. Often, both at the same time. However, we are more concerned about the food we eat and not the media we watch (for this purpose, I’m mostly talking about television here). Though I do think that people should consider going on a ‘diet’ for their viewing habits, what is more important is the current attention that is being paid to eating local produce. Farmer’s markets are the way to go and now Galen Weston is telling us the importance of having locally grown foods in the supermarkets. And of course, we all know that good things grow in Ontario.

Now, that’s all well and good. Eat local. Hoorah. But I think the same can be applied to the media you consume. This has gotten a little attention due to the economic downtown and so we’ve seen some commercials telling us to support local television (the poor A’s and just recently I saw one from Global). I think that as we appreciate our local farmers, we should also appreciate those who produce our local television or even any of our television, frankly. I still encourage everyone, however, to buycanadianfirst.ca .

Lastly, the real catalyst was a conversation I was having with my friend about media imperialism. To save everyone an academic headache, I’ll avoid most of the nerdiness and give a brief and over-simplified summary: media imperialism is the idea that “smaller countries are losing their identity due to the force-feeding of media from larger nations” (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-media-imperialism.htm). I freely admit that I have been out of academia for a while now and have never studied this theory in any sort of depth, but that seems kinda right to me. From what I hear however, this theory has fallen out of favour (apparently one little study about Dallas and it’s all over). Now initially what irritated me was the seeming disconnect between academia and reality since it’s kinda hard not to believe in media imperialism when you look at the primetime line ups of Canadian networks. But what truly enraged me was what other Canadian people were saying in this regard. These are intelligent and educated people who believe that there should be no sort of regulatory body over Canadian content. The idea is that if Canadians wanted to watch Canadian television, they would. This was then followed the prevailing belief that Canadian don’t watch Canadian television because it sucks.

I was a little upset. In a perfect world, if Canadians wanted to watch Canadian TV, then they would. And I would be a very happy person. But this is not a perfect world and I am not a happy person. Trying to find Canadian produced shows (especially ones not based on an American format) is like me trying to find a good simile to finish this sentence (they really aren’t my strong suit). Especially when Global and CTV are both trying to reduce the amount of CanCon they have to produce. And combined with the belief that Canadian television is generally bad, what hope is there of getting Canadians to actually watch? Like Wendy Crewson said, “A country that does not own its own airwaves, does not own itself. Eventually, it will fall to the influence of whatever country it chooses to broadcast.” (quote stolen from http://heywriterboy.blogspot.com/)

So I’ve decided to take a stand. I want to see more Canadian television, so I’m going to watch only Canadian television. When my teachers encouraged us to watch Canadian films, they always said not to lower your standards but just give them a chance. I plan on holding Canadian shows up to the standards that I have cultivated over the years as a viewer. I’m not going to watch any less TV or change the way I watch TV. I’m just seeing what is available (note: co-productions are allowed as well).

Therefore, from this day forward, I pledge to only watch Canadian produced shows. Ne’er shall an American show darken my eye. Please, join me for the experience, by following this blog, where I will be posting my thoughts and observations. Or better yet, watch some Canadian shows along with me (but not literally with me, like in my apartment on my couch…though that might be nice too).