TV, eh?

MIXED BLESSINGS / Tuesdays at 9 pm repeating Wednesdays at 2:30 am, Fridays at 8:30 pm and Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT

World Premiere

Mixed Blessings is a dramatic comedy series that explores the lives of a blended family in small town Canada. Hank, a third generation Ukrainian with two teenagers, and Ruby, a Cree woman with four kids, ages 6 to 16, set up house together in a northern Alberta community. As they fumble to fuse their lives together, will the kids and the town rip them apart?

CLOSER TO HOME / Tuesdays at 9:30pm repeating Wednesdays at 3 am and Saturdays at 2:30 pm and 9 pm ET/PT

World Premiere

This television series takes us onto reserves across Canada to experience housing from a First Nations point of view. Hosted by acclaimed First Nations actor and home builder, Wayne Baker, six new half-hour episodes deliver relevant “how-to” advice on a range of housing issues catered to Aboriginal people living on-reserve.

RABBIT FALL / Fridays at 7:30 pm repeating Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 1 am and 8:30 pm ET/PT

World Premiere

Tara Wheaton (Andrea Menard) is assigned the town of Rabbit Fall’s most benign cases – from noise violations to neighborhood pranks – but instinct tells her that the bizarre lurks in the everyday. Her nagging intuition leads her from ordinary crimes into the darkest corners of Rabbit Fall, where she uncovers the town’s gravest secrets and begins to suspect there is an underlying mystery at work.

renegadepress.com / Wednesdays at 5 pm, Fridays at 5 pm and Sundays at 6:30 pm ET/PT

2006 Gemini Award winner and 2007 ACT Award of Excellence winner!

renegadepress.com follows the story of Aboriginal teenager Jack Sinclair (Bronson Pelletier) and his best friend Zoey Jones (Ksenia Solo) who are determined to expose what’s really going on in the lives of today’s youth by using their teen-generated e-zine ‘renegadepress.com’ as their platform.

A CANADIAN TRADITION CONTINUES!…

Coming up Monday, December 31, 2007 @ 8:00 PM (8:30 NT) on CBC Television:

AIR FARCE NEW YEAR’S EVE

Our annual 1 HOUR send-off to the year that was, with special guests Carlo Rota and David Suzuki. Featuring: the return of Ad Absurdum and the Confused Philosopher, more absurd and confused than ever, checking in with Britney Spears, the Canadian Dollar proves its real worth, the all-new sequel to Dancing with the Stars, a visit to Cougar’s Corner, Stephen Harper tries psychic powers, and crashing the hottest line-up outside the hottest New Year’s party in town. It’s an all-new special … as always, available in HD!

Note: The special will be repeated the same night at 11:00 PM (11:30 NT) and include CBC’s official “Countdown to 2008″ with special guest Suzie McNeil at 11:57pm (all time zones, including NL) as we ring in 2008.

Alex Strachan of CanWest News Service lists the best of TV, including Intelligence, Corner Gas, and Robson Arms:

• Cheer up, television has never been better
  “Good grief. So that was the TV year that was. A writers strike. Catfights, celebrity spats and family feuds — and that was just The View. Here’s a look back, through the prism of the stages of grief, as defined by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying.” Read more.

Joel Rubinoff of the Waterloo Record isn’t as optimistic about the state of TV, and gives Falcon Beach and Whistler the dubious distinction of being among the worst of 2007, while Degrassi is one of his best:

• TV’s Year of Living Dangerously
  “Degrassi: The Next Generation (CTV): The greatest teen show on the planet rediscovers its mojo with a same sex romance between control freak Paige and teen rebel Alexa. The year’s most compelling — and bittersweet — love story.” Read more.

Rob Salem of the Toronto Star includes Little Mosque on the Prairie in his best of 2007:

• We’re crazy about TV’s Mad Men
  “A provocative premise, a terrific cast … and, however unlikely and unprecedented, a large and loyal Canadian audience. (Runners-up: Durham County, Across the River to Motor City.)” Read more.

The Globe and Mail names Zarqa Nawaz of Little Mosque on the Prairie one of their people of the year:

• Arts Person of the year runners-up
  “The public broadcaster gambled that Little Mosque would be the breakout hit it so desperately needed. Turns out, it placed the right bet. In its first season, roughly 1 million viewers tuned in weekly. This season, the average was 785,000 — a respectable turnout for a show that managed to lure away two top writing guns from its comedic rival, CTV’s Corner Gas, the most-watched Canadian comedy on TV.” Read more.

From BuddyTV:

• The N Network Cancels ‘The Best Years’
  “Created by Aaron Martin, a writer and producer on Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Best Years currently has a fan petition in place that hopes to bring the series back, though the cancellation decision appears to be final.” Read more.

The Canadian Press has a profile on documentary filmmaker Peter Raymont, executive producing his first TV drama with CBC’s upcoming The Border:

• Longtime documentarian Peter Raymont in spotlight with new film, TV show
  “‘I think we’re getting closer to the truth with The Border than we could do with a documentary on the subject, I really do. Documentaries are all about access – the types I do, anyway. And you can’t get inside those types of national security issues in the post-9-11 world. This is the way to do it, with dramatizations that are informed by and drawn from reality.’” Read more.

Photo from The Border courtesy CBC: American-Canadian differences in policy are personified in the relationship between American agent Bianca LaGarda (Sofia Milos) and her Canadian counterpart Major Mike Kessler (James McGowan).

The Regina Leader-Post prints one man’s quest to discover if CBC is hiding the Saskatchewan setting of Little Mosque on the Prairie:

• CBC changes story on series’ setting
  “It finally admitted that ‘in order for the show have the broadest appeal, Saskatchewan, for example, was never mentioned by name as it could just as easily be North Dakota or anywhere else on the prairies’. But the second e-mail states there have been regular references to Toronto, ‘and those references have not been removed for foreign sales.’” Read more.

From Jason Chow of CanWest News Service:

• Kenny vs. Spenny
  “Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice are the stars of Kenny vs. Spenny, a reality/comedy series where two childhood friends battle each other in outrageous competitions. The series airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. on Showcase. We asked them each to write a short column on the subject of Canadian television. Which column is better?” Read more.

From BBM Canada, Little Mosque on the Prairie at #27 (880,000), Corner Gas at #30 (828,000):

• Top programs – Total Canada

From a media release:

Alberta’s Booming Oil Industry Takes the Spotlight When The Rig: Oil Sands Premieres December 26 on OLN

Climb into the middle of an amazing crew of oil workers when The Rig: Oil Sands premieres Wed., Dec. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT on OLN. The second season reunites us with 31-year-old Donny MacPhee, the tough-minded, straight-shooting rig manager from season one. After months at home, stranded by an industry-wide slowdown, MacPhee is chomping at the bit. He leaps at a job offer from emerging oil company Bronco Energy, which has just inked a groundbreaking new partnership with the Bigstone Cree First Nation in Wabasca, Alberta. MacPhee’s task? Build a new rig, assemble a new crew, get the untested rig into the field and drill a series of wells – in five short months – in Wabasca’s intensely demanding environment.

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From a CTV media release:

In all, CTV’s schedule will see the influx of eight series new to the schedule next month, joining Top 10 favourite The Amazing Race and Canada’s No.1 comedy series Corner Gas which continues with new episodes throughout the month.

Monday nights on CTV features the hot new series Dance War: Bruno vs.
Carrie Ann (Jan. 7) at 8 p.m., followed by the return of Corner Gas (Jan. 14) with new episodes at 9:30 p.m. Bookending the all-new Monday night line-up is Season 7 of Degrassi: The Next Generation at 7:30 p.m. and the return of Top 20 hit Medium (Jan. 7) at 10 p.m.

• Degrassi: The Next Generation: Mondays at 7:30 p.m. beginning January 14 (Season Premiere on Thursday, Jan. 10 from 8-9 p.m.
• Corner Gas: Continues Mondays at 9:30 beginning January 14

Ilona Beiks of Media in Canada reports on the prospects for Intelligence:

• Intelligence faces uncertain future
  “CBC insists it hasn’t yet made a decision about Intelligence, and media buyers remain upbeat about Chris Haddock’s beleaguered series, despite its weakening ratings. But word from the set is that there won’t be a third season of the series.” Read more.

Photo: Klea Scott as Mary Spalding

John Doyle of the Globe and Mail looks back at the year in television, who mentions Little Mosque on the Prairie, Corner Gas, Intelligence, and Durham County:

• Strikes, flops, angst, egos – and some great TV
  “The attention given to Little Mosque caused Canadian-made TV to be newsworthy; the CBC show even poached several writers from CTV’s Corner Gas to help with its second season. Regrettably, Little Mosque has largely failed to find the right degree of memorable comedy in its second season. But Corner Gas has managed to be vastly entertaining, week after week.” Read more.

Photo: Rayaan (Sitara Hewitt, right) and Sarah (Sheila McCarthy) of Little Mosque on the Prairie

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail, whose list of shows that mattered includes Intelligence, Rick Mercer Report, Little Mosque on the Prairie, and Durham County:

• The best and worst shows of 2007
  “Back for a second season, Chris Haddock’s series stayed outstandingly smart, layered and entertaining. Haddock, with a superb cast and group of directors, managed to turn the drama of a dope baron’s life into an epic, gripping story of cops, criminals and Canada. It had many small, brilliant moments of subtlety and wit, and if its appeal passed some people by, so be it. Most great TV is not mass-appeal entertainment.” Read more.

Photo: Ian Tracey as Jimmy Reardon in Intelligence

From a media release:

In one of the least scientific yet most accurate surveys of public opinion, the mighty Air Farce Chicken Cannon is now registering its final votes, and New Year’s Eve doesn’t look happy for Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber.

For its annual year-end comedy special, the resilient Royal Canadian Air Farce invites viewers to name the most irritating or annoying personalities who most richly deserve a gooey high-pressure blast from that winged weapon of messy destruction, the Chicken Cannon.

Previous winners have included U.S. President George Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and last year’s victims, Bell Canada spokesrodents Frank and Gordon.

This year’s leading contenders are the two star witnesses of Ottawa’s $300,000 Search for Truth, former Prime Minister Mulroney and lobbyist Schreiber. Close behind are Prime Minister Harper (who’s been elevated to the Chicken Cannon Hall of Infamy along with his fellow leader President Bush.) Disgraced tycoon Conrad Black, Environment Minister John Baird, “Taser-happy RCMP officers,” Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Liberal leader Stephane Dion round out the top ten.

The top five vote-getters will be revealed on December 31 during the Air Farce New Year’s Eve Special at 8:00 PM on CBC Television. The Chicken Cannon’s four runners-up will get smacked by flying rubber chickens, while the leading target can expect a blast of monstrously messy guck.

The Chicken Cannon is a uniquely Canadian weapon: it’s messy, humiliating and makes a loud noise, but causes no actual damage. Air Farce hopes that one day all wars will be fought this way.

Air Farce New Year’s Eve Special, Monday December 31, 8:00 PM on CBC Television.

From the Canadian Press:

• CRTC approves CanWest takeover of Alliance Atlantis
  “The federal broadcast regulator has greenlighted CanWest Global Communications’ (TSX:CGS) multibillion dollar takeover of one of the country’s top entertainment companies amid fears control would stray from Canada onto Wall Street.” Read more.

From Konrad Yakabuski of the Globe and Mail:

• Has Rad-Can killed its golden goose?
  “Radio-Canada’s success is such a source of envy to the ratings-challenged programmers at its sister network, the CBC, that they continually try to copy it. It never works, Quebec being a culturally distinct entity whose citizens actually crave local content. Still, the CBC honchos, who fancy themselves network executives rather than make-work bureaucrats, never seem to be discouraged by their failures, since those only seem to be rewarded with more taxpayer dollars. ” Read more.

From the Canadian Press:

• ‘Canadian Idol’ auditions starting Jan. 26
  “Auditions for the sixth season of the hit televised singing competition “Canadian Idol” begin Jan. 26 in a yet-to-be announced city, CTV said Thursday.” Read more.

From a Global media release:

Beginning this January 2008, Global Television presents the sure-fire hit, THE GUARD, an all new original drama series – the story of four members of the Canadian Coastguard’s Search and Rescue team, and their daily battles both in and out of the water.

Premiering Tuesday, January 22, 2008 – 10pm ET/PT, and following Canada’s number one hit show, “House”, this 13-part, one-hour action series was shot in the scenic wilderness of Squamish, British Columbia. THE GUARD follows the high action drama of a skilled crew of rescue workers as they face the danger s of the Pacific Northwest while searching for meaning in their own lives.

Starring Steve Bacic (Andromeda) as Duty Captain, Miro Da Silva; Jeremy Guilbaut (Edgemont) as Rescue Specialist, Andrew Vanderlee; Zoie Palmer (Instant Star) as Rescue Specialist Carly Greig; and Claudette Mink (The Days) as Rescue Specialist Laura Nelson, featuring regular guest appearances by Canadian David James Elliot. Elliott, well known to television fans for “JAG” and “Closer to Home”, guest stars as David Nelson, a recurring character on the series.

“Global television is kicking off the new year with this amazing, sexy drama series, a guaranteed adrenaline rush for thrill seekers,” said Christine Shipton, VP, Original Production, Global Television. “Series creator, Raymond Storey expertly captures the complex nature of each of our perfectly flawed heroes, while proudly paying tribute to the noble work of the Canadian Coast Guard – a combination fans are sure to embrace.”

Karen King-Chigbo is Production Executive and Christine Shipton is Vice President, Original Programming for Global Television.

Photo courtesy Global. From left: Zoie Palmer, Jeremy Guilbaut.

From a CTV media release:

Rival students from neighbouring Lakehurst High invade the halls of Degrassi Community School in the super-sized seventh season of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the Gemini Award-winning drama series returning with a shocking two-episode premiere, Thursday, Jan. 10 at 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). Degrassi moves to its regular timeslot on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. ET beginning Jan. 14 on CTV. CTV continues to count down to the Season 7 premiere with “The Top 10 Hottest Degrassi Episodes of All Time,” airing weeknights now through December 31 at 7 p.m. ET.

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From a CTV media release:

CTV announced today that it has ordered two new, one-hour original drama series for the network. The first is Sniper (working title), a high-stakes ensemble drama that delves into the world of one of Canada’s elite police forces and the critical incidents it faces on a daily basis. The second is The Listener, a fast-paced, compelling drama about a young paramedic with the power to read minds. Both series received orders from the network for 13, one-hour episodes with production scheduled to begin in Spring 2008.

“Whether it’s the adrenaline rush of saving a life or the thought-provoking notion of being able to read someone’s mind, both Sniper and The Listener are drama series built on the foundation of entertaining and compelling storytelling,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.

Sniper and The Listener were both part of CTV’s first venture into pilot production this past summer. It was the first time CTV had ordered pilots as part of its development of new Canadian television series. The pilot order reinforced the network’s priority in delivering critically-acclaimed Canadian programming enjoyed by the biggest audiences possible.

Sniper stars Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars), Hugh Dillon (Durham County) and Whistler’s David Paetkau in a tense, emotional police drama that takes us into the lives of the team members of the Strategic Response Unit (SRU). They’re unique cops who can do what ordinary cops can’t: rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, handle state-of-the-art weaponry, always putting their own lives at stake to save others. Sniper is written and created by the emerging writing team of Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, both accomplished actors, and executive-produced by multiple Gemini Award-winner Anne Marie La Traverse (Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story, Tripping the Wire) for Pink Sky Entertainment and Bill Mustos for Avamar Entertainment in association with CTV.

In The Listener, Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik, In God’s Country) is a young paramedic with the power to listen to people’s most intimate thoughts. Our hero soon realizes: With great power comes great responsibility. Still, he’s got to admit that this telepathy can be pretty cool. Aided by his paramedic partner Osman Bey (Ennis Esmer, host of The Toronto Show), Toby walks a dangerous line between his calling as a telepathic sleuth and his regular life as an urban twentysomething. Toby’s adrenaline-fuelled job and his active social life complicate the hell out of his destiny – or maybe it’s the other way around. The Listener was created by Michael Amo (Blessed Stranger: After Flight 111) and the pilot was directed by Clement Virgo (The Wire, Poor Boys Game). The Listener is produced by Shaftesbury Films, (producers of CTV’s No.1 and No.2 highest-rated TV movies, Eight Days to Live and In God’s Country) in association with CTV. Executive producer is Emmy and Gemini award-winning Christina Jennings (ReGenesis).