You have to expect people involved in a TV show to sing its praises to the media. But when someone who’s not doing a press junket is moved to reach out to me about a project, my skepticism drops a little. And when I see a screener of the project that confirms its worth, I ask if I can quote him singing its praises.
OK, it’s now happened once, so it might be too early to call it a trend.
Peter Keleghan is one of the huge ensemble cast bringing to life the reimagining of Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, tonight on CBC. In his words:
“My rose colored glasses were broken so I think I’m right in saying it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in years. Seriously. It might be one of the consistently best entities of writing, directing, editing, laughs, cries, etc. I’ve ever been involved with. Knowing it was a labour of love when we shot it; we all thought it was going to be great. We may have underestimated it. I’m not one for hyperbole (except for today I guess!) but I think it’s a game changer for Canadian TV.”
I won’t place bets on game changing in a slash-the-CBC mentality era, but Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town feels like the perfect story at the perfect time on the perfect network.
Keleghan also pointed out a couple of highlights to look out for: Keshia Chanté’s anachronistic version of Burton Cummings’ “I’m Scared” and Colin Mochrie’s mug to the camera, which made it into the final cut.
I think the CBC’s production of Sunshine Sketches will not encourage anyone to read Leacock. It was the most boring show I’ve watched in a long time. Very disappointing.