TV, eh?

From a media release:

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce the nominations for the 23rd Annual Gemini Awards, recognizing the year’s best in Canadian English-language television. The Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala will be presented in Toronto, ON at the John Bassett Theatre on Friday, November 28, 2008. Canwest Broadcasting joins the Academy in celebrating this year’s exceptional achievements, airing the Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala on E! Network and Showcase at 9 pm ET.

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Zaib Shaikh is known as Amaar on Little Mosque on the Prairie, but for tonight’s adaptation of Othello on CBC, he is co-writer, director, and executive producer. Matthew Deslippe, who was recently seen on Across the River to Motor City, plays Iago and is also an executive producer. Listen now to their thoughts on why Othello is relevant today, Carlo Rota in the title role, their pride in Canadian productions, and even what’s next for Little Mosque on the Prairie:

This Sunday on TV, eh? Blogtalkradio show, join Zaib Shaikh (co-writer/director, also Amaar on Little Mosque on the Prairie) and Matthew Deslippe (Iago, also Frank Calasso on Across the River to Motor City) to chat about their adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello.

Listen live at 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern (call in with your questions at 646- 200-4063) or catch the podcast afterwards.

From CBC:

• Afghanada, Dragon Boys win Canadian screenwriting awards
  “Vancouver screenwriter Ian Weir, who also created the teen series Edgemount, won the award for best miniseries for Dragon Boys, a two-part drama about teens involved with Vancouver’s Asian gangs. CBC-TV comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes won the award for best variety show for an episode created by Kevin White. White and Mark Critch, Irwin Barker, Gavin Crawford, Gary Pearson, Jennifer Whalen, Carolyn Taylor, Albert Howell, Dave Nystrom, Geri Hall, Todd Allen and Tim McAuliffe are credited as writers. … Best drama series was Across the River to Motor City, written by Denis McGrath and Robert Wertheimer.” Read more.

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) will celebrate the winning words of 2007 on April 14 at the 2008 Canadian Screenwriting Awards. More than 125 scripts were submitted for this year’s awards, honouring excellence in screenwriting. The entries have been narrowed down to 33 finalists in nine categories, including screenwriting for feature film, drama series, documentary film and more. Several special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, will also be handed out at the event.

Among the finalists, you will find the writers of television favourites such as Corner Gas, Robson Arms, Intelligence, Across the River to Motor City, This Hour has 22 Minutes and more, as well as the writers of feature films including The Stone Angel, Poor Boy’s Game and more. A complete list of finalists can be seen on the WGC website.

All winners will be announced at the 2008 Canadian Screenwriting Awards on Monday, April 14, 2008. Guest host (and finalist) Gavin Crawford (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) will once again keep everyone in stitches as he keeps the celebrations rolling. Kyle Tingley (also a finalist for 22 Mins) will co-write the awards show with Crawford.

Last year’s winners included Sarah Polley for the screenplay of Away From Her, Kevin White and Brent Butt for Corner Gas and Susan Coyne & Bob Martin & Mark McKinney for Slings & Arrows.

This year’s finalists reflect the high level of achievement of Canadian screenwriters across the categories.

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.

Gayle MacDonald of the Globe and Mail interviews actress Charlotte Sullivan:

• On-the-job ingénue
  “She has never taken a formal acting class, but the 24-year-old actress has won roles in four new TV series, including CBC’s hockey drama MVP and the Chinese-Canadian co-production Iron Road, starring Peter O’Toole and Sam Neill.” Read more.

Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press gives some alternatives to American shows as the writers strike drags on:

• Canadian nights in Canada
  “The U.S. writers strike is providing an opportunity to investigate homegrown TV, and you know what? Some of it is really good!” Read more.

Joel Rubinoff of the Waterloo Record reviews the show:

• I hope there’s buried gem in River
  “Across the River to Motor City (10 p.m. on City) is a maddening TV oddity: a six-part Canadian miniseries that looks and feels like a strained attempt to recreate the polished dexterity of U.S. dramas like Journeyman and Cold Case that is nonetheless just ambitious enough to make you root for it, despite its flaws.” Read more.

Sasha Roiz photo by Russ Martin .

From Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press:

• Dark, homegrown miniseries worthy prime-time watching
  “WITH all the talk these days about how much time and money we Canadians are spending on the southern side of the border, perhaps it’s timely that Citytv is airing a homegrown miniseries that involves cross-border chopping. Yes, chopping. And stabbing. And punching. And shooting. And dumping of bodies, and everything else that’s required in a top-notch cops-and-mobsters thriller.” Read more.

Photo: Sasha Roiz. By Russ Martin.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Flight back to the past
  “Across The River To Motor City jumps back and forth in time, between the early 1960s and the early years of the 21st century. It also jumps back and forth between two countries, focusing on the twin communities of Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich.” Read more.

(This was previously published in abbreviated form. It makes more sense now.)

From Leigh Stuart of Playback:

• Creator hopes for more Motor City
  “Despite the recent changes at CHUM, Across the River to Motor City makes its national debut on what used to be its Citytv channels this week.” Read more.

From 24 Hours:

• Flight back into the past
  “Charlotte Sullivan never wanted to be a stewardess in the 1960s. But dressing up as one? Different story. The Toronto actress gets that chance in Across the River to Motor City, an ambitious six-part Canadian mini-series.” Read more.

Charlotte Sullivan and David Fox. Photo by Russ Martin.

From Ad Hoc News Germany (from a Devine Entertainment media release):

• Devine Entertainment Launches Website to Promote New Primetime Series “Across the River to Motor City” Premiering November 22
  “The series will air on Citytv network stations throughout Canada. The Across the River to Motor City website is located at http://www.acrosstheriver.tv.” Read more.

See trailer for episode one below:

Kathryn Kates of the Canadian Jewish News interviews Sasha Roiz of Across the River to Motor City:

• Jaffa-born actor stars in CityTV mini-series
  “The action on City TV’s Across the River to Motor City, takes place on both sides of the border, in Windsor and Detroit. After wrapping production last January, lead actor Sasha Roiz, 33, found himself crossing the 49th parallel once again, when he moved to Los Angeles.” Read more.

Photo credit: Russ Martin.

From a Devine Entertainment media release:

Devine Entertainment Corporation, capitalizing on the global distribution of award-winning original film and television content, has announced growing recognition by leading publications regarding the Company’s soon-to-premiere primetime television series, “Across the River to Motor City,” signaling further progress in Devine’s strategy to develop new films and television content to address untapped revenue opportunities in the entertainment marketplace.

Three of Canada’s leading newspapers, “The National Post,” “The Globe and Mail” and “The Toronto Star,” have reported on or reviewed Devine’s upcoming film-noir miniseries, “Across the River to Motor City.” The series, Devine’s first foray into the primetime television marketplace, is scheduled to premiere in November.

Photo credit: Russ Martin. Charlotte Sullivan and David Fox in Across the River to Motor City.

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John Doyle of the Globe and Mail looks at Canadian series coming this fall:

• Kings, kinks, Coupland and Celine
  “From The Tudors to The Border, there is a lot of worthwhile viewing to be done in the coming months.” Read more.

Photo courtesy CBC: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More (The Tudors – episode 1)

Jim Bawden of the Toronto Star makes the case for more Canadian drama series:

• Proudly Canadian. More, please!
  “What Canadian TV doesn’t have, and never did have, is a plethora of smartly scripted hour-long dramas.” Read more.

Jim Bawden of the Toronto Star files a fall TV preview article on upcoming specialty channel fare, including Canadian shows such as Across the River to Motor City, the Food Network’s Fink, Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, Rent a Goalie and History Channel’s Lost Worlds:

• Rounding out the specialty menu
  “The second season of Rent-A Goalie gets up and running. It’s a smoother blend of a sitcom that could catch on like Little Mosque if given half a chance. Joining the regulars are such hockey legends as Phil and Tony Esposito, Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer and Tie Domi (starts Sun. Nov. 4 at 9 p.m.).” Read more.

Rob McKenzie of the National Post picks a Canadian show as #9 of the top 10 new fall shows:

• Top 10 new TV shows: No. 9, Across the River to Motor City
  “While half the tale is in Detroit, the other half lies across the river in Windsor, Ontario. It takes place not only in two cities and two countries but two eras: 1963, when private eye Ben Ford’s girlfriend disappeared on the day JFK died; and the present, when her body is belatedly found, forcing Ben, by now a vinegary old man, to deal with the past he lost and the present from which he is estranged.” Read more.

Sasha Ruiz as Ben Ford. Photo credit: Russ Martin.