TV, eh?

From Cameron Archer of URBMN:

• Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundup
  Includes The Tudors, Sanctuary, Blood Ties, Kenny vs. Spenny, Total Drama Island, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With … Read more.

From Cameron Archer at URBMN:

• Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundup (August 14, 2009)
  “Little Mosque on the Prairie’s second season on DVD September 15, 2009 through Paradox Entertainment Group/E1 Entertainment. I guess Morningstar Entertainment lost DVD rights for the show. E1 is a better label, anyway. The set includes a Dan Redican commentary track, among other random extras.” Read more.

From TV Shows on DVD:

• Blood Ties season 2

From David Lambert at TV Shows on DVD (media release):

• BLOOD TIES: First Season On 4-DVD Set

From Cameron Archer on URBMN:

• Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundup (April 2, 2009)

From Judith Klassen at Movie Entertainment:

• Drinkers on writing
  “Jude swills wine with Blood Ties scribes Shelley Eriksen (Cold Squad, Show Me Yours) and Dennis Heaton (Fido, Jpod), as well as writer Edward Kay (22 Minutes, Jimmy Two Shoes) about vampires, women in the writers room, Deadwood with a laugh track, and so much more; Eriksen and Heaton also geek out on Battlestar and its coming prequel, Caprica. ” Listen here.

Director David Winning (Blood Ties, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict, Dinosapien, Naturally Sadie, etc.) talks about his long and varied career, and Martin Wood, executive producer and director of Sanctuary, shares his thoughts on that web-based series moving to television.

Listen below, visit the show site, or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed.

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This Sunday is another TV, eh? show on Blogtalkradio, and it’s a Banff World Television Festival director extravaganza. First up is director David Winning, who has directed numerous television and film projects on both sides of the border. Call in at 646-200-4063, 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern, to talk about his adventures on shows such as Blood Ties, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict, Dinotopia, Dinosapien, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Sweet Valley High, and many more.

Following that live discussion, I’ll play an excerpt of the interview I did with executive producer and director Martin Wood of Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. It includes material that didn’t make it into my article , such as more on Sanctuary’s innovative filming process and a solid answer to the elusive question I’ve been asked more than once: Why is Vancouver such a hotbed of science fiction filming?

Tune in to TV, eh? on Blogtalkradio Sunday, June 22 at 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern or listen to the podcast later.

From a media release:

All nominees for the 10th Anniversary Leo Awards were announced today. In addition to the earlier announcement of select program categories included in the Leo Awards Film Festival, the list of nominees for the Leo Awards 2008 is now complete and can be viewed online at http://leoawards.com/nominees_2008.html.

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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.

From a media release:

The Nightingale Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired rights to Peter Mohan’s (Blood Ties, Mutant X) new comedy/drama series Bodies and Soul. Creator Mohan will write and Exec Produce with TNC’s Debbie Nightingale (The Weight, Chick’s With Sticks).

“We’re thrilled to be working with Peter” says Debbie Nightingale, President of the Nightingale Company. “Our strategy is to partner with strong, creative talents and Peter is one of the best in the business.”

Mohan’s past credits include Blood Ties, Mutant X, Code Name: Eternity, Mythquest, Eerie, Indiana, and Due South.

Mohan says “Bodies and Soul recalls the best of Moonlighting. It centers on a husband and wife team of P.I.s for whom the line between life and death has suddenly become very complicated. How complicated? Let’s just say their biggest ongoing case is to solve the hero’s own murder… “

The Nightingale Company is a boutique film, television, and new media production firm led by Debbie Nightingale and Shain Jaffe. Since 2000, the Toronto-based company has produced all types of projects from feature films to dramatic series, documentaries to interactive adventures. Recent credits include Zixx: Level One, Two & Three, Chicks with Sticks, Mob Princess, and Bailey’s Billions. Currently, The Nightingale Company is in post production of The Weight, a television series based on George F. Walker’s hit plays Suburban Motel, co-written with Dani Romain for The Movie Network and Movie Central. A second season is currently in development.

From a media release (so please don’t ask me what makes these Canadian TV shows independent):

Association announces CFTPA Indie Awards nominees

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) is extremely pleased to announce the nominees of the CFTPA Indie Awards.

The awards were created by the CFTPA in order to recognize and honour the outstanding achievements of Canadian independent producers. The Awards will be presented at a special reception and ceremony in Ottawa on February 20th, 2008.

“There is an incredible number of talented independent producers across Canada, and this is a reality that is not celebrated nearly as often as it ought to be,” said Guy Mayson, President and CEO, CFTPA “On behalf of the members of the CFTPA and the Board of Directors, we are proud to showcase such excellence and we congratulate all the nominees.”

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From a Space media release:

Friday, February 1

9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. – Blood Ties – “The Devil In Her” **SEASON FINALE**

Vicki’s assistant, Coreen, becomes a back door for Vicki’s demonic enemy to get to her.

Vicki, Henry and Mike find themselves in a race against time to save Coreen with the stakes about to destroy all of their lives and relationships.

From Kristin at E! Online:

• Could Blood Ties Come Back?!
  “The series is Canadian, and according to [executive producer Randy] Zalken, ‘Some of the Canadian broadcasters have said, ‘Yeah, we’re interested in it; let us know what and when and how.’ We’re also hopeful that a new home in the U.S. will present itself.’” Read more.

Here’s part two of the Canadian TV fall preview podcast, featuring a writer on writer interview with Intelligence and Da Vinci’s Inquest creator Chris Haddock, plus lively discussion on some new and returning fall shows. The podcast is about 20 minutes long; segment start times are approximate:

1. TV fan and industry insider Caroline from A Place Called Say It, Say It, Say It, writer John Callaghan of Creatively Progressing and I talk about some of the new fall shows – Heartland, Da Kink in My Hair, and The Tudors.

2. (Start time: 4:45) Writer Denis McGrath from Dead Things on Sticks interviews Intelligence and Da Vinci’s Inquest creator Chris Haddock – spoilerphobes beware, as he lets us in on what to expect from season two, starting Monday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. on CBC. (See a partial transcript of this interview here.)

3. (Start time: 15:04) Caroline, John, and I are back with not-so-positive thoughts on Whistler and more positive ones on The Best Years and Blood Ties.

Check premiere dates and times on the schedule page. The theme music is from “Quarter to Eight,” a podcast safe track by Sweet Japonic.

Subscribe via the iTunes store or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed, or listen below.

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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.

Rob Salem of the Toronto Star gives the lineup of new and returning shows this fall, with blurbs from Jim Bawden about Canadian content relegated to its own little listing ghetto within:

• Fall TV preview: Day-by-day
  “Rob Salem takes a day-by-day look at the U.S. television season.” Read more.

From WorldScreen.com:

• Fireworks International to Launch Blood Ties On Demand
  “Fireworks International will make its 22×1-hour vampire crime thriller series Blood Ties available for viewing on video on demand via Virgin Media Digital Television’s On Demand platform.” Read more.

Canadian TV writer Jill Golick at Running With My Eyes Closed dissects the structure of the pilot episode:

• Blood Ties
  “Blood Ties aired in Canada at long last: mystery, monsters and one very hot vampire who appears shirtless a lot of the time. Excellent.” Read more.

From Sun Media:

• Cox takes on the vampires
  “I was not a fan of vampire mythology. I don’t have all the Anne Rice books. I actually liked the series she did on witches more, because they were a little more grounded, as grounded as you can be when you‚re practising paganism or wicka.” Be that as it may, Cox is at the heart of the matter in the dark and sexy new Canadian TV series Blood Ties, which makes its home-country debut this week on City-TV stations (check local listings).” Read more.