TV, eh?

From the Air Farce New Year’s Eve Special:

From BBM Canada:

• Top Programs – Total Canada
  #9 Heartland (1.166 million)
  #15 Air Farce New Year’s Eve (948,000)
  #26 Ron James New Year’s Eve (828,000)

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• New Year’s Eve ratings
  “CBC’s traditional lineup of New Year’s Eve comedies took a hockey hit, with Air Farce averaging 948,000 at 8 and Ron James pulling another 828,000.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of the Canadian Press:

• ‘Royal Canadian Air Farce’ returns
  “Last New Year’s Eve, the Royal Canadian Air Farce was grounded after 16 seasons on CBC-TV and an even longer run on radio. The seven-member comedy troupe disbanded, props and sets were donated and sold, and the chicken cannon was corked and decommissioned. So how hard was it to get airborne again?” Read more.

From Bill Harris of the Toronto Sun:

• Farce back for New Year’s Eve
  “How can we miss you when you don’t really go away? ‘Well, we thought we had gone away,’ said Don Ferguson, one of the founding members of Air Farce. ‘But then CBC said to us, ‘Would you please come back and do a New Year’s Eve special?”” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family:

• Air Farce Jets Back for New Year’s Eve 2010
  New Year’s came early–and Christmas too–for fans of the Royal Canadian Air Farce. The retired comedy troupe reunited for two performances this past Thursday and Friday nights in Toronto. The occasion was a taping of the 17th annual Air Farce New Year’s Eve special, airing Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. and repeated again at midnight on CBC.” Read more.

From a media release:

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2009 – FARCE, BLADES & DRAGONS! AIR FARCE RETURNS AND THE TRADITION CONTINUES ON CBC-TV THURSDAY, DEC. 31, AT 8 P.M.

What’re you doing New Year’s Eve? That’s the question Kirstine Stewart, CBC Television’s general manager, asked Royal Canadian Air Farce.

After 17 New Year’s Eves, and some of the highest ratings ever scored for Canadian comedy, Stewart says, “Air Farce has always been the one to watch on Dec. 31—it just wouldn’t be the same without them.”

So, the Farce is getting together again, for one night only—Thursday, Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT), on CBC Television—laughing out 2009 and laughing in 2010. And they’ll be in good company, with special guest appearances by Battle of the Blades champions, Olympic skater Jamie Salé and hockey great Craig Simpson. While Battle turned a hockey player into a figure skater, the Farce plans to flip it up with “The Luck of the Puck,” as Salé faces Simpson in a shootout.

Plus, the Farce will welcome the dragons of Dragons’ Den—Arlene Dickinson, Robert Herjavec, Jim Treliving, Kevin O’Leary and W. Brett Wilson—who will turn in a high-stakes comedy performance, as the Farce’s political characters pitch solutions for Canada’s economic crisis.

Video star Dave Carroll, the Nova Scotia singer/songwriter whose true ballad “United Breaks Guitars” became a YouTube sensation this year, will take musical shots at the highs and lows of 2009, from Jian Ghomeshi’s radio encounter with Billy Bob Thornton to Susan Boyle’s vocal breakout.

A year ago, on New Year’s Eve, Air Farce took its final flight, and stepped away from their weekly Friday night comedy and satire series after 16 seasons on CBC-TV. The Donut Shop went to the CBC Museum, the Chicken Cannon was dismantled and de-registered, the wigs, costumes and props all went to new homes. So, expect an even more smashing new target-seeker of the “Zeroes & Heroes of 2009,” plus fresh features and fun as the Farce updates the act and kicks off the second decade of the 21st Century.

Air Farce New Year’s Eve – Thursday, Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT), on CBC Television. Starring Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon, Alan Park and Penelope Corrin.

From a media release:

ICONIC CANADIAN COMEDY SERIES TO RECEIVE SPECIAL GEMINI TRIBUTES

• Corner Gas, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Trailer Park Boys Recognized On-Stage at the 24th Annual Gemini Awards
• Gala Presenters to Include Star of the Hit Global TV Show GLEE – Cory Monteith, Rick Mercer, Hugh Dillon, Jessica Lucas, Erin Karpluk, George Stroumboulopoulos and many more
• Broadcast live to air on Global and Showcase this Saturday, November 14th – 9pm ET/PT from Calgary
• Tickets to the 2009 Gemini Awards are available for $10.50 at www.ticketmaster.ca

Canwest and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television will proudly pay tribute to three Canadian comedic television gems at the 24th Annual Gemini Awards.

This Saturday, November 14 – 9pm ET/PT on Global and Showcase (please check local listings), the Gemini Awards will salute Corner Gas, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Trailer Park Boys for their outstanding and enduring contributions to the Canadian television industry. Having recently wrapped their final seasons, the Academy will honour these influential comedies with a special look back at their funniest moments on-air. Cast members from each show will be on hand to accept their award.

(more…)

Canadian shows currently on iTunes:

6TEEN

Air Farce

Being Erica

The Border

Chilly Beach

Corner Gas

Degrassi: TNG

Dragons’ Den

Flashpoint

Heartland

Instant Star

jPod

The Jon Dore Television Show

Life’s a Zoo

Little Mosque on the Prairie

The Listener

No Opportunity Wasted

Odd Job Jack

Rick Mercer

Robson Arms

Sophie

Stargate Atlantis

Stargate SG-1

Stargate Universe

Stratusphere

This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Total Drama Action

Total Drama Island

The Tudors

The Week The Women Went

Wild Roses

This is not likely an exhaustive list so let me know if I’m missing any Canadian shows that are currently on iTunes:

6TEEN

Air Farce

Being Erica

The Border

Chilly Beach

Corner Gas

Degrassi: TNG

Dragon’s Den

Flashpoint

Heartland

Instant Star

jPod

The Jon Dore Television Show

Life’s a Zoo

Little Mosque on the Prairie

The Listener

No Opportunity Wasted

Odd Job Jack

Rick Mercer

Robson Arms

Sophie

Stargate Atlantis

Stargate SG-1

Stargate Universe

Stratusphere

This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Total Drama Action

Total Drama Island

The Tudors

The Week The Women Went

Wild Roses

From a media release:

TELEVISION NOMINEES

Taped Live Performance
Debra DiGiovanni – “Halifax Comedy Festival”
Laurie Elliot – “Just For Laughs Gala”
Jeremy Hotz – “Just For Laughs Gala”
Jeremy Hotz – “What a Miserable Show This Is”
Ron Sparks – “Comedy Now”

(more…)

From BBM Canada:

• Top Programs – Total Canada
  Air Farce New Year’s Eve special (1.523 million)

From the Canadian Press:

• ‘Royal Canadian Air Farce’ finale draws 1.5 million viewers, CBC says
  “Roughly 1.5 million Canadians spent New Year’s Eve watching the final flight of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, according to numbers released by CBC-TV on Monday.” Read more.

From Brian Towie of Metro Canada:

• Year of the Letdown
  “Disappointment hardly encapsulates a grim year when dross thrived and the axe fell on the righteous and wicked alike. Puerile Yankee knock-offs such as Project Runway Canada and So You Think You Can Dance Canada drew huge audiences despite cringe-inducing banter from Tré Armstrong and Leah Miller — whose saccharine anima won’t abandon my brain no matter how many times I envision a flaming school bus crashing into a room full of harp seal puppies.” Read more.

From Susan Noakes of CBC:

• CBC’s political satire Air Farce takes off for final flight
  “The Royal Canadian Air Farce makes its final flight on CBC Television on Wednesday. It’s the 16th New Year’s Eve special for the venerable comedy troupe, and it will be the final show for the Air Farce crew.” Read more.

From Roger Abbott in the Globe and Mail:

• Memories of a Farce
  “‘Everything I learned about Canada, I learned watching Air Farce.” I hear this from a taxi driver, spoken in a joyful South Asian accent as he swerves through traffic. From the back seat, I tell him that he must have a pretty weird impression of Canada if that’s the case, and he laughs.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• It’s all over, but should it be?
  “Search me. I have no idea why CBC management is killing off Royal Canadian Air Farce. Like so many CBC decisions, this one is shrouded in mystery, mutterings, insinuations and hints. Fortunately, in this instance, there appears to be no bitterness. It’s all very weird.” Read more.

From Don Ferguson in the Toronto Star:

• 38 years of Air Farce
  “Life’s about to get a lot more comfortable for satire-prone politicians when the Royal Canadian Air Farce takes its last flight Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC-TV. Producer Don Ferguson, who has been on board as a writer and performer since 1970, marks the troupe’s milestones.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Air Farce’s last laugh
  “For fans of Canadian TV comedy, New Year’s Eve 2008 will mean more than the passing of another year into the history books. Air Farce, which began as a radio show and has been a staple on CBC television for the past decade and a half, will air its final episode.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of the Canadian Press:

• Air Farce goes out with style, with right balance between nostalgia and punch
  “‘What a terrible time to stop doing this!’ That was Craig Lauzon’s sentiment right after he and the other six Air Farce troopers took their final bows in Toronto last week at the end of the very last “Farce taping. The Air Farce Final Flight New Year’s Eve Special airs Dec. 31 on CBC-TV.” Read more.