TV, eh?

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Ice Pilots Soar, CSI: NY Kills, Glee Grows
  “Ice Pilots NWT took off Wednesday night, soaring to 459,000 History Television viewers according to BBM Canada overnight estimates.” Read more.

Henry moves swiftly to annul his loveless marriage to Anne of Cleves, and beds a new mistress, the nubile Katherine Howard. Cromwell’s fall from favour is sudden and dramatic.

From Alex Strachan at Canwest:

• The Tudors’s Jonathan Rhys Meyers tells it like it is, not the way the historians would like it to be.
  “What, you thought The Tudors was meant to be real? Pshaw, as the Bard might have put it. In a sit-down with reporters earlier this year in Universal City – a long way from the misty glens of Ireland, where The Tudors is filmed – Meyers said he well understands that his depiction of King Henry VIII in The Tudors is of a dashing ladies’ man with a svelte, trim figure and a healthy, active libido. Why, Entertainment Weekly critic Ken Tucker even poked fun at his ‘porno mustache.’” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Wednesday Winners: CSI: New York, Dragons
  “The other big news–as predicted here last week–was CBC’s Dragon’s Den smashing through the 2 million barrier with 2,075,000 viewers. If this was a stock, you’d be rich by now if you bought into it just last year when it was pulling closer to 700,000.” Read more.

War looms with France and Spain aligning against England with backing from Rome, so Henry agrees to a politically fortuitous marriage with Anne of Cleves (Joss Stone), a plain and unsophisticated German aristocrat he has never met.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Dragons on Fire as Series Tops 1.8 million
  “The CBC venture capital series Dragon’s Den (featuring Robert Herjavec, right) drew 1,820,000 Wednesday night, with about half that in the valued 25-54-year-old range.” Read more.

Matchmaking begins in earnest. Cromwell schemes to secure the Reformation by marrying Henry to a Protestant wife – but the king’s marital reputation precedes him across Europe. The condition of Henry’s wounded leg turns life-threatening.

Directed By: Jeremy Podeswa
Written By: Michael Hirst

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Joss Stone looks the part
  “Anne of Cleves makes her first appearance in this week’s episode — kinda, sorta. She is seen in a heavy veil, and by the time next week’s episode rolls around, the suspense leading up to the actual sight of her face is thick indeed, both for the audience and for Henry VIII, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.” Read more.

Henry remains in seclusion while mourning the queen’s death, an opportunity that enemies of the crown seize to murder several friends of the court. Cromwell is disturbed when Henry allows his new church similarities to Catholicism.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• CBC Dragon’s Roar
  “Money talks and it’s shouting this season on Dragon’s Den. The red hot venture capital reality series drew 1,717,000 viewers Wednesday night.” Read more.

From Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press:

• ‘The Tudors’ leads Gemini winners
  “CBC-TV’s sexy period drama “The Tudors” is heading into next month’s televised Gemini Awards gala with four trophies, while CTV’s slick cop series “Flashpoint” boasts three.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Dragon’s Roar, Criminal Minds Triumph
  “The venture capital series, featuring prickly dragon Kevin O`Leary, drew 1,678,000 viewers Wednesday night according to BBM Canada overnight estimates.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family:

• Border Back Tonight; Dragons’ Hit 1.5 mil
  “The Border returns tonight at 9 p.m. on CBC, the last of the CBC series launches for now. The action hour is entering a third season, a critical time for most shows. It`s been around long enough for editors to say, ‘What else ya got?’ when guys like me are pitching features, not long enough to have reached that magic 100 episode mark and the promise of syndication riches.” Read more.

Series III – Eps 2 – The rebellion now known as the “Pilgrimage of Grace” begins in earnest, with Henry dispatching Brandon to supress the uprising. Bedridden due to the recurrence of his jousting injury, Henry takes a new mistress: Lady Ursula Misseldon.

From Alex Strachan of Canwest News Service:

• Viewers Glee-ful over new TV season
  “CBC has enjoyed relative success with its returning hits Dragon’s Den (a series-record 1.3 million viewers) and Rick Mercer Report (also 1.3 million). The Tudors, Being Erica and This Hour Has 22 Minutes are averaging 800,000 viewers.” Read more.

From a media release:

DRAGONS’ DEN SEASON DEBUT FUELS A RATINGS WILD FIRE FOR GREAT CANADIAN ENTERTAINMENT ON CBC TELEVISION

The biggest season in Dragons’ Den history scored a massive hit for CBC Television last night, capping off the start of CBC’s fall entertainment lineup. Over 1.32 million viewers tuned in for the full debut episode of the fourth season, watching aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to the Dragons.

CBC Television is off to one of its best seasons ever with strong ratings across the board. Rick Mercer Report bungeed to 1.295 million viewers on Tuesday at 8 p.m. followed by 22 Minutes with 774,000 and Being Erica with 793,000. On Wednesday, The Tudors reigned with 835,000 viewers. Last week saw the debut of The Ron James Show drawing 803,000.

From a media release:

MoboVivo releases The Tudors for iPod, iPhone and BlackBerry

MoboVivo Inc., a software company that is enabling broadcasters to distribute TV shows on mobile phones, laptops and set-top boxes, today announced that it had commenced Canadian distribution of the award-winning prime time hit, The Tudors, for iPod, iPhone, BlackBerry and laptop users simultaneously — a world first.

“We are very pleased to announce availability of The Tudors for the iPhone, iPod and BlackBerry Bold,” said MoboVivo founder and CEO, Trevor Doerksen. “This is the first time that a major TV series has ever been simultaneously released on multiple mobile platforms.”

Canadian fans can visit MoboVivo.com to download the The Tudors, Season 3 for just C$1.99 per episode, or C$12.99 for the entire season. The Tudors is available via download for: PC, Mac, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Video Touch, the iPhone or the BlackBerry Bold. Each episode will become available as it is aired on the CBC.

From Myles McNutt of Cultural Learnings:

• The King Waits for the Fall Season: The Tudors Season 3 makes CBC Debut
  “CBC is starting its airing of the third season of their (and Showtime’s) The Tudors (starting tonight at 9pm) six months after its April debut in the States. It’s an awkward position for the network to be in, as hardcore fans of the series have likely done their best to seek out the episodes already, and even if they aren’t the type to take part in such illegal activities there are reviews and episode summaries available for one and all. Plus, the Season 3 DVDs (distributed by separate companies in the U.S. and Canada) will actually release in this country a week ahead of the finale’s airing on CBC, which makes the show seem that much more ‘late’ in internet terms.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• The Tudors are back with a bang
  “Tonight, the return of a drama driven by a character notorious for being far too interested in sex. As it turns out, though, he needs loads of money too.”  Read more.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Meyers loves playing Henry VIII
  “Playing Henry VIII in The Tudors has given Jonathan Rhys Meyers a keen sense of 16th-century royal cuisine. ‘If you look at the Tudor diet, I’m surprised anyone lasted longer than six months,’ said Rhys Meyers, whose series returns to CBC for its third season tonight.” Read more.