Yearly Archives: 2015

Featured, Polls

Corner Gas wins poll, defines Canada

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We asked you “What TV show best defines Canada?” and now the votes have been tallied. With a whopping 58% of the votes cast, Corner Gas apparently best contributes to our national identity. Little Mosque on the Prairie and Hockey Night in Canada/Rick Mercer Report/Trailer Park Boys were in distant second and tied-for-third places.

What TV show best defines Canada?

  • Corner Gas (58%, 1,313 Votes)
  • Little Mosque on the Prairie (6%, 146 Votes)
  • Hockey Night in Canada (5%, 122 Votes)
  • Rick Mercer Report (5%, 118 Votes)
  • Trailer Park Boys (5%, 104 Votes)
  • Red Green Show (3%, 76 Votes)
  • Hinterland Who's Who (3%, 63 Votes)
  • Degrassi (2%, 50 Votes)
  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes (2%, 46 Votes)
  • SCTV (2%, 43 Votes)
  • Due South (2%, 40 Votes)
  • Beachcombers (2%, 39 Votes)
  • Kids in the Hall (2%, 39 Votes)
  • Littlest Hobo (1%, 18 Votes)
  • Heritage Minutes (1%, 14 Votes)
  • Road to Avonlea (1%, 13 Votes)
  • North of 60 (0%, 10 Votes)
  • Slings & Arrows (0%, 8 Votes)
  • This Hour Has Seven Days (0%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,264

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Thanks to all those who participated in the fun (without asking too many questions about how a TV show can possibly define a nation) and to the redditors who posed the question and provided the baseline responses. If you’re on reddit, check out their Canadian TV hangout.

 

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: CBC’s Secrets of the fifth estate is no mere sizzle reel

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

CBC’s Secrets of the fifth estate is no mere sizzle reel
In television time, 40 years is probably about half a millennium.

Over four decades, a great deal has changed in TV. There’s a lot more TV in existence, for a start. But one show that has, remarkably, continued to exist in our local landscape is the fifth estate.

Secrets of the fifth estate (CBC, 9 p.m.) is about those decades and it is to the credit of the program that it is not exactly a self-congratulatory celebration of great stories and investigations that made headlines. Nor is it sentimental about the past. Continue reading.

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Continuum

Helix actress joins Continuum guest cast

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From a media release:

Reunion Pictures, in association with Shaw Media, today announced casting for the group of Future Soldiers who have arrived to battle Keira Cameron (Rachel Nichols) and her team in the final season of Showcase’s Continuum. The formidable cadre includes Kyra Zagorsky (Helix, Soldiers of the Apocalypse), Michael Eklund (Bates Motel, Shattered), Ty Olsson (The 100, Nerds and Monsters), Aleks Paunovic (The 100, Arctic Air), Lisa Berry (Xlll: The Series, Nikita) and Garfield Wilson (Almost Human, Arrow).

Showcase’s Canadian original action-drama about a policewoman from 2077 who travels back in time to track down escaped Liber8 convicts from the future is currently in production. The six one-hour episode conclusion wraps in late May and premieres July 26, 2015 on Showcase.

Among the regular returning cast are Victor Webster (Castle, Melrose Place), Erik Knudsen (Jericho, Scream 4), Brian Markinson (Mad Men, Arctic Air), Stephen Lobo (Arctic Air, Smallville), Roger Cross (Motive, Arrow), Omari Newton (Blue Mountain State, Sophie), Luvia Petersen (The L Word), Terry Chen (Bates Motel, Combat Hospital) and William B. Davis (X-Files).

Continuum is created by Executive Producer Simon Barry (The Art of War) while DGC Award-winner Patrick Williams (Shattered, Smallville) is Executive Producer and Director. Reunion Pictures partners Tom Rowe, Lisa Richardson and Matthew O’Connor are Executive Producers.

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Dragons' Den, X Company, Young Drunk Punk

Tonight: Young Drunk Punk, Survivorman, Dragons’ Den, X Company

Young Drunk Punk, City – “Space Invaders”
When Shinky (Atticus Mitchell) becomes a guitarist in Calgary’s hottest band, Ian (Tim Carlson) sets off to find his own talent as a critic for the local newsletter – but friend becomes foe when Ian agrees to review Shinky’s concert. Meanwhile, Lloyd (Bruce McCulloch) finds his own nemesis while trying to photograph a skunk, and Belinda (Allie Macdonald) takes a piece of advice to heart by stepping up at work, but learns that being in charge doesn’t always mean being happy. Breakfast Television Calgary news anchor Ted Henley makes a cameo appearance.

Survivor Man: Finding Bigfoot, OLN – “Klemtu”
Canada’s favourite survivalist comes home. Canadian Screen Award winner Les Stroud returns to OLN with six special episodes of Survivorman, focused on the elusive Bigfoot. Les Stroud dives deep and puts his reputation on the line to either prove or disprove the existence of a species of man-like primate thought to have become extinct after the last Ice Age: the elusive and mythical Gigantopithecus (e.g., Sasquatch and Bigfoot). On the season premiere, Survivorman Les Stroud’s current quest takes him to the wilderness of Klemtu, an Indian reserve on the coastal fjords of British Columbia, to investigate hundreds of reports of Bigfoot sightings by local residents. Is it myth or fact? One thing is for sure, Klemtu is an environment where large animals could exist indefinitely.

Dragons’ Den, CBC – season finale
After an exciting ninth season that featured new Dragons, unforgettable pitches and record-setting deals, the DRAGONS’ DEN season finale takes viewers outside the Den to find out what it takes to get to the top. This special “Success” episode celebrates some of the Dragons’ most successful deals in the Den, as well as some of the biggest accomplishments in their own lives and businesses. Tune in as the Dragons reflect on their careers, each sharing their personal keys to success, and how they got to where they are today.

X Company, CBC – “Into the Fire”
As Paris is torn by a massive roundup of Jews, the team must help an early Holocaust witness bring his story to Allied leaders. Meanwhile, German agents close in on Aurora and Alfred.

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Canada's Smartest Person

CBC casting for Canada’s Smartest Person

From a media release:

CBC’s popular competition series CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON is back for a second season, and inviting Canadians to compete for the ultimate title. The national search for competitors kicks off online today and interested participants can apply or nominate someone online at cbc.ca/smartestperson. Competitors don’t have to be a math whiz or trivia buff to apply.  Competitors last season were a diverse group of Canadians and included a radio host, an Olympian, a firefighter, a surgeon and a stay-at-home mom.

Based on the ground-breaking Theory of Multiple Intelligences, CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON redefines what it means to be smart. Competitors go head-to-head in mind-bending, action-packed challenges that showcase their strengths in six categories of intelligence: logical, visual, physical, linguistic, musical and social.  Most people excel in two or three of these categories, but only a few excel in all meaning it can be anyone who takes the title.

CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON is looking for dynamic and enthusiastic Canadians from all backgrounds who have well-rounded smarts. Apply or nominate someone online at cbc.ca/smartestperson.  Applicants must be 16 years of age or older by Jan. 1, 2015 to apply.  The deadline to apply is June 21, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON was the number-one new Canadian series of the 2014 fall television season. The series also features an interactive television component that allows viewers to play along on mobile devices. It is one of the most popular interactive experiences ever produced in Canada, with over 180,000 app downloads and one million intelligence tests completed.

CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON, hosted by Jessi Cruickshank, will return with all-new episodes this fall on CBC Television.

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