Canada AM‘s Jeff Hutcheson announces retirement

Jeff, the very best to you in the next transition in your life. I retired two years ago, but before that, I woke up to the AM gang. Loved it, the laughs, the classy ways of all of you. Bev and Marci must feel like their brother is leaving. I’m trusting you that you aren’t hiking off to live with Kelly Ripa to replace Michael! KIDDING. Enjoy. —Beverley

One of the reasons I watch Canada AM is because of Jeff’s genuine character, sense of humour and all around likability. He gets my day off to a happy start. I am happiest when he, Bev and Marci are all there together—you can tell they have a wonderful relationship. He will definitely be missed, but who could deny him a well-deserved retirement? I wish him all the best and hope he’ll drop by Canada AM on Skype or in person, now and again. Happy everything, Jeff! Enjoy every minute in good health. —Sharon

Donnie steals the spotlight in Orphan Black

I think Kristian Bruun is spectacularly talented, just like Maslany, and is getting a chance to showcase it on this show. It’s so fun to watch more and more of this couple because they are such a spectacularly dysfunctional, want-to-look-perfect suburban couple. When I first saw the fertility clinic scene, I knew he was going to call her and they would do some role play over the phone. They are so into each other in these weird ways, she really gets off on his neediness … did you catch the admiring glance they threw each other when he said, “Clear, concise, and colour coded, well done.” I thought that was a kind of foreplay for them! Then when he said Air Italia, I thought, ‘Oh, they’re into accents?!!!!’ ROFLMAO. More serious aspects of show aside, this was just wonderful, as good or better than the money-in-the-bedroom scene. The two lead actors are probably letting improv dictate this chemistry, and the results are fantastic. You get plenty of literary references, both are college educated, they have adopted children of colour specifically. So now we can predict that with Donnie asking Helena to be understanding of his wife’s envy, that Helena will go out of her way to make Alison feel very included in her pregnancy. Hand on belly and everything. They better do this. It’s what you do for a sestra, innit?

I LOVE this show and the actors they’ve assembled are amazing (Jordan, too). I’m seriously thinking of writing my own weekly blog on this show and a few other semi-sci-fi (highly speculative fiction!) shows I love. I think we will get to see Donnie and Alison get to experience pregnancy through Helena—we saw an inkling of this when Donnie and Helena went to the ultrasound together—they both are giving each other something the other never had: families, and babies. How beautiful is this show on some cosmic level? Amidst all this ugly manipulation, for-profit-minded genetic tampering, and weird subcultures (bifurcated dicks and sister-kissing, no less), there is this amazing undercurrent of love, and of challenging of notions about what constitutes “kin.” This is what I believe this show is all about on an emotional level. And the biotech angle is just whipped cream on the cake … hey there is an idea for Donnie and Alison to explore! —Heather

Jennifer Valentyne exits Breakfast Television Toronto

I have no idea how some of you could talk about Jen’s Live Eye segments as if they were a waste of time. They made the show worth watching. She will be missed greatly by so many of us long time BT viewers for a reason: she was simply fantastic! Charming, funny, enthusiastic, full of energy, personable, beautiful and so on. Good luck Jennifer V. No, I will not be watching BT very much at all anymore. Idiotic decision by The Rogers Corp. to let her go. —Todd

I am so sad to hear that BT let Jen go. Well, no more BT and CityLine. Back to Canada AM. —Mary

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