All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Children's Programming

Family Channel marks The Next Step Season 3 return

From a media release:

Fans will be falling for Family’s September schedule as the network has revealed its 2015 Fall Programming Lineup. The non-stop schedule is stocked with series, specials and movies that amount to a month full of not-to-be-missed moments. September brings the return of the #1 tween show The Next Step; the sophomore season of innovative magazine series Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage); and the Canadian TV debut of the comedy sketch sensation AwesomenessTV and Bethany Mota’s reality series Make Me Over. Also on deck this month, the premiere of the inspirational feature film Full Out, depicting the true story of UCLA gymnast Ariana Berlin.

Below is a chronological listing of detailed programming information for Family Channel’s new Fall schedule. All programming is subject to change.

 All times ET/PT

Nowhere Boys – Sneak Peek – Tuesday, September 1 at 6 p.m.
A mix of fantasy and science fiction, Nowhere Boys follows the action-packed adventures of four teenage boys who return from a school excursion to discover they’re stuck in a parallel world into which they were never born. In this first look, viewers are introduced to alpha jock Jack, golden child Sam, rebel Felix and bookworm Andy – four opposing personalities that must learn to get along when supernatural forces thrust them together. Fans can look forward to series’ official debut this October.

AwesomenessTV – Series Premiere – Friday, September 4 at 4:30 p.m.
Comedy, pranks and pop music parodies collide in this exciting new sketch show that offers a fresh, hilarious take on teen life. Weekly guest hosts include: 5 Seconds of Summer, Austin Mahone, Cimorelli, Daniella Monet, Emblem3, Fifth Harmony, Grace Helbig, Jack Griffo, Kira Kosarin, Rixton, Smosh, Sydney Park and The Vamps.

Make Me Over – Series Premiere – Friday, September 4 at 6 p.m.
Fashion influencer Bethany Mota gives everyday teens the surprise of a lifetime in the brand new reality series Make Me Over. With her Glam Squad in tow, Bethany is on a mission to make everyone feel like the most beautiful version of themselves, and to stand up in support of teens who have encountered everything from bullying to body insecurities.

Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage) – Season 2 Premiere – Monday, September 7 at 6 p.m.
Set in Jesse’s parents’ tricked out garage, Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage) stars real-life video game addicts Jesse Sukunda, Julia Schwartz and Ian Duchene, a trio of quirky young teens who have created their own YouTube channel devoted to gaming. Season two explores the exciting world of gaming through insightful reviews, head-to-head competitions and cool and informative field segments. Plus, viewers can expect some surprise visits from high profile YouTube, sports, music and gaming celebs.

The Next Step – Season 3, Fall Premiere – Friday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m. 
The kicks, tricks and back flips continue as Family Channel’s hit series The Next Step returns with new episodes this fall. The one-hour premiere picks up where the mid-season finale concluded with the arrival of a mischievous new dancer visiting from the UK, and the departure of a valued team member. Despite never-ending obstacles and challenges, the A-Troupe must find the strength to support each other as a team as they travel to Miami to compete at Internationals. Following the premiere, new episodes will air regularly Fridays at 7 p.m.

Full Out – Movie Premiere – Friday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Based on real-life events, Full Out is the motivational story of Ariana Berlin (Ana Golja, Degrassi), an elite gymnast and Olympic hopeful whose life took a sharp turn after a near-fatal car accident. Following a year in rehabilitation, Ariana redirected her focus and joined a professional dance crew, incorporating many of her former gymnastics skills into the group’s hip-hop and breakdancing routines. But, she never gave up on her dream to compete again. The movie also stars Jennifer Beals (Flashdance) and The Next Step’s Trevor Tordjman and Lamar Johnson.

Big Ticket Summer Concert – Special Television Event – Friday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The hottest talent from across the globe take centre stage in this special televised presentation of the summer’s biggest party. Fans can relive the explosive live performances that took place at Family Channel’s Big Ticket Summer Concert from Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on Sunday, August 23, 2015 and catch exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses and interviews with this year’s incredible lineup including Becky G, The Vamps, Shane Harte, The Tide and the cast of The Next Step.

The Next Step Live: The Movie – Movie Premiere – Friday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Fans of the wildly popular tween drama, The Next Step, won’t want to miss this feature-length documentary that follows the series’ stars as they travel cross-country to perform in front of sold-out crowds during their two-month live stage tour. The film, which was shot earlier this year, features exclusive footage of the dancers as they prepared for their inaugural tour, including footage from the tour bus, backstage, live performances and meeting fans, as well as exclusive interviews with cast members.

Barbie in Rock’n Royals – Movie Premiere – Saturday, October 17 at 12 p.m.
In this upbeat musical, Barbieâ„¢ stars as Princess Courtney, a modern princess whose world is turned upside down when a mix-up sends her to Camp Pop and Erika, a famous rock star, to Camp Royalty. While the leaders of the rival camps try to correct the mix-up, both Courtney and Erika learn to adjust to the different worlds and have fun while making new, unexpected friends. When the girls learn both camps are at risk of shutting down, they must embrace their differences, find their true voices and come together for an epic sing-off that shows anything is possible when you dare to dream big.

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Uncategorized

Link: Television is not dead. It’s evolving.

From Adnan M. of The Arts Guild:

Television is not dead. It’s evolving.
The 2014 CRTC report showed an increase in weekly viewing from 1.3 hours in 2012 to 1.9 hours in 2013. Digital is for sure on the rise, and more people – especially in the younger age brackets of 18-35 – are opting out of traditional TV, and opting into options that allow them to consume media on multiple devices, allowing them to engage with their shows beyond the simple concept of “watching” them.

The question, however, is if TV is dying (or dead, according to some people)? No. It’s not. Continue reading.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: Cory Vitiello makes the jump from Harbord Street to television this month

From Caroline Aksich of Post City:

Cory Vitiello makes the jump from Harbord Street to television this month
The young chef is in the throes of filming a new cooking show called Chef in Your Ear. He — along with five other chefs (Rob Rossi (Bestellen), Craig Harding (Campagnolo), Devin Connell (Delica Kitchen) and Jordan Andino (Harlow Sag Harbor) — will be coaching initiate cooks through complicated recipes. The catch? They can only communicate to their proteges via an earpiece. Continue reading.

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Featured

He Said/She Said: What Canadian channels will be casualties of à la carte?

3 Comments

Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week, what Canadian channels will be casualties of à la carte?

He Said:

Earlier this year, the CRTC announced that Canadians will—by the end of 2016—have access to a $25 skinny basic cable package they can augment with a pick-and-pay structure to add more television channels to that package. That model, of course, means channels that were previously protected in packages and could count on sustained revenues will be forced to go it alone and rely on paid subscribers to keep them alive. Simply put, not all of them will make it.

With almost a year and half to go until the pick-and-pay changes take effect, there are already shifts in the industry as networks prepare. Earlier this month, Corus announced it was shuttering Teletoon Retro effective Aug. 31. Fans of Care Bears, Babar, The Smurfs and The Adventures of Tintin will have to go elsewhere for their throwback TV fix; Corus says some of those shows will migrate to Teletoon, though a list hasn’t been provided yet.

And while Corus hasn’t officially announced what is taking Teletoon Retro’s spot, the fact Disney Channel Canada launches the next day indicates the homegrown offshoot of the juggernaut will occupy that space. Corus acquired the rights to Disney Channel a month after pick-and-pay was announced and I’m pretty sure it’s not a coincidence. After all, Disney Channel will bring in way more eyeballs with Bunk’d and The Radio Disney Awards than Teletoon Retro ever did.

Other channels that may find themselves on the chopping block include Showcase, Bravo, Action, DejaView, DTour, NatGeoWild, Bio, OLN, G4, Comedy Gold, MuchLoud, MuchMoreRetro, MuchVibe and FashionTelevisionChannel. My selections are all conjecture and I have no proof any of these will be going away, but it’s a pretty safe bet that in this new television world, only the strongest will survive.

 

She Said:

My guess is that the more obscure of the specialty nets are the most vulnerable, the ones people don’t even know they have so why would they pay for them in an a la carte world?

The trick is who will keep their place on the dial as mandated must-carry channels by the cable companies, and who will fight to the death by having programming a large enough percentage of Canadians want to watch?  Canada is a small country. Can we sustain 35 million channels to go with our 35 million people?

My biggest hope with a la carte is that broadcasters will find that sharp original programming and a brand — as in, people see the name of that station and know what to expect from that station — will become an actual thing here in Canada, where something like Showcase became relegated to “that former near-soft-core network that now carries shows that could be on Global if Global wanted original programming.”

Book Television is my go-to example of a channel that has been coasting on its Category A must-carry designation with no must-watch original programming, and as such I wouldn’t mourn its loss.

The only way I can see all channels in what are currently “multiplex” channels — such as Movie Network/Movie Central along with HBO Canada and its baby M networks, or the Super Channels – surviving is if they continue to be offered as a bundle. Otherwise I’m betting all but the main Movie channels and HBO Canada will disappear.

There are some channels, like APTN or OUTtv that serve underserved populations and I’d fight for their survival — reluctantly in OUTtv’s case, since their reluctance to have original programming means letting Logo signals across the border might be a better solution — though that’s unlikely to be necessary. APTN at least has a spot on basic cable and Logo isn’t likely to be a viable alternative up here.

I’d hate to see Showcase, Bravo or OLN go under but because they are primary specialty channels of the major broadcasters, with some signature originals of their own, I am not betting on that happening anyway.

However it seems to me many of our specialty channels aren’t so special and aren’t filling an important cultural niche, so some downsizing would not be a terrible thing.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Daily Planet launches Season 21 on Discovery

From a media release:

Following a landmark two decades of science programming with its most-watched-ever season and showing no signs of slowing down, Discovery’s flagship science magazine DAILY PLANET launches its 21st season with“Extreme Machines Week”, Monday, Aug. 31 – Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. ET. On the hunt for the most  outrageous, quirky, and  “must-see” machines, Co-Hosts Ziya Tong and Dan Riskin track down everything from two-storey-tall mining machines to the world’s most powerful skateboard. And it doesn’t end there! DAILY PLANET looks at a gyrocopterchasing a world record to circumnagivate the globe, and even a pogo stick on steroids!

The 21st season of DAILY PLANET comes fresh off the heels of the series’ highest rated season ever. Final data from Numeris (BBM Canada) confirms last season was the third consecutive year the program established a new audience high, and the fifth in a row of year-over-year growth (P2+, A25-54, and A18-49). In the key A25-54 demographic, audiences were up 13% over the previous season, having increased by 60% since 2009/10.

Highlights from DAILY PLANET’s “Extreme Machines Week” include:

“Gyrocopter World Record”
Featured in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, the gyrocopter was said to be the only aircraft never to circumnavigate the globe. But that’s about to change as Norman Surplus takes to the sky to make aviation history. The autogyro pilot will cross 26 countries, flying more than 43,000 kilometres over deserts, jungles, mountains, and oceans. DAILY PLANET meets Surplus prior to the last and most treacherous part of the journey – crossing the Atlantic Ocean. If he makes it, the world record is his.

“Suction Brake”
Tired of bad drivers on the road? Fear no longer! Swedish automotive safety developerAutoliv could change the way drivers come to a complete stop. Using a massive suction cup below the car which helps the vehicle brake faster in emergencies, the Torricelli Brake  decreases stopping distances by almost half. DAILY PLANET is in the driver’s seat to find out how this technology could revolutionize traffic safety.

“Bicycle Fishing”
Amsterdam might house some of the world’s most beautiful canals, but people should probably think twice before taking a dip in one. Every year, up to 15,000 rusty bicycles are fished out of the canals by special dredge boats equipped with fishing cranes. DAILY PLANET Co-Host Dan Riskin dives alongside “bicycle fishing” experts who remove bikes from the canals for a living.

“Vurtego Pogo Stick”
Lucas Cochran, DAILY PLANET’s Tech Correspondent, is bouncing off the walls…literally! Testing out the latest in pogo stick technology, the V4 from Vurtego, Cochran bops around with inventor Ian Britt, who demonstrates how this pogo stick is a real game changer. To prove it, Britt attempts a high-flying trick he’s never done before exclusively for DAILY PLANET.

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