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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Chopped Canada premieres January 2

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Dean_McDermott_207637d3f7d5e

From a media release:

MYSTERY INGREDIENTS. CELEBRITY JUDGES. NO THYME.

  • Highly Anticipated Chopped Canada to Debut Thursday, January 2 at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network Canada

It’s chop or be chopped in the brand new, high-stakes, food competition series Chopped Canada. Food Network Canada and Paperny Entertainment today revealed the list of 52 Canadian competitors who will cook-off in the first half of Chopped Canada’s inaugural season. Premiering on Thursday, January 2 at 10pm ET/PT, Chopped Canada is hosted by Toronto-native Dean McDermott (Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off season two winner) and features a rotating panel of all-star judges including Lynn Crawford (Pitchin’ In), Chuck Hughes (Chuck’s Day Off), Michael Smith (Chef Michael’s Kitchen), Susur Lee (Top Chef Masters), Roger Mooking (Heat Seekers), Vikram Vij (Top Chef Canada seasons 1 and 2), John Higgins (George Brown College), and Anne Yarymowich (formerly FRANK Restaurant).

Chopped Canada is the first Canadian edition of the hugely popular Food Network U.S. series Chopped. After an extensive cross-Canada search, the brand new edition shines a spotlight on this country’s wealth of culinary talent from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Newfoundland and North West Territories. For a full list of competitors, including biographical information, please visit choppedcanada.ca.

Each episode in this cut-throat series pits four chefs against the clock – and each other – for a chance to win $10,000. Cooking off in head-to-head challenges before the panel of expert judges, the competitors put their skill and ingenuity to the test in an attempt to turn a basket of mystery ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal within a limited amount of time. Course by course, the judges chop the chefs from the competition until only one remains.

This season’s competitors will face off in the Chopped Canada kitchen outfitted by KitchenAid®, the official appliance sponsor of Chopped Canada. Chopped Canada premieres January 2, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT exclusively on Food Network Canada. For behind-the-scenes extras, episode recaps and to watch full episodes online after they’ve aired, visit choppedcanada.ca.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Meet The Sloths (and other deadly sins)

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sloths

Have you met the sloths?

If your immediate response was anything other than “OMG, I love the sloths, they are so cute, squeeeeeeeee!” you clearly haven’t met these unbelievably mellow creatures, with their Mona Lisa smiles and zen-like demeanour. They are the animal equivalent of Buddha, or possibly Cheech and Chong.

Where can you hang with the sloths? At the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, of course. This one-of-a-kind facility rescues, rehabilitates and houses countless sloths. But if Costa Rica is a bit too far, you can always tune into tonight’s season premiere of Meet The Sloths on Animal Planet.

There is a great deal to learn about these enigmatic creatures, but this quick primer should get you caught up on your sloth studies.

What you need to know:

  1. The most interesting thing about sloths is their poop
  2. You can gauge a sloth’s health by its poop
  3. Sloths only poop once a week
  4. Pooping is virtually the only time they descend to the ground
  5. Sloths don’t just descend and poop, they do a “poop dance”
  6. Seriously, the sanctuary’s staff is so obsessed with sloth poop that you’d think it was laced with 24k gold

Don’t believe me? Watch this clip:

Defecation aside, the new season also delves into the romances and clandestine affairs of the sanctuary’s furry inhabitants. In episode 2 we meet “Brad Pitt,” an unusually handsome wild sloth who is helpless to resist the siren call of the females. By siren call I mean a high pitched shriek that could possibly shatter glass. Poor Brad scales concrete walls in dogged pursuit of the ladies, and unfortunately adds lust to his other obvious deadly sin.

You know … sloth … deadly sin … just watch the movie Seven and you’ll get it.

Animal Planet’s Meet The Sloths premieres today, Saturday, November 23 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

New Friday: Marketplace, The Fifth Estate

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CBC, Marketplace – “Price Wars”
A hidden camera investigation by MARKETPLACE has revealed that automakers are blocking Canadians from taking advantage of cheaper prices south of the border, to protect inflated prices in Canada. MARKETPLACE went undercover at over a dozen car dealerships in Bellingham, Washington and Buffalo, New York – where dealer after dealer said they couldn’t sell us a car, simply because we’re Canucks. Dealers confess that the car giants north and south of the border have quiet deals to keep prices high in Canada. We’re told if they ignore the deal, dealerships can lose their franchise. The biggest consumer frustration – even cars manufactured in Canada are sold cheaper across the line.

The Fifth Estate, CBC – “The Conspiracy Files: JFK and 9/11”
When national tragedies occur they naturally trigger painful soul-searching. Whether it is the murder of JFK or the dreadful events of 9/11, Americans have searched long and hard for answers. In both cases a national consensus emerged over time about the single gunman who shot JFK… and the reasons the towers collapsed on 9/11. But some still question the so-called ‘official version’ of history. They passionately believe in other – often radical – explanations. And they think there might be conspiracies to hide the real truth.

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Played, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

New Thursday: Played, The Nature of Things, Doc Zone

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Played, CTV – “Poison”
The C.I.U. believes a bad batch of drugs is killing young hipsters at an illegal after-hours club. Trying to ignore their attraction to each other, Khali (Agam Darshi) and Jesse (Adam Butcher) go clubbing, looking for answers. Jesse thinks he can score names from the cheeky bartender Beetle (Kacey Rohl), while Khali’s undercover skills are tested when she tries to tease information from the club owner (Sebastien Roberts). But the deaths are not overdoses, they’re murders. With the killer’s gun aimed at Jesse, Khali makes an intensely emotional appeal to save his life.

The Nature of Things, CBC – “A Dog’s Life”
A Dog’s Life reveals how our best friends perceive the world – from the moment they take their first morning walk to the time they curl up at our feet to go to sleep. We accompany Daisy, a Jack Russell Terrier, through an average day and on the way discover that, while dogs are not miniature humans, they are amazingly well adapted to life with us.

Doc Zone, CBC – “The Condo Game”
Goes behind the scenes to reveal what is fueling the remarkable condo-building boom in Toronto (North America’s biggest condo market). The film also looks back at Vancouver’s ‘leaky condo’ scandal and the lessons learned from that experience – one that led to reforms and a rethink about condo development in that city.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Canadian Pickers calls it quits

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From a media release:

THE CANADIAN PICKERS HANG UP THEIR COWBOY HATS

  • Final Episodes of Canadian Pickers Air on HISTORY in December
  • All-Day Marathon Leads into Final Two Episodes on Monday, December 23

Scott Cozens and Sheldon Smithens, the Canadian Pickers, have picked their way from coast to coast, buying and selling unique pieces of Canadian history. Over the course of 52 episodes across four seasons, the Pickers have revealed diverse aspects of Canada’s fascinating past through the objects they bought and the people they met. This December, HISTORY concludes the final season of Canadian Pickers with four new episodes, and a special all-day marathon leading into the final two episodes of the series.

The distinctively Canadian series highlights the regions, people, history and traditions that make the country exceptional. Over the course of the four seasons, the Pickers have met Henri Richard, buying pieces of the tavern formerly owned by the famed Montreal Canadian hockey player; challenged each other to drink the notorious Sour Toe Cocktail at the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City’s Downtown Hotel; and picked items for the Western-themed country home of Canadian country music star George Canyon. Each episode has told a different story about Canada, bringing to light both the iconic Canadian legends that have made history, and the little-known but equally remarkable stories of the country’s past.

The final four episodes include a first-ever Canadian Pickers event, which sees Scott and Sheldon traveling to the United Kingdom in hopes of buying an iconic Wild West collection with a Canadian twist. On a trip to Nova Scotia, the guys visit the ultimate man cave and make a staggering offer for the entire collection. And in the final episode, a pick from season three is brought full circle, when Scott and Sheldon travel to Kamsack, Saskatchewan to return the long-lost hunting rifle of a First Nations Chief to the Coté First Nation.

The first of the final episodes air on December 2 and 16 at 8pm ET/PT, and on December 23, an all-day Canadian Pickers marathon leads into the final two episodes of the series at 8pm and 9pm ET/PT.

All four seasons of Canadian Pickers can be watched online at www.history.ca, along with interview clips and behind-the-scenes videos. Fans of the series can also visit www.canadianpickers.com to join the Pickers community and browse items up for auction.

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