Ann Marie McQueen of Sun Media interviews Debbie Travis:

• Travis to Design new protege
  “The home design guru plans to build on her Canadian Tire products with a line of Debbie Travis branded Condos and Homes. To do that, she needs a truly talented — if not necessarily classically trained — chief designer. So after a cross-country search Travis has landed on 14 eager proteges, who will face a series of design challenges and eliminations over the course of 10 one-hour episodes airing Thursdays beginning next week.”

Scott McLemee of Inside Higher Ed writes about Twitch City and Slings and Arrows on DVD (scroll down):

• Beach Blanket Bingo
• • “Adolescence isn’t just for teenagers any more. “Twitch City,” an absurdist sitcom that premiered on Canadian television in 1998, offers one of the funniest portraits around of someone determined to avoid the demands of adult life.It ran through 13 episodes before the show ended in 2000. The recent DVD release doesn’t provide many features. Still, it’s good to have the whole series available to those of us who weren’t part of its original cult following.”
  • “Another product of Canada worth a look is “Slings and Arrows,” an ensemble comedy/drama that just finished its third and final season on the Sundance Channel. The first two (each consisting of six one-hour episodes) are now available on DVD.”

Lee-Anne Goodman of the Canadian Press talks to Dave Thomas about the upcoming “Two-Four Anniversary Special” on CBC:

• CBC to honour McKenzie brothers
  “The Trailer Park Boys may be Canada’s latest low-rent darlings, but beer-swilling hosers Bob and Doug McKenzie were blazing a proud trail of loserdom when Ricky, Julian and Bubbles were mere children.”

From Shaftesbury Films:

The case of the uncast lead is solved – Yannick Bisson to play Detective Murdoch in Shaftesbury Films’ The Murdoch Mysteries series

Shaftesbury Films Chairman Christina Jennings is pleased to announce that Yannick Bisson (Sue Thomas, F. B. Eye) will play the lead role of Detective William Murdoch in The Murdoch Mysteries, a one-hour dramatic series based on Maureen Jennings’ critically-acclaimed mystery novels and a wheel of TV movies produced by Shaftesbury. The series will air in 2008 on CHUM stations across the country.

The Murdoch Mysteries is a one-hour dramatic series set in 1895 Toronto that explores the fascinating world of William Murdoch, a young detective who uses progressive forensic techniques, such as fingerprinting, to successfully solve cases and apprehend murderers. The harshness of life in the Victorian streets is contrasted with the civilized world hiding behind the drawing room curtains of the wealthy and elite, but does the wide class divide truly separate good from evil?

The Murdoch Mysteries is produced and developed by Shaftesbury Films in association with CHUM Television, Granada International and UKTV, and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Television Fund.

Born in Montreal, Yannick moved to Toronto as a teenager where he began acting lessons. After appearing in numerous television commercials, his professional career took off when he was cast in the lead in CBC’s critically-acclaimed movie-of-the-week Hockey Night with Rick Moranis. Yannick went on to appear in numerous television series, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents; TNT’s The Pretender; CBS’s Ray Bradbury Theatre; Lifetime’s The Hidden Room; Catwalk; and PAX TV’s Twice in a Lifetime. He was a series lead in High Tide for four seasons; and Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye for three seasons; and had a recurring role in Showtime’s Soul Food. Yannick also has extensive film credits, including Rookies, which earned him a 1992 Gemini Award nomination; Young at Heart with Olympia Dukakis and Frank Sinatra; and The Moving of Sophia Myles starring Della Reese.

(Photo: CNW Group)

From Global:

Season Two Premieres Thursday, May 31, 9 p.m.

• Canada’s Most Popular Design Personality Launches ‘Debbie Travis Condos & Homes’ – Searches For a New Chief Designer

This time it’s all about talent…Debbie and Global Television are back for an all-new season of the acclaimed reality series From The Ground Up with Debbie Travis. The stakes are high as Canada’s favourite design star gets set to launch her boldest venture yet, moving into the volatile market of consumer homes…and she’s looking for a Chief Designer to make it happen from the ground up.

The first of 10, one-hour episodes debuts Thursday, May 31 – 9pm ET/PT on Global, as 14 eager protegés are put to the test – all for a chance to land this job of a lifetime. With design backgrounds ranging from interior to industrial, artistic to architectural, talent alone isn’t enough to become Debbie’s Chief Designer. On top of surviving the cut-throat world of design, it will take passion and professionalism to work alongside, and inspire, Debbie.
Continue reading From The Ground Up with Debbie Travis →