Daniel Cook, who has appeared as a special correspondent on the The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “Amazing Kids” episode as well as eTalk and ET Canada, has a brand new project, the This is Daniel Cook. Here we are! CD. This album, available on April 10, features 26 songs, including a special track Daniel co-wrote with Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) called It’s Daniel Cook. The song first appeared on an episode of the hit show “This is Daniel Cook”, which airs in North America on Treehouse, TVOntario, Playhouse Disney, Knowledge Network, ACCESS and SCN.

Besides Ed Robertson, the This is Daniel Cook. Here we are! CD features vocal performances by Universal recording artist Melissa McClelland, Keith Macpherson (“Canadian Idol” and pop group Easily Amused) and “Canadian Idol” vocal coach Sarah Morrison. Melissa McClelland – who performed the original This is Daniel Cook Theme Song – provides vocals on a brand new extended version. The CD was mixed by Juno Award winner and Rush producer Terry Brown and also features some of Toronto’s top musicians.

In the award winning live action “This is Daniel Cook” show, host Daniel Cook explores, learns and creates with everyone from chocolatiers to musicians and from firefighters to dog trainers. The show captures the perspective of a young boy in a unique way that entertains and teaches. The inspiration for the songs on the CD came directly from the show, such as a freshly recorded version of Raffi’s If I Had a Dinosaur, which relates to the two episodes where Daniel Cook learns about his favourite dinosaur the Giganotosaurus and digs up dinosaur bones.

The CD is a collaboration between The Children’s Group and marblemedia distribution and is based on the hit TV series “This is Daniel Cook,” produced by marblemedia and Sinking Ship Productions. The album includes original songs, classic favourites such as Puff The Magic Dragon and The Candy Man and traditional children’s music. The CD is an eclectic mix of musical styles designed to introduce children (and their parents) to the wonderful sounds of classical, pop, big band, country, polka, hip hop, celtic and more.

The This is Daniel Cook. Here we are! CD is marketed by The Children’s Group, the leading presenter of storytelling and classical music and CDs for children. The CD is distributed in Canada and the United States by KOCH Entertainment Distribution. Suggested retail price: $15.99 in the U.S. / $13.99 in Canada. The CD is also available on Daniel’s website www.thisisdanielcook.com.

From Lee-Anne Goodman of the Canadian Press:

• Designer Guys breathe new life into retreat
  “But before HGTV’s Designer Guys got their hands on the late Pierre Berton’s childhood home in the Far North, the decor of the two-bedroom clapboard house looked like it could be located in any cookie-cutter subdivision in any urban sprawl suburb in Canada.”

From Blogcritics:

• DVD Review: Twitch City The Complete Series
  “Born in the land of Marshall McLuhan, Twitch City rides a psychological roller coaster that resides just below the conscious, its underlying metaphors and themes undercutting the norms of both society and the unreal world that is television”
  • Twitch City DVD on Amazon

From Slice:

• Looking for Canadians Who Want to Do Something – Anything – Before They Die!
• The List premieres on Sliceâ„¢ in Oct. 2007

From running away to join the circus to singing in a superstar rock band, The List is about fulfilling life-long dreams and indulging in guilty pleasures. The producers of this new Sliceâ„¢ series are looking for Canadians across the country who want to accomplish an item on their ultimate life to-do list on television. Intrepid host Liza Fromer (former co-host of Toronto’s Breakfast Television) will facilitate the chosen applicant’s dream – while participating in each adventure herself. The 26 x 30′ episodes begin airing on Sliceâ„¢ in October 2007. The series is produced by Cineflix Productions.

“If welcoming Liza to Sliceâ„¢ weren’t exciting enough – we are thrilled to now start casting for her new primetime series The List with Cineflix,” says Vanessa Case, Vice President, Content, Sliceâ„¢, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. “Everyone has something they wish they could do, but because of limited time, money or simply courage, haven’t yet. We have no doubt this concept will result in overwhelming requests to be on the show.”

Anyone who longs to fulfil a lifelong wish – from wing walking on an airplane to bathing in diamonds – should email thelist@nextfilm.ca. Applicants can nominate themselves or a family member, Emails should include what is on the applicant’s list and why that person should have their dream come true. The open casting call is for men and women 18 years and up. Additional details are available at www.slice.ca/About/CastingCall.aspx.

Premiering on Sliceâ„¢ in October 2007, The List is required viewing for those who want to live life to the fullest. In each episode, host Liza Fromer goes on a rollercoaster ride of fulfilling other people’s dreams, ambitions and decadent desires. From tasting every dessert in a bakery and strutting on the catwalk to starting a food fight, The List is a constant surprise to the viewers…and to Liza.

Prior to joining Sliceâ„¢, Liza Fromer spent five years as co-host of Citytv’s Breakfast Television in Toronto. She graduated from Ryerson University with a degree in Radio and Television and is a highly respected Canadian broadcast journalist. Previously, she worked as a columnist for TV Guide Canada. Her first foray into broadcasting was driving the Q107 Community Cruiser. She later launched her television career at YTV as the co-host of both the “Video & Arcade Top Ten” and “Clips”. From 1995 to 1997, she hosted “Good Morning Toronto” on The Weather Network and later became the weekend anchor and reporter at A-Channel in Calgary, anchoring the station’s first-ever newscast. Fromer has also had stints with The Discovery Channel and CBS’s Newspath.

Sliceâ„¢ is an Alliance Atlantis Network. For more information please visit www.slice.ca.

From Playback:

• Bang! Ouch! Worst Handyman returns
  “Canada’s Worst Handyman 2, which fills the 10 p.m. timeslot starting April 16, puts five contestants to work building “eco-sheds,” which will be auctioned off on eBay.ca, along with a sixth constructed by the show’s two experts – a contractor and a carpenter, who are charged with whipping the worst handymen into shape. The six successful bidders will then be featured in the finale in June. All proceeds from the online initiative go to Habitat for Humanity Canada.”