From James Bawden:
TVO’s The Polar Sea Breaks All Boundaries
It challenges one to drop our addiction to bite size bits of TV nothing and proudly shows the medium is more than mindless reality shows and 24/7 hysterical TV news coverage. The Polar Sea initially shocked me because it is deliberately slow moving and purposeful. It follows a bunch of amateur sailors as they attempt to make a treacherous voyage through the Northwest Passage. Continue reading.
From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:
A rare glimpse the odd dynamic of twins
Twins. Oh my, the notions we have. Oh, how the popular culture has struggled to portray twins – essentially, a matter of twins being either cute or evil. Continue reading.
From a media release:
OLN Announces 2015 Mid-Season Schedule
Tuesday, Jan. 6:
Close Up Kings: Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning Tuesday, Jan. 6
**New Series**
**OLN Original**
Close Up Kings brings audiences the adventures of three best friends, who also happen to be America’s top sleight-of-hand artists. Magick Balay, Loki, and Johnny Blaze travel from city to city taking on different challenges and attempting to outperform one another. Viewers will be enthralled by the trio’s carefully orchestrated and artfully executed capers and tricks that become more complex as the stakes get higher. From bringing a bird back to life and teleporting a person 700 yards across the desert, to performing an amazing Houdini-style jail escape in front of a crowd, these magicians will have audiences asking, “how did they do that?!â€
The series premiere episode sees the NYC magicians escape a hardcore prison – restrained in strait jackets, padlocks and chains! Magick, Loki and Jonny wow crowds with tricks at Time Square and a disappearing act in Central Park while in the Big Apple.
Thursday, Jan. 8:
Storage Wars Canada: Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning Thursday, Jan. 8
**Season 2**
**OLN Original**
The stakes are even greater on Season 2 of Storage Wars Canada as tensions amongst the buyers are at an all-time high. In addition to the stress of competition on the auction circuit, the buyers face a lot of major decisions with new business ventures on the horizon. Coming together with different levels of experience and knowledge, these buyers only have one thing in common: they will do anything to get what they want, and what they want is to find the next big deal.
In the Season 2 premiere episode, Roy hires bodyguards to keep the riff raff away at an auction in Brampton. Then, Bogart quits… but just when he thinks he’s out Paul tries to pull him back in. Celebrity guests include Canadian healthy living advocates Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod Body Break), as well as Canadian National Cricket Team player Harvir Baidwan.
Need to catch up? Catch the Storage Wars Canada marathon December 25 from 10 a.m. – 2 a.m. (check local listings) on OLN.
The Liquidator: Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning Thursday, Jan. 8
**Season 4**
**OLN Original**
Liquidation King Jeff Schwarz is back – haggling, trading, and bulldozing his way through a new season of high-octane buying and selling. This season turns up the heat as Jeff tests the boundaries of his business, going after deals outside his comfort zone that few other liquidators would dare touch.
In the Season 4 premiere episode of The Liquidator Daniel makes deals for a load of LED screens and Chinese merchandise without consulting Jeff. Meanwhile a cattle farmer wants to trade a steer for some furniture, so Jeff goes whole-cow into the beef business – but a mathematical error leaves him red-faced in front of new employee Ian.
Need to catch up? Catch The Liquidator marathon December 24 from 10 a.m. – 2 a.m. (check local listings) on OLN.
The Fifth Estate, CBC – “The Unmaking of Jian Ghomeshi”
Jian Ghomeshi was the break-out success the CBC needed. There were always whispers and allegations — but he seemed untouchable. Did stardom blind people to what was really happening? Gillian Findlay investigates.
Marketplace, CBC – “Shot of Confusion”
Some health practitioners are discouraging Canadians from vaccinating and selling them alternatives that can put kids at risk.
From Bill Brioux of the Canadian Press:
This Hour Has Seven Days was part of Canadian TV’s ‘golden age’
Imagine a TV show that was a mash-up of 60 Minutes and The Daily Show. Fifty years ago, Canada had such a show in This Hour Has Seven Days. An episode of the series, plucked from the CBC archives, was screened recently at the 2nd annual Canadian International Television Festival in Toronto. Combined with a couple of shows from the 1970s — Party Game and The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour — it offered a glimpse at what could be argued was Canada’s “golden age†of television: the mid 1960s through mid-’70s. Continue reading.
