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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Awards, Featured, Heartland

Heartland’s Leila Basen on her WGC Screenwriting Award Nomination

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LeilaBasen2psThis year’s Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award winners will be announced on April 22. We’ve been catching up with many of the writers nominated in the comedy and drama categories. Heartland‘s Leila Basen is nominated for her episode “Life is a Highway.”

Can you describe the episode “Life is a Highway” and how it fit into the Heartland season?

“Life as a Highway” marks the return of Chase Powers, a charismatic but incorrigible cowboy who makes an unexpected visit to Heartland and puts Amy and Ty’s relationship to the test.

What was the biggest triumph in this particular episode?

Showing the human side of a basically unredeemable character.

What does this recognition mean to you?

Heartland has been going strong for six years on the CBC, and it’s great that this year we got two WGC script nominations.

If there was one Canadian show that is no longer on the air that you could see honoured at this year’s awards, what would it be? (If you have a specific episode, even better).

My vote would be Mental Block, a tween comedy that ran two seasons, 2002 to 2004 on YTV. (Full disclosure – Mental Block was a show I co-created and wrote with David Preston.) It was a WGC Awards finalist twice in the Youth Category, but didn’t win either time because (according to one of the jurors) it was too funny for Youth and should have been in the Comedy Category. It would be great if it could win an award, even posthumously.

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Arctic Air, Mr. D, Rogue, The Ron James Show

Wednesday: Mr. D, Ron James, Arctic Air, Food Factory, Rogue

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Mr. D, CBC – “Strip Club”
Gerry suspects that Dwyer is moonlighting as a stripper and decides to find out. Lisa makes a big deal of Secretary’s Day. Gerry tries to get in on the staff lottery pool.

The Ron James Show, CBC – “Science”
Ron puts the world of SCIENCE under the microscope. Special Guests: Alanna Harkin, Marty Adams, Jonas Chernick, Sugith Varughese.

Arctic Air, CBC – “Fool Me Once”
While a winter storm hammers Yellowknife, a couples’ weekend in Calgary goes sideways after the arrival of Blake’s sister and Krista’s discovery of Bobby and Petra’s kiss.

Food Factory, Food Network Canada – season premiere
In the season premiere, viewers are treated to a step-by-step look at how sweet and crispy waffles, tangy, crunchy Doritos nachos, dreamy dark chocolate milk, and an extravagantly cheesy Indian dessert get from the production line to people’s plates.

Rogue, Movie Central/The Movie Network – “Cathy’s Song”
Jimmy deals with fallout from the firebombing. Grace investigates Jimmy’s crew with Mitch’s help. Max negotiates with the Chinese. Alec tries to get back in Jimmy’s good graces.

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Murdoch Mysteries, Seed

Canadian TV: Safe or sexy?

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From DK Latta of Huffington Post Canada:

Is Canadian TV Too Safe, Or Too Sexy?
What one chooses to focus on depends on ones agenda. There is often a desire by some to promote the idea of dull, timid Canadians…and to embrace the mystique of the edgy and fearless American. Canadian would-be hipsters quick to sneer at Canadian TV as inherently tame compared to the shiny bauble that is American TV. In this recent interview, Adam Korson, star of the new Canadian-made sitcom, Seed, takes special aim at Canadian repressed conservatism, as though that’s the main obstacle in his series’ quest for ratings — a series about a sperm donor (with animated sperm dancing across the title) and featuring single moms and same sex parents. (The fact that I don’t think the series has landed American distribution at all seems left out of the equation). Read more.

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Arctic Air

Arctic Air finale to be extended online

From a media release:

ARCTIC AIR SEASON FINALE TAKES THE SECOND SCREEN EXPERIENCE TO NEW HEIGHTS

  • For the first time in North America, witness the ARCTIC AIR story continue online in tandem with the live broadcast on CBC-TV, Wednesday, April 17 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)

For the first time in North America, the ARCTIC AIR story is extended online in tandem with the live broadcast on CBC-TV, Wednesday, April 17 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT). Leading the charge in social television history and second screen experiences in North America, ARCTIC AIR has developed a transmedia storytelling event for a thrilling season finale. This interactive episode features a gripping plotline that takes place in parallel to the events happening on the TV screen, providing access to an additional online perspective to complete the story.

In this episode, Bobby and Loreen find out that Caitlin has been taken hostage, and her kidnappers don’t want money — they want Nelson. As viewers are watching the episode unfold in real time on TV, they can also follow the action online at cbc.ca/arcticair using their preferred second screen device: Smartphone, laptop or iPad. As each commercial break occurs, a prompt will occur on the tablet, indicating that a new piece of evidence or information is unlocked and ready to view. The use of television combined with a second screen element is a viewer experience designed to present the audience with multiple perspectives to enhance the plot during a highly dramatic period in the episode.

After the episode airs, a version of the experience will be packaged for fans to access on the ARCTIC AIR website, as an extended webisode with exclusive content.

The season finale will have fans on the edge of their seats. With the clock ticking, Bobby, Krista, Mel and Tommy must find a way to rescue Caitlin without getting Nelson killed. To experience the second screen interactive extended episode in real time, visit cbc.ca/arcticair on Wednesday, April 17 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) and follow @CBCArcticAir / facebook.com/arcticair for updates.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Highway Thru Hell completes filming season 2

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From a media release:

“Highway thru Hell” completes shooting Season 2 of the wildly successful Discovery Channel television documentary series

After more than four and half months of field work and collecting more than 2000 hours of footage, Great Pacific Television is pleased to announce that they have completed filming the second season of “Highway Thru Hell”. Shooting recently wrapped on the 13 episode Discovery Channel Canada series, which has been dubbed “the most realistic” show on TV. Producer Mark Miller extends a big thank you to everyone who helped make the show possible through their cooperation and commitment to safe travel on the mountain highways. “We are stunned at how drivers have changed habits this season; we saw more winter tires, slower speeds and fewer accidents,” says Miller. “We believe this is the result of the ‘Shift Into Winter’ campaign on the provincial government’s Drive BC website and the series.”

This original Canadian series is extremely successful across the globe. Debuting on Discovery Channel, it reached 1.7 million viewers – making it the highest series premiere in Discovery Channel Canada’s history. The second season sees the series increase from eight to thirteen episodes. “Highway thru Hell” can also be seen worldwide in 170 countries. “We believe the show has helped put the beauty of the region front and centre, and can only result in a higher tourism profile,” said Miller.

Produced by Vancouver’s Great Pacific Television, viewers can climb into the cabs alongside Jamie Davis and his heavy rescue crew in British Columbia’s Cascade Mountains. Davis works with trucking companies throughout the region to help keep their trucks safe during the demanding winter season. Jamie Davis thanks all the truckers that call on his rescue team when their trucks are in trouble.

The success of making BC’s highways 1, 3, and 5 safe is a team effort. The crew from Highway Thru Hell wishes to thank VSA, EAM, the RCMP, BC Ambulance, BC Ministry of Transportation, and the Heavy Rescue crews for opening their world to viewers around the globe. “We would also like to thank the people who live in and around Hope and throughout the region for being so welcoming to our television crews,” said Miller. “It has been a truly amazing year.”

The second season of Highway Thru Hell starts airing this September on Discovery Channel Canada.

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