From Joel Rubinoff of the Toronto Star:

• Over the Rainbow finalist rejects show’s competitive storyline
  Instead of the snarky, girl-on-girl drama that has become a hallmark of TV talent contests, Rainbow’s teenage subjects stood together, holding hands, eternally supportive as viewers voted them off one after another while, I’m guessing, apoplectic producers wrung their hands in frustration. Read more.

Strip The City, Discovery World – “Desert City – Dubai”
Dubai is a gleaming metropolis, grown from the desert sands in just a few decades – yet it sits in one of the driest places on Earth, is pummelled by raging sandstorms, and its skyscrapers are resting on top of sand. This episode looks beneath the city’s skin to discover what keeps Dubai’s buildings standing, protects them from desert storms, and keeps residents alive in the searing heat.

Marketplace, CBC – The Dirt on Hotels (Part 1)
Marketplace puts six of the largest hotel chains in Canada to the test–with shocking results.

The Fifth Estate, CBC – “The Elephant in the Room”
The controversy over what to do with older elephants when they are ready to retire has sparked an elephant war in Toronto and Edmonton, which may spell the beginning of the end for the world’s zoos.

From Nancy J. White of the Toronto Star:

• Big Brother Canada: 10,000 apply for 14 house guest spots
  Ten thousand Canadians have applied for the 14 spots in the first ever Big Brother Canada. The national casting tour that stopped in Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Montreal and Toronto and the online audition process have all ended. Read more.