From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family:
By Dexter Brown
We’ve set our time machine back to 1985 and switch on CTV, Howard Bannister and the gang is on. This week on Rewind, we check out Check It Out!
Watching supermarket sitcom Check It Out! (CTV 1985-1988) in 2012 is a wild mind trip to television’s past. The show is complete with the typical 80s sitcom antics right down to the decade’s signature massive hairdos. Unabashedly retro, Check It Out! appears to be completely oblivious to the fact that it was setting itself up to look very dated very quickly.
At first glance, Check It Out!  may simply seem to be a vehicle for Get Smart’s Don Adams. This time instead of playing a spy, Adams takes the role of the store manager of a large supermarket chain. In a typical episode of Check It Out! you’ll get to see Adams’ character Howard Bannister interact with various fellow dim-witted employees and some difficult patrons. Despite its ho-hum premise and the predictable writing (compared to today’s television), it lasted a solid three seasons on CTV and even made it onto the USA network and syndication in the States.
Personally, I found it a bit jarring seeing Adams staring in a little Canadian show like Check It Out! but it was the 80s; Bea Arthur, then star of the popular series The Golden Girls was even doing commercials for Shoppers Drug Mart back then. To have American stars show up so prominently in the Canadian homegrown scripted TV business seems to be a less common phenomenon now. It’s rare to see a big-name American celebrity staring or guest starring on Canadian TV. Exceptions to the rule include Felicity and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ Amy Jo Johnson who now stars in CTV’s Flashpoint and Ed Asner of Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant fame who made a few guest appearances on Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The series shares some similarities to TBS’ 10 Items or Less which was canceled way back in 2009. 10 Items felt much like a remake of Check It Out! done in a similar style to NBC’s The Office and also added the improvisational style of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It too lasted three seasons on American cable. Neither 10 Items nor Check It Out! seemed to click with their audiences. My theory is that supermarkets aren’t the most exciting eventful places in the world and they often don’t produce the most exciting characters. But then again, CTV’s Corner Gas was set virtually in the middle of nowhere with some average middle-of-the-road characters and it turned out to be one of Canadian television’s greatest hits.
If you’d like to catch up with Check It Out! you’ll find it over on Comedy Gold.
The Listener, CTV – “Rogues’ Gallery”
At a swanky hotel bar, Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) intercepts Luke “Manny†Manson (Chad Faust, THE 4400), a renowned art thief she’s been pursing for years. His return to Toronto can only mean he’s involved in an upcoming heist and she plans to use his capture to the IIB’s advantage – to smash a huge international theft ring. With Klein’s (Peter Stebbings) consent and Dev’s (Rainbow Sun Francks) assistance, Michelle goes undercover as a security specialist for Manny’s crew. But since it’s a dangerous undertaking, and she won’t be wearing a wire, she enlists Toby’s (Craig Olejnik) telepathy for protection. Encore episode airing on Sunday, July 1 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.
From a media release:
CANADA’S TOP 20 DOROTHYS SELECTED FOR CBC’S OVER THE RAINBOW
On the heels of the nation-wide audition tour in search of Dorothy, the Top 20 Dorothys for CBC Television’s OVER THE RAINBOW have been selected. The Top 20 were chosen from the top competitors from across the country following the national OVER THE RAINBOW callback auditions, which took place in Toronto on Thursday, June 21st. Over the course of the summer, the Top 20 Dorothys will battle it out for the chance to capture one of 10 spots in CBC Television’s upcoming live competition series, OVER THE RAINBOW. The winner of the series will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Canadian production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto this December.
Canada’s Top 20 Dorothys are:
OVER THE RAINBOW is an exciting new live competition series coming this fall to CBC, produced by Temple Street Productions. The winner will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto this December. Starting in September, host Daryn Jones will introduce the 10 finalists who will compete live on OVER THE RAINBOW Sunday nights on CBC Television, singing a mixture of Broadway and pop songs each week. Then, in half-hour results episodes on Monday nights, the bottom two Dorothys (as determined by an online public vote) will face-off and one participant will be saved from elimination by the judges. The competition will culminate in a showdown between the final three, with Lord Lloyd Webber himself in attendance, and Canada choosing the winner.
From a media release:
GLOBAL’S ORIGINAL DRAMA, ROOKIE BLUE RENEWED FOR SEASON 4
Global Television, alongside broadcast partner, ABC, announced today the early renewal of its original drama series, Rookie Blue. A bona fide hit on both sides of the border, the development on Season 4 is already underway with production gearing up to begin on August 20 in Toronto.
“Rookie Blue’s fourth season renewal in simulcast is unprecedented territory for any Canadian original series, and we’re excited to lead the way,†said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice President, Content, Shaw Media. “From its very first episode, we had no doubt that this show would resonate with viewers and today’s announcement proves it remains a dominant force in our program schedule. This is amazing news for Rookie Blue fans and the television industry.â€
Currently, Rookie Blue has consistently won its timeslot for Global since its return on May 24 – with over 1.6 million loyal fans tuning in for the Season 3 debut episode.
All-new episodes of Rookie Blue Season 3 return in simulcast starting this Thursday, June 28 – 10pm ET/PT on Global and ABC. In this week’s episode, “Girls’ Night Out,†all hell breaks loose on Traci’s first day as detective when a carload of young women from a bachelorette party slams into another vehicle, apparently killing the driver. When the police discover that the driver of the parked car was dead before the accident, Traci realizes that her “rookie†handling of the car crash may have compromised the pending homicide investigation. Meanwhile, as Gail and Chris work together on the case, Chris not only realizes he still has feelings for Gail but that he also has competition. Finally, when Traci and Andy uncover a secret the bride is desperately trying to keep, it’s a race to find the murderer before he strikes again.
Rookie Blue is a one-hour, original dramatic series that provides a candid look at the personal and professional lives of five rookie cops as they navigate their first years on the beat. Now in their third year on the job, these rookies have learned to overcome the sophomore curse — that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. With a little more experience under their belts, they’re starting to realize that not only is the uniform shaping their professional identity, but it has also started to mould them as people. How can they stay true to themselves – maintaining their individuality and compassion – along the way? This year, the rookies of 15 Division are going to have to learn to be careful what they wish for – and they are going to learn it the hard way.
Rookie Blue stars Missy Peregrym (“Heroes,†“Reaperâ€) as Andy McNally, Gregory Smith (“Everwoodâ€) as Dov Epstein, Charlotte Sullivan (“The Kennedysâ€) as Gail Peck, Enuka Okuma (“24â€) as Traci Nash, Travis Milne (“Leslie, My Name is Evilâ€) as Chris Diaz, Peter Mooney (“Camelot,†ABC’s Family/Global’s “Falcon Beachâ€) as Nick Collins and Ben Bass (“The Eleventh Hourâ€) as Sam Swarek. Also starring in the series is Melanie Nicholls-King as Noelle Williams, Matt Gordon as Oliver Shaw, Noam Jenkins as Detective Jerry Barber and Lyriq Bent as Frank Best.
Rookie Blue is executive-produced by award-winning Tassie Cameron (“Flashpointâ€), Ilana Frank (“The Eleventh Hour,†“Would Be Kingsâ€), David Wellington (“The Eleventh Hour,†“Would Be Kingsâ€) and John Morayniss. Rookie Blue is a production of ICF Film Inc. and leading indie studio and distributor Entertainment One.
