From Jim Bawden of the Toronto Star:
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 Cookâ€, 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 CHUM:
The wait is over! The return of the hit reality series “Canada’s Next Top Model” with Host Jay Manuel will premiere Wednesday, May 30th at 8:00pm ET/PT on Citytv stations across Canada.
After an extremely successful recruitment process, 10 young women, from across Canada have been selected to compete for the title of “Canada’s Next Top Model”. The model hopefuls will be under intense pressure to master the skills essential in the world of professional modelling – all under the watchful eye of Top Model cameras that document their every move. Each week, one girl will be eliminated and the last one standing will win the coveted title of “Canada’s Next Top Model”.
How intense will the competition get? Who can take the pressure? Who can make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of modelling? You’ll have to tune in to find out!
“Canada’s Next Top Model” will repeat on:
Led by Host/Executive Producer Jay Manuel, the expert panel of judges in the weekly evaluation of top model participants will be “FT-FashionTelevision’s” Jeanne Beker, Supermodel Yasmin Warsame and Celebrity Photographer Paul Alexander. Nole Marin joins the team as Creative Director. In addition, each episode features a special “Guest Judge”, an expert from the fashion industry, who will critique within their particular area of expertise. These industry insiders will provide the frank and expert feedback that will dash one girl’s dream and send one model hopeful home!
“Canada’s Next Top Model” is produced by Temple Street Productions, in association with CBS Paramount International Television and CHUM Television. Executive Producers are Sheila Hockin, Ivan Schneeberg, David Fortier and Jay Manuel. “America’s Next Top Model” is produced by 10×10 Entertainment and Bankable Productions. The series airs on The CW in the U.S. Executive Producers are Tyra Banks, Ken Mok and Anthony Dominici. “ANTM” is licensed in over 110 countries. “America’s Next Top Model” and the “America’s Next Top Model” format are distributed internationally by CBS Paramount International Television.
Don’t miss the premiere of “Canada’s Next Top Model” Wednesday, May 30th at 8:00pm ET/PT on Citytv.
For more information on “Canada’s Next Top Model”, log on to www.citytv.com.
Secrets, Suspicion and a Serial Killer Hide Behind the Suburban Landscape of Durham County, A New Canadian Original Series From The Movie Network and Movie Central
Premieres Monday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT
Astral Media’s The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (western Canada) present the premiere of Durham County, a daring new six-part Canadian original series premiering Monday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET on The Movie Network and 8 p.m. PT on Movie Central.
Durham County follows the tormented life of Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, Hard Core Logo; Trailer Park Boys: The Movie), a world-weary homicide detective, who moves with his wife Audrey (Hélène Joy, ReGenesis; This is Wonderland) and daughters Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf, Human Trafficking; 15/Love) and Maddie (Cecily Austin, Me Too) to a seemingly idyllic suburban community in the hopes of a new beginning.
But their new neighbour, Ray Prager (Justin Louis, Dawn of the Dead; Fallen Arches), and the work of a sinister serial killer, make life for the Sweeney family more difficult than they could have ever imagined. What their families don’t know is Mike and Ray share a history, and their unfinished business, dark secrets and explosive tension threaten to shatter their own lives as well as those around them.
In contrast to its backdrop of suburban placidity, Durham County takes a raw look into the tangled and twisted hearts, minds and motivations of the series’ characters and exposes viewers to a unique drama that breaks away from the standard police procedural genre of “who” and “how”, to explore the “why” through the complexity of human behaviour.
“Following pay-television’s success with such series as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Dexter, we know that Canadian audiences want more of these compelling, hard-hitting and brave dramas. Durham County is an extraordinary Canadian original series that delivers exactly that and is unlike any other Canadian drama,” said Michelle Marion, Director, Canadian Independent Production, The Movie Network. “It is cinematic, unflinching and offers darkly sophisticated, intelligent and bold storytelling combined with powerful performances.”
“The exceptional writing, vision and overall craft in Durham County puts it in the league of world-class drama that international audiences typically expect from the powerhouses of U.K. and U.S. television,” said Shelley Gillen, Head of Creative and Business Affairs, Movie Central. “That pay TV in this country is now commissioning multiple dramatic series of this calibre and offering them to its own viewers first, indicates a new era of Canadian drama has arrived.”
Durham County also stars Sonya Salomaa (Black Eyed Dog) as Traci Prager; Greyston Holt (Into The West) as Ray Prager Jr.; Patrick Labbé (Les Boys) as Tom Bykovski; Jean-Nicolas Verreault (Maelstrvm) as Jayson Graves; and Kathleen Munroe (Beautiful People) as Nathalie Lacroix.
The series is written by Laurie Finstad Knizhnik (Bliss, Cold Squad), directed by Adrienne Mitchell (Bliss, Drop The Beat) and Holly Dale (Cold Case, Absolution, The Collector), and executive produced by Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell (Bliss, Drop The Beat, Talk 16) and Michael Prupas (This is Wonderland, Human Trafficking, Wind in the Willows) of Muse Entertainment Enterprises.
Royal Canadian Air Farce celebrates its landmark 300th episode on CBC Television with an hour-long special AIR FARCE 300 LIVE! telecast on Friday, March 30, 8-9pm. It’s the first time in the show’s history that an episode will be telecast live in real time.
Air Farce’s regular troupe Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon, Alan Park and featured player Penelope Corrin will be joined in a guest-star line-up representing other top Canadian comedy shows — from CBC Television’s new hit, Little Mosque on the Prairie there will be Sitara Hewitt, Sheila McCarthy, and Carlo Rota, CTV’s ratings-winner Corner Gas co-star Fred Ewanuick, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes alumna Mary Walsh (whose new movie Young Triffie opens on April 6). Plus there may be a few surprise guest appearances, too.
Because it’s a live show, there will be plenty of up-to-the-minute jokes about the day’s headlines in this special, plus Farce-scope looks at lottery wins by store-owners, marijuana grow-ups, Conrad Black’s travails, and Al Gore’s environmental concerns. The Harpers and Dions (not Celine) will be skewered along with this week’s Quebec election and the new Federal Budget.
hould anything misfire, the producers predict it will add to the fun.
Royal Canadian Air Farce debuted on CBC Television on October 8, 1993 and has garnered fourteen years of awards and ratings peaks. The average-per-minute audience for Air Farce’s entire 300 episode run is over a million – an unprecedented achievement in Canadian television – and the show’s most recent New Year’s Eve special attracted 1,117,000 viewers. The series has featured guests from Prime Ministers to hockey stars, and collected two ‘Viewers Choice’ Gemini Awards, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, and a
Governor-General’s Performing Arts Award, among many other kudos.
AIR FARCE 300 LIVE! will be telecast at 8-9pm local time on Friday, March 30 (9-10pm Atlantic; 9:30-10:30pm Newf/Lab).