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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
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In the news: Corner Gas radio broadcasts

From a CTV media release:

Cross-Country Radio Stations Descend Upon Dog River to Celebrate Corner Gas Season Premiere, Sept. 18

– National radio campaign supports Season 4 premiere of Corner Gas –

Toronto (September 13, 2006) – Canada wakes up in Dog River this coming Monday, September 18 when eight radio stations from across the country broadcast live from the set of Corner Gas in advance of the series’ season premiere that night on CTV. It is the latest in a series of innovative marketing outreach campaigns by CTV that have contributed to Corner Gas becoming Canada’s favourite homegrown TV program and Number 1 comedy series. Led by star Brent Butt, the entire Corner Gas cast will begin a marathon seven-hour national radio broadcast beginning at 3 a.m. local time with C100 in Halifax and continuing until 10 a.m. when Vancouver’s Jack FM wraps up their morning show. In between, the Corner Gas crew will be live on-air with additional radio stations from Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Edmonton. The eight stations will broadcast live from the Corner Gas set at Regina’s Canada / Saskatchewan Production Studios.

Never attempted before, the radio campaign gives fans a chance to experience the prairie charm of Corner Gas by tuning in to some of Canada’s most listened-to radio shows on the morning of the fourth season premiere. Complete morning teams and correspondents will set up right inside the familiar Corner Gas sets of The Ruby, Oscar and Emma’s house, the Dog River Police Department and Mayor Fitzy’s office as Brent Butt and his Corner Gas cast mates stop and visit with each morning crew. The day prior to the broadcast, the radio station representatives will visit neighbouring Rouleau, Saskatchewan (aka Dog River), and receive a special tour of the series’ on location sets.

“Taking the Corner Gas experience to the radio platform represents a novel and innovative outreach effort to find even more viewers for Canada’s Number 1 comedy series,” said Mike Cosentino, CTV Vice-President of Communications.

Other elements of the campaign include listen-and-win contesting with the radio stations where Corner Gas fans can win a walk-on role in Season 5 of the series. The campaign is being supported by 30-second on-air promos on CTV in each local market driving viewers to tune in to the participating radio station for contest details. The campaign was created in-house at CTV.

The eight radio stations participating in the event are C100 (Halifax), 93.9 BOB-FM (Ottawa), The New Country 95.3 (Toronto), Hot 103 (Winnipeg), 104.9 The Wolf (Regina), 96.9 Jack FM (Calgary), CISN Country 103.9 (Edmonton) and 96.9 Jack FM (Vancouver).

Viewers can fill-up with a whole new fourth season of laughs when Corner Gas returns with 19 half-hour episodes on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 18 on CTV (check local listings). The new season will also air Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, beginning Sept. 23 on The Comedy Network.

In the Season 4 premiere, the laughter continues as Karen makes Emma mad when she agrees to cut Brent’s hair. As well, Davis is after Oscar to replace his muffler, which is as loud as it is old.

For everything Corner Gas, visit www.cornergas.com.

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Hockey: A People’s History to premiere September 17

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From a CBC media release:

Epic five-part series traces Canada’s first steps on the ice

Hockey: A People’s History launches this Sunday, September 17th at 8 p.m. on CBC Television with back-to-back episodes.

In the premiere episode, A Simple Game, the origins of hockey are traced back to the ancient pyramids and seen in different forms throughout the world. When the puck is dropped in 1875 one winter’s night in Montreal, a young country has a new passion that explodes across class and gender, creating Canada’s most honoured game.

The episode traces the remarkable evolution of the game and introduces the men and women from all across Canada who will make it their own. It’s the story of visionaries, of a Renaissance man such as James Creighton, the unlikely candidate to be this country’s founding father of hockey, Lord Stanley of Preston, who gives the sport its Holy Grail and the Mic Mac Indians who emerged as the first manufacturers of hockey equipment.

In the second episode, The Money Game, millionaires and mercenaries team up to create professional hockey. For the first time, young men from the working class will make a living playing hockey. The creation of the Montreal Canadians and advancement of hockey’s first super stars, like Fred “Cyclone” Taylor, the highest paid athlete of the day, leads to the creation of the NHL. The structure of hockey as we know it today is formed when the Patrick brothers build Canada’s first artificial ice arenas in Vancouver and Victoria and conceive rule changes that are still in use in today’s game. Among them, the introduction of the blue line, line substitutions, post schedule playoffs, points for assists and forward passing – the key innovation that leads to hockey becoming the fastest game on two feet.

Hockey: A People’s History will air every Sunday at 8 p.m. until October 15 with two one-hour episodes each evening. Series narrator Paul Gross is accompanied by hockey “philosophers” (experts in the field) Wayne Gretzky, Ken Dryden, Michael McKinley, Alison Griffiths, Jean Beliveau, Stephen Brunt, Don Cherry, Daniele Sauvageau, and Bruce Dowbiggin, among others. Hockey: A People’s History is a collaboration between CBC Television and Société Radio-Canada and is produced by the award-winning team who created the nationally acclaimed series Canada: A People’s History.

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Rick Mercer Report

CBC comedies return in October

From a CBC media release:

If Laughter is the Best Medicine, Then CBC Television’s Comedy Lineup is the Cure Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 3

Comedy is back with a bang on CBC Television, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. Audience-favourites THE RICK MERCER REPORT, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES and ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE return for a hilarious new season, while JUST FOR LAUGHS inhabits Sunday nights, readying viewers for the work week ahead with lots of laughs.

THE RICK MERCER REPORT debuts Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. in HD with more unpredictable antics from Canada’s top political satirist. There’s nothing Mercer won’t do to get a good story. Last season, Mercer followed the candidates on the campaign trail, rode a bull with Jann Arden, submerged himself in sub-zero ice water, put his arm into a cow’s stomach, and held his breath on a death-defying luge ride. Who knows what he’ll be up to in Season Four? One thing is certain. He’ll be on the road each week, from the far North to Parliament Hill, showing viewers what’s strange, controversial and, especially, funny. Mercer will provide witty and incisive reports on the Canadian political scene, take aim at the week’s headlines and newsmakers, and continue to send-up popular advertising campaigns. And of course, no Mercer Report would be complete without one of his signature rants.

Returning for its 14th season, Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 8:30 p.m., the award-winning hit comedy series THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES skewers media manipulation, political wind-baggery, and the public relations balderdash that Canadians have come to know and endure in their daily lives. Armed with satire, ambush, sketch comedy and parody, 22 Minutes happily wades into the fray of world events. THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES stars the real official Opposition, Cathy Jones, Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder and Gavin Crawford.

With new features, ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE continues to be “must-watch” comedy for over a million Canadians, premiering Friday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m., in HD. Hitting the week’s headlines with a new mix of characters, quirky “farce films”, goofy animations and special effects; Air Farce delivers a tight half-hour of current comment, political potshots, and lifestyle observations. The Farce stars Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon and Alan Park.

JUST FOR LAUGHS is taped at Montreal’s renowned international comedy festival, the world’s largest and most prestigious all-comedy event. The Gemini Award-winning series showcases the best comedians from Canada and around the world. This season, the series moves to Sunday nights, beginning Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. The season kicks off with Monty Python founding member John Cleese hosting an evening of great standup that includes Irish sensation Tommy Tiernan, Greek Montrealer Angelo Tsarouchas, Corey Kahaney, Australian comic Tim Minchin, and hometown favourite Joey Elias. This season, Gala hosts include The Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson, Seinfeld alumnus Jason Alexander, and Irish comedian extraordinaire Ed Byrne. Other comedians include Drew Carey, Jimmy Carr and Women Fully Clothed.

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