Me And Doris Day
I'm Remembering Doris DayI was lucky to share an interview with the legendary Doris Day .The location was her swank dressing room at Warners' Burbank Studios in 1969Also present was the ageless TV...
View ArticleCTV Looking To The Future
That was quite a performance CTV put Thursday afternoon to an over flood crowd of potential buyers as Canada's largest private network strutted itself.It was the Annual Fall TV Preview and was as star...
View ArticleA Place Of Tide And Time Is Remarkable
Watching the current trends in Canadian TV can be hazardous to the health of a veteran TV criticI started my career in 1970 when CBC was fairly bursting with arts specials, dance profiles directed by...
View ArticleNow Let Us Praise Sean McCann
Sean McCann was one of my favourite Canadian TV character actors.His death at 83 although not unexpected creates a huge void in the Canadian TV acting community.I guess I first met and interviewed him...
View ArticleI Remember Valerie Harper
News that my friend Valerie Harper had died from cancer aged 80 was disturbing but not unexpected.Harper was battling the strange illness of cancer of the membrane of the brain lining and had several...
View ArticleThe Nature Of Things Continues To Fascinate
So here I am at Ryerson University for the retirement of eminent teacher and filmmaker David Tucker who in his day contributed several outstanding films for CBC's The Nature Of Things.And gathered...
View ArticleI Remember Rod Coneybeare
So there I was at The Hamilton Spectator in September 1971 and it was my first day on the job as TV critic.My wonderful first features editor, Alex Beer, said he wanted me to start by surveying the...
View ArticleThe Divided Brain Divides Me
CBC's Documentary channel sent me a video link to a new 78-minute documentary The Divided Brain.My left brain said no but my right brain said take a shot and since I'm an impulsive guy I watched and...
View ArticleA Kandahar Away Is Must See TV
A Kandahar Away is a complete surprise --a compelling but beguiling documentary about one man's decision to honour his home town of Kandahar by building a war memorial in another Kandahar --a Canadian...
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RCAF Is No More
The CBC caused much consternation the other day by announcing it was cancelling the venerable comedy sketch show Royal Canadian Air Face.'My neighbour heard about the news and asked me "I thought that...
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I Remember Diahann Carroll
The news of the passing of Diahann Carroll caught me off guard.I'd known the black super star had been in declining health in recent years but I was astonished she was 84 at her passing --I always...
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The Science Of Fear Will Scare You
The Science Of Fear revs up the day after Halloween which is entirely appropriate.You can catch it Friday November 1 at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV's The Nature Of Things.Director Roberto Verdeechia on the phone...
View ArticleI Remember Budd Schulberg
There I was last week watching the classic boxing movie The Harder They Fall starring Humphrey Bogart and written by Budd Schulberg --it was on Turner Classic Movies salute to Film Noir.And then I sat...
View ArticleI Remember Hal Wallis
It was June 1982 and I was still sleeping at 7 a.m. in my room at Los Angeles; Century Plaza hotel--the phone kept ringing until I picked it up."Hal Wallis here," came the booming voice. "My car will...
View ArticleCheating Hitler One Of TV's BEST Of The Season
Just when it seems quality programs on Canadian TV are fading fast along comes this special documentary that may very well be the best of the year.Called Cheating Hitler this 88-minute masterful...
View ArticleCBC's Future Is Murky
CBC-TV got a lot of deserved flack for mounting a ''new'' game show titled Family Feud Canada.Remember please --here is a pubically funded network that you the tax payers fork out almost $1 billion...
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Jayne Eastwood Gets A TV Series Lead
It's certainly no surprise to me that the incredibly talented Jayne Eastwood is busy these days making a very funny comedy series titled Hey Lady! for CBC Gem available on February 14.You see, I was...
View ArticleI Remember Daniel Taradash
In August 1983 I was again on the Television Critics tour at the Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles and I had a day off. A friend had given me the telephone number of famed screen writer Daniel...
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A New Suzuki Shines On The Nature Of Things
Here's where I admit my age as I remember the time not too long ago when two fine CBC-TV series were battling for ascendancy. In one corner there was the great This Land and in the other long running...
View ArticlePat Ferns Exits Canadian TV With A Last Flash Of Brilliance
"This is it --my last TV production," sighs legendary TV producer Pat Ferns from his B.C. headquarters."But I couldn't go out with anything more challenging. I've spent the better part of a year...
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I Remember Joyce Davidson
I first interviewed Canadian TV star Joyce Davidson when I was a cub reporter for The Globe And Mail in 1970.When I walked into her suite at Toronto's Park Plaza hotel her husband David Susskind...
View ArticleAlex Trebek And I
I first interviewed Alex Trebek in the fall of 1971/ at the old CBC Radio building on Toronto's Jarvis Street.It was a former private girls school but had been the home of CBC Radio for decades.I was...
View ArticleHere's Where I get Interviewed!
A quite brilliant graduate student dropped by the other day to interview me about my strange career as a Canadian TV Critic. Some of her questions were so brilliant I volunteered to pass comments on...
View ArticleE-Mails, I Get E-Mails!
DEAR JIM: Please explain why BBC Canada is going off the air?( Mrs. H. K. (Thunder Bay).BAWDEN: I say hurrah! The system was operated by Corus Entertainment but BBC kept its best product to be sold to...
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CBC's Nature Of Things Is Back With A Bang
I well remember the time a CBC head of production told me on the eve of The Nature Of Things's 50th anniversary he was going to cancel the venerable show at season's end.When I duly reported such...
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