Clik here to view.
Canada's Worst Driver: I Was Wrong
Here is where I get to confess that I once was wrong.How often have you ever seen that confession from a TV critic?All I can say in my defense is that it was a very long time ago.Say 10 years.I was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Degrassi: A Canadian TV Success Story
Linda Schuyer and I, we go way, way back.I first met her when she was producing her first series The Kids Of Degrassi Street in 1979.I was still with The Hamilton Spectator in those days and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
War Story: One Of Canadian TV's Best !
I usually don't herald TV shows so early but in the case of the third season of War Story on History the entire six new episodes are worth cancelling all outside plans.War Story is all Canadian, real...
View ArticleClik here to view.
King Tut UnMasked
It's only taken 3,000 years but the secrets of the boy pharaoh King Tut have finally been unmasked.And as revealed in a new TV documentary it's not a pretty sight.Catch it all in the new Discovery...
View ArticleClik here to view.
See No Evil: Reality TV Worth Catching
I admit I hesitated just a bit when it came to previewing the first installments of the latest TV reality series titled See No Evil.But the show is Canadian after all so I decided to go with it.The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Brilliant TV Plea For Justice
Tommy Ziegler has spent more than half his life in prison, convicted of murders he could not have possibly committed.He stares out at us in his orange prison jump suit. The big glasses make him seem...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Secret Life Of Pigeons: Timely And Moving
I previewed a brilliant new CBC documentary the other day and then I rushed out to feed the pigeons at the parkette near where I live.I swear there is a connection!The CBC documentary I watched titled...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Next Step :Must Viewing for Teens
Every year I venture onto the set of The Next Step.Never heard of this Toronto made TV series?Then I'm afraid, my friend, you are definitely out of it.A few days ago I was visiting a Grade Six class...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Missing: TV At Its Best
The opening of The Missing, the new British miniseries, is exquisite and totally horrifying.An average British couple are on vacation in rural France when their five-year old goes completely...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Twins Documentary Gets Double The Exposure
It's entirely right that filmmaker Leora Eisen's new must-see documentary on identical twins should get a double exposure on both CBC-TV and the Documentary channel.The shorter 42-minute version is on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
TVO's The Polar Sea Breaks All Boundaries
Way back in 1970 when I started out as the kid TV Critic for The Hamilton Spectator things were so much easier.For one things even a paper as small as The Spec boasted its own TV coverage. Today...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Generation War: German TV Confronts World War II
When TV first popped up some sixty years ago it was hailed as a sort of widow on the world.In recent years it's been a window on dismal and mediocre American series.The rest of the world gets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Welcome To TV's Cancellation Valley
December is the saddest month of the year for U.S. TV network series.Its the time when the pink slips are issued.Instead of the bright fanfare of the new fall TV season the cancellations are done with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Message To CBC: Don't Let Republic Of Doyle Die!
My open letter to CBC re the impending demise of Republic Of Doyle is short and sweet.It's just three words: "Don't do it!"Other CBC administrators over the decades have merrily cancelled such CBC hits...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Noah's Ark: Very Close To A Holiday TV Special
I positively loathe Christmas as celebrated on TV.Every December the networks trot out those 40-year old animated specials featuring the voices of such dear and departed stars as Jimmy Durante and Burl...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bryan Baeumler Has Yet Another TV Renovation Show
A recent but long sickness left me spending my afternoons catching up on all those TV fix-it shows that dominate the cable web schedules.I can instantly spot the American versions because the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wendy Crewson Shines In Saving Hope
While waiting for Wendy Crewson to phone in I tried to think of all the times I'd ever interviewed her.I'd seen her from afar on the set of Mazes And Monsters, a 1982 Toronto made TV movie where I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Remember, I Remember
I lost a whole heck of famous friends and acquaintances this past year.Of all the celebrity deaths of 2014 I was most affected by the passing of Jim Garner.Maybe that's because I found him the most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Actually Liked Corner Gas: The Movie
I made a silly resolution not to watch Corner Gas: The Movie because I really liked the TV series.For a few bright seasons it seemed as f Canadian TV comedy was about to sparkle.Then came the duds...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ron James: Back on TV And Wildly Funny
I usually get to interview Ron James once a year when his TV series comes back on CBC.And once is enough for me --the guy is wickedly funny and once my ribs hurt a bit after a nonstop telephone chat...
View Article