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The State Of Canadian TV, Part II
So there I was at my favorite Greek restaurant on Danforth Avenue with three of my favorite people involved in Canadian TV: a veteran publicist, a veteran actress and a well known producer.Here are...
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Bitten Is Back For Season 3
It's not everyday that Canadian TV ventures into the supernatural.Way, way back I can remember being on the set of the CTV hit (Forever Knight.It was in 1996 and Geraint Wynn Davies was a blonde...
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First Dates' Valentines Special: Very Cute Indeed
So there I was at a very swank dinner party and as usual I was lamenting the lack of Canadian series on Canadian TV channels."I watch First Dates all the time," said the woman opposite me, dressed in...
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Wolverine Documentary: A CBC-TV First
I freely admit I knew next to nothing about wolverines.And then I watched the preview tape of CBC-TV's Nature Of Things documentary: Wolverine: Ghosts Of The Northern Forest.For the very first time...
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The Equalizer Pits Past And Present Sports Legends
I remember in 1971 when I was a lowly summer student at The Globe And Mail I was ordered at short notice to rush out to Toronto';s Park Plaza hotel and interview Olympic running great Jesse Owens.He'd...
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Why Canadian TV Producers Don't Want To Make A Downton Abbey
So there I was Saturday night at a fancy dress party and all the upscale guests were making plans for stating home Sunday night to watch the last episode of Downton Abbey."Why can't Canadian TV make a...
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Is TV Becoming A Drag?
Is it just me or has TV become a drag?No, I'm perfectly serious about this after sampling the new series Delmer & Marta.I mean every week I'm watching Mrs. Brown's Boys (starring Brendan O'Connor)...
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Why Dr. Jennifer Gardy Deserves Her Own TV Series
It hasn't been the best of TV seasons for the CBC.Big new series have flopped badly, I'm afraid to say.What's needed is an influx of new shows that can guarantee sturdy ratings.Which is why I'm...
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Colwater Cowboys: True Canadian TV
I had a delightful telephone chat with skipper Rick Crane one of six captains to star in the series Cold Water Cowboys.The third season has just started on Discovery running Tuesdays at 8 p.m.I've been...
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The War At Home: Must See TV
"It was a true story I felt compelled to tell," says veteran director Shelley Saywell.She's talking about her profoundly disturbing new documentary The War At Home which premieres on CBC-TV's Firsthand...
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Go Back To Where You Came From: Must See TV
Few Canadian ever get a chance to watch much Australian TGV.But there's a series from Down Under running Thursdays on TVOntario that positively ranks as must-see TV.Titled Go Back To Where You Came...
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Bruno & Boots Effortlessly Transfers To TV
I remember young cousins of mine were all over the books about Bruno & Boots adventures at Macdonald Hall not so many years ago.And now Bruno & Boots: Go Jump In The Pool has been effortlessly...
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Game Of Homes Back For Season Two
"You're supposed to be a TV critic from way back when," snapped my best friend and neighbor."Yet every time I drop in you are not watching PBS or TVO."Instead it's Flip Or Flop or Love It Or List It....
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I Remember Doris Roberts
ATX quickly cancelled a proposed reunion of the cast of Everyone Loves Raymond after the death of Doris Roberts.The fifth annual ATX Television Festival had been planning a grand on stage reunion of...
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TV Critic Tells All!
Meanderings and mutterings from the messy desk of your friendly, neighborhood TV critic:ROTTEN TV: People are always asking me about the rotten state of TV these days.I used to blame imbecilic...
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I Remember Morley Safer
So there I was --the kid TV critic of the Hamilton Spectator-- and I was in 60 Minutes office of Morley Safer in New York City.I know exactly the day without looking it up --Safer had three TV sets in...
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CBC-TV Makes A Comeback
I've seen the future of Canadian TV and it includes a bigger role for CBC-TV.I never thought that way last season as the public network's ratings sagged and government funding was slashed.To see for...
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My Millennial Life: TV Worth Catching
For TV viewers May is often the cruelest month.The big networks end their seasons and veer into a long, hot summer of reruns.Which mean you have absolutely no excuses for missing the new documentary...
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I Remember Alan Young
In my days as a TV critic I'd toddle down to Los Angeles several times a year to interview the likes of Lucy Ball or Hank Fonda or Jim Garner.Imagine my joy when I walked into an interview room at the...
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