Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[jdobbin]

The writers strike and the uncertainty in the actors negotiations has left an opening for Canadian programming in the U.S.

Flashpoint, a CTV production has already met with success and has moved to Thursdays on CBS where it is simulcast the same night on CTV in Canada. Another CTV show, The Listener is slated to show up in the fall.

CBC has not been left out in Canadian productions hitting the U.S. airwaves with a co-producer from one of the main U.S. networks.

Last week, ABC made this announcement:

http://www.channelcanada.com/Article2329.html

CBC Television has announced production will begin on 18 TO LIFE, a new single-camera comedy pilot, and that ABC has acquired the U.S. rights to the show, marking the first time a Canadian and a U.S. network have teamed up for a half-hour prime-time comedy.

18 TO LIFE is a domestic comedy about a couple that does the unthinkable: they get married at the tender age of 18. Their parents—next-door neighbors and polar opposites—are less than thrilled, and even their peers disapprove. What gives the series its heart is that young Tom and Jessie truly love each other. They’re the right couple…at the wrong time. As the two struggle to become man and wife in a world that views them as kids, the tension between their families adds a dose of biting humor to their sweet love story. 18 TO LIFE is one part aspirational romance and two parts cautionary tale, which should endear it to teens and parents alike.

This comes on the heels of Sophie and MVP hitting U.S. airwaves this summer.

MVP is now cancelled but it has been earning rave reviews in the U.S.

Sophie was renewed and likely will be back on ABC's cable channel again next year.

One thing is certain over the last several years and that is there is a market for Canadian material in the U.S. It doesn't have to be generic either by disguising what country it is from (a lesson Flashpoint seems to be learning slowly).

It will be interesting to see if there will be a continuation of this process in the next years. In the past, Canadian talent simply migrated to the U.S. after being recruited for work they did in Canada that only industry insiders saw. Now, it seems, they can work in Canada and export actual Canadian material and attract investment from outside the country.

[Oleg Bach]

There are too many ageing gays at the CBC - and non-breeding people are disabled - and we should have only able bodied males and females working there - instead all we have are parasites.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Charles Anthony
re-quoted Opening Post deleted

[jdobbin]

There are too many ageing gays at the CBC - and non-breeding people are disabled - and we should have only able bodied males and females working there - instead all we have are parasites.

Rather a homophobic statement and a slur against disabled as well.

[Drea]

There are too many ageing gays at the CBC - and non-breeding people are disabled - and we should have only able bodied males and females working there - instead all we have are parasites.

Seriously .... frig.

so only those of childbearing age are not "disabled"... LOL

My god! we have three women at work "of childbearing age" and lemme tellya I would sooo rather work with a fag than girls who want babies.

Edited August 7, 2008 by Drea

[Guest American Woman]

"18 to Life" sounds like it could be an interesting show; I know I'd check it out. I like the idea of new shows coming out of Canada. I think we've been hit with a lot of crap in recent years, so I'm up for something different. As one who doesn't get into reality shows, I would like to see some new programming-- and something that takes place outside the U.S. would be refreshing.

[jdobbin]

"18 to Life" sounds like it could be an interesting show; I know I'd check it out. I like the idea of new shows coming out of Canada. I think we've been hit with a lot of crap in recent years, so I'm up for something different. As one who doesn't get into reality shows, I would like to see some new programming-- and something that takes place outside the U.S. would be refreshing.

I have nothing against U.S. shows. Some of the best writing is on U.S. television. I think you have to look for it though. Some cable programing is beyond excellent. A few network series are quite good.

I know some American viewers are now being more exposed to international programming because of the insatiable need for product in the cable industry. I think it keeps things interesting and exciting.

The one thing that shouldn't happen is for these co-productions to become generic. One of the things about a series like Degrassi is that it is very Canadian but the stories tell human stories that are universal. In some cases, the show has been able to be a lot braver than similar series in the U.S.

[Guest American Woman]

The one thing that shouldn't happen is for these co-productions to become generic. One of the things about a series like Degrassi is that it is very Canadian but the stories tell human stories that are universal. In some cases, the show has been able to be a lot braver than similar series in the U.S.

My daughter was recently asking me about the difference between broadcasting in Canada and the U.S. regarding censorship. Your comment about Degrassi being "a lot braver than similar series in the U.S." makes me wonder if Canadian shows would have to 'tone it down' in order to be accepted on the major networks here. Cable is another story, and when I do watch tv, it generally is the cable networks, but since you mentioned ABC in regards to "18 to Life," it does make me wonder if it would have to be a joint production so that it would be 'acceptable' here.

Out of curiosity, is Degrassi on CBC?

[BubberMiley]

Out of curiosity, is Degrassi on CBC?

The original (Kids of Degrassi Street/Degrassi Junior High) were on CBC. The Next Generation is on CTV.

[jdobbin]

My daughter was recently asking me about the difference between broadcasting in Canada and the U.S. regarding censorship. Your comment about Degrassi being "a lot braver than similar series in the U.S." makes me wonder if Canadian shows would have to 'tone it down' in order to be accepted on the major networks here. Cable is another story, and when I do watch tv, it generally is the cable networks, but since you mentioned ABC in regards to "18 to Life," it does make me wonder if it would have to be a joint production so that it would be 'acceptable' here.

I know there were a few Degrassi episodes that were either not aired when they first began in the U.S. or were edited. I can't remember. My wife is the Degrassi expert.

I do know that the entire series from beginning to end is shown in the U.S. so it has gained acceptance for the subject material.

As for the difference in censorship, Canada has always had a little more leeway on network TV than the U.S.

I think the U.S. is cable industry is the most free in the world though. They are not afraid of anything, it seems.

Out of curiosity, is Degrassi on CBC?

The first two series started in Canada were on CBC. The Next Generation as Bubber mentions was picked up in a coup by CTV. I have no idea how the CBC lost it but it was probably money. CTV was desperate for that demographic and the meet Canadian content guidelines and the show seemed like a gift for both.

[blueblood]

Flipping through the guide on the old Star Choice, I know that the CW in the U.S. is carrying the degrassi show for a couple of hours on Sunday morning.

[jdobbin]

New York Times commentary on CBC's Olympic coverage.

http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/...eremony-on-cbc/

This is what Americans who live along the Canadian border have known for years: when it comes to the Olympics, watching CBC instead of NBC, ABC or CBS is often a relief and even a real pleasure. This morning, how extraordinarily pleasant it was to be able to view that spectacle in Beijing without the annoyance of constant exclamation and endless recitations of trivia — just great swaths of wonderful silence from our narrators MacLean and Mansbridge between 8am and 9am or so, just letting the show at the stadium tell its own story with the least obtrusive economy of helpful footnotes, no urgency whatsoever to riddle the air with inane nattering and relentless fill.

I don't mind U.S. coverage but he's right about there being a constant narration.

I don't get CBC's Bold channel so I don't know what I am missing in terms of total coverage.

[blueblood]

New York Times commentary on CBC's Olympic coverage.

http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/...eremony-on-cbc/

I don't mind U.S. coverage but he's right about there being a constant narration.

I don't get CBC's Bold channel so I don't know what I am missing in terms of total coverage.

If your an equestrian and sailing fanatic your SOL. Ditto about the american coverage.

[jefferiah]

My daughter was recently asking me about the difference between broadcasting in Canada and the U.S. regarding censorship. Your comment about Degrassi being "a lot braver than similar series in the U.S." makes me wonder if Canadian shows would have to 'tone it down' in order to be accepted on the major networks here. Cable is another story, and when I do watch tv, it generally is the cable networks, but since you mentioned ABC in regards to "18 to Life," it does make me wonder if it would have to be a joint production so that it would be 'acceptable' here.

Out of curiosity, is Degrassi on CBC?

Depends on how you look at censorship. You rarely, if ever, hear on CBC that Omar Khadr killed a "medic".

[M.Dancer]

Depends on how you look at censorship. You rarely, if ever, hear on CBC that Omar Khadr killed a "medic".

No matter how you slice and dice it, that example wouldn't be censorship, that would be an editorial bias.

As well, rarely is not never, and on top of that, medics are armed, so his trade is as relevant as say, Khadr killed a sapper.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/11/g...namo-khadr.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/200...llah-khadr.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/15/...es.html?ref=rss

[HisSelf]

Depends on how you look at censorship. You rarely, if ever, hear on CBC that Omar Khadr killed a "medic".

No but you do hear that the medic just might have been killed by friendly fire.

In any case, I would like to point out that a poll I set up here not too long ago showed that the CBC is the most trusted source for political reporting among WLW members.

[AngusThermopyle]

medics are armed, so his trade is as relevant as say, Khadr killed a sapper.

Yes and no dancer. Medics are armed now, they never used to be though. The big point to consider is the fact that medics are obligated to place themselves in the line of fire, no matter what. Add to that the fact that this obligation exists whether they are treating one of their own or an enemy combatant or an innocent civilian.

This is why Medics are treated differently from other soldiers. Having said that, the Medic is a high value target, take him out and you've removed a very important asset.

[M.Dancer]

Yes and no dancer. Medics are armed now, they never used to be though. The big point to consider is the fact that medics are obligated to place themselves in the line of fire, no matter what. Add to that the fact that this obligation exists whether they are treating one of their own or an enemy combatant or an innocent civilian.

This is why Medics are treated differently from other soldiers. Having said that, the Medic is a high value target, take him out and you've removed a very important asset.

The only time medics were unarmed is when the were conscientious objectors. It is a common misconception that military vehicles with the Red Cross are protected under the geneva conventions....that is not so, only Red Cross (and red crescent etc) . On top of being armed, medics do not wear bright red crosses anymore, thay are fair game.

[AngusThermopyle]

I think you misunderstand me, when I say never used to be I'm not talking about recently. I'm talking about 50 or more years ago. It was common practice for medics to be unarmed in many instances back then.

On top of being armed, medics do not wear bright red crosses anymore, thay are fair game.

After 20 years of service and six deployments this is something you really don't have to tell me.

Edited August 15, 2008 by AngusThermopyle

[M.Dancer]

I think you misunderstand me, when I say never used to be I'm not talking about recently. I'm talking about 50 or more years ago. It was common practice for medics to be unarmed in many instances back then.

Only if they werew COs. Otherwise they had sidearms. Same went for doctors as well.

[kimmy]

I have nothing against U.S. shows. Some of the best writing is on U.S. television. I think you have to look for it though. Some cable programing is beyond excellent. A few network series are quite good.

Indeed!

When people complain about the quality of current day TV, it seems like inevitably the next thing out of their mouth is something about "reality show crap".

However, I think that the rise of "reality show crap" has come mostly at the expense of sit-coms, not anything worthwhile. When I was young, it seems like the TV schedule was full of sit-coms, and now there are hardly any. I think networks have mostly just replaced old junk (sit-coms) with new junk (reality shows).

Argus and I had a huge brawl over this a few years back and it's still interesting to visit that thread to see what I thought at the time.

I pretty much still feel the way I did back then. There's been some brilliant programs on TV in recent years. And people tend to romanticize the past (which is a diplomatic way of saying that they remember a handful of good shows and forget how much crap was on TV when they were younger.)

I think Boomtown remains the network TV show that I found the most brilliantly written. Recently the show that I've found most fascinating has been Dexter. It is apparently a cable network show, but made it to CBS as a fill-in during the writers' strike; I was so enchanted that I went and obtained the whole first season from ... unscrupulous sources. The title character is a homicidal psychopath who, out of loyalty to his adoptive father, confines his violent urges to exacting vigilante justice on other killers. At first it just seems like a wickedly funny and grim show having some fun with a gory premise, but as the series advances, it evolves into a great character study. Dexter, having barely any human emotion himself, gets through his day to day existence by essentially faking everything; each episode is full of his observations about people in general, what he has to do to try and act like everybody else, and the futility or stupidity or comedy of it all. Dexter's inability to really connect with anybody, his fake relationship with his emotionally damaged girlfriend, his relationship with his sister and his co-workers, and his increasing belief that the serial-killer he's stalking is the only person on earth he has any real connection with, it all provides this interesting perspective about human connection through the lens of this character who is fundamentally disconnected from everyone. Watching this almost inhuman monster stumble through his life trying to understand humans and normal daily life has (as strange as it sounds) given me many moments where I felt like I completely related.

-k

[jdobbin]

http://www.insidethecbc.com/steven-and-chr...-file-cancelled

In a note to staff this afternoon Kirstene Layfield announced that Steven and Chris will go on hiatus next season and Fashion File will be cancelled. Steven and Chris will end production on April 15th, and Fashion File will stop at the end of March.

Well at least we know why some conservatives are unhappy this week.

[fellowtraveller]

Well at least we know why some conservatives are unhappy this week.

Homophobic slurs now? For Shame......

I have never found out why the CBC canned the excellent series 'Intelligence'.

Anybody know?

[guyser]

Homophobic slurs now? For Shame......

I have never found out why the CBC canned the excellent series 'Intelligence'.

Anybody know?

The Corp is not fond of oxymorons. (highlight mine)

[jdobbin]

Homophobic slurs now? For Shame......

I was referring to Fashion File which some Conservatives were commenting actually was a business show that did more to promote Canadian designers than most other media. It is the same reaction that some Tories had when the Calgary national news desk was closed. Some Tories said it was one of the areas that was notably good for business reporting.

I figure most Tories could care less about Steven and Chris show.

I have never found out why the CBC canned the excellent series 'Intelligence'.

Anybody know?

The show had less than 300,000 people watching it and sometimes went as low as 100,000 people.

The problem is that Dragon's Den had the same numbers for its first two years before being discovered by the audience. It now rakes it around a million people which is considered a success on English TV in Canada.

CBC probably should have tried one more year and did more promotion for the show.

[capricorn]

So, in getting rid of Intelligence, CBC TV has left itself open to the rage of its fiercely loyal viewers. Over the weekend, numerous readers wrote to me, all latching on to the same theme: "Cancelling Intelligence pretty well sums up CBC's decision to scrap this brilliant program." As many of those loyal CBC viewers see it, CBC has simply swapped intelligence for stupidity.

CBC itself was obtuse about the cancellations. "We certainly recognize they were frankly terrific shows and in many cases they attracted quite a degree of critical acclaim, but unfortunately they were unable to attract an audience. Audience is not our only consideration, but it is an important one," the CBC's spokesman told Canadian Press on Friday, speaking about the cancelled shows.

There's the rub - CBC TV really wants to be a big shot broadcaster, just like the commercial channels, and boast about audience success. And there's the problem - CBC doesn't know what it wants to be. A shrink would ask, 'Do you want to be popular or do you want to be smart?' CBC would probably answer, 'Well, popular is not the only consideration but it's an important one.' Then the shrink would tell CBC to make a decision, grow up and quit alienating those who love and cherish it.

http://heywriterboy.blogspot.com/2008/03/w...-they-want.html

This interesting extract from Jaime J. Weinman on a MacLean blog talks about whether the CBC knows who their target audience is.

For a more balanced take on what these cancellations mean, see Denis McGrath (including quotations from the Globe's firewalled John Doyle). As he points out, the real question here is whether the CBC can -- or even wants to -- "brand" itself, give itself an identity. Of course, I think part of the problem here is that the CBC is a little embarrassed to cater to its audience -- which tends to be a little older and more traditionalist in its tastes. Instead they're always looking for "hip" and "sexy" shows instead of trying to develop shows that fit into the categories that produce the biggest CBC hits: clean and safe sketch comedy, respectable issue-oriented drama, family-oriented Avonlea type shows. None of these types of shows are on the cutting edge but they are the CBC's bread and butter. (Notice that The Border, as an action show, did a bit better than the other new shows -- it's the type of show that Dad might watch on the same channel as hockey. And even Sophie has Mom appeal.) It's like the CBC is afraid to brand itself because it's secretly afraid of the type of brand it would wind up with: the CBC is the traditionalist Mom/Dad/family network and they're always going to be that way, only they don't want to admit it.

http://forums.macleans.ca/advansis/?mod=fo...p;ps=0&sb=1

The CBC struggles with establishing an identifiable brand, a little like Canadians in general who struggle with verbalizing the Canadian identity.