People often joke about who actually likes Stephen Harper and it looks like Stombo finally found someone. During the promotion of his new movie, The Dictator, Admiral General Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) weighed in on his love of Harper and all of his stylish ways.
Here’s a quick clip of the interview, which you can catch in it’s entirety on May 15th on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.
I’ll take “Things That are Going to Piss off my Granny for $1000, Alex. ”
CBC announced today that they will not be carrying Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune next season!
While the two shows were still bringing in huge ratings, the price of them was just too expensive. CBC was paying upwards of $20 million for the American made shows and with the recent Government cuts, that have left the network reeling, they simply couldn’t afford the popular game shows!
Those who are already nervous about the networks ratings might think that this is a bad decision, given how both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy tend to bring audiences to the CBC, who then stick around to watch shows like Mr. D, Dragon’s Den and Market Place. However, execs at CBC are confident that thanks to a stellar line up, they don’t need the expensive American game shows. Don’t worry, the network isn’t going all Canadian. CBC has no plans to drop Coronation Street, which has already been airing on that network for more than fifty years.
Jeopardy Fun Fact: When the show premiered in 1964, the highest value for a clue was $50. Today, it’s $2,000. (Thanks for the update Matt!)
No word yet on if another Canadian network will pick up the shows.
CBC won’t announce its full Fall schedule until May 10th, but late last week, they announced the new shows it will be bringing to our TV sets, inadvertently also telling us which shows won’t be back at all. Saying the schedule got slaughtered might be a little dramatic, but the network did what it could after the government chopped its budget.
But before we get to the bad news, let’s look at the new shows first!
The details of the new shows will come out in May, but we know that Cracked, Titanic: Blood and Steel the live competition series Over the Rainbow, will all be on the schedule. Titanic: Blood and Steel, seems like an odd choice, since most people’s interest in the doomed shipped peaked last week with the 100th anniversary. However, with a cast that includes Neve Campbell and Chris Noth, timing might not matter. Over the Rainbow is a reality singing show that seeks to find the next Dorothy for a theatre production of The Wizard of Oz. The network had a pretty good success with a similar series, How Do you Solve A Problem Maria? back in 2008. Murdoch Mysteries, which has been on Citytv for the past five seasons, will be joining the ranks of CBC this year.
The shows that won’t be coming back include the quirky Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays and the action comedy Insecurity. Being Erica and Little Mosque on the Prairie were officially canceled too, although writers and actors had already prepared for the news and had aired fitting series finales. The CBC also chopped a slew of its failed reality shows, including Cover Me Canada, Redemption Inc, Battle of the Blades, Village on a Diet and The Debaters, though The Debaters will still be available on CBC Radio. Battle of The Blades, which is technically on a one year sabbatical, is most surprising, since it garnered fairly good ratings. Yet, it was the cost of the show that was likely it’s undoing.
In terms of renewals, there weren’t a lot of surprises, Arctic Air, Dragon’s Den, Heartland, Mr. D, Republic of Doyle and The Rick Mercer Report all picked up new seasons. It seems that the million viewer mark was the point to hit if you wanted to see new episodes.
What do you think of the CBC line up? Does it stand a chance up against CTV, Global and Citytv?
One of the things I love about Twitter is that regularly introduces me to hilarious people all over the country that I otherwise would not have met without the social media tool.
Case in tonight, thanks to the Canadian government’s decision to cut the CBC’s budget by a whopping 10% over the next three years, people have been taking to Twitter to express their outrage, in a rather hilarious way. Using the hashtag #cbccuts, Tweeps have been coming up with clever spins on the names of famous CBC programs and how they would be modified, thanks to a reduced budget.
Here are some of my favourite of the night:
This morning, I had the seemingly easy tast of defending the UFC on CBC Radio’s Eyeopener. Yes, you read that right. Me, out of all people, seemed to be the only voice of reason when it came to defending the mix-martial arts competition that will soon be finding its way to Calgary this July.
It was all a part of the Uncoventional Panel and this morning, I battled and debated with George Brookman (above) and Globe and Mail’s Shelley Youngblut.
We definitely had differing opinions on this one, but it was still a blast.
CTV Toronto weatherman Tom Brown had a lucky day last month, when he not only won a spot in contestants row on The Price is Right, he then correctly guessed the exact price of the prize, which saw him landing on stage with Drew Carey. His luck didn’t stop there, the weatherman played the game Secret X perfectly and won himself a trip for two to Costa Rica, complete with surfing lessons. Next up, was the big wheel, but that’s where his luck ran out. But still, a trip for two to Costa Rica?! That is my dream vacation.
“It was just a really cool experience, one I’m glad I got to share with my daughter,” Brown told CTVToronto.ca after the show aired today.
Ironically, The Price is Right airs on CTV rival network, Citytv.
This story is pretty similar to the other one of the Global TV sports anchor who won the BC Home Lottery a months ago, which is still one of my favourite videos of all time.
With so many anchors winning, I bet Peter Mansbridge is just crossing his fingers to get a spot on The Bachelor Canada.
UPDATE: Bloggity reader Alex sent me a note saying that a Calgary CBC reporter Claude Rivest Mazzanna won a spot on the Price is Right last week too! He ended up winning the Bonus Game and getting himself a living room package. You can hear about his story here.
Is this a new trend? Me likey!
A few weeks ago, it was announced that Robert Herjavec was walking away from his “throne” on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, making him the second Dragon to leave in as many years.
Well producers wasted no time and have already found the bum that will fill that likely still warm seat….and it’s a familiar face.
David Chilton, also known as The Wealthy Barber, will take his place next to Arlene Dickinson, Bruce Croxon, Kevin O’Leary and Jim Treliving. Chilton is best known as the author of the bestselling Wealthy Barber and the Wealthy Barber Returns, which teaches its readers about successful personal finance.
Although the Dragons seem to keep changing, it doesn’t seem to be effecting the show’s ratings which still comfortably sit above one million viewers each week, which is a great number for Canadian audiences.
Season 7 of Dragon’s Den is currently auditioning entrepreneurs the country and will air in September.
I’m taking some time off this week, so I’ve asked some of my friends to step into my shoes and do a little guest blogging for me. Luckily, I have some pretty cool friends, who will be weighing in with some really interesting and fun posts. Their writing assignment was to teach both you and I something. Make sure you check back all week to read the special series: I Can’t Believe You Don’t Know About…..
Today’s Guest Blogger is Tara Sukut! Take it away Tara!
Here’s the thing. I have never had a burning passion to write a blog. It reminds me of homework. But what I have always wanted to do is host my own TV show. And as I write this and realize it’s incredibly narcissistic to think ANYONE would be remotely interested in having a peek into my crazybrain life – I still can’t get over the sick fantasy I’ve had since I moved out on my own. I just can’t shake it.
My imaginary TV show would feature me (duh) and show all the ridiculous things I get myself into as I putter around my life. There would be recurring guest appearances from several nutjob friends who show up randomly and persuade me to make good-intentioned bad home improvement decisions. And then it would show me scrambling to repair all the damage these decisions have made in my life. It would be epic Canadian TV.
Thinking back to some key imaginary episodes, there was the one where our host accidentally got drunk and paintedher bathroom an incomprehensible shade of blue. You will laugh and cry as you watch her make an ungodly mess with oil-based paint and then realize her horrifying hard-to-paint-over mistake the next day — with a tragic hangover.
Or there was that one episode she and BFF decided it would be fun to strip and refinish her hardwood staircase. With no idea or tools to do the job properly. Laugh along with her as she tries in vain to keep senior snoopy cat out of the
solvent. Good times.
And don’t forget the epic adventure of her chasing new babycat into the snowy backyard in pjs and clunky rubber boots. Wasn’t it funny when our hero slipped and fell, cracked her head on a rock and got it stuck under the waterfall of her pond? Backyard waterboarding makes for great TV every time. Right?
For years I’ve wanted to pitch my idea to CBC but I’ve just recently remembered Miss Mary Bellows. For those unfortunate folks who don’t know or recall this marvel, I personally believe Mary Bellows was the inventor of Home and Garden television. Yep, it is arguably a Canadian invention, tucked in right beside the zipper. Long before Sarah had a house, or Holmes was fixing up homes on HGTV, Mary Bellows hosted a much loved daytime home improvement show called “Do It For Yourself” on the CBC network.
The quirky, lanky feather-haired blonde was an absolute nut who tried to fix, build, grow or make a million different projects around her house. She had sidekick dogs named Zeke and Hoover who constantly got in her way as she messed up everything she touched. She did crafts for her son, planted seedlings with a man-friend and gave real, working advice on how to fix all the things around her that were broke. I’m positive she was an inspiration and idol to a generation of young girls everywhere who grew up, like me, not knowing exactly how to fix a broken toilet or hang a curtain rod straight – but having a hilarious time trying. Man, I miss that show.
Tara Sukut is the Media and Publicity Manager at Calgary Folk Music Festival. She’s also excellent company on the Ship and Anchor patio. Follow her on Twitter!
Hilarious Tara, thank you! If you get your own show, can I please be your Ed McMahon?
This morning I joined the fun folks at CBC Radio for the always enlightening Unconventional Panel on the Eyeopener. This week, I joined George Brookman and Shelley Youngblut as we talk about Jann Arden and the whole debacle with Via rail and her little dog Midi.
I think probably the highlight for a lot people was when I hauled out the naked picture of Jann and showed it to the studio. By highlight, I likely mean low point.
Click here if you want to listen and feel free to let me know if you agree…or disagree.
CBC Television announced today that Robert Herjavec, one of five entrepreneurs on the hit series Dragon’s Den, will not be returning to the show for the 2012-2013 season.
Herjavec has been on the show for all six seasons, as well as three seasons on the ABC spin-off Shark Tank. Herjavec will keep his seat on the Shark Tank.
The network is already on the search for the next Dragon. The good news is that a new Dragon will mix up the cast and bring out new chemistry, the bad news is it will be hard to replace the heart that he brought to the show, which is still missing something ever since it lost Brett Wilson last season. Audiences haven’t seem to notice though, Dragon’s Den still pulls in more than a million viewers every week.
I’m excited to see who the new Dragon will be…maybe another female companion for Arlene Dickinson?
Best of luck to
