Mike's Bloggity Blog

A few weeks ago, the future of CBC Television wasn’t in question, but people were certainly not in love with it.  After weeks and weeks of lackluster ratings for their shows, CBC was struggling to find an audience for any of its shows that didn’t take place on ice.

Well all of that changed this week, when CBC kicked off the New Year with a bang and didn’t look back.   In fact, last week, the Canadian network had its most successful season premiere week ever, with a number of new and returning CBC comedy, drama, unscripted and current affairs programs winning their time blocks – and several with audiences of more than one million viewers!  (For those who aren’t too familiar with ratings, anything over a million viewers is considered a success.)

Here are some of the highlights:

Artic Air had the largest audience for a premiere of a new drama series in 20 years, with total viewership of 1.05 million!

Mr. D. stars popular comedian Gerry Dee and it premiered to 1.23 million viewers – the largest for a comedy since the debut of  Little Mosque on the Prairie in January, 2007!

Marketplace, Dragons’ Den and Republic of Doyle all topped one million viewers too!

So what do you think, did you check out CBC for the first time in a long time.  I know that I did.  Mr. D. is hilarious, let’s all hope that for the sake of Canadian content, these numbers stick.

Welcome back to the game CBC.

Being a blogger, I get asked to a lot of weird things. And this morning was no exception, as I was asked to join CBC Radio’s Unconventional Panel and talk about, of all things, the Northern Gateway Pipeline.  Seriously.

I actually didn’t even know what it was, so I had to research (see: read Google News), which was fine. The situation got a little more stressful when I found out that I would be doing the panel with none other than W. Brett Wilson from Dragon’s Den and Risky Business.  Did I mention that he owns TWO Oil and Gas Companies!  Good grief!

Click here to listen to the panel, it got a little heated, but we always have a good time.

On Wednesday night, CBC will toast the holiday season with a special episode of Dragon’s Den. The festive-themed episode will see the Grinches and Scrooges take on entrepreneurs hoping to get a mistletoe of a deal. Has holiday wrapping met its match? Will a new seasonal light dazzle the Dragons? And it is Hockey Night in the Den with an original sporty belt.

To help celebrate the episode and CBC’s 75th anniversary, Gift A Day Giveaway #10 is for the CBC fan on your list.  Actually today’s giveaway is so huge, it will be sure to stuff more than one person’s stocking this Christmas!

The brand new Dragon’s Den Board Game
Driven – by Robert Herjavec
Cold Hard Truth – by Kevin O’Leary
Cornered – by Ron MacLean
Heartland DVD pack (Season 4)
In the Kitchen with Stefano apron
Best Recipes Ever cookbook
Persuasion – by Arlene Dickinson
Republic of Doyle Guide Book

Two ways to enter, each one will get you an entry to a maximum of two entries per gift! All entries must be received by Monday, December 19th at Noon/MST

1) Leave a comment telling me which was your favourite CBC show of all time.

2) Second entry can be done on twitter. Tweet: “I want to win CBC prize package from @mikesbloggity http://goo.gl/UYhVN #bloggitygifts”

Gift A Day Rules:
1) Gotta live in Canada.
2) Two entries per give away.

Missed a Day? You can still enter until December 19th at Noon/MST!
Gift A Day Giveaway #1: Panasonic Digital Camera.
Gift a Day Giveaway #2: Tom Tom Go 2505
Gift A Day Giveaway #3: Panasonic Genius Inverter Microwave
Gift A Day Giveaway #4: BBC Super Prize Pack!
Gift A Day Giveaway #5: Two night stay at any Delta Hotel and Resort!
Gift A Day Giveaway #6: Breaking Dawn Prize Pack!
Gift A Day Giveaway #7: Coca-Cola Prize Pack!
Gift A Day Giveaway #8: A Perogy Boyz Party for 12 people!
Gift A Day Giveaway #9: HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-one printer
Gift A Day Giveaway #10: CBC Prize Pack
Gift A Day Giveaway #11: Papyrus Gift Package
Gift A Day Giveaway #12: BlackBerry Curve!
Gift A Day Giveaway #13: Philips SensoTouch 3D/2D Series
Gift A Day Giveaway #14: Blurb Book Giveaway!
Gift A Day Giveaway #15: Degrassi Super Prize Pack!!
Gift A Day Giveaway #16: Sony Movie Prize Pack!

Tonight was a really special night in Calgary. CBC Radio’s most popular program ever, Q with Jian Ghomeshi taped an episode of the program right here in the city.

Now, to you Toronto and Vancouver folk, you might not think this is a big deal. But here in Calgary, we don’t get a lot of shows that involve a live audience. I actually can’t think of one, especially one as big as the cue.

The show will air on Friday, November 18th on CBC Radio, but I was lucky enough to attend the taping on Thursday night.  What I really loved was that Q really highlighted some of my favourite and this city’s most talented people  including Jann Arden, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, actress Rebecca Northan and of course, our mayor Nenshi, who’s own superstar status almost stole the show.

The Calgary edition of Q also introduced me to Samantha Savage Smith, an amazing singer who’s album is currently downloading on to my computer as I type. There was also an interesting media panel discussion about both The Occupy Calgary movement and the Keystone pipeline debate, you’ll have to listen to the show yourself, but let’s just say there were cheers, jeers, boos and thankfully a little laughter.

It was great to see such an important show come to our little city in the west, I’m hoping that Jian will go back to Toronto and spread the word to other shows and that they themselves might think about coming out to visit us too.

Q airs daily on CBC Radio.

First things first, I know that this post being above the other one is ironic, but it was too funny to actually do anything about it.

This morning I got to join the always enjoyable Unconventional Panel on CBC’s The Eyeopener to talk about the Christmas Creep.  To be honest, I didn’t know what the Christmas Creep was at first.  I thought maybe there was a weird man wondering around in a Santa Claus costume.  But no, The Christmas Creep is actually the term used to discuss the idea that we are celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier every year.  I remember seeing in August that people were Tweeting about seeing Christmas Trees in Costco.  (God I love Costco, Xmas idea anyone?)

So this morning I joined comedian Cory Mack and Leanne “The Ironic Mom” Shirtliffe to talk about if by celebrating Christmas, are deluding the importantce of my favourite time of the year.

Click here to listen to the segment.

Thanks to David, Angela, Jenn and everyone at CBC, always a blast.

Happy (early) Holidays.

Just like any good mystery, the foretold death of Murdoch Mysteries has seen a twist, and it’s a gooder!

CBC has just announced that it will save the show that was canceled by Citytv after five relatively successful seasons.

If you’ve never caught the show, Murdoch Mysteries explores the intriguing turn-of-the-century world of William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), a detective who pioneers radical forensic techniques for the time in his quest to solve the city’s crimes. Basically it’s like CSI without electricity. The series is shot in and around Toronto and Southern Ontario as well as additional locations across Canada including Dawson City and Ottawa,  and it’s also featured a lot of cool cameos and guest stars including Victor Garber, Peter Keleghan, Sebastian Pigott and of course, Stephen Harper.

I tried to think about other show’s that were saved by other Canadian networks, and none really came to mind.  I know that CTV brought back Degrassi, which initially aired on CBC.  But that’s really about it.  It would be nice if CTV, Global or Citytv took the steps necessary to save Being Erica, which is presumed to be currently airing its final season.

While I’ve never watched Murdoch Mysteries, it’s great to see that the Canadian production has been saved, because since it was developed in 2003, its created more than 5000 jobs for actors, writers, directors, producers, crew, extras and technical and production services.

First it was Moxy Fruvous, then it was The Q and now Jian Ghomeshi is continueing to grow his Canadian media empire with the announcement of his first book!

The book is a literary memoir based on a 14-year-old’s desire to be David Bowie. Set in one year of his life, and to the confusion and alarm of his Iranian parents, Ghomeshi tries to transform himself into a New Waver, determined to be the perfect guy to win the heart of an older woman — 16-year-old Wendy, the girl he considers to be the female Bowie of Thornhill, Ontario.

At this point in time, it doesn’t look like he mentions the one time we quickly met at the Junos, but I’m sure it’s just a first draft. I mean, he wouldn’t name a book after the year I was born, if he wasn’t going to mention it, right?

The book will take an interesting method in unraveling, 1982 will have loose chronological narrative structured around twelve songs and symbolic moments from the fall of 1981 to the summer of 1983, including The Clash and Michael Jackson

“1982 was a pivotal period in my life,” says the author. “I acquired the black clothing and the hair gel to be New Wave. To be Bowie. By which I mean, almost Bowie. I was probably the first Persian-Canadian New Waver. Well, I was probably the only Persian-Canadian New Waver.”

Sounds like a great read. 1982 will be released in 2012.

Have I ever told you how much I love books?

No? It’s cause I don’t really. Actually, no, that’s not true. It’s not that I don’t love books, it’s that after years of reading Goosebumps before bed time, I’m prone to fall asleep almost immediately after I start reading. Plus, I’m terrified that the book will possess me and take over my life, but I think that’s a Goosebumps related problem more than anything else.

But this year, I’ve been making a consorted effort to read more than ever, and it’s been really fun to discover some really great reads. If you’re like me and you want to find a fantastic Canadian book, well the timing has never been better. CBC has just released the list of their Top 40 books for Canada Reads: True Stories.

The list, which is packed with non-fiction, biographies and memories includes iconic authors like Farley Mowat, Jane Jacobs, Wayne Johnston, Pierre Berton and Margaret MacMillan; but also up-and-comers like Iain Reid, Robyn Levy, Sarah Leavitt, Scott Chantler and Marina Nemat. There are graphic titles, biographies of Mordecai Richler, Gabrielle Roy and Jane Austen, affecting memoirs, family stories and compelling explorations of Canadian history and our relationship with the environment.

Sadly, there isn’t a single blogger on the list, but click here anyway if you want to see all the books.

Now that you’ve been given forty books to read, you can help other Canadians find the best real-life story in all the country. CBC wants you to vote for the ten favourite titles is now open through midnight Sunday, October 30.

The Top 10 will be revealed on November 1 on CBC’s Q by host Jian Ghomeshi and posted on CBC Books. Then, each of the five 2012 Canada reads panelists (to be announced in November) will choose a title from the Top 10 to defend in the battle of the books in February 2012.

Essentially, by the time this whole Canada Reads thing is over, you’ll have time to read way more than forty books. And me, well I’ll be fast asleep.

With the season premiere of Being Erica just a few days away, I’ve been emotionally preparing myself for what many are saying will be its last season.   I’ve made no secret about how much I love this slow, and I feel proud to say that I’ve slowly converted many of my friends to the addictive Canadian drama.  That’s right, I said addictive.

Erin Karpluk is the series’ star and the other day she tweeted from the set, pictures of the cast and crew as they gathered, for what could be there last time together. For Being Erica fans, the pics also reveal a sneak peek at the show’s final moments….

Being Erica returns to CBC this Monday.

I just got the chance to do CBC Radio’s The Unconventional Panel and they’ve posted the clip for you to listen to.   Not that I’m surprised, but it was actually a lot of fun.  It’s kinda cool to go on CBC and talked about things that are very un-CBC.  For this particular panel I joined George Brookman and Corie Mac.

Click here to listen to the segment, I think you might get a laugh or two.