Mike's Bloggity Blog

Wow, did this show ever sneak up on me, I don’t know how I’m just finding about it now, but yes, Undercover Boss Canada is happening and it starts next week!
Actually, upon reflection, I guess they couldn’t really announce the show, because that would essentially ruin the surprise premise of the series, so I guess it sorta makes sense.

The show will launch on the W Network on February 2nd at 9pm.

The companies participating in the series include Goodlife Fitness, Skyline International Development, The Toronto Zoo, Pizza Pizza, 1- 800 -GOT-JUNK?, Cineplex Entertainment, Molson Coors Canada, Second Cup and FedEx Express Canada.

I think the one I’m most excited to see is Karen Stintz, who is a Toronto city councillor and Toronto Transit Commission.  The TTC always gets a ton of bad press for its employees, so it will be interesting to see how the transit system is portrayed for television.

If you’re surprised that the show was able to land such big companies for its first season, don’t be.  The series is a public relations dream for any of these companies, because the entire episode is loitered with the company’s logo, it showcases its best employees and in the end, the secret boss looks like an angel.

But don’t think about that.  The show is still immesley enjoyable and it will be great if the series does as well as it does in the States, where it originated.

One question:  If the employees don’t know they are on Undercover Boss, what do they think they are being filmed for?

Good news for those in work in the Alberta film industry!

AMC has officially renewed Hell on Wheels, which is filmed on the outskirts of Calgary, for a second season.

The show wrapped up it’s first season this past weekend with about 3.8 millions viewers, making it AMC’s second highest rated series behind The Walking Dead.  Yup, Hell on Wheels really does rake in the ratings, especially when compared to award favourite Mad Men. The ratings for the series were high from the start, thanks to being on after The Walking Dead, but for the second half of its season, Hell on Wheels was on its own, and for the show to only dip to the three million range is really impressive!

Truth be told, I was a little nervous about Hell on Wheels because there was hardly any buzz for the show, and we’ve all seen networks, with shows that have okay ratings, get canned because people simply weren’t talking about it.

Hell on Wheels tells the story of a Confederate soldier who works on the railroad while taking revenge on the Union Soldiers who raped and killed his wife. It stars Anson Mount, Common and Colm Meaney. Besides the film industry being excited, I know that a lot of Calgarians will be pumped to have the cast back in our city filming the show. Last year was fun because you just never knew when you were going to see Common or Mount strollin’ the aisles of the farmers market!

Fans of the show can likely expect new episodes later this year.

With only two weeks left of 2011, the Canadian television industry must be really looking forward to this year being over.

In the past 12 months, they’ve seen the cancellation of so many Canadian productions and now they can add one more to the list.  TV writer Bill Brioux has confirmed that Global’s Combat Hospital has officially been canceled.  Although it pulled in great numbers in Canada, especially for a summer series, it never picked up any steam on ABC in the States and when the American network opted not to pick the series up for a second season, production was shut down for good.

It’s too bad that Global has decided to not continue with the series, because the number were definitley good enough to remain a Canadian only production.  After all, CTV decided to keep producing The Listener after NBC aired it for only one season.

This year, the graveyard that is the Canadian Television industry already includes So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Dan For Mayor and Hiccups.  Murdoch Mysteries was also canceled by CityTV but CBC has since announced that it will now air the series.

Up next for Global is The Firm, which premieres in January.  With a huge push of support from NBC, this show should have more success than Combat Hospital.

GUYS!  It’s Friday.  So excited.  Here’s 2 things that are realllllllly putting me in a good mood right now!

Kiefer is back!

Okay, it’s not a a 24 movie, but CTV is bringing Kiefer Sutherland back to our screens, only this time it will be our computer screens.   The Confession starts the son of Donald as well as John Hurt and when it premieres on Monday, December 5th it will premiere on multiple digital platforms including online, mobile and tablets.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this the first time Canada has done something like this?  At least with someone cool, I mean.

The web-series will tell the story of a hit man played by Sutherland, and a priest played by John Hurt. The story begins on Christmas Eve, when the hit man enters a church to confess his sins to the priest. Through a series of flashbacks, the confessor’s journey is revealed – laying out what has brought him to this moment and leading the audience to the dramatic ending where the man’s chances at redemption hang in the balance.   Sounds a little heavier than I’m used to, but with so many shows on repeats this month, it might worth checking out.

The show will premiere exclusively in Canada at theconfession.ctv.ca on Monday, Dec. 5 with the first three episodes, followed by two new episodes rolling out on subsequent Mondays.

Spike is coming!
It was announced today that James Marsters, who played Spike on both Buffy The Vampire Slayer AND Angel will be coming to Calgary next April for Comic Entertainment Expo, our equivalent of Comic-Con.  As the world’s biggest Buffy fan, I was over the moon excited when I saw that Marsters was coming. Actually, funny story, I think the announcement came faster than the Comic Expo people wanted, because I still haven’t received a press release about him coming to Calgary, instead Marsters announced it on his Facebook page.  Woohoo! I’m not sure at what lengths I’ll have to go to speak to him, but you know that it is happening. IT. IS. HAPPENING.  #thesecret.

Also announced to come to the Expo from April 27-29th, Amanda Tapping (Stargate: SG-1, Sanctuary) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24)!

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.

With only a few hours left until the taping of the first episode kicks off, Canada’s Got Talent finally announced the names of its judges and host…and you know what?  I love it!

Joining previously announced judge Martin Short, will be Opera sensation (and fellow Fredericton native) Measha Brueggergosman and renowned songwriter Stephan Moccio will all be weighing in and finding the eventual winner of the show’s inaugral first season.

Canada’s Got Talent also announced that BT Toronto’s Dina Pugliese will host the show. Some will remember her as the host of the VJ search reality show that aired a few years ago when Tim Deegan won and became a Muchmusic VJ.

With the announcements now complete, I think I’m getting really excited for the show. What’s really great is that, like NBC’s The Voice, the judges are all still relevant and very succesful. They won’t be looking to get their share of the spotlight, because they already have it. That means the judges will instead spend their time looking for legitimately great talent, all that adds up to a really fanstastic show.

Now if only I could think of a talent.

Easily one of the most exciting announcements to come out of Canadian TV this year is that we’ll soon have an FX to call are very own.  FX Canada will launch on October 31st and with just a few weeks to go, we’re starting to get a better idea of what the channel will look like.

Of the shows I’m most excited about, American Horror Story already me tingling with goosebumps.  Even though it premiered in the States last week, I’m refusing to cheat and I will patiently wait for the show to premiere on October 31st, like a good Canadian entertainment writer.

Other shows that fans of FX can look forward to include Wilfred. It’s half-hour, live-action comedy about Ryan (Elijah Wood, The Lord of the Rings), a young man struggling unsuccessfully to make his way in the world until he forms a unique friendship with Wilfred (Jason Gann, The Wedge), his neighbour’s canine pet.

I’ve also heard a lot of good things about The League, which is another half-hour comedy about male friendship, marriage, parenting, suburbia and growing up – or refusing to grow up – through a circle of friends in a fantasy football league.

Older seasons of Sons of Anarchy, It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia and Louie will also be available.  Perhaps most interesting about the network’s line-up is the inclusion of Terriers, which is about a retired cop turned low-rent private investigator. It’s curious because the show has already been canceled south of the border.

The network is also promising a solid line-up of Canadian series, even though none have been announced yet.

So what show are you most excited about? If you can’t wait, Citytv will broadcast a special sneak preview of American Horror Story on Monday, Oct. 24 at 9pm ET/PT, along with c Wilfred at 10pm ET/PT and The League at 10:30pm ET/PT.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So what will you be doing today?  Having fun with your family?  Raking the lawn?  Sleeping in?

Me?  Well I’ll be watching eight hours of 3rd Rock From The Sun, of course.

God bless Thanksgiving marathons on TVtropolis.

It seems only fitting that I write a blog post about William Shatner today.  After all, it marks the 45th anniversary of the debut of the original Star Trek series. While a lot of the original cast has faded into the deep dark beyond, the one and only Captain Kirk has seemingly never left the spotlight. He’s currently in his seventh decade of work and yet, he seems busier than ever! I’ve been getting a flurry of press releases about him lately and for a while, I couldn’t actually believe that an 80 year old could be so busy. William Shatner really is the Canadian equivalent of Betty White.

Here’s a recap of the Shat’s upcoming activities:

William goes on tour!
To celebrate his longevity in the industry, Shatner is hitting the Canadian roads for a speaking tour that will easily delight trekkies and normal fans alike. Throughout the evening, the former Captain Kirk will be taking attendees on a wild ride through his life and career and singing songs as only he can.

October 19th: Vancouver
October 21st: Regina, SK
October 23rd: Edmonton, AB
October 25th: Winnipeg, MB
November 3rd: Toronto
November 4th: Montreal

William Writes a Book!
On October 4th, Will is releasing “Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large” on hard cover. The book will feature a series of rules, illustrated with stories from Bill’s illustrious life and career.  Essentially if you ever wanted to know how exactly he’s been able to have a career that spands seven decades, then this is the book for you!

William sings songs!
A mere seven days after the release of his book, Shaner will have a new album on the shelves. It’s called Seeking Major Tom and features two-discs worth of songs about Shatner’s second home: space.  It will have some original songs as well as a slew of covers featuring a pretty random assortment of duets including: Lyle Lovett, Steve Miller, Brad Paisley, Peter Frampton and Zakk Wylde!

William returns to TV.
Well technically he never left….
This weekend will see the return of the Shatner hosted “Weird or What?” on the History network. And even though Rookie Blue  just finished its second season, they’ve already secure one helluva guest start for season three. Yup, you guessed it: William Shatner!  He’ll play a drunk driver when the show returns to Global and ABC next summer.  So we’ll have to wait another ten months to see his return to TV, but I think you’ll have enough Bill to keep you busy, no?

More than any kitchen show, race around the world or faked romance, there’s only one reality show that I’m watching this summer, that has me absolutely hooked:  The Glee Project.

The show airs on the Oxygen network in the States and Slice here in Canada…but I’ll get to that later.

What’s most surprising about this show, is the fact that I like it at all, I mean I could barely stand this past season of Glee, let alone a reality show about the finding a new cast member.  But as it turns out, most episodes of this series are better than a handful of Glee’s combined.   The competitors are good, they can all sing reasonably well and happen to be great performers. The cast is a genuine mix mash of people who would be in a real Glee club.  Some are geeky, others cute, but all are good TV.

So for the most part, the show is exciting. The challenges are also intriguing and give the viewer a chance at seeing how the musical numbers of Glee are really put together. The vocal and dance rehearsals culminate in a music video that showcases the best…or wort of the contestants.

A more cynical writer might think the way the contestants get cut from the show (not being “called back” and then forced to sing a musical number) is cheesy, but I really like it and it feels like it would, if they happen to be casting a real Broadway show.

But there’s a problem:

Since its debut, the Slice network has been airing The Glee Project with a week delay, which for a show that heavily using  social media to promote itself, is super frustrating here in Canada.  Do you know how hard it is to avoid a spoiler about who got kicked off a high-profile reality show for almost an entire week. Well, so far, it has proven impossible. Every week, I have to wait patiently for Slice to air a show that has already been on for an entire seven days below the border.

The finale of The Glee Project airs this weekend…in the USA. But we’ll have to wait an extra week.  My request is this:  Can’t Slice double up and air the finale at the same time?  It would make it so much more exciting and I checked the Slice network schedule and I’m fairly certain everyone would be okay if Wedding SOS was bumped a week.

Slice, I’m writing this post in the hopes that you’ll be able to do something about it before Sunday, because the geeks that like potential Gleeks, need a little help sometime.