Last month in Cannes during the international TV marketplace MIPCOM I had an opportunity to take part in a round table interview session with Ben Stiller. He was there to promote Escape at Dannemore, the based-on-a-true-story prison drama premiering this Sunday on Showtime and Crave. Stiller directed the eight-hour, seven episode limited series which stars… Read on

People ask if I stream a lot of TV shows but, really, I’m a threader not a streamer. As easy as it is to stream a new series on-line, I still get a kick out of threading a 16mm film onto a projector and filling a screen with images that flicker by at 24 frames… Read on

I was in the Los Angeles area Sunday, heading up the 405, past the smokey, smoldering hillsides of Calabasas and deep into the San Fernando Valley when I heard the news that comic book kingpin Stan Lee had passed away. I was in a shuttle bus with a half-dozen international journalists when — as cell phones… Read on

This year, Remembrance Day marks 100 years since the end of the Great War of 1914-1918. Sunday, poppies will be worn and Canadians will brave the cold to stand before cenotaphs from coast-to-coast. While most know of the war and are aware Canada was on the winning side, for many, the details are but faded,… Read on

Last July when I was in Halifax to interview the cast and producers of Pure I squeezed in a second set visit opportunity. A few kilometers away, Gerry Dee and the cast and crew of CBC’s Mr. Dee were wrapping up their eighth and final season, so I thought I’d better hurry on over before… Read on

In an age when you can find out who won or lost instantly on Twitter, does the full-blown, all-star election night coverage still matter? There was some hubbub recently, for example, when CBC decided not to preempt their Monday night hit Murdoch Mysteries in order to provide live, municipal election night coverage on its main… Read on

Does a hit TV show always fall apart with the premature  departure of its leading star? I was asked to give my two cents on that topic Monday on The Bill Kelly Show, heard daily on Hamilton’s AM900 CHML. The starting point was Kelly’s disappointment in the final season of House of Cards. Sure, main star… Read on

Set phasers to stun! William Shatner has released not one but two new albums of his unique, spoken word song stylings this year, including his brand new Christmas collection, Shatner Claus. Follow this link to my Canadian Press feature about the enterprising actor and his latest musical efforts. The Star Trek legend never seems to… Read on