I survived the great Chevy Chase Show debacle of 1993. Members of the Television Critics Association, in Los Angeles for our semi-annual network television press tour, were shuttled to the home of the doomed talk show in advance of the premiere. It was not that much in advance as an ambitious makeover had not finished
Most viewers with even a passing interest in American history can name the man who assasinated US president Abraham Lincoln. But did you know the rest of that story? Manhunt, which starts streaming Friday March 15 on AppleTV+, is a seven-part, true crime limited series about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. He is the
If you’ know who’ve heard of Casey and Finnegan, you likely are over 30 and grew up in Canada watching Mr. Dressup. The gentle children’s series, hosted by Ernie Coombs, ran on CBC from 1967 to 1996. The documentary “Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe” won the People’s Choice award at last month’s Toronto International
A couple of Mondays ago, CTV launched Battle of the Generations. Billed as a “nostalgia-packed quiz show,” it features four contestants per episode, each representing a particular generation: Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial or Gen Z. Basically it is Trivial Pursuit for the whole family, from the kids to the grandparents. Therein lies the appeal:
Pleased to be in several newspapers and web sites today, including The Toronto Star, reporting for The Canadian Press on the early response by TV viewers to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games fro Tokyo. Despite a 13-hour time difference from Tokyo to Toronto, CBC’s live morning coverage and prime time replays are starting to gather
Thanks to TV critic John Doyle, Ariel Burkett and all at The Globe and Mail for inviting me to take part in Friday’s live webinar on the state of television today. We did not solve all of the problems of Canadian television in 45 minutes, but I think we had a lot of fun nonetheless.
Some quick notes on this weekend’s 46th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. First, bravo. Not easy to duck out of a mask and straight into a sketch. Now, lets continue with the positives. Chloe Fineman’s precise take down of The Drew Barrymore Show was hilarious. Still, somehow, just a featured player rather than a