Any debate over the best show in TV history would have dozens of candidates. But there is no debate over the single worst program in television history – The Jerry Springer Show. For 27 seasons and 3,891 lurid episodes, Jerry Springer lowered the TV bar, then dug a ditch and lowered the bar to hell.
Allan Hawco, he of Republic of Doyle, has been visiting Saint-Pierre and Miquelon for decades. It is a little slice of France in the Atlantic not far from where he grew up, in Newfoundland. He was there not too long ago and thought, dammit, this would be a great place to set a police procedural
The new CBC series North of North has a lot going for it. The setting, a hamlet in the Arctic, is unlike anything we’ve seen on Canadian TV, and it is coldly beautiful. The cast is mostly Inuit, as are the creators and the writers, giving it a point of view unique from anything else
There were some terrific dramas on television in 2024. Shogun (FX Networks/Disney+ in Canada) was a big budget movie a week, an impressive, uber subtitled effort and an example of Vancouver crew work at its finest. Kudos as well to Golden Globe nominated Hiroyuki Sanada as lead actor. Franklin, on AppleTV+, was another international, historical
In the year 2025, reviewing New Year’s Eve programming is still alive. Last night, hunkered down after an incredible dinner and with bubbily at hand, we flipped around like Canadian World Junior Men’s hockey fans jumping off the Team Canada bandwagon. First up was 22 Minutes: New Year’s Eve PreGame Special on CBC. The highlight
If you believe that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it, this is probably a very good time to watch Churchill at War. You can’t help but watch and not think: with dictatorships would-be kings and other autocratic leaders ascending to power around the world, where is the Churchill of today?
I’ve always been a big fan of Albert and David Maysles. The “direct cinema” documentatians went on to make Gimmie Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1975). Before those films, the brothers captured lightning in a bottle with their black and white record of The Beatles first visit to America in February of 1964. Unlike The
There aren’t many stars who never wear out their welcome. One is Ted Danson, who I believe now has the record for most episodes in prime time for a leading actor on television. The 76-year-old broke out on Cheers over 40 years ago and helped define a golden age of TV sitcoms. Becker followed and