They had to know the risk. The headlines: “Curtains for CBC!” Thursday in Toronto at their rapidly rented-out broadcast bunker, CBC held it’s annual fall launch in Toronto. Reporters were lifted up to the 10th floor in service elevators and led down hallways where bare walls were wrapped in thousands of yards of curtains and drapes.
Still several time zones removed from reality, I managed to scramble downtown earlier this week to attend Wayne & Shuster in Black and White, a presentation of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Held at the University of Toronto’s Innis College (a wonderful mid-size screening room I hadn’t been in since attending U of T), the
He shoots he bleeds. Rogers was expected to take a beating in the ratings with Canada shut out of the playoffs. The numbers are starting to come in, and they’re at historic lows. On opening night, last Wed., April 13, Detroit v. Tampa Bay drew 618,000 on CBC. The Rangers v. Pittsburgh did 510,000 on Sportsnet
Hello Canada and hockey fans in Newfoundland. It’s hockey night in, uh, well, Tampa. Yes, all seven Canadian NHL teams have been shut out of the playoffs. This hasn’t happened since that other Trudeau was prime minister. Wednesday night’s first round openers feature games between Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET on
One of the wonderful surprises from Thursday night’s TV on Film Project screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox was discovering an audience member had a hand in bringing two classic gems to Canadian TV screens. For many years, Pip Wedge was VP of programming at CTV. In the fall of 1966, however, Wedge was creating shows for CTV
“Do I a-moose-you?” That seems to be what Peter Mansbridge is saying. It’s not that he’s on the horns of a dilemma. He’s providing a voice for Disney’s “Zootopia,” opening Friday in theatres everywhere. “It’s come to this Bill, I’m playing a moose,” Mansbridge told me with a laugh. The 67-year-old London-native has been CBC’s main national news anchor
For the first time in ages I missed the taping of the annual Air Farce New Year’s Eve special in Toronto. I was out of town and could not arrange to get back. Reports from founding member Don Ferguson and producer Mark Selby were that it was one of the most enjoyable two-night tapings ever.
Oh Baby! Who better to do the voice of the play-by-play announcer on CBC’s new animated holiday special than Bob Cole? Cole, along with Phil Esposito, can be heard on “The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale” a new, animated Christmas special premiering Monday, Dec. 14 on CBC. The story follows a young girl’s struggles