Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the original Peanuts gang have survived nerly 60 years in television. The original animated half-hour holiday special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, premiered on Dec. 23, 1965. I was eight that Christmas and already a devoted Peanuts follower. I used to clip Charle’s Schultz’s comic strip out of the Toronto Star
As we head into another frigid Canadian winter we bring you a podcast about a series that is set and shot in the hottest part of Australia. The series is called Troppo, a term used in north Queensland that means going mad from the heat. Troppo is based on the best selling novel from Candice Fox titled
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
After 31 years as host of The Fifth Estate, plus another decade winning Emmys for CBS and NBC News, award-winning investigative journalist Bob McKeown is ready to retire. The Ottawa native never shied away from his assignments, especially when it came to reporting on football and head injuries. Back in the ’70s, he was a CFL
Tyler and Jordie Schwartz started their business of selling retro toys and gifts in 2007 as the Canadian Leg Lamp Company. The idea came after shooting their fan film “Road Trip for Ralphie,” an homage to the kid from the 1983 classic, “A Christmas Story.” Next they introduced Moose Mugs from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
CTAM, the Cable and Telecommunication Association for Marketing, held their 2024 Canada Broadcaster Forum this Wednesday in Toronto at Meridian Hall. Education Co-chair Brad Danks, CEO of Outtv, invited me to moderate one of the panels. The theme of that panel was Adapting to the Future: Canadian Companies Meeting the Challenge,” which sounded optimistic to
Near the end of Bill Brioux’s podcast interview with legendary TV writer Ken Levine, Bill asks his guest what TV he’s watching these days. Levine – whose writing credits include M*A*S*H, Frasier, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond and many others – could only come up with baseball and Jeopardy! I feel your pain, Ken. The