This week, right after my birthday, I received an extraordinary gift: a collection of one-of-a-kind Russian nesting or tea dolls depicting the iconic animated ad mascots of mid-20th century television. Hand-painted on seven wooden doll forms were 14 figures: the largest had renderings of the Star-Kist tuna mascot “Charley,” the Jolly Green Giant and Little
A lot has changed in the half century since The Brady Bunch was one of the new fall shows of 1969. Or has it? Despite Netflix and what looks to be about a dozen other streaming services constantly spitting out content, September is still the month when old shows return and new ones try to
A few days after I razzed Rogers to make a call on Sunnyside, they did. The show, as expected, was officially cancelled. The sketch-uational comedy, shot for all the right tax reasons in Winnipeg, pleased fans dying to see some of Canada’s best comedy performers romp through a half-hour of unbridled madness. Here was a
UPDATED: The numbers posted by the victorious Toronto Blue Jays during the ALDS are incredible: an overnight, estimated 4.85 million viewers watched that unforgettable fifth and deciding game on Sportsnet Wednesday night, peaking at a staggering 8.1 million by the final out. That tally followed 4,377,000 viewers for Game 4 vs Texas on Thanksgiving Monday afternoon and
CANNES, France–This was the MIPCOM that never was. On Saturday–two days before I arrived in Cannes–terrible storms whipped this Mediterranean seaport, dumping 120 days worth of rain in two hours. Delegates who arrived early, some to attend children’s TV marketplace MIP Junior, were caught in dangerous floodwaters. Some waded out of restaurants in water past their
So how are all these new Fall shows doing in Canada? About as so-so as they are in the U.S. based on first week, overnight impressions. Keep in mind overnights are now like watching the first two periods of a hockey game. Still, they provide a relative indication of which shows have made some sort
When I spoke with Norm Macdonald this summer in Montreal at the Just for Laughs comedy festival, he was quite happy to talk about Sunnyside. The all-Canadian comedy returns Sunday at 8 p.m. on City with the first of several brand new episodes. Shot in Winnipeg and co-created by Dan Redican and Gary Pearson, Sunnyside, like
A few weeks ago when I was in Montreal for Just for Laughs I caught up with Norm Macdonald. The 51-year-old comedian has long been a favourite of mine, dating back to his days as Saturday Night Live‘s most fearless Weekend Update anchor. Twenty years ago, Macdonald knew the next shot he took at O.J. Simpson