Tag: television

Commercial Free CBC?

Post ImageVia iloveradio.org, I came across a post on the Canadian Journalist blog which explains that a recent senate report on Canadian media is recommending an ad-free CBC:

A Senate report on Canadian media recommends that CBC-TV become a commercial-free broadcaster. The report also recommends measures to prevent private media conglomerates from dominating newspaper, radio and television audiences in a single market.

The CBC proposal would mean the federal government would have to boost the corporation’s almost $1-billion annual budget to make up for the loss of advertising revenue.

First of all, have these people not heard of the Internet? There’s your solution to one media conglomerate dominating a single market. And then more importantly – more money for the CBC?! I don’t think so.

The post also mentions that the senate committee spent more than three years travelling the country, hearing from witnesses. I find it hard to believe these people gave them the idea that CBC needs more money. Maybe more money to produce something worth watching, but certainly not to have more of the crap we currently find on CBC. Seriously, there’s sports, crappy CBC shows, and decent BBC shows.

Here’s my recommendation: keep the radio and Internet properties, and get rid of CBC television. I’ve been thinking about this for a while actually, especially since CBC lost the contract for curling (there, even a cbc.ca link!). Here is my reasoning:

  • I don’t think a publicly-funded organization should be allowed to compete with private companies for contracts such as curling or the NHL broadcast rights.
  • I don’t agree with a publicly-funded organization running a for-profit entity, like Country Canada.
  • There is no compelling reason for CBC Television to exist. CTV, Global, City, and the other stations are all quite capable, and often cover news and events far better than CBC does anyway.
  • We could probably do far more with the budget currently spent on CBC.
  • We could get rid of Don Cherry and those other idiots, and Ron MacLean could move to TSN!

Okay that last one isn’t really a serious reason, but it would be awesome! The only time I ever watch CBC is for the hockey, and I don’t think I’m alone.

My only other suggestion would be to make CBC Television an entirely, 100%, Canadian-content channel that is not allowed to bid on sporting broadcast rights, play Hollywood movies, etc. No budget increases either. Then we could relax the requirement that Canadian broadcasters make sure at least 30% of their content is Canadian-created, and we might actually have some competition for American networks.

However, with our media becoming increasingly global, I wonder if we need television stations like CBC. I’m of the opinion that private enterprise will do a far better job of providing local and national content in the long run anyway.

Read: Canadian Journalist

Smallville Season Five Finale

Post ImageI won’t give any spoilers away, but…what an amazing episode! Huge cliffhanger. Lots of action. Excellent special effects. Some very interesting twists. Some funny moments, and some scary moments. Perhaps the only bad part was that it further proved that Lana is the most terribly written character on the show (well that and the few usual plotholes I guess). I’m going to have to watch it again, and then I’m sure I’ll find more faults heh.

The next few months of waiting for season six are going to be unbearable. At least there’s Superman Returns and KryptonSite in the interim.

That is all.

Kellie Pickler

Post ImageI don’t watch American Idol, let alone follow who gets kicked off or not, but my Grandma happened to be watching it when I walked in the house tonight, and Kellie Pickler was performing. All I gotta say is wow, that girl is irresistibly cute and she can sing too! She’s got my vote for American Idol! And here I thought I was finished with my blondes stage…

She’s nineteen years old from Albemarle, North Carolina, and she likes Kelly Clarkson and Keith Urban. Seems as though Kellie has a similar sort of confidence to me:

What is your definition of an AMERICAN IDOL?
Kellie Dawn Pickler.

That’s like something I would say! Good luck Kellie!

Read: American Idol

Minka Kelly

Ever come across someone you think might make it big one day? Well that’s what happened to me when I saw Minka Kelly, so this post is here in case she does become a star – then I can say, told you so! She’s been in two movies according to IMDB, and has guest starred in a few TV shows, including “What I Like About You” which is where I first saw her. She’s not listed in the credits for the movie Serenity at IMDB, but at least one website includes her in the cast (and I haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know).

Other than that, I don’t know anything about her. There’s no bio information on IMDB, she doesn’t appear to have her own website, and even the photos of her are few and far between (she’s pictured here with Donald Faison). My advice to her agent – get a website and make sure it’s the top result in Google! Right now a search for “Minka Kelly” returns mostly porn links.

I think she’s really pretty, and potentially talented (the few clips I’ve seen are too short to really judge, but they weren’t bad). I like her name too, very unique. Maybe she’ll make it!

Zoey 101 and Jamie Lynn Spears

Post ImageI don’t watch a lot of TV, and definitely not on Saturdays (except for hockey of course) but for whatever reason I turned the old tube on this morning and started flipping through the channels. I’m also pretty picky when it comes to cartoons – I think the cartoons on TV these days are crap compared to when I was a kid (most people probably think the same thing about their childhood cartoons though I suppose). So I avoided the cartoons. Eventually I flipped all the way to channel 45, which is listed as TFCP (no clue what station it is) and discovered what appeared to be some sort of junior high comedy. I ended up watching most of it, mainly because the lead actress looked so familiar; I just couldn’t put a name to the face.

Enter IMDB, one of the most useful sites to ever exist. I checked the TV listings to see that the show was called Zoey 101, and a quick IMDB search revealed that the lead actress was none other than Jamie Lynn Spears! Being a former hardcore Britney fan (she’s a little crazy now though, don’t you think?) it was no wonder that I recognized her! I’d never heard of the show before though; here’s the plot summary:

Pacific Coast Academy, an all boys boarding school is accepting female students for the first time since the school was established. Zoey’s (Jamie Lynn Spears) little brother Dustin (Paul Butcher) is currently a student there. Zoey decides to be one of the first girls to become a student at PCA. This is very exciting, but also very scary. Fitting in at a new school is hard enough, but going away to boarding school and living on your own when you’re only thirteen can get a little crazy, especially when the girls are heavily outnumbered by the boys…

After watching the little bit that I did, it’s clear that the show is targeted at tweens. That being said, it wasn’t that bad. Anyway, makes me wonder what Jamie Lynn will be up to next. Maybe she’ll do the Hilary Duff thing, and go from TV to music, movies and beyond. At some point Hilary will be too old for that audience, and she’ll need a replacement!

Read: IMDB

Mark Cuban on Network TV

Post ImageThe recent product announcements by Apple are already having an impact. Mark Cuban thinks that Bob Iger, President and CEO of Disney, has saved Network TV by allowing the sale of TV shows on iTunes for the new video iPod, and I’m inclined to agree:

The future of network television got immediately brighter yesterday. All because Bob Iger had the brilliance to say yes to giving consumers his content, where, how and when they want to consume it.

At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what podcasting is all about. Giving consumers control over the time, place, and method of consumption. I just hope the television executives don’t screw this up by forcing advertising down our throats too. Proceed, but proceed smartly!

Read: Mark Cuban

Do you miss the CBC?

Post ImageThe CBC lockout has been ongoing for more than a month now, and people are starting to reflect on how it has affected them. Barry Reuger over at Canadian Journalist had this to say:

It’s been over a month since the CBC locked out its employees. In that time a flurry of podcasts have started and subsequently been ignored by yours truly. I now find myself reading – although not really liking – the Macleans that arrives in my mailbox each week thanks to the previous tenant.

I find that I’ve stopped missing CBC Radio, except perhaps once each morning when I would really like a newscast. I find instead that I fill my head with American public radio programming.

I would have to say I don’t miss the CBC. I think the lockout came at a particularly bad time for the workers. It’s not like I am going to miss Hockey Night in Canada, because I went a whole year without for the NHL’s lockout and somehow I survived. There are no Olympics coming up that need coverage. Actually, besides those two shows, the only thing I really watched on CBC was The Simpsons. I never really listened to CBC Radio, and I’ve always been a Global (or ITV back in the day) viewer for news.

I think the CBC is in need of a major overhaul! I don’t know what a new incarnation should look like, but The Hour was a good start. I can’t say if I think CBC has been fulfilling it’s mandate, because I don’t know what the mandate was. My generation hasn’t really had to care about mandates or responsibilities of the CBC, until now I suppose. Perhaps that would be a good step to making the CBC relevant again, review the original mandate. And on the committee that reviews said mandate, let’s have some people under the age of 30, yes?

Read: Canadian Journalist

Commander-in-Chief

Post ImageI came home from the office relatively early tonight, so I had time to catch the first episode of ABC’s “Commander-in-Chief“. Here’s the very to-the-point plotline from IMDB:

Mackenzie Allen becomes the first woman American president after she ascends to the job following the death of president Teddy Bridges.

What’s that?! Her name is Mackenzie? That’s so awesome! I have always wondered why there weren’t more characters with my name; I quite like it. She is played by Geena Davis.

Oh yeah, and she’s the first female President of the United States. As if that weren’t enough, her ascension to the Oval Office was full of controversy – she went against the wishes of the dying President who had asked her to resign. Her daughter didn’t agree with her taking the position. Lots of good storylines.

I don’t quite get the Hillary Clinton bashing though. As Allen’s husband was being shown around the “First Lady” areas, his tour-guide kept commenting on what Hillary had done and how “it didn’t go over very well”. Hillary for President, 2008!

Interesting show! I don’t know if I’ll make it a point to watch, but we’ll see.

Read: Commander-in-Chief

Everybody Hates Chris on Google Video

Post ImageI wonder how long it will be until we talk about search engines/web portals like television channels. Lots of them are streaming TV shows now, including Google Video which is streaming the premiere of Everybody Hates Chris (Via John Battelle):

Google is joining AOL and Yahoo in making new television programming available via their video search service. Today, UPN and Google have announced that Google Video now offers access (free) to the premiere episode of “Everybody Hates Chris” which aired last week on the network and is “inspired” by comedian Chris Rock’s life as a kid.

Check out the first episode on Google Video. You can read my review of the show here.

Read: Google Video

Everybody Hates Chris

Post ImageI watched the premiere of Everybody Hates Chris tonight on CityTV, a show I have been looking forward to ever since I saw the teasers for it on MuchMusic a couple weeks ago. It didn’t have me rolling on the floor, laughing so hard I was crying or anything like that, but it certainly was funny.

The show follows a thirteen year old Chris Rock throughout his daily life. Tyler James Williams plays the young Chris, and Mr. Rock himself provides narration. The opening episode introduced us to his family, his neighbourhood, and his school. The laughs came mostly from Chris Rock the narrator, or from his parents, not from Chris Rock the kid, which I guess kind of surprised me.

The show wasn’t as funny as Chris Rock’s standup comedy, but I guess that’s harder to accomplish in a sitcom. Also, this episode was the first one, so there needed to be a bunch of introduction stuff. Even still, I rather enjoyed it. I’ll be watching again next week!

Read: Everybody Hates Chris