I’m on a break for a couple of weeks. Not exactly on vacation. More of on a Quest that’ll either turn out to be very interesting or a total disaster. More on that soon. I also decided not to write about TV for a couple of weeks. With the CRTC making some major announcements on July 6, I figured I should use this time to clear my head, do a few curls and crunches and get ready for what looks to be “The Big One” – or at least “The Next One”. Given some of the pre-announcement posturing by som... Read Full Story

There are generally two kinds of people in this business. Those who are creative and those who feed off them. Please don't read that assessment as being harsh. Because that which the creatives create is meant to be consumed and exploited and copied and used to provide a livlihood or cultural enrichment for others. But lately an entire industry has stepped to the fore wherein the creatives themselves are consumed, leaving less worth exploiting and a pervasive feeling of emptiness.We call this ... Read Full Story

I was living and working in Hollywood in the late 1970’s during the tail end of what was probably the golden age of iconic prime time television. The big hits were M*A*S*H*, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazard, Taxi, Happy Days, The Incredible Hulk, CHiPs and, of course, Charlie’s Angels. Cotton candy television for the most part. Shows with big budgets and big stars. Every one of them had a familiar theme, great title sequences, popular catch-phrases, cars blowing up and guest stars just as well ... Read Full Story

In an example of how much Canadian broadcasting executives just don’t get it, CanWest issued a press release recently to announce changes to its specialty channels.These included:1. Turning out the lights at “Fine Living Canada”. I guess people here aren’t living as fine as the Prime Minister seems to think.2. Going after a larger male demographic on the, currently heavy with Wedding shows and Makeover shows and shows on Figuring-out-how-to-make-boys-like-us, Slice Channel. Hint to Slice, mos... Read Full Story

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off. (Jack Handy) Read Full Story

This week I watched three different television news services, CNN, CTV and Newsworld all run segments in which the anchors were awed by the Twitter–ed uprising in Iran. They marvelled at the ability of a repressed population to get around the brutally restrictive practices of their government to share information and get their stories out to the rest of the world, achieving what these organizations could not. The parallels to Canadian television were boggling. And while I was struck by the fa... Read Full Story

We just had one of those violent High School incidents in my part of the world. There was a big fight at a local high school. Knives were drawn and several kids and a teacher who tried to intervene ended up in hospital.So now there's a big debate here about metal detectors, cops in schools, what teachers should do in such situations -- and probably whether Fencing and Kendo should be on the ciriculum.It's been 40 years since I was in high school, so I won't offer an opinion on all that. But i... Read Full Story

I was cleaning out the garage on the weekend and found a copy of MacLean’s Magazine I’d bookmarked from October 3, 2005. The story was a report on CTV boss Ivan Fecan’s ratings battle with Global and included elements far more interesting now than they seemed back then. For students of modern history, this article may have been the first time the public became aware that CTV was purchasing hit American network shows and then parking them on the shelf until there was room in the schedule. It... Read Full Story

I first heard the term on a chilly Friday night in 1986. I was working on my first television series as a staff writer, a Canadian series called “Adderly” sold to CBS as part of its late night slate. The practice of American networks buying cheaper Canadian programming is older than some people realize. We’d been on the air for a few weeks and were doing well; so well that a couple of executives from our American studio partner had come up to hang out and offer input. We were shooting... Read Full Story

As I’ve said many times before, my philosophy of producing is simple: Hire good people. Leave them alone. Take credit for what they do. When you follow those steps, you’re invariably more successful than you are on your own. And considered much smarter than you actually happen to be as well. A lot of people in this business and many other endeavors follow a different strategy. They make sure they’re the smartest people in the room. And they do that either by not hiring people who appea... Read Full Story