Monthly Archives: March 2012

Dragons' Den

Dragons’ Den finale on April 4 looks back

From a media release:

DRAGONS’ DEN WRAPS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON WITH A LOOK BACK AT SIX INCREDIBLE YEARS

  • Favourite moments, best and most outrageous pitches plus inside dish on the deals that went down on season finale – Wednesday, April 4 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV

For the first time ever, all five Dragons gather to reminisce about the very best – and worst – moments over the past six seasons of DRAGONS’ DEN. The Season Finale, titled “Inside the Den” airs Wednesday, April 4 at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Television. In this finale, Dragons Jim Treliving, Kevin O’Leary, Arlene Dickinson, Bruce Croxon and Robert Herjavec sit with DRAGONS’ DEN host Dianne Buckner and “tell all” about what makes them spend, what sets them off, what moves them and what they really think about each other. The show includes highlights from the last six seasons of the show – the sexy stuff, the singing, the stand-out pitches, the in-fighting, the making-up – and we count down the three MOST memorable moments in DRAGONS’ DEN history. Throughout it all, Dianne Buckner puts all five Dragons in the hot seat. 

Tune in to see a replay of some of the racier pitches that have occasionally rendered the Dragons speechless. And they’ll reveal whether they think sex really does help sell your product, or if showing too much skin does you in. Plus the Dragons come clean about “crushing dreams” vs. “being honest”. And they’ll explore their love-hate relationships they have with each other, in a candid discussion about competition, collaboration and friendship. Plus discover the key ingredients of a winning pitch, and find out what really happens to deals once they leave the Den. 

DRAGONS’ DEN is the top-rated Canadian entertainment program on television, with over one and a half million Canadians tuning in each week. In addition to its success on-air, DRAGONS’ DEN is also a hit online, boasting an active and engaged online community. Full episodes and exclusive behind-the-scenes content can be viewed at cbc.ca/dragonsden. DRAGONS’ DEN is filmed at CBC Headquarters in Toronto, ON and airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET (8:30 NT) on CBC Television. Tracie Tighe is Executive Producer and Lisa Gabriele is Senior Producer.

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Dramas and Comedies, Republic of Doyle

New tonight: Titanic, Republic of Doyle, King

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Titanic, Global – Part Two of Four
Political strife in Belfast interferes with the construction of the Titanic, but White Star Line chairman Bruce Ismay dismisses designer Thomas Andrews’ concerns. Catholic engineer Jim Maloney and his family board the Titanic where he encounters a mysterious lone passenger who unsettles his wife Mary. In Second Class, Muriel resents her husband John’s subservience and reveals she knows a secret about his employer, but John’s worries are over-shadowed by a looming iceberg and the chaotic scramble

Republic of Doyle, CBC – “Con, Steal, Love”
Jake is hired to retrieve a priceless violin from a familiar con artist; Mal continues to dig into the death of his former partner; Kathleen is roped into another of George’s schemes.

King, Showcase – “Sunil Sharma”
A multiple homicide leaves Jess on a razor’s edge. An Indo-Canadian family is found brutally murdered. A dead Indian bride and a white groom. With a trail of blood leading right to the bride’s brother. Should be a slam-dunk but King isn’t so sure. With Graci under pressure from community leaders, a motive for murder becomes more and more elusive. Jess struggles to make sense of this horrendous crime and begins to suspect that the truth she uncovers may relate to a truth in her personal life she hasn’t been willing to hear.

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Dramas and Comedies, Featured, Industry News

TV, Eh? Industry Roundup – Beywheelz, CRTC, eOne, NSI Canada

Beywheelz debuts in North America

Beywheelz, a spinoff of the Beyblade series, is formally announced by Nelvana. Beywheelz is one of Nelvana’s MIPTV offerings, which include Trucktown, two seasons of Detentionaire, Franklin and Friends‘ second season, and Mr. Young‘s second season.

According to I Miss Bionix, Beyblade: Metal Fury is an English-language adaptation of d-rights’/Nelvana’s Metal Fight Beyblade 4D, which saw its Japanese episode length halved in 2011, after 26 episodes. This was to accommodate Cross Fight B-Daman, leaving Nelvana with 39 half-hour episodes of Beyblade: Metal Fury. Beywheelz combines with Beyblade: Metal Fury, to make a 52-episode order.

In 2002, Nelvana gained wide-ranging North and South American, Oceanian, as well as most European, rights to Beyblade. The Beyblade toy was successfully reintroduced in North America by Nelvana, in 2009.

Beywheelz, by the way, are small “battling” tires. I wish I could sell that concept better, but then, Beyblades are small “battling” tops.

Continue reading TV, Eh? Industry Roundup – Beywheelz, CRTC, eOne, NSI Canada →

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Spelling Night in Canada airs April 1 on CBC

From a media release:

ACTION, SPEED AND SPLIT-SECOND DECISIONS UNDER PRESSURE – SPELLING NIGHT IN CANADA RETURNS TO CBC!

  • Twenty-one bright minds compete for the crown of Canada’s best speller Sunday, April 1 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT)

They’ve worked hard to get here, and they are about to battle against the best of their peers at the biggest competition of the year. This is not the NHL Playoffs, this is Postmedia Canspell 2012: Spelling Night in Canada – a one-hour prime-time event that will celebrate excellence in our young people and keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Spelling Night in Canada airs Sunday, April 1 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) on CBC Television.

Open to students from Grade 4 to Grade 8, the 8th annual Postmedia Canspell competition began when a quarter of a million young Canadians took part in school spelling bees in January. From there, 21 finalists from schools across the country are squaring off for Spelling Night in Canada.

CBC Radio host Brent Bambury (Day 6) will join returning host and hockey broadcasting veteran Jim Hughson of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA along with colour commentary from renowned expert Paul Loeffler (Scripps National Spelling Bee). Spelling Night in Canada takes the spelling bee format to the next level – with a fast-paced game-show style, celebrity hosts and commentators. CBC Books is partnering with Canspell 2012 to provide editorial content for the competitors.

New to this year’s broadcast, the audience will have the chance to play along to find out if they can spell better than an eighth grader. To engage live, viewers can log into their Twitter accounts, listen to the words on television and reply to @SpellingNight with the correct spelling of the word. The person who spells the most words correctly during the course of the broadcast will win a prize. Players will also be able to see how many words they spelled correctly, and how they measure up against the rest of Canada.

Similarly on Facebook, leading up to the Spelling Night in Canada broadcast, over a thousand of the real words that are used in the competition will be released. Users are encouraged to play the Facebook Spelling Game to find out how many words they are able to spell correctly, while challenging friends to compete. Each round will generate a new set of 10 words, so competitors can keep learning and improving as they play.

The winning super-speller will receive a $7,500 education award, courtesy of Egg Farmers of Canada. The second and third place spellers will receive $5,000 and $2,500 respectively, also courtesy EFC. All three top spellers will go to represent Canada and their hometowns internationally at the renowned Scripps Bee in Washington, D.C. in June.

The 8th annual Postmedia Canspell National Spelling Bee Final takes place on Wednesday, March 28 at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto where it will be taped in front of a live studio audience. Canadians can witness the edge-of-your-seat competition by tuning into Spelling Night in Canada on April 1 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT).

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Arctic Air, Ratings

Arctic Air boasts record season for CBC

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From a media release:

ARCTIC AIR’S DEBUT SEASON REACHES RECORD HEIGHTS ON CBC TELEVISION

  • Arctic Air is the most-watched debut season for a CBC drama series in 15 years 

ARCTIC AIR, the blockbuster CBC adventure drama about a Yellowknife-based maverick airline and the extended family of unconventional people who run it, notched record ratings in its first season, with an audience of almost one million viewers along for the ride throughout the show’s 10 action-packed episodes. From its premiere to 1.229 million Canadians on January 10 to the season finale on March 13, an average audience of 965,000 tuned in to ARCTIC AIR, making this the largest audience to follow the first season of a CBC Television drama series in 15 years. The show beat North of 60, the sub-arctic drama (also starring ARCTIC AIR’s Adam Beach) whose first season was a ratings hit 20 years ago, with an average audience of 962,000.

“In an increasingly competitive and fragmented TV landscape, achieving this level of success in 2012 is a huge accomplishment, and a testament to the skill and hard work of ARCTIC AIR’s production team,” said Kirstine Stewart, Executive Vice-President, CBC English Services. “It’s exciting to see so much viewer interest in a drama that’s for, by and about Canadians. Along with the recent success of shows like MR. D, the huge popularity of ARCTIC AIR proves once again that Canadians really do want to watch quality Canadian programs.”

“Canadians make a lot of great television, but we all know that doesn’t always translate into great ratings,” said ARCTIC AIR director-producer Gary Harvey. “To have ARCTIC AIR reach these heights, on the wings of great production values and strong promotion, is a testament to how Canadian shows can succeed when producers and broadcasters get it right.”

ARCTIC AIR features the star power of Adam Beach (Cowboys and Aliens, Flags of our Fathers, Law & Order: SVU), Pascale Hutton (Fringe, Rookie Blue, Sanctuary) and Kevin McNulty (The Killing, End Game, Battle Star Galactica).To catch up on Arctic Air visit cbc.ca/arcticair

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