It's not all Americana here at TVOvermind. Yours truly hails from Canada - Toronto to be exact - so when we got an invitation to attend CBC's 2010 Upfront presentation, one of our contributing writers was off and running to the red carpet. Sarah tells me that she had a great time speaking with some of the stars and snapping photos. We've pulled together some red carpet pics and snippets from her interviews below. I also suspect she made an enemy out of figure skater Kurt Browning, but I'm hoping he forgets all about that.
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By Sarah T.
The CBC is a Canadian institution. Like most Canadians, I have a special affinity with the network. It's the reason I was born in Canada, it helped form my early childhood TV habits and it's still the source of a handful of my favourite shows. However, for a long time now, the CBC has suffered from the same affliction that has attacked other Canadian and American networks: mediocrity.
Last Thursday was the CBC fall season upfronts. It was my first time and I was very excited albeit a little cynical. The buzz was palpable and I was intrigued to hear their pitch. According to Kirstine Stewart, CBC Television's general manager, the CBC is “…going into the Fall 2010 season with many of the strongest, highest-rated, most celebrated shows in the history of this network and in the history of Canadian television." Ok, I thought, but what's in it for us, the finicky audience with abundant TV choices? Hasn't it all been done? Aren't you just repackaging American ideas? So, that was my mission: to ask the provocative why in the most polite, Canadian-way possible. Here's a sample of the answers and reactions that I got—
Kurt Browning, Host of BATTLE OF THE BLADES
TVOM: Some people have opinions about the number of reality shows on TV today, that maybe there's too many, and they're getting too clustered. And then there are the comparisons between your show and Dancing with the Stars. I know you guys had an amazing year last year, so—
Kurt: Is that a bad thing or a good thing?—
TVOM: No! You guys had an amazing year, that's really exciting!—
Kurt: Ok...
TVOM: Does that criticism still hang over your head as you enter into season 2? Or are you guys saying "We did so well that we can take it up another notch and this is how we're going to do it?"
Kurt: [His jaw starts to clench] I'm going to go back to your first question. What's the criticism, because I kind of missed it?
TVOM: There's a lot of reality shows these days, the schedule is getting crowded…
Kurt: [He interrupts, eyes blazing, he's really annoyed with me now] Ok, the one thing about our show that stays consistent is that the competition is real. It's live television, they compete. At the Olympic Games, that's the ultimate reality show. Every hockey game is a reality show. We have a format, they play and you don't know the result. That's what we're doing. We tell the stories about how they get to the ice, but so does CBC sports. So for us, we kind of hope that something fun happens and we'll use that to tell a great story. But it's not about that. It's about the journey and the competition, and that evolution. I think that's a strong format that doesn't need to be worried about. People believe in it and trust it.
TVOM: It's staunch Canadiana!
Kurt: Sure!
[After I thanked him for his time and turned off my recorder, he poked my arm saying "I thought you said that your question would be quick and easy!" Yeah, I guess it wasn't!]
William Vaughn, "Matt" from MEN WITH BROOMS:
TVOM: With already so many great shows from Canada and the US crowding the TV schedule, what's going to bring in the audience? It's not just about curling, what's it about?
William: It's really about the relationships between the members of the team and everyone in this small town; it's small town Canada. That's what the majority of what Canada is, just small towns all spread out. So it really captures that kind of small town mentality, you know. Curling may not be the most popular sport; it's kind of the underdog sport—
TVOM: But actually after the Olympics, it's killer!
William: It's huge! It's blown up! So yeah, maybe we'll have to rewrite that! But there's still that underdog group of guys and it follows the adventures and misadventures. Not everything always goes our way.
George Stroumboulopoulos, Host of THE HOUR
TVOM: You've had a lot of success with the show and typically you interview top people. Now that you're heading into your seventh season, are you now finding that people are dying to be interviewed or are you still struggling to find new, fresh, interesting stuff?
George: No, no, it's not a struggle to find people to come on the show. What we're always looking for is the best story and the most interesting conversationalist. We're a show designed for people who want to be adults and want to talk. That's what we're about. At the very beginning, I don't think people knew we were about that. They just thought it was another kind of talk show and they realize we're not that anymore. So, I'm excited to keep that up because it's harder and harder to find real conversations with a wide variety of people in one place every night. That's what we try to go for, so I'm excited about that.
TVOM: Any really bad interviews?
George: I can't say because I want to try to get that person back on in order to make it a good one.
TVOM: Anyone you're dying to talk to?
George: Neil Young and Prime Minister Harper. We'll probably have more luck with Harper—
Peter Mansbridge, Anchor of CBC NEWS: THE NATIONAL
TVOM: Do you miss the desk or is it cool now to be standing throughout most of the show?
Peter: Oh no, this was my idea! Some believed that this was somehow forced upon us by either senior management or some outside agency. That's all crap. We decided what we wanted to do. And I was the one who put forward—you know what, every big show I've ever done, 22 years anchoring for the National, I've been standing. The fall of the Berlin Wall, election nights, you know, all the big shows we do when we travel we're always standing. I like it, I get more energy. Like now, I feel more energetic than if I were sitting. Plus, if you actually look around the world, a lot of [anchors] stand. There are other ways of doing this. There's no book that says you must sit down.
TVOM: What other kind of tricks do you have planned for this fall?
Peter: What we always try to do in the fall is to launch the new season with some solid journalism in areas that actually matter to people. Now, sometimes you need some lead time to get this sort of thing done. So this summer we'll figure out the kinds of things we'll be doing. You know, our whole idea is to be in the moment, to do the interviews that matter, journalism that matters, that people actually care about.
TVOM: Now thinking of your other show, One on One, is there anyone you're dying to speak to?
Peter: [Laughs] There's lots of people I'd like to speak to. It's different than the news program; I get a half hour to learn something new about this person, what lessons they have learned in their lives.
TVOM: Worst interview ever?
Peter: The second time I interviewed Margaret Thatcher. She was out of office, in a total bitchy mood and it just didn’t work. I wasn't happy, she wasn't happy. It was pretty brutal.
TVOM: Last question— what do you really think of Prime Minister Harper?
Peter: [Laughs] Well, he is the prime mister…
Very simply: the why is because the CBC is passionate about telling the stories that resonate with Canadians. It seems to be working because the numbers show them as the top rated network. To plan your next fix, visit www.mediacentre.cbc.ca for more information about the CBC fall line-up.
SUNDAYS (beginning September 26)
7 p.m. HEARTLAND
8 p.m. BATTLE OF THE BLADES
9 p.m. ALL FOR ONE WITH DEBBIE TRAVISMONDAYS
8 p.m. BATTLE OF THE BLADES – RESULTS (begins October 3)
8:30 p.m. MEN WITH BROOMS (begins September 20)
9 p.m. JUST FOR LAUGHS (begins September 20)TUESDAYS (beginning September 21)
8 p.m. RICK MERCER REPORT
8:30 p.m. 22 MINUTES
9 p.m. BEING ERICAWEDNESDAYS (beginning September 22)
8 p.m. DRAGONS’ DEN
9 p.m. THE TUDORSTHURSDAYS (beginning September 23)
8 p.m. THE NATURE OF THINGS
9 p.m. DOC ZONEFRIDAYS (beginning September 24)
8 p.m. THE RON JAMES SHOW
8:30 p.m. RICK MERCER REPORT – Encore
9 p.m. THE FIFTH ESTATESATURDAYS
6:30 p.m. ET CBC’s HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADAWEEKNIGHTS
10 p.m. THE NATIONAL, with Peter Mansbridge (on-going)
10:55 p.m. CBC NEWS LATE NIGHT (on-going)
11:05 p.m. THE HOUR with George Stroumboulopoulos (begins September 20)
Hee, your interview with Kurt Browning cracked me up !I am a bad Canadienne, because I almost never watch CBC. I think the only things I watched with any regularity was Air Farce and This Hour has 22 minutes… I do however manage to maintain my citizenship by watching CTV and SPACE! ;)
I was totally shocked when he got so pissed at me! LOL Clarissa even said that I'd be responsible if TVOM started getting death threats. Funny stuff — someone didn't get media trained! *Grin* The best part of the day though that I didn't add in this piece was Peter Mansbridge's reaction to my question: have you realized that you're more epic than Knowlton Nash? He totally cracked up! I mean, I made this legend of Canadian national news laugh! I floated on that for a long time. Anyway, thanks for your comment.
You must have almost fallen out of your chair to see Mr. Mansbridge laughing- I can barely remember ever seeing him smile! :)I used to watch George S on Much Music, so it is a little funny for me seeing him on the CBC. I wonder if it was the same person he pissed off way back when- either Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley, whichever one was on Broadway at the time. :D
No, Mr. Mansbridge and I were standing at this bar table thing. So it would have been me falling to the ground! LOL He was really charming, tho'. What did floor me was when he said that it was crap that they were forced to change the look of the National by the execs. The guy said crap for crap's sake!! LOL George is a nice guy generally, but he gave canned answers. I read other CBC Upfront articles by some of the main newspapers and he basically said the same thing to everyone. I also think I overheard Mansbridge say he'd want to interview Bieber. I mean, really— C'mon dude, what a waste of footage if I heard him right. Gene Simmons, as far as my memory goes, has never been on Broadway. Paul Stanley however was in Phantom in '99. I saw it with my ex-bf.
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