OTTAWA – Cheers for the upswing in scripted dramas, cheers for the downturn in reality, scorn for the plague of ‘amber alert’ series and Lost imitators, howls for the once-mighty sitcom: it’s the sounds of Canadian TV critics previewing the fall fare.
But before reviewing the previews, it’s worth noting how hard it is to find a decent cross-provincial cross-section of English-language TV critics in this country – and it’s even harder to get certain of them to talk about their 2005-06 picks and pans outside their own newspapers. Media concentration, such as CanWest Global’s 2000 purchase of the National Post and 13 of Southam’s major Hollinger newspapers along with Bell Globemedia’s 2001 purchase of CTV and the Globe and Mail, has made TV critics – especially those with independent dailies in major markets – an endangered species.
Most critics of the small screen are in Toronto or nearby, with the Star being the only significant indie daily represented in Canada’s largest market, although Torstar does have minor TV holdings. The Sun, the Globe and the Post are all part of media empires, each of which also owns major television stations.
The TV critics at each of these outlets all have, therefore, considerable power to influence hundreds of thousands or millions of readers in Toronto and across Canada. This is especially true of CanWest’s TV Times, which accompanies 29 dailies every Saturday plus a number of smaller papers, according to editor Eric Kohanik.
Agreeing to speak to cartt.ca for this article were Kohanik, based in Hamilton, Ont., Sun Media’s TV Columnist Bill Brioux and, providing one of the few remaining points-of-view available at a major daily outside Toronto, the Halifax Chronicle Herald’s TV reporter Tim Arsenault.
“It’s an amber alert this season for television,” summarizes Brioux, impressed with several of the new shows but bewildered by networks whose strategy seems to be “to use fear to galvanize audiences” in the post-9/11 world.
“At least eight shows that are going to air – there were 15 or more pilots – feature lurid images of women and children in peril… being dragged into closets and so on, in scenes full of terror. I don’t get it. Is this the way you pitch shows nowadays?
“It’s odd. Here in Toronto we’ve had a summer of bloody shootings. Why would you turn to television for more of this?”
Nevertheless, Kohanik argues that “the big excitement is the return, the resurgence, of scripted dramas. Some shows are very edgy.”
Brioux and Kohanik both like Over There, an FX Network drama from Steven Bochco about American soldiers fighting in Iraq, which launched in July. “In Canada, we have a first,” says Kohanik. “This show was picked up by History Television and set for a Sept. 6 launch.”
Brioux and his colleagues all proclaim Prison Break the hottest new drama. It has already launched with back-to-back one-hours on Fox and Global. “I’m picking this as one of the best shows this fall. It’s a well-made show, a lot like 24, with compelling characters. You’re caught up in their world right away.” The early launch was meant to establish Prison Break before Fox breaks for baseball playoffs.
Kohanik also likes Criminal Minds, starring Mandy Patinkin (who may or may not sing) and Thomas Gibson, from CBS. “Mandy Patinkin is always a joy to watch. It’s a moody mystery…the concept of these profilers getting into the mind of criminals is interesting.” If this one does well, Canadian viewers may have to watch it on CBS since CTV’s fall launch materials say the show has not yet been scheduled.
Arsenault says the most disturbing trend is the “awful piggybacking on Lost” with titles such as Invasion, Threshold, Supernatural and The Night Stalker, a remake of the 1970s series starring Darren McGavin, failing to impress.
“All the sci-fi shows blend together for me,” adds Brioux. But Kohanik thinks Invasion, on CTV in Canada, “leads the pack” among Lost copycats, adding that Canadian Kari Matchett has a starring role.
Looking for heat among this year’s new comedy offerings is like spending a whole night at Yuk Yuk’s and laughing hard only twice. At least that’s how Brioux sees it. He likes NBC’s My Name is Earl, picked up here by Global. “Jason Lee’s really good in it. It’s sort of a "Touched by a Loser." It has a different rhythm to it.”
Brioux, and every other media pundit and buyer, also likes Everybody Hates Chris, about the childhood of comic Chris Rock and said to be reminiscent of The Wonder Years. “CHUM made a great move to grab (it),” Brioux says. “They’ve been living off The Bachelor for a few years. They desperately need a hit. It’s not a bad idea to simulcast it with UPN. There’s been lots of publicity around it – I think it’s a smart move.” Competition will be stiff, though, with Chris opposite The O.C., Survivor and Joey.
Arsenault says since Maritimers don’t have access to Citytv on cable, they can see Chris via UPN, included in a pay package with The Movie Network.
Since, as Arsenault puts it, “the sitcom is close to being dead in the U.S.,” CTV’s delivering laughs Canadian-style, via Corner Gas. “I’ve just previewed the first two episodes of the third season,” he says, “and they’ve raised their level. The snappiness of it, the pacing and the jokes-per-minute” have brought it back to the quality level of season one. “They’re taking advantage of their strong ensemble cast. The dreaded guest-star quotient is not too high.”
“It’s the perfect Canadian sitcom,” adds Kohanik. “I think (Global’s) Falcon Beach (coming in January) has a lot of potential to do for hip Canadian drama what Corner Gas was able to do for corny Canadian comedy.”
And – reality shows. The summer schedule was full of them, including the sometime hit Rock Star: INXS, but the consensus is there will thankfully be fewer new ones from now on. Re-tooled versions of Survivor and The Amazing Race promise to continue scoring big ratings, and the novelty factor may give The Apprentice: Martha Stewart some lift, but it may take a tumble before too long.
Arsenault says the main U.S. nets have found that a couple of reality titles, including The Law Firm and The Contender, will attract much better auds on specialty channels where the demographics are more narrowly targeted, than they did on broadcast TV. Maybe that’s another trend to watch, he says.
Susan Tolusso is an Ottawa-based freelance writer.
