All this Canadian dreck we get on television

(Why would production costs be cheaper? I thought if anything they'd get less tax breaks and shit.)

Subtitled, of course.

Surprise, surprise a defensive Canadian.

You are missing my point entirely. What I trying to ascertain is whether these shows (set aside global phenomenon X-Files) that are shown on US television, usually on non-network channels, are produced totally for the US market, and just done so in Canada because it's cheaper, or whether they are shown on Canadian channels as well. My understanding is that Canada has various rules that require a certain percentage of "Canadian content." So it may be that there are productions made in such a way - location, casting - to suit those rules, and then subsequently sold to US stations/networks.

And most countries/states/cities that want to and can support film & tv production offer various tax breaks or subsidies or whatever. I would actually assume such support is higher in Canada, to offset perceived US advantages.

Also, yes, the tax breaks in Canada (particularly Toronto) are better than in the US. I can name a few recent movies that were shot there for that reason, because I am a nerd.

what about Farscape? Does Canada get to claim that gem?

And simply filming something up here does not Canadian content make. There's a bunch of other things that get factored in to determine CanCon. What they are I'm not sure tho.

But Mitya, I think that Sundar's point is that there almost is no such thing as an exclusive US market. We have access to probably around 95% of everything the US entertainment market produces, but we just may watch a bit less of it than people actually there because we also have access to most of our homegrown stuff. Despite the fact that a bunch of Americans actually saw "Due South", I think the balance the other way around isn't nearly as high. We do have an actual exclusive market that knows it doesn't need international appeal so tends to wallow in said dreck a little - unless you guys really do get stuff like "This Is Wonderland" now, in which case I'll have to re-evaluate a little.

(Never heard of 'This is Wonderland', Da Vinci's Inquest is running in syndication, however.)

the proper answer is: canadia is grebt, and i wish that hollywood product came with asterisks to denote who's canadian, cause i think the quality is all out of proportion to the 10% population vis-a-vis usa.

xp

xp she says it's something about the mouth (which has nothing to do with francais-english)...

massive x-post. the newsroom and made in canada were really good.

it seems that for something foreign to penetrate the american market it has to be really grebt, whereas for something american to penetrate a foreign market doesn't mean much.

Actually, it is, even on regular channels. Part of the requirement for something to be considered Can Con is that a certain percentage of the on-camera personnel to be Canadian as well. In other words, it's not enough to have everyone BEHIND the camera be Canadian, at least half (I believe) the stars have to be, too. (We have an American host on our show but the rest of the on-air folks are Canadian so it's still Can Con).

I was just flipping through the credits of Battlestar Galactica 2.0 last night, as we started going through the DVDs, and I was surprised at just how many of the on-camera people were Canadian. But I don't think it counts as Can-Con because of the ownership of the production company, at the very least.

american tv has good production values plus whatever machine behind it that makes it very easy to sell around the world.

this is what I'm trying to get at, sort of. in Russia we used to get a broad mix of international programs, so there's be X-Files and then Macleod's Daughters and then Inspector Morse. my impression is that over the last ten-ish years the US market has gradually seen a lot of heavily Canadian productions appear on syndicated channels (another example is First Wave). much more so than UK or Australian productions. what I'm curious about is whether these shows are being done in Canada/by Canadians so that they have a better chance of being shown on Canadian TV (because they meet can-con requirements), or whether the "Canadian-ness" is simply down to cost factors.

In music I say yes. But see: CanCon c/d???

sidenote: Holy shit Toronto, WIND!

xpost
i had to

canadians, tell me about rent-a-goalie

Why?

whether these shows (set aside global phenomenon X-Files) that are shown on US television, usually on non-network channels, are produced totally for the US market
Actually, produced for global market. The wonderfully indistinct TV programming Canada specializes in sells all over the world, especially places like Ireland and Norway. So I'm told.
And really, Newsroom boosters, could it have been any more blatantly a ripoff of Larry Sanders, right down to L. Pinsent/J. Garafolo?

TV made for the Cdn market tends to be really made for Canadian market, ie OMG we're in Winnipeg ROFL!

any other Mantracker fans here? fucking love that show.

Newsroom was such a fucking awesome show and I've only ever seen a few episodes. I wonder if it's available on DVD?

We get a lot of Canadian TV here, due mostly to ABC/CBC co-productions, I think. Kids shows a big chunk of that.

I also want to see more of "Corner Gas". Driest thing I've ever seen on TV.

And really, Newsroom boosters, could it have been any more blatantly a ripoff of Larry Sanders, right down to L. Pinsent/J. Garafolo?

― there's a better way to browse (Dr. Superman), Sunday, 25 October 2009 23:08 (Yesterday)

i'm pretty sure you're thinking of "made in canada", leah pinsent wasn't in "the newsroom".

actually was thinking of Tanya Allen on The Newsroom http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0021091/ (Pinsent was in Escape from the Newsroom, howev)

I kind of like Less Than Kind, kind of Jewier Roseanne in Wpg (ROFL), starring Maury Chaykin.

also would like to learn another word for "kind"

Yeah I was thinking Newsroom was much earlier than Larry Sanders, wasnt it?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/maritimers-quebeckers-denounce-cbc-series-as-historically-inaccurate/article34597798/

For their part, Acadians say the series has completely ignored them and their “fundamental contribution to the creation of this country,” the Acadian Federation of Nova Scotia said in a statement.

Critics in Quebec say the depiction of the French in the first episode is less favourable and at times offensive compared to the depiction of the British.

...

The academics note that the on-air specialists and celebrities featured in the episode are all anglophones except for two: Dancer Louise Lecavalier and ultimate-fighting star Georges St-Pierre, who offers the commentary about the Plains of Abraham, which is considered the most iconic battle in Canadian history.

“It would be like asking Zinedine Zidane to talk about the French Revolution, or David Beckham to speak about the execution of Charles I,” said Mr. Turcot, a professor at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières.

In his comments, Mr. St-Pierre says it’s important to use surprise in attacks because “what you don’t see coming, that’s what knocks you out.”

...

“Canada: The Story of Us is not meant to be a comprehensive and linear account of Canada’s history nor a definitive history of Canada,” Chuck Thompson, a spokesman for the corporation, said in an e-mail Tuesday.

yes, let's wait another 150 years for that one

this thread has reminded me of Newsroom and Corner Gas and now I need to hunt them down online and rewatch!

whenever i drive around downtown vancouver I'm always bombarded with ads on bus stops and such for CBC's original content and it all looks just awful. ffs does anybody actually watch schitts creek?

I've watched it once out of morbid curiousity. It's not horrible but it's cut out of the old clean sitcom mold, so ymmv.

I've heard Schitts isn't bad. A lot of people have been telling me to check out Letterkenny. Supposed to be p good.

Letterkenny is super-dry in the Corner Gas style, but far raunchier. I watched two episodes at a friend's insistence. I don't think I will be watching any more, but ymmv.

Murdoch Mysteries 4 life.

Republic of Doyle : gone but not forgotten.

more on story of us

this time things get philosophique

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/in-canada-we-are-all-others-which-makes-a-story-of-us-impossible/article34684222/

So, who is us?

The late father of Mr. Trudeau, Pierre Elliott, liked to quote Henri Bourassa, a Quebec intellectual and politician of the early 20th century: We have in our country the patriotism of Ontarians, the patriotism of Quebeckers and the patriotism of Westerners, but there is no Canadian patriotism, and there will not be a Canadian nation as long as we do not have a Canadian patriotism. The task of writing a pleasing, consensual and feel-good history is as impossible in Canada as it is everywhere else.

CBC is now apologetic, and as a result, has all but organized a national therapy session. But the lack of awareness from the CBC and the PMO is an indication of the fact that the national debate, the old idea of the two founding nations, is not on anyone’s radar. It is a testimony of the political climate, devoid of any constitutional tension.

It seems that for many of us watching this series all over Canada, je est un autre, as Rimbaud said.

a week ago i told a good friend exactly what bourassa said. he got offended. when i tried to rationalize what my friend thought canadian identity was and how he excluded some but included others his reasoning failed. he got even more offended, in that passive-aggressive way, and it pretty much fractured our friendship. i doubt we will speak again

i watched a bunch of schitts creek! it's fine. eugene levy's son is the best part of it for sure.

i also watched all of letterkenny which is chilling as someone who grew up 30 mins away from "letterkenny" (aka: listowel, on)

letterkenny is p dumb

schitts creek isn't awful but the thing that made me laugh most is that chris elliott's character is called Roland Schitt.