Series Finale of SEAL Team

Seal Team started in 2017 when network television was still a big deal and had huge promotional parties celebrating the dozen or so series that were getting a 22 episode order for the new season. CBS likely greenlit the series following the success of History Channel's Six which ran two seasons starting in 2017. It was a SEAL team series as well.

Unlike History Channel though, the might of CBS meant they could 22 produce episodes a season and have the budget to do it. David Boreanaz, a consistent lead actor in television for many years was the eventual choice to head series. CBS has found success with a Delta Force series called The Unit from 2006 to 2009 so had some familiarity with a special forces series,

Embarking on a series like this generally means a smaller but dedicated audience as many women will tune in other shows. Still, for most of the time it was on television it held a fair sized audience. It was an expensive show though and CBS decided they wanted to make room on the network for other series so it was decided to make SEAL Team one of shows going to their new Paramount + Network.

It is the first and perhaps only program to start as a network series and continue as an original streamer series, SEAL Team was able to spice up the language if not the violence of the series. Swearing was featured on the streaming episodes.  One major difference was that instead of 22 episodes, the series had 10 episodes a season. Netflix, Amazon Prime and streamers like Paramount+ just don't producer as many episodes. It is their major weakness.

Boreanaz as Master Chief Hayes was the main character and the stories featured both his missions and family life. Writers on the show often had a military background including special forces which lent to the authenticity of the series. By it's nature fewer female characters appeared as regular cast but the ones that did were important to the show. 

Canadian actress Jessica Pare who played a CIA officer Mandy Ellis almost didn't get the role when CBS higher ups tried to torpedo her. It is still not known why the president didn't want her but producers fought to get her and she was a regular and recurring character throughout. It is shame they didn't use her more in the last two years as a CIA officer attached to Bravo because it was a very interesting role. They did try to have the relationship blossom between her and Hayes. In typical TV series drama, a wedding took place but it was Hayes's daughter but all of the cast was there and Hayes and Mandy were together as a couple ready to take it to the next step of happiness.

The main female character throughout the series was Lisa Davis played by Toni Trucks whose evolution from Specialist to Lieutenant was something to see on the show. In the end Sonny, played by Canadian actor A.J. Buckley, gives up his trident to follow Davis to a big promotion to Washington. 

The loss of the character of Clay Spenser played by Max Theriot affected every other member of Bravo company and their families. It took the show down a path to show just how much military service and the aftermath affected those who served. 

There have been a number of shows about military conflict over the years that have marked certain times in world history. MASH, Band of Brothers, Combat! and others have been as important to our understanding of those times even if it has been told by Hollywood. The change from network TV to streaming service might make these type of shows a more rare item. 

Many streamers are not making any money but then again network TV is struggling too. The issue of how to make money in this new environment and it is a major concern. Paramount as a studio is going through its second series of cutbacks this year. Hollywood has many unemployed people in California. The government in the state is looking at tax credits. They'd be wise to do so as Manitoba is having a boom in filming because of the tax credit, the crews, the locations and facilities.

Shows like SEAL Team are expensive because of the location work. However, when places like Manitoba work with the film companies, you have more of a recipe for success. The final season of SEAL Team was filmed in Columbia. The realism is what drew fans to the show. It will be missed by many.

 

Jerry Lewis Telethon and the Start of CKND 1975

The star in the middle is supposed to represent Winnipeg for the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

It was 44 years ago this week (August 31, 1975 to be exact) that CKND went on the air. A half hour program called Introducing CKND aired at 9 PM and then at 9:30 PM the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon came on the air. At 10 years old I had never really seen a Jerry Lewis film before. We had only gotten cable four years earlier after starting the decade in 1970 with a black and white TV and only two English channels CBWT and CKY.

We got cable in fall of 1971 which brought KTHI, WDAZ and KXJB from Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota. Suddenly a flood of new television programming was flooding in from five English networks and one French network. In 1975 they were joined by two more channels Prairie Public Television and CKND.

CKND was anagram for KCND which broadcast into Winnipeg from Pembina, North Dakota from 1959 to 1975. Izzy Asper and partners bought all the equipment from the station, set up in an old supermarket on St. Mary's, hired 17 of the former owner's staff and on Labour Day weekend went on the air. The 21 1/2 hour MDA Telethon would dominate the airwaves that weekend. There was a lot of excitement and the live performances by so many stars would captivate people the city in a major way.

Our family was home that weekend after camping for a month to Florida. Like most people in the city, we tuned into the new channel. I went to bed after midnight and was up at the crack of dawn fascinated that the same program was soldiering on. And on. The cutaways to local call ins for Winnipeg would not start till a year later so the program pretty much was non-stop Jerry Lewis.

The telethon would be the first time I ever saw Frank Sinatra perform live. I was actually more familiar with Nancy Sinatra (picture below) as her song These Boots Were Made For Walking was played on Winnipeg radio stations and on the Cliffords department store ads. Watching Sinatra perform though with his orchestra was a command performance.

The year 1975, as mentioned, was also the year Prairie Public Television came to Winnipeg. Its starts was less glitzy but together with CKND brought older movies to the screen that the rest of the networks did not. History films like Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton would air on PBS. CKND, on the other hand, would broadcast The Bowery Boys and all the Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies.

By the time 1976 came along, many young people were up to speed up on Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and a host of others. The 1st anniversary of CKND would bring another WDA Jerry Lewis Telethon and at the behest of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin would go on the Labour Day show. It would be the first time since 1956 that Lewis and Martin would re-unite.

The 1976 telethon would be the most watched of all the Jerry Lewis broadcasts ever and include the most stations. Families in Winnipeg watched together because many kids by this point were as familiar with the stars as their parents were. CKND featured cutaways to their call center and local celebrities were on and MDA took in the most donations in their new history at the time.

Despite seeing so many Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies in the first year of CKND's broadcast, I had felt that Dean Martin was the bigger celebrity and movie star. Although, I was really too young to see it, I was aware of the Dean Martin Show on NBC. To be honest, as a kid I was more happy with the Saturday morning cartoons of the U.S. major networks and Space: 1999 on CBC. As as family we were more likely to watch the Sonny and Cher or Carol Burnett shows.

However, on NBC in 1973, the movie Airport was shown on TV and had the highest ratings ever since Love Story broadcast by ABC the previous year. Our whole family watched Airport which had been released theatrically in 1970. I was probably too young to see it as I was scared about flying after. In my mind though, Dean Martin was a star.

It is no surprise then that when Dean Martin appeared with Jerry Lewis and Frank Sinatra on stage at the 1976 MDA Telethon that it was a huge moment in TV history. It was also a fairly amazing 1st anniversary for CKND as well.

The 1970s was really when cable exploded in Winnipeg. TV might have been around since the mid 1950s but for many families like ours, it was no longer just two channels and black and white.

Prime Review: Jack Ryan

Amazon Prime is going up head to head with Netflix. To do this requires more exclusive material. To that end they acquired TV rights to one of feature films most popular characters over the last few decades who wasn't a superhero. Jack Ryan, the CIA agent from novelist Tom Clancy book series, has been played by some of Hollywood's leading actors including Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Prine. Joining that list is John Krasinski who not only had the lead role but server as one of the producers of the show.

Season 1 aired in 2018 and was so successful that a second season and then a third was ordered by Amazon. The first season ran as an origin story for Jack Ryan which we have seen a little bit of in the feature films but with an eight episode arc, the audience gets to see a little more of a how a CIA agent begins dating the woman who will becomes his future wife.

The series differs from the books and movies in that Ryan in the book/movie past had a Soviet profiling job in the CIA whereas in a contemporary setting he is a financial analyst tracking money. His girlfriend Cathy works in infectious diseases rather than as an eye surgeon. Other back stories of some of the characters have changed according to present day threats.

The first season runs eight episodes and show how Jack goes from low level financial analyst to full CIA operative out in the field in pursuit of a terrorist. John Krasinski as Jack Ryan and Abbie Cornish as Cathy Mueller make for compelling characters as they begin to intersect both romantically and professionally.

The action cross crosses the world and the threat remains elusive as to whether it is chemical, biological or something else. All the while, the politics in CIA and elsewhere threaten to put Jack on the shelf.

Second season on Prime is coming soon as 8 episodes went all too fast. Look forward to where they take this version of Jack Ryan in coming seasons.

TV and Movie Reviews Snapshot...Chernobyl

With so many competing streaming services, cable and premium channels and regular TV, it could generally be said peak TV has arrived. Streaming is even competing with movies now with a short window in theatres and then exclusive rights on Netflix or Amazon or whatever.

I occasionally review movies here but don't get to as many as I once did. That's the price of work and also trying to do other recreational things within and outside the city. Time and a budget are always at a premium.

In the days of fewer channels, the shared experience of watching things together at the same time on TV or theatres was huge in its immediacy. Now, only live sports is that immediate. Video recording starting in the 1980s changed things a lot but it was more about the speed than total loss of immediacy. For example, recording TV usually meant you tried to watch the recorded program within a short timespan. The reasoning behind that was that blank tapes were not exactly cheap in the beginning.

TV series were rarely rented or sold on tape as they would take up so much space.  I remember how the only video cassettes I often saw of series were Seinfelds.

Streaming has killed both the video rentals market as well as downloads. The only recordings people make now are with PVRs for TV. Even that is not really owned by you. It is digitally stored and has some limits. It can expire and delete. You can reach maximum amount of storage. It is not the same as having the movie or TV series in your hand. But then again people seem to have accepted that.

My big complaint about cable has been and still is that despite so many channels there is not as much international TV series or movies on it. Netflix and others in the never ending drive to feed content goes everywhere to find as well as fund it. And now other streamers are doing it too.

Truth be told the big studios and broadcasters are all reaching a convergence where they do everything from theatrical releases, DVDs, Video on Demand, network and cable, streaming and downloads. And working with partners to create bigger productions, shared budgets or access to other markets including broadcast and production.

HBO has become more than a premium cable channel. In Canada it is now an anchor for Crave TV in Canada for their streamer. Game of Thrones has been an important part of driving traffic to the channel in recent years. However, it is not the only quality program that has come from there. In some ways HBO originally faced the same accusation that it mostly made money from movie content produced by other studios including its own. If that was once true, it isn't the case now. They have produced their own material from all the way back to the 1980s. In 1983, they produced Fraggle Rock which was filmed in Canada in partnership with CBC.

Following Game of Thrones many wondered if HBO still had the chops to draw eyeballs to their network. That has proved true with Chernobyl.

Chernobyl

This is a five part mini-series based on the real event of the explosion in a nuclear plant in the USSR in 1986. It is by the far the scariest series I have ever seen. The first episode I could only take in short amounts. So deep was my sense of dread that I winced every time a decision was made that was truly and curled up in fear as it unfolded.

There has been a great deal made about how authentic the series is. Complaints and kudos are all over the place. The producers went to great lengths to tell the story and make it look and feel like 1986. However, it is a dramatization and some characters are a composite. And the dialogue is at best a guess as the interactions among the players. 

While there is a large cast, there main focus is on three. The actors are Jared Harris, Stellan Skargard and Emily Watson. Essentially, the represent the political and scientific response to the nuclear disaster. Quite simply the performances by the stars is simply the best are are likely to be forgotten during award season.

As for the story, the first episode starts off with a bang and confusion and absolute terror. That horror comes from the fact that no one seems to know what happened or how bad it is. There is denial even as evidence of people being exposed to huge doses of radiation is exhibited. Once the extent of the continuing disaster happens, the story in future episodes tells what the response is in terms of evacuations, putting the fire out and the capping the damage.

The continued exposure and deaths of those responding to the crisis weighs even as the investigation goes on side by side of the response to the explosion. And throughout this, the oppressive and secret Soviet society denies, covers up or otherwise inhibits the truth until it threatens all the Soviet Union and Europe.

The final episode takes place in a court and re-creates how and why the explosion takes place. It is still frightening but intercut with explanations that make it more clinical. In the end, the story concludes with vignettes about the players in the story.

All in all it is great television. The best. I suspect the ending might have been more conclusive with an a death estimate but even now there is controversy in regards to it all in both the east and the west. Still, great television on a subject you would not expect such great writing and acting from.

The End of Space Channel

Space, the Imagination Station came into existence in 1997 primarily to block the entry of the American Sci-Fi Channel which started in 1992. The CHUM network was the original owner and where it might not have had a lot of original Canadian dramatic material produced in the beginning, it did produce innovative entertainment and news covering sci-fi and science in general.

The first movie aired was Forbidden Planet followed a commentary from Canadian author Robert Sawyer. Mars Attacks! came next. And so it was that a mix of old and new sci-fi became the staple of programming with zippy documentary style snippets in between. Canadian programming produced on other networks such as Relic Hunter would find a home on Space as did Stargate SG-1. In the past such programming might find it hard to land a spot as second run or syndicated programming. Not every program such as Star Trek was as lucky to be continually running in syndication. On Space, not only Star Trek but every American as well as Canadian program that had even an inkling of sci-fi in it would land on the network.

In some ways Space was able to land programming that even Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. couldn't land as studios would direct their second run stuff to affiliated cable networks. In Canada, Space was almost always the central repository of sci-fi programming whatever country, network or studio originally aired it. CTVglobemedia acquired CHUM in 2007 and the formula continued of broadcasting sc-fi from around the world and from Canada. in 2011, Space went high definition. That same year Bell took 100% control of Space.

In 2013, Bell began its first re-branding of Space by changing the logo and the slogan to "It's all around you." This coincided with the Canadian co-production of Orphan Black and the network was concerned that the audience associated Space with Star Trek and the like and not on fantasy or speculative fiction.

This was untrue of course. The original slogan of the network was "The imagination station." It was an attempt to broaden Bell's programming restrictions which they chafed at constantly. They always wanted less Canadian in CRTC hearings and as it turned out, less sci-fi programming. Somehow the least sci-fi program Castle was broadcast non-stop on the station.

In the U.S., the Sci-Fi Channel was re-branded SyFy in the same year of 2013 to give Universal a trademark name. This spread all over the world or alternatively Universal channel which was owned by NBCUniversal. To the annoyance of sci-fi fans as early as 2006 the U.S. network was airing Law and Order spin-offs and well as other non-sci-fi entertainment.

Space remains Canadian owned and this will fall will be re-branded once more at CTV Sci-Fi. It will have sister stations CTV Drama, CTV Life and CTV Comedy. The CRTC remains steadfast on Canadian content and the success of some Canadian produced shows has encouraged networks not only to broadcast material but take ownership stakes in it.

Canada is a top producer of TV and film programming but it remains to be seen if the new CTV branding strategy is to help production or to package the entire company for an international sale under a new government.

Encore+ Canadian YouTube Channel 2017

It really hasn't gotten the big splash it deserves but this week Encore+ has begun as a YouTube channel devoted to Canadian content. It is digitally re-mastered TV and film production covering kids, drama, comedy and documentaries produced by and for the Canadian market.

Some of these programs are still seen on cable in Canada, some on pay services such as Netflix or CraveTV. This will be the first time they are for free and in support of the people who created these programs. The channel is a creation of the Canadian Media Fund and supported by Google Canada, Bell Media, Telefilm Canada, Deluxe Canada and Broadband TV (BBTV).

This is an experiment to see if catalogue material from the vaults of Canada can find new audiences or bring back old audiences and be monetized to benefit the creators of the material.

In the next few years, it will harder to find free or less expensive material to view as Netflix, Disney and others create their own paywall media and increase the price to see it. YouTube itself is increasing how it monetizes itself and original material can make contributors rich with advertising and sponsorship.

There is a hunger out there for quality material from years past. In fact, the hunger is so great that people will seek it out even if it is of low video and sound quality just because it isn't available except on unauthorized downloads or streaming.

Free high quality material that is binge worthy and might even be family approved that actually might help pay the creators should and ought to be a no brainer.

Ultimately, people will make their choice on what is uploaded and so far there is 300 videos up covering various TV shows and movies.

Here is what is up so far.

Encore+

Due South
Mr. Dressup
Da Vinci's Inquest
The Littlest Hobo
Are You Afraid of the Dark
Little Mosque on the Prairie

There is also French material as well going up such as Degrassi Junior High in French and Due South in French.

Many TV movies and films are also going up.

Safe to say this changes many things for Canadian catalogue content. There is no telling how much library material could be up for free on YouTube as a result of this. So little media splash for it as well. I suspect most people will discover the channel purely by accident.

Best Canadian entertainment story for a long time. Everyone should push for their favourite old show to be uploaded here in re-mastered format.

MTS Sold To Bell Canada

MTS began in 1908 when the government bought up Bell operations in the province due to concerns over pricing of the product. As a Crown corporation, the utility eventually bought up all remaining telephone operations in Manitoba and was named Manitoba Telephone System in 1921. The service was the first to begin the 999 (later 911) emergency number in North America

From the 1950s to 2001, the head office for MTS was located on Empress across from Polo Park. It is now the Clarion Hotel and Original Pancake House. The head office located to the former Bank of Montreal regional headquarters on 333 Main Street where 1200 employees work at MTS Place. Total employees number 2,700.

MTS was at the forefront of innovation throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Telidon and Grassroots specializing in electronic services. The international services of MTS played a negative role in the 1988 provincial election when it was reported that MTX, a Saudi Arabian subsidiary lost $27 million. The NDP lost that election on a narrative of mismanaging into deficit several Crown corporations.

In the 1980s, MTS mobility and cellular services took off but both NDP and Progressive Conservatives pushed hard to extend MTS landlines across the province. Party lines still existed into the 1980s and 1990s and many communities pushed hard to get linked up. Despite warnings of the the cost and suggestions that cellular service might be the way to go with these communities, expansion went on pellmell till debt rose to hundreds of millions. Competition in long distance rates removed one area of unfettered profit. In five years, three of chief executives passed through the company.

By 1996 MTS had $800 million in debt and a need for $500 million to replace old equipment. All Canada was in the middle of a recession and revenue was drying up. In a controversial move, the Progressive Conservative government led by Gary Filmon privatized MTS. The new company was widely held at first but four years later 20% was held by Bell Canada and this led to $300 million of new investment. The new company went from Manitoba Telephone System to Manitoba Telecom Services. Nearly 40% of the workforce lost their jobs in the search for profitability.

The fast growing Internet saw MTS buy up a number of service providers including Escape Communications to become the dominant player in Manitoba. By 2003, the company became a majority force in every part of the telecom industry. They held 98% of local phones, 77% of long distance, 70% of cell phone service and 60% of Internet services. They also had a strong hand in security alarm systems. The next area they looked to enter big in was their innovative MTS TV which slowly began to expand in Winnipeg in 2003.

In a moment of triumph, MTS was awarded the naming rights to the new downtown arena in 2004 which in 2011 became home to the Winnipeg Jets.

The much fear privatization of MTS seemed to result in a strong private, independent and local company. Still, it was assumed by many this very strength also made it a takeover target by big players like Telus, Bell and Rogers. In 2004, MTS sought to forestall that by becoming more of a national player. They bought Allstream and their fiber optic system across Canada.

It soon became apparent that turning Allstream into the strong nation player MTS wanted was not in the cards. At every turn it seemed that entry to other areas of the Canadian market west or east would be expensive and not in the interest of the company. MTS faced major cellular competition but still retained 50% of the the market. In 2015, Allstream was sold and once again MTS became a takeover target.

It was announced this week that Bell will buy MTS for $3.6 billion. The details are sketchy still but the promise thus far is that Winnipeg will become the western headquarters for Bell and that hundreds of millions will be spent to upgrade infrastructure. To assuage the federal government in regards to competition, Bell has promised to sell Telus 1/3 of the combined company's wireless customers. Bell has said that their western operations will be headquartered in Winnipeg and cover 6,900 employees over four provinces and territories. It is unclear how many jobs will be in Winnipeg as there is likely to be a few added and a few lost.

Also unclear is how prices will be affected. Most critics suggest Winnipeg could see a rise of 40% in short order. It is also unclear how MTS TV will be affected as it moves to become Fibe TV. One thing that is clear is that it is the end of an era. It would be a shame to not ensure some guarantees on competition, jobs, investment and the headquarters.

Bell is a massive company that seems to go off the rails every 10 years to try and become a conglomerate and re-trenches with tail between its leg. The telecom user seems to suffer with price increases for their efforts. It is not wrong to ask how this deal will be good for Manitoba and the Canadian consumer.

City TV's Breakfast Television Blown Up

Breakfast TV on City TV Winnipeg was the first to really do local content on early morning TV in Winnipeg. They had the market to themselves. CBC, CTV and Global were all latecomers to the game.

The first version of the show was called The Big Breakfast and started on the old A Channel way back in 1997 and featured Jimmy Mac and Jon Ljungberg. The Craig family-owned stations mimicked Toronto's CityTV program The Big Breakfast started back in 1989.

CityTV used to be a very cutting edge television enterprise and Winnipeg's A-Channel used quite a lot of their programming to fill their Canadian content regulations. However, for their local broadcasts, they had The Big Breakfast which did very well and seemed to not attract any notice from the big players in the market.

For years CKY was content to play Canada AM from Toronto in the Winnipeg market. The ratings were probably sufficient to justify it. CBC also used Newsworld programming in the early hours.

In 2004, the Craig family sold their interests in A-Chanel to CityTV and The Big Breakfast was replaced with Breakfast Television in 2005. Not much really changed as the format was pretty much identical. Aside from hosting changes, BT had the local market to themselves.

However, in 2011 and 2012 CTV and Global Television  entered the local breakfast television market and it appears the first one to blink was CityTV's Breakfast Television.

This week 14 or the 25 staff were given the axe and 11 were assigned to a new radio and TV format hosted by 92 CITI FM star Wheeler and his co-hosts Phil Aubrey and Rena Jae. Two CITYTV hosts Drew Kozub and Jenna Khan have survived the cut and will join the new 6 to 9 program.

It is hard to know how this program will look and feel. It will be shot in the studios of CITYTV at The Forks. The understanding is that when music is played for the radio show, the cut away will be to the CITYTV hosts. If this sounds confusing them you're not alone.

CBC Manitoba will also be doing a radio and TV hybrid where their morning radio hosts will be seen on TV. This is more akin to what we saw with Q, the big CBC radio product formerly hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. The show was routinely broadcast for television as well as radio.

The big difference for CBC's entry into the market is that it really is just a radio show being televised.

It is very difficult to know what this new radio and television concept will look like for CITYTV. However, it is obvious that it has fewer staff, it won't be doing any location work and probably will conduct less community content.

My big question is for 92 CITI is: what do you get out of this? The Wheeler show is one of the top rated radio programs in Winnipeg. Will this help or hinder your status as being on top.

My big question for CITYTV is: Are your costs that much higher that you have to dump so many staff from one of your marquee local programs? Is Rogers looking to get every dollar they can from committing to $5 billion for NHL hockey?

I guess we will also see next week how this plays out.

Pinkerton Series Starts Sunday at High Noon

The Pinkertons TV series has been shooting in Manitoba all this summer and now will be airing on TV starting this week. Here is where you can see it in Winnipeg.

High noon.

The western series set in the 1860s follows the Pinkerton Detective Agency which acted as law enforcement long before other American law agencies ever did.

Look to see many Canadian actors featured in the series as well as Manitoba dressed up to look like the Old West. The Prairie Dog Railway stars prominently.

Sunday, high noon. There will be 22 episodes of this syndicated series coming in the weeks to follow.