Thursday, April 19, 2012

CBC Fall 2012: Less Of The Same


Not much will change on CBC this fall despite the federal government cutbacks of over $110 million.
In fact the CBC schedule had already been hammered into place weeks before the announcements by Heritage Minister James Moore.
Almost all CBC series are coming back although the exact number of episodes to be cut will be announced later.
CBC will have a grand premiere on May 14 from its Toronto Broadcasting Centre.
As expected Heartland, Republic Of Doyle, The Ron James Show, Rick Mercer, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Dragons' Den, the fifth estate, the low rated George Stroumboulopoulos, Nature Of Things, Doc Zone, Dragons' Den are all back.
And talk about cut backs: the cost efficient Marketplace gets double its episodes this fall with 24 new shows.
As expected Being Erica, Michael Tuesdays And Thursdays, InSecurity, Little Mosque On The Prairie, Redemption Inc. have all vanished to rerunland. But the omission of Battle Of The Blades is a huge surprise.
New shows Arctic Air and Mr. D got coveted pickups.
The crime drama Cracked is a pick up and Over The Rainbow is a reality outing about the search for the new Dorothy. There's a period drama Titanic: Blood And Steel which seems a bit tardy considering the centennial celebrations are over.
CBC rarely if ever picks up shows from rival networks but CBC has picked up Murdoch Mysteries which Citytv dropped after five seasons.
Missing in action are any concessions to patrons of the high arts and there's no mention of any TV movies once a staple of the CBC drama department.

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