This Mother’s Day will mark the 27^th straight without a mother to celebrate. That’s almost half my life without a mother, and you’d think that the memories of her would have faded, pushed aside by all that has happened to my life since she passed away. But it hasn’t; I can… Read full post »

“That Rev. Lovejoy displeases me. I think I’ll give him a canker sore.”

                       — God, as spoken to Homer Simpson, in “Homer the Heretic”

If you’ve never had a canker sore, this line f… Read full post »

There is a lot of buzz pop cultural circles these days about the Sunday return of Mad Men, the wildly acclaimed but little watched (although it’s a cable hit, it would only be a minor hit on network TV) AMC drama about Madison Avenue-types in the 1960s. Mad Men has been… Read full post »

If there is one thing we Canadians are known for, it’s being polite.

Maybe that’s not the best attribute to be known for, but it’s far from the worst. I’d rather be known as a polite people than a rude people, like Australians. (No offence, Australia.) Our inbred politeness i… Read full post »

There was a sad death this week that you may have missed.

The Encyclopedia Britannica — or, if you really want to get huffy about it, the Encyclopædia Britannica — has died. The Britannica… Read full post »

Stephen Harper once told an American right-wing think tank, “You won’t recognize Canada when I get through with it.”

I used to think that was just a rare unguarded, boastful moment from Harper. He was in a comfortable environment (American right wingers, whom he has been emulating f… Read full post »

I admit it — I’m a sucker for the Academy Awards.  Just like hockey fans look forward to NHL Trade Deadline Day, I look forward to the Academy Awards.

Every year since I’ve had a platform to spout opinions, I’ve made my Oscar choices. My choices are based perhaps… Read full post »

Millions of North Americans will tune in Sunday to The Simpsons landmark 500^th episode.  I will be one of them. I’ve seen the previous 499, so why stop now? I mean, it’s not as if it’s a show that I actively look forward to every week, likes Parks and Recreation or… Read full post »

I had one of those ‘whoa’ moments today when I picked up my morning paper and read that Whitney Houston had died.

I can’t say that it saddened me, or even shocked me — poor Whitney had been on a terrible downward path for years now. But when a… Read full post »

Color me excited that there is going to be a Canadian version of The Bachelor.

The announcement on Tuesday that CITY TV is going to produce a Canadian version of the aging U.S. reality show (16th season) caused much excitement in the press and online.

Why the… Read full post »

We are truly living in a golden age of television. The comedies (the good ones, anyway) are better than ever, and better than movies. The dramas (on cable, anyway) are outstanding, as good as anything you'll pay $14 for to see in a theatre. Production values and acting are top notch.… Read full post »

Well, here we are at the end of another arbitrary span of 365 days that we call a year. And what a year it was! Things happened! Famous people died! Future famous people were born (how come nobody talks about that?)! Movies and TV shows were produced, some of them good,… Read full post »

Last night, I attended a sneak preview of the new Martin Scorsese 3D film, Hugo, with my friend George.

I was blown away by it, completely enchanted by the story and awed by Scorsese’s brilliant use of 3D. The theatre was loaded with children, who made nary a peep… Read full post »

A 324-page biography of a dog? And by a respected New Yorker staff writer? Seriously?

I was skeptical that a full-length, serious biography of a dog — even a dog as famous as Rin Tin Tin — was worth the effort, or would hold my attention. But lo and behold,… Read full post »

I’ve been a fan of Parks and Recreation right from the start. Yes, it was a little too derivative of The Office, but once it found its groove and made its own mark, Parks and Rec quickly rose to the upper echelons of current TV comedy.

But it wasn’t until… Read full post »

It pains me to admit this, but it must be said.

The Office is done. Finished. Past its best-before date.  Expired. 

I take no pleasure in saying that The Office to be no longer worth watching. I consider The Office to be one of the 10 best comedies… Read full post »

I’ve managed, in my five and a half decades, to have never watched a moment of rugby. There is no particular reason, really. What with football and hockey, my sporting spectator plate is full. One more sport and I fear that I will meld seamlessly into my favourite chair.

But… Read full post »

So, I have waded my way through a goodly chunk of what the networks have to offer this season, and pronounce myself entirely unimpressed. Again, I have to lay some of the blame on Breaking Bad’s just concluded unforgettably great season (which spoiled me for mainstream network TV), and Parks an… Read full post »

I don’t know what the ratio of Americans Who Like Michael Moore is to Americans Who Hate Michael Moore, but I’m guessing the haters outnumber the fans.

Me? I’m a fan. I like rabble-rousers, muckrakers and troublemakers. Moore, the most successful documentary filmmaker of all time,… Read full post »

While reading Roger Ebert’s memoir, Life Itself, I often thought how great it would be to sit down and talk to Ebert about his life.

Alas, as we all know, that will never happen. A particularly cruel and relentless type of cancer has robbed Ebert of his ability to speak,… Read full post »

The comedy caravan continues ... first up, Suburgatory.

ABC's attempt at filling in the missing piece of its Wednesday night comedy block is a mediocre affair at best. Yet another in the seemingly endless number of chic-centric comedies, Suburgatory is a very broad (no pun intended) satire of suburba… Read full post »

Two more mini-reviews of new dramas. Still awaiting something truly worthwhile ... 

Terra Nova (Fox) begins with the traditionally bleak, dystopian future. (Is there any other kind? Have you ever seen a film that begins in a utopian future?) The world is on the verge of environmental col… Read full post »

In my continuing search for wheat amongst the chaff (what is chaff, anyway?), here are a few more observations on the new television season, now well and truly underway.

The big event of the week, at least in terms of hours of airtime eaten up (four freakin’s hours over two… Read full post »

After barely staying awake for Up All Night, declining to take the Free Agents route, and being One Bored Viewer of Two Broke Girls, I was beginning to despair of finding a new comedy worthy of a second viewing.

Then along comes New Girl, and hope is renewed. A good… Read full post »

Two Broke Girls is the first of two new shows from a previously unknown to me comedienne named Whitney Cummings, the other being the imaginatively titled Whitney on NBC. Perhaps it might have been better for everyone involved it Whitney Cummings has remained unknown to just about everyone.

Two… Read full post »