d e a d t h i n g s o n s t i c k s .

WELL, THIS IS SOMETHING, at least:

Regulators have slapped Shaw Communications Inc. [SJR.B-T] with one of their strictest penalties possible, short of revoking its licence, by placing Canada's second-largest cable company on probation for flouting federal rules.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission took the unusual step Thursday of only renewing Shaw's operating licences for two years, well short of the standard seven-year term most companies are afforded, following recent clashes with the cable operator.

The CRTC can't level fines like the FCC can, so this is about all they can do.

Don't you feel better? Have a good weekend.

I'VE HEARD FROM more than four separate sources now -- one from within Telefilm -- that Telefilm has been told that the New Media Fund will cease to exist as of March 2009. For anyone counting, that's yet another attack on the arts by the current Canadian government, made without consultation or debate.

Things look really peachy for the future of the CTF, doesn't it?

2500 people marched in Montreal yesterday to protest against the cuts and the lack of consultation. The Heritage Committee has planned a meeting for next week. But it's likely that it will never happen since any election call will pre-empt it, and the word from everywhere fast and furiously is that that election call will come next Thursday.

Harper's already said he expects another Minority, but the poll signs in Quebec are encouraging enough to take the gamble.

This government's open hostility to anyone who works in the creative fields is unprecedented. And then there's the war on Elections Canada. Government Departments. Doctors over Medical Ethics. The Press. The Government without a strong mandate is about to cost us 300 million dollars for nothing. It's incredible. The continued ability of Canadians to just shutup and take it, no matter what, to never be roused by anything, ever (and to continue to tsk tsk tsk about the Americans' many faults at the same time) makes me increasingly ill. What does it take?

On the Dead Things front, the sideboard poll about commenting was illuminating. I wish I hadn't written it as I was rushing off to do something else, because the poorly worded first choice made it seem like I was trolling for praise when I really wasn't. Still, it bears noting that nearly 30% of respondents agreed that the main reason they didn't comment was because they were fearful of being identified, or of suffering "reprecussions" for speaking out.

I don't know if these were people who voted that way or not, but I also got ten emails from people apologizing (of course, they're Canadian) and saying they'd like to comment, but they work somewhere where people might guess it was them blah blah blah.

To be honest, I don't know what to say about this anymore.

For three years I've been told the same thing. And certainly, there's plenty of stuff that can't be said in a blog like this. There's much that is openly discussed about shows or production companies or business practices that are happening right now, that I know about and a lot of you probably know about too - and we can't talk about it. For one reason or another, but usually coming back to the same reason in the end: the industry's too damn small.

Yet these things are all related. A combination of cowed fear and timidity and apathy defines the arts in this country. We're in the position we're in with this goverment because we take it. Because we make our case badly. Because we're either out of touch with the people, or allow others to say we're out of touch with the people. And we can't really discover which of those things is the truth, because we can't talk about that either. We leave attacks unanswered and we let others -- too few others -- do our fighting for us.

We don't have money or access to the halls of power. Yet we don't speak out because we fear, what? That what little influence we have will be further eroded?

Well guess what? That time is here.

A bunch of writers went to the CRTC last year to defend creative workers in this country and they were met with contempt from the bench. Yet they spoke for you.

This government cancels programs without consultation, and dares us to resist and -- except, always, in Quebec -- there are crickets and they know they can get away with it.

Please don't send me emails about how you'd love to comment, but you're afraid. Everyone's afraid. Everyone has something to lose. Suit up and wear a cup, or accept what comes after. You don't get to whine behind the sidelines anymore.

In about a month, most likely 60 percent or more of the electorate will stand up and say that they do not want the Conservatives to govern. And yet govern they will.

So it goes. So nothing changes. Because the mice refuse to squeak.

It's depressing and funny at once.

I said there was a good rumour in there so here it comes:

In a boardroom at TFS yesterday, three of the biggest comedy showrunners in Canada got together to discuss a project. Could the next Corner Gas be gestating there?

Let's hope so.

I got a feeling we could all use the laugh.

FROM A STEPHEN BOCHCO profile article in Forbes. (H/T to Caroline) -- think of this as sort of a mint to the ageism discussion some of my fine colleagues have weighed in on:

Between Hill Street Blues and LA Law, among others, you raised the bar for all network drama, and now here you are on cable. Why the move?

I think the broadcast television universe has kind of, on a certain level, devolved, if you will. It's overrun with the kinds of programming that I'm simply not good at or have any interest in doing: reality programming and very sort of fantastical concepts. I'm more of a reality-grounded drama guy.

For that reason alone, I find myself drifting from broadcast television. There's just not a lot of room in that world for what I do. Additionally, the working environment in broadcast television has really shifted radically over the last half a dozen years or so.

How so?

Well, we used to be pretty much left alone to do our jobs--and we did those jobs pretty well. We didn't always succeed, you can't guarantee a hit, but we knew what we were doing.

But broadcast networks today tend to so micromanage every single aspect of production that it's an impossible chore. You really sort of become a moment-to-moment warrior in defense of the show you're doing, and it's very hard to do it. If you don't give them what they think it should be creatively, they'll get rid of you. I find that the cable environment, because it's much more of a boutique environment, is much more respectful of what we do.

The flip side of that is you're working on a cable budget (about $2 million per episode rather than broadcast's $2.5 million or more). How do you make that work without sacrificing good content?

I think you do sacrifice something. You know, you figure out how to make adjustments. Fundamentally, you're still telling complex stories with interesting characters, and you're raising complex questions. What you may have to give up on here, and there is a certain level of production value, which if you do what we hope we're doing well is something the viewer won't actually miss.

This is a show which because of budget constraints really doesn't allow us to go outside very much. So it's an interior show. But because it's a courtroom drama, you sort of belong inside. I haven't seen to many outdoor courtrooms.

We're all making Canadian Television now.

GOT THIS ONE through Sepinwall.

Lord help us, seems like Aaron Sorkin is writing a movie about Facebook. And so... he's on Facebook.

The real Aaron Sorkin.

Ulp.

From the group intro:

Welcome. I'm Aaron Sorkin. I understand there are a few other people using Facebook pages under my name--which I find more flattering than creepy--but this is me. I don't know how I can prove that but feel free to test me.

I've just agreed to write a movie for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about how Facebook was invented. I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I've started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she's been dead for 33 years.)

Some of you might be familiar with some things I've written. I'm the author of two Broadway plays--A Few Good Men and The Farnsworth Invention, five feature films--A Few Good Men, The American President, Malice, Charlie Wilson's War and The Trial of the Chicago 7 which is in pre-production, and three television series--Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and the first four seasons of The West Wing.

I honestly don't know how this works, which is why I'm here. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them as best I can. If anyone has any comments I'm glad to listen. And if anyone has any Facebook stories I think they might be helpful.

Aaron Sorkin and the Internet. It's a well of goodness that just keeps right on giving.

I have to admit, I'm intrigued by the idea of the Facebook movie.

Will there be long, passionate speeches about the intrinsic value of buying and selling your friends?

Will the plucky computer social networking heroes be menaced by vampires and zombies and werewolves halfway through? Because I'd pay ten bucks to see that.

Will a couple scenes be devoted to creepy people you don't know coming up and being your friend?

Will the marketing campaign be built somehow around not being able to actually see the movie before inviting 20 of your friends?

The mind boggles.

And wait a second, didn't we already see a movie about Facebook ?



Or, um, this?



Good Luck anyway, Aaron. Watch out for the muu-muus.

AT THE RISK of setting major bad precedent, in the comments section of the previous post on the NYTimes article on J.J. Abrams, a commenter named Chris had this to say:

I call bull. They have changed Lost so many times it is now a confusing mess, too many questions left unanswered and to say they always knew what they were going to do, is crap.

I answered him and tried to contextualize a bit what the article was going for -- but Chris was not appeased.

Saying "knowing the goal posts but being able to move them" is a copout. They have zigged too many times for me to believe them anymore. One example, 'Ben' was supposed to be a 3 eps role. Now he has spent two seasons as the main bad guy? I agree the flashforwards were a brilliant idea, but I know for a fact that was not planned at the beginning, therefore changing many storylines. I think I'm pissed off because I loved Lost so much I feel cheated.

I found Chris' comment interesting on a few levels -- and started answering, and at some point the comment became so long that I thought, "hey, free post!" So don't feel singled out here, Chris. Thanks for sparking.

Chris, you have me at a disadvantage here because I don't really know anything about you.

But based on your take on this I'm going to make the bold prediction that you're not a working television writer.

This blog, and just about everything in it, is written from that perspective.

So while I understand the fan point of view that might think that being able to "move the goalposts" is a cop out, the primary audience I'm talking to understands that it's actually an on-the-job necessity. The only way around it would be to know at the outset that you were guaranteed 48, or 88, or 102 episodes and out. And the business just doesn't work that way.

And your point about Ben, in fact, is the thing that delineates most clearly the wide gulf between the way a writer needs to approach a show, and the way a viewer approaches a show.

See, to a writer working on LOST, seeing those first dailies come back on Ben had to have been the most satisfying, electrifying experience imaginable. Because so often it goes the other way. You cast someone for a key role, and they don't really deliver -- a combo of they messed up and you messed up, or maybe it was just one of those things beyond everyone's control. Anyway, when that happens, often you have to junk the whole plot. Which is why threads get dropped and friends disappear on shows.

But sometimes, a great actor steps up and surprises you.

On The West Wing, Janel Moloney had such chemistry with Bradley Whitford, that what was supposed to be a minor role was bumped up - and an actress that was supposed to be a major part of the show got shuffled out.

And when they saw those dailies come back on Ben, I bet they whooped -- and chattered their way back to the story room full of high-wire excitement. "Oh My God," they said. "How do we write more for this guy?" "What if, what if..."

See, Drama TV is a quirkly little art form. The only thing I can think to compare it to is writing a story in serial form for print, which doesn't happen very much anymore. That's how Charles Dickens wrote most of his books, which is why his stories have such well-drawn and memorable minor characters.

Before I seriously turned to writing, while I was still in high school, in fact, Rolling Stone Magazine serialized an early Draft of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of The Vanities. I read it chapter to chapter, and then immediately devoured the book when it came out in Hardcover. The differences between the two forms were illuminating and incredibly interesting, both from the point of view of the art, and from the point of view of the craft. It upended the usual process of a reader reading a book in its finished form. Because the finished Bonfire was quite a bit different than the serialized, publish as you go version.

And yet in another way, it wasn't that different at all. Wolfe knew where he was going, if not precisely how he was going to get there.

In metaphorical terms, it's that thing that drives women crazy sometimes when the guy in the front seat next to them insists they're not lost. In his mind, they're not, because he knows the direction they're going in, and roughly where they are, and where they need to be. And the woman's POV is "do you know exactly where you are RIGHT NOW? No? Then we are LOST."
(Gentle readers, I'll stipulate the stuff about this being gender stereotyping, ok? I got to watch about 25 years of this from the back seat, and have experienced roughly another five or ten from the driver's seat. I'll agree that I'm stereotyping, if you agree that we're just gonna let this one slide by and not get bogged down in a sidebar, k?)

Now, Chris -- you're the woman in this scenario.

(I think I just heard about 40 thousand Hillary Clintonistas snap their pencils in half. heh heh. I am such a bad, bad man.)

Anyhoo, the great, high wire act of TV is that unlike film where it's all done and in the can, and posted and release dates picked out and whatever, whatever -- most TV is on the air at the same time as later chapters are being made. It makes for a radically different level of engagement, and it requires a radically different type of writer. You have to be someone who can let go of what was in your head if you see something that's better. You have to know how far you're deviating off the beam, and when to bring it back. The LOST writers have been more candid then most about when and how they got off the beam. (Pablo and whats-her-name?) And in our shark-jumping age, the coolest thing is seeing people through the work, find the rhythm again and bring it back.

Hopefully HEROES gets to do something similar. I've said before that my favorite part of the BSG podcasts is how freely Ronald Moore cops to when a mistake was made in the writing.

TV series are invented beasts, made as you go along by craftspeople, all who you hope are working at the top of their game. But it's also a machine, and that rolling, 25 or 50 million dollar machine makes compromises along the way. The best shows seize on their happy accidents, and hopefully find a way to bury and overcome their shortcomings.

In a way, Chris, what you've stumbled into here is the other side of what I was talking about a long time ago when I talked about how what happens in the room has to stay in the room, and how writer/creators need to stay out of fan forums, no matter how tempting it is to go there. (And no matter how many times you may slip and do it anyway. I was raised Catholic, so hell -- you confess and say a novena and vow to do better next time.)

Just as the fan reaction to stories and to shows should be pure -- and overlord writers shouldn't wade in there and try to tamp opinion or blunt it by "sharing their knowledge," fans who take craft points they don't understand and use them to justify why they didn't like something can seem foolish, if they're not careful. Just because someone says they have evidence that we never walked on the moon or that men walked with dinosaurs doesn't make them, well, credible.

In a way, we were all a little bit better off when it wasn't so easy to see the man behind the curtain. Which is exactly the implication of what Abrams was saying in the Times article.

The moment in that article where I reeled back and realized, "wow, so much really HAS changed" was when Abrams was talking about Star Wars. I haven't thought about it this way, but yeah, back then we really did wait three whole years to find out if Darth Vader was telling the truth about being Luke's father. That boggles the mind now, in the era of 24/7 spoiler sites, where I can have instant access to Lindsay Lohan's dental records if I want them. No wonder the complexity has amped up.

And yet, and yet, and yet -- all this knowledge doesn't lead to happiness. You knowing that Ben was supposed to be in 3 episodes didn't make you like the show more - it in fact did the opposite.

That's why those who manage the information flow about projects like masters -- and Abrams is definitely in that realm -- have my undying admiration.

Of course, you're free to think that LOST sucks, and you're free to say it here. Just don't be surprised if people like me disagree with you. It's not that we don't respect your opinion. It's just that we look at it in a very different way. You think LOST is lost -- and we know that getting a little lost is just how you find your way to the final destination in your head.

IT WAS POINTED out to me by a couple of people yesterday that I wrote the following:

Border co-creator Janet MacLean was also nominated -- though not for The Border.

Which of course isn't true. See, as the co-creator of the series and one of the Producers, her work was recognized in The Border's Best Series nomination. Which is, of course, entirely appropriate.

I have fired my Stickstitian. We regret the error.

THIS IS NOW a little late, too -- but in case you missed it, Dave Itzkoff had a very high-value writer-wonky preview of J.J. Abrams Fringe in the NYTimes last Sunday. What really caught my eye were a couple of paragraphs about the balancing act of serial vs. standalone elements, and what Abrams has learned over the years. This is exactly the stuff that everybody creating series after J.J. has to deal with now, because, let's face it -- to some extent his shows created the taste in the audience that demands complexity....sometimes.

IF you’ve ever been utterly baffled by a television show that J. J. Abrams had a hand in creating — too confused to follow the serpentine plot twists of “Lost” or “Alias” or, heck, even “Felicity” — know that Mr. Abrams, the prolific writer, producer and director, has been annoyed too. With you.

I just got tired of hearing people say to me, over and over, ‘Yeah, I was watching it, but I missed one, I got really confused, and I stopped watching it,’ ” he said in a recent phone interview.

“The evolution from your ideas and expectations and intent to what actually occurs in the series is a massive gulf,” Mr. Abrams said. “It’s a best-effort scenario. But I think that’s what a series is anyway.”

The solution to such narrative puzzles, Mr. Abrams and his colleagues said, is to have a game plan with clearly defined goalposts that can be moved around as a season and a series unfold. Know the ending to your series when you begin it; hope your show continues in perpetuity but always be prepared to wrap it up. (In this spirit the producers of “Lost” announced last year that the series would conclude at the end of its sixth season, in 2010.)

In the case of “Fringe” its creators say they have figured out a finale — naturally, they declined to describe it — that could be deployed at any point in the series. “If we’re canceled at Episode 13,” Mr. Orci said, “we’ll tell you at Episode 13, and if we go on, you could literally find this out in seven years.”

Recollections differ as to how much of the increasingly complicated “Fringe” story line was pitched to executives at Warner Brothers and at Fox when the series was ordered. “You always have to be on the up and up with your studio and your network,” Mr. Burk said. “There’s too much at stake, and they’re taking the biggest gamble.”

But Mr. Abrams cautioned against too much candor. “There are certain details that are hugely important,” he said with some mirth, “that I believe, if shared, will destroy any chance of actually getting on the air. These are the kinds of things that scare people away.”

The whole article (link above) is well worth your time.

WOW LOTS OF STUFF today.

Just announced -- FX in the UK has picked up THE BORDER:

Produced by Toronto-based White Pine Pictures in association with Canadian pubcaster the CBC, the 26-part skein will premiere on FX in the U.K. next spring, alongside such U.S. imports as “Dexter,” “The Wire” and “24.”

Starring James McGowan and Sofia Milos (“CSI Miami”), the series follows the members of an elite immigration security unit.

In Canada, the CBC has already ordered a second season after the show premiered to strong ratings in January.

Skein also has been licensed to France, Belgium, Luxembourg and South Korea, with Germany’s Beta Film picking up the rights to continental Europe excluding French-speaking territories. Broadcast agreements are also in place for Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.

AND I'M DEFINITELY last on the log on this one, but congrats to Flashpoint for getting an early -- deserved -- pickup for 13 more from CTV.

Andrew Ryan in the Globe has the skinny here.

Golick thinks you should spec it. Not a bad idea.

APPARENTLY the Heritage Committee of the House of Commons has scheduled an emergency meeting for 1pm today to take up the issue of the over 40 million dollars in Arts Funding cuts being dropped by the Conservative government.

It might be worth a moment of your time to flood them with an email or two before then. Be passionate but calm. Speak of economic impact, and remind them that the arts employs over 600 000 people in this country, and is a multi billion dollar industry.

And if you happen to know your MP is Conservative, remind them that the Arts is actually big politics in Quebec.

You know, the place they're trying to troll for more seats....

H/t to Margaret Dinsdale (via Ink Canada)


HERITAGE COMMITTTEE MEMBERS:

Denis Coderre Coderre.D@parl.gc.ca
Gary Schellenberger schelg1@parl.gc.ca
Andy Scott Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
Jim Abbott Abbott.J@parl.gc.ca
Ed Fast faste@parl.gc.ca
Luc Malo Malo.L@parl.gc.ca
Bill Siksay Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca
Michael D. Chong Chong.M@parl.gc.ca
Dean Del Mastro delmad@parl.gc.ca
Hedy Fry fry.h@parl.gc.ca
Francis Scarpaleggia scarpf@parl.gc.ca
Jim Prentice Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca

(T)here are the over 600,000 Canadian artists and other cultural workers who help to brand Canada to the world and inject over $43 billion annually into the Canadian economy." - JOSEPH L. ROTMAN, CHAIR, CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS

"Both PromArt and Trade Routes are modest programs, but remain crucial to Canada’s art and cultural sector. These programs have a high return on their investment and some estimate the return on investment ratio is as high as 10 to 1.... Public funding for the arts is a proven economic and cultural stimulus that the majority of Canadians embrace." - PEGGY NASH, MP, LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER

"Canada must compete in the Global Entertainment and Cultural economy. And the competition is well-armed and very aggressive. Brits and Swedes travel to Japan annually to sell music. The Americans have the "biggest" (of course) stand at MIDEM. And everyone sings in English. Federal funding provides a bridge to markets which we couldn't otherwise access...the recent returns, both in terms of artist recognition and economic benefits have far outweighed the small amounts invested by the Federal government. Now the Chinese are in the game, we are looking at the largest market in the world, with fewer resources to reach it." - DUNCAN McKIE, PRESIDENT/CEO, CANADIAN INDEPENDENT RECORD PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (CIRPA)

"Cultural investment pays off in jobs! It pays off in royalties earned from foreign territories! It's GOOD BUSINESS." - DAVID BASSKIN, PRESIDENT/CEO, CANADIAN MUSICAL REPRODUCTION RIGHTS ASSOCIATION LTD. (CMRRA)

"I put on gigs here in Sheffield, England and have had several Canadian acts play over the last 18 months. We've had some great nights and I know a large part of these shows having happened is the support the artists have had from your government enabling them to tour. Many have played to new listeners and helped broaden their fanbase, making connections that simply wouldn't have happened without the support they received." - CRAIG ALLEN, MUSIC PROMOTER, SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND

"To sabotage investments in culture that generate money for the economy not to mention what it generates for the soul, is not only scary in what it says for the future of culture in this country, but it is also simply gross economic mismanagement." - HEATHER MORGAN, alt.COUNTRY MUSICIAN

"These programmes are defensible on two important grounds. One, they pay for themselves in promoting Canadian music and arts abroad; Canadian music alone has returned millions to the Treasury thanks to the success our artists have achieved around the world. Secondly, they give the world a picture of this country as something more than hewers of wood and exporters of oil and harvesters of wheat." - RICHARD FLOHIL, PUBLICIST/PROMOTER, LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER

"The often relatively small amounts granted under (the PromArt and Trade Routes) programs have had a leverage effect for many artists and organizations as they sought support to develop markets abroad, contribute to our national image and lend valued support to other general trade development efforts of our missions abroad. At the time of writing, there is no clear indication that the government intends to replace these programs with more performing ones." - CANADIAN CONFERENCE OF THE ARTS BULLETIN 27/08

"Government money is pump-priming money. Success breeds success. The irony is, if you double the grant to an arts body, you probably end up doubling the amount of private giving to it as well, because people say, 'I want to invest in something that has the backing of government'... From my point of view, the arts don't win or lose you an election, but I think the arts are a powerful voice." - ED VAIZEY, CONSERVATIVE, BRITISH OPPOSITION CULTURE CRITIC (in the National Post)

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

"Canadian drama leads the 2008 Gemini Award nominations with Murdoch
Mysteries receiving 14 nominations followed closely by Durham County with 13
nominations; The Tudors and The Englishman's Boy received 12 nominations each.
News information series the fifth estate received 11 nominations, while The
Border and CBC News: The National tied with 9 nominations. The TV mini-series
Would Be Kings received 8 nominations and Across the River to Motor City and
Mayerthorpe each received 7. Marketplace, ReGenesis, Rent-A-Goalie and Cowboy
Junkies - Trinity Revisited all amassed 6 nominations."



I promise. Last Gemini post today.

FULL GEMINI NOMINATIONS are now up at www.geminis.ca .

(Thanks to Will and Jim for noticing that the link I had went to a horoscope site. D'oh.)

The Best Comedy Noms were:

Cock'd Gunns
(Tricon Films & Television)
Andrea Gorfolova, Brooks Gray, Andy King, Shaam Makan, Leo Scherman, Morgan Waters

Corner Gas
(Prairie Pants Productions Inc., Vérité Films, 335 Productions)
David Storey, Brent Butt, Mark Farrell, Virginia Thompson, Kevin White

Kenny vs. Spenny
(Breakthrough Films & Television, Blueprint Entertainment)
Ira Levy, Abby Finer, Noreen Halpern, Kenny Hotz, Amy Marcella, John Morayniss, Trey Parker, Spencer Rice, Kirsten Scollie, Matt Stone, Peter Williamson

Odd Job Jack
(Smiley Guy Studios)
Jonas Diamond, Adrian Carter, Jeremy Diamond, Denny Silverthorne

Rent-A-Goalie
(RAG-TV-2 Inc.)
Chris Szarka, Christopher Bolton

This Hour Has 22 Minutes
(Hour Productions XV Inc.)
Michael Donovan, Geoff D'Eon, Mark Farrell, Jack Kellum, Susan MacDonald, Jenipher Ritchie

Strikes me as odd that Mosque didn't make that list, but whatevs. Nice to see RAG up there -- and with a writing nom for my man G.Manson, too. Dope!

Then there's the fine actors of The Border -- Jonas Chernick, James McGowan, and Catherine Disher -- all recognized for their fine and dependable performances. And the ensemble cast of Rent-A-Goalie, deservedly nominated for best ensemble.

Border co-creator Janet MacLean was also nominated -- though not for The Border. She snagged a writing nomination for Murdoch Mysteries. And believe it or not, I actually did MISS the first time through that I scored a nom for Across The River To Motor City, along with my collaborators Robert Wertheimer and Jocelyn Cornforth. Awesome! Across the River also scored a nomination for Best Dramatic Miniseries. (Although someone seems to have left off the Co-Executive Producer from the Producer names. Shhhurely some mishtake?) David Greene was also recognized for his beautiful DOP work on ATR, too.

There's other stuff in there too that I'm sure shall be pondered over -- like no Comedy writing noms for Mosque or Gas -- wha?

...and I'm also chuffed to see that the great Dmitry Chepovetsky, who will ALWAYS be my Maverick from Top Gun! The Musical, was recognized for his winning and offbeat performance as Nikolai Tesla in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries...

...And Bayo Akinfemi, who made my second Border episode, Family Values, so memorable last year. Would have been nice to see the kid in that ep, Isiah, get a nom, too -- but I have a feeling he'll have plenty of hardware in his future.

Anyway, that's my first impressions. Congrats to Alan McCullogh and Meredith Vuchnich, two writers I know on their Drama series writing nods -- and also Laurie Finstad Khniznik -- who picked up much deserved love for Durham County.

What do you all think?

WHICH IS, OF course, what we care about most here in Sticksville:

Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series

Emily Andras - Instant Star - Like A Virgin

Dennis Jackson - Wapos Bay - The Guardians

Bob McDonald - Heads Up! - What Will Cars Look Like In The Future?

Terry McGurrin - 6Teen - Silent Butt Deadly

Robert Pincombe, Shelley Hoffman, Karen Moonah - Iggy Arbuckle - There's Something about Berries/Idle Worship


Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series

Brooks Gray, Andy King, Leo Scherman, Morgan Waters - Cock'd Gunns - Ready, Aim, Fire

Graeme Manson - Rent-A-Goalie - Everybody's A Fag

Paul Mather, Irwin Barker, Greg Eckler, Chris Finn, Rick Mercer, Tim Steeves - Rick Mercer Report - Episode 8

Adam Reid, Max Reid - Billable Hours - One Hit Wonder

Jennifer Whalen, Andrew Bush, Gavin Crawford, Mark Critch, Nathan Fielder, Geri Hall, Albert Howell, Dean Jenkinson, Tim McAuliffe, Gary Pearson, Kyle Tingley - This Hour Has 22 Minutes - Episode 3


Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series

Denis Blaquiere - Mars Rising - Search For Life

Neil Docherty - Darfur: On Our Watch

Steve Lucas - The Dark Years - Episode 1

Terence McKeown, John Zaritsky - The Suicide Tourist

Paul Myers - Long John Baldry: In the Shadow of the Blues


Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

Paul Gross, John Krizanc - The Trojan Horse

Esta Spalding, Tassie Cameron - Would Be Kings

Robert Wertheimer, Jocelyn Cornforth, Denis McGrath - Across the River to Motor City

Gerald Wexler, Howard Wiseman, Joe Wisenfeld - St. Urbain's Horseman

Andrew Wreggitt - Mayerthorpe


Best Writing in a Dramatic Series

Laurie Finstad Knizhnik - Durham County - What Lies Beneath

Michael Hirst - The Tudors - Episode 108

Janet MacLean - Murdoch Mysteries - Til Death Do Us Part

Alan McCullough - Stargate: Atlantis - Tabula Rasa

Meredith Vuchnich - ReGenesis - La Consecuencia


Best Writing in an Information Program or Series

Gillian Findlay - the fifth estate - Overboard

Linden MacIntyre - the fifth estate - Brian Mulroney: The Unauthorized Chapter

Colin McNeil - Crime Stories - The Laser Man

Barbara Shearer - Pretty Dangerous - Elena Kiejliches

Andrew Younghusband - Canada's Worst Driver 3 - Road Test

THE TOP GEMINI AWARDS nominations were just announced on 680 News here in Toronto. Didn't catch all of them, but was able to here that the nominees for Best Dramatic Series were,

THE BORDER
INTELLIGENCE
THE TUDORS
THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES
DURHAM COUNTY

That's a pretty good field, though I'm sure some will quibble about The Tudors.

I also heard that David Fox was honored with a nom for his lead performance in my show, Across The River To Motor City. Awesome!

More to come, I guess, when the rest of the noms are up.

“And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he’d grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine.

He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves.

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.”

“All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do – that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. That is why I love this country."

That's writing and rhetoric, kids.

WITH ONE WORD, "Don..." Mad Men takes the interesting-but-character building take it's had over the last couple weeks, drops the clutch and stretches the hell out for a muscular cruise down the drama highway. And how cool was it that last night's ep was credited to Robin Veith, the staff writer who pops up engagingly in the Season One interviews on the Box set -- a clear protege to Matthew Weiner.

See, folks, once upon a time in the TeeVee business, that's what you did. You encouraged and trained people.

But that's neither here nor there. I don't know whether it's a quick look at the calendar, and the sickening and cruel realization that Labor Day is as early as it can be this year -- September 1; or the pomp and whizzing lo-jockeys from the Beijing Closing Ceremonies I caught in five minute bursts of trying to show my parents how to work their new tv...but I think the implication is pretty clear: it's time to stick a fork in the summer.

And looking ahead, what do we have? A disturbing, almost gut-wrenching lack of buzz ahead.

Oh sure, there's new stuff. I've seen the first two eps of True Blood, and will have some stuff to say about that closer to the airdate.

But as for the other stuff?

Hmm. We'll see.

On the other hand, I did think The Dark Knight was surprisingly meaty for a comic book movie. Right around the time I started thinking "this is getting to be too long, " it pulled me back in and got way more interesting. Yup. That's me. Trailing edge all the way.

This week my drama shifts to the Democratic National Convention. Oh, yes, I know, the cooler than school kids may giggle and gufffaw and say, "politics nerd," but the reality is that if you're a TV writer, scripted or no - the drama on the floor in Denver is the place to be this week. Watch closely and you could learn a thing or two about performance, and the supple nature of the language.

There's so few places to see rhetoric today. Deft turns of phrase and cadence and echo that you can only see in a great bit of public speaking. And nobody does rhetoric like the Americans. Well, the British. But they don't do it nearly as much anymore either.

Canadians will carp from the sidelines as they usually do. No matter. I'll be listening to the cadence of voice and music of words.

It'll be like going to the symphony.

And as for the Olympics? Psshaw. You'll be shocked by how much it didn't happen.