[jerf]

Well, thank you for that. Growing up in Michigan, we had a bit of Canadian cross-over stuff [1], and I saw quite a bit of that show back in the era before on-demand. We never really had cable. Definitely some good hacker-esque skits in there, though I never felt the shows as a whole quite gelled in their overarching plots.

[1]: Double the Olympics coverage being the best. Curling is overmocked. It is mockable, yes, but it is overmocked.

[pasbesoin]

In the... 2010, it was, Olympic games, NBC, the official broadcaster in the U.S., had so "sliced and diced" its presentation that I found its main coverage unwatchable. However, on one of its lesser affiliates, it was carrying... "second or third tier", per its judgement, sports coverage largely intact.

One particular item on it, that I ran across just by chance channel-surfing, was coverage of the women's curling. Complete games, quietly but informatively commentated. This introduced me to curling (beyond a passing "stones on ice" familiarity), and I ended up really enjoying it. To boot, it came down to Canada versus Sweden in a rather exciting set of rounds of elimination.

Some of it can be fairly parochial and/or simple, but the CBC et al. also put out some pretty good stuff. Including items that don't try to be more than they are, but do an excellent job at that.

Hopefully, under Trudeau et al., they will be released from the manufactured chokehold that has been squeezing the life out of them. And, any force that cuts down crap such as the ueber-commercialization of the Olympics, I welcome.

[kobayashi]

I started watching curling during the 2014 games and learned to love it. Haven't watched it since, but I'm definitely looking forward to 2018!

PS: Completely disagree with your assessment of the CBC and their operation under Harper's premiership, but such is life. Just wanted it noted.

[pasbesoin]

Well, I'm not too familiar with the CBC. And I hear more of the radio side than I see the TV side. Where, I seem to recall similar budget restrictions, personnel jiggering, et al. lately as has been attempted with PBS, NPR, etc. in the U.S.

But, maybe my off-the-cuff impression is wrong.

Regardless, cheers!

P.S. Perhaps I should further qualify that "not too familiar." Maybe I'm nonetheless more familiar with it than many in the U.S.

Anyway, I have really enjoyed some of what they put out. Older, but perhaps one of the best examples I can think of, right now: The 1980's adaptations of Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" and "Anne of Avonlea".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables_%281985_f...

Every summer, I'm close enough to the border to get one of their channels for a week. And I enjoy having a look in on the news and Canadian culture, from their perspective.

I support that notion, that countries have a national broadcasting service. Particularly with the dominance of U.S. and "generic" commercial media, a place on the airwaves or wire that provides for a more prominent presentation of domestic culture, among other things.

Oh, and I'll add, some of the First Nations programming I've happened to catch has been pretty interesting, too.