CANCON!

I spent most of last week pulling a Sundry and taking pics of Toronto and I hope to get those up this week. Last night was the Emmys and if you stayed to the thrilling finale, you got to see Canada's favorite son, Kiefer Sutherland, win a Best Actor Emmy for 24. Yay, Kiefer! Of my trio of TV boyfriends, Steph(v)ens, Carrell and Colbert and Jon Stewart, only Jon won his own two awards. Boo! Since the Emmys are over and the new Fall season has sorta begun, now would be the perfect time to explain the concept of Canadian Content and why that means that I can't watch Best Week Ever anymore. What is Canadian Content? Well, according to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, "Simply put, it's about Canadian artists and Canadian stories having access to Canadian airwaves." It means that 60% of all television must be "Canadian" or, officially: "Evaluation of Canadian content in a television program is based on the following criteria: whether its producer and key creative personnel are Canadian; the amounts paid to Canadians for services provided to make the program; and amounts spent in Canada on lab processing." Cancon rules are in place so that US television programming doesn't completely swallow Canadian television whole. So, no Best Week Ever for me. Not Canadian enough. However, Canadian networks have frequently fulfilled Cancon requirements by airing series produced in Canada but intended primarily for the lucrative United States market. Recent examples include Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Zoe Busiek: Wild Card, and Stargate: SG-1. Even the current run of Doctor Who, a BBC/CBC co-production filmed in Britain, might be considered Cancon - the definition includes all programming produced in-house by the CBC. Probably the most famous example of Canadian Content are the the "Great White North" sketches on the comedy series, SCTV with the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie. The sketches were created to both fulfill and make fun of the Canadian content rules, as the sketches were loaded with Canadian stereotypes. Take off, Hoser! A CANADIAN FACT! In addition to SCTV, some other popular Canadian shows that are shown in the United States include, The Red Green Show, Kenny vs. Spenny and Da Vinci's Inquest.