As seen and photographed by me, on Sunday, on Queen Street West, quite literally.
Intelligence street promo
Editor, publisher, factual entertainer.
Published December 10, 2007 4:48 pm
The Tea Makers
They offered me the office, offered me the shop. They said I'd better take anything they'd got. Do you wanna make tea at the CBC? Do you wanna be, do you really wanna be a cop?
20 Comments
Hear hear, anonymous 8 a.m. You couldn’t have said it better.
I see the great majority of the content on this blog, either from Ouimet or all the others, as coming from people who care deeply about the CBC, who want to see it thrive. In many cases the most acute concern voiced is about the current leadership. Pointing out that they might not be competent and are hurting the operation isn’t negative, it’s perceptive. Anyone who says things aren’t currently a mess at CBC is just delusional.
I would never presume to speak for anyone else here, but I post plenty of pro-CBC material. I stuck up for the CBC in the “Jerome and Rusty” puppet controversy. I stuck up for Kirstine Layfield when the National Post ran a creepy picture of her. I stuck up for CBC North when a judge ordered radio programming changes. I stuck up for the CBC when Chris Haddock got a little weird. And so on.
I stick up for the CBC all the time, when no one else in the media does. No one.
Is there negativity here? Sure. And I’m prone to gallows humour. It’s going to be black.
But this is the only place where this stuff can be discussed freely and publicly. Sometimes it’s going to make people uncomfortable, but we have nothing to be afraid of. That’s the whole point.
When people complain about this site, I’m never sure what it is that they want. Do you want me to quit? To change? Do you want another InsidetheCBC? Another TV, eh? Another Dead Things On Sticks?
We already have those blogs. I’m just trying to speak a truth that no one else is saying out loud.
You’re right — I definitely did wade in the mud there. And if spatter gets on my flaps, that’s cool too. Deserved.
Just an observation, tho: I kinda stopped checking in here regularly after the weird “make fun of Antonia’s appearance” post. Mean spirited for the point of being mean spirited has never been my thing — but you made a recent comment on mine, and you came up on my “Intelligence” search so I did wander over. And started reading, and promptly waded into the mud. In going back, I discovered through comments the Stursberg/Picton thing. If you removed the photo, you must have thought it went a little too far. And you tell me that you haven’t noticed that the “light” in the comments has been a bit overwhelmed by the “heat” of late?
The thing is, I’m not entirely sure what happened. Time was this was a very interesting commentary, an alt view of not drinking the CBC kool aid. When you took a break for several months, I really missed it as a read.
But where you had the root before of frustration from a place of wanting to make the place better, now, well…now it seems that it’s just about the anonymous venting and moaning about everything the CBC does. That relentless negativity doesn’t really seem to me to be in line with the voice you offered during the 2005 lockout, or after. I mean, if there’s no light under the door, then what is the point?
I don’t know if you managed at all to see the awful, strange outpouring of hate over on Blog T.O. and their coverage of Stephen Hurlbutt’s firing — but there’s what happens when a negative valve gets released. What good did it serve? I don’t know. But it sure shows there was a problem. And maybe that’s why you keep at it.
You put what you put out into the universe. And if you’re proud and dandy, then fab.
I trust you and your dwindling coterie of fans will enjoy each other for many bile-filled nights to come.
Best.
That’s fine with me if you think my blog sucks. And you can come here and tell me it sucks. That’s all right.
And if you never want to read it again, that’s fine too.
I get uncomfortable when commenters viciously attack other commenters, but I know Joe and Allan can take it.
But when you say you never read my blog, then give us a post-by-post breakdown on what trash it is, then attack everyone else apropos of nothing, I really wish you would have stayed anonymous and saved yourself some embarrassment.
At least he didn’t complain about putting too many N’s in his given name.
John Doyle and intelligence … nope, can’t find a match anywhere!
He did write about a TV show of that name, however, calling it “tough, rough, fast and furious, and gloriously entertaining”.
But then Doyle has no credibility left to lose so why not kiss some industry ass. And he’s far from alone. Everyone at insidecbc and The Tyee is head over heels crazy for this show – proving that all those CBC promos really work!
But no amount of promos or silly disc drop stunts can save a show that doesn’t deliver the goods or has all the soulful nutrition of an apple fritter without the bits of apple. Even the esteemed/steamed Dennis Mcmenace could write a better show I’m sure.
When Chris Haddock presented this show to the CBC he did so without the benefit of the two babe magnets that have carried Haddock through most of his successes – Donnelly Rhodes and Nicholas Campbell.
And since only women watch this stuff (alright, 100, 000 women and 160 men who are afraid to say anything) what reason would they have to tune in?
Like, DUH!
The CBC did their duty here in every way, despite the show being doomed from the start without these two strong male leads.
And when you have to tell advertisers that it’s going to cost $10 to bring in one viewer for a dramatic series as compared to .0003 cents for The Hour, you’d better hope that someone still cares about “Art”.
*head in hands*
People…
Riiight. I forgot! This is the site where all that unused creative CBC energy is channeled to the noble and constructive pursuits of comparing execs to serial killers, and dressing down female reporters and others who write with a byline by taking anonymous cheap shots at their physical appearance! Graham Spry must be so proud, guys! Way to chart the brave new bold future of the CBC! The Corpse is soooo lucky to have ya! Huzzah!
Hey look, Ma! I’m a fucktard!
Thank you, RotUNd DMC!
Dennis there are plent of things we could make fun of you for. Your cheesy TV shows. How you set yourself up as a ccritic of Canadian culture, when you really are a hack writer. Your self-aggrandizing blog, a shrine to Dennis and his unassailable opinions.. How you enjoy crushing people who don’t agree with you. How you like to portray yourself as a “bad boy” in the mafia , when really you are as milquetoast as they come. Your weight. But we won’t.
But I should point out that your comment was the least constructive one around here for some time. Well, a week anyways.
Sad waste of time, indeed. Don’t do us any favors if you don’t want to. We”ll be fine here without you.
Well, Ouimet posted on mine so I figured I’d check out hers for a change.
You guys really got nothing, hey? It’s all down to gainsaying and bitching, gainsaying and bitching.
And this Allan fucktard makes Joe Whatshisfus look like Marshall McLuhan.
What a sad waste of time.
Dwight, those things have been on Queen West for weeks, and they’re EVERYWHERE on the sidewalks.
Do the owners of the premises own the sidewalk too? I’m not up on these rules, but either way, I highly doubt they were posted by owners or with owners’ permission.
I am with Anonymous on this. These ads make the CBC no better than those bands that decide to spray paint their names on Queen West, ugh.
I’ve avoided Intelligence after hearing reviews from several Secret Squirrels in the Ottawa area. Instead they recommend BBC’s Spooks which after 5 seasons I’m still on the edge of my seat at the end of each episode.
BTW, have you heard the CBC prayer? Of course you haven’t. The CBC hasn’t got a prayer.
No photo, Dwight.
Just reflecting today on the values gleaned from Little Mosque, such as tolerance, understanding and accommodating individual differences and beliefs.
This in light of the heartbreaking news in today’s Toronto Star.
Who saw the grueling 2-hour final episode of this show last night?
For some inexplicable reason, I did, and have no hesitation in saying that Intelligence totally sucked.
You’d think that in 120 minutes of prime time this production could have offered something satisfying for just one moment at least. But it was not to be.
After the first hour I found myself asking “what is this? There’s nothing going on here. Just flat acting and dizzying camera moves and music that keeps implying tension, tension, tension. But there’s no action. Only people moving, answering cellphones, getting in and out of cars, and talking out a story-line that’s so inappropriate and unbelievable and just plain boring.”
This show was an empty, meaningless experience.
Haddock has completely run out of ideas, even to the point of re-cycling old ones. The side stories – a couple is buying a house, the lead actor is going through divorce – had no reason for being included and went nowhere. Even the main story just kept building and building to some unforeseen climax, and guess what that was – lead actor gets shot in the last two minutes and lies bleeding and breathing while camera slowly focuses on his watch.
What?!?
That’s the cliffhanger a twelve year old could and would write.
An unbelievable rip-off.
Content without any content.
Don’t even think about another season. Don’t even dare produce another episode.
Did you have a photo to go with that comment, allan?
As for the stickers…if the owners of the premises in question post them, or the staff do it with confirmed permission, it’s not exactly litter anymore, is it?
Little Mosque In Mississauga.
Those really bother me, they are litter. Buy an ad in a bus shelter.
I’ve seen the like in the Byward Market in Ottawa. Wish I could recall the exact store…