Many happy, shiny people at today’s CBC Fall Schedule announcement.
Including Strombo, who appears to have a “will-never-be-canceled” contract, returning in September for another tiresome 7th season.
George was strangely mum with reporters, only willing to hint that major changes are being made to The Hour.
Especially strange since during the Q & A with last night’s audience he was volunteering plenty of information.
Some rough notes, relayed third hand, provide a glimmer of light about the future of a stale concept, and an aging host.
He was asked what he would like to do after The Hour and he said he would want to host a big dumb game show, because reality TV makes people look bad, but on these game shows people win something. And if they don’t win its not like they’re out anything. He thinks Howie Mandel is the Michaelangelo of game shows and is his idol for doing that.
In the summer he will be seen in a few movies, be spending time in L.A. and writing.
[George writes?]Next season – he said that the iPad is changing the way people watch TV. Same with the internet that most people watch his show on the net now not TV.
He says he wants to be a pioneer of the talk show world.
So maybe it will be only 30 minutes long and another 1 hour on the net or something.
He said that in the States they will be able to see first viewing of movies on their TV.
So he wants to change everything AND change the way the set looks completely as well.
Says he was 31 when this show started and now he’s 37, so the set doesn’t reflect who he is now.
He also talked about how he is fearless, doesn’t always follow the teleprompter, and uses scientific body language to guide his guests, then demonstrated the different positions he takes to send messages to the guest.He said that he considers the red chair across from him to be “Canada’s Chair”, and wants guests to come to him instead of him going to do interviews in hotel rooms, like he did with Halle Barre and Geldof.
Perhaps strangest of all was that the everlastingly loyal Barb from the Stroumboulopouli blog was also in attendance during all this cryptic stream of consciousness.
You’d think that after years of dedicated service worshiping the Strombo brand, the least he could have done was give her the scoop.
The red chair George referred to does indeed belong to Canada, as does most crown corporation property paid for by tax dollars.
There’s something about demanding guests come to him on his schedule that seems like a bit of a power play.
But unless The Hour plans to open up the phone lines and put Stephen Harper in that chair, the gimmick phrase is going to seem more and more embarrassing every time it’s used.
Far more than the word “boyfriend” already does.
31 Comments
Such a big stick given to such little hands.
Thank you.
I see by that article that CBC shows will now be available on Rogers On Demand, which is really unnecessary because there’s already too many CBC channels available to Rogers subscribers that replay the same CBC shows (The Hour, Steven and Chris, etc.) ad nauseum in case you missed them (like anyone really watches them).
Maybe the CBC should just go into telemarketing and start calling each & every Canadian and ask if they are watching/listening to the CBC & if not, they should be. CBC is EVERYWHERE!
A new deal signed today will put more CBC content on line.
http://business.financialpost.com/2010/05/28/fp-tech-desk-cbc-signs-content-deal-with-rogers/
“(George) said that the iPad is changing the way people watch TV. Same with the internet that most people watch his show on the net now not TV.”
That’s pretty amazing considering that the iPad is just now finally arriving in Canada today :
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CanadaAM/20100528/ipad-canada-100528/
I’m not at all surprised that Kirsty and “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight” renewed the infotainment eyesore that is “The Hour”. George is the poster boy for the CBC’s “style over substance” era and the same myopic visionaries that were in charge at the start of this lamentable period are in charge now.
When the CBC no longer needs his “help us lose money” services – where will George most likely land on his feet?
1) Late shift DJ on FM station?
2) Late shift DJ on AM station?
3) Late shift DJ on College/University station?
4 ) Male escort for hire advertised in the back of Now Magazine?
National Post version of above story
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/05/27/cbc-fall-preview-qa-with-the-hours-george-stroumboulopoulos/
Their work, a masterpiece.
“Howie Mandel is the Michael Angelo of game show hosting”.
When the CBC no longer needs his “help us lose money” services – where will George most likely land on his feet?
1) Late shift DJ on FM station?
2) Late shift DJ on AM station?
3) Late shift DJ on College/University station?
4 ) Male escort for hire advertised in the back of Now Magazine?
The “big changes” will be George going back to doing what he does best : introducing music videos.
That would make sense. At 37, this Peter Pan’s mid-life crisis is starting to set in, and he will desperately try and hang on to his hipster identity & relive his youth (see Jian).
I meant Tomorrow’s Headline Today ! Hehehehe.
Maybe a Tea Makers “blackout” on Strombo/The Hour is in order. That’ll cut his & his show’s coverage by bloggers in half.
Be careful what you ask for, George.
Mr. Internet
who contributes neither anything original nor exclusive to it.
Except photographs of himself.
Nothing makes sense about what George said.
He won’t go to hotel rooms to interview celebs now (even though he did for Ms.Berry, Mr.Norton, and others). But, now he’s too good to travel, they have to come to HIM. Visit HIS backwater studio for a deep spiritual 10 minute interview that ends abruptly in a handshake.
George talks about his scientific body language interviewing techniques and how he controls and guides the interview with it. The “friction” of his butt against the cheap red vinyl is the only thing that holds that big head upright. What does it mean when you lean WAY back George ?
How can you go from being “One of Canada’s most respcted journalists” to the host of a “Big Dumb Game Show” ? THAT is your goal, THAT is what you want to do with the opportunity you have been given ?
What kind of pseudo-intellectual would reveal “big changes for season 7” to the audience but then not want anyone to blog about it ? What’s the big secret – that most aspects of The Hour don’t work and never did ? Well, knock me over with a fuckin’ feather !
How many little segments have come on gone ? Dis-information – World of Good News – Hillary Doyle – Today’s Headline Tomorrow ?
George pretends to be a “futurist”, just like Todd. He pretends to know about the Ipad and where television is going. If he only understood his own medium. He has only had 6 seasons to grow his own show, but we are to believe season 7 is his season to be a” pioneer” of the late night world ? Quite frankly, I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t want his changes for season 7 to be blogged about (who doesn’t want press and to build excitement ?) but rather he has no fuckin’ clue what he’s going do. This is him grasping at straws, going through the list of what else he could possibly do. He mentioned making the show 35 minutes and putting two hours of content online ????????
A Pseudo- intellectual describes George to a T – as taken from urbandictionary.com
“A person who uses “big words” to impress people, insists on being politically-correct all the time, constantly bitches about “the system”, and thinks they’re gods among men because they’re atheist.”
This Hour has 35 minutes.
Well done poongirl.
George is doing reverse psychology.
Who regularly blogs about The Hour other than the Stroumboulopouli and occasionally PoonGirl and yourself?
It’s true. We’ve all done our part to help him.
Since Strombo is “fearless”, he won’t mind going up against Conan O’Brien on CTV.
Why would he not want anyone to blog about it?
Would he prefer that no one blogged at all about The Hour?
What’s the worst that could happen blogging about changes at The Hour?
Anyone else get the impression that George/The Hour/CBC is completely lost as to what to do to revive that show?
Like how to make it worth watching and be relevant to anyone?
Isn’t the Big New Idea just borrowing the “unknown musicians playing live” format from “Q”?
A recipe for a demeaning disaster.
If he starts bringing on bands and comedians then we’re right back to the Mike Bullard Show but with a guy who can’t make a joke work to save his life.
But worse, The Hour’s loyal audience will become completely disoriented watching the show that once consisted of 90% George face time cut down to 25% face time.
A blatant admission that CBC’s version of George The Pseudo-Journalist has been a scam that ultimately held no interest for the country.
With the TD-Canada Trust sponsorship I am surprised the seats did not change to “TD green”.
If “most people watch his show on the net not TV”, then why is his show on TV?
At the risk of sounding redundant, but if it’s “Canada’s Chair”, why does it seat the bums of so many American celebrities?
“one of Canada’ most respected journalists ” wants to be a game show host.
Unfortunately, Shatner got the job.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3ifeb8cbc990332c1ca67352d9cb85c63e
Maybe next time.
Game show host was always the perfect gig for George, before the CBC decided to market him as the Edward R. Murrow of Generation X.
He did a great job on Test The Nation.
The only change that could save The Hour would be to start with the host.
Barb from the Stroumboulopouli is George’s Helen Thomas.