THIS (Canada TV) is Wonderland...

My friends know I complain ad nauseum about the wasteland that is the TV landscape. There are enough reality TV shows out there to choke a donkey. People complain further about the lack of good TV shows, especially from Canada, and especially with the demise of Hockey Night in Canada (way to kill the season. I'm looking at the players AND the owners).

I'm not here to complain. Instead, I'm here to tell you that within the vast detritus of the American TV dominated landscape, tehre's actually a lot of good shows out there, Canadian-made, that are worth watching:

1) This is Wonderland- a tight, well-written drama about a small group of public defenders (i.e. lawyers) that has many, many funny moments. I can not rave about this show enough. It's set in Toronto without having the blatant "I'm set in Toronto! Look at me!" feel to it. All the actors are phenomenal and unlike most of the legal dramas out there, this ones deals with many different social issues, from mental health to assaults, drugs, you name it. Though the show is supposed to focus on Alice (get it?), the entire cast has the kind of depth that makes every character interesting and endearing, something I haven't seen since the early seasons of the West Wing. I hope CBC puts this out onto DVD. I can watch this repeatedly.

2) Corner Gas- Half hour comedy set in the middle of Sasketchewan. You'd think they'd run out of ideas pretty quickly. But they're in the second season and it's still very funny. Strong cast + absurd, rural Canadian situations = who needs laugh tracks, anyways? Plus, they've got the Hip guess starring in an upcoming show...SWEET!

3) The Newsroom- back for a third season from Ken Finkleman, this is the Canadian version of The Office before The Office even existed. Like the rest of Ken Finkleman's work, every show is painfully funny in its awkward situations...

4) Degrassi-The Next Generation- I personally haven't watched it but it's been getting rave reviews from everywhere, especially since they are more willing to talk about more diverse adolescent issues than most shows. Plus, you can't go wrong when it's got the Kevin Smith seal of approval, right (for those who don't know, Kevin Smith and the Jay and Silent Bob characters were an entire storyline unto itself)...

So my suggestion. TURN OFF CANADIAN/AMERICAN IDOL!!!!! These shows are infinitely better. Trust me on this.

Addendum: This is an Amy recommendation- Sticks and Stones is a CBC Fifth Estate documentary on American Media. It's very fascinating. I'd recommend you watch the whole thing before they take it off; at the very least watch the short clip where Ann Coulter makes an ass of herself...it's hilarious.