Comments on: Battle of the Blades

By: otilla mcagy

otilla mcagy — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:42:04 +0000

i am disappointed that my decorating class is on monday night so i don’t see the show . but. as far as i can see the skating is great on both types of blades.
It is good clean fun for a good cause, it is not violent, it is not gory, it is blood sweat and tears. blood when an elbow or knee is skinned in practice, sweat because it is hard work, and the tears come when someone is voted off. It is great and we need more programs like this.

By: Glad no lock out until at least 2014

Glad no lock out until at least 2014 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:44:58 +0000

Not my type of show, but if 1.5 million tune it some one likes this type of content.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:13:04 +0000

The majority of fans on the Battle of the Blades site seem to identify themselves with figure skating… so maybe it’s anything to do with figure skating that does well?

By: Pat Boule

Pat Boule — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:35:44 +0000

The show is a perfect storm of cross-demographic appeal where a whole family can sit around the TV with different generations and have something to watch and discuss.

Timing the second episode to conincide with Thanksgiving (and featuring Cherry and the Browning skate) was brilliant.

They have old players like Ron Duguay to appeal to the grandmas, younger players like Lemieux to appeal to the crowd in the 40′s etc. And to paraphrase Kelly H – the women skaters are not hard to watch.

Ron M is the perfect host for this – appeals to all.

By: ka

ka — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:51:15 +0000

I could care less about hockey – I watch it to see the figure skaters.

By: pocorock

pocorock — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:10:59 +0000

I think part of the draw are some that watch “Dancing with the Stars” it sort of has that same feel to the show. Figure skating is very popular in Canada as well. I’m not sure how many Hockey people are going to continue to watch to see these men prance around week to week. But from a pair figure skating/dancing theme I think it is quite entertaining. The production looks good and in HD it is beautiful. I have yet to see another Canadian reality show in HD.

By: Ryan Deschamps

Ryan Deschamps — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:29:21 +0000

I don’[t think the appeal of Battle of the Blades is all about Hockey. I think the appeal is a hokey figure skating show – that your hockey-crazed husband/wife will tolerate watching.

There is alot that is archetypal in it too – the classic Beauty-and-Beast story. Pygmalion in reverse. etc. etc. etc. And in the end, it’s all about the charity – these bruisers have big hearts – or at least that’s what we want and hope to believe in.

By: John Bowman

John Bowman — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:26:07 +0000

MVP, that hockey soap opera, didn’t do well in the ratings. Making the Cut didn’t go all that well for CBC or Global.

By: Bob LeDrew

Bob LeDrew — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:56:20 +0000

#1: It’s hockey players doing something out of character. Same deal as Rick Mercer flying with the snowbirds, in a demolition derby, etc.

#2: it capitalizes on the whole dancing deal that’s so big now (not my thing at all, but…)

#3:It offers double-edged benefits: if Tie Domi looks like an idiot, you get to laugh at him (and he gets to laugh at himself); if he performs well, you get to be surprised and say “wow, look at that! Tie Domi didn’t do too bad, eh?”

#4: It’s likely not overgeneralizing to say that men are more likely to watch hockey and women figure skating; this combines the two.

All of the above in no way should be construed to suggest that I would choose watching this show over sticking rusty heated needles in my eyes. That being said – if it gets great ratings, good for the show!