CBC-TV’s cancelled legal drama This Is Wonderland leads the nominees for the 21st Gemini Awards, the annual celebration of excellence in English Canadian television.
Wonderland, which ran for three seasons but was cancelled earlier this year (and yet, its promotional web site still exists as a kind of eerie time capsule), received 14 nominations, including best dramatic series. The show, which starred Cara Pifko as a young defence lawyer at the Old City Hall courts in Toronto, had been hailed for its insightful writing and for avoiding the traditional legal show format.
Tied with nine nominations each are CBC-TV’s investigative journalism newsmagazine the fifth estate and its controversial miniseries Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, which was criticized for historical inaccuracy in portraying former Saskatchewan premier James Gardiner and ultimately pulled from additional broadcast.
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| Awards, CBC Television, Drama |
As one of Wonderland’s fans, I am unsurprised by this, Tod.
What I am at this point is both happy and sad all over again, because this is both vindication and a bit of a nose-rubbing in old, bad news.
Interestingly, I’ve checked the series’ own website, the one run by the production company. It seems to be down, reasons as yet unclear to me. I hope that this puts some new wind into their sails.
I am not surprised. It makes be wonder if the “people in charge” at CBC are being paid by CTV to cancel popular shows on CBC. A few years ago the CBC had a winner with Snakes and Ladders and they cancelled that one as well after 6 episodes despite the popularity of this show.
I still think the CBC decision to cancel “Wonderland” was a ridiculous one. It was such a good programme.
Now if only it can be revived… hmm… I don’t know about that but it’d be a good save for falling ratings!
Well, if they were able to bring back The Newsroom for a few more seasons about 5 or 6 years after the original series ran, I would think they should be able to bring back something that was cancelled fairly recently.
“Street Cents” is nominated, again. Obviously the TV industry
values this show, even if the CBC does not. I bet CTV has a version
of it on the air next season. And we’ll still be waiting for the CBC’s
“youth strategy” to be revealed. If enough cancelled shows win, maybe
Stursberg should resign. Fat chance.
14 nominations and it was cancelled? What are the head honchos smoking? I loved that programme.
Lorne: I live in hope on that score.