MovieTelevision
MovieTelevision is a Canadian entertainment news series, which aired on Citytv from 1988 to 2006.[1] The series aired reports on film, including interviews with actors and filmmakers, preview clips of upcoming films and coverage of film-related events such as the Toronto International Film Festival.
The series was launched in 1988 as a replacement for the network's longrunning talk show City Lights.[2] It was initially cohosted by Brian Linehan and Jeanne Beker, with its title and format patterned on Citytv's FashionTelevision.[2] However, Linehan was dissatisfied with the format, as it left him with far less time to conduct the in-depth interviews with actors which had been his specialty on City Lights, and he left the show after the first season.[3]
Terry David Mulligan joined the show in the second season as a correspondent from Vancouver, but was not officially billed as a full cohost of the show at the time.[4] For a while in the mid-1990s the show was billed as a "hostless" format, with nobody officially serving as the primary host of the program but both Beker and Mulligan continuing to report as correspondents;[5] in later years, however, Beker and Mulligan were again billed as full co-hosts. After joining Citytv as an entertainment reporter, Traci Melchor also sometimes appeared as a correspondent in the mid-1990s.[6]
Following the launch of Citytv's entertainment news sister station Star! in 1999, the series was added to that channel's schedule.[7] In addition to new episodes, Star! also reran older episodes under the title Best of MovieTelevision.[8]
The series was also syndicated, both to other Canadian television stations and internationally.[9]
The series ceased production at the end of the 2005-06 television season, in advance of the network's sale to Rogers Media.
References
[edit]- ^ Greg Quill, "Fashion Victor: As the host of CITY's FashionTelevision and its partner, Movie Television Jeanne Beker indulges her twin passions for high style and film fantasy". Toronto Star, February 29, 1992.
- ^ a b "Linehan, Beker to team up for new weekly movie show". Toronto Star, July 24, 1988.
- ^ Antonia Zerbisias, "Brian Linehan will no longer light up CITY". Toronto Star, September 1, 1989.
- ^ Antonia Zerbisias, "CITY's revolving door a blur". Toronto Star, September 7, 1989.
- ^ Barbara Righton, "Who makes our stars>: Competing with their richer, louder American cousins, Entertainment Now, MovieTelevision and Linehan aim to sell celebrity with a Canadian spin". The Globe and Mail, December 7, 1996.
- ^ Bonnie Malleck, "City TV catches fever for Planet Hollywood". Waterloo Region Record, March 20, 1997.
- ^ John McKay, "CHUM set to launch glam channel: Star! premiers this Sept. 10". Chatham Daily News, August 23, 1999.
- ^ Andrew Ryan, "Seeing stars". The Globe and Mail, July 14, 2001.
- ^ "ChumCity puts more programming into Philippines and screens of foreign airlines". National Post, March 14, 2001.