{"id":32,"date":"2010-03-15T15:18:48","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T15:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/?p=32"},"modified":"2010-03-15T19:11:11","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T19:11:11","slug":"cbc-scores-with-battle-of-the-blades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/?p=32","title":{"rendered":"CBC scores, with Battle of the Blades"},"content":{"rendered":"

The TV screen shows the lights lower in the Maple Leaf Gardens.
\n<\/span>
\nTwo male skaters dressed in tuxes emerge onto the ice. They skate circles around each other in front of a cheering crowd. The camera cuts to a close-up of the performers\u2019 feet as they stop in unison \u2014 one is wearing hockey skates, the other, figure skates. Hosts Ron MacLean and Kurt Browning know how to get the crowd going.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nBattle of the Blades<\/em> pairs retired NHL greats with sweetheart championship figure skaters (here, Marie-France Dubreuil and St\u00e9phane Richer), to create a truly Canadian reality show. <\/span><\/p>\n

And so it begins.<\/p>\n

Battle of the Blades<\/em>, Canada\u2019s latest attempt at reality-show success, takes hockey tough guys, pairs them with figure skating sweethearts and has them churn out weekly ice dance routines on live television.<\/p>\n

The eight couples are judged after each Sunday night performance show using traditional figure-skating scoring by former skating champions and choreographers \u2014 with a little help from legendary Canadians like Lanny McDonald and Don Cherry. Viewers cast votes for their favourite couples, and on Monday nights one pair is eliminated from the show.<\/p>\n

The simplicity of the concept is almost laughable.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no way people will watch this, right? Imagine hockey fans calling the guys over for a game night that involves pizza, beer and Claude Lemieux in tight pants. Or lifelong figure skating devotees envying the grace and style of an aging hockey player\u2019s death spiral.<\/p>\n

Well, judging by the ratings, it isn\u2019t that unrealistic. An average of 1.5 million viewers tune in to the show weekly. So what is it about this show that has Canucks glued to their television screens week after week?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all in our image<\/span><\/p>\n

The show is quintessentially Canadian, and we can\u2019t get enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt fits with the image of Canada which is all about hockey, figure skating, Tim Hortons, kids skating on a frozen pond in the winter, Ron MacLean\u2019s terrible puns, and Stephen Harper wearing a sweater,\u201d says John Doyle, television critic for the Globe and Mail<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The show has nation-wide appeal because it hits on elements of Canadian culture that everyone can identify with, he says.<\/p>\n

Millions of Canadians have connections to hockey and figure skating in one way or another. And in a star system that has more sports figures than actors, the mass appeal is obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore it premiered, I said I\u2019d eat my skates if Canadians didn\u2019t eat up a hockey and figure skating competition reality show,\u201d says Diane Wild, contributor to the blog TV Eh?<\/em>, an information portal for Canadian television shows.<\/p>\n

Wild describes Battle of the Blades<\/em> as being the perfect fit of audience and content. There is just something fun about seeing the worlds of hockey and figure skating collide, she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nHost Ron MacLean prepares to eliminate one pair on the Blades<\/em> finale. Sal\u00e9 and Simpson (in black) eventually came out on top.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadiana concept certainly draws in the audiences, but to keep them there, the show needs to entertain, says Denis McGrath, a television writer who has written episodes for Canadian shows like The Border<\/em> and Rent-A-Goalie<\/em>. He says Canadian television is often guilty of preaching to its audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mix in the familiar reality competition format which we\u2019re all used to by now, and figure skating. And then you add the surprising \u2014 how will these hockey players and figure skaters mix and work together?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

This combination is undeniably entertaining. You see retired tough guys wearing flashy costumes, and figure-skating champs putting faith in their partners as they seemingly fly through the air during lifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has flashy lights and sequins but it\u2019s not slick,\u201d says Wild. \u201cYou can tell it\u2019s live, which adds excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the water cooler factor has new viewers tuning in each week. People are talking about it, says Wild, and the fact that both sports and entertainment reporters are covering it helps its cause.<\/p>\n

‘It is a hell of a competition. It makes me proud to be Canadian.’ \u2014fan Stephen Largy<\/p>\n

The production values behind Battle of the Blades<\/em> also give it an edge up on past Canadian reality shows. It reads like a mix between Hockey Night in Canada<\/em> \u2014 which has been fine-tuned for years in this country \u2014 and a traditional, competition-style reality show. The graphics are good, the segments are well thought out and the accompanying music pulls the entire show together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch Battle of the Blades<\/em> and you\u2019re seeing something that\u2019s been cast, pored over, tightly edited and executed,\u201d says McGrath. While you might see the occasional technical glitch, he adds, the show is well produced and exciting to watch, even for those Canadians who would typically consider reality television to be \u201cthe ultimate in crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Converting unlikely fans<\/p>\n

Take Stephen Largy for example. He isn\u2019t your typical reality-television fan. He manages a group that finds employment opportunities for people with disabilities, is active as a volunteer in his community and describes most Canadian television as \u201csubsidized mediocrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nBlades<\/em> enthusiast Stephen Largy, with son Edward. <\/span><\/p>\n

But when it comes to Battle of the Blades<\/em> and all of the glitter and glam that comes with it, Largy is hooked. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe absolute last thing on my list of things to do is planning to sit down in front of the television,\u201d he says. \u201cBut for this, if we aren\u2019t in front of the television we are recording it. This is straight-out fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the appeal for Largy and his family? He managed his son\u2019s hockey team, his wife is a certified ballerina, his family watches figure skating and he loves the ice.<\/p>\n

It was all of these factors that had Largy and his family sitting down in front of their television to watch the October premiere. After the first performance show, Largy says they thought it was fun. After the second, they were impressed with the effort being put forth by the hockey players. And by the third, they were die-hard fans. \u201cIt is dynamite,\u201d says Largy with enthusiasm. \u201cIt makes me proud to be Canadian.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says Battle of the Blades<\/em> is the best thing CBC has done in 25 years. He is looking forward to a second season, which has already been ordered by the network, but he wonders if producers will be able to top the first.<\/p>\n

Still, Largy doesn\u2019t classify the show as reality television. \u201cThis is a competition. And it is a hell of a competition.”<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, the world?<\/p>\n

In the November season finale, retired NHL great and current Hockey Night in Canada<\/em> commentator Craig Simpson and his champion figure skating partner, Jamie Sal\u00e9, were crowned the winners of the first season. The pair scored $100,000 for their charity of choice: the Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre in northern Alberta. Even the losing participants earned $25,000 for their charities.<\/p>\n

Executive producer John Brunton is pleased with the success of Battle<\/em> and says the show has already been sold to Russia, Scandinavia and other emerging figure skating and hockey territories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the highest rated shows CBC has ever had, so we know we got part of it right,\u201d says Brunton. \u201cNow we are looking towards the future, and figuring out ways to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of who won or lost, Battle of the Blades<\/em> has successfully tapped into the Canadian soul to produce a show that could make even the most uptight culture snob feel a hint of patriotism.<\/p>\n

Related Links<\/strong><\/p>\n

Battle of the Blades CBC Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Denis McGrath’s TV Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Diane Wild’s TV Eh? Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

John Doyle’s Globe and Mail Column<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a weekly program that has had hockey and figure-skating fans squeezing onto the couch \u2014 without fighting for the remote. What makes this homegrown skating-reality show a success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[35,6,34],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","tag-battle-of-the-blades","tag-capital-arts-online","tag-school-of-journalism-and-communication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":191,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2416,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/2416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}