To those who say that other Canadian broadcasters are just as good at independently covering the same wide range of issues and topics that the CBC does, I present Exhibit A: CTV’s so-called current affairs program W5‘s hour-long self-promotional puff piece on the network’s sitcom Corner Gas, featuring (among other things) a look at their website—WIN BIG PRIZES!—and last year’s contest winner (who spent 300 hours playing a program-related game to win).
Don’t get me wrong, I think Corner Gas itself is a good show, and yes, I watched the documentary (which was interesting, and will probably show up as an extra on the third season DVD). But when’s the last time that the fifth estate (the closest analogue to W5 that I can think of offhand) took an hour to go behind the scenes of (i.e. advertise) Da Vinci’s Inquest, This is Wonderland or Royal Canadian Air Farce, hmm?
Just a quick followup to an in-person conversation today: if Beyond Corner Gas had been aired as a special hour-long program rather than as an episode of W5—renowned for almost 40 years of award-winning investigative journalism—I wouldn’t have an issue with it or CTV at all. It’s a decision that wouldn’t even be a question at the CBC, and that’s what sets the independent national public broadcaster apart from (and, in my opinion, above) the other ratings- and sponsor-driven private networks.
