As if Jack Bauer and Capt. James T. Kirk weren’t enough, it turns out another American icon is actually, at least partially, Canadian.
This week’s Canadian Heritage Moment whisks us back to Cleveland, Ohio, where a young Joe Shuster was boarding a train to his hometown of Toronto and telling a woman named Lois all about his wild idea of a strong man in a cape and tights.
That strong man turned out to be Superman, and Shuster (who was born in Toronto but moved to Cleveland when he was 10 years old, went on to draw the comic strip with his writing partner, American Jerry Siegel, whom he’d met at school in Cleveland.
Heritage Minutes are 60-second short films that are shown in between some TV shows in Canada — and they’re amazing. We’re planning to bring you a “Heritage Minute” every Wednesday on COTW.
Talk about a poor exchange rate. A Canadian penny that was expected to pull in as much as $300,000 at an auction in New York was bid up to $402,500 at an auction Sunday, according to The Edmonton Sun.
But this isn’t just any penny. It’s a 1936 Canadian “Dot Cent,” a penny that was produced in 1937 with the image of King George V and a dot on the back to denote that even though it was dated 1936, it was actually pressed a year later.
“This is the rarest, the most valuable, the most charismatic and legendary Canadian coin that exists,” Cris Bierrenbach, director of international sales with Heritage Auction, told Canwest News Service. “In Canada, there is nothing that is worth more individually than the 1936 Dot Cent.”
There are only three of these pennies believed to exist, and this one is in the best condition.
According to Heritage Auctions’ description, “the 1936-dated Dot cent has seen its reputation grow exponentially since its discovery. It was long considered essentially uncollectible, since noted numismatist John Jay Pittman had held all three known examples from 1961 until his death, but the three-part auction of his collection brought all three back onto the market: the first in October 1997 and the other two (including this piece) in August 1999. The three 1936 Dot Cents, now well-scattered, generate great excitement whenever one appears on the auction block.”
It’s time to start paying attention to Canadian film. The rest of the world already is.
The National Film Board of Canada’s iPhone app, which was released on Oct. 21, is a hit — having been named to Apple’s Top 10 apps list, and notching 40 percent more downloads outside of Canada than in Canada, according to a report from The Canadian Press.
The app, which showcases documentaries and animation produced by the public film distributor, allows users to watch thousands of shorts and trailers on their iPhones.
Among the most popular shorts, according to The Canadian Press, are “The Cat Came Back,” “Canada Vignettes: Log Driver’s Waltz” and “HA-Aki.”
Click on the player below to see “The Log Driver’s Waltz.”
It was only a matter of time before The Shat was named Canadian of the Week.
The Montreal native has entertained us in some form or another for more than half a century, and in a revealing and fascinating interview with GQ this month, William Shatner opens our eyes to what makes Shatner SHATNER.
In the article, he opens up about giving in and joining the joke that had become of his career after years of trying to be taken seriously as an actor.
Unsuccessful at shedding the Capt. James T. Kirk aura, Shatner bought into it and embraced the Trekkies, and also developed his own aura in the form of an eccentric and dramatic spoken wordsmith who has taken on Priceline commercials and, more recently, Sarah Palin speeches.
And now, at age 78, Shatner is hotter than ever.
You’ll have to get your hands on a copy of GQ to read the full article, but to hear some audio excerpts of the interview, click here.
We’re going to kick off a new feature here at Canadian of the Week, bringing you bite-sized pieces of Canadian history that folks up north have been watching for nearly 20 years.
Heritage Minutes are 60-second short films that are shown in between some TV shows in Canada — and they’re amazing.
These things bring a kind of shock-and-awe drama that puts “Grey’s Anatomy” to shame, and they’ve also been the targets of parodies on comedy shows in Canada. And you’ll see why.
We’re planning to bring you a “Heritage Minute” every Wednesday on COTW, and what better way to start it than with the story of Sam Steele, the North West Mounted Police superintendent tasked with keeping the Klondike region (yes, “Klondike,” like the ice cream bars) free from gun-toting, drunken, and otherwise debaucherous gold seekers from the United States in the late 1890s?
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Superintendent Steele utter the words, “Men don’t wear pistols in Canada.”
Check it out below, and to learn more about Steele, click here.
A political science professor at the University of Alberta said this week that the popular kids’ show, “Thomas the Tank Engine,” pushes a conservative agenda and teaches kids the wrong lessons about hierarchy and gender equality.
Political studies professor Shauna Wilson said she came to this conclusion after watching 23 episodes of the show, according to the CBC.
“There’s a really clear social hierarchy, and everyone is looking down at the characters that are below them, and generally speaking, the political outlook is pretty conservative,” Wilton said Monday in an interview with CBC Radio’s As It Happens.
“The gender roles were particularly interesting to me because I have a daughter who watches the show, and as the mother of a daughter, I want her to be watching shows with strong female characters in them,” she added. “And female characters are pretty much confined to supporting roles in this show.”
Wilton noted that most of the female characters play a supporting role.
“Thomas has Annie and Clarabel. They chug along behind him and repeat what he says and cheer him on or express concern and worry if they don’t feel he’s doing the right thing.”
James Cameron is the Axl Rose of filmmaking. After a string of hits back in the day, including one of the grandest epics of all time, it took him more than 10 years to get back in the game.
But the Ontario native who brought of “Terminator” and “Titanic” has returned, and his new movie, “Avatar,” is pulling in some great reviews. The triumphant return is notable enough to earn Cameron the honor of Canadian of the Week. We’ll assume a printed, framed version of this post will be placed somewhere between his three Oscars and his Golden Globe Award.
I’ve got to say, I don’t really get it. I’ve read this description a few times and, well, just read for yourself the synopsis provided by 20th Century Fox:
“Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.”
Umm, cool.
The film is scoring 90 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and is due in theaters on Friday. Check out the trailer below:
Sad news surfaced over the weekend as another professional wrestler, this time Whitby, Ontario, native Andrew “Test” Martin, was found dead too young.
The 33-year-old who had most recently wrestled with the outfit TNA as “The Punisher,” was found when a neighbor who could see into his Tampa, Fla., home reported to police that he’d been motionless for hours, according to the CBC.
Martin wrestled for several years with the WWE and at various times held many championships, including the Intercontinental, European and Hardcore belts.
“Extra” is also reporting that Martin and wrestler-turned-TV-star Stacy Keibler dated on and off while they both were with WWE.
Surely, you can’t think of Shannon Tweed without thinking of Paul Haggis in the same sentence?
OK, maybe you can. But not on March 10, as both Canadians celebrate the completion of another year on Earth.
Tweed, the 1982 Playboy Playmate of the Year and subsequent star of many an “erotic thriller,” turns 52 today. The native of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (every time I see the name of a province like that, it reminds me why I love running this site), has also been seen in the TV series “1st and 10″ and “Falcon Crest,” in addition to her two-year stint on “Days of Our Lives,” from 1985 to 1987. She has famously not been married to KISS bassist and singer Gene Simmons since 1985.
Meanwhile, Haggis, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Crash,” turns 56. The London, Ontario, native was also nominated for Best Director for “Crash,” but lost out to Ang Lee, who directed “Brokeback Mountain.”
It’d be hard to find a guy more charming and likable than Nathan Fillion, who has won fans over in Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” In the romantic comedy realm, he made a mark in “Waitress” with Keri Russell and had a nice stint on “Desperate Housewives.”
But now the Edmonton native is back as a crime-novel author teaming with a New York cop played by relative newcomer (and fellow Canadian) Hamilton, Ontario’s Stana Katic. If you didn’t have a chance to see the show last night after “Dancing with the Stars,” click here to catch the full episode!
In the meantime, here’s a review of the Canadians’ performance from one of my favorite TV critics in the biz, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. She says Fillion’s commanding presence leads the way, and that with a little attention to detail and character expansion, there’s potential for it to become “an enjoyable bit of escapist piffle.”
As if Jack Bauer and Capt. James T. Kirk weren’t enough, it turns out another American icon is actually, at least partially, Canadian.
Talk about a poor exchange rate. A Canadian penny that was expected to pull in as much as $300,000 at an auction in New York was bid up to $402,500 at an auction Sunday, according to 
It’s time to start paying attention to Canadian film. The rest of the world already is.
It was only a matter of time before The Shat was named Canadian of the Week.
Thank you, YouTube.
A political science professor at the University of Alberta said this week that the popular kids’ show, “Thomas the Tank Engine,” pushes a conservative agenda and teaches kids the wrong lessons about hierarchy and gender equality.
James Cameron is the Axl Rose of filmmaking. After a string of hits back in the day, including one of the grandest epics of all time, it took him more than 10 years to get back in the game.
