Canada's First DVD Awards (1 Viewer)

[Shane_M]

In Feb I'll be attending the CEN Awards. The Canadian Entertainment Network is hosting the inagural Canadian DVD awards in Toronto Feb 6, 2003.

List of catagories and nominees can be found here.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Shane, I usually yawn when it comes to awards other than Oscar's night... (remember when it got so bad that Laroquette asked if ABC stood for the "Awards Broadcasting Company"?)


This one has some potential... I like the best menu navigation category...

... too bad they don't have an award for best job of screwing up a transfer though

...can you report back once it's finalized if this is some exceptional Canadian Awards Ceremony, or just another bad idea...?

 

[Shane_M]

I definitely will report back right after the show.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

If ever we Canadians needed evidence that there's no reason to watch Canadian television anymore, this is IT!

Best box set, the Farrelly Brothers Collection??

Best reissue, X-Men 1.5???

Best DVD audio, Tom Cochrane????

Too bad this show didn't limit itself to ACTUAL Canadian DVD's (I think all five of them are actually nominated this year ), then the whole eye-splitting thing would be over with in about 15 minutes.

To say that any true videophile should be suspicious would be grossly overstating the obvious.

I'm assuming releases after about September 2003 weren't eligible, but even before that, there were still many more valid and qualified candidates for the vast majority of these categories.

Who selected these nominees?!? And who's actually voting for the winners? If this isn't the big-business backed product placement at its lowest ebb, I'll be stunned. I suppose the same could be said about just about any awards show, but when you finally get down to televised awards ceremonies for off-the-shelf software, rather than the talent that produces it or the technology that makes it (neither of which, of course, would be quite so telegenic, I'm sure), it really does point to a dumbing down of the popular culture that may continue , Funny how everything's so "mainstream" in most of these categories, too, isn't it?

And just what is the Canadian Entertainment Network? As a Canadian citizen who's familiar with entertainment on both sides of the border, I can't say I'm overly familiar with this organization. Is it anything like the Hollywod Foreign Press Association, the group behind the "prestigious" Golden Globes?

The most blatantly suspicious noms have got to be the retailer categories, especially the ones for Bay St. Video, a tiny-but-fantastic place to browse, but possibly the only place in Canada that sells nearly all of their DVDs at the Suggested Retail Price. Suspect Video, a favourite browsing-only haunt of mine (mainly because I live too far away to actually rent anything), also rates a nom for best independent sell-through retailer, which is odd considering how little of their product is actually for sale! And I guess I'd have to check the business pages to be certain, but I can't fathom a great many Canadians thinking they're actually saving that much at Canada's online retailers, when their US counterparts are considerably cheaper even after shipping, particularly in light of the increased value of our dollar lately! Handing out baubles to retailers is what it always has been, regardless of whether it's televised: good PR and exposure for all the nominees, and a shot at increasing sales.

(I'm aware that business communities in many countries have awards ceremonies, but rarely are they televised. Stick anything related to movies into the event and suddenly everyone wants airtime.)

I used to run a popular twice-weekly movie trivia contest in conjunction with a review column I wrote for a Canadian daily newspaper, so I know how eager the movie, music and video companies are to get playtime and linespace for their product. Basically, I was a vessel for free advertising, and the swag that went along with it was nice until I started to get flooded with more stuff than I could possibly give away or want to keep! In fact, I was glad to pull the plug on the whole thing. They tried to revive it after I left with middling results (the new coordinators knew precious little about movies and just wanted the freebies, so the fun kinda disappeared))

Experience tells me the graft will be flowing like water at the Canadian DVD Awards this year.

I, for one, see little point in tuning in.

That said, does HTF do any kind of "best of" awards or ratings? Now THAT's something I'd take the time to read since it would be put together by people who really know and care about these things.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Well, I'd have to take issue with a few of their TV selections...

BEST TV SERIES DVD
Band Of Brothers (HBO/WARNER HOME VIDEO)
Family Guy - Volume 1; Seasons 1 & 2 (FOX)
Six Feet Under - The Complete First Season
(HBO/WARNER HOME VIDEO)
Trailer Park Boys - The Complete First Season (ALLIANCE ATLANTIS)
24 - Season 1 (FOX)

"Band of Brothers" deserves to be on there for sure. I haven't seen "Trailer Park Boys," so I can't comment on that, but "24 - Season 1" - how the hell is that a good DVD release? It has a couple of special features, but nothing that would make it noticed at all. Now "24 - Season 2" I could see as making the list, but not season 1. And even "Family Guy" - hey, I was a big FG fan, but if you compare the release to any other animated Fox DVD release you'll see it comes up short.

As far as I know, The Canadian Entertainment Network is a Canadian industry magazine. I only heard about it in July went I picked up a copy of the thing at VSDA in Vegas. It seems to be a spinoff of a music publication.

Gord

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Good calls, Gord.

I can't agree more with your comments on those nominees. Box sets that are little more than collections of episodes with few extras worth speaking of shouldn't be worthy of awards. But then again, the marketing people behind this show are probably well aware of this, and they know the people who REALLY know what they're up to are generally limited to internet theatre forums that the average suburban family may not be aware of. One can't help but wonder if the nominees were actually voted from ALL the releases within a certain time frame, or just the ones for which the friendly studios were kind enough to pony up free samples.

In fact, the more I peruse those lists, the more I find myself taking exception to the whole dog and pony show itself. These nominations have turned up in a couple of Canadian newspapers now: what a coincidence that they appear during the run-up to Christmas, the prime SHOPPING period and a great time to brainwash the uneducated masses about which products they should be purchasing for the videophiles in their lives and, far worse, WHERE they should be purchasing them. ("Hey look, honey, Future Shop's nominated for sell-through retailer of the year by the Canadian Entertainment Network! That must mean their selection's fantastic!!!") You could fill warehouses with the complaints available against almost all of the nominated retailers in regards to selection, staff knowledgeability, staff availability etc. at dozens of forum websites, but then, I'd imagine folks 'round these parts have their own stories to tell, so you probably wouldn't have to surf too far...

The whole thing smells like a sham to me. Do any of HTF's American posters know if such a bottom-feeder awards ceremony exists in your country?

By the way, Trailer Park Boys (as well as any other Canadian releases) is only on the list to satisfy Canadian content rules. The show IS quite funny, at least on the first viewing, but it get's tired on repeat viewings. The DVD is probably the most impressive of the Canadian television show sets released to DVD this year due in large part to the fact that it's the ONLY Canadian TV series released on DVD this year.

 

[KerryK]

DVDs had to have been released between 1 Sep 02 and 31 Aug 03 to be eligible.

I don't think Trailer Park Boys is the ONLY Canadian series released during that time - The Newsroom was for sure, and weren't Made in Canada, Mr. Dressup and Due South (although I'm not sure if that's technically Canadian) released during that time?

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

You may be right, but none of those shows are part of the current pop-culture zeitgeist (such as it is up here) in the way that Trailer Park Boys has been over the past year or so, and thus probably conveniently overlooked in favour of the "hot" show when it came time to pick the nominees. Sure the newsroom was "hip" and "ironic" (quotes mine), but it feels so "five minutes ago," (mine again) moreso if you live outside Toronto or get your TV from the Dish network. Of course, this is all just speculation (and me being a bit silly, too).

With the exception of Due South (the first season of which would qualify more as an American show, but still wouldn't rule it out of contention), I've yet to see these other boxes in stores, so either they're sold out whenever I visit (sheeyeah, right), or the CBC had no real marketing hook for them outside of simple nostalgia and was wise enough to stay away from such blatant self-aggrandizement . And considering our tax dollars pay for most of their programming, they coudn't possibly make awards for 30 million Canadians.

Oh yeah, and Mr. Dressup, rest his soul, encouraged me to draw when I was little, so it's cool that his show is finally available. Maybe I'll actually see it in a store someday in my neck of the woods.

Rick Mercer, on the other hand, was way funnier on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. WAY funnier.

 

[KerryK]

OK. I wasn't really trying to argue with you. I don't really care about these awards one way or the other. I just wanted to point out that there were some other Canadian shows released within that time, for what it's worth. Which is probably nothing!

 

[Shane_M]

The Canadian Entertainment Network is a spin off from the music one.

I'm not sure who selected the nominees and I agree that most of the selections are little fishy. I'd like to know how they decided them. It could be because they are in their first year and are being sponsored by certain parties and don't want to step on any toes in order to have a show every year.

Here's a little more info on the awards though.

CEN consulted with suppliers and retailers to develop the 30 categories. Over the next few months approximately 5,500 retailers will have the opportunity to vote for the product-specific awards via a special balloting form that will be individually sent out. Winners for other awards will be decided by a special panel of voters comprised of retailers, studio personnel, suppliers and some of Canada’s top DVD reviewers.

That's about as much as I know. I can contact them and attempt to get a little more info. I'm not sure if this is going to be televised or not, but whether or not this is just commercialism its still good for Canada.

 

[Gord Lacey]

I'm not sure if this is going to be televised or not, but whether or not this is just commercialism its still good for Canada.

Unless it makes us look like we're retarded and don't know a good DVD set

Gord

 

[Steve K.H.]

I absolutely agree that some of the nominees are puzzling...

... that said, the categories are intriguing. If this isn't a sham, the growing pains of the first year certainly can be overcome.

If not... well we know what happens then... sayanora.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

The fact that supply and retail is so heavily involved in this should be the tipoff as to how commercial this will be. How often do you go into a retail DVD outlet of any kind (barring the likes of, say, Suspect and Bay St. Video) and actually find that anyone really knows or cares about movies, quality, off-beat cinema, honest recommendations, etc. I get the sneaking feeling that most retailers might just look at his register tapes and base his decisions on hot sellers, which would really serve no other purpose than to kowtow to the studios and give them bragging rights. What small town retailer isn't gonna like to feel like he's part of something important.

I agree with you, Gord. This has the potential to make Canadians look like we don't have a clue (which seems to be how we're often perceived anyways) when it comes to home entertainment. But then again, I doubt there's a person amongst the 40-some-thousand on these forums that would really take the results of such a farce as the gospel.

And Canada's "Top" DVD reviewers? Baahh! I think "top" here will probably mean most visible, not necessarily most knowledgable. I used to write movie, video & DVD reviews and know how easy it is to become soft & forgiving when you get all your movies for free. It's not like the CEN went to the fanzine publishers (do such people still exist up here?) or only reviewers who are deadly serious fans of cinema. No, I suspect the noms were picked by the likes of the guy that writes the DVD reviews in your local TV Times newspaper insert, or has some syndicated column through the Osprey Newspapers Chain, the financially strapped daily papers found in towns like my own, home of the Sarnia Observer, that are made up of probably 80% wire copy and entertainment filler. I actually get a giggle out of the toothless "reviews" that are little more than a plot synopsis and a list of bonus features (none of which seem to have actually been watched) from the reviewers gratis review copy.

Personally, I'd rather turn on the tube some day and hear Don LaFontaine say "LIVE, from the HTF Pavillion in beautiful downtown Burbank, the First Annual Home Theatre Forum DVD Entertainment Awards. The only show that's 100% corporate free! And now, your host...(insert your favourite celeb here)!"

And so on, and so on...

 

[KerryK]

CEN is a trade magazine, so I got the impression this is just the trade recognizing each other. I don't think it's supposed to be more than that.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Granted, it all comes down to the trade honouring its own. I just don't see the point in televising it coast to coast. Most trades, outside of the entertainment profession, do not broadcast their awards ceremonies, and of all the entertainment professions to honour themselves, this is by far the weakest.

 

[Magnus T]

WHAT?!?! No category for "best bilingual coverart?"

 

[KerryK]

Is it going to be televised? On what network? I agree that's a bit much.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Jessica Holmes, the host, is the "star" of a CTV comedy show, according to the link at the top of this thread, so perhaps it will air on CTV sometime after the actual ceremony. I can't imagine this thing would go out live.

 

[Shane_M]

I don't think it's televised. Nowhere on their site does it say it's being televised nor in any of the information packages I've received. (I'll e-mail them on Monday to find out if it's going to be televised. I'll report back when I know.)

Brian, I agree with the comment of Canada's top DVD Reviewers are probably just going to be some newspaper jockies that really no nothing about DVDs. I've stopped reading my local paper because the info and reviews are just fluff written by someone that only reads the back cover or the press release for the title.


I write reviews for my site, but I don't claim to know everything about DVD, and I definitely don't have the best writing skills on the planet, although since tackling this site I'd say I've improved immensly. I suspect that a few of us reviewers from Canadian websites may get to have some say though.

 

[KerryK]

Hey, Shane, it turns out I'm going to the awards also. I plan to get drunk and sit in the back with my friends and make catty remarks. (Kind of what I do when I watch the Oscars, only I won't be in my pyjamas and Tom Cruise won't be there.) I'll keep an eye out for you.

ETA: Brian, if you're looking for the Mr. Dressup DVDs, I saw them at Sam the Record Man in Toronto last week.