By BERNIE FLETCHER Age should have its perks. We’re not just getting older, we’re getting Pfizer or Moderna or AstraZeneca. Hit me with your best shot, any shot, please! Age is just a number to screen legend Sophia Loren who got her start in film when she was only 15. At 86 she stars in […]
BERNIE FLETCHER As Beach Metro News begins its 50th year this month, it’s good to look back at the changing face of the Beach. Old photos and movies can help show us the way we were, long lost memories frozen in time. Back in May 1974 Ward 9 News reported on “Murder and mystery in […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER Made-in-Toronto crime dramas are all over the television dial this month. Despite the pandemic, cameras have been rolling again on a number of shows, including a slew of new sleuths. Clarice (10 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11) has been heavily promoted by Global and CBS. It tells the personal story of FBI […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER Mystery Mondays are back! Canada’s most popular drama, Murdoch Mysteries, returned to CBC on Jan. 4 for its 14th season. Our favourite detective, William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), is a man ahead of his time, but who were the real sleuths of Victorian Toronto? In 1894 our city skyline was dominated by church […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER ‘Tis the season to stay home, play board games and binge your favourite shows. Would you believe the most-watched drama series on Netflix is about…chess? The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of a child prodigy who learns how to play chess in an orphanage and grows up to be a champion while […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER “Look, here’s the deal.” When Jim Carrey does his impression of Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live, that’s only the latest in a long line of Canucks playing American politicians. Canada is “sleeping with an elephant” and we’re worried about election results though it isn’t even our country. Raymond Massey (1896-1983) became […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER This year has gone to the dogs. Our four-legged friends might be the only “happy campers” these days. Walk? Sure! Make “fetch” happen. Sure! Pets can help us reduce stress in trying times. Beachers love their own canine pals, but which showbiz dog is your favourite from childhood memories? Lassie, the rough […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER It’s 2020 and yet people around the world still need to fight for basic human rights. Three made-in-Toronto TV shows highlight the struggle for equal rights for women over three different eras. The Emmy Awards (on Sunday, Sept. 20) will be acknowledging the strong performances by talented women in each of these […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER “We have to deal with prejudice and injustice or we will never understand what is good and evil, right and wrong; we need to feel how ‘the other’ feels.” (Norman Jewison in This Terrible Business has been Good to Me.) Times of crisis bring out the best in people …and the worst. […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER The television industry was booming in Toronto before the pandemic shut everything down. Will filming resume soon? I am trying to imagine a love scene or a fight with physical distancing. Here are some youth-oriented shows that were finished before COVID-19 changed our world. Catch some diverse young actors before they become […]
