February 2, 2004 — 7 PM

Super Television

I must be the only person who watched some part of the Superbowl yet managed to miss both the Jackson/Timberlake show and the exciting climax of the evening. And would you believe I missed the end of the football game too? I find American football a plodding bore, and I can feign no interest for a team from Carolina, North or South, nor for one called the “Patriots.” Especially when the two are playing under a dome on plastic turf in Texas.

Still, it’s hard to escape the hype. As a North American, one feels a sort of duty to consume such massive, mass-media fare. After all, there’s the inevitable Monday water-cooler conversation. And who can risk missing such culturally-defining moments as when Kid Rock doffs his stars-and-stripes shirt to sport the more Texan-specific wife-beater and cowboy hat. (I guess the Michigan-born Mr. Rock subscribes to the When-In-Rome theory of performance attire.)

I’ll refrain from commenting on what was so obviously an MTV ploy for attention, except to point out that this article about Timberlake’s clutch effort amuses me greatly by using the strip tease as an opportunity to discuss the Federal Communications Commission. Hmm, let’s see. Janet Jackson or the FCC, which topic do you find more titillating?

Of course, even if, like me, you aren’t a football fan, there is also the other Superbowl to watch — the Madison Avenue scrimmage of the commercial break. Of course, if, like me, you’re Canadian, you don’t actually get to see the highlight-reel commercials, because Canadian networks have the right to air the Superbowl (without producing any of their own content) and sell the sponsorship time independently of CBS. Instead of Apple and Pepsi, we get Canadian Tire. The injustice! That said, the consensus seems to be that we Canucks didn’t miss much this year.

In the end, however, I shall excuse myself by citing the real reason I turned on the tube at all last night: I was waiting to watch my favourite show, Da Vinci’s Inquest. Here’s a show that is in its sixth season and is only just hitting its stride. And it wasn’t bad to begin with. Frankly, it’s a crime that this show isn’t on American TV. It is popular enough to be shown in 45 other countries, and an American TV executive even reportedly praised it while turning it down for being “too Canadian.”

I praise it because it is an artfully-written, -acted and -directed series about crime and urban decay that veers away from spectacle in favour of gritty realism. It’s Canadian in setting and doesn’t try to hide that fact, but it also doesn’t clobber you with unnecessary references to the Mounties, hockey or Her Majesty the Queen. I love how it blends the perspective of the coroner, Da Vinci, and the police detectives with whom he works. Da Vinci is the politically-charged firebrand who’s working to change society, and whose skepticism of the police and the law they enforce stems from his own experience as a former cop. The police, meanwhile, are portrayed as real people, imperfect but mostly honourable, and whose work rarely involves the open-and-shut case. They face questions of procedure, and struggle against the grey areas of law. When they find themselves in dangerous situations, in a chase, or drawing their weapons, you feel their attempts to contain their emotions and their fear. And things don’t always end nicely. One of the brilliant aspects of Da Vinci is that stories are rarely wrapped up neatly in an hour. Story-lines span entire seasons, and many cases remain unsolved, just like real life. Thankfully, in case all this sounds horribly depressing, the show also has an offbeat sense of humour.

Don’t take just my word for it though. A good summary of what is refreshingly good about this show can be found in this write-up at TeeVee.org, which advises Americans to find CBC on their cable package just to tune in. Fans like me should also rejoice in the fact that CBC has recently released the first season on DVD — hopefully to be seen at a video rental counter near you. The curse of this show is that when you miss even one episode, the next one can be confusing, since, as with a good mystery novel, you need to pay attention to the details to keep up. Luckily, the details are almost always delicious.

Previously: Skewer and Grill to a Crisp

Subsequently: Official Cherry-Picking Commissioner

February 2004
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