Previews
DEGRASSI CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Runs Wednesday, December 17
CTV
SEAN CULLEN’S HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Runs Friday, December 19
CBC
Anybody who caught An American Idol Christmas in late November on the Fox network would have good reason to abandon the entire holiday special genre. Watching Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson and the lesser Idols warble their way through tired Christmas ballads was painful enough, but upping the cringe factor were appearances by the American Juniors, the grinning pre-pubescent pop-star wannabes who previously starred in their own syrupy TV talent show.
Well if you have any festive spirit left after that Christmas karaoke debacle, you can check out some made-in-Canada holiday offerings.
Out to warm your heart is a new episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation described by CTV as "the first ever Degrassi Christmas special."
Now in its third season, Next Generation owes much to its forerunner, Degrassi Junior High – which dropped the junior from its title when its stars reached the appropriate age. The latter period of Degrassi High was driven strongly by the heated romance of franchise mainstays Joey Jeremiah and Caitlin Ryan, played by Pat Mastroianni and Stacie Mistysyn. Their onscreen relationship hit the skids when Joey was caught cheating on his lady love in an early-’90s TV movie.
In the new episode entitled "Holiday," Degrassi: The Next Generation revisits the pair more than a decade after their nasty breakup to see if their feelings for each other can be rekindled. The major thrust of the episode is a will-they-or-won’t-they-get-back-together scenario that gets rolling when the duo shares an intimate moment on a snowy doorstep.
Matters are complicated by the fact that Jeremiah already has a demanding live-in girlfriend who’s become a key part of his young daughter’s life. Yes, Joey has a daughter and he’s a widower, and if I blah, blah, blahed about his entire sad back-story we’d be here all day.
Watching "Holiday," I felt Mastroianni did a nice job filling Joey’s shoes with a weathered wisdom that abandons him whenever he’s in Caitlin’s desirable presence. Mistysyn’s Caitlin functions best when she’s playing the cool temptress and not a daffy Rachel-from-Friends knock-off, who gets stuck in a kitchen window in one failed comedic scene.
This Next Generation episode probably won’t draw many new viewers to the time-honoured Degrassi franchise, but it will likely win back some fans of the previous series. Sure, the featured romantic interplay is at times trite and ever-so predictable, but it does have an honesty that works. The show will likely push all the right buttons with long-suffering Joey and Caitlin fans.
Talking about fans, does Canadian comedian Sean Cullen have an ever-growing legion of them? CBC must think so, because it keeps trotting this guy out again and again. He’s hosted the Gemini Awards, had his own short-lived variety series on the network and now he’s back with Sean Cullen’s Home for Christmas.
This festive TV offering takes us to Cullen’s hometown of Peterborough, Ontario, where he performs live on the stage of his old high school. Cullen also laces his special with a comedic tour of his birthplace, a guest appearance by singer Holly Cole and several celebrity parody pieces including a great send-up of Geddy Lee from Rush.
If you know who Sean Cullen is and you like his trademark jest-filled songs, you’ll love this show. A definite special highlight is a rousing performance of a rock anthem entitled "Christmas in Peterborough." I had that damn tune stuck in my head for a couple of days, but I still like it.
On the other hand, if you’re not familiar with Cullen you might stumble onto Home for Christmas and mutter, "Who is this guy and why should I care about where he’s from?" This Cullen-written program is so self-indulgent that it almost excludes the possibility of attracting new followers to his flock.
But whether you get Cullen’s act or not, you will still be able to watch his holiday special and say to yourself, "It’s a hell of a lot better than that American Idol Christmas crap." |
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