Ask Amber: June 28/10

Amber: Au contraire (I’ve always wanted to say that!), the D.C. version of Top Chef makes its way to Food Network Canada beginning Aug. 30. I must say I’m sort of psyched. It was great watching Susur Lee get screwed out of the title on Masters, but I miss my Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi, along with the thrill of having green contestants.

Speaking of Top Chef Canada, as I tweeted last week, they’ve finally found a host. Congrats to former Entertainment Tonight correspondent Thea Andrews for landing the coveted gig alongside main judge Mark McEwan.

Why is Top Chef D.C. airing in Canada so late? The season has already started airing in the U.S.! The winner will have been announced before we even get to watch the first episode! —Nathalie

Amber: And this is new how? Welcome to Canada, darling. It’s a rare occasion when we get a cable series day and time with U.S. broadcasters and it always has been. Sure, the extended time period seems painful, especially since it’s a reality competition and we’re bound to find out the winner on the Internet weeks before, but there are two bright spots here. One is that we’re getting to see the series at all and two, that the delay isn’t even longer. Think of poor Project Runway or Drop Dead Diva fans!

Dear Amber, my husband and I are Canadians, born and raised, but we retired to Mexico four years ago. Neither one of us speaks Spanish well enough to watch TV in Spanish and we cannot watch any (English-language) TV shows online because we don’t live in Canada or the U.S. If I try to watch one, a message appears advising that I cannot watch because I don’t live in a region that it is available. —Pat

Amber: Even though the only feeling I have towards you right now is extreme jealousy because you get to live in Mexico, I’ll answer your question. The laws are a bit murky, I’m afraid, and online TV watching (legally) is usually confined to those who live in the country of the hosting site because they’re the ones paying for TV signals and/or the ones watching the ads. In order to find English titles, you’d have to either invest in a geo-blocker or download them from illegal sites, which I never endorse. Another suggestion is to buy shows to watch on DVD — those are available everywhere and you don’t have to put up with annoying commercials.

We subscribed to Super Channel so we could watch Southland. They showed the first season and part of the second and now it is off. Did it get cancelled? —Daniela

Amber: No, not at all. The second season wrapped on Super Channel June 7 and unfortunately it’s one of those series not yet available through the On Demand function. Did you realize the second season is only comprised of six episodes? Either way I have some good news — not only has the show been renewed for a third season, but repeats are airing in July so you can catch up then.

In the meantime, since you already have the station, check out Justified — you can thank me later.

Hi Amber, during one of the last episodes of V, I saw a commercial that said they were going to air the original V series this summer. Do you know when and if they will show the two mini-series as well? —Victor

Amber: Sorry Victor, ABC hasn’t announced plans to air the original series just yet, but there are a bunch of To Be Announced’s in their schedules so keep checking.

Meanwhile, if you don’t mind watching them online, CTV.ca has both the original series and the mini-series available to view.

Hi Amber, my wife and I had heard that the show V will not be coming back for a second season. Is this true? What about Caprica? —S&S

Amber: Both Caprica and V are expected to return; it’s rumoured that SyFy and Space will air the back nine episodes of Caprica this fall, and ABC has ordered a sophomore season of V that will air midseason.

Dear Amber, BBC Canada has finally done it. They’ve removed Coronation Street from their schedule until September. I’m a pessimist as far as BBC is concerned. I don’t believe they’ll bring the show back, I believe they’ve done it this way because last time they cancelled this show a lot of viewers complained. I’d appreciate your take on this. —Pierrette

Amber: Always happy to share — let’s break this down, shall we? So Coronation Street airs on CBC and it’s been moved around lately because of the soccer schedule. Normalcy will resume once the World Cup is over though. I believe what you’re upset about is the removal of EastEnders, which was indeed axed from the BBC Canada schedule and brought back when fans complained until they could broker a deal with another network. Yes, the show is now on hiatus until fall, but the good news here is that Vision TV will pick up right where BBC Canada left off. You can read the whole story here.

Hi Amber, you’ve stated a couple of times in recent replies that Law & Order: UK is coming back to Citytv in the fall. Just so we're clear, these will be part of the new batch of 13 episodes that recently completed filming, correct? Not repeats of the first 13. (Just asking because ITV in the U.K. has been completely noncommittal about when they’ll begin airing the new episodes, but of course it wouldn’t be a first for Citytv to air new episodes first; they did it with L&O: UK once already!) Thanks! —Julia

Amber: Thanks for noticing the multiple mentions — you’d be surprised how often I get repeat questions, often from the same people! Anyhow, when I was at the Rogers upfront presentation last month, executive vice-president Malcolm Dunlop assured us new episodes of Law & Order: UK would begin this fall. They even had a jazzy little clip. So if they don’t, it’s officially on his head.
 
Hi, you wrote in your last column that A is dropping Gossip Girl, and CTV is dropping The Vampire Diaries (and moving it to A). Will these shows still both be on MuchMusic? I don’t get A or The CW. Thanks so much for your help. —Jennifer

Amber: Good news — both The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl will return to MuchMusic this fall, albeit not day and time with the U.S. broadcasts. If you don’t mind staying away from potential spoilers and all the fun talk that goes hand-in-hand with these series, it’s not such a bad deal.

Hi Amber, I would like to know what Canadian network is going to run the final episodes of Nip/Tuck? I started watching on Citytv and then it was on A and then suddenly nowhere. When is it going to return and where will it air? —Donna

Amber: Great questions, and ones that don’t have an answer yet. Citytv had rights to air Nip/Tuck, then CTV grabbed them and decided to run the series on A. But it’s been off A’s schedule since mid-March, when the network opted to air a pre-release of Law & Order instead. There are currently no plans to bring Nip/Tuck back, although I’ve been told it might happen at some point this summer. As far as the network’s concerned, it never has to air Nip/Tuck, which is unfortunate for many of you who have been writing each week.

Hi Amber, just wondering if you’ve heard if MuchMusic is picking up Make It or Break It again? I see it’s premièring on June 28 on ABC Family. Thanks! —Alison

Amber: Unfortunately, the show was missing from the station’s summer, fall and midseason schedule, so there are no plans just yet. That isn’t to say there aren’t any in the works; it just means nothing has been solidified. If Make It or Break It does return, it will definitely do so later on, like it did in the first season.

Hey Amber, I watched the first season of True Blood on Space and it was great; when will Space air Season 2? —True Blood Fan

Amber: Again, no plans just yet. Sounds like Space is quite busy nowadays with grandiose plans for more Sanctuary and The Listener, along with new series Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, BBC’s Being Human, Dead Set and The Deep.

Hello Amber, just a follow-up on Merlin — it is now airing on Wednesday nights on Space. They started with last year’s episodes and I was hoping you could let us know if they plan on airing the second season, too? Thank you. —Todd

Amber: They are! Isn’t that great news? In last week’s column I mentioned the show had returned, but at the time talks were ongoing and nothing could be confirmed for a second season. Now it is, and all 13 episodes will air. I think you guys were a huge factor in making that happen — a few months ago Space had zero plans to bring the show back at all. By the way, I broke this news on Twitter last week. If you aren’t following me yet you really should!

Hi Amber, I look forward to every Monday so I can read your column. As for my question, I was wondering when or if we might see the next seasons of Eureka and Sanctuary? Thanks, and enjoy your summer. —Timothy

Amber: Thanks Timothy, I’m glad to give someone SOMETHING to look forward to on Mondays. It sounds like this Monday might only be half-good though: while Sanctuary returns with a brand new season to Space soon (the network hasn’t confirmed whether it’s fall or midseason), Eureka is still missing from the Space schedule. This concerns me because it returns in the U.S. in July, but the show wasn’t included in Space’s recent programming release highlighting all new and returning shows. We’re going to have to wait for an official announcement either way.

And I am most definitely enjoying summer, thanks. Speaking of, I have a super top-secret announcement to make towards the end of it that I can’t wait to share with you all. For that reason alone, I’m willing to start fielding guesses from you guys.