History was made. The show went on, albeit in a different guise, and all went surprisingly well, despite uncertain times and a global pandemic that threatened to upend everything...

2020

Sep

WELCOME TO EMMY WEEK. TRY NOT TO BE CONFUSED By Alex Strachan

First things first, as Jeff Probst likes to say on Survivor. The 72nd Emmys are going ahead as planned. A subdued, COVID-aware ceremony will air live...

2020

Sep

‘HUMAN NATURE': PBS' NOVA TACKLES THORNY ETHICAL QUESTION OF GENE MANIPULATION By Alex Strachan

The question always, Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson told TV Worth Watching in an interview over lunch several years ago, is not whether one can do something but rather whether one should...

2020

Sep

PBS 'FRONTLINE: GROWING UP POOR IN AMERICA' IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 By Alex Strachan

Several years ago — it seems like ages ago now — the veteran CBS newsman Scott Pelley presented a sobering segment for 60 Minutes in which Pelley documented the hollowing-out of the middle class in Orlando, Fla. in the wake of the last economic downturn...

2020

Sep

BIG CAT WEEK: NATGEO WILD'S 'JADE EYED LEOPARD' A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH By Alex Strachan

On the face of it, National Geographic's annual Big Cat Week...sounds as if it was designed to cash in on the success of rival Discovery's better-known, long-running Shark Week. It's an easy assumption to make, but it would be wrong...

2020

Aug

OF TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS, RAGING RIVER RAPIDS AND ALZHEIMER'S: THIS IS AMAZON'S ‘WORLD'S TOUGHEST RACE: ECO-CHALLENGE FIJI' By Alex Strachan

There's a revealing moment toward the end of the second hour of Amazon Prime Video's World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji that neatly sums up what this often-gripping reality-adventure series is all about...

2020

Aug

'THE LAST KINGDOM' BOTH A PRETENDER AND A CONTENDER IN TV'S GAME OF CLONES By Alex Strachan

"No plans have been made for the succession." Oh, dear. Those are words one never wants to hear in a period costume drama about warring kings and kingdoms...

2020

Aug

'AKASHINGA' MEETS 'SAVAGE KINGDOM' — NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S PROGRAMMING FOR WORLD ELEPHANT WEEK By Alex Strachan

Akashinga and Savage Kingdom — two National Geographic programs, two variations on the nature theme...

2020

Aug

HOW NETFLIX'S 'ATHLETE A' LED TO ATHLETE B, C, AND D, AND USHERED IN A NEW WAVE OF PROACTIVE DOCUMENTARIES By Alex Strachan

There are those documentaries that enlighten and inform, but only for a moment...Then there are those documentaries that have a lasting effect, programs that not only enlighten and inform but galvanize people to action...

2020

Jul

HUGH LAURIE REOPENS A WINDOW ON 'HOUSE' By Alex Strachan

It was inevitable, perhaps, that the ghost of House would come up...

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Alex Strachan

Alex Strachan has written extensively about television since 1995. He was the staff television critic for The Vancouver Sun from June 1995 to 2003. Prior to that, he was a general-assignment reporter and sportswriter at the Sun, which he originally joined in 1979. He became the national TV critic for Canada’s Postmedia News chain, or Canwest Global Communications as it was then called, in September 2003. He wrote for the chain from 2003-15, during which time his stories appeared regularly on Canada.com and in such daily papers as the National Post, Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Calgary Herald. In recent years, his writing has focused more on media analysis and industry trends than celebrity profiles and background features, but he still finds time to watch The Voice and The Amazing Race, not to mention guilty pleasures like Banshee and Amazon Hotel. Alex's personal website focuses on his concern for the world around us through his stunning photographs from his world travels. In addition, check out Alex's blog on his site which he tries to update every two days or so. You can also follow Alex @astrachanideas

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