Demonstrating a split decision of Canadian TV tastes, much ado was made over the rarefied cable drama Slings & Arrows and the prairie sitcom Corner Gas at last night's Gemini Awards in Regina.
Slings, with its insider swipes at the theatre world, dominated the evening with four Gemini Awards. The third and final season of the series produced a double win for real-life husband-and-wife Paul Gross and Martha Burns, with bookend honours for Best Dramatic Performance by a Leading Actor and Actress, respectively.
Airing in Canada on the premium digital service TMN and the specialty channel Showcase, Slings also won for Best Dramatic Series - its second consecutive win in this category - and Best Writing in a Dramatic Series.
Wearing jeans and a blazer, and chewing gum throughout his brief acceptance speech, Mr. Gross said, "I would like very much to dedicate this to the man who made me want to act in the first place, and that is my co-star and co-nominee, William Hutt." The Canadian stage icon died last June.
As runner-up, the more mainstream Corner Gas collected three Gemini Awards, including Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Series and Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program.
The folksy half-hour sitcom, starring comedian Brent Butt as the proprietor of a gas station in Dog River, a fictional burg in the middle of Saskatchewan, regularly garners more than one million viewers on CTV.
Another notable Gemini recipient, Vancouver-based writer-director Chris Haddock, won Best Direction in a Dramatic Series for the gritty crime-drama Intelligence, thereby preventing a Slings sweep.
The Gemini Awards recognize outstanding achievement in Canadian television, as determined by the members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Airing, as always, on CBC, last night's show presented trophies in 15 categories (the awards in the remaining 76 categories were presented in Toronto two weeks ago).
As a Canadian TV event, the show marked several firsts: It was the first time the annual Canadian TV awards fete was held in Regina (and just the second time the show has taken place outside Toronto); it was the first time George Stroumboulopoulos, the front man for CBC's The Hour, acted as host; and it was the first time the broadcast was limited to one hour on CBC, which meant the winners had to step lively on and off the stage at the Conexus Arts Centre.
As in Gemini broadcasts past, the show opened with a homespun comedy bit; in this case, a filmed segment in which Mr. Stroumboulopoulos was shown travelling via bus to Regina to act as host for the show. After bumping into Corner Gas regulars Brent Butt and Eric Peterson, Strombo made the mistake of referring to Saskatchewan as "flat," which led to cameo appearances by Canadian TV personalities Rick Mercer, Alex Trebek and the cast of the CBC series Little Mosque on the Prairie, one of whom called him a "prairie hater."
Although game in his host role, Mr. Stroumboulopoulos was often saddled with lame material. He pointed out that the CBC's Ron MacLean was sitting beside American-born film star Anne Heche, and moved into the audience for an awkward chat with seventies film star Corey Haim; there was no explanation given why Ms. Heche and Mr. Haim were in attendance at the Geminis in the first place.
Later in the show, Mr. Stroumboulopoulos dutifully plugged the CBC's coming broadcast of the annual CFL Grey Cup and even brought Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Matt Dominguez on stage, as though to curry local audience favour.
The Gemini for Best News Anchor went to TV news veteran Gord Martineau, who has helmed the Toronto CITY-TV nightly newscast for more than two decades. To collect his title, Mr. Martineau beat out weighty network competition such as CBC's Ian Hanomansing and Global's Kevin Newman.
Other dark-horse winners included little-known actress Phyllis Ellis for Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program and Series for her role in the CMT original series The Wilkinsons. Her competition in the category included Mr. Mercer, Elvira Kurt and John Cleese, for his appearance on Just for Laughs. "I feel great," a dazed Ms. Ellis told the crowd. "I'm sure you're all wondering who I am, but I'm not hurt."
In more predictable news, the award for Best Host or Interviewer in a Sports Program or Broadcast went to Mr. MacLean for his ongoing yeoman's work on Hockey Night in Canada.
The winners in the remaining Gemini categories represented a wide cross-section of programming options and broadcasters.
The award for Best Music, Variety Program or Series was presented to the producers of the 2006 MuchMusic Awards, while Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series went to music fixtures Measha Brueggergosman, Kevin Breit and Lou Pomanti for their appearance on the CBC program Words to Music: The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In the career-recognition categories, the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program was given to the film Fatherland, a personal effort by filmmaker Manfred Becker to retrace his German roots.
And with no small touch of irony, the Canada Award at last night's Geminis was presented to Little Mosque on the Prairie - one of last season's most talked-about shows, which was not nominated in the Best Comedy category.
The final tribute last night was the CBC Viewer's Choice Award, which goes to the favourite Canadian personality on a TV program, Canadian or American, who would otherwise not be eligible for a Gemini. After public voting on the network's website, this year's award was presented by a Canadian Tire employee, named Dan, who bestowed the honour upon Howie Mandel.
The Toronto-born comedian, who currently hosts the popular game show Deal or No Deal on the American network NBC, appeared both astonished and amused. "Tonight has been about rewarding people for their artistry and their skill," Mr. Mandel said. "And I think it's much more important to be popular. I'm not even eligible!"