Durham County‘s second season will come out July 27, 2010 through Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada.  The TMN/Movie Central series’ second season sees forensic psychiatrist Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes) join newly-appointed homicide detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) as they solve crimes.

This being Durham County, both characters are weighed down by heavy emotional baggage.  Verrity is coming to terms with the drowning death of her daughter.  Sweeney’s family has pulled apart, due to the aftereffects of his dealings with serial killer Ray Prager.

The second season, like the first, is six episodes long.  Somehow, Anchor Bay has pulled a two-disc set out of this.  Go figure.

The amazon.ca sales rank for Durham County‘s second season is very high.  As of the time I write this, Durham County‘s second season ranks #19 in DVD sales.  Earlier today, it was #15.  Granted, this is amazon.ca and not amazon.com, but I am referring to the mainstream DVD sales chart.  A top 20 ranking there is impressive.

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TVShowsonDVD.com mentions Being Erica‘s second-season set, available on DVD September 14, 2010 through E1 Entertainment.  The three-disc set will contain the standard set of extras – bloopers, deleted scenes, audio commentaries and webisodes.  Of note, the webisodes are termed “Erica’s Weblogs.”

I apologize for not going into as much detail with Being Erica‘s format, like I have with Durham County.  Ostensibly, Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) continues to delve into her past to find out the points where her life has gone pear-shaped, but the writers are smart enough to skew the format so that it doesn’t grow stale.

Granted, I’m going by what I’ve read, since I don’t watch the show.  Being Erica has a sizable fanbase, helped by its American run on the soon-to-be-shitcanned SOAPnet.  The general consensus is that Being Erica is the only realistic series about a woman in her thirties.  Basically, Being Erica is to older women what the Degrassi franchise is to high school.  Odd how Canada needs compare-and-contrast to succeed overseas, but I don’t pretend to understand cultural attitudes.

Being Erica and Flashpoint are currently in production on their third seasons.  Flashpoint currently airs on CTV and CBS, while Being Erica airs on CBC and SOAPnet.

CTV has not officially renewed Flashpoint for a third season, but it’s obvious the show will be back.  Its Canadian ratings are strong, so a third season is assured.

CBC won’t announce the bulk of its show renewals until May, although Bill Brioux has hinted at renewals for 18 to Life and Being Erica.  Being Erica‘s second season was watched by an average of 582,000 Canadian viewers.

The Cultural Post first mentioned production on Flashpoint‘s third season, while TCP and Mike’s Bloggity Blog have hinted at a renewal order for Being Erica.  The Cultural Post has Ontario Media Development Corporation’s ‘In Production’ page to back its claims up.  Mike’s Bloggity Blog has…”a very reliable email.”  Can you guess which site I actually respect?  Go on.  Guess.

As an aside, does CBC Television know how to cancel a show?  Despite poor-to-fair ratings, I doubt CBC will touch its comedy festivals, 18 to Life or Little Mosque on the Prairie.  When Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town can’t do better than The Rick Mercer Report‘s Friday rerun, something’s terribly wrong with the network.

EDIT (April 27, 2010) | Being Erica doesn’t start shooting its third season until May 17, while Flashpoint has been shooting since January 13, 2010.  I apologize for not clarifying this detail.

I know “no one cares” about the Gemini Awards.  Every year, there will be an article about the lack of credibility Canada’s television awards have, yet there is momentum for the 24th Annual Gemini Awards that previous years have lacked.  For one thing, Canadians are selling more to American networks.  It would help if the shows sold to said networks were of better quality than The Listener, but money is money.

The Geminis have embraced Flashpoint.  The show has picked up a ridiculous 19 nominations, the most ever for a Canadian television show.  That sounds impressive, except that four nominations are in Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series.  Three nominations lard Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series.  Flashpoint even has a Gemini nod for Best Achievement in Main Title Design.

Categories like Best Achievement in Main Title Design are why the Geminis have a credibility problem.  An award needs to be given out for opening credits?  Have a look at the Gemini nominations (caution: PDF), there are a few categories that need to be discontinued.

For those wondering, Keys to the VIP and Reality Obsessed are nominated for one Gemini each this year, for Best Direction in a Reality Program or Series.  Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie aren’t nominated for anything, but Keys to the VIP gets a nod.  Weird.

I also hate when a category is dominated by a single show – Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series is two-thirds Less Than Kind.  Murdoch Mysteries benefitted from this domination last year.  There should be a rule limiting how many times one show can dot a category.  I’m not saying the Gemini Awards should be more diverse, I just hate seeing stacked decks.

For the purposes of this article, I’m going through selected categories.  I’m sure Best Cross Platform Project and Best Science, Technology, Nature, Environment or Adventure Documentary Program (whew) are the bee’s tits, but I’ve selected the categories of most interest to me.  If I missed a half-decent category, I apologize.

Fun fact: this year Survivorman is up for Best Documentary Series.  Survivorman‘s a reality show in a category it barely belongs in.  Canadian television, gotta love it.

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Best TV Movie
Celine (CBC)
Elijah (CTV)
In a World Created By a Drunken God (APTN)
Of Murder and Memory (CTV)
The Secret of the Nutcracker (CBC)
The Terrorist Next Door (CTV)

You know, I have not seen one TV movie on this list.  I don’t know the first thing about any of these made-for-TV films, so I can’t comment on them.  I will say that In a World Created By a Drunken God is an awesome film title.  It’s also APTN’s lone wolf against the CBC/CTV juggernauts.  Yeah, I want APTN to win this one.

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Best Dramatic Mini-Series
Burn Up (Global)
Diamonds (CBC)
The Last Templar (Global)
XIII (Canwest)

I’m confused as to which network/cable channel I should list XIII under.  Showcase airs XIII a lot, but Canwest has also foisted the miniseries on Mystery TV.  Showcase can’t get enough of XIII and The Last Templar.

All four nominations for Best Dramatic Mini-Series are co-productions.  Two of the noms, The Last Templar and XIII, aired on NBC, while ABC picked up Diamonds.  Burn Up is the dark horse, as it aired on BBC Two and isn’t as high-profile.

The entire Best Dramatic Mini-Series category is junky.  Let’s move on.

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Best Dramatic Series
Being Erica (CBC)
The Border (CBC)
Flashpoint (CTV)
The Tudors (CBC)
ZOS: Zone of Separation (The Movie Network/Movie Central)

No big surprise Flashpoint is there.  I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t win a Gemini for Best Dramatic Series.  I would swap The Tudors with Rabbit Fall, which gets little Gemini love this year.

My personal choice to win, even though I haven’t seen the show, is ZOS: Zone of Separation.  I have seen the other four shows, and they don’t stand out to me as the best Canada has to offer.  It doesn’t matter what I say, since Flashpoint is the commercial favourite and has the American fanbase.  Having typed that, watch Being Erica win.

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Best Comedy Program or Series
Less Than Kind (CityTV)
The Rick Mercer Report (CBC)
Testees (Showcase)
This Hour Has 22 Minutes Series XVI (CBC)
Three Chords from the Truth (CMT)

I am fucking stunned Testees is nominated for this category.  Less Than Kind, yes, but Testees?  I’m not complaining about the nomination, I’m just surprised the show’s in a high-profile category.  Testees won’t win, as the Gemini Awards hate Kenny Hotz.

I’d rather see The Jon Dore Television Show nominated in this category than The Rick Mercer Report and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.  I know I gave a good review to one 2008-09 22 Minutes episode, but the show’s weak at this point in its life.  ‘da Kink in My Hair is more worthy of a Best Comedy nomination than 22 Minutes, and ‘da Kink is shit.

As for Three Chords from the Truth, where did that nomination come from?  Maybe I need to start watching CMT.  Every year I think I know a lot about Canadian television.  Nominations like this remind me that no, I don’t.

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Best Reality Program or Series
disBAND: The Homecoming (MuchMusic)
Dragons’ Den (CBC)
GoldMind (TVtropolis)
Project Runway Canada (Global)
The Week the Women Went (CBC)

I want so bad for Dragons’ Den to win.  It’s the only show of the five I can get behind.  I admit to not watching GoldMind, since the show is on the sludge factory known as TVtropolis.  GoldMind must air eighteen times a week there, so it has to have entered the Gemini Awards’ subconscious in some way.

What a shitty set of nominees this year.  I’m not a reality show fan by any means, but I’m sure Canadian television aired a reality show of higher merit than disBAND: The Homecoming.  One of these years, the Gemini Awards are going to have to get to Mantracker.  You can’t hide from him forever.

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Best Animated Program or Series
Jibber Jabber (YTV)
Life’s a Zoo.tv (Teletoon)
Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World (Teletoon)
Rollbots (YTV)

Wow, two kids’ shows against two adult cartoons.  It’s a weak field this year.  I’m partial to Life’s a Zoo.tv for obvious reasons, since it’s a very well-written show.  Rollbots‘ nomination makes me wonder why Kid vs. Kat didn’t earn a Gemini nod.  Swap one generic Canadian cartoon for another, who’s going to notice?

Rick and Steve, though…the show’s not funny.  I know it’s a gay-oriented cartoon, I just can’t see how the show is good enough to earn a Gemini nomination.  I will say that Rick and Steve deserves a nomination more than friggin’ Rollbots.  If nothing else, Cuppa Coffee Studios has two chances to win a Gemini, so good on Cuppa Coffee for that.

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Stay tuned for part two of this article series, as I cross over into the Craft and Performance categories.  Now with more Amy Jo Johnson!