When I gave up my TV a few years ago, one of the biggest regrets was that I was also giving up Saturday Night at the Movies. The show and its antecedents were family traditions dating back to my earliest memories – the late Elwy Yost felt like an uncle I got to see once a week. This is sad news, and sadder that it’s expected in these days of slash and burn funding cuts. As one American put it on the eve of their Big-Bird-threatening election, “Leave it up to the private sector only and it morphs into Keeping up with the Kardashians in minutes.” Kardashians, ho!
Given reduced resources, TVO has made the difficult decision to discontinue three series at the end of the season next spring. This will be the final season for Allan Gregg in Conversation, as well as for the Big Ideas lecture series — but TVO will continue to present special lectures under its flagship The Agenda with Steve Paikin brand. This will also be the final season of the long-running Saturday Night at the Movies."These are tough decisions but times change and we have to adapt and innovate. When Saturday Night at the Movies began almost 40 years ago, it broke new ground but now entire TV networks and web services are dedicated to movies," said de Wilde. "The choices weve made will direct TVOs resources to the kind of high quality educational content that you cant find anywhere else."