brioux.tv: the podcast

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This Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon, over 100 people in brightly-coloured orange wigs and vivid caftans will be storming Orangeville, Ont's city hall. Demanding more polyester? Lobbying for a clown college? No, this will kick off the 2nd annual Roper Romp Orangeville.
It's all thanks to super fan Sofie Weber, one of two guests on this episode of brioux.tv: the podcast. She tells me she has over 100 people set to dress up as Mrs Helen Roper, played by Audra Lindley in the late '70s ABC sitcom The Ropers. This Three's Company spinoff also starred Norman Fell as landlord Stanley Roper. Nearly a half century later, this two-season comedy has inspired people from across North America to bust out their caftans and clunky jewelry.
Joining us on this podcast is Stevie Louise Vallance, a Montreal-born, Emmy award-winning actress, director  and voice artist with credits on everything from Knots Landing to Night Heat, ReBoot and Zoobilee Zoo. She played street urchin Jenny on Season Two of The Ropers and will be romping her way to Saturday's Roper-palooza in Orangeville!

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World's collide as the talky half of Jay and Silent Bob meets Murdoch Mysteries. Yes, it turns out that Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith's pal since Clerks, is a superfan of the CBC historical whodunnit Murdoch Mysteries. He was turned on to the series by his buddy, Matt Goehring. Mewes binged 18 seasons and 300 episodes in six months. All caught up, he and Matt have teamed with Shaftesbury on The Murdoch Mysteries Podscast, which drops every Monday.
Hey, I know the value of talking to Murdoch's main players. Yannick Bisson is still the reining champ here at brioux.tv: the podcast in terms of total downloads. Mewes nabbed a part on the series (as Slipperly Bill Watson) and he and Matt just teamed up on a May the 4th episode with the latest Murdoch recruit, Paul Sun Hyung Lee (Inspector Choi). 
And, yes, I'm jealous of all the great graphics and other visuals on their podcast. So listen to them here first, before you go off and binge their podcast, okay?

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Please welcome a veteran sports reporter and host who, in my opinion, has been better on his feet and in the moment than anybody else in a rink or on a field. I’m talking of course about Scott Oake, who recently announced his retirement from Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada. Correction – he reluctantly announced, because he never wanted any fuss made about his departure. He just wanted to go quietly, to ghost. Sportsnet insisted a fuss be made and so he has squirmed through several interviews, including this one with me. 
I just wanted to thank him for all the great TV moments and, as someone else who has milked this talking to famous people thing for decades, ask how I can find a dignified way to the exit ramp. Scott offers good advice, talks about that interview in the stands with Snoop Dogg, and names the colleagues who influenced him the most. 
He also puts the spotlight on what is most important to him now, the Bruce and Anne Oake Memorial Foundation established in his son and late wife’s name in Winnipeg. It is a wonderful cause, one born out of sorrow but what a pivot towards helping others. Helmet on and get ready to lace ‘em up with Scott Oake.

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With the recent passing of Dinah Christie at 83 we go back into the vault for my 2014 conversation with the beloved Canadian entertainer. 
Always a welcome presence on television in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, Christie was a touchstone for many boomers. I used to rush home from school to see the CHCH charades series Party Game where Christie, along with impish comedian Billy Van and "Captain" Jack Duffy, formed the almost unbeatable home team. 
As we discuss in this interview, the weekday favourite was kind of Canada's low budget Tonight Show. It allowed viewers to see homegrown singers, actors and other celebrities as themselves in a relaxed and casual setting. 
Christie's more serious side shone a decade earlier when she was the self-admitted "token blond" on the landmark (but short-lived) Canadian newsmagazine This Hour Has Seven Days. Hear her on those experiences as well as her three seasons opposite Don Adams on the less acclaimed grocery store set sitcom Check it Out!.

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 Adam Growe is happy to be back behind the wheel of Cash Cab for a 10th season (airing Wednesdays on MUCH and streaming on Crave). Raised in Vancouver, the stand-up comedian had to re-take and pass his special cab licence in Toronto before shooting took place last October/November. 
The series, which has been franchised in 40 counties, first took to the road back in 2008 in Canada. This new edition comes with a karaoke twist; passengers, after correctly answering trivia questions before arriving at their destination, can double their cash prize by answering one more and then singing a few bars of the song in question.
Growe talks about what passengers leave behind in the cab, the contestants who freaked and bailed when they learned cameras were involved, and answers the all-important question: naming his favourite character from the classic sitcom Taxi.