Yee-haw! And rock 'n' roll! Dudes. This is the music weekend. Hillbilly music, Canadian guitar rock and a stew of our cultural sounds and melodies. That's on the big TV list. Meanwhile, there are other worthwhile distractions. W5 (Saturday, CTV, 7 p.m.) has an hour-long special asking the question, "Are Canadian mining companies giving Canada a bad reputation abroad?" It promises "an in-depth probe of Canadian mining companies in Guatemala, where they have been accused of social and environmentally destructive practices." Remember, if you're expecting to see Damages on Sunday on Showcase, you won't. Showcase moved it to Thursdays without warning a few weeks ago. Also remember that the second episode of the extraordinarily good Treme (Sunday, 10 p.m., HBO Canada) continues its journey into the soul of New Orleans. And Desperate Housewives is back (Sunday, bumped to 7 p.m. on CTV, on ABC, 9 p.m.) with an episode called We all deserve to die.
2010 Juno Awards
Sunday, CTV, 8 p.m.
The inescapable event of the weekend: It's not just the Junos on CTV, live from St. John's, but MuchMusic, MTV Canada and the Star! channel are also airing hours of Juno-related coverage over the weekend.
The main show features a rotating group of hosts - mainly the musicians - with local fella Seamus O'Regan also moving things along. But it's the performances that matter. This year, the acts include Great Lake Swimmers, Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, Drake, Classified, Blue Rodeo, K'Naan and Metric. I'm sure that for many who care about the variety and diversity of Canadian popular music it would be important that the bland Bublé not dominate the winner's circle. It being a St. John's event, there is of course a local party twist. Apart from the main indoor broadcast event at the Mile One Centre, there is a big outdoor music party on George Street, hosted by locals Damhnait Doyle and Kim Stockwood. That wingding will feature live entertainment by nominees Arkells and Deadmau5, plus appearances by Ricky and Bubbles of Trailer Park Boys.
The 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards
Sunday, CBS, CITY-TV, 8 p.m.
This shindig comes live from Las Vegas. Mind you, country music in general went Vegas a long time ago. The show can be vastly entertaining, if you're in the right mood. Country music changes, but really, it doesn't. Reba McEntire is the host and as Entertainment Weekly joked, "McEntire's been host since 1807." There are performances by Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Brooks & Dunn and Tim McGraw. (Last year, McGraw had "a major disagreement" with the show's producers and walked out at the last minute.) Additional guest performers include John Fogerty and LL Cool J. Also there's a hyped battle for Entertainer of the Year between that nice Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Regrettably, there are no categories such as Hat of the Year or Critter Song of the Year. But the show is sponsored by a vehicle described as "Truck of the Year." Makes sense. In the category Vocal Event of the Year, the hot money is on Hillbilly Bone by Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins. Look, it's up to you - the pleasant Canadian Juno Awards or this exercise in extreme American weirdness.
Masterpiece Classic: Small Island
Sunday, PBS, 9 p.m.
Based on the best-selling novel by Andrea Levy, which won the Orange Prize in 2004, Small Island is a two-parter - one part is a slog and the second (airing next week) is more lively and dramatic. Essentially it's about two linked couples in England in the 1940s and 1950s. One is English and white, the other black and Jamaican. And it's about their broken dreams. The first portion is largely about Hortense (Naomie Harris), who flees an impoverished life in Jamaica, following her husband Gilbert (David Oyelowo) to England. England is the mother country she longs for but, as she says, "Unfortunately, not all mothers are good mothers." Facing prejudice and poverty in England, the couple struggle to survive together. The depiction of England, then, as an uptight, racist country is very pointed. Hortense takes comfort in her friendship with Queenie (Ruth Wilson, last seen as Jane Eyre on Masterpiece Classic). But Queenie has her own troubles with her nice but sluggish husband Bernard (Benedict Cumberbatch). There is a formulaic quality to the emergence of the main theme here - both black and white face failure in a small-minded country. But once the drama moves forward and broadens, it is much stronger.
Check local listings.