The Hour

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The Hour is a television newsmagazine show in Canada. It first aired on January 17, 2005 as CBC News: The Hour, and is broadcast Monday to Thursday on CBC Television, at 11:00 p.m. and at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBC Newsworld. The program's host is George Stroumboulopoulos, a former MuchMusic host.

In October 2006, The Hour began repeating at 11:00 p.m. local time, 11:30 Newfoundland Time, on CBC Television's owned-and-operated stations (participation by CBC's privately owned stations may vary), replacing the 11:00 p.m. replay of The National. Repeats on Newsworld moved to 3:00 a.m. ET. With the move, the program shortened its name (although the show's website currently retains the longer name) and added a live studio audience. The basic format has not changed drastically, although the news elements have been de-emphasized somewhat.

Contents

[edit] Format

The Hour is a hip and edgy Canadian National news broadcast geared towards the 18-36 age demographic.

Typically, the show begins with a short skit usually starring George and some of his behind-the-scenes colleagues parodizing the headlining current events or features of the show. George then narrativley reviews a video collage of whats coming up over the next hour.

Generally the show consists of two or three interviews with a wide spectrum of guests including (but not limited to) politicians, rockstars, writers and actors. Occasionally interview spots are filled with recurring correspondents such as Jian Ghomeshi and Yassir Khan. Some of these interviews are pre-recorded, others are conducted live on-air. During the in-studio interviews guests sit across from Stroumboulopoulos in unique red furniture on the set. Before the interview begins, there is a short briefing on the upcoming guest(s) often referred to as 'The Set-Up' or 'Bio'.

Aside from the larger interview segments, there are several fast-paced and shorter segments in which George runs through daily National and International news headlines adding his own unique brand of witty commentary and retort.

These 'tweener' segments (past and present) are named:

  • Mile a Minute quickly touches on current events around the world, with video or images accompanied by George's commentary.
  • Canada is similar to Mile a Minute, only it involves current events in Canada.
  • Time Capsule shows CBC footage from past events that relate to current events or the date, sometimes it is both video and audio, at other times George will comment on the video footage.
  • The List is a primarily satirical Top 5 list concerning a current event. For example, top 5 things Martha Stewart will do upon release from prison.
  • Entertainment briefly informs viewers of news in the entertainment industry.
  • The Newsstand is a one-on-one interview between Stroumboulopoulos and another person in front of a variety of magazines, the idea being to candidly discuss whatever they might see on the covers of those magazines and get the guest's opinion upon them.

After the first interview, George reminds viewers that they can email, telephone, or mail The Hour with comments about a segment on the show. Sometimes during the show, Stroumboulopoulos might read one or two emails on air. The content of these emails ranges from opinions on recent events to comments about the show itself.

The very end of the show is known as The Closer and is a monologue by George about a particular current event. It may or may not be related to the previous items on the show. This is perhaps one of the most opinionated segments of the show, because it is Stroumboulopoulos' viewpoint rather than a discussion.

[edit] Timeslot history

First and Second Season (2005-2006)

First Broadcast Monday to Thursday
8 p.m. ET		 CBC Newsworld
Repeat Monday to Thursday
11 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. NL)

Third Season (October 2006-present)

First Broadcast Monday to Thursday
8 p.m. ET		 CBC Newsworld
Repeat Monday to Thursday, Sunday
11 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. NL)		 CBC Television
  • As of season 3, the CBC began airing a Sunday format of the show labeled the Special Edition, which highlights the best-of the previous week's content. Most parts of the Sunday show are not taped live.

[edit] Taping locations

The primary location for show tapings is the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto. The regular taping time is from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m in front of a live studio audience.

The show has gone on location for a short series of shows in Vancouver, British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta, Montreal, Quebec, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

One move came out of an interview with an enterprising trader who said the only limitation to his activities would be that he would not make any trade with the citizenry of a small village called Yahk, British Columbia. When the citizens protested the exclusion by writing letters to the show, the trader accused Stroumboulopoulos of hypnotizing him into making that statement and he would only go to that town if the show went there first. On Feb. 9, 2006, the producers broadcast an episode from that village.

The show has also travelled to Las Vegas, in connection to a contest in which four viewers (2 trips for 2) won trips to "escape winter."

[edit] External links

[edit] Related Video

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