Bowie sang about changes

Carlo Rota GS & Carlo


I went to a pretape today with guest Carlo Rota of Little Mosque and 24. I got to take his picture and shake his hand. He is very nice in person. He had some very interesting and amusing stories to tell. I can't say the audience turn out was large for a Sunday so getting personal time with the guest is not always possible. If you can't see The Hour taping at the regular time keep an eye out for the changes in the taping schedule to see George Stroumboulopoulos at work at odd hours. In this case Sunday morning.

The Hour has made a few changes to the set. They removed the entire section of set that held the shelves and table. They placed chairs in the empty area bringing the audience closer to the host's chair.


Those old chairs have been replaced by orange-red leather chairs that look firmer and cleaner.
New set Old Set The difference it makes A small but happy audience


The Studio's seating maximum capacity is now 110 seats. No view is obstructed by that table now. The long runway extention of the stage remains for practical reasons... the camera swings overhead in that area and would be a danger to anyone sitting below. It also brings George closer to the middle of the audience when he makes his closer... I am hoping at least they bring back the closer as a regular feature again.


Coming up on Tuesday September 11th The Hour will be broadcast at 9 PM on CBC for a one hour PrimeTime special focused on the news of the Toronto International Film Festival. I know George is very busy doing interview after interview with the Directors, Writers and Actors that are in town for this event.

A bientot

It's been a great few months but the time has come for me to bow out as a regular contributor to The Stroumboulopouli. The fall/winter are going to be crazy for me at work and I'm working on a couple of other things so I won't have time for blogging. It's been alot of fun and I'll miss it.

So, thanks for having me (putting up with me ;)) since the spring and I hope Season 4 will continue to inspire, entertain and illuminate!

Ang

Your radio has changed....

The news arrived in a “Programming and Promotions Update” email from CFRB this past Thursday announcing that two new shows would occupy the Sunday evening timeslot of 9-11, effective September 9th. Gone from the line-up was “The Strombo Show”.

As a viewer of The Hour, I’d always considered the radio show to be a bonus…sort of like the “extras” feature found on a dvd. An eclectic blend of fun and frivolity, awesome music, with a handful of regular features tossed into the mix, among them Questions About Stuff and the Advice segment. Another unique aspect of The Strombo Show was the interface with its audience through the social utilities of Myspace and Facebook. Not only did this allow listeners to participate in the program, but it enabled people from around the world to connect with one another.

Listening to the interaction between George and Bob was akin to sitting in on two friends shooting the breeze. I would be remiss in not mentioning the contributions of Alex (a favourite of many) and Ryan Doyle for filling in over the summer months.

For the listeners of The Strombo Show, the two hours always went by quickly and never seemed quite long enough. Good times indeed. But as we know, sadly, all good things must come to an end…