granny-bilking swindlers, shameless show-offs, nascisists of all stripes and colors, coke-snorting, gun-toting gansta's, sweat-shop owning, mercedes driving esl, new era overlords, trophy-wives, corporate planet rapists and every other despicable example of our failing culture are on display in the mountainous version of sodom and gamorah!
Come and see the spectacle.

Oh yeah and bring your own SNOW!!

the show is a perfect example of what TV should not be.

Whistler more drivel from the drivel factory .
Proof that Canadian's can match America in the stupid TeeVee department .
I hope Ross wins a bundle from the producers for appropriating his likeness .

IMO that show, which I've mercifully only read reviews of, sounds like it would have been more interesting, as well as more Ross-sensitive, had it been written by genuine Whistler locals; instead of by transplanted hypesters from TO, as is the case...ditto with Robson Arms. Whistler's actual social/political goings-on in the '80s were more than worth a series; but BC life in those days was supposedly represented by The Beachcombers; also spawned from Toronto.

TYEEEHAAAW! Jesterjogger - if you go happen to go up there for another satisfying crap don't eat any of the yellow snow in Gomorrah(even if it's your own good Buddy!...

Rebagliati shouldn't lead the kind of lifestyle that would leave people wondering if the show was based on him or not. It's just another gimmick to keep his name in the news. He must be going broke. He won back in '98. A lifetime ago. Like, who's heard of him since then? The shows writers, actors, directors etc. are just another bunch of shallow no-minds who think they're creative and talented. More tv trash that we could all do without.

Couldn't agree more Aalborg .

More publicity helps the share prices go higher.......

Share prices on what? The corruption that is Whistler and the coming 2010 waste of time and money? I remember the 'good old days' when we skiied up there on a season's pass that cost $180.!

I expect this is what RickW is talking about:

Intrawest mega deal: Sale of an empire
Whistler-Blackcomb resort part of $2.8-billion purchase of Intrawest by New York firm

THe whole story is in the Sun, here:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7bc322f4-7c61-4115-a317-410d33823fbd&k=73864

Obviously somebody is taking out their profits now

Thanks for the link Alcibiades and I expect you're right.

One comment, I think from Peter Alder, in today's Sun, pointed out that Whistler has reached build-out, such that no more real estate expansion is possible, and that was Intrawest's business model. Fortress, as someone else pointed out, will reorganize things and flip it a year or two down the line; but the connection between lift services and real estate marketing is now not so much as redundant as fulfilled; they'll have to come up with another way to get a return on their investment. Probably by downsizing somehow, but it's not as if they can take down lifts or tear down condos and start over. Should be interesting....and I've always said that there will be eventual consequences for building a resort in what is not an all-season valley for weather, especially once the snow finally is confined, as the case may become, to the alpine areas only. Whistler at the valley level is a bunch of rocks, rain and swamp, cleverly disguised as though it were a beautiful valley; which relative even to its own regional district, it's not.

Absolutely right, Skookum 1. Even the largely cheerleading story I linked to above contains this:

"We don't know if Fortress is looking to grow the business or whether Fortress is really focused on the real estate or the resort or another component of the business," she said. "So whether in fact Fortress makes some changes to the structure or whether they decide to keep all of it or figure they can make money by selling parts of it, that will be their choice to do."

Intrawest will be preparing an information circular to be provided to shareholders so they can vote on whether to accept Fortress's offer. Two-thirds of votes cast will have to be in favour for the deal to go through.

Intrawest's largest shareholder, Connecticut-based Pirate Capital LLC -- which owns 18.2 per cent of the outstanding shares -- has given its endorsement to the offer.

"We're in full support of the deal that was announced by the management team. We think $35 [US per share] is a great price," Pirate Capital spokesperson Stephanie Tran said in an interview.

When Intrawest first hired Goldman, Sachs in February, Pirate urged the company to sell outright, claiming the shares were worth at least $45 US. But that number was based on a price target 18 to 24 months in the future and discounting it to the present yields a number around $35 US, Tran said.

Broughton thinks the other shareholders will also approve the deal, which is paying a 32 per cent premium over Intrawest's closing price on Thursday of $26.51 US on the New York Stock Exchange.

If the deal falls through, the stock price will fall so shareholder(s) will have lost out, Broughton said.

aalborg:

Intrawest has sold Whistler to some Yankee outfit. Upon that announcment alone the share prices jumped some 30%. So even this little bit of promotion is nothing but good (from shareholder viewpoint). Whistler is no longer about skiing......

Thanks RickW...I read the Sun story Alcibiades linked to. Whistler hasn't been about skiing since the 'beautiful people' began primping and pimping their way into town. We moved on to other ski areas when the tone changed.

So, an American corporation based in New York City will likely soon be proud owners of Canada's premier ski resort.

Perhaps it's short term good news for Intrawest shareholders (pocketing a quick 30%). But I'm not an Intrawest shareholder, and it doesn't leave me especially happy.

...I'm reminded of what has happened since Gordo broke his promise not to sell BC Rail. Now that the railway has passed into CNR's(Canadian in name only now)hands, it's really an American co. now, headed by a CEO from the deep South and headquartered in the States.

-We've seen derailment after derailment
since the deal. The Cheakamus River's fish population has been wiped out, as one result. RR employees have been killed. A US corporation doesn't give a f*ck about the damage they might do here. All they think about is the bottom line for the upcoming quarter. If cutting back on safety and maintenance can save a few bucks on expebses, hey, they're all for it!
It doesn't matter the damage they may cause.No problem, they've got insurance to cover any accidents!

I'm not saying Whistler will go down hill
now,or that more skiiers will die due to inattention to maintenance and safety - but I'd say it's more likely to happen now than before.

Not to mention that Fortress is buying out Pirate and a few other delicious ironies. They'll cash out as much value as they can and sell off the bits and pieces where that is an option - These guys are not managers and operators of ski hills; they don't do anything remotely productive and don't have the staff or expertise to do so - they shuffle money and take their slice off the table and Vancouver is increasingly (and to its detriment) part of that game these days.

I don't know how widely held intrawest is but I'd suggest the guys who hold most of their paper will be glad the debt is being assumed too.

Just a matter of time...ponzi schemes always end badly.

For anyone interested in looking a little deeper into the souls of the folks who were involved in and brought you the 'glories' of Whistler, this is a good place to start:
http://www.trilogyproperties.com/

A bit of a paean to John deCourcy Evans, recently (2004) appointed by his good friend Premier Campbell to the board of the University of Victoria and the owner developer of that so very trendy place in Yaletown – Opus Hotel. Among other things...many of them at Whistler.

Don't forget the largest farm in the Saanich Peninsul went up for sale as ordered by the court. seesm the two brohers couldn't get along. Up pops a European company who will buy the whole place. Since its' in the land reserve as 14 seperate parcels, will, the potential buyer keep it as farm? Oh yes they say. Nobody farming around that area believe it. More quality housing for rich folks.

>> The shows writers, actors, directors etc. are just another bunch of shallow no-minds who think they're creative and talented.

aalborg - criticize the content of the show all you want (although I suspect you haven't watched even one episode in its entirety) but it's an outrageous generalization to call every who worked on it "shallow no-minds who think they're creative and talented". It takes literally hundreds of creative and talented workers (yes, workers) (i.e. the "etc." of your claim) to put together even the worst television series. moreover Whistler is far from the worst out there - the writing, acting and directing in particular are, as Ms. Corden points out, of a surprisingly high standard.

>> IMO that show, which I've mercifully only read reviews of, sounds like it would have been more interesting, as well as more Ross-sensitive, had it been written by genuine Whistler locals; instead of by transplanted hypesters from TO, as is the case...ditto with Robson Arms. Whistler's actual social/political goings-on in the '80s were more than worth a series; but BC life in those days was supposedly represented by The Beachcombers; also spawned from Toronto.

Skookum1 - if you don't like the show (which you admit you haven't watched) for what it isn't (and not what it is) then create your own series (it certainly does sound more interesting). Perhaps the talented and creative aalborg could act as a consultant. :) As a side note, while Whistler's creators are indeed from Toronto, all episodes of both seasons of "Robson Arms" were written and/or directed by Vancouverites (many of them young, emerging filmmakers). And the knock against "Beachcombers" is outrageous - that groundbreaking show (the first series shot on location in BC) got more locals started in television (and eventually film) than any other. Pick your battles.

Aalborg - you are a wise soul: "The corruption that is Whistler and the coming 2010 waste of time and money?" Speaking of 'souls' - Whistler lost it many years ago, thanks to a small 'Circle' which set in motion an agenda to protect Whistler from any competition of neighbouring proposed resorts, to the sad detriment of all of British Columbia.

Through deceit, their network, including a small cabal of Land bureaucrats & politicians also conspired to SINK millions of taxpayers dollars and free Land assets into Whistler, for THEIR personal & THEIR friends, best interests. The agenda has continued through the their linkages into Vanoc, to manipulate thier agenda further on the backs of the taxpayers. They had a specific hidden agenda for the Callaghan Valley. Be certain: There HAS been a Cover-up.

The 'rape' of profits from every square inch of Whistler by this group, incuding Intrawest, would NEVER have happened if the Powder Mountain/Callaghan Valley Resort had not been derailed by this 'Circle' through their linkages into goverment. Whistler & their residents, as a whole, would have /will benefited/benefit from an adjacent, year round resort.

This proposal involved PRIVATE sector dollars because the product (year round skiing on 10 square miles of year round glacier skiing was economically viable; the product stands on its own merits, for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS.

The 'Circle' could not bear to see their milking of profits threatened, by people OUTSIDE of their 'Circle'. Desperate people do desperate things.

But, here is a hint: "There is nothing covered - up that will remain covered" and secondly: "When the truth is put on the table, everything falls into place." Henry Higgins - just you wait!

As for the show "Whistler" - does anyone really believe the dog and pony show surrounding Ross's huffing & puffing? Seems like hokey attempt to increase the reported small audience, to me, while perhaps giving Ross a little added income.

By the posts above, I am heartened to see that people really 'get it'. Carry on folks and watch the "House of Cards" tumble. Truth is far more intriguing than the show "Whistler"!

secondlook

A lot of the stuff you just described in your post is happening in Squamish right now. It's disgusting. Unmitigated greed and corruption. Theres no other way to describe it. Wait, I guess you could also say "Socialization of cost and risk" (bludgeoning a billion dollar TAXPAYER funded highway plus other olympic infastructure) with "privatization of profit and benefit" (gentrification of Squamish, Britannia etc. by a cabal of politically connected developers)

To get this thread back to the topic of entertainment, I can't believe Elaine Corden thinks Whistler is "not cringeworthy". I have actually watched at least a portion of every episode, and have reached the point of being able to shout out lines of dialogue before they're even spoken ("Get the hell out of my house!" "I'm glad you're happy."), and can almost distinguish one blonde MILF from another (the evil one has black eyebrows), though I'm still having trouble identifying the teenage girls.

The music is cool, but heavily misused in places, tension is almost nonexistent, pacing is wildly uneven, and there's too many storylines (a common problem with new TV shows, I think the theory is that we need a zillion characters so that every viewer has someone to "identify" with, instead of realizing that one well written and well developed character can be universally satisfying and appealing to everyone).

It's not the worst show on TV, I'll grant you that. But it's a cynical reviewer (or maybe a desperate one) who feels they have to praise a show because it's only 80% crap instead of 100%. And no, this doesn't mean it's full of talentless hacks. On the contrary, it seems to take hundreds of moderately talented people, and even a few highly talented ones, to get together and descend into such astonishing mediocrity. But that's another discussion altogether. As they say about Hollywood: How can so many drown in something so shallow.

The Rebagliati lawsuit is pretty strange, though. I can't imagine he actually has a case, though I also find it hard to believe the show's creators didn't consider this. Sam Feldman actually claimed that the writers were so young that they probably had never heard of Rebagliati, which I suppose is an underhanded insult, but also patently absurd. This is one of those lawsuits that make everyone involved look ridiculous. Though I suppose they might give Ross some money to make him go away.

JohnnyB....I fully understand the unseen workers on films and tv shows are not the hollowed eyed, souless souls the so called stars, directors and producers are. I don't care what city the directors and actors come from. They are generally mediocre and couldn't write a realistic script if it meant saving their mother's life. I know people who do work behind the scenes and work they do. They, more than the big names have talent for their crafts and are usually underpaid in comparison to the stars. The 'stars' show up and make their cute little face expressions which are always supposed to depict an emotion of some sort. My dog has more realistic expressions. It's the egomaniacs who think they are producing something new fresh and mind blowingly creative and the stars who have little to no talent who I find annoying. Take a look at the picture accompaynig this story. A prime example of bland and beyond boring. I've no idea what this so called actor is trying to emote, but it doesn't look like much. I know dreck when I see it and the ten minutes I gave this show tonight only confirms what I said. I harbour no illusions as to my having the kind of creativity and talent required to produce a program. It is a field I have never considered. I would hate to be one of those known for insulting the intelligence of the audience. I am not a fan of much of what passes for entertainment in the film and tv industry.

Second look...thanks for the lesson in regards to the corruption that is happening in Whister and the further decline we will see once the waste of money that is 2010 comes to pass.

I'm curious as to why so many people with such lack of interest and self-professed hostility and alienation to pop culture (and film and the industry in general, as far as I can tell -- and books -- and music) bother weighing in on a thread about a TV show.

The changing face of the Canadian small town can be an interesting topic if intelligently discussed, but hasn't much to do with the original review, or this section.

flyingfish
I'd suggest that you've answered your own question.

Whistler may once have been a ‘typical Canadian small town’ but I doubt it.

It certainly isn't now.

The reviewed 'sit-com' doesn't even reach the extremely modest standards set by Corner Gas - that other paean to small town culture written and acted by people who've never actually experienced life in a small town in the early years of the 21st century - as light entertainment.

The only conceivable interest the concept could generate among most thinking folks is as an opportunity to indulge in a little Schadenfreude about the kinds of people who think their ‘lifestyle choices’ are of any deep and abiding interest to people who live in the real world and contend with real problems that have nothing to do with whether or not their morning latte is made with whole or skimmed milk

I keep forgetting the world is divided into two kinds of people: Those who drink lattes, and those who don't.

Many of those who don't, however (do we really KNOW they dont't? Perhaps they do it in secret), tend to gravitate to the kind of shallow escapism we "thinking people" so despise. Oh well.

I'm more curious about how pop culture gets designed, created and marketed, and no, it's not all calibrated at a central level by a evil cabal of government interests and "soul-less souls" bent on turning us into the next American state. Really. That's not an interesting point of view.

Not that the show Whistler isn't a shameless cash grab for the 2010 tourist dollar and an utter waste of cultural funding and resources.

And yet, it's made by real, creative, educated people, most of who at one point no doubt thought they could do something better.

And who have come to believe that the Canadian TV audience wants this kind of thing. Perhaps that we can't handle anything more nuanced or complex. Or, what, exactly?

Have a look at the Coupland thread. There's some interesting musings about pop culture and those who seem fascinated by it there.

Not many active posters though!

Yes, it's very discouraging.
I had hopes when Tyee started its books section.
But, too little, too late for the arts in this site, I'm afraid.

That lead character's nose freaks me out (hotel manager guy) - did he lose half of it in an accident? Too much blow?

As someone who was raised on Alta Lake, as Whistler was then known, I am qualified to say that Whistler has never been a "typical Canadian small town." That honour is reserved for its neighbours - Squamish & Pemberton - from where many of the original Whistler "locals" once hailed or have long since re-located to. Hwever, as some one who unplugged their satellite dish quite some time ago, I have never seen the soap opera that now bears my hometown's name.

It is tyical of our society's media focus that people are discussing Whistler the soap opera rather than the recent sale of Whistler the resort to the New York based Fortress, an investiment company whose principals are all formerly assciated with either Goldman Sachs, the banking firm which suggested the sale, or Lehman Brothers, two US-based but European Rothschilds-affiliated banks. I'm sure they've made an offer that, with the stormy rain clouds that lurk in future, Intrawest's shareholders will not be able to refuse.

Just a coincidence that Goldman Sachs, the banking firm said to have overseen the "privatization" of Russia's huge public assets in the 90s to Israel-based "oligarchs", also sits on the board of directors of US-based CN Rail?

The fact that Whistler has achieved "build-out" will not slow the area's development down, not with large chunks of crown land increasingly shifted to the local Lil'wat and Squamish Indian bands for development complete with recent grads of "the Sea to Sky leadership" course to run it.

Although I'm sure that Intrawest shareholders will clean up this sale I don't recall ever getting a cheque for the sale of BC Rail or for the crown land and provincial park that the resort of Whistler/Blackcomb encompasses.

^ I rest my case.

You're right. Better to remain absorbed in soap operas. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Elaine,

Your original post concerning the renewal of Whistler for a second season. Did you base this on a recent announcement or the original CTV press release?

If it's based on the original press release, then based on recent developments with the series, and having been involved in the Canadian TV industry for a time, I believe that CTV is likely re-evaluating that decision, unless you've seen a very recent announcement or have a contact at CTV.

The ratings for the show here in Canada have been bad (unlike the U.S. where I understand the ratings on The-N are good) and CTV just moved the show's time slot again for the third time in five weeks. They have done no promotion on the show and apparently there are only about 250,000 to 300,000 viewers each week, well below the usual broadcast threshhold of 500,000.

Based on their lack of promotion of the show, not keeping the company who produces the series and After the Drop websites informed, and moving the show to a different time slot almost every week, I would have to say that CTV has lost interest in the show.

My gut feeling is that unless you've heard something from a CTV person recently who is high enough in the ranks that the show is really coming back next year, I would take CTV's original press release about a second season with nothing more than wishful thinking. A lot has changed regarding Whistler since that press release was issued before the show even began.

Drew

Yea, I thought that 'Whistler' was doomed from the beginning .
A sceond season.Hardly.
They don't even have a pulse in the ratings while some Canadian shows have ,well,over a million viewers a week-Corner Gas,Rick Mercer Tuesday Report .
Shows that are actually,quite, funny .
Who needs an imitation of the OC or whatever template it follows .

Yes, since it's impossible to be interested in popular culture and still have a serious political analysis. That would just be too confusing.

Given the ratings cited above, doesn't sound like very popular culture to me.

Don't get me wrong. Aside from being my hometown, I think Whistler is a fascinating place to base a weekly TV series although perhaps one a little less derivative or formulaic than this one is purported to be. And come on, saying that the snowboarder character is not patterned after Ross Rebagliatti is just dishonest. Everyone knows about the second hand smoke/gold medal party scene in Whistler now.

Perhaps by employing local writers as was suggested earlier in this thread, a means could be found to make a series that combines "popular culture and still have a serious political analysis." Now that would be worth reconnecting the dish for.

I dunno flyingfish, your pessimistic conclusion a couple of days ago may need to be revisited - considering the posts since then. Whether the evidence of Canadian popular culture as a distinct entity is worthy of being reified or not is another matter.

Once upon a time it was; today, if Doug Coupland is the best we can muster as an international cultural icon, I'm not too sure.