The week of current affairs and documentaries on CBC’s THE NATURE OF THINGS, DOC ZONE, the fifth estate, MARKETPLACE, THE PASSIONATE EYE, and documentary Channel
Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Chris Hadfield made us love space again. He tweeted, snapped stunning photos, and regularly connected with folks back home as he hurtled around the earth at 28,000 km an hour aboard the International Space Station. Hadfield was the first Canadian commander ever of one of the most complex and sophisticated examples of human technology ever built. The Man Who Tweeted Earth looks at Hadfield’s mission and our rekindled love for space with the first ever documentary produced while its star subject was still in orbit. Featuring astronauts past, present and future, scientific collaborators, Hadfield’s secret weapon family member and Mission control staff at the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.
Thursday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Millions of us spend hours there every day. They can be noisy, distracting and sometimes smelly. There can be squabbles over food, telephone ring tones, even how loudly you stir your coffee. So why are there so many companies jumping aboard the open concept office bandwagon? By 2015 it will be an everyday reality for three quarters of North American workplaces. Advocates say fewer doors will lead to greater collaboration between employees. Critics say it’s all driven by bottom line economics—crowding more people into smaller spaces saves money. So does it make sense? Is it for everyone? Office rookie Peter Keleghan will take us on an enlightening voyage of discovery as he tries to understand this world, with its’ new rules of engagement.
Point of No Returns
Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV
MARKETPLACE puts retailers’ return policies to the test. Out of luck, because you’ve lost your receipt? Don’t have the original packaging? Missed the 30-day deadline? Retailers don’t have to give your money back, or offer an exchange or a credit. That means a successful return often comes down to a shopper’s individual abilities. We teach three Canadians the secrets of negotiation - then challenge them to do successful returns. We reveal what it takes to get past the point of no returns.
Walk the Line
Friday, Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
He was one of the country’s top biker cops, known for helping to put some leaders of the Hells Angels behind bars. So when former Montreal police investigator Benoit Roberge was arrested last fall and accused of selling sensitive police information to the same biker gang he’d once imprisoned, it made headlines in Quebec and across the country. It also raised questions: What happens to police officers who spend years working closely with biker gangs? And how thin is that line that divides cop from criminal? In Walk the Line, Roberge speaks out for the first time in a letter sent from his prison cell, and the fifth estate‘s Mark Kelley gets the inside story from his close friends, informants, and police colleagues.
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBC News Network
Following the Syrian peace talks scheduled to start this Wednesday in Switzerland, Children on the Frontline profiles five young children who show us what it’s like to grow up in a war zone. An intimate portrait of children forced to grow up too fast, we meet three young sisters Helen, Farah and Sara and their brother Mohammed, whose father is a rebel commander in Aleppo. Aboude is a singer and poster boy for the Syrian uprising. All five have shown amazing resilience, forsaking their innocence and adapting to life, as the world around them slips into greater chaos and anarchy. A generation scarred by Syria’s civil war, the children reveal how their lives have been changed forever. The children of Syria are often the forgotten victims in the ongoing civil war: more than 11,000 children have been killed and over one million are now refugees. Shortly after filming ended, the girl’s father, Abu Ali, was abducted by ISIS, a Syrian group linked to Al-Qaeda. His whereabouts are still unknown refugees.
Sunday, Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
As costs for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia spiral to in excess of $50 billion dollars, Putin’s Games goes behind the scenes to investigate why the first Winter Games to be held in a sub-tropical resort have become the most expensive Olympics ever. With extraordinary access to top government officials and wealthy Russian businessmen, the documentary follows the preparations from the early stages, exposing alleged corruption, the sky-rocketing budget and the big winners and losers. Putin’s Games questions the entire Sochi nomination, while revealing the environmental and human costs of constructing a faux “winter” for the upcoming Winter Games
The Genius of Invention (Premiere)
Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on documentary Channel
We take our ability to travel quickly and safely across the globe for granted. This four part documentary reveals the fascinating chain of events that made such everyday marvels possible, telling the story of the handful of extraordinary inventors and inventions who helped build the modern world by making the miracle of powered transport mundane.
Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. ET
Featuring groundbreaking footage from seven winters in the Arctic, People of a Feather takes you through time into the world of Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay. Connecting past, present and future is a unique cultural relationship with the eider duck. Eider down, the warmest feather in the world, allows both Inuit and bird to survive harsh Arctic winters. Recreations of traditional life 100 years ago are juxtaposed with modern life in Sanikiluaq, as both people and elders face the challenges posed by changing sea ice and ocean currents disrupted by the massive hydroelectric dams powering eastern North America.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
For further information, or to request interviews, contact:
Corey Black, News and Current Affairs publicist, CBC
416.205.8710 (office)/647.221.4133 (mobile)
