Sun. November 13

CFL Playoffs

CBC starting at 1 pm

If hockey isn’t your game, or even if it is, sports fans will want to tune in to the CFL conference semi-finals on CBC. Montreal hosts Saskatchewan in the early game, as the Green Riders are once again considered part of the East come playoff time. It’s a high-stakes Battle of Alberta later on, as the Eskimos play the Stampeders, looking for revenge for last Sunday’s season-closing loss. The BC Lions await the winner. A great day of football for all to enjoy, as long as Mark Lee keeps quiet.

Mon. November 14

Arrested Development

FOX 8 pm

Dave Thomas is in the middle of an extended guest-star run as a foul-breathed British thug. That fact alone should tell you plenty about this, quirky, hilarious show about an off-kilter family and their ridiculous trials and tribulations. An aquired taste, but worth a try if you’ve never seen it before. 

Wed. November 16

Lost

ABC, CTV

For those of us hooked on JJ Abrams multi-layered tale of castaways on a mysterious island, this week’s episode will at long last give some insight into the back stories of the second group of survivors. Anything for more Michelle Rodriguez, I say. If you aren’t a Lost addict, well, that’s too bad. For real. It’s also too late, unless you rent or (gasp) download the entire first season to catch up, because believe me, the shit is bananas.

Lest We Forget on TV

Anyone up in early morning hours Friday can catch Remembrance Day ceremonies from Central Canada on CBC and CBC Newsworld starting at 7:30 am. Peter Mansbridge hosts live from York Cemetery in Toronto.

History Television, meanwhile, offers World War II related episodes of its Turning Points in History Series. 

On Friday afternoon at 2 pm, viewers can catch the story of D-Day at Juno Beach. The program is repeated at 9 pm on Sunday (Nov. 13) night.

Not again!

November 15 might turn into an interesting day in the House of Commons. 

It’s the first opportunity that opposition parties have to bring down the Liberal government on a non-confidence motion. Conservative leader Stephen Harper says he won’t be the one to make such a motion, but he’d be very pleased if the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois take the plunge. 

Problem is, a vote to bring down the government is also a vote for a Christmastime election, and nobody wants to play the role of political Grinch. 

So keep one eye on CPAC, Newsworld and CTV Newsnet in the early afternoon. If something is about to happen, you’ll know. Alarms will go off, screens will turn red, and both Don Newman and Craig Oliver will shake their normal state of rigor mortis to begin pontificating. Full contact political journalism at its finest.