In a release to the media, reported in today’s Province newspaper, CITY-TV publicist Julia Caslin (one of the more misanthropic PR people I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with), announced that longtime Vancouver media maven Fiona Forbes has been, as the Province reports, “sent packing”.
CITY-TV moved quickly to update their Breakfast Television web page to reflect Forbes’ departure. No word from Forbes’ longtime co-host, Michael Eckford, who (no doubt due to shock and amazement at his co-host’s fate) was given the remainder of the week off by CITY-TV management.
In this Sunday, February 29th update, CITY-TV announced the departure of Forbes’ longtime co-host, Michael Eckford.
By accident I watched what may have been one of Fiona’s last bits…a trite little piece about how to dress like a Sex in the City Girl.
Other careers, snarly superior waitress, rude check out clerk, Greenpeace solicitor were crying out to her. She was pretty dreadful on community access, but the limit was reached when she took her entire absence of talent to breakfast television. What’s remarkable is that she clung on this long.
(Now of course she may be your very best friend…in which case I guess the truth hurts.)
O-o-o-h-h-h, Mr. Currie, your response to Ms. Forbes’ untimely leave-taking cries out for response.
Now, I don’t know the pulchritudinous Ms. Forbes personally, but I will say this in response to your comment: rare is the occasion in the broadcast media in Vancouver when one is given an opportunity to see a person grow more comfortable in the medium of television, as Ms. Forbes did over the years through the various incarnations of what came to be called Urban Rush, through to her move to CHUM’s local CITY-TV outlet.
Michael Eckford and Fiona Forbes possessed that rare commodity in Canadian television: chemistry. The two of them worked wonderfully well together. And whereas every other broadcaster in Vancouver seeks only to curry favour with their station manager / program director / power elite, Ms. Forbes was utterly free of that pretension.
And, by the way, Mr. Currie, given that you appear to be not only a night owl (this, from postings on your own site, http://www.jaycurrie.com), but an early riser, as well (or, perhaps it is that you, like Martha Stewart, don’t sleep at all, or exist solely on “cat naps”), have you managed to catch the abomination that is Shaw TV’s “Urban Rush 2”, hosted by two of the most slow-witted, phlegmatic boneheads ever to disgrace Vancouver’s airwaves?
I must confess, i have never seen her show. i have, however, had the misfortune of seeing promos for her shows. To put it mildly, she aggravated me.
I have a finite amount of memory in my old brain and am fortunate not to have clogged it up with the crass antics of ms forbes. I put her in a folder labeled, “things to avoid” along with starbucks coffee and atm fees.
Ah, good Raymond, you have discovered my secret….no sleep…that would be the combined effects of a three year old and three month old.
I fear we are going to disagree on Fiona…I think she’s a ditz with a negative Q rating and fat upper arms which she seemed intent at showing off at every opportunity. As for chemistry, I suspect about once a month Fiona took Michael out back and said, “Now look little man, I’m a star I tell you, a star…you play it that way or I’ll sit on you” and Michael clicked his heels and carried on.
I have, I must admit, managed to avoid Urban Rush II. I shall endevour to keep up this record.
Dear Jay Currie: Your snide comments and faux witticisms are typical of the kind of viewing audience members that loyal Forbes and Eckford fans loved to make fun of. The reason why the two have won two Leo awards, and why they are so sorely missed by the popular viewing crowd, is not only because they had “chemistry,” but because their presentation was always fresh, unrehearsed, candid, and had none of the anal, prudish, conservatism that you reek of. BT’s “new” dry, Toronto-style format is such a great big bore now…what a shame.