Oh, Canada, your TV bounty knows no bounds: Degrassi, Slings & Arrows, Being Erica…So we want to trust you when we hear from this NPR report that you’re going nuts up north for this show Battle of the Blades, which pairs pro hockey players and figure skaters in a reality competition, like Dancing With the Stars on ice! The other reason we trust you on this? Because it’s basically a reality version of The Cutting Edge! And we all know we can never have too much of that opposites-attract, Pamchenko-fueling energy. (I’ve found your foray into reality TV, ABC Family, home of three cheese-tastic Cutting Edge sequels!) Apparently, American production companies have expressed interest in bringing the Battle of the Blades format across the border, which begs the question: Could this work Stateside? God knows we love our Kristi Yamaguchis and our Moira Kelly/D.B. Sweeney-like pairings.
You can watch full-length episodes here, but here’s a look at one couple from the premiere:
It’s as fun as Dancing With the Stars to me, but he main obstacle to making it work it here would be, well, hockey. It is the one thing we might care about even less than soccer. (It’s a tough call, I know.) The thing is, Canadians definitely like ice more than we do, having far more of it to live with, and star hockey players in the Great White North enjoy a far greater level of celebrity than they do down here. Plus, we Americans may get our fill of tough-guys-doing-frou-frou-stuff with the traditional casting of at least one football player on every season of Dancing With the Stars. Bottom line: There’s no reason to believe that the missing ingredient in the failed Skating With Celebrities was, of all things, hockey players.
But I could be wrong: What do you think, PopWatchers? Could we ever see The Cutting Edge: The Reality Edition on U.S. television? Whom would you like to see compete? Or is there another way to pull off the same concept with more popular American sports? (Skating With the NBA, anyone?)
Comments (1-15) of 35 Add your comment
THIS.IS.AWESOME! OMG!
I’m gonna say that idk how much we’ll care. MAYBE if it was at all possible to put a TV show that takes place on ice during the summer off-season it’d work, but then there’s many people who’ll find it stupid to put a show about ice skating on during the hottest months of the year. it’s quite the problem but i think if they make it a “special event” during the holiday series and then if it does well pick it up for a full season next year.
*holiday season
sorry i didn’t proofread lol
At least these people are using their talent and skill that they’ve worked on for years to create an entertaining show. If shows like I Love New York and More to Love can survive, so can this.
toe pick
Don’t quit your day job!
haha, that was the first thing i thought of too!
but i don’t think he was even wearing figure skates…
Didn’t they do “Skating with Celebrities” already?
Duh, you already mentioned that.
i can’t see a bastardized version of this show in america. hockey is part of the lifestyle in canada – we grow up playing hockey, and watching the stanley cup playoffs every spring. the average canadian would know at least a couple of the hockey players on the show, and show like this exploits our loyalties as we’re rooting for the players that come from our childhood teams. i was/am cheering on glen anderson, and craig simpson – both having played with the legendary oilers dynasty of the 80s. torontonians are going nuts over the talentless, ape-like tie domi, because leaf fans LOVE their unskilled goons. tie’s still on the show thanks to the ridiculously clueless, delusional leaf fans.
Domi got the boot last night. And I thought the Leafs at least had a chance to win a figure skating contest.
Not all of us Torontonians are for Tie Domi! He was the worst one! I loved his bad facial expressions as he tried to skate. Made me laugh!
As a CBC watcher, I can tell you that there have been much better things on there, I know this even without watching it. CBC is like NBC in that they only have two hours of primetime a night, the national news airs at 10. Therefore, if a show isn’t working, it’s out the door immediately. There have been great shows in recent years that were barely given a chance to make room for shows like this.
If you haven’t actually WATCHED the show, maybe you shouldn’t crap all over it? CBC didn’t trash your favourite programs just to make room for Battle – they cancel shows that don’t pull in enough viewers, just like every other network does. And they’ve finally struck on an idea that’s captivating millions of viewers. The question is, would an American version work? Sadly, I doubt it. But if you throw a bunch of basketball stars together with Olympian gymmasts and make ‘em ballroom dance, you might have something….
I’m a TV snob okay? I hate how shows like Dancing With the Stars and American Idol can kill shows like The Mole or Pushing Daisies. I’m just saying CBC should be more patient with their shows. jPod should not have been cancelled after only 13 episodes.
Awesome! ABC should be rushing to buy this show now and airing it after Dancing with the stars!
It’s not so much that the hockey players are well known that makes the show successful (although that obviously helps), it’s the fact that they can already skate, which is why Skating With Celebrities failed. If Americans don’t care about hockey, get someone like Apolo Anton Ohno on there.
This show is hysterical. I love watching the hockey players faces when they figure skate.
That said, I’m all for Sale and Craig Simpson for the win!
And I’m glad Tie Domi is gone. He was just bad!
Wow – I live near Toronto and I’ve never even heard of this show. I should tell my mom – she loves Tie Domi. I was a huge Cutting Edge fan, but I don’t think that’s enough to cause me to watch this. I’m sure that there are lots of Canucks though who love it. It’s a cute concept.
I don’t know if it will fly in the US because you aren’t hockey fans outside of certain pockets of the country. This show works because the guys can skate, but what puts them out of their element (except Domi) is that they use figure skates which are very different. I haven’t talked to a single person who dislikes this show, the girls are fantastic and the guys are brave for being so out of their element. To go from an ice surface with 11 others plus refs and in this show it’s just you and your partner, spotlights, figure skates, lifts, emotion, it’s just wonderful to see most of the guys transform. Some of these routines could be part of any professional figure skating show.
Americans can’t handle the speed and excitement of hockey. They much prefer the horrifically dull and painfully slow baseball and football. So sad. This show is amazing, I have been loving it all season.
As a Canadian and an ex-figure skater I find this show intriguing. I know a lot of hockey players who used to make fun of us girls for our “twirls and leaps” and maybe now they are realizing how hard it really is. Personally I hope Jamie Sale and Craig Simpson win, she’s a sweetheart and he’s an Oiler. FTW