Much has happened in the Canadian television business in the year leading up to the 18th Annual Gemini Awards. In addition to contending with wide-ranging economic woes, the TV industry was hit with the bombshell that $50 million would be lopped off the Canadian Television Fund over the next two years.

Last year, one of the facts that the sorry state of Canadian drama was pinned to was that broadcasters had only one new one-hour Canadian drama to offer up - The Eleventh Hour. Well, one year later, the only new domestic serial one-hour drama on the big three's skeds is CBC's Wonderland.

And so perhaps the 2003 edition of the Geminis takes on greater significance, making the fact that our own programs and craftspeople were able to achieve any degree of excellence amid these trying conditions all the more remarkable and worthy of championing.

Ironically, leading the pack in '03 among nominees, with 14 nods, is that same Eleventh Hour, the poster child for the dilemma that is Canadian production. The Alliance Atlantis program may draw favorable notices from TV critics, as it earnestly expounds on such lofty themes as journalistic integrity, but it has not been able to draw significant eyeballs for broadcaster CTV. In its inaugural season, the show averaged 400,000 viewers, or about one-third of what CTV/AAC's short-lived The Associates did when it launched.

"Over and above the industrial issues that a show is facing - or from the media side or any side - our process supports these shows in terms of focusing on the excellent quality of work," says Maria Topalovich, president of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, overseers of the Geminis.

CTV is apparently paying heed to The Eleventh Hour's positive reviews, having signed on for a second season. Perhaps taking home a few trophies might help the production light a fire under audiences, although traditionally that has not been a guarantee.

Viewers will get to see how The Eleventh Hour fares against its rivals during the Geminis' live Awards Gala broadcast on CBC, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. Yukster Sean Cullen returns as the host (see story, below), after a performance last year that is itself nominated for a Gemini. Cullen even takes on a producing role for night three along with Lorne Perlmutter and David Kitching. Meanwhile, Star TV will once again provide one hour of red-carpet coverage prior to the show.

Oct. 18 and 19 are the respective dates for the newly consolidated Documentary, News and Sports Awards Gala and the Industry Gala. On night one, additional categories have been added for sports, lifestyle and information programming, acknowledging what a bigger chunk of networks' bread and butter these formats represent, especially in light of dwindling drama outputs.

Night two, meanwhile, is primarily for the presentation of craft awards. For the first two evenings' festivities, taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Academy has enlisted presentation company Mediaco to add an innovative spin to the proceedings. Broadcasts of nights one and two will air after the fact on Rogers Television.