Mark Meisner

TRUST ME, I’m the Doctor.” And when it comes to saving the Earth, no one else compares. That’s Doctor Who of course, the eponymous protagonist of the longest running science-fiction show on television. Doctor Who is a pop-culture phenomenon in the UK, and since the show’s reboot in 2005, its main character is on his way to similar status in North America. Even though the show rarely invokes environmental themes, the Doctor should be an example to concerned citizens everywhere.

LIVING IN THE US, I’m a bit CBC-deprived. Cross-border online content is limited, and fussier than just flicking on the TV or radio. Some US cable providers actually carry the CBC, though not ours. Otherwise, we’d subscribe. So, when I travel, I always see if my hotel is hip to Strombo, Mansbridge and the 22 Minutes crew.

While recently in Bangor, Maine, “Canada lives here” included my hotel room. One morning, a CBC TV program stopped me mid-sock-pull. Not only was it visually and aurally compelling, it seemed to be a bright green sprout in mainstream media. ...

I have never gone south in the winter. The closest I came was a three-day, mid-February family getaway in Niagara Falls at a hotel with an indoor waterslide park. The chlorine infusion did wonders for my skin! I actually prefer going to Ottawa to skate on the canal or ski in Gatineau Park. We might as well enjoy winter while we still can, eh? My partner usually goes along with this, but this year she was pressing for some sun, sand and tropical nature.

Scoping out the possibilities in Mexico and the Caribbean, we were quickly dismayed by the typically hermetic resort offerings. They seem designed to insulate travelers from the real world, while offering up an ersatz version of the local culture and cuisine. I’m told this is the norm.