– SDA/Popular Mechanics

Montreal’s SDA Productions is scheduled to begin shooting on a new international youth series based on Popular Mechanics, one of the first major tv spin-offs from the vast Hearst publishing empire.

Popular Mechanics for Kids promises smart answers for kids and curious tweens on the whys and hows of planes, trains and automobiles, says sda president and gm Andre Picard.

Picard says the 22 half-hour episode series is a breakthrough as the company repositions itself as a producer of English-language programming on a major scale.

New sda shows in development include a documentary on The Long March of the Chinese Woman, conceived and hosted by noted author and historian Han Suyin, with documentarian Brian McKenna slated to direct, and an international doc chronicling 50 years of the World Ecology Movement.

-B.C. community TV saved

A deal between Rogers Cablesystems and the volunteers at its Vancouver East facility will keep production in the local area alive.

In December, Rogers closed five of its Vancouver community production facilities, but volunteers at the Eastside location have banded together and made an agreement in principle with Rogers to form a non-profit organization to keep the facility running.

To assist the startup phase, Rogers will donate the facility’s existing production and office equipment to the new organization and pay operating expenses until Dec. 31. The volunteers will look to fund-raising and the crtc for funds to finance production on an ongoing basis.

-A+ for Arthur

Arthur, produced by Cinar Films in association with WGBH Boston, was the number-one rated children’s show across the u.s. pbs network in January, reports the program’s Montreal producer.