Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again
April 25, 2015 10:40 AM Subscribe
An oral history of The Littlest Hobo, Canada's greatest TV show.
"My second episode was a few years later, as a DEA agent who was tracking some drug smuggling that was going on in a movie unit. So I was undercover as a vampire in this movie. And the dog was helping me unearth the bad guys."
I LOVED The Littlest Hobo! I've done temping work in the past and am doing some now, and I've always found it terribly satisfying to sing the theme tune when I'm finishing an assignment. (Just in my head you understand)
posted by billiebee at 11:04 AM on April 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by billiebee at 11:04 AM on April 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Since the character of Lil' Ho was so endearing, it was eventually turned into a TV series.
Hang on, that sounds like a totally different show...
posted by billiebee at 11:08 AM on April 25, 2015
Hang on, that sounds like a totally different show...
posted by billiebee at 11:08 AM on April 25, 2015
Not as full of juicy/hilarious details as other showbiz oral histories I've read, which makes sense because the show had no recurring human cast members that I can recall. If only dogs could talk!
Tons of people in my generation must've watched the show as little kids, because I bet I could go up to most people my age and get them to sing a decent rendition of the theme song.
posted by chrominance at 11:10 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Tons of people in my generation must've watched the show as little kids, because I bet I could go up to most people my age and get them to sing a decent rendition of the theme song.
posted by chrominance at 11:10 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I could go up to most people my age and get them to sing a decent rendition of the theme song.
But only once, because that person will kill you for giving them back that earworm. Thanks frimble!
posted by jeather at 11:13 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
But only once, because that person will kill you for giving them back that earworm. Thanks frimble!
posted by jeather at 11:13 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
There is something about the lighting and the quality of the video capture that just screams "mid-80's Ontario TV."
posted by Nevin at 11:24 AM on April 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Nevin at 11:24 AM on April 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
I'm sorry, but Beachcombers is still Canada's greatest TV show.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:55 AM on April 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:55 AM on April 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
I missed the movie set bit in my first glance at the plot summation, so I was trying to comprehend what sort of world Littlest Hobo was set in, that going undercover as a vampire was a valid investigation strategy.
posted by tavella at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by tavella at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Just grab your fangs, we'll travel light, that's hobo style.
posted by Spatch at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Spatch at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thanks to Chat, I just watched the episode Dragonslayer, where London participates (playing the role of a blink dog, because they're good-aligned) in a childrens' dangerous woodland LARP. Beautiful in its awfulness.
Choice lines:
"I am Xanthar, Dungeon Master! I make the rules!"
"The wizard has helped us this far. We want the gold. Let's ask the dice. Just as I thought. The die says we should go on."
"He's a genuine blink dog. I've killed a hundred and forty. He communicates with telepathy." "Does he? Well he's gotta be one pretty smart dog. Isn't he gonna go to the old mines with us?" "Blink dogs work to fight evil, mister. They don't just hang around."
posted by frimble at 12:12 PM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Choice lines:
"I am Xanthar, Dungeon Master! I make the rules!"
"The wizard has helped us this far. We want the gold. Let's ask the dice. Just as I thought. The die says we should go on."
"He's a genuine blink dog. I've killed a hundred and forty. He communicates with telepathy." "Does he? Well he's gotta be one pretty smart dog. Isn't he gonna go to the old mines with us?" "Blink dogs work to fight evil, mister. They don't just hang around."
posted by frimble at 12:12 PM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
I still sing the theme song.
posted by reedcourtneyj at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by reedcourtneyj at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry, but Corner Gas is still Canada's Greatest TV Show.
Except for that Kickstarter movie that I backed.
The less said about that, the better.
For those of you playing at home, Corner Gas actually did an episode about the Littlest Hobo.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Except for that Kickstarter movie that I backed.
The less said about that, the better.
For those of you playing at home, Corner Gas actually did an episode about the Littlest Hobo.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
I still sing the theme song.
Same here....
Is someone cutting onions in here?
posted by PenDevil at 1:06 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Same here....
Is someone cutting onions in here?
posted by PenDevil at 1:06 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I could go up to most people my age and get them to sing a decent rendition of the theme song.
The oldtimers you ask might be singing a different tune - - the one from the original The Littlest Hobo series that ran from 1963 - 1965. Here's an episode titled The Silent Witness via YouTube.
posted by fairmettle at 1:06 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
The oldtimers you ask might be singing a different tune - - the one from the original The Littlest Hobo series that ran from 1963 - 1965. Here's an episode titled The Silent Witness via YouTube.
posted by fairmettle at 1:06 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Trailer Park Boys is the greatest TV show in the history of the world though.
posted by Nevin at 1:24 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Nevin at 1:24 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Maybe tomorrow I'll wanna settle down,
Until tomorrow I'll just keep movin' on.
Here I am, almost 40 and I didn't click a single link to get those words, because I get them stuck in my head almost daily.
posted by tracicle at 1:31 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Until tomorrow I'll just keep movin' on.
Here I am, almost 40 and I didn't click a single link to get those words, because I get them stuck in my head almost daily.
posted by tracicle at 1:31 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
You guys all misspelled ReBoot.
posted by Poldo at 1:34 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Poldo at 1:34 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
The Lilyest Hobo
Because you all wanted a Lily Allen/Littlest Hobo mashup.
posted by jonp72 at 2:30 PM on April 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
Because you all wanted a Lily Allen/Littlest Hobo mashup.
posted by jonp72 at 2:30 PM on April 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
Oh, as soon as I saw the words "Littlest Hobo," the theme song popped into my head. Those opening notes: Weeeeoooooo oooooooooo, weeeeoooooo oooooooooo....
This show was a big part of my childhood. Weirdly, it was one of the few things my curmudgeonly grandfather really loved on TV. He wasn't always so keen on people but he did love animals. There was nothing like LH to make him choked up.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
This show was a big part of my childhood. Weirdly, it was one of the few things my curmudgeonly grandfather really loved on TV. He wasn't always so keen on people but he did love animals. There was nothing like LH to make him choked up.
Allan Eastman: There was a show about forest fires and smoke jumpers and I was amazed at the ability of the dog, especially the stunt dogs, to do complicated physical action. The script called for the dog to parachute with the smoke jumpers into a forest fire. I talked to Chuck [the dog trainer] at some length about if we should actually parachute in the dog, because we had a helicopter. He eventually nixed it because we couldn't risk it. So we got a very realistic German Shepherd dummy made up that we put into the parachute and threw out of an airplane. I had three cameras on the ground to shoot the parachute jump and of course they threw the dummy out of the airplane from about 2,000 feet and of course the parachute never opened. It just came straight down 2,000 feet and made a three foot deep hole in the [ground]. I was glad I didn't insist on using the dog for that one.Yikes. Good call, Chuck.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
So this thread prompted me to watch a few episodes and it made me remember what made this show so great: a detective, crime solving dog who lives in a universe where the humans have no problem interacting with as well as listening to a dog to help them out. Also, the guest star line up rivals a lot of 70s and 80s shows.
posted by reedcourtneyj at 4:19 PM on April 25, 2015
posted by reedcourtneyj at 4:19 PM on April 25, 2015
Is there anyone who's seen both this and its US doppelgänger and can thus judge which was best?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:41 PM on April 25, 2015
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:41 PM on April 25, 2015
Trailer Park Boys is the greatest TV show in the history of the world though.
*bottle smash*
posted by Sys Rq at 4:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
*bottle smash*
posted by Sys Rq at 4:46 PM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
The thing that is sort of crazy about The Littlest Hobo is that, you know, this is a kids' show where the hero is a stray dog. Hey kids, go play with a stray dog! It's totally safe, no chance it's rabid or anything, and it's definitely not a coyote that'll try and eat your face off because your new subdivision was built on its territory!
posted by Sys Rq at 4:57 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 4:57 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, hey, they did an oral history of the actual best Canadian kids' show: Street Cents
posted by Sys Rq at 5:23 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 5:23 PM on April 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Street Cents was awesome, but I think Littlest Hobo and Beachcombers are in my DNA.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 5:41 PM on April 25, 2015
posted by sevenyearlurk at 5:41 PM on April 25, 2015
The oldtimers you ask might be singing a different tune - - the one from the original The Littlest Hobo series that ran from 1963 - 1965.
That's me... in the 1960s with 7 channels on Los Angeles television and only 3 networks (plus PBS, but it was on UHF and didn't count), there was a lot of airtime to fill, and they imported from everywhere (let me tell you sometime about an early Japanese cartoon titled "The Amazing 3" with an equally earwormy theme - but I digress).
Anyway, sing along, with your best '60s folk-singer voice...
Travelin' around from town to town,
Sometimes I think I'll settle down,
But I know I'd hunger to be free,
Rovin's the only life for me.
A-driftin', the world is my friend,
I'm travelin'... along the road... without end.
For some reason, the closing theme's lyrics stayed with me more than the opening's. Maybe I just didn't tune in promptly.
One embarrassing error in the second paragraph of the linked article. The "funders" of the original series was Storer Broadcasting, NOT 'Stoner'. They actually owned a couple American TV stations at the time and later were the first to try to put a new Independent TV station on the UHF band in L.A. (not very successfully). And the first version of The Littlest Hobo was part of their programming - after all, they already owned it.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:03 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's me... in the 1960s with 7 channels on Los Angeles television and only 3 networks (plus PBS, but it was on UHF and didn't count), there was a lot of airtime to fill, and they imported from everywhere (let me tell you sometime about an early Japanese cartoon titled "The Amazing 3" with an equally earwormy theme - but I digress).
Anyway, sing along, with your best '60s folk-singer voice...
Travelin' around from town to town,
Sometimes I think I'll settle down,
But I know I'd hunger to be free,
Rovin's the only life for me.
A-driftin', the world is my friend,
I'm travelin'... along the road... without end.
For some reason, the closing theme's lyrics stayed with me more than the opening's. Maybe I just didn't tune in promptly.
One embarrassing error in the second paragraph of the linked article. The "funders" of the original series was Storer Broadcasting, NOT 'Stoner'. They actually owned a couple American TV stations at the time and later were the first to try to put a new Independent TV station on the UHF band in L.A. (not very successfully). And the first version of The Littlest Hobo was part of their programming - after all, they already owned it.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:03 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Came in for the Corner Gas reference to Lil'Ho. Was not disappointed. Well done, MeFi!
posted by jillithd at 7:35 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jillithd at 7:35 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Terry Bush: The show and the song were huge in England. They sang that song at the end of the night in pubs.
My god, that's brilliant.
posted by Spatch at 8:24 PM on April 25, 2015
My god, that's brilliant.
posted by Spatch at 8:24 PM on April 25, 2015
North of 60 is also a best Canadian show.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:54 PM on April 25, 2015
posted by five fresh fish at 8:54 PM on April 25, 2015
Danger Bay is Canada's equal-greatest TV show
posted by Foaf at 11:48 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Foaf at 11:48 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
You Can't Do That on Television is the greatest followed by Trailer Park Boys.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 12:00 AM on April 26, 2015
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 12:00 AM on April 26, 2015
'The Trailer Park Boys' is an east-coast version of 'The Beachcombers'.
And SCTV is up for contention of best Canadian TV.
posted by mazola at 12:23 AM on April 26, 2015
And SCTV is up for contention of best Canadian TV.
posted by mazola at 12:23 AM on April 26, 2015
I'm sorry, but Beachcombers is still Canada's greatest TV show.
Well, actually, Degrassi.
All the Degrassi.... from the 1980s.
The Littlest Hobo and Beachcombers were just shows that were on, you watched, and never wondered why.
Also, have you noticed the similarities between The Incredible Hulk and The Littlest Hobo?
Strange, shifty drifters getting intro strife in a different town each week?
Co-incidence? I think not.
posted by Mezentian at 12:35 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, actually, Degrassi.
All the Degrassi.... from the 1980s.
The Littlest Hobo and Beachcombers were just shows that were on, you watched, and never wondered why.
Also, have you noticed the similarities between The Incredible Hulk and The Littlest Hobo?
Strange, shifty drifters getting intro strife in a different town each week?
Co-incidence? I think not.
posted by Mezentian at 12:35 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have two questions, one has been answered by IMDB regarding actress Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon (although, how great is it that you can link the Cube movies and The Littlest Hobo?) but the other: is the dog in the hot air balloon shown in the credits?
Because, I do believe a dog can fly. I'm just not sure how well that would go.
posted by Mezentian at 12:44 AM on April 26, 2015
Because, I do believe a dog can fly. I'm just not sure how well that would go.
posted by Mezentian at 12:44 AM on April 26, 2015
First, I love the Littlest Hobo and every now and then I watch the theme song on youtube, just for fun.
Degrassi from the 1980s and Corner Gas are clearly the frontrunners for greatest Canadian TV show. However, I disupute "All the Degrassi.... from the 1980s." Degrassi Junior High? Sure. Degrassi High? Sure. Kids of Degrassi Street? I mean it was fine, but it was no Degrassi Junior High or High.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:33 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Degrassi from the 1980s and Corner Gas are clearly the frontrunners for greatest Canadian TV show. However, I disupute "All the Degrassi.... from the 1980s." Degrassi Junior High? Sure. Degrassi High? Sure. Kids of Degrassi Street? I mean it was fine, but it was no Degrassi Junior High or High.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:33 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
When I was 10 or so I heard TLH was shooting at a house near my school. Needless to say I got my ass there in a hurry. Blew my mind that there were five or so of them hanging around but I got to pat one before a trainer shooed me away. Hard to beat a moment like that for a dog-loving kid.
posted by raider at 7:43 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by raider at 7:43 AM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Unsurprisingly, considering the massive cast of guest actors, London is two steps from Kevin Bacon via many many many different routes.
posted by frimble at 7:59 AM on April 26, 2015
posted by frimble at 7:59 AM on April 26, 2015
You Can't Do That on Television is the greatest
You haven't watched it since you were a kid, have you? Because no. No it is not.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:23 AM on April 27, 2015
You haven't watched it since you were a kid, have you? Because no. No it is not.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:23 AM on April 27, 2015
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