"It's nice here in Canada with all us robots together."
September 26, 2017 3:07 PM   Subscribe

How Do You Do was an absolutely bananas TVOntario series for ESL students with Billy Van (previously) playing a robot learning English. Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4. (Yes, the Billy Van of House of Frightenstein fame). As brought to you by the good folks at Retrontario (previously).
posted by Capt. Renault (27 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Every TVOntario children's show was absolutely bananas.

I still have nightmares about Readalong.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:13 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Although, I guess How Do You Do wasn't necessarily a children's program.

I do love the old footage of Kensington Market.


Also, Honest Ed!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:16 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


OH. MY. GOD. Thanks for dislodging THAT deeply buried nightmare fuel.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 3:24 PM on September 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


SPADINA BUS IN THE CREDITS!
posted by maudlin at 3:45 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


"It's nice here in Canada with all us robots together."

This conjures up the image of this robot hanging out with the best Canadian robot, Aster the androgynous arm-losing robot.
posted by Space Coyote at 3:53 PM on September 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


Spadina Bus?

Spadina Bus!

posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:56 PM on September 26, 2017 [6 favorites]


You mean Billy Van of Party Game fame?
posted by rocket88 at 3:58 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


I just lost an hour to RetroOntario! Although not on the site afaik, the deep dive reminded me of the creepiest educational show this side of Dr Who:. Read All About It
posted by Popular Ethics at 4:00 PM on September 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


On a warm spring evening in 1976, I was watching "Nightmusic" on TVO, hosted by the late great Reiner Schwarz. Suddenly, he was raving about a new band and their groundbreaking new album, while playing bits and pieces of it. I was riveted. The band was The Ramones and my life changed that night.
posted by davebush at 4:01 PM on September 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


Reminds of Bits & Bytes with Billy Van and Luba Goy. I think we watched the whole series - it seemed like great info about computers at the time. And of course bemusingly dated now.
posted by stevil at 4:31 PM on September 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


I think I saw the Lee's Palace mural in the opening credits as well! Sneble Jabtz!
posted by stevil at 4:31 PM on September 26, 2017


Hah it's impossible to hear Luba Goy's voice now and believe she isn't taking the piss every single second. She's like real life sarcastic voice guy from KITH.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:45 PM on September 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


Check my profile pic (same one since 2007), Billy Van codin'.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 4:52 PM on September 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


I was gonna say "I'll see your Readalong and raise you Read All About It" but was beaten to the punch
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:59 PM on September 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


You mean Billy Van of the Billy Van Singers (along with the Laurie Bower Singers) who performed the theme song to the 60's animated Spiderman tv show?
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 5:01 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yeah, Read All About It was creepy, but Readalong was just half-assed and fucking weird.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:01 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh my god don't send me down the Retrontario wormhole again. It's so hard to get out.
Of note in that first episode is Linda Kash, Second City alum. Quite funny in Best In Show as the wife who didn't know what a piñata was. She used to live up the street and once she was fucking screaming at her kids which was gross.

I do love the old footage of Kensington Market.
Right? I know I'm old and everything changes but I'm sad it's so different now. I recently stopped on my ride home to try and get some chicken thighs. St. Andrews was closed and $$anagan's didn't have any. So I couldn't find any chicken. In fucking Kensington Market. My brother lived on Baldwin St. right around when this was filmed; he lived above, beside and across from fish markets and he'd bring his laundry home to my parents and he'd just absolutely reek. Now I think there's only Coral and Sea King?
posted by chococat at 5:48 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


...not to mention this cringeworthy Gordon Ramsey bullshit.
/Kensington rant, sorry.
posted by chococat at 5:55 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


On the one hand, Kensington has always changed. I remember when my father used to bring me down there when it was still the kosher poultry market, and there were still live chickens and ducks. Then it became very Jamaican and Trini, and then a lot of Brasilians moved in because there was always a big Portuguese presence there. Now there are a lot more Central Americans there, and also a lot of young people from all sorts of places, because of the different youth hostels and the bars which have opened up there (most of which are still run by local people). Kensington has always been a place for newcomers, and it will continue to change.


On the other hand, that Gordon Ramsay thing at Zimmerman's is some kind of bullshit. I hope they're rude to him if he turns up at Ronnie's.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:00 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Here's the great thing about this era of Toronto-centric TVO programming, though.

As a little kid, it made me think "Wow. I want to live in a big city with things like streetside produce sellers."

Now I do.

*fist pump*

Spadina Bus?

Spadina Bus!


Interesting call and answer. To which my rejoinder is:

Cheese?

Cheese on Bread.

posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:22 PM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Yeah, Read All About It was creepy, but Readalong was just half-assed and fucking weird.

Yeah, on review - Boot doesn't seem to have his shit together like I remember it.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:25 PM on September 26, 2017 [6 favorites]


I'm still waiting for the internet to cough up a clip of the unfortunately named TV Ontario show World of BJ Vibes, a blue and orange show powered by Scanimate. It took a heck of a lot of Googling just to remember the title - I always thought it was something I hallucinated as a child!
posted by Calzephyr at 8:31 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Read All About It was creepy, but Readalong was just half-assed and fucking weird.

And you make this sound like a problem. TVO of its golden age was all about being weird and creepy (intentionally and not) I credit it regularly for all my life skills. If I didn't have TVO I'd have to inform my life via Adventures in Rainbow Country reruns my feelings about clowns would be very different (whole episode is here).

My absolute favorite show from TVO was the Jan Rubeš hosted Guess What?. I can't find any clips online but imagine a Mr. Rogers type show without puppets hosted by an enthusiastic & affable Czech man in a darkened Brechtian nightmare set and you'd catch some of feeling of the show. And of course Vision On, a Canadian & British co-production designed initially for deaf children and featuring Sylvester McCoy.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:22 AM on September 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


Here's the great thing about this era of Toronto-centric TVO programming
Don't forget 1975's Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim, about a shoe-shining street kid who squats in a warehouse in pre-condo-and-TIFF-party King St. West and finds a trunk that transports him to 1875 so he can hang out with snake-oil salesman Zachariah Gibson.
'70's TVO is in my DNA I watched it so much. Countless times I pretended to be sick so I could lie in my parents bed and watch it all day.
posted by chococat at 9:05 AM on September 27, 2017 [4 favorites]


Man did I love Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:50 AM on September 27, 2017


Don't forget 1975's Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim , about a shoe-shining street kid who squats in a warehouse in pre-condo-and-TIFF-party King St. West and finds a trunk that transports him to 1875 so he can hang out with snake-oil salesman Zachariah Gibson.

Reading the description, I didn't feel like I remembered it. Then I watched it. Yep!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:33 PM on September 27, 2017


Uh oh. I'll just add this to the 'ol bookmarks along with RetroOntario...

Welcome to TVO's digital Public Archive, a free online resource that showcases four decades of made-at-TVO educational programming.

Includes a couple of episodes of Today's Special.

Also, Imprint:

Nov 20, 1989 – 11:45

Michael Enright and Bill Casselman debate how the word processor is changing how we write and if it's truly necessary.

Throwdown!!!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:52 PM on September 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


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